The Fabric Alchemist

Week 2 was a good week for Me-Made-May. The warm weather was ideal for my lightweight garments. The brisk mornings offered an excuse for colorful layers.

Tuesday, May 5 – Cozy knit dress

This self-drafted dress (blogged about last year in lieu of MMM’14 participation) is a cornerstone of my wardrobe. Purple is a great color for brunettes and has been a long-time favorite of mine. The dress pairs with most of my jackets and cardigans and it looks good with boots, sandals, and flats.

I have a few yards of this purple fabric left and I am not sure what to make with it. Another dress? A knit blazer? PJ pants? A Renfrew? All of the above? What would you make?

Wednesday, May 6 – Stereotypical sexy museum nerd

By which I mean her, one of my fictional heroes.

This skirt is another self-drafted garment, one that I made three years ago during a pattern drafting class. I would like to make a new pencil skirt in a different color. This one is fine, but the color is kinda of blah. I bought the stretch twill thinking this khaki would go with everything, but it is almost too neutral to pair well with anything but bold colors (which I don’t have a lot of…yet). It would have been better if it were white. If I am going to wear something form fitting, I want it to pop. Or at least look sleek.

I think the next version of this skirt could also use a wider waistband or a decorative yoke. This waistband doesn’t do much for waist definition, and that is what I love about pencil skirts.

Thursday, May 7 – Foggy Sweater on a sunny morning

I love this sweater! (Breakwater pattern by Winged Knits on Ravelry.) I love these thrifted pants! The sweater itself is not quite cropped but is shorter than most sweaters I tend to wear. The hem skims the top of these low rise capris and I prefer more coverage around the midsection, especially when I am at work. I did make this sweater to be worn with airy skirts that have higher waistbands than these pants. In that sense, this sweater is as it should be (according to the pattern). The fit is great overall.

That said, I love this monochromatic combo and something about this pose makes my torso look longer than usual (yay posture?). This is an outfit that will happen again. I will just plan to wear a camisole under the sweater to prevent peekage.

I look forward to knitting another one that is one or two inches longer at the waist. Now that I am not terrified of messing up the sleeves, I think a second version would go faster.

Friday, May 8 – Gilded Ink

This skirt was refashioned from a thrifted dress that looked terrible on me – the bubble skirt and the cowl neck concealed me in a drapey mess reminiscent of an awkward high school freshman. You’ll notice that I disliked the bubble skirt so much I took it out before I remembered to take “before and after” pictures. I bought the dress purely for the pattern, always intending to refashion the garment. (I still have the fabric from the bodice. It might be refashioned into a new blouse. Thoughts?)

I originally planned to wear this thrifted bronze cardigan with my pink chiffon maxi skirt, but the navy tank top was too “heavy” for the light skirt. This combo works so much better because the skirt – although also an airy fabric – has navy in the print to give the outfit cohesion. (See, wardrobe architect taught me something.)

Saturday, May 9 – Green and Gray

Too much gray in one week? I have accepted that it is the core of my color palette and I am learning to work with it – i.e. not always pair the gray with denim or navy. I have the pattern (New Look 6104) and fabric ready for a new version of this blouse. I think it will also be a sleeveless blouse, to easily fit under jackets and cardigans. However, I think a half-sleeve version is in my future.

Sunday, May 10 and Monday, May 11 – Migraines & Headaches

It is unclear whether this was a PMS headache, an allergy/sinus headache, or a dehydration headache. Whatever it was, I could not get excited about wearing a me-made garment this weekend. This was partially because my most comfortable makes were in the wash at the time. The earrings I made last fall would be good enough for the challenge. 🙂

Wardrobe Architect Observations

In keeping with my goal of improving and strengthening my wardrobe, this collection of outift-selfies is good for applying the tips and lessons of Wardrobe Architect.

My outfits that I like the most for everyday wear-

• have a defined waist and elongated torsos
• embrace and accentuate my curvy hips.
• often feature an exposed collar bone or neckline (but not deep cleavage)

Lessons of Me-Made-May

Maybe it is because MMM has been going for 5 years now and many of the bloggers I follow have amassed a larger self-made wardrobe. Or maybe I’m paying more attention to what they are saying about their garments. I’ve only just realized how many people make a pattern multiple times. I hadn’t really considered the TNT (tried and true) aspect of sewing. I treated me-made clothes as I would treat a RTW – I make one of something, just like I would have bought one of something. But even as I type that statement, I know that is not really true. I would buy 2-3 of the same Old Navy t-shirt because if it fit, why not have it in 3 colors? Or 3 of the same color in case the first once I love dies. They were so cheap – buy a bunch!

With sewing, I treated each garment as a puzzle piece that fit a specific wardrobe gap and once I filled it, there was no need to make another. I wanted to keep trying new patterns. I think I saw repeats as redundancy or being stuck in a rut and I wanted to grow. Following Morgan, Gillian, and Brooke more closely has shown me that spending time to rework that one pattern until it fits perfecting is worth it. And it is ok to give away handmade clothes that no longer fit or don’t match your wardrobe. Growth as a seamstress happens through repetition and understanding why the shoulder of the Simplicity shoulder fits me better than that McCall pattern. Or understanding how the choice in fabric changes a pattern.

For the first time, I am motivated to return to patterns and try them again. Working to find the alterations to make a pattern fit better than a RTW.

You can follow my daily Me-Made-May posts on Instagram. Then stick around after May for more photos of my cat, cosplay progress, and more everyday garment sewing!