Holiday Sewing… And Fabric Shopping Plans!

I have been quiet on the blog for quite some time due to work and generally being busy with life.  However, I have still been sewing a lot and have attended a course at Morley College one day a week which has been amazing and I have learnt so much as well as making some new sewing friends!

So … for now I will just show my basic makes for holiday, ie, easy to wash and wear with minimal care.  We are going away for 3 weeks with a small luggage allowance so I’m trying to mix and match clothing!

This is a hack of the Scout Tee, I just cropped it and added a 9″ peplum which is almost double the width of the top (not quite double as I didn’t have enough fabric)!

As you can see there is a seam down the front, this is because I cut it out late at night after a long day at work and I accidentally placed the shoulder curve on the fold thinking it was the front neckline, anyway, it turned out ok!

Next up, another Scout Tee hack with a dipped hem at the back (and no centre seam!)

I love this fabric, such pretty colours, Tilly and the Buttons used it in some of their kits for the Zadie dress.

I also made a knit top from a Stoff and Stil pattern, it’s supposed to be for a woven but I wanted a knit of ease of wear and I love the sleeves with a slight gather at the shoulder and the bell shape.

Apologies for the messy kitchen and lack of head, my photographer was doing his best under pressure to get back to the world of Zelda!

Hopefully I will get back into the groove and catch up with my massive backlog of finished garments .. just need to get all the photos done!

 

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Why Bother Making Jogging Bottoms?!

Well, I’ll tell you!  Firstly, Happy New Year!!

As a curvy girl with a rounded bum I always need to buy the size to accommodate my arse.  This usually means that there is loads of spare fabric round my waist, which makes me look like I have a bigger tummy, especially with thicker sweatshirt fabric.

Making my own means that I can grade between sizes and eliminate the extra bulk – always a plus!  Especially after my Christmas excesses (although I have started my Couch to 5K programme ha! day 4 and going strong!!)

The pattern I used is Anima from Papercut Patterns.  The fabric I used for this first tester pair is some cheap jersey from Ebay and to be honest its a bit too thin but I like how they fit.  I made a mini pair for my son too with the same fabric but I was told no pics allowed of him!

I used some ribbon to stop the pockets from stretching out – I always cut off the ribbon loops you get in RTW tops and use those!  I made them on  my overlocker except the top stitching on the pockets.

For my next “proper” pair I will take in a bit more from the waist and use thicker sweatshirt fabric, this:

It’s a sweatshirt fabric with a ripped denim print on it, I did think about making a dress from it but decided that would be a bit too much but jogging bottoms will be great!

Nearly finished – just the waist band to attach!

Hope you all had a good Christmas and are brimming with sewing schemes and plans!

Belated Ginger Jeans

I lost my blogging mojo for a while, still did lots of sewing but no blogging and couldn’t get around to taking photos.

However, finally here are the Ginger Jeans I made – finished before summer and then it was too hot to wear them!

It’s really hard to photograph dark denim but I did top stitch in a gold/yellow thread.  The construction was time consuming but actually, if you have limited time for sewing it is possible to do 10/15 minutes at a time.  There are so many pieces and stages to sew that I did the pockets one day, yoke the next etc and although they came together slowly, it wasn’t frustrating as I was able to finish each stage and stop.

Putting in the fly front was the trickiest part – as you can see my top stitching isn’t perfect but I doubt anyone will be studying my crotch area that closely!  The main thing is that it all lies flat.

The most frustrating part was getting the back pockets in the right place – when I had them where the pattern markings were, it made my bum look low and saggy!  I moved them up about 1.5″ and it looked so much better but it took about 4 goes of pinning in place, trying to look at my bum in the mirror and re-pinning!

However, the Mr inspected my rear end and said they were probably the most flattering jeans I had ever worn – so worth the effort.

I made the high waist skinny version in a size 14 with a small wedge taken out of the back waist seam.  The front left leg inside seam very slightly turns towards the front and I have read other blogs that mention this but I think next time I will cut the denim in single layers as I think it is just that the fabric wasn’t completely on grain.  Also next time I will take a bit less of a curve out the crotch to eliminate “whiskers” but they are very minor and these are totally wearable jeans.  I overlocked the seams and if you want to know more about the creator of this great pattern – there is an article on Closet Case Files and the best jeans patterns currently available in this month’s issue of Love Sewing Magazine.

I will definitely be making these again and already have some denim picked out.  The denim I used for these is from Rolls and Rems on Seven Sisters Road.

Ginger Jeans with Plantain Tee

Sorry for the poor photos – I need to get my little assistant back on track.

I have also finished the Morgan Jeans by Closet Case Files and hopefully will get some photos taken soon.

