Me Made Musings...

Do you tend to sew casual or fancy clothing? Things you wear on a daily basis or special outfits for special occasions?

During Me-Made-June, I joined 100 other sewing bloggers in wearing homemade clothes every day for a month. This wonderful initiative of Zoe's taught me to embrace, celebrate and showcase my self-made stitchery on a daily basis. It also taught me another valuable lesson - that I should make more practical clothing.

I've made:
- seven dresses - one casual-ish, six fancy
- six skirts
- two blouses - neither of which I wear
- one jacket
- one t-shirt
- one pair of pyjama bottoms.

  

Spot the difference...

When it comes to sewing, I'm attracted to pretty dresses, fancy details, bright colours and unusual prints. I like making the kind of special outfit I could wear to a wedding or a party, safe in the knowledge that no one else will be wearing the same dress, and basking in the glory of compliments on my ability to stitch some bits of fabric together, oh yes. But my life really isn't as glamorous as my self-made wardrobe might suggest - I'm living a lie! Most days I just go to the office. I like dressing up to play offices - and I say "play" offices because my office is a jeans and shirt kinda place. Some days I feel like dressing down like everyone else, and on Saturdays I always have an urge for denim and stripes (why is that?). During Me-Made-June, my denim skirt and stripey top got a LOT of wear.

  

So I'm going to make an effort to make more things I can wear during the week - blouses, t-shirts and (gulp) trousers. After all, clothes are meant to be worn.

How about you? Do you sew fancy clothes or everyday clothes? Do you have a favourite casual clothing pattern that you make time and time again?

[Soundtrack: 'The Letter' by Macy Gray]

Me-Made-June... Days 27, 28, 29 and 30

I spent the last four days of Me-Made-June on a course for my fellowship in rural Kent. Lots of quality time learning from cultural leaders and playing hide and seek. More importantly, a change of background for my MMJ photos...

Day 27

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?
1970s Feel Beignet Skirt

Day 28

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Loire Valley Skirt

Day 29

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

A 1970s Dress for Summer

Day 30

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Self-Drafted Top

I don't have the time or the internet connection to debrief on my experience of MMJ now, so I'll come back to this in another post. In the meantime, it'd be great to hear from you - how was MMJ for you, whether a participant or observer? What did you learn about your self-made wardrobe?

Ooh and thank you to everyone who has helped identify the mysterious pattern. Some fascinating historical clues and varied guesses as to a date - I'll keep digging. I paid $2 for it, which may not sound particularly exciting for American readers, but for a Brit that was pretty astounding...

Me-Made-June... Days 23, 24, 25 and 26

My month of wearing handmade clothes every day is nearly over. It's been fun, although I must say I'm looking forward to not having to take photos of myself every day...

Day 23

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

My First Dress

Where was it worn?

To the office, followed by an evening out with my school friends.

How often is it usually worn and why?

Not as often as it should be. The unofficial dress code at my work is jeans and a shirt, but my thinking is, "What's the point of working in an office if you can't play offices and wear a dress to work?!"

Day 24

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

1970s Feel Beignet Skirt

Where was it worn?

To work (is this getting boring yet?!).

How often is it usually worn and why?

Put it this way - the only reason I don't wear it every single day is that I don't want to wear out the denim too soon.

Day 25

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

A 1970s Dress for Summer

Where was it worn?

To Brighton for the sewing blogger meet up, then dinner with a pal.

How often is it usually worn and why?

A lot! This is the 4th time I've worn it for Me-Made-June, and I doubt it'll be the last. It's so easy to wear and so so comfortable.

Day 26

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Upcycled Granny Chic Skirt

Where was it worn?

Around the house and out and about in Brixton. Summer has finally arrived in London!

How often is it usually worn and why?

See Day 5.

I've finished my Ceylon dress, but now I'm off on a course so we'll have to wait for the wedding this weekend for outfit shots...

[Soundtrack: 'Young Americans' by David Bowie]

Me-Made-June... Days 19, 20, 21 and 22

Me-Made-June is still on, I'm still wearing self-made clothes every day this month. This week I've rediscovered a couple of homemade dresses that I haven't worn for ages...

Day 19

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?
Banana Sweetie Beignet Skirt

Where was it worn?
Hanging out in Brixton. Yes, it's June and yes, I'm wearing a cardigan. Looking a bit glum in this shot as I've just read the comments on this blog post and taken them personally.

How often is it worn and why?
See Day 10. I said then that that would be its last outing until the Autumn, little did I know June was going to feel like Autumn...

Will it be worn more often in future?
I think so, yes. Thanks to MMJ, I've found some new ways to style this.

Day 20

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Dress No. 2

Where was it worn?

To work. A very dreary day.

How often is it worn and why?

