A 10 Item Wardobe? (Or: It's OK to wear the same outfit over and over!)

This orange dress (shown in 2011) survived multiple closet purges over the years because I loved the color and shape. But I hated the length and never wore it—and now it's finally gone.

So I still haven't had time to blog several sewing or knitting projects, but thought I'd drop in quickly to share a little video. We're doing some triple super ultra major decluttering in preparation for an apartment move, so I decided to watch some downsizing/minimalism TED talks for inspiration (found via Apartment Therapy: Flirting with Minimalism or Downsizing? These TED Talks May Just Talk You Into It).

Anyway, thought I'd share this little one here — blogger Jennifer L. Scott on the 10-Item Wardrobe:

A lot of this material you might already have thought about if you've followed along with Colette Patterns' Wardrobe Architect Series (or read one of Sarai's blog suggestions, the minimalist capsule-wardrobe-building blog Into Mind.)

My big takeaway? It's OK to wear the same items of clothing or the same outfits multiple times in the same week. Really. If it looks good and you love it — wear it and wear it over again (change your accessories if you like), clean it, repair it, and take care of it. Quality and fit and style over quantity.

That's why one of my goals for Me-Made May has never been "no outfit repeats."

A minimalist wardrobe approach has another bonus — even though I only have very limited sewing and knitting time, if I make the RIGHT things, they can still make up the vast majority of my mini-wardrobe.

What to Wear (and Sew) When Nothing Fits? Rebuilding My Wardrobe from Scratch

"Congratulations! When are you due?"

"Mommy, how come your belly looks so OLD and WRINKLY and PREGNANT?"

The first comment is from a nurse when I went for a doctor's visit several weeks after giving birth. The second is from my daughter, who happily has no clue as to why this sort of comment might make Mommy feel less than totally amazing.

I've tried over the years to develop a magic body image "bubble of peace", in which I dress for and embrace whatever size and shape I am at the moment, avoid incessantly comparing myself to others, and shut out impossibly Photoshopped and personal-trained skinny celebrity imagery. But sometimes it is harder than others and I really have to pull out the Joan photos and the pictures of some beautiful real-life moms and gorgeous women of all shapes and sizes to calm myself down. This is one of those times.

If you read this blog regularly, you might be wondering: what's with all the baby clothes and doll-making lately, Mikhaela? Where are the vintage patterns, fitted cardigans and otherwise body-conscious garments you used to sew for yourself?

Readers, eight weeks out from having my gorgeous little baby boy, I am in a serious postpartum style and body-image funk. I realized this week I really need to Do Something to Feel a Little Fancy or I might just sink under Mom Frump Lake never to be seen again. In fact, the photo at the top of this post IS me post-partum... with my previous baby, in 2010. Er...

Every day I feel like I wear the same thing: too-loose maternity top + too-loose maternity leggings/jeans + me-made wool socks + ugly old sneakers. I'm carrying diapering stuff in a disintegrating 10-year-old backpack. The only pretty accessories I'm wearing are my wraps and ring slings...

Nursing baby in line at the thrift store in a silk sling while wearing ugly old sneakers

Luckily this guy is so cute hopefully no one is noticing.

Anyway. Right after D was born, I mostly lived in stretchy nursing nightgown/dresses (see one of my most popular blog posts ever: "Easy Access: Nursing Nightgowns that Double As Dresses"). You can't see my belly in this photo, but I still look rather pregnant.

And really, I still feel pregnant-looking today, and it is bumming me out. I feel silly feeling bad about the same belly I was so excited about when I was pregnant, but I have even been congratulated a few times on my pregnancy and it HURT (though I was with my baby at the time, so I was also PUZZLED).

I've lost over 32 pounds since giving birth, but I gained a whole lot more than that, and things are just CHANGED in various ways — my bust and waist are both 4" larger than pre-pregnancy (though my hips are just 2" larger), I have a 3-months-pregnant-looking tummy, and everything is just more, I don't know. Squishy? And I'm not going to get into nursing bras here (that's a whole post of its own!) but I'm currently rocking a 34I (as opposed to my previous 32E).

So rather than sitting around in milk-covered old maternity clothes and feeling sorry for myself, I think I need to take some thrifty body-im-limbo wardrobe rebuilding action. Here's my little plan so far:

1. Stop wearing maternity clothes. Just STOP.

I think I am at the point now where it is no longer cool or working for me. I may still live in leggings and stretchy skirts and knit tops for a while, but I would like them to be actually fitted and not baggy around the middle. I've sold most of my nicer maternity clothes on eBay and given away or donated the rest.

