Me Made May ’12 – Layer up!

Trying to avoid outfit repetitions often results in a bit of creative thinking for Me Made May.

This top is actually a dress! A pretty short dress, mind you. I wear it when I’m feeling particularly scandalous. Or, you know, with a pair of tights.

But as it’s Me Made May, I thought I might pair it with my ruby red Cynthia Rowley skirt from Day 1. The result isn’t too bad – I’ve always loved the cowl neck on this dress. Note to self: make some cowl neck tops.

Not too long a blog today because I’m polishing up a feature for my final day on placement. Yesterday, I got the chance to go to a publishing conference in London, which was pretty ace! The idea of being able to pop to London on the train is surreal for a Cardiff girl used to a horrible and normally smelly drive there in a cheap as chips Megabus.

But, obviously, the best bit is the press badge. I love a good press badge, me.

Me Made May ’12 – The leopard print Sorbetto

I hope this won’t be the only time this month I’ll be blogging about a new me-made garment – although, technically, this modified Sorbetto was made quite a while ago.

Paired with my all-time favourite double-knit jersey skirt and a vest top for modesty, this little blouse made a great addition to my first-day-on-placement outfit. I modified the free Colette Patterns Sorbetto to make this out of a sheer, lightweight leopard print fabric on sale at John Lewis.

I drafted a Peter Pan collar using Gertie’s tutorial and used the Sorbetto sleeve pattern from Sew Weekly (you can download a PDF version from Sew, Incidentally). No need for bias tape on this one! I also took out the centre pleat.

You can’t really tell, but this top is a bit too tight around the bust because I didn’t add enough ease after removing the pleat. D’oh! I also forgot to put interfacing on the collar. Double d’oh!

I’m remaining in denial about any problems though, because we all know leopard print and I have a special relationship. It became pretty clear why the fabric was on sale as soon as I began cutting – it frays SO easily! I cracked out the French seams, but even that hasn’t stopped some of it. I’m honestly not sure how much wear I’ll get out of this before it falls apart.

Nevermind, you win some and you lose some, and it looks fine for now! Sorbetto’s a great little pattern by the way and one you haven’t seen for the last time on Seamless!

This top came about when I decided I just had to have a me-made outfit for a friend’s Mad Men-themed party. Paired with my purple pencil skirt and a spot of red lippie, I was loving life.

If I were any Mad Men character, I think I’d probably be Peggy. I’d love to pretend I’m as utterly fabulous as Joan, but I think Peggy and I certainly have ambition in common! That programme is SUCH great sewing inspiration, don’t you think? I can’t wait to get my hands on Gertie’s sewing book so I can crack out my own version of her Joan-inspired dress.

Any other Mad Men sewing fans out there?

Me Made May ’12 – This skirt’s been around…

I swear, this pleated skirt has been everywhere with me.

It was born in Dortmund, after a cheeky trip to my one of my fave department stores, Kaufhof. They always had the best remnant baskets.

I guess you could technically call it a muslin, because it was made from the same pattern as my black pleated skirt, but very, very badly. So badly, in fact, I need to wear a belt with it to hide how awful the waistband is. But, as with all my short skirts, I do love it and am loathe to ever get rid of it.

Especially considering where it’s been. Oh, the tales this skirt could tell. While I lived in Germany, I travelled as much as possible and I normally took this with me. It’s been on stag dos in Krakow, I’ve worn it while wandering around Berlin and it definitely made to it Bruges and back with me.

So, this skirt may have a rubbish waistband and is possibly a little too short to wear without tights, but I don’t bloody care. It’s been here, there and everywhere… and now it’s been to Brighton too!

Cheeky dance on arrival in our Krakow hostel…

Me Made May ’12 – Off to Brighton

I love a good train journey, I do.

Ha, not really, but I’d definitely understand if you thought I did. Truth be told, a 7.55 train to Brighton is not my idea of a perfect Sunday morning, but on Me Made Day six, that’s what had to be done.

