Me Made May, week 2

Well hello again.
This week of Me-Made-May included the following, a lot of which is unblogged!  Posts of those unblogged items will follow once I have gotten some suitable pictures.

Thurlow Jeans
Many of the same things from last week
New Mabel miniskirt x 2 (I wore both of them, a lot)
Ondee top
Persephone pants
Briar in yellow (unblogged and likely to remain that way.  I have nothing new to say about this top)
Cocoon cardigan
silk Penny top
mystery swimsuit no. 2

I am happily at work in my pants-binge.  I have to say that the amazing new pants patterns coming out are overwhelming me with the quality of their instructions, the quality of my results, and I'm really excited to see the final 2 pairs (of 4 planned) as they become real,wearable things!  I've avoided making pants for awhile because I have so many awesome pants from op-shops/consignment shops that I don't really NEED to make pants.  But a girl can only make so many tshirts before she has to expand the me-made wardrobe a bit...

Fun with knickers + UFO completion potpourri

I started my sweatshop in Seattle with some knickers that I had cut out in Arizona erm just about 10 months ago.  4 pairs - Watsons and the free pattern from So Zo.  I did different bindings on them as I am still seeking the perfect binding.  So far all the picot elastic I've gotten on etsy has shredded in the wash.  And the Watson gives me terrible panty lines which I know and have accepted.

So far: the blue ones with folded tape actually are great, and the red ones with the thin FOE that I couldn't fold over are tighter than the others, and already falling apart, as this FOE from Etsy was only about 1/2" wide and so I have only zigzagged it onto the outside of the knicker - and the stitches are already coming loose due to how much my Mum's Necchi hates knits and skips stitches.  The other two, with picot elastic, are fine. I suspect the grey and the blue are the So Zo pants, and that the green and red are the Watsons, but I'm not entirely sure.

I finished a Grainline Scout which is upcycled from an old dress:

My final thought on Scouts is that the only one I have ever really liked is the double-gauze.  So I think I'm going to stick with that from now on.  The fit of a size  4--2 seems to be good with no other changes. 

I decided once and for all that this Ondee does need to be an Ondee and not an Ondee-skater.

And then I moved on to some new knicker patterns: the Acacia - 2 sizes from one tshirt! (XS and S - I was between sizes, and I think the S fits better.) Yesss upcycling!  I like the butt coverage of this pattern, and I liked the option to use 3/8" elastic.  However I also think that using picot bra elastic gives the nicest finish when you don't have a serger.  And the samples made by Megan are way cuter than using old tshirts and inspires me to actually buy fabric specifically to make knickers with - one day. 

And the Kitschy Coo Barrie bottoms, size 2, which pattern I had high hopes for as it uses normal bindings that might hold up better in the wash.  First one is the lower waisted cut from an upcycled navy rayon tshirt - very soft but a pain to sew.  This has worn well and is actually my favourite of the batch.  Second one is my mum's old blue tshirt circa 1980 and the higher waist - doesn't have much stretch, in fact, those ended up too small to even pull on.  I do like the rayon, the fit is good, they sit totally below the butt so while there are panty lines they are at least not so obvious, and the soft waistband is great.  Must make these in more nice soft stretchy fabric.

I was also very pleased by how many knickers I could get from one tshirt!  This is an upcycling win!  Although I think my Anima lounge pants are totally the winner on best upcycled use of tshirts - enough that I might do them again but focus on colourblocking them so they actually look good too. 

Ondee Skater Frankendress

I debated what to do with this beautiful fabric for quite awhile.  It is a batik terry cloth from emmaonesock.

Finally I decided to start by making an Ondee, and then making something else with the leftovers.
The repeat is a square with the blue border and I wasn't sure how to approach it.  I went for centering the pattern and placing the strips in a visually neat place (and the bindings) and I adore it.  I made a size 38, and as my previous Ondee, it was a very easy pattern with no news to report.

