MMJ: The Last Few Days!

Day 27

MMJ: Day 27

Dress: Me-made Socialite dress

Belt: Anthropologie

Shoes: Marks and Spencer

Me-Made Category: A

It was hot, hot, hot in London on Monday, so this dress was perfect.  Apologies for the crazed expression!

Day 28

MMJ: Day 28

Vest and cardigan: Boden

Skirt: Me-made from New Look pattern, pre-dates my blog

Shoes: Clarks

Me-Made Category: A

Roobeedoo commented that this skirt looks Bodenesque so I thought I'd embrace the fact today!

Day 29

MMJ: Day 29

Blouse: Me-made Violet

Skirt: Me-made Beignet

Shoes: Clarks

Me-made Category: Blouse, B, Skirt, A

It's a Colette Patterns frenzy today.

Day 30.... last day!!!!!

MMJ: Day 30

Top: Me-made from 1950's pattern

Vest: Primark

Skirt: Me-made A-line skirt

Shoes: Marks and Spencer

Me-Made Category: top, now A, skirt, B

As today is the last day, I thought I'd go out with a bang and a full complement of me-made garments

Well, I've done it, I've worn at least one me-made garment every day for the month of June!  I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself, I must admit.  If you'd told me I'd have been doing this challenge last June, I'd have stared at you blankly, having exactly two me-made garments in my wardrobe at that point. So what have I taken away from this challenge?

• I've realised that the vast majority of my me-made garments form a capsule wardrobe i.e. they can all be worn with each other.  This was part intentional, part accidental but it's come in very useful during the past month.
• The above point is true because most of my wardrobe is made up of navy blue, with the odd splash of red, grey and occasional green.  I need to experiment with a few more colours.
• The surprise star of MMJ has been my Beignet skirt.  I barely even considered it for this challenge as I thought it was strictly a 'must be worn with tights skirt'. How wrong I was.  I've also realised I'm not too old to show my knees.
• Taking my photo every day, although tiresome, really highlights which styles suit me and which don't.  I think high waists are more flattering on me, as are knee length skirts.
• I love wearing my handmade clothes, and any compliments I've received during the past month have felt well and truly earned.

So my post-MMJ list of urgent things to make is as follows:

• Black Beignet skirt
• Another pair of high waisted trousers
• Two Ginger skirts, one denim, one red

I've really, really enjoyed taking part in this challenge, I've loved seeing how everybody else has been wearing their handmade clothes on a day to day basis.  Being part of the MMJ Flickr Group community has also been very inspiring.  You'd be hard pressed to find a more talented and supportive group of people anywhere.  Thank you Zoe for setting the challenge, and thank you to everybody who read my MMJ posts and took the time to comment.  Your encouraging comments, compliments and advice on what to wear were the highlight of my day.

And finally, I can't finish off a post on MMJ without mentioning Karen from Did you Make That's amazing daily posts.  She set herself the challenge of photographing herself with a stranger (whilst wearing her me-made outfit) for the entire month.  And boy did she deliver!  Each post is beautifully written and photographed, and she manages to go from hilarious posts to posts that made me literally cry my eyes out in the blink of an eye. What an amazing achievement!   Happy Thursday everybody. x

MMJ: Days 23, 24, 25 and 26

So, what's been happening for the past few days?....

Day 23

MMJ: Day 23

Top: Pendrell blouse

Trousers: Banana Republic

Sandals: Camper

Me-Made Category: A

This is a pretty easy combination and was exactly what I wore on Day 12 too.

Day 24

MMJ: Day 24

Top: 1950's wrap top

Skirt: Japanese one pleat skirt

Shoes: Kew

Me-Made Category: Both verging on A

After languishing in my wardrobe unworn since its birth, this top has received the most compliments of all my me-made clothes this month.  Very strange.

Day 25

MMJ: Day 25

Cardigan: John Smedley

Dress: Crepe dress

Shoes: Marks and Spencer

Me-Made category: B

I wore this for my son's school fair and it was a big hit.  Lots of people asked me where I bought it from!!! I think it was the fabric which got them all so excited.  It's still a pain to get it to sit right, especially the wrap bit at the back, but I can live with it because it's such a lovely dress for summer.  In fact, I was tempted to skip off and pick flowers in the adjoining meadow as I was wearing just the right get-up.  You'll be relieved to know I didn't...

Day 26

MMJ: Day 26

Top: Sorbetto

Skirt: Beignet

Shoes: Clarks

Me-Made Category: Top, C as it's fresh off the machine, Skirt, A

Today was hot, hot, hot so I decided to give my new Sorbetto a spin.  I made this top with the intention of taking it on holiday so today's hot weather was a good practice run. Verdict?  Perfect, really cool in hot weather.  

I can't believe a whole month has almost gone by, every day of which I've been clad in my hand stitched clothes!  Happy Monday. x

MMJ: Days 15, 16, 17 and 18

I think four days of outfits is about the maximum anybody can stomach at any one time, so this post will take me up to two days ago.

