Me Made May 2014 - First 2 Weeks

I have an outfit recap for you from the first two weeks of Me Made May.  A few of these are unblogged, sorry!

Knit Featherweight cardigan

Papercut Coppelia Cardigan 

Blank Canvas Tee

Blank Canvas Tee and Miette skirt

Beignet skirt

Ship to Shore shawl

There were a few days that I couldn't snag someone to take my picture, but I assure you that I'm keeping up with my pledge!

Stripey Blank Canvas Tee

I have another finished garment for you!  This time it's a simple Blank Canvas Tee by Sewing Cake.  It's a free pattern and was so incredibly easy to sew...very much an instant gratification project.  I don't have too much to say about it since it fit well with no alterations.

I could have taken it in along the side seams, about a half inch on each seam, but I like my tops to fit loosely. 

This was my first attempt ever with trying to get stripes to match at the seams.  I think I did a pretty good job for my first time!

I used a cotton jersey that I bought a while ago from either Denver Fabrics or Fabric.com (I can't remember!)

I am definitely planning on making more of these shirts.  Steph, from Sewing Cake, has a bunch of different hacks and tutorials for this shirt.  I particularly love the Sailor Sweetheart shirt and the Tee with flutter sleeves!

Both pictures from here.

I've also been working on more embroidery lately!  I'm participating in the Bunny Hoop stitch along from Red Letter Day Stitches!

Image from Red Letter Day Stitches

Red Wool Skirt Refashion

This post is LOOOOONG overdue.  I finished this refashion months ago, but could never take any good pictures for the blog.  The only pictures I had were taken in my mirror at work and are shoddy at best.  This weekend I finally committed to learning and mastering my cameras timer function, aperture priority and focus.  Whew!  I conquered the techniques and finally have some decent pictures to show you.  Without further ado, here is the post I wrote months ago and today's pictures.

I am so excited to show you guys this refashion!  It is one that I am most proud of to date!  It may not look like it was very difficult or time consuming, but it turned out absolutely PERFECT (which is why I'm so pleased).

I bought the skirt at a local thrift shop.  Like I do with everything from thrift shops, I washed it in hot water, knowing full well it might felt.  The fabric felted slightly, just enough to make it thick and cozy.

The skirt originally was bigger than my normal size and had elastic in parts of the waist band.  I decided to only remove the waist band and lining.  I then made pleats in both the front and back of the skirt to reduce the waist measurement to my size.

The pleats are sewn flat for about 2 inches to reduce bulk around my waist.  I slapped the zipper and waistband back on....and BAM!  A skirt!

Below are pictures of the inside of the skirt.  Apparently I was good last year because Santa brought me a serger!!!!  Check out those gorgeous serged seams.

Just because I have them, here are the shoddy pictures I was talking about!  Yikes!

Colette Pattern's Wardrobe Architect

As a knitter and sewist I tend to lean towards making more pieces for my wardrobe than anything else.  Lately I've been knitting sweaters and (attempting) sewing skirts and dresses.  The finished products don't always match with my current wardrobe and/or lifestyle which can be a huge downer... Enter the Colette Pattern Wardrobe Architect project!  When I saw the post on this project, I instantly knew that it was something that I wanted and NEEDED to participate in!  The Coletterie blog will be posting weekly on this topic helping us to take ownership of our own wardrobe and really make it what we want and need it to be.

Their blog post explains the process best:

"We’ll start with several posts on defining our own styles, and how it relates to who we are. We’ll then get into more pragmatic techniques, like creating uniforms and planning capsule wardrobes. Last, we’ll talk about editing and culling."
-excerpt from Coletterie

I'm so excited for it to get started and am planning on regularly blogging on my progress!  If nothing else, I am hoping that committing to regularly blogging on it will make me more accountable to stay on track.  Wish me luck!

Is anyone else planning on following along?

Turquoise Renfrew

I sewed up my second Renfrew shirt.  This time I used some turquoise jersey I had in my stash.

I didn't have enough to cut the front and back on the fold, like the instructions say, so I just cut them in two pieces each (plus a seam allowance) and sewed the pieces together.  This gave me seams down the front and back, but whatevs...Yay for stash busting!

To hide the seam down the front, I used some lace (also from my stash!) and sewed it right along the seam.

Quick, easy, painless!

Pink Amvets Sweater Refashion

I've done my first sweater to cardigan refashion!  I picked up this cute little number at my local Amvets thrift store for $6.

It's a cute 3/4 sleeve cotton lace sweater that hits me right above my hips.

I cut it down the middle front then hemmed it to create a "button band."  (Button band is in quotes since there are no actual buttons)

 I plan on attaching a hook and eye closure.  I was running late for a party so had to settle for a safety pin in these pictures!  I'm also toying with the idea of shortening the sleeves a bit to hit me right above my elbow.  What do you think?

Other than my lop sided safety pin placement, this sweater was easy peasy!  It's a perfect addition to my wardrobe just in time for Me Made May!

 Are you participating in Me Made May 2013?  If so, what is your challenge?

A Beignet and a Renfrew

The title of this post sounds like the beginning of a really corny horrible joke...A beignet and a renfrew walk into a bar.  The beignet says to the renfrew... Hahah!

Anyways, I finally have pics of my grey wool Beignet skirt and my first Renfrew shirt.  The Beignet skirt is made from a thrifted wool skirt which I deconstructed and used for it's fabric, and the Renfrew is made using interlock knit.

Check it out, the skirt even has pockets!!!

I think I really need to work on my pocket construction.  When I sit down, they stick out so much that I think if I had anything in them it would spill out.