2. Assess my pre-pregnancy items and TNT sewing patterns for fit & nursing friendliness

"One size fits sizes 2-12. Seriously." So goes the tagline on a pretty Gala wrap dress from Karina I was ogling for inspiration the other day. It's way out of my budget but just the sort of thing I need to make or buy right now — nursing-friendly, super-stretchy, a bright and distracting print, fitted and curve-hugging, but not too tight around the belly.

Luckily I have always been a fan of knits, stretchy things, wrap styles and surplice tops. A few of my me-made dresses have necklines too high and tight for a breastfeeding mom, but most are just fine. As far as TNT items I hope to sew again, I think I might do a few variations on my McCall's 6070 dress, maybe a top version too. I don't look like this in it right now, but it totally still works on me:

And I think I can play around with versions of my beloved Jalie 2921 scarf-collar top, which somehow still fits as well:

My me-made handknit sweaters are holding up just fine, and hopefully I can finish up my Hetty cardigan by Andi Satterlund in time for Me Made May... here's where I left her:

As for fabrics to make tops and dresses in, I have plenty of ITY and rayon jerseys waiting in the stash:

From Spandex House:

From Mood:

3. Fill major wardrobe holes.

The biggest gaps are in the jeans/legging, shoe and nursing top categories. As much as I'd love to try my hands at a pair of high-waisted Gingers, I'm not going to sew fitted jeans while my body is still so much in flux, so I hunted down some cheap second-hand shapewear jeggings and leggings on eBay from Spanx and Yummie Tummie—we'll see how they fit.

I'm not sure what to do about shoes right now. I somehow seem to have destroyed most of my comfortable flats by walking them to death while pregnant.

I picked up some nursing tops on deep deep sale from BOOB nursingwear, thrifted a few non-nursing tops and camisoles that work just as well for that purpose, and hope to sew some for the Small Human Being Sew-Along.

4. Embrace shapewear.

I've always had a few shapewear items to wear under special occasion dresses, but I think at least for now I might start wearing such things on a more daily basis. (That's more vintage style anyway, isn't it? Right?)

5. Never talk myself down or talk about weight in front of my daughter.

Which is apparently working, given her comments referenced at top. I felt like I was going to cry, but she was just genuinely curious—my squishy post-baby belly was just interesting to her.

6. Get fancied up for the camera

This always helps, and is one of the reasons I love Me Made May. Just the act of PLANNING what I am going to wear knowing that blog readers will be watching and putting on a tad of makeup instead of just throwing on WHATEVER... well, it helps. (Edited to add — speaking of photos, how awesome does this mother of three look in her bikini, with her squishy belly and stretch marks? Maybe a smile is the best accessory here!)

(By the way — if I had the budget, I would totally book a session with retro pinup style photographers Shameless Photo—they do hair, makeup and wardrobe as part of their packages and their photos are just amazing!)

Anyway, that's my tentative "fight the new-mom frump" plan. So: what do YOU wear when nothing fits?

P.S. Back in my pre-mom cartoonist days, I used to draw a sarcastic regular series about body image called "Your Yucky Body." One installment I did was about the rise of the "Mommy Job", a popular package of post-partum plastic surgery. I think nowadays this cartoon maybe feels a bit judgmental to me of women who choose to have plastic surgery, but I think my real point was more about how women are made to feel ashamed if they don't somehow "bounce back" and have flat stretch-mark-less bikini bodies weeks after giving birth:

Is your Unfinished Object (UFO) pile getting you down? + Me Made May Week 3

I am regularly subject to fits of Unfinished Object Overload. Back in my early blogging days, I even drew a cartoon of how overwhelmed my many half-finished projects were making me feel:

I have a tendency to start garments I am very excited about at the time, but then I run into a slight challenge—a fitting problem or a serger malfunction or just my own tendency to sew so late at night that I start attaching the pieces together backwards... And I throw the item in my "in progress" bag and it never sees the light of day again while I start making something else new and shiny.

Until this Me Made May. Because in the last few weeks I have finished three former UFOs, and am almost done with the fourth—and last, I think. I defined UFOs as sewing projects that had been cut out in fashion fabric more than four months ago, and knitting projects that I had started more than four months ago. Here was some of the pile earlier this month:

I've now finished the Cake Patterns Red Velvet Dress (see finished object post), my chevroned Cake Patterns Hummingbird Blue peplum top with swiss dot dickey and cuffs (see finished object post) and my Delancey cardigan by Alexis Winslow.

