Sewing Top 5: Goals

Last up in my sewcialist inspired posts - My sewing goals for the coming year. I've already written about the hits and misses, if you want to check those out and I have a post brewing all about the two main things I've been sewing this year.

During the summer months I sewed and created quite a bit, but as the night's have drawn in. I've been less productive. I've done a couple of refashions. but the light in my sewing room is poor and it's much better to work with natural daylight. This has put a hold on bigger projects and art work as I really need good light. I need to invest in a good daylight lamp for the room.

I have a few things that I'd like to try and challenge myself to next year, but not many specific plans in regards to patterns -As it stands these are my top 5 goals for 2021.

Underwired bra

I want to nail a well fitting underwire bra. I have the Cloth habit Watson Bra pretty much sorted now and I think it's time to get an underwire bra to fit well too. I'd like to try the Black Beauty Bra by Emeral Erin as it has some great reviews and I like the style. I'm also not adverse to drafting my own and I have the Bare Essentials Bra drafting course book to have a go at too. I love the challenge of drafting!

Swimwear

I bought a swimwear pattern back in the summer, but when our holiday was cancelled I decided to leave sewing it until next year. I've never made a swimsuit and would love to have a go. I have this pattern - If you've made it do let me know how you got on?

A quilt

Despite getting rid of a binbag full of scraps i still have loads of cotton offcuts that would be perfect for a quilt. My hubby would like a king size one for our bed and I think I'll get started on it - I might not finish it though, my last two took ages!!!!

The Kalle Shirt

I must be the only person in the sewing blogosphere to have not yet made this. This will be rectified this year - not sure if I'll make the shirt or dress version yet. The Kalle pattern is from Closet Core patterns

A Velvet Dress

Many years ago I bought a cotton stretch velvet dress on ebay. It's a Monsoon dress and is fit and flare, empire line and midi length. It's well past it's best and starting to develop holes, so I am on the look out for some suitable fabric to make a replacement. I'm sure it's form the 90's. I could buy another on etsy, which is where this image is from, but I think I'd rather make one. Mine is like this:-

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.

Boilersuit Bandwagon

Here I am chanelling my past in a vintage jumpsuit.

So, I sold out. I made what I thought I wouldn't. Jumpsuit, flightsuit, boilersuit, coverall - whatever you call it, it's certainly a trend right now. I'm not one for following trends, but I do love an item of clothing I can throw on and just wear, without much thought. The nearest I have ever got to making a jumpsuit is making the Burnside Bibs, which I managed to complete just after Christmas and I really like them. The photos were taken very hurriedly by my daughter as it's blowing an absolute hoolie out there today.

Back in the late 80's I worked for a hair salon franchise and the uniform for the juniors was a white boiler suit with short sleeves and red ties. Other memebers of staff wore either black or grey suits in the same style. It's safe to say it put me off! So i'm a little bit surprised at myself with this make.

There are so many patterns out there, every pattern company has one and the latest offerings are from the Alexa Jumpsuit from TATB and the Blanca flightsuit from Closet Case Patterns. However I had a secret weapon. A free to me pattern and free to me fabric.

As part of a stash of patterns I recieved from a lady on freecycle I scored this 1984 Brooke Shields inspired pattern. I was 13 then, and probably wouldn't have worn this at the time. It's McCalls 8926 and it also comes in a childs version 8927 so you can be all matchy matchy if you wish. The pattern was size 14/16 and aready cut to the size 14.

Now I'm a bit wary of excessive ease in 80's patterns and in the big 4 in general, so before cutting into the fabric I did a lot of measuring to check the size. The previous owner had already folded out a couple of centimetres from the width of the front and back body pieces. I measured carefully and decided that the same adjustment would work for me. I have a long torso and after more measuring of pattern pieces and myself. I knew that I needed to lengthen the body and added an inch to the body, just above the waist. This turned out to be the perfect amount of length to add. The rest of the pattern I left as it was.

I hadn't realised at first, but the fronts overlap on an angle, this seemed a little odd, but I went with it.

Some of the construction seemed rather unusual and left me scratching my head on occassion, as there are far better and easier ways to construct some parts of the design, for example using the burrito method for sewing the yoke.

The only part of the instructions that was dreadful, was the collar construction. To start with, sewing anything with a tight curve and a 1.5cm seam allowance is a nightmare. I hadn't realised how I have become used to much smaller seam allowances.

I followed the instructions and was left with an unsatisfactory finish in the inside of the neck edge on the front bodice piece where raw edges were visible. I ended up carefully unpicking and reconstructing it in a slightly different way to fully enclose all the raw edges. As I'd already trimmed these, this was not easy and not perfect. In the process I'd also stretched out the top collar edge and it's ended up with a few puckers in it.

However the rest of the construction went without incident and the edges are all finished well. I really like the top stitching at the bottom of the front opening -really neat, in fact, collar and facing apart, it's actually a fairly easy sew. I made the short sleeve version and included patch pockets on the front.

I also top stitched the sleeve seam onto the bodice, which gives a lovely professional finish to the seams.

The fabric came from a fabric and pattern swap locally, sometime last year. I love the colour - it's perfect summer colour. It sewed beautifully and needed very few pins to keep it in place. I have sewed a self coloured belt to go with this, but need a couple of D rings to finish it off, so it's being worn with other belts at the moment. The belt loops are made in the same way you might make bias binding, but in the straight grain. I positioned them as directed, just above the pocket openeing, forgetting I'd lengthened the pieces and really needed to attach them a touch higher, but I can live with it.

