I, 47stars77 of Instagram and yarnneedlesandthread.blogspot.com sign up as a participant of Me Made May 2016. I endeavor to wear a minimum of one me-made (sewn, refashioned, or knitted) garment every day during the duration of May. I also endeavor to not wear the same outfit more than two times during the month.
Furthermore I pledge, by month's end, to finish the top I'm knitting, refashion that one men's shirt that's been hanging out at the back of my closet, and sew one garment using fabric from my stash.
The above is my pledge for Me Made May 2016 hosted by 'So, Zo... What do you know?' link to sign-up post is here.
I have managed to wear a me-made item everyday for the month of May in the past, if you include socks and shawls. This year I am challenging myself to wear more of my me-made garments. And not fall into the trap of wearing the same outfit or two three and four times a month, this necessitates that I keep track of my outfits. I also need to update my spring/summer wardrobe so this will be a good time and forum with which to do that.
And now to fabric stash dive...
Showing posts with label refashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label refashion. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
On clothing and style
So the wonderful blogger over at sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com hosts Me Made May. She is currently taking pledges for May 2014. I participated last year, and plan to this year.
It's for people who have made stuffs- clothing, accessories, etc, but who might not wear their creations. It's designed to push people into using the items they have created, whether sewn, knitted, refashioned, etc.
I often fall into this category.
I have been making clothing for half of my life. More than pj bottoms for most of that time.
I rarely buy clothing at traditional retail shops. Many factors: cost, quality of material and construction (or lack thereof), personal style, dubious ethical and environmental practices, dislike for practice of 'fast fashion', abhorrence of consumerism.
Grew up in a working class home. Early childhood clothing was hand-me-downs from family, starting in junior high I got a couple of pair of jeans from Penny's or Sear's in the fall other clothing came from thrift stores. It was economical and fun to spend a couple of hours flipping through racks at second hand stores looking at what I could cobble together. I didn't have a cohesive style, heck I still don't, and didn't follow the trends and fashions of teens ( I grew up before the use of 'tween').
In college, I found many friends that had the same ambivalence towards fashion. Clothing is utilitarian, and comfortable. Fashion comes after that. High fashion at college was t-shirts advertizing the groups you were a part of.
After college, I spent several years working at a large department store, and while I successfully avoided being stationed in the clothing departments, I learned about the practices of the retail fast-fashion industry. Ish.
I no longer work at the department store (Thank God!) The last time I bought a new piece of clothing (undergarments excluded) was three years ago, it was a bridesmaid dress. My wardrobe is small, I wear all of it in a year's time (with the exception of the bridesmaid's dresses).
I don't feel like I have a cohesive sense of style I'm inspired by early 1940's fashions-( tailored, simple silhouettes brought on by war time rationing, pants became acceptable for women to wear outside the house.) but because of my job and chronic pain, wardrobe choices are simple- knits for tops because I can't always work buttons. Denim for pants-it's durable.
And now to wrap this up, because it's turning whiny....
I guess I have thought of clothing primarily as utilitarian for so long, it's difficult to 'see' style in what I wear. I'm practical-I dress for the weather and for how my body functions (stiff hands and such). Maybe in the next month I can start looking at how I dress as more than just clothes, but as an experiment in self expression.
My pledge this year is to :
1. Wear at least one me-made item a day, five days a week for the duration of May
2. Take pictures of my outfits, if only for personal evaluation.
3. Create two from-scratch garments over the course of May.
4. Reflect on the garments I have purchased and made.
It's for people who have made stuffs- clothing, accessories, etc, but who might not wear their creations. It's designed to push people into using the items they have created, whether sewn, knitted, refashioned, etc.
I often fall into this category.
I have been making clothing for half of my life. More than pj bottoms for most of that time.
I rarely buy clothing at traditional retail shops. Many factors: cost, quality of material and construction (or lack thereof), personal style, dubious ethical and environmental practices, dislike for practice of 'fast fashion', abhorrence of consumerism.
Grew up in a working class home. Early childhood clothing was hand-me-downs from family, starting in junior high I got a couple of pair of jeans from Penny's or Sear's in the fall other clothing came from thrift stores. It was economical and fun to spend a couple of hours flipping through racks at second hand stores looking at what I could cobble together. I didn't have a cohesive style, heck I still don't, and didn't follow the trends and fashions of teens ( I grew up before the use of 'tween').
In college, I found many friends that had the same ambivalence towards fashion. Clothing is utilitarian, and comfortable. Fashion comes after that. High fashion at college was t-shirts advertizing the groups you were a part of.