I think the Delancey (finished object post here) felt like the biggest win simply because I had been knitting it (with a six month break) since LAST May. And also it is awesome:

I also just decided to toss a few objects and definitely decide NOT to finish them (like my blue silk bias half-slip that I hadn't really cut out properly or the bras I had started making in a size I no longer am). It felt equally freeing to just admit it was NOT going to happen.

I haven't quite gotten there with this McCall's 5529 doubleknit peplum jacket, though—it really isn't fitting right (even the sleeves are baggy... probably because this pattern is supposedly for knits AND wovens) but I'm just going to plow ahead and hope a belt will make it wearable:

The UFO bag is almost EMPTY. And wow is it a good feeling! It was also fun to get to start these projects at the sewing stage, instead of the cutting out and alterations stage.

And Me Made May? Here we go for week 3:

Me Made May 11: Mother's Day at the Met Costume Institute

For Mother's Day my husband took us to the AMAZING Charles James Beyond Fashion exhibit at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. No photos allowed, so here are my daughter and I in front of Perneb's Tomb.

Top: Partially finished Cake Patterns Hummingbird Blue before I attached the cuffs and dickey (blogged here).
Skirt: Hummingbird straight skirt (blogged here).
Necklace: Gift from sister-in-law
Shoes: Ahnu Karma flats because I wear the same comfortable shoes over and over again.

Me Made May 12: Teal Takeover Day for Food Allergy Awareness Week

As anyone who reads my sewing blog (or even more so my food allergy/ recipe blog Safe & Scrumptious from Scratch) knows, my three-year-old daughter Z has severe multiple food allergies.

She's allergic to sesame, nuts, peanuts, milk, eggs, mustard, cumin, poppy, canola and peas. So we don't eat in restaurants or buy much processed food, and we ALWAYS carry two EpiPen auto-injectors with us and make sure she wears her allergy alert bracelet.

Today was day two of Food Allergy Awareness Week, and today's action was #tealtakeover — since teal is the official color of Food Allergy Awareness. There are 15 million Americans with food allergy—and many, like my daughter, at at risk of life-threatening anaphylaxis. Please think about the food allergic people in your life—and what you can do to make them feel welcome and safe! Learn more at www.foodallergy.org/.

Dress: Me-made McCall's 6070 ombre polka dot dress.
Cardigan: had forever.
Necklace: Old and cheap
Shoes: Another pair of Ahnu Karma flats, in a green vegan mesh version.
On Z: A she-made starfish headband and me-made wax print Oliver + S dress (technically the "Ice Cream Dress" but she's allergic to dairy, so we call it the "Coconut Cream Dress").

Me Made May 13: The finally finished peplum top

The no longer un-finished UFO.

Top: Fully finished Cake Patterns Hummingbird Blue (blogged here).
Jeans: Not Your Daughter's Jeans naturalish-waisted straight legs (bought at 6pm.com for less than 50% retail). They're supposed to be natural waisted but they hit me a few inches below that.

Me Made May 14: The Tearful Trousers

Oh, these Vogue Elements 9745 wide-legged trousers just make me want to cry. When I first made them I was super into them—they are a beautiful shade of blue, they are corduroy, they are my first pair of successful non-pajama me-made trousers and they fit and they are SO COMFORTABLE (partly due to the hidden elastic waistband).

Yet I haven't worn them since Me Made May 2013. Mainly because my husband who usually loves everything I make hates them and says "they aren't very... flattering." I like wide legs in theory but I think I will stick with more fitted styles... they seem to work better on me.

My daughter is wearing her Tomten Jacket I knit for her a few years ago—she's finally growing into it.

Me Made May 15: My most-worn items

These two items (along with the Georgina cardigan I ended up throwing on to beat the spring chill) are my most-frequently-worn me-mades for sure—I always feel comfy and happy in them. I rarely wear them together but decided to give it a go and I THINK it works, no?

Hummingbird peplum knit top in a hummingbird-colored rayon jersey that needed some VERY careful pattern placement (blogged here) and a self-drafted knit half circle skirt with simple no-elastic waistband (free tutorial here).

Me Made May 16: Too Pretty to Wear Pants

This Friday's theme for the Me Made May challenge was "Too Pretty to Wear Pants" but since I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, I took it to mean: wear a skirt or a dress, maybe something a little extra girly? The me-made here is a trusty Jalie Scarf Collar knit top (blogged here).

