Me-Made-March Day thirty-one

It's ALREADY the last MMM day! That challenge went by too fast, I want to continue it :( Of course it's only up to me if I want to post daily pictures of my handmade outfits but I'm going to miss the others' creations so much! Looking at all these awesome garments and accessories have become a daily treat^^ so I hope Zoe will organise a Me-Made-May :)
As for what I wore today it's an old Japanese top made of emerald green cotton veil and that have been featured several times on this blog -I love to wear it!


It's comfy, light, I can wear it with a belt if I want more definition, I adore the butterfly sleeves... the kind of essential top for my wardrobe! I have another one out of crazy-old-cat-lady silk (peach colour with huge bright flowers) that I'll try to show you when temperatures get more bearable. I'm off to the flickr group to see my fellow MMMists ultimate creations, see you soon!

Me-Made-March Day thirty

Hello, how are you today? For this penultimate (Chouchou, ça veut dire l'avant-dernier^^) day of the Me-Made-March challenge I have a cute Japanese top to show you:


It's a design from one of the very first Japanese sewing books I bought, the Camisole and Dress Patterns book. I can't tell you how much I love this book, it's a treasure trove of cute tops and dresses! I've made most of the designs in it and I still enjoy sewing them, not to mention that you can alter the patterns to your liking :) Here I used dotted cotton fabric and chose a size 11 out of the 4 possible sizes in the book (7 is super tiny, 9 is for slim girls, 11 is for plumps like me and 13 is equivalent to a US 14-16). Extra views of the top:



Well, see you tomorrow for our last MMM day!

Me-Made-March Day twenty-eight

Hello! Today I wore something very unusual for me -heavy sarcasm:


Look, it's a bowtie mustard blouse^^! I used a BWOF pattern from not too long ago (I remember making the top in November 2010) and just narrowed and shortened the tie. It was my first time cutting that super slippery crepe fabric, I was very nervous and I must say I am thrilled with the result! I wonder if I could use the same fabric in a ruby red colour for my 70's dress or would it be too thin? Unfortunately as I live in a hot country lining is my sworn enemy and I think it would probably be necessary with this crepe. Back to the blouse, I LOVE the gathered details on the front:


When I first made it I thought I wouldn't wear it a lot but it's grown on me and I actually consider sewing another one one of these days :) What is more it doesn't require that much fabric so I could maybe squeeze it in one of my numerous remnants.
I wore the blouse with a bag I sewn this weekend, I slightly altered my usual Buttercup bag pattern and used black corduroy. Now that is easy to catch on camera:


Lol I tried a close up but it's not much better:

Yes that's a bow you can make out on the bag

The inside lining is colourful silk and the shoulder strap is an old 80's necklace from my mum. That's it for today, see you friends!

Me-Made-March Day twenty-six

Hiya, how are you? I hope your weekend's been better than mine because it's been rough here :( Anyway I have a garment to show you:

I spare you my Saturday morning ghost face

It's a classic blouse with tie, I found the pattern in the French magazine Fait Main and used crazy 70's-ish flower lawn. I love this fabric, I don't even know why since I usually don't like these shades of yellow and red -especially mixed together- but this one really caught my fancy^^. I have another 1.5 yard that I'd like to turn into one of my Burda tulip skirts, or maybe a simple A-line cut in the bias. See you on Monday with another MMM day (I can't believe there are only 4 left!)

Me-Made-March Days twenty-four and twenty-five

Hello there, I hope you're doing fine! As we went to the restaurant for my friend Muriel's birthday I could wear my latest dress:


I used a 1974 Simplicity pattern and dark teal polyester and even though the fabric is a bit stiff I like my dress a lot! It's cute and comfy and I can totally picture another one out of yellow cotton, red crepe or white linen (with lace inserts!). It was so easy to make, it took me about 3 hours -handsewing the zipper and the hem included- to sew it. I just shortened the sleeves to elbow length because it's a little nicer with the ongoing heat and I put a side zipper instead of a back one because it's easier to reach.
Now for yesterday's outfit I wore a skirt that I made as a test from an old ASOS skirt that has become too small (ahem...). The fabric is not really to my taste but the shape is pretty cool I think:

The long face is back!

