Pink Tutu's and my first go at pattern testing

This skirt appeals to all of my whimsy and flights of fancy, it is completely impractical for day to day wear and totally obnoxious, but that's kind of why I love it. I also thing it looks amazing glammed up with a leather jacket and pair of boots.

Me Made May 2018 - Why I loved it, and why I didn't

Wow,  as if you weren't sick enough of my face I had to go blog about it too!

Those that have seen my instagram will be acutely aware I took part in Me Made May this year. This is something that has been going on for a number of years on instagram but this year was the first year I felt I probably had enough clothes to get me through the month - which I thankfully did. The base concept is to wear handmade clothes through the whole of May, this can take on various guises but I took it in its literal form. 

I just wanted to document how it went for me; my thoughts, why I found it really useful and why I actually hated parts of it. I'm going to cover what I learnt about my style and my sewing, my favourite outfits and also your favourite outfits. Its more of a record for myself than anything but I am pleased its given me enough drive to return to my blog.

Selfies - all the selfies

This was the reason I hated this concept. Honestly, I got bored of my own face so I can bet my bottom dollar you did too (so you know i'll just write a blog and fill it with me again!). Then there was the orchestration of it all. Do I have someone to take the picture for me, or do I have to prop my camera/phone up somewhere precarious, how many pictures do I actually need to take to get a decent one, loading them on to my phone, sorting through them, making a post etc etc. It was honestly exhausting so I'm very happy to be back to posting on my own schedule. 

My style 

Over the past month I have discovered for the most part I have 3 distinct styles which I am going to call;

Rockabilly

Goth as fuck 

or 15 year old

I'm not sure they gel perfectly well together in terms of having a 'capsule wardrobe' or whatever that is because a lot of it depends on my mood and what I am doing on that day. Obviously rockabilly works best for formal and work, Goth as works best on a night out and the 15 year old is just me trying to chill in something a bit more quirky. It does feel a little bit like I lack direction sometimes and I should just pick one but I don't want to do that, this is me and that's how I like it. Does anyone else find they don't really conform to one style? what influences what you wear?

I also noted that I have a definite preferences for paler colours up by my face and darker on my lower half. I think a lot of that is down to my hair being paler now so wearing black higher up washes it out a bit. This lead me on to have a good think about the types of colours I think work with my skin tone and the kinds of patterns I liked (note a distinct lack of floral!). Making sure I keep this in mind for my future sewing I'm hopefully more likely to make clothes that I LOVE rather than just being a little meh. 

My favourite outfits:

You can see a selection of my favourite outfits below. The reason for picking these was largely based on 2 factors: How they made me feel and how easy they were to wear. 

From left to right: 

Bettine by Tilly and the buttons in Atelier Brunette 'like a dandy', Another Bettine in some emerald viscose (this creases so bad but its soooooo comfy), A very altered Megan Nielsen maternity skirt in gold spot ponte roma (top is from collectif clothing).

Simplicity 8342 in some old lightning cotton jersey, Colette Zinnia skirt in flamingo cotton lawn, Lilou dress from Tilly first book in some houndstooth viscose

Your favourite outfits:

These were the outfits that got the most likes during the month. Sorry the third picture is not the one from instagram but I can't find the original (I've gone through 3 phones this month, my photos are all over). 

I can definitely see why they are some of your favourites they are all very striking outfits. especially the fabric in the middle one its so pretty. 

From left to right:

Kim dress from By Hand London in some llama print Robert Kaufman cotton, Another Bettine in some stunning crepe from Sew Over It, Wren dress by Colette patterns in some blue lightning jersey from Stof & Stil

So where does that leave me?

The one thing I did realise is that I don't have many great clothes for super hot days. I HATE not wearing tights and having bare legs. Even in a knee length skirt, if its a flared skirt and there is a slight breeze i'd still rather have tights on. I need to address that in my handmade wardrobe and i'm thinking some maxi skirt/dresses might be a nice way to go.

I also realised that a lot of my outfits just felt really uninspiring. Some clothes, whilst plain, can just make you feel great but I found a lot of my clothes just lacked lustre. With this in mind I am going to try and pay more attention to what I make and give it some consideration before I jump in. This starts with fabric and pattern choices but also what can I wear with it, can I bling it up a bit, does it need accessorising etc. Generally I need more sparkles in my life!

Overall it was a very helpful experience. I don't think I will do it so publicly again but it certainly came at the perfect time when I'm just getting back into personal sewing and it has motivated and invigorated me. Hopefully I can use this drive to take my sewing and style to the next level.

As a final side note the blog is very broken. I accidentally let me domain name lapse just after having little Miss Fox and now they want to charge me extortionate rates to have it back so it has changed to a .co.uk domain. This means all my internal links are broken, not the mention all my pinterest ones which just makes me want to cry. So I will be quietly trying to work on that and get this thing going with a bit of gusto again.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my makes, I really enjoyed everyone elses and got some great inspiration so thank you to everyone that took part and took the time to like my posts. 

Gold Polka dot Erin Skirt

Its been a few months since my last post but as you can see that little baby bump is coming along nicely! This means I am now at that really awkward stage of my pregnancy where my bump is too big for my normal clothes but not yet big enough for maternity. Such an awkward time I really hate trying to find something to wear. One of the things I did do though was pull out my Megan Nielsen Maternity collection of sewing patterns in a hope I can bridge the gap and get myself some maternity wear which both fits my style better and tries to use up some of the fabric I have stashed about.

