Me-Made-May '13 Progress Report

Hello again! The weather turned sunnier this past week and I was able make some serious progress on my Me-Made-May '13 pledge to wear all 6 of my handmade garments in the month of May.

First up, I steeled myself and wore this skirt (Simplicity 2226) to work:

This was pre-blog, and it was before I figured out that many of the Big 4 patterns have a ton of ease and I should factor in the the finished garment measurements when choosing a size. I had to take this in by a ridiculous amount - something like 1 1/2" on each side. I caught my reflection in the elevator that day, and I thought to myself, "Hey, this skirt doesn't look too bad!", only to come home and discover the zipper had busted. I literally had to cut myself out of the skirt. Bugger.

Next, I wore my favorite make yet, my Lisette Market Top (Simplicity 2211), originally blogged here.

I forgot to take a picture that day, so I am rushing out the door with treats to a movie night at a friend's house. We watched Birdemic: Shock and Terror with Rifftrax - highly recommended if you like Sci Fi B movies. The trailer is here - the "special effects" are so spectacularly terrible for a film made in 2010 it has to be seen to be believed.

Next up, my very first garment that passed for wearable, a modified version of Vogue 1236:

This was named one of Pattern Review's best patterns of 2011, but back when I made this I was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that pattern sizes have very little correlation with RTW sizes. I cut a straight size six, and miraculously the top half fit decently (thanks to the huge amount of ease), but it was, to my horror, very tight around the hips. Like, I had to shimmy into what was clearly supposed to be a breezy, loose dress. Long story short, I turned it into a top, but I don't wear it much because I don't like the self-belt much and I haven't found a better substitute.

Four down, two to go!