Bye Bye Google Reader

Just a quick post today readers to remind you all that as of Monday Google Reader is no more. So if use it to keep up with your favourite blogs you'll need to switch to a new RSS feed. I've been using Bloglovin' for a few months now so that's my personal preference (a nice clear layout and interesting ways to find new blogs) but there are plenty of other options available including Feedly and the new AOL reader.

I'm enjoying Bloglovin' because it's got a great app which I use on my iPhone so I can keep up to date with all your blogs during my commute! The only problem I have with the app is commenting on blogger blogs so I tried out the Feedly app the other day and had the same problem so I'm thinking it must just be trying to comment on my phone. I had a few problems with finding some blogs on Feedly and AOL reader, even when typing in the full URL so not sure what was going on there...

Anyway, all the RSS readers I have checked out so far (as well as having lovely choices of layout options) are incredibly easy to import your existing Google Reader blog roll int. When you sign up there will be an option to log in with your Google account then one more click imports your feeds. It only takes a matter of minutes!

You can follow me on Bloglovin' here or Feedly here or by using the buttons at the top of my side bar

Indie Pattern Month!

Kat from Modern Vintage Cupcakes came up with the brilliant idea of 'Indie Pattern Month', a chance for us sewing bloggers to celebrate the talents of the ever increasing number of independent sewing pattern designers across the globe.

If you read my post last week about my experience sewing up Simplicity 2444 you'll know that making that dress was the very first time I'd used a pattern from the 'Big Four' pattern companies (Simplicity, Butterick, McCalls and Vogue). Considering I started sewing around 18 months ago and also the range and number of patterns available from these companies is probably quite surprising. Though when I think about it, it shouldn't have been to me as I love indie patterns so much! It may be the illustrations or styling on the envelopes of the big 4 patterns but I find it much easier to get excited by the more contemporary indie label designs.

My second Sewaholic Lonsdale

I think I've stuck with using indie patterns for so long because I find their construction instructions and diagrams to be so amazing for a novice seamstress. I'm a completely self taught seamstress; I learnt by reading sewing blogs for tips and tutorials, referring to sewing books but mainly just by being guided by the instructions of the patterns themselves. One of my earliest projects was the Lonsdale Dress from Sewaholic Patterns. Taisa's pattern instructions are fantastic and include tips and tricks which you just wouldn't find in mass produced patterns. Some of the techniques I learnt making this dress (like using stay tape, clipping seams and lining) are now completely natural steps to me that I use on nearly every project.

My La Sylphide Blouse from Papercut and Charlotte Skirt from By Hand London

Indie patterns have a lot going for them, mainly because you can guarantee that so much time, thought and consideration has gone into the creation of each pattern. The packaging is just one example and a particular favourite of mine for this is Papercut Patterns. The patterns arrive in beautiful little boxes with a fold out hanger for storage and and removable postcard image of the design with all the useful 'back of envelope' information on the back; easy to take with you fabric shopping! Then the patterns themselves are printed on lovely robust paper, along with the cutting and construction instructions which you can fold up into a cute little booklet.

My Elisalex Dress from By Hand London

In fact indie designers are great for encouraging beginner sewers, and not just through their instructions but through things such as free pattern downloads, such as the Colette Sorbetto Top, so you can try your hand without spending a fortune. They provide amazing resources on their own blogs like tutorials, sew-a-longs and even often make themselves available to answer questions if you get stuck when with part of their instructions. I followed the By Hand London sew-a-longs for both the Charlotte Skirt and Elisalex Dress and was lucky enough to even get some advice choosing lining from the lovely Elisalex herself at a meet up!

My first Scout Tee from Grainline Studio

I think there's something for everyone offered by indie designers. Maybe you want your patterns NOW so some designers, like Grainline Studio, provide an instant PDF download option for their patterns. Maybe you're after hard to find modern patterns for men, then new company Thread Theory may be just what you are looking for!

Here's a little round up list of the fab indie pattern designers I know of; I love discovering a new one so hopefully some of you might too!