Day six’s outfit is proving itself to be quite the seasoned traveller – this is exactly what I wore on the way to York! Dresses are just so much easier than seperates, you don’t need to mess about so much with worrying about what tucks into where and print-clashing and whatnot.

Happily, this little number has not been lying neglected in the back of my cupboard lately, but I’m ashamed to admit it did for some time after it was made. The fabric is beautiful, navy blue with flocked velvet hearts, and the shape is very, very flattering, so why was it left unworn?

Well, truth be told, the problem lay with the sleeves. They were pretty puffy and just a little too cutesy for me. So a few months ago, I snipped them off and finished the sleeves with some bias binding. Voila, a dress worn far, far more often.

I nearly ended up giving this one away! Just over a year ago, I was roped in to doing a charity fashion show with various gubbins I’d made. It was quite funny really, because, unlike the retailers showing their clothes on the day, there was actually no theme or correlation between my items whatsoever.

Leonie looking fiiiiiiiine – picture by Leah Tew

My then colleague and good friend Leonie threatened to steal the dress from me after she wore it down the catwalk and I seriously considered giving it to her, because I just didn’t wear it that much. But, to be honest, it’s probably the most well-made garment I’ve ever turned out.

Unfortunately for Leonie, that means it’s a keeper! I still have the pattern, so I’ve always meant to make her one – she’s getting married soon, so perhaps it could be a gift to the bride.

Oh and I definitely should mention that yesterday I got to meet the lovely Zoe in person! Yay! Along with her fiance, Pat, in his Zoe-made shirt, and the brilliant Rehanon in a fabulous me-made mint dress, we had a nose at some of Brighton’s open art houses.

Basically, artists open their houses to the public for a month, showcasing their work in a homely environment. It’s  a surreal experience, wandering around a stranger’s living room and looking at their art, but definitely one I’d recommend.

I should probably get to sleep now, as I begin my placement at journalism.co.uk tomorrow! Eek! Wish me luck!

Me Made May ’12 – Sharpen your sewing skills!

This month, I feel like I’ve been here, there and everywhere. Not content with a placement in York, I’ve nabbed myself one down by the seaside in Brighton.

I’m currently sat on the hostel bunkbed tip-tapping away and possibly annoying the girl who sleeps in the bunk below me. Well, hey, we all know – when it comes to hostels, you get exactly what you pay for. This one happens to be right next to Brighton Pier as well as being above a bar and a nightclub.

I definitely thought this through.

Since I lost track of the daily blogging yesterday, I thought it might be better to write about each Me Made Day (see what I did there?) the day after, especially as all my blog posts were going out so blooming late at night. Alas, photography remains an issue, but luckily I have a backup:

The eagle-eyed blog followers among you will know I haven’t blogged about this skirt, but it has been duly documented! In fact, if you like the Facebook page, then you may have spotted the wee t-shirt to skirt tutorial I wrote for The Cardiffian’s Arts supplement a while ago.

This was, quite possibly, the quickest bit of sewing I have ever, ever done. I kid you not, I think I did it in about twenty minutes. Honestly, I’m amazed it’s still in one piece.

But, despite the SUPER QUICK turnaround on the skirt, I really don’t wear this skirt often at all. Except for on Me Made Day Five, I think the last time I wore it was when we papped the photo for the article.

You see, the thing is about t-shirt material, is it doesn’t really work that well as a skirt. In fact, I complain about not being able to get the lovely double-knit fabric I crave on a regular basis. The unfortunate thing about this skirt is it shows every little lump and bump, whether it’s my comfy pants (thongs are the devil, more on this another time) or the outline of my tights.

I guess sometimes you make something kinda nyeeeh and you just have to roll with it. In my case, I whacked a longer t-shirt over it and didn’t bother tucking it in a la the photo above, because the fabric really does show all.

Sometimes. Me Made May is all about showing your runt creations a little bit more TLC.

On the plus side, when it came to laying out the page for the physical copy of the article, my lovely friend Phil came up with a genius headline:

SHARPEN YOUR SEWING SKILLS WITH A PENCIL SKIRT

Oh, journalism. I love you.

