Make 9 – Reflection and Planning

Roughly this time last year I set out my intentions for my 9 makes of 2019 & wondered how much I’d deviate from my plan….

Well as you can see a deviated quite a bit (a year always seems like such a long time, but it flies past)…

1. I still intend to crochet a granny rocks jumper (I do at least have that pattern now, thanks to Jem Weston gifting it for my birthday – thanks Jem)

2. Socks ✅ I’ve completed 2 pairs & have a 3rd on the go!

3. Maan ✅ I love this & would now like to knit a garment with some mosaic colour work.

4. Monetta dress, not much progress, but I have printed the pattern & washed the fabric (even small steps are progress, right?)

5. Arboreal sweater has been in hibernation for the best part of the year after realising I’d have to rip back the body.

6. Zadie dress, I’ve cut out all the pieces but then felt a little overwhelmed my how many pieces there were & so I’ve worked on other things since.

7. Wardrobe gap of a berry cardigan; my purply yarndale uniform definitely qualifies ✅

8. The deliberation over the diesis jumper ended in me not wanting to knit it for now, however I did knit the woodwardia jumper from Pompom instead, so that’s sort of another tick…

9.Glenfiddich cardigan by Annamária Ötvös still fully intend to knit this, but other projects took over 😃 at least I already have the pattern and yarn!

I knew I’d change my plans, I always do, but what I’ve found interesting is that I’m usually fairly monogamous with my knitting, which for me means having just 1 garment, 1 pair of socks and maybe a larger blanket type project on the go. However this past year I’ve thrown caution to the wind and just knitted (& sewn) what I felt like & I’ve been quite productive and not really looked back at my make 9 plans, just kept them in the back of my mine. I’ve also not really felt like blogging so much, so I haven’t & that’s fine, no need to add that pressure on myself, I used to feel a weird sense of guild not writing up every project I completed and just suddenly thought – why! There’s no need!

As well as the 3 (or 4) completed projects from my 2019 make nine I have made several other items;

Sewing wise; an Agnes top, Coco top, a patchwork quilt for a friends baby, 2 Kew dresses, stevie top, 3 Cleo Pinafore dresses & a Christmas skirt. I tend to document these on Instagram more than anything these days.

Knitting wise; blue raglan jumper, woodwardia sweater, a baby Cardi for another friends offspring, another Vianne Cardigan, various wash/dish cloths, fingerless gloves, headband and a few small Christmas gifts.

I have also made a lot of jewellery and beadwork which has been a nice change from sewing and knitting and I’ve really enjoy it.

My make 9 plans for 2020 is a little more realistic and also a bit vague. I have also thought about it a little more this time…

1. Sewing some more practical tops (like my Agnes top), I’m lacking these in my wardrobe, maybe a blouse/shirt.

2. Zadie dress, I will conquer this project!

3. I intend to do some form of creative patchwork with all my fabric scraps.

4. This year I will crochet my Granny Rocks jumper.

5. I will complete a crocheted blanket that was given to me particularly complete years ago, I made good progress at one point, but then got very distracted!

6. I’ll finish my monetta dress (first sewing project of 2020 maybe…?)

7. I’d like to have made a start, at least, on my Glenfiddich Cardigan by the end of 2020.

8. I will bring my Arboreal sweater out of hibernation & get it finished at some point in 2020!

9.Herbert Cardigan for my boyfriend & his Christmas present for 2019 which he knew he’d get at some point in 2020.

So mostly a list of WIPS, with good intentions & few a new project thrown in too, we’ll see how this year goes! I can guarantee I’ll get distracted by other projects, but I’m making a conscious effort to not just make, for makings sake and trying to fill gaps in my wardrobe that I know I’ll find practical and wearable. Currently I’m feeling inspired by my list, I want to be production; I might even print out my plan and stick it up in my craft room in an attempt to keep me on track…

Finding time for sewing – reflecting on Me Made May – my Nina Lee Kew dress

I really enjoyed Me Made May 2019. I didn’t put load of pressure on myself to share a photo every day, because let’s face it, some days you really don’t feel like it, can’t be bothered, or on the odd occasion, I totally forgot. That said I DID wear handmade items every day in May and on a few occasional I was able to wear 2 if not 3 handmade garments in one outfit (& that’s not taking into account my handmade jewellery)! Until I started the challenge this year I hadn’t quite realised I’d be able to wear handmade everyday day, so easily.

