MMM: Days 17-22

I've fallen off the MMM bandwagon a bit lately. It's not that I have trouble wearing me-made items, it's the lack of a decent photographer and leaving for work before it gets light. I've realised during this challenge that I actually do wear mostly me-made items. That's pretty good since I don't go shopping for clothes anymore. I buy only jeans, cardigans and underwear.

The only thing I'm struggling with (besides the photography) is wearing bought t-shirts. I have a large collection that I've had for years and do wear them quite a bit on my mum days. I've made two Alexa T-tops and I've got a few Renfrews but I'd love to wear my Country Road t-shirts. Maybe I'll break my own rules...

Here's day 17 through to today, day 22. I didn't photograph Saturday (day 18) due to an extremely difficult day with a certain 4 year old. Please tell me it will end!! I stayed in my running gear most of the day to do domestic duties and some gardening. I wore my pink infinity scarf. I love that scarf!

 

 

Day 17

Dress: Vogue 1027 in Liberty

Other Items: Blue wool Country Road cardigan, black leggings, Walnut flats, fabric covered button earrings

 



Day 19
Top: Japanese Floral Grainline Scout
Scarf: Pink wool Infinity Scarf
Jacket: Black wool Minoru
Other Items: Black Trenery jeans, Walnut flats, fabric covered button earrings

Yes, my nose is a bit swollen. I got a rude awakening early one morning when Mr H hit my across the nose with his sip cup because I wouldn't get him more milk. That boy certainly has a temper!

Day 20, 21 & 22 - my working week. Sick child today so no work for me.

Day 20
Dress: Vogue 1250
Other Items: Black wool Country Road cardigan, black opaque tights, black patent pumps, black Dinosaur Designs jewellery

Day 21
Dress: Colette Laurel
Jacket: Simplicity 2250
Other Items: Black opaque tights, black patent pumps, red Dinosaur Designs jewellery

Day 22
Top: Black wool Renfrew
Scarf: Pink wool Infinity Scarf
Other Items: Black Trenery jeans, Columbia puffer vest, Walnut flats

Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so hopefully a better photo...

L x

MMM: Day 13, 14, 15 & 16!!

Whoa! Where did that week go?! These are my work week outfits. Apologies for the blurry photos but these were taken at 6.45am quickly before I ran out the door.

We're working left to right.

Day 13 Outfit Details
Dress: Vogue 1250
Other Items: Country Road black wool cardigan, black opaque tights, patent wedges & Dinosaur Designs jewellery

Day 14 Outfit Details
Dress: New Look 6000
Jacket: Simplicity 2250
Other Items: Black opaque tights, Dinosaur Designs jewellery, Camper shoes

Day 15 Outfit Details
Blouse: McCalls 5884
Skirt: Black Ponti Simplicity 2343 (unblogged)
Other Items: Black opaque tights, Dinosaur Designs bangle, Camper shoes

The first two dresses are two of my all time favourite work dresses. They are super comfortable and I think quite stylish. I love the ponti jacket and have worn it extensively but it is getting a little worn now.

I thought I'd include a photo from this morning's photo shoot! The boys were keen to be included. Not sure what's happening with their head poses...

Day 16: A quick trip in to the city to see the doctor. More ENT visits needed for Mr N and Mr H has a scooter vs foot wound requiring antibiotics. Never a dull moment!

Outfit Details
Top: Alexa tee
Jacket: Black wool Minoru
Scarf: GAP-tastic Cowl
Other Items: Black skinny jeans from Trenery, Ecco boots (my mother's day present!)

Back to sewing my Cordova!!

L x

MMM: Day 11 & 12

Day 11: An early Mother's Day for us. After breakfast at Pope Joan, we headed in to the city for a wander and clothes shopping for Mr Sew Brunswick. It was an absolutely beautiful day in Melbourne. So unseasonal. This photo was taken at the Pop Up Patch at Fed Square.

Outfit Details
Dress: Colette Dinnigan Floral Cambie
Jacket: Denim Simplicity 2250
Other Items: Dinosaur Designs necklace, bangle & earrings, Ray Ban sunnies, Nancy Bird bag plus Walnut shoes

Day 12: Mother's Day! A quiet day of swimming lessons and afternoon naps. I also worked on my Cordova jacket which is looking really good. No sewing tonight as I got a bit carried away cleaning up my stash. It is all organised now. Although a little bit out of control....

Outfit Details
Top: Floral Tiny Pocket Tank
Other Items: Trenery Jeans, Country Road cardigan & Walnut shoes

L x

MMM: Day 10

Day 10: Mountains of washing, a trip to the zoo, a few hours wrangling with my Cordova jacket, picked up my newly serviced overlocker, garden watering, washing the car, making dinner and kid refereeing. Phew! Thankfully I now have a large glass of Baileys on ice and order is somewhat restored.