Now, blogosphere, tell me about your sewing runts! You know the ones, the ones you’re hiding in the back of your cupboard out of SHAAAAAAME. Or maybe they’re out for Me Made May too? Sharing is caring!

Me Made May ’12 – Technical Difficulties…

This blogging every day lark is a lot harder than I thought it would be, especially without images to add to the post.

So, two things went a bit wrong yesterday. First off, I couldn’t access Seamless’s dashboard and then I couldn’t find the cable for my borrowed camera to upload yesterday’s picture! Not that I really should have bothered because here’s how it turned out:

Bit dark and you can’t even see what’s Me Made about the outfit! On the plus side, the lovely El (yesterday’s birthday girl!) made an appearance, and that’s enough for me. We also saw The Avengers – it was brilliant!

Anyway, here’s what I wore yesterday:

A lovely combination of my not-quite Meringue skirt and the old favourite of a leopard print cardigan, which even after multiple washes, still smells very much of Lush. It’s (sort of) black and white, so it inevitably ended up in my work wardrobe.

So hands up who here treats leopard print as a neutral? This won’t be the last you’ll see of my leopard print, that’s for sure. My favourite ever pair of shoes are a pair of monster leopard print heels with Christian Louboutin-style red soles. Honestly, I wear them with pretty much everything I shouldn’t.

Over the years, there’s been many a leopard print creation which has caught my eye. Here’s my top five from the sewing blogosphere:

• 1. The moment I saw Suzy’s Rock Chick Clovers, I was in love. In my second year of university, I owned the most ridiculous pair of grey leopard print jeans, but these are far, far better than those Primark pantaloons. I wish I could pull them off like Suzy does!
• 2. No favourite creation list is complete without my blogging fave, Zoe, who turned out another Colette patterns creation, the Macaron, complete with just enough leopard print to set my heart a-flutter. Want. Not to mention, she also made a leopard print coat. Jealous.
• 3. Oona is another classy lady on the blogosphere. Last year, she turned out this fabulous leopard print dress with an exposed zipper. Check out the brilliant apron too!
• 4. People keep telling me how ‘in’ detachable collars are. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Peter Pan collar, but I’ll sew what I like, not what’s in thankyouverymuch. That was, until I saw Iroiro’s detachable leopard print collar, made especially for a  Janelle Monáe concert no less, and fell head over heels in lust.
• 5. Last, but not least, those of you familiar with Sew Weekly will undoubtedly have seen their ‘Make this Look’ feature. The minute I get my hands on some disposable income, you can bet I’ll be making the hell out of this look – if I’m still brave enough to pull that much leopard print off, that is!

Anyone else unashamed leopard print fans? Perhaps we should set up some sort of support group…

Me Made May ’12 – Super casual

Compared to the hoo-ha of Varsity yesterday, the third day of Me Made May has been super-chilled and relaxed.

Save for a quick visit to the polling station, today’s been about the structure of the European Parliament and the Department for Working Pensions. I bet you’re jealous.

To rock out with my, er, books, I grabbed the comfiest clothes I could find. Namely, my ridiculous ‘jeggings’, a black vest top with my me-made Port Elizabeth top thrown over it for good measure. It’s not actually a top I wear very often anymore, so it was good to wear it again after so long.

In fact, I’d recommend you check out the Port Elizabeth top pattern, if you haven’t already. It’s very, very simple to throw together and great if you need a quick sewing project to satisfy your stitching cravings.

My version hails from when I got involved with Ali’s Summer Essentials challenge from just under two years ago. It’s finished with serged edges and some black bias tape around the neckline and sleeves and was super easy to sew.

Nevertheless, I had to fix it a little today – while it lay neglected in my wardrobe, one side had begun to come apart! I do worry sometimes my early stitchings will come to this, because my skills weren’t as good.

Has anyone else discovered some forgotten gems in their wardrobe through this challenge?

Do make sure you check out the Me Made May Flickr group! There are some really lovely outfits on there, like this one from Marie Murasaki. Lovely!