This is me, wearing 3 handmade garments in one outfit, with my almost finished coco top made from the leftover fabric from my Agnes top, at the sewing belle.

The whole challenge has made me think about my handmade garments more, what works well together, what I didn’t wear, what did I wished I had in my wardrobe. As I went through the month I kept note in my phone to help me form a bit of a plan for my future makes to fill gaps in my wardrobe. I also got back into sewing (not that I ever got out of sewing) but it’s sometimes hard to find the time and space for it (both mentally and physically). However a friend of mine, Natalie, took up sewing in March this year and has already make more garments in the last few months than I have in the past few years. She’s a full time teacher, but makes time for her sewing, mainly by attending classes and drop in sessions. It was chatting to Natalie (and my desire to conquer using an over locker) that made me attend a workshop at the Sewing Belle, to make my Agnes top back in April and since then I have done another workshop to make a Nina Lee Kew Dress and popped along to their sewing clinics, to finish my dress and start another! I’ve also been working on my Zadie dress.

I think by doing the occasional workshop and attending regular drop in sessions I’m being for more productive. I’m not spending huge amounts more time sewing than I would at home, but it is much more absorbing with far less distractions in a dedicated space with help on hand. Elaine who runs the workshops and sewing sessions is the ideal level of help, she checks in on everyone, so you feel supported without being bombarded, but equally if you’re happy in your own little world of sewing she’ll leave you to get on, though never far away it you do need a little help.

I finished my Kew dress, last Sunday while watching the Wimbledon men’s final (double excitement) it had just been waiting for me to adjust a strap & add some poppers! This has ended up as a very wearable toile, I realised in the making that I’d gone for a size too small on the bodice so I let out the side seams and lengthen the straps slightly, though it has resulted in the bust darts being too high. I made the bodice part have a faux button band, sewing buttons on the front but the closure is actually poppers, as I didn’t want the button holes too close to the edge of the fabric, where I’d had to make adjustments, which I think has worked well and you can’t really tell when the dress in on.

I learnt how to sew buttons on with a sewing machine, something I’d never attempted before!

I also had fun and added a few contrasting fabric, on the button band facing and I added pockets (obviously)! I didn’t add the cold shoulders as I thought I’d find them annoying. All in all it’s not perfect, however it is wearable, it was really straight forward to construct & I’ve learnt a few things along the way!

I have already cut out another Kew dress, the tea dress version, in some stash fabric and if this one goes well I’ll make another in lightweight denim.

Agnes top and Me Made May 2019

I recently attended a workshop, at Sewing Belle, several friends had attending classes recently I told me how good they were and, for me importantly, very affordable (something that Elaine who runs the classes wanted to ensure when starting up). I signed up for a Tilly & the Buttons workshop, I chose the Agnes top as I wanted more practice with jersey fabric. The pattern and workshop was £30 (fantastic). I found nice but not too expensive jersey from The Little Fabric Bazaar (£11/pm), I always worry what the quality of the fabric will be like when buying online and more to the point, if I messed up my top I didn’t want to have wasted very expensive fabric.

I needn’t have worried about the fabric, it was lovely quality and recieved many compliment. I also remembered to wash it before the workshop.

Using the sizing chart on the pattern I knew I’d have to do some grading (as I usually do). I started at the shoulders with a size 2, then to a size 3 at the underarm and bust, size 4 at the waist and out to a size 5 on the hips. I also shortened the pattern by 3cm at the waist (again which I usually do on all patterns) I have a short torso.  I learnt a great couple of tips for speeding up cutting out a PDF pattern, we used rotary cutter on just 2 side of the paper and used a glue stick to attach to the next page – much easier to match up all the lines and re-adjust if needs be (I used to cut them all out and use tape on the back – very fiddly & tidious).

One of the main reasons I signed up for this class in particular was to get to grips with an over locker, I’d not used one since I was at school. I was concerned I’d go wrong, and cut into the fabric. However I just took a deep breath and got on with it, and it went really well (I did do a little test on some scrap fabric first). It made the process so much easier. I also learnt how to use the cover stitch machine for my hems. Both machines made sewing up so much easier, and have given my garment a much more professional finish!

