Me-Made-May’12: Yellow Pleated Dress

I made it! Today was the last day of the me-made-may challenge, and I am very proud of myself that I did it and haven’t given up, even though it stopped being exciting and started to be a burden about two weeks into it.  I am very glad I signed up to it, because it really re-ignited my passion for sewing and creating, and also got me back to blogging about it.

I finished this yellow dress one month ago, so it was ready just in time for the challenge, but I  knew I would wait until the end of the month so I could wear it today, for my husband Idan’s birthday. The dress has an open back and it is tied behind the nape of the neck. I made it from leftover fabric, and it came out a bit too short, so I attached this rainbow stripes fabric to the hem line. For final touch I sewed two matching buttons to the waistline .

Me-Made-May’12: Cat Playing with Yarn Shirt

Yesterday’s shirt was created as part of Knits Class in college. My inspiration came from cats playing with yarn, and the shirt was not part of the final collection, but a side assignment in which I was required to create a unique T-shirt that really communicates the inspiration.

The shirt itself is built  from spiral panels that gathers into a ball on the stomach, and is meant to resemble a ball of yarn that the cat is playing with.  The cat application is a quick cat drawing I did with Tulip fabric paint on a piece of fabric, cut it out, and attached to the shirt with needlework.
On the back  of the shirt the panels meet again in a whirl. The exposed skin of the back is a way to show how the cat scratched and tore the fabric.

Me-Made-May: Refashioned Grandma’s Skirt

The flowery dress I wore on Tuesday was, once upon a time, my grandmother’s home-made skirt. Her old clothes sometimes go through me before being thrown out, and I sometimes find treasures I want to keep, usually because I remember her wearing it all over my childhood memories.
This refashioning started with me whimsically pulling the skirt up and saying this would look good as a dress. Then, after it was brought to my attention that grandma also made a matching belt, I started thinking I could actually work something out of this. I narrowed the original waistline a bit, so it would stay above my breasts, and attached the the added belt  below, to tie on the back. I then added the decorative buttons (some of which as cover-up for old stains), and that’s it. Piece of cake.

Me-Made-May’12: Navy Bias-Cut Dress

This is what I wore on Monday. I made this dress from the same pattern as the Tanzanian Bias-Cut Dress, only a few years beforehand. Its fabric is a bit see-through, so I wear it with a slip underneath it, and that is the lace you see peeking.

I didn’t get good details on any of the pictures. The dress has two round pockets with red piping, small flower-like embroidery and two buttons each, and a cute collar-like cleavage application with another two buttons and loop embroidery on the rim. Due to lack of suitable machinery, I sewed all of the button-holes by hand.

‘Me-Made-May’12: Sprinkles T-Shirt

Sunday was mainly dedicated to the flight home, and for that purpose a simple T-shirt works best. I didn’t sew this shirt, I just printed my design on it.

Two years ago I worked at a t-shirt printing store, and had access to this great cutting machine and a variety of printing materials, and so naturally I used it to create some cool stuff for myself. When I was in Canada I packed some of these shirts with me and got nice pictures of them. These pictures were meant to be part of one of my first blog posts, and for some reason this never took place. I think now could be a good time to share them with you, but it’ll be in another post, hopefully soon.

Me-Made-May’12: Flies & Polka Dots Shirt

On Saturday I wore my new very soft me-made shirt.  The pattern is same one I’ve used here and here, only this time I left the cutting out, and instead diversified with the shoulder print, which I printed before sewing at the same printing session where my two skirts-to-be were printed.

Me-Made-May’12: Cute Tank Top with a Bow

I started Friday with this tank top, which is basically the same as the Two Layers Tank Top, only a bit less tight, and with an added decorative bow.

I wouldn’t call it refashioned, but the fabric for this item came from an old long pleated skirt I found at the second hand store. I loved the delicate flowery fabric, so I unpicked the skirt, ironed the pleats and reused the fabric for this top.

As the evening came closer, I changed to an outfit more fitting the Rock festival we went to, and in honor of the main attraction I wore the Metallica tank top I made for their show in Israel two years ago.

Me-Made-May’12: Neon Printed Denim Skirt

I’m back from Lisbon, which was truly amazing,  and in spite of all its distractions I managed to keep on with the challenge, and wore different me-made item each day. Obviously I’m a bit overdue with my blogging about it, but I will attempt to catch up on it all over these following days.

On Thursday we arrived to Lisbon and started our short vacation with a walking tour across the city’s popular sites and beautiful streets. I chose to inaugurate my  second printed skirt I made for this challenge. I used the same pattern I made for the Blue Flies Printed Skirt and the printing process was also the same.

This skirt is my favorite between the two. Although while working on it I thought the other one was far more interesting and beautiful, when I finished sewing the skirts I changed my mind: the red skirt turned out a bit clownish, while the denim one is quite snazzy.

Me-Made-May’12: Two Layers Tank Top

I guess I was a bit skinnier when I made this top, because it is so tight, that I actually popped the side seam a bit while sneezing in the office today…

It consists of two layers: a cute teddy bear print fabric, and a pink net on top of it. The two layers are sawed together as one. The shoulder straps are actually just one lace threaded inside the folded upper rim of the front and back pieces, just like I did in the Winning Hand Dress, minus the great fitting.

In the next few days I’ll probably not be able to post, since I’m flying to Lisbon for a Rock festival (hell yeah!), but I will keep on dressing according to the challenge, and will show you everything once I’m back home.

Me-Made-May’12: Emerald City Dress

I originally made this dress for my 25th birthday. I wanted to create something festive, so I used gold piping and shoulder straps, and complemented the festive look with a 10cm golden bird that sat on my shoulder.

I haven’t wore it since. I wasn’t sure if this dress looked good enough on me. It turned out quite tight in the chest area, and particularly at the waist. But today, motivated by the challenge, I decided to wear it to my friend’s wedding, this time without the bird.

And after receiving such amount of compliments about it today, I guess it looks fine.