josieloves2sew

A tale of two blankets

2012-02-10T17:16:00.000+08:00

Crikey, where did a whole month go - again?

As soon as I saw the Spring 2005 edition of Interweave Knits I knew that if I was ever lucky enough to have a baby of my own I would make them the Bear Claw blanket. So as soon as I found out I was pregnant I went ahead and ordered the yarn. I chose 4ply Luxury from the Bendigo Woollen Mills. I love this yarn, it’s soft and even, a joy to knit with and as a bonus is machine washable. My only gripe is the colours aren’t particularly modern. The neutrals are nice but the other colours just don’t stack up against some of the boutique yarn companies (a bit 'old lady' if you like). I wanted soft relaxing colours for this blanket so I went with cream, wild barley, ghost and stone.

In due course the yarns arrived and the colours were as lovely as I imagined, soft, modern, gender neutral. I couldn’t wait to get started. I knew this was a major project but was unperturbed. This is how far I got…

It wasn’t the millions of ends to darn that put me off, I was prepared for them. What did me in was the tediousness of the knitting – which I didn’t expect. I thought this would be perfect for my process oriented mind but in fact it was just a bloody fiddle. And frankly, my lovely modern colour scheme just didn’t work for this project. Instead of clean and contemporary the look I was getting was a bit country cottage for my taste. Maybe it was because by this point morning sickness had struck me full force but I couldn’t bear to persevere and I abandoned ship.

I decided instead to go back to basics. Cerys is about as simple a blanket pattern as you can get, anyone with in-the-round experience could do it and, in fact, it would probably be the perfect project for someone wanting to learn how to work in the round (although the centre is a bit of a fiddle). I modified the design slightly so my round begins in the middle of one side rather than at the corner, and I made up my own stripe pattern. To minimise the ‘jog’ when changing colours I knit the first round with the new colour then on the second round I worked the first stitch into the round below. You get a slightly elongated stitch which smooths the join a bit. I searched around for ‘jogless’ techniques but this is by far the simplest in my mind.

This was the perfect morning sickness project, even when I couldn’t do anything much I could lounge in front of the TV and knit mindless rounds, only having to remember to change colours. The project grew quickly too and once I started to feel better it positively flew off the needles.

I think about 75 – 80cm square is a pretty good sized baby blanket as it works in a pram or capsule and can also be used as a receiving blanket (is that what you call a blanket you carry a baby around in???). I just knit to a pleasing part of the stripe pattern at around that size and then worked the hem. I worked an eyelet round and then 6 rounds reversing the mitre for the hem. I think I could have worked the last stripe a little wider as it looks a bit stingy but it’s not too bad really.

The finishing took ages! I cast off the usual way but then thought it might be a pain to block it with a tight edge, so I undid the cast-off and worked a sewn cast off instead. Next I blocked it (rather informally by washing on a gentle cycle in the machine and spreading it flat and square to dry – no pins involved), then finally sewed down the hem. it is more square than it looks in the picture but I am okay with it not being perfect.

Project details are here if you are interested.

Overall I am super happy with the result. As to the baby bear claw? Yes I would try again maybe, but I think stronger colours are needed and I would possibly go for a thicker yarn and bigger needles to make a modified version!

Blogiversary the fourth

2012-01-14T22:16:00.000+08:00

So it's my 4th Blogiversary today!

I admit I don't really feel entitled to celebrate too much since I took a six month break this year but it is a milestone and an opportunity to look both back and forwards nonetheless.

I have not been as productive as usual, but I have still made quite a lot. I focussed on knitting more than sewing and ended up completing 12 knitting/crochet projects (some of which are unblogged) and 13 sewing projects (again, some unblogged). this is compared with 21 sewing and 9 knitting/crochet projects last year. Still, I did my best and am reasonably happy with what I achieved.

As to my goals for the coming year, I don't think it will be possible to set specific targets as I have no way of knowing what is to come. However, I hate the thought of being completely undisciplined so here are my thoughts:

Destash. This is a common theme for both myself and many others every year. This year is different for me since what is currently my sewing room will become the nursery until we are able to move house. Therefore I HAVE to use as much as possible of my stash or else it will have to be got rid of or stored (not at home since there is no room). Fabric and yarn alike have to go before June!
Make more than I buy for myself. This is a no-brainer, I really only buy t-shirts, underwear and the occasional other garment anyway. For the past year I have been making do with old stuff and quick fixes but I can't wear any of that now so my need is great!
Focus on presentable casuals. Obviously my lifestyle is going to change a lot. I only have 15 weeks left of work and when you remove public holidays that comes down to only 70 working days (not that I am counting :) ). Much more of my time than ever before will be in 'at home' clothes and I want to be comfortable and washable but presentable. My current 'at home' uniform of pj's/sweats (not outside the house of course) will not cut it! Likewise, tailored suitings and silk tops are not going to be practical either.
Make more than I buy for the baby. Another relatively easy one, with time being the only issue. I have plenty of baby yarn in stash so no problem there. Thanks to my Mum and sister this child already has a wardrobe to rival Harper Beckham so there is no need for me to worry about clothes too much but I would like to make as many toys, blankets and soft furnishings as possible.
Learn some new things. I have started this by signing up for a couple of Craftsy workshops, and I may yet use the felting kit I bought several years ago to make a cover for my new Kindle.
Blog more regularly.

Even without targets I still have a to do list for the next few months:

For me:

1 skirt and 2 pairs of pants for work (fairly quick when you make them with a knit yoke!)
5 or so work tops (mainly knit so will accommodate the belly)
wide leg pants for around the house (again, with a knit yoke so I can wear them before the baby and for the 10 days or so after the birth until I get my figure back - lol)
2 Warm cardigans

For the wee one:

Lullaby blanket (already in progress)
The Don't Look Now Animal Alphabet quilt (as a wall hanging)
Star Wars quiet book (this one can probably wait a little while but I just love it!)
Some cardigans
A couple of hats (nice and easy)

So let's see how we go...

Thanks again to those who have stuck with me while my blogging has been so sporadic and for all the kind wishes on my pregnancy.

Christmas dress 2011

2011-12-29T17:33:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the congratulations on my news. My fella and I are so happy and excited, especially after the struggles we have had trying to accomplish what so many people manage to do by accident! The past 18 months have been incredibly challenging and when I look back to this time last year - we had just found out we would never conceive without intervention and I was trying to get my head around having to give myself injections (when I would have fillings at the dentist without anaesthetic just to avoid a needle!) - I can't believe how everything has worked out. I know we beat the odds big time and I will never stop being grateful for that. I dare say next year will be very different again, with a whole new set of challenges and I can't wait!

So, despite weighing exactly what I weighed 16 weeks ago I have gone up by 2 bra sizes and sprouted a pretty obvious belly already. Something to do with my not exactly having abs of steel to start with I suppose. Regardless, I have found myself with an extreme shortage of clothes, including a party/Christmas dress. Enter Patrones Easy (7) model 31 - this magazine also has some maternity patterns so you may see more from this issue yet.

From the magazine

The fabric is china silk in white with a black, grey and bronze border print, from stash and lined in poplin (bodice) and lawn (skirt) also from stash.

Ugh, sorry for the squinty face

Back view, with breeze!

I made a few modifications to the pattern:

Moved the zip to centre back so I could somewhat centre the border design.
Cut a size 42 bodice and band, and 48 skirt, then just pleated the excess into the band.
Added about 1cm to the length of the front bodice.
Switched the front and back necklines - I think this could be an error on the pattern sheet, as the front is higher than the back, and much higher than the picture if you use the pattern as is.
Narrowed the band by about half or maybe more, and omitted the ribbon and casing. You can see the band still wrinkled with wear but I don't suppose there is much that can be done about that (it's not wonky in real life I promise).

If I was to make this again I would investigate the armhole shaping as it feels a bit wide in the front and narrow in the back - which is quite possibly caused by my arms rolling forward. It makes driving a little uncomfortable but a little scooping out of the curve should fix it. Also the skirt hem comes up a touch in the front, which I knew would happen but I didn't have time to get around compensating for it - I think it is passable.

As to construction I underlined the bodice and band pieces with silk organza (using the lining pattern for the front and mounting the gathered front bodice onto it) and pleated the skirt randomly instead of gathering.

Considering I had to pull this together quickly (I traced, toilled and cut on the previous Sunday, worked an hour or so most evenings the week before Christmas and finished it 10 minutes before I needed to put it on for lunch on Christmas Eve) I am happy with how it turned out and the minor fit niggles are not too bad considering. It was comfortable to eat a big meal on a fairly hot day and I think it flatters the bump without entirely obscuring it.

I am on holidays until the 9th of January and desperately need both work and casual clothes, so with luck I will be able to churn out a few basic before going back to work. I also have a couple of knitting projects on the go and a backlog of a few garments still to post (waiting to photograph!) so while I have the free time I will attempt to update my blog a bit more regularly.

I hope everyone had a safe and merry Christmas and are looking forward to the new year as much as me!

A very special knitting project

2011-12-19T16:12:00.000+08:00

This blanket is very special. If you are not interested in the knitting details then you can skip to the end to find out exactly what is so special about it.

The pattern is the Fertility blanket from Stitch n Bitch Superstar Knitting, but I have just discovered you can now get it for free. I have said it before and I will say it again, this book is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to move beyond the basics, or even if you have been knitting for ages (like me) but want to increase your repertoire of techniques. For me, this book was worth every cent and I refer to it often. Plus a lot of the patterns are things I would make (when I get around to it!).

The pattern is tricky at first (as any lace pattern is), but once you do a couple of repeats you can look to your completed work to figure out where you are. I always keep a tally of my rows anyway, but I am a little obsessive like that. It grows remarkably quickly and it’s very rewarding to see it progress at a good rate. I liked that the bobbles are worked over multiple rows so they nestle in rather than single row bobbles, which I find tend to dangle off your work a bit.

This photo is pre-blocking, but you get the idea

The yarn is a mystery ‘organic wool’ that I got in a pack lot from Jo Sharp for $25. It’s probably a heavy double knit or light aran weight and I knit it on the size needles specified in the pattern, which resulted in a fairly light and drapey blanket, but not too loose. I think if I were knitting a jumper with it I would use a 4.5mm needle – but I haven’t tried that so don’t quote me. I used 5½ of the ten balls. I worried it might be a bit fluffy for a baby blanket but after blocking a lot of the loose fibres came away and now it is lovely and soft. The colour is a beautiful soft pistachio green.

When I finished the blanket I wasn’t sure if I would block it as I loved the texture of the stitch, but I figured that is would have to be washed anyway so I did block it in the end. Boy, am I glad I did! The stitch really opened up and, as much as I loved it before, I think it is better now.

Unblocked

Blocked

I cast this on when I started my first round of IVF back in February, to keep my mind off things and to give me something productive to focus on instead of going crazy with the stress. I thought the name of it might hold some influence and I only worked on it when I was feeling positive so that the whole blanket holds pleasant memories for me. Sadly that round didn’t work ... nor did the next one ... or the one after that. However I am happy to report that the next one did and I am now 15 weeks pregnant. So this very special blanket will be the very first thing I ever made for my own baby, before she was even conceived.

And we just found out we are having a girl, so I get to keep the wildly impractical Jo Sharp granny blanket too! Happy days!

Colette Ginger in denim

2011-12-13T18:05:00.001+08:00

Well I jumped on the ginger bandwagon. There are so many wonderful versions out there, and A-line is my go to skirt shape, so how could I not. My version is in a fairly heavy indigo denim with topstitching in a sort-of parchment colour. I used standard thread for the topstitching but used the forward-back-forward stitch (triple stitch?) to give it some oomph. I went for the shaped waistband which appealed to me as it looks like a heart. The waistband is lined in quilting cotton.

I made no alterations to the pattern and cut a straight size 12 (I think). During construction I realised my ridiculously high waist would make the waistband hit the bottom of my bra so I reduced the height by about 1.5cm. I think in future iterations I would lower the top of the skirt and cut a longer waistband so it sits lower on me, not at my natural waist (basically at the bottom of my ribcage) but closer to where I would like my natural waist to be!

Because the denim is very stiff I went with a metal zip instead of the recommended invisible zip which worked great IMO (except you can't see it in this picture so will have to take my word for it).

I love how this skirt came out, it is very simple to make and a lovely shape that seems to be pretty flattering on everyone (and would be on me if I altered it as discussed above).

Unfortunately some medication I have been taking has caused me to lay down some extra weight on my tummy and waist. This is new for me since ordinarily any weight I gained would go straight to my behind and from the waist up would remain more or less the same. So that means I can't even wear this skirt right now. But rather than donate it I am going to hang it in the wardrobe for the day when I can get into it again. Then I bet I will wear it all the time!

Jo Sharp granny square baby blanket

2011-11-30T16:03:00.000+08:00

Wow, two posts in a week. What's with the burst of energy?

This is a demonstration of how I am a sucker for a kit. I bought this blanket kit from the Jo Sharp shop because I fell in love with the colours. I paid no mind to the fact that I had no recipient in mind let alone to whom I could give such an extravagant (and high maintenance) gift. Even at 40% off or something it was still pretty exxy as Jo Sharp yarn tends to be (although her pack sales can be good value if you can find a colour you like). In addition, this is not the sort of thing you can just bung in the washer! I can't even remember when I made this it was so long ago - probably March or April, and I didn't put it on Ravelry so it will remain a mystery.

The design is super easy, just granny squares with a white centre and solid squares in 2 coordinating colours - mine are mareschino and arizona (hmmm, seems to be discontinued) in Jo Sharp Desert Aran cotton. I think I used a 6mm hook from memory. I crocheted the squares together as I went since I hate sewing together and I have found cotton doesn't always stay sewn either! This would look better if the final round of each square was the same colour but it's not too bad.

The kit was supposed to make a blanket 5 X 7 squares but it became obvious pretty early on that there was not enough yarn for this so I modified the design to make a square blanket with a wide double crochet (single crochet in the US) border, finished with a simple scalloped edge. The pattern provided skipped the usual chain space between blocks of trebles (US dcs) but with the fat yarn and fat hook that wasn't working for me.

As an aside, usually when I knit I have quite a lot of leftover yarn but the two Jo Sharp kits I have used have both run out before the end. Not sure what is with that - I guess Jo Sharp's tester must be even more frugal than me!

Anyway, impracticalities aside I think this is a seriously cute blanket, it didn't take long to whip up and for such a simple design it has great impact. Fortunately there is now a potential recipient on the horizon. The prospective parents will find out at Christmas whether or not they are having a boy or a girl so there is a 50:50 chance of this blanket finding a home in the next few months.

Final note - Desmo did her best to 'help' me with blocking this project too but I was watching her closely this time. This is her acting all innocent.

A knit for me - Estelle cardigan

2011-11-27T19:44:00.000+08:00

Here is another knitting project, this time for me. It's the Estelle cardigan from Quince and Co. As you can see I pretty much copied the exact colour as modelled, but I did use a different brand of yarn. The details are on my Ravelry page if you are interested. Of course I finished this right before the spring started so I have only had a couple of opportunities to wear it, but can't wait for next autumn/winter as I am sure I'll get loads of wear from it.

Estelle is a top-down raglan, which I find works really well for my narrow shoulders. If I knit anything with set in sleeves I have to fasten it at the front or it falls off, but this stays on nicely without my having to tug at it all the time.

I knit the small until and including the rib section. Immediately below that I needed to increase the size to accommodate my hips. Rather than work increases down the sides (which can accentuate my pear shape) I worked increases equally all around. I went up 2 sizes in all.

Next I worked short rows so the centre back was about an inch shorter than the body to account for my sway back. On me the hem hangs level and there isn't a 'pooch' in my lower back. You can vaguely see the shaping in the close-up below, but it's not that obvious.

Sorry, more headless dummy shots. I am working on it and you will see my smiling mug back again soon I promise! Although I can't promise exotic locations and arty poses - my crappy courtyard and point-and-shoot camera will have to suffice.

Colette Patterns Crepe (modified)

2011-11-13T16:54:00.000+08:00

So there has been a little sewing going on....

I thought this fabric would be perfect for a Crepe but as per usual I had bought it with a different project in mind and didn't have enough. I modified the pattern so it doesn't wrap-around and managed to squeeze it out of the length I had.

Here's the front:

I didn't need to make an FBA, although it is currently a little snug across the bust. If you are a B-cup like my dummy you will probably need to alter the front bodice.

The back required some fiddling as there is no centre back marked on the pattern (my one small complaint), but with some measuring and guesstimating it turned out fine. I inserted an invisible zip in the back and added a full lining but other than that made the dress as instructed.

The only other alteration was a 1" sway back adjustment.

My dummy is a pretty poor model as the dress really needs to be filled out to show off how pretty the silhouette is. The shape is flattering and is retro without being costume-y.

I love how this dress turned out and will definitely make it again, probably with the wrap next time.

Summer Affair - Disaster or Silver Lining?

2011-11-03T18:07:00.000+08:00

I had planned to post on the weekend but decided a work-in-progress post wouldn't be interesting enough. My beloved 15-year old Burmese Desmo (who has her own special way of helping - which is a lot like not helping) had other ideas and has obligingly given me a story to tell. Happy or sad? I haven't decided yet.

So here is what I was going to show you. I have a bunch of finished projects but no good photos so a very boring image of my 'Summer Affair' blocking on the sewing room floor was the best I have to offer. I have been working on this for ages, it's not an enjoyable knit requiring far more brain power than I can access on a typical evening so it has been slow going.

I finally finished it, pinned to size and spray blocked. Excellent, just the back flounce and edging to do. I had been ignoring a mild niggle about the colour. I do love it and wanted to make something a bit different than the usual neutral/teal/green palette I tend to work from, but I am not sure it's exactly 'me'. I worried I would look sunburned if I wore it. Furthermore, I am not convinced that it would actually be as versatile as what I had promised myself when I started making it. It would be great for a spring/summer wedding but my visions of tossing it on with jeans and a camisole not so much - it's way too fragile.

However, I was committed and I am nothing if not loyal. I invested a lot and intended to finish it.

Enter Desmo (literally).

I inadvertantly left the door to the sewing room open for about 10 minutes and unbeknownst to me, Desmo went in, had a look and decided that after all I shouldn't finish this project. To save me from making the decision she helped me along by hooking the yarn and pulling a giant run across one full row of the lace, right near the beginning. The thread isn't broken but there is no way I would be able to work it back into its proper pattern.

All there is for it is to unpick the whole thing. I'll probably make a scarf or shawl instead, which will probably look nicer anyway.

Thanks Desmo!

(note: this photo is easily 4 years old, I couldn't find a more recent one!)

Chevron baby blanket

2011-10-15T14:51:00.000+08:00

I made this blanket for my Step-brother and his wife who welcomed their second son a few months ago. According to my Ravelry page I finished it in June, but I think that is just when I updated my project - I believe I actually finished it some time in April.

I used the stitch from the Colorplay scarf pattern and used 4 colours of 100% wool from Spotlight (I think the brand was Moda Vera or something - very inexpensive for wool). The stripe pattern repeat is ABCDDCBA, which I think is very effective. The pattern is quite straightforward and grows nice and quickly once you get going.

The one down side from using inexpensive wool (or this particular brand anyway) is it shrank when I blocked it so it's probably more like a stroller blanket than a cot blanket. I think they liked it anyway!

I'm baaaack!

2011-10-06T19:22:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone (anyone????),

Wow I certainly didn't mean to be gone 6 months, life really got in the way of a good time there for a while!

I haven't got very much sewing to show for myself so I hope you will forgive me if I indulge in my many recent knitting adventures while I get caught up on the seamstressing side.

