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Me Made May – Week 5 Roundup

Well, Me-Made-May is finally over – 5 weeks/31 days of handmade with daily photographs. I’m not even going to pretend I wasn’t relived to NOT take a photo of myself this morning 🙂

Since I was on vacation pretty much the entire week, I tried to be creative with my photos (mostly because I didn’t want to drag the tripod, camera *and* laptop with me to Florida lol). It was a bit of a struggle on a couple of the days, mostly because I spent lots and lots of time in my bathing suit… but I managed!

5-26
Shirt: Sewaholic Renfrew – modified some more since it’s original inception; you can’t see it too well but I cut the ribbing off the bottom & replaced it with wide lace (just like my Taffy blouse)
Pants: Colette Clovers
Necklace: Vintage bracelet I turned into a necklace
Shoes: Rugged Warehouse
Shades: Pangea
After a long day of driving (nearly 8 hours in the car! Plus 2 hours at some rando gas station after a belt in Landon’s car snapped & we had to wait for my dad to fix it. Which was preferable to towing it to some shop & paying them assloads of money to fix it, by the way!), we made it to Santa Rosa Beach! This is the view/balcony via our condo.

Uh huh.

5-27
Top: Giant men’s Hawaiian shirt resized by me
Skirt: Vintage, dyed by me
Shoes: Rugged Warehouse
Couldn’t get anyone to take a picture of me, so I settled for one of those awful mirror shots in the fitting room at Goodwill haha.

5-28
Top: thrifted – from the aforementioned Goodwill, no less!
Shorts: Simplicity 5110
Shoes: Walmart
Hat: Not mine, just trying on the goods
This was taken in a cute little town called Seaside, just a few miles from Santa Rosa Beach. We rode our bikes there, and I spent the entire time dying over the bike paths-

Totally flat, totally separate from the main road (which is on the left). It was SO NICE! I wish we had commuter/non-greenway bike paths like this in Nashville.

Seaside was really cute – there were tons of bikes

And shopping

And food trucks

And pretty things to look at

And a bonus outfit shot from Monday, 5/28:

Birthday dinner with Landon (and the rest of the family). I wore Vogue 1174. I knowwww I should have worn my birthday dress (I even brought it!) but everyone else was pretty casual so I decided on the blue dress at the last minute. SORRY.

5-29
Dress (worn as a swimsuit coverup): Hawaiian Sundress
Hell yeah I spent the whole day at a waterpark. And then Fudpuckers (where my little brother lost his debit card & the kind man at the bank verified the last transaction was from “pudfuckers” lol), and then some chintzy tourist shop called Alvin’s.
From left to right – Maddie (Matt’s girlfriend), my mom, Caroline (my niece), Matt (little brother!), me, my dad, & Landon.

5-30
Top: Jalie 2921
Skirt: Vintage, dyed by me
Party Hat: YEP
Last time at the beach! I gave up on trying to wear cute outfits & just put on something comfortable for the drive home 🙂

5-31
Dress: Colette Parfait
Shoes: Target
Purse: Thrifted
Scarf (tied on purse): Flea Market
Last day of Me-Made-May! I celebrated by going to my favorite fabric store for their 50% off sale 🙂

So yeah! I consider this may a total success – albeit not nearly long enough, as I still have masses of handmade clothing yet to be worn. Oh well! Since wearing my stuff wasn’t really much of a challenge, I tried to mix up how I wore it, and I think I did pretty good! I can’t think of anything this challenge made me realize I had gaping, except maybe some summer jeans – which I bought fabric for yesterday, btw! I also used this challenge as a kick the butt to get me into my mending/fit-fixin’ pile, for certain things I never wanted to wear (I’m looking at you, Swiss Dot Violet!)

The only thing that I didn’t like was the daily photos… it got old pretty fast, and felt pretty narcissistic the entire time. I did find myself getting more comfortable in front of the camera, until I got to the point where I didn’t feel like I needed to take 40+ pictures to get that ~one perfect shot~.

