May 2019 - Handmade by Carolyn

me-made May 2019

31/05/2019 11:30 pm \ 6 Comments \ Carolyn

1st – 8th May

so can we even believe this year is the 10th anniversary of me-made May?!! so amazing! Of course I took part again, because I’m completely unable to resist any sort of wardrobe challenge, and also because I absolutely love it! Also; I apologise for the following distracted and sort disjointed post because today is the day before our family’s Big Day, and I’m just a little… um, time-poor?!! and just kind banged this one out. It’s unsatisfactory, I know. I’m sorry!

I wore 100% self-made clothing each day! including my shoes, underwear and hosiery, and only made one exception of the evening of the 30th when we met Kelly’s parents – our new in-laws! – for an introductory dinner; when I decided to wear my rtw black booties, but I’m going to give myself a pass for that particular special occasion! Social-media-wise, I joined in on instagram, posting a picture of my outfit each day to my stories with pattern details. The daily outfits have all been put together in a saved story; Me-Made May 2019 which you can view all in one go, if you should so desire, but no one reading this will probably so desire since all the pics are here too. Ha!

9th – 16th May

I do feel really bad that I wasn’t able to be as social as I have in the past, not much chatting or commenting because I have just been so unnaturally distracted and super-busy with getting ready for our big day tomorrow, don’t you hate people who brag about being super busy?? I sure do, but for me this month it’s just the plain and simple truth. But I’m looking forward now to getting full-on back into the happy busy chit-chat in the online sewing community that I LOVE.

17th -24th May

My outfits: a lot of times I just resorted to previously tried and true outfit combinations that I’d worn before and knew that I loved, so just slipped them on without much thought, but I did try to think of a few new combinations. Some combinations are more successful than others!

I’d consciously tried to wear different garments everyday to mix it up and really get through my wardrobe; and was nearly completely successful! Only two things got doubled up during the month: my cream cotton cardigan, and my navy blue Miette cardigan both got worn twice during the month. Oh, apart from my black tights, and all my self-made shoes, all of which got multiple wears.

25th – 31st May,

including the evening of the 30th May in which I glammed up a little

Also: everyday I wore my Me-Made May 2019 pin, that Zoe kindly sent to me and a few of the other OG girls. So cute! Thank you so much, Zoe!

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Clara, daily outfit, me-made may

box of socks; May edition

29/05/2019 8:51 pm \ 7 Comments \ Carolyn

so I have to be honest and admit straight up that Craig and I have been semi-fighting over this particular sock yarn! we both really really love it and wanted it for ourselves so in the end we went online and hunted down another ball of this wool… #secrettoasuccessfulmarriage

Of course there is a story… I saw this yarn in Japan -of course! Japan has the coolest stuff, I’m telling you… Craig was in the store with me and picking up and admiring various sock yarns too; and because he was being so patient while I browsed sock yarn endlessly I promised that I would knit a pair of socks for him if he just picked some yarn. I mean, that seems fair, right? a pair of socks in exchange for a trip to Japan?! yeah I thought so too… hehe… anyway! I had chosen all the yarn I wanted and I went up and bought it. A little later, and I’ve started knitting it up, and Craig goes, those are my socks, aren’t they? and I go, um, nooooooo? and he goes, but that’s the yarn I wanted for my socks! and I go, well I wanted it too, and I tooooold you to put some yarn to the basket if you wanted any! and he goes well I thought THAT one was for me, and I go, no it’s for me! and then he looked quite crestfallen and so did I because I DID really want to knit a pair of socks for him, that he loved. And so then in an exceptionally generous gesture I thought, because I too really really love this yarn I said oh, ok you can have them, then he said, no it’s ok, you can have them, and I’m like, no I want you to have them, and he’s like, no, it’s ok… well you get the picture. So in the end, yeah; we went online and found some more, so very soon we’re going to have matching feet … you know when you’re young and newly in love, and there’s a stage where you dress like each other?? well it’s been a while, and actually I’m not even sure we ever ever went through that stage! but looks like we are going to go through it after all…

So this yarn is the legendary Opal yarn, that it seems you can buy everywhere in the world except Australia, grrr… the label reads KFS Kesennuma, colour Forest, or KFS108. and is a really beautiful, verdant array of deep teal, bottle free, olive green, bluey-grey green, and through to a springy leaf green and pure ivory… I love the way it knits up to mimic a fair isle design, the repeat is just like the yoke of a Scottish or Scandinavian jumper. It’s my favourite colourway out of all the self-striping sock yarns I bought, because of that clean “evergreen trees in a snowy wintery wonderland” vibe. I can almost smell the pine needles!

