Portia Lawrie

MMM'13

MMM’13: Weekly Round Up

OK! We’re on the home straight and to be fair, I’m starting to miss some of my non MM garments. The thing is, if this was a sustainability or thrifty challenge then I’d be laughing. Because anything I have in my wardrobe has either been thrifted (usually for a song. 7 for all Mankind Jeans for 99p peops. Oh yes!), thrifted & refashioned, or made from scratch (mostly from thrifted fabric). So my sustainability and thrift credentials are pretty respectable. But when looking at only MM garments (in my case made from scratch or refashioned) not all of my MM items have MM partners; and for the first time this week I had to really think about the “no repeats” part of my challenge. A couple of times this week I found myself in an outfit combo that I’d already used; so had to rethink and have a quick change. Nonetheless, I am on target for MM tops and bottoms every day so far, with no outfit repeated…

18th May: Sorbetto Tunic & skinnified jeans –  A bit summery for this weather (I did have a cardigan on all day too). The only thing I don’t like about this top on me, is that from the side it looks a little tent like as it hangs straight down from my “shelf”. Won’t stop me wearing it though Mrs C 😉
19th May: Polka Dot Kimono Tee & Skinnified Jeans – Ahhhhh, comfort city! I’ve yet to find another fabric this soft, light and cool. It was a total bargain from Goldhawk Road. Easy to work with and launders really well without the need for ironing. Is that not the perfect fabric?!
20th May: Nautical Tee & Golf Trousers – Comfort city AGAIN. These trousers have been a great addition.

21st May: Chambray Shirt (under thrifted jumper) & Golf Trousers – I like this kind of “preppy” look. Smart casual and a little tomboyish. It feels like it suits my personality, if that makes sense?
22nd May: Aztec Tee & Skinnified Jeans – This really is a lovely jersey. I had to restitch the neck and hemline the other day. I hadn’t used a stretch stitch the first time round (slapped wrist!). Comfy, comfy, comfy!
23rd May: Coffee Dyed Silk Top & Skinnified jeans – Stop Press! Portia wears something tucked in! Ta dah! Actually, I think this works. Probably because it’s a very fine crepe silk so doesn’t bunch up and drapes well. This is the first time I’ve actually worn this top because it just doesn’t work hanging loose. Guess I just had to pluck up the courage and try something out of my usual comfy zone; and actually, I’m glad I did!

Soooo, this week I have realised….

  • The world doesn’t end if I tuck something in
  • Tartan trousers rock. Must find me some more
  • Sometimes a garment that languishes unworn in your wardrobe, need only be worn slightly differently to make it work. The silk top is a case in point. It actually has cuffed long sleeves, and a boxy shape with a cuffed hem. Trust me it does nothing for me. But tucked in and with the sleeves turned up, it’s much more wearable.
  • I roll up long sleeves unconsciously….seriously, every jumper or cardigan I wear. I’ve only just noticed looking back at these round ups! They just get in the way when you’re busy don’t you think? Is that where the phrase “roll up your sleeves and get on with it” comes from? Is it a psychological thing that says “right, I’m rolling my sleeves up now. I mean BUSINESS!” Why don’t I just get knitwear with 3/4 length sleeves? Would it be as satisfying as actually rolling them up, or less frustratiing when they keep falling down while you’re washing up? So many questions….so little time…because well…I’m busy! Can’t you tell from the rolled up sleeves?!
MMM'13

MMM’13 – Weekly Round Up

So another week down! So far no repeats. The addition of a couple of new makes has made this week a bit easier to be fair. Every new top I make could be another 5 outfits when paired with 5 different MM/skinnified jeans. BOOM! Anyhow here’s how it went down this week. Some good, some not so good:

10th May: Chambray Tee & Skinnified Jeans – Simple and unfussy. Not alot can go wrong here!
11th May: Electric Blue Tee & Refashioned Jeans – Gah! My newly made blue top has SHRUNK despite conscientious prewashing. Furthermore, it’s shrunk even further in the next wash so now it is unwearable! These jeans were a 16 that I downsized to a 14 and narrowed before I lost my weight. They’re too big in the waist now, and so bunched up with a belt. But I rediscovered them and thought they might do in a pinch. Undecided. There’s something about them that just doesn’t work but I can’t put my finger on what it is.
12th May: Refashioned tee & Skinnfied jeans – Yeah, I’m ok with this outfit. It’s never gonna win any style prizes but it’s comfy and casual and that’s good enough for me!
13th May: Refashioned sweatshirt and refashioned jeans – No, no, no, no, no! No matter how I try I cannot get this sweatshirt to look right with anything other than non MM jeans. And look! It’s those trousers again that didn’t work on the 11th either.What is it about them….?