Here are the rest of MMM’12 posts, if you missed them the first go-round!
Me Made May, Week 1
Me Made May, Week 2
Me Made May, Week 3
Me Made May, Week 4

And a big big BIG thanks to Zoe for pulling the whole thing together! Apparently, this was the biggest Me-Made-Month yet; I hope we made you proud 😀

So today is June 1st, and here I am wearing all handmade anyway hahaha

Top: Leotard reconstructed by me into a tank top
Trousers: Vogue 2925
Cardigan: Thrifted
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Thrifted

Tags: clover, Jalie, Me Made May '12, pants, Pastille, reconstructions, renfrew, Scarf neck top, shorts, skirt, top, vacation, vogue

Comments 16 Comments
Categories Me Made May

Completed: Colette Clovers – The Denim Version

2 Mar

Ok, ok – ONE more jab at this pattern! Who is sick of looking at my butt in Clovers yet? 🙂 Technically, I guess, these are the finished version of my polyester wearable muslin, so do they really count?

I bought this denim right before I swore off new fabric purchases until further notice. It’s a great denim – a nice dark wash, a good sturdy weight, and it has a slight stretch factor which makes them perfect for these jeans. I originally intended on make another pair of wide legged trousers with this fabric, but after lurking the shit out of Sallieoh’s Clover makeover, I decided to go with Clover jeans, with little flare legs. Hence, the polyester muslin.

So here’s the real deal!
(I’m sorry these pictures are bad – we are expecting lots of tornadoes today & it was straight up HAILING last night so I’m actually surprised I was able to catch enough sunlight to shoot these this morning)

I’m not going to hash out every single change I made to the pattern – you can check out my other version if you are just dying for the nitty-gritty, but I will share some additional changes I made with this pair. Here’s a list.
– I cut extra seam allowances on all the pieces since my denim wasn’t as stretchy as my poly. This was a MISTAKE. The pants ended up being way too big & I had to cut out all my seam allowances (and then some!) to get a nice fit. Whoops.
– I wanted to try out flat fell seams on the inside legs, but I cut too much SA off (this was after taking out something insane like 1″ of excess, see above), so I didn’t have enough denim to fold over. What you see are mock flat fell seams. Sorry!
– I stabilized the pockets with this awesome trim I found at the flea market – it’s measuring tape! Eeeheheee! I thought they might need some help to keep from stretching out, plus, it looks fun on the inside! The front pocket piece is red cotton, just to keep things from getting too bulky.
– I’m not terribly happy with the waistband – it digs kind of weird, there is some strange twisting going on on one side, and it was kind of tight so the button was pushed way over to the side (instead of in the center, where it belongs). And there is some kind of weird gap thing over the center back – does anyone know what that’s all about? I guess I needed to taper the waistband with a seam, idk. I don’t get plumber’s crack when I bend over, but I think it looks pretty bad. I may end up ripping out the waistband and starting over.
– There is a lot of topstitching on these pants! I used jeans topstitching thread with a more lightweight blue denim thread in the bobbin. My sewing machine was PISSED during some of those layers, gawd. I was able to struggle through, but now I’m wondering how some people with those little cheap hobby machines manage to churn out jeans. My machine is pretty heavy-duty and even with a denim needle it had some trouble, especially on the belt loops. Lots of cranking the handwheel on my end.
– I like how my belt loops turned out. I do not like that they aren’t evenly spaced at all! Haha! Oh well!

I think that’s it. Let’s look at some pictures instead!

Sorry you can’t see the hem in these!

I decided against doing the traditional topstitching in the back since I was not adding back pockets or a yoke. I know jeans are supposed to have the crotch seam flat felled & topstitched, but the idea of having a line of gold stitching running straight up the middle of my butt (with no other stitching going on back there) weirded me out way too much. So they’re simple from the behind!

See what I mean about the button? Haha I’m so embarrassed! I really should re-do that waistband… but honestly, I probably won’t. I mean, let’s keep it real here.

Pockets!

All that topstiching paid off – I think they look good!

