Me Made May Update #3

Not much to report on the Me Made May front as everyday is me made days.  This week, I've been wearing repeats of the previous weeks.  

 

Although, there are some RTW items still lingering in the closet, most of my wears are me made items.  There is only one dress that was a RTW purchase that is now considered vintage and has been re-fashioned to fit my body changes that have occurred since it entered the closet.  It only survived the decades because it's a pullover cotton knit dress when quality natural fabrics ruled the racks. 

I've been on this sewing journey for decades and at this point there is an enormous amount of gratefulness for the ability and equipment to sew what I need.  Me Made May at this point of the journey is a celebration of the skills developed over the years, the knowledge and respect gained for natural fabrics and a new found appreciation of mending.  I didn't always have the appreciation of mending as I do now.  

There is one more week to go until the end of Me Made May and things may look different as hot weather is predicted to come our way.  It might be time to put away the wool and flannel and pull out the hot weather pieces.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing / mending.  

Stash busting: Lightweight Wool Toaster Sweater

This is another Toaster Sweater that I made to go with this skirt.  In reality, it will go with a few more pieces in the closet.  Bonus:  it is oversized, so, it can be worn over the back brace.  

There are two Toaster Sweater patterns in the stash, out-of-print (OOP) Simplicity 8529 and this Sew House Seven version.  This one has a cuff-less sleeve and the finish on the neckline is quite nice.  Even though both patterns are by Sew House Seven, this version is my favourite.  The sweater was cut as a size 20 on the sides.  The length on the sleeves were shortened.  That is about it.  

The fabric is a lovely lightweight wool knit from Winnipeg Sews.  It was pretreated with a tumble in the washing machine and the dryer.  I know, gasp!  Thankfully, it survived the pre-treatment.  It's soft and I will be taking greater care going forward.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  Most of the supplies needed to sew this project were found in the stash.  The previously mentioned fabric was in the stash for a few years and came from a now-closed Canadian fabric reseller.  The pattern is from an American independent pattern designer and came into the stash prior to the convicted felon and his cohort starting a global tariff war and disrespectful rhetoric.  Therefore, the pattern did not contribute to the convicted felon's tariff economy. 

The label is from KATM, an Australian company.  The fabric scissors are from Merchant and Mills, an U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads are a recent purchase since I didn't have any threads that were close in colour to the fabric.  For the sewing and CoverPro machines, I ended up going with Coats and Clark cotton thread which were made in Mexico.  The threads for the serger are Gütermann threads.  All of the threads came from Fabricland, another Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged and cover stitched.  

Fabric:  1.7 metres

Pattern:  Sew House Seven's Toaster Sweaters

Label:  1--"Made with love" KATM label

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, assorted heavy objects used as pattern weights, measuring tape, measuring gauge, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, threads, walking foot, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, Janome CoverPro 1000CP, tweezers, thread clippers, hand sewing needle, basting thread, iron, ironing board, heating pad, many breaks, and tea. 

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Favourite Makes of 2024

I thought I would pop back in and reflect on the top ten list for twenty twenty-four.  

Oh my goodness, Vogue 8909 is such a great pattern!  I made these back in May.  This is the second pair I've made from this pattern.  And I wear these a lot.  It's comfortable to kick around in and I can even dress them up a bit with a nice top to go out and run errands.  They are made with a navy cotton French terry.  

This top has saved me from abrasion wounds in the underarm region while wearing a scoliosis back brace.  It has extra padding in the underarm region.  It was made with out-of-print (OOP) Kwik Sew 2899 and a yellow cotton French terry.  It will have to go down as my favourite makes just on comfort level.  It entered the wardrobe rotation in the end of October and even though I have had this for a short time it quickly became one of the most important pieces in the 2024 wardrobe.  

Is there anything better than wool pieces for survival during a prairie winter?  I do tend to live in ski-pants while outdoors in the winter but sometimes you want to show up at church in something that doesn't make noise when you walk.  I am saving this outfit for such occasions.  The top was made with Sew House Seven's Toaster sweater pattern.  The pull-on skirt is OOP Butterick 5790.  Both pieces were made in October.  

