MeMadeMay Pledge 2019

‘I, Carole Haines sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May 2019.

I endeavour:

• to continue to educate myself about sustainability and ethical practice in sewing my own clothes
• to focus on making clothes I need with fabric from my stash and if I have nothing suitable to buy organic,fairly traded fabric
• to use blog and Instagram to record progress

I have noted a need for T-Shirts and other tops for the summer and will try out some new patterns (all of which I own) including the Lark Tee, Basic Instinct Tee and Peak T-Shirt as well as the Maria Denmark Kirsten Tee (http://www.mariadenmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/MariaDenmark101KirstenKimonoTee8.pdf)

 

Some links

https://www.fashionrevolution.org/ 

labourbehindthelabel.org/

https://www.offsetwarehouse.com

https://wendyward.wordpress.com/2017/12/27/where-to-buy-sustainable-fabrics/

https://www.organiccotton.biz/store/

 

Restart

The blog is restarting ..and this is the short story of why.

Yesterday I made an impulse buy; an orange corduroy skirt from Sainsburys. When I got home I settled down to some sewing, working on the facings of the Seamwork Dani pinafore. I searched for something to listen to and came across this BBC Radio 4 programme from 2014 –  High St Fashion: Weaving New Threads .

“The collapse of the Rana Plaza clothing factory in Bangladesh was the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry. It brought about a series of recriminations, alliances, promises and calls for change.

With Bangladesh’s clothing industry, predicted to quadruple in size over the next twenty years, a New York based private equity firm has come up with an idea to make Bangladesh’s factories sustainable and efficient – as well as profitable. With backing from the Soros family, Tau Investment Management’s plan is a bold one. They aim to provide a capitalist solutions to capitalism’s failures.

The Guardian’s Sarah Butler travels to Dhaka to meet Tau’s owners and asks whether the Bangladesh factory owners need their help.”

The skirt I had bought was made in Bangladesh and this programme got me thinking about ethics, sustainability, my relationship with clothing & fashion and my responsibilities as a sewer – is it enough to make my own clothes? Where does my fabric come from? Am I an ethical consumer? Do I make what I need? Do I need what I make? I did a quick search online and found that it is Fashion Revolution Day in April and over the next few weeks I am going to read, learn and post.

 

Wearing the Marigold trousers

I finished this make in a bit of a rush and as I said in my previous post I can see a couple of alterations I’ll make when I get home. I think that this photo shows that they’re not as poor a fit as I first thought. And it occurred to me that not rushing to alter will probably be a good thing.  I’ve also been checking out the fit of similar trousers as I wander around – surreptitiously I hope! Part of the fit thing is that this is a new style for me and I can see that what I perceive as baggies is just part of the style and part of what makes them so comfy.  I will undoubtedly put some wider elastic in the waistband, but I’m not sure about how to address the excess baggies in the front. My first thought was to renew the front crotch seam as I do not want to mess with the fab, deep pockets. The back seems ok so I don’t want to mess with it; I’m hoping that the front can be altered without throwing out the fit on the back! All in all this has been a lesson in the value of slow sewing.

My Marigold Trousers

 Phew,I finished my Marigold trousers just in time. I’m off to Cambridge Folk Festival today (please excuse the packing mess in photo) and the weather is going to be really mixed. I was really keen to not take my jeans and these are to be my ‘secret pyjamas’. The fit is not perfect and there will be some tweaking when I get home but I think that they will be ideal festival wear.

I dutifully measured myself and compared with the sizing on the pattern. I decided to make the largest size (8) as this was most close to my hip and waist measurements. I also lengthened the legs by 4 inches. However the finished trousers are really baggy at the front so when I get back I’m going to look at taking this out by resewing the front crotch seam. I have enough material to recut the waistband so this should work. But if you have any other ideas let me know. I’m also going to use a wider elastic in the waistband to make it more even.

But the positives…I love the pockets, they are so functional and were a joy to sew. And they are really comfy and will be so easy to wear. The fabric is a linen mix, I’m not sure with what though! The weight is a bit heavier than that recommended on the pattern and I guess that this might explain why’re pooling of fabric at the front is so obvious. I would absolutely make them again in a lighter fabric and I am wondering about a plain blue or black for work in the autumn. I would probably try a size 7 as I have made the Margot pyjamas in this size. They fit ok but are a bit short in the crotch. However I suspect the styling of the Marigold will address this.

Summer sewing

So, after a bit of a hiatus here I am again. MeMadeMay ground to a halt for me after a week or so but I did enjoy my time and I do appreciate the likes from readers. I’ll maybe explain at some point but for now I’m just getting on with it. 

Right now I’m sewing a pair of Tilly & the Buttons Marigold trousers. I have lengthened the leg length by 3.8 inches (if this sounds a bit too precise rest assured that the plan was for 4 inches), cut out the pattern pieces and nearly finished transferring the markings tailor racking the notches in gold and pleats/darts in red. The fabric is a linen mix from my local shop ‘The Sewing Box’ in Glossop; it wasn’t cheap at £11 + a metre but I fell in love with the pattern and the fluid feel of the fabric, so although it may be a bit heavier weight than the pattern calls for I’m going ahead.

I think this is a sea anemone inspired pattern. What do you think?

