I’ve started on my new sewing adventure—making and altering my clothes!

My Instagram feed is no longer dedicated just to quilting and home decor. Lots of handmade clothes are now popping up. Also posts about mending and restructuring. The point of #Memademay is to make your own clothes, mend what you have, or restructure clothes so you will like them. No more just tossing things that don’t fit or are worn out. I am also going through my closet and judging the items I don’t wear. Can it be repaired or altered? Or does it need to go to the thrift store? Progress is being made!

For my first me-made project, I made the free tee shirt from It’s Always Autumn. I downloaded this pattern several months ago but since I’m intimidated by the idea of using my serger, I procrastinated. Until last week–I dug it out of it’s storage space in the closet and started using it. My serger is the Baby Lock Celebrate. I think it’s kind of cute. Probably because it is so small compared to my other sewing machines.

Anyhow….I had that shirt done in no time. Well, everything but the hem on the sleeves and the bottom. Until this point on the tee, I had just used the serger the way it was initially set up–both needles and loopers. When I bought the serger, I also ordered the “Serger Accessory Feet Package”–because one of the reviews I watched on YouTube told me to. The package included a blind hem foot and I was quite determined to use that foot. (Because I paid lots of money for it–therefore it must be used.) I had to figure out how to change the feet and the settings on the machine to use the foot and I started finding many other projects to work on. (One of my best skills is procrastinating.) But I finally I got back to work on the shirt.

“The serger is not an evil creature. It is a tool. Which I must conquer.” That was the mantra I kept running through my mind. After many hours of reading the manual, the instructions that came with the blind hem foot, reading a “Serger Techniques” book plus watching “blind hem on serger” videos on YouTube and then practicing on a lot of knit fabric scraps, I FINALLY got the tee shirt hemmed. It’s not perfect. But I’m happy with my first attempt at this pattern. (We’ll see if it makes it through it’s first laundry cycle!)

This is supposed to be a Ladies size large. I wear a 10 so thought it might be a little big, but it’s actually a wee bit tight across the chest. The pattern came with two sleeve lengths. I went with the elbow length. I’m always ordering elbow length sleeves and they never reach my elbows. I LOVE the length of these sleeves. The pattern was also longer, actually having a “gently curved hemline”. That would have really been very cute but after having so much trouble with the blind hem, I wacked that curve off and made it into a straight cut. Which makes it a little shorter than I wanted. Next time I’ll add a few inches to the bottom or maybe I’ll learn how to do that gentle curve. The neckline didn’t quite turn out the way it should. It kind of gaps a little.

But it’s okay. I’m happy–after all, I conquered the Serger and the blind hem foot!

And now I need to plan my next “Me-Made” project so I don’t forget how to use my new skills!