Just in case you were a bit cross with me, I'll start by showing you some altruistic knitting I did - that way you have to realise I really am a nice person and didn't mean to ignore you for so long!

Each year I promise myself I will make something for the Guardian Angel Project. And pretty much every year I fail to do so. This year I would accept no excuses and went on a charity knitting binge. I am pretty proud of the results and I hope a little cold child somewhere is a bit warmer because of my efforts...

First a little matinee jacket. I knit the first size in the book but (knowing nothing about baby sizes) it turned out to be preemie size. Sadly this means my target market is a bit smaller than it needs to be but I hope there is a little preemie out there somewhere who can get some use from it. The yarn is leftover from a blanket I knit as a gift (yet to blog).

Next a hat, knit in the same yarn. NOT preemie size so the garments will have to find separate homes.

Another hat, this time knit in leftover 'magic' sock yarn. I sort of made the pattern up. The fair isle doesn't materialise as it should because it's not a sock, but it looks cute anyway.

The final garment, and the only one I bought yarn for, is a simple stocking stitch jumper (sweater). The pattern said the buttons on the shoulder were optional but I reckon there is no way you could do without them. I don't know much about babies but I do know their heads are huge!!!

So that's it for now. I promise it won't be six months before my next update.

2011-04-11T17:40:00.000+08:00

Hi all,
Sorry for my long absence. I have some boring life/health stuff going on that is taking all of my energy right now. Don't worry everyone is fine, I just need a rest.

I hope I will back up and running in a couple of weeks.

See you all soon.
Josie

An award

2011-03-17T17:36:00.000+08:00

Well I have failed miserably at achieving the goals I set myself for my time off. It wasn't entirely my fault as I was a bit under the weather so pretty much couch-surfed my way through the break. I did manage to finish my blanket project and buy the buttons and mostly finish the flutter sleeve cardigan - which will probably be the next thing I show you. The dress is still without a zip, facings and hem and the jacket is still not lined.

I often find the change of seasons a difficult time for mustering my mojo. Far from being all inspired and enthusiastic I am usually crippled by indecision. There is so much I need that I don't know where to start and I haven't yet got a feel for the type of look I want to go for (it may be hard to believe but I do actually try to have some kind of a look!).

Fortunately, Melissa has saved me from having to come up with something useful to post about by awarding me the Versatile Blogger award. Not that I think I deserve it at the present time but thanks for having faith in me Melissa!

The task is to come up with 7 things about me you don't already know. I am pretty much an open book so I will struggle to surprise you I think, but I'll try:

I have been terrified of peacocks for most of my life - I would freak out if one came near me. One day I commented to my Mum that I didn't know why they scared me so much since no one else seems to be afraid of them. She told me that, when I was about 3, we were on a picnic and I was messing around with my sandwich instead of eating it. A peacock came right up and took it out of my hand. I had no memory of this ever happening but it was obviously traumatic! Since Mum told me this story I haven't been afraid of peacocks any more.
Of all the sounds in the world I hate whistling the most. It just goes right through me! When I am out and about and someone starts whistling I get really tense and just want to leave.
I cry all the time. Seriously, I would at least well up on most days. I have to carefully restrict what I watch on TV - sci fi and horror is fine, Secret Millionaire no way! On last week's Grand Designs, the husband died before the house could be built and I cried so much watching the ad for it I wasn't sure I'd be able to get through the actual episode!
I would love to write a book. Part of my job is preparing reports and I enjoy technical writing but I think it would be satisfying to find a story and tell it in your own way. Problem is I haven't found my story yet. Although I am seriously considering taking on a PhD in the near future so maybe that will scratch my writing itch.
I took six years off between the third and fourth years of my degree. During that time I spent 4 1/2 years working as a casino croupier. I learned a lot about people doing that job!
I am a terrible sleeper. The conditions have to be exactly right for me to get a good night's sleep - and they rarely are. Add to that an extremely cranky 16 year old cat demanding breakfast at anywhere between 4.30 and 5.30am and, perhaps that explains why I often look haggard in my photos!
My hair used to be really curly, like a red Afro. When I was 4 I got the nits and they couldn't work the comb through my hair as it was so thick and there was loads of it. So they had to shave my head. When it grew back the colour was still the same and it was still super thick and plentiful (not bragging - it's a nightmare!) but just wavy instead of curly - weird!

I am now supposed to nominate a huge number of blogs to pass the award on to. I hope you don't think it's a cop out if I don't nominate anyone. I am a bit late getting to this and loads of people have already had this and another similar award. So if you haven't already done this exercise then I nominate you!

Is it really Autumn?

2011-03-05T09:09:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone,
Well there is not much to report in chez Josie lately. Perth is still suffering through the hottest summer on record or some such rubbish. It's not the hot days that are so difficult but it hasn't dropped below 20C at night for over a month. Long story short, no one is getting any sleep, everyone is cranky and it is way too hot to venture into my sewing room. The good news is I now have a week and a half off work, the forecast looks bearable and I have several UFOs and USOs (Un Started Objects) calling my name.

Another version of the Garden State dress - this time work appropriate and with a good fit at the bust. It is about half done so one good session should knock it on the head
A cropped jacket I started before Christmas - I haven't been able to think about sleeves, even 3/4 length ones since then! I only have the lining and finishing to do
I have knitted and blocked the flutter sleeve cardigan and just need to sew it together, knit the sleeve bands and find buttons. This is another one that has been too hot to contemplate.
I am also knitting another blanket but that is a relaxing/TV project so no hurry on that one - it is over half done.
And finally a crocheted cardigan which is also about half done.

A couple of Saturdays ago I was invited to meet up with the ladies from the Burdastyle Perth club (I didn't even know they existed but was so glad they found me!) and shop at the Potter's outlet shop. It was great to meet so many people with a common interest and even a couple of local bloggers (I met Jacquie, Sewanista and the Curious Kiwi). I was very restrained and only bought one piece of fabric, it was pricey but only because I needed a lot. It's a knit print poly-rayon blend and yes, I am aware that every time I sew with knits I swear I never will again! I refuse to let them beat me. No photos yet, hopefully this is one of the USOs I'll get to while on holidays. Their next meet-up is next weekend so I am hoping to go along to that - maybe I'll take that pesky jacket lining!

Because I still have a back log of projects from my Christmas/New Year flurry of projects I can actually show you something finished. This is a baby blanket I made for Jess (now can you guess why the wedding has been postponed?). I made the pattern up myself but was inspired by several similar patterns I've seen over the years. The yarn is a mystery, bought in bulk from Jo Sharp's shop but it is similar to her Alpaca Silk Georgette. I am really pleased with how it came out, the yarn is lovely and light but warm with no fibres that will upset delicate baby skin.

Here is the first square in progress:

I picked up and knit each square onto the previous one so I only had ends to darn in on the end of each row:

Since making this blanket I have learned a better decrease that would have a single ridge through each square (a S2KP if you are wondering - it's in the new Stitch and Bitch book - 'Superstar Knitting' which I highly recommend if you want to learn a bunch of clever new tricks) but I used SSK and K2tog (I can't remember which order, I have it written down somewhere!) on this blanket which gives you the double ridge shown here.

I cannot wait to get on with my sew/knitcation. My fella is going to Soundwave on Monday (it's a public holiday) and quite possibly Future Music tomorrow so that will give me plenty of time to get started! Oh, and I just remembered I have a hen's do at the races in April so I will need something to wear to that...Maybe it's finally time to try out one of the Patrones cocktail dresses I've been ogling.

Right, well that's enough from me - off to the sewing room!

Jeans - I made jeans!

2011-02-18T17:58:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone!

I am so proud of myself - I made jeans!

These are the Hot Patterns Weekender Jean Jeanius Trouser Jeans and I think they turned out pretty good for a first try.

I was inspired by Allison's razor sharp jeans. When she mentioned the right angled seat curve I remembered I had bought this pattern a few years ago and it had been languishing ever since. A quick scan of Pattern Review confirmed the pattern had worked for a number of people so I was sufficiently confident to give it a go.

I can manage most things but have never had any real success with trousers. I have tried every alteration I come across. Some have not worked at all for me, some have worked a bit and some have worked quite well but all have taken major tweaking and the results have never been what I really hoped for. I always end up with extra fabric down the back of my legs and have never figured out how to get rid of it (see Exhibit A and B).

So, long story short, one of the reviews on PR mentioned a one-step pants back alteration that sounded like it might do the trick and whaddya know - it did!

I ended up dropping the seat by 1 1/2" (no wonder I can't buy pants to fit). This results in having to stretch the remaining back leg seam quite a lot to fit to the front but the denim was quite light and cooperated well. I'm not sure if it would be as successful in a less cooperative fabric.

I cut a straight size 16 from the pattern and the only other alterations I had to do were to cut 4cm off the front crotch point and to scoop out the seat a smidge more.

The instructions were pretty bad. Some pattern pieces were incorrectly labelled so you want to keep your wits about you there. The fly instructions IMHO were really clunky and ended up with me sewing the whole thing shut (I've never done that before). Also, correct me if I'm wrong but they don't seem to mention sewing the inside leg seams(!). Bear in mind I did buy this pattern a while ago and these problems may have been rectified now.

The fabric is a 6oz rigid denim, a bit lighter than recommended but it's summer here.

Okay, i know i am never going to look great in jeans (at least until I get back into reasonable shape) but this is probably as good as I am going to get for now.

I used normal thread in an ecru colour for the topstitching. My primary machine will not get along with topstitching thread, even with the special needle so I have given up trying to use it. In the end i set up a back up machine for the topstitching so I wasn't always changing my thread/settings. that machine works fine with topstitch thread but I had made up my mind by then.

I modelled the topstitching on a pair of Levis but left the back pockets plain as everything I tried looked lame.

I am wearing them with heels here and since taking these photos I have washed them in hot water to get out any remaining shrinkage (the fabric was pre-washed but I don't have access to a dryer) and hemmed to wear with flats as they turned out a little more casual than I wanted.

What's the down side? Well my painstakingly inserted zip is dodgy and keeps coming down. It's too much effort to fix it for now - any tips on getting a metal zip to stay done up?

I am definitely going to use this pattern (and this alteration) again.

V8634 - Knit top with cowl collar

2011-02-11T18:16:00.000+08:00

I am very pleased to show you another success story. There is not much to say about this so I'll let the pattern review do the talking...

Pattern Description:
Raglan sleeve top with 'cowl' collar. It's not strictly a cowl but rather an extended turtle neck or something - I don't really know how to describe it.

Pattern Sizing:
x-small, small, medium, large etc. I cut a straight medium.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes they were fine although I stabilised the shoulder seams with iron-on bias tape which is not covered in the instructions. Most of the construction I did with my overlocker (serger). I tried to do the hems with a twin needle but my machine was having none of that so I ended up just doing a long and narrow zig zag.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Love the shape of the collar. I was concerned it might be boxy but somehow the seam on the front gives it a good shape.

The neck seam does tend to roll out a bit with the weight of the collar but it is not noticeable in this print. In a heavier fabric I might attach bias binding to the seamline and topstitch it down to disguise the seam and flatten it out - just a thought.

Fabric Used:
A drapey knit. I don't enjoy sewing with knits so I only buy then when they are super-cheap!

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
None, for once I made it straight out of the envelope and there were no fit problems.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I can see myself making a long sleeved version in winter, and perhaps one in a sweater knit.

Conclusion:

This is a nice fitting t-shirt with added flair. Here's the back.

Burda 09-2009-131 Denim A-line skirt

2011-02-05T15:02:00.000+08:00

Hello, I am cheating again by doubling up my pattern review here and on PR, but you get the bonus of extra photos here. This is one of the Take 1 Make 4 skirts from the September 2009 Burda.

Pattern Description:
A-line skirt with shaped waistband.

Pattern Sizing:
Burda 36-46

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
I left off the pockets but generally yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I really didn't look at them, it's a straightforward pattern.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I can't get enough of a-line skirts! I liked the yoke/waistband on this one

Fabric Used:
6oz rigid denim.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I left off the pockets and added jeans-style topstitching to complement the denim. I cut the length of version 132, added a 5cm hem allowance but ended up taking a 1.5cm hem as it was still a bit short.

I am pretty proud of my matching job here - this is not something that comes easily to me.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, in fact I have a workday version already cut out!

Conclusion:
This is a versatile and flattering pattern. Definitely a keeper!

BWOF 09-2009-137 Flounce skirt

2011-01-30T08:17:00.000+08:00

I guess one bonus of going up in size (on the bottom half at least) is that I now get better value from my Burda magazine - being able to utilise both the standard and plus size patterns. This skirt is from the plus section of the September 2009 issue. Can someone tell me where to find the line drawings these days? Anyway, if you have the mag then you can look if up, if not it doesn't really matter anyway does it?

I cut a 44 in the waist and 46 in the hip, which should have fit my measurements but I actually found it a tiny bit snug and had to let the seams out a smidge. In future I would allow extra width in the side seams just in case.

The fabric is a wool/polyester blend. I previously used it for my entry into the RTW knock-off competition on Pattern Review a couple of years ago, which I only got three votes for - me and two of my IRL mates. I didn't think it was that bad!

I didn't make any changes to the pattern, even the length was fine for once. The flounce at the back is a nice detail and avoids the need for a vent. I usually find that hemline details in skirts tend to make me look a bit squat but this hangs nice and straight and doesn't add width.

I am pretty happy with how this skirt turned out and it will be wearable all year around which is a bonus.

Cupcake Apron

2011-01-21T21:22:00.000+08:00

A co-worker of mine has a friend whose little girl loves cooking. For Christmas she was given a toy kitchen which she loves but her Mum couldn't find any aprons to fit - she is only 2. I was enlisted to have a go at making one that would fit so my friend could give to the little girl for her birthday this week.

I used BWOF 07-2008-137 (a baby's romper) for the bib part and this template for the skirt and pocket (I cut the top off and added 8cm total width in the centre front so I had enough to gather). For the frill and straps I used strips of the contrast fabric which I folded in half (frill) or sewed into a tube (straps). I made two small loops (straight grain, folded in the edges and top stitched) and attached them just above where the skirt joins the bodice to thread the straps through. Also I bagged out the bib for neatness and topstitched in a three-step zig zag to jazz it up a bit (any fancy stitch would work). It probably took me an hour and a half or so from start to finish.

I think this is probably the cutest thing I have ever made and so far everyone (me, my friend and the Mum) has loved it. It's the little girl's birthday today and I can't wait to hear her reaction.

It's my 3rd Blogoversary

2011-01-14T18:53:00.000+08:00

Today is my third Blogoversary! Wow, when I started this thing I never imagined I’d still be going three years later and I hoped rather than believed anyone would be interested in reading it!

So this is an opportune time to reflect on the past year in my creative life.

2010, as I have previously mentioned, was a challenging year for me which overflowed onto my crafting world in a big way. In March we got caught in a freak hailstorm that hit Perth which resulted in our house getting flooded. It was nothing like the scale being experienced in Queensland at the moment (donate to the relief fund here) but it was enough to lose all our floor coverings and a large portion of our furniture. We managed to save most of our belongings, which spent the next three months crammed into my sewing room while we got everything replaced. On the positive side I did a lot more knitting in 2010!

My work life was also very stressful in 2010 for reasons too boring to discuss here. This impacted my creativity just because I was so tired a lot of the time.

There have also been some other issues competing for my limited time which have drawn my attention, sometimes too much.

However, not to be overly negative, when I have had the chance to make stuff I have enjoyed it as much as ever, maybe more. And I did manage to reach my goal of completing 30 projects – even though I did cheat a bit by including 2 wadders and a couple of (major) toiles. So without further ado…

Stats:

My top three for 2010
Gossip girl dress

Houndstooth coat

Baby starghans

My three biggest disappointments
The Garden State dress: my ham-fisted fba mucked this one up!

The grey frankendress: this one was not my fault but suffers from pointy boobs that I just can’t seem to fix.

Sunflower dress: I don’t know why I just don’t love it

Projects to carry over
The red silk corset: I just can’t face this right now. I have almost finished it but have got to a stage I don’t know how to remedy and if I don’t do it right it will look terrible!

Jess’s wedding dress: That one is on hold for a while due to circumstances beyond my control (good circumstances – they haven’t broken up or anything!). It will probably fire up again in late 2011.

The McQueen Kimono jacket: I still really want to do this project but my weight gain means there is no chance it will fit me as it is. I need to do major work to the pattern and I just haven’t had the energy. I am not ditching it but just need the stars to align a bit better before I can take it on.

Wish list for 2011
My immediate goals are the need to blog a couple of projects I have finished in the last few weeks. Then I have a UFO to finish and two more projects cut out. After that I want to have another go at BWOF 11-2007-107 and fix that pesky bust problem.

Further than that it is hard to plan beyond summer. I am on a contract at work which ends in August. I have to re-apply and don’t know if I will get it or not (there is a pretty poor record for that here). I will have to apply for other jobs just in case and who knows what might eventuate there? Always in the back of my mind is the desire to do something more creatively satisfying.

So 2011 will really be stepping into the unknown for me. Whatever happens there will be a lot of change and its associated stresses, which is why I am unwilling to add more stress by setting too many goals. My only goal is to create as much as I can and not too many wadders this year (although I read once that if you don’t make bad fashion choices sometimes you are playing it too safe!). I will try to blog at least once per week but please forgive me if that’s not always possible. I hope you will stick with me for this ride and I look forward to what comes next.

Goodbye 2010 - the Garden State dress

2011-01-06T11:26:00.000+08:00

I don't know about you but I am quite happy to see the back of 2010! To say it was a challenging year is an understatement but I have definitely come out of it stronger. All the stresses of 2010 means I wasn't able to focus on my creative pursuits as much as I would have liked, but when I could they helped me get through some really difficult times. I foresee 2011 also being challenging (at least the first few months) but what can you do other than face it head on?

I'll do my 2010 round up of projects on my blogoversary in just over a week so today I will show you what I whipped up for New Year's Eve...

I was going for this -

http://www.catwalkqueen.tv/2008/07/galleries/cq_gallery_mad.php?pic=1

But may have strayed dangerously close to this -

http://manolomen.com/2007/07/12/striking-a-match/

Whatever, I loved Garden State so I don't mind too much!
The pattern is BWOF 11-2007-107 which has been really successful for a number of people.

I love how the skirt came out - although on me I could have done without the underskirt. I made a lot of alterations to the front bodice and never managed to get it quite right. I don't think that is the fault of the pattern, I think I was a bit over-zealous with my FBA. I haven't made a fitted bodice from Burda before, are they cut for a c-cup to start with by chance? There is just too much fabric in the front so it pokes and pulls a bit weird.

The back isn't bad, the only alteration I made was a 3cm sway back adjustment. There still seems to be some excess fabric in the back waist but not enought to be really concerned with. It's so hard to fit yourself and it's usually not until I see the photos that I notice problems, especially on the back.

The fabric is quilting cotton (yikes!) which I don't normally use for garments (other than PJ pants) but I don't think it looks too mad.

I am thinking of this as a wearable muslin. I want to use the pattern for a work dress so this was a trial run to see if the general shape works on me. If I can get the fit worked out I think it will be okay.

Christmas wrap up

2010-12-30T08:46:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone, hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Christmas day here was blisteringly hot (just shy of 40C) but fortunately we went from air conditioned house to air conditioned car to air conditioned house to air conditioned car to air conditioned house to air conditioned car to air conditioned house to air conditioned car to air conditioned house. Yes, a lot of running around but you may be surprised to hear that is less than normal so for the first time in about 20-odd years, I got a sleep in on Christmas Day - bliss.

