Self-Stitched September: Days 7-16, The Hawaii Edition

Okay, I know this is soooo after the fact, but I made a point to take the pictures, so I want to post them. :)

Day 7: Burda Navy Floral A-line Skirt

I specifically bought this fabric with Hawaii in mind and it was fun to actually get to wear it on vacation.

Day 8: Kwik Sew Frankenpattern Blue Knit Dress

Comfy little tank dress that was perfect for the hot and humid evening. You'll notice a real lack of accessories (but the same two pairs of shoes) in these outfits - it was just too hot to wear more than the bare minimum of clothing. Heh.

Day 9: Kwik Sew Multi-color Racerback Knit dress

Here is one of the dresses that I was raving about before I left for vacation. Love it so much! I would have been content to wear a version of this dress every day in Hawaii, but that would have gotten a little boring, I guess.

Day 10: DVF Tank Dress (aka The Anniversary Dress)

Happy 5 Year Anniversary to us! This is another version of the DVF tank dress I made earlier this year. This one was made specifically for our anniversary dinner with the notion that it would also be a great work dress - one that would work in warm or cool temps.

Day 11: Kwik Sew Multi-color Racerback Knit dress

See, told you I love this dress. ;) As a side note, I don't know what my hair and face were doing. Ugh.

Day 12: Kwik Sew Striped Racerback Dress

Perfect casual dress for lunch at Mama's Fish House, the same beach where we got engaged 6 years ago. :)

Day 13: Burda Goldfish Mini Skirt

The crazy skirt in action. I still maintain that it's a ridiculous garment, but I love it. It was really comfortable to wear and I'd happily make it again in another print.

Day 14: Burda Mardras A-line Skirt

I've worn this skirt to death this summer and it was a nice easy piece to bring with me on vacation. I'm just kicking myself that I didn't get more of this fabric in a different color - it's really perfect for miserably hot summer days.

Day 15: Kwik Sew Striped Racerback Dress
Oops! Forgot to take a picture that night. Just see Day 12.

Day 16: McCall's Cream Scoop Neck Tank

My super comfy travel outfit - Lululemon Define Jacket, Still Pants, and a self-stitched tank. Made the 6 hour flight a little easier.

Self-Stitched September: Days 2-6

As I mentioned in the previous post, I missed Day 1 because I wasn't actually planning on participating. I'm on track though, starting Day 2, although I didn't actually get a picture for that day since I hadn't decided to play along until Day 3. Heh. So here are the first few days. I figure I'll highlight the self-stitched pieces and then any other garment that I particularly love.

Day 2: DVF tank dress
Will make this picture up and add it later.

Day3:Denim straight skirt

Day off work, but lots of errands to run. This skirt is still such a workhorse piece for me. Expect to see it several more times this month.

Day 4: Madras plaid skirt

It was about a billion degrees today so it was all about staying cool and comfortable. This skirt is perfect for sticky weather because it is so light. Love it.

Day 5: Navy jersey tank

I literally didn't leave the house at all today and couldn't motivate to really dress up. Hence, a basic tank and shorts. Good work around the house outfit.
The shorts are actually the first pair of RTW shorts I've bought in years. I couldn't believe they actually fit!

Day 6: Coral jersey tank

Yup, another basic tank. :) We're doing dinner with the inlaws tonight and then spending the night so they can drop us off at the airport in the morning.

M6036: My first tank! and Self Stitched September

Can you guys believe that I've been sewing for over a year and I just sewed my first top for me last night? I mean, that's kind of crazy, right? I think my reluctance to sew tops has been that I've never had a hard time finding things that fit in RTW, so I was more concerned with sewing those pieces that were difficult for me to find in stores - namely skirts and dresses. I tend to gravitate towards knit tops because they're comfortable and can be easily dressed up or down. Over the summer, I figured it was about time to sew a top or two and have several planned for fall.

In the meantime, I wanted a white tank to wear on our flights to Hawaii, but struck out when I tried to buy one this weekend. I remembered I had a little bit of off white rayon jersey left over from a wrap sweater I made for a friend's mom (oops, still need to blog that!), which I had specifically earmarked for a tank and never got around to sewing. I pulled it out and thought I'd try M6036, the scoopneck tank version. The "crafty" parts of this pattern are sooo not my style, but the basic tank looked good.

I traced the XS and added 1 inch in length. I also sewed it up with slightly larger seam allowances to make it smaller all over, but eventually needed to nip it in a bit more through the waist. I used a twin needle on the neckline, arm and bottom hems to make it look more RTW.

All told, this was easily the simplest and fastest project I've worked on yet - talk about instant gratification! And the best part - I absolutely LOVE the finished tank! It is exactly what I was hoping for and wound up being cheaper than buying one from the store. There isn't anything particularly exciting about the pattern, but it's very similar to my favorite RTW tank top and I'm thrilled to now be able to make my own. I am so pleased with it that I permanently adjusted the pattern pieces through the waist and then whipped up a navy blue version and have a coral one waiting in the wings. While this tank will be perfect for traveling, it's also a great work basic that will look good on its own or layered under a sweater. I feel like I can never have too many basic knit tops. :)

No pictures of it on me yet, though. Why? I'm sure many of you have heard about "Self-Stitched September" hosted by 'So Zo...'. Several sewing bloggers that I follow had talked about participating and I was intrigued by the challenge, but really didn't think I had enough pieces to make it through an entire month wearing at least one garment that I made each day. Instead, I thought I'd do a mini-version while we were on vacation, since my planned dinner outfits all included at least one thing that I've made. I skipped September 1st, but on the 2nd and 3rd wore a dress and skirt that I had made without even thinking about it. I started reconsidering the challenge, added up the pieces I had to work with and realized that I probably had enough to make it through the entire month. :) Franky, I was pretty shocked. Don't get me wrong, it's still going to be a challenge, even just commiting to wearing *one* piece a day. The one gaping hole was not having any tops to work into the rotation, which you can see I sort of solved yesterday.

I think what I'll do is post my outfits up to this point tomorrow, then do one big post recapping the Hawaii days and then group the rest every 5 days or so. That way, it shouldn't be too many outfit posts throughout the month. I'm really excited by the challenge and hope I'm able to make it all work!