Tah-dah! My first yoyo dress is finished!And I’m sure it’ll be the first of many. Continue reading
Tag: Handmade Clothes
Cami Top Patterns
I have decided I need a pattern for a cami top. They’re flattering, perfect for transitional seasons (no more denial, that summer-autumn transition is coming soon…) and great to use up leftover scraps, of which I have MANY. The question is which pattern to go for?
Inari Tee Dress
This is the Inari Tee Dress by Named Clothing made in a scuba fabric from Remnant Kings.
Me Made May – Week Four
The last week of Me Made May!
So, from Saturday again – I went for a dress I love and really ought to make more of. This is the Clover Dress from Papercut Patterns in a paisley polyester with lace panels. There are instructions for making a tassel belt with this dress, but I have so many belts already so I didn’t bother.
I wore this with a long cardigan (H&M), plaited belt (Topshop), brown bag (Primark) and vintage white shoes to meet friends for coffee.
Sunday was for planning the interrailing trip that’s less than a month away!
It was also the day for this chiffon contrast shirt. Such a nightmare to make because chiffon is a bitch of a fabric, but the end result was at least worth it! I made this using New Look 6304 and have a pattern review up for this one.
Up next is a work day. I can’t remember which one but seeing as how I was only in work 2 and a half days this week there aren’t many it could have been!
This is my one and only Liberty dress! Made using New Look 6262 (again) and seconds quality Liberty fabric that you’d never know was seconds. The photos don’t really do the fabric justice, so I’ve added a close up.
On Friday we headed up to Edinburgh as my boyfriend (and excellent if unwilling photographer) Matthew was running the Edinburgh marathon on the Sunday.
I wore my comfy Cynthia Rowley 2054 jersey dress and a cardigan my Gran knitted. I’m not sure about this one. The grey jersey fabric with black polkadots isn’t very me. It’s not something I’d pick up in a shop and so it’s not something I pick to wear very often. I do like the shape though and should probably make it in a different fabric.
For our second day in Ediburgh I went for my New Look 6095 shift dress in a pretty, blue, kalaidoscope viscose fabric. Not the best choice really seeing as how we walked/climbed up Arthur’s Seat in the morning! Worn with completely inappropriate footwear too – Topshop Chelsea boots with zero grip and also a Primark bag to knock me off balance! Oops. It was worth the hike though, and was incredibly windy at the top – I feel the state of my hair requires that explanation!
And for the final day of Me Made May I went for this red dress. This is a bit of a mash up of two patterns – Cynthia Rowley 2054 top (altered quite a bit) and New Look 6262 skirt. For more info on this one see my earlier post.
I took these photos myself in a changing room as my usual photographer was busy, running 26.26 miles. So yes, while he ran a marathon I was shopping. I had time to kill! Although not all that much time really as he ran it in an impressive 3:27.
And that’s the end of Me Made May! I hadn’t actually sewn anything in over a month before this. I’ve loved seeing everyone’s photos and it’s really inspired me to get back on it! I paid Remnant Kings a visit while we were in Edinburgh and really stocked up, so hopefully I should have some new posts up soon!
Thanks for reading.
Me Made May – Week Three
A more successful week of pictures! And an excellent week as it was also my birthday!
So we resume Me Made Made on Saturday. Matthew’s friend came to visit so we headed into Cambridge. It was such a beautiful day, perfect for the Varsity rooftop terrace – it would have been rude not to really!
I wore one of my all time favourites. This dress is New Look pattern 6262 in a pretty, soft, floral viscose. Check out my earlier pattern review for this one if you’re interested.
On Sunday we went for a wander round Ickworth. I wore my Aztec print New Look 6053 skirt which I love and need to make more of. I run away screaming from anything remotely bodycon, but I found this fitted skirt flattering because of the darts.
I tried out a couple of trends at the same time too – the slogan tee and long long cardigan, both from H&M. Not sure if the top is too cringe but I love the cardigan that was like a cape in the breeze.
Skipping a few days forward (my bad) to Thursday and my birthday! Such a beautiful sunny day, cheers weatherman. I wore this pretty purple dress to work. It’s New Look 6124 in a polyester panama fabric and a lot more flattering than I initially thought it would be!
Since it was my birthday I went for a double me-made day – why not? In the evening I wore my beautiful and bright Sigma dress from Papercut Patterns (review available in an earlier post).
On Friday I headed North back home again and went out for tea with the whole family to celebrate. I got a candle in my pudding and everyone sang happy birthday to me in the restaurant – hello bright red face!!
I wore my grid print New Look 6095 shift dress with a H&M little black jacket and M&S heels. The heels are necessary with my family. At 5’10” I’m not exactly short, but I do feel it with the boys all being over 6 foot!
And that’s it for week three! Last one to come next week!
Me Made May – Week Two
And what a great week it was! Not quite a full week of handmade though. I didn’t ever fully commit – although actually that might have just been on Instagram (@fee_smith in case you’re interested), but hey four days are better than none!
So, beginning with Saturday, I went for my current favourites. These shorts are the first I’ve ever made and I’m amazed at how well they turned out! They are Simplicity Cynthia Rowley pattern and I’d highly recommend it! Check out my pattern review post if you’re interested.
I wore these for a great day back at home in the Lakes with the uni girls. It was so much fun my face ached from laughing so much. Take me back to uni and living with these girls!
Up next we have this little crop top. I made this using New Look 6217, which should really be a full length top. This pretty floral viscose fabric was just something I had leftover from a dress I made and I didn’t have quite enough for the full length, so cropped was how it had to be!
