Vintage Kilo Sale - My Thoughts

I fell out of love with blogging over the summer, something to do with the hot weather and the gact that the camera broke and then the SD card broke and well I just sort of fell back on to instagram as its more of a instant thing. 

And then this week I realised how much I'd missed documenting all of my makes. So I got Rikki to fix the SD card and decided to crack on tonight whilst bake offs on.

Although oddly my first proper post back isn't about sewing! Nope its all about the vintage kilo sale I went to with my friend Chey a few weeks ago. 

So You can find preloved vintage kilo on facebook and instagram and the general idea is that you turn up and look through preloved clothes and put everything you like into a bag and you pay £15 per kilo. Unless its a coat or bag or shoes and then theirs just a foxed price if it goes over a kilo to save you money. 

Chey saw that it was coming to our local city on facebook and tagged me in it asking if I wanted to go. And obvs I said yes because this girl loves a vintage sale! And then I spent the week before stalking their instagram page trying to see what sorts of things might be up for grabs. 

I did really enjoy it however theres a few things to mention about the experience! [hopefully you can use these as top tips if you choose to go to one!

1. You will have to queue and pay to get in, I think it was like £1.50 to get in so not bank breaking but still. 

2. everything is packed onto racks! and I mean packed. Their wasn't even enough room to slide the hanger across to have a proper look instead to have to drag the thing out , decide if you like it and then shove it back in. 

3. A lot of its 90's and late 80's. I saw a LOT of shell suits, a lot of track suit bottoms with poppers up the sides and a LOT of NIKE. Not to say their isn't some absolute gems in there from earlier but thats what the majority of the stuff is. 

4. You will have to hunt. Which means going through every single item on the rail. Unluckily it seems neither me or Chey was in the mood to go through every single item whilst crammed in. We probably missed a lot of good stuff but we weren't too bothered because we did get some great stuff! [I did however realise that this is the sort of thing my mum is AWESOME at so i think she'd do well there]

5. Sizing is difficult, there are sizes in the items BUT vintage sizes can vary wildly. You can try things on in changing rooms but they were VERY busy so I'd recommend wearing some sort of leggings and vest top outfit so you can just try things over the top.  

6. a Kilo isn't as much as you think! In my case it was a jumper , a tshirt, a light dress and a shirt. In Cheys case it was two snuggly winter jumpers. 

All that said I had a brillant day and I loved the concept of re selling clothes rather than sending them to landfill. [Its also worth mentioning that the company do wash all of the clothes before sale so they don't smell musty or anything! But without further ado heres what I brought. 

Number one, some sort of vintage shift dress. Possibly 70's? Very definitely some sort of polyester. 

I can't claim this as my find as Chey saw it and told me I HAD to get it! And I'm so glad I did because I am crazy about the print. Here I'm wearing it layered with a roll neck and tights but it also looks cute without.

It is a bit see through though so its better with something else under it so I don't flash my pants. 

Number 2! 

A tshirt from Journeys Backyard BBQ tour. I went to vintage kilo with the intention of finding band tshirts but this was the only one I saw. Its cute and I love the band journey so it works. 

Its already in regular wardrobe rotation for those days when I can't quite be bothered with proper clothes. 

 Item 3. 

Mens Ralph Lauren jumper

I got this because 1. its Ralph Lauren and 2. it looks snuggly for dog walks. I like the oversized fit and its lovely and soft to wear. Its a nice classic jumper and I'm sure it will see lots of wear.

And Number 4. 

and my absolute favourite! 

A mens flannel shirt. 

I've been hankering after a nice flannel shirt for ages! Rikkis grandad wears a lot of flannel shirts and they always looked so lovely and snug. I brought this one because I liked the colours and the relaxed fit. 

In fact I love it so much that I wear it all the dammed time. It comes out of the wash and goes straight on my back. In fact I love it so much I've been inspired to try and make a few more shirts to put into regular rotation in my wardrobe! 

And that's it!!! 

I really enjoyed writing this so hopefully I'll be jumping back into proper blogging!!!! 

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxx

Granny Square Chic

You ever get a thought into your head and just can;t let it go? Well today I was thinking about crochet granny squares and how easy it would be to make an item of clothing out of them? You see I find crochet more relaxing than knitting probably because of the monotony.  

