Me Made May

I took a pledge for 'Me Made May'

'I, Nathalie from http://nathaliesews.blogspot.be/, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavour to wear a handmade garment 5 times per week for the duration of May 2015'

I’m going to try 5 days a week instead of every day because I don’t have that much handmade clothes yet. I’m happy that it’s in May because if it would be in winter I would not even be able to make 5 days a week. So I have already noticed that I seriously lack handmade winter clothes. That is kind of the purpose of ‘Me Made May’ to find out what the holes are in your me made wardrobe. Get to know you style better and it’s just a time to appreciate your handmade clothes. I might post some pictures on the Pinterest board. And a round up on my blog, probably crappy mirror pictures. Nothing is sure I will see at the end of May how many time I  remembered to take a picture.

If you want to know more about Me Made May than have a look on Zoe’s blog. 

My perfect summer dress

Okay I know it’s a big statement ‘my perfect summer dress’ but it really is the perfect dress for me. So I can hear you wondering why perfect? Let me tell you…

First there is the fabric. I bought it at the ‘stoffenspectakel’ like most of my fabrics. It was a coupon that I found at the bottom of the pile and it was 10€, a bargain. And who doesn’t love a bargain? I know I do! It’s a very nice cotton with the perfect weight and drape for a dress. The fabric actually feels rather heavy but perfect for this dress. And then the pattern, navy and white dots. What I like that much about it is that the dots are scattered on instead of being aligned in a grid. And the dots themselves are not perfectly round but irregular in shape.

So to me it’s the perfect fabric that fits my style so well and that goes with all my other clothes.

Than the pattern it is the June dress from the la maison victor pattern magazine. It came in the magazine form the summer in 2014 but you can buy it separately on their site as well. I can’t believe that I have waited so long to make this dress. The June dress was the reason that I bought this magazine.

So the pattern, on the website it is described as flattering for every figure and with a bit of ’50 glamour. They didn’t exaggerate, it is super flattering and I feel wonderful and glamorous wearing it.

I love the high neckline at the front in combination with a lower v-line in the back. The skirt is pleated but because of the lovely drape of the fabric it is really flowy and not bulky at all, something I’m always a bit worried about.  

Than what I like the best about the pattern is that I feel that it is drafted specially for my body. I made a size 38 and made no alterations. It just fits perfectly right out of the magazine. I was a bit worried that I would mess up my beautiful fabric when I would realise that the dress didn’t fit. (But not worried enough to make a muslin, haha)

But the best thing about the dress is the finish! For once I took my time to achieve the best possible finish. And it worked, part of that is probably that I didn't need to make any alterations. Normally I sew something try it on notice that it didn't fit properly and that is where it goes wrong. I get frustrated and impatient and mess up even more. But not with this dress, I tried it on what surprised about how well it fitted and took my time to finish everything. The neckline is understitched to the facing and the facing is sown by hand on to the zipper. The hem is finished with and invisible stitch on the sewing machine.

That’s why it is perfect, the fabric, the fit of the pattern and the finish.

I’m already working on my next project a blouse form another la maison victor magazine and that one is far from perfect. But more on that when it is finished. 

Blue Lane raglan

Some time ago I cleared out my closed, it was a mess. I filled an entire bin bag with old clothes to throw away and donate. I had a sort true the clothes that I’m keeping, still quite a lot of them. I don’t have a lot of classes anymore this semester and when I don’t, I don’t bother to dress up. I basically live in sweatpants and sweaters (only at home). Recently I have made two pairs of sweatpants but now I really needed some more casual sweaters.

I really want to sew more casual clothes that I can wear on a day to day basis. It was difficult to decide which pattern to buy. At first I wanted to buy the linden pattern by grainline studio but eventually I bought the lane raglan pattern by hey june. I let my sister chose between the two of them. She bought the same fabric as I did in black for a new sweater.

Well now about the sweatshirt, I cut the size medium. According to my measurements I should make size small but I wanted a looser fit. The examples they give are made of a T-shirt material but I wanted to make it in a thicker sweater fabric. So it made sense to go one size up. The fabric is a coupon that I bought at the stoffenspectakel.

The only change I made was to make the neck binding a bit shorter, it was a bit lose. I also attached it differently than as instructed. According to the instructions you are supposed to attach the neck binding to the shirt and then stich the last shoulder seam. I have stitched all the shoulder seams first. Than I have sown the collar shut and attached it to the sweater. I think doing it my way is neater. If someone understands that explanation.

I took the sweater with me on holiday to Stockholm and was planning to take pictures there. But it was way too cold to go outside without a coat. So I took them in the garden, with a tripod this time. I think it worked well and I don’t have to annoy someone to take them for me.