First handmade workwear of the week was this teal shift dress in polyester panama. Check out my earlier post to hear me absolutely rave about this pattern – I love it!
And to finish off week 2 I wore this handmade skirt for drinks on Friday night. I went for a browse in River Island on my lunch and they have skirts in at the moment that are exactly the same shape but with a zip down the front. I love it when that happens. Maybe I’ll make another using this pattern and pop a zip in.
Thanks for reading, pop back for week 3!
Me Made May – Week One
As is fairly standard for me, I joined Me Made May a little late – well, a day late. So for the first day for me but the second for everyone else this is what I wore: 
This dress must have been one of the first I made. I was back up north at home for the weekend and thought if I’ve got any chance of managing this I’d best start way back in the archives.
This is the Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity pattern 2443 in a fairly thick jersey fabric. It’s so comfy and I even bothered to sew the pockets in on this one. I should really wear it more.
The second day of my week featured a self-drafted, loose-fitting top with an exposed zipper at the back. I made this years ago and based it on a top I already had from Topshop. Because it’s loose-fitting and I didn’t include any darts (schoolboy error right there) it, like most of my self-drafted stuff, doesn’t fit very well. I think I can pretty much get away with it though – at least I hope so! My cardigan is also handmade/handknitted by my lovely Gran. And it happened to be a pretty much exact colour match – winner.
It’s a similar story on day three – a badly self-drafted crop top that I keep meaning to alter, with it’s poor fit hidden beneath another of my Gran’s great cardigans.
Day four was my first me made May day at work. This is going to be the challenge. Don’t get me wrong, I wear handmade stuff to work all the time so that’s not an issue. My problem is going to be that I don’t really have a month’s work-wear made! Maybe I’ll have to make a black pencil skirt and just wear it all the time with different tops. We’ll see.
This dress is one of my most regulars and is the New Look 6143. I’m wearing it with a necklace from Topshop and jacket from George (yes, as in George at Asda – how nice is it?!)
Polkadots, pleats and a Peter Pan collar for my next day of me made May. I think this is such a sweet pattern and it fits so well! This one is Simplicity Lisette 1419 in a polkadot polycotton. This is another of my handmade workwear rotation.
My final outfit for the week, guest star: Poppy the King Charles Cavalier, the best little dog.
And this is when I realise I’ve already repeated a pattern and it’s only week one… Another New Look 6143, this time in a crepe fabric. At least this one doesn’t have sleeves.
And that’s my week one of Me Made May! If I haven’t completely bored you come back next week for week two of the challenge.
A Shorts Story
It’s more of a photo story – check out my new shorts!
I used the last of my grid print fabric to make these shorts, which turned out pretty great! Using Simplcity Cythia Rowley 1371 and Topshop inspiration I had a go at my first pair of shorts!
Top – H&M
Shorts – made by me
Necklace – Accessorize
Boots – New Look
Sigma Dress
The Sigma Dress from Papercut Patterns – finished!
I’m a total convert to this New Zealand based pattern maker! The patterns have so far been so easy to follow and make beautiful dresses, plus they come in the most beautiful packaging. I mean they do take a couple of weeks to arrive and are at the top end of my budget, but still great as a wee treat.
The Sigma Dress was a Christmas present from my brother, so I thought it was about time I made it! I bought the fabric aaaages ago from Fabrix in Lancaster, my favourite fabric shop of all time. It’s quite thick with a one-way stretch and actually very similar to a lot of the prints on the High Street at the moment.
These are from River Island (and I’m still so tempted to buy both) and have a similar smudged pattern.
Here are my work in progress shots, as modelled by my mannequin below!
It’s not obvious from this photo but I went for the version with gathers either side of the waist, which I thought would be most flattering. I cut out the medium size without bothering to measure because I made the Clover dress in a medium, but this one was massive! I had to unpick the waist to take in the side seams and then still had loads of excess material at the back. I’ll definitely be measuring properly and cutting a smaller size next time! It’s also quite a short pattern, which was fine for this dress but worth noting for the future.
I was a bit stuck with this dress for a while though because I couldn’t decide on what to do for the sleeves. I think the versions with the long sleeves look great, but I wasn’t sure about it for this thick material. I like the short sleeves too, but there have been so many times I’ve added sleeves to dresses and then wished I hadn’t… but I went with the sod it, let’s do short sleeves attitude!
I’m really pleased with how this one turned out. Love this pattern and its definitely one I’ll be using again. Next time though I will measure up properly and cut out the size that will actually fit properly! And probably add a few inches to the length too; ah tall people issues.
Burda 6847
My first finished coat!
Made using Burda Young pattern 6847 and a gorgeous fluffy fabric with one-way stretch that I bought at the Knitting and Stitching Show.
I won’t lie, this coat is very similar to one I already own, bought from Primark at the start of the season… I just thought I could make a better version!
This is the first Burda pattern I’ve used and it was brilliantly straight forward. I went for view B but didn’t bother with the collar. There aren’t many pattern pieces and the jacket doesn’t require lining so I think this was a perfect choice for one of my first coats.
I think I started this jacket in December, but the reason it has taken me so long to finish was actually just the wait for the bronze coloured zip to arrive! I’m pleased with how this jacket turned out, although looking at the photos I think it is a little big so I might take all the seams in a bit. The problem is that although this is a beautiful, soft, fluffy fabric, it’s bloody hard to work with! The hems are nowhere near as neat as I’d like them to be because of that, but luckily you can’t really tell because it’s so fluffy (I hope).
The SeamSmith 