Oh, and I finished my coffee cozy last night! It ended up being a really easy/quick knit, so I stayed up a little later than I should have, just so I could put it on my to-go cup this morning 🙂

(before you say anything… yep, that’s a Hello Kitty toaster. I got it for Christmas like 10 years ago hahah)
If you want to see the pattern/details, it’s all on my Ravelry page!

Ughff I think I’m finally done with this pattern. Seven Clovers (including a few failed muslins) is enough for anyone, I’d say!

Still… I made jeans!

Tags: clover, completed, cozies for everything, denim, knitting, pants

Comments 41 Comments
Categories completed projects - new, crafty things that are not sewing

Completed: Colette Clovers (again!) (but these are modified!)

16 Feb

I guess these are technically a “wearable muslin,” but bear with me here. This is the sixth time I’ve made these pants… and I think I’m finally happy with the fit. We’ve had some trial & error, some hair pulling, and a lot of wasted fabric. But on the flip side, I really feel like a Fitting Guru now *and* I’ve used up a significant portion of the weird stretch polyester that I can’t seem to get rid of.

I completely & shameless ripped these off thanks to two completely different sources. For starts, I found myself in the Gap a couple of weeks ago (totally weird in itself, since I never buy RTW from the mall anymore. Handmade or thrifted, thanks!) and I just fell in love with these high-rise flared trousers. Until I tried them on, that is, and realized they were a whopping 8″ too long on me – at 5’2″ (and a half!), I am shorter than average, but I ain’t that short, y’all! And they couldn’t be hemmed, because then I would have lost all that delicious flare. Anyway, they didn’t fit me too hot (too stretchy, plumber’s crack waistband, smile wrinkles all over the crotch, etc) and they were $69, so I tucked the inspiration away in my head and moved on with my life.

Imagine my delight when I discovered Sallieoh’s fabulous red pair – I mean, look at those pants! LOOK AT THEM. Perfect little trouser pants! I DIE. I immediately put the rest of my sewing on hold because, pants. And Sallieoh was so kind enough to provide a series of very detailed tutorials, which saved me all the trouble of figuring that shit out for myself. Thank you, lady! The only part I strayed from the tutorials was to add a flare to my legs – I used instructions from Patternmaking for Apparel Design (a book I’ve had in my possession for a few years now and never actually used… don’t beat me!) and added a ~9″ flare starting at the knee.

I think my pattern could still use a little bit of tweaking to get it perfect – the back dips a little too much, and I need to get that button tab on the waistband under control. But for a wearable muslin, these ain’t half bad! I am going to make them again in my nice lightweight, stretchy denim. These current pants look fine but the polyester isn’t exactly the most comfortable thing to be wearing against one’s skin 🙂

My apologies in advance for the pictures – navy doesn’t photograph too well! Ughhhhh

Haha goddd my hair looks ridiculous

Ok, these pictures are bad… have some super-lightened close-ups.

I’m sorry for making y’all look at my ass, but don’t these pants fit so nice? 🙂

Flare leg

I know, I know – the button tab looks bad. Whatever, wearable muslin!

I’ve sewn up a fly or two in my time, but never a fly shield! How exciting!

I feel pretty good about these – they are exactly what I wanted! And pants are so easy to sew up once you get that fit part down.

DO NOT FEAR THE PANTS.

Tags: clover, completed, pants, ripping off your shit

Comments 36 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

completed: colette’s clover, v2.0

19 Dec

or i guess you could call these version 5.0, considering this is the fifth time i’ve made these trousers (the first three being oh-god-you-can’t-wear-that-in-public muslins).

ahem.

not much to say about these – i’m still picking away at my pants-fitting, still can’t decide if i’m making shit better or worse as i slash & tape. i received a lot of good feedback on my last clover post (i definitely recommend taking a peek if you are still questioning your pants-fitting), and made some more changes to the front of the pattern – added a tiny bit back to the front rise, and scooped out a little more of the front crotch. next time, i will need to add to the sides what i took off the front (i left it off because, well, i don’t know why.), as the whole top was super tight until i reduced the seam allowance to something laughably thin.

