Sewing top 5: Misses

 

Second post inspired by the Sewcialists sewing tops hashtag -  #sewingtop5. This one is the misses, those items that weren't quite right. Thankfully there have not been too many of these this year.

First up.

Gathered back tank

This was a free pattern and I tried it twice, it was just huge and gapey and I didn't like it.

 

Simplicity 8436

This is a Madalynne underwired bra. I love the design. I managed to get these to fit, but there is just something about it that is off. I made 3 versions. first up a cream lace version. I think my wires were too short here and they really dig into the chest wall. I think it's the poor qulaity channeling. I also had issues with the underarm edge. The second version I tried in a stretch woven and it was just horrific and went in the scrap pile. For verion 3 I tried a bigger wire size and invested in better underwire chanelling. It's better, but now I think I want to widen the back band as it's very narrow and not supportive.

 

Cleo Dungaree dress

There is nothing wrong with this. I'm just not going to wear it. I'm not sure the fabric choice is really me. It's modelled here by my daughter. I just don't find myself choosing this, which is a shame.

Faux Jumpsuit

This is a hit and a miss. I really thought I wanted a wrap style jumpsuit. I really loved this fabric. I made this in two pieces, both free patterns from peppermint magazine. I love the wide leg pants. I'm not 100% sure about the top, but it's quite nice, but together it's just way off!!!!

Denim Wrap skirt

I didn't lose anything with this one. It's ok, the fabric was a scrap I had in my stash and the pattern was one I recieved from a lady on Freecycle. Again, nothing wrong with it, but I think it needs a bit of tweaking to make it a really good option. I might make this again. I might wear it again, but again, I'm just not choosing to wear it.

So What are your misses for 2020? 

Next Up: goals for 2021

Peppermint Wide legged Trousers - Free Pattern Review

 

I really did want to create a sew-a-long for these as a few of my friends have started sewing and I know they like a bit of advice as they go, but my phone completely died and I ended up just getting on with it and the instructions are pretty good anyway.

 

 

So this is the Peppermint Magazine sewing school pattern in collaboration with In The Folds. You can download this pattern here.

The pattern comes in a wide range of sizes and what is great is that the PDF has layers so that you can select just the sizes that you need, which makes cutting out so much easier. The instructions are thorough and clear with good quality images.

 

 

This pattern is designed for a stable woven fabric without stretch. True to form, I decided to use a stretch fabric. I had recieved this beautiful stretch cotton sateen from Minerva - in exchange for a review, which you will be able to read on their blog soon. I didn't make any alterations to the pattern to accomodate this, but made sure I interfaced all the areas which would potentially stretch out and stay stitched all the waistline edges to prevent stretching.

 

 

The pattern calls for 2m of fabric for this garment. I had about 1.7m, but with some creative pattern placement and on a single layer of fabric I managed to squeeze in all the pattern pieces, I did shorten the legs by 2 cm though!

 

 

Based on my measurements I cut a size D and graded to a C at the waist. This fit really well and I only pinched out a little extra on the back darts, again, mainly because this is a stretch fabric - If it had been a stable fabric I don't think I'd have needed to do this.

 

 

This pattern is superbly drafted, everything matches perfectly, but I did have a couple of issues. First up - the fly shield pattern piece indicates that you only need to cut one, but you actually need two. In addition I prefer to sew a zipper fly where the fly extensions are part of the main front pattern - like the ginger Jeans from Closet Core Patterns. It's an easy alteration to make to a pattern - unless you're playing pattern tetris. I had no way to do this as I was struggling to fit my pattern pieces on the fabric.

 

Most of the instructions are superb, but the fly construction section is awful! It's so fiddly - so my advice to you would be to add the fly extension and follow the tutorial from Closet Core patterns which you can find here.

 

 

I have had these on my to make list for a long, long, long time and I'm so glad I've finally made them. I think there will be more of these now I've finally printed and assembled the pattern and made my first version. I can see a pair in corduroy or a heavier weight wool/blend for the winter.

 

 

I made these to wear with my peppermint wrap top in the same fabric as a faux jumpsuit, which I'll post details of soon, but love that I can wear both pieces separately.