I survived the day, although it is not quite over with yet. it’s been a bit of a challenging time for me recently so I thought I would engage in a little counting of my accomplishments. After all, that is what I started this blog. At the beginning of the year, I made a resolution to create one item of clothing a month. I have happily surpassed it. Me Made May has helped me realise how many clothes I’ve actually made.
I am very proud to say I have now completed more than ten items of clothing.
In chronological order
One: The 50’s Style Skirt
I made this at a workshop, not long after Crafty Sew & So opened in September. There’s a zip along the side seam, I haven’t inserted a zip since! I’m planning on added a pocket to the other side seam. I picked up the mid-weight cotton from Leicester Market.
Two: The Unicorn Top
This is the first item of clothing I made on my own, it’s a really simple Victory Pattern called Roxette. I love the detail in the collar. I want to make it again in a floaty material, maybe viscose. I picked up the material and pattern from Crafty Sew & So.
Three and Four: The Cat’s Pyjamas
Number three and four, my gorgeous set of Fifi Pj’s from Tilly and the buttons.I seriously messed up with this set, they look cute but I ended up stretching the seams as I put the panels the wrong way round about three times. I also need to replace the elastic on the shorts as they’re pretty loose. I very much want to make another set of these which I can actually make. Again the fabric and pattern were from Crafty Sew & So
Five: The First Foray into Jersey
This was my very first attempt at sewing with jersey, It worked out pretty well, the fabric is lovely and soft. I used Tiny Pocket Tank pattern from Grainline Studio, Sarah helped me add a bust adjustment so it fits perfectly. Once again material and pattern from Crafty Sew & So.
Six: The Second Take
My second attempt at the Fifi Pj top went much better. The fit is so much better. Because I had to undo the french seams so many times last time I decided to use normal seams this time. It was a lot quicker and required very little unpicking. I was brave and wore it as a day top. The swallow print cotton was is from Crafty Sew & So.
Seven: The Dottie Angel Frock
I am very proud of this dress. I have worn it a lot, though can’t seem to find a picture of me wearing it. The delightfully named pattern is Dottie Angel Frock from Simplicity, New Look. I saw it in Mollie makes and grabbed it in the sale online. It was a bit of a shock to go from the nicely laid out and clear independent patterns to the convoluted and quite frankly confusing layout of New Look pattern. After playing around a lot with masses of bias binding I created my first dress. I added some pretty embroidery around the neckline and the joining line. I decided to make it just that little bit harder for myself and add pockets. It was simple enough but one is slightly smaller than the other. The polka-dot cotton is from Crafty and Pattern from Simplicity.
Eight: The Geometric Tank Top
I was very confident when I started making this top as the first Tiny Pocket Tank went very well. However, my impatience was my downfall. This jersey was a lot lighter and slinkier than the first tank top, I attempted to use my normal needle and got into a bit of a mess. I also ran out of black thread and only had white. I attempted to continue nonetheless and had to unpick this very fiddly fabric. I brought jersey needles and black threads and forced myself to sit down and finish the top. It feels luxurious to wear. Though I did manage to stretch the neckline a little so normally wear it with a vest top. Jersey needles, black thread, fabric and pattern all from Crafty.
Nine: The Denim Angel Frock
I found my second attempt at this dress a lot easier, though I did manage to lose the second page of instructions so had to make it by memory. I’ve made the dress a lot shorter for the summer, just above the knee. I think the beautiful big pockets make a great focal point. I picked up the stage print from a gorgeous shop in Lutterworth called Sew Charming. I made some envelope cushion covers with the cotton a little while back and had enough left over for the pockets. The denim was from Crafty.
Ten: The Coco Top
This is me very very excited about having made my tenth item of clothing. It’s made from a lovely soft ponte roma jersey. It’s another pattern from Tilly and the Buttons called Coco and i absolutely love it. There are loads of variations, dress length, three-quarter legnth sleeves, cowl neck and sleeve cuffs. I have so many plans. I made this in a workshop at crafty, it was almost exclusively done on the overlocker!
Whilst writing this I realised I made another top a little while ago. I liked the last photo so much I decided to make the next one a bonus.
Bonus: The Great British Sewing Bee Challenge
This is my version of the GBSB bias top challenge. We received a copy of the latest book at Crafty and made our own little challange. I used the lace as a focal point as i didn’t have the chevron effect of the stripes. If you want to see our review of the book, From Stitch to Style, check out the lastest Crafty Sew & So post.
Today I Made... 