Outfit Four: May

May is here and it's cooled right down.  Perfect for my May outfit!  The majority of this outfit was finished before May even started, I got a bit ahead of myself there.  This was because the big time consuming knit was finished in February.  There are more details about my Effortless Cardigan here.

I have had this pink pinwale cord in stash for a couple of years.  It was another score from my local hospital op shop.  There wasn't much, less than a metre, but plenty for a short skirt.  This one is from the same pattern as the red tartan skirt.  BurdaStyle 2/2010 pattern 104A, a-line with hip yoke pockets and an invisible zip.

The blouse is sleeveless, slightly fitted, and originally started out as a rather large mu mu.  One of the great things about mu mus is that they are essentially large pieces of fabric just stitched together, so cutting out another smaller garment like a blouse is easy to do.  I have a couple more I bought from the op shop at the same time that were made from the same pattern by, I'm assuming, the same person.

The pattern I used is a 1970's Simplicity blouse and tunic pattern (8209), I made a few minor mods, like removing pin tucks and sleeves.  Plain black buttons finished it off.

These tights used to be white.  I only ever wore them a couple of times, because really, I'm a grown woman, and they're white tights.  I still had a second pair I hadn't even taken out of the packaging.  Bundled up in some rubber bands and dunked in some grey dye for 15 minutes and they are much more wearable.  I'm now on the lookout for more white tights to tie dye some in every colour!

Originally that was all I had planned for May's outfit.  But as you can see in the photos I'm wearing a hat.  I decided that I needed something more to just top off the outfit, so a slouchy hat in an angora blend was knitted.  The pattern is Knitted and Scrunched Beanie, made from some Moda Vera angora blend I've had for ages, but could never come up with a project for it before.

So this is May.  In the past, the majority of the garments I've sewn have been light weight summery clothes, so it's nice to actually have some clothes I've sewn myself that I can wear in the colder months. As it's Me Made May at the moment, all of these garments have been getting worn, together and with other pieces from the me-made collection, so I'm well pleased with them and how quickly they've settled into my wardrobe!

Note:  I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago and scheduled it to break up the MMM'13 outfit posts.  I feel lucky that I did because depression is a bitch of an illness and ignoring your warning signs can land you in a deep dark hole.  So, while I climb out of this hole, with the help of my loves and my doctors I can still share something.  Something that also helps to remind me that I have valuable and worthwhile skills, and that at the end of the day I make stuff, and for my whole life, making stuff has made me happy.

Me Made May '13 - The Rest of Week One

Day Four: Star Wars Day!  May the fourth be with you!  I made some alterations to my trousers from the April outfit and the fit is much better now!  Yay! With my striped t shirt, Effortless, and Song of the Sea cowl, this is an entirely me-made, warm and casual outfit.

Day Five:  The grey jersey dress with my thrifty green v-neck tee over the top.  I'm digging the t shirt over a dress thing, extra layer for warmth, extra wardrobe options, it's a winner!  Also wearing my Honey Bunny cowl.  I love the way the colours in the cowl are picked up by the rest of the outfit.

Day Six:  A busy day so I didn't manage to get a photo during daylight hours, and we're getting less and less of those as we head towards winter.  This outfit is the sleeveless blouse from May's upcoming outfit, my Damson shawl and Forestry cardigan.  The cardigan was made some time ago, and while the body still fits well, the sleeves are too big now, I'm trying to decide whether or not to rip the sleeves and  do them again because I really really love this cardigan.  The jeans in this one are thrifted, a whole 50 cents worth! 

Day Seven:  The pink cord skirt and tie dyed tights from May's outfit, my refashioned blouse and refashioned cardigan.  This one is another very me-made outfit!

So, one week down and I'm tracking pretty well.  I still have garments that haven't made an appearance yet and combinations that I want to try out so I'm really happy with the progress and versatility of my handmade wardrobe so far.  It will be interesting to see how I go as the weather gets colder, I must say I'm glad I'm a knitter!

Me Made May '13 The First Few Days

Well, three days and four outfits into Me Made May '13 and so far my me-mades have been working out very nicely!  Darron is on night shifts this week so I've had to plan my outfits the night before so I'm not throwing clothes around and trying things on in our room in the morning when he's just getting to sleep.  I should probably get my clothes ready for the next day anyway, it has made my mornings run very smoothly.  Here are the outfits so far: 

Day one: Grey jersey dress, and the silk Groovy shawl and critter blazer from my April outfit as well as a couple of knitting needle bangles I made a couple of years ago.  I really love the outfit, I was comfortable, and felt really great all day.  The blazer will probably get a workout this month, it would even if it wasn't MMMay, because it's new and I love it so very much! 

Day two: Outfit one is the pink cord skirt and sleeveless shirt from the upcoming May outfit, layered

with the green v neck t shirt and my Damson shawl which I knitted in 2009.  A very comfy casual outfit.

Outfit two for the day was my black floral skirt from March's outfit, with my Shetland Triangle shawl which was knitted in May 2009.  I also had a refashioned angora cardigan with me.  Both the blouse and boots are thrifted.

Day three: Today I actually wore the refashioned angora cardigan, I took it off to add buttons and holes to stick them through.  The black top from March's outfit and my red tartan skirt.  Also me-made are the knitting needle bangle and my goldfish button brooch.  

The little fishy in his plastic bag are my contribution to the MMM'13 Friday theme for today: water!

Because May's outfit is just waiting on a dying session to be finished, I have spent the week catching up on some alterations and refashions before I get stuck into sewing for June's outfit.  I have cast on the big knit for June's outfit, my Beatnik jumper which I will now go and spend some quality couch time knitting!