My Victoria Blazer makes its debut, eventually

So far, Me-Made May has been strong on the thinking about my wardrobe – the gaps & the not worn – less strong on the actual wearing. In fact last week I wore no me-made items all week. This could have been a post full of apology and explanation…but no! Today I have surpassed myself and worn two me-made items of clothing, at the same time; almost an outfit. But I really want to write about why my By hand London Victoria blazer has sat in my wardrobe for almost two years, unworn.

Victoria Blazer, By Hand London

Now, I really like the look of the Victoria blazer (obviously, I bought the pattern). I had researched it online, checking out blogs and Pinterest for pics of the finished blazer and reading about the experience and tweaks of their makers. I made it whilst I was on holiday in Cornwall and I think this is a big part of why I have held onto it even though it has never been worn. There are lovely memories of holiday with family and friends woven within it. This holiday also saw me sew a couple of pairs of pj bottoms for Mary and for Sam.

The fox fabric is cotton (possibly a mix) from my local sewing shop The Sewing Box, and the elephant fabric was an impulse buy from Viviennes Fashion Fabrics in Wadebridge.

Back to the Victoria Blazer – I checked the sizing against a rtw jacket in my wardrobe, traced off the pattern and had a lovely time sewing on holiday. The construction challenged me with cuffs, French seams, pockets, inserting a lining. I followed the online sewalong and surprised myself as I tried out and developed new skills. I really enjoyed this make. But once I slipped the finished jacket on I just felt awkward in it and never wore it. Over the intervening months I have tried it on now and then and tried to  analys  what is wrong with it.  I am wearing it right now as I type on the train and it’s really not that bad but the experience is confirming what I have been thinking…

Sleeves – too short, they end at my elbow and are a little uncomfortable to wear. And I don’t like that the lining is not attached at the armscye.  Clearly lengthening the sleeves will address this and I

Lining – too heavy, its a poplin and the outer fabric is a linen/viscose mix. I think this has resulted in the blazer feeling a bit stiff. Easily remedied by replacing with a lighter fabric, maybe a cotton lawn? I am also thinking that I might like this in a ponte knit, like this one by What Katie Sews. It looks so comfy.

Length – the blazer cuts across me at my widest point, adding a few inches would sort this one out. It’s a boxy style and I think I might be more happy in rectangles!

So, finally the big reveal, after 22 months, the Victoria Blazer is worn…

Victoria Blazer worn with my hacked Barcelona skirt

Just words

Half way through week 2 and I have no photos… I have worn me-made on two days this week but the photos are on my camera and I lack the tech to transfer them directly to the iPad. So words it is.

At the weekend I was struck by a terrible cold and my me-made wear took the form of hand knitted socks on Sunday when I needed to feel cosy & cosseted. On Monday things were better, the weather was fine and I wore my slightly modified Barcelona skirt (Amy Butler). I have also blocked a cardigan I finished last summer & cast on a new cardi over the weekend. Sewing wise I have been working on the Beatrice pinafore from Sew Me Something. I hope to wear them soon. Photos & more details will follow I promise.

Insight wise – I have posted, as in I have not let the lack of photos get in the way. I am working hard to not let my strive for perfection (rarely achieved anyway in my experience) stop me from ‘doing’. See you soon x

My Me -Made -May week

Hello, This is almost the end of week 1 of Me Made Week and I can report that for 3 of the past 7 days I have worn a me made piece of clothing. And I can also report that this process has already given me some useful insights into what I wear and what I make. On Sunday I wore my Colette Aster blouse (photo in previous post) and although this blouse went through a (for me) really thorough process of two muslins and an FBA there are still tweaks needed around the sleeves, shoulders and neckline. On Tuesday I wore a purple skirt, which was an ankle length  RTW and has now been shortened and through two zip replacements. I think the skirt is at least 12 years old and so I think this is an excellent bit of recycling. It is one of my favourite skirts and forms the basis of the Barcelona Skirt hack worn on Wednesday. I used the skirt to help me in straightening the A line skirt and decide length. The fabric is from Truro fabrics, I bought it a couple of yeats ago – they don’t have any blue on their website but this is the same pattern in a pink/purple colourway.

But what did I learn?

• My default in the moring is to reach for a pair of jeans
• I really like not wearing jeans every day
• I wore a skirt I had always thought of as a winter skirt on the first really sunny, spring day of the year
• I have no me-made T-shirts and woven tops. I have a couple of patterns and this will be next up on the sewing list
• A sewing plan would be really useful!

 

                                                                

 

 

Me Made May 16

I’m taking part in Me Made May this year – I really wanted to do this last year but felt that I didn’t have enough me-made clothes to take part. This year, I still feel a bit low in me-made clothes but reading about the challenge on So, Zo What do you Know  I realised that my challenge was to wear what I have, identify the wardrobe gaps and plan to fill them. So there will not be a blog each day detailing what I am wearing but I will look at how I am wearing my Me Made clothes and why I don’t wear them!

It was important to me to start on May 1st and I wore my new Collette Aster blouse to the cinema to watch The Divide (fabulous film, really made me think). This is a dreadful photo but the best I could do…perhaps enhancing selfie skills should be added to my challenge!

  
 

Just call me a domestic goddess