• Sewaholic Patterns (paper patterns only)
• Papercut Patterns (paper patterns only)
• By Hand London (paper patterns only)
• Colette Patterns (paper and PDF)
• Grainline Studio (PDF only)
• Megan Nielson (paper and PDF)
• Salme Patterns (PDF only)
• Thread Theory (PDF only, soon to be paper too!)
• Victory Patterns (paper and PDF)
• Cake Patterns (paper and PDF)
• Pattern Runway (PDF only)
• Deer & Doe (paper only)
• Sinbad and Sailor (PDF only)
• Closet Case Files (PDF only)
• Tilly and the Buttons (PDF only, soon to be paper too!)
• Blue Ginger Doll Patterns (paper and PDF)
• Aime Comme Marie (in French, paper only)
• Merchant & Mills (paper only)
• Citronille (mainly in French but limited patterns available in English, paper only)
• Jamie Christina (paper only)
• Eliza M Vintage Style Sewing (paper only)
• Ralph Pink (PDF only)
• Named (PDF only, a brand new pattern company!)
• Pauline Alice (PDF only)
• Disparate Disciplines (PDF only) 
• Sew Over It (paper only)
• Lolita Patterns (paper only)
• Style Arc (paper only, from Australia)
• Fehr Trade Patterns (PDF only, newly launched!)
• Simple Sew (paper only, free UK postage)

I know I'll be mainly sewing indie labels well into the future, in fact I'm currently working on the Coppelia Cardigan from Papercut, along with a third (yes third!) version of the Lonsdale dress from Sewaholic and I've got my eye on the gorgeous Hawthorne dress which has just been released by Colette! Have you tried sewing with a pattern from an indie label before? If so what are your favourites?

Thank You!

So I've got quite a few very deserved thank you's to be saying to you lovely sewing ladies (and gentlemen if there are any reading!). Reading your blogs and comments and just being involved in this wonderful sewing community generally puts a smile on my face but there's four things in particular to do with you lot that have put an extra big smile on my face recently!

First up I'd like to say thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post about my first experiment with the Elisalex pattern. I had a bit of a rough time with the fabric when making it and as a result was NOT loving the outcome and not feeling particularly great in it. Your kind and supportive comments have completely reversed my opinion and rid me of my doubt about whether this pattern was for me or not, so much so I've planned another one!

Secondly I was delighted to discover I had won Catja's Wellington Pattern Pyramid Giveaway over on her blog Gjeometry! Catja's sews up some really amazing garments, for example these super stylish 1930s lounge pyjamas she made for the Great Gatsby Challenge. Catja always has an very inventive way (somehow involving her cat!) to select her winners and this was definitely the most exciting yet... I can't wait to receive the 'pyramid of patterns' so I can host the next step here on my blog, so thank you Catja and Kitty!

Thirdly, and equally as excitingly, Jo from Sew Little Time nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award! Please do check out Jo's blog already if you aren't already a follower, especially this dress inspired by Peggy which Jo made for the Mad Men challenge. Jo was actually wearing it when I met her at Rachel's Blogger Meet Up here in London a couple of months ago and I recognised it from watching Mad Men it's so good! Thank you so much Jo, it's wonderful to be thought of as there are so many fantastic blogs out there to read, sewing related and otherwise, plus it's always nice to know that your blog is appreciated and enjoyed and that you're not just rambling on about nothing in particular to no-one! Here a Jo's questions for me:

1. What is your favourite film of all time and why?
Mmm...ok...stuck on the first question already! I can never answer this because there are so many films I love and my favourites and constantly changing depending on my mood. You can't beat a good old Audrey Hepburn movie though, I've quite a collection now!

2. What kind of holidays do you like? Beach, city break, raving in Ibiza?!
I'm sure a couple of years ago I would have definitely said a city break as I just love wandering around and exploring new places, soaking up the culture. Then my boyfriend and I went on an all inclusive beach holiday to Egypt and it was just amazing! So I think (as my family will find hilarious) any kind of holiday suits me fine!

3. I spend a lot of time commuting, if you had a spare hour on the train what would you do?
I spend a lot of my time commuting too (unfortunately!) and usually try and make the most of the time by catching up on reading blogs using the bloglovin' app on my phone, reading the script for my next show or reading a book.

4. What is the best sewing book you have read?
The vintage Singer Sewing Book that used to be my Nan's. It's from the late 1960s I believe and is just amazing to refer to for help with anything. There's no better way to do things than the way they were done then!

5. Knits or wovens?
I'm going to have to say woven's as I'm yet to venture into the world of knits but have plans to do so soon!

6. What is your favourite blog?
Now that one I absolutely cannot and will not answer!!

7. What other crafts do you do and which is your favourite?
I do love a bit of baking! I love making cakes for my friend's and family's birthdays and rarely make the same thing twice, I love trying out new recipes. I don't think my boyfriend minds it either!

