Looking back on one year of sewing...Part 1

So, I can say now that I've been sewing for a year (a little bit more actually, since I actually started in August 2011). In order to - sort of - celebrate my "sewversary", I've decided to take a look at what I've made ever since. Now watch out, this is going to be a long, photo-heavy post (and the pictures are not really good, they were taken in haste, early in the morning, before going to work...sorry for that!) .

First, are these 2 circle skirts, which I made in Alexander Henry cotton, ordered without taking my measurements first...

 The waistband on the first (the pink tattoo one) is a bit saggy, which led me to do a very tight waistband for the second (with the Day of the Dead print), and the finishings are really rough - if you put aside the fact that I finished the hem with bias, as both skirts wouldn't have been long enough for my taste il I had made a proper hem. However, these skirts are nice and fun to wear, they have been on heavy rotation this summer and will be worn again.

My very first zipper...sigh...

A close-up on the tattoo print...

...and isn't this Day of the Deads print great?

After the skirts, was this top that I refashioned - originally a cowl/shawl neck top (I don't know the exact word to describe it), but as I have rather broad shoulders, it kept riding up in a way that annoyed me. 

So I cut up the "shawl" part at the back and prettied it up with some black lace. I quite like how it turned out and it looks great paired with the aforementioned Day of the Dead circle skirt, enhancing its Mexican vibe.








Then come this dress - made from Simplicity 7275. 

It took me 4 MONTHS to complete. Yup, that's it. From September to December 2011. Maybe not the best pattern choice for someone who has only sewn a couple of circle skirts before that. I mean, gathers, a zipper (my circle skirts both have zippers, but not that long!) and a lining? As if all that wasn't enough, I chose to make my life more complicated by making it in a plaid fabric.
I have to say, I had a hard time understanding how to insert the lining...and if I had to do it again I would choose another fabric (although the right accessories can minimize the somewhat dowdy look of this dress - I often wear it with a red bolero, pearls and skull cameo necklace, "zombie pin-up leg" brooch, red tights and fun shoes like my Miss LFire Land girl).
However, I like it and value it in spite of its flaws, so I'll keep wearing it until I get tired of it.)

Now on to the flaws...a gaping neckline...

...unwanted puckers here and there... 

...plaids that don't match, busted seams at the back slit which I will have to fix...And yet, this garment has taught me how to use a pattern and how to face some issues, and I think I will come back to this pattern sooner or later (I'll probably make a more summery version with a flared skirt). No need to say that the Crepe Dress, which I tackled after this one, seemed easy as pie to me.

Well now, I did think this post would be long, but it's actually longer than I thought. So I'll leave it there for the moment, stay tuned if you want to read about what I did after that!

XX

A possible refashion...

I bought this skirt from H&M, maybe 2 years ago. It's kind of nautical and rather comfy...but there's not much more to say about it, because it's a rather "meh" piece of clothing, not very vintagey, and it's made of a very stretchy jersey which, IMHO, is not the perfect fabric for a garment which can be submitted to being pulled. 

However, if you look at it upside down...

Am I the only one to see a possible batwing top in this upside-down skirt? Of course, it has yet to be cut and given a shape of some sorts - I don't know if I'll go for a cowl or bateau neckline, or what the sleeves can be made to look like - but I think there is some potential for a top here. Something that might look like this one or that one. And it would probably not be submitted to as much pulling and stretching as it was in its "skirt" form.

Maybe I'm going to tackle this...once I'm done with my boyfriend's shirt (I had to add one button hole and therefore it's missing a button. Duh.)

A birthday present in the making...

 There you go :

Yes, it is a Lonsdale bodice peeking out from under the shirt muslin. Yes, I'm not really any good at tidying and storing stuff away. But on the other hand, my muslin/fabric/scraps stash only consists of a big shopping bag which is already overloaded. And I have no room anywhere else in my flat.

For the first time in my life (if you except last Christmas when I made coin purses for all the ladies of my family), I am sewing for somebody else than me. The recipient of this gift is Carl, my boyfriend, who turns 27 at the end of this month! Happy birthday to him!
The pattern I'm using is Kwik Sew 3484, which has actually proven true to its name, in spite of the fact that life and being tired have somewhat been getting in the way of my sewing lately. I'll be making a mixture between views A and B of the pattern : I initially planned to make the whole shirt in the Tiki fabric that was left from my Lily (so view A), but as I haven't got enough of it left, I will only make the back, the pocket (from view A), and an inset on the front (see view B) in Tiki and the rest will be plain black cotton. And I found some nice wooden button for the closures.
The Mister has tried the muslin on and is happy with the fit...so I'd better get going if I want to have it all cut, sewn and ready to be offered by the end of the month!

A pledge to myself (and whoever cares to witness it)

Even though I started sewing a little more than one year ago now (more on that in a forecoming post), I still consider myself a beginner...but even so, when I find myself window-shopping in my spare time, I often say to myself : "Oh wait, with the right pattern and fabric, I could totally make that for the same price and even for less, and this would not involve people from far-away countries working their asses off and getting paid less than shit..." 
So there you go :

 "I, Juliette, do hereby swear, from this day henceforth, to try and make as much of my own clothing as I can..."

...that, for the moment, still excludes pants, outerwear, lingerie, knitted items and shoes, but hopefully this list wil get shorter and shorter as time goes by.

And that makes me think : sewing my own clothing is all very nice, but where does the fabric come from? How could I make sure that the fabric I'm using did not involve the work of underpaid and badly treated people? And make sure that this fabric remains affordable?

If anybody can give me ideas - apart from refashioning - to find fabrics that don't cost an arm and a leg and were made according to the respect of human conditions...I'm all ears!!