Giveaway Monday: Me-Made Rockabilly Swallow Skirts!!

** UPDATE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED**

A bunch of time ago I made a range of cute skirts to sell. First I tried to sell them on a market stall in London, with little success. Then I tried to sell them on Etsy, also with little success but I did nothing to promote or re-list them so that was not very surprising. Then when I started to organise a Brighton-based craft market, I sold some of them there. And finally I stocked the remainder in the awesome Handmade Co-op shop in Brighton (RIP) with much more success. Hurrah!

Right now our little one bedroom flat is stuffed to the gunnels with (my) stuff and I've been having a hunt for items that can be given a new home. During this hunt I found the final few pieces from my skirt range and thought maybes some of my lovely blog readers would like them, rather than stuffing them back in the cupboard!

Today's giveaway is for the final two Rockabilly Swallow A-line mini-skirts. I've got one left in each of the colour ways I made them in: a rich, tomato-y red and a dove grey. Both are a 'Medium', but in reality that's pretty freakin' small. 

The waists measure 33.5", so if the level you like to wear your skirts at measures a bit smaller than that, then these should fit you (or whoever you'd like to give one of these to) just fine. They measure 13" from waistline to hem, pretty damn short! 

They are made from a poly-cotton blend and have contrast cotton gingham facings. They fasten with a concealed side zip. The swallows are leather appliqués, I'd recommend a gentle hand wash in case the leather dye leaks. Some of these skirts have been washed many many times with no problems, but a couple have released dye when machine-washed. What can I say? You're getting these for free!

To enter the giveaway to get one of these skirts, just leave a comment in the comments section of this post telling me which colour you'd prefer and what you'd do with it if you won (e.g, you'd give it to a loved one; you'd wear it with some killer platforms, etc... not for any particular reason, I'm just nosey). If I can't access your email address within two clicks, please include it in your entry comment. Email addresses will not be used for anything other than to contact you if you are one of the two lucky winners of this giveaway. This giveaway is open internationally and the winners will receive the skirt completely free of charge. The giveaway entries will close at midnight GMT Sunday 11th November and the winners will be chosen by random number generator and contacted Monday 12th November October. Good luck, my skirt-wearing friends!

Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-Mades:

Captain Jacket

Slinky Breton Top

Ruby Shorts

Pants (knickers)

(Secondhand cardigan)

Does this outfit make me look like a mental pirate? I'm not sure. I've not really rocked the shorts with tights look much before. I do like how it increases the wearing season of shorts to longer than a handful of British days though. What about you? Do you like wearing shorts with tights? 

Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-Mades:

Breton T-shirt

Navy Cropped Trousers

Swallow Jacket (never formerly blogged)

Pants

Vest (which I took with me and put on after dark)

So my new life as a self-employed something-or-other seems to involve having quite a few coffees here and there with people vaguely connected to stuff I'm involved in. Most of these 'meetings' are basically with creative friends or creative people that would become friends if I had time to go for a coffee with them (which evidently I now do). But some have genuinely been meetings that will directly or indirectly help my work situation, and Thursday's meeting in London was one such occurrence. 

But being me, I sandwiched that meeting in-between two of the other kind of meeting! To facilitate the easy transition between meetings and venues I wore the above outfit. In the direct sunshine it was hell-of-warm, but outside of it it was nippy so I needed a layer-able outfit. I rocked my me-mades with a cheeky anchor neckerchief to give off a French seaman look! Ever the professional... 

Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-Mades:

Navy Spotty Ceylon Dress

Red Lace Applique Bolero Shrug

Pants (knickers)

Umm, so Autumn happened yesterday. Long sleeves! Boots! Tights! Anyways, Summer was a massive disappointment and you know what you are going to get with Autumn, so bring it on. I decided to wear my navy Ceylon dress because the curtains it's made from offer a fair amount of warmth. It's also a good option when I want to look more dressed up than usual but with little effort. I'm not entirely sure about the shrug with it though. The front curve of the bolero kind of mimics but also hides the curved yoke of the dress. But it's nice to find an outfit to wear the shrug with that looks good with the applique side rather than the plain side. 

Happy Autumn/Spring everyone! 

Slinky Breton Top. Plus: Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-Mades:

New Slinky Breton Top

Denim Skirt

Pants (knickers)

Today's post is another double bubble post to document both my favourite self-made outfit of the week and a new creation. This is the outfit I wore all day whilst working at my new desk space and then later to attend the private view of 'Platform', a show consisting of 10 of Brighton's most talented artists and designers organised by my compadre Sarah Rock Cakes (pictured below left). I tried to make this outfit a bit less casual for the evening with the addition of red lipstick. I don't think that worked particularly well but I was very comfy all day!

And onto the top itself. It's a simple self-drafted bateau neck Breton top with 3/4 length sleeves. The fabric is a really drapey and slinky jersey. I probably would have chosen a more substantial jersey/knit fabric if I wasn't committed to using what I already have rather than going to the fabric shop for my projects. But actually the drapey quality makes this top feel lovely to wear.  

