Me Made May - The last week

I actually think this is my most successful mmmay. I wore me mades every day and, had no major repeats [apart from cardigans etc.] and I only forgot to take a picture on one day. 

So without further ado here's my last few days of me made may!

Day 22

Dress pattern mccalls 7381

dress fabric - Gift from @saraknitsandsews

I wore this for lil mans sports day where I made an absolute Muppet of myself in the mums egg and spoon race. No really, Rikki got second place , lil man got 2nd place in both of his races and I was so far behind everyone else that I got my very own special sympathy round of applause..... It was awkward but Lil man did shout across the road "well done mummy you did super good" so that made all of my efforts and embarrassment worth it. 

Day 23

Pattern - cotton and chalk 

fabric - abakhans

I have no idea what I did this day but the fact that I hadn't ironed the bib properly wound me up all day. It kept flipping and floofing around. 

Day 24

Skirt Pattern - prima

skirt fabric - Craft Cotton Company

On this day Rikki made me garden which was annoying because I HATE gardening!

Day 25

Pattern - Tilly and the buttons coco jumper hack

Fabric - abakhans

This day was a bit of a mash up to be honest. I had to take lil man to school in the pouring rain, then I had to wait and speak to the head teacher, then I got home and dried off but naturally was still freezing. Then I went to pick lil man up from school but was an hour early because I forgot he had an after school club! In the end I wandered around town for a bit just wasting time really.  

Day 26

pattern - ?

Fabric - Fcfabricstudios

I wore this dress because it was a saturday and more than anything I just wanted to be comfortable! 

Day 27

dress pattern - Orla Dress

Dress fabric - abakhans

This dress is very nearly past its best. Its looking a bit scraggy now so it might have to go in the next wardrobe clearout.

Day 28

I wore my red checked dress and forgot to photograph it because I'm dopey!

Day 29

Dress pattern - gbsb

Dress fabric - ?

I always bypass this dress in my wardrobe because its so bright and colourful but every time I put it on I absolutely love it! I think maybe its the colour blocking that puts me off because although pink its my favourite colour I don't tend to wear it very often.

Day 30

Skirt fabric - ?

Skirt pattern -self drafted tutu

This was a super busy day. Me and lil man woke up in the morning because it was his 60th birthday and went for breakfast. Then we came home I gave Rikki some lunch and re sorted my face out so we could meet Rikkis family for his dads Birthday meal. We stayed at the pub until about 7pm and then came home and had our neighbours round because they were craving cake and we had cake! 

Day 31

Dress pattern - gbsb

Dress fabric - Abakhans 

This is actually the second dress I wore that the day as the first one got dirty when I was cleaning the house so I had to get change because some of our friends were popping over. 

And thats it! 

So what have I learnt?

- I have a lot of clothes, like far too many which means 1. I need to sew less frivolous stuff and 2. I need to have a wardrobe clear out

- I have gained a little bit of weight. No so much that none of my clothes fit but enough that if I carry on smashing a packet of jaffa cakes per night then I might have to sew a whole new wardrobe. [P.S anybody who's wondering how I'm in possession of so many jaffa cakes , Rikki works at a biscuits fabric and they have a factory shop. Needless to say we possess a lot of biscuits.

- I need to be more careful with my hemming, I was put off wearing a lot of my dresses because of how short they are. 

- I need some new underwear and some more slips etc. 

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxx 

Me Made May Week 3

I've still not repeated a me made item. Which either means I've got a good amount of clothes or I have too many!

Day 15 - tropical print crop top

pattern - gbsb

fabric - craft cotton company 

I layer these crop tops under my vest tops a lot. Its a cute outfit but nothing to write home about.

Day 16

Dress pattern - gbsb corset top and box pleat skirt

dress fabric - aunty shelias curtains

I can't remember what I did this day but I was worried that the skirt on this dress might be a bit short! Oh actually I can remember I popped to abakhans to get the bits for my next sewing demo whilst the boys shopped for a new chapter book for lil mans bedtime stories!

Day 17

Top pattern - Simple sew kimono dress worn tied as a top

top fabric - abakhans 

I think I did some sewing on this day? Not a clue. I like the top though, I tend to wear it more now as a cardi or a top rather than a dress.

