I've Been A Bad SSS Participant...

I'm off on an adventure in Vermont and New Hampshire, playing in mine tailings and acid rock drainage, so sadly the majority of my clothes won't be self stitched. And today I wore not a single self stitched clothing (although I did ride a cow). How could I when I knew I'd spend 10 hours sitting in the very back of a packed 7 seater van?

In short, I've fallen off the wagon.

So I've decided to renew my vows for this last week of Self Stitched September, but slightly altered:

'I, Heather of Sewing On Pins, sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-September. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade or refashioned item of clothing every day for the remainder of September 2010'.

Self Stitched September: Days 17-22

I know it's been radio silence lately, but sadly my thesis has trumped sewing. Hopefully I'll be able to make some time to do some sewing soon. I plan to make a gift for a friend who is defending her M.Sc. thesis soon, and I'm running out of time!

But in the mean time, here's a Self-Stitched September update. Sorry if it's a little babbly, I'm pretty exhausted. I blame the thesis.

Day 17:

Well, once again I spent the day in self-stitched pj pants and reconstructed t-shirt. What can I say, I spent the whole day on the couch doing data analysis. WHEEE geochemistry! Same outfit as days 3 and 12.

Day 18:

I'm definitely learning which pieces I like the most. I keep re-wearing them. Sadly, I didn't take pictures of this day or day 19, but I headed to Ottawa to cheer on a friend of mine who was competing in a Draftmaster competition, and I wanted comfortable and easy to wear outfits. On day 18 I wore my reconstructed jeans skirt, faux wrap shirt, self-made undershirt, and ruffle jacket, the pretty purse, as well as tights and pink flats. Oh! And I packed everything else in a weekend bag I made from the SEW Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp (not shown but a very cute and fun bag). The picture above is from day 13.

Day 19:

Second and last day in Ottawa. To save packed space, I only brought a change of shirt and underwear. And I wore the exact same outfit on day 8, and since I forgot to take pictures, that's what the above picture is from. Reconstructed jeans skirt, sheety blouse, ruffle jacket, hose and pink flats. Plus pretty purse and weekend bag.

Day 20:

Alright, so I'm starting to fall off the self-stitched wagon. NOT ENTIRELY! But this day was another spent working on thesis stuff in my kitchen all day (i.e. 10 am to 1 am - yes, that says 1 am), and I got sick of dealing with the blanket on my shoulders. So while I'm wearing self-stitched knit top and awful pants, I threw on my geology zip-up hoody. I'm not sorry. This picture was taken right before going to bed in the early hours of the morning, by the way.

Day 21:

And I completely gave up this day. ANOTHER day spent at my kitchen table, obeying Master Thesis, and it was bloody cold in my apartment. Spent the day in a RTW hoody. But at least I'm wearing the self-stitched awful pants (which are quite comfortable, by the way), and I believe self-stitched gotch (not pictured).

Day 22:

I LEFT MY BASEMENT APARTMENT THIS DAY! The light, it burns! Heh. Wore my brown straight skirt, knit top, ruffle jacket (yes, again), pretty purse, black tights and black ankle boots.


I guess I'm broken my vow to only wear self-stitched clothes this month. It's been both easier and harder than I expected. I am getting sick of some of my clothes, and I know what I need to add to my wardrobe. Warm clothes especially, including PANTS! More lounge wear, more tops, and different colours too. And more basics.

Sadly, I'm going to be completely breaking my vow from this Sunday to Tuesday. My supervisor has planned an unexpected and last minute field trip to Vermont, and I can't get away with wearing skirts and short sleeved jackets and t-shirts during field work. I have no self-stitched clothes that can handle wandering outdoors in cool fall (and possibly rainy) weather. Someday, when I'm a better seamstress and willing to tackle the more expensive material (and can sew pants), I'd love to make my own field clothes. For now, I'm stuck with RTW.

I hope everyone else is surviving Self Stitched September! Has anyone else had some set-backs and failures like me? (I won't tattle, promise!)

Self Stitched September: Days 5-11

I've been watching everyone posting all their lovely daily outfits, and cringing because I know I'm falling behind. It started with Day 5's outfit, which I'd planned to photograph at a friends place in the evening and completely forgot. And then I just kept forgetting. It seemed like I'd only remember to photograph every few days or so. I blame my thesis. And my broken tripod, which has made photographing the outfits difficult. And then I kept getting the Guilt, where I know I should post, but I don't want to play dress-up again and re-create the outfits.

So I played around this morning and re-created the missing outfits I wore on the floor. I know, I don't have any proof that I actually wore these, but I honestly did! I've kept track of my wardrobe using a powerpoint presentation, which has been really helpful for keeping track.

Beware, long post ahead.

Day 5:

As you can see, I wore my brown floral faux wrap top, self made undershirt, brown straight skirt, pretty me-made purse, tights and cream floral shoes. I like this outfit a lot, despite the abundance of brown, and I assure you, it looks better on me than on the floor. :)

Day 6:

Okay, this was a horrible day spent ill, mostly curled up on my couch wrapped in a blanket. Hair not brushed, no make-up, awesome fuzzy socks over tights. I did not leave the apartment this day BUT AT LEAST I GOT DRESSED. Wearing the brown straight skirt, light coral ruffle blouse, and tights.

Day 7:

I actually left the apartment this day (yay!), met a friend for lunch and then went to the local coffee shop to work for a change of environment. I wore my denim pencil skirt (which I've discovered an undying love for this past week) and a black cotton eyelet tank top that I made ages ago, along with black tights and cream floral flats. Oh wait, I do have evidence of wearing this out. It's a bad picture from the coffee shop.