Have a lovely weekend, see you friends!

Me-Made-March Day twenty-three

Phew I have finally ventured out of my den! It's been so hot lately I avoided going out in the day but I did have a little work this afternoon so I took the opportunity to wear my latest skirt (can you tell I'm obsessed?!):


Aww, I love it to bits! The pattern is a tulip skirt from the August 2010 French issue of BWOF, I had to alter it very little: the size is a compromise between 36 and 38, I made the back in two pieces so that I could put the zipper there -I cannot properly sew a curved zipper- I narrowed the gathered skirt by about 2" and shortened it by 3/4". I used repro feedsack fabric bought there, red poplin for the pockets and black cotton for the facing.

Cute pockets peeking

You can tell I love a garment when I put that many pictures of it^^

See you soon friends!

Me-Made-March Day nineteen

Hello! I'm sorry I didn't post for the last 2 days but I didn't leave the house and had nothing to show you :( Tonight however I went out and wore this:

Details of the front pleats and pockets

Handmade skirt from my beloved Burda pattern
Handmade bag from a Female pattern
OMG it's the return of the Eternal Skirt! I swear I now have about 6 versions of it and I actually can't get enough^^. This one is navy stretch sateened cotton and it's my favourite one, so easy to wear yet so classy! I have black twill and super gorgeous taffeta ready for the next ones :) The bag is made using remnants of several fabrics, I simply shortened a Female bag pattern and that was it! See you soon, I can't believe that the month is already in its second half!

Me-Made-March Day sixteen

Hello! Today started with unexpected rain and gusts of wind but being quite the stubborn I went on with the outfit I had decided on. It didn't end too bad even though the skirt is definitely not the most practical in this type of weather as you will see from this picture:


Indeed it's a wrapover or portefeuille skirt but the 2 front panels are actually very narrow and the skirt opens all the way up to your panties when you walk if you don't put a few stitches at some critical places :( Don't worry I did of course and my modesty as well as my poor students' eyes were safe^^! It's a design from an old BWOF, I had wanted to sew it for so long but the result is really meh: first that narrow front panels thing, then the length that I didn't get right and finally the waist piece that was too high and that I had to alter. I love this electric blue twill so much I wish I hadn't used it for that project! My favourite features on this skirt are the side pockets and the front pleats and since you can find the same details on my favourite skirt I guess I'll stick to this design from now on. That's it for today, see you friends!

Me-Made-March Day fifteen

Hello, I hope you're doing well today! I didn't take pictures of my outfit du jour but it looked a lot like this:


RTW jeans and my Pochée top made of quilting cotton plus one of my handmade bags. See you tomorrow!

Me-Made-March Day fourteen

Hello, how are you? I stayed at home all weekend long so I had nothing to show you for these 2 days but here's what I wore today:



The pattern for the top comes from one of the "1-Day Sewing" Japanese books, the fabric is mustard polycotton. The bag comes from the sewing magazine Female and I used Japanese fabric for it. See you!

Me-Made-March Day eleven

Hello, how are you? Today I wore this:

Yes, I'm not joking it's the red version of the Burda skirt^^ No more for the weekend, I promise I'll wear something else! I also wanted to show you a bag I made for my mama out of Marimekko fabric:


She chose the design from the Summer issue of a Japanese magazine called "Sewing", I used muslin as interlining and black poplin for the lining and sewed rows of black sequins as a finishing touch. I used the remaining fabric to make another Buttercup bag for me:


See you tomorrow!

Me-Made-March Day ten

Hello! I had a looooong day at work but fortunately I felt quite comfortable thanks to today's outfit^^:


It's a millionth version of the Burda skirt, the fabric is strange, velvety-feeling polysomething, I purchased the top -I really need to get started with sewing knits- and it's my Japanese fabric Female bag! Yes it's another haggard looking pic, so I swear I'll put a little makeup tomorrow :) See you friends!

Me-Made-March Day nine

Hello friends! The outfit I wore today has been my favourite so far :) It's a green twill Burda skirt I made in 2008 worn with my beloved colourful t-shirt and accessorised with a striped bag I sewed for last year's Me-Made-May.



