Me-Made-Monday #5

Hello there lovely readers, welcome to another Me-Made-Monday! I'm very excited about sharing this Me-Made outfit with you, it's a recently completed project of mine: my first pair of homemade pyjamas!

Pyjamas: Made By Me

I adore these pyjamas, they are so cosy I didn't want to take them off! They are particularly special to me as I purchased the gorgeous toile fabric on my recent trip to Paris, so these pyjamas will forever remind me of that beautiful city and how much I love it there. But more on that when I show you these pjs in detail, for now just enjoy this little sneak peek, maybe as much as I'm enjoying my macaroons...!

Bye for now!

Katie xxx

P.S. What are you thinking of my new haircut/colour? Are you fans?

What I learnt from Me-Made-May...

Now, I know it's been a while since I completed my first ever Me-Made-May, but I just wanted to take a look back at the challenge and what it has taught me about my Me-Made clothes. So here's what I've learnt through Me-Made-May...

I basically live in dresses and skirts! 

Out of 31 different outfits only one of them involved a pair of trousers. Now I don't really see this changing any time soon, I love the feminine look, but a few more pairs of trousers in rotation in my wardrobe might be fun :)

Knitwear was a winner during this Me-Made-May!

The type of clothing I wear the most is knitwear!

I hadn't quite realised how many pieces of knitted clothing I have made over the past year and a bit, but almost everyday of my challenge featured a piece of my handmade knitted goodies. As far as I'm concerned that means more knitting as I clearly can't get enough of it, so happy days!

It's red as far as the eye can see!

Red was definitely my favourite colour in May.

I wore more red clothes or red featured items than any other colour in May. This really doesn't surprise me as red has always been my go to colour, I treat it like a neutral and am convinced it goes with anything! But yellow and blue were also quite well represented, so clearly I'm a primary colours girl! A few more different colours in my wardrobe might be nice in the future :)

I wore twenty-two Me-Made items during the challenge!

I've never really stopped to think about how many pieces of Me-Made clothing I have made over the past year and a bit, but I'm really quite proud of how many I have, of how often I wear them and the quality in which they were made. And I didn't even wear every piece of Me-Made clothing either!

I love my cardigan soooo much!

My mustard cardigan was the most worn item during Me-Made-May.

Yes, I am addicted to this cardigan as you all know. I'm not surprised that I wore it more than any other piece of clothing, I love it to bits and it has definitely made mustard one of my favourite colours :)

So where do I go from here? How will this direct my future sewing projects and Me-<ade ventures...?

Sew more separates!

In particular trousers, they are sadly lacking in my wardrobe, and also some blouses would be nice.

Fill the gaps!

I will only make clothes that go with or compliment items that I have already made. Some of my Me-Made clothes are not worn as much because they don't really go with much, so I want to give them a hand :)

A few more colours!

I love red and always will, but this challenge has shown me a love for some new colours too. Instead of just imagining everything I make in red I would like to try out some over colours too.

More sewing!

I need to catch up with my knitting habit, so I definitely think that sewing will be my priority for the mean time, I don't want to neglect one hobby in favour of the other!

I really did love Me-Made-May and I cannot wait for the next challenge, but for now I'll just have to be happy with my Me-Made-Mondays :)

Bye for now!

Katie xxx

Me Made May - The Final Week

Well, here we are, it's the end of Me Made May and here are my final three outfits. It's been great fun, but it's also been a real challenge, not to mention the effort it takes taking photos everyday! But I have loved it, and I hope you've enjoyed the pictures :) Anyways, here they are, the final three shots:

Day Twenty Nine

Top: Made by Me

The sun had finally come out by the time I took this photo, so wearing this top was a bit of no brainer! I love this top so much, it's so different to the norm, it always gets noticed :) A perfect summer outfit for a perfect summer day.

Day Thirty

Shrug: Made by Me, Dress: Made by Me

The sun was still shining, so the legs came out! Once again it's my favourite red dress, always a winner. I still find it funny that this is the first dress that I ever sewed and yet I still wear it all the time. It just goes to show that when you make something you love it will last you :)

 Day Thirty One

Cardigan: Made by Me

Forgive the wet hair look, I just had one second to snap this picture before heading out for a full day of work! Anyways, for my last day of Me Made May I decided to wear one of my favourite outfits of the month (Day Two) to celebrate how much fun I've had. Plus I got to wear my cardigan, and you know how much I love my cardigan :) 

So there you have it, my first ever Me Made May is completed! This month has really shown me how happy I am about wearing my hand-made clothes, and how I really would never go back to buying things from the high street. This is the way it's going to be for me from now on, and I couldn't be happier about it :)

If you want to see more of my Me Made May photos check these out:

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Me Made May - Week 4

So, I've nearly come to the end of my first ever Me Made May, I can't believe it, it's gone really fast! I've learnt so much about my wardrobe and how I dress it's pretty crazy, but I've loved the experience, it's been great to wear so many Me-Made items :) But enough of that for now, here's what I've been wearing this week:

Day Twenty Two

Shrug: Made By Me, Blouse: Vintage Revamped by Me, Skirt: Vintage Revamped by Me

This outfit is definitely an oldie but a goodie! This top and skirt were some of the first projects that I ever shared on this blog, and I still wear them a lot! Both of these items originally costed me only a few pounds and were pretty hideous, but it just goes to show how far a little tarting up can go!

