Category: sewing

Me Made May Pledge

~ Frances ~ 1 Comment

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It’s that time again! It’s May which means just one thing for the sewist – ME MADE MAY. And, if you are me, constantly sing The Lusty Month of May from Camelot. For the uninitiated, Me Made May is a yearly challenge to wear your homemade clothing – some people pledge to wear me made every day, others wear one item a week etc. This challenge was founded by Zoe who explains all on her blog.

Every year all the Me Made May outfits on Instagram make me a bit jealous. Although Me Made May is a personal challenge, not a social media challenge, people naturally use social media as a way to document it. If I’m honest, I get jealous of everyone else’s makes! Other people seem to sew so quickly and successfully while I feel like I’ve not made anything good for ages! Recently I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the sewing possibilities and limited by my skill level. I imagine all the incredible things I want to make, but I’ve got some kind of sewing block that stops me actually making anything. This May I want to try and recapture the joy and fun of sewing and get over my fears of messing up. The only way for me to do anything is to have a deadline so….

MY PLEDGE:

I, Frances Scott, pledge to wear me made garments at least three times a week this month. I will try not to repeat any of my Me Made May outfits. I will record my outfits on Instagram and blog about the experience. 

Hopefully this will be the kick up the bum I need to finish off my abandoned works in progress! I also have some quick and easy projects that are all ready to go that I’d like to get sewn up this month.

I have challenged myself to blog about Me Made May and share my outfits on instagram because I’m really lazy about doing it!

Basically, I’m hoping Me Made May cures me of laziness.

Happy Monday

~ Frances ~ Leave a comment

Happy Monday night! I have decided to start writing a weekly post on Sunday nights (today is a bank holiday so it’s basically Sunday) to try and combat the Sunday blues I battle with every week. My plan is to share a few things I’ve been doing or enjoying over the last week and update the side bar with my current favourite podcast, sewing project and book.

As this is the first one, I’m going to include things that I’ve been doing/enjoying in recent weeks too.

  • My usual pre-work blues have not descended today because I have spent the afternoon eating upsetting quantities of food with my beloved Laura. I made her watch Nanette and then we just talked and watched YouTube clips of musicals and Julie Andrews. Also… I only have 2 days of work between now  and 10th September….
  • I have literally just finished the last episode of Sharp Objects and I can’t really cope with how brilliant it was. I finished it less than 15 minutes ago so I cannot be articulate about it.
  • I love Angela Carter but I’ve given her a bit of wide berth since university when I wrote my dissertation on her. Then I watched Angela Carter: Of Wolves and Women on iplayer and reminded myself how much I love her writing. I’d recommend watching it if you don’t know much about her because it gives a nice overview of her life and the themes in her books – complete interviews with Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Jeanette Winterson. It’s prompted me to finally open the Angela Carter biography I received for Christmas!
  • My Favorite Murder was my gateway into the world of the True Crime podcast and I still love it very much, but I think my all-time favourite may be All Killa No Filla. Kiri Pritchard McLean and Rachel Fairburn are both professional comedians and they discuss their mutual fascination with serial killers between going off on hilarious, often filthy tangents. I just love them. I’ve listened to the podcast off and on but I’ve been listening constantly over the last few days while I’ve been doing housework and sewing and I am obsessed.
  • I’m going to a wedding on Thursday so naturally I am still working on my outfit… I’ve decided to make a By Hand London Kim Dress in a navy with an oversized polka dot. I’ve found it really enjoyable to sew. How well it turns out remains to be seen! I feel like I’ve got a bit over confident of late so I’m convinced this will be a dogs dinner and I’ll end up wearing something I already own or panic buying something on Wednesday.
  • This piece about Ed Sheeran made me laugh so hard. I think Ed Sheeran may be the most boring musician of all time and I really don’t understand his popularity.

And that’s been my week really! I hope you all had an interesting week and have some things to look forward to in the week to come.

What have been your highlights this week?

2017 Make Nine

~ Frances ~ Leave a comment

2017 Make Nine

At the start of 2017, I posted an ambitious #2017makenine on Instagram. I made one thing from it but then just kind of abandoned it. But I have been planning my autumn wardrobe, and I’ve decided to update the original nine makes to drop a few things that aren’t a priority for me and replace them with the things I want to wear this autumn.

Here is my new autumn/winter focussed Make Nine:

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The new additions:

Make 1: Nettie Bodysuit by Closet Case Patterns

I have fallen in love with jersey this year. I just love how easy it is to fit jersey compared with woven patterns. I love the neckline options on the Nettie bodysuit, and the option to make a dress or bodysuit. I am hoping that this will turn about to be a nice simple make that could become a wardrobe staple. I have started a toile of this in some cheap black jersey, and it seems lovely to sew up so far.

Make 2: Solange Dress from La Maison Victor

I always feel like the purest version of myself when dressed in a short jersey dress, tights, and Tatty Devine necklace. I hate that it’s too hot in summer to dress like this! I had to have a really simple jersey shift on this list. As long as it is successful, it will easily end up being the most worn thing in my wardrobe. I want to make this in a red and white stripe to recreate a dress I love that is just too tight and makes me look like a condom full of cotton wool.

Make 3: Elmira from Seamwork Patterns

I don’t usually go for wrap anything. I know that they are probably perfect for my body type (vaguely hourglass but with massive boobs), but I usually feel quite middle-aged and matronly whenever I wear something wrap-style. When I saw the Elmira cardigan, I thought it would make the perfect first foray into wrap stuff.

Make 4: Moneta Dress by Colette patterns

I hadn’t considered the Moneta dress until earlier this year when it was time for the Moneta Party organised by Elle from Sew Positivity and Rachel from Rach Against the Sewing Machine. As soon as I saw how good it looked on people of all shapes and sizes, I knew I had to give it a go. So I bought the PDF pattern and got to printing and cutting and began sewing. But then I abandoned it when something went wrong with the neckline. I am resolved to finish this off now because I think it will be another great addition to my handmade Autumn/Winter wardrobe.

These are my plans, but who knows what will happen! I also want to make a couple more Agnes tops and another Cleo dress, but I’m not sure I’ll have the time!

Let me know what you are planning to sew for Autumn/Winter in the comments below.