8. What is your karaoke song?
I am absolutely terrified of karaoke and can't imagine anything worse than singing in front of other people so have never ever tried it!

9. Sweet or savoury?
I definitely have a sweet tooth!

10. What is your favourite accessory?
My pearl stud earrings from Tiffany & Co. which my mum bought me. They are just beautiful and I wear them with everything!

11. If I gave you £50 to spend on fabrics, patterns or craft supplies what would you make from it?
After making up the Lonsdale dress I am desperate to try out some more Sewaholic Patterns. It would be hard to pick just one as I've been toying with getting the Renfrew, Cambie, Thurlows and Minoru for quite some time but I'd probably make a lovely Robson Trench Coat in a colour like forest green and buy some fun patterned bias binding like this from MacCulloch and Wallis to add a fun finish to the inside!

And I'm going to nominate some new followers and commenters on my blog, so you can hopefully find some fun new blogs to read. I'm going to be cheeky and ask them the same questions that Jo asked me above!

1. Jen from Jennifer Lauren Vintage
2. Jane Elise from The Time Poor Sewer
3. Sabine from Cat By Design
4. Charlotte from Charlie Says Sew
5. Kathryn from Kathryn's Busytown
6. Ramona from ThreadTime
7. Tania from Sew It Anyway
8. Kelly from Make Sew Do
9. Sue from SweetPea Family
10. Louise from There She Sews
11. Nicki from Measure Twice, Cut Once

The last final bit of excitement and big news is that after celebrating passing 50 followers on Bloglovin' not long ago, I've now just passed 100! I was bursting with excitement when I noticed I was on 99 and I must admit I did keep checking quite a lot to see if I'd made it into triple figures... Thank you very much new reader Kathyrn from Kathryn's Busytown for being no. 100! I can't believe there's 100 people in the world interested in what I've been sewing but I'm so glad there are. I'd better get back to cutting out my next couple of projects now hadn't I, so I can keep all 102 of you entertained!

A Practice Polkadot Elisalex

It has taken me a LONG time to get around to posting around this dress, it was fully completed before I made my Circle-Skirted version and since that I've completed three other projects! I think that shows you just how disenchanted I was with this make, which has nothing to do with the pattern itself as it is GORGEOUS as proved by versions as lovely as Marie's.

My lack of love for this dress is mainly to do with my fabric choice. I bought it for a bargain £2.50 a metre from A1 fabrics on Goldhawk Road. I'm not sure what it is, some sort of synthetic imitation brocade and not particularly pleasant to the touch, but I'd been hunting for quite some time for an upholstery weight fabric to hold the tulip of the skirt with a pattern that wasn't too curtain like so I went with it. I actually bought it with the intention of using it to make my final version of Elisalex for the wedding but I didn't get on to making it right away and when I picked it up again a couple of weeks later I couldn't shake the feeling it wasn't quite right. I knew I wanted to make a muslin of the dress as I wanted to get the fit right and to try out the unusual shape of the skirt so decided to make it a wearable one and make use of the fabric that way.

I'm so pleased I didn't attempt to use this fabric for my final dress. It was a nightmare to sew with despite being nice and firm and non slippy, frayed all over the place and as you can probably see from the pictures didn't want to be pressed AT ALL. A cool iron did absolutely nothing except produce an unpleasant shine, a warmer iron melted the fabric (yes. melted. so synthetic it's basically plastic). I know this because I managed to melt a big old patch in one of the rear skirt pieces, right in the middle of the bum. Luckily I'd bought three metres and this dress needs nowhere near that so I recut that piece, although I nearly didn't and almost made it up hole and all I was that frustrated with the fabric and certain I'd never wear it.

Despite all that I'm in love with this bodice, I will be making it again and again with all different styles of skirts. The neckline is GORGEOUS, the princess seams are super flattering and easy to adjust and I love the instructions from the By Hand London girls on how to line it. I used a dusky pink silk habotai from my local market for this, it needed less than half a metre as you are only cutting the front and back bodice pieces. The princess seams were a little trickier in this delicate silk but it was so worth the hassle as it feels so nice to wear! It was my first time lining any part of a garment and it was so easy I've already done it twice more.