I’m incredibly pleased with the result of this top, I will definitely be making more! I was also impressed that I did the whole process, from cutting out paper pattern to completed garment with ends sewn in, in just one day, 10am – 5pm (with a half hour-ish break to eat lunch). I think that in itself is quite an achievement, and something that I think I could only acomplish at a workshop, away from distractions and with the use of the wonderful over locker! I will definitely be returning for more workshops and to utilising the machines at their drop in sewing sessions.

This has also lead me to join in with Me Made May 2019! (You can find out more about this over on the So Zo blog here) and maybe even get on board yourself…

The whole reason I wanted to get back into sewing several years ago was so that I could make clothes that actually fit me. Clothes shopping is not an enjoyable experience for me, rarely is anything a good fit for my body shape. I don’t actually mind my body, it is what it is and I have accepted that is is mine, which was made much easier by just simply giving up on clothes shopping and substituted it for sewing pattern perusing and making my own clothes! My sewing journey has been rocky, I have made several things that I probably won’t ever wear again, due to the fit not being quite right, or uncomfortable. That said I have learnt a lot from the process!

I really enjoyed Me Made May when I joined in back in 2016, I had less handmade clothes than I do now. However I enjoyed the challenge and it did inspire the makes I went onto create and reignited some love for past makes…

My pledge

I, Steph Gibbs, sign up as a participant of Me Made May 2019. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade garment everyone day in May, with the intention of putting together new combinations from my existing handmade wardrobe and to use this to form a “to be created” list of staple items missing from my wardrobe.

I’ll do a round up on the blog, maybe during, but definately afterwards. I’ll post photos over on my instagram feed @nettynot if you’re interested in what I’ve made wearing.

Thanks for reading.
Steph

Make Nine 2019

I always like perusing everyone’s “makenine” instagram posts, in the past it has inspired additions to my favourites or even my queue on Ravelry. However I have never listed 9 makes for myself before. I don’t like the idea of putting that pressure on myself, creating a wonderful list of complicated inspiring garments that, let’s face it, I would have to spend every spare minute making to complete in a year.

However, I have decided to make a list this year to help keep my focus. 2018 was a year of knitting what I fancied, not finishing things before starting other projects, which has left me with a fair few WIP’s.

I am using my #makenine2019 as an opportunity to create a list of aims, made up for of WIP’s, knits I have already bought the yarn for, 2 sewing projects I have already bought the fabric for and a few projects I have been intending to do but as yet haven’t. AND do you know what, if I don’t do them all, it’s fine! No one will die, it won’t be the end of the world and I can make them in 2020 instead! However wouldn’t it be nice if I did complete them all….

I have detailed them here as a reminder to myself (or if you’re interested) and so I can keep track of things.

(Top 3 left to right)
1. Crochet – this will be a new one for me, I haven’t ever crocheted a garment before, but I do love the look of this & it’s been a topic of discussion at Knit group!
Pattern is Granny Rocks Jumper by Iron Lamb
2. Socks! I have a pair to finish, and yarn for at least three more. I want to learn new technique and get the perfect fit!
3. My Maan shawl by Natasja Hornby an on going WIP, started in October 2017 that I really would like to finish!

(Middle 3 left to right)
4. Sewing; I have wanted to make a Moneta dress by Colette Patterns, for ages, I didn’t find time in 2018 despite buying (and washing) the fabric.
5. My Arboreal jumper by Jennifer Steingass was started on holiday back in February 2018, I knitted the colour work yoke and it have been hibernating ever since, for no other reason than getting distracted by other projects, though I did pick it up again over Christmas.
6. Another sewing project; as soon as Tilly & the Button released the Zadie dress I knew I wanted to make it, the style of the dress tends to suit my body shape well, though at the time my sewing ability was a little wobbly. So 2019 will be the year to tackle this.