Day Twenty Three

Dress: Made By Me

Yes, it's this dress again I'm afraid, sorry to be boring! I just love how easy this dress is to wear, it's a simple throw-on-but-still-look-pretty kind of dress. Plus the fabric is vintage and so soft and dreamy that I just can't stop myself wearing it!

Day Twenty Four

Top: Made By Me, Skirt: Made By Me

Look, something new! It's finally hot enough for me to wear this top and I'm thrilled! I love this whole outfit, and it was only the need to wear more Me-Made items together than made me pair this top and skirt together, but I think it works don't you? Another success thanks to Me Made May!

Day Twenty Five

Sweater: Made By Me, Skirt: Vintage Revamped By Me

Another of my many Me Made knits. This one was made a s a part of Tasha's Briar Rose knit-along, an experience that I adored. This is the first sweater that I have ever knitted specifically to fot me exactly, so thanks Tasha for all your amazing advice :)

Day Twenty Six

Dress: Made By Me

Yes, it's the New Girl dress again, but it was so sunny I just couldn't help myself! This dress is just perfect for the summer :)

Day Twenty Seven

Dress: Vintage Revamped By Me

My pretty new Vintage Revamped dress, I'm totally in love with it! It was perfect to wear on my day off whilst sipping Pimms as the sun started to set. Absolute heaven! Thank you so much to the people who have commented on this dress already, I'm so glad you like it as much as I do :)

Day Twenty Eight

Skirt: Made and Embroidered By Me

I think you can tell by this picture that I have just driven three and a half hours back to Liverpool for work, definitely around my crazy hair... But this was a great travel outfit, very comfy but still cute and I think I still look presentable even after my long journey!

Well there's only three days left on the challenge, so I'll be sharing those outfits with you very soon. For all of those of you who are also taking part in Me Made May, best of luck for the last few days! Enjoy!

Katie xxx

Me Made May - Week 3

Welcome to the third we of my first ever Me Made May! I feel this week has definitely been the most exciting one for me so far as I've started connecting with other Me-Made-Me-ers which has been really interesting. This challenge has been such a great way to bring sewing people together, I'm totally all for it :) If you are joining me for the first time after connecting with me this week through Me-Made-Me-ing then welcome! I hope you've been having as much fun with it all as I have!

Day Fifteen 

Dress: Made By Me

Yes, it's a repeat from last week (damn you airlines and your 20kg minimum on luggage!) but I love this dress so much I don't mind at all. I love the colour combination of blue and red, primary colours always look so cute together :)

Day Sixteen

Skirt: Vintage Revamped by Me

Can you tell from this picture that at this point in the week the show has really been kicking my butt?! I haven't accessorised this outfit as the bags under my eyes felt like enough! But seriously a nice cozy shrug and woollen kilt are perfect for those days when all you want to do is curl up and sleep.

Day Seventeen

Sweater: Made by Me

I was evidently feeling much perkier on Friday after a good night's sleep and a restful day, which is reflected in this fun floral outfit :) This is another good example of how this challenge has added diversity to my wardrobe, I really wanted to wear this dress but didn't want to repeat Day Two's outfit, so I paired it with my green sweater and I really like it. Plus I got to wear another of my Cassie Stephens belts which really makes me happy!

Day Eighteen

Cardigan: Made by Me, Skirt: Made by Me

You're probably sick of this cardigan by now, aren't you? Well, sorry, but I love it and wearing it has become an addiction. Can you blame me?? So pretty...

Day Nineteen

Sweater: Made by Me, Trousers: Vintage Revamped by Me

Good grief, is that me, in TROUSERS?!?!?! Yes, for the first time ever on this blog I am wearing trousers! My beautiful new Vintage Revamped trousers that I love because they make me feel like a cross between a land girl and equestrian Betty Draper. Plus they fit me on my waist and my bum, which is, quite frankly, a miracle. They are my miracle trousers and I love them.