 

“In The Clouds” Roberts Jumpsuit

Another Roberts Jumpsuit from the Marilla Walker pattern, the third item I have made from the pattern and it still won’t be the last – this is absolutely the best pattern I have ever bought! (And I’ve bought A LOT!!)  You can buy it from her shop on Etsy.

The fabric is a very soft rayon I bought on Ebay which was a real bargain and I washed it twice just to make sure it was properly pre-shrunk!  I love the clouds and the blueness of it (please note my new blue shoes that go very well too!)

The photos are taken in Venice where the lovely Mr took me for my birthday at the beginning of June.

This time, to make it look different I put in a chunky white zip instead of buttons and had to take away the overlap and seam allowance for the button placket.  This tested my maths ability for a while but I got my head round it.  I also took 1″ out of the crotch length and 2″ off the leg length as I didn’t want these to be turned up.  I made it all with the overlocker except the hems and zip, I then top stitched all the seams down.

The zip looks really great but as it is a chunky zip and the rayon is very light weight, it did slightly pull the v-neck down a bit and I was conscious of too much cleavage so I wore a camisole underneath but I’m happy with that.  Standing up straight it would be fine but I was worried about what would be on display if I bent forward.  I actually wore it to breakfast at our hotel without the camisole and the Mr said it looked fine but I lost my bottle and quickly put a camisole on before going out for the day!  It must be a sign of my age because when I was 21 I wouldn’t have cared at all!

It looks like my left leg is a strange shape but it was just a bit breezy!  I’m very pleased with this make and I’m sure it will get lots of wear this summer (I’ve already worn it a lot as I made it a month ago).

I would love to hear your comments!  Next up Marilla Walker Mercury Trousers ….

Dungaree Dress

First of all, apologies for the photo quality in this post, my little photographer was having an off day.

I love my new dress, it’s another Marilla Walker Roberts collection (that pattern just keeps on giving)!  I used some Hugo Boss linen I bought from Ebay, it’s a medium to heavy weight and I thought it might be a bit too heavy but it hangs really well.

I cut a size 4 skirt and waist and size 5 bib as I didn’t want it cutting across my nipples!  Not that it would have, the pattern is really well drafted.

I wore it with boots as it’s still a bit chilly but in the summer I can wear it with sandals or flip flops.  I like the shaping on the back and of course it’s got pockets which is always a win!  I lent forwards as this photo was taken and it looks like my shoulders are massive – they’re not really that big!

The pattern suggests using flat felled seams or French seams which I did on my jumpsuit but this time I just overlocked the whole thing. I used left over fabric from a top I made for the back facing and to line the pockets.

It took me ages to decide which buttons to use but in the end I went for some painted wooden buttons that I have had in my stash for quite some time, bought for a knitting project that never happened!

I am pleased with how this turned out and it will get a lot of wear, I’ve already worn it 3 times and I only finished it last Saturday so that’s a good sign!

It Looks Like Babycham!

Sorry for the silence, I haven’t blogged for ages due to computer failure!  It has been very frustrating to say the least but FINALLY we are back up and running, hooray!!

This is the Blouse Cézembre by Anne K Courture which has been  in my list of makes for quite a while but I only made it a month ago.  It has ended up being my Christmas top for a couple of “dos” and I really like it.  Initially I thought it might be too big but I think I like the slightly oversized look and it is great for eating too much Christmas fare!

These are the flowers the lovely Mr bought me for our anniversary on December 18th.

Back to the sewing!  I made a size 44 as I wanted it to be very loose fitting but I think next time I will go down to a size 42.  I took the size according to my bust measurement but it is very generously sized.  It’s quite a quick, easy sew, the trickiest bit being the curved hemline which has a facing.  You can see the high/low look:

I got the fabric online and it is really one of my best buys from ebay.  Karen wrote a post, Putting the fun back into black from Did You Make That made a shift dress in the same fabric.

My youngest took the photos on my phone and he’s not bad but can get a bit fed up after a few minutes!

All in all, I’m quite pleased with it!  Let me know what you think in the comments box.

And for those of you too young to remember what Babycham is,

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year! x

“It looks like a £70 Top!”

I’ve been away a while, but all back to normal now!  I have been doing bits of sewing here and there but nothing major – life gets in the way sometimes …

I have been on a bit of a sweatshirt mission for some reason, maybe it’s the change to  autumnal weather!  I’ve made a Jasper sweatshirt from Paprika Patterns, two Fielders from Merchant and Mills, and 2 Lindens from Grainline Studio!  I made all of them on my fabulous overlocker which made them really quick sews, I only used my sewing machine for some top stitching round the neck of the Lindens and Fielders. Here’s the Jasper …

I used some great quality fabric I bought in Stockholm which is so soft it’s like stroking a cat! I really like the fit of this, it has princess seams which makes the bust fit and on the drafting, from size 8-12 it’s a B cup and size 14 onwards is drafted for a C cup which makes perfect sense as not many size 14+ would be a B cup.  You’d think more designers would cop on to that fact!