(Bottom 3 left to right)
7. My summer wardrobe is missing a lighter weight, v-neck, 3/4 length sleeve cardigan (in a lovely berry-ish shade), ravelry searches have failed to reveal the ideal cardigan, so I may well make design my own.
8. Diesis by Alice Caetano, I fell in love with this jumper on the PomPom stand at Yarndale in 2017 and bought the magazine based on this design alone. However I’m yet to start and I’m I keep wondering whether I’ll get enough wear out of it, I imagine it’ll be very toastie.
9. Glenfiddich by Annamária Ötvös I bought this pattern for my Mum to knit me a cable cardigan for Christmas 2017, I’ve always found cables a bit frustrating. However since my Mum didn’t get on with the pattern and ended up knitting a different cardigan. I thought this would be the perfect time to bite the bullet and get to grip with cables. It is such a lovely cardigan, and one I can image getting a lot of wear out of. I have already have the yarn too!

I am quite sure I will veer of this path a little, I have given myself a get out of jail free card on number 8.  I have already been um-ing & ah-ing over this pattern for a while. I’m sure I’ll change my mind more than once about these projects throughout 2019. I will be interested to see how much of a detour I take when I look back this time next year!

Here’s to a creative and productive 2019.
Thanks for reading.
Steph

Floral Dress

If you read my last blog post you’ll know the trials of getting to this point and I’d almost finished this dress at that point. I was getting quite excited as it was fitting really well and definitely my best make to date.

I’m feeling far more confident about under stitching, zips and dart, which has come with practice. Zips no longer fill me with dread (button holes are another matter entirely).

I chose the bodice of a vintage style dress pattern called Bette that came from Sew magazine back in September 2009, it was a simple shape with just one bust dart from the waist and strap in a more flattering position for me. I teamed it with an ever trusty emery skirt (with pockets).

My first bodice toile dictated I needed a few alteration but not much, it just came out a little bit big around the arm hole and a touch tight on the waist, so I went down half a size on the shoulder/bust sizing and graded out with curved seams to 2.5 sizes larger at the waist. I took my usual 2.5cm out of the length and I also lengthened the bust dart and back dart by an extra 1cm. This did the trick.

When I’d finished the dress (the Wednesday before the lovely Jem & Andew’s wedding on Saturday) I was very happy – I’d tried it on, the fit was great, it didn’t feel too snug or look baggy and it felt comfortable. I was feeling rather pleased with myself.

Within half an hour of wearing my dress it had rubbed my arms raw! They’d quickly got uncomfortably sore, having resigned myself to the fact that there was NOTHING I could do about it I just decided to get on with things and ignore it and although my arms remained sore, it really didn’t really bother me too much, and the initial rubbing occurred while we (the unofficial bridesmaids) were plating up cakes and carrying trays of tea cups so possibly the most active part of the afternoon (before the dancing starting later on) so maybe it just wasn’t bothering me so much or mind over matter came into full force. That said I was very please to get home, take off my dress and smother my raw patches in Sudocrem (they were much better by the morning).

Having spent a lot of money (for me) on this fabric and genuinely loving the dress, I do not want it to become yet another handmade dress that is worn once and sits in the wardrobe forever more. So I have decided to try and fix the issues. I actually have enough fabric left to cut another bodice if I need to, however I thought I would just simply try and fix this dress.

I am going to attempt to make the problematic front arm holes and straps a little slimmer and hope this works. I don’t really have anything to lose by trying to fix the existing dress, I don’t know if this will work, I fear I will just make the arm holes gape too much, but we’ll see. Wish me luck.

This photo was taken many time, not one of them had us all looking at teh camera, but I liked this one. The wonderful Eleanor of Knit Nottingham, the lovely Jem Weston, me & some Alpacas (guest of honor at Jem’s wedding)!

As a side note, I would highly recommend reading Jem’s post about her Wedding top, yes she made it! It’s stunning, isn’t it? A lot of time, effort, patience, beads and a few tears went into it! My trials and tribulations with a simple dress pale into insignificance in comparison, but well worth the work!

The lovely floral fabric was from Guthrie & Ghani, a cotton lawn called Mulberry Magnificence.

Thanks for reading.
Steph

 

Dresses for weddings…

I decided back in March, as I had 3 wedding to attend this year, I could make a dress & knit a cardigan and wear the outfit to all 3 weddings, simple! I selected the fabric and bought it on a fabric trip to Birmingham &  Guthrie and Ghani with the lovely Jem Weston who was shopping for her actual wedding top fabric (Jem’s wedding being wedding no.2 for me this year)  – you can read Jem’s post about the fabric trip here.  Jem’s friend Rosie also bought lovely fabric to make a dress for Jem’s wedding (looking forward to seeing the finished dress). Obviously I then headed to Knit Nottingham to select a lovely summery yarn to go with the gorgeous fabric.

