Make It Work #2

Hi all!

So now that Make It Work #1 (copies are still available) has been out for a while, I'm all full of ideas again and I think I'm ready to start compiling the second one. I'd like to aim to have #2 printed in time for my stall at the Fattylypmics in London (7th July!) so I am going to set an initial deadline for contributions by the end of May. As with last time, the deadline will probably slide at least several weeks, so if you don't think you can meet that then please do email me to see if you can still submit.

Ideas for subjects:
- Self care.
- Body acceptance stories.

-     - DIY tutorials (resizing smaller items, designing patterns from scratch, adjusting clothes, costume making, accessories.)

- Craft - radical crafts, projects, activism. Please try and make any tutorials sizeless.
- Art - good/bad/otherwise!
- Fat friendly exercise/HAES. 
- Fat relationships, sex, dating, friendships.
- Mental health.
- Fatshion - blogging, shopping guides, recommendations, resources for queer and differently gendered people.
- Queer politics - how does being fat impact your choices? How do dominant aesthetics limit your choices, how do you resist them, and how does your sense of dress interact with these dominant aesthetics?
- Letters to high street retailers, methods of resistance against outsizing, commentary on the closing of physical fat sized stores.
- Critiques and criticisms of fatshion - how can we make it a more inclusive space? Who do you want to see blogging?

Make It Work is predominantly a fatshion/craft zine, but it's political focus means there is tons more scope to include pieces outside of that specific area. For me 'making it work' is a central part of my engagement with my body both in my fashion choices and in my lifestyle choices - I consider it part of the survival tactics that help me cope in environments which are body oppressive. These are just starting points for brainstorming, and things I'd love to feature in the zine - if you want to feature anything else then feel free to suggest something. 

Anything you send should be easily photocopiable. Text based submissions should be 1,000 words or less. If you want to discuss ideas with me or submit a piece then contact me at fattyunbound[at]gmail[dot]com.

A denim jacket has been on my list of items to acquire for a while now, after I realised it is pretty effortless to team with summer dresses in the Spring. Sadly Spring temperatures are still a way away (oh, England) but I wore it out anyway, to go see a screening of The Beggars of Life at the National Media Museum, though admittedly with many other layers to bump up the warmth factor.

Dress, George via eBay, £7.50
Scarf, Primark, £4
Jacket, New Look Inspire, £20 (and still online)
Belt, old vintage stock
Tights, We Love Colours (bought online via a friend's sale post)
Brogues, Primark, £6

This is my latest craft project. I've been meaning to tackle a shift dress for a good while (given that it's pretty much my favourite dress shape), and when I found the pattern for this in The Colette Sewing Handbook (FYI, the book's patterns are for US sizes 0-18), I thought it would be a good project. I made it in a lightweight cotton lawn, and lined the bodice with a sturdy cotton blend lining fabric. It's the first time I've fitted a lining and I'm chuffed with the outcome. Here's a close up of the main material:  

 

I bought it from a fabric stall in Leeds market for £5 pm. The total cost of the dress was about £20 - more than I'd normally spend, mainly because I shopped specifically for the materials for the dress (normally I just hover around the bargain bins/rails picking up what I can here and there for future projects). 

Here's how I dressed it for a day temping:

Cardigan, clothes swap

Dress, handmade

Belt, old vintage stock

Tights, M&S

Brogues, Primark, £6

I'm a great believer of images as an important part of body acceptance. They're often what you base your self-hatred on beforehand, by deconstructing your appearance, and, for me at least, seeing images of fat bodies on fatshion blogs and communities showed me that my body was not worth that self-hatred. We aren't often exposed to photographs of fat people in any other guise than the headless fatty or in generally a negative or incomplete portrayal, and this lack of images to relate to makes you feel as if your body is an anomoly. Fat positive online spaces contradict this by reclaiming their own image and sharing it on their own terms, with their own chosen aesthetic and presentation.

So, for me, seeing my body (whether by writing this blog, or hanging out with other fat people, or by being visible on my own terms) has become a really empowering way of negotiating my own relationship with my body. Maybe this makes me vain as hell, but it also makes me happy, and that's more important ultimately.

Anyway, to get to the point I'm trying to make(!), I recently got a copy of The Colette Sewing Handbook by Colette Patterns. They're an ace company who make vintage inspired patterns which have always hit the spot for me. They only go up to a UK size 20, but I've often been able to make the patterns work for me by working with smaller seam allowances. I would LOVE it if they'd expand their sizing so that more plus sizers could enjoy their work too *hint hint*. In the book, the author suggests that it's a good idea to make your own sewing doll/dummy on which to base your sketches for future craft projects. You do this by photographing yourself in either tight clothing or your underwear, printing a copy out, tracing your outline and then scanning or rephotographing it again. You've then got a digital copy of yourself that you can doodle ideas for, photocopy endlessly and design clothes for.

