Hello all! One of the prompts for Me Made May from Sew Sew English on Instagram was “Why I Sew,” and it really got me thinking. I sew for a lot of different reasons, but I think they all come down to creativity and love. It’s also an outlet for the stress of my job and a way for me to make sure there’s beauty in the world, despite the trauma. Clothing that fits is also a plus, of course.

My Grandma Shirley and my Mom taught me to sew, but it was my Grandma that I sewed with more. We would attend the quilt group at church together and she made her grandkids quilts. I have sweet memories of her whenever I sew something that she would be proud of. The shoe is one of her pincushions. 🙂 She would be very proud that I’m working with stash fabric and trying to use all the scraps.

I made this shirt over the weekend and think that it’s the best thing I’ve made so far.

It fits me so well and I feel lovely in it. I added a band of antique lace to the bottom hem and the sleeve bands, which I pulled from my stash.

It’s a knit; rayon spandex, I think, from Joann’s. It was one of my birthday haul fabrics. The pattern is the Anges tunic from Halla Patterns. I love it and will need to make a bunch. It hits at just the right length and doesn’t make me look or feel huge.

Here’s another reason I sew:

So I can make my own fancy leggings! Although with shipping, these may not be cheaper than I can find them for online, I take great pride in knowing I can make my own. I have sewing machine leggings.

I had enough fabric left over to make a pencil skirt, arguably the most comfy skirt I own.

How fun is that? I’m going to pair it with a lovely black sweater for the Dita Von Tease show on Thursday. 🙂 Stars for the star!

I also made the most of my maxi skirt scraps by making a super cozy yoke for my new pj pants.

I bought this knit at the discount fabric store a few years ago, specifically for yoga pants and finally made them! They are very comfy. I have enough of the polka dots to make cuffs, but can’t decide if I want them cuffed or not.

This dress is also fabric that I bought many years ago intending on making an infinity dress out of it.  I would have only had enough for the skirt part, so I made this new knit dress pattern out of it instead.

Sadly, I missed all the time related puns while posting it.. “Time to sew, etc.” It’s secret pajamas. I enjoyed putting it together, although about halfway through, I was nervous that it wouldn’t work.  I finished it about 30 minutes before leaving for work.

I do have to remind myself that I’ve got some older projects to work on too, but these are so much fun! Most of it has been stash fabric too, so I’m using that up.

It’s been interesting to evaluate my clothes as I try to think of what to wear. There’s a huge pile of skirts on my bed reminding me that even my early self-made clothes weren’t always the right fit (pun intended.) Luckily, knowing that I can take them apart and fix it is helping me be less discouraged.

Another benefit of sewing is that I’ve been inspired by so many people and clothes from around the world! Everyone has their own style, even with the same pattern. The lace on my first shirt, for example. I’ve seen a couple different patterns paired with the fabric, but none had lace like mine. Who knows? Maybe I’ll inspire someone else to try something different with a pattern!

Hopefully I’ve inspired you to try something new this week!