Rainbow Denim Ness Mini

Hi guys, I'm here to share my latest sewing project with you, not because its anything spectacular, but because its something I spent a lot of time and energy on an I felt it deserved a bit of lime light. I have been doing a lot of thinking about sustainability lately, and about the fact that fashion is one of the biggest pollutants on the planet today. Sewing of course has its part to play here, so I have been trying more and more to think carefully about what I am sewing to make sure that its something that I will get use out of, and will last a long time.

Rainbow Mrs Tumble PJs

Does anyone else out there love nothing more than getting home and throwing on a pair of PJs? I know I can't be the only one, and just how adorable are these, they bring me pure joy. Mr Fox does keep calling me Mrs Tumble when I wear them though!

Too much pink? Cotton lawn Margot PJ's

It seems like every sewing book has a pattern for a pair of simple PJs but anyone actually ever make these? Well I did! Check these babies out. Actually, after doing a quick search on Pinterest it turns out a lot of you do enjoy making a comfy pair of pyjama bottoms and your all very good at it. For me they have always just been a bit uninspiring, if I am going to put the time and effort into some sewing I want to make sure everyone gets to see how amazing it is. Having said that though, having a little boy, being up at all hours, and lazy half asleep mornings I have found a new love for PJs so maybe I should start thinking about making a few more of these.

As I mentioned in my last post, whilst sewing my way through Tilly's Love at first stitch I want to try experimenting with new fabrics and techniques to make sure I get something new out of these makes. For the PJs I chose to use a cotton lawn. Two reasons; firstly I don't really have any warm weather night wear and secondly the last time I tried to use a cotton lawn it all got chewed up, I got very annoyed and the project basically just got thrown out in a sorry mess! This time I have decided it's time to wrangle that beast and I've taken on board Tilly's tips on using a finer sewing machine needle and this seems to have made a huge difference. It actually stitched up perfectly fine this time. What was I getting so stressed about? Hoorah. The only downside of these bottoms is that the lawn is pretty see through and so my pants are very visible through them (hence the reason you are not getting a shot of these from behind!). Definitely just something for slouching about in when only the husband and baby are going to be around. 

Great Tip: if you are making something like this with long straight lines a spotty print is amazing, it's so easy to line up and cut along the dots.

The pattern as usual was a doddle to follow and really clear with instructions and images. This section had us learning how too choose fabric, lay out the pattern and mark the instructions. The notches on the pattern were brilliant and lined up perfectly for me which is always a big help. The only issue I had was sewing the waistband. I could not get it to sit flat no matter how I folded or pinned it and so it's quiet puckered and generally not very well done. I'm assuming this was just one of those off sewing days we all have but I couldn't get rid of the ease. Though I figured the whole waistband gathers when you tie it so who's going to care? The other thing is I cut these in my actual size despite having a huge preference for baggy loungewear. I always buy a size bigger when buying pyjamas, why on earth didn't I do the same to this when I was cutting out the pattern? 

The next pattern in the book is the Delphine A line skirt, I'm excited to get on to some actual clothing makes. I'm a much bigger fan of the patterns further on in this book and the temptation to skip is huuuuge! But nope, on track one at a time, I might surprise myself with one of these patterns or learn something amazing, who knows! 

Have you ever made a pair of PJs? How did it go? and particularly, what fabric did you use? Tell me tell me!

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.

Upcycled Pure Wool Chataigne Shorts (and probably my new favourite pattern!)

This post might be a bit picture heavy, but its worth it to see my fwuffy cat come and join in the shoot!

Moving on... this pattern is a winner and definitely my new favourite. Will you get mad at me if I just keep making various versions of this for a while? Its probably going to get a bit samey right? Personally I LOVE a good pair of shorts. They are so comfortable to wear, you can sit down without worrying about anyone seeing your knickers, look good with or without tights and they are also great under short dresses to keep a bit of decency.

About the Pattern:
Pattern: Deer and Doe Chataigne (chestnut) Shorts
Size: 38
Material: Pure Wool thrifted from a charity shop skirt
Alterations: Absolutely zilch! 