This excited me endlessly, because A) I'm a pretty bad artist and tracing is easy, and B) it meant I could doodle ideas for future creations on a copy of my own body. This is fantastic for craft purposes, but it's also a pretty fun thing to do in general - I found it a positive experience that helped me reconnect with myself after generally feeling a bit low. You can use the form to play around with outfit ideas, make zines, plan projects, or just doodle. It's a little thing, but I found it an affirming body positive experience, so thought I'd reflect upon it.

Here's mine (and if you don't want to see drawings of me in my pants, you should probably look away now!):


BACK FAT!

And here's some stuff I'd like to make or own:

An unashamed rip off of a Queen of Holloway dress I've had my eye on. Hopeful future project!

40s esque high waisted trousers (a current project), and a nice fitting blouse with a Peter Pan collar.

Here's an obnoxiously bright outfit best suited for the start of Spring (someone should tell Leeds that it is Spring soon though, it's been miserably dark of late). I bought these green tights off a friend who was selling them on because, well, who doesn't need green tights in their life?! They're we love colours, size E, and whilst they fit well there's lots of room to spare, so next time I buy a pair I'll probably size down. They're probably the tallest fitting tights I've ever owned, however, I can actually pull them over my bra! So definitely a good option for other tall fats!

Dress, vintage, $20
Tights, We Love Colours via an online sale, £6
Belt, old vintage stock
Brogues, Primark, £6

I had a job interview last week, for a pretty exciting editorial job (I don't know if I have it yet, but fingers crossed!). Since I was interviewing at a media company, I dressed smart but not corporately, though the last minute addition of my snow boots was not ideal, but necessary given that we had an unexpected sprinkling of snow the night before! This dress is from the clothes swap, and has a beautiful blue and grey leopard print patterned overlay - perfect office to evening wear.

Blazer, via Fatshion Exchange, £10
Dress, clothes swap
Necklace, Primark, £2
Boots, Deichmann, £25

A rare outside snap for you today - I'm with one of my parents in Surrey, where I am recovering from a cold and getting lots of dog cuddles. Today I'm wearing another find from the swap - this gorgeous jersey dress with a lace collar. It's a (very) generous size 20, and a great dress to throw on. Today I dressed it simply with a flash of colour from my purple loafers!

Dress, clothes swap (from Peacocks originally I think)
Tights, M&S
Shoes, Primark, £12

Giveaway! But Another Innocent Tale Footwear: Winner

Hi all! Just a quick announcement - I generated the winner for the giveaway with B.A.I.T footwear this morning, and I'm pleased to announce that it is commenter #13, which is Tea! We'll be in contact with you to arrange your shoes shortly. Thanks to B.A.I.T for providing such an awesome selection to pick from!

Hey all! Thought I'd show off another swap find, which was this lovely burnt orange 70s-esque tunic. It's originally from Primark, size 16 (and er, VERY GENEROUS). I think I'd looked at these when they were in store, but I'm not normally a massive fan of tunics because I don't like having to wear leggings or trousers beneath them, so didn't get it. However, I'm really glad I found it again - thank you to the person who brought it along! The sheer wide sleeves are really comfortable and good British Spring attire, and I like that it's another smart but comfortable piece that's easily remixed.

Tunic, clothes swap
Leggings, ASOS, £22
Belt, old vintage stock
Necklace, vintage, £7
Shoes, Primark, £12

Some online crafting tips

The internet really is a fantastic resource for craft tutorials and tips. I continue to be amazed by how easy it is to become a largely self-taught crafter, and to find resources which are (by large) free. I've been expanding my skirt drafting skills a lot recently, in the interests of being able to widen the styles I can offer on my etsy shop, and I've found quite a few drafting guides that are relevant whether you are a size 0 or 34. I don't buy many patterns these days - I largely adapt the ones I have, and spend my time researching how to drafting my own instead, as it's much more cost effective in the long run.

Here are a few size-less drafting guides for skirts. Skirts (in my opinion) are easiest to start with, as with full styles (circle, a-line, pleated), you only really have to fit around the waistband.