Never! The colour washes me out a bit. Plus, as I realised on my lunch break today as I skipped down Goodge Street, the slit at the back is a touch too high - derrière disclosure paranoia!

Will it be worn more often in future?

I'll probably wear it more often than never, yes. Probably only with tights so I don't need to worry (so much) about flashing innocent passers-by. I might be able to attenuate the dulling colour issue with a bright red necklace or... any other suggestions?

Day 21

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

The Birthday Party Dress

Where was it worn?

To work, a meeting, then the pub, where a "comedian" decided to pick on my dress sense, ask if people comment on it in the street all the time, and then try to dig himself out of a hole for the rest of the night. He said I looked like a girl scout! I much prefer another man's comment that I looked like I was on a 1950s cruise - well put. I don't think I've got a particularly wacky style, so it was a bit of a shock that it became such a talking point. I'm extremely sensitive to criticism, but in this case I honestly didn't feel even a hint of offence - I felt proud that I stood out from the crowd and enjoyed the debate that ensued. Have you ever been in a similar situation where someone questions why you dress in a certain way? How did you feel and react?

How often is it worn and why?

Only once ever. I love 1950s full dresses but they're not amazingly flattering when you're little like me. The hem line was a bit long on this and I finally got round to taking it up this week so it hits the middle of my knee. At some point I'm going to raise the waistline by an inch or two as I think this will make it more wearable too - but that requires restitching pleats and a zipper, so I'm not in any hurry!

Will it be worn more often in future?

Yes. Another MMJ success story. I really like this dress, and have a particular attachment to it after it got slated by a man wearing light blue jeans with black shoes (tee hee).

Day 22

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Betty Draper Jacket
Self-Drafted T-Shirt

Where was it worn?

To the office, a couple of meetings, followed by an office screening of Bridesmaids. Which is a hoot!

How often is it worn and why?

As I explained on Day 9, I didn't wear the jacket much before MMJ, but I promise to wear it much more in future. I wear the t-shirt at least once a week!

[Soundtrack: 'Guilt' by The Long Blondes]

PS. I've been hassling my friend Karen to start a sewing blog. Well, guess what? She did! Pop over, if you will, to say hello...

Me-Made-June... Days 15, 16, 17 and 18

Day 15

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?
Loire Valley Skirt

Where was it worn?
To work, followed by curry in Soho with pals.

How often is it usually worn and why?
See my ramblings on Day 1.

Will it be worn more often in future?
Definitely. This is a particular MMJ rediscovery success.

Day 16

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

1970s Dress for Summer

Where was it worn?
To the office, followed by dinner at my mum's. The sky was dark and the weather dramatic that day (which I love) so I wore this to add a bit of colour to the world (aren't I thoughtful?).

How often is it usually worn and why?
A lot!

Will it be worn more often in future?
Maybe!

Day 17

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Self-Drafted Top

Dazzlingly Red Beignet

Bow Belt

Where was it worn?
To the office, followed by a quiet evening in catching up with emails, phone calls, The Kennedys and embroidery.

How often is it usually worn and why?
They're all worn pretty often, as I'm sure you've realised by this stage in MMJ!

Will it be worn more often in future?
This question is becoming redundant with certain garments!

Day 18

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

A 1970s Feel Beignet Skirt

Where was it worn?

Sitting at my sewing table (yay!). Oh, and lying on the floor in (yogatic?) positions.

How often is it usually worn and why?

A lot. I love this skirt.

Will it be worn more often in future?

Not possible!

Right, I'm off to put some more work into my green floral Ceylon. Wondering what I should call the finished dress. Wedding in a Field Dress? Green Tea Dress? Grass Stain Stunner?! Help! Any ideas?

[Soundtrack: 'Rill Rill' by Sleigh Bells]

Me-Made-June... Days 11, 12, 13 and 14

This is the point during Me-Made-June when you start seeing the usual suspects popping up again and again. I'll try to style them differently to make it more interesting...

Day 11

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Dazzlingly Red Beignet Skirt

Bow Belt

Where was it worn?

Around the house, doing some sewing and paperwork, then out to a birthday bash in the evening.

How often is it usually worn and why?

Fairly often. On Day 6, in fact!

Day 12

What's Me-Made it today's outfit?
Self-drafted t-shirt
Button necklace (buttons threaded onto ribbon - that counts as homemade!)

Where was it worn?
Around the house and on a dash to the shops to see if they had anything I could use as piping on the dress I'm making.

How often is it usually worn and why?
A lot, considering it's new. Like Day 3!

Day 13

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?
Jenny Skirt

Where was it worn?
To my first day back at work after my sabbatical, followed by a working dinner for a project I'm doing.

How often is it usually worn and why?
Not very often. The aubergine gabardine is a little conservative for my taste, although it looked less boring with a belt. I made the mint lining a tiny bit too long so it keeps peeking out when I'm sitting down - oops! Oh well, I should consider it a feature.