 

This is my first pattern from Deer and Doe and I was a bit worried that sewing a pair of shorts might be a bit complicated, I mean you need to make seperate legs and everything, but this was actually a lot easier than I suspected. The pattern packet is pretty, the instructions are incredibly clear and the pattern was simple enough yet well drafted.

I normally don't have any fit issues when I buy off the rack shorts so I didn't make any adjustments to this pattern and they turned out perfectly. This will definitely not be my last Deer and Doe pattern purchase *runs off to drool over the other patterns...

The first time I saw this pattern on the website I knew that I wanted to make these in a pure wool. I prefer to wear a pair of shorts with tights and I thought using a wool would make a really versatile garment which I can wear right into the coldest of winter months. However, pure wool fabric is not the cheapest to get your hands on. Having never sewn with it before, or used the pattern I didn't want to spend a fortune on the material, so whilst I was recently browsing some of our local charity shops I found a very long, rather large, very pleased pink pure will skirt which cost me a mere £6. It still had the shop label in so the thing was practically brand spanking, except I assume it sat in someones wardrobe for a while. Looking at it I could tell that if I unpicked all those pleats I was going to have one quiet large piece if material to work with. This turned out perfectly and I had more than enough to make up the skirt.

 

You can still see the pleats in the front (close up anyway), but do you know what, I kind of like the little reminder of where the material came from, and I am sure after a few washes these will be out completely. Also, check out my invisible zipper below... is pretty invisible right! so pleased with how much better I am getting at inserting these things. It turns out you really won't get sucked into a black hole and the world won't end if you have to try mastering this! Its really not as bad as all that.

Do you have a favourite sewing pattern that you just return to over and over? Or one that just fits so perfectly you were really pleased with it. I would love to hear all about them. You never know, they might then become one of my, or another readers new favourite as well.

New Year, New Dresses!

This year I will be ringing in the New Year in my new hand sewn Velvet Prom Dress:

The dress is the prom dress pattern from the great British sewing bee book. This is the first time I ever bothered to make a toile before just hacking straight into my nice expensive fabric. I have to admit it was a good idea given that I have never inserted an invisible zip, or used my new invisible zipper sewing machine foot. The toile came out pretty well for a first attempt and I actually think the fit on this version came out better then the finished one. The material is some thick cotton I was given a whole roll of for free and has a black strip in it. Its pretty think and heavy with just a slight stretch to it held the shape of the dress really well. I actually think I need to hem this (and hide the white zipper!) as its not a horrible dress. I might even be more inclined to wear this one that the velvet one in the future :/

For the actual dress thought I purchased some gorgeous 4 way stretch velvet from the internet specifically to make a dress for New Years. Its the perfect time for velvet, its warm and luxurious, with just a hint of extravagance.I have read some horror stories about working with velvet fabric, but actually this wasn't too distressing at all. I have a walking foot for my machine and I think this helped a lot as i really didn't struggle. The only difficulty I came across was not being able to press the seams easily, but as the fabric is so soft it didn't matter too much. Also, as the hem is a circle, and i can't press it I decided to omit a hem seam. I know this isn't the most professional finish, but the fabric doesn't frey and acts a lot like jersey so I am going to get away with it. It is slightly on the large side, which I am going to blame on the stretch and the weight of the fabric. The fabric acts a lot differently to the stuff in the toile but I can chalk that down to experience for next time. Sorry about the pictures, its a really dull day, and the fabric is not the best for showing off the seams.

The pattern was really simple to follow. It is down as something for the more experienced sewer but I think as long as you have some common sense about it this one is really easy. The pieces fit together well and there are not too many of them. I have to admit that I omitted the interfacing (you can't iron it on to velvet, that and I didn't have any!). I also didn't include the boning because after cutting it up and tacking it on to the bodice i realised the fabric was not firm enough (too stretchy) to hold it and it just made the bodice an odd shape. I would definitely make this again, I even have some leopard cotton I might use. However I have to admit I would prefer straps rather than a halterneck (a bra is an important thing to me) and I would prefer a centre back zip to a side one. But I would recommend giving this pattern a go if you have the boo, its very versatile. I have visions of leopard bodices with black skirts, or sequined bodices with a black skirt. There are endless possibilities here to use different fabrics and colour combinations.

Thank you for checking out this post, and if you got this far, I want to wish you a very happy New Year xx