How to draft an a-line skirt from your measurements.
How to draft a circle skirt (with bonus spreadsheet for all the tough calculations!
DIY Couture (I have their cape and pleated skirt books, and cannot recommend them enough. Easy to follow, sizeless, amazing!)
How to draft a pencil skirt.
Super cute curved pockets - a fantastic 50s-esque detail to add!
DIY bodice sloper (my next project!)

As a DIY seamstress, I find the resources available online incredibly inspiring. I rarely have to consult the craft books I own anymore - googling tutorials tends to be much simpler and easier to follow (I am not great at following written instructions, so step by step pictures, videos and so on make much more sense to me). I also find I am significantly less reliant on the patterns available for plus sizes (pretty appalling all round), and more capable of making exactly what I want to own this way.

It's been a good while since I first bought this dress, but it still remains one of my favourite daywear items. I wore this on Saturday to go to Bradford with a friend, buy some zines from a fair and eat curry (a pretty good combination in my opinion!). I dug this necklace out of my jewellery box the other day when I was having a sort out - it was pretty much my favourite accessory all through my final year of university and I'm not sure how or why it got buried. It's a nice tough to add to an otherwise quite simply outfit.

Also, yes, apparently it is necessary to shoot the close up in front of my favourite creepy child painting (bad art is a kitsch love of mine, and this was a £3 charity shop buy).

Dress, Dorothy Perkins, £20
Belt, old vintage stock
Necklace, £7, vintage
Brogues, Primark, £6
Tights, M&S

Also, thank you all for your entries into my giveaway with B.A.I.T Footwear! Entries are now CLOSED! I'll be drawing the winner over the weekend, so keep your eyes peeled for emails and announcements. xx

After taking a whole bunch of pictures today, I came to the conclusion that I pretty much always look awkward posing with a satchel. Here's my typical errand attire of late, now that Spring has arrived in Yorkshire. I went out in three layers today and ended up sweltering! Here's hoping the sun stays and I can stop wearing tights constantly.

I'm wearing one of my finds from the Plus Sized Clothes Swap I co-hosted on Sunday - a sheer Edwardian-esque top! I had a great day, and completely failed to document it (of course), so if you're interested in pictures from the day I'll direct you to this post on Lolly Likes (who has great style!). We had an increase in turn out from last time, which was fantastic, and it was great to see lots of returning faces also. We're wanting to continue doing swaps and start a fat positive collective in Yorkshire - if you're interested in participating you can now join our facebook group here. Anyone is welcome to join and suggest activities, share resources or admin on the community. We also run an email list for the clothes swap, so if you'd like to be added to that you can email me at fattyunbound [at] gmail [dot] com. If anyone has any feedback on the swap, you can contact me via the same email.
I'll be showing off some more swap items as the week goes on!

Jacket, clothes swap
Top, clothes swap
Shorts, Dorothy Perkins, £20
Brogues, Primark, £6
Socks, Primark, £1
Satchel, Cambridge Satchel Company, gifted

p.s. My giveaway with the lovely B.A.I.T footwear closes tomorrow evening, so get your entries in ASAP! Find full details on this post.

This was an errand runing outfit from earlier in the week. I love this skirt, but the length is definitely odd for me - I always feel a little frumpy in it, because I normally wear mid thigh skirts. I'm wearing it more now though, as the bright yellow is such a Spring colour.

Skirt, Dorothy Perkins, £15
Top, via Claire
Scarf, old vintage stock
Belt, old vintage stock
Loafers, Primark, £12

A bit of a colour/pattern/everything clashing yesterday, inspired by occasional bursts of bright sun and just the general need to be a bit obnoxious and loud. I love these tights but feel I need to make a few bolder wardrobe decisions in teaming them with outfits.

Top, clothes swap, free
Collar, Romwe, c. £7
Skirt, self made with fabric gifted by the lovely Donna
Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £7
Tights, c/o We Love Colours
Shoes, Primark, £12

Edited to add a few plugs too:

This weekend is the plus sized clothes swap I'm organising - you can see details for that here, and there's a facebook event here too. It'll be fun and cheap and awesome!

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway with BAIT footwear, details here.

Another plug for you all today, SORRY. Everyone knows that I've been making clothes for a while now, and this past month I've been spending a lot of time getting my grading skills up to a good standard. I've made the decision to start selling custom made circle skirts (half and full, in a variety of printed cotton fabrics) on etsy.

I cater to any size for the prices listed, and there are other pattern options available (including some super cute bird prints!). If you're looking for a plain cotton, or perhaps a different pattern, you can also convo me and I'll see if I can source something for you (though this might incur extra costs).

