Saturday 11 January 2014

Goodbye 2013: Plus Sewlution Success!

January 2014 is already into double figures but I don't want to wave goodbye to 2013 without a little look back:


Me-Made-May '13

2013 saw the most well-subscribed, exciting and vibrant me-made/self-stitched challenge yet. So many people signed up for Me-Made-May '13 by pledging to wear their self-made creations more often, and the flickr group reflected that with over 6000 outfit images posted there! You can hear (yes hear) me chatting about the challenge here. I'm so excited about 2014's Me-Made-May!

(image source: Miss P)

The Refashioners

I also had the pleasure of taking part in The Refashioners challenge. Organised by the ever-awesome Miss P, the purpose of this challenge was to bring the concept of refashioning to a wider sewing audience by asking a whole mixed bunch of talented soles to transform randomly assigned second-hand items into reworked wondrousness. Have a look here at what the unassuming collection above became if you didn't already...


My Sewlution

Along with a large slice of the online sewing community, I took up the challenge set by Karen from Did You Make That? at the tail end of 2012 to identify our own sewing aims for the forthcoming year. My personal sewlution was to make 12 garments in 12 months. But not just any old makes, I specified that these garments had to be successful in the areas of comfort, fit and in reflecting my sense of style. These items had to become regularly worn items, not just items that get dragged out for Me-Made-May!

Regular readers of this blog will of course be aware that I spent the majority of 2013 pregnant. Before I started to show I racked up some nice makes all of which fit my criteria (or would have done if I'd had a chance to wear them for longer had I not started changing shape)

1) leopard print Mathilde blouse (pictured above),
2) 40's Tea dress,
3) Mustard Marinière trousers,
4) Lady-like Pussy Bow blouse,

But from April-ish onwards my pregnancy began to dominate most of my sewing activities and effected the sewlution challenge. Because the maternity garments would naturally have a limited lifespan, I wasn't so worried about accurately reflecting my sense of style and felt freer to use fabric and try styles that weren't entirely 'me'. They included:

5) Africa Wax fabric Washi dress
6) Grey Tova dress
7) Peter Pan collar batwing tops (counted as one because the pattern is the same)
8) Vintage fabric handbag (no, not technically a garment but these are my rules and it sure as hell sees a lot of use)
9) Black and blue maternity treggings (once again, counted as one because the pattern is more or less the same)
10) Stripey long sleeved T-shirt
11) Nautical jersey dress and black batwing jersey dress
12) Modcloth-inspired maternity top 


PLUS there was the spotty maternity T-shirt remake and the fancy-sleeved grey T-shirt (pictured above) if you don't think the bag should count in the list! So you see: sewlution success! How did you get on with your sewlution if you took up the challenge last year?

9 comments:

Naomi said...

It's awesome that you made so many maternity garments. I wish I had been more into sewing (/braver) when I was pregnant as I felt really uncomfortable in most of the clothes I wore. In the low-mid price range there is such a limited offering and it was hard to justify the more expensive, nicer clothes knowing that they would be worn for such a short while. Next time..!

Hazel_Myope said...

Looks like you had an awesome year. Here's too an even better 2014!

sew rachel! said...

I think is way cool that you used your pregnancy and need for short-term clothing as an opportunity to try styles you otherwise wouldn't of! 'Cause hey, if the style didn't work out you only had to put up with it for a few months anyway. And maybe you discovered some things about your personal style you wouldn't have unless you had this freedom of short-term clothing!

vintagerockchick said...

My favourite is the Washi dress- funnily enough I nearly ordered it myself the other day, but now I'm not sure - looking pregnant is fine if you are, but NOT if you're not!

Kirsty said...

What a great year for you Zo.. looking forward to your makes and posts this year. Maybe another pod cast!

johanna@projects by me said...

Aaahh, my sewlution.... Almost a total failure, but I'm quite happy with my sewing year anyway.
Must say that I loooove your Washi dress. I love that pattern (don't have it yet though) and your fabric is ACE!!! So pretty!

Happy new sewing year!

Anonymous said...

Well, you had a great year. I love following Me-Made-May and I'm excited for 2014.

My resolution this year is not a laundry list of items to sew (although I do have that). Instead, I want to adopt a mentality. One is to think big and the other is to become a better seamstress. The latter is what means the most to me as I feel like I rushed through a lot of projects in 2013. This year, I want to get into the nitty gritty details and research the fabric, learn new techniques, etc.

angela said...

You made some great things in 2013, so glad you were able to make some maternity clothes! I agree with Maddie, one of my biggest goals this year is to become a better seamstress, and make more things that I will get more wear from. Happy 2014!

Kathryn said...

I loved seeing your maternity makes this year and so enjoyed taking part in Me Made May! I was so happy to read you're organising it this year too!

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