Day 18 -  Liberty Print pencil skirt and Kinder cardigan

skirt Pattern - GBSB 

skirt Fabric Abakhans

Cardigan Pattern - wendy ward sewing knits book

Cardigan Fabric - Minerva

Okay so 1. I had forgotten how much I love this skirt, even if I did have to pin the waistband tighter with a safety pin and 2. This is the best colour my hair has been so far. If I were to go permanent this is the shade I'd want. 

Day 18 BONUS! 

Tie dye dress

Fabric - abakhans

Pattern - hacked GBSB cami 

I went out for drinks with the mums from school on friday and decided it was a nice oppourtunity to dress up a bit. So I wore this mini dress with my long cardigan [I'm happy to report that after it dawned on me how much I wear this cardigan I made myself one in grey]. I was a proper dirty stop out and didn't get to bed until about 1! But I had a great time!

Day 19 - Unicorn Jumper

Pattern - Prima

Fabric - adam ross

 When I woke up it was quite cold and I had a banging headache from the night before [Not from excessive alcohol consumption, I only had one glass of wine. Just because I had stayed up late and didn't sleep well.] I got changed into something lighter on top later and had an early night!

Day 20 

Dress pattern - cami dress hack GBSB

Dress fabric- Carboot

Cardigan pattern - Wendy ward Kinder Cardigan

Cardigan Fabric - Abkhans

This is the cardigan that I made the day before. I call this outfit I forgot to lay clothes out. Basically It was a Sunday and Rikki was on nights so by the time it was time for me to get dressed he was fast asleep and LORD KNOWS! you do not wake that man if he gets to sleep! So the cardigan I made the day before and the dress was fresh from the washing line!

Day 21 - Tartan Skirt

skirt pattern - prima

skirt fabric - Curtain

I made this skirt awhile ago and whilst I love it I've never worn it because I don't have many tops that look good with it. Luckily I realised I have a few more pale tops than last year so I tried it again. I actually really like this look. Its a bit preppy but I kind of like that! 

And that's my third week! 

My last week is going to be my last ten outfits and then I might do a post on whats missing from my wardrobe? And then try and fill those holes. 

To be honest though I kind of like where my wardrobe is at the minute. I have a good mixture of winter and summer clothes and I have a great selection of RTW items that I can pair with them. So I might just keep sewing fun clothes that I want to wear! 

What do you think? Fun clothes or practical?

Much Love 

Frankie 

P.S I totally want to wear my tutu in the last week and I think I have just the right occasion for it so watch this space!!!! 

Me Made May Week 2

Hey Folks!

As if we've already done two weeks of me made may? This is where I usually start wanting to give up on wearing me mades, which is surprising because I wear me mades most of the time anyway!

But for those of you not on instagram or not following me here what my week in outfits looked like!

Day 8

Dress pattern - mccalls 7381

Dress fabric -  viscose from abakhans

Not gonna lie I have no idea what I did on this day. But apparently it was hot and I had hayfever. Im still in two minds about this dress, its lovely and cool to wear on hot days but I;m still not sure its really that flattering.

Day 9

Dress pattern - Butterick b6318

Fabric - Minerva Crafts 

This was one of the mornings I really struggled with getting dressed. I challenged myself to wear as many different me mades as I could this year but it does mean I;m taking ages in the morning trying to pull an outfit together that's out of my comfort zone. On this particular morning I;d already had one outfit on and got changed 5 mins before we were due to leave for school! So naturally I pick up this dress and threw it on because I always feel pretty and confident in it. It also means that now instead of settling on an outfit the night before I give myself 2 options that are different and 1 old favourite! 

Day 10

Skirt pattern - prima magazine

Skirt fabric - Abkahans 

This was another morning where I struggled. I originally had this top on with a different skirt but the colours were a bit off so I switched for this one. The issue with the first skirt is that its very pale and I tend to wear darker colours so pale is out of my comfort skirt. It is on the pile to be worn next week however and I've put a couple of different tops to the side that I think might look good with it. To be honest though I didn't wear this all day. Later on I was struck with blooming awful period pain so I put on my jammies #noregrets  

Day 11

Skirt pattern - no pattern, just gathered skirt

Skirt Fabric - Xmas Gift from my cousin Kyra , but Abakhans also sells it.

