Back for MMM!

Ahhhhh - that was a lovely little blogging break! In fact, I’m not quite ready for it to be over… and so I’m cutting back a bit on my Me-Made May pledge to make life easier!

My original plan was to pick 5 of my favourite TNT patterns, and wear one pattern pattern every day for a week. Well, the problem with that is there there are only 4 weeks in May! Instead of trying to shoehorn in 7 days of the 5th patttern, I’m just going to make things simple and focus on 4 patterns - one for each week of the month. 

Here are my patterns:

• Cake Espresso Leggings


• Maria of Denmark Kristen Kimono Tee


• Jamie Christina Mission Maxi


• Jalie Raglan Tee


• Style Arc Elle Pants

I love the Kimono tee pattern, but I realised that some of my kimono-style tees were actually made with a different-but-similar pattern, so it seems like the easiest one to cut. I’ll still wear some during the month, but I won’t wear 7! 

Because I’m rather obsessive, I’ve been sketching and resketching version of my chosen patterns on my ipad. It’s partly to remember all the versions I have, and partly to plan for more! Here’s where I’m at so far…

As you can see, I’ve got at least 8 versions of three of the patterns… but less of the Jalie Raglan! The black raglan dress with the red star above it doesn’t actually exist yet… but I’ve got the fabric, so hopefully I’ll sew it before raglan week!)

In other MMM news, I’ve moved around my dining table so that I can leave my tripod permanently set up and ready for daily pictures. I also bought some cheap rolls of turquoise wrapping paper to try as a background - I HATE my beige walls, and I’ve always been envious of Tilly’s turquoise wall!

Now all that’s left is to actually make sure my me-made wardrobe is CLEAN in time for May! 

A wee blogging break coming up!

Lately all I want to do is lie on the couch and watch Netflix. It’s a busy time of year at school, plus I’m taking a 3-month teacher-training course… and even the beginning of spring isn’t making me want to sew! I’m barely even on Twitter or IG anymore…so I figure it’s time to take a hint and take a break! The cat and I will be happily hibernating until Me-Made May. 

Have you ever taken a blogging break, officially or unofficially? How’s your sewjo and regular ol’ mojo doing this spring?

Me-Made May - My challenge for 2014!

It’s time for Me-Made May! I love this month a lot - the community spirit, the challenge to dress nicely for a month, and a chance to test my handmade wardrobe!

The first time I participated I had only been sewing for 4 months, but I manages to squeak through wearing me-mades every day. I set myself the extra challenge of doing "Japanese for Crafters" - holding up a sign with a Japanese vocab word every day. It gave me something to go with my hands while I posed, and made for a fun conversation started in the flickr group! 

Looking back on those pictures I can see how different my style was then - only one thing I wore was made with knits! 

Last year I chose to experiment with my personal colour palette. Could I manage to wear the colours from my palette every day? (Answer: Yes!) It was really interesting to see which colours I actually wear the most though, and I ended up tweaking my palette a bit at the end. 

(If you are doing the Colette Wardrobe Architect series, I really recommend testing out your palette this way! It really helped me narrow down what I like and what I should look for in the fabric shops!)

Which brings us to this year! 

You all know that I love repeating patterns… so I decided this year I’m going to celebrate the repeats! 

I’ve chosen 5 of my favourite patterns, and I’m planning on wearing different versions of each pattern for a week. It’s my own version of Tilly’s One Week, One Pattern, combined with MMM! 

My patterns are: 

• Cake Espresso Leggings


• Maria of Denmark Kristen Kimono Tee


• Jamie Christina Mission Maxi


• Jalie Raglan Tee


• Style Arc Elle Pants

(Yes, there are 4 weeks in the month, and 5 patterns, but since I’ll have top/pants combos, and leggings/dress combos.)

I’ve got at least 7 versions of all of these patterns, except the Jalie Raglan top - guess I’d better get sewing raglans! I’m going to be wearing other patterns too, otherwise things would get a bit dull.

Here’s my official pledge: 

'I, Gillian of http://crafting-a-rainbow.tumblr.com/, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ‘14. I endeavour to wear me-made clothes every day, including a week each of my 5 favourite patterns.’

I’m hoping for two things this month: a chance for me to evaluate which fabrics work best for these favourite patterns, and a chance to show how varied a wardrobe you can make with just a few patterns! 

Are you doing MMM this year? Whether you are or not, do you love, dread, or ignore the sudden torrent of outfit posts that takeover the blogosphere?

Cake Carmine: Help!

You all know I love a knit basic, and I’m a big fan of Sewing Cake - I’ve made easily 10 pairs of Espresso leggings, and at least 10 Tiramisu dresses! 

So when Carmine was finally released, I bought it right away! I haven’t seen any finished versions of the pattern anywhere online yet, but I love the line drawing - it looks flattering and trim, and perfect for layering! 

