Me Made May 15 wrap up & final days

I hope everyone participating in Me Made May ended strong and enjoyed their challenges and everyone else isn’t bored by all updates.  Just remember: inspiration can be anywhere, I know I’ve found it checking out other people’s makes.  The second half of the month is typically the time when repeats start cropping up and I won’t disappoint on that aspect.  Also there’s Memorial Day weekend in the US and that’s provided a bonus challenge.  I went down to Berkeley for a family wedding which meant I wanted to bring out my favorite makes but also not bring my entire closet along.





Day 18

·         Sewaholic Renfrew

I think today was mostly about the shoes – which is also the #1 reason I bought this fabric.  I was especially thrilled to hold them up to each other and see just how closely they matched.  You take a basic t-shirt and jeans outfit, add in matching shoes and it goes up a notch.

Day 19

·         Simplicity 2863 (Built by Wendy)

One thing I like about Me Made May is giving the garments in the back of your closet some love.  I almost always wear lower necklines so I have a tendency to fuss with this dress despite it otherwise being super comfy.  Which is probably why I rarely wear it out – today it pulled the inside cleaning shift after spending the morning deep cleaning my deck.

Day 20

·         Deer & Doe Datura

I knew I wouldn’t be able to wear this just once this month. It’s been warmer than expected this week so a sleeveless top is a must for looking presentable after hauling a dozen sewing machines in and out of the car twice and picking my parents (plus 3 large, heavy bags) up from the airport.

Day 21

·         Sewaholic Alma

This is my heavy lifting day of teaching – 13 sewing machines carried two by two up 2 sets of stairs and down the hall to a classroom – and according to my phone it was 79 degrees.  Even completely underlined, this Swiss dot blouse is still lightweight enough to help keep me cool and not sloppy looking by evening when this photo was taken.  Another warm weather top, I hate wearing it with a sweater or cardigan due to the collar.

 Day 22

·         Tilly & the Buttons Coco

I spent a good part of the day traveling from Seattle down to Berkeley for my cousin’s wedding reception so comfort was key.  Enter Tilly & the Button’s Coco dress made out of navy and white striped French terry.  I made this just before the trip and looking back at these photos I need to redo the hem – it’s drooping down a bit at the sides.

 Day 23

·         Maria Denmark Kirsten Kimono Tee

·         Biscayne Orca Dress

Weather in Berkeley was much cooler than Seattle so I had to rethink my options, meaning the shorts had to stay in the suitcase.  This top ended coming out sooner and I spent most of the day with my jacket on so it didn’t really matter what I was wearing underneath.  Surprisingly late in the afternoon it warmed up enough while wandering through the Berkeley Botanical Gardens where the reception was taking place.  I’ll be doing a separate post on the dress but it’s my first design project at fashion school.  I was super excited to have it finished in time to wear to the reception, knowing I would be getting questions about what I’ve been up to.  It turned out to be perfect for dancing with the skirt being made for twirling shaking it.

Day 24

·         Grainline Hemlock Tee

I had been hesitating on Grainline’s Hemlock tee for a while due to the lack of sizing options, but after picking up this tissue weight jersey featuring a massive print I thought I would give it a try.  I’m so glad I did because the oversized shape didn’t break up the print too much and was super quick to put together.  The only thing I would change is the sleeve length, it’s at that awkward length where instead of being 3/4 length it looks like I ran out of fabric and cut them too short.  But that’s an easy fix.  Regardless it was comfy for a chilly post wedding picnic, hanging out with family and driving up to Sacramento.

Day 25

·         Megan Nielsen Briar

Bonus puppy photo – everyone’s favorite cute and furry accessory.  This was another travel day which also included picking up my parents’ new little puppy.  This is probably my favorite t-shirt due to the print so I knew it was going to make more than one appearance this month.  But back to the puppy: his name is Toohey, a mini Australian Shepard, total sweetheart and a wonderful little traveler.  He went through airport security like a champ and slept through the entire flight – including take-off and landing.  Expect to see more of him in future photos!

Day 26

·         Megan Nielsen Briar

Another puppy photo and another Briar.  At the last moment I threw this in my suitcase in case I decided to spend the night at my parent’s house and get in some more puppy time.  Naturally I decided that was necessary and spent the morning playing with the little guy before leaving to go teach.  Despite all the changes Toohey went through during the past 24 hours, he bounced back and seemed to enjoy getting to know his new family and home.  I will say I was surprised this was the first time in May I wore this shirt, the perils of being stuck in the dirty laundry pile…

Day 27

·         Deer & Doe Bleuet

This was my second Bleuet and I decided to stick with my love of pearl snaps.  Because why unbutton a shirt dress when you can rip it open and feel like the Hulk.  (With the added bonus of not having to sew any buttons on later to wear it again!)  This dress is super comfy to wear and makes it very quick to get dressed in the morning and still feel put together.

