#memademay17

[taniadme]

#Repost @brooklyntweed (@get_repost) ・・・ Have you been following along with #MeMadeMay? Beverley’s Frostpeak sweater is an exquisite example of handmade clothing. Thank you for sharing @minib! #BTintheWild #MeMadeMay17 Я #handmakertop (at Astana, Kazakhstan)

[diannetalley]

Me Made May, day 27. I taught today at the painting studio so I wore a hat I made. The fabric is from a vintage dress, the pattern I self drafted from a hat I inherited from my grandmother. #memademay17 #sewingartist #sewing #sew #austintxsewing #dressmaker #fabric #designer #sewist #imakemyownclothes #diannetalley #memadeeverday

[diannetalley]

Me Made May, day 25, my gingham daisy skirt! #memademay17 #sewingartist #sewing #sew #austintxsewing #dressmaker #fabric #designer #sewist #imakemyownclothes #diannetalley #memadeeverday

[diannetalley]

My Made May, Day 24. Hacked tunic from #itchtostitch #viennatank . The fabric I got from my mom, another deep stash item. #memademay17 #sewingartist #sewing #sew #austintxsewing #dressmaker #fabric #designer #sewist #imakemyownclothes #diannetalley #memadeeverday

[katherine-jayne]

Making Pipelines...

First on my making to do list is to try and use up my stash.

As I mentioned in a previous post I am not often swayed to buy fabric without having a plan for it. Unlike some past yarn purchases... despite that I seem to be gathering quite a sizeable collection of fabrics - most of which are matched up with a pattern, threads and fastenings.

When G and I visited Edinburgh last year for my birthday, we stumbled into a John Lewis near to the lovely Ginger Twist Studio. After just spending a small fortunate on yarn, I then spent even more on fabric and patterns -  including this beautiful striped seersucker cotton.

My Mum had bought me a pyjama pattern for my birthday. After years of being gifted Pyjamas at Christmas I asked for a pattern to have a go at making my own. Mums did well buying me the traditional button up shirt and trouser set. I knew instantly when I saw the fabric that it had to be made from these. I went to start making up these PJs a few months back and realised my picnicky nature would mean trying to pattern match all of those stripes and with the short day of dressmaking ahead I retired it back to drawer.

Another Edinburgh purchase was this pink chambreuse. I saw the colour of this a fell in love so bought a couple of metres in the hope that someday a pattern with the right yardage would come up.

When I was looking through my stash for these photographs, I realised the quantity of fabric was a perfect match for this shirt pattern (also purchased in Edinburgh.) The shirt has a nice balance between casual/smart for me but will admit I am a little hesitant that the shirt will look a little heavy with the fabric. We shall see!

Last of the Edinburgh purchases for today's post is this gorgeous shirt pattern. When I came across it in the pattern book I instantly knew I needed it. The way the fabric falls and the fit of the garment, especially appealing to me tucked in to those high waist trousers, had me in awe. I've teamed this design with this sheer grey fabric. I originally bought for a different shirt pattern when I was last in Herefordshire. I've not worked with something this fine before so I am intending to do some research on ways of handling a more slippery fabric before I embark.

Another Hereford purchase was this suit pattern. In my final year I decided to make myself a suit for my graduation show. The final result was a low waisted slouchy jacket and unfinished trousers which didn't get worn. I was too nervous to adapt the pattern pieces. 

After this I made a dress which was my first attempt at cutting between pattern lines, taking heed of the finished garment measurements and considering the type of fit I wanted to achieve. It worked out well and gave me a lot of confidence with my dressmaking.   That's why I'd love to go back and make this again, this time with the shorter jacket length. An extra challenge I have put upon myself is using this bold check. An even bigger pattern matching issue than the PJS! I am definitely intending to toile the two pieces - marking where the patterns would need to align through the sleeves to the body, body to the trousers and aligning the side pattern match too... it will be a big undertaking, and although I'm not the most competent dressmaker I will say that I am ambitious (perhaps foolishly.)

On a tailoring note this custom couture jacket has been in pattern pile for years. I'd cut the pattern paper ready and never found the fabric until a few years ago when I visited Guthrie and Ghani in Birmingham. I fell in love with the navy polywool (I do wish I had gone 100% but my budget wasn't the greatest.) Before I start I need to toile this pattern too, and check I cut the pattern paper right. But I'm excited to see what will become of this design. I love the keyhole on the chest and think it'll be a cherished piece in my wardrobe when it's done.

Newest to my pattern haul is this Colette pattern - again a gift from my Mum. I promised myself I would not cut this until I had worked some of my old patterns into cherished garments. But after buying this cotton and cutting it for a dress pattern, hating it, taking the pre cut pieces and adding them to my patchwork quilt scraps I was left with this small remnant. I am hoping the amount left will be enough to make the short sleeved variation of this design.

(I’ve spend the week making this, and there was plenty enough to make the short sleeved variation!)

And that's the bulk of my stash used up! I have a small amount of a lovely navy/red grid to use up which was bought impulsively... and scraps of black fabrics from various patterns in the past waiting to be made into accessories or scraps for the patchwork!

Whilst I wanted to focus my Me Made May on my dressmaking endeavours, my knitting is essential to my wardrobe development. As I mentioned in my first post, most of my crafting time is devoted to knitting, and I am a selfish knitter! I love creating cosy garments and accessories for myself. Plus my yarn stash rivals my fabrics!

One of the biggest projects I have in store is this Aubrietta Cardigan. The yarn was bought from Ginger Twist Studio, before the spend at JL! I had gone there with a lot of patterns I knew I wanted to make - this one was from issue ?? Of Pom Pom magazine. The colour way featured in the design was a bit bold for me - I knew I wanted a grey base with a pop of colour. I decided to go for this pale pink. 

I mentioned in my Wardrobe post that I want to try and make more garments that bought out the colour pink and could be worn with my existing shirt. This lead to a massive yardage calculation in the small GTS shop, and me piling skeins upon skeins on G as he sat in the chair.

Along with that sweater quantity I bought a skein of sock yarn from John Arbon in a beautiful dusty pink that has recently been made in the Hulanicki design by Rachel Cooper from Pom Pom Mag. Which I finished up recently and photographed ready for Ravelry!

And I also got these skeins of yarn from Ginger Twist. I fell in love with the blue and then matched it with the creamy skein from West Yorkshire Spinner. I’m  going to make this gingham double knitting snood from ravelry! It's a new technique for me so I am excited to learn and expand on my knitting techniques.

For now, that is everything major I have lined up! Just time to try and start whittling my way through them now!

[nestingdollsofscience]

Me Made May Round up Post

I did a  blog up date on my first week wearing a homemade piece each day.  Check it out.  http://nestingdollsofscience.blogspot.com/2017/05/me-made-may-5-week-1-is-done.html

[raven-rose-retro]

Me Made May continues with my Myrna Cardigan. I had no idea I'd love this yellow color so much. It really pays to push your boundaries sometimes. #ootdsocialclub #mmmay17 #memademay17 #pinup #pinupstyle #retro #retrostyle #vintagelook #vintagepurse #vintagegirl

[raven-rose-retro]

Day 2 of #memademay17 with a hand made skirt from a thrifted fabric and hand made top originally for a Halloween costume. #mmmay17 #vintagelook #rockabilly #rockabella #pinup #pinupstyle #ootd #ootdsocialclub #sewing #sewretro