Here is another October make and another Sew House Seven Toaster sweater in merino wool.  It ended up being a wearable toile as I was playing around with an oversized version.  It has since shrunk a bit--an intentional shrinkage and fits much better.   

Oh my goodness, I wish I kept this top!  I made this cotton French terry top with OOP Butterick 5790 back in October when I was much heavier.  Since then I lost quite a bit of weight, although there is more to lose, I am sure that this would fit me today.  This top made it to the favourite list because this was nostalgic sewing.  Back in the day, when I first had a copy of OOP Butterick 5790, this was a favourite pattern and item to wear.  Even though I never got to wear this version of the top, it was fun to revisit this pattern at the time.  

This is a lovely Katherine Tilton design, Butterick 6784.  I made this dress back in April after dreaming of a second version in a cotton for the hot summer that promised to come.  I did wear this dress often during the warmer months, it's comfortable and I adored the print.  It reminds me of the decorative tiles I saw many moons ago in the Azores.  

This wool jacket was a labour of love.  It was made with OOP Vogue 2571.  If you come across this pattern, it is one that I would recommend.  I love that I found some beautiful vintage real wool fabrics at Winnipeg Sews that was unmatched to the wool blend or polyester faux-wool fabrics found in today's retail landscape.  This jacket is unbelievably warm and kept me warm on days that the wind chill hit minus forty-two. I was thrilled that I found leather toggles online before the postal strike.  There is nothing close to the quality of these toggles in the local retail stores here.  I completed this project during the summer before the cold weather arrived.  Just one sad note about this project, Winnipeg Sews, the business that I found this lovely fabric, closed this month.  It is sad to see another resource disappear.  

This butterfly print top was made back in June shortly after I received the scoliosis back brace and was searching for tops that could be worn over the brace.  There was some extra ease added to the back to help it fit over the additional bulk.  The pattern is a much-cherished Katherine Tilton design, OOP Butterick 5891.  

This is another gifted make, a wool winter coat made back in April.  My heart wasn't into making this at the time and it was a real struggle to get it done.  I guess it made the favourite list because of the fabric.  It's made with a beautiful wool find from Winnipeg Sews.  It turned out well , maybe because I've made so many coats (this is the fifth version) using OOP Vogue 8934.  Previous practice helped in getting it done.  

Well, there are my top ten makes of 2024.  Happy New Year! and wishing you joyful sewing in the upcoming year!  

October in Review

Sewing, Alterations and Mending

Top row, L to R:  yellow French cotton scoliosis undershirt (OOP Kwik Sew 2899), grey merino wool sweater set (toaster sweater by Sew House Seven and skirt OOP Butterick 5790), four reusable grocery bags (OOP McCall's 4851).  Bottom row:  black cotton knit pullover top (OOP Simplicity 2372), oversized black merino wool toaster sweater (Sew House Seven), yellow French terry pullover hoodie (OOP Butterick 5790).  

I made it back to the sewing machine this month and actually got to some projects I've wanted to get done for quite some time.  Grocery bags disappeared over the summer during the apple harvest.  It was time to replenish those bags that went missing.  Two items (black t-shirt and yellow hoodie) were gifted.  

One of my flannel pajama bottoms made it to the work table for repairs.  It might be time to start planning on sewing another pair as I've been fixing holes.  Sadly, the flannel fabric on these three-year old pajamas did not hold up well.   Refashioning wise, there were curtains and a tea towel that were used for the reusable grocery bags.  

Stash busting

Stash -busted this month:

• 8 metres fabric
• 2 sewing labels
• 1 meter elastic
• 0.4 metres of Knit 'N Stable tape
• 1 yoga band
• 1 metre of trim

Stash-busted totals for 2024:

• 73.5 metres fabric + scrap pieces patch-worked together to create new fabric yardages.
• 15.4 metres elastic
• 5 metres of knit binding / trim
• 8.6 metres interfacing
• 6 invisible zippers
• 2.4 metres Knit 'N Stable tape
• 7 metres trim
• 10 sewing labels
• 25 buttons
• 5 leather toggles
• 4.3 metres basting tape
• 5 spools of thread
• 1 yoga band

Total additions this year (nothing added this month):  

• 5 leather toggles
• 14 thread spools
• 11 sewing patterns
• 10--20 mm buttons
• 7.8 metres trim
• 15 metres fabric
• 1 second hand cover stitch machine

Happy Sewing!