After college, I spent several years working at a large department store, and while I successfully avoided being stationed in the clothing departments, I learned about the practices of the retail fast-fashion industry. Ish.
I no longer work at the department store (Thank God!) The last time I bought a new piece of clothing (undergarments excluded) was three years ago, it was a bridesmaid dress. My wardrobe is small, I wear all of it in a year's time (with the exception of the bridesmaid's dresses).
I don't feel like I have a cohesive sense of style I'm inspired by early 1940's fashions-( tailored, simple silhouettes brought on by war time rationing, pants became acceptable for women to wear outside the house.) but because of my job and chronic pain, wardrobe choices are simple- knits for tops because I can't always work buttons. Denim for pants-it's durable.
And now to wrap this up, because it's turning whiny....
I guess I have thought of clothing primarily as utilitarian for so long, it's difficult to 'see' style in what I wear. I'm practical-I dress for the weather and for how my body functions (stiff hands and such). Maybe in the next month I can start looking at how I dress as more than just clothes, but as an experiment in self expression.
My pledge this year is to :
1. Wear at least one me-made item a day, five days a week for the duration of May
2. Take pictures of my outfits, if only for personal evaluation.
3. Create two from-scratch garments over the course of May.
4. Reflect on the garments I have purchased and made.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
WIP Wednesday: Special Edition
Tomorrow February 7th, the first Friday in February, is Go Red for Women day. The American Heart Association has organized every year for the past decade to bring awareness to the fact that heart disease kills more women than all types of cancer combined.
I spent several years working at Macy's, which is one of the biggest sponsors of the event. In addition to the sale of the AHA's red dress pins and the extra percentage off the sale that a pin or other red item of clothing earned customers, Macy's also educated its (mostly female) employees on the risks of heart disease in women. I get email from the Go Red website on a monthly basis, and find them useful and informative, check it out for yourself.
The first Friday in February is a day to wear red, and years ago I made a red blouse specifically for the occasion. I picked up the fire-engine red cotton at the local No-Ann fabrics and used a pattern in my library.
It worked well for a few years, but the three-quarter length sleeves gave me trouble- they constricted and made movement difficult. I tossed the.troubled garment into my sewing pile unsure of what to do. I considered tearing apart for scrap use, but decided to alter it instead. I still had some of the fabric, and decided to add plackets to the sleeves-using a template found in a book on garment sewing. After removing the cuffs I realized I would need to replace those. Uh-oh, that could have been a problem, but I had just enough fabric to do that-as long as I only used .25inch seam allowances.
Here you can see the placket pieces, it is.my first attempt at adding plackets to a garment. I've done many simple cuff bands and the occasional continuous lap, bit never something as 'complicated' as a placket. Well it is rather simple and quite ingenious. I predict more blouses with plackets in my future.
This Is still a work in progress because I haven't don the finishing work on the cuff- stitching down the facing, top stitching around the edge and the dreaded buttonholes and buttons... I have yet to perfect a buttonhole, and I remind myself that practice makes perfect, but it's still something I dislike.
I spent several years working at Macy's, which is one of the biggest sponsors of the event. In addition to the sale of the AHA's red dress pins and the extra percentage off the sale that a pin or other red item of clothing earned customers, Macy's also educated its (mostly female) employees on the risks of heart disease in women. I get email from the Go Red website on a monthly basis, and find them useful and informative, check it out for yourself.
The first Friday in February is a day to wear red, and years ago I made a red blouse specifically for the occasion. I picked up the fire-engine red cotton at the local No-Ann fabrics and used a pattern in my library.
It worked well for a few years, but the three-quarter length sleeves gave me trouble- they constricted and made movement difficult. I tossed the.troubled garment into my sewing pile unsure of what to do. I considered tearing apart for scrap use, but decided to alter it instead. I still had some of the fabric, and decided to add plackets to the sleeves-using a template found in a book on garment sewing. After removing the cuffs I realized I would need to replace those. Uh-oh, that could have been a problem, but I had just enough fabric to do that-as long as I only used .25inch seam allowances.
Here you can see the placket pieces, it is.my first attempt at adding plackets to a garment. I've done many simple cuff bands and the occasional continuous lap, bit never something as 'complicated' as a placket. Well it is rather simple and quite ingenious. I predict more blouses with plackets in my future.This Is still a work in progress because I haven't don the finishing work on the cuff- stitching down the facing, top stitching around the edge and the dreaded buttonholes and buttons... I have yet to perfect a buttonhole, and I remind myself that practice makes perfect, but it's still something I dislike.
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