Holiday Wardrobe Challenge

I think I hate myself. I keep complaining about the stress of an impending me made june and of me not having enough clothes and all, and here I am about to talk about another challenge.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was going to sunny Marjoca this summer. August to be exact, and that I was thinking of making my own wardrobe for that. So here I am today, declaring that

I, Dibs, of Dibs and the Machine, pledge to sew a holiday wardrobe for my 2 week vacation to Marjoca. For the duration of my  holidays, I shall only wear clothes/accesories made by me!!

"Everything" excludes shoes and bras, and sunshades.

So there, I've gone and done this time haven't I.

I seem to relish the stress ( i know that sounds strange), but sewing for Me Made June has made me realise that with sewing, like many other aspects of my life, I thrive on deadlines. Knowing that deadlines are around the corner , makes me work harder. So, I think setting myself the challenge of sewing my holiday wardrobe, and declaring it publicly, will actually push me to sew.

Is there anyone going on holiday and resolving to sew their own holiday wardrobe?

New patterns for summer holiday wardrobe

I went to the Darlington town centre today to check out what the charity shops there had to offer. I always love rummaging in charity shops for stuff because you can sometimes find interesting things there. Though sometimes its like a mad house, with people donating items that are clearly unwearable.

I did not really see anything I liked, so I went into another shop to look at their fabric selection. I mentioned in an older post, that I was going away this summer, and would be making my holiday wardrobe, so I figured I could start with a maxi dress. So, when going through their fabric collection, I noticed they had a half price deal on simplicity patterns. I like simplicity patterns, but I rarely buy them as I get Vogue, Butterick and McCall at half price all the time courtesy of my sewdirect membership. Talking of which, they have a 50% discount promotion going on right now for all McCall patterns to non-members.

I bought this pattern

I also bought this fabric to make it. It is 100% polyester, so it was not expensive. If I like the finished outfit, I might consider making it in silk.

I bought non-static polyester lining, which was the only lining they had. I asked the sales rep if it was ok with the type of fabric I bought. Now, I don't know if she knows much about linings, but she assured me it was the best for the fabric I have( I suspect she just wanted to make a sale). This interaction made me realise I had no knowledge about what type of lining to use for what fabric. That merits a post I suppose. So I will have to update my fabric knowledge. Any thoughts on which books to look at?

I also bought 3 Lisette patterns (distributed by Simplicity). This is a new pattern line, from the makers of the Oliver and S pattern line. Oliver and S specialise in children's wear, and presently, they only have four patterns in their Lisette line. For anyone who is on Burdastyle, you will notice that Oliver and S is always present on your page, as the sponsor of projects. I have not really seen many people posting pictures of their completed projects. But then again, this line was only launched this year, February I think. I did find one though, by nightknitter. She has made about 4 or 5 items with these patterns, so if you are interested in seeing how they are finished, you might want to go to her blog. So far, I'm loving their instructions. They have little tips called "Lisette tips" included in their instructions. This comes as a huge relief because Simplicity pattern instructions can sometimes be very vague, assuming that everyone knows what it means to "staystitch". I hope they will be easy to carry out, as they are to read.

I was so happy when I went to pay for these four patterns, and was informed at the till that I qualified for a free pattern. Apparently anyone who bought 4 patterns, got the 5th one free. So I selected this one

I chose those patterns because I will use them for my holiday wardrobe. So, these patterns should give me about 4 dresses, 2 tops and a pair of shorts. 

I started cutting the maxi dress today, but had to stop halfway because we went out for a family meal. So I will continue it tomorrow, and hopefully should finish it by Thursday night. Just in time for the barbecue we will be having on Friday. Its not very hot up here in the North of england, but I INSIST on suffering for my art. 

take care everyone,

xoxo

Dibs