Will it be worn more often in future?
Yes, it probably will now. I quite like it with this top.

Day 14

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?
My First Dress

Where was it worn?
To work. And in the evening I gave a speech about rediscovering my creative side... and making this dress!

How often is it usually worn and why?
As the first garment I made, this dress holds a special place in my heart. I really like the fabric and the simplicity of the shape, and it attracts a lot of compliments every time I wear it. But I don't wear it as often as I could and should.

Will it be worn more often from now on?
Yes, I promise.

How is everyone else finding Me-Made-June? If you're joining in, are you struggling with the mid-month lull or still feeling motivated to rock your self-made frocks? If you're following along, are you inspired to make more of your own clothes? I'd love to know!

Me-Made-June... Days 7, 8, 9 and 10

Once you get into the swing of it, wearing homemade clothes all month long is actually pretty easy...

Day 7

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

1970s Dress for Summer

Where was it worn?

Last day in Washington DC, packing my case and sitting on a plane.

How often is it usually worn and why?

Judging by the fact that I've worn it twice this week, I can safely say I wear this dress often. I've styled it slightly differently to Day 2, with leggings, a bow at the front and the sleeves worn down rather than turned up. Oh and I didn't iron it, for that rustic look (ahem). It was perfectly comfortable for the overnight flight home.

Will it be worn more often in future?

I'll try not to wear it twice a week every week or it could get a bit boring!

Day 8

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Pyjama bottoms

Where was it worn?

Around the house, trying to get over jet lag.

How often is it usually worn and why?

Quite a lot, although usually at night time!

Will it be worn more often in future?

Probably about the same.

Day 9

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Betty Draper Jacket

Where was it worn?

To a freelance work gig.

How often is it usually worn and why?

Rarely, to be honest. Which is a shame because it's the make I'm most proud of. I'm not accustomed to wearing shoulder pads so every time I put it on I feel like I'm a kid in the eighties again dressing up in my mum's clothing. 

Will it be worn more often in future?

Yes, I promise. I didn't feel that comfortable in it when I left the house, but when I glimpsed myself in a mirror later in the day it looked like a perfectly normal thing to be wearing. The lining feels so luxurious, I love sliding it on and off (as Steph quipped on the Flickr group, never underestimate the "lubrication" function of a silky lining!).

Day 10

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Banana Sweetie Beignet Skirt

Where was it worn?

Working from home.

How often is it usually worn and why?

Not as often as it could be. Firstly, the corduroy is lightweight so it crumples easily - not a great look, but bearable. Secondly, it's more of a snuggly Winter skirt than Summer option, but I wore it today because it was grey and miserable outside.

Will it be worn more often in future?

I'll put it away now until the Autumn, when I'll probably wear it more.

By the way, thank you so much to everyone who responded to my post on intermediate and advanced level sewing skills. See that piece of paper stuck on my wall in the last picture? That's my list of techniques to try out! Hoping to get some paperwork cleared tonight so I can get stuck into sewing this weekend. Anyone else planning some serious stitching this weekend? I always love to hear what people are working on...

Me-Made-June... Days 4, 5 and 6

There was a bit of a debate going on over on another blog about whether Me-Made-Months are getting boring for readers. I understand that not everyone may be into it, and that different people favour different kinds of blog features, but I'd like to give my two penneth worth here to explain a little more of why I decided to get involved.

A few weeks ago I was thinking about how sad it was that my finished sewing projects - things I slaved over for weeks and cherish in real life - only get one viewing on my blog. After the "big reveal" post I quickly move on to planning and making the next project, anxious to finish it quickly so I'll have something to show. This doesn't seem right. For me, sewing my own clothes is a lifestyle choice, and wearing the clothes in everyday life is as important - if not more important - than the act of making them.

So I had an idea to do a "sewing projects revisited" feature on my blog where I revisit a finished garment and show three or so photos of me wearing it in real life, styled in different ways. A bit like the remix posts by the Clothes Horse, which I really like for encouraging readers to treasure the clothes they already own rather than constantly going out to buy more. But this would be even better as I didn't buy the clothes in the first place! (Although I could never reach Rebecca's sartorial and photographic standards, of course.)

But then it was time for Me-Made-June, so I thought I'd put the "revisited" posts on hold and join in with a more social, communal scheme instead. MMJ has introduced me to new stitchers and the Flickr group has provided lots of sewing inspiration. And I love reading the blog posts - seeing what people wear everyday for a month is fascinating to me, not just because I'm nosey and like to peek into other people's shopping baskets in Sainsbury's, honest, but (also) because it's a triumph for sewing culture to see homemade clothes out in the world, in real life, for a whole month. This may seem routine for people who have been sewing for decades and are used to wearing their homemade wardrobe all the time, but for the new batch of stitchers like us it's wonderful.

