Me Made Months Practice

I really wanted to take part this time  but I didn't think I'd have enough to wear so I thought I'd have a little practice run. Here's the first outfit I put together. It's all Me Made.(even the knickers) I made the skirt and top when I had only just started sewing so they aren't exactly perfect and I guess I might not choose this outfit if I could wear anything I want but It's perfectly wearable so it should be worn.

I really hate the horrible brown carpet  but the landlord doesn't so we're not getting a new one in a hurry.It actually looks better on the picture then it does in reality.

Buttons are here!

I wanted to get these done a little while ago but my printer/ scanner refuses to cooperate so I had to come up with another idea. If you have any more ideas of other buttons you'd like please let me know.I'm really more of a visual person so coming up with catchy phrases etc is really not my thing. I have allready made buttons for refashions 4 and 5 but I'll get those out later. I thought you probably wouldn't be that far yet. I would also like to make buttons for mending and for the all important first step of facing the wardobe clutter.

Should you have any problems using them please do let me know and I'll help.

Some very lucky vintage finds





I've always wanted one of these collar/cuff sets

and was going to make one,

 so you can imagine how excited I was

 to find this in perfect condition unworn in its original packaging.

 

I just love the green vintage embroidery hoop.

 

Unfortunatly not in my size but perhaps I can grade it up.

It would make a great basic skirt which I  really need.

I just love the illustration as well!

The history of a gorgeous little hand me down

the bodice is not really that wide ,the coat
hanger is just a bit big for it which is making
it look wider

I  just love this little dress! It's been worn by so many children in the familly.It was bought probably in the early fifties and first it belonged to my mum's cousins, then it was handed down to my mum. She must have worn it in the late fifties Then my auntie came along a few years later probably early sixties by then.it was then passed down to me in the 80's then my little sister in about 98 (my sister is 15 years younger then me and the dress is for a child about age 3 to 4).So this dress has been in use since the fifties and it's still in good condition and it 's now been passed down to me for when I have children.I hope I have at least one girl!

Refashion/cardigan to vintage style top

I really like the rushed front

the back

I've had this cardigan in my major overhaul pile for ages. I didn't like the shape of it and  it was way too tight unless I wore it with something really thin underneath so I refashioned it for Make and Mend 2011 which I'm doing in addition to my own refashion Make Do And Mend Wardrobe Refashion I'm pretty happy with the outcome.I thinks it's quite cute. It does stay up on it's own although I might add straps later but I'll see if I really need them.

Just a teensy change on the dress + another mend = a new outfit

This dress was on my major overhaul pile for ages because it was rather loose at the waist,it has a little stain at the front and the bow made it hard to accessorize and I wasn't sure about the colour either.I thought it really needed a major refashion and was planning to take it apart completly although I did wear it occasionally.

Then I fixed the little red belt for make and mend 2011 It had been on my mend pile for about a year as I was unable to find the red leather needed to fix the little slide that holds the belt shut,As it's quite a long belt this was actually needed as it was unwearable without.In the end I mended it with some red ribbon which matches the colour very well.

So I tried the belt on the dress and it looked pretty good.The skirt doesn't do the bunching thing on me as it does on the doll.but it still didn't look right so I took the bow of and added the flower brooch instead. Much better! I kept the little bow and sewed it on a pin so I can still use it when I want.

I would have liked to have taken pictures of me in it but that would have meant waiting for my fiancee to come home but I'll do some later.I take all my pictures with my mobile which has only a basic camera.

Thank God I finally finished the pattern! My back is killing me!

Without a french curve and only a ruler this was really hard work and half way through I hurt my back pretty bad and had to stop for a bit. The kitchen table really isn't the ideal height so I relocated to the kitchen work top.A bit cramped and always in danger of getting the pattern wet but the height is better and I managed to carry on. I also faffed about quite a bit deciding how I wanted to finish my seams and therefore how big the seamallowances needed to be. Some of the lines of the curves are not perfect and this bothers me,I hope this won't affect the hem too much,but It's done!

Why don't I just do both!

My first repair for make and mend. The bias binding had come away in places and I also added bust darts for a better fit.It's an apron but I do sometimes wear it as a wrap dress

A couple of days after I started Make Do And Mend Wardrobe Refashion New Vintage Lady also started her refashion  Make and Mend. now for a little while I wondered What to do. I wanted to do my own but hers sounded good too and Make and Mend  is a short term project whereas mine is longer term so I decided why don't I just do both! Hope it doesn't get too confusing for you! New vintage lady's refashion also focuses more on repairs so both projects could be done simultaneously and It would be quite nice to get a badge for doing this. I don't know why but it motivates me to get badges and there's certainly no shortage of repairs to do..
I am also making badges for my Make Do And Mend Wardrobe Refashion. My computer is failing to find my scanner so these are a bit delayed but they are coming. I will also start a flickr group if there's a need for it.

I won!

I'm so excited to have won this lovely bra pattern PDF from Anna at A few Threads Loose. Anna blogs mainly about vintage patterns. She also makes some beautiful things and she has an etsy shop ful of gorgeous patterns
Thank you very much Anna.

I've hit a snag! so a slight change of plan

I was just finishing my seam allowances this morning when I realised that the fabric from the red dress just wasn't quite big enough as the front of the skirt is in one piece. I could change the pattern but I don't think it would look right if it was in 2 or more pieces because it wouldn't match the bodice so I decided to change fabric instead.After having a look in my stash I decided on the red polka dot.I have just under 2 metres of this which is just about  enough.The zip still matches but I'm wondering about whether to change the thread or not as it's just a little to light for this.

Scarf to bag in seconds/no sewing required

I didn't invent this. Well I did, but as it turns out  my way is pretty similar  to an old japanese way of carrying food and other stuff I imagine too. You can use this for anything really but be careful with books as the edges might damage the scarf if it's quite thin.

The red dress so far

So as usual I've grossly underestimated the time things take to make. Do you do that? Think oh that looks quite simple! I could whip that up in a few hours! 4 days later ....

My project bag.one of my earliest refashions.

 I have unpicked the red dress. I don't mind unpicking because you can do it anywhere: I take mine to the park if the weather is nice but more usually I do it in the evenings while we watch something on the I player. well I listen to the i player and my fiancee watches.

I  copied my pattern from my dress It took me a little while to figure out how to do it best but I got there in the end.I did it like this:turned dress inside out,pinned it and copied stitching line. This sounds simple but the hard part was working out how to manoeuvre the garment so I could get to the whole thing.the top has elastic so I had to sort of pin that to the ironing board to stretch it.

I washed and pressed my fabric.

I had to buy a zip for this  and some thread I didn't have anything in my stash but I found a nice little fabric shop near to me which sells all sorts of lovely things including lots of different colours nets.buttons,silks I have lived in the same house for years but somehow never spotted the shop. I doesn't look great from the outside which is probably why.

I tried out different threads I have been having some difficulty with some of my thread leaving a sort of hard scratchy edge. So I really don't want this especially on the bodice as I know this would spoil the garment for me. the trouble is the only thread I could find which felt quite soft is the sort of fluffy cheap kind and it's also polyester. The man in the shop recommended it. I am getting quite confused about thread choice now because everyone seems to say something different. Is polyester thread OK on cotton? In the end I might just have to get  started and hope for the best.

I wondered whether or not to do a muslin.perhaps not necessary here.I cut one out and basted it together.

I did a major sew area reorganise.Sort of  neccesary ,but  procrastination really.
Seeing it all written down I can see why it's taken me a little while longer then I thought originally. I guess it is quite a lot of stuff to do really. I haven't even started cutting yet. and actually I need to do finish off seam allowances on my pattern.