I am however, not so keen on the skirt. I loved the idea of it, in fact the flattering combination of the fitted bodice and voluminous skirt was what first made me go wow looking at this pattern. The designs from By Hand London were the first patterns that I absolutely had to buy the second that I saw them, contemporary, feminine, stylish and super flattering, things that you are never too sure you are getting when buying from the big four (or at least I, being easily led by cover and marketing images, am never sure) Every version I have seen of the Elisalex made up with the skirt as is has made me go 'wow that looks so amazing', but I personally just don't feel comfortable in it. Maybe in a just slightly lighter natural fibre I'd like it more. I quite like it at the front but am very aware of all the added volume in all directions at the rear - I think it's too much time wearing skinny jeans!

Exterior and Interior of the Armholes

Despite that and all the fabric issues I don't hate this version, I'm just not sure where I'd wear it. I think I'm going to slim down the sleeves, possibly even cut them shorter into almost cap sleeves as nearly every dress I own has this style of sleeve. I'm not a long sleeve person, whenever I do wear them they end up pushed up as far as they will go. Looking at the lovely version by Threaded and what she did to the skirt I could try slimming it down by taking it in down the side seams, reducing the scale and hopefully making it feel a little more 'me'. Plus even if I don't wear it I'm still pleased with all the practise of different sewing techniques I got making it!

Hand Stitched Hem

An Actually Invisible Zip!

So the main lesson learned from making this is...don't use fabrics which you don't love JUST because you like the print, they're cheap or they match the requirements of the pattern. After using the beautiful sateen from Mood for my Circle-Skirted Elisalex and experiencing what it's like to sew with a better quality and more expensive fabric my tastes have definitely got a lot more picky. There are some great quality bargains to be found in places like Goldhawk Road and Walthamstow Market, but I've definitely worked out how to, by touch, filter the good from the bad.

UPDATE! I'd written this post before I got the chance to take the pictures and actually now I've seen the pictures I'm feeling a helluva lot better about it than seeing it in my head/in the mirror... maybe a bit of time to forget about the nightmares with the fabric has helped too! I think I'm going to give this skirt another shot...

Liberty Lawn Tiny Pocket Tank

During Me-Made-May, although I was wearing jeans too much, I decided a lot of the time for me they are my only practical option therefore I needed to make some more casual everyday tops. My favourite practical top pattern is the Woven Scout Tee from Grainline, as you may have noticed seeing as I have made and blogged three versions so far (1, 2, 3)! I think all of Jen's patterns are fantastic in their wearability and versatility so decided to branch out and try the Tiny Pocket Tank.

Liberty Tana Lawn worked great for the Scout, it sews up, washes and wears beautifully so I decided to use the other piece I got in the remnant bin at Liberty last year. It's actually the same print as I used for the Scout but in a different colour way. I feel a lot of Liberty prints are a bit twee or fussy for me in terms of clothing at least but this feather print is a more random print that looks like a cool mottled effect from a distance, much more my style! I chose a candy pink thread to bring that colour out of the print a little, add some fun and prevent the garment from looking too washed out.

As expected the pattern is great. The way it is cut means although the fit is loose it drapes in a flattering way rather than looking like a sack hanging down from the bust. It is the perfect length for me, not as short as the Scout, and the slightly curved hemline means it doesn't leave an unsightly gap between it's hem and the waistband of your jeans/skirt as you move around. Jen has you create your own bias tape to face the neckline and armholes, which is a great clean finishing method I love for this. I personally like the topstitching detail it creates and it would give a great little pop of contrasting colour although I chose to use the main fabric this time.

I'm not entirely delighted with the top because of the fit. As well as being tight across the bust and upper back the armholes are also pretty tight which is an issue I had to a lesser extent with the Scout Tee. Partly I think I was perhaps a little over zealous with my french seams and so ended up taking out just slightly more than the drafted seam allowance. This x4 (two sides to both the underarm and shoulder seam) equals a too small arm hole. But considering just how tight it is compared to the relaxed fit I am after I might just go up a size up from what I have been making the scout tee in, though maybe it just needs a FBA?? Thinking more about it I think all the fit issues are probably related to how it sits on me because of the standard pattern drafting to a B-cup concept.

I wasn't sure on the tiny pocket detail at first but thought this print might need something to add a bit of interest and once sewn up I actually loved it. I think with some prints and even in plain bold colours the top would benefit from omitting it but again, the benefits of being able to sew mean we can try the idea out rather than wishing it was or wasn't there on a ready to wear garment. I followed the markings on the pattern piece to advise on pocket placement (I'm getting really speedy at tailors tacks by the way!). Once I'd sewn the darts I thought the markings looked like I was going to get a wonky pocket but I'm glad I didn't wack it on the way I thought looked right because if course it works out perfectly straight when on. The complicated world of draping a fitting over a bust!