I also raided my stash of buttons to find something suitable, but I didn't have anything that would match. however I had 3 self cover buttons of a good size and used those instead.

All in all this is a virtually free sew, as the fabric was gifted to me, as was the pattern, The thread and notions were from my stash.

So am I loving the boilersuit trend? Well that remains to be seen - lets just see how much wear this gets over the summer? I'm looking for ways to style this - so hit me with your ideas. I'm also interested to know if you are jumping on this trend.

Going Wobbly - how I'm getting my head back together (and a new top)

It's been quite a week. I don't know about you but I thought I'd got settled into a new routine in lockdown and a new way of working. I spent mornings working, from early until anout 12.30-1pm. Then I'd have lunch; walk the dog; do a bit of housework/ garden stuff; do another hour or two working and finish by tea time. It was all working fine up until Monday.

I'd had a productive weekend. I painted on the bank holiday - out in the garden as it was so nice. - working on a big 120cm square canvas for my painting based on Newbiggin bay. Saturday I pulled out weeds and took it all to the tip, Sunday was church and a long walk with the dog and Boris' announcement!

I didn't sleep well and woke in a poor frame of mind for Monday. I worked - starting at 7.30am and I don't think I really rested from it until tea time. I didn't become a teacher to sit all day at a computer, and by the end of the day my back hurt and I was still left not really know what was going to happen with schools. Many questions and very few answers.

Tuesday was much the same. Worked to the point where my back hurt and the lack of sleep made me completely ineffective. Still no news on how schools would return. I decided that on wednesday I would work on exemplar material for my students and did a bit of painting and designing for some of my modules.

As the week has gone on, it's been harder to keep my chin up. I have felt demoralised by all the teacher bashing going off in the press; the arguments and lack of clear plan. It's become apparent that children and teachers are just subjects in the goverment's latest Covid19 experiment - guinea pigs if you will. I want to teach - I am a professional and do a good job. The children make me laugh, and I love seeing them grow as individuals. I want them to be safe and all our staff to be safe. I just don't think the plans in place are safe. I could feel a level of anxiety creeping in. I even had my work stress dream - you'll laugh at this one - I dream all the kids have left unwashed pallettes, paintbrushes etc in the classroom sink and I have to clean it up. It's stupid I know, but it's what I dream when I'm stressed about work.

I decided to stop reading, listening to or watching the news as it was seriously affecting my mental health and late in the week I started a couple of sewing projects to boost my mental health.

I had a piece of spotty viscose left over from my Solina dress. It was from Minerva. I decided to make my ever faithful top. I have made so many of these I have lost count - It's Burdastyle #116 07/2012.

I've made a few changes to the pattern over the years. I joined the shoulder pieces together to make one piece for each side. It's supposed to be a double layered top, instead I make this a single layer and bind the neck and armholes with bias binding.

Add caption

To make it super easy I lust leave long bias strip ties at the opening and tie in a bow.

I also made a button necklace. I had a supply of craft buttons in bright colours, so I strung them together interspersed with smaller buttons, the bright colours make me happy.

I've also started on a vintage pattern. It's a Brooke Shields jumpsuit pattern from 1984 - watch this space for more on that one.

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?

Burdastyle Waistcoat - Looking swell.

Ever since I made my wide-legged wool trousers back in the winter. I had wanted to make an accompanying waistcoat. I'd thought about a jacket, but there wasn't enough fabric for that.

So off I went, hunting through my stash of Burdastyle magazines until I found this pattern. It's #134 from 12/2012. The only image I can fin on line is for the pattern that includes sleeves - which is #135. It's basically the same pattern though.

Unusually for a waistcoat, I cut the outer back piece from the main fabric rather than from lining fabric. I made the size 38 - which is my usual size in Burda and the fit was pretty good. I have a small waist and often need to adjust patterns here, so on this pattern, I increased the width of the darts to give better back shaping - but that was the only alteration I made to the pattern. It's lined with lining fabric from my stash.

It was a good job I had some spare fabric as I made a massive mess on the welt pocket first time around. I followed Burdstyle's (rather sparse) instructions, but due to the fabric being prone to fraying and that I tried to rush and didn't interface properly the welt turned out to be a real mess.

So I recut the front pieces - just enough fabric left. I then used a tried and tested way of making welt pockets - using a similar technique to a bound buttonhole. This gave a much better finish and I've pleased with the result.

I have a bit of a buttonhole sewing session and then photography session the other week. This was done apart from the buttonholes at the start of lockdown, but as I had a few projects to sew buttonholes on I used the one-step buttonhole function on my Janome. I was a little concerned that the fabric would be too thick for the machine, but it handled it well. One buttonhole went a little awry, so the stitch unpick got a bit of use and it was not easy undoing stitches on this fabric.

Overall I'm very pleased with the effect and I like the waistcoat. I can't see it getting much wear at the moment though. as even when I'm at work we are dressing casually and it will be too warm to wear soon. Wearing will have to wait until the autumn I feel. It has a long line and I think it will look great with long dresses. It does emphasise my long torso and It might have been a good idea to make it a little shorter.