Me-Made-May’15 Weeks 1 & 2

Me-Made-May’15 Weeks 1 & 2

So I must confess: I only wore one me-made item the first week of May 🙁 In my defense, that week was only two days long, though…

Week one also happened to be half priced frap week!
Week one also happened to be half priced frap week!

Week one I opted for the lace tank from the Back With a Peplum post. At work, I cover up my half sleeves, so…also features a rtw cardigan. You’ll notice, I finally got around to finishing the neckline and arms with bias tape. Also, I have spectacles now! Though I don’t really need to wear them all the time, you’ll be seeing them often, as I’ve always wanted glasses.

For week two, I opted to wear two versions of McCall’s M6754, my go-to pattern. Expect to see more of these in the future, and probably a blog post about them 😉

On the way to work, no cardigan.  No spectacles, because check out that eyeliner.
On the way to work, no cardigan. No spectacles, but so much makeup.
Bathroom selfie and and the return of the spectacles.
Bathroom selfie and and the return of the spectacles.

The hardest part for me has been getting decent photos, obviously! My apologies for the low grade cell phone photography, I need to recruit someone to take photos for me. I hope you’re all having as much fun with this as I am! Happy sewing 🙂

The Anchor Dress

The Anchor Dress

At it again with the killer posing.
At it again with the killer posing. I swear I don’t have that many wrinkles!!

So I know this is a super old pattern, but…I still think you should make this dress immediately.  It’s the Butterick B5317 by Maggy London and it’s fantastic. The dress features six fairly large pleats, right underneath the bust, which makes it very flattering. The pattern calls for a side zip, but as I made mine in a knit, I omitted the zipper. However, I did notice that the bodice darts were a bit too pronounced, so perhaps such a sturdy knit was not the best fabric choice? The pictures don’t do the bust any justice, though,  I’m the worst at pictures.  Also, I ended up taking the straps up a few inches, and the bodice in a bit. Honestly, I have nearly constant strap issues. At this point, I’ve planned for it. By pattern sizing, I should have made a 14, but I scaled down to a 12. I think I could have done a 10.

Awkward ankles, weird shadows, and unfinished shoulder seams.
Awkward ankles, weird shadows, and unfinished shoulder seams.

I opted out of doing a contrast fabric, frankly, I just didn’t have one and there are NO fabric stores where I work or where I live. It’s only a thirty minute drive to Joann, but still…no time. Also, since I didn’t do a contrast band on the bottom, I decided to try out a rolled hem. ROLLED HEMS ARE THE BEST!! Once I figured out how to set up my trusty serger for this, it was beyond easy. I usually serge all my seams, so I’ve come to expect setup difficulties, but here there were none! Success on the first try!

Pretty hems!
Pretty hems!

All and all, this dress came together in about three evenings, from start to finish. Around six hours, I think, including fit issues. I’ll actually get some wear out of it, and truly, the fit isn’t that bad. Also, shout out to Etsy and my momma for my awesome Harry Potter locket 🙂

I know I know, my clasp is showing.
I know I know, my clasp is showing.

Happy sewing!