these pants have LOTS of wrinkles, but i’m fairly certain that a good chunk of them are due to my fabric choice – that shitty stretch poplin i bought from fabric mart, which btw is on my list of online fabric stores i will not buy from again. it’s a *very* flimsy fabric, so i underlined the pants with more stretch poplin… just serged all the pieces together. there is a little sheen to the fabric so i think that is also making the wrinkles look more pronounced. i have also convinced myself that those smooth pants on the colette website must be photoshopped, and whether or not this is actually true, i still feel quite a bit better about myself.

oh, and these pants would have been ready last week, except that after i finished *everything* and put them on to check the length for hemming… the red zipper broke and i had to cut myself out of my pants. EW. i did not have another red zipper (that one was actually pulled from a pair of wool pants i harvested for the material a couple of years ago), and i didn’t want to go back to the fabric store so i just used an orange zipper in my stash. it doesn’t match, but no care!

the leg wrinkles are from wearing them all day! they are VERY comfortable! haha!

see the orange zipper? yep, me neither.

view from the back

with my leopard jacket! 😀

here’s an inside shot – i bound the facing with white bias tape. and there’s my orange zipper lol.

i actually bought another piece of fabric that i think will make up a great little pair of clovers – more on that tomorrow!

RED PANTSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Tags: clover, completed, pants

Comments 13 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

clover: let’s get real

21 Nov

i mean, let’s get real-real here.

this is my 4th pair of clovers i have completed thus far. in case you aren’t up to speed with this saga, every prior pair of clovers has been demoted to “muslin” and wadded up & stuffed in the Muslin Basket of Shame (i’ll throw that stuff away… eventually). making anything over & over again – especially if you can’t actually wear it out in public – sucks. it feels wasteful – wasteful of fabric, of precious sewing time, of misplaced giddiness (idk, i get real giddy when i am making a new piece of clothing lol).

this pattern almost broke me. it might still break me because it’s not quite perfect. i’ve made a lot of fitting changes and i actually feel kind of pants-intelligent right now. so that’s nice. i don’t want to dissuade anyone from buying or making this pattern because i don’t think it’s a flawed pattern… i’ve seen many of these made up, and they look GREAT. unfortunately, the body they were drafted for is quite obviously not my body. so i’ve had to do a lot of fitting, and muslins, and more fitting.

anyway, pants #4. i took another 3/8″ off the front crotch length and slightly narrowed the inside of the legs (like, maybe 1/4″. not much). i decided to make these a wearable muslin, so i used a stretch poly-blend suiting fabric i found in my stash ($2 yard sale score!) and a zipper i pulled out of a dress someone gave me for fabric salvage. i did serge everything on the inside in case the wearable muslin turned out awesome.

after wearing them around this afternoon, i shaved about 3/8ish” off the front crotch seam & tapered the curved side seam (on the non-zipper side, sry, don’t feel like re-inserting the zipper) to a straight line. in the future, i may let out the waistband a little because it digs in when i sit down. also, i thought the waistline didn’t look terribly flattering on me – too low – but looking at the pictures it doesn’t seem so bad. what do you think? for anyone who is curious, they hit exactly at my belly button.

i guess my question is, how fitted is too fitted? of course we want a smooth line, but i don’t want to get it so smooth that i can’t move comfortably! this is where i want y’all to be honest – critique! please! 🙂

when i stand normally, they look close to perfect.

when i stand with my legs together, though, i get a little bagginess around the crotch (ughh i’m gonna get some weird google search terms for this one). how to fix this? what is stumping me is that it is all the lower crotch/thigh area, and i can’t find fitting info for that – only the top half. it kind of makes me look like i have a FUPA right now. i don’t want to look like i have a FUPA. help!

another view, another baggy crotch.

back looks good! there are a few drag lines on the sides and the darts look like that because i couldn’t get a good press (stupid poly), but i think it’s satisfactory.

side looks good!

last crotch-shot, promise
see that bagginess? what is causing it and how can i fix it?