I;d made this skirt the night before after despairing that all of my nice skirts were made from wool which is too warm for the changeable weather we are having. I really like the simple style and it worked well throughout the day. It also got to take a trip to our local doctors when lil man banged his nose! 

Day 12 

Dress Pattern - blitz dress sew la di da vintage [front bodice cut on fold]

Dress fabric - Minerva 

This is absolutely the dress of dreams. Its comfy its skims over my lumpy bits and the skirt doesn't blow up on a windy day! I can definitely see me making a whole wardrobe of these for day to day wear! 

Day 13

Dress Pattern - Audrey Dress

Dress fabric - linen from Abakhans

This is the day I dyed my hair pink. Its an idea I've been toying with for a while now and in the end I thought screw it and just did it! Its wash in wash out so it'll only last a few weeks but so far I really really like it! I chose a simple dress to let my freshly dyed hair shine through!

Day 14

Dress pattern lilou dress by tilly and the buttons

Dress fabric - abakhans 

This was a weird day. Number 1 it was a Monday so we had to trot ourselves off to school and it was lil mans first day back at school after bumping his nose [his "girlfriend" brought him sweets in because she'd been so worried about him!] and my first day seeing the other mums with pink hair. I saw one mum giggling and whispering with her friends whilst looking in my direction [ I'm not paranoid, I know they've laughed at things I've worn etc before so I'm pretty sure they were laughing at me again] and typically I just drop my head and don't say anything but this time I just stared the B***h down. Literally didn't take my eyes off her until she was bright red so she'd know I'd heard her. 

So there's not much more to go. At the moment my biggest issue is making sure my hair doesn't clash with my clothes! But I'm still on track so that's a good thing!

How are you doing with your pledge?

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

Me Made May Week 1

Well the first week of Mays been a bit of a mare hasn't it? I think we've seen most of the seasons and a lot of different types of weather! So without further ado here's what I wore for the first week!

P.s I tend to do these roundups so I can see the issues with my me made wardrobe and for those of you who don't have instagram! Also all pictures are mirror selfies using my digital camera because my phone camera is naff.

Day 1

Dress pattern - newlook 6390

fabric - craft cotton company

I really really love this dress and I feel all kinds of fabulous in it but BOY! Did I miss judge the weather on this day!!!  It looked this it was going to be a sunny toasty day so I did the school run only wearing a cardigan and I was FREEZING! So glad I had tights on at least.

Day 2

Jumper pattern , prima magazine

fabric , adam ross fabrics

This was the day we had awful rain, and one of our brollies broke as we left the house. Needless to say the walk to school left me soaked and I couldn't get warm all day! The next day I 

ended up with a sore throat and a snotty nose.

Day 3

Jumper pattern - tilly and the buttons coco top

jumper fabric minerva crafts

I felt so rotten on this day. I was pretty impressed I stuck to my pledge and didn't just end up wearing a onesie. I still had a nice day though because my sister and brother in law popped over to see us before they went off on their big American adventure!

Day 4

Dress pattern - tilly and the buttons lilou dress

Fabric - abakhans 

This was another pretty cold day so I wore my tape measure dress with tights and a cardigan to keep me warm. I love this fabric and I really want to use one of the other colourways to make another dress. 

Day 5

Dress pattern - simplicity k1418

Fabric - Carboot

This was our first proper sunny day. I've been trying to help lil man gain confidence on his bike so this dress ran up and down our road a few times! Its a great dress and one of those rare occasions where I hemmed it to the right length. The thick hem also means that the hem is heavy so it doesn't blow up.

Day 6

dress pattern - bodice from 2nd gbsb book with circle skirt.

Fabric - gift from friend pin_n_tonic [similar here]

This dress is one of my oldest makes and its starting to show. A lot of the lace is starting to rip but I still love it!!! Note to self make another! 

This dress was worn for yet more bike riding practise and Rikkis Nan and Grandad coming over. By this point I'm already sick of the warm weather ! ITS TOO HOT!

