Tag Archives: pattern

MMJ: Day Ten – (re)Fashion Friday Round Two!

Today’s refashion turned out great! I was inspired by two looks I’m really liking right now: paper bag skirts, as well as any and everything madras print.

So I went on the hunt at Value Village to find a men’s shirt that I could turn into a skirt. I lucked out and found a Ralph Lauren collared shirt for a whopping 5 dollars. I cut off the shirt at the armpits, and went to town. In the process of construction I decided to skip out on the paper waist, and created a button tab waistband instead. Now I can undo the top and second top buttons, slide it on, and away I go! The rest of the buttons have been sewn shut so there’s no embarrassing ‘flashing the crowd” moments.

The goods:
Skirt – Me Made (refashioned) men’s dress shirt
Embellished tee – Joe Fresh
Suede sandals – Franco Sarto (haven’t worn these bad boys in YEARS!)
Belt – Ardene’s

Hours worn: 10 hours

Places visited: Hanging around home, walk around the neighborhood with the dog, dinner with the boyfriend, wine and hockey with friends.

Main activities: See above. Lazy day :)

Wear again? Yes! The waistband ended up being a little snugger than I anticipated, but that’s easily solved by wearing the skirt a little higher. Not only that, but it’s motivation to continue working out!

MMJ: Day Nine

Just a short post for today with a little bit of (almost) cheating. I skipped on the “me made” clothes and went straight for a handcrafted accessory.

Following a pattern I found on Ravelry, I whipped this puppy up in no time! I used a bamboo blend yarn, so it’s nice and soft and has great drape. It barely used any of the skein so yes, please, I’d like another!



The goods:
Lace dress – Winners
Tights – Forever 21
Flats – Joe Fresh
Crochet bib necklace – Me Made!
Jean Jacket – Reitmans

Hours worn: 12 hours

Places visited: Work, couple of walks outside on my breaks, dog walk with the boyfriend.

Main activities: Work.

Number of times I have worn this item: Four.

Wear again? Absolutely. I have another one in the works right now in a light grey. I love the style and the simplicity of this piece. It would be pretty embellished with some ribbon, too.

I’ll be back tomorrow for (re)Fashion Friday!

MMJ: Day Eight

I’m happy to report that I am officially back in action thanks to a 35 year old Eaton Viking CONI industrial-esque machine I pinched from my Mum’s house. Unfortunately, there is no manual for it, nor any attachments, so this is a temporary fix. I’ve scoured the internet for a manual I can download, to no avail. So this Friday I will be setting up shop with a brand new machine that my boyfriend’s Mum has been kind enough to lend me. It will be my first time using a machine that isn’t older than me, so I’m pretty excited at the prospect!

I have mixed feelings about the me made item I’m wearing today. On the plus side, I love the vibrant watercolor style of this voile fabric and think that it’s a great summer top. I know it will be versatile and ideally I will get a lot of wear out of it. I am also very pleased with my first attempt at French seams. As the French say, “c’est l’amour”!! I know I will be finishing as many garments as possible in this manner from now on. The small amount of extra time they take is definitely worth the end result: neat and tidy seams and hems without a serger and nary a stray thread in sight!

On the downside, I find that the pattern to this particular top frustrates me. The armholes when finished are very small in comparison to the rest of the top, so they dig in. The drape when wearing a belt is a little off, so instead of falling flat, the bottom portion of the top poofs out  – I suppose because the fabric is so lightweight. Additionally, the directions to add the twisted sleeve option are a little unclear, and I spent a solid 45 minutes trying to get the sleeves to lie the way they looked in the pattern photo, to no avail. So, I scrapped them for now and may go back to them later. They would have bunched under a cardi or jacket, anyways :)

The goods:
Tank top – Cynthia Rowley 2587
Skinny jeans - Smart Set
Ballet flats - Alfred Sung (missing in action for the photo)
Belt – thrifted
Necklace and bracelet - Reitman’s

Hours worn: 11 hours

Places visited: Work, restaurant for sushi lunch, step-brother’s Sweet Sixteen birthday dinner

Main activities: Work, work, work, hanging out with the family.

Number of times I have worn this item: First time.

Wear again? Not sure yet. I might have to put it on a time out for a little bit and go back to it later on in the month. After looking at the photo I also realized how ill fitting my pants are! I thought I could get away with it, but they’re definitely too big. I have to hitch them up every five minutes and the result is a lot of extra bunched fabric around the crotch… not attractive! :) Alas.

MMJ: Day Seven

Week one is complete! I can’t believe there are still 21 days left in this challenge… it’s going to be tough, but I’m having a great time thus far. I spent some of today finishing up a few more items for the week ahead, lounged around and watched some girly day time TV, and had more beach volleyball in the evening. I had initially planned to get in a training run for the half marathon I’m running in a few weeks (June 19th is D Day!), but the weather has been very fickle and raining off and on so I didn’t feel up to schlepping 11 miles in the wet cold.

Since the majority of my day was spent hunched over my sewing machine, which is in our often chilly basement,  I wanted to wear something comfy and cozy. Enter today’s outfit:

The goods:
Draped cardigan – Me Made!
Tank top – Dynamite
Jeans – Warehouse One
Scarf – Christmas gift from Mum
Wooden bracelet – Le Chateau
Belt – vintage, thrifted
Slippers! (not pictured)

Hours worn: 7 hours

Places visited: Home :)

Main activities: sewing, watching TV, eating a great dinner made by the boyfriend, dish duty!

Number of times I have worn this item: First time (I know, I’m having a lot of firsts this month). I definitely want to make more – SOOOOO cozy!

Wear again? You betcha.

MMJ: Day Five

It’s finally Sunday! I’ve survived a whole shift of work and managed to get through the first five days of MMJ with relative ease. I’m sure that will change as the month progresses and I have to start repeating items, so for now I’ll take it. As of tomorrow, I’m off work from work Monday through Friday, and I plan to use these days to my advantage  to complete some items that have been sitting on my waiting list:

- brown slub knit cardigan using this pattern from Burda
- tank dress with help from Megan Nielsen’s DIY Fridays post
- Cynthia Rowley 2593 in a vibrant watercolor voile – all cut & ready to go!
- Cynthia Rowley 2587 (tank version)
- Challenge project: Simplicity 2258 (capris). I have never sewn pants before (with the exception of pj pants)… so this could be interesting. We’ll see how much time I end up having.

On to today’s outfit – my first attempt at sewing with knits:

The goods:
Tunic- McCall’s M5662 (OOP)
Tank – Smart Set
Ballet flats - Alfred Sung
Leggings – Walmart (I KNOW, but they were only $6 dollars!)
Headband – Lululemon

Hours worn: 12 hours

Places visited: Work

Main activities: Staring out the window wishing for the day to be done. Days off, here I come!

Number of times I have worn this dress: First time. This tunic actually has a flaw in the fabric and I was so upset when I finished sewing it a couple of months ago that I tossed it into the closet and swore I’d never wear it. But after showing it to few girlfriends, who promised they couldn’t see anything wrong with it, I figured I’d give it a whirl. I’m glad I did because I really do love the pattern of this tunic, especially the back!

Wear again? Yes, although I may shorten it a little bit :) I will definitely be making the other versions of this pattern. I love sewing knit fabric = unfinished hems are okay!