SSS'11: Days 28 & 29

With the uncharacteristically glorious weather we've been having here in London Town, it would've been a crime not to break out the last of the summer frocks.  A welcome change too from spending the vast majority of this me-made-month in jeans and swing/sorbetto tops... (I guess that's one thing I've learned from having participated in Zoe's Self-Stitched-Sept - I wear jeans way too often).

day 28

Day 28: me-made 70s jersey empire waist dress made from this pattern when I was pregnant.

day 29

Day 29: me-made circle skirt, made from a 1950s pattern using two layers of cotton shirting.

They say the weather will even finer tomorrow, so I am determined to end this challenge on a high...

SSS'11: Days 17 & 18

It's no secret that I'm running out of daily outfit photographing steam... This is all I have to show for the last  five days in self-stitched-style ~

day 17 evening

Day 17 (my brother's birthday dinner): me-made silk Sorbetto top and houndstooth pencil skirt.

day 18

Day 18: me-made jersey Swing top, knitted snood and crochet basket.

So from now on, I am still sticking to my pledge to wear at least one item of me-made clothing every day of September, but will only be posting photos of the blog-worthy outfits.

SSS'11: Days 14 & 15

Making the most of the September sun...

day 14 daytime

Day 14 (day): me-made jersey empire-line dress, made from a 1970s nightie pattern.

Day 14 (evening): me-made swing top and circle skirt, made from a 1950s pattern.

day 14 evening

day 15

Day 15: me-made striped swing top.

SSS'11: Days 10, 11 & 13

A quick run down of the weekend in Self-Stitched outfits...

day 10

Day 10: Short Sorbetto Top & Fuchsia Silk Tulip Skirt (made from a self drafted pattern in 2004ish).

day 11

Day 11 (my sister's birthday): Pleated Maxi Skirt on me (left), Cotton Shirting Sundress on my sis (made from a self drafted pattern in 2007ish).

day 13

Day 13: Cotton Shirting Layered Big Pleats Skirt (made from a self drafted pattern in 2004ish).

What happened to Day 12...?  Well... After a weekend of fabulous birthday parties and a family sleepover at my Mum's, Monday 12th was pretty much spent in PJs.  

I'll take this moment to add that, while I am doing my best to be me-made every day, my lack of homemade comfort clothes is making it hard to dress for daily life with a toddler.  But maybe that's made up for by the fact that every evening, just like any other evening, we all cosy up on the sofa in our Monster Granny Square Blanket and, more often than not, handknit socks.

SSS'11: Days 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8

Things have been quite uneventful here on the Self-Stitched-Styling front these last few days... Having spent most of my time spring cleaning, at the local recycling/landfill site and picking fruit and veg at a Pick-Your-Own Farm, my silk wiggle skirts and 50s tea dresses have not really been in such high demand.  Instead, determined to stick to my pledge of wearing at least one item of me-made clothing a day, this week I have been mostly wearing Swing Tops and jeans (days 4 & 5). With a few exceptions...

day 6

Day 6: Jersey Circle Skirt. Nothing exciting here, a pretty standard Autumnal outfit, but I was compelled to photograph it simply because this is the first skirt I ever made. And I love it. The seamless viscose jersey drape, I guess what can only be described as a fireworks print, and just the sentimentality of it being my first.

day 7

Day 7: Trudging through a field of sweetcorn in me-made skirt, Bucket Hat and garter stitch snood.

day 8

Day 8: Again, Swing top... But I was cold so I threw on my Pickles cardi.

Luckily for my fancier frocks waiting their turn, I have some exciting plans in store for them this weekend...

SSS'11: Day 3 (and a new pair of trousers...)

The main thing lacking from my homemade wardrobe is trousers.  In fact, I've never made a pair of trousers for myself.  And the ones I've made for other people have been basic PJ style pants.  When it comes to trousers, I usually just have a favourite pair of jeans that get worn until threadbare and then get replaced with something pretty much identical.  Booooring.  So, having stumbled upon over 4 metres of deep purple corduroy on ebay which I won for little more than £3, I figured now would be the perfect time to have a little experimentation...

I started off very cautiously, terrified of screwing them up and wasting so much great fabric.  This was one of those projects that, as I looked at all the pieces cut and skim read the instructions, really filled me with fear and self-doubt.  I wasn't sure if my sewing skills were up to the challenge.  I even got that slightly deflated feeling as I began to think that maybe I'd been a bit too ambitious.

the original waistband before it got unpicked

But au contraire, my friend!  I am now feeling very smug and suitably grooooovy in my new, purple, corduroy, high-waisted, wide-legged, smokin' hot trousers.  

sept 3rd

And the best part?  The common problem associated with high-waisted pants such as these...?  No camel toe...!

amended waistband

Self-Stitched: Swing Top, High-Waisted Pants 

I'd just like to add that I felt very Self-Stitched this morning too, as I made a start on my Herringbone Cowl, wearing my Sorbetto nightie and a cardi hand knit by my Great-Grandmother...

sept 3rd am

SSS'11: Days 1 and 2

Over the course of September, I will be participating in Zoe's sewing challenge: to wear at least one item of my homemade clothing for each day of September and documenting this with daily outfit updates.  So far...

sept 1st

Self-Stitched: Sorbetto Top

sept 2nd

Self-Stitched: Pleated Maxi Skirt

With a significant lack in casual/everyday items in my self-stitched wardrobe, yesterday I made this pleated maxi skirt, something I've been wanting for a while.  It was beyond easy to make, just 2 metres of pleated jersey seamed up the back and gathered around an elastic hipster waistline.  Super comfortable and easy to wear, I think this will be a new wardrobe staple.  And with an early birthday present on it's way, I'll soon have the perfect jumper too...