Day 7 

Dress pattern Lilou Bodice with box pleat skirt

Fabric craft cotton company

I wore this for a day in the sun at Rikkis Mum and Dads where I spent most of my time sat in the shade drinking lots of water trying to stay hydrated! We had a lot of fun playing in the garden and Rikki proved himself to be quite the hula hoop master!!! I didn't burn apart from on my back a lil smidge so I'm counting that as a win. I did wonder if the dress was a bit short but I wore it with a slip and I soon got used to having my legs out. I love the fabric and it makes me want to have a wardrobe full of Hawaiian print dresses.  

And that's it for week one! 

As much as I love the sun I'd forgotten how much it makes me struggle with my hay fever and sleeping at night. 

With regards to me me made's I'm finding that I do wear lots of them but I still have a few rtw items that I fall back on and should probably try and recreate. For example my black cardigan. 

How are you doing with me made may?

And how are you coping with the weather!!!?

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxx

Me Made May 2018!! My Pledge!

I've signed up for Me Made May! 

I'm not sure how many years I've taken part in this challenge for? At least two I think?

The basic idea is that you challenge yourself to wear as many me made things as you can in the month of may. 

This is my pledge but you can sign up here!

'I, Frankie of www.knitwits-owls.blogger.com and @knitwitsowls , sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '18. I endeavour to wear at least one me made item every day for the month of may and to take daily photos so I can spot the gaps in my wardrobe that need filling. AND to give my wardrobe a proper clean out and give anything I don't wear/need to charity! May 2018'

I do actually wear me made clothes most days now so maybe I should have challenged myself a bit more? But I am hoping this challenge will show me where the holes are in my wardrobe already. 

Plus my wardrobe needs a BIG clear out of RTW items and me made items [ I hate throwing me made's away but sometimes it just needs doing!]

So I'll be documenting my whole Month on Instagram [Or at least I'm going to try] and Ill be doing weekly roundups on here! 

Are you signing up?

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxx

Me Made May 17 - The end and what I learnt

Yet again I left posting my last week of me made may really late and yet again someone decided to try and invoke terror into the hearts of the British people. My heart is with the people of London right now and I hope that at some point all this will stop.

So here's my last week of Me Made May, this ones for the colourful spirited people of London!

Day 22 - Raglan Top

Pattern - Prima 

Fabric - Simona 

No idea what I did on this day but it definitely involved me snuggling under at blanket at some point!

Day 23 - Kimono Cardigan

Pattern - None

Fabric - Old sarong

I wore this for sports day at lil mans school, luckily someone had warned me that the parents races were obstacle races and recommended I didn't wear a dress! Rikki came 3rd in his race and I well didn't come anywhere? But I was pleased to take part and the absolute highlight was the lady next to me muttering "I knew I should have put a tenor lady in" Just before we started running!!!! Anyways the jacket held up well for the mixture of sunshine and wind we were experiencing and I felt like I looked okay for sports day!

Day 24 - Wrap Skirt

pattern - none

Fabric - up-cycled form dress

Okay so this was from the day I woke up and lil man had no voice! Like actually none! It was hilarious! But other than the inability to talk he was fine, he was eating well, he had no fever and he said nothing hurt! It just couldn't talk, needless to say it was a very peaceful day!

Day 25 - I forgot to take a picture

and  have no idea what I was wearing.

Day 26 - African Wax Print dress

Pattern - GBSB book 2

Fabric - abakhans 

I need to get my hands on some more wax cotton so I can make more of these dresses!!! I love how the box pleat skirt and the stiffer fabric means its less likely to blow up in the wind! The only thing I dislike is how prone it is the wrinkling, I literally have to iron it before I wear it.

Day 27 - Unblogged summer dress

Pattern - Hacked GBSB Cami top

Fabric - Minerva crafts

This dress is on my to be blogged list, I actually got around to photographing it today which is a bonus because its been hanging on my door for days waiting!

Day 28 - Wrap Dress

Pattern - GBSB book 2

Fabric - Abakhans 

I love this dress! I need to make more wrap dresses because they are just so easy to throw on! Anyways I wore this to our local car boot. Sadly the fabric ladies weren't there but I did managed to get myself a stepper for exercising and 4 patterns. The patterns were £1 each , which I actually felt was a bit steep for a car boot? But they were all uncut so I guess its not awful its just most of them were free with magazines so..........

