Sewing My Me Made Wardrobe: Week 1

I was planing on sewing pants and shorts this first week, but the bobbin and thread in my sewing machine was the perfect color for two of my other projects.  This being the case I tweaked the sewing plan just a tiny bit.

The Anda dress went together in no time.  I opted out of the elastic waist tie and will wear this dress with one of my many belts that I never wear.  A word of caution to the sewer this pattern is HUGE.  With dresses I base my size on the bust measurement and with this dress pattern I was a size 38.  Little did I know that the pattern had about 6 to 7 inches of extra ease.  I ended up taking in the side seams cutting down about 3 to 4 inches on the extra ease.  I will be measuring and adjusting the pattern. I do like the look of this dress on and it is easy and quick and a great way to show off a fabric.  I am going to make a second one, but after I finish my pants project.

In the same day (that's right the same day) I sewed my second dolman sleeve top.  This one is longer, has larger cuffs on the sleeves, and a different neckline.  I am really digging the dolman sleeve top.  A big thanks to Merrick over on Merrick's Art for this awesome tutorial.

With a some thread still left on the bobbin I whipped up this quick tank out of the scraps from my first dolman stop.  I plan on stenciling something on it, but I am not too sure what.

Here is a look at my plans for this week:

Sew my pants and my shorts!  I have found two great tutorials to make these projects easier.  The first is a video tutorial on how to sew a flat fly front.  It made so much more sense after watching this video.  The second is a step by step guide to sewing single welt pockets.  I am going to be trying both of these new techniques out this week.  Wish me luck!  

Me Made Wardrobe Part III: Filling in the Gaps or What I Plan to Sew in April

After weeding through all of my clothes and then picking though all my hand made items I have a solid start on a spring and summer wardrobe.  If you haven't heard I plan on taking part in So Zoe...'s Me Made May 2012. I am already starting to plan for the month of May and have made a decision that this years pledge is that for the month of May I will only wear garments that are hand made, (this excludes under garments, socks, shoes and hand bags).  This is much more extreme than last years pledge where I only had to wear one hand made item a day.

I need a few things though to get me through the month.  After a few days of really looking at my hand made wardrobe and taking a lot of pictures I have identified a few things that I am lacking.
Here they are:
-Bottoms that are not skirts
-Neutral tops to wear with my skirts
-Something warm
-Tees in general

So here is a sewing plan that I will be executing the month of April:

-First address my need for a pair of jeans for May.  I have the denim and the pattern.  The plan is to sew a pair of wide leg trouser jeans using the Janina pattern.

 Since I am familiar with this pattern it should only take me a few days to complete these.

-Next I need to make a few neutral tops to wear with my skirts.  I went to the thrift store the other day and perused the dollar room and found two gray tees, a white tee, and a royal blue tee to help satisfy this need.

The plan is to alter these into tops that will fit me.  I can have these ready to go in about two days.

-I need some more shorts.  I have some great purple stretch cotton and plan on using the Janina pattern again to make some nicer dress shorts.

I also have an old pair of jeans that I ripped the pant leg on my bike that will make a great pair of shorts.  The altered jean shorts will take less than an hour to complete, but the purple shorts will take a few days.

-I don't have anything warm to wear just in case it gets chilly.  I found a great black and white striped cashmere and merino blend sweater in the dollar room at the thrift store that I plan on altering into a Cardi.

I've never done this before so I will need to do some research before I take my scissors to the sweater.

-I also plan on making two more dolman tops.

 I have purchased the fabric and these won't take me long to finish about 45 min per top.

-I would also like to make one or two Sorbetto from the Colette blog.  Since I have never sewn one I will make one and judgment on weather or not I should make a second Here are some fabric possibilities:

-Finally once all of this is completed I will sew two more sundresses using the Anda pattern form Burda Style.

I have some pretty periwinkle linen and rayon blend that will make a great dress.

I also plan on finding a fun print to make the second Anda.  I might take a trip to Spool to get something fun.

Spring Sewing Plans

Now that I've finished my dress project I want to start looking ahead to spring and summer.  I have also been inspired by the latest posts on Dixie DIY.  They were about cataloging your wardrobe and looking for gaps and reasons why things don't get worn.  You can read part I and part II.  

I'm not sure if I want to go all fancy with spread sheets and categories about color and patter, but it would be great to get an idea of what I've got, what I don't wear, why I don't wear it, and what I need.  

On the subject of sewing.  I don't know if I need any of theses items, but I really want to make them.  

Sorbetto, Coletterie

Colette's Sobetto is deffinatly something I will be making in many different colors and prints.  I may just have to learn to draft sleeves just so I can make a few fancy dress shirts.

Pantastic Sailor Digs

Pants are something I really want to tackle in the next few months.  Especially wide leg sailor pants.

Cropped Collarless Jacket

This Chanel inspired jacket makes me drool and want to tailor some more. These three projects could keep me busy for awhile.