Me Made May 17: There are six me-mades in this picture

Most of my photos so far have contained just one or two me made items... But there are five me mades in this collage if you count my daughter's sweater and some hidden underthings. And six if you count my daughter herself!

Phew!

So tell me—how many UFOs are in your pile? And how do they make you feel?

*Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks on this site may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (quite likely to be spent on yarn or fabric).

Brights and Prints Overload (Me Made May Week 4)

I may be a week behind in getting up these blog posts, I may be tired, my photos may be degenerating and me-made-May posts may be the least commented on of all posts on this blog ... but I am NOT giving up on this challenge. SO THERE.

Day 20: Bright Green and Blue Day

Me-Mades (just one):
1. Jalie 2921 scarf-collar floral poly knit top

Other:
1. Thrifted J. Crew green cotton lawn polka-dot skirt (similarish style here)
2. Wurishofer 711 ridiculously comfortable granny sandals, black leather version

Day 21: A Little Sparkle

Who says sequins aren't daytime/work appropriate?

Me-Mades (just one):
1. Cake Patterns Tiramisu knit dress, adapted into a top

Other:
1. Sequined inset lined gored blue skirt
2. Turquoise necklace made by a dear friend
3. Some old Clarks leather sandals, super comfy (similaresque)

Day 22: A Peplum & a Circle Skirt

Here's my black & white polka dot Hummingbird peplum top again, this time with a big blue circle skirt (not me-made). I typically think of peplum tops as only going with pencil skirts and skinny jeans, but I see a lot of peplums and circle skirts in photos from the 50s, so trying a new silhouette! Think the skirt is maybe a bit long, though...

Me-Mades (two):
1. Hummingbird knit top by Cake Patterns with four-leaf clover peplum in polka dot ITY jersey.
2. TARDIS socks in blue, black and white merino wool (held in hands, near completion).

Other:
1. American Apparel blue circle skirt, awkward midi length — originally bought for TARDIS Halloween costume that never came to fruition
2. red coral necklace bought at Renegade Craft Fair ages ago, can't remember maker
3. The Sak orange leather handbag (the only handbag I own, so I wear it regardless of outfit color.)
4. Wurishofer 711 comfy granny sandals, red leather version

Day 23: Green and Purple Love

This is a bit of a cheat—I was sick most of the day, ended up working from home and didn't get dressed until 5:30 p.m. when I had to get my daughter from preschool. Those are my fabric and yarn drawers behind me—all six of them.

Me-Mades (two):
1. Self-drafted reversible shirred skirt.
2. Striped undies, not visible.

Other:
1. Surplice green and white printed knit top.
2. Turquoise necklace made by a dear friend.
3. Clarks Privo black leather Mary Jane flats scuffed to shreds over past 6 years but still going. (Super similar here).

Day 24: Scarves Upon Scarves

This colorblocked second-hand cardigan is actually really awesome, and in real life without a bad flash photo the flower rosette thingies do NOT look like pasties. Just saying. But I don't know if this silhouette really works for me.

Me-Mades (two):
1. Jalie Scarf-Collar top in red and cream polka dot knit
2. Monkey socks in kettle-dyed merino wool

Other:
1. Second-hand purple colorblocked cardigan from friend who was cleaning out closet
2. Pink silk rib knit lace-edge cami
3. Not Your Daughter's straight-legged black stretch jeans (Marilyn style)
4. Arcopedico Flower black leather Mary Jane cut-out flats

Day 25: TARDIS socks for a journey to the stars

Finished my TARDIS sock disaster just in time for a family outing to the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium, where we saw "Journey to the Stars." (Toddler was scared sometimes but overall loved it and can't stop talking about how "stars are big hot balls of fire—don't touch!")

Me-Mades (3):
1. Georgina cardigan by Alexis Winslow in chartreuse hand-dyed Swans Island merino wool
2. Falling-down TARDIS socks.
3. striped underthings (not visible)

Other:
1. Not Your Daughter's straight-legged dark blue stretch jeans (Marilyn style)
2. Arcopedico Flower black leather Mary Jane cut-out flats

SO TIRED. But MUST GO ON!

Who else is still hanging in there for the challenge?

Sweater Girl Showdown 2013: Which snug little cardigan to knit next?

Cardigan indecision overload! Please. Help. Me.