Thank you, Zoe!

Day 4

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?
Denim Beignet skirt

Where was it worn?
Pottering around the house, a picnic on the Mall, and a date at the pictures (to see Meek's Cutoff - highly recommended).

How often is it usually worn and why?
All the time,  more than anything else I've made. I love it so!

Will it be worn more often in future?
Surely that's not possible? (Maybe it is. And don't call my Shirley.)

Day 5

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?
Upcycled granny chic skirt

Where was it worn?
Spending a geeky day with my boyfriend. I was getting tired of finding photogenic backgrounds for my outfit shots, so settled on this charming spot. Like it?

How often is it usually worn and why?
Not that often, actually. I guess it's a little girly-bohemian for my usual style, and beige doesn't look great on me. But it's pretty comfy and looks good with coloured tights in the winter.

Will it be worn more often in future?
I think so, yes. I almost forgot it existed, so MMJ has been good at reminding me what it's in my wardrobe.

Day 6

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?
Dazzlingly Red Beignet Skirt
Bow Belt

Where was it worn?
Meeting at the Freer Gallery, working from home, and dinner out with my adorable boyfriend.

How often is it usually worn and why?
I wear the skirt quite a lot. I love red, it's really easy to wear, and the lining makes it lovely and silky on the inside. The gabardine is pretty hard wearing so I'm not worried about how many times it has to go in the wash. I wear the belt even more - everytime I wear this skirt, and often with dresses and stripey tops.

Will it be worn more often in future?
I'll probably wear the skirt a lot more when I go back to work.

[Soundtrack: 'Touch the Hem of His Garment' by Sam Cooke]

Me-Made-June... Days 1, 2 and 3

Happy Me-Made-June! If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this post and please try to keep up in future. (Some people...) In the run up to June I was a little nervous about taking part in the challenge - would I have enough to wear without it becoming stressful? But I can already say it's been great. While I've enjoyed following other bloggers taking part in previous months, being part of the challenge - the community, if you will - myself is so much more fun.

Ooh and just before we move on to my outfits, I just want to say thank you to Debi, Casey and Karen who wrote guest posts for me recently. Although maybe I shouldn't be thanking them as they raised the quality threshold of this blog somewhat. Oh well...

Day 1

What's Me-Made in today's outfit? 

Loire Valley Skirt

Where was it worn?

Running around Washington in 35 degrees heat, a meeting at the National Gallery of Art, and slumping on the sofa stuffing my face with takeaway pizza.

How often is it usually worn and why?

Rarely. I got it into my head that it only goes with a plain black top, but I've realised it goes with more things than that. Also, it used to sit just above my hips but a temporary safety pin fix later and it looks a lot less frumpy cinched in around my waist. After the pizza, however, I did have to remove the safety pin...

Will it be worn more often in future?

Definitely. I really love the bold print and the bright colour. What kinds of tops would you wear it with?

Day 2

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

1970s Summer dress

Where was it worn?

Doing some work on my laptop in a coffee shop, and dinner with friends.

How often is it usually worn and why?

A lot. I love the print on the fabric and it's really comfortable to wear, loose fitting, in a snuggly fabric.

Will it be worn more often in future?

Yep!

Day 3

What's Me-Made in today's outfit?

Self-drafted top

Fabric-covered necklace

Where was it worn?

On an amazing four hour tour of the Library of Congress's film archive in Virginia. Yes, I am a geek.

How often is it usually worn and why?

I wear the t-shirt quite a lot. Stripey tops are my default clothing choice, and this is the only one I have in green stripes. I don't wear the necklace that often as the green and pink fabric is hard to match, but it works well with this top.

Will it be worn more often in future?

If the top can be worn more often - yes! And I'll try to wear the necklace more as I do like it.

Me-Made-June... On the Road

I'm excited to say I'll be participating in Me-Made-June '11! Each day in June, I'll be wearing at least one item that I have made myself, joining a bunch of other stitchers in this challenge to celebrate our homemade clothes. I've loved following other bloggers' Me-Made-Months but as a relatively new seamster I've thus far shied away from participating. Having taken an inventory of my self-stitched clothes, I think I'm now ready to join in... hopefully without resorting to my homemade pyjamas too many times!

Oh yes, and for the first week of the challenge I'll be on the road, on a research trip to San Francisco and Washington DC. I'll be a busy bee, but have of course factored in a few days holiday to explore, so if you have any tips - fabric shops or otherwise - please do share. First stop, Maker Faire - woop!

I've asked three of my favourite bloggers to write guest posts while I'm away. I'm so excited to see what they come up with! Look out for the first one on Sunday...

Byeeeee!

[Soundtrack: 'Fun Fun Fun' by the Beach Boys]