Me Made May ’13 Finale

May 31, 2013June 1, 2013 ~ Tia Dia ~ 10 Comments

Today is the last day of Me-Made-May. It’s been a bit (lot?) of a flop for me this year, and I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to contribute more. I don’t like to whine about being under the weather, but this spring has taken the entire cake for lousy health, and I missed most days this month because of it. I’ve been shivering and shaking with fevers, and trying to sleep it off. When I have felt a little better, I’d wander down to my sewing area and work on a stack of projects that are cut and waiting to be sewn. Part of our challenge for this week – it being Friday and every Friday had a theme – was “red”. My shoes and this dress are my red contributions to the Flickr pool as I truly don’t own anything red – orange, sure, but not red. And looking at this, I’m going to change the top bands (which are completely fell stitched to the strapless lined bodice) out of a complementary red instead of the brown.

Anyways, the second part of our challenge today is to mention what we learned and appreciated. So here’s my list:

I don’t have any me-made schlepping around clothes. I have lots of pretty me-mades in my wardrobe that are great for when sleep and medication are not part of what’s getting me through the day. This brings up a conundrum: do I really want to make loungey me-mades? My answer: no. I’ve enjoyed stretching my sewing and venturing into the world of knits and jerseys with various projects but unless a pattern jumps out at me, I don’t care to make up a stack of T-shirts or yoga pants or sweat pants or hoodies when I can buy such great brands like Roots. I’d much rather spend my sewing time on dresses, trousers, blouses, skirts, coats and other such might-look-or-be-considered-frosting garments. It’s what I like to sew, and so my schleppy wardrobe will remain RTW.
I love my gathered-front tops aka Burda 9/2011 #106. I could make up this pattern forever as an exception to the first point of this list.
I need red dresses.

I love being part of the me-made challenge each year. It’s just so much fun to see what other sewistas make and where. I am impressed by just how normal we all look in our very own clothes. It’s wonderful to think we do such a good job making our own clothes. I do hope you all enjoyed participating, if you did, and will join us next time, if you haven’t yet.

The Vogue 2864 Dress

May 21, 2013June 1, 2013 ~ Tia Dia ~ 23 Comments

This is an old dress pattern, but one I’ve used several times for projects over the years. It’s a great simple empire-waisted take on a shift dress, and I am amazed how many times I turn to it when someone (or I) want a new sleeveless dress. I like the fact that it doesn’t have long bodice darts (oops! I mean princess darts? The darts that extend from under the bust, through the waist to the upper hip area), because those are a fitting nightmare to me, especially for myself.And since my last version of this dress has been worn to a rag, I thought I’d like a new one. I made it up out of a stretch cotton remnant from EmmaOneSock.com but there was barely a yard, and I ran out of length. So I faced the hem with scraps. It’s a little bit short for my taste, but I’m sure it will wear well!I lined it with bemberg from my stash. It’s a super comfy dress! The stretch-cotton is a bit heavier than the pattern calls for, so I may have it for a while! Here’s the back view. I made quite a significant short-waist adjustment combined with a high-hip adjustment. You can see it could have been a little bit shorter, too, by the slight lines at my waist. I know it’s usually taken care of my a sway-back adjustment by folding out the excess, but I find this messes with the grainlines a little to much – perhaps because I need to do such a significant adjustment – a total of 2 inches in length.I made two other adjustments: I raised the neckline by one inch and I did my usual FBA. Here’s my goof-off pose for Me Made May ’13.

Me-Made-May is here!

May 2, 2013 ~ Tia Dia ~ 3 Comments

I’m late! I’m late for a very special date!

And I’m going in with a whimper with this RTW top and me-made capris which are oldies, but goodies and have lots more life in them.

I, Tia Dia of MezzoCouture, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’13. I endeavour to wear at least one me-made for each day for the duration of May 2013. I’m not swearing off repeats. My me-made collection has grown significantly over the last two years, but I’m still missing some key pieces, and others are just more comfortable for schlepping around the house and yard… repeatedly!

I won’t be posting daily about what I’m wearing, but I’ve made a page (see above). Are you joining in the fun? It’s going to be great seeing the Flickr page growing at an exponential rate. I wonder how I’ll find the time to scroll through…