Day Twenty

Dress: Made by Me

 I mentioned previously that this dress was a dream to transport in a suitcase, well it turns out it's also great for aeroplane journeys! I wore this for my flight back from Aberdeen (a 5:30 start to the day, ouch!) and managed to look relatively unruffled by the time I arrived home! 

Day Twenty One

Sweater: Made by Me, Skirt: Made by Me

You can tell I'm home because there's finally some new Me Made outfits to share! Hurrah! I have never paired this sweater and skirt together before but today they just jumped out of the wardrobe at me and I think they look pretty cute together :) The sweater is another Stitch in Time number, but this time from Volume 1. If you're into knitting you really should own both volumes 1 and 2, they really have the most beautiful patterns I have ever seen! And yes, those are tiny Alice in Wonderland White Rabbits all over my skirt :)

And there you have it for another week! I promise that since getting home I have repacked my suitcase with some other different Me Made items to spare you having to look at identical things each day, and I'm looking forward to having some new clothes to make into fun outfits. Bring on Week 4!

Bye for now!

Katie x

Me Made May - Week 2

Week two of Me Made May is done and I've still kept up with the challenge, so yay! However, I warn you that this week's pictures reveal quite a lot about life on tour, mostly that some home sewn clothes don't like being carted around in a suitcase that much and also having a 20kg bagging allowance means that I don't have much room for a vast variety of clothing (especially considering I packed my tripod in order to take these pictures!), so be warned! Saying that I am liking my outfits from this week, so enjoy!

Day Eight

Dress: Vintage Revamped by me

It's been a while since I've worn this dress, so thanks again to Me Made May for giving some of my outfits new life, and I'm loving wearing it again! This dress always gets a lot of attention and is great to just throw on so it's perfect for touring :)

Day Nine

Dress: Made by Me

It's the New Girl dress! I love this dress so much, the colour, the style, the fit, everything about it making me happy. But sadly this dress doesn't travel so well, just look at those wrinkles! Eek! But I forgive it because it's so damn pretty, so it comes on tour with me anyway!

 Day Ten

Sweater: Made by me, Skirt: Vintage Revamped by me

You can tell from my slightly dazed expression that this was clearly a lazy day outfit (I was very tired and sore from too many shows and too many classes at the gym, ouch!). This kilt and this jumper really are some of the coziest clothes to wear :) I haven't ever blogged about revamping the skirt because it was a very simple job (a little hem and waist adjustment) but it's something I wear a lot so I'm glad it's finally making an appearance on this blog. And can you tell what the weather is like here in Aberdeen considering that I'm wearing knits and wool even though it's May??! :)

Day Eleven

Dress: Made by Me

I love my Swing Dress, even though it took me years to complete! This is another throw-on-and-look-good dress, plus the fabric (a polyester mix) means it always looks good even if it's been screwed up at the bottom of a suitcase for two weeks (not that I ever treat my homemade clothes like that...!). This is another outfit that gets a lot of attention, and I like it!

Day Twelve

Cardigan: Made by Me, Hat: Made by Me

Are you sick of seeing this cardigan yet?! I'm sorry, I just can't help myself! You know when you make something and you're so ridiculously proud of it and in love with it that you literally can't stop wearing it? That's what I'm like over this cardigan :) Plus doesn't it look cute with my Cassie Stephens bunny belt? This hat is an old favourite of mine too, it's perfect for covering post-wig cap hair after a show. I made it using this pattern.

Day Thirteen

Dress: Made by Me

Again, a slightly bemused expression after a busy week at the theatre! And this is where the real repeats of outfits is going to start, I've worn pretty much everything I had in my suitcase! I'll try and mix things up a bit, but there's only so much I can with what I have! Anyways, once again we have my ceylon dress. My first ever Me-Made dress and I still wear it regularly. Don't you just love the colour? It makes me swoon :)

Day Fourteen

Sweater: Made by Me, Skirt: Vintage Revamped by Me

Another cozy look with a homeknit and kilt. By the way has anyone else noticed how many tartans I seem to have collected recently? I never noticed until I started taking these pictures, but man do I love a check pattern! Pretty much every other picture this week has some kind of tartan in it, I must be channeling the spirit of Scotland whilst I'm in Aberdeen!

And that's it for week 2 of Me Made May! Look out for week 3 because I've been working on some new Vintage Revamps, so some new pieces will probably be creeping into my wardrobe soon!

Bye for now,

Katie x

Me Made May - Week 1

So it's the end of the first week of my first ever Me-Made-May, and things have been going well so far. Specifically choosing Me-Made outfits has made me revisit quite a few items of clothing that I haven't worn in a while, and I'm really pleased with how everything has been looking so far, plus it's been fun giving forgotten items a new lease of life.