Day 8:

Another day that I had to leave the apartment, for a dreaded meeting with the Thesis Supervisor. I wore a denim skirt I reconstructed out of a pair of jeans last March (using this awesome tutorial), my sheety blouse, and a ruffle jacket I made last April. I think this is one of my favourite looks, along with Day 9's, and I think this is more my style.

Day 9:

I escaped my apartment again this day by working at the local coffee shop, and wore one of my favourite outfits while doing it. Petal skirt, faux wrap top, self-made undershirt, and the jaunty jacket. I feel so pretty in this outfit!

Day 10:

I was actually pretty sick this day, had some sort of stomach bug, so I mostly spent the day in pj pants and a reconstructed top. However, I did feel well enough to meet an old friend for coffee, so I'm posting that outfit. Denim pencil skirt, knit top, ruffle jacket, my pretty purse, tights and cream floral shoes. Honestly though, I mostly wore the outfit from Day 3.

Day 11:

Alright, I have a confession to make. I wore a non-self-stitched top this day. Well, this night, anyways. I had a concert and a party to go to this evening, and still feeling off from the day before, spend most of the day resting in pj's. That evening, when I went to get ready for a night out, I realized that I'm severely lacking in nice party clothes. Plus I hadn't done laundry. So with much guilt, I decided to wear something I hadn't made myself. I felt a little more appeased since it was a thrifted top, and I plan to alter it to shorten the sleeves, so I guess it's a future self-stitched top? *hangs head in shame* The only thing self-stitched in this outfit in the denim pencil skirt. Oh well, what can you do.

Anyways, we're now caught up as of yesterday. I promise to take proper pictures from now on. Or I'll try to, anyways.

Self Stitched September: Days 2, 3, and 4

I've been working from home the last few days, trying to get some of my last data crunching done for my thesis. I admit, I haven't been trying too hard with my outfits as a result of holing up in my basement suite. However, I've still been wearing only self-stitched clothes. I did, however, discover some things missing from my wardrobe, but I'll get to that later.

Day 2:
Data analysis on the comp. Poor Maggie Kenmore got shuffled off of her sewing table in favour of my thesis. Maybe I'll give her a good cleaning and oiling as an apology.


The blouse was made last June for the wardrobe contest, before I completely revamped the colour theme. I love the look and fit of this top, but I learned my lesson about using 100% polyester! Still, it was fine enough for working at home. It was made using Simplicity 6870, and I heartedly recommend this pattern. It's very comfortable and flattering.


Here's a front view of the outfit, just before I ran out to the store. The pants are my wardrobe collection pants, which I still need to post about, but that you can read some of the problems I had with them here.


What I've discovered is that I'm lacking warm toppers that aren't jackets. It's cold in my apartment since my landlords like the crank the A/C (I live in a basement suite in a house). However, I have this piece of wool blend knit that I used as a wrap, and I like how it looks. I may have to figure out how to sew it up as a poncho-type topper like this. :)

Day 3:

Okay, I admit, I was really lazy on this day and didn't leave my apartment at all. I also didn't feel very well and just wanted to be able to curl up on the couch while working, so I pretty much spent my whole day in lounge wear. Okay okay, in pj's. I made the pj pants ages ago out of flannel using some horrible pattern that I threw out afterward. The legs were super wide and long, so I took in the sides a few inches and hacked off nearly 6 inches off the bottom. Next time, I'll just trace one of my own pj bottoms instead of using a pattern. The top was one of my first clothing sewing projects, where I just reconstructed a t-shirt to make it a more comfortable sleep top.

So okay, I was lazy, but I was lazy in self-stitched clothes, so I think it still counts!

Day 4:

Today was another day working in my cold apartment, so I wore my pants again. I think need to buy some warm tights for working at home in skirts. The top I wore was the very first top I made for the wardrobe contest, and was actually the launching point for the brown colour themes since I fell in love with this fabric. The scarf, while not me-made, was purchased at the thrift store. I'm pretty sure I didn't commit to only self-stitched accessories, so I'm grateful to use it for added warmth.

Self Stitched September: Day 1

I, Heather of sewingonpins.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-September. I endeavour to wear only handmade and refashioned item of clothing every day for the duration of September 2010.

Zoe of 'So Zo...' challenged others to make the most use out of our hand-made clothes and wear all home made - or at least one made - garment each day for the month of September. She's done this herself in both March (Me Made March) and May (Me Made May), and posted pictures of her outfits on her blog. I thought this was an ingenious idea, and was tickled when she announced Self-Stitched September.

Really, this is no big stretch for me. I love my home made clothes more than any store bought items that I own. Although the lack of pants might hinder me a bit!

Here's my wardrobe collection. Some of these pieces should be familiar from my wardrobe contest entry.


I'm probably going to supplement the wardrobe with some tights for when the weather gets a bit cooler in the coming weeks. Not that it's an issue right now, with our average 30 degree Celsius humid gross weather...

This month may be a little sparse on the sewing front since I need to concentrate on my thesis. However, I'm going to try posting pictures of my outfit combinations every few days, and a few other sewing-related thinky posts. For now, here's my first Self-Stitched September (SSS) outfit.


(I know I'm looking limp and gross, but I blame that on the horrible weather we have right now. Also, please disregard the limp and gross towel randomly hanging up in our grad office. I have no idea where it came from and am refraining from touching it.)

For those who haven't been following my blog over the last few weeks, this outfit includes a knit top I made a couple weeks ago, and my petal skirt (now with added lace!). It may look simple and uncreative, but it was bloody hot out today and I needed something light and airy to survive the humidity!

I hope everyone who is involved with SSS has lots of fun wearing their lovingly (and sometimes frustratingly) made clothes this month. And keep an eye on the SSS flickr group for tonnes a beautifully made outfits from SSS participants!