Once I've cracked the fit on this I'll definitely have discovered another favourite go to pattern for practical clothing. I've got the Moss Mini Skirt PDF printed and ready to go next!

Floral Simplicity 2444

I am sure that you, like me have seen a lot of this pattern from the Project Runway line floating around the internet (just check out these gorgeous versions by Cynthia and Dibs as well as Roisin's many beautiful versions!) plus I saw at least a couple in the flesh at Rachel's infamous meet up in April. Receiving a free copy of this pattern with Sew Magazine was the final straw in getting me to try this one out!

The fabric I chose has been in my stash for a while as it was one of the first fabrics I ever bought, from the world renowned 'man outside Sainsburys' in Walthamstow Market! As with most of my purchases in Walthamstow I'm not 100% sure of the fibre content but I think it's a cotton/viscose twill that's got a lovely drape but proved a bit of a pain to sew! The drape of the fabric meant it was hard to stop it from going squiffy when sewing, I found it even more difficult than some crepe de chine I've sewn with in the past! I resorted to lots of pins and taking it nice and slow.

As for Simplicity 2444 itself I can see why this pattern has proved such a hit with seamstresses everywhere, not only because of the endless variations provided with this line of patterns (I love the little croquis kit so you can play around with which combinations of features you like before cutting). It's a timeless design and I love the whole simple, classic and comfortable style of this pattern. It's the perfect basic dress for me with a lot of features that are just to my taste; the cap sleeves, flattering fitted bodice with unique darts, perfect height neckline and a bit of fullness to the skirt. I'd like to try making this up again in a fabric with a slightly crisper hand to give the skirt more body and perhaps with a less busy print to show of those lovely angled darts on the front bodice. I definitely want to make up a few more variations of this dress, bearing in mind my post Me-Made-May aim of making more wearable clothing that's not to be worn with jeans!

However, one thing to bear in mind is the sizing. This was believe it or not my first time sewing with a pattern from one of 'the big four', with the exception of vintage (I guess I'm just an indie pattern designer girl at heart!) and I was surprised at how big the sizes run. Looking at the back of the pattern envelope I fit in pretty much exactly to the size 12 on the size guide, but when looking down to the finished measurements section they were about 3" bigger than my size! The fact that the version of the pattern I had received with Sew only started at a 12 and that I'd prefer it to end up too big than too small I decided to just go with it! It ended up big but salvageable; I'd definitely downsize to a 10 (or even possibly an 8 looking at the size guide) when working with Simplicity patterns in future. I tried it on before inserting the zip and ended up using over an inch and a half seam allowance each side to put it in! This rather sketchy method of alteration worked out fine though, and although I did loose some of the two innermost pleats into the centre back seam I'm happy with how it looks.

The knife pleats were new to me but, although a little fiddly and time consuming with all the marking pressing and basting, easy enough. Rather than facings as suggested I decided to line the bodice in the style of the Elisalex, attaching it around the neckline and then slipstitching it to the dress along the zip and armholes. I love how neat the zip looks sandwiched between the layers. Attaching at the armholes proved a little problematic as the troublesome floral stretched out where the poplin lining did not so the two were not a neat fit together. To solve this I simply hemmed the armholes in the lining and then caught them to the dress fabric top and bottom which works out fine.

The invisible zip went in smoothly this time, it just needed a hook and eye to finish off the top end. To keep the neckline neat and flat I used the black version of the wonderful stick on stay tape I got in Pacific Trimmings, under-stitched the lining to the seam allowance and clipped it all the way round. I love putting the effort in to all these little tricks and details as I feel like I've got a much more special and hardwearing garment when I'm done.

I can't remember exactly how much I paid for the fabric as I got it so long ago but I think some kind of deal was struck for £5 for 2 metres. The purple poplin lining was part of a fabric bundle a friend of my mum's kindly passed on to me and the zip cost around £2 from my local market. So considering the pattern was a freebie this dress was an absolute bargain at around £7 total! Much cheaper than any shop bought dresses in my wardrobe, sewn to at least the same standard and expected to hold out longer than most! Sewing is AWESOME!

O yeah, and there's pockets! Could this pattern get any better?!

Overall this pattern get's a big thumbs up from me and I love my new dress! I can see me getting a lot of wear out of it all year round. Have you tried this or any other patterns from the Project Runway line yet?

