FO: Pj's for me

Some time ago, when visiting friends, I realised that the ancient rtw pyjamas I was wearing were actually not really worth wearing. Fortunately I realised this before exposing myself in an embarrassing way, but resolved to make myself some new pj's when I got home. 

I knew which fabrics I wanted to use, The plain slightly crinkley purple jersey I got from the first ever sewing meet up I went to back in 2012 and the stripey patterned fabric I got at a fabric swap meet-up in London last summer.  I had offered Eldest and Youngest pjs using these but neither seemed that bothered so I thought I would use it myself.

I used the true Bias Hudson Pants pattern for the trousers. I have made this several times already and didn't have any problems putting them together. The top was a pattern taken from a rtw top from H&M, which I have used a couple of times before. Fitting it on the fabric was a bit tricky as I didn't have a huge amount and I wanted the stripes to match as much as possible. I just about managed to to it as you can see here:

In order to fit the pieces, I felt I needed to slim down the sides of the top, but looking at this lay out it looks like that was unnecessary. I also used the stripey fabric as a contrast on the trousers.

After I had finished, I gave the pj set a final press and some how managed to slightly melt the waist band of the trousers, pretty much at centre front:

The melted waist band isn't noticeable when I wear them, but I'm guessing the fabric isn't the 100% cotton that I thought it was!

I wasn't sure about them straight after I had finished them, but now I really like them!

Catching up with 2016....

I *still* haven't caught up with all the blog posts I wanted to write, about all the items I made in 2016. This post is going to be the catch up post so get ready for a long one, probably with lots of pictures! If you follow me on IG you may have seen some of these already.

Tie and bag for summer wedding:
I have done a couple posts already about my garments for this wedding. I also made Husband a tie to match my dress, using an old tie of his as the pattern

I also made myself a little bag for wedding day essentials, lippy and tissues! I basically made it up as I went along, lined it with the green silk I had used for the sleeves of the jacket, stitched the handles to make them feel more substantial and fashioned a little tassley thing to make it pretty

Pinafore dress for Eldest
I got a free pattern with a sewing mag that was a pinafore/dungaree combo (Cotton + Chalk Sunday Set).  Eldest asked me to make the dress and chose so fabric from the stash.  Unfortunately there wasn't enough for the skirt, which was a gathered circle skirt. I drafted a half circle skirt from her measurements and just about manage to squeeze it out of the fabric

She likes to keep her phone in the front pocket, which forces the bib down when being worn. We have just this week bought some dungaree clips so that I didn't have to bodge shortening the straps for her!

PJ's for Youngest
Youngest was in desperate need of more nightwear but was adamant that she wanted shop pj's.  I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandria Palace in early October and bought some lovely jersey that that I thought might appeal. As soon as she saw it she asked for pj's out of it in exactly the combo that I had envisioned!

I almost had a disaster when trimming down the neckband, in that I nicked a tiny, but obvious hole in the centre back of the top. I made a quick fix with some fray check and sewed a contrasting patch over it. I used the True Bias Hudson pants and the Sewaholic Renfrew top

Skirt for my friend
Earlier in the year I made a skirt for a friend of mine who has trouble getting skirts to fit properly. I finished it just in time for the weather to warm up so didn't get any photos until a few weeks ago.  The fabric was a great find from MRosenberg (Stitch Fabrics) and I drafted the skirt from her measurements

Skirt and top for me
I made a jersey skirt using the free Lindy Petal Skirt pattern by Itch to Stitch. I had quite a bit of this blue marly knit that I think is ex-Paul Smith left from other projects (Hudson pants, skater skirt, skater dress) so used it for this skirt and for a raglan sleeved top, pattern Newlook 6230, with some more leftovers as a feature in the front. I can't remember what size I cut for the skirt. It fitted pretty well straightaway but I did trim a little off the side seams in the hip area to get a smoother fit.

