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.
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 🙂
Random Musings
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!
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 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:
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 😀
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.
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”
Just a quick post to link to my latest make (Simplicity 1504) for the Minerva Blogger Network, and this time it’s an unselfish make for my gorgeous girl, Daisy. Who is going to be a teenager tomorrow. Eeek! I’m feeling really old now…
The story behind why she needs a button front nightie is up on the blog post (clue: it involves impending heart surgery) along with a fairly detailed post about the pattern. I really enjoyed making this one up, and it’s one of those patterns that fits from Gabriel’s age to adult, so I’m sure I’ll get more of these made. The pj version for Gabriel, natch. Although I’d totally make him a nightshirt if he wanted one. I’ve made them for my dad before, after all.
The fabric is definitely worth a mention as I’ve never worked with cotton broadcloth before, but it’s absolutely lovely stuff! Seriously, I want to sew with this all the time. I want shirts made out of it. And summer dresses. Maybe even a nightshirt of my own.
Right, I’m struggling to write this with a snotty baby on my lap and an equally snotty pre-schooler asking me if monkeys have red tails, so that’s it for now. I’ll be back with more finished makes soon, though. I’m building up quite the backlog!
xx
PS, there might be a style analysis post too. I’m getting seriously into reading all I can about different systems. I think it’s to make up for the fact I have little sewing time, but plenty of time sitting up in the middle of the night feeding a baby. Hooray for smartphones and 24 hour wifi!
I’m just swinging by because I realised I still haven’t linked last month’s Minerva make, and my next one will be up in the next few days! No, there really isn’t much time or headspace to sit at the computer and get on with this sort of thing these days. Children. They’re cute, but they’re smelly and steal all your time.
Anyway, last month’s make is this gorgeous (if plain) black twill Cleo dress, which I’ve been wearing loads as none of my old Cleos fit me at the moment. You can find out more details over on Minerva’s site: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005895
I’ve been sewing when I get the chance (finished my first bra–so proud!) and doing plenty of wardrobe planning. I had myself the perfect little autumn/winter capsule planned using patterns from my stash and have bought most of the fabric I need. Then I discovered the Kibbe types and they made a lot of sense to me. I reckon I’m a classic face on a dramatic body, which explains why dramatic (and dramatic classic) clothes look great on me, but the necklines are sometimes too harsh. I think I can get away with classic and probably even some soft classic necklines (like sweethearts and cowl necks) so long as the rest of my outfit is pretty dramatic in style/colour. It’s got me thinking about my capsule plans anew, particularly in terms of necklines and knitwear. It’s also got me wondering if I should rejig my rockabilly librarian style board…
Hopefully I’ll find time to do a more detailed post on this soon (and blog some more of the things I’ve been sewing), but until then, anyone else gone down the Kibbe rabbit hole and come up for air?!
Hi there; long time, no blog! I’m not apologising because that’s just the way of life with a newborn. However, Lauren is now four-and-a-half months old, Gabriel is back at nursery and Daisy at school, and finally I’m starting to find a wee bit of time here and there to get back on the computer.
I actually have a fair old backlog of projects to blog, including my first button up shirt for Andy, some cute baby clothes, and a few things for me, as having a tiny baby to look after didn’t actually stop me from sewing. It slowed me right down, admittedly, but for sanity’s sake I managed to find the odd few minutes here and there to sew a seam or do a bit of pressing. I’ve also done a fair bit of knitting too. Yay! Continue reading “The Tropical Scout Tee (and a return to blogging!)”
This was my third year of taking part in Me Made May, and probably the most challenging yet, what with having a baby part way through! Yes, I’ve had to deal with going from a pregnant belly to a post-baby body, and was already struggling with a very limited selection of clothing that fit me, let alone me-made clothing that fit.
‘I, Anna of annajosews.com (@anna_jo_sews), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’18. I endeavour to wear at least one me-made item (garment or accessory) each day during May 2018. I also want to spend the month assessing which of my clothes will work for life with a newborn, and to plan a breastfeeding-friendly capsule wardrobe to sew for the summer.’
In the end I did fulfil the pledge, with the exception of the day I gave birth when I didn’t wear any me-mades at all (but I’d made a baby!). I didn’t get all that many photographs, though, for various reasons I’ll go into. First, though, I’m going to share the ones I did take.
Day 1: the only me-mades here were my striped Erin skirt and a polka dot headband, but I really liked the overall outfit.
Day 4: My floral Agnes top got its final outing over the bump! This picture was taken about half an hour before we left for hospital, so please excuse the ropiness.
Day 5: I got one last pic of the bump in the hospital garden, while being induced. The weather had turned absolutely roasting! Wearing a self-drafted jersey maxi skirt I’ve never blogged, which I normally only wear around the house as it’s gone quite bobbly. Super comfy, though!
Day 6 – no me-mades–just little baby Lauren! This was my most popular post of the month over on Instagram 🙂
Day 7- back home, and trialling my Colette Wren dress over my deflating tummy. Really comfy and lovely in the heat, but didn’t cover my bust adequately. Would need an FBA to wear this pattern at the moment!
