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?!

Refashion Friday Inspiration: Striped T-shirt / Modcloth Knockoff

I'm pretty much in love with today's Refashion Friday creation that I'm sharing with you. I can take very little credit for it though, as I was heavily inspired by the top pictured below from Modcloth. 

I was no doubt initially drawn to it for being stripey AND navy and white. After the initial lust, I began to really appreciate the clever use of dimensions to make these over-sized stripes. I thought it was a really unique take on the stripey Breton-inspired garments that I currently love. Looking even more closely I realised it was not created from one piece of printed stripey fabric, but instead from panels of two different solid colours of fabric. That's when a light bulb lit up and I realised, 'I CAN TOTALLY MAKE SOMETHING LIKE THAT!'. Further more, I could make it easily from two second hand T-shirts and an overlocker. What is not to love about that?!

Source: modcloth.com via Zoe on Pinterest

Choosing one navy men's T-shirt and one white, I set to work cutting them into strips of about 14cms deep, if memory serves. As I'm sure you can see, the original Modcloth garment uses panels of different depths, but seeing as my version was to be a quick and fun homage rather than an accurate reproduction, I cut all the strips of jersey the same depth. In similar speedy interpretation, I decided to finish the neckline in a different way: with a strip of white jersey folded in half to form a neck binding attached with the overlocker (serger). I did recreate the slightly gathered sleeve heads though, which I thought was a cute feminine detail on what could have otherwise been a fairly unisex garment. 

Once I'd cut the T-shirts entirely into strips, I overlocked them together to form two large rectangles. I included the original hem of the navy T-shirt along the bottom strip so I wouldn't have to bother hemming the final top, and did similar with the white T-shirt for the sleeve hems.

(Modcloth top: image source)

When attaching the strips, it was important to be careful with overlocking tension. If the tension was too tight, all those seams would have resulted in hundreds of ripples through the fabric and not a very neat finish to the garment. Then with the two large stripey rectangles, I cut out the front and back pieces, then the sleeves and neck binding strip and zipped it together like any other jersey top. Accept of course I made extra effort to match the stripes at the side seams seeing as it would be super obvious if they weren't aligned very well. 

The garment looked a little plain so I made a quick little brooch to add a little pop of colour. I drew a heart template and cut it out of some red vinyl. Then I got busy with a safety pin and the glue gun. Voila! 

Peplum Skirt Experiment

A couple of months ago I set myself a challenge to develop a peplum skirt. I'd been adding peplums to top styles using jersey and I wanted to see how I could translate it into woven fabric on the lower half. 

I clearly cared enough about my little experiment to have taken photographs of the result, but not enough to have remembered to share the pics until I was reminded of the project last week. I was flicking through the Topshop website to keep an eye on 'what the kids are into these days', when I saw a few skirts (including the one pictured below) that looked very similar.

Source: topshop.com via Zoe on Pinterest

Surprisingly, the basis for the skirt was McCalls M5590, the same pattern that I made my denim high waist bow skirt from. The peplum was drafted in a very similar manner to those jersey tops, but with the main difference being how it was constructed and applied to the rest of the garment. 

Satisfyingly, the Topshop versions appear to have dealt with the fastening issue in the same way I did, by inserting a centre back zip with a split in the peplum. What I like about my version above Topshop' is that my peplum is not the same depth all the way around and I feel the deeper dimension at the back gives a nice balance to the garment. 

The element of my version that I am unhappy with is the visible dart lines that form the waist shaping. If I'd used a skirt pattern with a waistband, Burdastyle's Jenny skirt for example, to apply the peplum to, I would have eliminated those visible dart lines. 

Post-Wedding Sewing Plans

I can't imagine there being too much sewing that isn't wedding-centric over the next couple of months, but I've got some projects planned that I'm just itching to get stuck into and sharing those plans with my lovely readers is the next best thing to actually doing them and then wearing the results.