As a knit-loving girl approaches the end of her second TARDIS sock, her thoughts naturally turn to... sweaters! Said girl will not dwell on the length of her Ravelry queue (though it might be said that even the most productive of knitters might take several lifetimes to complete it) but will instead look ahead to her very next project—another cardigan.

So... last time around I chose the Georgina in chartreuse.

This time I pondered knitting a serious vintage sweater pattern in tiny little fingering weight yarn from one of the A Stitch in Time books (both out of print but available as e-Books) (have you seen Laura Mae's beautiful Tri-Stitch Cable Jumper?!), but... I really need to bust my yarn stash, and the only yarn I actually have enough of is a big old pile of KnitPicks Merino Style DK weight in Eggplant (and a few other colors):

Six Top Contenders:

1. Faith peplum cardigan by Kim Hargreaves from Heartfelt: The Dark House Collection.

• Pros: Peplum! Cool stitch pattern details! A lovely curve-hugging shape!
• Cons: No instant gratification of a quick online purchase... would have to order this book used and wait for it to arrive. GASP. CANNOT DEAL. Not sure about the not-slim sleeves, either.

2. Peggy Sue Cardigan by Linda Wilgus from her website Wooly Mammoth Knits.

• Pros: Such an adorable vintage style--I love the figure-hugging waist cables and the short sleeves. And it's free!
• Cons: I'm not sure if it would look too prim on me when buttoned up. And I passed it over last time—there must have been a reason why?

3. Cityscape Cardigan by Laura Chau from Twist Collective.

• Pros: Little colorwork buildings marching around my neck!
• Cons: Eternal plain stockinette boredom knitting hell once the neck fun is all over.

4. Agatha by Andi Satterlund of Untangling Knots.

• Pros: If Lladybird has knit MORE than one of these, it's got to be an AMAZINGLY fun sweater to knit, am I right? Lots of cool details and shaping and lacy fun.
• Cons: It might emphasize how short-waisted I am?

5. Cherry by Anna Ball.

• Pros: Sweet little vintage-esque cardigan with a cute stitch pattern and defined waist, almost peplum-esque but not quite.
• Cons: Does it actually make any sense to knit a short-sleeved wool cardigan? (pattern suggests cotton, but I do NOT knit cotton after several bad experiences with baggy saggy sweaters of stretched-out misery).

5. Delancey Cardigan (shortened version) by Alexis Winslow from her website Knit Darling.

• Pros: Um, hello. STRIPES. CHEVRONED STRIPES. Plus, plunging neckline. Plus, full with color patterning.
• Cons: Same (amazing) designer as Georgina. Not branching out and trying new pattern designers.

I was super super indecisive when I drew all this up... but now that I look at it, I'm dithering between just two, with a strong inclination towards one of them... can you guess? Which cardigan would YOU knit if you were me?

Novel stash busting tip: Just let the bugs eat it!

Seamsters, is your fabric and yarn getting you down? 

Are you sick and tired of those perky polka dot prints, wool doubleknits, hand-dyed merino hanks and sassy silk crepes hiding in the backs of your stash drawers, muttering and mocking you, whispering evilly "Why haven't you just sewn or knit me into something fantastically amazing and perfectly fitting already?" 

Are you worried that Me Made May '13 is going to be JUST TOO EASY?

What would you say if you knew there was a fast, efficient—and, best of all, 100% FREE—solution?

Try our new and improved.... 

Vicious Little Moth Larvae™!

They creep, they crawl, they chomp, they squiggle, they squirm! You'll have empty drawers in no time—your wools reduced to cheesecloth, your yarn reduced to bits, your handmades more ventilated than EVER before!

"But Mikhaela, how do I get some Vicious Little Moth Larvae™, you ask?" 

That's easy! Just take home a mysteriously holey thrift store cashmere sweater and assume that a gentle hand washing and a good darn will have it right as rain ... Let some woolen items fall to the ground in the deep dark recesses of your closet... ignore your stash for months ... and VOILA!

... er.

But seriously, folks. It's true. My husband and I have spent the past week battling the Moth Infestation of Doom, and I just cannot believe how far the little monsters have managed to spread. Our bedroom closet was the worst—all our suits and my wool skirts eaten, including my Sew Grateful Challenge Colorblock skirt.

But after we cleaned out the closet—washing, cleaning, throwing out or eco-friendly-dry-cleaning EVERYTHING that had survived... I began to inspect all the other drawers in the house. I'm still not done, as I'm going through them all very carefully, opening and shaking out each piece of fabric or item of clothing onto a sheet ...

