What have I been sewing?: August 2016

I'm a little bit late on writing this post, but for some reason August just flew by and before I knew it, we're almost halfway through September! 

If you remember a few posts ago, I said that I'm going to try and push myself a bit further, by either choosing more difficult patterns or by using a fabric which needs to be pattern matched a little more carefully. I've (semi) successfully achieved that in August and I couldn't be more proud of myself! I also invested in an Adjustoform and I'm extremely pleased with my purchase. I'd been umming and ahhing for near enough a year now and finally took the plunge early August (shortly after payday...). I have to admit, this has spooked me more than once in the middle of the night. 

Moving on...the first sew of August was another Colette Aster blouse. 

This fabric is just...so gorgeous. It's a really nice quality cotton, something that I wouldn't normally go for. My Mum actually purchased this a few months ago from Rags in Worcester town center but never got round to using it, and if I'm being honest, I'd dropped a hint more than once that I loved this fabric and in the end, me and my Mum ended up doing a fabric swap. I'd given her a stretch cotton fabric which would be perfect for the sort of dress that she wanted to make, I had bought the fabric months and months ago and just never felt inspired enough to use it. All in all, a good swap. 

I completely forgot to make this blouse a little smaller before I cut the pattern out, so it does gape a little. I may end up taking this in an inch or so either side to make it less...tent like. Now, for my first go at real pattern matching, I'm actually quite proud of this. I'm about a cm off or so on the front, but it isn't that noticeable if I pull the one side down a little. The only other place that's not that perfectly matched is along the yolk on the back, however as I have extremely long hair, I bet 99% of people aren't even going to notice it. I must say, I'm quite happy with this, and can see me getting a lot of wear out of it in the upcoming autumn months. 

The second, and last, sew of August was the New Look 6449. 

This took up so much of my time. I had one solid week where I spent around 2 hours a night tackling this, so all in all, it probably took me around 8-10 hours to sew, but I'm honestly so proud of myself for actually persevering with this. I'm not even ashamed to say I cried over this dress, I really did feel like giving up because as soon as I noticed I'd done one thing wrong, everything seemed to be going wrong. I ended up cutting out the largest size because that's what matched my bust size and to be honest, the rest of the fit is actually perfect! It's not too baggy but I will wear this with a belt, like I do with all of my dresses. But, without a belt, it's actually quite tailored to my shape, which is quite weird as I hadn't done any alterations whatsoever. If you follow Sew Over It on youtube, you'll recognise this fabric from Lisa's 1970's vintage shirt dress review and whilst it wasn't the nicest fabric to work with, it's certainly one I instantly fell in love with when I saw it. I need to be really careful when I iron it though...I have a feeling this will burn really, really easily. 

I found this pattern quite difficult to follow, but that's due to my own ignorance. I'm happy to say I learnt a LOT whilst sewing this pattern...before now, I never knew what a continuous lap was, or how to sew a cuff onto an arm or a collar on to a neckline. It's by far the most advanced garment I've made and no, it's not perfect. The pattern matching is a few cm off on the front where the buttons are and the arms ended up being a little too big (that's one thing I'd downsize next time) but I am just. so. friggen. pleased. with myself! 

I haven't had chance to begin sewing in September so far, but I am having quite a hectic time lately at work and by the time I get home, I'm so tired that I just want to chill out and not do anything. I'll see if I can find the time to squeeze in a few simple sews! 

♥

What have I been sewing? : July 2016

Can anyone else believe we're already in August? July literally flew by for me, and sadly, I didn't get much time to make any garments this month. That being said, I did a few alterations for other people and managed to fix my first zip on a pair of jeans, so not a completely wasted month! 

I only managed to sew two garments for myself this month, both new patterns which I've had for a while but never really got round to printing the patterns out and sticking them together. 

First make for this month was my Sew Over It Pussy Bow Blouse. Please excuse the un-ironed finished product, I'm not the best at remembering to do that before I take photos! 

