Revisited Renfrew

 

Many years ago, when I first started sewing I bought the Renfrew top by Sewaholic Patterns. At the time it was one of the top Indie pattern companies and a great beginner pattern for knits. Perfect for a newbie, as I was at the time.

Drafted for pear-shaped figures I thought it would be perfect for me. Back then I made the pattern - it was easy to follow and the results were good. BUT it didn’t really fit me. I could sew, but I had no idea about fitting. It was a friend who was a pattern cutter who advised me on making improvements to the pattern.

My first attempt fit well everywhere apart from the shoulders. I may be pear-shaped, but I still have wide shoulders and it’s forever an issue when I buy RTW knit tops. My friend had advised me to widen the shoulders and showed me how to do this without altering the armscye. I added 1.5cm to the shoulder - which is quite a lot. I never made the pattern again until this last weekend.

When this knit arrived from Minerva I knew that it would make a perfect long-sleeve base layer. The fabric is smooth and feels amazing against the skin. It has a good amount of stretch, but behaves pretty well - although it does curl at the edges quite a bit. I prewashed it and set to work.

I had forgotten that I’d already altered the pattern to lengthen the sleeves and sort out the shoulder issue. I checked the pattern pieces against my go-to long-sleeve knit pattern and it was close, so I got straight on with it.

I omitted the bottom band and added a slight curve to the hem. I also shortened the neckband by an inch or so as this fabric was much stretchier than the one I used in the past and I did not want a gaping neckline. I did the neckline straight after sewing the front and back together. I thought it would be simple, but I rushed it and ended up with a lot of puckers. Carefully unpicking the neckband took some time, but it was worth it as the finish is pretty good. I just used a zigzag stitch to top stitch it down.

The rest of the top came together very smoothly and I am so glad of a nice long-sleeved base layer to wear during the cooler months. I know the stripes don't always show up well in photographs but this is a navy and pale blue narrow stripe. I think it will be perfect with my dungarees and pinafore dresses.

One word on fabric requirements. I had about 2m of this fabric, which is just about what the pattern calls for. However, with some careful placement, you can make it out of less. I think I have enough for another t-shirt. I just need to dig out the pattern that I will use.

Apologies for the blurry photos - time for a new phone I think!

 

Crash!

If you’ve followed my sewing journey for the last couple of years you will have seen me sew items suitable for rollerskating in. I started skating two years ago and love it. First I started on the flat and my local prom, but then I discovered park skating and have begun to enjoy throwing myself down ramps.

A year ago I had a nasty fall on the top of a ramp and landed with my coccyx on the coping (metal bar at the top of a half-pipe). It took a few weeks to heal and since then I have been skating with impact shorts on - also known as bum pads and crash pants. These are popular in board sports and ski/ snowboard sports. I got a pair from Facebook marketplace that was a little big, but they do fit well over leggings or skinny jeans. I wanted some that were more slimline to wear under my jeans, leggings and shorts.

I have done some reading into impact materials and discovered that a material called D30 is an impact-reducing material, that is often used in impact shorts for sportswear. It hardens on impact and then softens. However, the shorts with this in are very spenny! And you can’t just buy sheets of it, which is a shame.

I scored some junior impact shorts for £10 second-hand. I could get them on but they were tight!!!! I decided to try and make my own, using the padded sections from the ones I bought.

I started with a base leggings/ shorts pattern. For this I used the Ninja leggings from 5 out 4 patterns and cut the size small, grading to XS at the waist. I had made them before in S/M and there were a tiny bit too big. I used the Matt Activewear fabric as it has good stretch and recovery. I sewed the lot on my Pfaff, using a zigzag for the seam construction and creating a faux cover stitch effect by sewing the seam allowances down using an overlock stitch. The seams are external so that friction is reduced on the inside of the leggings.

Once I had the shorts made. I needed to get the protective pads in the correct place. I managed to pin in the hip pads and coccyx protection myself and then zigzagged them into place, using a zipper foot to get as close to the D30 Material as I could. The small pads that sit on the buttocks were harder to place and I had to get my hubby to help me position them and pin them before sewing them in.

I did consider adding an elastic waistband to them but I found that the high rise and fabric band is actually enough and they stay up very well. 

I have seen some very stylish crash shorts with lovely fabric on the outside and I considered making an outer layer to the shorts to hide the pads. However, keeping these as a single layer reduces the bulk and gives me way more options. I can wear under my jeans and skirts and also under leggings. I used the remaining fabric to make a full-length pair of Ninjas. I can wear these over the top as you can see in the photographs, but they are also great to wear for my yoga or Pilates sessions. The fabric has such a good recovery and coverage I love these. I think I might not ever buy leggings again.

The vest top is the Itch to Stitch Lago tank sewn up in the Minerva exclusive Dancing Lights french terry fabric. I also made full length leggings.

Waste Not Want Not Jeans

 

 

I love an upcycled project. and wearables ones are the best. Back in late August my son decided that he was getting rid of a couple of pairs of jeans. Before he threw them in the bin, I rescued them and examined the quality of the denim. The button area on the waistbands had gone and the zips were damaged. but all in all the fabric was in decent condition.

I carefully unpicked and took them apart. I intended to reuse as much of the fabric as I could.  One of the waistbands was long enough for me to use of I cut away the damaged section. I reused the pockets and the belt loops.

The legs were disassembled from the inside, leaving the outer seams in tact. I used these leg sections to cut the front and back legs from.

 

I had to piece fabric to have enough for some of the smaller sections -such as the yoke and I added length to the legs in the same manner.

The denim was a stretch fabric and perfect quality for the Ginger Jeans from Closet Core Patterns. Having made these a few times before The construction was very quick and I did all the top stitching in regular thread, which meant no swapping of machines or thread on this one.

 

The pocket bags are made from some Superman fabric that my hubby had for a project earlier in the year. I know the photos aren't great. The light wasn't good when I was taking them and my phone is old!!!!

 

These have already been worn several times and I have made a small win in the zero waste fashion stakes. Everything used was from my stash or was off cuts. I needed new jeans and here we are.