 Seriously, what is this pose??!

Other than the pockets, the skirt fits really well.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I still need to add the belt loops, however, I'm having issues with making them big enough.  I think I may end up just adding a thread belt loop and calling it a day.

As for the Renfrew, I would love to know what I was thinking when making this.  I measured myself to be a 12, traced my pattern for a size 14, then cut the actual fabric waaaay larger than a 16.  Hmmm. I then sewed the shirt up, tried it on, and surprise surprise...it was way too big.  In order to selvage it, I created a seam down the middle of the back and took it in about 2 inches.  I found that taking it in along the middle back not only eliminated the gaping in the neck but also narrowed the shoulders and got rid of the excess fabric in the mid section. 

After I made those changes, I'd say it turned out pretty good...if I do say so myself :)

Black Miette Skirt

Over the weekend I sewed up one of my very own Miette skirts!  Have you seen the pattern by Tilly and the Buttons?  It is seriously THE CUTEST!

Ugh, black is so hard to photograph...

I made my skirt out of some medium weight cotton blend (I think?) that I got from the clearance section at Joann's.  I had just enough fabric in my stash to squeeze this skirt out.

It's so hard to tell from these pictures, but the skirt is a wrap skirt with a bow tie front closure and pockets!!!! You can kinda see the tie and pockets in this crappy phone picture.

I loved the pattern, it was so easy to sew...especially with Tilly's step by step instructions.  I will definitely make another one of these, maybe a denim Miette next!

Me Made May 2013

It's here!  It's finally almost May, and that means....Me Made May (MMM)!!  Have you ever heard of it?  MMM is a challenge in which you challenge yourself to wear your handmade garments.  Whether you knit beautiful shawls, sew clothes, or make jewelry, you create a challenge for yourself in which you incorporate your handmades into your daily wardrobe.

I know for sure that I'm going to sign up for MMM '13, however, I'm not sure what I'm going to set my challenge for.  I reallllllllly would love to challenge myself to wear one me made item everyday, however, I'm not sure that is obtainable.  In order to do that, I would have to sew/knit one thing EVERY DAY until the end of April to get a decent sized wardrobe.  Realistically, that is totally not doable.  So far I have the following wearable things:

3 skirts
1 almost finished skirt
1 tshirt
1 knit shawl
1 almost finished sweater

Yesh, I hardly have anything!  I better scale down my challenge.

Is anyone else planning on participating in Me Made May 2013?  If so, what are you challenging yourself to?

Confessions

I have a confession.  Lately I've been into sewing more than knitting and spinning.

During my lunch break at work, I've been frequenting thrift stores to find clothes that could use a new life.  I look for large skirts or dresses that have nice fabric which isn't too worn (no holes, runs, stains, etc.).  Once I find something, I take it home and throw it in the wash...I even washed a wool skirt, GASP!  ...and guess what?  It turned out fine, imagine that...wool in a washer machine!

After the skirt is washed and pressed, I use the fabric to cut out a new pattern.  The last skirt I made out of thrifted finds was a grey wool skirt.  I made it into a Colette Beignet.  Unfortunately, I only have super crappy pictures of it.  I need to teach my husband how to take semi-decent pictures!  I do have a picture of a beignet skirt that I made yesterday though!

The very last step was to sew the button holes and sew the buttons on.  I fought like the dickens with my machine, trying to figure out how to make it sew button holes!  The machine won...those buttons (all 6 are from my stash, SCORE!)  are just placed on the skirt to get the jist of what it's supposed to be like.

Next, I'm planning to make Tilly's Miette skirt in black.

Does anyone else sew?

I'm Loving...Laurel

I am sooo in love with Colette's new Laurel pattern!








It's a simple shift dress, but there are soooo many variations you can make!  Colette even published a free e-book on some variations with tutorials on how to make them.

Damn my new budget!  I want to buy this AMAZING pattern now!

Have you purchased the pattern?  Are you planning on participating in the contest?

Dog Bed

My latest sewing adventure has been making my pup, Sidney, a dog bed.  She is slowly growing out of eating the comforter we give her to lay on.  Slowly being the operative word.  She still eats it when we are at work, but as for when we are home, the thing is pretty much safe.

Joann Fabrics had a President's Day sale this weekend and the high density foam was 50% off!  We ended up getting a pretty large piece, over a yard, for only about 26 bucks.  I made a cover for the foam out of a thrifted bed sheet I had lying around and plan to make a prettier cover for the cover soon.

Without further ado, Sidney modeling the bed...

I'm pretty sure Amvets has a 50% off President's Day sale going on today.  So I plan to go and pick up some thrifted table cloths for the prettier cover!

I'm Loving...

Some of you may have noticed that I go through phases of different obsessions.  I'm constantly obsessed with something new and it generally revolves around something to do with fiber.  Lately, I've been on a sewing kick...specifically sewing clothes.  Well, not actually.  I've been obsessed with reading blogs about other people who sew clothes.  I'm gaining my confidence.

Anyways, I am starting a new regularly occurring post called "I'm Loving..."  These posts will feature things/blogs/patterns that I'm loving at the time.  I hope you guys enjoy it!

Right now I'm loving the blog Madalynne. It is a blog on pattern making, fashion, and diy's.  She just released a new pattern and instructions on how to make your own underwear!  I know, it might sound a little odd to some of you, but seriously, they are SOOOO cute!

 

Here is the link to the post.

She also has an adorable DIY for a valentine card.

 

Does any one else enjoy sewing (or in my case looking at blogs of people who sew)?

Sneak Peak

A sneak peak of my latest project!