I got all the way down to the bottom of my first fabric drawer and was loudly proclaiming in excitement to my husband "They didn't eat my fabric!!!!" ... when I unfolded a beautiful piece of cotton shirting and there they were, squirming away (though not eating—they don't eat cotton, they just live on it).

Yeah. So I've had to be incredibly ruthless. Handwashing doesn't kill the pests and I don't have the budget to eco-dryclean every piece of dry-clean-only fabric I had. ALL scraps are gone now—those leftover wool or silk fabric scraps that I'd been keeping for I don't know what—quilts? Stuffed animals?

And I've really made some hard decisions about my clothes as well. On the plus side, this leaves plenty of room for new me-mades. On the minus side, well... THEY ATE MY STUFF AND THEY ARE SO GROSS. (Though mysteriously, they were in my sock drawer but did not TOUCH any of my large collection of wool socks... phew! Probably because I am always opening that drawer and shuffling the socks around, the monsters hate light and disturbance.)

I still am not sure how the nasties got in, but I do suspect it was a beautiful thrifted wool sweater with a few little holes that I'd been meaning to darn... I put it in a hot dry dryer for 60 minutes the minute I got home (to kill potential bedbugs) but maybe that wasn't enough to knock out the moths. Or maybe it was a vintage handbag I bought on Etsy, or a piece of wool fabric from a bargain bin in a dusty old fabric store... Who knows!

Act now... GET YOURS TODAY!

P.S. Knitters, take heart. I'd always been in the habit of keeping all my wool yarn in plastic sweater bags for protection... and I didn't find a single little wool-chomper in those drawers. Too bad I hadn't treated my wool fabrics the same!

When Moths Attack! (What's a Wool Lover to Do?)

They've eaten EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING!

A few months ago while my daughter and I were both in the deepest depths of constant illness, my husband attended a funeral, one of the very rare occasions on which he has need to dig his gray suit out of our bedroom closet. Except when he put on said suit, it was a little more... ventilated than we remembered. He had to wear it anyway, but when we dug deeper...

They'd eaten EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. Every one of my husband's suits and all three of my suits, my lovely, well-fitting soft wool skirt suits. All of my wool skirts—my favorite long plaid skirt, my high-waisted wool pencil skirt, my houndstooth A-line wool skirt, my pink wool skirt... EVERYTHING.

Well, everything in that closet. (Luckily my me-made wool skirts, my wool sweaters, my wool socks, wool fabric and wool yarn are stored in drawers elsewhere.)

Readers, you know how I feel about wool. It is my main fiber from September to March, and sometimes in-between. Also: I don't have a budget to replace any of that stuff now, so will have to very slowly rebuild my wool wardrobe through thrifting and sewing. (Though we will just have to suck it up and get my husband a suit, as we have been invited to a few events this summer that require it).

Now, the intelligent thing to do once this moth tragedy struck would have been to immediately clean out the closet, throw out all the holey stuff, wash the non-woolens in hot water, vacuum and wipe down the walls and floor... and protect all the other woolens in the house.

But I was really ill (still am, but getting SO much better!) and my daughter was ill and my husband was already doing all of the housework and much of the childcare... so I just SHUT THE DOOR and tried not to think about it until I had time to really attack it. It became the closet DMZ. Since then, I have just tried to make do with clothes from my dresser drawers, but I am much more rumpled than usual as a result.

Anyway... last night we heard some fluttering and other scary noises coming from the closet, like some moths had just hatched and were TRYING TO GET OUT. So I jumped up in terror and ran to protect my newly hand-knit sweater, bagging it up in a giant Ziploc and putting it in a drawer with some cedar balls.

So... yeah. Er. Once I'm feeling better physically, I think I had better tackle that closet before I actually try and sew anything. Especially anything wool.

Any tips and advice or experiences on de-moth-ifying are very welcome. Have you ever had to deal with these hungry little terrors?

Me-Made MAY-be 2012: What I MIGHT wear, if I DID participate

Do you think it's a problem that the majority of the me-mades that actually fit me are Halloween costumes? Above: me in 2005 as Julia from Orwell's classic 1984. Unfortunately everyone just though I was Rosie the Riveter. (Oh, and my then-boyfriend now-husband as Teen Wolf, of course).

I LOVE the idea behind Zoe's Me-Made Challenges--challenging ourselves to actually wear what we make, and to find new and fun ways to style our said makes.