I had already decided which dress I wanted to make, having made a Lilou dress (from Love and first Stitch by Tilly and the Buttons) for a previous wedding a couple of years ago I knew I wanted to make a sleeveless dress but I also didn’t want to cover up the lovely flower print with pleats so decided to make the skirt gathered and also add pockets so I used the bottom half of the Emery dress by Christine Haynes, which I’d also made and wore to a wedding 2 years ago.

I knew I needed to do a bit more work on the fit of the lilou bodice as my first dress wasn’t perfect, doesn’t look too bad here, but I re-tried it on and it’s not great. Too roomy over the bust and sat awkwardly over the shoulders so I made a few small tweaks to the pattern and cut a smaller size. I had help from Jem and Rosie (different Rosie) at our knit group’s spin off  sewing gathering, getting the darts fitting my shape better. I made these adjustments, whether they were the right things to do or not I’m not sure….
– Graded from size 3 at shoulders to size 4 at the waist and curved the side seems.
– Took 2.5cm out of the bodice length (I have a short torso, I did this to the first dress too).
– curved the darts inwards on the back.
– extended the back darts by 2cm.
– cut down the arm holes by 0.5cm.
– Trimmed 1cm off the back pieces graded from sides to center back.

I was feeling apprehensive about the over all fit, so decided to buy some cheep polycotton from the market and did a full (wearable) toile. I’m glad I did, it didn’t turn out too badly, it fitted and looked ok. The fabric felt cheap and a bit crinkly, however it did resolve an issue, which was that it wasn’t so much that it didn’t fit me ,more that I just didn’t like the fit, if that that makes sense; I realised I wasn’t a fan of the strap positioning, they come in too much on the shoulders highlighting that fleshy underarm bit and exposing my bra straps at the sides (I don’t think it helped that I think the finished dress is actually a touch too small). Please bare in mind that these photos were taken at the end of a long day (at wedding no 1 –  my Boyfriend’s bothers wedding), complete with frizzy rained on hair, (I was literally about to crash into bed and then thought…quick get a photo of the dress – as you do – and stuck my feet back into my shoes – these were the best ones …. second photo was just to show off the pockets & the lilac lining)!

Having deciding that the Lilou dress wasn’t for me or my lovely posh fabric, I didn’t have the time to make a toile of an entirely new bodice, before wedding 1 hence wearing the polycotton toile, which wasn’t so bad.  Also doing this meant I didn’t have to rush to finish knitting my cardigan as it didn’t go with the fabric I’d used. Instead I had a look though my existing hand knits and found a navy lace cotton wrap cardigan I’d knitted to wear at yet another friends wedding about 5 years ago (YES there’s a definitely theme here). I haven’t worn the cardigan much since as it slips off my shoulders A LOT, so decided to address this and I unpicked the edging, resewing it back on, making a shorter edge. I also added some ribbon in  between the shoulder seams inside, to help stop it slouching off any more. This worked well and with the wedding being pre-heat wave at the start of June I wore it all day (this will be a test to see if my boyfriend reads my blog, he’s not a fan of having his photo taken, I happen to think this is a lovely photo – despite my mad/unruly hair).

I also made a necklace to match. Based on a workshop I designed for work; Mandala Pendant.

I felt the lilou dress making was a useful exercise. I often find dressmaking incredibly frustrating (unlike knitting which I find incredibly relaxing). This is because I had delusions about making my own dresses, that it would mean they would fit beautifully, and that is sort of true, but not without a huge amount of work and I don’t have enough of an understanding or experience yet to know how to adapt patterns to fit me well.  I’m an odd, short pear shape (which is fine). I often increase from shoulders to waist by 1 size and then waist to hip another size, I have a short torso and a bust size smaller than most patterns cater for – that’s a lot of adapting.  I’m not confident enough to do a small bust adjustment yet and so have managed to adjust darts and side seams enough to take out the volume needed.  I realise this will come with practice and experience (and a lot of patience) but I do find it exasperating sometimes – if anyone has words of wisdom on this subject or similar experiences I’d love to hear them!