Fancy dress party
Husband and I were invited to a friend and her husbands joint 40th and 50th  birthday party in November, the theme being Dead Famous.  There were many variations on a theme, but I decided to go as Prince from a specific video. I made my jacket, the frilly cravat thing and at the very last minute, stretch crushed velvet leggings from a skirt from a local charity shop. The jacket pattern was McCalls 6844. I made a medium (12-14) but could heave easily gone down to a small or even extra small.  The front is supposed to meet at the centre front, but mine overlapped considerably. I made view C with a high/low peplum.

can you guess the Prince video?

Self drafted shift dress
I have been attending pattern cutting classes for a few years now and haven't used many of the patterns that we have drafted. I thought it was about time I did, and wanted a simple dress to show off some fabric.  I decided that I wanted french darts in the front, which we hadn't actually covered in class, but I used my block and found a tutorial on the Internet (can't remember where though) and worked it out. I am very pleased with the result, although it needs taking in a little

as is

pulled in a bit

 Pink sweatshirt for Eldest
I picked up some lovely sweatshirt fabric from a fabric swap earlier this year without much thought about what to do with it. Eldest saw it when I was looking for something else in my stash and asked it I could make her something.  The piece was quite small but I managed to get a cropped version of the Newlook 6230 raglan top out of it. The edges rolled like crazy, but Eldest liked that and asked that I leave the edges unfinished so that they curled up

Late night photos means the colour is a bit off, but it is a lovely soft pink.

Husbands Christmas present
For the last 5 or so years I have made Husband a shirt for Christmas. We both felt it was time for a change so I started making him a waistcoat. Unfortunately, I got really poorly just before Christmas and was sent to bed by Husband so that I would be well in time for the festivities.  Spending the best part of a week in bed threw all my plans out of the window re sewing and everything else really.  I got as far as I could, wrapped it up and gave it to him with an IOU! Even though I had checked his measurements and checked the finished garment measurements it is a fraction too small. However, I am going to finish it as it has the best welt pockets on that I have ever done, and Husband is on a mission to fit into it!

Top for New Year
Having had my sewing plans scuppered in the run up to Christmas I was determined to whip up some thing for the new year.  I made a couple of tops, a Burda raglan top ( Raglan shirt 02/2013 #127) that I have made a lot before, and a MyImage cowl neck top that I have also made a few times already. Both of these tops are out of the same fabric. I picked it up from MRosenberg pretty cheaply just before Christmas, but it was full of flaws (this was reflected in the price!) that required some creative layouts. I currently only have a picture of one of the tops, but may blog them both properly in the next week or so.

I really like this picture! I looks like I have put s crazy filter on it, but it is just the lighting in my sewing room.

Phew, that is it for last year.  I have been sewing nonstop in the last week, so hopefully will have some finished items to show soon.  Happy New Year and Happy sewing!

Me Made May16 week 2

 
Top Row: The oldest make that I still wear - made when I was around 15, updated with an exposed zip in the back a few years ago; Hudson pants v; same Hudsons as yesterday and Stripey short sleeved burda raglan top;

Bottom row: Linen self drafted skirt and poly chiffon Newlook 6895; Friday theme colour block Kristen Kimono tee; copy of rtw top under cardi, Ginger jeans and new unblogged Sewaholic Minoru jacket

In previous years I have struggled to keep warm during MMMay and most of my makes have been hidden from view under other warmer layers.  This year I have managed to wear some of my warmer weather clothes earlier in the month than previous years. I have quite a few me-made items that I haven't worn yet, but the forecast is a bit dodgey for the next few days so I'm sure they will make it out of the wardrobe at some point! 

Last year I noted that I needed more bottom halves for outfits to even out the number of tops I have made.  I have manged to do this without trying too hard - I made a linen skirt using my pattern drafting skills, another pair of Hudsons and most pleasingly, a pair of Ginger Jeans.  The jeans aren't perfect, but they are now my 'nice jeans' and all others have been relegated to everyday or working (gardening/painting etc). I have already got more denim to make some more, but I am not sure whether to stick to the Ginger skinnys or try a different style with  the new Morgan jeans by the same pattern maker, Closet Case Files.