But when I called up the Goodwill to ask for all my old wadders back, they just couldn't seem to locate my wobbly-hemmed sequined tank top, my medieval golden gown attempt or my shredded punk rock T-shirt dress.

Seriously, I've sewn or knit more than enough garments over the years to squeeze in at least one me-made per day... if only they (a) all still fit me, (b) were in perfect condition and (c) were actually appropriate for summer weather. (I actually do wear almost one me-made thing every day in the colder months--knitted hats, fingerless gloves and/or socks).

But I'm not going to dash out as many simple me-mades as possible in the next few weeks just to meet the challenge, because I have vowed to only sew what really inspires me, what I really enjoy and want to make. I sew for fun, people. FUN ALL THE TIME.

Anyway, the pitiful inventory of already-me-made things I MIGHT be able to wear in May:

4 skirts

1. My Sew Grateful colorblocked skirt--a wool jersey blend, but it's lightweight enough, and I've darned the hole in the tissue-thin navy section.
   
2. My reversible (counts as two!) shirred skirt--though I probably should take in the side seams, me being about 50 pounds lighter than when I first sewed it and all:
   
3. My $2 polka dot polyester skirt:
   

1 pair of pants

1. My triumphant wide-leg trousers... but they're corduroy, and wouldn't work for any hot May days. And I seem to have shrunk a bit since I made them (I blame my teething, nursing-crazed toddler).
   

1 cardigan

1. My flutter-sleeve blue cotton-silk cardigan... but only if I can do some serious surgery on it first... it's really a baggy mess. I knitted it to fit me PERFECTLY with plenty of negative ease and some enthusiastic short-row bust shaping, but neglected to factor in just how much cotton knits grow.
   

1 pair of socks

1. My freshly-darned Monkey Socks. We DO set our own rules for this challenge, right? So can minor garments and accessories count?
   

3 pairs of maternity underthings

1. Again, do accessories and minor garments count? Because really, these could be my secret weapon. I certainly can't photograph how they look with the outfits, but if I could count these, it would allow me to wear things like my beloved thrifted sundresses that would otherwise be off limits.
   

1 apron

1. The oldest me-made I still own and use. Does throwing it on whilst cooking count for the challenge?
   

And some MAYBES

1. I've just (as in, last night) FBAed and cut out the Jalie scarf collar top from my Spring & Summer Separates sketch, and see no reason why this shouldn't work out... and maybe I'll get to the others, too.
   
2. And then there's my Joan dickey/bow dress--yes, it's wool, but I do hope to finish it soon (I'm on muslin 2)... maybe we'll get a cool day or two:
   

Too bad I sold my Battlestar Galactica uniform on eBay--restyling it for work would have been quite the challenge!

So, what do you think readers? If you were me--would you just sit this one out? Or would you wear your Stepford Wives polyester lace dress costume to the office?

Sweater Girl Showdown: Which Shrunken Cardigan to Knit?

Which curve-hugging vintage-inspired cardigan to knit? Decisions, decisions!

Now that I've finished Z's Tomten hooded sweater jacket, I'm so excited to make a shrunken spring cardigan for myself to go with my spring wardrobe separates. I'm a die-hard sweater girl--I wear a colorful fitted cardigan almost every day (with a rare blazer thrown in here or there), and there are so many awesome vintage-inspired super-fitted negative-ease knitting options to choose from...

I kind of got lost in the black hole of the Ravelry pattern browser, but I eventually emerged with:

Four Top Contenders:

1. Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan by Stefanie Japel from Fitted Knits.

• Pros: I already own the book and the yarn--bought both ages ago when I first pondered making this sweater.
• Cons: I might look like I have balloons stuck in my sleeves.

2. Georgina Cardigan by Alexis Winslow from her website Knit Darling.

• Pros: When I look at this pattern I want to say "Beautiful sweater, where have you been all my life?" That shawl collar! The plunging neckline! The fabulous lace and ribbing! And while I had never previously heard of this designer... she is seriously awesome. I'm also totally crushing on her chevron-patterned Delancey Cardigan, and ombre-striped Nora sweater dress. AND she's from Brooklyn. And wears glasses.
• Cons: This looks to require some serious gauging and blocking precision, and few Ravelry-ers (Ravelers?) have gone before me. Also: yarn will need to be purchased.