My new dress for Jem’s wedding is almost complete now and fitting quite well (whooh, *happy dance/prance*), so I will write a post about that soon too.

Thanks for reading.
Steph

 

Me Made May 2016 – round up!

This has been a great challenge, I set myself a few goals, some of which I’ve achieved, others I haven’t. However this challenge has got me sewing again (the fear has subsided) it has also made me re-assess my wardrobe.

It wasn’t my intention to necessarily post a picture every day on IG (@nettynot) but I got into it, I enjoyed seeing everyone else so much that I thought why not (this is a little collage). It didn’t feel like a chore but I did put a little more thought into some of my outfits and I now know some of the areas of my wardrobe I need to improve. I want to make some more everyday dresses and skirts as well as more versatile and flattering cardigans.  I hope when I do this next year I’ll have less duplicate outfits and will feel/look less awkward being photographed (we’ll see).

On old cardigan, the first garment I ever knitted – at least 8 years ago, has had a lot more wear recently as a result of MMMay16, a dark pinky-red colour it goes with loads of things and I love the brightness. It’s in a acrylic mohair yarn it’s very warm (too warm a lot of the time) but a slight breeze and it’s too cold as it’s such a loose knit. There’s a lot that I don’t like about this cardigan, I sewed the seams too firmly, they look neat, but the arm holes are too sung and it looks very strange when buttoned up and the sleeves are too short (but wearable with the cuffs folders back). But I’m still proud of it and I’m glad it got some more wear, though it’s likely to be worn less now the challenge is over and I’ll soon have another knitted cardigan….

I have made good progress on my cross pockets cardigan, though it’s not finished yet, it is much closer; sleeves to finish and then a little bit of sewing up, a block and it’s done. I have set myself a new target, I want to be able to wear it on 18^th June which is worldwide Knit in Public day. I have also got carried away and been inspired by all the lovely knit wear that popped up on IG over May and I have just bought myself another Andi Satterlund pattern, Vianne. It’s lovely and this time a DK weight yarn which it a bit more appropriate for summer. I can’t wait to cast it on which has been me more incentive to get a wiggle on with my cross pockets.

I have also started a sewing class; because I can already sew and I know how to use a pattern I have struggled to find a course that aimed at my level, I can find loads of beginner classes so had temporarily given up my search then came across all things creative and found a class perfect for me. I can take along whatever project I want to work on and there’s a very knowledgeable tutor on hand to help you along the way. So I have been working on my Mini blouse, each week, a fair bit of progress has been made but it’s not quite there yet, one more week and I think it’ll be finished – this course has been great for me, it’s rebuilt my sewing confidence. There was a definite moment while working on this that had I been doing this at home on my own I’m sure the whole thing would have gone in the bin, but with help on hand, it wasn’t a problem and I just got on with it.

I was saving my mini blouse to work on at me sewing class which is once a week, however as the sewing bug bit I felt the need to do some more sewing at home too. I had spotted several nice Sorbetto tops on IG so thought I’d investigate. I downloaded the pattern and made one straight away. Fortunately I already had enough fabric in my stash to make a couple of these. My practice one it a little large and also too short (I always have to shorten everyone by approximately 1’’ as I have a high waist and short torso) so I automatically did this, however it wasn’t needed. The second one I made I did a size smaller and longer version which fitted much better, I’m also keen to do more.

I have also fixed a skirt that was too big for me and completely refashion a once loved dress (I’ll post about the dress separately).

I turned my unfinished Coco dress (which I’d deemed unflattering) into a top so that I could wear it, photographed on a lovely day up in Cumbria earlier in the month with a newly fished necklace too. I have tackled a few jewellery other items too, thought I got too carried away by sewing to do as much as I anticipated, but I don’t really mind about that, I was also aware of the over ambitious challenges I set myself.

I have also bought some lovely light weight denim fabric to make an Emery dress (which I can then wear any colour knitted cardigans over & it will work). I have had the pattern for a while and have been really inspired by the many variations I’ve seen on people’s blogs and on IG that I thought it was about time to get one with it. I had previously bought some ruby red polka dotty fabric for this pattern, it was only cheap so I thought this could  be my toile and just hope it’s wearable too (I hate putting all that effort into a toile to not be able to make use of it). So once Mini is finished this is my next project as well as making some simple skirts from my fabric stash.

