musings on finding my style and crafting a custom wardrobe
Just popping by to share my latest Minerva Blogger Network post, which is a super-cute zebra print swimsuit, using the now out of print Butterick B6358. You can find out all the nerdy sewing details here: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005899
This post is also my penultimate Minerva Blogger Network post (for the time being at any rate), as I’ve decided to step down for a while. Continue reading “The Sewing Bee Zebra Swimsuit: making Butterick B6358”
Hey up! Now that summer seems to finally have arrived in the UK, what better time to share my version of Vogue 8903: a classic shirt dress in black linen. This is my June Minerva Blogger Network make and you can find the full post with lots of nerdy sewing deets here: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005877
Hello peeps! I’m back with a make I completed back in January, a lovely version of the Seamwork Margo skirt using John Kaldor scuba crepe gifted to me by Minerva in return for a 500+ review with pictures over on their blog, which you can find here: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005864
Yeah, I made this in January! However, sometimes those Minerva Fabric Focus blogs can take a long time to make their way onto the blog. Even longer if you’ve been a bad blogger and taken ages to write the post up. In my defense, Daisy had heart surgery just after Christmas so my mind was somewhat preoccupied in the months after.
But what I really needed after the ordeal of Daisy’s surgery and post-operative hospital stay was an easy win. The Seamwork Margo skirt definitely fits the bill! Continue reading “The Margo Scuba Skirt: making the Seamwork Margo skirt with scuba crepe”
Hey peeps, I’ve found a few minutes for a drive-by blog post, so here goes! This is the Seamwork Neenah dress pattern which I hacked into a top. The real star is the John Kaldor Isabella Jersey which I received free from Minerva Crafts in return for writing the post on their blog, which you can find here: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005865
Now, I absolutely love this top and wore it loads before the weather warmed up. Partly it’s that gorgeous colour, partly the Seamwork Neenah pattern, which I know by now works just right for this kind of snuggly, slightly looser but still narrow fitting garment (for other versions and hacks of the Seamwork Neenah, see here and here). But I think the real star is the fabric itself (affiliate link). It’s pretty much the holy grail of garment fabrics for me, as it has that soft drape from the 72% viscose content, the four way stretch and recovery from the hefty 8% elastane, and the snuggly warmth and general resilience from the 20% wool. I still have some decent size scraps from this and over a metre of the gunmetal grey I bought years ago and haven’t dared use yet, so there will definitely be more of this fabric appearing on the blog in the future… once I’ve figured out the perfect patterns for it 🙂
I’ve been feeling a little guilty about the fact that I only seem to blog my Minerva makes just lately, and don’t want this blog to come over as some kind of extended advertisement for them. Not that I don’t really appreciate Minerva for all the freebies and buy some fabric from them still in addition to that I receive free, I hasten to add.
But I have been making things that aren’t Minerva makes and with three kids to look after I just don’t find much time for blogging them. I have to blog the Minerva ones and have deadlines, so they always jump to the top of the queue. I’m thinking I might just have to do really short blog posts to clear the backlog of projects. That would make me feel a whole lot better about the situation.
And the fact remains: if it weren’t for my Minerva Blogger Network allowance I wouldn’t be able to sew much. Spare money is hard to come by in this house at the moment, so I really appreciate the chance to splash out on fabrics and patterns I wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. I’ve been choosy about my projects, though, and am planning them to be things I really feel a need for in my wardrobe, or that the kids could do with (there are a few kids clothes projects in the pipeline, so watch this space for cuteness!).
I have been thinking about my big stash of old clothes and decent size scraps in the loft, though, and am hoping to get them all sorted through in the next couple of weeks so that I can start using them to make new garments (possibly for the kids as they use smaller pattern pieces) or failing that, something like washable cloth wipes. I’ll let you know how I get on with that one.
Right, I’d better get off as I have to wake a sleeping baby then take the boy to his swimming lesson. Cheerio!