Day 15

MMJ: Day 15

Top: Me-made from a 1950's pattern

Vest: Primark

Skirt: Me-made 1960's A-line skirt

Shoes: Clarks

Me-Made Category: Top, now a B, skirt B

I wish I could claim it was my own idea to wear these two me-made items together, sadly it wasn't, it was Roobeedoo's!  She was spot on though, as I love red and turquoise together, why didn't I think of it?!

Day 16

MMJ: Day 16

Top: Me-made from a 1930's pattern

Trousers: Me-made from Simplicity 3688

Shoes: Clarks

Me-Made Category: Top B, Trousers A

Still feeling in a turquoise mood, hence the top.  I did try the two turquoise items together but I looked like a nurse.

Day 17

MMJ: Day 17

Dress: Socialite dress

Belt: Anthropologie

Cardigan: Marks and Spencer

Shoes: Clarks

Me-Made Category: A

Strangely enough, I wore this dress a lot in the winter with tights and a cardigan. I was hoping to wear it in a summery way today but couldn't because a) my limbs were a similar hue to the actual dress - not a good look and b) weather conditions in the UK in June were positively wintery (!) so tights and cardigan it was.   

Day 18

Top: 1950's Blue Roses top

Trousers: Me-made from Simplicity 3688

Me-Made Category: C, never worn

...and with good reason.  Even though the fabric is gorgeous I'm really cross that I wasted it on this top as I hated wearing it and will probably never wear it again.  Reasons?  Too short, too drawstringy and the neck is still uncomfortably high.  The fabric is too pretty to cast aside though, so I think I can refashion it by lowering the neckline (again) and taking the casing out at the bottom to increase the length.  Grrr. I even look like I'm smiling through gritted teeth, which I was!

Apart from the blue rose top, these were a good few days - I do love wearing my handmade clothes.  Happy Monday. x

MMJ: Days Eight, Nine and Ten

Happy weekend everybody.  I've got my craft fair today which is why there haven't been many sewing posts recently.  I have managed to squeeze a bit of Oolong sewing in though which I'll let you have a sneaky peak at next week.  In the meantime...

Day Eight 

MMJ: Day Eight

Top: Me-Made 1950's Wrap Top

Vest: Primark

Trousers: Banana Republic

Shoes: Camper

Me-Made Category: C

My first C category wear, otherwise known as the poor children of my wardrobe.  After twenty minutes of trying to get this wrap top into place, I realised why it's never been worn, whatever I did, it just wouldn't stay in place and as soon as I moved it all went horribly wrong.  Finally, just as I was about to take the scissors to it, I tied it at the front, instead of wrapping it around me and voila, I could walk and move in it.  Success!  

Day Nine

MMJ: Day Nine

Top: Jigsaw

Skirt: Me-made 1960's A-line skirt

Necklace: Anthropologie

Shoes: Clarks

Me-Made Category: B

I've only worn this skirt a couple of times but that's mainly because it's quite a recent make.  With hindsight, I should probably have hemmed it a bit higher, but it's a nice shape and a pretty good basic.

Day Ten

MMJ: Day Ten

Cardigan: John Smedley

Top: Jigsaw

Skirt: Me-made 1960's A-line skirt

Shoes: Clarks

Me-Made Category: C

Another one from category C, but that's because I only made it about two weeks ago.  It's made from the same pattern at the previous day's skirt, but this version seems to have a bit more pizazz to it, probably because of the splashes of red in the fabric.  

Me-Made-June has been great so far, it's amazing how quickly it becomes second nature to wear your handmade clothes every day.  Right, I'm off to stand in a field and flog my wares, wish me luck! x

MMJ: Days Five, Six and Seven

Thank you to everybody who took the time to comment on my last post.  I LOVED reading about how long you’ve all been sewing, how you’d categorise yourselves and what you've achieved (a lot).  It’s a subject I could happily discuss for days on end and never tire of.  I’ll definitely be returning to it at a later date. In the meantime, I’ve got outfits to talk about.  Want to know what I’ve been wearing for the past three days?  Read on..

Day Five

MMJ: Day Five

Top: Me-made from a vintage 1930’s pattern

Trousers: Me-made from Simplicity 3688

Shoes: Camper

Me-Made Category: blouse B, trousers A

I’ve only worn this blouse once before, but it was when I met up with my lovely fellow bloggers in Brighton so it did have an appreciative audience! Today, paired with my 1940’s trousers, this was a super comfortable outfit.  I ended up staying indoors as it rained all day so they were in effect a form of high class PJ’s.  And yes, I was totally overdressed for a day of slouching around, but did I care? No.

Day Six

MMJ: Day Six

Top: Marks and Spencer

Trousers: Me-made from Simplicity 3688

Shoes: Camper

Me-Made Category: A

These trousers are amongst my most worn me-made pieces.  They go with absolutely everything and make my legs look  longer than they actually are.  What’s not to like?