                          

The Swing Series

...or, Putting The Sorbetto Series Slightly To Shame

In the interest of bulking up my self-stitched wardrobe as SSS'11 approaches, I have been wasting a significant amount of my precious me-time traipsing the internet for more sewing patterns, trying to focus on tops, trousers and jackets.  As always, my first ports of call being Lanetz Living and Etsy (for vintage patterns), and BurdaStyle (for free downloadable PDF patterns).  I am now impatiently awaiting the postman for a couple of delicious Etsy finds, and meanwhile getting a teensy bit carried away with a free pattern I found on BurdaStyle which can be found here.  

off-white viscose jersey with off-cuts of floral cotton

Similar to the Sorbetto Top in its clean simplicity, but, in my opinion, Dixie DIY's "Loose Fit Knit Top with Cuffed Sleeves" is eminently more wearable with its flattering swing shape, capped sleevelets and infinite possibilities of colour and fabric.

grey marl viscose jersey with off-cuts of paisley rayon

The only alterations I made to the pattern were to slightly reduce the volume of the swing and I found I had to lengthen the hem by a good inch.

the first one I made - a little too swingy and a little too short

This top was so lovely to make, immediately satisfying and at only half an hour (after cutting) they were super quick to make.  They look just as great tucked in to a high-waisted bottom as they do loose; I've been wearing them already and I know this will be my go-to pattern when I need a quick top fix.

blue striped cotton shirting always seems to feel quite nurse-y...

Inventory

As I gear up for Self-Stitched-September '11 (SSS'11), I thought it would be useful to compile an inventory of my 'self-stitched' wardrobe and organise it on a rail separate from the rest of my clothes, not only to make self-stitched dressing in September (and hopefully thereafter) more accessible, but mainly to identify what garments I'm lacking so I can start filling in the gaps.

16 skirts

5 dresses

3 tops (all Sorbetto's)

2 snoods

2 pairs of socks

1 pair of slippers

1 cardi

1 nightdress

1 altered pair of Capri pants

various pairs of shoes from my label Nina Dolcetti

4 bags

Points to Consider ~

• So the first thing that's pretty clear is that I need to make more trousers.  The pair I have aren't even made from scratch, just a pair that I altered.  I think two more pairs would do me just fine.  I have some great purple needlecord that I found on eBay (over 4 metres for £3!) that would make a mega hot pair of 70s high waisted flares, and some delicious beige and cream houndstooth wool for a pair of smart 60s straight leg 7/8 type trousers.
• The other thing that screams out at me as I look at my rail is that I could really do with more day wear...  It's just always so much more exciting to make a cocktail dress or an amazing silk tulip skirt for example than practical stuff you'd wear on a daily basis.  So to rectify this, I will have to make some more exciting evening plans in order to get the most out of my existing smarter clothes, and make some more casual bits to work with my everyday life.
• More tops would come in very useful, and a chance to do some more sewing with stretchy knits.  

In the interest of sticking to my pledge (to wear at least one item of clothing I have made/repurposed myself, and to make more clothes for my son and my husband, for the duration of September '11) I have also compiled a list of wearable things I have made for the boys in my life.

For the Boy:
2 hats
1 snood
1 pair of mittens
1 pair of cotton checked trousers (they look like chef pants, and he doesn't really like them...!)
1 pair of slippers
1 quilt (does that count if he sleeps with it every night?!)

For the Man:
2 pairs of Thai fishermen type trousers
1 pair of gloves
1 pair of socks
1 pair of slippers

Well, it's raining today... a perfect opportunity to make a start on the purple cord trousers and get some things ready for a top or two.  Got a nice idea for an autumnal day dress too.  And let's not forget about my Preparing for Autumn list...

Challenge: Self-Stitched-September 2011

When I started this blog not long ago in May, I had a long term goal in mind.  I planned to work towards challenging myself to wear only clothes I had made myself (with a few exceptions...) for a year, and to blogument the process.  A bit ambitious perhaps, but definitely do-able if I allowed myself a set time to prepare by assessing my already existing homemade wardrobe, and then spending the time to make more to fill in the gaps.  But then I kept thinking how much I'd miss all my other clothes...

Then in June I stumbled upon the blog of Brighton based Zoe who sets herself "Me-Made" challenges lasting a month whereby she aims to wear mostly clothes she has made or refashioned herself, documents her month in outfits on her blog, and the genius part is that she calls for other bloggers to take part by pledging to wear at least one item of me-made clothing for the duration of that month.  When I found Zoe's blog, it was bang in the middle of "Me-Made-June 2011" so I was gutted not to be able to take part, but I loved seeing her process, and it opened up a world of amazing creative bloggers also taking part that I probably would never have come across if it weren't for this inspired idea of a blogging community sharing a challenge together.

So you can imagine how delighted I was the other day when Zoe announced the up-coming challenge - Self-Stitched-September 2011 (SSS)!  I have already pledged to take part by wearing at least one item of me-made clothing for the duration of September, and I will also be endeavouring to make more clothing for my husband and our almost 3 year old son.

Over the following weeks leading up to September I will be gathering together all my existing me-made clothes and accessories, establishing what is lacking and hopefully making up a few more bits to fill in the gaps and make everyday me-made dressing more approachable.  SO  EXCITED!