Sunday 10 April 2016

Changing plans

On Friday I am graduating from university. I had been planning for a while to make a little black dress for the ceremony using B5281, a very elegant reproduction vintage pattern from 1946. Last night, I scrapped this plan and will be wearing another dress I made last year instead.

I have always been someone who enjoys taking on large, complicated projects, and I immerse myself in them. I even get everything done on time. But this time I decided I needed to take a step back, and remind myself that it's okay if I don't follow through this once. I got to the stage of having the wearable muslin finalised, and the went to bed last night, and started scheming how I could fit sewing a fully lined crepe and silk dress in four days around university, assignments and work.
 When I started panicking over needing to thread trace all the darts and tucks due to the black fabric, and realising slippery fabric is horrible to cut, I decided to call it off. Actually, I'll be wearing one of those academic gowns, so it won't matter what I am wearing to a great extent. Not enough to need to sweat over a new dress. I am in love with this pattern. The details on it are exquisite, and I have bought the most gorgeous fabric for it. I want to take my time and ensure I have a really well made dress at the end of the process. A good LBD will become a proper wardrobe staple in time. I'll be graduating again next year anyway from masters! I am very relieved I can have some breathing space this week, and am looking forward to getting stuck into this dress when I have the proper time to devote to it

Saturday 2 April 2016

Me Made May

This year I am really excited to give Me Made May a go. I've really enjoyed following along for the last few years, and reading people's thoughts on their wardrobes, and how they fit into their life. This is the first year though I feel I have enough handmade/ altered clothes to take part. I am also now trying to think more cohesively about how to develop my wardrobe along more vintage lines. I am not going to say I will wear handmade every day though. My sewing at the moment skews towards summer, and here in Australia May is the month the temperatures start to go down, so climate wise what I'm wearing each day will be a bit hit and miss. This will  hopefully though be a good chance to make more winter clothes (wool pencil skirts and long sleeved blouses.

I, Kaitlyn, (http://kaitlynssimplyvintage.blogspot.com.au/, @kaitlynssimplyvintage) sign up as a participant of Me Made May 2016. I endeavor to wear at least one handmade/refashioned item a minimum of four days a week. I also aim to complete three pieces of winter appropriate clothing by the end of the month.