Day Seven

MMJ: Day Seven

Top: Me-made Colette Patterns Sencha

Belt: Jigsaw

Trousers: Banana Republic

Shoes: Camper

Me-Made Category: B

After a long run of navy blue, I needed some colour today, so out came my Sencha.  It’s made from a stiff quilting cotton (a rookie error) so looks much better untucked.  I also lowered the neckline an inch or so when I made it as it was unwearably high necked in its original state. It’s been worn twice, both times when I hadn’t been sewing for long, so I felt really self-conscious in it.  Having now made and worn my own clothes for over a year, I’m a firm believer that if you feel good in what you’re wearing, the chances are that you’ll look good too. Amazingly, this time round, this blouse has had a really positive reception – five compliments received today!  I could get used to this…  

Me-Made-June: Days Two, Three and Four

Good evening! Well we're now into day four of Me-Made-June and the excitement of finally taking part definitely hasn't worn off yet.  In fact I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying it: both wearing Me-Made clothes every day and seeing what everybody else in the Me-Made community is wearing - I love it! Here's what's been happening for the past three days....

Day Two

MMJ: Day Two

Top: Monsoon

Skirt: Me-made Beignet

Shoes: Clarks 

(blatantly copied from Tilly after seeing hers at the Goldhawk Road meet-up!)

Me-Made Category: A

I wore this skirt all the time through the winter months as its perfect with tights.  I've never worn it bare legged before as I always felt the length was a bit knee revealing. But I suppose one of the aims of MMJ is to map uncharted territory so bare knees it was. And guess what?  Strangers didn't stop in the street and point at me, not even once...

Day Three

MMJ: Day Three

Dress: Me-Made Crepe dress

Me-Made Category: B

I've worn this dress twice.  Despite spending what seemed like weeks on end working on the fit of the bodice, it still doesn't feel like it fits properly on the shoulders. Once it's on though, it's wonderfully cool and swishy and was perfect for yesterday's sunny weather in London.  The MMJ Flickr Group mini-challenge for that day was to photograph ourselves spinning. Well, that should be easy in this dress, I thought.  Not quite.  My two 'helpers' thought it was absolutely hilarious seeing me spinning around like a lunatic in front of the camera and insisted on jumping into every shot!

Mum's finally lost it...

 Day Four

MMJ: Day Four

Blouse:  Me-Made from a 1950's pattern

Skirt: Me-Made Beignet

Shoes: Clarks

Me-Made Category: both A

Even though the blouse is a relative newcomer to my wardrobe, I've worn it quite a few times, which is a great result for something that started life as a muslin.  I loved wearing my Beignet so much on day two, I gave it another spin today. x

MMJ: Day One

Hoorah! Today is the first day of Me-Made-June - a whole month of wearing handmade clothes.  It will be really interesting to see what gets rotated the most, and I'm determined to give everything I've made a spin out of the wardrobe.  In the past few weeks I've been going through all my me-mades, trying to see which pieces work together - I noticed that they fall into three distinct categories:

Category A

Me-made clothes I wear all the time and that I feel are indistinguishable from store-bought clothes.  Happily, about two thirds of my handmade clothes fall into this category.

Category B

Me-made clothes that have been worn once or twice but for some reason haven't really made the grade.

Category C

Me-made clothes that have never been worn.  Ever. 

These are the clothes equivalents of those poor kids that used to always get chosen last for the rounders team.  I feel more than a little sorry for them and a bit guilty too, so one of my objectives is to give the clothes in this category a turn and actually wear them.  There are only three pieces in this category and they're all lovely.  "So why don't you wear them?"  I hear you all cry.  I will. I will. I promise.   

And what did I wear today?  Well, it's half term here in the UK (again) so no dressing up for me today as I have to entertain my sons.  In my experience, small boys are like dogs and need to be regular exercised or they go a bit nuts.  So for the next three days I have to be suitably attired for running around the park and playing football.  On Saturday, when my husband's around and can take over football-playing duties, I'll dress up a bit.  For now...

MMJ: Day One

Top: My second Pendrell blouse, blogged here
Trousers:  Next
Me-Made Category: A


So far, so good.  See you all tomorrow... x

Me-Made-June

The fabulous Zoe of So, Zo... What do you know? fame is running another Me-Made challenge in June.  The purpose of Me-Made-June ’11 is to encourage those of us who make and/or refashion clothes to actually wear then in our everyday lives.  So without further ado:

I, Jane of handmadejane.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-June ’11.  I endeavour to wear at least one handmade item each day for the duration of June 2011.

Actually I’m really looking forward to my first Me-Made challenge.  I’ve just about got enough me-made items to see me through a whole month and the fact that it’s happening in June is a big bonus, as most of my handmade clothes tend to be on the summery side. There are a few gaps, which I’d better try to fill before June.  Yikes!  Anybody else taking the challenge?