I'm not going to lie, I really, really didn't like this pattern when I started cutting the fabric. There isn't actually anything wrong with the pattern but you know when you have that feeling when you start out on something, and you just know it's not really your cup of tea? That's the feeling I had when I started out with this. I did make a few alterations, one being that I made this a sleeveless top. I'm not a person for sleeves, at all, but if I were to make this in a different fabric, I probably would sew them in (e.g in a plain fabric rather than a floral!). I also made the front pieces slightly larger at the front seam to allow more space for my chest but low and behold, it wasn't actually enough space and I still could have made it fractionally bigger to make it more comfortable. I did make the largest size as I find the SOI patterns do run slightly small, so when I do re-trace this PDF pattern onto brown wrapping paper, I will grade it up a size or two. 

The neckline on this top drove me absolutely insane. I couldn't get the center front part to sit properly, and I hate hand stitching as it is, but I think it turned out really nice. 

But, all in all, I actually really like how this top turned out. If I saw this in a shop, I probably wouldn't buy it but because I've put the effort in to making it, I actually love it. Well done Sew Over It, you've converted me to yet another style of clothing I wouldn't have worn if I had purchased it directly from a shop. 

My second make for this month was the Colette Aster blouse. I've only worn this top once when I was in London last weekend, so please excuse the rubbish hotel bathroom photo! 

I had SO many problems trying to print this pattern out, it's unreal. My printer just refused to download the pattern and actually print it out, it even got to the stage where my laptop had a few bashes and a few swear words were thrown around! After what seemed like forever I actually managed to get the pattern printed out and again, I didn't really like the look of this when I was cutting out the fabric. I think it really has just been one of those months, July. 

I, again, made this sleeveless as I tend to wear a lot of cardigans / jackets, and I actually don't think I'd put the sleeves on this either. I made a size 20 as I generally tend to go by my bust measurement as its the largest (I don't mind having extra baggage around my stomach, I end up tucking half of my tops into skirts/trousers anyway), but I really do think I could've made a couple of sizes smaller in this as the sizing on this top is very generous. 

I actually quite enjoyed making this top, as it was the first time I'd ever used the buttonhole function on my machine. I am so surprised at how easy it was! I'll definitely be making more garments with buttons on. I think I also stretched the neckline out on this ever so slightly, or I don't know if it's not sitting right because it's just a tad too big. I can definitely still wear it though, it just means I'd have to be a little more careful if I bend over, otherwise it'd be cleavage galore...but as I said, I will definitely make this again, just a size or two smaller!

I've only got a few makes planned for August, but I'm not sure when I'll have the time to get these sewn up as I'm attempting some patterns which are a little more time consuming. Challenge accepted! 

♥

What have I been sewing? : June 2016

June has been a wonderful month for me in terms of having spare time to myself, my other half has worked a couple of Saturdays this month so I've been up and about super early when he's gone to work, meaning I've had plenty of time to get my act together and bulk out my me-made wardrobe. 

First of all, I've made two self drafted skirts. One was made in a slightly stretchy, lightweight denim, and the other was made in a woollen fabric which I had leftover from making a cape late last year. 

Each of these skirts were made using 1m of fabric and a length of elastic, I really can't believe how easy they were to make! I even made the woollen one with pockets, which was my first time in inserting pockets into a garment. I was surprisingly shocked at how easy this was too. These skirts are simply made by hemming the bottom edge and creating a channel for the elastic to run through on the top, folding the fabric in half and then sewing up the side. I think these literally took me about half an hour to sew up. I can see myself making sooo many of these as I've worn these two to death already! 

Next up are the two tops I've made this month. 

I've used the Sew Over It Ultimate Shift Dress pattern again for these tops and cut them off at the "top length" line. I really love the shape of these tops as they look lovely regardless of whether they're tucked into skirts and jeans, or even just left un-tucked. 

Again, the photo I've taken of these tops really do not do them any justice. Especially the one on the right, I think this is my favourite fabric I've ever bought. It's so bright and colourful, every time I pick it out of my wardrobe it instantly brightens my day. You may not be able to tell, but I've also used the last of my rabbit print fabric making a shift top. 

My sewing plans for July include making a few more skirts out of the fabric I have left and also possibly making a pinafore dress out of a lovely purpley-green tartan fabric I've purchased. I also want to try making a few more knit items as opposed to viscose, however I've put myself on a fabric-buying-ban until I've used everything in my stash! 

'til next time!