Here you can see I made the Erin skirt and I used the leftover gold flecked ponte roma which I bought for my Christmas party dress. I still love this fabric, but my machine still hates it! Using ponte roma on this skirt was a really good choice, its stretchy enough to fit over my growing shape but firm enough to add a little support to my bump. It will of course work in a thinner jersey or anything else with enough stretch but I would recommend something with a little bit more structure.

The pattern is very easy to sew and has very good instructions. You add a bit of stretched elastic to the side seams to ruche the area around the tummy to add more fabric to cover the bump. If you look at any shop bough maternity tops this is normally how they do it too. The skirt it meant to come up over the bump and comes in a knee and midi length. Because of the length I find this skirt really flattering and its really easy to wear. You could pair it with a short tshirt/jumper or an over the bump over the top, its very versatile.

I actually bought this pattern pack when I was pregnant with Master Fox, but that was over 2 years ago now and my sewing must have vastly improved as I tried to make this skirt once and it went so horribly wrong I never actually ended up making anything from this pattern pack at all. Its such a shame as its such a lovely skirt. I think the problem I had was all down to the fabric which was a very thin poly jersey and it struggled so much to get the elastic to go in. I'm really pleased I didn't give up on it though I must have worn this skirt about twice a week since I made it I love it. My tip for the elastic is to tack each end in place before you put it under the machine, that way you can control the stretch as you go.

I'm actually finding that I am having a bit of trouble with body confidence this pregnancy. My bump is a funny B shape rather than that perfect D and I generally feel very big and I don't like how I look in most clothes. This is actually the 3rd time I took photos of this skirt as I couldn't get any I was happy to put on the internet. Its such a shame as I know I should just be enjoying my growing tummy but I think this is something that every pregnant woman must go through at at least one point in their pregnancy. I am doing my best to just ignore it and move on but it is taking conscious effort to do that at the moment. It doesn't help I am surrounded by lots of very slim pregnant people at the minute, who have remained slim with tiny little bumps, where as I just feel like I'm all squishy boob and belly.

I think I need to sew myself a few more outfits like this that flatter my style and shape and will help to give me a bit of confidence.

On the plus side though we found out that little baby Fox number 2 should be a little girl! I'm very excited to be able to experience one of each and obviously can't wait to sew up a few dresses. I will apologise in advance for the raft of baby clothing posts that will end up coming your way over the next few months, but they are cute so I am sure you won't mind.

x

Sewing for your Style Pt II plus Georgia Sewalong

Following on from the post I did a couple of weeks about about sewing for your style I wrote up a list of the types of things which I generally look for when buying clothes on the highstreet. I think it will be useful to have this when thinking about picking up fabric for future makes, as I am more likely to make something which I would actually consider buying.

My style list goes as follows:

Colours:

• Blacks
• Greys
• Browns
• Pinks
• Reds
• Turqouise
• Black & White
• Cream

Patterns:

• Leopard
• Zebra
• Stripes
• Hearts
• Stars
• Polka Dot
• Tartan
• Chevrons

Fabrics:

• Jersey
• Velvet
• Lace
• Tulle
• Stretch
• Cotton
• Denim

 I have also decided to join in the upcoming sewalong for the Georgie dress by By Hand London which is starting on Monday so I have my pattern and am raring to go.

 

I am thinking/hoping that that lips fabric might be perfect for this dress. It has some stretch which will be great for the fitted pattern, but also has an awesome bold print to add a little bit of personal character! Plus, I have seen quiet a few items on the highstreet lately in lips print, so check me out, bang on trend! 

Sewing for Your (My) Style

Tilly wrote a very informative post a while back which I came across recently called 'Sewing for your style'. This is something which I really want to keep at the forefront of my mind whilst trying to develop my sewing skills. It's all well and good being able to make stuff, but if I am never going to wear it what really is the point. For example, I know I am not a fan of floral prints. They look incredible on some people, but they are just not something I would pick to wear. But show me some leopard print and its straight in my wardrobe.

With that in mind I bought my first sewing pattern for the year from M is for Make which is Ava by Victory Patterns. I really like the idea of sewing dresses, because most of the clothing I buy tends to be jersey basics, they are so cheap there is not much point in making them a lot of the time. However I can never buy dresses that suit or fit my shape. The things that really draw me to this pattern, and that I feel fit my style, are the sheer neck, the sweetheart neckline and the fact it comes in at the waist.

This pattern is great as it comes in 3 different lengths, peplum, above the knee, and tea dress. I am going to have a go at the peplum version first just because it will require less fabric whilst I am practicing. I haven't yet decided on the final fabric choice as I am just making up a toile at the moment but I want to make sure it is something which I will wear.

With this philosophy in mind though I have been out and bought some fabrics which just caught my eye, and that I thought fitted my style. First is this stretch fabric in black with pink lips on it. I purchased it from ebay and expected it to be quiet a thin jersey type stretch with just lip print on, but when it turned up it actually has a bit of weight to it and the lips are a sort of raised brushed velvet or something of similar description. It would make a really good dress I think. Isn't it funny how you really need to feel a fabric to know what you are going to get.

Finally I picked up another few of meters of the brown leopard cotton from My Fabric Place in Beeston. I went in and just couldn't help myself from making sure I had some more of this stuff in my stash! I am not sure of its destiny either, I was thinking either a version of the prom dress, but who knows, now maybe the Ava peplum, or perhaps my next project. Only time will tell.

Do you have any patterns which you think particularly fit your style, or any staple fabric choices which you make over and over? Leopard is what I magpie over every time! are you the same but maybe with stripes, or floral prints?