A Tartan Washi

This wash't a planned make, but after the success of the Red Linen Washi dress I felt like whipping up another one. It's a really easy dress to make and so comfy to wear, I knew I wanted/needed more in my wardrobe. Keen to use some fabric from my stash I decided I would try and use this heavy tartan fabric. I had originally bought it to line my red cape, but when it arrived (one of my usual online purchases) I just wasn't feeling it. So it has been languishing in my stash for a couple of years now - every time I looked at it, all I could see was a picnic blanket!

On my Red Linen Washi the bust darts were a little high, as was the bodice base, so I added an inch to the shoulders and this made all the difference. It's a perfect fit now. Since the fabric was so heavy I decided that I would use lining fabric for the pockets, otherwise there would have been far too much bulk there (an area that doesn't need any more bulking out, thank you very much!). Overall I'm pretty happy with the dress, and hopefully it doesn't look too 'picnicy'...

I have a bit of fabric left and I'm hoping there might be enough to make a simple A-Line miniskirt, which I think would be pretty cute. I'm debating whether to buy a pattern or attempt to do a 'rub-off' of a denim skirt I have. I'm leaning towards the rub-off because I can't seem to find a pattern that's exactly what I'm after. We shall see.

OK, now here is my attempt at a fashion bloggers Outfit Shot, don't laugh too much:

Glasses: D&G / Jacket: TXMaxx / Cardi: too old to remember! / Dress: made by me! / Jeggings: Oasis / Boots: Timberland

Oh yes…the freebies will be flying in…any minute now…any minute...

I made it…AND I wore it! 9

Just a quick shot of my black and white shift dress in action. This is my family and I on holiday in Spain. My Mum and Dad organised a surprise engagement dinner for my Fiancé and I, including pre-dinner fun on rented bikes (of sorts). Since I didn’t realise I was going to by cycling, I wasn’t really in the right attire!!! It was such a laugh though…and I pretty much just kept my feet up the whole time!

I made it…AND I wore it! 8

Hey, so it’s been quite some time since I posted an ‘IMIAIWI’ (catchy, I know! lol), but that’s more been down to the lack of photos rather than the lack of wearing my creations.

I managed to whip up two shift dresses before I headed to Malaga for an Easter break so I brought them along with me. They turned out to be just perfect for a bit of shopping, sightseeing and drinking coffee in the sunshine!

Here’s my Ikat and Lace dress in action:

*sigh* – missing the sun right now!!

I made it….AND I wore it! 7

A bit of red and pink in honour of Valentine’s day this week. This is the first outing for my Crescent skirt since starting IMIAIWI and since it’s still pretty cold around here I decided to pair it with a polo neck, tights and boots. I’m not a massive fan of the outfit and to be honest, the photos have got me rethinking me in polo necks!! But you know what…that’s part of what this exercise is all about.

I made it…AND I wore it! 6

A double-whammy this week, I managed to wear a me-made item two days this week. That might be because I had literally just whipped this top up and was SUPER excited to wear it! Above is the top styled for work (quick out of focus shot courtesy of boyfriend – perspective all wrong because he’s taller than me. But at least he agreed to actually take the photo so I’ll stop complaining!).

And then here I am at the ‘in-laws’ this weekend to celebrate my boyfriends mum’s birthday.

As I said, I whipped this top up this week, so I’ll make sure I get some decent photos for you and tell you all about it. It’s probably a bit of an understatement to say that I’m a little bit excited/pleased with it!!

 

P.S. Feel like a may be coming down with the cold (urgh) so next week might be a write-off sewing-wise. Hope not!

I made it…AND I wore it! 5

I wore my ‘fireworks’ skirt out for a couple of drinks on Thursday evening last week. It was a freezing evening and we were walking to the pub so I have a LOT of layers on (inc. thermal long sleeve vest under my polo neck!! Yep – I’m rockin’ Granny Chic!). Sorry for the repeat photo location – I did get my boyfriend to take a photo of me in the pub, but it was horrific, so I took a couple of snaps when I came back home.

I’m so pleased that I’ve managed to keep this (‘I made it…AND wore it’) up for a whole month. I’ve already had to repeat (this skirt!) which proves I need a heck of a lot more handmade items in my wardrobe – I better get to it!