Day 29 - Unblogged Striped summer dress

Pattern - GBSB book 2

Fabric - Car boot

I wore this dress to spend the day at my mum and dads and as a happy coincidence my sister and her hubby went over too! We had a great time even if most of their floor was ripped up at the time! Anyways I do like this dress I'm just wondering if its a wee bit short? I don't think its too bad maybe I just need to learn how to sit in a more ladylike manner! 

Day 30 - Forgot to take photo

I can't remember what I wore either!

Day 31- Unblogged vintage dress

Pattern - Butterick 3596

Fabric - Craft Cotton Company

I'd finished this dress the night before and wasn't planning on wearing it, However it was the only item of clothing I had downstairs. To cut a long story short Rikki had a belting migraine and spent most of the day in bed sleeping/throwing up. It was great............

And yeah that's my finished me made may!

So here's my thoughts on my current wardrobe:

- I need more tops.

- My style doesn't tend to change from winter to summer I just change how may layers I wear

- I need a me made coat [this may have already been amended!!!]

- I'm definitely more on board with colour than I was a few years ago!

- I have a great collections of tried and tested patterns but maybe its time to step outside of the box?

- I want to try and do some knock off designer stuff this year!

And that's it really I've thrown a few things out that I know I will never wear, which is a shame because I spent time sewing them. But if they are not going to be worn then I might as well stop them taking up room in my wardrobe.

I've also got a lot of stuff planned to make which is cool!

Anyways much love to the people of London and to the rest of the world!

And I hope all of the lovely sewists who live in London are safe!

Much Love

Frankie 

xx

Me Made May 17 - Week 3

I ummed and ahhed about posting today. I had meant to post this a few days ago but I had a poorly child so kept postponing and then after the events of today it seemed sort of inappropriate to post. Sort of disrespectful? And then I remembered that me posting on my blog isn't disrespectful, setting off an explosive device in a crowed arena is disrespectful. My heart is with the entire world right now because it isn't the easiest place to live right now, but mostly my heart is with those effected by what happened in Manchester arena, a place that holds joy for so many.

So here's what I wore for week 3 of Me made may, this ones for the guys who will stand up and still be good people even when there are those who are trying to break them,

Day 15 - double trouble jumper

Pattern - wool and the gang [its a freebie]

wool - hobbycraft

I wore this jumper because the weather was miserable and all I wanted to do was snuggle up on the sofa with a brew!

Day 16 - Liberty cord pencil skirt and Lace Crop top

pattern skirt - GBSB book 2

fabric - abakhans 

pattern top - GBSB book 3

Fabric - My mums old net curtains!

Its actually the first time I've properly worn this crop top, I made a few alterations to the way it does up and I changed the straps because the old ones were a touch short and cut into my arms and made me uncomfortable. I wore this and Rikkis mum and dad came over for a quick visit. We had a lovely time catching up and just relaxing!

Day 17 - Shirtdress but tucked into skinny jeans

pattern - Threadcount

Fabric - the craft cotton company

I tried this on in the morning with tights and it just felt a bit short? so I chucked on some skinny jeans and wore it as a regular shirt! Funnily enough Rikkis Nan and Grandad came over on this day and his Grandad was also wearing a white shirt and blue jeans so we looked like twins!

Day 18 - Kimono cardigan

pattern - no pattern

fabric - an old sarong

This is such an old make but I still love it!!! I have no idea what I did on this day!

Day 19 - He-man Dress

pattern - Lilou Dress

fabric - a friends childhood curtains!

I wore this to spend a day at home with a poorly baby, which was pretty rough but as a bonus I didn't have to wear makeup all day and I got lots of snuggles! I also had a great chat with some people on instagram after it became apparent that several children had taken ill! Sisters in arms!!!!

Day 20 - Sunday Set dungarees

Pattern - cotton and chalk , sunday set

Fabric - abakhans

I still had a poorly child but managed to find 10 minutes to clean the oven [which had been smoking recently!!!!] I got really messy and spent most of the day trying to convince my son to take a nap! The dungarees were comfy though!