Day 28

·         Jamie Christina Mission Maxi Tank

·         Colette Madeline Mini Bloomers

I was feeling under the weather today so put the minimal amount into what I wore.  The main difference between my me made pjs and my “outfit” is the tank top.  Despite having made this over a year ago I still haven’t gotten around to properly hemming it.  Needless to say, it was the perfect thing to wear on a hot day when it seemed like effort just to move to the couch.

Day 29

·         Maria Denmark Kirsten Kimono Tee

·         Sewaholic Thurlow shorts

This was the outfit I had planned to wear last weekend if only the weather had played along.  I love, love these shorts!  They’re a plaid seersucker that I wish I could wear ALL YEAR LONG.  I miss them during winter and really should make a couple more tops to wear with them.  Speaking of making more, I should whip up a few more pairs of shorts as well.  I struggled to get the trousers to fit right, but didn’t have many issues with making these.  I think the pattern is worth it just for the shorts.

 

Day 30

·         Sewaholic Renfrew

·         Jamie Christina Mission Maxi mini dress

This is one of my ideal warm weather outfits and I’m so glad I didn’t give up on this fabric.  Despite being stiff as all get out when it arrived, it has softened up in the wash and is thick enough not to show what I’m wearing underneath.  The weather was a bit cooler than expected so I was glad for the matching tee.  Regardless even in a dress I got plenty of puppy play in.

Day 31

·         Deer & Doe Plantain

Woo-hoo! Last time taking a daily photo!  Rather than go out with a bang with a fun sundress I decided to go dog friendly as I had a puppy and two big dogs to play with.  I really need to make a couple more Plantains in rayon knits as they’re so easy to wear.

 

Once again I enjoyed a successful Me Made May.  I didn’t have too many problems figuring out what to wear, although I do need some more separates.  This is basically the same conclusion I came to last year but made minimal progress on – although now it’s more necessary with my more physical job.  I had hoped to make a pair of shorts and jeans but life got busy and that didn’t happen.  Plus my parents’ new puppy, Toohey, was an adorable fluffy distraction towards the end of the month.  But I can’t complain or blame the little guy, not much beats a puppy when deciding how to spend free time and the look on his face while bounding over to me when I come to visit tells me I made the right decision.  That said those shorts will get made!  The jeans may have to wait until it gets closer to fall.  I do want to make some more tops for the summer and maybe a few dresses as well.  Although I do have a school fashion show coming up in September and need that to be my main focus.

Me Made May Week 4

Wow!  I can't believe the month is almost over and we’re heading into the home stretch!  I have yet to feel the stress of figuring out what to wear that’s new and somewhat exciting.  In fact I’ve still got a few new makes I’m hoping to bust out for the first time this month.  Here’s what I’ve been wearing this week.

Day 19

Deer & Doe Bleuet

My two favorite things about this dress are all the topstitching and being able to rip it off thanks to the pearl snaps.  This is also the make that introduced me to the awesomeness that is Deer & Doe.  A denim dress is a great basic and because it’s lightweight denim it can be worn year round.

Day 20

Simplicity 2863 (Built by Wendy)

Looking back this is the exact same outfit I wore last year on MMM13 Day 19!  And being completely honest I’m not sure how many (or how few) times I wore this dress in between but it was most likely exactly like this.  I firmly believe that when you can wear polka dot shoes, then you find an outfit that goes with polka dot shoes.

Day 21

Sewaholic Pendrell

Looks like Friday’s polka dot parade has started early between yesterday’s shoes and today’s Pendrell.  If only this top wasn’t polyester but at the time I made it my area seemed to be going through a natural fibers polka dot drought.  Luckily that has since ended.  Every time I wear this I wonder why I don’t war it more and then remember about the poly.  I really should get around to making another in a fabric I actually like wearing.

Day 22

Jamie Christina Mission Maxi Tank

I made this tank to test out the fit of Jamie Christina’s Mission Maxi pattern.  Feeling lazy, I didn’t hem it although I did serge the bottom edge.  Sometimes taking out that twin needle seems like so much effort.  It’s wicking fabric so I can see wearing this on runs.  Everything seemed good so during the evening I whipped up a dress version.  And yes, I did properly hem the dress.