First things first. A massive shout out to Cidell, who posted this recipe on her blog. The pumpkin and mushroom Wellingtons were a big hit at my family's Christmas vegetarian lunch. Don't they look cute?

Now. On to the outfit. This year I fancied wearing linen pants. I don't know why. I have never worn linen before, let alone pants but I got the idea in my head that swishy wide legged pants would be cooler than a dress. Yes, I know they would look better with heels but Christmas is pretty casual in my family and I have a lot of driving to do. Even I can't wear heels all the time!

I used a stretch linen, probably a bit thicker than necessary - it's almost cargo weight if that makes sense. I won't do a proper review of this since the pattern is a bit of a fudge. I started with a Patrones pattern but widened the legs substantially, converted the waist facing to a shaped waistband and added pockets. I think they came out okay but by the time these photos were taken (after lunch) I could already pinch a good inch on each side. I may run them in a bit and then do a proper post on them, or I may just keep them as slouch-around-the-house pants. I need some distance before I decide.

Here's the back, you can see how big they are on me. Instead of looking relaxed and slouchy they just make me look wider than I already am.

The top is the cool, calm and cowl top which was a free download from Hot Patterns, but now you have to buy it. I made it for the PR wardrobe competition last year so I have already reviewed it. I really wish I had gone back and checked my own review so I could have remembered to lower the front neckline a bit. Ah well, it will do for work. I did at least remember that the band around the bottom did not work for my body type so I left that off and lengthened the top a little to compensate. The fabric is a remnant I picked up for $8 a couple of years ago. I am not sure but it could be silk jersey - whatever it is, it feels beautiful!

This is my sister's dog Fergus, isn't he cute?

I am now working on a dress for New Year's Eve and am pretty pleased so far...

As a final note, these photos were taken on my lovely new camera that my fella got me for Christmas - yay!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T23:27:00.002+08:00

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday. I also hope it is a bit cooler where you are than here!

Back soon with a post about this year's Christmas outfit.

Pattern Review - Simplicity 2360 - the spotty ruffle dress

2010-12-20T19:09:00.000+08:00

Phew, only 2 more days of work this year! I cannot wait to have a break! Apologies, I am a bit knackered so if you want full details you will need to check out the full review (see sidebar).

So this dress was inspired by the fabric, a polyester crepe de chine at a minuscule $5.00 per metre. I already had loads of thread and elastic so this worked out to be about a $10 dress.

Here is the front.

And the back.

I had to make a quick fix at the waist as the bodice was too short. I attached a band in the middle and top-stitched the seam allowances down to make two elastic casings instead of one as provided in the pattern - sorry the picture isn't very clear.

Overall a pretty quick and easy make and the pattern has potential to be used for a heap of different garments.

Inspired by Van Gogh - the sunflower dress

2010-12-11T18:05:00.000+08:00

I found this fabric at my local Spotlight for about $6.00 per metre and something abut it spoke to me. The colours remind me of the Sunflowers painting by Van Gogh. It is 100% cotton, hence the wrinkles after a full day at work but it is very light and cool in the hot weather.

The pattern is Simplicity 2424 - one of the Threads collection patterns. I also like the cardigan in the pattern but I will have to give the jacket a miss though - the wide lapels will probably swamp my narrow shoulders and I suspect the poofy sleeves will end right at my widest bit!

I would have liked to have lined the dress but the only lining I had in my stash is the kind that wrinkles like mad after washing so I thought it would be a nightmare to take care of with two layers to iron! My solution is to wear a full slip underneath which I actually quite like to do anyway.

Here is the back.

The princess seams make it easy to alter for many body types. I made an fba, a sway back alteration and narrowed the upper back. The front neckline is a little high and makes me feel a bit claustrophobic but I can live with it. I probably should have altered for my forward thrusting neck.

I forgot to lengthen the pattern so I hemmed it using 2.5cm hem tape, but as you can see this pattern is a little longer than standard - I normally lengthen skirt patterns by a good 5cm. I quite like the stability it gives the flimsy fabric.

Overall I like but don't love it. It's not as comfortable as I would have liked, with it's slightly too high neck and the belt carriers are on an awkward part of my waist so the belt digs in a bit (this will not be a problem if your waist goes out gradually to your hips, rather than quite abruptly as mine does). But I am desperate for clothes, it was super-inexpensive and it will do for one summer. I would make the pattern again but take more time to fit it properly.

It's a real thing

2010-12-02T20:44:00.001+08:00

Here is how the conversation went:
Me: Do you like my cape?
Fella: It's a bit short.
Me: It's actually a capelet.
Fella: You're making that up, there's no such thing!

So here is my new capelet.

The pattern is the Loose Textured Cape by Jo Sharp, a Western Australian yarn and pattern designer, which I bought as a kit in a recent 40% off sale. Essentially it is worked as a top-down raglan jumper but it finishes at the point you would normally separate the sleeve stitches and join for the body. It is knit on 9mm needles and is worked in stripes of the main colour (1 strand) and the main colour plus one or two other yarns to give the thick and thin look. Overall it was an easy make and only took a few evenings to finish.

Here's a closer look. Instead of knitting on the placket and using a kilt pin to fasten I crocheted the placket and added a buttonhole so I could close it with an over sized wooden button. I also worked the lower border in garter stitch instead of rib.

Somewhat disappointingly I ran short on a couple of the yarns, but since the all colours are so similar my substitutions don't show.

Here's one from the archives...Jo Sharp was originally known for her intricate intarsia designs. Probably about 8 years ago now, when I had just had my mini-breakdown and threw in my job with no plans for the future, I was commissioned to knit probably one of THE most complicated designs you will ever see. From memory there is at least 20 colours in it. I never met the person it was for, as it was commissioned through a wool-shop owner and the client lived in the country. I really hope she loved it as it nearly killed me to knit it. I would work on it about 12 hours a day and got it finished in about 2 months - and then couldn't knit for about a month after due to straining my wrists! But it was never boring...I present - the Cactus Flower Coat (and a much younger me!).

For the record, contract knitting is quite good fun but not a great way to cover the mortgage!

Oh and by the way thank you all so much for your kind messages after my last post. I guess it's easy to lose perspective when you are so focussed on a problem. I really wasn't fishing for compliments but you have helped me take a step back and see the bigger (no pun intended) picture.

Coming clean...

2010-11-21T12:24:00.000+08:00

You haven't seen much of me on this blog recently but it's time to come clean...

You see, I can't deny it any longer. I have put on weight - ugh! I really haven't wanted to sew for myself lately as I need to use a size bigger pattern but I still need clothes and there are very few of my old clothes I can still squeeze into. I am not happy about it, but it is what it is; and for various reasons going on a diet is not something that is high on my priority list right now. I am going to try to be better about making healthy choices but in the meantime I should still be able to look good.

If there is an upside to this, it now seem my lower body is exactly a Patrones size 48 (my upper body not so much of course!). So the thought of making something with no alterations is pretty tempting. For my first try at a Patrones pattern I chose a skirt - number 25 in issue 294. It was so successful I made it twice.

For the first version I used a cotton poplin with some stretch. The stretch is not necessary but the fabric has been in my stash for a while now and had aged sufficiently to be used. This is made exactly to the magazine pattern.

It's fine for weekend wear but a touch short for me to wear to work. Skirts with pleats usually look terrible on me but I actually think the pleats on this skirt fall at the right place on me.

I used an old-style zip as it was all I had to hand. It is so long since I have done one of these I really had to stretch my mind to a) how to do it in the first place and b) how to finish the facing on the inside. I kind of bodged it in the end, it's only a casual skirt after all. Still my lapped zip came out pretty good if I do say so.

I even made the belt loops even though I rarely wear belts.

The second version is also in poplin, this time not stretch. I love this art nouveau-ish butterfly pattern. All I did this time was lengthen it by 5cm. This time I also used an invisible zip. My workplace is pretty casual so this works well with a nice knit top for work.

Clearly we need to work on the back courtyard a bit!

It irritates me a bit that the design wasn't centred on the fabric and I didn't have enough to fussy cut it with a butterfly centre front and back. Fortunately I don't think it's noticeable. But having said that I shouldn't have to buy an extra length of fabric to accomodate lazy fabric designers! And before you ask, yes it is apparel fabric not quilting fabric - not that it should make a difference.

I don't know if my mind works in crazy (ie dirty) ways but after looking at the print for a while some aspects of it started to look a bit 'anatomical' and I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate or not. But no one has said anything so either it was all in my imagination, or everyone is laughing behind my back! (okay, I tried to upload a photo but blogger won't let me, maybe the computer thinks it's too rude so I'll just have to keep you in suspense!)

My only complaint is that, because the yoke rides quite low it has a tendency to tip forward and catch under my belly - not a good look. I might cut the yoke so it finishes higher on the waist in future but with the pleats still starting at the same point on my hip, if that makes sense.

I really need to pick up my pace if I am going to finish 30 projects this year, some quick and easy pieces might be in order I think!

Baby starghan mark II

2010-11-06T14:38:00.000+08:00

This is my second baby starghan, you can see my first version here). This time made as a gift for my chiropractor, whose partner is expecting in January. This version is made in cotton so I chose to do blocks of colour rather than stripes since the ends don't darn in as nicely as wool. I just kept going until the yarn ran out - 1 ball white, 2 balls pale lime, 2 balls white, 2 balls teal (plus an extra half ball of teal to finish the last round and work the edging). I changed yarns when and wherever I needed to rather than just changing at the end of a round, that way I could get the maximum size out of my yarn. As with the previous version I finished with a round of crab stitch to neaten the edge. Not much else to say really except, yay another FO!

Grey coat - finished

2010-10-12T18:12:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,
Still massively busy and stressed out here but I have at least managed to fit in a bit of sewing. I finished the grey coat - unfortunately far to late to be able to wear it this year. Oh well, it'll just have to hang in the wardrobe until next May, unless someone whisks me off to a northern hemisphere holiday soon (hint hint).

Anyway, here it is...

I can't remember where I left you on this project but here is the bodice

The skirt with floating patch pockets...

Bound seams on the inside of the skirt...

Super cute lining...

And a front and back view...Sorry, the sunlight is so harsh these pictures are a bit washed out.

Sadly it is a little snug. Those few kilos I have always battled have become a few more lately grrr. I just don't have the energy to deal with it right now.

I'll do a proper review in the next couple of days.

In other news, I start another class tomorrow night. It is with the same teacher as the corset class (yes, I will do a wrap up of that soon) but this time I will be learning about lingerie.

Featherweight Cardigan - Finally!

2010-09-29T20:22:00.000+08:00

Wow, more than three weeks since I've posted anything. I have not been terribly creative lately, I am making slow progress on the winter coat (which I have no need of until next May now!) and the corset (even though the class is finished - I promise I will update you on what we learned). I am just very distracted lately and all my creative energies are occupied elsewhere. I'll do my best to get back on the horse soon - I find it easier to manage the little stresses of everyday life better when I have an outlet!

In the meantime I finally blocked the Featherweight cardigan and here it is:

I have been a bit 'meh' about this cardigan since I finished it. On the positive side the shape is nice and it's light and soft. On the other hand I couldn't get the collar quite right (I cast off loose so it wouldn't seize up but now it's just kind of floppy) and it snags if I even think about a rough surface (I don't know why I imagined it wouldn't be fragile). I can never work the pulls back into the fabric and it's starting to look a bit moth-eaten already.

Here's the back, you can see what I mean about the collar.

I have been looking forward to making the wispy cardi in the same yarn but a different colourway but now I am not so sure. I have another project on the go so I don't have to decide right away but I guess my options are

buy another skein of yarn and work two strands together,
make the wispy cardi but substitute a different stitch that won't pull so easily (maybe all over moss stitch?), or
make something else entirely - like a huge lace shawl (and risk looking like a total nanna - not sure I am young and cool enough to pull of the 'casually wrapped handknit lace shawl' look)

So that's where I am at. I'll try to work on the coat this weekend - I am nearly finished!

Floating patch pocket tutorial (picture heavy)

2010-09-07T17:26:00.000+08:00

I am so far behind on posting it's ridiculous! My apologies but I have so much going on in my offline life ATM that blogging has fallen down my list a bit. Nothing bad I assure you, just distracting!

So I am foolishly making a winter coat in Spring, as I did a couple of years ago - I know, it's mad but I enjoy making coats. I guess I should move somewhere that I would get more than three months wear out of them a year! For this coat I am using Butterick 5145 - view B, with the pockets.

Today I am going to demonstrate my method of attaching patch pockets so they look like they float - no visible top stitching. I learned this technique from an ancient Australian Stitches magazine (probably at least 8 years ago now) and tried to demonstrate it here, but grey fabric with black lining and a crappy camera don't make it easy! I hope you can follow the process a bit better this time around. One thing I will say about this technique, don't try to understand it ahead of time, make a practice version and it will become clear - seriously it still does my head in to think it through!

These pockets are a little different because of the flap but a little thought allowed me to still attach them invisibly.

The pattern has you cut two pieces from the main fabric, stitch them RS together, turn them out and topstitch on to the coat. I started by cutting two pocket pieces from the main fabric and four from the lining FOR EACH POCKET.

On one of the main fabric pieces measure 2.5cm down from the foldline and cut across. This becomes the part of the flap that shows on the outside, you can discard the rest of the pocket piece. When the pocket is finished, 1.5cm will be on the inside of the pocket (the join is not right on the foldline) and 1cm will be the seam allowance to join it to the lining.

On both lining pieces, measure 0.5cm down from the foldline and cut across. You can discard the upper portions of these pieces and keep the 'bags'.

Join one lining piece to the flap with a 1cm seam allowance and press.

Place this piece RS together with the full pocket piece and stitch around the flap, only above the lining/flap join. Snip into the seam allowance, grade and clip your seams and turn the flap out - press well.

Next press down the 1cm seam allowance on the other lining piece and place it RS together with the lining piece already in place. Baste all three layers together with a long stitch.

Turn in your seam allowances, using the long stitch to draw in the corners and press really well (you will find it easier if there is a distinct edge crease made at this stage). I hand basted everything before pressing so I didn't get pin marks. Trim back your seam allowances to 1cm.

Put the pocket in place on your garment (remember the lining/flap join is not at the foldline).

Put an open-toed foot on your sewing machine and baste the pocket in place using a long, narrow zig zag (I used length 4.0 and width 2.0). With the 'zig' on the pocket edge and the 'zag' off it. Remove your hand basting from the pocket if you haven't done so already!

Now the tricky bit. Open up the pocket so all the layers are in your left hand and the garment is in your right. You can look in and see the folded in seam allowances. You want to get inside with your open-toed foot and sew those seam allowances down to the garment, as close as you can get to the pressed edge. It's a bit tricky, and definitely easier on a larger pocket. For obvious reasons you need a pocket with rounded corners for this technique. Just work your way around, a little at a time until you get to the other edge.

Now since the lining/flap join is 1.5cm down from the fold you will need to secure that last little bit, between the join and the foldline to the body of the coat. I topstitched little rectangles that would take the strain of putting my hands in the pockets. This stitching is the only bit that shows from the outside and it is completely concealed when you fold the flaps down.

All that remains is to secure the loose lining edge to the garment, concealing the seam allowances - this is the really clever bit and looks very nice. I did this by hand invisibly but you could also edgestitch it on the machine. Then give everything a final good press.

Finally sew on the button and you are done. No one else might realise how clever you are but you can feel smug every time you put your hand in that pocket!

I hope you find this useful, I think it give a more formal look to a casual style of pocket.

Corset classes 1 and 2

2010-08-27T17:59:00.000+08:00

Today I'll show you what I have been working on in my corset making class.

I have a little corset making experience, having made a Victorian style corset as a class project at WAAPA. I have also made a fair few structured bodices using various methods of boning, but I am by no means an expert so I was thrilled when the opportunity arose to develop my skills further. I signed up for a 6-week course, one evening a week at a local technical college.

At first I wasn't sure how I would like it, many of the other students seemed quite inexperienced but I really had nothing to worry about as the teacher is very experienced and generous with her knowledge (not all teachers are like that unfortunately). There will be a class project for those who want to work along step-by-step or we can do our own thing. I have chosen to use a different design but using the same techniques as the class project, my design is slightly more complicated as I wanted to work with gussets. The other techniques I haven't tried before but will be incorporating into my corset are cording, flossing and hand-worked eyelets.

By way of background here is the corset I made while at WAAPA.

(obviously dummies can't 'suck in' - mind you it doesn't fit me either these days!)

It is a pretty simple shape and I added decoration to the centre front panel by winding silk ribbon on to the bobbin and stitching the diamond grid (from the wrong side) with a zig zag stitch. I then made a hand-worked bullion rose in the centre of each diamond.

Essentially I sewed together the outer shell and the lining individually, placed them wrong sides together and stitched the boning channels on each panel. The only actual seam that is boned is the side seam and that is formed with a flat felled seam. There is a busk in the front, metal eyelets in the back and the top and bottom edges are simply bound with bias strips. It requires a degree of accuracy but isn't complicated.

For this course I will be using a B4254 View D which I have had lying around for years (I was intending to make the Tudor/Elizabethan style corset, but like so many projects it fell by the wayside). I'll also be using the fabric and boning I got for that project. On the upside this will be a very economical project for me!

So far I have made and fitted a toille. Essentially I am making a size 12 with a little room in the hips, a 1cm increase to each side of the gusset/cup (by way of an fba) and nipped in a little at the top edge. Pretty easy really. Fortunately I kept the practice eyelet strips I made for my other corset and was able to use them for fitting. This ensures a nice even gap down the centre back.

Next I moved on to sampling some of the techniques.

Here is my first attempt at cording - sorry it's a bit blurry but I think you get the idea. I stitched 3mm channels and threaded through two lengths of machine knitting yarn, probably about 5ply I would say. It needs to be something quite hard - like acrylic but this is a little thin. For my second sample I stuck with 3mm channels and I used some 8ply acrylic leftover from my swiffer socks, again using two lengths. This gives a nice firm result. Boy is it boring sewing all those channels though - no more samples for me I think!

The method of boning I will be using for this project is quite different to any I have used before. The outer and lining fabric are placed together, like underlining, then the seams are stitched. Bias strips are then sewn along the stitching line, the seam allowances are trimmed and the raw edge of the bias is turned in and stitched down to the main body to form the boning channel. The channels can be placed on the inside or the outside of the corset depending on whether or not you want it to be a design feature, but both sides are fully finished and neat looking. Mine will be on the outside. I have made up one half of the corset to test out these techniques (I need to perfect the measurements to cut the bias the right width for my boning). Note the centre front and centre back panels are not joined on as I have to insert the busk and make the eyelets before those panels are joined on.

This week I think we will be inserting the busks (which I have done before but it will be interesting to see if there is a different way to do it) and making hand-worked eyelets (which is great for me as I hate putting in those silly metal eyelets - all that work to be ruined by one wonky grommet!). After that (possibly this weekend) I will start on the real thing.

This weekend I must get on to blocking my featherweight cardigan. It's been waiting for over a week now!

Jess's Wedding Dress Part One

2010-08-20T16:35:00.000+08:00

I mentioned previously that I am making a wedding dress for my friend Jess at the moment. We had a preliminary try-on this past weekend and I am relieved to say it went very well!

Jess has given her blessing for me to blog about the project. Her family and friends are mostly in the UK and she would love them to be a part of the experience so this is a good way to share the journey with them as well as with my regular readers. So welcome along Jess's friends and family, I hope you like what you see and drop me a line anytime if you have anything you want to share!