Unfortunately, my first and second version didn’t turn out that way! I sewed both versions up in one morning - it’s such a fast pattern to make. Maybe even faster than a t-shirt!? 

Here’s my first version, in cotton lyrca knit:

Eeeek! I think I might have stretched out the circle when I inserted the pique elastic as trim… which is such a shame, because I was sure it was going to look so cute! As it is, when the collar lays flat (like in the top row of photos) then I get a very unattractive tent in the back flounce. If I pull the flounce snug in the back (as in the bottom row), then the collar is massive and won’t lay flat!

I tried pinning it shut in different ways, and thought maybe I could save it wit two button holes… but oh no…

AGHHHHH! It’s technically wearable, I guess, but I’d never feel chic or put together when everything is pulling and flopping around like that. 

Undaunted, i made another version, this time without the piping and with a single layer collar in hopes that it would drape better. Well… It kind of does? 

This version is sewn in a Rayon Poly Spandex ponte. When the collar is open, I still feel like drapes a bit awkwardly. I like the look more when it’s held closed like in the line drawing, but then it pulls oddly through the kimono sleeve. 

You’d never know it, I but I actually added an inch and a half in length to the centre back to try to get the flounce seam closer to my waist. Right now I feel like a linebacker from behind - look how broad and massive it makes my upper back look! 

I love the *idea* of this pattern, but it’s just not working for my body right now. How can I get the effect I want? 

• Part of the problem, I think, is that the gusset isn’t sitting in my armpit, but way forward onto my bust. That doesn’t seem right, does it? Maybe I could move it backward somehow?


• Take a few wedges out of the circular collar/flounce piece so that it drapes more smoothly?


• Add 3” more length to the centre back so that the seam hits in the small of my back?


• Or, the nuclear option: use my TNT raglan pattern with the circular flounce to make something that fits my shoulders properly? Right now the back, front shoulders, and sleeve are all one pattern piece, which makes it a challenge to alter. 

I’m completely open to advice on this one, so please, help me out! 

Update: I cut apart my pink version, did some draping on the manequin, and attached it to a raglan top. It much closer to what I envisioned, and maybe even wearable… but it would take a few more versions to really get it right! Thanks for the help, everyone!

Second Update: 

Here’s how I changed it… cut apart the flounce and bodice, and put them on my manequin to see what fabric I’d need to add to get the flounce sitting in the small of the back and draped smoothly across the front. I also tried draping it the same way over top of a Jalie raglan tee - and as I hoped the front seamlines matched up nicely!

Since I was short on fabric, I managed to recut the Carmine kimono sleeve into the Jalie Raglan sleeve. I cut out a back piece, and some crescent moon shapes for the front… and got this! The back ended up an inch too long, and I had to ease the shirt part into the flounce.. but at least I’ve got something sort of wearable, right? If I try this pattern again, it’ll probably be another hacked version like this - I just think it suits my body shape better than the cropped jacket which it’s designed to be! 

Sewing a rectangle can be more fun than I thought!

Oh HAI!!!!!!

Look, my husband went to play video games with his brother last weekend, and the cat and I MAY have gone a little stir crazy without him… Because I suddenly realized that I could SEW new pillowcases for our bed instead of doing laundry!!! 

We both like to have lots of pillows on the bed, which means that we basically have every single mismatched pillowcase in use at all times. As I lay in bed at midnight, it occurred to me that maybe my stash held the solution!

I have a lot of 2-3m pieces of lovely high-end quilting cotton that I bought when I first started sewing. I used to make lots of quilting cotton dresses, but I’m not really interested in making them anymore! Now that fabric is just taking up room. I’ve been thinking of giving it away, but I”m too sentimental to part with it!

That said, this gingham print is actually new to me - I won it from Danielle over at One Small Stitch! It’s just perfect for my husband’s pillowcases, because he likes graphic patterns and dark colours. Nothing else in my stash would have suited him! Thanks, Danielle!

There’s another sewcialist connection in these pillows, too… when I googled for tutorials, the first one I found was by Brooke! She made really cute pillowcases for a friend in the army a few years ago, and her instructions were a great starting point!

I did make one small change to Brooke’s pattern. My favourite Japanese pillowcases have this inner flap thing that keeps the pillow from sliding out. My husband’s pillow cases ALWAYS slide off and it irrationally bothers me, so I figured this was a good solution! 

If you are interested, here’s how I did it… (get ready for a one-picture tutorial! :P) Cut one side of the pillowcase the actual size of the pillow, and the other side 8” longer. Put them good-sides-together, and fold the long edge back like in the picture above. Then sew the 3 edges, and turn inside out - the flap should be neatly inside the pillow! 

We’ve been using the pillowcases all week, and I’m happy to report no pillows have escaped! I’ve got some other fabric earmarked to make more… and hopefully once I’ve got lots of pretty pillows I’ll be more motivated to finish the last damn seam on my quilt! So close, and yet so far. 