Merino Wool Pullover Sweater: Sew House Seven's Toaster Sweater / An Oversized Version

This toaster sweater is part of a set, it's meant to be worn with a recently made matching skirt.

First, let's talk about the sweater.  Oh my goodness, it's cozy and oversized and just what I was hoping for with this make.  The first version I made in the largest size straight out of the pattern with the one exception of lengthening it five inches at the hemline.  This one I tweaked a little.  I still made it in the largest size but instead of sewing 3/8" seam allowances I went with 5/8" seam allowances.  And instead of lengthening the hem line five inches I opted for four inches in additional length.  I also shortened the sleeves, they are still long, but I can live with the length.  Although, I will likely roll up the sleeves.  

The fabric is a beautiful merino wool I found at Marshall Fabrics last year.  As of a month or two ago they still have some in stock.  I would recommend using a walking foot and going slow with this fabric, it's worth the time.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  2.1 metres 

Sewing Label:  1 -- "me made" KATM clothing label

Pattern:  Toaster Sweater #2 by Sew House Seven

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushion, tailor's chalk, straight ruler, measuring tape, measuring gauge, iron, ironing board, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, Janome serger, Janome Cover Pro machine, threads, thread clippers, screwdriver, lint brush, tweezers, decaf coffee and a wee bit of procrastination.  

Happy Sewing!

Oversized Wool Pull-over Top: Sew House Seven Toaster Sweater

This is a late arrival to the Toaster Sweater party.  The first review for this pattern appears on Pattern Review in 2016 and since then it received a "best pattern of 2017" rating and there are over 100 reviews posted.  I finally picked up a copy of this pattern last year and still didn't get around to sewing it until now.  I'm glad I finally got around to sewing up this pattern.  

I went big on this one, sewing up the largest size, leaving the sleeve length and extending the length by five inches.  There were two reasons for what seems like planned madness.  The fabric is a merino wool I've worked with previously and shrunk despite pre-treating the fabric.  Even if I shrink this, the hope is that it will still fit.  The other reason, once upon a time, I spotted an oversized, longer version of the toaster sweater and have been dreaming of one just like it ever since.  It was on a listing over on Etsy and even though the listing is no longer available, it is Sara's version, once shown on her shop listings that became my inspiration.  I wish I kept a copy of the photo from her version but I'm going by memory here.  

The sleeves are long.  If I roll it up twice, it still has a generous length.  No worries, I can happily push the sleeves up.  I don't want to touch them right now.  The hem was lengthened five inches.  And the pattern was cut as a size twenty.  It's oversized and I couldn't be more thrilled.  

Back in 2017, I made a toaster sweater by Sew House Seven using Simplicity 8529.  There are some differences between these two pattern.  The Simplicity pattern uses 5/8" seam allowance vs. 3/8" seam allowances on this pattern.  The methods for sewing the shoulder seam and neckline facing are different.  I wouldn't say that I prefer one method over the other unless you're working with a bulky fabric, then I would say that this pattern's method might be the way to go.  Another difference is the sleeve hems.  Simplicity 8529 has cuffs, I prefer the sleeve from this pattern.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.7 metres Merino Knit

Knit 'N Stable tape:  0.2 metres

Pattern:  Toaster Sweaters by Sew House Seven

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, tracing paper, pen, various heavy objects to use as pattern weights, tailor's chalk, fabric scissors, paper scissors, Janome sewing machine, walking foot, ruler, measuring tape, measuring gauge, Janome serger, threads, Janome CoverPro, thread clippers, iron, ironing board and an audiobook.  

Happy Sewing!