First a bit of background. I met Jess a few years ago when she started dating Wade, who my fella and I studied with at WAAPA. Wade is an absolutely top bloke and I am pleased to report that Jess is a perfect match for him. When she rang me to tell me that Wade had proposed I could not have been happier! Then when she asked me to make the dress I didn't hesitate to say yes.

I haven't made any wedding dresses since I stopped working at a bridal design studio about three years ago, mainly because of the stress involved. I have done a couple of private contracts before and my brides have always been lovely, but I did have one very difficult sister-of-the-bride which soured the whole experience for me. That coupled with some of the bride- and maid-zillas I came across at the design studio really put me off, although making wedding dresses generally is still something I very much enjoy. I was happier drafting patterns and making samples for the shop rather than for actual brides. Call me crazy but I am sort-of thinking about going back to it again - the corporate world really doesn't agree with me and I'd love to work from home again!

I know for sure I won't have any problems with Jess. We are able to communicate well and understand each other and Jess is very realistic too. Also it doesn't hurt that she is absolutely gorgeous!

The wedding will be a barefoot affair, on a beach in the beautiful south-west with the reception at Wade's parents' bush block near Dunsborough. It's not until April next year, so I probably won't start the actual dress until November, but we just wanted to get our ideas together to see if we had nailed it yet or need to keep looking.

We have been snoop-shopping a couple of times (with one of Jess's bridesmaids) and Jess has tried on dresses that are both very high-end and off-the-rack. We were conscious of not wasting too much of people's time, and it was never the intention to knock-off someone else's hard work but it was important that Jess be able to see how she looked in a variety of shapes and styles before committing. That's the problem with custom-made, it's hard to know what you like and don't like until you actually put it on. There were some that looked good and some that looked great - lucky Jess has the sort of figure that doesn't look bad in anything - and I was able to get a feel for what she was looking for. The key points were:

• A sheer layer over satin
• A dramatic back
• Not too low cut in the front
• Some kind of draping to give movement

I decided to go with a fitted and lightly boned bodice with chiffon draped free-form over the top. I had a photographic reference of a dress with wide chiffon straps and a tied bow at the back so I incorporated those too.

This is what I mocked up with some poplin and polyester chiffon. You will need to use your powers of visualisation as it's very rough!

For the under bodice I used a pattern I drafted ages ago but never used, and I used my trusty Vogue 8494 as a guide for the skirt.

The good news is that Jess loves it! It was a little big so I have fitted the bodice to her which, having many vertical seams, is easy to do. I will also lower the back substantially, it can go a lot lower and still be appropriate and the romantic style of the straps will make sure it doesn't get trashy. Generally though it has turned out a winner, which is great because I am very happy with it too!

I will put up a post on the bodice soon, to show how the under layer works and in the next few weeks we are hoping to go fabric shopping. We are thinking a silk satin with a bit of body, but not stiff, for the under layer, with silk chiffon over the top. We will most likely go for ivory although Jess is open to other colours, but given it's an outdoor event we will probably stay away from the whiter end of things.

I also have two weeks of corset class to catch you up on and I have finally finished the Featherweight Cardigan (although I haven't blocked it yet!).

M5929 - Version three

2010-08-10T19:31:00.000+08:00

As I mentioned previously I will eventually have four versions of this shirt. This is version three. I have previously in a floral with the ruffle, and the long sleeved version without the ruffle. This version also skips the ruffle and has a different sleeve.

I was inspired by this image from the August 2010 Madison magazine. You can barely see it but this shirt is by Boss Black and it retails for $329 Australian. I reckon my version came in under $25 so you have to be happy with that!

Here is the front view. I like the open neck a lot better than the traditional shirt neckline on me. I find there is too much fabric in the upper chest and it never lies flat. The stripe with white collar and cuffs reminds me of rich bankers (I said bankers).

Either side of the front band I added a 1cm strip of striped fabric cut on the bias. I love how this turned out! The only tricky bit is that you need to cut your bias bands perpendicular (at right angles) to each other not parallel (alongside), or you won't be able have both sets of stripes running up (or down). Ask me how I know. Fortunately my fabric was kinda reversible so I think I got away with it.

What I didn't get away with was working all the buttonholes on the wrong side - dammit! I checked twice and STILL did it wrong! Now I can't wear this shirt with pants (I like everything to overlap the same way - call me crazy). I can however wear it with skirts, and jeans if I was the type to wear a shirt like this with jeans!

I morphed the sleeve into an oop vogue sleeve with a traditional placket and french cuff. I cut down the cuff so it doesn't fold back though. I made the cuff links from a pair of shank buttons. The purple dot is my disappearing marker that hasn't quite disappeared yet (it will).

I did a pretty good job on the cuffs if I do say so. I used the David Coffin DVD for the first time and they came out great.

I also think the collar looks pretty good - collars with a stand are always a challenge for me. Again I used the David Coffin DVD and am much happier than normal.

Just to round things out, here's the back.

You know I am thinking I am going to have to re-visit some of my fitting alterations. I am just not getting the nice smooth finish I used to. Any suggestions (other than 'get to the gym')?

So I have one more version of this shirt planned but I am going put it on hold to work on a coat and a jacket before the cold weather is gone for the year. I am also starting a corset making class this week (I have done some corset making before but this is apparently a 'master class' so I will let you know how it goes) and I will be working on a toille for my friend Jess's wedding dress - which you will be pleased to know she is happy for me to blog about. Not likely I'll be bored any time soon!

Spiral scarf - another knitting project

2010-08-04T15:17:00.000+08:00

Today I am 'sick as a dog'! It's just a head cold but it has knocked me flat on my back. Unfortunately it decided to hit me right before I had to give a pretty important presentation yesterday - it was not my finest performance I'm afraid!

So I am home sick today and maybe tomorrow too if I don't improve significantly. As vital as I am to the running of the State Government (joke) I like my co-workers too much to share my germs with them. It's opening night for my fella's first production in his new job tomorrow night so I hope I am well enough to go and support him.

But this is not a health blog, it's a sewing blog - although there has been a lot of knitting/crochet going on around here. Of course that's mainly due to the fact I could not access my sewing room and/or most of my stash for the best part of three months after the house flooded. Mercifully that's all fixed now but here's another knitting project if you can stand it.

I bought this pattern and yarn as a kit at the Craft and Quilt Fair, which I went to on my birthday this year.
I have to say it was a bit disappointing this year and this was all I bought. I started it the same day so therefore it has taken me more than two months to knit this in around other projects. The pattern is the Spiral Scarf and the yarn is Quartet, both by Morris and Sons.

The ruffles are formed entirely by short rows, essentially the scarf is formed of many, many little wedges. The yarn has soy in it and feels lovely and soft but the twist is a bit irregular with some very thick bits and very thin bits amongst a mainly even yarn It's fine as long as you don't mind a few lumps.

It was an easy knit but boring, due to it being essentially garter stitch with 8ply yarn on 4.5mm needles.

I like how it came out and I got some compliments when I wore it to work the other day. A success all around and another completed project to add to the tally.

M5929 - Take two

2010-07-31T17:47:00.000+08:00

Apologies for cross posting here and at pattern review, I can be bothered writing the same thing in two different ways today!

This review is for McCall's 5929.

Pattern Description:
Fitted shirts A, B have darted front and back, front band, front ruffles and shaped hemline; shirt A has stand-up collar, below elbow length sleeves with sleeve band; shirt B has collar and collar band, full length sleeves with placket opening and cuffs; dresses A, B have sleeves gathered at cap and lower edge.

I made view B with the full collar and long sleeves but left off the ruffle.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut a 12 to the bottom of the armholes then graded to a 14 at the waist and hips.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I made this shirt last year for the PR wardrobe compettion without any problems. The review is here or you can see it here as well.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
It might not seem like it but this is a very versatile pattern. This is the second time I've made it and it looks quite different. I have two more versions in the works as well. I am not usually one to use TNT patterns!

Fabric Used:
Stretch poly-cotton shirting. It was a bit of a bear to get the front bands on nicely since I cut them so the stretch ran lengthwise, but other than that it behaved quite nicely.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I altered for my short and narrow upper back and I probably should have made the cuffs a bit snugger (but didn't). I didn't need an fba so if you are petite in the bust (I am a C-D cup) you might want to look at the sizing in the front. On the other hand I don't like a lot of ease anyway so maybe it will be fine.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes I will sew it again at least twice and yes I would definitely recommend it to others.

Conclusion:
It's boring basic shirt for work but everyone needs boring basics too.

Friday Night Sew In Results - July

2010-07-25T08:36:00.001+08:00

I didn't get as much done as I would have liked on Friday night but any extra sewing time is a bonus right?

I got the body of this blouse together last weekend but have been caught up sewing for my fella's next production for most of the week - a curtain 9 metres across by 6 metres long. I am sure you can guess just how much fun that has been! So anyway, I was determined to finish the blouse on Friday night.

I sewed the hem and buttonholes in the body then constructed the sleeves. At this point my sewing machine cracked the sh*ts and refused to work anymore so I has to content myself with spending the rest of the evening sewing on the buttons. So that's the end of my Friday night - sleeves pinned in and no buttonholes on the cuffs - so near but so far!

****Note, I did manage to limp my machine along enough to finish the blouse on Saturday morning - I'll post a review as soon as I get some photos.

The Baby Starghan

2010-07-15T21:09:00.000+08:00

This is my only my third ever baby blanket - the first I posted here but I forgot to photograph the second before I gave it to my step-brother. I don't know why I never made baby blankets before, the relatively thick yarn makes them quick to work and once the pattern is established they make perfect mindless TV watching projects but they are still small enough not to get too boring. This was my World Cup watching project.

The pattern is the baby starghan by yarndeevah, which I accessed via ravelry. I used three balls of Patons Big Baby 8ply, which was on special at Spotlight. Ordinarily I wouldn't use synthetic yarns (it's mainly acrylic) but it's nice and soft and will be very hard wearing.

There is not much to say other than I worked 2 round of each colour until I ran out of yarn then used the leftover cream to work a round of dc (sc in US terms) and then a round of crab stitch (reverse sc) to finish it off. This was a very easy pattern and very effective. The recipient absolutely loved it (she is having a little boy). If I ever get the chance I'll make one for myself.

On another topic, we finally got our bookcases replaced this week, three and a half months after the flood so we're now pretty much back to where we were before. I am so happy! We spent most of last weekend putting things away which meant I could clear all the boxes out of the sewing room - I can't wait to get in there and sew in comfort again! And just in time for the Friday Night Sew-In next week.

Short rows explained

2010-07-10T17:35:00.000+08:00

A couple of you have asked how I worked the short rows on the back of the dressage jacket. It was my first time trying this so I pretty much fudged it, but I'll do my best to describe the process. I admit the maths did give me a slight headache at the time but it wasn't really that hard, I just really over-think things!

The idea is that I have a sort of sway back, but above my waist not below it. I usually tuck out between 1 and 2 inches on the centre back seam of my sewing projects so I wanted to get the same effect on the back of the cardigan.

First I figured out how many rows less I wanted in the middle of the back (it's sort of the opposite of normal short rows, where you are adding more eg. at the bust). In this case it was only 6 rows (about an inch), when you do your calculation you will want this to be an even number, let's call it a (can you tell I work with statistics?).

Each short row you work is actually a pair of rows (there and back) so you need to divide a by 2 to work out how many pairs of short rows to work, in my example this works out to be 3, we'll call it b.

Now, take the number of stitches in half the back (for example, full back=80 stitches therefore half back=40 stitches), continuing the theme we'll call it c.

Divide c by b+1 (example 40/(3+1)=10 stitches). This is how long each of your short rows will be, from now on referred to as d. The turns will be evenly spaced either side with a wider straight section in the middle.

Now, knit to the waistline and work the following (my example in brackets):
Short row pair 1: work d (10)stitches, turn and work back (or wrap and turn if that's your thing - it is mine).
Short row pair 2: work d*2 (20) stitches, turn and work back.
Short row pair 2: work d*3 (30) stitches, turn and work back.
Repeat until you have completed the required number of short row pairs (b).
Now work across the whole row and repeat the exact same short row process on the other side of the piece.

Here is my craptastic PowerPoint representation of how it looks so you can visualise the process.

Then finish the back as instructed. Make sure when you measure the length of the back that you measure at the side seam rather than the centre back - otherwise your back will come out longer than your front!

The centre back of the cardigan will scoop upwards when it's laid flat but looks straight across when it's on the body.

Of course this is easy on a simple pattern like stocking stitch or rib, but I I have a lace project in the queue and I am not sure if I'll be able to figure that one out!

I hope this helps, I really am not a knitwear designer so if I can do it anyone can! Good luck.

The Dressage Jacket - finished

2010-07-08T17:11:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday I went to see Eclipse with my friend and regular movie-buddy Kate. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am not a Twi-hard by any stretch and I don't particularly relate to any of the characters, but if you made me choose I would have to go for Edward (I can't resist a man with sideboards - lucky for me my fella wears them!). I have always loved vampire stories starting in my teens with the original novel Dracula, moving on through the Anne Rice vampire chronicles and I am currently reading the Vampire Academy Novels - so vampire movies are always on my 'to see' list. Plus I love the clothes they put Alice in,! Isn't this coat/smock from New Moon cute?

Image from here.

But the point of this post is not a movie review but a cardigan review. Yes, that's right the Dressage Jacket is finished and has had it's first public wearing.

The yarn:
Sublime aran by Sirdar. The colour is 'wicker'. This yarn feels beautiful to knit with, very smooth and soft, and no splitting. However, there is something you should know. When I blocked the pieces (soaked them in tepid water with wool mix, gently lifted them out and rolled in a towel then patted to shape) they GREW. A lot. The technical diagram for the cardigan shows a finished length of 49cm, I admit I didn't measure before blocking so it may have started out a bit longer than this but after blocking it is now 69cm! it also grew in width but it's hard to measure with the rib. Let's just say before blocking I was thinking it might be a bit tight and now I certainly don't have that concern. If I were to do this over I would knit a reasonable sized swatch, measure it, block it and then measure again. You might find you can go down a size.

I also ran out of wool which was frustrating. Fortunately the yarn shop I bought it from still had some of the same dyelot in stock so it all turned out well, but it is really expensive yarn so I did feel a bit ripped off! For the record I have never run out of wool before, I usually have a good amount left over so if you are a tight knitter you may want to consider having an extra ball as backup.

The pattern:
Dressage from the Third Sublime Aran pattern book. I knitted the smallest size and find it a little big. For reference, my high bust measures 87cm and my full bust measures 91cm. I chose the 84cm size because I prefer my tops to be fitted fairly close. Winters are mild here and I usually only wear a long sleeved t-shirt underneath at most, so I don't need to allow room for bulky under layers. The size is comfortable it is just a little less closely fitted than I would like, but it's just as well because with the extra length I need extra room to go around my hips! The sleeves are quite long, they come down over the back of my hands and aren't snug enough to push up, but I can live with that. Look at the fit on the model and compare to how it fits me. You can bet she doesn't have a 91cm bust and it looks tiny on her!

Image from here.

On the back I made an alteration for my short upper back by working short rows just above the waist. I've never done this before and it worked pretty well, at least I don't have a huge fold of jumper in my lower back as I usually do!

I closed it with a shawl stick (which I also bought at the yarn shop), but I think it also looks nice hanging open. Since it's bigger than planned the fronts wrap right across to the opposite side seam so I might sew on ribbons to tie it closed. Long term I think this will cause less damage to the cardigan. I will also stitch some ribbon across the inside of the shoulders and back neck to stabilise them and possibly snug them up a bit.

Conclusion:
I am very pleased with this, I used high quality yarn (a real splurge) but it was worth it. The design is modern and smart but also comfy casual at the same time. I did read somewhere that this yarn pilled with only light wearing but fortunately I have not noticed that yet, and I will be very p***ed off if my $180 cardigan doesn't wear well. Some care will be needed when washing it, lest it stretch even more. All in all though I can see myself wearing this a lot in winters to come.

Pattern Review - M5927 the frankendress

2010-07-01T18:42:00.000+08:00

Here is the third and final installment of 'what I finished on the Friday Night Sew-In. I am calling this the frankendress because it is the bodice of one pattern (M5927) attached to the skirt of another (Vogue 8494, which I used to make my Christmas dress last year).

The fabric is the same stretch suiting as I used for the black a-line skirt and grey pencil skirt.

I didn't need to make an fba as the pattern has different front patterns for different cup sizes. I love it how pattern companies are doing that these days, it makes one less alteration I have to make!

Here's the back. I made my normal short and narrow back alterations. I'm not sure what's going on with those wrinkles in the lower back. It could be the way I'm standing as I've never noticed them before. Or, I've just thought it could also be the weight of the skirt as the fabric has a two-way stretch. I stabilised the waist of the skirt with twill tape but maybe I need to add a stay?

Anyway the fit is pretty good if I may say.

Here is a close up of the bodice. Now I am pretty sure that wrinkle is a posture thing. It was really cold and I think I am hunching my shoulders a bit.

I'm not sure if you can see the detail of the pretty design on the mother-of-pearl buttons. I originally bought them for a jacket but then I ended up using the jacket fabric for a skirt and these poor beauties have been homeless ever since. It's nice to finally use them.

You'll be able to get to the full review from my widget if you are interested in the gory details.

Pattern Review - Burda Style 03-2010-106

2010-06-27T10:46:00.000+08:00

Here is the second of the three garments I finished on the Friday Night Sew-In, a pencil skirt with welt pockets. The pattern is number 106 from the March Burdastyle (sorry I cannot be bothered looking online for the technical diagram - please sort out the archives Burdastyle!), the same issue I used for the black a-line skirt. That makes this issue a bit of a winner in my book, while I might love a number of patterns in any given issue I rarely get around to actually making two!

I must apologise for the dim photos, it is hard to catch the sun at the moment!

Behind me you can see the future site of my backyard veggie garden - I just have to figure out how to get the soil into it when the only access to the courtyard is through the house, hmmm probably should have though of that before!

Anyway, back to the skirt. It's your run-of-the-mill pencil skirt but with welt pockets front and back. These were tricky on the stretch woven fabric, but they came out passable.

I'll have to sew the back pockets closed - not that I would ever use them anyway! My primary sewing machine has been in for a service and I couldn't be bothered getting another one out, I promise I'll do it before I wear the skirt to work.

Please just look at the skirt and not my ratty courtyard!

As for my previous skirt I cut a 42 at the waist and a 44 at the hip and the fit came out great. For once I didn't lengthen the pattern as this design is longer than the standard Burda skirt. It's a smidge shorter than I would normally make but I think it's fine.

Instead of making the front fly (which always looks a bit wrong when I sit down), I put an invisible zip in the centre back. I also added a kick pleat so I can actually walk in it. I took photos of my lovely kick pleat and mitred hem but dark grey doesn't photograph well on a winter's day so you'll just have to trust me that they look really neat!

There is not much sewing going on here atm. My sewing room is not heated and it is COLD in there! Instead I have finished knitting the dressage jacket (blocking it today) and am working on a crocheted baby blanket as a gift for a woman at work.

Pattern Review - Burda Style 03-2010-105

2010-06-22T19:33:00.000+08:00

Here is the first of the three garments I finished up in last week's Friday Night Sew-In. It is not very exciting, a black a-line skirt, but I have to say I am very happy with it. The shape is really nice, not too triangle-y and it is seriously easy to put together.

(I wouldn't normally wear all black like this but I just slipped the skirt on with the blouse I wore to work today!).