I have been wearing myself out in the garden over the last week so have been recovering with some selfless sewing - a pair of Hudsons for Eldest and a skirt for a friend that I drafted using the info from my pattern cutting class.

Warm weather wardrobe for Youngest

I took my two older daughters shopping a couple of weeks before the Easter break to buy bikinis and other warmer weather items for a trip to Lanzarote. Youngest opted not to come - she's not a great shopper and the thought of the other two trying on bikinis was too much!

However, since she has grown so much since last summer, almost nothing fits her any more. She ended up with some hand me downs after the shopping trip, but that still left her with not much and no time to take her shopping separately. I suggested that I make her a few things and got her to look through my patterns and the selection of fabric I had pulled out of the stash.  She took this very seriously and was soon jotting down which pattern, which view, and which fabric! Needless to say she noted down much more than I could possibly sew in the time frame, but it gave me something to work from.  In a week I made:

2 pairs of shorts: One pair used up the last of the coral sweatshirting that I was struggling with in my previous post and the other pair I used an old t-shirt of Husbands that she liked the colour of.

For the t-shirt pair I cheated a little and used the hem of the shirt for the hem of the sorts. I used the True Bias Hudson pant pattern for both and just cut them shorter.  

Mum-made combo!

I got Youngest to try on my original pair of Hudsons and much to my horror they fitted her pretty well, just a bit long in the leg - She is 10! To reduce bulk, particularly in the coral pair I used a pocket tutorial from Meg from Cookin' & Craftin'.

A shirred Sundress: This is the exact copy of a dress that I made for my friends daughter a couple of years ago, same fabric, same tutorial used, just bigger

 A flutter sleeved top: using Simplicity 4589 view B cut in a size 8 and shortened a fraction. The square yoke was tricky to get neat at the corners but nothing a good steam press couldn't fix. I think the interfacing that I used was a bit firm for the style and fabric, but she didn't notice and that's just me being picky.

and lastly, a little Colette Sorbetto top. I cut a size 8? , took the front pleat out due to fabric restrictions, didn't sew the dart in the front and shirred a panel in the back to make it fit a bit better.  I had just enough small pieces to make bias tape of the the same fabric for the neckline and armholes. This was the only one that she didn't wear on the holiday, although she said she did like it.. I am a bit concerned that it will shrink in the wash as I bought the fabric years ago on a whim and was not, at that stage, in the habit of washing any fabric I bought straight away.

So, a nice little selection of things for her to wear!

FO: The 'Blue Marl' collection

As ever I have tonnes of catching up to do.  I have done lots of sewing over the last couple of months, but just haven't felt like writing about anything!

I have been spurred on to get writing again by going to a meet-up of Cambridge sewists last Saturday. It was orgnised by Susie of Susie Sews blog and I met a bunch of lovely ladies. We had coffee (and cake) a fabric swap (where I got rid of a piece and came home with 2 more) and a pattern swap.  There was an element of shopping later, but I had one of my girls with me and we had other things to do so we left them to it. We have shared our social media details so I am looking forward to reading some new blogs soon. I subsequently realised that I hadn't posted since February, hence the flurry of posts that will be coming up.

This fabric was bought from Geoff Rosenberg at his Trumpington Village Hall sale in November of last year.  I found it in the remnant corner and asked Geoff how much it was - he said it was ex-Paul Smith fabric and I could have it for (I think) £8 for the whole piece. Once I got it home I realised that I had 4 metres length of 2 metres wide! What a bargain!!!

So, what have I made? First off I made a little skater skirt for Middlest, which I gave to her for Christmas.  We had bought one earlier in the year which I consider is getting a bit short but others wise fits ok. I used the bought skirt as pattern and lengthened it. I basically sewed up the skirt pieces, then attached the skirt to some black 2" elastic and bingo - a skirt. It was inevitably, deemed too long, but it has been worn several times and she is constantly growing at the moment.

