This year was the first time I participated in Me-Made-May and it was a wonderful experience. I'm so thankful to Zoe from SoZoWhatDoYouKnow for coordinating this pledge. My pledge was, "I, Marissa, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May 2019. I endeavor to wear each me-made item in my closet, finish my UFOs, and learn about what I like to sew and actually wear to inform my future makes. This is my first time participating in Me-Made-May and I hope to document my journey!


I did start and complete a few mending projects I have been meaning to get to, making for a few more wearable items in my closet. Although I have a few additional mending projects to get to, this was a great place to start.

I learned that I prefer to wear earth-toned textiles and that have largely sewn business casual and formal wear up to this point. Most me-made garments in my closet are tops and I have very few warm-weather appropriate pieces. I also learned that if I make a toile I have rarely made the originally intended garment in my fashion fabric, even if I already purchased the fabric for it! I hope to spend the last half of the year working on these pieces as well.


During May I paid a lot of attention to the Refashion Revolution week and even watched The True Cost. I want to be more intentional about what I'm sewing in the future, not just getting swept up in the social aspects of a variety of Instagram challenges however fun those may be. I think I will focus on elevating my craft in the future, making fewer and more high-end pieces. I've already started by being more intentional about connecting with other local seamstresses and planning my future projects with the free Seamwork collection planner.


As you can see I did a fairly good job of documenting what I wore this month through pictures. I enjoyed the process, although I did spend a bit more time getting ready in the morning! There were only five days in the month that I didn't wear at least one me-made garment, one for a sick day and four for camping. I will probably also think about sewing some athletic and athleisure pieces in a future as well.

Did you participate in Me-Made-May this year or a previous year? Would you like to do it in the future? I think I will do it again!

Today I'm featured on the Minerva Craft blog in my new Mimi G tie-front kimono style wrap. This has been the perfect topper for a changing season and was a very quick make. Mimi G even walks you through all the step in a video guide on YouTube. If you have this pattern, it's time to make it!

This fabric was gifted to me by Minerva Crafts, but the opinions are all my own. You can purchase this fabric through my affiliate link here.

I have been so inspired by both of the duchesses style. I want to act like them and dress like them! So I’ve been working on a few special sewing projects to replicate garments I’ve seen Kate and Meghan wear.

For Easter I made Vogue 1499, similar in style to a dress Kate wore in Germany in 2017. My version had the same general style lines as Kate's dress, with Dior darts, a pleated skirt, and yellow lace overlay. The shade of yellow lace I used for my dress is much less saturated than Kate's dress, my skirt has more pleats and cap sleeves, and my lace fabric has a scalloped lace edge.

This Vogue pattern is made for crepe, linen, and silk dupioni fabrics. I used a white faille fabric with a nylon lace overlay from JoAnn. I cut each pattern piece in the faille as well as the lace and basted them together inside the 5/8" seam allowance, essentially creating one piece of fabric. This method worked well in most places, although I did cut four sleeves in the faille fabric and follow the pattern instructions for sleeve assembly, adding the lace overlay after the sleeves were assembled. I also needed to leave a few inches unstitched at each skirt side and back seam to allow me to hem the white fabric before stitching the rest of the side and back seams together.


Although I love how this turned out, getting the fit right was frustrating. According to the pattern instructions I should have been a size 12. I know that I am usually an 8-10 in traditional tissue patterns, but couldn't find any finished measurements for the bodice and therefore decided to be safe and cut the larger version. I tried to tissue fit the bodice pattern pieces to myself, but usually find this fitting technique works best with a second person assisting. Wow did I regret cutting the size 12 later! I ended up taking 1" off the bottom of the bodice to shorten the torso and removed 1 3/8" from each side at the center back. I ended up making so many fit adjustments that I was entirely overwhelmed at the thought of recreating my adjustments for the lining and ended up putting the whole project off until the last minute. In the end I did not line the dress, opting instead to use single fold bias tape to finish the neck and underarms. This was the first time I used bias tape in place of a facing or lining but I am thrilled with how it turned out and plan to use that technique again in the near future.


Overall I am thrilled with my version of Kate's yellow lace dress. I usually try to avoid wearing yellow, which doesn't look great on my skin tone; however this lighter yellow has me convinced to try yellow again. I wish the bodice of the dress was a bit more fitted and would likely make a size 8 if I were to make this pattern again.

Have Meghan and Kate's style inspired you?

Time estimate: 12-14 hours
Size: 12
Fabric used: white casa dahlia high shine faille fabric, 2 yards and sunshine casa collection lace fabric, 2 yards
Care instructions: machine wash cold, line dry

Cost to make:
pattern: $6
faille fabric: $14
lace fabric: $16
invisible zipper: $3
thread: $2
*used bias tape, and hook from my stash
TOTAL: $41

Resources
Professor Pincushion's tutorial for bias tape finish
KateMiddletonStyle.org for pictures of Kate

I'm back on the Minerva Crafts blog today with my first, but certainly not last, Sew Over It London pussy bow blouse. I've been wearing my new top to work like a uniform, it's great for layering, and the fabric has a METALLIC flake! Check out my post on their blog here.

This metallic peachskin crepe fabric was gifted to me by Minerva Crafts, and I truly love it! You can purchase some yourself through my affiliate link here.