I cut size 42 at the waist blending to 44 at the hip. The only changes I made were to lengthen the skirt to 65cm so it finishes just below my knee, added a lining and moved the zip from the side seam to the centre back. My hip curve is quite extreme so zips never sit right in the side seam.

I think I've found my new TNT a-line pattern!

Friday Night Sew In Results

2010-06-19T18:47:00.000+08:00

My Friday night sew-in started slower than planned. I got kept late at work and having had a trying day I had to unwind a bit before I could start sewing. Fortunately the April BWOF (or whatever) arrived in my letterbox so I was able to wind down with a nice (sewing related) read. Ever since I saw Eugenia's version of this skirt I have been saving a piece of black fabric so now I have the pattern in my hot little hands then guess what will be coming soon?

I had every intention to start and finish a project but instead I finished off three jobs I've had on the go for the past few weeks. Full reviews and a proper photo shoot will be upcoming but it's been a grey old day today, I've been to see Prince of Persia with my friend Kate and I am quickly posting this before dinner and then the Australia v Ghana game.

So photos on Dion will have to suffice, bearing in mind that s/he is a little less well padded than me so in reality the curves will be better filled out. BTW, Dion is my dummy. The brand name is Diane and I was given him/her as a gift by my former co-workers. When they handed him/her over one of my workmates said 'now I know this is something you've wanted for a long time...' and another one piped up 'It's a husband!'. We all laughed and since then my dummy has had a male name. That was seven years ago and I am still not married but Dion and I have had some good times!

So enough of the ramblings you say, what are these projects you finished? Well, it was two skirts and a frankendress. I have been making them on a production line as I thought I'd get done quicker but I am not sure that's true. Last night I set in all the linings and did the hand finishing.

Skirt #1 is a basic black a-line. Not much to say here, it's just a basic black skirt, but it is something my wardrobe has been lacking for some time.

Skirt #2 is a grey pencil skirt with welt pockets front and back. This one needs a tummy and a butt to fill it out. Luckily I have those, unlike Dion!

I think I'll sew these back pockets shut!

Finally the frankendress is the bodice from one pattern and the skirt from another. I worry it looks a little prim but if I can find the right belt I reckon it'll be fine (hmm shall I prune the roses or shop for a belt tomorrow?)

So there is my night's efforts. I am quite proud of myself for finishing all these things off, I'll try to get full posts on each of the garments done this week.

Tonight I am hoping to finish the first sleeve of my dressage jacket. I love knitting while the football is on - I don't really need to look at what I am doing and when I get excited I go really fast!

Housekeeping

2010-06-11T17:16:00.000+08:00

Thanks everyone for your lovely compliments on my houndstooth coat. I am really pleased with how it turned out.

Also, thanks very much for your helpful feedback on the rose tunic. I agree it is completely the wrong length, and I would make this pattern again in the shorter length, but I wanted a longer top for those 'can't be bothered' days. Fortunately, as suggested by Gail, wearing it with sleek black pants and high heels helps a lot and it looks quite presentable. I can live with it anyway!

I have been doing a bit of production line sewing so I have a number of garments in the making but nothing finished to show. This kind of sewing really is more efficient but it does take a lot of the fun out of it. But I NEED new clothes! I hope to finish two skirts and a dress on the weekend.

For the past few months I've been wanting to join in with the Friday Night Sew-In but every time it comes up there is somewhere else I have to be. Not this month, so I've signed up. It is on Friday the 18th of June and I have already told my fella I have a date with the sewing machine that night. Now I just have to think up a project to work on.

Finally, the World Cup starts this weekend and I can't wait. Unfortunately the time difference means that all the live games will be on at 9.30pm (not too bad) or 2am (terrible), but the good news is we have Foxtel IQ so we can tape the games and watch them at our leisure. The only problem being having to avoid EVERYONE at work the next day so they don't spoil the result! I dare say there will be a few bleary eyes at my work over the next month. I love football, but not enough to miss precious sleep! GO SOCCEROOS!Especially Lucas Neill.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/socceroos/news/1007499/Neill-out-to-make-amends

McCall's 6120 - Rose print tunic

2010-06-05T16:22:00.001+08:00

This is one of the other projects I finished while on holidays. It's okay but I am not wild about it. The pattern is McCall's 6120.

Wow, I look really broad at the beam! Here's the review.

Pattern Description:
(from the website) Tops A, B, tunics C, D have front pleats, self-faced front midriff and sleeve variations; top A has armhole stitched hems; top B has short sleeves; tunic C has three-quarter length sleeves; tunic D has self-drape and purchased jeweled applique.

I made the tunic length but with cap sleeves.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut a 12 to the bottom of the armholes, grading out to a 14 at the waist and 16 at the hip/

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes I guess so.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions were fine but I don't understand why they have you turn under and hand stitch the lower edge of the midriff facing - in a knit???? I just pulled the facing down so the cut edge matched with the outside midriff piece then caught the two pieces in the seam together.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I admit I don't love this top. There is something not quite right about it. The length was dowdy and even with a good inch taken off the bottom I am still not sure it's flattering. By contrast I made Simplicity 3678 in February 2008, which I have subsequently cut off to tunic length and it works so much better. I can't find the pattern on the Simplicity website, so maybe it has been discontinued - anyway, it was one of the Threads patterns. I don't know what it is, the two styles are pretty similar, except the lower front of the Simplicity has gathers. If I was to do this again the Threads pattern would win hands-down.

Initially I cut the longer sleeve but it just looked ridiculous on me - like my hands were floating in a ginormous sea of roses. The cap sleeves work much better, I'll just have to layer for winter!

I must say the neckline does sit nice and flat without any fiddling, so that is a plus (I fused bias tape on the inside and stitched with a twin needle.

Fabric Used:
Polyester knit, nothing fancy, I got it cheap from Spotlight.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
As usual I narrowed the upper back, shortened the back above the waist and widened at the hips. I don't usually need an fba in knits.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I won't sew it again, I'll use the Simplicity pattern as above. It might work better on a different body type though.

Conclusion:
It's okay, I'll wear it to work and still look presentable, at least it is comfortable!

BWOF 09-2007-104 Houndstooth Coat

2010-05-31T17:44:00.000+08:00

I only have one day left of my holidays *sob*. As usual I set pretty lofty goals for what I wanted to achieve - clean the house from top to bottom, finish 6 projects, iron everything in the house that needs ironing, have a nutritious meal on the table at a reasonable hour every night etc etc. I'm sure you can guess how many I achieved! I guess I am not the domestic goddess I have always dreamed of being. So back to work on Wednesday at least until we win the lotto!

In my defence I was sick with a cold for the first few days and am still in ongoing battles with the insurance company over my car (guess how I spent 1 1/2 hours today?), at least I have my new car though and as soon as my windows are tinted (tomorrow) and I get the refund on my registration (no idea when that will happen) I can sit down and write a very therapeutic letter to the general manager of the company and tell them exactly why I will not be continuing my relationship with them.

Don't worry I am posting about some sewing today, it's just a particularly winding road today.

So it was my birthday the Thursday before last, and the fact I am only mentioning it now indicates what a non-event it was. I was sick with the aforementioned cold, spent a good hour or so battling the insurance company, which was just sooo frustrating and then spent the afternoon at the stitches and craft show with my Mum. It was nice but there wasn't much there that caught my eye this time, pity because it's usually the highlight of my crafting year. I bought a kit to knit yet another scarf though, so it wasn't a total let-down.

Things got a lot better on Saturday, when my fella and I went out for dinner with a bunch of friends. It was a great night and I got to unveil the houndstooth coat, which in true form I finished that afternoon.

It's looks okay considering I didn't make any alterations to the pattern. Ordinarily I would cut a 38 to the armholes, a 40 or 42 at the waist and a 44 at the hip, then would make a 2cm fba, narrow the upper back by 5cm (2.5cm on the half pattern) and shorten the centre back above the waist by 2.5cm. By comparison, this coat is made from a straight size 38.

You can see the worst of the fit problems on the back, see how it's way too wide across between the sleeves? And it's quite snug around my hips, but it's okay if I wear it open.

I sewed the buttons on the outside but it is really fastened by large snaps. I am particularly proud of the welt pockets, something I don't do often, and the spotted lining, which is just cute.

If you have the patience for one more story here goes...

My fella is from the north-east of England, it's very cold there and they seem to stay warm by shouting about football (soccer) a lot. In this particular part of the country there is a fierce rivalry between two cities, divided by a river. One side is black and white and the other is red and white, my fella's family is from the red and white side of the river (when I want to wind him up I taunt him with 'blood and bandages'). Even in Australia (he has lived here for nearly 20 years) the passion doesn't wane. One time I innocently suggested that black and white bed linen might look stylish, my fella replied that I could buy whatever bed linen I wanted, just don't expect him to sleep under a black and white quilt cover.

He was very complimentary about my houndstooth coat, but I knew he would find it hard to truly embrace the black and white. Because I am a nice girlfriend I bound the hem and facing edge in pink satin bias, so now he can like my new coat without feeling like a traitor to his family!

Playing catch up

2010-05-24T19:09:00.000+08:00

Wow, I am really behind on my blogging!
The weekend before last my fella and I went to another wedding for one of his school friends - that's four in the past six months - weddings I mean, we haven't been to all of them. It was a pretty cold day but clear and sunny so I needed to layer up the Gossip Girl dress since I am always the first to get cold!

The hem looks a bit wonky but I promise it isn't - it must be the wind.

I also realised that I never posted a picture of me actually wearing this coat.

I made it for my birthday 2 years ago now and have had so much wear from it. It's McCalls 5525, which has been a bit of a winner all around - loads of people have made it Erica B was one of the first I saw (although I thought she made a fab yellow version as well but I can't find it now), Gertie made a black version which is coincidentally quite similar to mine, and the Selfish Seamstress has made two awesome versions here and here. And those are just the versions I can remember off the top of my head. If you don't have this pattern then I would advise you do so, it's so versatile! I just wish I'd used heavier interfacing in the collar, and made the dinky pockets bigger. Oh well, live and learn I suppose.

I am on holiday from work at the moment with the aim of having a proper sewcation. All I seem to have done is housework though...although that is not entirely true since I did finish the houndstooth coat, I'll post some pics as soon as I can arrange a photo shoot. I've also cut out two tops and traced two skirt patterns. I set myself the rather ambitious goal of completing six projects while on holiday - it's doable, as long as I don't do any more housework!

In other news I think my new car arrives on Thursday. It is not quite what I had before, since that was a limited edition, but I have had to battle every step of the way. If the insurance company had their way I wouldn't have even been able to replace my brand new car with 6,000kms on the clock with a 3-year old one with 100,000kms... but I'm not angry - much.

The Dressage Jacket

2010-05-13T17:34:00.001+08:00

I am usually pretty good at not having sewing UFOs hanging around the house, of course there is the odd exception but whatever I start usually ends up either in my wardrobe or my bin pretty quickly. I am generally on a schedule which motivates me to finish what I start before going on to the next project and I am able to walk away when things aren't working out (even if I love the fabric and/or pattern).

That is certainly not the case with my knitting projects. I tend to have at least two or three things on the go at any given moment and some projects can hang around for ages waiting for me to be motivated to finish them off. I think one of the reasons for this is that I like to have a challenge in all my projects but in knitting especially this doesn't translate particularly well.

Challenging myself by making a beautifully finished dress with unusual seamlines results in a garment I'll get a lot of use out of, not so much for complicated knitting patterns (see for example the meatball cardi!). On the other hand acres upon acres of plain stocking stitch is not stimulating enough to keep me interested, just like making simple tees and pyjama pants would not keep me sewing long term. This is just me, others are rewarded by different aspects of crafting and I am not making a judgement on the relative merits of one over the other.

So anyway, I am always on the hunt for knitting patterns that have an aspect of trickiness to keep me interested but that are fairly simply styled so they mesh with both my body type and personal 'look'.

Enter the Dressage Jacket, from the Third Sublime Aran book. My featherweight cardigan is still on the go but it's currently blocked in by flood stuff and therefore I can't work on it right now. Desperate for something to knit (as if I ever needed an excuse to buy more yarn!) I picked up some of the Sublime Aran in Wicker at 10% off. Originally I had in mind to make the Peacoat (sorry I can't find a picture of it - it's really cute) but I decided it would be too boxy for me and finally settled on the Dressage Jacket.

(http://www.englishyarns.co.uk/sublime_book_615.html)
The pattern is quite nifty. A single cable runs along the front edges, and the side seams are shaped to form the diagonal wrap fronts. Here is the first front I completed.

Since I took this picture I have finished the other front and am up to the armholes on the back, but you get the idea. Between the relatively thick yarn (10 ply, whereas I generally prefer 4 ply) and the simple-but-interesting pattern I am flying along! The yarn feels beautiful and I have had no problems working with it. I did read one review that complained about the yarn not wearing well - apparently it pilled with only light wear - so i am a little apprehensive, but so far I am loving it.

Houndstooth Coat Part 1

2010-05-05T16:01:00.000+08:00

I agonised for some time over what to make for my first project after so long, and finally decided to make something completely impractical but really fun, a houndstooth coat. It's still warm outside, and won't even start to get cold until late May or early June so it'll be a while before I can wear this, but I do love making coats! I have had this houndstooth in my stash for probably two or three years. Every winter I want to do something with it and every winter I get distracted by other projects. Well, it's cut now so no going back!

The pattern I'll be using is model 104 from BWOF 29/2007.

The only change I'll make is to use the full length sleeves. Personally I love 3/4 length sleeves but my arms get super cold! I guess one item that really needs to be practical is a winter coat, so long sleeves it is.

I have done some clever things and some dumb things on this project already:

Dumb thing #1 - I didn't mark the size when I was tracing the pattern (which was ages ago). I am guessing it's probably a Burda 38 which is my top-half-size.

Dumb thing #2 - I didn't do any of my usual alterations (narrow upper back, short centre back, fba, big hips) so I am hoping the style lines will be forgiving. Regardless, it'll just fit 'like a bought one'.

Clever thing #1 - This fabric frays like a beotch so I fused the underside of all the pieces with sheer weft (I think it's called perfect fuse sheer in other places).

Clever thing #2 - I stabilised all the curves (armhole and necklines) with fusible bias tape.

Clever thing #3 - I stabilised the hem lines with a bias strip of fusible interfacing, and ironed a patch behind where the pockets will go. This was in addition to the front facings, welts and collars as directed by the pattern.

Okay, so the clever things weren't that clever and the dumb things were pretty dumb, but give me a break - I am just excited to be able to sew again!

I haven't cut it yet but this will be the lining, isn't it cute? It's actually satin but I took the picture without a flash.

Wish me luck with the welt pockets - not something I've done a lot of...

The Web Scarf

2010-04-28T13:26:00.005+08:00

A few years ago, when I was really broke. I made ALL my Christmas presents. As you can imagine some of these gifts were better received than others (we all learn which of our family and friends 'deserve' handmade!) but overall I think most people liked what they got.

For my work colleagues and friends (I was working three part time jobs at this time so there were a few of them) I made versions of the web scarf. I made individual versions for each person, based on their personality and what colours and textures I thought they would like. It's a bit risky making scarves for Christmas when Christmas here is generally 30 degrees Celsius plus, but I could barely pay the mortgage at that time, let alone spend money on gifts. I used every kind of yarn under the sun, from mohair to ribbons, wool to cotton (a lot of them from stash) and they all came out great. Sometimes I made the flower motifs from a contrast yarn, which also worked well.

I kinda regretted at the time not making myself one, but by the time I finished all the gift versions, I was a bit over it. But when it came time for my latest scarf project I revisited the web scarf...

The yarn is Sirdar Peru. I am a sucker for novelty yarns and quite often buy a couple of balls when I see them, usually they end up as scarves, which explains why I have more scarves than anyone living in a temperate climate should have. The colour is one thread of teal twisted with a light/bright/dark blue strand that results in a subtle variegation (fyi it's shade 555 'pico').

I almost made this into the Cold Shoulders, the capelet from the Stitch n Bitch Happy Hooker book but one row from finishing I came to my senses and unravelled the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, the pattern is lovely but I have to come to terms with the fact that vintage is starting to look a bit silly on me. When you are in your 20's a crochet capelet says 'cute, fun, individual' but when you are in your 40's it's more likely to say 'I want to be home for dinner at 4.30 and in bed by 8'.

Anyhoo, in fear of stepping into nanna territory, I decided to go the safe route and make yet another scarf. I rescued this project from the flood and it's all I've had to work on for the last little while. I should have been able to whip this up in a few evenings but due to tiredness and overwhelmedness (with the house) it took ages. I left off the flowers for the time being but may add them later - I just couldn't be bothered.

Here is a close up of the stitch pattern. It's super-easy, a fairly new crocheter could do it.
So, no more scarves for me. Except maybe one other. Have you seen the Summit Shawl over at knitty? I reckon it'd make an awesome scarf! As you can tell I am very much a 'process-oriented' knitter.

On house news. We got the cheque for the furniture on Friday and went to our favourite Swedish mega-store first thing on Saturday morning to replace our bookcases, only to find that the colour and style we want has been recalled globally because of some quality issue. Some very bad words were said at that point since there will be no news on what is happening until at least June - aaargh! I have since asked the insurance company to cancel the cheque and give us cash instead so we can try and find a suitable alternative elsewhere. So now we are just waiting for that to happen.

Also we are still waiting to hear what will happen with our cars. My insurer alone is handling 13,000 (yes that is thirteen thousand!) write-offs from the storm and presumably the other insurance companies are all simlarly inundated. At least we have transport while we wait though.

In the meantime the need to do ironing and hem pants for my fella to wear to his new job meant that we had to clear a path into the sewing room. Joy! Okay, so it is still mostly filled with cr*p and we now have boxes around the edges of the living room as well but at least I can get in there. Not a moment too soon, I was starting to go a bit funny. Ooooh, what to sew first?

Help! I've gone crafty-crazy!

2010-04-19T18:26:00.003+08:00

Things are slowly getting back to normal...the floors have now been replaced with lovely laminate boards and the cheque is in the mail for replacement furniture. I still can't access my sewing room, except for my crochet hooks which I can reach through the door, so I am going a bit stir-crazy but at least we are not living in a building site any more.

I got through my conference without any new clothes and even managed to deliver my presentation to a pretty big audience without falling off the podium or throwing up (even though I felt like doing both)! Just fyi I wore my lucky dress (McCalls 5746 - now out of print, which is a shame) for the presentation.

My fella has finally found a full time job which is the best news! It has been hard for him but finally his persistence has paid off. He is now the head technician in the theatre department of a very posh school not too far from home (your brother school Claire!). He was supposed to start on Friday, the day of my presentation so we both had a sleepless night and were sick with nerves in the morning - and were unable to comfort each other. Unfortunately not long after he got there his new boss rang in to say his car broke down and had to be towed so he wouldn't be coming in. My fella spent some time filling out his paperwork and then came home. So we had to go through the nerves all over again today!

All in all, everything is pretty good right now, although my stir-craziness has morphed rather alarmingly into craft-craziness. As I mentioned the only supplies I can reach are my crochet hooks. I have been making another crochet scarf (although it's been slow going with being so busy moving the house around pre- and post-flooring) but my fella had the audacity to question how many scarves I actually need (one more obviously!) so I have been looking for other outlets. The new floorboards are dark and show dust like crazy, and we will have to sweep every day so I got the idea in my head to make re-useable swiffer covers. A quick search on ravelry revealed a number of free patterns but i chose this loopy version.