There are currently four listings on Etsy - two custom listings and two ready to ship (the above two skirts, which are both best for a 20/22). Head over to my etsy shop for further details.

An everyday sort of outfit today - these pieces are pretty much my staple wardrobe items. I think you've all seen them countless times before, but maybe not together in this way.

I've been thinking lately about my wardrobe habits. I'm pretty impulsive with my shopping, and it always means that my clothes storage is full to bursting. However, at the same time, I wear pieces like these to death, and I find that day to day, I keep to staple basic separates nowadays. This didn't use to be the case - I used to wear dresses and cardigans constantly (hello twee past), and I found that my wardrobe contained lots of dresses that I circulated regularly. Now my dresses are more for special occasions, and I am much more of a remixer of clothes.

Cardigan, M&S, gifted
Blouse, ASOS curve via Fatshion Exchange, £7
Skirt, clothes swap
Belt, old vintage stock
Docs, gifted

Giveaway! But Another Innocent Tale Footwear

This month I’m teaming up with my newest sponsors, But Another Innocent Tale Footwear, to offer you all a giveaway!

B.A.I.T are a very newly launched footwear company, who offer vintage inspired shoes, with modern details and colouring. Their styles are colourful, affordable and lovely compliments to a retro styled wardrobe. Their shoes are perfect staples for any wardrobe, and I have to say that, as someone who loves pieces to mix and match, the colour range appeals to me endlessly.They’re a brand that appeals to me so much right now, with Spring approaching, and the thought of summer days not too far away.

But Another Innocent Tale have kindly offered to give one of my readers a choice of shoe from their online store.

Here’s how to enter:

Visit the B.A.I.T footwear website, and check out their shoe selection. In the comments to this entry, let me know your favourite style name and colour, and don’t forget to leave your email address, so that we can contact you after the giveaway ends!

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents ONLY.

The giveaway will run until 29th March 2012 after which I’ll announce the winner on the blog and contact them directly.

B.A.I.T on facebook

B.A.I.T on twitter

B.A.I.T blog

I spent this past weekend at All Tomorrow's Parties in Minehead, enjoying the cold weather (with occasional bursts of sunshine!), the beach and seeing lots of bands that I love dearly. As per usual I got carried away and forgot to document my outfits, but I did have a chance to have a hunt around Taunton's (MANY) charity shops on my way home. I was lucky enough to pick up these high waisted polka dot shorts in one of them, which is pretty exciting as I've been after a pair for ages. These are really wide with a semi elasticated waist, and just the right length - I had a pair before, but they were pretty indecent even with tights on (curse long legs), so I swapped them a while back.

Cardigan, M&S, gifted
Heart badge, traded online
T-shirt, swapped
Shorts, charity shop, £2.99
Tights, M&S
Brogues, Primark, £6
Scarf, old vintage stock

p.s. I'm going to be hosting my first giveaway soon, keep an eye out for more information this evening!

I'm certain anyone who follows more than one fat fashion blog will have seen this dress by now - it's from New Look Inspire, and has proved pretty popular. Having read a few rad reviews, I decided to buy it when it went into the sale recently (it's sold out now), and I'm glad I did. I'm a big fan of simple jersey dresses for daywear right now, and the cut and big pockets make it pretty good for errand running. I sized down to a 20, because it was all that was left online, and am glad I did as it's pretty generous, and nice and form fitting now. It'll definitely be reworn!

Dress, £12, New Look
Tights, M&S
Belt, Dorothy Perkins, £7
Boots, Clarks, £40

After seeing suspender tights and hold ups as outerwear around so much lately, I decided to give it a go myself. Hold ups and mini skirts were pretty much my riot grrrrl teenager togs of choice, so I'm considering this a slightly more adult attempt. Funny though, how, despite wearing more tights than I would normally wear, I felt self conscious in this - completely nonsensical.

These hold ups, as a side note, as Autograph brand by M&S, and can be found here. I've owned maybe three pairs in the last three years, and they last FOREVER. They're also the only hold up I've ever gotten along with - they've got height enough to sit right on my upper thighs, never fall down and have a nice, thick band. Okay, £9.50 is a lot for a pair of hold ups, but I reckon with the amount of times I've worn them, they probably cost pennies per wear now.

Shirt, clothes swap, free
Bra, courtesy of Elomi
Shorts, Dorothy Perkins, still on site here £17 (with voucher code)
Hold ups, M&S
Suspender belt, eBay, £30
Boots, Clarks, £40