***EVIL LAUGH***

I just realized that I’ve covered the bed with my stash. I literally roll around in my favourite fabrics (in pillow and quilt form) every night. Is my husband aware that fabric is taking over? First the sewing room, then the living room, and now the bedroom… Sewing is taking over the whole apartment!!!! MUHUHAHAHA!

Shieldmaiden March!

First of all, I’m totally blown away by the comments on my post about how many blogs you read! It’s so interesting so see how we differ. I’m still working through trying to reply to everyone, but in the meantime, here’s a post I rafted earlier! ;)

And now for something completely different: 

My first historical costume! 

For Sheildmaiden March, I made up this Viking-style apron. This is my first ever project with wool, which means it also fulfills one of my New Years resolutions!

I was a bit intimidated by sewing with wool, so I just plunge right in with scissors - no pattern, just a few measurements and some eyeballing the angles. The wool came from my stash, and I didn’t have much, so I didn’t have the option of doing anything too historically accurate! 

Lucky for me, I was able to hide a lot of my terrible seams with the handmade trim that I won from Solvi at Delfinelise. I handstiched it all on so that I can take it off if I need to wash the dress or I want to make something else with it! I also saved a piece to show my elementary classes when they are learning about textiles or VIkings. Nothing beats show and tell!

I couldn’t figure out how to replicate ornate broaches, so I stuck with simple metal buttons. The beads are from the dollar store - but I as really pleased to get handmade beads which are within the realm of historically accurate! 

Even though my outfit isn’t very accurate, I wanted to be able to layer to at least make it more convincing! I dug out the rectangular knitted shawl that i’m holding (and wearing in the very first picture). I knit it before I got carpal tunnel from knitting, so it must be at least 7 or 8 years ago now… and for all that time it has sat unblocked and unworn! I’m glad it finally had a day in the sun!

Oh, and the underdress? That’s part of my mom’s costume from when we used to have a medieval festival in our small town! Early 90’s, I’d say? Lucky for me she did a lovely job sewing it, AND it’s shaped like a tent!

Here I am at school wearing the dress, about to go teach kids about medieval England… and you can see the full wimple, which I’m using as a Viking headscarf in some of the pics. (Someday soon, I’ll be teaching in Greek and Egyptian clothes too… ‘cause who doesn’t love a bit of teacher-in-role?)

There we have it! My least practical make ever, but at least I’m ready for Halloween. Thanks so much to Solvi for the trim - I don’t think I would have finished this project if I didn’t have that extra motivation and detail!

Now the obvious question to end this post with would be "Have you ever sewn costumes?"… but I’m going to go on a tangent here! 

Instead, I’ll admit that I’m completely addicted to watching BBC history documentaries on Youtube, and the Vikings have a particular fascination. I even wrote a post over on the Sewcialist blog linking to a few of my favourites. I don’t know what it is about Viking documentaries that so enthralls me - maybe it dispelling old stereotypes, or the fact that Viking history is such a big (yet rarely mentioned) influence on British history, and therefore my family history… or hell, maybe I just like the shiny gold and exciting sagas! 

So here’s my question for you: 

What topics (outside sewing) do you find particularly fascinating? Are you a space geek or makeup fanatic or World War II buff? Could you watch cooking shows for hours, or are you excited about, I don’t know, fencing? Come on, ‘fess up: What interests might we not know about? 

How many blogs do you follow? And how many do you actually read?

I’ve always been fascinated by how people read blogs. Do they follow 5 blogs, or 500? Do they comment on every post, or rarely? Do they skim through posts on a blog reader, get email updates, or check blogs every so often for new posts? It’s such a mystery! 

I got thinking about this last night when i was ready a Sewing Survey post where Sherri, the blog author, confessed that she felt overwhelmed sometimes by trying to keep up on the 38 blogs she follows… and the survey respondent who followed the most blogs follows 120 blogs.

**insert screeching car brake sounds here**

Whaaaaaa????? I follow about 500 blogs, and I guess I assumed everyone else did too! I turned to twitter, where Sewcialists admitted to following anywhere from 6 blogs avidly to skimming about 1000 blogs. 

So now I’m curious, and I’d love to hear from you in the comments! 

1. How many blogs do you follow?


2. Do you read everything or skim some/most?


3. Do you use a blog reader, email subscription, or actually go to the website?


4. Approximately how many blogs do you comment on regularly?

Here are my answers: 

1. I follow about 500 blogs.


2. I skip anything about food or sewing for kids… I skim plenty… and I carefully read posts by anyone I’ve met IRL, talk to often on Twitter, or who sews in a style like me. 


3. I use Feedly on my phone or computer, and I love it!


4. I probably leave about 10 comments a week? Mostly, again, for people I’ve met or feel close with. I admire people who comment more, but it stresses me out when I think of it as an obligation or duty. 

How about you?