Well, it has been seven days since my last update.

I’ll use the same method as last week. I will share the pattern, the fabric, what the garment looks like on Gertrude plus some detail shots, and finally a photo of me in the garment.

Let’s get started.

The first garment I made was a Scout Woven T-shirt designed by Grainline Patterns. I love this shirt. I did not have enough linen to make a solid black shirt–which is good thing. It made me think creatively. I used a vintage plaid fabric I have and love. I cut this plaid out on the bias both for the bottom of the shirt and for the binding of the neck. I am really pleased with this. I love how the plaid looks on the neckline. I very surprised out how flattering the cut is even without darts. I will be making more of these.

Next up, round two with the Katherine Tilton pattern by Butterick. I am seeing now in the photos from this week, that I look better in a slightly lower neckline. I may go back and rework the neckline for this reason. This fabric is beautiful but was really beyond my current knit skill set. I struggled through the entire project. But it is done now. I think this will be a great layering piece if I can get over my bad attitude about it.

There is the ongoing–just what the heck am I going to wear for bottoms dilemma going on in my mind the entire time I am making these tops. I am not ready to make jeans, so I have to go with Plan B. Leggings are good to sleep in, wear under skirts which I can make, and look good with tunics. I watched a Creative Bug video by Cal Patch on drafting your own leggings, and then I just did it. The first time I put the waist band on it was a disaster, but I regrouped, ripped, stitched, and finished them. It is very difficult for me to photograph black garments are Gertrude, but you get the idea. They are leggings, and I made them, and now I have something to cover my lower half. There is not much more to say about it.

I rewarded myself by making this super cute t-shirt called a Renfro designed by Sewaholic. I love this Tee! It was a breeze to make, super comfortable, and looks good. I used the black ponte roma knit I have used for my other black t-shirt. I will be using this pattern again. It has great sleeve and bottom bands which are a nice touch.

After the excitement over the fun t-shirt, I went back to trying to cover my bum. This time, I decided that I would make denim pajama bottoms. I think it might be the next craze. The durability of denim with the comfort of sleepwear. Fletcher, son number one, does not agree with me.

I tried to explain to him that I can only wear what I can sew, and I am not ready to tackle a pair of jeans–although I will in the near future. I asked him what he would wear if he were in this situation. He said he would wear bootie pants which is not true because he does not know how to sew. And that is how I make myself feel better about my jean-less wardrobe. Some people in this situation would be wearing togas or ponchos.

When I first wrote about this self-imposed sewing challenge, I mentioned Me-Made-May. Me-Made-May is an online pledge about wearing garments and accessories you have made for the month of May. I made my pledge today on the So, Zo What Do You Know Blog.

Here is what I pledged.

‘I, Maria Shell of <http://www.talesofasticher.com sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’14. I endeavor to wear (excluding under and outer) only clothes I have made each day for the duration of May 2014’

You can pledge to wear one handmade garment a week or at the other extreme pledge to wear a DIFFERENT handmade outfit everyday. So far, it looks like about 225 sewers have made the pledge. You should check it out, if for no other reason than to see all the crazy different blog names that have some sort of sewing reference in them. And I thought Tales of Stitcher was original.

Now back to the sewing machine!

18 Apr This entry was published on April 18, 2014 at 5:29 PM. It’s filed under Project EveryDay, Sew and Sew and tagged Handmade Wardrobe. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.