I’m full of enthusiasm and inspiration which is wonderful and just what I needed. I just wish there were more hours in the day.

Thanks for reading and feel free to post your blog link below if you also joined in – I’ve loved seeing everyone’s outfits!

Me Made May 2016

In May 2014 I was in awe of all the wonderful Me Made May photos popping up on Instagram, at the time I was very much of the opinion of “wow, I’d love to do that… but I don’t have enough handmade items, or the time to do it!” Then May 2015 came round and I there were lots more lovely handmade and inspiring outfits cropping up. However last year I thought, this time next year, maybe I’d join in…!

The knitters and sewers at Knit In Notts have spoken about it a few times with no real commitment being stated so when I saw that Jem Weston had shared her pledge on Instagram (@jemweston) last week it gave me the kick up the bum to also join in!

This is my pledge – stated over on  “So Zo…What do you know?” blog (the creator of the MMM challenge).

 ‘I, Steph Gibbs (nettynot.wordpress.com @nettynot on Instagram), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’16. I endeavour to wear a handmade garment, each day for the duration of May 2016, as well as finish some UFO’s!’

I feel I need to remind myself that a challenge, which Me Made May is, should test me, if it’s too easy it’s not a challenge. I do not own enough items to wear a different handmade item every day, however I’m already looking forward to being more creative with my outfits. I intend to include garments that I’ve customised in some way too, as that’s always a useful skill and a nice way to rescue clothing or make then your own. I also hope that this challenge will make me more productive and think about how I’m using my time in the evenings, so I can be more efficient and finish some UFO’s.

I’m going to address a few different areas of my handmade wardrobe for this challenge….

Sewing – I’m going to look at all the handmade garments in my wardrobe, mostly skirts, that just require slight adjustments to make them wearable again.

Knitting – I’m going to wear more of my hand knitted garments, I have several that I don’t make the most of, which is madness when I think about the amount of time spent making them.

Jewellery – Almost all of my jewellery I have made myself (occupational hazard) and have so many necklaces and bracelets, yet I always wear the same few on rotation. So I’m going to wear more of the vast array I have (& maybe cull the items that I’m not going to wear again – it is the right time for a Spring clean after all).

There’s a few specific things that I’d like to do during May and this challenge (I am aware I’m being a little ambitious, but if I commit them to computer screen, they’re more likely to get done) and it’s not as though once May is over I’m not allowed to keep challenging myself, right?!

Mimi
I have already cut out all the pattern pieces (about 6 months ago) to make the Mimi blouse from Tilly and the Buttons – Love at first stitch book, I have suitable fabric that already washed n ready to go. I intend to complete this by the end of May!

Cross Pockets
I have brought the problematic Cross Pockets Cardigan out of hibernation and ripped it back to the waist ready to re-knit and hopefully fix the issues I had – I want to complete this by the end of May too!

Coco
I stared a dress version of Coco last summer, however when it got to the trying on stage I realised it just wasn’t going to be a flattering fit. Disappointed and slightly annoyed with it, it has sat in a cupboard out of sight ever since. However that’s no reason why I can’t turn it into another Coco top, which again I’d like to achieve before the end of May.

Mending/Fixing
As well as fixing and adjusting any handmade items in my wardrobe that don’t fit I also intend to tackle my pie of broken jewellery/not quite finished jewellery.

I’m not a huge fan of a selfie (also I’m pretty rubbish at photographing myself) however I do endeavour to record at least some of my MMM16 progress over on Instagram (@nettynot) if you’d like to follow.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Lilou Dress

I have recently got into what I would call ‘proper’ dressmaking, actually following a pattern and making considered decisions, rather than just making things up and keeping my fingers crossed. I think my problem was I was getting a bit over whelmed and found the idea of adjusting a pattern very daunting. However with the wealth of information on the internet from blog and helpful hints on Pinterest it’s far less intimidating.

The pattern I choose was the Lilou Dress from Tilly and Buttons – Love at first Stitch book, I thought the style should suit me and having previously sewn a Coco top, the Megan dress and the Margot pyjamas, steadily building up my confidence I thought I’d be alright having a go at the most complex pattern (though not actually too difficult) from the book.