It also ended up being a looser fit than I intended, but that's good because perhaps I need to be coaxed out of my usual predictable garment silhouettes. A looser style will work well with my sailor jeans and my new (to me) second hand 70's style high waist flared jeans. 

Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-Mades:

Floral Rizzo blouse

Navy Ruby Shorts

Pants (knickers)

I made these shorts a few years ago and since then I feel that both my sewing ability and my sense of my own personal style have developed a lot since then. Combining them into a successful outfit (successful both stylistically and comfort-wise) with a blouse I made far more recently makes me very happy. Oh, and the sunshine. That makes me very happy too. 

Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-Mades:

School Boy trousers

Magpie batwing top

Pants (knickers)

A relaxed outfit that was uber comfy to wear. Initially I thought the combination of these garments might look a bit frumpy as both are fairly loose in fit, but I think the silhouette works ok. I also like the unintentional way I reflected the monochrome magpies with my choice of footwear! 

So, maybe it's a good time to remind peops about the Me-Made-Living flickr group that has been going since the end of this year's Me-Made-May '12 challenge? Yes, I think so. Currently there are over 80 talented and inspiring sewers/knitters/refashioners sharing some killer handmade garments and outfits whenever the mood takes them. Why not join the metaphorical party?!

Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-Mades:

Denim High Waist Bow Skirt

Bustier-line T-shirt

Pants (knickers)

Apologies for the poor quality photo. Can you believe this is after I tried making this image less yellow?! Well we didn't have time for a prolonged photo session because we were busy organising and enjoying the launch party for Patty's latest book. The ever-fabulous Rehanon was just one of the awesome peops to come down and support the event. 

As for the outfit, I really didn't have much time to think about what I as going to wear before getting changed and going out to the venue, but I wanted to wear something newish, and the denim high waist bow skirt fit the bill. I like the way the high waist kind of hugs my lower rib cage, I guess in a similar manner to how a corset might work. I didn't have to sit down at any point, so I have yet to ascertain how viable that activity is in this garment!

Denim High Waist Bow Skirt. Plus: Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-Mades:

Denim high waisted skirt 

Vintage fabric simplified Sencha

Pants (knickers) 

Today's post is a double-bubble in the sense that I'm unveiling a new creation which was also part of my most successful me-made outfit worn this week.

Like many of her blog readers, I too was captivated by Gertie's Emma outfit, the orange bow skirt in particular. I'd squirrelled the inspirational image away in my brain for a couple of years until recently. I don't get on with skirts or trousers with a straight waistband, I find them too restricting and uncomfortable after a few hours, so that has precluded me from a lot of traditional pencil skirt patterns that have come across my radar. I'd begun to experiment with this 1990s McCall's M5590 pattern (pictured below) which has an awesome hourglass silhouette with a sexy vintage-y high waistline. This pattern finishes the waist edge with a facing instead of a waistband which I find to be much more accommodating.

I'd also been making lots of fabric bows at work to apply to various garments, so the elements kind of all came together to make this creation. I wanted a big substantial bow to emphasise this kitschy detail. The denim is fairly light-weight and should soften up even more after a couple of washes. I used a chunky metal-tooth zip and this combined with the denim fabric creates a nice juxtaposition with the feminine silhouette and bow detail of this garment. 

I chose the longest length of skirt included in this pattern which I think of as quite a 1940s length. I also omitted the back vent in favour of a time-saving back slit instead. I'm really excited to see how this garment fades after some wears and washes. 

Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-Mades:

African wax fabric dress

Pants (knickers)

Leopard Coat (not shown)

First up, apologies for the late night poorly lit photography. This was taken at the end of 'Date Night' last night. Now, I'm not sure if effectively just a dress can be considered an 'outfit', but it is what I wore and it did feel the best out of all the things I wore this week (pyjamas excluded, of course). The dress is made from Simplicity 2444 which I created for the Simplicity 'Get a Vintage Look' Blog Social. 

I have only worn this dress once since its creation until last night, why? The sleeves. A few times I put the dress on in advance of going out, then tried to move my arms and promptly took it off again. Then yesterday I spent some time unpicking and removing the sleeves, overlocked and turned over the raw edges and made it into the sleeveless version. I would recommend to anyone thinking about making this pattern, do not use the sleeve pattern unless you plan to adapt it to make tiny cap sleeves. Now I love this dress, the fit at the top back still isn't ideal, but a lot of other special sewing to be getting on with, I can now live with this dress as it is!

Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-mades:

Navy cropped trousers

Lace Applique bolero shrug

Stripey T-shirt

Pants (knickers)

This week there were three very strong contenders for my most successful 'me-made-outfit of the week'. In the end I chose this one to share because it was the most comfortable and I got the best photo of it! I can see in this photo that these trousers look a bit baggier than would be ideal, but the plus side of that is they are soooo comfy! I was expecting this red bolero to only work with nautical elements if I used the plain side, but I think the lace appliqué works fine with this look, and actually balances the darker shades and creates a focal point. I tried to keep the floral theme with the flower clip in my hair. Have you had a successful self-stitched outfit last week? What lessons, if any, did you learn from it?

