Me-Made-May Week One

I can’t believe we’re already into the second week of Me-Made-May but I’ve really been enjoying it so far!  I’ve previously reported here that my involvement last year really changed the way I think about what I buy, make and wear.  This year I have a wider selection of me-made clothes to choose from so taking part is easier, although I’m starting to realise that while I have quite a few dresses and skirts I’m rather short on tops that match them. This is something I need to start addressing.

I also need to improve my photographs.  A quick selfie in front of the mirror before I leave for work is OK but does become a bit boring.  The problem (as I’ve mentioned before) is that I HATE having my photograph taken and despite his best efforts I’m never satisfied with anything that W takes for me.  I’ve also never taken anything satisfactory with the remote control and tripod I bought for my phone.

I’ve not managed to try out any new patterns yet (I’ve pledged to attempt two during May) but I have made another Esme dress (see below for further details).  This was hemmed about five minutes before I put it on for Day 2.  I’ve also nearly finished a skirt made from a very small piece of fabric I picked up from a Posh Jumble Sale in Petworth last week.  I’m hoping to wear it this week.

If you follow me on Instagram you will already have seen all these but here’s a round up of the first week’s outfits.  Only a couple of RTW items in there, the pink cardigan from a charity shop and some white jeans which I’ve had for years and I think are the only pair of trousers I possess.  Always a relief when these things still fit after the winter!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

The only recent and unblogged item is the bright pink Esme dress which I absolutely love.  I completely forgot that I was going to lengthen this second version by a couple of inches for wearing without tights but the fabric is quite a heavyweight stretch denim which might be a bit warm for the summer.  I bought the fabric on my trip to Olympia with sewing friends and it is a perfect pink!  I’d not been able to include patch pockets on my first version of the Esme (day 3) due to lack of fabric and for some reason they just didn’t look right on the pink one.  Having not spotted that there was a pattern for an inseam pocket elsewhere in the book (Everyday Style by Lotta Jansdotter), I traced off one from Tilly’s book.  I didn’t want to use the denim for the pocket bag as I thought it would be too heavy but was really pleased to be able to make good use of the piece of fabric given to me by Beth from After Dark Sewing as part of last year’s Stitching Santa – perfect.

I will remember to make the next Esme a tad longer.   I have a piece of French linen with a 60s vibe which I picked up at the Vintage and Very Nice Fair in Chichester on Saturday and I’m hoping it will work perfectly for a summer Esme.  Here’s a picture of the two recently acquired ‘vintage’ fabrics.

I’m trying hard not to buy any ‘new’ fabric at the moment and stick with what I already have + secondhand.  There has been a small slip up with some striped jersey but we won’t dwell on that!

I’ve really enjoyed looking at everyone else’s MMM posts on IG – so inspiring.  As always thank you to Zoe for creating Me-Made-May!