Me-Made-May-Lite Composite Photos

Me-Made-May-Lite is officially over. While I had lapses in my commitment to this project, overall I think it was successful. MMM resulted in 4 new, wearable garments and 1 wadder.

Before, from top to bottom; Black McCall's 6070 maxi dress, purple headscarf, purple swiss-dot cotton New Look 6873 skirt, green Amy Butler cotton A-line skirt, pillowcase skirt, mod green dirndl skirt. 

Of these garments, the pillowcase skirt got the most wear, by far. I have grown to loathe the maxi dress, entirely because of my fabric choice, and I think it's due for a refashion. I did not wear the mod green drindl skirt once, because it is so short (due to fabric constraints). 

After, top to bottom; black McCall's 6070 maxi dress, grey McCall's 6070 top, striped McCall's 5853 tank, semi-transparent McCall's 6121 swimsuit cover-up tunic (to be blogged about soon), purple New 6873 Look swiss dot cotton skirt, ethnic border print New Look 6178 wrap skirt, green Amy Butler A-line skirt, pillowcase skirt, mod green drindl skirt. 

Whew! I don't even remember sewing all that much this month. I feel like most of my efforts were sewing for my mom's birthday and the aforementioned wadder, the Ruby Shorts. I'm proud to have made 4 wearable, albeit simple, garments in May. 

As you can see, Auggie stubbornly proudly sat right in the middle of everything whilst I was taking these photos. He has quickly gotten used to hanging out in my sewing room over the past few days, as I have uncharacteristically been leaving projects strewn about. More on that latter. 

My next project? I have two tops I MUST make before I leave for Zurich next Thursday, but I'd also like to copy this top:

I found this Ella Moss tank at a thrift store last spring, and its one of my favorite summer tops. ShopStyle has her tanks listed roughly between $75-120 each. I got mine new, with tags, for $3. Can you say score?

I love the swishy cut and the direction of the stripes. I'm pretty sure I've figured out how to cut the skirt, and I have a black, white & purple stripey cotton knit in about the same weight that I think would look quite nice made up like this. First though, I'll probably work on redrafting McCall's 5853 to work with the floral chiffon I found at SAS a while back. If anyone has ideas or comments about knocking off the Ella Moss top, let me know! 

Happy Sewing,

Jana

New Look Wrap Skirt & Me-Made-May-Lite days 2&3

I finished up New Look 6178 view E on Saturday and wore it May 3rd.

This is view E from a rayon challis border print from fabric.com. It went together really quickly, at least by my standards, and I'm very proud of how it turned out. This is probably my most RTW-like garmet, easy as it may be. The waistband is finished with black bias tape and I used a narrow hem all around, stiched very closely. This was also my first time sewing darts. I got one side without a "bubble," and one side with a slight one, but it's not noticeable at all and I'm happy.

I chose this pattern because it was suitable for border prints. I can't see myself making anything else from NL 6178, the square necklines are too 90s for my taste. But another wrap skirt is always a possibility. After making it once I'm sure the second would be a two hour project.

Overall, I wish the ties were longer. They are sufficient to tie the skirt snugly, but I think longer ties would add a nicer touch. On pattern review many said this skirt was way too big. I disagree, I cut a 14 and it fits my hips just about perfectly. I would take 2'' off the front overlap if I made it again though, because I don't like that the skirt ties exactly on the side. I'd prefer it to be more center front side, if that makes sense. This would not effect the fit, however.
The pattern review is here.

So this was my outfit for May 3rd of Me-Made-May-Lite. May 2nd was McCall's 6070 maxi dress. It felt strange to be wearing a dress on a Sunday, usually I bum around the library in sweats, but the dress is plenty comfy.

Prom & new projects

Prom was last weekend and I just wanted to share a quick picture. The dress is Adian Mattox. The theme was arabian nights, and this prompted me to get mehndi done on my hand. I've wanted it for a while and haven't had a reason. I met a wonderful Indian woman at my favorite Indian food restaurant in Tempe who mentioned that she does henna. Her English is limited, which made the experience exciting because I honestly had no idea what I was getting.

This was the final result. I loved it. It's been on for over a week now and still looks fresh. The boyfriend and I had a really great time, and you could really tell that StuGo went over their ridiculous 23,000 budget. 

For now, I'm trying to decide on my next project. Either the striped version of the HP Riviera T shirt, or New Look 6178 view E, a short wrap skirt suitable for my border print rayon challis from fabric.com.