Peace Out MMJ and June 4x1

So here we are!

The end of 2 challenges. Zoe's Me Made June 2011 and Stephanie's June 4x1 challenge.

I am so happy I did these challenges, although strictly speaking I did not completely follow the rules to the letter. For MMJ, I had a week when I did not wear me made outfits, which I explained in this post, and my picture taking kind off became jerky towards the end. For the June 4x1, I was supposed to make 4 summer dresses in 1 month. I only made 3.

 I could take the easy way out and say I was sick for 1 week so I could not sew in that time (and yes I did not sew), but I know I was just plain lazy, and I could have made 4 dresses within 3 weeks. In my defence( I am always blameless), I did not anticipate the surgery when I signed up for these challenges, and how it would affect my pledges. So there. I failed my challenges, but technically speaking ( pay attention, this is a masterclass in being a politician), I succeeded.

Day 28




Hibiscus dress from day 1

 

Day 29

Now this is a new dress. This is my third entry for the June 4x1 challenge. I used an Italian cotton fabric I bought from goldhawk road. It was from the remnant bin. I bought about 6 different fabrics for £15 so I would say this was about £1.50/metre as I had 2 metres of this one.

I used the same Lisette pattern I used for the 1am dress. I really love this pattern. The bodice fits me really well too. I used bias binding on the neckline and armholes, then used a lace trimming I bought when Melizza and I went to Rolls and Rems.




Picture taken at the end of the day, so dress looks rumpled.

 

MMJ Day 30

My MMJ item today is my necklace. Hope you can see clearly in this picture.

Like I said before, I'm really happy I participated in these challenges. They've made me realise that I really can have a self made wardrobe and that it is not as difficult as I thought it would be. I have been so proud of myself this month, skipping around in things I made myself, and getting praises for it.

 I think I got high (on more than one occasion ) on the reaction I got from people when they found out I made my own clothes. hihihihihi. I think its a good thing I am no one famous. If I was one of those famous peeps, I know I would have been one of those really annoying ones prancing about with my nose in the air like Jerusalem women of old ( and no I have never been to Jerusalem).

I have also been really happy with the creative freedom making your own clothes gives you. I can decide what colour of dress I want, or what trimmings I want to use, and there's nothing the high street can do about that. So liberating.

I still have 2 challenges in the pipeline. My self imposed holiday wardrobe challenge, where I make ALL the things I will be taking with me to Marjoca at the end of July......

....and the Summer Essentials Sew-Along, where I have to make 5 things or more that I would rather not live without this summer from June to August.

The good thing about doing the MMJ and June 4x1 challenges is that I have already made a couple of summer things which I will use as my entries for these remaining challenges.  I could say I am already 60% done with these two challenges. For the SESA, I still need to add a pair of shorts and a tankini. Same goes for my holiday wardrobe challlenge.

What about you? Have you got any personal challenges coming up, or other community wide challenges?



MMJ 10 & June Challenge Summer Dress 2: Ahh dotty dotty

Yesterday the "bug" bit me again. After having promised myself not to sew after work, i decided I wanted a new maxi dress. This time I made sure I chose a simple and fast project. I love sewing yes, but waking up like a zombie in the morning is not my cup of tea. I wanted a maxi dress with sleeves, but I did not have any patterns at home that could help me. So I decided to use the top half of my new look 6816 pattern, as the top of the dress, and then use a rectangle for the rest of the dress.

Last weekend, on coming back from my sister's place, I decided to stop by goldhawk road, not to buy fabric, but to check out what lycra they had for swimming suits. I came out with so much fabric I had to hide them in the back garden before going through the front door, so my husband would not know I had fallen prey to the fabric buying sickness again.

One of the things I bought was this jersey fabric. I got 2.5 metres for £7. I used about 1.5 metres, so I still have some leftovers, which will should come in handy for another project. All in all, I spent about 2 hours from cutting to finishing. Not bad aye?

I decided to tie another headtie because my hair is horrible. I think I need to do my hair this weekend.



Porridge time yay!!!





Yum yum!!



Full view.

 Have a cracking weekend everyone.

MMJ 9 & June Challenge Summer Dress 1: The 1am dress

I finally got around to making one of the Lisette pattern dresses.

Yesterday I felt like wearing something blue to work today, and fortunately I had a blue fabric in my stash so off I went. Call me crazy if you will, for starting a dress after work, I certainly called myself all sorts of names when I woke up this morning at 7am. When I say "woke up", i mean my mind was concious, my body was alert, but my eyelids would'nt stop their lovefest with each other. My eyes just wouldn't open. I was soooo sleepy....and I still had not finished the dress. I did the hem this morning, opting to use bias binding on the hem as i thought it would be faster than pressing and folding and doing whatever it is you have to do to have a presentable hem. In the end I liked the look I achieved with the biased bound hem.

I made view B. The dress is not really complicated, but the zip was another matter. Normally, zip insertions at the back are pretty straightforward (not always with me), because the seam is straight. A side seam however (which is what this dress has), is curvy, and that comes with its own fair share of issues. The pattern calls for a lapped zip, and after spending 1 hour trying to figure out how to press 1.3cm on the right seam and 1.5 on the left, and not having it come out the way its supposed to, I gave up and used the centred zip technique. 

MEMO TO SELF: Dedicate a whole day (or weekend?) to the mastering of zips.

I did a little change with the skirt of the dress. Instead of using the skirt pattern provided, I used the skirt of my trusted Vogue 8232. I did that because I wanted to make sure it would fit, as I did not have enough time to fix things if something went wrong the Lisette skirt.

The armholes are finished with bias binding, as called for by the pattern instructions. Fortunately I had some blue bias binding at home, which I used.

Another thing I like about this pattern is the dart detail at the front. Its in the shape of a "Y". When I was doing the darts, I did the right side first, and without ironing it, made the left side, then I turned it over to appreciate my handwork.....SHOCK ATTACK....it looked horrible. Like the little fool I can be sometimes, I did not press the first dart after stitching it. So I unpicked the stitches, and did the required pressing. The second attempt was a lot easier. So if you are thinking of making this pattern, DO NOT forget to iron the first dart before sewing the second one. It will make your life so much easier.



Notice the dart detail just above the waistline? I love it.





Biased hem



Take care, and have a lovely day.