Day 21 - Singapore cotton cami top

pattern - GBSB book 3

fabric - my lovely friend pin_n_tonic

Yet again the child was poorly but with the added bonus of him being cranky from being up all night! We were suppose to be going to my mums for a family day but had to cancel. Which naturally made us both cranky! Lil man in particular, I did tell him he didn't want to make his newborn cousin poorly but then he suggested she stay home so he could play with his older cousins! Which meant I had to explain to him that maybe that wasn't very fair?

So yeah that was my week!

All my love to the people of Manchester

Frankie

xxx 

Me Made May 17 - Week 2

So my camera battery still isn't here and I now have a grand total of 8 things to photograph. Yep they are all sat in my spare room waiting for that little sodding battery to turn up so I can use my camera.

In other news: I'm still going strong with Me Made May! Here's what I've been wearing this week.

Day 8 - Denim Wrap Skirt

pattern - Prima Magazine

Fabric - Craft cotton company

I love this skirt, its a really neutral piece and works with at least 90% of my wardrobe. I think on this day we opted to visit our local record shop only to find it was closed!! Anyway this denim is by the craft cotton company and has held p to some serious washing and wearing. Plus its never run in the wash, genuinely one of the best denims I have ever seen.

Day 9 - Tape measure dress

pattern - Lilou by tilly and the buttons

fabric - abakhans 

I need this fabric in the other colour way. This dress is just the bomb I actually feel like a sewing blogger when I wear it!

Day 10 - off the shoulder top and wrap skirt

skirt pattern - none

fabric - upcycled

top pattern - self drafted 

fabric - vintage from my nan

This is what I wore the day my hayfever kicked in and I was miserable. all the skin on my nose went dry from the constant blowing and I was fully grumpy. I did buy some washers to use as pattern weights though and I made Rikki take me to 2 supermarkets to buy the softest tissues I could find. He also got me some cat socks to cheer me up. The biggest issue I had with this outfit was the lack of pockets!!! I had no where to put my tissues!

Day 11 - African wax print dress

pattern - second gbsb book, bodice is princess seamed and skirt is box pleat skirt [also added waistband]

fabric - abakhans 

This was a super relaxed day and I read a whole book from cover to cover! I was reading "the poison tree" and I just couldn't put it down. I hadn't worn this dress in a while, mainly because of how creased it can get. However it fared really well and I remembered that the skirt on this doesn't blow up because of how stiff the wax cotton is! And not showing your knickers is always a bonus!

Day 12 - wool skirt

pattern - prima magazine

fabric - abakhans 

When I woke up on this morning the weather was foul! So foul that I took the car to school because the idea of walking made me want to cry. Luckily however it did mean I could wear this skirt which is lovely and toastie. I did wonder if it s a bit short but I think its passable as long as I keep my knees together!

Day 13 - Raglan jumper 

pattern - prima [its very close to the linden by grainline]

main fabric - abakhans

Piping and collar/cuffs - sew essential

This day was awful. I woke up feeling a bit icky and then suddenly I wasn't very well. I had to tell lil man that he couldn't go to football practise and bless him he was really good about it but I felt like an awful mummy so I sat and cried. Which sounds a bit wimpy but he loves football club and their was no one else to take him. The raglan jumper however was perfect for mooching around in. I paired it with jogger bottoms and large mugs of tea. [honourable mention goes to my mum and dad who dropped off some medicine before they drove to Newark to help sort my late uncles house. Not a stress they needed but they did it anyway! AND to the lovely ladies of instagram who made me feel 100% better by telling me I wasn't a bad mummy and to get well soon!!!!!! ]

Day 14 - coco dress

pattern - coco dress by tilly and the buttons

fabric - sew essential

Luckily I;m feeling much better today [I think the rest I had yesterday did me the world of good] Today is mainly about relaxing so I chucked on a comfy coco dress and did some minimal makeup. I would stay in jammies but whenever I stay in my PJs you can guarantee that we end up with visitors. Although I have laddered my tights so I'd have to change those anyway.

So yeah that's week two! I'm trying not to outfit repeat so I;m really having to dig to the back of my wardrobe to find things to wear and I've found a few things to alter as well!

How are you doing with your me made pledge?

Much Love

Frankie