ALL THAT BEING SAID, i like these pants. i think the fitting issues are pretty minor & most normal non-sewing people won’t notice them. so i will continue to wear these, and continue to improve this pattern block. i think they look really cute on me, and i want several pairs!

Tags: clover, completed, dear god help me, muslin, pants

Comments 36 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

clover muslin #3

28 Oct

continuing my saga with the clover, here is muslin #3. yes, i made a second muslin and no, there are no pictures because i made them in brown fabric & you couldn’t see ANYTHING except the fact that i was wearing shorts (shorts muslin ftw!).

i have stopped hyperventilating about using up my stretch fabric in a thousand muslins, as i had a fabric epiphany the other morning & realized i had an entire stack of this awful polyester that i can’t seem to get rid of for some reason. there is just the right amount of stretch, and several yards of it – which, if i remember correctly, cost me something like $5 for the whole stack at a thrift store. why i have kept it for so long, i can’t tell you, except that obviously fabric hoarding *does* have it’s benefits 🙂 so anyway, i’ve got plenty of fabric to keep making muslins. yay!

to be frank, the only thing keeping me cranking these out is knowing that once i get it perfect, i can use this pattern over & over… and also as a block for other pants-fitting needs.

i don’t think i’ve quite reached the wearing point yet, but i know i’m close. what do y’all think? so far i have shorted the front crotch by 1 1/4″ (I KNOW. and it looks like i need to shorten it more!), added approx 3/8″ FBA, and lengthed the back crotch an extra 1/2″. oh, and i tapered the legs about 1/4″ down the sides. excuse the lumps at the hips – that will be smoothed out in the final pattern.

i may take the waist in a smidge more as it’s the smallest bit too loose

i still get a little excess when i stand a certain way… not sure if that’s something that can be adjusted out, or if it’s just the nature of wearing tight-fitting pants like these.

excuse the panty lines, but hey – the fit looks good back here, no? can i also add that i think it’s hilarious that i need a FBA top & bottom? hahahaha

these were originally going to be a ~wearable muslin~ but i don’t think i’m quite there yet. i do see a light at the end of the tunnel, though!

in other news, here’s a sneak peak at another project i’m working on:

ceylon in green wool. it’s been on the backburner for a week or so because i decided to hand embroider the yoke on a whim. i like the way it’s looking, though!

Tags: ceylon, clover, embroidery, muslin, pants

Comments 10 Comments
Categories work in progress

clover muslin – unflattering pictures, ahoy!

21 Oct

internet, i know we are close, but we are about to get real close with this post.

starting with my butt.

i just finished up my clover muslin, and i need help with the fitting! help! help!

there are lots of wrinkles at the crotch & sides, and the butt is straining. the waist & legs fit great, as do the hips (minus the butt area). i’m thinking i need a swayback adjustment, which is just confusing me because i’ve *never* had swayback issues with clothing – both patterns & ready to wear. huh.

here, have some more pictures.

this does not show in the pictures, but there is a small pool of excess fabric at my lower back.

what do y’all think? swayback or something else?
also, if it’s a swayback, how much am i supposed to add/remove? the diagrams on the coletterie are great, but all they say are slash and spread. need some guidance here, plz.

on a related note, the fabric for these pants is a mostly-decent stretch poplin i bought from fabric mart for something like $2/yard. it is kinda sorta see-through, which means future pants will be underlined – not a problem, since the pattern called for about 2x as much fabric than actually used wtf. also, no love for fabric mart – i had some problems with my post office, which resulted in the package being returned to sender (ok, i put the wrong zip code on the address because i am forgetful), and when i emailed fabric mart for a solution, it took them nearly a week to get back to me. in the meantime, the post office found the package, corrected the address, and had it shipped to me in less than 24 hours. i am not planning on ordering from fabric mart again.

enough about fabric mart, let’s talk about my pants!

Tags: clover, dear god help me, muslin, pants