me-made-may 2013 round up

We did it guys! Me-Made-May 2013 is over! First, an incredibly grateful 'thank you!' to Zoe for holding this challenge yet again. This was my first time and I'm surprised at how insightful and challenging the experience was, and I'm pumped about future makes! Here's the outcome:

The Challenge
My self-set challenge was to wear 4 me-made garments a week. Within the first week it developed into an evaluation of my me-made items, what I should cull, and what I want to make in the future.

the wwcd dress

What I learnt
I have neither the energy nor the resources to take a photo of myself every day
With different schedules, I don't see my boyfriend in the daylight and am too embarrassed to ask a coworker to take photos of me. Fingers crossed Paunnet does a tutorial on how to be so amazing with a self-timer (p.s. go check out her MMM photos--that girl is so stylish).

I'm more likely to wear things that are better made
Oh my, how far I've come from the girl who didn't get the fuss over seam finishes.

the tutti frutti laurel

For a girl who's not that into floral dresses, I make a lot of floral dresses
This was a big lesson: I gravitate towards making garments I don't particularly love wearing. The best way I can think of combating this is by getting inspiration from things I want to wear, not things that look phenomenal on other people. How do you plan your garments?

I need more pants & winter items

l-r: the couch pant / the vice versa laurel / the definitely not meh blouse / the jenna skirt

Just because I didn't wear it, doesn't mean I don't love it
May in Australia is late Autumn, so things like my Kate Dress which are on constant rotation in spring in summer, weren't worn at all.

The Culls

l-r top: the navy marie / the lady in red dress / the mod violet

l-r bottom: the cotton fest skirt / the betty in wonderland dress / the welcome spring dress

Not pictured: the bubble butt clovers 

The To-Be-Fixed
Garments that have easily fixed issues (e.g., a faulty zip) and, with a little effort, will be totally wearable

l-r: the end of the world skirt / the smug yellow bricks dress / the meh blouse / the marc jacobs skirt

Most worn RTW
Grey wool pants, geographic print pants, jeans, chinos 
What can I say? I'm a pants lady. I've nearly perfected the fit of my Colette Clovers (it's taking some serious tweaking and time!) and am expecting to go pant cray-cray in the very near future.

Button up shirts
Crisp, white shirts go perfect with the crazy patterned pants that I love so much. I've recently purchased Pam's Craftsy class, on making the perfect tailored shirt, so let's hope I have some beautiful creations for MMM 14!

Stretchy 3/4 sleeve pull-over shirts
Is there anything easier than a classic fitting top? I think it's time to get on Sewaholic's renfrew train.

Blazers & jumpers
Oooooh, this will be a fun project!


The Conclusion
Participating in Me-Made-May 2013 was a fantastic reality check of where my me-made wardrobe currently stands and where I want it to go. The main discoveries are that I don't sew things I want to wear (which is kind of bizarre), I have a few gaps which can be easily filled with stretch shirts & pants, and I now recognise how important a well made garment is to wearing it later.

Oh man, enough self-indulgent typing. This girl needs to sew!

gats-piration

I'm going to stop working. 

I'm going to laze about an art deco house wearing pearls and drink martinis. And maybe sewing. 

If that was real I'd be creating something spectacular for Miss Crayola Creepy's Great Gatsby challenge. And this is my inspiration: 

via

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by Georges Barbier

via

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via

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by Ernesto Cabral

Irene Castle hair (of course)

the wwcd dress

I know what you're thinking:

"Reana Louise, a beautiful garment made from a non eye-searing coloured or patterned fabric? Has some stylish alien invaded your body and taken over your sewing choices?"

Well, close. 

A few weeks ago Sewing Superstars Oona and Heather announced their Sew Bossy Initiative. Basically you gather your fabric, your pattern, your supplies... and you send it to someone else. And they send you their pattern and sewing supplies. 

I was smitten with the idea but too nervous to approach anyone. Thankfully Heather, in her mind-reading glory, released a fantasy draft pick teaming up me with Carolyn. 

(Click here to see what I sent Carolyn and what she did with it!)

If you haven't met Carolyn yet I can tell you she is stylish, sweet, super productive, and my new best bud (not that she knows it). She sent me the loveliest package and card and pre-washed-my-fabric. See? Best bud material. 

She even stitched the edge of the fabric pre washing.  

Shit. 

Sweet? Yes. 

Obvious evidence of me punching above my weight? Hell yes.  

So I decided to ditch my usual corner cutting and channel my inner Carolyn to create the "What Would Carolyn Do? dress". I finished all my seams, I pressed when I was supposed to, and I fitted as I went. And guys, honestly, it is all cool beans. 

I love the outcome and flat-felled my seams, which are the closest thing to wearing your clothes inside out to show off your seams without actually wearing your clothes inside out and looking a bit crazy. I used Sunni's tutorial and I loooove them.

