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!

 

It's a Wrap

Continuing with my vintage sewing theme I've made up another of the vintage patterns I scored in a pattern haul a few months ago.

Cue this cute pattern:

It's Simplicity 7498, 1967 pattern. It's a simple wrap over skirt, with various different options for closure and come in two lengths, mini and just above the knee. However this is a single size pattern with a waist size of 25 inches, so I had to grade the pattern.

I traced the pattern pieces and used my book with grading rules to grade up two sizes. I think one would have been fine, but it's a wrap skirt so it's forgiving in fit.

I scoured my stash for appropriate fabric and found a piece of black denim which has a nice faded fold line right down it! - oh well, I thought I'd use it anyway. It was barely 70cm deep and I only just managed to cut the skirt from it. I used quilting cotton for the facing and pieced together denim to make the pocket.

I decided to leave the bottom unhemmed, but did sew a line of stitching to prevent any fraying from going mad. I really wanted a buckle and leather fastening, but didn't have one the right size or any black leather for that matter.

It's been sat waiting to be finfished for a few weeks as I needed to find a fastening solution. Today I managed to get my hands on a couple of D rings and used those instead, making the tabs from the very small offcuts of denim that were left (I added these after adding the facing and should really have sandwiched them inbetween the layers, but I don't suppose anyone is going to see them). I really did use every scrap of fabric for this!

This denim is hefty and even my trusty Bernina found some of the thicker layers tricky. I had to go really slow. The side seams are flat felled - my first attempt at this - super easy, but you do need a wider seam allowance than my usual 1.2cm. This pattern has 1.5cm.

My construction on this is a bit rough. The waist facing didn't quite meet the front edge - but then I realised it should have a facing along the edge too, which I decided to omit, just turning and hemming - I didn't look at the instructions and should have added a few cm to the waist facing to account for this.

It looks fine and has that edgy punky style I love, but decent topstitching thread would have helped with the finish of the garment, but I'll certainly make some more of these. A quick and easy sew.

I'm impressed with the coverage, the overlap is a decent width and you are not doing to get any accidental flashes of undergarments with this skirt. I can see this getting lots of wear - easy to throw on in the summer and would also look great with leggings/ tights and boots in the winter. Another Vintage winner.

Almost Perfect

An African wax print pencil skirt - yes please!

I bought this length of wax print from Abakhan in Liverpool last August. It was a pre-cut piece and was not very wide or long. I knew that I wanted a pencil skirt in this print, but as with all my makes it sat washed but uncut for months. I finally got around to cutting it out at our monthly Crafternoon back in December and it sat in one of my project boxes until March, when I finally made it up.

I used the pencil skirt from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing. I made the size 6 without alterations. This is my go to pencil skirt pattern. When I started sewing back in 2011 I was an avid reader of Gertie's blog and bought the book as soon as it was released. I've made a few things from the book and do keep revisiting it - so it was well worth buying and is a great resource, especially when teamed with Vintage Casual. I also have the Ultimate dress book, but use that a little less. At one time I was very into vintage styling, but I think my style has changed. I love the full skirts, but don't always find these styles practical for day to day living. Anyway I digress, back to the pattern.

This pencil skirt is long. It sits mid calf and looks best worn with a pair of heels. It has 8 darts. Four in the front and four at the back. For me, the back darts are essential to help fit a small waist and large booty. However, I used to find I needed the front darts, but they seem to add extra fullness that I don't need. I have a fairly flat abdomen and need less shaping here. I think I might have to alter the depth of the front darts or even omit them altogether in future versions. The waist band is fitted and sits at the natural waist, which can give a really nipped in look. There is a kick pleat/ vent at the back, which is necessary so you can walk in it. The skirt is closed with a lapped zipper and a button.

This is a quick sew, especially with the waxed print. It's sturdy enough not to need interfacing and still keep it's shape. It presses well and the darts went in beautifully. due to the nature of the fabric, it is less prone to fraying so I simply used my pinking shears on all seam and hem allowances, pressing them open. I did line this, as there is a high probability that I will wear this with tights in cooler weather and unlined skirts and tights just don't mix! I used what I had in my stash, which was a plain black synthetic lining, left over from another project.

As ever, with a fitted pattern I basted the side seams togther before stitching to check fit. I ended taking a little from the hip area and pegging the skirt towards the hem to give a better shape.

So why is almost perfect and not actually perfect? Take a look...

...yup, pattern matching is just not happening - nope, never gonna work. Actually I didn't even try. There was too little fabric to allow me to get a good match so I just went with it. No matchy match here, and do you know what - I actually don't care. I'll wear it. I love it and if the pattern matching police want to call me out, well let them! Gonna throw my hands in the air 'cause I just dont care.

via GIPHY

So I'm interested, what have you sewn, that you know isn't perfect but you just dont care?