Me-Made-Outift of the Week

Me-mades:

Navy cropped trousers

Captain Jacket

Mariner T-shirt

New red bolero shrug (not previously blogged)

Pants (knickers)

(Necklace by Rock Cakes)

After last week's not-quite-so-successful nautical ensemble, I was determined to do better and nail an outfit comprising of the kind of themed garments that I seem to be developing a reputation for! I feel much happier with this one. Not only does it look less uniform-y, but it's also really comfortable. I've very excited to unveil my new red bolero shrug, which I'll blog about next week. Happy Sunday!

Me-Made-Outfit of the Week

Me-mades:

Navy sateen tulip skirt

Jersey peplum top

Captain Jacket

Pants (knickers)

Vest (camisole)

(Second hand cardigan)

When does 'put together' cross over into 'uniform-y'? That's my question today. This is my best outfit this week, mainly because it's been a shitty week and I've pretty much been wearing the same sloppy trousers each day until today when I decided to celebrate the weekend by wearing a skirt. When I was planning on what to wear with this super comfy navy sateen skirt, I thought these garments would work well. But upon reflection I think they may work too well, you know as in kind of like a uniform? Maybe if I'd chosen a denim skirt the look would be a bit more casual? Hmmm, there's a lesson to be learnt somewhere here, I'm just not quite sure what it is...   

Me-Made-Outfit of The Week

So each Sunday I'm going to share a photo of my favourite me-made outfit of the previous week, like I did last Sunday whilst announcing the new Me-Made-Living flickr group. The reason I want to do this is kind of two-fold. I want to remind people that me-mades are for life, not just Me-Made-May! Plus I want to keep pushing myself to try new combinations of self-stitched items to get the most from my creations and not to just always rely on the same tried and tested combinations. I figured lots of new combinations from the last Me-Made-May '12 challenge as well as how to bring in some of my newer and previously unused creations, I don't want to go back to resting my on laurels. I will also briefly reflect on what worked, so hopefully I will actually learn to put outfits together more successfully for my everyday life.

Me-mades:

Denim sailor trousers (Burda pattern)

Ship Shape blouse

Pants (knickers)

Vest (camisole)

This outfit, although not particularly innovative or revelatory, was a success because I wore it all day to work, then to head home quickly to stuff my face with dinner, then stomp across town to a swing dance class, then for a cheeky post-class half of cider, and them back home again. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day but at no point do I think I felt uncomfortable in my clothing.

New Flickr Group: Me-Made-Living

I'm very excited to announce the creation of a new flickr group called Me-Made-Living. Towards the end of the recent Me-Made-May '12 challenge, some of the members of the MMM'12 flickr group mentioned that they would be sad to loose the interaction and support that had developed during May in the group. If the peops are making requests, I'm listening! So here's a new group where people who create their own clothing and/or accessories can hang in-between me-made/self-stitched challenges.

Like the Me-Made and Self-Stitched flickr groups, this new group is a place to share the documentation of outfits/garments that you've worn that consist of or include self-made stuff. Like the other groups, this is for things that actually get worn in real life, and NOT a place to simply show off your latest creation. This group is a place to see how other members are rocking their self-made things, to get inspiration and discuss relevant topics.

Unlike the Me-made ad Self-Stitched flickr groups that have gone before, no 'signing up' to any pledge is required. You can join the group with more ease, no-one needs to accept your membership. It's totally up to you how often or infrequently you participate and share your photos. If you have been/are  interested in getting involved in the me-made/self-stitched challenges but have yet to feel you have enough self-made or refashion things to commit to a whole month, this group could be just the ticket to start sharing the outfits you put together which include a handmade item and get involved in the me-made community. Remember: Me-Made's are for LIFE, NOT just for MMMay or SSSeptember!!!!!

Personally, I plan to share one photo a week on the new group and also on this blog. I want to continue to work out new wearable combos of my self-created garments and I'll share my favourite/most-success of the week, each week.

This week my favourite outfit has been this one: 

Me-mades:

Navy cropped trousers

Red short sleeved remade sweatshirt (shown in MMMay'12 posts but not yet properly blogged)

 Captain jacket

Pants (knickers)

Vest (camisole)

This wholly me-made outfit may not look like I've embarked away from previous combinations, but i assure you it's a new one. I've never worn this short-sleeved sweatshirt without a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath and I was worried I'd get cold. But it was actually fine and very comfy. This jacket has really started to be something I rely on. It fills a certain role when the weather is fairly warm but changeable. It's quite light so if I take it out and it's not needed, it fits in my bag without being too hefty. 

Hope to see you over at the new Me-Made-Living flickr group!