I made it AND I wore it - 4

Whoops! I meant to post this up yesterday but time got away from me (or perhaps I got distracted watching the latest lessons from Craftsy!).

Anyway, I’m absolutely delighted to say that my new overlocker has saved my Pendrell top from the ‘repair/wadder’ pile. You may remember me lamenting about the seams from my Pendrell fraying. Well a quick run through the overlocker and all the seams are now as good as new (actually better!) and the top is back in the wardrobe!

 

Look, Sexy Seams!!!

I made it…AND I wore it! 3

Necklace - present, Cardigan - Primark, Vest - Zara, Skirt - Me, Shoes - Clarks, Cute Kitty Canvas - c/o my lovely man as a Christmas pressie!

This week for my IMIAIWI (catchy no? Ha) challenge I decided to wear one of the first things I ever made - my navy blue skirt with a red trim. Being Winter, I had to pair the skirt with thick tights and since this skirt is made out of basic cotton I wore a half slip underneath to stop the dreaded skirt-riding-up-on-tights look. Sigh. It didn't work. Any time spent walking I also spent pulling down the skirt while acting like nothing was wrong and I wasn't secretly hoping that no one could see my knickers! And another bad thing about wearing clothes made of pure cotton - wrinkles! This skirt is wrinkled beyond belief the moment you sit down in it once.

So I have decided that I'm getting rid of this skirt. I'm probably going to salvage the button and the zip, and then I'm just going to chuck it! And I'm not sad at all. I do think that the skirt looks very nice in all the photos I have of it, but in real life it just doesn't work. It served a very important purpose at the time, a stepping stone along the way to learning how to sew, but there really is little point in keeping it now - it's just taking up space in my wardrobe where something more useful could be hanging!

The great thing about this challenge is that, as well as forcing me to wear my handmade clothes, I'm finally getting a feeling of what's good and what's not - and that's the whole point of doing this. The other thing I'm noticing is that I have a definite 'style', which I actually wasn't aware of - quarter-length sleeve fitted cardi anyone??!! I can't believe I have noticed this after only 3 outfits! Oh dear...I think I need to experiment a little!

 And here's a shot in my 'sewing room' (aka loft conversion/storage room/boyfriends laundry room!). No, I didn't bother tidying up (this shot is actually quite tidy)...I'm keeping it real man, keeping it real!

Q. Have you ever got rid of your handmade things? Did you feel sad to see them go, or did you find it liberating?

I made it...AND I wore it! 2

On to the second edition of "I made it...AND I wore it". This time it's a bit of a dark picture, so apologies for that - but at least it's an 'action' shot - proof that the outfit definitely was worn out of the house! I wore my Autumn Fireworks Skirt  for travelling to London last Friday and the meet-up with the girls. Here I am  relaxing in the Duke of Cumberland, admiring my recent Goldhawk Rd purchases over a glass of red (keeping the red a safe distance of course, especially from the white cotton silk!).

Necklace - Dorothy Perkins, Vest - Zara, Cardi - Primark, Skinny belt - New Look, Skirt - Me, Tights - Primark. Cheesy Smile - courtesy of exposure to an extreme amount of fabric!

I made it…AND I wore it! 1

So this is a new ‘feature’ I’m introducing to my blog…and ultimately to my life (oh this sounds profound…don’t worry, it’s not!). When I was reflecting on my makes from 2011 I realised that I really don’t wear very much of what I make. OK, I don’t make that much so there isn’t a lot to choose from, but I should still make use of them more than I currently do!

I also wonder how much other people wear their makes. No doubt more than me! But I’m always curious as to how they might style them up differently from the first unveiling on their blog. That was one of the things I enjoyed while following people participating in past So-Zo’s ‘Me-Made’ challenges.

So this is a mini version of that concept. I’m going to try and start making a more conscious effort to wear my handmade clothing and will share ‘outfit’ posts as proof! I certainly won’t be able to wear handmade every day, but I’m hoping to aim for once a week…we shall see how I get on.

To kick start this, here I am back from work last week after wearing my tartan dress, wearing it with a black cardi and skinny belt, which is my new favourite way of styling this dress