Anyway a quick browse on pinterest showed me that whilst you can make a garment out of granny squares sometimes you just shouldn't [70's crochet trends I;m looking at you!]....and then much to my surprise some cute things started turning up! [I do apologise to the lack of links to the original images, Pinterest is such a messed up rabbit hole now days, half the things that come up on a search aren't related to what you searched for and half the things that are don't link back to the original content!] 

Like this isn't hideous, in fact with longer sleeves and a pair of jeans it might actually be cute!! I think this is by anthropologie but I can;t find it on their website!

This I like less but its actually moschino! Its an actual designer brand! In fact a quick google informed me that their 2017 resort collection contained lots of crochet!

The above is also moschino, not exactly my cup of tea but I'm sure there is a very rich woman somewhere who loves it! 

This is a skirt but I think its kind cute, closer inspection showed me it might be a dress but that the skirt is box pleated! [this may be a picture of marina and the diamonds!]

These were my favourite two images!

This image actually linked back to a pair of $200 sunglasses...... But from what I can tell this jumper is made up of 5 round crochet squares with a boxy cropped shape and short sleeves.

And this one which is made of one large granny square and then sleeves are added on!

I think I like the first idea better? which kind of leaves me in the place where I'm trying to work out how to make one!

Oops!

Much Love 

Frankie

xxx 

Me Made May 17 - Week 1

It feels as though the first week of me made may has flown by this year. That or we've just been busier!

Anyway here's my round up of the week!

Day 1 - Kimono dress

pattern - simple sew

fabric - abakhan

We actually had a birthday party on this day and I wanted something that was a good mixture of smart/casual/sassy. I think it filled the brief, I felt dressed up enough to fit in with the dressed up people but not super overdressed went we went to Rikki's aunties for a brew. The only issue I have with this dress is that I need to wear a slip underneath and this one is a bit "busty" to say the least. So I think I need to invest in a new slip. But other than that I really need to put one of these on my to make list!

Day 2 - Gingham dress

pattern - lilou dress by tilly and the buttons [with added faux button placket]

fabric - abakhan 

This dress is my whole life, I literally wash it and then wear it straight away! I've made another [as yet unblogged] version but I think I could do with a few more!

Day 3- Striped Lilou dress

pattern - lilou dress by tilly and the buttons

Fabric - abakhans

This dress is from 2015 and is just about ready for its retirement. Whilst I still love the style of the dress its getting and touch tatty now. I think its maybe got about 2 more good wears in it before I have to give it up!

Day 4 -measuring tape skirt 

pattern - no pattern used

fabric - abakhans 

Confession time this is the first time I've worn this skirt since I made it. Yep seriously I just couldn't get on with it. I could never find the right top without looking frumpy. This RTW striped top is a good start though I think. As an added bonus I wore this when my niece came over and I got to have baby cuddles. I mean she sent my arm numb and there was some drooling but it was nice all the same. I am currently debating shortening it a touch more?

Day 5 - Spotty georgette blouse

Pattern - GBSB Book 3

Fabric - from my lovely friend Jeanette pin_n_tonic on instagram 

I have a love hate relationship with this blouse, part of me loves the style but the other half of me knows that some of the sewing on this is just plain bad. That said I think I'm going to try and wear it a bit more. Plus it was pretty comfy for a morning of cleaning and sewing!

Day 6 - simple jersey dress

pattern - sew style essentials magazine

fabric - FC Fabric Studios

I LOVE THIS DRESS! I NEED MORE! This dress is my everything, its sassy its smart. It works for shopping and the school run and I could wear it to a nice dinner it is just "the dress!" On Saturday I wore it to morning football club [Where being comfortable for 2 hours of sitting is very important] and then on to a vintage fair with my mum and dad. Then we went to lunch then It was still awesome and comfortable whilst fitting a bodice on my mum! And later I had a Chinese with Rikki and I had room for all of the food! 

Day 7 - Princess seam bodice and box pleat skirt mash up

pattern - bodice , gbsb book 2

Box pleat skirt gbsb book 2

Fabric - FC fabric studio

Lil Man actually chose this today. I pretty much had a morning of pjs planned but then we realised we needed gerbil food and to drop off birthday presents and then a friend asked to come over in the afternoon so yerp I had to put clothes on! He actually made a pretty solid choice, I love this dress for summer because unlike some of my dresses the skirt is heavy enough not to be blown up in the slightest breeze! Plus the colour is LUSH! I'm trying to make more solid clothes rather than focusing on prints all the time! 