The neckline is very flattering, it’s supposed to have a tab thing that buttons down at the side of the neck but I left that off and I think it looks better like this.  It also can be made in a tunic/dress length and have welt pockets into the front princess seams.  There’s also the option of a hem band and cuffs.  I love sweatshirts and the cosy comfort of them but don’t like the bulky, blokey look that some RTW have.

I think I will be making another of these and maybe one for my Mum!

 

Overlocker, You Mean Another Sewing Machine? No, An Overlocker!

Last Sunday I was lucky enough to attend a class at The Thrifty Stitcher in Stoke Newington.  For those who don’t know, The Thrifty Stitcher, aka Claire-Louise Hardie, is the Sewing Producer for The Great British Sewing Bee.  I did the “Overlocking Basics De-Mystified” taught by the lovely Layla Totah.

For most people, the fear of the overlocker is the threading, and yes, it is a bit tricky.  I’m so glad that I did the course before purchasing my Janome 6234XL, as Layla came by with her trusty scissors and snipped the threads a few times, which was very alarming!  However, making us thread the machine a few times really gave me confidence and I had less fear when my machine arrived at home.  

We made a t-shirt in the class and it is amazing how quickly it came together!  When researching overlockers, people always said how much quicker, easier and professional it made your sewing but I didn’t really get it until now!  If you have ever considered getting one and you are dithering – do it now!  You will never regret it, the expense is totally worth it and my thinking is that I will never have to buy one again, or at least not for about 20 years!

The T-shirt I made in class, over the top of my dress, so not that flattering!

Theresa’s t-shirt

And this is my new Janome 6234XL sitting next to my beloved Pfaff, I think they will become the best of friends!

Once it arrived, I threaded it straight away, it worked first time and I made a “test” skirt in under half an hour!  Job done I reckon.

Not my favourite fabric, but bought on Ebay for 99p and a wearable muslin, and the t-shirt is the one I made in class, I may add a band to the bottom of it so it sits better on my hips. The skirt is the Fay by Style Arc, it’s supposed to be a double layered skirt with a bagged out hem but I didn’t have enough fabric and it’s a thick Ponte so I just made a single layer and stitched a hem.  My youngest took this photo and said “it makes you look skinny, you should make more of these”!  I’m sure I will!

So, what sewing extravagances have you indulged in?  Click the “comments” box at the top of the page and let me know!

Misty Jeans – Style Arc

I know this is not the most flattering photo, who wants to see a photo of my larger than average arse!  However, I thought, in the interests of fitting, I would show you what I have done. As you can see there are some lines down the legs which disappeared a bit when I attached the waist band and  I managed to improve the fit on the second pair.

As I have a rounded bum, I had to add in some extra fabric to accommodate the curve.  There are two ways to do this and I have tried both.  I previously made some wide leg summer trousers and added a triangular wedge into the top part of the pattern.

This is a good way of adding extra space to the curve but it displaces the grain line and the waist band edge which you need to be careful about when drawing back onto the pattern.  I always used this method, until I recently found this method:

I cut inside the seam allowance, along the stitching line and pivoted the pattern to create space.  At the waist band I cut the thin seam allowance strip away from the main pattern and moved it out, adding a 1/2″ which created an extra 1″ to the seat area (fabric is folded, so 2 pieces cut).  Then I just straightened the line of the new pattern edge up to the top of the waist band.

I also added 3cm to the length of the rise from crotch to waist as I am a bit taller than average and I didn’t want to be constantly hoicking them up, nothing worse than bum cleavage!

The fabric I used was a black stretch denim with 2% lycra bought from Fabric Land in Salisbury, when visiting my parents. I used an overlock stitch on my Pfaff sewing machine for the side seams

and a triple stretch straight stitch especially for the trouser crotch seam – I love my Pfaff!  As these are jeggings and not jeans, it was an easy waistband with 2″ elastic.  I made two bands of elastic and attached the first to the waist and then the second one on top so that the fabric edge is enclosed.  I just used a zigzag stitch and stretched the elastic out as I sewed.

 

All in all, I am pleased with how they turned out and I have already worn them a few times and they are soooo comfy.  I will definitely be making more!  The only thing I would say with Style Arc patterns is that the instructions are a bit skimpy so you probably need to have had some sewing experience before tackling one of their patterns.  Also, when you order on line you need to give the size you want and they just send you that size so it’s harder to grade between sizes.  However, their patterns are very contemporary and have a stylish look and I am a big fan of them!

Please leave a comment by clicking on “leave a comment” at the top of this page, I would love to hear from you!