And even though she's not following MMM I wanted to show you my mum's outfit because it was just so cute! I made the skirt and the shirt is like 20 years old and she bought the mushroom brooch in Singapore.


See you!

Me-Made-March Day eight

Hi! Today I wore my Qipao dress, I made it in 2009 using the Japanese sewing book "Elegant China". I was a bit afraid to try it on because I've packed a few pounds since I made it -the joys of downing a beer or two on your porch after a long day's work- but fortunately I was able to close the back zipper^^. And proceed at your own risk because I took the pics right after getting up and I look HAGGARD!


See you tomorrow!

Me-Made-March Day seven

Hello friends, hope you enjoyed your weekend! I didn't post yesterday because I stayed at home and even though my shorts were homemade they are completely raggedy^^. I've found something more appropriate to show you today:


Why, how original, another striped back-buttoned blouse! The fabric is shirting material and it's fairly new since I bought it 2 weeks ago -after 2 months of not going to the fabric shop you can say that I was pretty much in a transe and bought a lot of stuff. I used buttons from my stash but couldn't get a decent picture of the back, well I'll try again later. The skirt is handmade too, I made it out of a cheap, polysomething remnant using a Burda basic pattern.
See you tomorrow!

Me-Made-March Day five

Hello! Today I wore one of my favourite tops:

I also have a new Buttercup bag:


The bag allowed me to continue my stash busting mission since the striped fabric comes from a refashioned skirt dating back to 2005! The button and lining are made from a remnant of fabric I used to make my mum a dress.
Then, the very talented Rebecca from MayMade gave me a Stylish Blogger Award and that made me very happy :) But now I have to give you 7 facts about me, what can I say?! Let's see:
1. I have 7 tattoos, my first one I got when I was 15, I remember that our teachers were on strike back then :)
2. I stopped eating meat except chicken when I was a teenager and quit chicken for good last year.
3. Talking about food I put Chinese hot sauce sauce on every meal and I adore Kimchi!
4. Even though you can't tell when you see me, half my family actually comes from Madagascar.
5. I love reading scary/ghost stories.
6. When it comes to making a garment my favourite step is ironing the fabric before starting -ah, the smell of clean hot cotton!- and I hate making facings^^ -go figure!
7. I have a fondness for shabby, decaying houses and buildings and love to spot them in all the countries I visit.
Phew, I'm surprised I found that much to say^^! For the 7 bloggers I'd like to give the award to:
Lazy Stitching
Oh Lulu
Crochetie
So, Zo
Not enough time for everything
Camelias and Crinolines
One Good Apple
Alright, have a nice weekend and see you folks!

Me-Made-March Day four

Hello! Today's outfit:

Same handmade blouse as yesterday
Skirt: handmade

I also took pics of another variation of the LBD I made for my mum:


Yep, this one closes at the back and has extended shoulders to make cap sleeves and a gathered skirt. See you tomorrow!

Me-Made-March Day three

Hi there! Today I stayed at home but I did go out this evening so here's what I wore:

Sorry for the long face, I was actually in a fairly good mood when I took the pic^^! I made the top using a 70's pattern I got yesterday -because I didn't have enough patterns already- and used white poplin. I'd like to add very thin velvet bows at each corner of the front yoke, I'm supposed to buy ribbon tomorrow so I'll see if I follow my idea :) And I wore the same bag as the previous days!
See you!

Me-Made-March Day two

Hello! It's been super hot here today but I was still able to wear my elbow-length sleeves Chinese top :) It's made of cotton lawn that's why it was bearable, I made it back in 2009 and haven't worn it much actually. I'm glad I rediscovered it thanks to MMM^^!

Top: handmade
Skirt: handmade
See you tomorrow!

Me-Made-March Day one

Hello friends, hope everybody's doing well! So today was the first day of the Me-Made-March challenge and here's what I wore:

Top: refashioned from a dress found in a French supermaket bargain bin
Skirt: handmade
Earrings: handmade
Chouchou in my hair^^: handmade
I also took this handmade bag:

Love the tiny elephants' lining!

That's it for today, see you tomorrow!