And thats my first week of Me Made May now this is where the whole thing falls apart and I forget to take pictures or I become really ill!

Wish me luck!

Hows your me made may going?

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxx

#MMMay16 week 3

This really should have gone up yesterday but I was so busy it just didn't happen!

Day 15

Striped lilou dress, Pretty sure I wasn't feeling it this day and that lil man was being especially needy. also Miette cardigan!

Day 16

Mimi Blouse I had to change out of this halfway through the day because I did the washing up and got most of the water on me and was like oh hello bra!

Day 17

Delphine skirt, I still love this skirt but I am a bit nervous that its too short, I wore this to take lil man to the hairdressers which was an awkward experience to say the least [the hair dresser was crying, no idea why but she was]

Day 18

velvet circle skirt, In fact this was a full outfit repeat from the first week because I love how it all looks together! 

Day 19

GBSB blouse, love this blouse but I had originally wanted to wear a dress but I had terrible stomach cramps [insert sad feel sorry for me face here] Its also the morning after I played taxi driver to my father in law, brother in law and friend! So I was tired and in pain!

Day 20

My latest dress, princess seam bodice which an African wax cotton fabric, I like this and it held up to a days wear so I'm happy!

and as a bonus as I was cake baking I wore this!

a me made apron! I really want to make new ones of these for me and lil man but I'd like them to match!

and finally day 21!

This is a very tired picture I took late at night. Basically lil man woke up at six so I got up with him, then rikki got up at 9, we all had brews in bed, then onto asda for the big shop, then home, I cleaned the fridge and put the shopping away [I always clean the fridge before I put fresh shopping in] have dinner, wrap presents, get ready to go out, Meet everyone for 50th birthday meal,play in wacky, eat food, eat cake, drink wine, more wacky play, snuggle baby, go home, look at state of house, want to die. 

It doesn't seem like a lot but I had a awful headache so I spent most of the day counting down the minutes until my next painkiller!

But the cake I made went down very well! So that's a bonus! 

  Only 9 days left now!!!!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Exploring making patterns

I've been fascinated for a little while now, with the idea of making my own patterns. Just for myself, but I have to admit most of my knowledge of patterns is of them coming in shiny envelopes and cutting them out.

I remember a friends mum talking about making a "sloper" of her own measurements, and I think my dad might have mentioned my grandma using her own measurements to create clothes [in fact I recently found a whole list of about twenty five measurements in an old pattern of hers so I assume she had a fairly good grasp of fitting]

So I want to make a bodice and skirt block of my measurements. And then according to my 1940's needlework book ill be able to copy all of the latest fashions in the comfort of my own home, it also had something amusing written underneath about only sewing when the house is clean}

But that was all it really said! So Ive been starting to do some research and Ive decided to give it ago! so I'm going to take accurate measurements and make a skirt, bodice and trouser block and then apparently ill be able to create anything. In theory at least.

Ive been pinning away and I'm going to start looking through my sewing books in more detail. And Ive ordered myself a set of french curves which I think are pattern drafting tools, or at least I hope they are.

The reasons I want to learn are pretty silly really
1. I want to wear well fitting clothes
2. I think its going to be one of those skills that dies out, and if a zombie Apocalypse does come I'd like to be able to contribute something to rebuilding society.
3. My sewing budget is pretty limited so I'd much rather spend £9.00 on fabric rather than £9.00 on a pattern.

But if anyone could point me in the right direction that would be wonderful!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

The very special dress...

Do you think clothes hold memories? 

I don't mean your wedding dress, or those expensive shoes you worked hard for . I mean bog standard clothes, the ones you didn't really think about until something changed. 

This dress is about 6 years old. It's from primark and it's pretty basic but I loved it. It was marked twelve pounds but it scanned as ten! This dress saw shifts at the pub and nights out with the girls. It sat through college classes and walked through the park. It was a pretty standard part of of my wardrobe for a long time. I liked it but it wasn't wow! That was until it all changed and "that" moment happened. 

I was sat on the sofa enjoying a final five minutes before a shift at the pub when lil knitwits kicked for the first time. 

And that's it, that's this dresses story. Lil knitwits first kick! The "oh bloody hell, they were right, there is a baby in there" moment. 

And that's why even now it's old and scraggy I can't get rid. Instead I've given it a new lease of life. 

I cut most of the lace of and now I have a new slip! I've kept a little bit of lace to remind me (not that I'm likely to forget! )

So do you think clothes have memories? 

