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

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!!!! 

Personal Style - Am I just playing dress up?????

As a kid I loved dressing up. I think most of that stemmed from me living in my own little world. 

But recently I filled in an online survey and it asked me to describe my personal style.

Am I? 

-modern

-vintage

-trendy

.....

...

..

. 

The list went on and I found that I couldn't find a category I fit into. And with me made may starting I began thinking more and more about what I wear. 

Which worried me a bit. Surely at the age of twenty five I should have a "style"? Instead I think I'm still playing dress up, sometimes I wear vintage inspired looks, sometimes I'm in something rock and roll and a bit goth. And at least 80% of the time I'm in some sort of jumper and jeans combo trying desperately to stay warm on the school run. 

This tutu is a prime example of how I change my clothes from day to day. One day I might be in a tutu and heels the next day I might be in jeans and one of my raglan jumpers.

In fact the only constant seems to be that my clothes are always handmade!

So maybe that's my style? Me made????? 

On the plus side at least I'm not keeping up with the trends and putting mountains of clothes in landfill. And I seriously doubt I'm ever going to get stuck in a style rut!

So do you have a style?

Do you want a signature style?

Or do you just like playing dress 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 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 

#MMMAY16 roundup week four!

Its drawing to a close! I've actually been really enjoying wearing me made clothes so far.... apart from this morning when I just felt like I had nothing to wear and couldn't really be arsed. Note to self: make more comfy clothes for chillin!

Day 22

Heman Lilou dress, not much to say really, its a fun dress but the fit on the straps isn't great [luckily I've amended the pattern piece now so I don't have this problem any more.

Day 23

Jersey dress and denim corset top,

Must make another dress like this! SO COMFY! loving the corset top but it does need some repair work doing to it!

Day 24

Refashioned shirts into shirtdress!

Damm did I feel sassy on this day, My hair was working the dress looked cute! we went to the shops! I had a pretzel! Great day and it really sold this dress for me!

Day 25

This is the day lil man conned me into letting me have a day off nursery because he said he felt poorly and I definitely felt poorly. I had a cute dress picked out but then I was hot and cold and snotty so ended up in this cami top. I also wore my sewcialist jumper a lot when I couldn't get warm!

Day 26

Faces dress, still felt poorly but went to my mum and dads so I could drop off his bday present [ And so they could feed lil man and so I wouldnt have to walk to nursery again] I was suppose to be helping to fix my brothers patchwork quilt but felt awful and ended up coming home early.

Day 27

Lil man and Big man catch my bug! HA! both of then spend the day feeling sorry for themselves I wore a knitted cardigan and an unblogged [So far] Delphine skirt in tartan!

Day 28

Pansy print dress [again] couldn't find anything to wear, ended up in this.

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Two Shirts into One Shirt dress Refashion

I LOVE refashioning shirts! There are so many refashioning possibilities from one garment.

 I do find it hard to find nice shirts for refashioning though, I'm not a huge fan of trawling through the rails of my local charity shops [think less quality shirts and more tracksuits with juicy on the behind]

So instead I have to look to either Rikki who wears the same size shirt as me or my Dad [He doesn't wear the same size as me............]

Luckily for me my Dad was getting rid of a few shirts...... because I made him. And even luckier two of the shirts were exactly the same. FYI shopping with my dad is absolute hell so he must have REALLY liked these if he ended up with two!!! 

  

They are good quality shirts that require cuff links, made from cotton and have DEHAVILLAND written in the label which means nothing to me!

To start off I laid my shirt flat and got out my Lilou bodice pieces. Next I lay the pattern piece so the fold line went along the centre of the buttons on the button placket [I decided to use the button placket as my opening]. Then I transferred the pattern marking and flipped the pattern piece so I could do the same on the other side. If I were to do this again I would leave myself a bit more room for gaping, so I'd go from one side of the buttons instead!

Next I cut of the single layer of my shirt front and cut straight across the back yoke where to make a halter neck shape. 

Then I chucked it on my mannequin to check my theory worked. 

And then used what was left of the back to cut out my back bodice pieces [I omitted the seam allowance on the back centre seam and cut them on the fold.] 

The skirt was made by using the second shirt and simply cutting a straight line from the bottom of the arm to the bottom of the other arm. then simply I gathered this and added it to the bottom making sure to match up the button plackets and side seams.

I used the arms of the shirt to make bias binding, which I used on the arm holes and the back. And I don't want to excite you too much but I didn't even have to hem it! Just used the original shirt hem! 

I've gotta say I really love how it looks! I could do with a bit more ease in the bodice but I am carrying a little bit of Easter width! Those pesky chocolate bunnies making me eat them.

I love the cut out back detail! It's so cute, I finished the edges of this with bias binding as well!

The pinstripes on this are making my eyes go west! It's kind of a white and darkish brown colour palette? Typical business man shirt sort of thing.

The bodice fits better open, in fact a slightly different bra might help? Jeez its hard being a lady so many things to think about!

I think I'm going to be wearing it with this belt a lot for a lil bit of waist definition. The belt is also thrifted from a skirt! 

All in all I really love it, I've been wanting a shirt dress for ages and I love the relaxed style of this, it's pretty short but I think I can get away with it [please excuse my pasty skin I don't tan]

It was so lucky that I had two of these shirts to make this with although it might look cute with two shirts in different colours and doing some colour blocking. It could also help with adding some length! 

In other news, Lil man is back at nursery and I'm not pleased because he was fine over the two weeks! Not so much as a sniffle and then one day back and he's coughing and spluttering! Who are these germ infested children! And why aren't they keeping them away from the healthy ones!!!

Anyway I guess that's just what happens when you get large groups of toddlers together, and on the plus side if he passes it on to Rikki then they have to go on bed rest and I'll have lots of time to sew!

Now I just need to decided what to make next, this was pretty spur of the moment!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx