StyleArc Nina Cardigan in bold leopard print

Hi there, I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, did anyone get up to any sewing? Have you heard the amazing news that Sewing Bee is back on British TV on Feb 12th? That's less than 3 weeks away, I couldn't be more excited! But anyway that't not why I am here, I am here to tell you all about this StyleArc Nina cardigan which is my most recent make and a big tick for the first project in my #makenine2019 list. If your not sure what this is head over to instagram and have a little goosey.

Its the first time I have ever made a cardigan so its nice to add a new skill to my repertoire, and this fabric has been in my stash for at least 12 months so I am happy to finally give it a lease of life. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with this make and I will go into more details about that below.

I found time to make a whole dress!

 

Woo Hoo! I got my sew on! So, as I wrote about in the last couple of posts, I decided to bite the bullet and instead of waiting for all the maternity weight to drop off I jumped in and made a dress which fits my current size. Why did I do it? simply put its because the weight is not shifting as fast as I would like and I'm fed up of having nothing to wear that I fit into! Too small for maternity and too big for my regular wardrobe. I wanted something a bit nicer to wear that wasn't a pair of leggings and an oversized cardi for a change.

As part of my recent fabric splurge I bought this very cheap striped cotton sateen from ebay (it was like £3.50 a meter or something stupid) so thought sod it, at that price it doesn't matter if I don't get that much wear out of it. 

The dress is a hack of the top part of Cynthia Rowley 1873 (which was free from a magazine) and the skirt from the belladone dress by Deer and Doe. I didn't like the skirt that was part of the Cynthia Rowley pattern but because of the stripes I needed something with a pleat rather than a circle skirt to keep them straight. The belladone skirt pattern worked perfectly. I had to do a bit of playing with the darts and pleats to get them to sit in line with the bodice but I'm really pleased with how they came out. It also includes a cheeky pocket which I love (even if it does accentuate the hip).

I REALLY tried with this dress to get the stripes to match across all pieces, which I wasn't far off, but I could hear May Martin in my head the whole time I was doing this telling me that it's a shame that they are slightly off. The perfectionist in me really wanted to pull the thing apart and re-sew the seam a fraction of an inch to get them perfect. Thankfully the realist in me took over and made me realise that it had already taken me three weeks to do about four hours of sewing so it just wasn't a sensible idea. I think for the meantime I just have to accept that having something wearable is the end goal, not something which is a thing of perfection. Also, sleepless nights are not very conducive to perfect sewing!  

 

I have learnt a bit about fitting to my new post pregnancy shape as well. Needless to say, my bust has grown, and so has my waist. So taking these measurements (and the finished bust size on the pattern) I cut out my new size, which graded from a 12 in the bust to a 14 in the waist (this scares my pre-size 6 waisted self) and stitched it up without any bust adjustment as it didn't imply I needed any with this new bigger size. Well, turns out, just because my bust and waist are bigger, it doesn't mean my back has grown, turns out my back and shoulders are pretty much the same as they were before. Next time I need to do a bust adjustment and grade from a smaller size in the back and shoulders to a bigger size at the bottom. The result of this is that the neck and shoulder lines are a bit baggy, but that's nothing a good cardigan (which I never don't wear anyway) won't hide. Thankfully the bust darts are sitting ok on this.

So despite the things that bug me about this dress, there are a few things I am really proud of. Firstly, I did my first bit of topstitching to make the facing stay to the inside. That stuff actually works! Who knew, and it was very neat. I am really pleased with the movement of the pleats and darts to get them to line up, the side seams aren't perfect, but they are pretty darn close, and finally, the pockets. I love that these babies are done with a different fabric, it just takes away from the dominant stripe a bit. You can probably guess I did this on purpose because the thought of trying to match the stripe across the pocket as well just made my brain hurt, but I do like the outcome. The fabric was some of the free polka dot cotton which came free with the first issue of the new Simply Sewing Mag. Thankfully I still have enough left to make the headband pattern from the insert.

 

So in the end I have made myself a cute little dress which I can wear out and about, despite a few flaws and problems along the way. I hope you like it and can forgive me my little sewing faux pahs, at the end of the day, I have decided I don't care ;) 

Leather and Lace!

 Leather Bow Wrist Cuff

So, we are nearly at the final of the 3rd season of the great British sewing bee. I have loved this season so far and I can't wait to see what they need to make in the final episode. I was a bit sad though to see Deborah leave, she made some great fabric choices in her makes. I am going to have to make sure I keep an eye on what she gets up too after the bee (you can find her blog here: http://dfabricate.blogspot.co.uk/)

Colette Zinnia skirt in lace and silk crepe

I loved the theme of this week! Leather and lace have to be my favourite of all wardrobe fabrics ;) it's just a shame they aren't easier to sew with. I have done a couple of small leather accessories but never a whole outfit (can you imagine the cost!!). It did however make me have a little look back at some of the lace projects I have made which I am still super proud of, especially the zinnia skirt, I can't wait to fit into this again! 

Take a look at a couple of the other leather and lace projects I've managed over the last year: 

 Lace and cotton sateen prom dress from the first GBSB book

DIY leather bow elasticated belt tutorial

Jersey and lace Lady Skater

The good news is I have actually nearly finished my dress, so hopefully I can take advantage of this weeks lovely weather and get the pictures taken ready to show off for you next week. 

I'm also hoping to make a couple of book purchases, and hopefully issue 2 of the new simply sewing mag will land on my doorstep next week so there will be plenty to keep me inspired and entertained. 

Whatever you are up to this week I hope you enjoy it. 

Sewing inspiration on a more personal front

 New fabrics, I need to take notes of Alex's faux pas cherry print matching on GBSB this week

I have been doing a bit of DIY this week but instead of posting about that I wanted to write something a bit more personal instead.

I'm not sure whether its the New Year, giving birth, thoughts of spring or the return of things like sewing bee but my drive to want to get some garment sewing done is really overwhelming at the moment. I am feeling so inspired and have so many ideas and things I want to make.

The issue I have is that I am feeling quiet down about my figure at the moment. I realise its only been 8 weeks since giving birth and I cant expect to be back to my old self immediately but I just don't feel overly comfortable in my own skin right now. I am doing everything I can now to try and get back to my old self again; the diet is on and I am snatching as much exercise as I can between naps.

More new fabrics, mostly knits, I love the chevron

 

Now I can cope with this, it's a fact of life, but it does hamper my sewing drive somewhat. The great thing about sewing clothes for yourself is so that you can have something which is a truly great fit. However, as the time I have to spare to do sewing is minimal now I really need to make the most of it. This means that I don't particularly want to sew clothes for my current shape, as its a shape I don't intend to be in for long, as a result sewing isn't really a productive use of my time. It's great to make stuff, but not if you put your heart and sole into something which ultimately turns out to be of no use as you can never wear it.

 Not completely selfish sewing, you can clearly see a baby pattern here :)

So, how am I challenging this inspiration that I can't put to any use? Well I'm stocking up my fabric and pattern stashes of course (I may be going a bit overboard!) so that once I am back to my fighting weight I can jump straight in at the deep end and starting making stuff ASAP. The problem is the more I buy the less decisive I get on what I actually want to sew! 

Can we class 90's grunge era as 'vintage' sewing? I hope so! I got this pattern from ebay showing its age by the celeb styles of Pheobe from Friends and Frasier's wife!

So I think you can see the theme of my inspiration is dresses, dresses and more dresses. I never used to wear them as being an extreme hourglass figure store bought dresses either fit in the bust/hips but drown my waist or fit in the waist and I bulge out of everywhere else. I am looking forward to tackling this later in the year to try and get some more dresses into my wardrobe. Sadly the girls are not any smaller after this adventure, which was not something I needed, so I am going to have to be brave and tackle all form of full bust adjustments head on. Hopefully once I conquer it there will be no stopping me.

On a side note about dresses I loved the fabric of Deborah's dress on GBSB this week. I need to put it on re-run so I can check the writing on the weft! Not sure its my style put it was a very pretty print.

Do you have any ways of channeling your inspiration when you can't make things when you wanted, or have you been inspired to do some sewing since the return of sewing bee? Tell me all about it. 

DIY baby pants tutorial

With the GBSB starting again this week its the perfect opportunity for me to show you how to make a pair of fabulous little boy (or girl) pants from an old t-shirt (or some new jersey fabric, we aren't fussy).

You will need:
A old jersey shirt or fabric
Paper and Pen
Fabric Scissors
Overlocker or Sewing machine with zigzag stitch
A pair of baby trousers to use as a template (I have included my pattern for 0-3m which you can download for free here).

Start by washing an ironing your old shirt, we don't want the pants to include any sweaty pits, or left over baked beans do we.

Take a pair of trousers that you already own for your little monkey and fold them in half. Lay the half on top of a piece of paper and draw around the outside but stop where the waistband and ankle sections are as we need to make separate pieces for these. you will need to add seam allowance to all sides except the outside leg which you will cut on the fold so no seam is required here.

Do the same thing again for the waistband and ankle sections. You will then need to double the height of these pieces as they will be folded in half. For the waist section add a seam allowance to all sides once you have doubled it. For the ankle sections add a seam allowance to the top, bottom and right sides but not the left, you will cut the left piece on the fold.

Cut your t-shirt open along the seam lines so you have a flat section of fabric. Cut 2 leg sections on the fold, 2 ankle bands on the fold and then cut 2 waistbands. The waistband is not cut on the fold because I found that a t-shirt did not have enough fabric left to enable you to do this. Instead cut two and we will join at both sides.

Open up the two leg pieces and with right sides together. Pin the outer top sections only and sew these together. I used an overlocker for neat edges but you can do this just as easily on a regular sewing machine, just make sure to use a zigzag stitch to allow for some stretch when you pull these on and off your baby.

Open up the leg sections again and lay right sides together with the two seams on top of each other in the centre, they should now look like a pair of trousers. Pin the inside leg sections and sew a continuous line from the bottom of one leg to the bottom of the other.

Now you are going to make the waist and ankle sections. With right sides together place the two waistband sections together and pin at either end, sew the two ends together. For the ankle sections, with the fabric still folded as cut sew the open edge together as you did with the waistband.

Now fold all these sections in half hight wise with the wrong sides together so the join seams are on the inside and press.

With the leg sections still right side together place the waistband section inside the top of the leg section with the raw edge at the top and pin all the way around. Sew round this top raw edge making sure you have placed your side seams sensibly and be careful not to get the bottom of the band stuck in the machine. I placed my seams at the sides, but you can line them up with the seams on the leg sections if you prefer.

Using the same technique as for the waistband do the same for the ankle sections.

Now you can turn you pants the right side out and press.

And your done :) These awesome little pants only take about 30 minutes if not less once you have the hang of them. Your little ones will have a new wardrobe in no time!

Its amazing how much better a bit of lippy can make you feel.... oh, and the jade dress hack

Don't you sometimes find that even on the days when you are feeling particularly not that attractive a bit of slap can put you in such a better mood? Thank god for going out for dinner as an excuse rather than just wearing it round the house (though of course there is nothing wrong with that if its making you feel good!).

So anyway... you remember the jade prom dress I made which is for a wedding we are attending next weekend? Well, those halter straps, lets face it, a girl like me needs a bra and I wasn't feeling all that comfortable (or happy) with the dress showing of my straps. What to do about it? Hack off the straps and replace them with some new ones of course. Thankfully the straps from the georgia pattern were perfect for this so I just needed to cut them out and replace them.

The dress pattern allowed for this pretty easily so I attached the straps on the back first then tried the dress on so I could get the length and the placement of the straps just where I needed them to be in the front. This turned out to be a great way to do it, and I will definitely do this with my next version of georgia as it turned out to be a bit like goldilocks... the first ones being too long and the second too short.

So now I can wear my dress with straps and even if its the hottest of hot days when we go off to the wedding next weekend I can wear the dress without the need for a bolero! yippee!

And just because they deserve a picture of their very own... check out the shoes, I so made the dress to match these babies! I LOVE them, they are such a pretty colour. BTW, my legs are not this pale, its just bad photo editing on my part, though I think they were quiet pasty tights.

Lacy Lady Skater

 

Alright, I realise you are probably getting a little bit bored of the lady skater posts now but just one more for now I promise! I spoke about this version a few post back, it is a black lace version of the dress (idea stollen from this fab version by Kollabora (I still think her version is better than mine, I think my lace had waaaay to much stretch in it!!

 

About the Pattern:
Pattern: Lady Skater by Kitschy Koo
Fabric: Black stretch jersey for lining from local market, Black stretch lace from FabricLand
Size: 3
Alterations: Because I wanted the lace skirt to be separate from the the lining (see below) but attached to the lining on the bodice I attached it in a slightly different order. I seamed the side seams of the top and bottom pieces separately and then joined them at the waist rather than joining the two pieces down the side seams.

This pattern is just so amazing, I wanted a new dress for a Saturday night out with friends and although this pieces had been pre cut the whole thing took me less than an hour and a half!! I am not 100% happy with the bottom, I think its a bit wonky, and in hindsight my stretch lace is VERY stretchy and it gets misshapen very easily. I might have been better off attaching the lace to the lining in the skirt as well as the bodice to give it better structure. I am really happy with the clear lace sleeves though.

 

On a completely unrelated note, do you like Mr Fox's new fence? He was very happy with his work so I thought I would use it as a change of scenery so I could show you all. Have you noticed as well that I have decided I want everything in my life to be coral now? I have coral sandals on today, my coral belt yesterday its becoming a major theme in my life. 

We also have a date for the new kitchen, they start on the 23rd June! Eeeek very exciting! I can't wait to see all the shinies, and actually have an oven again! Maybe I need to start looking for some kitchen related crafts/sewing for the blog? Anyone got any ideas? Tea towels just seam a bit obvious! 

Well I hope you all have a lovely weekend, we are set for a scorcher in the UK so I am going to try out the new BBQ (which reminds me I MUST sew the garden chair covers... sigh) but we don't have a lot planned, just enjoying the sunshine and our freedom. Have a lovely one, whatever you are up too. 

 

A Jade Prom Dress

 

Happy Easter Monday. I hope you still have some chocolate left over and haven't pigged it all just yet! Its been great having these days off., me and the Mr haven't done a great deal this weekend, just caught up with some stuff, seen the family etc. Its been nice just to have some time to chill out. One of the fruits of me having this time was that I managed to finish off some sewing. YeHa!

So I bring you my jade lace prom dress which I have been making ready to wear to a wedding in the summer. Now I promise you this was a pure coincidence, but when I was pinning this together I realised the wedding is actually the wedding of our friend Jade, and my dress is Jade! How perfect is that! I swear I couldn't have planned that if I was doing it on purpose!

About the Dress:
Pattern: Prom Dress from the first Great British Sewing Bee Book
Fabric: Jade Cotton Sateen and Black Stretch Lace both from Fabricland
Size: 12
Adjustments: Shortened the straps by about 1.5 inches and removed 2 inches from the bottom

I love this dress pattern, its a really good pattern for a beginner and the fit is great for me with minimal adjustment. There are few pieces and they fit together well and in a logical order. I seriously recommend that anyone who owns this book should make up a version of this dress. I love the way it hangs in the front. I do think that I could have done with it being taken in a little bit under the arms but its not at all noticeable with a shrug on. Having made up a toile in a more sturdy fabric I do think the dress lends itself better to a stiffer fabric that I have used here  so it would be a perfect dress to make using a cotton poplin or cotton lawn for summer, or some drill/twill/brocade for winter.

This version of the dress is made using two layers of fabric, the jade cotton sateen with a layer of black stretch lace over the top. In order to make sure that the pieces didn't slip whilst sewing I decided to (painstakingly) overlock the two layers together around all the pattern pieces before I started to construct the dress. This was a big faff, and it took a while, but I do think it was worth it because I had very little difficulty sewing it up, there was very little movement between the two layers which helped a lot. I really liked working with the cotton sateen, its the first time I have ever used it and its got some great stretch to it. This would have been perfect for a version of the georgia dress.

All in all I am really pleased with this one. I have my concerns that its actually quiet thick and so it might not be perfect for a summer wedding, but if all else fails I have another wedding to attend in October so it will be perfect for that one if its too warm in July.

I will leave you with one final image of me prancing around... did you notice I don't have my hands on my hips once in this post!!

Velvet Circle Skirt

Happy Friday everybody! I am pleased to say that Mr Fox has officially handed in his dissertation now! Yippee! Hopefully this means he can be more relaxed, less stressed, and we will have more time to spend together. He does still have a presentation to do but at least its not as much work. So I am dreaming of sunny beaches and cocktails in my near future.

This weekend I need to go collect a parcel, which I hope is the mats for something special I plan to work on. We will also be going for a hair cut, which I have pursuagded him should be followed by celebration pizza, and the some drinks with friends. All in all feeling very chilled now, especially with the sun shining outside.

On to the skirt. So whilst I was really busy doing all the stuff for project craft I was also secretly working on two simultaneous easy projects. the Lady Skater and this velvet circle skirt. I was trying to be clever and sew them along at the same time so doing all the overlocking on each project then moving on to the machine etc etc. This worked pretty well but all in all it was very disjointed and fragmented. So although I am happy I got them both done shortly after project craft it's definitely not my preferred method of working.

Anywho, on to the skirt. This is my velvet skater/circle skirt (black velvet is such a hard thing to take picture of, I know why goths love it so much, its black as black!). The pattern was taken from the first GBSB book though I made a couple of changes due to it being made from a stretchy velvet. I omitted the zip, and added elastic to the waistband to make it easy to wear.  I also removed a massive 8 inches from the hem. In hindsight, this was way too much, I should have gone for about 6 and hemmed it up with a 1/2 inch double folded hem. It ended up verging on the indecent and I had to sew a really narrow hem on it which hasn't resulted in the neatest finish ever. I also tested the twin needle on the Lady Skater fabric then moved straight on to the velvet. This was not a great plan, the velvet is much thicker and again hasn't made for a great hem.