Hi everyone, hope you’re all enjoying Me Made May! This is my fourth year participating and I’m loving it. Tell you what, though, I’m kind of wishing I’d chosen a different challenge as all I want to wear every day is my latest make: these cute and comfy pedal pusher “jeans”. They’re the Jalie Éléonore Pull-On Jeans and I love them to bits! More details on sewing them up over on the Minerva Blogger Network. For rambling thoughts about jeggings, personal style and the like, read on here 🙂
I always used to consider “jeggings” a bit of a dirty word. They were the comical pretend jeans that were a sure sign you were letting yourself go. Then along came child #2, and the delights of maternity jeans. No, seriously, I was a convert. With my first I’d only ever had those weird over-the-bump maternity jeans but second time around I bought a pair of Red Herring jeans that had a soft elasticated waistband, but looked just like regular jeans from there on down. I was smitten. Comfiest jeans EVAH. Continue reading “The Skinny Pedal Pushers – Jalie Éléonore Pull-On Jeans”
This year I’ll be taking part in Me Made May for the fourth year running.
Last year’s participation was sporadic (or at least, the documentation was) because little Lauren arrived on the 6th of May. This year, though, I reckon I can manage to get outfit pictures every day. I know that’s not mandatory, but I do love seeing all the pics at the end and I think they’ll really help me with this year’s personal challenge. Here’s what I’m going for:
‘I, Anna-Jo, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May 2019. I endeavour to wear at least one me-made garment every day during May 2019. Furthermore, I will endeavour to wear each item in at least three different combinations to give different looks and silhouettes. I will also be making up a list of key items I could sew that would enable me to make more successful outfits from my me-mades.’
My main goal is to get more outfit ideas as well as to be able to plan my sewing to make my wardrobe work better. I’m definitely developing a more cohesive style and smaller, but more curated, wardrobe, which makes me happy.
As well as the above I’m going to use Me Made May to encourage me to finish my current knitting project, Andi Satterlund’s Waters Tee. I’ve finished the hip increases so only have a few rows, the cuffs and all those ends to weave away… I’d really like it if I could be wearing it by the end of the month, but weaving away the ends is going to be a killer!
Finally, I want to make time to go through all my mending and alterations pile. This has got out of hand as family members keep giving me their old clothes saying I could make something out of them. I need to go through everything and work out if I’m going to spend the time to repair/alter it, or harvest the fabric, or send it to a charity shop, or if in fact all it’s good for is cleaning rags. Hopefully there are a few me-mades I can get back into rotation with some alterations.
Then I need to put in place a robust system so I don’t end up drowning in a pile of old clothes again. This isn’t the first time it’s happened!
Anyone else doing Me Made May? What are your goals? Please link to any posts about them so I can take a gander 🙂
Also, anyone else find they keep being given old clothes by friends and family? What do you do with them?
My latest make, Burda Style 6847 (affiliate link) is now up on the Minerva Blogger Network. It’s a casual sweatshirt jacket, and it’s probably one of my favourite makes ever! You can find out all the details of sewing it up over on the Minerva Blog.
I first saw this pattern on Dr T’s blog when she posted a huge list of patterns suitable for the Dramatic Classic Kibbe type. Without wanting to go into all the theory behind Kibbe and why I think I’m a Dramatic Classic (that’s for another post, at some point soon), the key things Kibbe says about jackets for this type is that they “should be crisp and tailored, with sharp shoulders and elongated line. If unconstructed, they should be very narrow and fall below the break of the hip.” Continue reading “The Hoodless Hoodie – my latest Minerva Blogger Network make (Burda Style 6847)”
Although I didn’t manage to make much on my Make Nine list for 2018, I found it a really helpful planning prompt and did really well with it the year before, so I’m going with it again this year. Which is already three months gone. Ah well. That’s one garment a month for the rest of the year. I reckon I can do that!
Okay, this is a bit late in the year (what, it’s April already?!), but hey, better late than never. So, how did I do with my 2018 Make Nine plans?
Honestly? I didn’t do well with them, but I can see now that they were way too ambitious with another baby in the picture. Here’s the final grid:
Yep, I made the Jalie 3131 nursing bra (as yet unblogged) which was a huge success as it’s really comfortable and I wear it loads, although I freely admit it’s probably not the most flattering silhouette, having a sports bra flattening kind of effect.
I also made (and blogged here!) the dressing gown, eventually going with a Vogue pattern (V8888) that was very like the Suki in terms of design, but had the advantage of coming in paper as I really didn’t need to be assembling such a huge pdf.