♥

What have I been sewing? : May 2016

Let me just say one thing before I start. I really, really do not like this hot weather. Being a natural ginger, I feel the heat quite easily and if I'm being honest, I struggle! Although it is nice to actually have a summer this year, it would also be nice if I could go a day without feeling like I'm melting. 

Okay, now I've had my little whinge, I'm finally getting round to reporting my makes for May 2016 - this month was relatively quiet in the sewing front as I just couldn't find the time to do it, however what I had made, I actually really like. I'm a bit miffed that I didn't join in with Me Made May but I just simply didn't have the time to get everything made so I could wear "me made" items throughout the whole month, but there's always next year, right!

First item was my McCalls 7200 Kimono jacket (view C), and yes, I made it in the bunny fabric. I've actually come to the end of this fabric now, but I'm super happy with how this turned out. 

I first laid eyes on this pattern when I was browsing through katemakesadress on instagram and thought, Philly, you need this in your life if it's that simple to make. This was a relatively simple item so put together, once I had figured out the instructions. For the life of me, I could not read these instructions and understand them. My Mum had also read them and looked at me like "what are you even on about..." but something just wasn't letting them sink in to my head!

The only alteration I had to make was that I had to readjust where the tie-belt straps were sewn in. Due to me being quite short, the location of the straps meant that they were sitting right on my bum and it really didn't look right, so I moved them up a few inches and now they're sitting perfectly on my waist. 

Would I make this again? Yes, I think I would. I'd probably make it a little shorter though, as this is quite long on me but I suppose it's quite good as it does cover my bum, so if I do end up having leggings on which are slightly...see through...at least my dignity is covered on my derrier! I'd also make it in a plain(er) fabric so that I could wear it with more of my clothes. I love how versatile this pattern is and how I actually like what it looks like both tied up at the front and also at the back. 

My second make for May was a Sew Over It Ultimate Shift dress top. Now, I don't have any decent photos of this top as of yet so bare with me - the photo I do have does not do this fabric any justice though! 

Apologies for this being horrendously creased in this photo, I'd taken this top to Cardiff with me and didn't realise how easily it'd crease! As much as I love viscose, this one really does crease easily. 

This top only took me around 2 hours to make, as I've really managed to master this pattern. I think this is probably the 5th time I've used this pattern now (3 dresses and 2 tops) however the first time I'd tried to make a top out of the pattern, I really didn't like how it looked. I don't know if it was because of the sleeves or whatever but it just really didn't look right. 

A few alterations were made to make this top fit me better. I increased the size of this by about an inch and a half each side, as I wanted the fit to be slightly baggier. I also missed off the facings and used a single turned over hem to finish off the arm holes, neckline and bottom hem and I actually like how it turned out. It's extremely comfy to wear and I've already got another 2 pre-cut and ready to start sewing this morning. 

The one thing I love about this pattern is that it just suits every body type. I'm not the smallest of girls by any means, but this dress pattern, and top pattern for that matter, really make me feel a little slimmer. 

 So those are my two makes for May 2016! As I said above, a relatively quiet month on the sewing front, however June is already under way and I've managed to make something already, so hopefully I'll have my other items finished and I'll actually get that post up on time by the end of June...

'til next time! 

♥

What have I been sewing? : April 2016

Now the trees are turning a little bit greener and the flowers are in full bloom, I'm finally feeling a little bit better and more optimistic about everything. I had a week or so where I felt like I was at a dead end, but truth be told, I've had a bit of time to myself to think about everything and I feel much better for doing so! 

Jumping right in to what I've been sewing, I didn't make a lot last month with moving back home, settling back in etc. I only made two dresses from patterns I already have but made them sleeveless so that I can wear them in both the summer and winter! 

The first dress I made was a Merchant and Mills dress shirt in a navy and pink arrow print shirting cotton from Fabworks, which was £5.00 per meter.

This is a gorgeous fabric and it's really surprised me at just how durable it is. I've never used a "proper" shirting cotton before but you can definitely tell the difference! I opted to make this dress sleeveless as I'd already tried setting in the sleeves, but it just didn't look right! I've found that I've worn this more since taking the sleeves out and I suppose I could wear this with a long sleeved top underneath when it becomes winter again. This didn't take too long to make and set the sleeves in initially, but I had set it aside for quite a while whilst I moved house and settled in, but in total I'd say it probably took me around 3 hours. 