The elastic waistband was made by joining both seams together to form a circle, but only sewing half way down the seam. I then folded over the waistband and pinned it evenly across the top of the skirt overlocking it in place. Then, using a safety pin, I thread the elastic through the waistband and stitched it together at the desired length to form a circle. I finally closed the hole in the waistband with some hand stitching. I could do with finding a way of securing the velvet in place as it has a tendency to creep within the waistband which is a bit annoying. Does anyone have any tips for this? Maybe I need to re-overlock it catching the elastic in the seam so its secure, though that's a very permanent solution so I need to think on that a bit.

I really need to find another pose, I always seem to have my hands on my hips! Anyone got any suggestions of how I should rock out my next garmet poses? Anywho, that's it from me. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Simplicity 2258

I am cheating a little bit with this post as this is actually something I made around a year ago, post GBSB1, that never made its debut on the internets.

The Pattern: Simplicity 2258

View: C

Fabric: Leopard print cotton (I think quilting)

Fabric Source: Derby Eagle Centre Market

About the pattern: This is the first item of clothing I made from a pattern (apart from a corset) in many many years, I don't know why I feared it so much. I was determined with this pattern that I would follow the instructions and sew it word for word. The pattern is actually really easy to follow and the construction was simple. This actually was the perfect starting project. It has an elasticated waist so no fiddly fastenings, but the pockets and tie make it a bit more interesting.

About the item: I hate it! I mean its really horrible. The skirt itself is really nice and the pockets are really deep and AWESOME, I want to keep my hands in there all day! I like the length as well. However; the elasticated waist is not flattering, I really don't like the tie bit, I know it hides the elasticated bit but it just feels really big, and the shape of it on me just makes me feel like I am wearing a sack. I think a lot of this might be down to the poor fabric choice (I know, I know, novice seamstress sewing in quilters cotton!) but I am reluctant to remake this because of the elasticated waist. It really is a shame as I really want to like it.

 

I am sure one day I will find a suitable fabric/use for this pattern, I maybe need to figure out the darts whilst keeping the pockets and add a zip in there. But that will wait for another day. Do you have any items you love to hate/hate to love? I would be interested to hear about them, I am sure we have all been there done that at some point. 

p.s. I apologise for looking grumpy in these pictures, the neighbours 16yr old son and his mates were hanging out in the garden, and needless to say, I was trying to look less weird than I already did taking pictures of myself in the garden!

I got me an overlocker!

Last weeks edition of The Great British Sewing Bee was so timely as it came just 4 days after I put in my order for my very own overlocker. I am so excited to give this baby a go.

I have never used an overlocker in my life and have no idea where to even start. All I know is that looking at my wardrobe, and the type of clothes I like to wear, they are mostly all made of some sort of jersey or stretch fabric so this will make attempting to sew them so much easier. Now I know I don't NEED an overlocker by any stretch of the imagination, but I came it to a bit of bonus money recently and thought I might as well treat myself. Who doesn't love a new piece of machinery or tool!

I wanted to make sure I did a bit of research first as this was my first time buying one. Things which are looked out for are:

• 3 or 4 Threads: Having the option for either or means that you have a larger range of stitch type options.
• Rolled Hem: This will turn under and overstitch them edge of the fabric, perfect for hemming
• Differential Feed: This is an adjustment to alter the feed so that fabrics don't become too stretched or gathered giving you a beautiful flat seam (see example below).
• Retractable Cutting Knife: Allowing you to sew decorative stitches without cutting the seam
• Colour Coded Threading: Allowing you to see easily how to re-thread the machine
• Adjustable Cutting Width: Change the amount of the seam which is cut
• Variable Seam length and width: Some come with one or the other or neither. I wanted a good variation on this.

I opted for the Janome 9300DX in the end because it was within my price bracket and on comparison gave a good range in stitch adjustments for what I wanted. However if you are thinking about a cheaper version Tilly has been raving about her Brother 1034D.

The picture above shows you what differential feed really means (the clue is so not in the title). It is a dial that changes the amount of 'give', for want of a better word, in the seam stitches. If you look at the top one my differential feed is not set correctly and so the seam is stretched and out of shape (not good). If you turn the dial (up for jersey) then you change the differential feed and you can see this has made everything nice and straight and flat, magic. So that is what differential feed means, I know, I didn't have a monkeys either so don't worry. I will definitely be showing you what happens when I get to have a proper play with this.

Do any of you have an overlocker and have any tips or tricks for me? Alternatively, if you are thinking about one why do you want it? And I hope this post might have given you a bit of an insight in to what to look out for.