Let’s do this!

Day 1 – The only thing me-made is the shirt – it’s a Plantain Tee in a dark brown ITY knit. The sleeves are 3/4 length. I have two copies of this shirt (you’ll see the other one later in the month, for sure) which was made specifically to wear with skinny jeans, etc.

Day 2 – A brand new gathered skirt! Made by following the By Hand London tutorial. I have learned from previous skirt fails and interfaced the waistband. This woven fabric is a dream – it feels almost like flannel on one side – so I’ll probably be wearing it ALL SUMMER.

Day 3 – This dress is inspired by London fashion – I was stunned by how many well-dressed professionals in the city were willing to embrace wild colors and patterns in their daily wardrobe! I made it last summer, when I returned from Europe.

Day 4 – My first Nettie! It’s only a t-shirt, because I didn’t make any alterations to the pattern (and I’m 4 inches taller than the sample size), but I love it! I’m definitely making the next one a size larger, because this pulls a lot on my shoulders, but I’m still pleased with this and will probably keep wearing it. (Also, I can’t wait to make a million sleeveless tank tops out of this pattern, so I can finally throw away some old standards.)

AND I made this skirt over the weekend, specifically to wear with my new Nettie shirt. It was re-purposed from my wadder* pile – a dress which I assembled with previously unknown levels of meticulous attention back in 2011 or so, but which fit so poorly that I never, ever wore it in public. But it had pockets! So I cut off the bodice, re-fashioned the skirt (it had huge pleats, so I changed them to gathers), and added a waistband and new zipper. (Confession: it needs a button, but I used a safety pin.)

Day 5 – Plantain sweater and a self-drafted knit skirt (that I believe has been cut shorter since last Me Made May). Neither of these are stellar pieces, but they’re so comfortable, and they reflect my attempts, since last year, to add some new silhouettes to my handmade wardrobe.

Day 6 – Oh man. I love this dress. The color. The length. The silhouette – which you’re going to see over and over and over again this month. It bugs me that the neckline wrinkles, but I made it before I started to get really nitpicky about fitting, and I believe this pattern piece has been altered multiple times since this dress was made in 2013.

Day 7 – I made this Lady Skater last May, and wear it so often it’s possibly become my signature dress. It is SO COMFORTABLE and I’m constantly tempted to make enough that I never have to wear anything else.

First Week Summary

New garments made: THREE SIX, because I had a frantic night of sewing after starting this blog post and verbalizing some of my life/sewing dreams.

Inspirations (garments I want to make):
-interfaced-waist on a circle skirt (perhaps just an update of my denim skirt from last year)
-gathered-waist dress?
-fabric upgrade (heavier, sturdier) for knit straight skirt(s)
-Pink Dress in a maxi length, perhaps in a muted pattern from the stash

 

*wadder – I discovered this term on a British sewing blog, and it accurately captures the idea of a garment so hideous you want to wad it into a ball and throw it into a corner.