Much love

Frankie 

Me made may - first week!

Okay so it's day 7 of me made may, and I've already gone to pot! I've still been wearing me made but my idea of taking a photo everyday just did not happen! Turns out I can't even carve out a small block of time to take one measly picture! 

Not helped by the fact that lil knitwits decided to puke on two items of handmade clothing yesterday. Seriously kids who'd have them! 

But here's what I've worn: 

1- black cocoon cardigan

2- kimono cardigan

3- blue Megan dress

4- wool skirt suit

5- skinny clemence skirt

6- striped lilou (puked on) refashion jumper (puked on)

7- margot pj bottoms! 

So that's my first week done, hopefully I'll find the motivation to take pictures next week! 

In other news , my lovely grandad and nanny re potted my tomato plant because it was becoming root bound? Still no idea what that means but I'm hoping it will perk up! 

And I'm taking a plunge and starting to knit a new cardigan for myself! 

The wools sparkly, so can we just take a moment to bask in that glory! And I'm pairing it with a navy wool (the patterns striped) 

I can't decide whether it will look good or if I'll look like a small child but either way I'm excited for the challenge! 

Sparkle sparkle! 

On a completely unrelated note, my bunny rabbit bit me last night 

Don't be fooled by his adorable face, he's a lil vampire! 

Much love 

Frankie

Xxx

It's a monster mash!

I'm not sure whether this is a refashion or a repurpose? 

Basically I've made a dress! I used the bodice from my simplicity 4070 pattern, which I made using some spare suede fabric I had from recovering the living room cushions and the skirt is made from this. . 

 

This is a silk dress my mum picked up in a charity shop, (when she brought it the front had some kind of beading so she harvested that for her own projects) and I got the dress which was made up of the front and back panels and the lining. 

As the lining and front fabric were different I split them into panels then frankenstiened them together to make a panelled skirt. 

I'm actually kinda pleased with it even if mr Knitwit does think it's very brown! 

I took the zip from my fake Louis Vuitton handbag that I brought in Rome,It was falling apart but the zip was still working and it's a pretty substantial zip! 

The skirts gathered quite simply onto the bodice. 

And seen as it was a bit sheer and less poofy than I thought I lined it with this old shawl! It's got a nice velvet floral pattern on it so some of that peeks through aswell. 

And the best bit? 

That's a fully lined bodice ladies and gents! Using scraps from a projects yonks ago! I love that you can't see any raw edges! 

So.....

Bodice fabric - free

Skirt fabric - free

Skirt lining - free

Zip - free

Bodice lining - scrap so therefore free!

Yay free dress! Even if it is a bit brown! 

Frankie

Xxx

Finished Mimi Blouse!

Okay so I know it seems like I'm cranking out the projects at the moment! And that the blog is becoming very clothes sewing heavy but I've got a massive backlog of things I've made to photograph and I'm really enjoying sewing clothes at the moment! It's nice to learn new skills and see yourself improve! 

Anyway today's finish is the Mimi blouse from love at first stitch! Are we starting to gather that I'm working my way through this book pretty steadily? What can I say the patterns are young and pretty and the instructions are clear! 

I think I finished this about a month ago? And to be honest when I put it on I thought "well here's something I'm never going to wear!" But looking at the photos I actually think it's quite nice! 

I should probably mention that momma Knitwit styled me! After I made it I sent her some pictures because I couldn't find anything it looked good with! I'm actually wearing my high waisted denim short shorts , but I've cropped my legs off! Nobody needs to see that pastyness first thing in the morning! 

The fabric was given to me by my nan and is a lightweight cotton, with a floral ditsy print on it. 

And the buttons are taken off one of Mr knitwits shirts that went funny in the wash. 

I'm super pleased that my collar points are even I was stupidly worried about them! 

And the whole thing is French seamed! (Apart from the sleeves, could not get my head around it, I blame tiredness)

It's a comfy blouse too! I know that some people said the arms were tight but I don't have that problem. 

And I love it with my denim jacket! Makes me feel like a 90s kid! (Can you tell I idolised my siblings in the 90s?) it makes me want to run off and climb through Dawsons window, and declare my undying love! That's a lie I'm a Pacey kinda girl!

Much love

Frankie

Xxx

P.s what do we think, is it appropriate for the mother of a three year old to wear high waisted short shorts? X