Me-Made-May'14 Week 3

ANd then there were some repeats. this week I really tried to bust out all of my me-Mades, but I just couldn't resist the comfort of my favourite pieces. 

Day 12: striped pencil skirt

Worn to: work in an office

Pattern: self drafted 

Thoughts: love this knit skirt. Easy to wear. After many hours of wear and if it's hot and I sweat the record isn't great and the back sags a little. Oops. 

Day 13: drape drape dress no photo

Worn to: work

Pattern: drape drape no.10

Thoughts: I forgot to take a photo. My bad. But this dress is amazingly comfortable. I still need to make it into a shirt. 

Day 14: test flora

Worn to: work

Pattern: Flora tank dress By Hand London

Thoughts: this was my test garment for the flora before I made my spring version with all the alterations. You can see even in this photo it's loose around the neck and across the chest. But that's ok,  the purple gabardine is lovely to wear and gives this skirt some serious volume. 

Day 15: knit sweater

Worn to: work

Pattern: Aspen Cardigan by Hot Patterns

Thoughts: the fit of this cardigan isn't great. It was supposed to stay open but it hangs down awkwardly so I pinned it across in a wrap which I prefer a lot more. I love this material but it is very stretchy so doesn't held it's shape well. 

Day 16: Knit concert tee

Worn to: work

Pattern: Summer concert tee by DixieDIY

Thoughts: amazing. Simply amazing. There isn't one thing I don't love about this shirt. it's a staple for me now. 

Day 17: White and comfy

Worn to: lounging in the house (thus the bare legs)

Pattern: Lola by Victory Patterns

Thoughts: such a great pattern, and with my added collar it is extra warm and cozy. It shrunk slightly in the wash so the length is now a tad on the short side, but if I wear yoga pants underneath its fine, ui just wouldn't feel comfortable wearing only tights any longer. 

Day 18: repeat offender from day 16

Worn to: work

Pattern: summer concert tee by DixieDIY

Thoughts: clearly I love this look as it's the second time I've worn it this week. Not one thing changed. Not even my skirt. So comfortable. I'll be making many more very soon. 

and that marks my third week of Me-Made-May. I've done well trying to grab all of my me-Mades, but I can't help but want to wear my favourites again and again. 

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White Sweater Lola - Victory Patterns

Some of the first patterns I purchased were from Victory Patterns. I loved the easy style of the patterns but with the incredible opportunity to be made out of sweater material. I LOVE sweater material and being warm. And in Canada that is ALWAYS required. I purchased Lola, Chloe, and Hazel. 

I tried to make the Hazel. It was one of my first patterns, It turned out TERRIBLY and is about 3 sizes too big. This was before I realized that I should read the finished garment measurements too. Ooops. But after this mishap I put down Victory Patterns because they had discouraged me. 

Cold and Grey is all I've seen all week. It is FREEZING outside and my mood has turned similar. I wanted something that would make me happy and warm. This fabric is a cream sweater fabric that I purchased in July in Toronto. Sweater material in July is a great bargain as it was on sale, BUT, it is fairly useless with the summer heat. So it sat in remained in my fabric storage box taking up half the box. Sweater fabric is BULKY. More so when it comes in a tube. No start and no end.

I cut a size 12 for the top and a 16 for the hips. It turned out more A-line than I wanted originally but is difficult to adjust because of the pockets and omitting the hem band didn't help. It sewed up very quickly on my serger. It was my first time sewing a raglan sleeved item. I was very worried it wouldn't fit and I couldn't test it prior to sewing the top completely. It fit perfectly the first time which I appreciate since nobody likes to bust out the seam ripper for serged edges. I love the raglan sleeve now. I'm browsing all of my pattern magazines looking for more raglan sleeves!

The very obvious alteration I made was to add a large collar instead of a simple neck band. I didn't like where the neck band would sit on me, the basic circle neck isn't really for me. Combining my love of warmth and turtle necks, I added the thick collar. I simply cut a piece of fabric the same length as the collar (next time I'll cut it 1/2 inch smaller than the neck length) and cut the height 12 inches. I followed the same collar instructions as from the Renfrew but using one piece of fabric instead of two.

I love the collar. It is my favourite part of this whole dress now. I can wear it either up to keep me warm or fold it down so I can eat! Very important. Although the cream colour doesn't bode well for stain-free longevity. 

Now, the pockest. GOSH I love these pockets. Although they are gigantic and definitely add width to my hips, I don't even care - they are SO wonderful.

The bottom hem was serged then folded and stitched. I think this added to the slight wavy appearance of the hem. It is more prominent after wear, but when I steam it it appears straighter. Also, I have decided that I will always cut my hemlines with a slight 1 inch high-low to help compensate for my rear end. It makes this dress appear like the hemline is actually straight. But the extra inch in the back really does make me feel more comfortable and that the back of my dress is not SHORTER, which I often feel like it is.

Look at how fast I am mommy!

Details

Pattern: Lola - Victory Patterns

Size: 12 for top 16 for bottom

Fabric: Cotton sweater

Cost: $6/metre and 2 metres used

Alterations:

• Added a collar
• Omitted sleeve and hem bands - Turn and Stitched instead
• Shortened the pattern by 3 inches in the front and 2 inches in the back. Slight High/Low to compensate for my rear end which looks like an even hem from the side.

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