Me-Made-May 2015: Review

 A quick photographic summary of Me-Made-May-15.  I posted pics most days and these are most of them.

The weather tended to be cool so my long sleeved clothing saw a lot of wear and there weren't many days warm enough to bare skin.  I did sew a lot of clothing and I am currently working on a new dress based on Merchant and Mills Factory Dress but with changes.  The selfies were a pain but following the hashtag #mmmay15 brought new patterns to my attention and more talented sewists to follow.  Separates saw the most wear, which was no surprise and I need to continue adding to the jersey/stretch section of my wardrobe including yoga/sweat pants as they see a lot of wear.  Pyjamas are probably my most worn garment!  Thankyou Zoe for hosting, you can read her concluding post and thoughts here.  It is always a pleasure to take part and a delight to focus on clothing for much of May.  I didn't get to try out my Butterick pattern as commitments stacked up but hey, summer is not even here yet, loads of time! 

Vintage Pledge: Betsey Johnson for Butterick 3292 Maxi Skirt

This skirt is part of my 3-part Vintage Pattern pledge.  It is the maxi skirt form Butterick 3292, Betsey Johnson for Butterick, view B.  I omitted the waistband and faced the yoke instead to make a low waisted version of the skirt. 

One of the reasons I am such a fan of vintage 1970s patterns is that I find the fit works so well for me. I made very little alteration to the pieces apart from slimming the curve of the hip down a little on the yoke pieces.  It is a generous fit and for a future version I may draft a shaped waistband but I am very happy with this version. 

 The fabric is a lovely mid weight denim style cross fibre chambray from Plush Addict.   It is a great weight for a skirt: it has flow, is heavy enough not to need lining and and has a softness to it.  I would use it for a lightweight pair of wide cut trousers, dresses or skirts.  It's a little heavy for shirts. This is a lighter version of the same fabric.

 I did make some additions to the original pattern based on past experience.  I lined the yoke with Liberty lawn and I interfaced this lining with Perfect Fuse sheer fusible weft interfacing.  This is amazing stuff and my go-to choice for interfacing clothing.  I drafted a a shorter yoke facing and this is also interfaced.  These layers are all thin but they provide a support band at the front to compensate for the removal of the waistband and the combined thickness smoothes and flattens this area a little to prevent tops and knicker lines showing through- you know what I am saying ladies!

The centre back invisible zip was sewn using basting tape which is the best thing I've ever used for fitting a zip.  It's a narrow double sided tape that you apply to the seam allowance (away from the stiching line) and it holds everything perfectly in place.  After sewing, it peels away.  For a zip where there are seams to align it makes the whole process incredibly easy.  I bought mine via Amazon.  There's also a water soluble version which sounds good but I haven't tried.

 It is hard to get a really neat finish when sewing a zip into a faced waistband.  I used the technique in this Threads article and it works really well.

I followed the pattern directions for the hem using home made bias tape on the hem which is invisible hand sewn to the wrong side of the skirt.  The hemline goes on forever so it took a while but it is a lovely finish and it is touches like this that made a handmade wardrobe extra special. 

I finished with two lines of decorative contrast top stitching. I sewed this skirt on my Bernina 707 and it is a wonderful dressmaking machine.

Most of my time is spent in long chambray skirts with knit tops or shirts so I have worn this skirt countless times since I made it.  I have a feeling my Vintage pledge is all going to come from this single pattern.  I have made the trousers- yet to be blogged, and the jacket is ready to cut out.  I am wearing this outfit today as part of Me-made-May 15!  Kerry at Kestral makes is co-hosting the Vintage Pledge so you might want to check out her posts.  I have noticed that during Me-Made-May she also favours the denim skirt/knit top uniform!

Me Made May: Day 4 Astoria Cropped Sweater Review

Me Made May looks busier than ever this year.  Looking at the tag #mmmay15 on Instagram I've already noticed a lot more knit tops and dresses than previous years which shows the growth in knit/jersey patterns and the increased availability of good quality jersey fabric.  In Seamwork the new online magazine from the people behind Colette, there was a love crop jersey top design called Astoria.  I printed it out on Friday, taped and cut it out on Saturday and sewed it together yesterday!

The Seamwork patterns are all straightforward beginner frinedly projects with the claim that they can be made in an hour.  I timed myself.  It took me two hours to sew.  I am not a fan of encouraging people to sew very quickly- it often ends in tears!  Here are the details.

• I cut size XS grading to S at the waist.  I cut view 2, long sleeved version.
• I narrowed the neck band width by ½" having seen Lauren's version  on Instagram which had a narrower neck band.  I also ended up shortening the band by 1" and I cut it on the bias to get the diagonal stripes.
• I stabilised the back shoulder seams with knit stay tape.
• I removed 1¾" from hem of the sleeve and added bias cut cuffs, 1 ¾" x 7"instead.
• I straightened the angle of seam at the shoulders- this shaves off approx ⅛" at the neck edge and stops gaping at the neck if you are skinny in this area.  'Hollow chested' is the usual phrase used, nice!
• I used an interlock jersey which is a very stable fabric to work with.  It lies flat, is easy to pin into place and is relatively thick.  Thicker knit fabrics are recommended.  These fabrics are either interlock or sweatshirt with sufficient stretch and should all work for this top.

I am pleased with the result.  I am wearing it will my Gabriola skirt  It's a great fit and the fabric ended up as a great choice.  The sleeves are a little close fitting on the lower part of my arm so I will increase this a little on future versions and I think I will lengthen the body by 1" to reduce the crop by just a little.  The instructions are a little variable  They do vary from being aimed at the total beginner e.g. "the right side of fabric will show on a finished garment; the wrong side will be on the inside" and then lack detail on trickier areas like attaching the neck band or which way to press seams.  The pattern does take a lot of paper too but it tapes together without problems.  I bought the pattern as a one off subscription so it was great value and the pattern is available by itself here.   Rachel of House of Pinheiro wrote a helpful review which you can read here.