Cambie refashioned

A couple of years ago I made this Sewaholic Cambie dress. I know we don't see many around the blogosphere these days, but a few years ago, everyone was making it. I was drawn by the line drawings and the makes that I saw online.

So I jumped in and made it out of this fantastic IKEA fabric. The instructions were faultless and I finished this dress beautifully. fully lined - even I'm impressed with the finish I did on this dress.

It fitted fine, but there was just something off with it and I couldn't put my finger on quite what was wrong. Hence I have only worn it a couple of times and that is a waste! I've since decided that it's the proportions of the bodice that was wrong for me. The balance of the design just didn't suit my frame.

I considered sending it to the charity shop, but the truth is I love the fabric and the skirt part. I also had a small piece of the fabric left - just enough to create a basic bodice front. I found enough white cotton in my stash to make the lining. So inspired by "The Refashioners" Inspired by... theme I decided to remake this dress with a nod to 1950's style. and I just love the neckline on this dress worn by Audrey Hepburn, so this is what I aimed to recreate.

I took the bodice apart and carefully reused the back pieces and cut a new bodice front with bust and waist darts. I made a slightly extended shoulder to fit the original Cambie back pieces but widened the neckline to a boat neck. I used my self-drafted block for this.

Miraculously the new bodice fitted the waistband perfectly. I was expecting to have to do a bit of

adjustment, but not so. I attached the new bodice and lapped zipper by machine and then slip stitched the lining back into place.

I think this is a much better style for me and I think I might just wear it more than I did the last one.
(Photos were taken by my daughter whilst on a rather windy dog walk with Daisy our Wheaten Terrier)

MMMay 2017 done

Well I successfully did MMMay. I wore at least one handmade item everyday. I did not blog or post much on Instagram as I just didn't have time. Here are some of the things I did wear - just not recent photos.

Gertie Sundress view B

Self drafted drape dress

culottes

refashioned skirt - 3rd incarnation

woven Keilo Dress

selfdrafted Frida Khalo dress

Skull Crop top

Re-dyed Mary Jane DM shoes

Crochet dress

cap sleeve sorbetto

Shirt dress

sorbetto with collar

self drafted dress

Black eyelet shift dress

MMMay has thrown up some issues with my wardrobe, namely being the type of clothes I have and what I wear. Work days were easy - I have lots of dresses. However it's more casual items that I seem to be lacking. I only wore one me made skirt and one pair of me made culottes. I do have plenty of skirts that I have acquired over the years, but I don't really have many shorts, trousers, jeans to wear. I wore lots of me made tops - mostly Sorbetto tops, I seem to wear these a lot in the warmer months. I also had a couple of pleat neck tanks from a Burda pattern - last summer's magazine.

So the outcome is that I need to make separates, things I can layer and summer wear as most of what I have is getting a bit tatty.

So on my to make list:-

cigarette pants
wide leg trousers/ culottes
Dungarees
shorts
Long and short sleeve t shirts
vest tops
blouses/ shirts

I might just have to take part in summer of basics!!!!

What did me made May throw up as gaps in your wardrobe ?

Crazy Cambie

I made a Cambie - yeah I know I'm a little late to the party, but I did get there in the end. This is my Crazy Cambie. It's actually a wearable muslin - as the only thing I actually bought was the zip.

A friend had given me the fabric a couple of years ago when she'd seen it in bargain corner at Ikea. The lining is a cotton sheet and the pattern was a gift.

The fabric is a thick cotton fabric, heavier than a normal cotton with a good texture, curtain weight I think. Pre washed at 40 as I know Ikea fabric does shrink.

I made the Cambie in size 6 and followed the instructions for the bodice. I made a couple of small chages to the skirt - pleating to reduce bulk at the waist and putting the pockets at the side seams rather than princess seams - the skirt is a bit less full than the gathered version, but the structure does give plenty of body. I also used a regular rather than an invisible zip. I didn't even try to pattern match as the pattern repeat was so large and quite a random design. I'm quite pleased with the over all effect.

I thought that the fit might be a bit tight, but after following the instructions exactly the bodice is actually a little big. It needs a couple of cm taking out of the waist and a bit off each side seam. I also found the sweetheart neck gaped a little. I'll be adjusting the pattern to pinch out a couple of cm from the neckline just where the sleeve joins.

My only issue with the instructions are that it is almost impossible to adjust once complete (without unpicking a huge amount). The waistband is in one piece. I may seam it at the sides to allow for adjustment next time.

I wore this to work today - not sure it was a good idea when doing ceramics with year 7 all day, but it survived, was comfy and despite the weight was cool to wear. The photos were taken after a day of work not too creased either! (iphone, so not really the best quality) Shoes are from ASDA - emergency purchase!

Soundtrack to the Cambie making:
Placebo, Clean Bandit, Alt-J, Broken Bells (well it was an all day epic).

So would you wear something this crazy? I love having something a bit unique - no one else has a dress quite like this?