14th May: Geometric top & skinnified jeans – OK, but don’t love it. Plus my fringe was doing my nut in that day!
15th May: Refashioned Chambray Shirt & Skinnified Jeans – I really like this outfit. Plus I felt better after taking the scissors to my fringe. Ah, the relief!
16th May: Chambray Tee & Refashioned golf trousers – Another outfit I like! (Seriously, you may not realise what a milestone it is for me to look at a pic and go “actually, that looks alright!”)
17th May: Chambray shirt & skinnified jeans – Everything works for me here except the cardigan. It seems to optically widen me because it’s hiding any shape/waist definition…

So what have I learnt this week?

  • I may have to rethink my lifelong love of cardigans. At least worn loose like that. The shape of the stripy jumper seems more flattering. Maybe need to aim for a few more jumpers in this shape
  • Longer jeans are more flattering for sure
  • Prewashing doesn’t always future proof your makes against shrinkage. Scandalous!
  • I like patterned trousers! Must get me some more.
  • Chambray is NICE 🙂

MMM'13

Me Made May – Round Up

Ahhhh…9 days down and not a repeat in sight (yet). Actually, it’s a bit trickier than I anticipated because alot of my past MM items (ie when I was a larger size and also bodged alot of my makes!) have long since been sent to the charity shop. Some have even fallen apart :/ In addition, this week has exposed some recent makes that are pretty much wardrobe orphans; or at least don’t have any Me Made partners. So if I am to succeed in my self imposed challenge, I shall have to rack up a few new makes as I go along! Anyway, here’s a run down so far…

1st May: Aztec tee & skinnified jeans. Hmm, wrong shoes for this outfit I think. My sandals would have made it look less frumpy.
2nd May: Refashioned sweatshirt & skinnified jeans. This is borderline. It’s ok (maybe slightly 80’s soft rock!) but I think I need some relaxed fit trousers to go with this top. It’s proving tricky to style this top even though I love it. My dark denim jeans work with this but they’re not Me Made.
3rd May: Plum Pudding Tunic & skinnified jeans. I like this overall silhouette. I must measure the length of this tunic as it hits at just the right point on the thighs to be flattering.

4th May: Refashioned Tee & skinnified jeans. Erm, Axl Rose eat your heart out! This worked ok with the long chunky cardigan I wore it with. But if you ever see me out in this combo ever again, SLAP ME!
5th May: Kimono Tee & Refashioned Maxi plus Me Made necklace. I really like this outfit. There, I said it! Perhaps some more jersey maxi’s on the horizon? Have to get some jersey first…
6th May: Nautical Tee & skinnified jeans. This top is one of my very earliest makes but still gets worn all the time. I guess it was an early precursor to my kimono tees. This combo is OK, but I don’t love it.

7th May: Stripe Tee & skinnified jeans – This is a classic combo for me. Skinnies, top and a cardi
8th May: First ever Kimono Tee & skinnified jeans – As above. I’m in comfortable territory here. Kinda my uniform and how I feel most comfortable. This is still my fave kimono tee. Fabric is so soft and cool. Quite a bit looser these days, and I actually think I might add some more ease back in to my kimono tee pattern for future makes. I redrafted it after I lost weight but I think I prefer the looser fit.
9th May: Tea Dyed Silk Top & skinnified jeans – The colours work here. But the shape of this top is all wrong on me. Just feel so frumpy in it. I bought some matching thread today…look out for a refashion…

So…observations so far:

  • Keeping the Me Made pledge on my bottom half is easy. Practically all of my jeans are bought from charity shops and then refashioned to fit.  I have pairs in black, navy, khaki, purple, polka dots, and light denim. Plus two pairs in my refashion pile awaiting “the treatment”
  • I’m gradually increasing my stock of Me Made tops. This has always been my stumbling point. It’s getting better. I currently have about 10 me made tops and one new one already this week and 3-4 more in progress! (inc a Laurel!)
  • I REALLY like jersey maxis. So comfy and so quick to sew, even on a standard machine. I’ll probably use the one above as a template to churn out a few more…
  • I desperately need to cut and colour my hair! It’s getting very unruly
  • I really ought to get acquainted with my iron! The only time I use it is during construction. I rarely iron stuff before I wear it. Ahhh, lifes tooooo short man!
  • I still hate the photography part!
So all in all, some really useful info  gleaned already 🙂 How are you guys doing?
MMM'13, refashioning

Refashion: Nautical Outfit Refashion

Sometimes all you need to do to give oversized and shapeless clothes a bit more “ta dah!”…..

….is take them in a bit and/or change the length….!!  So if you’re panicking that you haven’t got enough handmade/refashioned items for MMM’13, why not raid your local charity shop or thrift store (or, shhhhh, the OTHER side of your wardrobe. You know who’s side I mean right?  ðŸ˜‰ and give it a try. This outfit took me under 2 hours to reshape. Small changes make a dramatic difference! The trousers fit me already in the waist; so I just had to take them in at the hips and down the outside of each leg. I also took them in the entire length of the inseam, then cropped and hemmed. The tee was a simple taking in along the side seams and sleeves, then chopping some of the sleeve off to a length that was comfy. Peasy!

Me Made May 2013, MMM'13

Excited About… Me Made May 2013!

It’s that time of year again. The time when sewists the world over celebrate their acievements by proudly wearing their handmade garments every day in a bid to meet the challenge of….

Have you signed up yet? What do you mean no?! What are you playing at?! Get yourself over to Zoe’s blog right now and take the pledge!

Of course, if you’re anything like me, then by about week 3, you’ll be resorting to increasingly bizarre outfit combos in a bid to meet your self imposed criteria. And by about week 2 (for me anyway) the bigger challenge becomes actually photographing yourself daily. BUT, it’s a great challenge in so many ways…..

  •  It shows you where the gaps in your handmade wardrobe are. 
  • It kinda forces you to dig out everything handmade that you have in your arsenal, and re-evaluate it. Does it even work for you? Why on earth did you make THAT. 
  • When you look at older handmade items, it can remind you how much you’ve improved since. (I think we all need to remind ourselves of that once in a while…since us sewists gravitate more naturally to self criticism than congratulations.)
  • It can help you to refine your choice of silhouttes. I don’t know about you, but looking back at photos of past challenges REALLY helped me to work out what suited me and more importantly….what absolutely DID NOT! Do you ever look at an outfit photo and thing “I’m sure that looked better in the mirror!” Me? All the time! 
  •  I also tend to make more during a Me Made challenge than I otherwise would. At the start of the month I tend to think “yeah, piece of cake” then half way through I tend to whip up a few pieces to give me more options in the morning…right about the time a kind of low level panic sets in because I’m running out of outfit ideas!
  • I put alot more effort and thought into how I look during a Me Made month. Not only my outfits, but I’ll do my hair and make up every day. Whereas most weeks there’ll be a few days that see me doing the school run sans make up (sunglasses are an essential disguise to stop me scaring the other children), in a questionable outfit, and with slightly unruly orange hair. You’d think a simple bob would be simple to maintain wouldn’t you? Nope! My hair, when left to dry naturally is seriously scary. So a Me Made month just gives me the extra kick up the arse I need to put the effort in, which is no bad thing!
So with all that in mind, here goes me……
‘I, Portia of Miss P, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’13. I endeavour to wear only handmade or refashioned clothes each day (excluding underwear, knitwear and coats)for the duration of May 2013. (So essentially, all my tops and trousers/skirts will be handmade)With no individual outfit repeated’

So I’m upping the anti a bit this year. No repeated outfits; which will hopefully push me into trying new combinations of the handmade pieces I have.

What about you? You taking part? Are you a first timer or a “veteran”? What have you learnt from past challenges and what does a Me Made challenge force you to do that you wouldn’t ordinarily do?