I used my old Patons tried and true basic sock pattern, and carefully arranged the colours to have the heel in all the darks, and cut and spliced so as to have a mostly pure white toe, though just a tiny spray of green at the very end snuck in there too… so pretty!!

the updated box of socks… and I reckon I should have started with a bigger basket!

Posted in: knitting \ Tagged: Patons knitting book C11, socks

cowboy dogs

27/05/2019 1:44 pm \ 6 Comments \ Carolyn

I really only cut out this set so as to have something to work on at the recent Australian Sewing Guild meeting… since I couldn’t really take along any wedding sewing. And I enjoyed it so much, I just had to keep on and finish it immediately. Sooo nice to just make something simple and fun and trivial, just for myself! Honestly, when I’m feeling stressed, or anxious, or just otherwise unhappy, making a set of lingerie… well there’s just something so restorative about it.

The cotton jersey is from Spotlight, I just fell in love with the cowboy dogs as soon as I saw them… and who doesn’t need some ridiculous, guitar-toting’ cowboy dogs in their life anyway, I ask?!!

I must say, Spotlight has really been stepping it up with their cute and novelty prints lately, it’s completely impossible to walk past and not choose just one to take home! Other bits and bobs; black lingerie elastic, and hook and eye fastener are also from Spotlight, the remainder of the elastics from the basic black kit from MakeBra, and the black rings and sliders from Homecraft Textiles. Coral pink ribbon bows from le stash.

Pattern; the Watson, by cloth habit. My favourite! I did my usual alterations; namely cutting the front and outer crotch piece as one, and constructing the bra front so as to be fully lined and to have all the seam allowances enclosed within the layers (tute here). For this one, I also cut the front cradle and back bands to be about 0.5cm longer at the lower edges, tapering back to the regular width at the centre back where the hook and eye closure is attached.

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: cloth habit, lingerie, watson

bunny tails and lots of pink fluff

18/05/2019 8:43 pm \ 11 Comments \ Carolyn

So in a bit of a tangent from wedding sewing; the weather has turned super cold, unseasonably so actually, for this early 🙁 and my old winter pj’s had got drastically thin to the point where I’ve accidentally poked a finger nail through the fabric in several spots lately, ahem. I was desperate! Oh, and since I mentioned it? the wedding dress is basically finished!! but obviously I will not be sharing full shots until after the Big Day, though I am sharing a few details here and there over on my instagram account. And I’ve sort of gone as far as I can on the other wedding sewing duties, for a short while, anyway!

I’d found this adorable bunny print cotton flannelette at Spotlight… I love their little round bums complete with fluffy cottontails! And the ones with little pink paw pads are even cuter! btw I am fully aware that as an Australian I am honour bound to despise rabbits, and on an intellectual level I do, honestly. But also, look how adorable!

For patterns; I used the eponymous Carolyn Pyjama pattern by Closet Case patterns for the bottoms of course! and for the top I used a plain Burdastyle T-top pattern I’ve used a few times before, Burda 10/2009;121, with minor modifications – story of my sewing life, hehe.

To enhance and pick up the pink of the bunny paws, I found a small scrap of pink jersey in my stash, leftover from this T-shirt I made for Cassie, and cut strips to inset in the joining seam of the top, and then I cut the bottoms off the pj bottoms and inserted a strip in each of the pj legs too.

My old brown bathrobe was also long overdue to be replaced; the kids gave it to me for Mother’s Day about 20 years ago?!! I’d seen a pink bathrobe advertised in the Spotlight catalogue which looked promising, however when I checked it out it actually wasn’t pink at all, but more of a greyish-mushroom pink. Quaite hideous and tres disappointing! As luck would have it though, right beside the offending, not-pink bathrobe was a bin of fluffy throw rugs – oh excuse me, cuddle blankets, and one was the most perfect shade of cherry-blossom pink a girl could hope for. I was instantly rendered powerless to resist and bought it with rose-covered spectacles and in a loveheart-pink daze.