Outfit Details
Top: OOP Simplicity top in a textured cotton from Clegs (made so long ago the seams aren't finished!)
Skirt: Denim Grainline Moss Mini
Other items: Dinosaur Designs earrings and Walnut shoes

How was your Friday?

L x

Help: Cordova Jacket Problem Peplum

I am having some serious issues with inserting the peplum in to the Cordova jacket. The markings are all over the place and most of the time there are no marking to match up. The back panel is supposed to be longer than the peplum to allow you to attach the facing and then turn it all up. This is not the case. The peplum fits in quite well but there is no extra length.

Has anyone else had this issue? What did you do? Do I grade the peplum down to fit it in or do I draft an extra facing for the back panel? I'm tempted to go for adding an extra facing...

I'm really annoyed as the jacket is totally rocking until this point...

It is quite interesting to note that there are not that many Cordova jackets on the internet. Maybe this is the reason.

L x

MMM: Day 9

We went in to the city today to do some shopping and meet a friend for lunch. We also stopped by the State Library of Victoria. Such a beautiful Autumn day!!

Outfit Details
Top: Red Marc Jacobs Alexa T-top
Skirt: Autumn pencil skirt
Other items: Black leggings from Country Road, Walnut Shoes and Dinosaur designs bangle & earrings.

Sew: Tessuti Alexa T-Top in Marc Jacobs

I made another Alexa T-Top this week. Such a great basic t-shirt pattern. I might try a more scooped neckline next time. More like the Renfrew top. It's a close call but I think I like this pattern more than the Renfrew!

The fabric is a tomato red Marc Jacobs double knit from The Fabric Store. It is beautiful, soft and cuddly. It also has a barely noticeable print. A little warm for today's unseasonable warmth. I love the rich red colour.

The neckline of this pattern is finished really well. Nice and professional looking.

Project Details
Pattern: Tessuti Alexa T-Top
Fabric: Marc Jacobs double knit from The Fabric Store

L x

MMM: Day 8

My work week is done and dusted. This 3 day work week is a bit of a killer. Trying to do a full time role in a part-time capacity does my head in at times. But it is Wednesday night and tomorrow is all about my kidlets (who happen to have fevers), so it is time to shift from work mode to mother mode. I need to keep reminding myself that I can't have it all! But I'm going to give it a red hot go!!

Today I wore an old dress that I made for my return to work after Mr H. This is the first dress that I encountered my sway back issue and I took it to a Tessuti class for guidance. I learnt a lot in that class and I now do a sway back adjustment for all dresses with a straight back. I don't worry about fitted bodices with full skirts.

Last May during MMM - long sleeves

I originally made this dress with the long sleeves. I never seemed to wear it and was thinking why I didn't wear it. The main reason was that the sleeves made it look a bit dowdy and I couldn't wear cardigans over the top. So I decided to unpick the sleeves and finish the armholes with bias binding. Perfect!

It has definitely improved the dress and made it a keeper.

Outfit Details
Dress: Vogue 8511 made in a Japanese cotton from Tessuti
Other Items: Dinosaur Designs bangle and earrings, Jigsaw belt, blue suede Camper shoes, black opaque tights & black wool Country Road cardigan

L x

MMM: Day 7

Excuse the bad iPhone photos. It was very early this morning during the madness of loading two kids in the car and getting out the door before 7am. I was lucky to get a photo!!

Outfit Details
Dress: Silk Geometric Colette Laurel
Jacket: Black Ponti Simplicity 2250 Jacket
Other items: Black opaque tights, Camper shoes, Dinosaur Designs necklace & bangle

 

 

Crazy!

 

L x

MMM: Day 6

 

 Mad Monday at work. This is me and my friend Siobhan. I introduced Siobhan to sewing last year. She's becoming fanatical too! She's wearing Vogue 1250 in an Allanah Hill knit from the outlet on Brunswick Street. Fabulous dress!

 

Outfit Details

Dress: Snake print New Look 6000

Other items: Dinosaur Design earrings, black opaque tights and Camper shoes

 

How's everyone else going with MMM13?

 

L x



Sew: New Look 6000 in Metallic Snake Print

Metallic snake print fabric? Yes, please!! Well that's what I said in Clegs one day when I went to buy a zip. The student in front of me was getting samples of a range of fabrics and one of them was a metallic gold and black snake print jacquard. When it was my turn, I bought my zip.... and 1.5m of this fabulous fabric.

