Category sewing

Me Made May pledge #MMMay17

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This is my first time to join in on the #memademay challenge. Last year I definitely didn’t have enough clothing to last a whole month, but I’m going to give it a good shot this year! I really fancied this challenge because the nature of it appeals to me, plus, on the more practical side, I could see lots of people getting good results with it for their creation processes.

Me Made May

If you don’t know it, Me Made May is an initiative created by Zoe of the So, Zo, What Do You Know blog and this is its 8th year already. She explains it all in much better detail than I ever could, but essentially the idea is that you create a pledge for the month of May that involves wearing or making self-made garments. There are many, many ways you can pledge, but the principal idea is that it’s a personal challenge that works for you.

I am starting off with what could be regarded as the most popular pledge and it is this:

‘I, Claire from bellecitadel.com and @belle_citadel, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’17. I endeavour to wear one me-made item of clothing each day for the duration of May 2017’

This is going to be challenging for me, but I’m really looking forward to it. I hope it will help me take a good, long look at my makes and wardrobe and come up with some great outfit ideas, as well as streamline and consolidate my style. Let’s see!

If it sounds like something you’d be interested in, just visit Zoe’s blog here and add your pledge to the comments. Sounds like fun, no?

 

New make/test: JLV Juniper Cardigan in tulips

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Happy Easter and welcome to a review of my first test! I was really excited to try testing a garment and had been looking around for a cardigan pattern for some time. Since then, a bunch of cardigan patterns have all appeared from nowhere, but at the time it seemed like providence when Jennifer Lauren put out a call for testing the Juniper cardigan. I leapt at the chance and was luckily accepted! For Easter we visited the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival here in Washington state and since Jennifer appears to use floral names a lot for patterns, it seemed an appropriate backdrop for this blog post.

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New make: Seamwork Sonya dress

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So I made a shift dress in linen. Not something I would have expected to put on my to-do list since a) I’ve always suited a more nipped-in garment, even when I was 19 and student-thin and b) have never been able to wear linen – I tried linen clothes many times when I was younger, but we just didn’t get on. And then there’s the grey. I chose this because I felt I hadn’t made anything grey forever and have since realised that almost every item of clothing I have been working on recently is, in fact, grey. I don’t know what’s up with my head but I definitely don’t need any more grey. Seattle is grey enough right now!

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New make: #sewmystyle Virginia Leggings

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Hello there! A wee catch up post for the March #sewmystyle make, which is… a pair of leggings! Megan Nielsen’s Virginia leggings to be exact. It will therefore be a fairly short post since they are, after all, a comparatively simple item to make. Nevertheless, a good leggings pattern is important! I confess I almost didn’t make them as I have a couple of other leggings patterns, but what swayed me was 1) the reviews were very good and several were by people who have tried many, many leggings patterns and 2) there is a maternity option. I am not pregnant, but I lived in leggings when I was and they might come in useful in the future, if not for me, as a perfect gift for a pregnant friend.

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New make: Linden #2 – a mixed affair

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You know sometimes you make something and you’re not that keen and then you see the photos and you think, “Actually, it’s not that bad…”. Well, this was the opposite for me. I was really chuffed when I finished this Grainline Linden sweatshirt and now I’m… less so. And there’s a simple reason. I love the fabrics, I like the shape of the sweatshirt anyway – but the sizing/shaping is completely off on this one. The neckline is the worst. I mean, it’s not terrible, but it’s too big and droopy. It’s partly the fabric – there just isn’t enough recovery in the knit I used and I should absolutely have used ribbing. But I also think there’s something afoot with my pattern pieces, because this happened with my last Linden too (which I didn’t finish/ blog, because the neckline application was B.A.D). We adjusted the pieces as part of a class and I think I need to go back and check them. I may also have traced the long sleeve badly. Something is going on.

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New make: Brindille & Twig Free Hoodie

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I wrote a fair bit about the Colette Beignet skirt a few days ago and so, in contrast, this will be short and sweet. Finally I’ve made something else for the wee guy. We’ve had so many lovely gifts from friends and family of gorgeous clothes for Joe that he’s really only just starting to get to the point where it’s worth me making him some. I’ve had my eye on Brindille and Twig for quite some time. I very nearly bought a bunch of patterns in their most recent sale, but, due to the above, he just didn’t quite need anything at the time. Then I happened upon their free pattern – this hoodie – and thought, well, why not? He actually needed one.

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New make: Colette Beignet skirt

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I’m so happy to have finished what I’m thinking of as my first “proper” skirt. I suppose what I really mean is my first “intermediate” skirt and I definitely learnt a lot making it. It consolidated many techniques and skills I’ve already picked up over the last year and a bit – and, most importantly, I really like it!

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New make: Toaster Sweater #sewmystyle January

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This is my first make as part of the #sewmystyle community sewalong. If you don’t know about it, then you can check out the initiative at Bluebird Fabrics or on Instagram with the hashtag, where there are a ton of Toaster Sweaters to peruse. That’s because the challenge involves sewing one collective garment a month (completely voluntary) from now until the end of the year. I plan to be sewing 9 out of the 12 (one, the Saunio cardigan simply will not suit me and two of the others I have alternative patterns for already). This is the Toaster Sweater #2 (there is a quite different #1 version too) from Sew House Seven and it’s the first pattern I’ve sewn from this company.

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New make: Seamwork Almada robe

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Hello there! Hands up who ate too much over Christmas and New Year…?  Yup, me too. Which is why this latest make comes at the perfect moment for hiding my well-tended belly, which it does beautifully, I’m happy to report. You may have seen this robe on IG already, but now I’ve had a chance to snap a couple of on-body pics. Ignore the peely-wally legs please (good Scottish word; don’t say reading sewing blogs doesn’t teach you anything).

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I feel like this pattern has been made in so many stunning versions before (including the ones from Swarm of Chickadees and Helen’s Closet to name but a couple) that everyone must be familiar with it by now. But if not, this is the Almada robe from Seamwork Magazine. It’s kimono-inspired in style and is a quick make, pegged at 3hrs of sew time. I would say that’s fair, although I may have taken slightly longer. If you make your own bias tape, add on an hour, I suppose. Continue reading “New make: Seamwork Almada robe” →

A Christmas Moneta and other pressies

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Last post of the year, now that I can update with a few recent makes. It’s been a funny Q4. For some reason, I really thought I was going to get a ton of sewing done, but it hasn’t worked out that way really, and I don’t even know why. In any case, I did manage to make a few things for other people. I had planned quite a few more, but of course you never have as much time as you think. I just re-read this paragraph and this is possibly the dullest intro to a blog post I’ve ever written, so I think I’ll just get on with the makes, shall I? Haha.

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First up, I made quite a number of Petal Pouches by Noodlehead (Anna Graham) as gifts. I mentioned it in a previous post, but didn’t want to completely give the game away for #stitchingsanta, so here’s a little more. I had planned to make six sets initially ( six large and six small) but finished up with four sets. Two were made from this fun pink Japanese linen, which features celery (I think) and a green linen lining. The other two sets were made from a Japanese striped canvas and have a fun clashing blue checked lining. I cut out out two sets of yellow bird canvas, but still need to finish them up. Continue reading “A Christmas Moneta and other pressies” →