Me Made of the Month - September 2017

September marks the start of autumn, which marks the beginning of thick skirts and tights! One of my favourite things that I've worn is my Grainline Studio Moss Skirt, which is this month's me made of the month. I made this skirt just under a year ago, and although at the time I didn't wear it that much, I've worn it a lot more recently. It's made out of a gorgeous grey wool that I bought on my summer holiday last year, and I just love it!

This skirt was the first time I sewed a fly, which was slightly nerve-wracking at first, but there is a great tutorial on how to sew a fly by Grainline Studio, and the instructions are very clear. At first I thought it would be quite tricky to sew a fly, but it's actually fine once you get the hang of it. One of the things I like about this pattern are the details such as the pocket and the back yoke. Although I haven't made another version, I would really like to, perhaps out of denim.

So overall, I've really enjoyed getting this skirt back out for autumn. It's just perfect as the weather cools down, and I really like wearing it. It's nice to rediscover makes from last year as the weather cools down again, one of the few consolations for me once summer is over!

A Navy Linden Sweatshirt

It's jumper season! In this post, I mentioned that I was going to to make a Linden Sweatshirt out of a gorgeous, soft navy knit fabric with white specks from Stoff and Stil. The Grainline Studio Linden Sweatshirt is one of my favourite patterns, and I think it's just perfect for the cooler season that's fast approaching. This particular Linden is so lovely! It's really soft, it's so warm and snuggly.

This is my third Linden that I've made. The first is my mustard Linden and my second is the one that I made for my Mum. I've actually made another one for my Mum since, which I will take photos of soon. I also have plans for another for me, so it's definitely a well used pattern. This was the first time I made version A, which includes long sleeves, cuffs and a hem band. I wanted to make it exactly like the pattern without any changes, as I love how cosy it is. I also went up a size, making it bigger and therefore even more cosy and comfortable!

This is definitely a winner overall, I've already worn it a lot, as it's the perfect thing to just throw on when it's cold, as well as looking really lovely too! The white isn't showing up so much on the screen, but it is just the perfect amount of flecks in real life and adds a nice detail to the navy fabric. 

The Perfect Coco Dress

This dress is the dress that I have unknowingly been waiting for forever... It's a stripy Tilly and the Buttons Coco dress and I love it! It's one of those garments that I never knew I needed, and then once made I've worn it constantly (or as constantly as a five-days-a-week compulsory school uniform allows stripy dresses to be worn!). The Coco sewing pattern is definitely one of my most used patterns, although this is the first time I've made the dress version. This dress is probably most similar to my stripy Coco top, which I've worn a lot too.

The fabric is from Stoff and Stil, I mentioned it in this post. I think that it is seriously one of the most incredible knit fabrics that I've ever seen/felt/sewn with. It's so soft, thick enough for autumn/winter, but not too thick, the perfect colour, the most wonderful stripes... and the list goes on! I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with dresses, in that I adore them, yet rarely get a lot of wear out of them. This is why more casual dresses, such as this one and my Rosa shirtdress, are perfect for me. One of the many things that I love about this dress is that it's perfect for autumn (yes, I've finally admitted that it's autumn!) when worn with tights, and it will hopefully also work really well in the winter, spring and maybe even the summer depending on how much layering is added.

I'm really pleased with the pattern matching on this. For me, stripes have to be pattern matched. I love the professional look it gives off, and I don't mind taking the extra time when cutting to ensure that the stripes will match perfectly. However, I've never actually pattern matched with anything other than stripes, so before I declare my love of pattern matching I should probably try some more complicated prints!

In case you haven't guessed by now, this dress is a complete winner. The pattern, as always, was really easy to sew up, and I like to be able to have patterns that I'm so familiar with they feel like old friends! All I can say is that I'm clearly going to have to make more... So many different versions are already coming up in my head!

Stoff & Stil

Photo: Stoff & Stil

One of the best parts of my summer was my visit to Stoff & Stil, one of the most incredible fabric shops. It is truly amazing - it's huge! It was extremely exciting, and I bought quite a bit of fabric, which I'm sharing as part of my fabric shopping series. The best part was definitely their outstanding selection of knit fabrics, something that I can't find so much as home. Here are some of my finds:

The first is this lovely grey and white stripe knit fabric. I've wanted to make a Tilly and the Buttons Coco dress for a while, and I was looking for the perfect stipe fabric, and I found it! I really love this fabric (so much that I've actually already made the dress!) it's exactly what I was looking for.

Other than the fabric above, I wasn't really looking for anything in particular. I quite like wandering around fabric shops and being hit with inspiration for a sewing project when I see a certain fabric. The next fabric is another knit, it's really gorgeous. The background is navy, and is has flecks of pink, purple, mustard and white on it. I've bought enough to make some pyjama shorts for my sister as well as a Grainline Studio Linden Sweatshirt for me.

This one is actually for another Linden Sweatshirt. I want to make a super cosy jumper for the colder weather that's creeping in, and this fabric is just perfect. It's quite thick, and is navy flecked with white, exactly the kind of autumnal fabric I love!

Finally, I also have some navy crushed velvet. I've never sewn anything with velvet before, and I don't have very much of this, but I'd like to make a simple skirt. The fabric hangs very nicely, so I think that it would work very well as a skirt.

So here are all the fabrics together. I'm very excited about all of these! Despite having bought them in the summer, I think that the muted colours show more of a leaning towards autumn, which is good as I'll be able to get a lot of wear out of the garments.

5 Handmade Clothes for the Summer Holidays

Going away in the summer is always a great opportunity for me to get a lot of wear out of my favourite me-made clothes, and I thought I'd share some of my handmade clothes that I wore the most on holiday. These weren't the only handmade clothes I brought with me, but they were the ones that I enjoyed wearing the most and managed to grab pictures of!

Mustard Button-up Skirt 

For the days spent wondering around cities, this outfit was perfect. A lot of European cities definitely scream 'stripy top and yellow skirt' to me! It's always nice to bring some smart outfits on holiday too, and this skirt ticked all the boxes; it was also good to put on in the evenings.

Off the Shoulder Top

This was particularly worn at the start of my holiday, which consisted of much warmer weather than the end. I love how summery it feels, and the ruffle sways very nicely in the breeze. Although I didn't spend a lot of time on the beach, I do think that it would be perfect to throw on over swim-wear, the elastic at the top makes it easy to put on and its very comfortable.

Raindrop Top

For some reason, I love the irony of wearing a top with raindrop fabric on it on a sunny day! T-shirts always get the most wear when I'm on holiday, so it's always good to have ones which are slightly more interesting, like this one. It's always great to have a garment which is comfy and easy to wear but feels a bit more special than a plain shop bought t-shirt.

Pineapple Top

Again, any t-shirt which is that bit nicer than ready to wear is a win! I wore this top a lot on holiday, it's perfect with jeans for the slightly cooler days (you can probably tell that it was very windy from my hair in this photo!). Also, pineapple fabric is un-beatable!

Pineapple Trousers

Yes, pineapples again! I wore these trousers over and over on holiday. They are so comfortable, I honestly don't know why I didn't make a pair sooner. They are also perfect for cycling, something that we did quite a bit of.

Liberty Pyjamas

I know that this is number six, but five sounds better than six and besides, pyjamas don't count as clothes so much do they?! Finally, my Liberty pyjamas were absolutely perfect to bring with me. They feel so special to wear, and were perfect for warm nights.