A few balls of nasty $2.50 acrylic yarn (best for static apparently) later and I ended up with this carnival of colour:

I have actually made four but one has already been put through its paces. A 100g ball of yarn will probably make at least three covers and they take as much time to make as it does to watch an episode each of Make it or Break it, Addicted to Beauty and Gossip Girl, stopping to fast forward the ads. I am a bit bored of this pattern now so I might make some different ones to see how they go but this design is working pretty well so far.

In fact, it's working in unexpected ways. Apparently men really are attracted to brightly coloured things. My fella actually volunteers to sweep with these, leaving me more time for my craft-craziness!

After the Flood

2010-04-07T17:05:00.002+08:00

the clean up continues....

As suspected my car has been written off. Since it is only panel damage (albeit A LOT of panel damage) I have been able to drive around for the past two weeks but now I have to hand it in by Saturday. I don't know when my replacement car will turn up. I hope it won't be too long. We don't know what will happen with my fella's car. It is pretty badly damaged too but we are not even dealing with it until we know what is happening with mine. If you've ever been to Perth you'll know how hard it is to get about without a car.

The house is still a disaster area. We have two holes in the roof and it is a constant battle with my strata manager to get anything done about it. Everyone else in the complex got their skylights fixed yesterday but, since we had the worst damage of anyone, we are on a special priority work order - which we have heard nothing about yet! I suspect we are not being told the truth but there is nothing we can do. Strange how you can own a property but still have no rights over what happens with the building (and pay exorbitant fees every quarter nonetheless). Every day we pray that the wind doesn't pick up and there is no more rain.

Thankfully most of our furniture survived so we have chairs to sit on and a table to eat at. We did lose all of our bookcases, but our contents insurance should cover that. We had to pull up all of the carpet and have now been quoted for replacement flooring. On the bright side, the hideous carpet turned out to be quite expensive so we should be able to replace it with a nice laminate which will be a lot easier to care for - as long as there isn't a flood ;).

However, we can't replace the flooring or furniture until the roof is sorted. I am just so exhausted from constantly being on hold with insurance companies, not to mention the pressure it is putting on my workload. This was already a busy time for me and now it's even busier due to the time I have had to take off. Never have I needed my creative escape more, but I can't get into the room to iron clothes for work let alone do any sewing but, as they say, this too shall pass.

Usually the Easter long weekend is a massive sew-fest for me and I was really looking forward to it this year, having prepared something like 18 metres of fabric for cutting the day before the flood. Autumn/winter is coming, my favourite part of the sewing year, I hope I don't miss it entirely. This year my fella and I spent the entire long weekend painting the lounge/dining/kitchen areas of the house - hard work but it looks great now and it has helped us to start to put it all behind us. We just pretend we are camping - except the kind of camping that I would like, indoors and with proper bathroom facilities!

Sorry readers, please bear with me. I will be sewing again as soon as humanly possible...

Careful What You Wish For!

2010-03-24T18:39:00.006+08:00

Wow. When I wished for rain I think I wished a bit too hard.

This story starts with a 20-year old bed. It has nothing to do with sewing so you'll have to get your fix elsewhere today. And to be clear - no one got hurt, so at the end of the day we are blessed!

So back to the 20-year old bed...

My fella and I went out on Monday afternoon after I finished work to pay for and arrange delivery of a lovely new bed suite. It is our council pickup next week so we thought it would be a good time to get rid of the rickety old thing.

We knew a storm was forecast and it looked certain to hit soon so we were keen to get home. After four months without rain the roads can get really greasy and be treacherous to drive on once it does rain. Just as we took off, something bounced off my bonnet. "What the $%^& was that?" we both say. My fella suggested hail, but it was 30 degrees outside so I couldn't see how that was possible. Well my fella was right! The next second the car was getting pummelled by golf ball sized and larger hail stones. My driver's wing mirror was smashed right through the plastic casing and the noise was unbelievable. The ice hitting the hot road was forming steam and we could barely see a thing. We tried to take shelter under some trees but just then the rain started and the ground went all boggy so after a few minutes we decided to press on.

By this stage - about five minutes in but it felt like 45 - the roads were completely flooded and all we could do was keep trying to head uphill to get away from it. Eventually the hail stopped and the rain slowed and we breathed a sigh of relief. We decided to stop off at the local bottle-shop as we both needed something to calm us down after the ordeal (and I rarely drink so that it HUGE!). My poor brand new car is peppered with damage. We think it will probably be written-off but I will know more after the assessor has seen it. Shaken but in good spirits we headed the last five minutes home.

Only to get inside and be greeted by a giant hailstone on the dining table and this gaping hole in the skylight:

There was water everywhere and the terrified cats were hiding under the (20-year old) bed. Unfortunately the bedroom skylight was also smashed so things were pretty damp in there too. We put big tubs under the roof holes and had a hug and said "it could be worse". And then it was!

The rain came back with a vengeance. Pouring down our driveway and straight towards the front door. We tried to bail the water away with buckets but couldn't keep up and soon it was in the house. Simultaneously it started coming in the back door as well. All we could do was lay down every towel we owned and keep moving the furniture further and further away from the door. We were in full adrenaline mode by this time. Finally the rain stopped after flooding our entire bathroom and laundry, living room, dining room and hall. Fortunately we were able to hold it back a couple of inches from TV etc. Oh, and in the meantime the water in the roof had fused the lights so we were in darkness while this was going on.

My fella's friend Clint was nearby and came by with a tarp and he and my fella got up on the roof an covered the holes as best they could, just in time for another round of thunder, lightning and rain - fortunately not as bad as before though, but enough for me to be worried it wasn't going to hold.

It held and all we could do after that was to has a drink and spend a very sleepless night jumping at every sound. The next morning here is how my living/dining area looked:

And my garden:

After an hour on hold I got through to my insurer and was told I could rip the carpet up - thank goodness, the smell was awful already! My lovely friend Sarah came over and helped up pack everything up, move the furniture out, rip up the carpet and move some of the furniture (just what we need) back in. Here is the state the underlay was in:
As I said no one was hurt and I am fully insured. Our loss is a lot less than many homes in Perth so we are aware how fortunate we are. We are also very grateful to have such awesome friends who dropped everything to come and help us. Plus I really hated that carpet anyway!

Here is the great tragedy though. Guess where all our belongings are now stored...

Yup, that is/was my sewing room . So all the patterns and fabrics I prepared last weekend were in vain and there will be no sewing done until the flooring is replaced. Given the scale of the damage around town, who knows when that will be - but I hope it will only be a few weeks. If I had to find a silver lining it would be that my ironing board and iron are somewhere in there so no ironing for me for a while!

Just a Quickie – The Millefoglie Scarf

2010-03-19T21:13:00.002+08:00

Well productivity remains at an all time low in this household. At least the weather is finally turning and it has been below 30 all week. We even had a drop of rain – the first since November last year!

I have made another toile of the McQueen jacket, converting it to a conventional armhole and sleeve but it still isn't quite right and I have decided to put that particular project on hold for a little while. It will remain a work in progress until I can work up enough steam to give it the energy it deserves…

On the plus side I did manage to churn out a measly scarf! I am ashamed to admit I didn't make any effort at all with this. The yarn (Millefoglie by Moda Vera) comes with a variety of novelty yarns joined together – a chunky grey, olive/khaki nubbly, copper/silver metallic, black fluffy and white with a black thread through it. I didn't even finish the joins properly, I simply knitted the knots in wherever they fell.

I used 8mm needles and a simple 11st repeat ripple stitch. I am really happy with how it came out. I wear scarves every day in winter and I have loads of bright ones to wear with neutrals but not as many neutral ones to wear with coloured clothes. I love the combination of yarns and feel sure I couldn't have come up with this on my own – I am really not great at combining colours and textures.

This picture shows the various yarns but I probably wouldn't wear it wrapped like this.

Here the scarf is folded in half with the ends passed through the loop. This is great for bulky and shorter scarves.

Here it is wrapped around the neck with one end passed through underneath and hanging over the top. I think this particular scarf works well this way. This was my favourite scarf tie last year. Who knows, this year I may find a new favourite – there have been some awesome tutorials posted by northern hemisphere bloggers – thanks guys!

Up next I will start on a series of outfits for a four-day conference. It is an international event but unfortunately not the one in Vancouver that a number of my colleagues are going to, it's here in Perth. It will be my first time presenting a paper at this kind of shindig in about six years. Am I nervous? Hell yeah. But new clothes will help won't they?

The McQueen Jacket

2010-03-01T16:19:00.004+08:00

So my Alexander McQueen experiment is done! I spent all day on it yesterday and while it was not easy by any stretch, it didn't turn out to be all that difficult. The instructions provided with the pattern are a little light-on but as long as you just go with it everything goes together in quite a straightforward way.

I suspect there would be as many versions of this jacket as there are makers - mine doesn't look exactly like the photos, but close enough and I am happy.

Here is the back. You can see that I have sewn down the pleats on the left side and left them open on the right. Unsewn, the pleats made me look really hunch-backed and I am way too uptight to have all that out-of-control-ness going on behind me! I don't even wear linen because I can't control it!!!

Here are the unsewn pleats from the side view.
Here is the front with the bands lifted out of the way. I really like the front bands and pleating. It's a shame the bands hide this nice detail.
Although the bands do look very nice as well. A bit fashion-forward for me though. I'd probably just keep dangling them in my dinner!

Speaking of clothes getting in your food, how about the kimono sleeves? I love them on the model but always knew they'd be a problem on me. I just don't have enough length between my bust and my waist so I need to keep things simple around that part of my torso - dolman sleeves are a complete no-go. And the final back view, all stitched down and with one sleeve. I really do think this is a beautiful jacket and, even though I'm a pretty good pattern drafter (not that I ever do it these days) I would have had no idea where to start with this!
It was never my intention to make this jacket through to proper fabric but I may do with some alterations. I already added 2cm to the side seams as a rough method of grading up from a 40 to 44(ish). If I make this again for real I will make the following changes:

Convert to a standard armhole and set-in sleeves.
Tuck out some length in the upper back
Leave off the collar/bands and come up with another solution.

I know it might be sacrilege to mess with a design like this but I would just keep the details I love and modify the details I don't.

I seem to have got my mojo back, but I have no idea what to make next!

************EDITED TO ADD**************

A note on sizing:

When I said the jacket started as a size 40, I meant a Patrones 40 (ie. tiny) not a Burda 40 (ie. medium)!

You have been warned...

******************************************

2010-02-28T10:35:00.002+08:00

As promised, here are a couple of pics of me wearing the Gossip Girl dress. Apologies for the squinty-face, at 10am today when we took these pictures it was already up around 30 degrees. We were going to re-shoot with sunglasses on but then I would have had to go outside again and that would be bad!

Doesn't my poor garden look sad? Don't worry, it will recover when the weather cools off.

Here is the front: And the back:

I love the sense of completion from a finished project, but not as much as I like starting new ones! Onto the McQueen Jacket...

Gossip Girl Dress - Done

2010-02-24T16:55:00.006+08:00

Hi, remember me?

I have been so unwell the last few weeks, tired, dizzy, headache-y etc. I went to the Doctor and had a whole bunch of blood tests but they showed nothing so all I ended up with was the very helpful advice to 'sleep more and try to exercise'. Gee thanks doc, I never would have come up with that on my own! Fortunately I am feeling a little better, and have even managed to get a bit of sewing done. Voila, the Gossip Girl dress, which I really should rename since it looks nothing like the inspiration dress!

My fella is still working nights so you will have to make do with dummy shots for now. I'll do a photo shoot and write a proper review some time next week (if I have my boy back by then).

Here's the front:

And the back:

Some close ups of the dye effect on the midriff front and back:

Rather than pleat the bodice and lining necklines separately and sewing them right sides together I laid the pieces wrong sides together and pleated them together as one. Then I bound the edge using the 'french bias binding' technique demonstrated on the Threads Insider Techniques DVD (I think volume 2). I used a piece of the tie-dyed silk to make the binding piece.

I love how this finish looks and usually do this sort of thing on a pleated neckline so it doesn't turn out too poofy.
I also used a Threads DVD technique on the hem (this time volume 1 I think). This is a really great hem as it's super narrow but without making it ripple on the bias sections.

So there it is! I am really happy with how it turned out and I am relieved to have finally finishing something! I am not going well on my 30 project goal, I think a few simple pieces may have to happen soon!

Sad news

2010-02-12T15:52:00.004+08:00

I was shocked and saddened today to hear the news that Alexander McQueen had taken his own life. I don't know what to say except that my heart breaks for the pain he must have been in.

Over the past couple of weeks (whilst in my sewing slump) I have revisited the Alexander McQueen Kimono jacket published some time ago now on SHOWstudio.

This jacket has been on my wishlist for ages and I have recently been toying with the idea of at least making a toille/muslin if not a finished jacket. I will definitely be doing that now, as a small tribute to Mr McQueen's talent.

Would anyone like to sew-along as a way to pay our respects?

All images are from SHOWstudio

Unfocussed...

2010-02-07T15:27:00.007+08:00

I am feeling very unfocussed at the moment. It could be that I am sick of summer and want to get into autumn already or it could be other things but I am just not able to concentrate on anything for any length of time.

I have made zero progress on my gossip girl dress (guess I really do need a deadline!). I've made half a skirt that turned into a wadder and I've been trying to come up with a fix for the bamboo cardigan I made last year, as the neck has stretched out so much it falls off my shoulders. Mental note, next time try knitting-in elastic (not that the pattern mentions this!). Oh yeah, and I've been re-reading all my style books to try and get inspired.

I have plenty of me-time just now since my fella is busy with the Perth International Arts Festival. He's working on a UK production of Six Characters in Search of an Author. He's been doing 11-hour days through the bump-in and rehearsals and is now on show calls, which is every night. He came home last night and told me one of the actors is Ian McDiarmid, which is pretty exciting to me, being a massive Star Wars nerd (I am old enough to have seen all six films in their original cinema release!). For the non-nerd readers he played Senator Palpatine/Darth Sidius/The Emperor - not that you non-nerds will even care who that is! Apparently he is really nice though, not at all an evil take-over-the-universe kind of guy at all.

So I have no excuse not to have been sewing, except whatever it is that's currently blocking me.

To pass the time I have been doing a little knitting while watching a bunch of chick flicks that wouldn't normally get a look-in:

This will eventually be the Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. It's another top-down raglan but this time in incredibly fine yarn. I would love to knit challenging cables and bobbles and colour work but, as satisfying as that would be, I just wouldn't wear it (or I would look like a clown if I did) - I just don't have a sturdy enough bone structure to pull of anything fancy! So endless acres of black stocking stitch it is - and let me tell you, there is nothing to remind you of how old you are getting like trying to knit black yarn at night!

The yarn is Centolavaggi by Filatura Di Crosa. One 100g ball contains enough yarn for the entire cardigan (about 1,500 yards). This ball only cost $19.50 which is a total bargain IMO. The other bonus is that the finished cardigan will only weigh 100g - perfect to throw on over a camisole or t-shirt to keep the chill off.

I loved this yarn so much that I went back and bought another ball, this time shade 1503, it had gone up (to $22.50) but is still a bargain for a whole garment's worth of yarn. I think it will be a while before I'm ready to start on it though!

Here's hoping I can get out of my sewing slump soon!

Gossip Girl Dress - Progress Report

2010-01-27T19:51:00.004+08:00

Are you bored with this dress yet? I know I am! I am definitely someone who needs a deadline to spur them into action. Still, I am struggling on and trying very hard not to be distracted by other projects.

I decided not to underline the dress with silk organza. I have found that the dupion I am using has plenty of bounce and I didn't want the whole thing to become too poufy.

I chose to finish the seams by zig zagging and trimming the edges. It may not be the prettiest seam finish but it won't leave a ridge on the outside as french seams or bound seams might. It reminds me of when I first learned to sew - before you could get domestic overlockers! Sorry for the blurry picture - I desperately need a new camera.

You can also see the stay-stitching I did on the waist edge of the skirt. This is really important on a skirt this shape. I also stay stitched the neck edge but I didn't bother with the armholes, I just handled them very carefully until they were permanently stitched.

As the side seams are on the bias, I hung the skirt (and lining skirt) to allow them to drop while I was sewing the rest of the dress. I'm glad I did as the bottom edge has dropped (unevenly as expected) and the lining is well and truly longer than the skirt. Better now than after I've gone to the trouble of hemming!

I did french seams on the silk habutae lining. I bought my sewing machine from a quilter so it came with a bunch of extra feet including a 1/4" foot which really helped me keep the seams the right width. Everything was going swimmingly until - argh!

When I was trimming this seam I *felt* something was wrong but I kept on until I realised one of the layers had folded up and I'd cut a hole in it - f&#k! I carried on and finished the french seam which took care of the worst of it and then I just ran a sneaky row of zig zag to reinforce the wound. Stupid me forgot to take off the 1/4" foot (which has a single stitching hole in it) first though and I managed to smash my needle into several pieces, one of which flew up into my face - double f^*k! Fortunately it didn't hit my eye and I don't seem to have done lasting damage to my machine. At this point I was beginning to think this dress didn't want to get made!

I took several deep breaths, had a minor tanty and then got back to it. Even though things weren't going well I do always try to improve my skills with every project, so I worked extra hard to match the midriff seams at the invisible zip. Shabam! Take that invisible zip!

Buoyed by this success I decided to consult my Christmas present to myself - the Industry Insider Techniques DVDs from Threads. Money well spent BTW. I finished the armholes using the technique demonstrated in part 2. I had seen this done in a magazine (maybe Threads???) before but it didn't really sink in until I saw it on video.

Now you can't tell me this isn't a thing of beauty! Maybe you all have mad skills in this area but my curves always look a bit crappy and I am (was) rubbish at trimming seams so I am really happy with these armholes. I keep going into the sewing room (that's a lie, the dress is hanging in my hallway where I can see it all the time) just to look at my beautiful curves. Not mine, I mean the dress's.

Now I just have to close the shoulder seams, bind the neck (yes, I am making the dress a bit differently than the instructions) and hem the skirt and lining. Almost. There.

***Sorry Marls, if you're reading - spoiler alert!****

Just as an aside, I realised that the pattern I am using is from the Hilary Duff line. And the inspiration is from Gossip Girl. Aside from being old enough to be both Hilary and Blair's mother, it also struck me that the girl who 'designed' the pattern is the very same girl who is currently being squeaky and annoying on the very same show that inspired the whole project. I was hoping that squeaky Hilary would soon get written out of the show (preferably breaking that pompous git Dan's heart in the process) but having just seen what Hils, Dan and Vanessa got up to in this week's episode now I just want to poke my own eyes out - ugh, so wrong!

Okay, enough stalling, I need to get on and finish this thing. This hot weather is inspiring me to dream of Autumn - lovely jackets and coats mmm!

Gossip Girl Dress - Dyeing results

2010-01-18T15:29:00.004+08:00

When I last reported on this project all the pieces were wrapped up and ready to dye.

To discharge the colour from my silk pieces I mixed up two packs of Rit colour remover in a large plastic tub. I topped up cold water with a couple of kettles of boiling water to try and get the dye bath warm. You want to use water as hot as the fabric can take, but I was doing this outside so it was tricky to access hot water. I didn't want to go too hot for the silk anyway.

A note on safety. This stuff is really toxic so use all the usual precautions. Always wear gloves and wear a mask while you are working with any dye in its powder form. Also, the dye remover stinks real bad so do it somewhere well ventilated.

I scooped out some of the solution into a jar to dye the skirt pieces...

The rest of the pieces went in the dye bath...

I kept the bodice pieces moving pretty regularly so they didn't go patchy, but the other pieces were fine to leave alone.

Here are the results with a piece of the original (unwashed) fabric for comparison.

