My Unofficial Me Made May 2013 Participation: Weeks 1 & 2

I hadn’t planned on participating in Me Made May challenge but it just so happened that I was wearing a dress I made on May 1 so on an impulse I decided to see how many days in a row I could wear something I made. So here’s what I’ve worn so far in my unofficial participation. On weekdays, I drafted people at work to take my picture. Those photos were taken after sitting on public transportation or sitting at my desk. So sometimes my outfits are wrinkled.

And you can see some of my hat collection – I wear hats everyday.

Day 1: This dress was a finalist in the BurdaStyle Sewing Vintage Modern contest. I blogged about making the dress [“Making a Dress from the Book: BurdaStyle Sewing Vintage Modern” and “Nitty Gritty Dress Details“] and photographing it for my contest entry [“Preparing for a Fashion Photo Shoot” and “My First Fashion Photo Shoot for a Dress“].

The vintage hat I’m wearing has a veil, which you can see floating in the breeze. I got it at All Things Vintage in Oakland, a lovely shop run by two lovely ladies. I also made a crinoline for this dress, which got a little scratchy wearing it all day at work. Next time I’ll wear a slip in addition to the crinoline!

Day 2: We were having a heat wave in the Bay Area that week so I decided to wear my red cotton polka dot dress (fabric from Britex Fabrics). I made this dress from a vintage pattern that I graded a size up in the shoulder and hip areas.

I mentioned this dress in my post “Choosing the Right Interfacing.” This dress has a fabric belt, which I also made. I wore it with a vintage hat made out of velvet and white straw as you can see in the image below.

 

Day 3: I made this top from cotton shirting fabric, which seemed like a good idea at the time but the fabric was a little too crisp. This bias-cut shirt would have looked better if I had used a fabric wit more drape to it. I wrote about it twice: “Making Colette Patterns Jasmine Top – Part 1” and “Making Colette Patterns Jasmine top – Part 2.”

Day 4: I wore this hat I made from V8405 a couple years ago. It’s made from home dec fabric I got on sale (50 percent off!) from Joann’s and trimmed with two grosgrain ribbons I got at Britex Fabrics in San Francisco – the striped ribbon is on top of a solid wine red grosgrain.

Day 5: I love this fabric – I think it was an import from Japan. It goes will with my straw hat, which came trimmed with brown grosgrain.

Day 6: I made this hat from less than a yard of upholstery fabric scrap. I wrote about it in this post “Sewing a Patricia Underwood Vogue Hat.” Unfortunately, the pattern is now out of print. But you may be able to find it on Etsy or eBay.

Day 7: I began embroidering this spirals on this black knit fabric in October. The idea is from Natalie Chanin’s inspiring book Alabama Studio Sewing + Design. Then I took a break from it in November and then finished it in December. I wrote about it as a work in progress [“The Embroidered Wrap“] but never posted an image of the finished version. So here it is! I wore it with a necklace made out of ropes of knit fabric that I tied into knots – also an idea from Chanin’s book.

Day 8: I finally finished my Sassy Librarian Blouse! This was a Craftsy class by Christine Haynes. The PDF pattern was included as part of the class. I’ll be writing a post about making this top soon!

Day 9: This knit fabric skirt is made from a pattern in Natalie Chanin’s book Alabama Studio Sewing + Design. The seams are felled. I like how it matches my sweater. I wore it with this vintage hat.

Day 10: This bolero was made with a double layer of this black knit fabric. I embellished the sleeves and the edges with a cretan stitch. I wore it with this wool hat. The heat wave was over so it was cool enough to wear this hat.

Day 11: This was a Saturday so I decided to wear the first knit top I made. The interfacing I used was a bit too stiff so I don’t wear it very much. Also the sleeves can get a little annoying because they are so wide at the bottom. The edges can just dip down into your food as you’re eating if you don’t watch out. ;o)

Day 12: This top is from a pattern in the book Chic & Simple Sewing by Christine Haynes. I made this using fabric I got for a couple dollars from the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse. This fabric had a lot of drape to it, which didn’t quite work for this top. This is sort of a muslin, really. If I make it again, I’ll use a more crisp fabric that won’t have a tendency to gape across the bust. I’m wearing a pin in the middle so I won’t flash my bra in the front there.

Day 13: I love the fabric on this skirt. The fabric is from Discount Fabrics in San Francisco. I usually wear it with one of my vintage hats and a vintage bracelet.

 

 Day 14: I wore one of my favorite pieces I made from Christine Haynes book Chic & Simple Sewing. I made the bias tape and added the cuffs to the sleeves. On this particular day I wore it with this vintage hat, which was made in France, according to the information inside the hat. I love the trimming – wool lace and velvet ribbon.

And that’s the first two weeks of Me Made May 2013! I’m not sure how many handmade things I’ve got left – or if I’ll resort to repeating (or making something new?) but you’ll find out at the end of the month – or just follow my Twitter feed(@csewsalot) and see if I’ve tweeted any more #memademay tweets. You can also see my Me Made May photos on Instagram at csews.