Me Made May and beyond

I’m late again. Sorry but I have been silly busy with sewing and also had a week away on holiday (vacation for you US readers). I can usually expect an upswing in business when the weather changes significantly for any length of time – but it only changed a couple of days before I was due to go on holiday and I was already pretty swamped so I just kept my head down. I’m not going to complain – many people would be glad of my current work load.

Anyway, MMM went reasonably well, although I have noticed I repeated some clothes more than I expected (we all have favourites – don’t we?). I was good at making sure that I wore at least one self made item every day but I was not so good at getting photographs – perhaps if Zoe does it again I will be better? I made more effort to get to the back of the wardrobe, and bottom of drawers, for the garments that have been forgotten and found a couple of tops/blouses that hadn’t been worn in an age,anda skirt that I thought I had got rid of ages ago that was just perfect for the unusually warm weather we had just before my trip away. I think I can claim to have met this years challenge completely. Yay me.

T-Shirt Maxi Dress – self drafted

I was determined to have at least one new garment before I went to Portugal and managed to make a maxi-dress, which was self drafted but very similar to McCalls 6559. I made it  in one of the wonderful viscose jerseys that I have in stock for this summer – I had been looking for an excuse to use one of these! I used 537, the abstract flowers, eventually going with the blue  colour but it was hard to choose as I loved both colourways. I did almost all the sewing on my overlocker, using the 4 thread option to give the seam strength, and only using my sewing machine to anchor the neck bindings into place. Rather than sew a dart into the side seam I ‘curved’  the dart area of the seam on the front and eased it onto the dress back – stretching it to fit the area that the dart would have been sewn into. It looks much nicer without a dart, and proved that even my 5cm dart would ease into the side fairly easily.

Neck/armhole detail

This was just the quick project I needed after a whole stack of work for clients. I wore it several times on holiday and it was very cool and comfortable. I think I need another of these …. time to cut a length of green for me now I think! I have cut a pattern based on a jacket brought to me by a client which I really liked and I think that it will become the starting point of the ASG Summer 6PAC. I have been planning the 6 linked garments but not actually doing any sewing yet. I think it’s time to get the fabrics out and make a start. Wish me luck!

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