The second item I'd made was another Sew Over It ultimate shift dress in a rabbit print viscose from thetextilecentre on eBay. I've purchased fabric from this online shop a couple of times and I've been so impressed with the quality of the fabric so far. 

Not the best photos but I absolutely love this dress. I made it slightly bigger than I normally would have done and also sleeveless, I think I actually prefer this dress without the sleeves! Again, I've left the sleeves off so I can wear a long sleeved top underneath. 

Now, I've got a couple of new posts lined up and also a review of my new Singer sewing machine, which will hopefully be posted within the next week or so.

'til next time! 

♥

What have I been sewing? - January & February 2016

Can anyone else believe we're almost at the end of February already? Time just seems to be flying by! 

I've been a busy little bee when it comes to sewing, I've really come to love it. I think I've sewn 4 or 5 different things over the last two months, and here they are! 

New Look 6073 Cape Coat

It's a well known fact that I don't wear coats, I just HATE how restrictive they are! I've been eyeing up capes in shops for a while but refused to pay £30+ for a decent one. After searching the internet for what seemed about 10 minutes, I found this pattern and instantly loved it. I picked the pattern up for £2.50 off ebay and the fabric I had bought cost me £4.00 per meter (I bought 2.5m just to be certain) and the fastenings cost me about £1.00 each . I made this in an evening, so it only took me around 3 hours to make (if that!). The only part I found difficult was the hood, as I had never attempted a pleat before but after practicing on some scrap fabric, I think it turned out okay! 

I love the fit of this cape and I've had so many compliments on it already, although I think I may line it with a dark fabric just to make it look a bit more "finished". It's really warm and although it's a little bit on the heavy side, I can see me wearing this a lot when it's cold! 

Oh and one more thing, it totally makes me feel like I should be in Harry Potter, or at least take part in the Victorian Fare in Worcester when it's on... 

Sew Over It Ultimate Shift Dress

I've already made a post about my first shift dress, but I couldn't help but make another... I'm searching for more fabric to make this dress out of so I can bulk up my workwear wardrobe. 

The first shift dress I'd made was out of a polyviscose in a gorgeous black/white/grey floral print. The fabric was £8.00pm, I purchased 2m but I still have a LOT left over, so I think I might make a shift top from the remaining fabric. If you want to read more about the ins and outs of this pattern, head over to this post which will tell you more. 

The second dress I'd made was out of a mid weight denim fabric which I'd eyed up in Hobbycraft (£6pm). Now I never ever buy fabric from Hobbycraft, but I loved the deep blue colour of this denim, I think it's going to look really nice once it starts fading a bit! 

The denim fabric was lovely to work with, it didn't stretch/pucker anywhere unlike the polyviscose, but surprisingly has a lot of ease to it. Again, I had a lot of fabric left over so I've actually made a shift top from the remaining fabric, however this is yet to be finished! 

Merchant & Mills Dress Shirt

I just want to say one thing about this pattern. I. Love. It. I'd noticed Merchant & Mills in Liberty of London when I'd visited my Sister over new year but didn't even think to pick a pattern up (I later picked this up for £12.50 from FloJo online) but knew I'd be looking at pattern reviews online a little more! 

The fabric I'd bought was a a bit of a risk as it was from Ebay. Normally I wouldn't do this as I can't feel the fabric unless I order a swatch, but for £2.50pm, it wasn't the end of the world if it was a complete let down. However, I LOVE this fabric. It's such a nice lightweight denim and it has a lovely colour to it. 

I ended up making a size 18 as I wanted this to be quite a loose fitting dress, however I had to adapt it slightly. When I'd measured it up, the length of the dress was pretty much just above my ankles which would have looked ridiculous, if I remember I had to take about 7-8 inches off the length just so it sat at my knee! However, the instructions were easy to follow and I actually mastered the pleat at the front! 

Needless to say, I'm already searching for a lot more different fabrics to make this pattern out of. I love pairing this dress with a brown waist belt and a scarf to make it look like a complete outfit. 

There's my creations from January & February 2016! I already have a stash of 4 different fabrics which I plan on making shift tops from which I plan on starting this weekend, so expect another post relatively soon featuring those! 

'til next time!

♥