Me Made May 2022

It's Me Made May time! This challenge is designed to encourage people to make their own clothes and improve their relationship with their handmade wardrobe. You can read about the origins and goals of the challenge here. I wear my me-made clothing frequently and I use this challenge to focus my making. This year while brainstorming with my friend Hillary, we came up with a fun theme for us to play with. We like to challenge each other to up our creative games and this year we are combining quilty goodness into our garment making. 

The intention of Me Made May is not specifically about making new things, but in part about sustainability and reuse. Given the size of my pattern and fabric stashes, using what I have is a focus of the challenge for me.

My goals are to:

1. Integrate pieced, patchwork, quilted elements into what I make.

2. Use from my stash of pre-made, gifted and thrifted base materials. 

3. Use patterns from my out of print, retro and vintage pattern stash.

4. Add more separates.

5. Wear my me made clothes daily.

Most of my time lately has been spent stitching up some of the 100 designs from my upcoming book Represent! Embroidery. What I am able to sew on my machine will largely be dictated by hand fatigue and the need for necessary breaks. 

The first project I want to share with you is this upcycled hexagon quilt top tunic.

 

A couple of years ago I was given a handmade hexagon quilt top from a friend. When she gave it to me she warned me that it was made using a mixture of polyester and cotton hexagons. She saw the mix was inconsistent and she could not see it selling in her store. She gave it to me and hoped I could use it. 

The quilt top was completely hand-stitched and I appreciated that. In spite of the double-knit polyester bit, it had a funky, scrappy charm. I value the time and effort it took to sew these hundreds of hexagons together.

I am lucky enough to own a few Betsey Johnson sewing patterns and chose this vintage Butterick 4680 pattern.

Due to the age of the quilt top, I inspected it and found there was some damage the needed to be repaired before cutting. 

I used my rotary cutter, mat and pattern weights to cut the fabric pieces. Cutting broke the delicate hand stitches and I feared using scissors would cause me to manipulate the fabric more than I wanted.

There was some inevitable unraveling at the cut hexie seams. I immediately took the cut fabric to my serger to secure those edges. I would not venture into a project like this unless I had the time to cut and serge in one continuous session. Those cut edges are very fragile and I did not want to take any chances.

Once the precarious part was done I sewed the fabric up as I normally would.​ ​This top is unlined. The fabric is very lightweight and airy and I did not want to lose that feel. There is generous ease so the top barely touches my body and where it does, it's not uncomfortable.

I used a cotton cord as the neck tie.

I love the funky vibe of my new tunic.

There is plenty of discussion about repurposing quilts to satisfy the quilted garment trend. I believe in pulling things down from shelves and out of tucked away places. I love to breathe new life into what would have been discarded or ignored. My goal is to celebrate the workmanship of the original piece by making something I will use and love. 

Happy Sewing,

Bianca

Zebra Blush Bliss

 

I know what I like and what I don't like, but I am always open to changing my mind. Animal prints have for years been firmly in the "don't like" category. There is no logic or rationale behind that assessment, just a preference. Recently however, Riley Blake Designs released some new animal print collections that made me radically rethink my thoughts on them. My previous post showcased my new dress using "On Safari" where my new obsession began.

I am really excited to see that Mimi G designed a new fabric collection with Riley Blake Designs. Her fun animal print collection includes knits and rayon challis in fun and unexpected color combinations. 

Of all the options available, I chose the Zebra Blush Rayon with an eye to make a maxi dress using a vintage pattern. 

I decided on Mccalls 4765 which has been in my stash for many years waiting for the perfect fabric. I love the maxi-length, neckline detail and front ties for shaping. I chose to make view A with a modified sleeve from view B.

I loved the original dress design, but found it impractical for my day-to-day life. I decided to switch it up to make it more casual as a front-split tunic. This simple modification only required leaving the front open below the waistline and finishing the raw edges.

I added an elastic casing to the hems of the sleeves instead of the cuffs suggested by the pattern. These felt a bit more relaxed and sweet, perfect for the color and drape of the luscious fabric. 

I love this piece! The fabric makes me happy and the modification to the ordinary pattern feels fun and fresh. 

Is there a fabric, technique, or style you have been reluctant to consider? Do you have a hard and fast rule against it or just a vague preference, like I did? What's it going to take to have you rethink it? I hope you do and love the result like I do!

Happy Sewing,

Bianca

Surprises while "On Safari"

Have you found yourself making a decision that surprises even you? I have a pretty clear sense of what I love and don't love as it relates to my style. I feel like most of what I make is generally in line with my style aesthetic. Until now, animal prints have not featured prominently.

I recently collaborated with Queenora Renee fabrics to produce a line of pattern weights featuring her fabric designs. Her Black Girl Magic Leopard print ignited a newfound passion for animal prints that I had never been drawn to before. I explained my attraction to her fabrics by the afro hairstyles represented in the prints, not the animal theme itself.

Flash forward to the new fabric releases on the horizon for Riley blake, I was  surprisingly drawn to several of their upcoming animal prints. When the "On Safari" fabric arrived my husband opened the package and exclaimed "Whoa!" with my choice of the Brown Leopard. In our 20 years together and 18 years married, he has never seen me wear an animal print. This fabric was totally off script for me, but we were both intrigued.

When I selected this design, I did not have a plan for what I was going to make with this "out of my wheelhouse" fabric choice. Fortunately, I was recently generously gifted some vintage patterns from a friend familiar with my style. Her care package included this fabulous mod mini dress pattern. 

I was drawn to the plunging neckline, the full sleeves and the mini length. The shaping was achieved with front and back darts and has a back zipper. This is a fun little dress was a fairly fast project to make.

I made it as is, with only one adjustment. I removed about two inches of ease on either of the side seams. This adjustment reduced the fullness and allows me to wear the dress without the belt. 

Or wear it with the included belt. 

I liked the look of the tone on tone belt, but wanted the option for a pop of color. I trimmed the tie belt with red piping as a fun contrast. 

Stepping out with animal prints has been loads of fun for me. Choosing a risky fabric can be a bit scary, but when paired with a pattern that suits your style, they can play well together. 

Happy Sewing,

Bianca