Next up was a Lady Skater dress for Eldest.  Again, we had bought a skater dress, which appeared to be almost identical to the Lady Skater, but with some added detail. I got Eldest to try on the Lady Skater that I had made for myself a couple of years ago to work out what size to cut for her. I ended up cutting out the same size as mine, but I had not realised that the blue fabric didn't have quite the stretch that the ponte of my dress had. I ended up sewing the side seams and armscyes at the minimal seam allowance I could get away with, which did ease the fit a little. It has been worn more than once so counts as a success.

 At the same time that I cut out Eldest's dress, I cut out a pair of True Bias Hudson Pants for me.  If you follow me on IG you will have seen that I managed to cut both of those out and still have 1m 20cm left. I am hoping to squeeze a top out of what is left, but I am not sure which yet - I would like another cowl neck Renfrew, but even with the width of the fabric I don't think I have enough for that.

Details on the hanger

I have made the Hudsons before and decided on a couple of tweaks when I made these. I lengthened the rise front and back, made the pocket bags correspondingly bigger and lengthened the leg a little for some extra ruching at the cuff.  I had meant to reduce the height of the cuff but completely forgot, so I some times fold it up inside the leg when I am wearing them.  Because of the minimal stretch in this fabric the cuffs are a bit tight and I need to be careful, particularly when I am taking them off

on me!

Now, what to make with the last metre?!

A collection of collages and another sad summer

This is a long post, grab a cuppa, try not to fall asleep! I have noted before that my blog gets a lot more attention from me during MMM as it tends to highlight all my un-blogged makes, even with semi-regular posts I still don't seem to have caught up yet! I wanted to do individual posts for these but I seem to be running out of oomph and have other things to think about - more of that at the end. I have been sewing a lot so have quite a few things to mention here - they are in no particular order.

Self drafted trousers
I mentioned these in a post a little while ago.  In my pattern cutting class we transformed our skirt block into a trouser block. Had I written this at the time I made the trousers, there would be a lot more info on how we did this. Right now, I can't really remember! I had been desperate to learn how to make trousers to fit rather than faff about with a pattern and an assortment of alterations, but it took me a good 4 or 5 months to put my pattern into use - and this was all about a year ago. I used an interesting mystery fabric from a local charity shop - £4 for nearly 4mtrs and I think it is a wool blend. I have washed the fabric several times and the resulting trousers. The fabric shrank lengthwise a little the first time it was washed but not since, and the trousers have shrunk a little in the leg nearly every time I have washed them. They were hemmed to be the perfect length for a specific pair of shoes, but now they are a fraction short with not much hem to let down, sigh.

too big; too tight; waist ok - dodgy legs; spot on!

Eldest's dress
Eldest was keen for me to make her a dress a little while ago - she is a happy recipient of mum-made clothes. The pattern I used was Simplicity 1699 which came free with a sewing magazine I picked up one day. As noted before, Eldest is much bustier than me so I thought this would be a good dress style-wise because of the princess seams on the bodice - they would make any fit changes a bit easier. She is also quite petite so I had to shorten the bodice. I bought the fabric at Backstitch when we visited for for the shop's first birthday back in March. There is very annoyingly, a seam down the centre front, which I totally didn't take into account so there is a slightly dodgy pattern running down the skirt. Eldest and I have agreed to ignore it. A sneak peak of the dress was seen in this post. You will see that she opted for the more discrete sleeve edge. She has already asked me for another dress using the same pattern. I have cut it out and remembered to cut the skirt front on the fold!

Indecision averted
A little while ago I was berating myself for being indecisive when it came to choosing a pattern for a dress for me. I ended up making the BurdaStyle dress which I had had my eye on for some time. I chose it because it was a bit different and thought it would go with my fabric well. I have only worn it once on a night out with some friends - none of whom could believe that I had made it! and I didn't get any photos of it on. Middlest had thought it was too trendy for her Mum, but thought it looked much better on me than she thought it would....