First the midriff piece.
One of the skirt pieces.

And a bodice piece.
I think the solution mustn't have been strong enough because even though I left the piece in for the full 30 minutes, the resulting colour is not what I achieved on the sample. I could probably go back in and fade it out some more but I actually don't mind the blue-green that I got (it reminds me a little 0f verdigris). If I tried to do more I might ruin it altogether.

Another piece of not-great news is that I don't think we are actually invited to the wedding after all. The groom never mentioned it being a family-only event the last time we saw him but, since no one amongst the friends has received an invitation yet (and it's less than two weeks away) we have figured we are not going to get one. We all understand that weddings can be expensive and you can't necessarily invite everyone, so it's not a problem not to be going. Plus there is another wedding coming in April or May so I'll still get to wear the dress. Perhaps it's good not having such a tight schedule. It was 43 degrees (Celsius) today and yesterday and my sewing room is not air conditioned which makes everything feel like really hard work!

Another Milestone

2010-01-14T16:12:00.004+08:00

Today is my second blogoversary.

Wow!

I am quite impressed with myself that I've managed to keep up blogging for two whole years (I am easily distracted!), even if it has been a bit irregular at times. I hope that my blog is interesting and/or useful to at least some people out there. I am thrilled that anyone stops by to read my ramblings and still get unbelievably excited every time a comment comes through (except those pesky spam comments of course!). I can't believe my ramblings have been read by people all over the world!

Last year, I wrote a restrospective on my sewing 'career' which was pretty fun, especially digging out my fab photos of outfits I'd made in the 80's. My poor Mum must have had difficulty biting her tongue when I emerged in some of those get-ups but thank goodness she did or I may have given up sewing altogether! I guess we all looked pretty stupid back then.

So what has changed since last year? Well in my personal life, my fella moved in with me and I got an awesome new job, both of which have meant I've needed to re-prioritise how I spend my time. I'm lucky to work for the Government so I don't have to put in particularly long hours, but I still get tired and more than scheming/planning/dreaming is pretty much unachievable during the week. Not that I'm complaining, I do manage to put in a fair amount of time to my creative work. My fella understands it is something I NEED to do, and if I start to get a bit stressed out he will say "Do you want to go do some sewing while I make dinner?". I'm lucky there.

In my sewing life this past year I manage to enter two pattern review contests: the Ready-to-Wear knock off, and wardrobe challenges, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In total I completed 25 garments, a little under one per fortnight on average, a little disappointing I must admit. By garment type:

Err, I hope you can read the labels - they are a little small. In descending order: dresses, blouses/tops, skirts, t-shirts, jackets, cardigans, pants, accessories, waistcoats, gifts. Not much of a giver am I? In my defense there are two un-blogged Christmas gifts to add to the list.

The vast majority of clothes have been work-wear, with a few special occasions thrown in. I made no casual clothes this year, although my work wardrobe is pretty casual so I usually just wear ex-work stuff on my time off!

Most of my projects have been sewing, with only two knitted and one crocheted item completed (and blogged) this year.

I haven't had too many wadders this year and a few real successes. My top five are:

1. My most recently completed project, the Christmas dress. Great pattern, great fabric and an easy make - I can't wait to bust this one out for another event.

2. My entry for the RTW Knock-off challenge at Pattern Review. This is a really handy dress and I often get compliments when I wear it - even from people who have seen it before!
3. The cream t-shirt from the wardrobe competition. I don't sew a lot of knits but this one is a winner.
4. The pants, also from the wardrobe competition. They are not perfect but I am on the right track. Like many of you fitting pants is terrifying for me so I am glad to be on my way to conquering my fear!
5. The Vogue jacket from April 2009. It's so unusual and I feel very fashionable wearing it (blurry photo notwithstanding).

I suppose it's a good idea to set some goals for next year, so here they are:

My main goal is to finish more projects this year, let’s say 30. I’d like to make more:
Jackets. I used to have a few but most of them have (or should have) ‘gone the journey’ now, leaving me short.
Pants. Even just for the practice at fitting.
Tops and blouses. You can never have too many, and
Knitting and crochet. To make me a more well-rounded person!

In addition I’d like to:
- Spend a bit more time getting a quality finish, rather than rushing to get garments completed (which seems counter-intuitive to making more – let’s just say I’ll waste less time!).
- Learn some new techniques and get better at the ones I am not so confident with.
- Focus on 'investment sewing' - the home-made equivalent of 'investment dressing'.
- Branching out into some new skill-sets, whether in textiles or other materials.

I guess the overall theme for this year will be quality over quantity (but with improved efficiency, resulting in quantity!), so let's see how I go.

Anyway, thank you all for dropping by over the last year (or two) and by all means leave a comment if the mood takes you, I'd love to hear from you.

Gossip Girl Dress - Prepare to Dye!

2010-01-10T16:04:00.012+08:00

So my fabric survived the indignity of being put through the washer and dried on the line and, after a good iron, is now ready to dye....

The first step in the process is to decide which way up to cut your fabric. Like velvet, silk has a nap which means you have to cut all your pattern pieces with the top to the same end. If you don't do this different panels will appear different colours. To decide which end to use as the top I normally pin both ends to my dummy and go from there. It can be hard to see the difference as evidenced by the photo below which I took indoors with the flash on.

But look at the change when I photograph the fabric without a flash. You don't want your front to be one colour and your back another, or have your left and right sides looking different!

I tend to go with the darker end but it's personal preference which way you go.

Once I decided the end to use I laid out my pattern pieces and roughly cut out the bodice and skirt, leaving the remainder to be used for the midriff and any trimming I end up doing. I did cut the waist edge accurately because I need the colour change to line up there.

I marked the right side and top end of all the fabric pieces with safety pins so I don't lose track.

The bodice pieces will just go straight into the colour remover solution so they whole bodice is light. The top edge of the skirt will be dipped so the majority of the skirt is the original colour and the midriff will be cut from fabric dyed using (pretty rough) shibori techniques. Remember when doing this that anything exposed will go light

First here is how I set up the skirt pieces

I laid the front and back pieces so the waist edges were even and fan-folded across all three pieces. I tied a bit of string about 3 or so inches down from the top to mark where I wanted the colour change to stop.

I cut the bottom out of a veggie bag and wrapped it around below the string to protect the rest of the skirt. This bit won't be submerged but it's just to protect it from splashes. Then I wrapped string up to about an inch or so below the waist edge, thinning the amount of string as I got closer to the waist (because I want more light fabric higher up).

Here it is ready to dip in the solution.

For the fabric that will become the midriff and trimming I fan-folded it as with the skirt pieces but used the iron to help hold the pleats in place over the full width of the fabric. Perfection is not the goal here but the fabric is so springy it's difficult to work with if you don't tame it a bit with the iron.

Then I twirled the folded fabric sort of diagonally around a wine bottle, wrapped with string to hold it in place and it's ready to go too.

I'm a bit nervous now, I understand these processes in principle and have messed about with them a bit but there is always an element of 'planned trial-and-error' involved. I am confident it will work out fine but I am always wary of a disaster!

Sadly that's where my story ends for now since silly me forgot to get another package of colour remover yesterday and Perth still doesn't have Sunday trading - grrr. I hope I'll have a chance to get to it mid-week as I really need to get moving if I'm going to wear it on the 30th of this month!

Gossip Girl Dress - Pre Washing the Fabrics

2010-01-07T18:07:00.004+08:00

It's so funny that over at Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing there is a post today on pre-treating fabrics as that's the topic I had in mind for today too! If you want to know the proper way to treat your fabrics then please head over there for some really good advice. This post is about how I do it, and some of you may not like it.

First I'd like to share a little story about why you must pretreat fabric:

Once upon a time an indie chick in her early 20's went to the Big Day Out. She needed a new dress to wear so she popped on down to her local Spotlight and bought some crinkle 'polyester' to make a quick little shift dress. The festival was the next day so she didn't wash the fabric first and, since it was polyester she figured everything would be fine...

The Big Day dawned, a very very hot day indeed and everyone at the festival was running around spraying each other with water guns and hanging out in the misting tents. She was having so much fun! Then she realised her skirt didn't finish where it used to anymore, it was a good couple of inches shorter. It kept getting shorter, and shorter until she had to spend the last two hours of the festival with her jacket tied around her waist!

Guess the fabric must have been rayon, not polyester! Needless to say that indie chick has never skipped pretreating since.

So, how do I pretreat?

First of all, start with the end in mind. How are you going to wash the finished garment? I have no room in my life for hand washing. Everything goes in the washing machine - silk, hand knits no exceptions. Well everything except winter coats, which I do have dry cleaned once or twice a year. If I'm ever lucky enough to get married I probably won't put my wedding dress in the machine either, but don't hold me to that!

So with that in mind I pretreat everything in the washing machine (except fabrics for winter coats obvs.). See, I told you you might not like it! I have never had a disaster in more than 25 years of pretreating fabrics - ever, and if I did I would rather it was at this stage than down the track when I have invested my time on top of my money. If I am being good I'll overlock the cut ends first so they don't fray and tangle up but if I'm being impatient I don't even bother with that.

Sure there is risk involved and, yes, this means I also have to pre-iron everything. Washing silk does change its finish a little, dulls it a little, but personally I don't mind that.

As this project involves dyeing it was extra important for me to pretreat the fabric, particularly because I'll be cutting some pieces before the dyeing process. I want to be very very sure there won't be any further shrinkage.

So here is where I'm at. From the left: yellow habutae for lining, silk organza for underlining and silk dupion for the shell.

Lazy? Absolutely. Brave? Maybe. Successful? Generally. Quick? Hell yeah!

Stay tuned for the dyeing process, very exciting/scary!

Gossip Girl Dress - The Toille

2010-01-06T17:32:00.004+08:00

I hope everyone is fully recovered from the festive season. At the risk of sounding like a grinch I am always glad to see the end of this part of the year. Don't get me wrong, I love catching up with friends and family to celebrate Christmas and the New Year but I find that small doses of social activity are best for me.

I generally end up feeling exhausted, anxious and completely frazzled by the time New Year's Day comes around and I just can't wait to retreat into a bit of quiet and solitude to recharge! Plus it has been diabolically hot the past few days and nights so I am tired and grumpy on top of everything else! I for one have thoroughly enjoyed looking at the 'snow' pictures on the blogs of my Northern Hemisphere counterparts!

But it's a new year now, and who knows what it has in store for us? For me, I am looking forward to finishing the renovation, maintaining a work-life balance, developing a healthier lifestyle, spending quality time with my fella and lots of lovely sewing challenges of course! Starting with the 'Gossip Girl' dress I introduced here.

Thanks for the feedback on my dyeing samples, the votes were 3 to 1 in favour of the green.

As luck would have it that is the decision I came to independently but it's nice to have the back-up. The Selfish Seamstress recently wrote about chic and unique vs crafty-crazy and I admit I sometimes worry about my choices. Being unrestrained by retail availability I am concerned about looking too 'different' for comfort (not being of the personality type that enjoys standing out - kudos to those who love it!).

I spent New Year's Eve at a concert that was completely not my scene - no criticism of hip hop and drum and bass, it's just not for me. On the upside they let off terrific fireworks at midnight (I always love a fireworks show) and I pretty much spent the rest of the night day-dreaming about the dress. Do you do this too? Before I start a major project I tend to work through it in my mind to figure out what sort of techniques I'll use, any construction issues that might crop up, whether or not the style will really suit me, what design changes I'll make and so on, I'm sure you know what I mean (it has got me through many a boring meeting/conference!). So I was able to spend a really enjoyable evening going through this process and I realised every time I pictured an aspect of the dress in my mind, it was green. Decision made!

As to the style, I chose McCalls 5804 (as I created this link I noticed it's on clearance for US$3.00!!!), it's not exactly like the inspiration but waistline gathers aren't going to do me any favours and I think this style gives the effect I'm after.

As usual when using expensive fabric or a new pattern I made a toille. Generally I would only toille the bodice to save time and fabric but this time I decided to do the whole thing for kicks. Looking at the pattern tissue I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of ease so I thought I might be able to get away with a straight size 12 - I was right. So be warned people, if you like a neat fit then choose your size from the finished measurements, not the body measurements! The only change to the pattern I made at this stage was to lengthen it by 15cm (yes, that's right 6 inches in the old language!!). This baby is SHORT.

So here is the front view.
Clearly an fba is not needed here. I wear a D-DD these days so I would normally need to add a bit of room in the front, if you are more petite in the bust then I would suggest taking out some of the fullness unless you want to look like you are dressing up in your mum's dress. The midriff is a touch snug, but since I would normally cut a 14 in the waist it's not surprising. I'll probably let out the side seams a smidge.

The length is fine. Actually this will be the finished length of the lining, which will have a band of the dress fabric around the bottom. The shell of the dress will be a bit shorter. If you look at the inspiration picture there seems to be a double layer thing going on which I quite like.

Here it is from the side - I don't usually do profile shots for good reason but it illustrates why I do a couple of the alterations I always need. I believe this is known as 'military' or 'upright' posture, which shortens and narrows the back and lengthens and broadens the front.I am leaning my head forward here, which isn't my normal posture but you can clearly see the issues I have with the back of my clothes. Even though my shoulders go a bit forward, my shoulder blades actually sit quite far back and into the middle of my back which is why I need to do a narrow back alteration, here I have pinched out 3cm either side of the zip. I usually take this right off of the centre back line, but if your neck is average sized whilst your shoulder length is shorter you'd want to do this differently.

You can also see that my upper back is not straight above my waist, but curves backwards like a closing parenthesis ). This has the effect of shortening the centre back line so I normally take out an inch just above the waist, tapering to nothing at the side seam - here I've pinned it out above the midriff band.

Here is a back close up so you can see the alterations. I have pinned them myself (luckily I am flexible!) so they are a bit wonky. It doesn't matter, I know my body so well these days I only need a rough guide for this sort of alteration. You may have noticed a different backdrop for these photos. We took the pictures in the front of the house instead of the back for a change. We've done a bit of work out the front over the break, now we just have to keep everything alive in our harsh, dry conditions. My fella insisted on getting 'owlie' in the shot, he loves that owl! I like my front patch a lot more than my back courtyard (which hasn't had any work done), but I'm not sure I'll be doing photos out there regularly since I live in a complex and my neighbours might start looking at me funny!

I'll rush out after work tomorrow to buy the fabric and notions. I'll pre-wash the fabrics and I hope I can get the dyeing done over the weekend. I am still tossing up whether or not to underline the whole thing in silk organza. I know it will give a lovely finish but I am concerned it will make the dress a bit hot to wear.

Fabric Dyeing Samples

2009-12-31T10:30:00.007+08:00

One of the things I loved learning in my costume course was dyeing fabrics. A lot of the time we used dye to create aged or dirty looking clothes that could withstand laundering (one time I had to create a pair of old, pee-stained men's underwear for a character in 'the Scottish play' - but that's another story!).

Luckily we sometimes got to play around with pretty effects too.

However I don't have the equipment at home to dye fabric and I am not very confident with colour so one technique I have embraced is discharge dyeing - sort of like reverse dyeing. Here is a project I made using this technique during my course. The fabric is silk dupion, the original colour is the purple and the gold was uncovered when I used the discharge technique.

The beauty of discharge dyeing is the colour you end up with was there all along so it always 'goes' with the original fabric. You can use any technique such as tie-dye or shibori and you simply remove colour from the original fabric rather than adding a new colour on top.

So why all this pondering about dyes? Well, I have a wedding to go to at the end of January, it's another of my fella's friends so I can't wear the dress I wore to the last wedding I went to (I suppose I could, but you know how it is I'm sure!). I have been a bit stuck as to what to wear so I've been re-reading all my books and magazines but it was during the most recent episode of Gossip Girl (don't judge me, I only watch for the clothes!) that I saw this dress on Leighton Meester aka Blair.

Image from here. I have no idea who the designer is, but I'd love to know.

That was my lightbulb moment as they say. I took myself off to Fabulous Fabrics (I have a $100 voucher that I got when I left my job in July) and bought some 10cm samples of various shades of silk dupion. Sampling is REALLY important, since you don't know what you are going to get - and sometimes it is not what you were hoping for!

I bought indigo-navy, chartreuse and two shades of turquoise for my tests. I used RIT colour remover, which I have used on silk before, so I know it's safe. You can use bleach in various dilutions on other fabrics such as cotton but bleach makes silk turn to jelly - not a good look!

Here are all the samples together:
I really love this chartreuse sample but I didn't leave it in the solution long enough - this colour was quite stubborn.

I tried to create an ombre effect on the navy but I was impatient and the effect is much too subtle!
While I loved these two turquoise shades, the discharge technique is a bit too much like a wet look. At a wedding in the heat of summer you do not want to look like you've sweated all over your dress!
These are my two favourites, the chartreuse and navy left in the solution for much longer (or I could have used a stronger mix). The darker shades at the bottom are the original colours and the lighter shades are where the dye has been removed. There is not such a dramatic contrast as in my purple dress above but I think it is a really pleasing effect anyway.
Here are the samples on top of the original fabric:

I think either of these could work really well in a dress inspired by the gossip girl original. I would use the paler shade on the bodice and the original colour for most of the skirt, with some kind of graduation in the middle (maybe a shibori technique?). I am not sure I will go for the level of embellishment in the inspiration dress bu never say never!

Now a question. I love both of these colours a lot and can't choose between them. My fella doesn't have a preference either so what do you think? Anyone out there prefer one over the other? Please let me know as I am itching to get started on this project!

Christmas dress 2009- Vogue V8494

2009-12-27T17:03:00.004+08:00

Here is the dress I made to wear on Christmas this year. I wore it to dinner with my fella's family on Christmas eve and then to breakfast at my Dad's on Christmas morning and lunch at my Mum's. It looks a bit rumpled but not bad for three sit down meals and 118km of driving over the two days!

I cheated with the shoes for these photos, I actually wore flats since I was the skipper (designated driver) but don't you just love these green pumps (from Nine West if you're interested).

The pattern is Vogue V8494.

Pattern Description:
Lined dresses A, B, C, in two lengths have bodice princess seams, back zipper and a-line skirt. I originally planned to make view B, with black contrast bands but in the end I decided I didn't want to cover up any of this gorgeous print!

Pattern Sizing:
Standard. I cut a 12 to the underarms, grading out to a 14 at the waist and 16 at the hip.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
The drawing is remarkably accurate (for once).

Were the instructions easy to follow?
When I read through the instructions I thought they were a bit long-winded but went with them anyway. It turned out to be fine and even though you have to hand sew the shoulders it does give a nice finish and guarantees you'll maintain the unusual style line where the centre panel forms the straps. I put this together easily in one day (or I would have if I hadn't made a massive dumb mistake and had to unpick half the dress!).

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like the shape of a full skirt but not so full the Fremantle Doctor will leave you red-faced. It's fitted but can still accommodate a full Christmas lunch. I have no dislikes.

Fabric Used:
A beautiful printed cotton sateen that reminds me of Monet's garden (not that I've been there!). I used white cotton voile for the lining and the whole project cost less than $50 Australian.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
Don't you hate it how you fix one fitting issue and another one rears it's ugly head? In addition to my usual fba (4cm total), sway back alteration (take out 2.5cm above the waist at centre back), and narrow back alteration (take out 3cm all the way down the back - normally I would taper to nothing at the waist); this time I also had to add length to the front bodice at the shoulders. Maybe I now have a low bust on top of everything else - anyway, all I needed to do was add 1.5cm to the top of the shoulder on the front piece only. It was easy since there aren't any sleeves!