And so I whipped up my own bathrobe! I’m so much in love with this, it’s not even funny. In fact I’m wearing it right this second. It’s so flooffffy!! and soft, and as light as a pretty pink cloud. And warm! I’m super happy with how it turned out. I made it to have a shawl collar, deep deep patch pockets, and belt loops for the self belt…

… and a hanging loop tucked under the collar facing…

The blanket was already hemmed on all sides when I bought it, obviously; so I resourcefully utilised these hems in the lower edge, the sleeve lower edges, and the tops of the pockets. The belt is also cut from one long side edge, and I simply folded over the raw edge and zig-zagged it over the ready-finished hem. Funny thing; the huge loft of this fluffy fabric meant I could hardly see what on earth I was doing while sewing this, seam allowance accuracy? HA!!!

Also, there was FLUFFF EVERYWHERE; all over the table, the floor and flying up from the sewing machine too… could hardly believe it was producing so much and with still plenty of massive fluffiness remaining, thank goodness! Of course I was wearing something dark coloured while sewing it. Murphy’s Law. I looked like I’d been through the wash with a tissue in my pocket…!

I’m gonna pop some caaaash, only got twenty dollars in ma pocket…

All raw edges for both pj’s and robe are finished inside on the overlocker, and the pink-inset seams are further topstitched down in a sort of faux-flat-felling effect.

Details:

Robe; my own design
Top; Burdastyle 09/2010;121
Bottoms; Closet Case patterns Carolyn pyjamas

Winter? I am ready!

Oh! almost forgot…. I had a big enough portion of the fluffy blanket leftover to make a new cushion cover too. Now I just have to keep it safe from The Marauding Doggie; whose favourite evening activity is to select a fluffy cushion and sit sucking and gently kneading it for ages. This might be a losing battle!

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: bathrobe, Burdastyle 09/2010;121, Carolyn, Closet Case files, own design, pyjamas

navy blue lingerie set

07/05/2019 8:05 pm \ 4 Comments \ Carolyn

So, items in my wardrobe I am currently very much in want, and need, of replenishing, are those that reside in my smalls drawer…. and with our Family Wedding just around the corner I reeeeeeeally wanted a lovely new set of lingerie for the Big Day! And of course, what better than one to tone in/match my wedding outfit?

So, without giving too much away, because guess what?!! my outfit is not even navy blue!!! NOT EVEN CLOSE!! anyway, this is that set!

I bought half a metre of navy blue stretch stuff and a short length of raspberry ribbon to decorate, all from Fabulous Fabrics; and imagine my delight when I managed to cut, not just my usual one bra plus two pairs of matching undies, but TWO new bras! and the requisite two new pairs of matching undies… thanks to the fabric being super wide. I also bought a very short length of navy blue lace… way too short as it turned out because cutting out the lace for my Watson bra was a headache and a half, no hope of pattern matching, and I barely could eke out a little bit of lace from the leftovers to insert into the two pairs of undies too… in retrospect I shouldn’t even have tried. Because while snipping out the jersey from behind the lace on one pair of otherwise finished and PERFECT undies, I actually cut in the wrong spot and sliced a neat little hole in the side of one. GNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! I almost cried! So I ironed a little patch of iron-on interfacing behind the hole, and it’ll be … fine. Moral of the story, don’t sew while tired, kids…. anyway, I’m not wearing that pair to the wedding!

The two bras, so one is the Watson of course, with the navy lace backed by some of Kelly’s wedding net as the lining… shhh! I “borrowed” a bit from the leftovers! and I really like that I have a little bit of the wedding dress in my outfit too! even if it is very much hidden and NOT obviously from the wedding dress. Otherwise, it is an unremarkable Watson. As usual, I constructed the cups so as to have all the seams neatly hidden away inside the lining, as per this post.

Both pairs of undies are the Watson briefs, with my usual modification so as to eliminate that awful horizontal front seam.

The other bra is my makeBra padded balconette style bra, fairly plain; but I really love this style of bra, it’s so good to have a few lightly padded T-shirt bras like this one for winter, and this is my favourite pattern for that purpose.

I used pretty silver rings and sliders with navy blue underbust elastic and bra straps for both bras (Homecraft Textiles), black lingerie elastic and black findings throughout (Spotlight), foam for the balconette bra from the makeBra basic kit, cream stretch for the linings from my stash, originally Spotlight. I’m so happy with both bras! and ONE set of the undies, at least, ahem…. and in any case I am looking forward VERY much to the day that I get to wear them!

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I’m soooooooooooo excited for the BIG DAY!!!!