Another one that's good for twirling too!

Me-Made-May Week 4 (and a bit!) and Roundup

As the month of May is just over four weeks and my challenge involved wearing a certain number of handmade items per week I've included those extra few days in this last post and did four instead of three days of wearing me-made this time. It was a bit of a strange and hectic week and a bit for me, involving a trip to my fella's opera, travelling home for my Mum's birthday, finishing up and packing off one show on tour and starting on another which was a departure from the norm for me as I was doing a lot of prop making and set dressing. This combined with the fact that I'd worn pretty much all of my practical handmade garments already in May, meant I found it pretty tough to put together any interesting or different outfits and it was my least stylish week (not that any of them have really been!) by a mile. I even ended up wearing a skirt I never wear one day in an attempt to liven things up but all I achieved was reminding myself why I don't like wearing that skirt and it went straight in a bag for the charity shop that evening.

Friday May 24th: Final preview for Romeo & Juliet and the day it got shipped off to Ireland

Top: Me-Made Black Lace Grainline Scout Tee

Trousers: Levi Skinny Jeans - Macy's

Jacket: Black Tuxedo Style - Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Nude Ballet Pumps - Primark

Accessories: Bead Necklace - Urban Outfitters

Floral Print Scarf - Spitalfields Market

Saturday May 25th: Relaxing at home in relief that the show was done! (I feel like today was a bit of a cheat as I just slung on a me-made top under a jumper!)

Top: Me-Made Dip Hemmed Grainline Scout Tee

Trousers: Black Skinny Jeans - Topshop (ooo a different colour of jeans!)

Jumper: Loose Knit Rubbish! - Primark

Shoes: Fluffy Slipper Boots - Accessorize

Accessories: None!

Tuesday May 28th: A rapid bit of home sewing in the morning and a prop making in the afternoon

Top: Me-Made Grainline Tiny Pocket Tank (as yet unblogged and finished that very morning!)

Trousers: Levi Skinny Jeans - Macy's

Knitwear: Black Long Cardigan - Topshop

Shoes: Very Worn Out Trainers - Converse AllStars

Accessories: Brass Earrings - Camden Market

Friday May 31st: After a very late night at the opera, a morning meeting about my current show. I must confess I actually only wore this for half the day as the sun and some warmth appeared in the UK so I changed to a ready to wear summer dress for the trip home to my Mum's

Top: Me-Made Liberty Print Grainline Scout Tee

Skirt: Black Tulip Mini Skirt - Forever 21

Knitwear: Navy Cropped Cardigan - Hollister

Tights: Black Opaque - Wolford

Shoes: Black Ballet Pumps - Primark

Accessories: Pearl Stud Earrings - Tiffany & Co

Charm Bracelet - Nomination Italy

I would have liked to have been able to get some more sewing than I did done during the month to supplement my me-made wardrobe and fill some of the holes I was discovering as I went along but it ended up being a much busier month than expected. The next month is looking much quieter before things pick up again in July and August so I've got a list of projects as long as my arm to get cracking on before I run out of time (and energy!) to sew again.

The biggest winner of Me-Made-May was definitely my hammer silk Grainline Scout Tee with dipped hem. It's unsurprising really as looking at my collection of me made garments in comparison to ready to wear clothing this is the handmade item closest in style and fit to the clothes I wear most. I definitely need to concentrate on making more things like this and Jen's patterns for Grainline Studio are definitely the way to go I think. Another discovery was that I need to buy some better quality comfy spring/summer shoes! Ouch!

The biggest fail of Me-Made-May was definitely the number of times I wore my jeans! As discussed in a previous post I wish I didn't wear them as much but my work just makes it impossible to wear pretty dresses most of the time, plus the awful UK weather during May makes jeans the easiest and most practical choice. Hopefully next May we'll see a lot less of them! I was also a bit disappointed that I didn't wear any outfits than involved more than one handmade garment. I think that's partly due to the rubbish weather and type of work I was doing limiting m choices but also because of my limited selection of me-mades to work with.

I'd really like to be able to get involved in Me-Made-May on a bigger scale next year, I think it's such a great idea and just participating to this small extent this year has made me realise that I have actually made clothes decent enough to wear and wash repeatedly and in the week or so since the challenge finished I have found myself reaching for me-made garments more frequently than I did before. So that's it, I've got eleven months to sew up as much practical clothing as I can so next year's may can be a big 'I made this complete outfit' success!

Happy Birthday Mum!