MMM Mmmmm?: Day 20 to 27 Recap

My MMM'13 original pledge:

I, Far of Memoryseed blog (farsland.blogspot.com), sign up as participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear (and document that fact) at least one self made/refashioned garment everyday in May. Repeats are a possibility. It is also a time that I am going to truly 'investigate' my relationship with my Me-Made items. Time to take stock, and cull when necessary.

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I missed my self-timed recap post yesterday :) It was a 3 day weekend for us here in the US to celebrate Memorial Day. So the computer was monopolized by the 2 boys...

Spent the last week sewing a lot, but very slowly as always. We didn't go out a whole lot, also because the weather was a bit dreary at times, but there were some grocery runs, short walks at the park/lake in between some light misty rain that people associate with Seattle. 

Here are some of the pics I managed for this round:

May 21st

Was cold, about 50-55 deg Fahrenheit the whole day. A quick run with the fam to the grocery, and I didn't want to carry my down jacket, so I get to wear this.

Top: My refashioned wool knit pinafore-esque dress (that is now supposed to be peplum, but not apparent on me here. Probably the weight of the knit plus the length of the peplum "skirt" portion. 

Bottom: A thrifted choco brown corduroy with good stretch

Accessories: Me made slouchy clutch bag (refashion project from a jacket)

Verdict: It's a winner in my book. I love the overall shape and feel of the tunic. I'm stumped with how to pair it though. Will resurface again come fall. Carrying the clutch bag is a pain, but if I throw it into my tote bag which was what I usually do, it's great to fit in a bunch of stuff.

 May 25th

Top: Me made Asymmetrical caftan top with shell beading on neckline

Worn with: Dark blue jeans, and carrying my down jacket. Yes, it's kinda cold for me. Taken off jacket just for a quick pic.

Bean wearing one of his mommy made play pants again, with bought tshirt and hoodie.

Verdict: I'm not a fan of this look. Last time I wore it was probably last MM/summer. Beading it was hard work tho. What I don't like is the fabric (clings), the size of the neckline (i hate large gapey neckline), and the asymmetrical-ness of the sleeves. What will I do with it? I don't know yet...

May 27th

This was what I spent my last week sewing. Nope, it wasn't from scratch. It was a refashion project. A men's denim shirt + floral silk twill dress = denim blouse with contrast sleeves.

Essentially I started off with a too big men's denim shirt that I thrifted. I fiddled with it a lil bit each day. My initial target was to make it into a denim shirt with contrast peter pan collar ala Zoe. First the sleeves were off. The more I fiddle and think (thinking can both be helpful and a detriment sometimes) and unpick, the less I want a peter pan collar with this shirt. So while I chucked the original collar, I kept the collar band. I added bust dart (by the side of  the pockets). My next idea was to turn it into a cap sleeved denim top. But the cap sleeves (which was just the original bodice without original sleeves) was stiff and made my shoulders look big. I measured where I want my shoulder to stop at, took the french curve and mark (with approx. seam allowance) and cut off excess. 

And my thinking made me want to have a contrast sleeves instead of the original plan of contrast peter pan collar. Having 2 tubs of saved old clothes, I fished out the perfect treasured silk dress (this one was a silk twill dress) many years old and only worn once!!! Perfect = I will use up most of the dress and leave minimal waste. 

Used up all (with very little left over) of the skirt part of the dress for my self drafted sleeves (drafted to max the fabric).

Unpicked the original sleeve bands from the dress and used it as sleeves band on the new blouse. Added brassy look buttons from stash (purchased from JoAnn's last year), and changed up all the buttons from the denim shirt to match too.

[Saved the bodice part of the original dress with sleeves sans sleeves bands. Maybe turn it into a kid's dress. I do have 2 little nieces (my cousins').]

Verdict: I guess technically the blouse could use with some more shaping (than just at the side seams). Darts under the bust/at the back came to mind. I've never added darts like that before. not that I could recall at least. I tried pinning to see how it will look, and was thinking maybe with the 2 pockets in front it's kinda having eyepatch effect that will look more severe with extra darts under the bust... And If i just added shaping darts on my back, it will make the back falls nicely from the back, but not that nice to look at from the front. So right now it remains an a-line ish blouse, which is basically the same silhouette as always. But, I think this blouse has more of a punch than usual because of the high contrast, and also a shorter hem than I usually opt for, so it's something different in my wardrobe in essence. I really feel happy wearing it.

MM on other days

Mostly on crappy stay at home mode. I did wear my maxi skirts worn before in the previous weeks at home paired with non-me made tshirts around the apartment. That's way better than lounging in my boring pj bottoms. 

Verdict: Yeap. Need nice lounging pieces, so that I won't ruin my nice suitable to going out clothes.

First week recap: mmm-monday-day-1-2-3-4-5-recap
Second week recap: mmm-monday-day-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-recap