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.