True Bias Hudson pants x 2
I made the first pair of these during MMM - I have worn them to lounge in and to go to the gym in. I wasn't sure about the style but having seen loads on the 'net I thought I'd give it a go. Rather than waste some fabric if I didn't like them I decided to use a pair of Husband's jersey PJ's that he no longer wears, There was just the right amount of fabric to cut out the legs from the pj legs, then I used the co-ordinating t-shirt to cut the waistband, pocket edges and the cuffs.  I really like this pair and would make them in again jersey.  The second pair - hhmmm, not so sure about these. They are also made from Husbands cast-offs - this time some Boden lounging trousers. These are woven and totally the wrong fabric - it is thickish and stiff with no drape at all. I left the cuff off. I haven't worn these once other than for photos, which probably says it all. I think in a softer drapey-er fabric they would be lovely...

jersey pair vs woven pair

Purl Bee City gym shorts x 3
My girls like to wear shorts under their school skirts. For Middlest I had whipped up a jersey pair using a pair of her leggings as a guide. That was fine, but I realised that she was also using another pair of shorts as an alternative. This was a pair of Primark's finest, quite sporty in cut and using a thin silky fabric.  I had been checking Kollabora at around the same time and seen quite a few of these City Gym Shorts which is a free pattern from Purl Soho. They looked to be pretty similar to the Primark shorts so I offered to whip some up. I used a couple of Husbands old work shirts, again if the pattern didn't work or the girls didn't like them it wouldn't be a waste of 'good fabric'. I used the Women's sizes for both girls (aged 9 and 13) and found that the pair I made for Youngest didn't fit at all. I inserted a panel between the front and back pieces and she likes this better than the original. Middlest's fit ok, but they both said that they got a bit of a wedgie at the back - but not enough to not wear them.

I then made another pair, possibly for me, out of an old White stuff skirt that no longer fitted me. I scooped out the crotch curve a bit at the back on this pair, using the Hudson Pant pattern as a guide. Eldest saw them on my sewing table and asked who they were for.  I said she could have them if she wanted and they promptly disappeared (I don't currently have a photo of this pair).

Self drafted skirt
This is again using one of the patterns drawn up in my class. I wanted a shortish linen skirt with a little kick/flip at the hem. I used a pattern for an eight panelled skirt, but mashed it together to make it four panelled. It kind of worked, but I didn't quite get the flippiness I wanted. It's close enough though. Because most of the ladies in my class are beyond 'a certain age', all the skirts that we drafted are very modest in length. To get this skirt the length I wanted, I had to take out nearly 6 inches/15cm and could probably have taken a bit more. To keep the flare, the length taken all came from the area between the bottom of the pocket and where the flare started. It sounds more complicated than it was - I basically folded out the excess and hoped for the best!. I am very pleased with it and have worn it a lot.

Linen = creases!

Sad summer
Amongst all of this I have had other things to think about - namely I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in May. Since the diagnosis I have sentinel node biopsy as part of a research project, a lumpectomy and sentinel node removal operation including repositioning of my nipple to keep things looking nice in the future, a contrast MRI to check for signs in my other boob, and a further lumpectomy to remove cancer cells that were not removed in the first op. This is probably not the best time to be writing this as it is not even a week since the last operation and I am feeling pretty wobbly about the whole thing. The nice tidy job that was pretty much healed and looking ok, is not looking quite so tidy now. The surgeon said I will probably need some sort of reconstruction at some point, but we get the results from this op next week and then we will find out what the next stage of treatment will be. I will keep sewing as I find making stuff is important to being me. There may be more selfless sewing, although I think I am pretty good at that! I am not sure what effect the next stages of treatment are going to have on my body so I don't know what I will be sewing for me - I may just move the focus away from my top half and make a few more bottom half items - who knows.