But enough talk, let's have a look at what I've been wearing... (and yes, the first three days of May I was in Paris and I took full advantage of our private balcony for picture taking!)

Day One

Dress: Made by Me, Shrug: Made by Me

I wore this outfit on my first day in Paris and it was just perfect for the beautiful sunny weather! I love both these Me-Made items and I wear them a lot so this wasn't really much of a change for me.

Day Two

Cardigan: Made by Me

I finally finished my first knitting project from a Stich in Time 2, and don't you just love how it turned out? It's the only Me-Made item in this outfit, but it's a showstopper and I'm totally in love with it, I can see a lot of outfits using this cardigan in my future :) 

 Day Three

Dress: Made by Me

This ceylon dress is one of my first ever sewing projects but I love it so much I still wear it even though it lacks some of the detailing of my newer projects. It's my favourite colour and it matches my favourite lipstick perfectly!

 Day Four

Sweater: Made by Me, Skirt: Made by Me

And so I return home after Paris and my photo-taking becomes a little less fancy! :) This sweater is from A Stitch in Time 1 and doesn't get worn nearly as much as it should, so thanks Me-Made-May! It goes perfectly with my charity-shop-fabric skirt. Believe it or not this is a dressed down outfit for me :)

Day Five

Cardigan: Made by Me, Skirt: Vintage Re-vamped by Me

I told you that you'd be seeing the cardigan again! Mustard really is my new favourite colour :) This is a new combination for me but I really like how the cardigan goes with my checked skirt (a vintage purchase from Austria that I altered for the perfect fit).

Day Six

Dress: Made by Me

Another example of Me-Made-Made giving new life to a Me-Made item: this dress has hardly been worn since I completed it. I wasn't sure how to style it other than the way I originally wore it so it has just sat in my wardrobe. But I decided to give it another shot and so this rather cute concoction was born! I didn't think this dress could be pretty and girly but this look really works!

Day Seven

Skirt: Made and embroidered by Me

It's the return of my Pin Up skirt! I love this skirt and it makes everything more fun when I wear it. Getting it out of my wardrobe has really made me want to wear it more!

So there you have it, week one of the challenge over and all is going swimmingly so far! Are you taking part in Me-Made-May? How is it going for you so far?

Katie x

Life is full of Challenges....

You may remember from my Wednesday Wonderfuls this week that I am going to be taking part in the fabulous Sew Cinematic Challenge in which you make a garment inspired by now of your favourite on screen looks. I am very excited about this and have almost settled on what look I'm going to try and recreate, but this isn't the only Challenge I have recently signed up for. This year I'm going to take part in Me-Made-May-12 over at So, Zo... What do you know?

For those of you that don't already know the lovely Zoe has been hosting Me-Made and Self-Stitched Challenges for two years now, in which the participants vow to wear handmade items of clothing everyday for a whole month. You can choose how few or how many items you challenge yourself to wear each day, some people just go for one whilst other brave souls opt for an entirely handmade made wardrobe for a month, but all in all it seems like a great way to get those handmade clothes out of the wardrobe and into the streets. I have been following these Challenges for a while now, and after a year and a bit of sewing I feel that I finally have enough handmade clothes to take part, it's all very exciting!

I have also decided to combine this Challenge with a little addition of my own. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while will know that something that I featured a lot on my blog in the early days were Vintage Revamp Projects, in which I took cheaper castoff vintage items that no one else seemed to want and turned them into something pretty. Particular favourites of mine were my Hot Pink 1950s dress and my Shirt to Skirt Challenge. These projects really helped me become more creative with my sewing and hone my crafting skills when I was just starting out, I think they are a great way to get people into sewing if they are a little intimidated. Now it's been while since I tackled a Vintage Revamp, but that doesn't mean I have stopped collecting clothing that need a good Revamp, oh no! So I am going to declare the month of May Vintage Revamp Month! I intend to tackle the section of my Stash (therefore putting my own UFO/Stash Busting Project into the mix) that is dedicated to unloved Vintage clothes and give them a new lease of life. So that will be two Challenges tackled in one month, not including the Sew Cinematic Challenge which will also be in the works. How's that for a Month of Challenges?!


To make things more official, here is the Pledge that I make to you my readers:


'I, Katie of The Little Red Squirrel, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '12. I endeavour to wear one item of me-made clothing each day for the duration of May 2012. Furthermore I pledge to complete at least 4 vintage revamp projects during May to wear as part of this challenge.'


So there you have it, May is going to be one exciting month! I better get cracking this month with finishing up some UFOs to wear...!


If you too want to take part in the Me-Made-May Challenge then head over to Zoe's blog to sign up, and do let me know if you do, I'd love to check out your part in the Challenge too :)


Katie xxx