Other than that I have started and am about 3/4 of the way through my knitted top. I eventually went with Andi Satterlunds Waters top, knitting it in a fine linen yarn in deep plum and cream. I’m hoping to have it finished soon as I’m on the hip increase section (it’s top down), although I’m really not looking forward to weaving in all those ends!
So, that’s only (almost) three of my patterns made, but I’m good with that. I made other stuff too. Some of it might even get blogged soon. Watch this space!
Coming up next: my Make Nine plans for 2019…
Okay, this is the last of my catch-up links to Minerva projects I’ve made over the last few months. Phew, now I can start writing posts about all the other things I’ve made and haven’t yet blogged!
This is the Knot Your Average Shirt and Dress from 5 out of 4 Patterns and I first made it as a dress a couple of years ago as it’s one of those cunning concealed breastfeeding access patterns. You can find my full Minerva write-up of this top version here: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005856
I really love wearing this top and I think that’s down to two main reasons. Continue reading “The Knot Your Average Top”
This is one of those “whoops, I thought I’d already posted this” posts! Yep, finally sharing February’s Minerva Blogger Network post over here. You can find it at: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005905
I have to admit, this is not one of my most successful makes and it’s currently in my wadder pile, hopefully to be harvested for fabric to make something more “me”. It’s not the fault of the pattern, which was really well written and fun to make. It’s not the fault of the fabric, which although a polyester (boo!) jersey is really comfortable and pleasant to wear. Continue reading “The Spotty Cowl Top”
Just popping in to share my latest Minerva Blogger Network make, the Megan Nielsen Patterns Rowan bodysuit in a lovely navy viscose jersey. You can find all the sewing details on the Blogger Network here:
https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005887
I have to admit, I was so excited about sewing a bodysuit for the first time (I’ve been thinking about making one for a couple of years now) that it wasn’t until I was almost finished that I thought, “hang on a minute, this isn’t breastfeeding friendly!” Whoops!
Still, it’s not such a problem as Lauren only feeds a couple of times during the day now. That little girl loves her food, and would rather munch down on jacket potatoes, stew, chicken korma, and just about anything else she can get her hands on. No boring baby mush in this house!
I’m thinking I need more bodysuits in my wardrobe. I want to make more skirts/trousers with a slightly dropped waistline and I need to make sure that anything tucked in stays tucked. Generally I don’t tuck in tops and just wear them hanging over the top of the bottoms, but I’d like to try this different silhouette as I think it’s flattering. Admittedly, most of my current skirts and trousers are high waisted, but going forward I’ll be sewing some a couple of inches below my natural waist.
This Rowan top is really lightweight and probably best worn as a base layer as it shows every lump and bump. The fabric is also just transparent enough to give a hint of my bra, so I reckon I’ll be making a skin-toned bra at some point soon.
However, those slight issues aside, this Rowan bodysuit is super comfortable, I really enjoyed the challenge of making it, and I can see it making the base of lots of pattern hacks with other knit tops. Yay!
I still have a couple of recent Minerva blogs to link, so expect to see them popping up this next week. Until then, happy sewing everyone 😀
xx
I’m finally linking the blog I wrote for the Minerva Blogger Network back in December–oops! It’s another Jalie cardigan (I’ve made two of their Drop Pocket cardigans blogged here and here) and another real winner. I love the shape of the front at the hem and those long, statement pleats down each side. My only gripe? No pockets!
I have some serious love for this cardigan. It accompanied me to the hospital back in January when I had to pack a capsule wardrobe to last two weeks while Daisy had her surgery. I can honestly say it goes with practically everything in my wardrobe, and I always feel stylish and put together when wearing it. The fabric is warm while still being fairly lightweight, and although it is now pilling a bit, it’s nothing my lint shaver can’t handle.
You can find the full post over on the Minerva site here: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005897
Okay, that’s all for now. I’ll be back with another backlog (back-blog?) clearing post in a few days.
Adios, amigos!
Why hello, my dear, neglected blog! I’m sorry I’ve not been posting, but life has been somewhat crazy around these parts and finding a few peaceful minutes to sit at the computer has been as rare as getting a decent night’s sleep.
First there was the annual craziness that is Christmas, and making it special for three children. Yeah, I’m only now starting to really appreciate all the hard work my mum put in when me and my two sisters were little. Continue reading “The Mother and Daughter Leggings”