 

 

I knew that I would make this pattern again. My first two dresses are in high rotation for my work wardrobe. The are comfortable and stylish. I made this version exactly the same as the others, including the swayback adjustment and grading the size 16 out to a size 18 at the waist and hips. I probably should have gone a smidge larger as this fabric has no give whatsoever and is a little tight. Lucky I've been allowed to start running again!

 



I love the pleated sleeves.

The fabric had a stripe in the print, so I carefully matched the stripe across the zip and at the side seam. The dress is lined with black goldliner lining.

Project Details
Pattern: New Look 6000, view A, size 16-18
Fabric: Snake print metallic jacquard and black goldliner from Clegs
Alterations: Size 16 at bust & shoulders graded to a size 18 at waist & hips, 4cm sway back adjustment, 3cm total removed from centre back neckline, lengthened 10cm (4cm hem)

I'm pretty happy with my new dress. I just love this style dress for work. I might have to make a few more!!

L x

MMM: Day 5

Week one is done and dusted. Yay!! It's all a bit crazy around here. Busy, busy, as always.

Outfit Details
Top: Tessuti Alexa T-top
Other items: Jeans from Trenery, Dinosaur Designs necklace & Walnut Shoes

This is a fabulous t-shirt pattern. It fits me perfectly. About to start my second. Happy Sunday sewing people!!

L x

Sew: Tessuti Alexa T-top in Black Wool Jersey

 

As I pledged to wear all handmade items with the exception of jeans, cardigans & undergarments, I needed some new t-shirts. I already needed new t-shirts, and knew MMM13 was a good motivation to actually sew them. I cut out two t-shirts yesterday afternoon and sewed the black one last night. Such a quick and easy project. And such a wardrobe staple.

 

I made the size XL without any alterations. It is a pretty perfect fit. Next time I will add 5-10cm to the length. The sleeves are a little short but I do like them that way.

 

I picked up this wool jersey on my recent shopping trip with my mother in law. It is a nice sturdy weight. I was in Rathdowne yesterday morning and they still had some, plus quite a range of colours and weights.

Project Details
Pattern: Tessuti Alexa T-Top, long sleeve version, size XL
Fabric: Black Merino Wool Jersey from Rathdowne Fabrics

In other news, I got my haircut yesterday. To say I hate it would be an understatement. I know it's only hair and it will grow back. But it really annoys me that I went to the hairdresser with relatively good hair yesterday morning and walked out with a crazy odd style. Sigh.

L x

MMM: Day 4

A morning out running errands, visiting Rathdowne Fabrics and getting my hair cut. Not sure if I like my new hair cut but thankfully hair grows back! I always hate my hair cut when it is new and then grow to like it when the style grows out a bit.

These are my new Clovers that I made using the adapted pattern following the Pant Fitting Class at Tessuti (way back in March). The crotch issue is improved but still there. I might just have to accept that I have a ditch between my thighs and hip. The waist fits really well. I can't seem to get good photos of these pants as the fabric is a cotton sateen and photographs terribly. The photos make me want to throw these pants in the bin! I'm still wearing them, we'll see how I feel about them later in the day. It might be time to move on from Clovers. We might not be a good match.

Outfit Details
Top: Snake print tank - made from Tessuti jersey pre-blogging
Pants: Colette Clovers in black cotton sateen (not blogged yet)
Other items: Black wool cardigan from Country Road, Walnut shoes and Dinosaur Designs jewellery.

L x

MMM: Day 3

MMM Day 3, I was in full mother mode at the zoo. Nothing fancy.

Outfit Details:
Top: Simple tank made from Tessuti jersey - preblogging
Scarf: Lipstick pink merino jersey infinity scarf
Jacket: Metallic minoru jacket
Other items: black stretch jeans from Trenery, Ecco sneakers

MMM: Day 2

Outfit Details Dress: McCalls 5926 tunic (blogged on Sew Tessuti)
Top: Black merino wool jersey Renfrew
Accessories: Dinosaur Designs bangle & earrings, black leggings from Country Road, Walnut Shoes
My photographer today was only 4 years old. He did a good job, but there are about 10 photos of my shoes... And a few of his nose.

This dress is an oldie but a goodie. It is a bit big now. I'd really like to make it again in a smaller size and a large scale check. This is a mini-houndstooth print from Tessuti. I just need to be careful when walking around as I have a habit of catching the sleeves on doorknobs and ripping the side seam...

L x

MMM: Day 1

It's Me-Made-May!! Another round of car park photos. This year I'm signing up to wear all me-made clothes with the exception of underwear, jeans, cardigans & sportswear.

Outfit Details
Dress: New Look 6000
Accessories: Dinosaur Designs bangle & earrings, black opaque stockings, Camper Shoes

I'm actually making another version of this dress. I love it so much. The new version is snake print!!

L x