Here the three projects/patterns that I'm most excited to get cracking with, once all this fancy-pants sewing is finished:

The first pattern I can't wait to get my hands on is the most complex of the three. Pictured above is my copy of the Watson jacket pattern from Papercut Patterns. Probably like most sewing peops when they discover Papercut patterns for the first time, I flipped out over their stunning website and incredible product packaging. If you haven't already visited them, check out this NZ-based company's site.  I've got a couple of fabric options to make this in, but I think it'll be a great opportunity to use some of the incredible large buttons I possess so I'll take those firmly in to consideration before making the final fabric selection.

I'm not sure if the sun will still be shining by the time I finally get making this sun top pictured below (first featured in March in my blouse sewing pattern hoard post). I have the most amazing vintage red, white and blue fabric lined up but I want to take my time and get a good fit so I haven't rushed into making this when there are certain other garments which are currently more deserving of my fitting time!  

I've worn my navy cropped trousers made from an adapted version of the Colette Patterns Clover pattern (pictured below) so often that another version or two is inevitable. By altering the waist shape of the original pattern, my version are more comfortable than pretty much any other pair of trousers I've ever owned so I'd love to have some more in different lengths and colours. I've actually had a pair in leopard print sateen cut out for some time, which I may well get round to stitching before my wedding sewing is complete. I've also been obsessing about a red pair, possible full length. This talented sewer has converted the pattern to create an altogether different style which look totally amazing. I can't wait to make my own red-hot pair! I don't currently have any secondhand red fabric with a sufficient elastane quality, so I may bend my 'no new fabric' rule for this project because I am so desperate for red trousers, as embarrassing as that is to admit!

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!

Refashion Friday Inspiration: Contrast Sleeve Smock Top Shirt/Blouse

As I've mentioned before, I'm really into reworking men's button-up work shirts because the fabric is often such lovely quality and it's so nice to sew. Many of them are made from pastel/candy coloured striped or checked fabric, which is very on-trend (if that kind of thing concerns you!) and can look lovely when paired with another fabric with similar colouring. 

For these smock tops I wanted to contrast the traditionally male work shirt with an ultra feminine ditsy floral fabric: to play with those different aesthetics within one garment. The pattern I used here was at one point Simplicity 3835, but has been heavily altered and adapted by myself over a period of years. One of the main changes was to make puffier sleeves with a sleeve band. This band provided another opportunity to mix up the fabrics.  

The smock incorporates the button stand, pocket and hem line of the original garment. Although the buttons can still be undone, it is not necessary for putting on or removing the finished smock. Here's a whole load of contrast sleeve smock tops which blend men's work shirts with ditsy floral fabric sleeves:

A Trio of Basic Vests

I can totally understand why making arguably the most boring garments ever won't appeal to everyone. For most people who like to sew, time to do so is at a premium. Many would prefer to spend their precious time making a beautiful dress out of eye-catching fabric that will make them feel like a total starlet when they're wearing it. I have often heard it said or seen it written, 'Why make something that I can buy easily and cheaply in the shops?'.

I get that, I really do. But I don't feel like that. Making an item that ends being relied on and worn very frequently gives me a real buzz and sense of achievement. I like to be reminded that my sewing skills can equip me with some of my most fundamental wardrobe needs. Don't get me wrong, I love to make a fabulous dress as much as the next sewing chica, but the ratio of time taken to make it compared to how often it gets worn frustrates me so I don't make such things very often.

But even sewers who have more patience than me need a 'palette cleanser' project now and then. And when it comes to the least amount of time required to complete, the free downloadable PDF vest/camisole/singlet pattern I released last month is pretty hard to beat. Karen from Did You Make That? even went to the trouble to time it: she discovered you can make two during one men's singles final at Wimbledon!

Aside from during the height of Summer, I usually wear a vest under my tops. But lots of my tops, T-shirts and blouses aren't entirely opaque which can lead to wierd effects when paired with a bright coloured vest underneath. So I gathered some pieces of jersey, one flesh tone, one white and one black, and made this little range of basics. I'm now set for whatever outfits I come up with.

But don't worry, not all my recent vest-making activities have been to produce boring basics!:

Finally, I'd like to thank the people who have bought me a coffee via the donate button on the Free Patterns page. I can guarantee that if you keep me caffeinated, new free patterns will be released quicker!