But...my caveat is that the waist is really tight and I was feeling like Houdini getting in and out of it.  Also, I wanted to make a skater with the rest of this fabric...and I didn't have enough.  So I decided it was time for my first Frankendress...an Ondee-skater.

I didn't have enough fabric to really plan how I laid out the skirt, but once I got the two attached they matched up perfectly...except for having the pattern in the middle driving me crazy!

I switched the front and back panels, which helped a bit.  The dress is cozy, and it's stretchy, and it's roomy - either because the Ondee was a bit wider than the skirt panels, or because of the multiple times that I ripped out the waist stitching.  The lightning bolt waist stitching.  Grrr...

So it's a bit more roomy than I'm used to.  I love the pattern, I love the fabric, but I can't quite escape that the Ondee was a better match for it in some ways.  The dress is comfortable to wear but everyone else likes it more than I do!  Not sure whether I'll keep it. 

Knit Extravaganza: Ondee Sweater by Deer and Doe

I went fabric shopping in Paris.  Enough blogs have listed how to do this so I won't unnecessarily repeat.  I also happily got all the patterns on my list without having to order online, hurrah!  I found the fabric shop employees generally helpful and willing to speak English if one asked politely.

So after about two days of total sewing-planning-washing overload, I settled down to sew some easy projects.

A few Ondees! First in truly amazing, luxurious navy sweatshirting.  So fuzzy.  So soft.  I cut a 38.  No changes.  I read the instructions and then put them away.  This is an easy project.  My only gripe is that the neck binding has to be really tight - using self-fabric it was being pulled as tight as it could go.  I needed a center front snip.  I have added that to my pattern pieces now, but I think it should have been marked on the pattern.  The bottom binding is also that tight, which I am a bit self conscious about.  Do note: this sweatshirt hits at exactly the bottom of my ribs, about 1.5" above my waist, so in normal-length torso people it will barely cover the rib cage. I love this sweatshirt but I think something this short has truly limited utility in my life.  Despite that I notice that I pull it on every day after work because it's so soft and amazing.

Version 2: stripes. This is double knit but is still pretty light compared to the sweatshirting.  I added six big stripes in length (about 2") and widened the bottom band so it wouldn't be tight but would function like a shirt extension. I went crazy with the doubleness of the knit but hesitated before alternating the bottom bands - I think it would actually have looked great. As for the length, I'm on the fence!  I was so sure I wanted it longer but I think it becomes a bit more boring, like just any old knitwear.  Also it's really obvious I need to get on with that swayback fix.

You can see how the stretchier stripes made a much looser top

Tissue Jersey Renfrew:
The rules with such fine jersey seem to be to touch it as little as possible.  I might note here that, contrary to mainstream and despite various knit issues with my new Pfaff and its IDT, I have always sewn my knits with a straight stitch, and finished them with a zig zag.  I still find this to work out fine, even on this jersey.  On some machines (the cheap Singer) it didn't go so well but most of the time my stitches don't strain or break.  I use a microtex stretch needle.  So for this Renfrew I didn't sew on a bottom or sleeve bindings.  I also didn't measure the length very closely so it's not the same but I reckon for a distressed look item it doesn't matter.  I will cut it at least even soon!  

And to round out the knit craze, I pulled out the Undercover Hood and made another one.  The fabric is a nubbly outside and sweatshirt inside, super lush and warm - about 1 meter, the last piece from the Berlin market.  I cut a S, removed 1" from center front on the fold, 1cm from center back on the fold, and shortened it 2".  I put all the bindings on, and then put the sweatshirt on and chalked myself a new, lower neckline.  Once I was convinced I made a binding almost exactly the length of the neck, because I didn't want it to pull very much.  No Hood in this Undercover Hood : )  It is clearly much nicer than the blue version I made earlier this year but I still struggle to turn it into the magic perfect sweatshirt.  It's luckily perfect for Francesca though.