Day 8 = a bit cooler, so I wore that Drop Pocket Cardigan again, with a me-made jersey scarf.
Day 21 – bit of a jump in time here! I’m wearing my Erin skirt again, with a self-drafted hacci kimono. Also wearing Lauren!
Day 26 – Demonstrating how easy it is to feed Lauren while wearing my pink tee from the Craftsy Sewing with Knits class (affiliate link). Also wearing the Erin skirt again.
So, that was the outfits I documented. The other days I wore pretty much the same mix of garments, which was why I didn’t feel particularly inspired to get photos. But there were other reasons the photos didn’t get taken too. I lost my favourite photo locations, because Andy has been digging up the patio to join in the ensuite in our new bedroom (garage conversion) to the existing waste system. There are slabs up everywhere and quite frankly my entire courtyard is a mess and doesn’t make an attractive backdrop. I could have taken indoor pics by the door and window I usually use (see the first four days above!), but that would have meant tidying the floor and vacuuming. I just didn’t feel much like that with a newborn to look after.
But documenting isn’t what Me Made May is really about. It’s about your relationship with your handmade wardrobe, and for me, sorting my clothes and planning my summer sewing was the most important part of the challenge. I did this bit, and have put all this lot into storage:
Admittedly, the box of winter clothes also contains gloves, hats and scarves belonging to the rest of the family, but I was still amazed at how many of my clothes I can’t currently wear (there’s another under-bed box of too-small clothes, but ones I reckon I’ll fit into first as they’re probably a size UK 12/14 rather than the size 10 that went into the loft). I don’t remember it being this bad after having Gabriel, but I suppose it was winter then, some of the clothes I wore then have worn out and are no longer with me, and much of what I’ve sewn since then is small and close fitting.
This is now the current state of my wardrobe:
The clothes on the right are the ones I can fit into. Those to the left are ones I didn’t want to squash into a box, plus a couple of party dresses that should fit now. Oh, and an unfinished coat project I really should work on this autumn…
That’s not all my clothing. I have scarves and bulky cardigans on the top shelf there, and I keep camis, tees and lightweight cardigans in my bedside drawers, along with undies, lounging clothes and workout gear. Still, I think it’s fair to say that my current selection of clothing I can wear is extremely limited and I’m bored to tears with it all. There’s lots of plain black and very little variety in styles. I’m stuck with a small selection of RTW jersey breastfeeding dresses or camis and maternity skirts. Yay.
Out of interest, I decided to check my current measurements against my pre-pregnancy size, and here they are:
Pre-pregnancy: Full bust 36″, High bust 34″, Waist 29″, Hips 40″, Bra size 34 B/C
Current measurements: Full bust 40″ (+4″), High bust 37″ (+3″), Waist 33″ (+4″), Hips 43″ (+3″), Bra size 36 DD
It’s no wonder not much fits, especially as I tend to favour close-fitting clothing 🙂
I know that this state of affairs won’t last forever. I will get back to my old size (I’ve managed it twice before!) but it’s going to take time and exercise, along with sticking to healthy food and not overdoing the carbs. I’ve just started week one of the Couch to 5k to get me back into running gently, so I reckon I’ll be in the size 12/14 clothes in a month or so, and hopefully back to my old size by the end of the year. Any clothes I make now will need to work for a variety of sizes, or be easily adjusted when I lose weight.
FWIW, I feel I should point out here that there’s nothing wrong with having a “mum tum”, and I know many women never get back to the size they were before having a baby (took me 7 years after Daisy!). However, I would prefer to get back to the size I feel happiest and healthiest at, and I know it’s achievable as I’ve done it before.
Now for the planning part. I’ll admit, I haven’t found time to design the perfect capsule wardrobe for summer, but I have identified a few key items I’ve found myself wishing for when getting dressed:
Maxi skirt – I definitely want one in black, in a lightweight swishy woven viscose. I’m thinking a simple elasticated waist would be best. You can get waistband elastic that’s designed to be exposed, and I might go for that. Should be a super fast sew that way! If that goes well, more maxi skirts in patterned fabrics would be great.
Dungaree dress – Something lightweight again. Possibly in dark chambray or a deep plum colour. I like the look of the new pattern from Helen’s Closet, but might draft something myself as money is tight and I hate assembling pdfs.
Looser fitting tees – until I lose the baby tum these are what I want to wear! Perhaps just a couple: one plain (plum?) and one striped or polka dotted. I could use the Deer and Doe Plantain tee as that’s close fitted at the top, but looser over the waist and hips.
Tropical print kimono – Something lightweight with a colourful but dark background print. For a bit of fun, and an easy way to add some colour to my current all-black outfits. I could draft this myself.
Another Amber dress or two – prints, this time! Polka dots, tropical florals, bright colours. Something to cheer me up.
Not sure I’ll get around to sewing all these as time and money are in short supply, but we’ll see. It’s a good exercise in planning, at any rate 🙂
So, that was my Me Made May, and it was fairly challenging! Did you take part? If so, what did you learn about your handmade wardrobe?