Day 23

Megan Nielsen Tania culottes

It’s polka dot parade day!  Naturally my Tania culottes were the obvious choice although I went back and forth on what to wear with them.  The weather was iffy on temperature so I tried them with tights and discovered that I’ll be able to rock these babies into the fall!  But I decided to be optimistic and went with lilac & hot pink cowboy boots.  Like you do.  And I figured this slightly cropped t-shirt would be the perfect length for the Tanias.

Day 24

Sewaholic Renfrew

The easy way to make jeans and a t-shirt into a proper “outfit” is to add matching shoes.  This was the perfect outfit to wear while running a few errands and wondering if it was going to rain.

Day 25

Deer & Doe Datura

Clearly this is the weekend of purple.  While very similar to how I styled this Datura earlier in the month, my jeans and flats are different

As for the hope of working on pants this month… they’ve been put on the back burner.  As the days get longer I tend to wear dresses more so they’ve been at the front of my mind.  That and polka dots.  Add the fact that I feel the RTW jeans I have fit pretty well, even if some of them are getting kinda old.  I actually spent Sunday working on Named Jamie jeans but they need more work to get rid of some majorly unsightly excess fabric.  And more topstitching thread.

Bleuet: Shirtdress of my Dreams

After seeing so many gorgeous versions of Deer &Doe’s Bleuet around the Internet I finally got around to make one of my own.  And now I’m hooked – I’ve since cut out two more versions and expanded my Deer and Doe pattern collection.

 

Check out that Seattle sun!

 I’ve had this dark, lightweight denim in my stash for several months with the idea to make it into a shirtdress.  Despite having several options in my pattern collection, I couldn’t commit to one.  Until one afternoon when I discovered that Made Sewing Studio, my local source for indie patterns, now carried Deer & Doe.  Excited about the process of not having to wait for shipping I debated which pattern to start with before deciding Bleuet was the shirtdress of my dreams.

Surprise back bow

Initially I was a little concerned about the pattern being drafted for a C cup (which I’m not) but figured the princess seams would make it easy to adjust mid-construction.  I’m really glad I was too lazy to attempt any pattern alterations because I ended up not needing them.  ( Am I a C cup?...)  The length ended up being perfect too.

 

Understated French girl style

The directions tell you to topstitch the princess seams and I took the opportunity to topstitch ALL the seams.  And when working with denim what’s better than using denim topstitching thread?  Of course the best way to make sure it turns out nice and even is to use a denim needle and go SLOW.  Which means it took forever to topstitch those long princess seams but the outcome is worth it.

Bow closeup

Next time I will probably sew the sleeve bands with a .5” seam.  It’s not like they’re tight or anything, it’s just a closer fit than I’m used to.  After topstitching the bands on the sleeves the armhole seam looked a little plain so I topstitched those as well.  Which means the only seams I left alone are the shoulders.

Topstitched like my life depended on it

 

I used pearl snaps instead of buttons and this decision had nothing to do with the prospect of 10+ buttonholes.  Sometimes a girl just wants to pretend she’s the Hulk and rip her shirt(dress) off.  Plus any time I get to use a hammer on a sewing project is tons of fun!  I used my simflex to painlessly space the snaps and they all matched up perfectly. There's nothing worse than slightly off snaps or buttons.  Pearl snaps seemed like a good match for a casual denim shirtdress topstitched within an inch of it’s life.

Two snaps are cracked but are barely noticeable

The back was the teeniest bit tight but I doubt I’ll adjust the pattern for future versions.  I discovered this while doing my usual movement test – goofy dance moves.  I can raise the roof like a champ but fall short when attempting the YMCA.  That’s just fine by me since I rarely spell out words with my whole body and am willing to accept that I’ll need to wear something else if the urge strikes me.  And that’s a big IF.  But I can reach the tall shelves in my kitchen and give someone a hug so I think I’m good.

 

Raise the Roof: Pass

I was excited to be able to take photos outside on a sunny fall day while the leaves were still around.  Last Saturday we had a huge windstorm in Seattle that blew them all away and knocked out my power for 10+ hours.

YMCA: Fail

 

While planning this dress I realized it works for the Fabulous Frocks category of the Fall Essentials Sew Along.  This is my kind of sew along - one without any restrictions or daily To Do tasks. Sometimes all it takes to suck the creativity out of me is a formalized schedule and plan.  I much prefer to sew whatever catches my eye at the moment.

 

I can’t wait to finish my next two versions although it’s going a little bit slower since the fabrics are a bit sheer so I’m underlining everything.  In other words: I’m in love.  Deer and Doe is quickly claiming a place in my heart next to my beloved Sewaholic.  Just the other day I snapped up two more and immediately set about tracing them out which I never do.