Me-Made-May: What I Made

Me-Made-May is over!

I spent the month trying to wear something I’d made about 4 days a week. I think I met that goal, although some days it was a struggle. Actually, that was mainly because of the weather. I have lots of handmade summer skirts and dresses, but it rained so much of the month I often wasn’t in the mood for them.

I also spent the month trying to get some sewing projects finished. First of all, I did some refashions.

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This is an old dress that never really fit right. I cut it off at the top and made straps to turn it into a sundress.

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This boating skirt was another old dress that didn’t fit right. I’ve already written about it.

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This denim skirt is an old favourite, which needed a some waist enlargement…now it’s done!

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Boringly, I also did some fixing up of these…what shall I call them? British people call them track suit bottoms. Americans call them sweat pants, one of those unfortunate lost-in-translation terms. (Pants is always underwear in the UK, and sweat means sweat. Ew.) Maybe I would settle for track pants. In any case, they are old and had become saggy, baggy, and holey. They got some mending.

I also made a few new things from scratch. 

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I made this tee using the Plantain T-shirt from Deer & Doe. It’s a free PDF pattern and it turned out beautifully. I added a little flower at the neckline.

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I also made a camisole for the first time. This is a free camisole pattern from So…Zo’s blog. Nothing fancy, but a very good pattern that ticks all the right boxes – long enough, high enough at the neckline, nicely shaped. I’m beginning to embrace the idea of learning the skills to make such basic items. They seem boring initially (so I felt for many years) and can often be cheaply bought, but are also a quick and satisfying project. And these days I’m so picky it’s often difficult to find what I want.

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I also completed an ultimatum project – i.e. something I’d had in my stash so long that I swore I’d either finish it now or I had to discard it. Now, actually, this skirt is made from an old skirt that I made in 2014. It’s a beautiful teal wool. Because it was self-drafted, it had some fitting issues, and the fabric itself caused some problems I was never sure how to fix. So I always meant to rework it. Inspiration finally struck when I noticed the pattern Simplicity 2451 cropping up a number of times in the Me-Made-May Flickr feed. Everybody seems to have made this skirt, and it looks good on everybody. So I actually bought a pattern (which I rarely do any more) and made it up. The only sad thing is that it’ll be October at least before I can wear it, because it’s wool – that most undervalued and delicious of fabrics. So it will be put away for now, but it’s a weight off my shoulders to have used that fabric at last!

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I also made some itty-bitty things. Ahhh, so cute! This is a dress for Edith for her dedication, with a matching pair of lacy bloomers. You would think it would be quick to make baby clothes, but I took extra care on the finish of these so it seemed to take a long time.

There is one final project which I’m not going to post a picture of. I am teaching myself to make bras. I consider it more of an ongoing skill development, so at this point I’m not aiming for perfect garments that fulfil my vision, just trying to learn the techniques. But I will say that some of my sample garments have actually be wearable, which still amazes me.

That’s it for the month of May!

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