MMM Day 15 to 19

We are 19 days in to Me Made May and I have only taken 2 days off.  I pledged to wear me-made 5 days a week so I am doing very well!  Both of those days off were Saturdays and were chock full of the kids' activities which required me to schlep to soccer/softball fields and sit in the sun or (as was the case yesterday) in the rain.  Apart from my newly made tee shirts, I don't have many me made tops that have sleeves which I need when out in the sun.  That is definitely a wardrobe hole.  Another need I have is shorts.  I have started a muslin for a pair of Sewaholic Thurlow shorts.  I cut a straight size 12 even though I was worried the waist would be too small.  However...that was not a problem, quite the opposite.  The hips were ok, perhaps a tiny bit big, but the waist was huge!  Check it out:

I am always perplexed when there is such a big difference between what I expect and what is.  (That applies to life in general-not just sewing)  I will be taking these in along the sides and may take some fabric out at the center front as well.  There are some very good things about this pattern, but in it's current state it is definitely a work in progress. 

But let's get back to Me-Made-May!

Wednesday May 15, Day 15:

Hey look!  A new Tee shirt for me!  Another Butterick 5354, this time made in a Rayon blend Tee shirt knit from Denver Fabrics (which is very soft, thin, and it wrinkles like crazy!)

Love this neckline!!

Thursday May 16:

A warm day needs a summery top.  My first Sorbetto was pulled out!

And guess what else?  I got a wireless remote control for my camera!  Ka-Pow! 

Friday May 17:  My husband (who works from home) and I went out to play 9 holes of golf in the afternoon.  I wore my orange (aka "light tangerine") Kwik Sew 3341 for the first time.  There are knit attached shorts underneath the skirt and I was a little worried that I had made them too short to be comfortable playing golf (or doing anything in the heat).  I almost changed my mind about wearing them but decided to suck it up and give it a go.  

I don't have many collared shirts that will go with an orange skirt.  I chose navy rather than black to avoid a Halloweenish outfit.  Verdict on the skirt: yes the shorts are too short, but everything else is great.  I may add on a strip of matching fabric to the bottom of the shorts to lengthen them.  Oh, and I could use a white polo shirt.

Saturday May 18:  Day off of MMM.  I pledged to wear me-made items 5 days a week so I haven't broken that pledge yet :)

Sunday May 19:  

Once again a whole Me-Made outfit!  The top is my just completed (yesterday in fact) Jalie 2566.  Let me tell you it is a great tee shirt pattern.  It is quick, classic, and versatile.  I've made 3 versions for my girls and finally got around to making myself one.  It may even be better than the Sewaholic Renfrew.  I had fewer wrinkles under the armpits with the Jalie.  I plan on doing a side by side comparison to evaluate and decide for sure. The skirt is my second version of Kwik Sew 3341.  When I made this version, I lengthened both the skirt and the shorts underneath.  Smart move.  The shorts are perfect: there's no bunching or riding up and no 'chub rub'. :)

That's it for now, more soon!

Kelly Green Knit Top: Butterick 5354

What makes this pattern great is the tucks around the neckline.   They radiate outward like the sun's rays.

It reminds me of the lovely yellow dress worn by the Queen of England at William & Kate's wedding.  See?

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/royal-wedding-queen-in-bright-yellow-179055

I had ordered some Jersey Knit from Fabric Mart and when it arrived I was surprised...it wasn't what I had expected.  (This happens A LOT when I order fabric online--worthy of its own blog post).  It was rather thin and I had expected it to be somewhat cottony, but it was more like swimsuit material without the 4 way stretch and obvious spandex shininess.  It's no longer available at Fabric Mart so I can't find out what the actual fabric content is, but I'm going to guess and call it a polyester single knit.  

Enough of the fabric complaints!  Lets get onto the Finished Object Cheering!

First of all, I LOVE the color.  My photos don't quite capture it.  It is more of a rich Kelly Green.  Here is a detail of the neckline:  

The pattern uses a front facing which had absolutely no way or hope of staying down and hidden on its own. So I stitched in the ditch at the front pleats to keep it down.  This worked well.  

I cut a size 14 in the pattern.  The finished bust measurement was 40" so there would be plenty of room.  I made the sleeves a tiny bit wider (about size 16) at the upper arm, so there wouldn't be any unsightly stretch wrinkles at the bicep.  Once it was assembled, I decided to give the top more shape and take out a small amount at the waistline ~1cm.  

I love how this top came out, and it went from my sewing machine, right onto my body, and out to dinner.  :)