3. Miette Cardigan by Andi Satterlund from her website Untangling Knots. (Photo above is a lovely Miette knit by Erika Made It, as Andi prefers no Pins from her site)

• Pros: Love the scoop neck, the little lace touches around the edges, the super-short length (less knitting!) and the serious bust dart shaping. Another designer I was unfamiliar with, Andi seems to have a range of awesome vintage-inspired feminine knitting patterns... you may have seen Lauren's awesome in-progress Agatha. Also: Miette is a free pattern!
• Cons: Again, new yarn and some serious fitting precision required.

4. Peggy Sue Cardigan by Linda Wilgus from her website Wooly Mammoth Knits.

• Pros: Such an adorable vintage style--I love the figure-hugging waist cables and the short sleeves. And it's free!
• Cons: It's DK weight (i.e. slower to knit than the Georgina or Miette), and I'm not sure if it would look too prim on me when buttoned up.

So... can you guess which one I chose? It should be pretty obvious from the sketch (all my knitting friends guessed immediately).

The Yarn Contenders

I also need to decide on yarn--one thing I know for sure is that it will be wool or a wool-dominant blend! The last spring cardigan I made for myself (Pam Allen's Flutter Sleeve Cardigan from Interweave Knits)-- I knit to the 36" bust size with correct gauge...

And yet it sagged and stretched to fit me even while 37 weeks pregnant--you can imagine it is rather baggy now (perhaps a little sweater surgery is in order?) ... that's what I get for knitting with a cotton/silk blend.

After years of knitting with lots of cheaper KnitPicks yarns, I'd like to try something a bit fancier, especially since these cardigans don't require tons of yarn. Like madelinetosh tosh vintage 100% superwash merino wool, maybe in Forestry:

Or Chartreuse:

And then there's Berocco Ultra Alpaca (50% wool, 50% alpaca), at about half the price of the above, but not available in nearly as many fun or bright colors. Perhaps in Periwinkle:

Or how about Dream in Color Classy Spring Tickle?

Or Malabrigo Rios in Lettuce?

And then there's a whole bunch of other yarns I've been pinning...

Luckily I've got a pair of socks in progress, so I can take my time on the yarn decision, and hopefully buy it at a local yarn store like Knit-A-Way or Brooklyn General.

Which cardigan would you knit? And if you don't knit, am I tempting you?!

P.S. Speaking of chartreuse cardigans, I'm considering attempting to resurrect my half-sewn McCall's 5529 doubleknit cardi-jacket (with peplum!) from the UFO pile--it's super huge since I started making while pregnant, but maybe I can cut it down to a smaller size?

P.P.S. If you enjoy these showdown posts, see also "Sheath Dress Showdown: Colette Edition" and "1940s Red Dress Showdown: Du Barry Edition."

In Passionate Defense of Orange

Super duper thing-linked photo shoot of a small selection of the orange clothing items I hold near and dear

Orange orange orange. I love orange. I love my orange dresses, my orange shoes, my orange sweatshirt, my orange necklaces and my orange scarf. If I had orange socks and orange boots and orange hats and orange bras, I would love them too (hmmm...).

I love the orange sweater that I knit for my daughter...

... and the orange sweater and hat that my Aunt Becky knit for her too.

And the yellow, brown and ORANGE dress I made for her:

And the orange newborn dress from her Nana she barely fit into for a week:

And I REALLY miss the orange and white cats I had as a kid--Ozma and Hecuba--and my sickly little orange and white cat Riley:

You guys, I love orange so much I even married an Orange man. (That's right--Masheka went to Syracuse).

I will wear orange no matter what the season, and no matter what the trends, whether it is hot, not, or totally over and out. In fact, I have all this lovely orange cotton stretch sateen I got from Fabric-Mart a while back at $1/yard...

And I'm so going to make a bright orange shirt dress with it!

And I haven't even mentioned home decor--I've got an orange bathroom, orange towels, an orange Le Creuset dutch oven and orange bowls and plates and serving dishes and Z has an orange water bottle and orange blocks and ... But I digress.

In sum, orange--whether bright, burnt, subdued, or neon--is beautiful, transcendent and fabulous. (Just ask Clio).

Whatever a CERTAIN one of my FAVORITE sewing bloggers and some cruel commenters might imply. (For shame, Male Pattern Boldness! What could be bolder than orange? Isn't there orange in your blog header photo?!)

P.S. Like Clio, I was in the process of knitting orange socks when I read Peter's anti-orange attack. Unfortunately, they got destroyed in the aftermath of my little photo shoot...