I also stayed the v-neckline with silk organza selvedge using the instructions in Clare Shaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques.

Step one, cut strips of selvedge 1cm shorter than the seamline on the pattern and pin in place distributing the fullness. Step two, fix in place just inside the seamline with a small running stitch.

Oh, and I used an invisible zip instead of a regular one.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I love how this dress turned out, I will almost certainly make it again. I have it in mind for a summer work dress and possibly a more 'evening' version as well. If I got invited somewhere really special I'd even make the long version.

Conclusion:
Love it! It's comfy in the heat without looking sloppy, and was pretty easy to get together in a hurry.

Pattern Review - New Look 6750

2009-12-11T21:12:00.004+08:00

This is the dress I made to wear to the wedding in Donnelly River, New Look 6750. Apologies for the lack of detail shots, it was made in a real hurry!

Here I am on my bushland verandah about to walk through the bush to the wedding ceremony.

Pattern Description:
Empire waist dresses with bodice, skirt and sleeve options. I made bodice B with skirt D and sleeve E.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut a 12, grading to a 14 at the hips.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, I think so. Except I lapped the sleeves back over front instead of front over back - oops! But I was in too much of a hurry to fix it.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
They were fine, it's a fairly straightforward pattern. Because the fabric is a sheer I sewed all seams with a french seam (except the armhole, which I stitched then zig zagged and trimmed). I lined the whole dress - the pattern doesn't have a lining in the skirt. I also used an invisible zip.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like all the different combinations. I think this will be a handy pattern to have.

Fabric Used:
Polyester georgette which I bought from a local designer who was selling off stock from her workroom about a year ago (maybe more).

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
No changes to the design. I made a slight fba, which I just incorporated into the under bust gathers.

I did have trouble getting the neckline to sit flat. This always happens to me on this style of neckline. I think my understitching/clipping/trimming technique needs work!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I would definitely consider making this again and I would recommend it.

Conclusion:
It worked perfectly for the occasion - a daytime 'formal' wedding in the bush. The sleeves protected my shoulders from the sun but without making me too hot and the skirt accommodated a wonderful dinner and several glasses of champagne. Oh yeah, and it didn't get creased while travelling!

Since it turned out to be quite a cool day I wore this cardigan over the top for much of the time. In the evening I wore a tan tweed coat that I made from a vintage 60's pattern (which I have now lost - sob!) before I started blogging.

I bet you are as glad as I am not to see another olive/cream/teal creation!

Having a little rest

2009-12-07T17:08:00.005+08:00

I thought I would feel burned out after completing my wardrobe competition entry but actually I have been feeling really motivated. Unfortunately that hasn't translated into action for the last week or so, since I am still very busy at work and come home exhausted most afternoons. Pretty soon most of my big stuff will be done and I'll be able to get ready for my two weeks off - can't wait!

My priorities in the short term are:

three more work tops,
another work skirt,
a dress to wear at Christmas,
a couple of cotton dresses for knocking about the house on hot days, and
A couple of presents (ONLY for people who appreciate from now on!).

I don't think this is too much to ask for the next couple of months and then of course it'll be back to my favourite time of year - autumn (or should I say 'jacket time').

Anyway, I haven't posted yet about the wedding I went to in early November so here goes. I haven't yet written a review for the dress I wore but I will do it soon. In the meantime here are some pictures of the place we stayed at.

The couple who got married are friends of my fella, he went to school with them and they have been together since year 11. I had never met the couple before (or 99% of the guests) so I was pretty nervous but everyone was really nice. There are no photos of the actual wedding since I didn't get permission to post them but rest assured it was lovely! We all stayed on site, the wedding was in pretty patch of bushland behind one of the cabins and the reception was at the community hall, all in walking distance.

The venue was a place called Donnelly River, an old mill town in the South West of WA. Here is the cottage we stayed in. I was skeptical about shared accommodation but it turned out fine.

The best part of the stay was the wildlife. There were native animals everywhere. We even saw a blue wren - which I have never seen in real life before - but I didn't have my camera handy at the time. The animals are quite used to people and you can even buy food for them at the general store. Not that I endorse 'taming' wild animals of course, but I don't think these ones rely on humans as their only food source.

There were a lot of emus around, which I was pretty scared of. Here's a baby one, not scary at all!

But this is as close as I would get to a full grown one!

There were also a lot of roos, which I am not generally fond of - only because I am terrified of hitting one with my car (which would be very bad for both of us). In this setting they were fine, I really enjoyed feeding them.

Look at this face!
Here's a pic of a joey in its mother's pouch. Depending on the time of day you would either see its head or feet poking out! BTW did you know that kangaroos can have two joeys at one time, a grown one like this and a tiny baby one? The mother produces two different kinds of milk to meet the needs of the two babies - how cool is that?

Everyone say aaaah!

Most of the time the roos just lay around in the sun!

There were also loads of native birds. Here is a photo of my fella feeding a twenty-eight parrot from his hand.

Here's a twenty-eight up close.
Okay, enough of the science lesson. I hope my non-Aussie readers enjoy these pictures but I promise a pattern review is not far away.

The jacket outfits

2009-11-30T18:36:00.004+08:00

Rather than bore you with another 20 photos of all my outfits with the jacket here are five looks that show every garment to demonstrate the all 'go' with the jacket.

Ivory tunic and olive pants.

Cream t-shirt and navy skirt.

Teal t-shirt and taupe skirt.Floral blouse and olive skirt.
Cowl-neck top and olive pants.

Wardrobe Comp Review - McCalls M4972

2009-11-30T17:37:00.003+08:00

The finished jacket. What do you think? I must say I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

This is the 10th and final piece for the wardrobe competition. I used McCall's M4972 (now OOP).

Pattern Description:
Princess seam jacket has trim variations and curved or squared front opening edges.

Pattern Sizing:
I made a 12.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
I sorta made view B and it more or less looks like the picture.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I didn't use them at all. I used a combination of instructions from the two well-known threads articles on Chanel jackets. One shows the fully couture methods and the other give shortcuts.

First I sewed the vertical body seams in the shell and the lining then ditch-stitched and quilted the layers together. I sewed the shoulders seams in the jacket by machine and the lining by hand.

Next I laid on a folded bias strip of lining and hand sewed it down. Then I attached the centre of a bias strip of jacket fabric to the seam line all around the outside. I turned the seam allowances in and the two layers of tweed trim out and hand sewed the lining all around the inside edge of the jacket.

The first row of trim - bias strips of the lining laid around the edge.
I sewed the back seam in the sleeve and quilted the lining as for the body, then sewed the front seam of the jacket by machine and the lining by hand. I turned in 1.5cm on the lower edge of the sleeve and hand sewed down the lining.

Here is the sleeve after quilting (and clearly before pressing).
I machine stitched the sleeve in and bound the seam with bias.

Hook and eye on the front and chain in the lower edge and voila! A Chanel style jacket.

The finishing touch - a chain in the hem.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
It was a great starting point as I didn't have to alter the design for the look. I like the low front which works better with the tops in my wardrobe. Plus a high round neck makes my chin look flabby!

Fabric Used:
Handwoven silk tweed for the body. Silk satin for the lining

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I narrowed the upper back, made a sway back alteration, a small fba and added a little room at the hip.

In terms of design changes, I left off the ruffle on the sleeve as I figured it would get grubby and I also left off the pockets. It was all a bit too much 'look' for me!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Would I sew a Chanel style jacket again? Yes. Would I do it better? Yes. Would I use this pattern? Maybe (there's nothing wrong with it, there are just so many great jacket patterns). Would I recommend it? Yes, definitely.

Conclusion:
This jacket was hard work! If I didn't have a deadline I'm not sure I would have persevered. But I am so glad I did. I think it looks great and I just hope I've done justice to the beautiful fabric and to the designer who inspired it!

The finished inside jacket front...

And back.

Pants-related outfits

2009-11-29T21:54:00.005+08:00

Almost there, just the jacket to go...

My dear friend Sarah is always paying me out about how rubbish my photos are. I have an old camera, no garden, my house is still a 'fixer-upper' and I only have a dim courtyard to pose in. So today's photos are shot by Sarah in her garden (garden created by Cam). Thanks Sarah, and I hope you like them better than my normal pics.

Here are all the tops paired with the olive pants.

Sneak preview of the jacket here.

And another look at the jacket! Don't worry it's own review is coming...

So this is the last of the 20 base outfits all of which can also be worn with the jacket. I therefore now have a total of 40 lovely new outfits to wear to work - and I can retire some old favourites. Yay me!

Wardrobe Comp Review - Simplicity 2700

2009-11-29T21:17:00.005+08:00

Finally the pants are done!
Don't worry, the wrinkles are just from the way I am standing!

The pattern is Simplicity 2700 the 'amazing fit' bootleg pants.

Pattern Description:
Amazing fit bootleg pants.

Pattern Sizing:
The pattern comes in the usual range of sizes but has different pattern pieces for slim, average and curvy figures. I started with size 14 and you know I picked curvy!

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, except mine don't look so much like nanna-pants.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Well, as it happened I mislaid the second pattern page when I was making these up so I was on my own after the pockets! I couldn't do it their way anyway as I added a lining to my pants. I did try out their fly instructions when I made my toile but it turned out terrible. On my proper pants I used the instructions in a Threads magazine which, imho are idiot-proof.

Here is the finished fly. I don't know why but I am loving squared-off fly stitching lately!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I liked that it promised to fit me. Aside from that they are pretty generic pants but I am glad they have pockets, we are having a terrible hay fever season this year!

Fabric Used:
Mystery suiting. It says 'cashmere and mink' on the selvedge but I wouldn't bet on it. More likely a wool blend of some kind. It is very lightweight and has a lovely drape.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
LOADS of alterations - but due to the body not the pattern. You can read about my struggles here. But it was worth it.

Oh yeah, and I cut the fly extension on with the front and lengthened the legs by 5cm.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I will almost certainly make these again, or at least use the pattern to adapt other patterns to fit. What I ended up with looked nothing like the original pattern so it's no wonder I haven't been able to get pants to fit before!

Conclusion:
I am so happy to finally have a pants pattern that works. I know it is not perfect yet but I am not far off so I can't wait to fine tune it further. Long live the TNT pattern!

Sorry guys but you know there has to be a butt-shot. There is still some extra fabric below the seat but it disappears when I'm walking.

Here's my little 'design feature'. Using the threads article for my fly somehow caused me to end up with my left waistband piece too short. I just bound the edge with some contrast binding.

Quick update

2009-11-29T13:06:00.003+08:00

I have officially completed the wardrobe challenge - phew! I'll be getting photos of the last two garments and some final outfits this afternoon so the reviews aren't far off (well they have to be done by the 30th so I'd better hurry).

Just a quick update on the navy tulip skirt. This morning I sat down and undid the waist and sewed the pleats for the top 10cm and dropped the front waist a little (thanks Moushka - great idea!).

I think you'll agree it's a much better skirt now.

Thanks to all who have commented here and over at Pattern Review - you really helped me to stay motivated throughout this major project!

Wardrobe Comp Review - Cool, Calm & Cowl-necked top

2009-11-22T21:03:00.005+08:00

Blah, no makeup and weekend hair but here goes anyway!

Pattern Description:
Deliciously simple top, designed for drapey knits with a stretchy rib trim...try rayon, cotton, bamboo or silk knits. Relaxed fit top has a drapey, shallow cowl with a cut on facing, and a gently scooped back neckline. Top features cut-on cap sleeves and a deep ribbed band at the hem; top finishes at the lower hip. Wear this great basic piece with your favourite jeans or pants for a fabulously simple but chic everyday or weekend look.

This pattern came around as a free download on a Hot Patterns newsletter. You can find it at fabric.com.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut a 12 around the top tapering out to a 14 for the bottom edge and band

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
There is no photo - which I really would prefer when selecting a pattern. I think it looks more or less like it should, I thought the front neckline would be a little lower. I don't want to bring the girls out to play at work but I feel a bit like I'm being throttled in this one!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Super-easy. The only vaguely tricky bit is folding back the facings at the shoulder seam so the seam is enclosed, but the directions for this are pretty good.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like how it's a very simple design and would suit my drapey knit well. I don't like that it's a little high in the front for me. When you are a little bit busty a slightly lower top stops you from looking like your boobs grow out of your chin (or chins in my case lately!). I like the look of the band but wasn't sure it would work on a hippy girl. It looks okay but doesn't fit to my proportionally small waist like it should. It is also unbelievably long! I have a short waist which doesn't help but I ended up chopping 4 inches off the length (vertical, not around my hips) of the band. I still think it is not the best style for my body but I like it for a change and it is so comfy!

Fabric Used:
Polyester stretch that I picked up on the spur of the moment at my local Spotlight. It was marked at $12.99 per metre - which I would consider average - but at the counter I found out it was marked down to $6. Gotta love a bargain!

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I narrowed the upper back by an inch each side of the CB and a lucky thing too or it would be falling off my shoulders. I made the band shorter (less deep).

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
You know I actually might. I think it would look great in some kind of glittery knit with dressy pants (although I would widen the front neck so it hangs just a smidge lower).

Conclusion:
Not bad for a free pattern and some bargain fabric!

Here's the back.

Next lot of Outfits!

2009-11-16T19:10:00.002+08:00

Hi all,
Here are the photos of the outfits I can make so far from the navy tulip skirt. If I look tired and pissed off in the photos it's because I am! I am in the middle of renovations at home, meaning my sewing room is currently a repository for all our crap. Between that and going away the weekend before last I haven't been able to sew a stitch in nearly three weeks. On the upside we have painted the formerly hideous bedroom and we are having a fabulous new wardrobe installed tomorrow - with custom storage - bliss!

I am super-stressed at work ATM and I usually rely on my sewing to help manage that - grrrr! The jacket is kicking my ass and I really just want to sit quietly for a few hours and work on it but I can't right now - plus I really need to get started on my last garment, the pants (I have one other completed garment I haven't posted yet).

I would really hate to stumble at this last hurdle and not complete the competition. I have hope that things will start to settle down in the next couple of days, so wish me luck!

Oh, and I just remembered I am going to see New Moon on Sunday so that will cheer me up if nothing else!

Rant over. Enjoy the photos...This skirt is wearable as is but doesn't give a great side view. I will definitely alter it (sew down the pleats and take it in a touch) but might not have time to do that before the end of the comp.

This one is a bad angle. I know my lower half is big but this is ridiculous!

I don't mind this look.

The camera flash makes this top look all kinds of wrong! But it looks nicer with navy than it would with black.

Can I express how happy I am with this blouse? I never would have made something like this if it weren't for the competition and I don't just love it, I am IN love with it.

Wardrobe Comp Review - Prima Tulip Skirt

2009-11-16T18:13:00.004+08:00

Here is garment 7 for the wardrobe competition, a free pattern from the September 2009 Prima magazine. Prima is just your standard women's mag but I used to buy it regularly as there was always a sewing pattern in the middle. Then the patterns stopped so I didn't buy it for a long time. My Mum saw this one and told me about it, if the patterns are back I may start buying Prima again!

I have messed with the colour on this picture to try and show the pleats - they still don't show that well but my scanner is acting up and I can't scan the line drawing. The back view photo below is truer to colour.

Pattern Description:
Pegged skirt with deep pleats at the waist.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut a 16 according to my measurements, but it is a little roomy - I could have gone down a size, and I probably will take it in a smidge.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, it really does

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I didn't need them, it's just a basic skirt with some pleats at the waist. Anyone who can sew in a zip could make this.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I love that, for once, the pattern finishes just below my knee cap. Usually I have to lengthen everything so it will finish there. I think this is a cute style, it's quite 'fashion' but still grown up.

Fabric Used:
Polyester suiting. It was quite an inexpensive fabric as I didn't want to risk anything too 'good' on a style that might not work for me and probably won't be in fashion for much longer.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I didn't alter the style at all but made several changes to the construction:

Note that seam allowances are included in this pattern,which makes changes a little more fiddly but not too bad, bear with me as I try to explain without visual aids...

I removed the hem allowance (3cm) and added a 1.5cm seam allowance onto the bottom edge. Then I traced off a hem facing rather than having to sew a pegged hem - which I can never do without puckering.
I overlayed the waist facing onto the front and back pattern pieces and used what was left below the facing to trace off a front and back lining pattern (adding 3cm to the top edge of the lining - 1.5cm seam allowance each for the lining and the facing).
When sewing, I just eased the remaining fullness on the lining pieces to the facing. This is a lot less bulky than two layers of pleats.
I stabilised the waist edge with selvedge cut from silk organza (applied after making the pleats), it still droops a bit from the weight of the pleats but at least it won't stretch out.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I would definitely consider making this again.

Conclusion:
I am surprised at how good this skirt looks. I usually avoid this kind of shape because it adds to the parts of me I don't really want to add to. I think the secret is the deep pleats that don't pull open (the facing and lining help keep them closed too). However I may still sew the top few cm of the pleats closed just for extra security.

Wardrobe Comp Review - Simplicity 2659

2009-11-04T20:30:00.003+08:00

So this is garment number 6 (I think) of my wardrobe. Note that the pants in this photo are not part of the plan, I just wore them so you can see how the tunic will look untucked.

Pattern Description:
Misses & Miss Petite Dress, Tunic, Cropped Trousers, Shorts and Bolero.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut a 12, adding a little to the side seams below the waist.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, for the most part - I don't think my pleats sit as nicely as they do on the model. Here they are close up.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, this was a very straightforward pattern and the pieces fit together nicely without having to resort to 'gentle persuasion'.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
When I first saw this pattern the unusual pleats really attracted me. I was a bit surprised no one had reviewed it yet. When I looked even closer the exposed zip really appealed. I saw the look around last summer and didn't like it at first, but it grew on me.

Fabric Used:
Ivory cotton dobby that has been in my stash for donkey's years!

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I added at the side seams to accommodate my hips. I didn't do an fba but the armholes feel a little snug so maybe I should have. I narrowed out the upper back as I normally would.

I couldn't find a 'novelty zip' to suit anywhere, and I looked and looked (not online admittedly!). I really wanted metal teeth, and preferably gold, as IMHO the plastic chunkey zips look a bit naff. I ended up using a separating zip which I shortened from the top using instructions in a BWOF magazine. So the zip now extends to the bottom of the top and it goes on like a backwards jacket. I didn't want the tape on the outside so I just sewed it in like a normal open ended zip. I love how it looks like a metal spine down the back!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I would probably make the dress version to wear on summer weekends, and I would consider making the tunic in an evening fabric if the occasion arose - but it's a bit too distinctive to make another work top the same.

Conclusion:
This is a very cute top and it looks good tucked into a skirt or over pants.

February Lady Sweater done!

2009-10-31T11:14:00.004+08:00

As focussed as I have been on the wardrobe competition, I have also been working on some other side projects. One of those is to finally finish the February Lady Sweater from Flint Knits. I think this must be the most popular free pattern on the web and for good reason. It is super versatile as you knit from the top down and can adjust the length of the body and sleeves to suit as you go. I will admit it looks a little like a bed jacket here but I promise, with jeans it actually looks a lot cooler!

This project took me ages because, while knitting in one piece avoids all that tedious finishing (which I don't really mind to be honest), it does mean you are working on a huge heavy piece with loads of stitches. This is not really compatible with sharing your life with a burmese princess who is not happy about sharing your lap. And since Desmo is nice enough to let me live in her house and feed her and pay all the bills then I really should repay the kindness by leaving my lap as available as possible.

As is typical, the warm weather has finally arrived so this piece will now go into a drawer for several months but I have managed to take it out of the house a couple of times to linger in the freezer section of the supermarket!