Also, I just want to donate my little 2 cents about Japanese pattern books as they have been making the blogosphere rounds and getting a bit of heat for being shapeless or unnattractive. Some days I, personally, don't want to wear tight fitting clothes, and a beautifully made sack dress is a helluva lot more stylish than flannel bed pants which I may or may not have worn to the shops before. (Hint: I have. Repeatedly).

So, if you are considering doing the Sew Bossy challenge and need that little extra motivation: do it do it do it! I am so happy I pushed myself out of my usual sewing bubble. Sure patterned fabrics are cool but I'm already realising (thanks Me-Made-May) that I need a few more solids, or 'cake' as Tasia would say. This is total vanilla bean pound cake, and I flippin' love vanilla-bean pound cake.

And finally, THANK YOU CAROLYN for doing this challenge with me!

The deets
The pattern: Dress "C" from the Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori (the same book that my smug yellow bricks dress is from)
Fabric: Inky blue linen, picked by Carolyn
Notions: None
Changes: I cut out the pockets but decided not to add them as they looked a bit 'kiddish'
Next time: No changes, I love it
Worn with: Itchy legs from that grass.

Also, a silly pose. Just because you might need a giggle today xx

the vice versa laurel

Introducing Laurel #3! It's a vice versa of my tutti frutti variation and is the most practical of the Laurels. Made-me-may, I'm coming for you. 

Speaking of made-me-may, how the heckarooney am I supposed to take photos with winter encroaching?! After repeatedly being beaten home by darkness I ventured into the scary, unchartered territory of artificial light and don't think I'll be up for that every day. How do you take made-me photos?

There's nothing new to say about the Laurel: it's awesome. I still want to make a few tweaks to the fit but this will be my last Laurel for a while. I have a pant-a-palooza to continue (seriously, my sewing table is trés mathematical and exciting right now). I also have my Sew Bossy project to show you, by my Boss's photos are so amazing (look at them!) that I need to give my project the justice of day light. 

New shoes! Aren't they amazing? Givenchy. Yeah, I now own Givenchy. I had to look up how to pronounce Givenchy (jee-von-shee if you were wondering) and they were less than 1/4 the original price, but let's just keep that between us, K? I feel like a Goddess when I wear them.

As I've said I have absolutely zero expectation in winning any of the Laurel prize categories because I've gone the practical, quick-fix route, but it's totally a-Ok because I have new garments (hooray!) and eye-candy to the billionth degree. Have you guys been following Colette's flickr group? Here are some of my favourites:

Top L-R: Michelle // Kelly // Melissa 

Bottom L-R: Soleilneo // Melooza // Annie

And this is only some. Seriously, screw being a judge of that competition.

So there you have it: a pretty blouse, artificial light, and hopefully the most scatter-brained post to appear on this blog xx

The deets
The pattern: Colette Laurel
Fabric: Cotton (both floral and blue fabrics)
Notions: None
Changes: Moved bust darts, removed the zip, added coloured bias tape on the neck and arm holes
Worn with: Jeans, Givenchy, and the cool glow of tennis court lights

the tutti frutti laurel

^ piping ^

^ in-seam pockets ^

When Colette Patterns first announced the Laurel Sewing Competition my mind exploded with ideas: pockets, panels, piping, lace inserts, 60s shifts and more. I'd been looking for a good shift dress pattern and along came this delicious design with a side of insanely-good-prize-motivation.

Then... I signed up for me-made-may and got a job, so my excess time evaporated and my need for staple items began to outweigh my desire to wear crazy panelled dresses. Instead, I opted for a tutti-frutti coloured Laurel with contrasting piping and pockets. Add a cute blazer and you've got yourself a casual friday outfit. BAM! That's one me-made day done yo.

So it's not the competition entry it could have been but at least it meets the criteria unlike, ahem, a certain megan dress that shall not be discussed. So that's an improvement, right?

Also, it's 'Autumn' and the sun is shining and I'm wearing a short dress. If you ever wanted an excuse to visit Brisbane, please see above.

The deets
The pattern: Colette Laurel
Fabric: Cotton (both floral and blue fabrics)
Notions: None
Changes: Moved bust darts, removed the zip, lengthened the back by 1cm, added piping bias tape on the neck and arms (I used Casey's tutorial), and added in-seam pockets
Next time: After wearing this dress every day for a week a few times, I think it could do with a little extra room over the décolletage
Worn with: Sunshine, bitches.

harriet's raspberry macaroon apron

This is my friend Harriet. She's a super tall, super pretty, cardi-loving cat lady who just had a birthday. I made her a linen/cotton half-apron with a satin sash to wear in the kitchen (which always smells like baked goods) or in the garden. The colours remind me of a raspberry macaroon. 

It's shorter so she can get down and dirty in the garden, and designed to look like an a-line skirt from the front because I think that's pretty. 

Also, her cats make me laugh. 

Happy Birthday Harriet! x