New Year New PJ's

 

When I originally saw this fabric I had thought that I would make the Solina Dress from Named Clothing’s Breaking the Pattern book. 

However when it arrived I was just not feeling it - I think the pattern was just a bit too busy for that dress and it would have been too much.  

 

 

As the fabric arrived just before Christmas and I had begun to notice the threadbare nature of some of my PJ’s I decided that this fabric 

would make a cool set of nightwear. The smooth cotton sateen with a touch of stretch is a perfect luxury fabric and feels amazing against 

the skin - almost like silk! What could be better for nightwear?

 

 

I scoured my stash of Burdastyle magazines for an appropriate top and found one in the January issue from 2017. 

This top required piping - I didn’t have any, and once I had time to sew it was the Christmas break and my local haberdashery 

was shut for the holidays. Being the impatient sort I am - I decided to use a flat ‘piping’. In other words - self made bias tape from some 

white cotton sateen in my stash, without any piping cord in it. This was a mistake as it is incredibly tricky to make sure you have an even, 

but tiny amount of the trim showing. Piping would have been easier.

 

 

The pattern itself is well drafted and I know that I can cut a size 38 in Burda and it will fit. This pattern came with more detailed instructions. 

I followed them and wished I hadn’t. Some of the finishing techniques left a lot to be desired and there were some clunky joins that 

I’m not that happy about! But Hey, apart from the slightly uneven trim - it’s only me that will see the bits I’m not happy with!

 

 

The PJ bottoms were self drafted and I used the same pattern as the green drill cargo trousers I made in the summer, 

but without the drawstring or the patch pockets. I did keep the hip pockets though. I make the elastic waist just a little looser for evening 

and sleep comfort.

 

 

I think these look classy and I can feel comfortable and stylish when lounging around at home in the evenings now. 

It’s just a shame I didn’t have them completed in time for the holiday period, when lounging around is the perfect thing to do!

 

 

This was my most successful PJ set made (i’ve only made one set before - for my daughter). It’s not something I think about making often, 

which is why most of my PJ’s are threadbare. It certainly won’t be the last pair I make. But it was quite involved and did need a lot of 

concentration and accuracy to get a good finish.

 

 

 

Here’s to chilling out in your PJ’s!

 

 

Summer Sewing

 

 

During the lovely warm spell we had a few weeks ago, I decided to make a simple summer slip dress. Typically, as soon as it was completed the weather cooled and it was sat in the draw waiting for a warm day.
Last Thursday was that day (which turned out to be more eventful). I popped on the dress and headed into town for a wee shopping trip with my daughter (fabric shop vouchers right).
This is a Burdastyle dress from the magazine. I can’t find exactly which one. All I remember is that it was a lining for another dress. The dress is cut on the bias and is super simple to sew up. It’s just two pattern pieces and some bias binding.

I have made this before and found that the front gaped a little as it was too wide, so I narrowed it just a little. I also ended up taking in the side seams just under the arms a bit. I’ve now made these changes to the pattern pieces.
Despite this being bias cut, it still has back waist darts to give shaping and bust darts. I sewed this up in this tiny skull print Dashwood Studio cotton poplin. The fabric is smooth and handles well. It has enough body that I didn’t need to consider a lining. Making bias binding with this fabric was a breeze. It presses well and holds its shape, but equally while wearing it didn’t crease much, making it perfect for holiday or travel wear.

I was originally going to make a longer dress but thought knee-length was better for this fabric. I had 3m and this dress took about 2m. The rest was made into shorts.

The day was certainly interesting. My daughter, hubby and I headed into Newcastle. First up my daughter and I headed to Pure Ink for new piercings. I got my nose done and my daughter had her nose and conch done. We celebrated her results and acceptance at Salford Uni with a cheeky Nandos and then headed to John Lewis for fabric. I bought rigid denim for some Dawn jeans. I was going to buy some needle cord, but it was badly faded and the shop assistant didnt seem to want to offer a discount, so I left it.

We had tea at home and my hubby and I set out for our regular session at the local indoor skatepark. I had big plans for dropping in on the big ramp, but while I was still warming up I slipped and landed awkwardly on my wrist. I knew it wasn't right and after 5 mins with an ice pack on, it was quite obviously broken, so we headed to A&E. Hence the following photos are of me sporting an attractive pink cast.

I digress, as I mentioned before, I also made shorts from this lovely Dashwood Studio skull print cotton poplin. I thought these would make cute skate shorts, but broken arm and I suspect once this cast is off it will be back to longer trousers!

The pattern I used is a bit of a mystery. I found it free online last year but now can’t find the source. I did make it up last year, but didn’t love the fabric and passed on the shorts to a friend. You can read about the pattern details here.

I altered the pockets so that they are anchored in the fly front and made them a little deeper. Shallow pockets are such a waste of space.

The zip and button were from my stash. The orange zip fits perfectly with the orange in the print. I’ve already worn these way more than the ones I made last year. Hoping that the rest of August brings some nice warm weather before I’m back to work in September.

Activewear

I made activewear!!!! This has been something I have wanted to do for a while, but I’ve been reluctant to have a go as finding the right fabric worried me. So when I had the opportunity to review this fabric. I jumped at the chance. This is the fabric I used for this.
I decided to make some leggings and a crop top. 

I did a lot of research into which pattern to use for the leggings and opted for a free pattern. I looked at quite a few, but settled on the 5 out of 4 Ninja pants pattern as they came with a selection of different options.

I opted for the full length leggings with a high waist and fabric waistband. The information on Minerva told me that the fabric had 35% stretch, which was less than the requirement for the pattern. My measurements put me at the top end of a size S, so I went up a size and cut a medium, grading to a S at the waist. I should have made the small as these are a bit too big and the fabric does have better stretch than I thought. However, I was concerned that the fabric might become stretched too thin and cause embarrassment. My daughter assures me that although the pattern on the fabric became a little stretched during a really deep squat (no I’m not showing you my butt), that it was much better than the ones that she had.

For the top I decided to give the free Noelle Bralette top by Madalynne a go. I had made this before and chose a size that was too big. This time I opted for the smallest size and replaced the bottom band with wide plush elastic, which I stretched to fit. Ensuring I cut the right length. 

 

I have a 30 inch underbust and the elastic length was 231/3 inches. The top is lined with a cotton jersey offcut that I had, which had a comparable amount of stretch and I also included removable bra cups.

The straps are of a fixed length. I pinned clear elastic to the front pieces where straps would normally be joined and then used purple fold over elastic to bind the edges and the elastic. Once this was done I tried the top on and pinned the straps at the right length for me (Helped by my daughter).

In retrospect I should have used black FOE as it would fit the fabric design much better. This morning I wore my new set for a pilates session. The top was super comfy and didn’t move or ride up, which is a first! The leggings were OK, the gusset allows for a good range of movement and the waist was ok.

If I had made these in the correct size these would have also been perfect. They actually didn’t move much, just a little. You will have to excuse my sweaty appearance as these were taken post workout!