“MeMadeMay (2020) day 12. On that no-makeup train for the millionth day in a row. I made the grey top from a StyleArc pattern last May, as a test before making one for my client. We’re close-ish in size, (I’m a little wider all around) but I prefer my clothes substantially more fitted than modern style dictates, so I figured it would be an ok gamble, plus I really needed to know what sewing with an indie pattern was like, since I’d never used one before. Unfortunately, it’s quite tight across my shoulders, but it’s still cute enough for short outings, and every outing is short in quarantine. Bonus make: the belt, again. Wow, do I love this belt.”

Top is (was) a StyleArc Dimity top in mystery fabric from the Textile Discount Outlet. Belt is Butterick 4497 from 1975(ish) in rust microsuede, also from the Textile Discount Outlet.

I find myself feeling very divorced from pretty much everything related to sewing and making lately. I’ve felt that way for years, actually, and I’m reasonably certain that I’ve said this exact thing in future MMMay posts. It’s not just sewing, it’s knitting, photography, anything you could consider something that I do for myself. There are a lot of reasons for that. Lack of space, lack of money, lack of energy. It’s difficult to justify making new things for yourself when your whole life is just a giant, overwhelming game of Tetris.

I do get rid of things (I no longer have this grey top), and things wear out or are destroyed (MOTHS). I’m actually kind of nervous for this May, I feel like I’m very much back at the beginning, where I have nothing reasonable to wear at all. But when I think of trying to fix that, even though I know I enjoy the process and even though there is a part of me that is *yearning* to do something nice for myself… There’s this huge piece of me that’s just convinced that I’ve forgotten how to do everything. That I’ll never be able to do it again. That I’ll just ruin everything I touch. That there’s no point.

I promise, I’m trying. But it’s not easy.

The post MeMadeMay 2020 Day 12 appeared first on Revisionist Vintage.

“MeMadeMay (2019) day 28. Giving my Dimity top a more vintage styling. Also, these pants fit better now than they did at the beginning of the month. I’ll take it.”

I’ll pretend that I have anything substantive to add to this post, lol. Uh… The photos were taken, once again, outside the Rockwell CTA station. I’m 100% certain that what I meant by “a more vintage styling” was just “huck on some wide-leg pants because that fixes everything.” and, don’t get me wrong, I do love those pants. They were by Voodoo Vixen (I think I got them from Unique Vintage). I still have them. I wish I’d have gotten them in other colors back when that was a possibility. (I say that as if I’ve actually worn them at all in the last… 5 years.) I actually thought about trying to dupe them using the Helen’s Closet Winslow Culottes pattern, but… I never actually did that, and it’s pretty far down my endlessly long list of things I’d like to get to eventually. So it probably won’t ever realistically happen.

The post MeMadeMay 2019 day 28 appeared first on Revisionist Vintage.

“MeMadeMay (2019) day 24. This is the third garment I’ve completed for myself this month, which has to be some kind of land speed record for me. This is the Style Arc Dimity blouse, which is like the only modern pattern I’ve ever used, and the only indie pattern I’ve ever used. I was fit-testing the pattern for a client, and decided to make one for me while I’m at it. The fabric for this is a really awful possibly rayon, possibly acetate (very remotely possibly silk, it does have that dry feel and water spots like a motherf***er) from my stash.”

Ahh, back in the days that I would still sew for other people. I actually really liked this particular client, I did vastly under price my work, but she had some very fun ideas and a whole heap of indie patterns that I had never been exposed to before. Basically, she had bought a ton of fun fabrics and patterns with the idea that she would refresh her own wardrobe, but realized that the actual sewing part of that wasn’t going to make her short list of priorities any time soon, and so she reached out to a friend of mine, who then reached out to me. I made a number of garments for her, but we ended up losing touch during the pandemic, especially since she was a healthcare worker, and my partner is immune-compromised, so it sort of became impossible for us to even physically meet up to exchange things.

The fabric for this particular piece actually came from the Textile Discount Outlet (2121 W. 21st!) and was some kind of mystery fabric. I was never quite sure if it was silk or not, as it had a very dry hand, but also felt sort of… artificial, if that makes sense. Anyway, I did kind of hate this blouse, but not because of the pattern. Said client and I were approximately a half-size different, so using patterns in her size ultimately meant it was just a hair too small for me. But it served a purpose, because I really don’t use modern patterns at all, and I wasn’t sure how much ease there was going to be when I made it up the first time. I didn’t want her to be swimming in her version, so I decided to test it on myself first.

This piece did end up being a casualty of my persistent closet clean outs at some point.

The post MeMadeMay 2019 day 24 appeared first on Revisionist Vintage.