Not knowing how well the bodice would fit I very sensibly made a toile (something I’ve never really bothered with before – rookie error I know). I measured myself, in case I’d changed since my last project, my measurements came out as bust 34’’, waist 29.5’’ and Hips 39.5’’, not quite fitting a single size (as usual). So I initially made one adjustment on the bodice and made the side seams go from size 3 under the arms out to a size 4 on the waist. The skirt pattern I cut out at a size 4 (closest size for my hip measurement).

I completed the bodice, including adding a lining (I wanted the practice), in some floral fabric I inherited from my Gran in a similar weight to my dress fabric. The first bodice was a terrible fit – well it just didn’t fit. I was determined not to get put off even though I was a little frustrated as I’d checked the measurements and everything seemed to go well. It was a little loose on the waist, the back was baggy, there was way too much space across my bust, the straps stuck out and it was too long. I started thinking about how to address each issue. I’ve read about FBA (full bust adjustment) and SBA (small bust adjustment) when I first attempted the hawthorn dress (which I got too overwhelmed by and couldn’t face tackling at the time – it is currently hibernating). So I took a deep breath and starting googling SBA. I came across this great blog post Hungry Zombie Couture – My Cup Does Not Runneth Over I was relieved to find these wonderfully wise words, as I believe the lack of information and “just reverse a FBA” is what put me off tackling previous patterns. So taking on the advice of Shannon before getting too involved in my adjustment, I tried decreasing the depth of my bust dart; I traced off another bodice pattern this time all at size 3, making the waist smaller, then decreased the bust darts by 2cm but kept them the same length, I also shortened it by 2cm and tapered the straps towards the shoulders by 5mm. I also trimmed a little fabric off the bottom of the arm holes as they’d been a little sung. I tried it on at this point without the lining and found the fit on the waist and bust much better, there was still extra space in the back so I just added an extra 5cm in the length of the back darts and that did the job, I then made the lining and attached it so that I could make sure it all worked together and it did – phew!

I hadn’t done a toile of the skirt, I knew I’d easily be able to adjust it if necessary, however I did have to retrace the pattern as I’d changed the waist size to a 3, so I needed the top of the skirt to also be a size 3. I also lengthened the skirt by about 5cm so it hit my knee and I’d feel comfortable wearing it without tights in the summer.

I decided to treat myself to an invisible Zipper foot – it’s amazing! It made adding the zip so easy, I don’t know why I haven’t bought one sooner (well actually I do it was £19.95 – it made a nice Birthday present to myself).
Once I fitted the zip (before I finished attaching the lining) I tried the dress on and discovered that it was overall a bit big *huge Sigh*! I unpicked the zip and trimmed 1cm off each side of the back edge (including the edge of the lining) and reattached the zip – it did the job and fitted *relaxed sigh*! I hastily finished everything off, including leaving a raw seam in the back and a crude hem as it got to 10pm the evening before I needed to wear it to a friend’s wedding. No one noticed and I can now sort that out while not having a deadline looming over me.

Eek – looking at this makes me realise just how pasty I am, I’m almost blending into the white pebble dash here, I’d also like to point out that these were not the shoes I wore to the wedding, I wore posh navy shoes. The brown summer flats were all I had with me when I got my Mum to take the photo.
I was impressed with how neatly the darts and pleats met at the waist and having never lined a garment before I quite enjoyed discovering how easily it all went together. Overall it has definitely been a great learning curve, as frustrated as I got at points I kept my cool and persevered (including the point when I got the lining stuck in the zip at the final trying on stage – eek). Even though I now have a pattern I could re-use I’m sure about the idea of making this dress again, there’s still a few, minor, fit issues. Although having said that I have decided to make the toile (which isn’t too bad really) into a finished dress with a gathered skirt, I might as well, especially given how much time I’d have spent working on it.

I realise this is yet another lengthy blog post, however when searching for people who’d written about their Lilou dresses I wanted to know more, what exactly they adjusted and why, I decided it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to give a blow by blow account of my journey with this pattern and show that it’s doable for even a relatively novice dressmaker (& if I do ever make it again I’ll have a record of what I did). I’m eager to do more sewing now, I need to practice my button holes, maybe the Mimi blouse would be a good warm up and even give me the confidence to attempt the Hawthorn dress again.

Thanks for reading, I’d welcome any hints & tips to help with my dressmaking adventures!