Heather: August Sewing Roundup

August seems to be the month the sunshine forgot, so my sewing hasn't been the floral explosion you might have expected! Still lots of nice makes on this month's roundup, and glad I've finally been able to get out in this end of summer sunshine to take some pictures. I've been doing quite a lot of sewing for family this month, including a jacket, skirt and jumpsuit for my sister-in-law. Maybe she will let me share some pics in the future!

I decided to make some more Ginger Jeans this month. You may recall I made my first pair as my 'piece-de-resistance' at the end of my first year's challenge. I wear that pair all the time, so when Sew Essential announced the same denim was available in black, I jumped at the chance to make a second pair. Unfortunately, the path to good jeans did not run smoothly and I, rather over ambitiously, made the new pair a size smaller than the previous, to account for the amount the first pair stretched. Having had an exceptionally successful few hours at the sewing machine (who knew you could make jeans in under 4 hours?!), I was absolutely furious when I reached the first fitting stage, and they were so tight that the zipper broke (seriously, even the teeth fell out) when I tried them on. Lots of seams let out, a new, and repositioned, zip later and they are a pretty good fit, even if they did cause me some serious stress at the time. 

Doing my best teapot impression in my new Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans

I added some metallic top stitching to the pockets and some detail areas, and was very impressed with how well the Gutermann thread showed up on the dark background. (Still furious about the zip though!)

I stumbled across the Nina Lee London Kew Dress entirely by accident, and I had purchased this lovely parasol print cotton lawn with the intention of making a(nother) Sew Over It Vintage Shirt dress. But I immediately fell in love with the sleeves, and the slight high-low hem ,and the buttons and... well, you get the idea. So I laid the pattern out at about 4pm one afternoon, went to bed at 11pm and stitched the last of the buttons on before work at 6.30am. Mad? Maybe. But totally worth it for such a nicely fitting dress, and lovely to use up a good chunk of my inherited button stash in one go.

Nina Lee Kew Dress in floral cotton lawn

I liked the Kew Dress so much that I also decided it was the solution to my disastrous Seamwork Veronica Dress. I think you'll agree it's much improved?!

Here's my version of the Colette patterns Sencha Blouse, made for a work "away-day" as a smarter top to wear with jeans. The finished garment is actually much altered from the picture I have shared because, on completion, I realised that the bust-to-shoulder length was far too long and actually ended up strangling me a bit. Plus the difference between my bust and waist measurement is only a few inches, so I had to grade and move the majority of the darts to make it work. I actually ended up taking the back darts out completely.  I'm pleased with the finished top but it's very unlikely that I'll make another one. 

Colette patterns Sencha Blouse in printed linen from Weaverdee.

I'm totally head over heels for my next make; the Parrot dress, otherwise known as Butterick 6318. The pattern was free with Love Sewing last month, and I nearly didn't keep it. Undeniably the pattern is lovely, but I've had a few 'misses' from that kimono sleeve (see Veronica Dress above) and I didn't have a piece fabric 'in stock' for the 3m requirement. I spotted this parrot print cotton entirely by chance on the Fabric Guild Facebook page and chanced buying 3 yards (yes, yards, be careful when you place your order...!). 

I made quite a few adjustments to the pattern, shortening the bust to shoulder length on the front and back by an inch, shortening the skirt by 3.5", and cutting the skirt as a single piece, on the fold.

 Changing the skirt cutting layout was the biggest fabric saver, and despite the fabric only being 45" wide, I do have a small panel left at full width. The fit is excellent and I've worn it a few times already!

I've seen a few other blog posts about the lovely new Sew Over It Coco Jacket. It knew it was just exactly what I wanted when it was released with the PDF club this month, and I found the most beautiful wool remnant, just a metre, at lovely Fabric Corner which was made for this. I knew immediately that I wanted to take this with me on our upcoming holiday but also that I would want to be cosy enough to go without a coat. I decided to add a zip to my jacket, also cutting the centre front lining piece in the outer fabric to act as a facing. I'm already cutting out my second version of this in a gorgeous orange crepe which I'm looking forward to sharing with you!

Finally, I had a go at making the Jennifer Lauren Laneway Dress. You may recall I made a lovely dress in a pineapple print cotton earlier in the year, which was really lovely but didn't fit well at all; in fact I've only worn it twice in nearly six months as a result. 

I attended a funeral last week with a "no black" theme and decided that a remake of the pineapple dress would be a good option. The make itself was straightforward enough. I took a lot of measurements and decided not to alter the bust length, though in hindsight I definitely could have taken an inch out at the shoulder. The back length was spot on and no bulging zip, which is my bugbear. It was ideal for the funeral as it had nice big pockets for my tissues, and I will definitely think fondly of the person every time I wear it!

It actually looks much nicer on me than on the mannequin!! 

That's all for this month! Next month's roundup will feature a fabulous holiday wardrobe. Hope you're looking forward to it!

Last thing to do is to introduce the September Dressmaking Blogger Challenge. Of course, the only possible theme for September is... Back to School. 

As usual it's a just-for-fun challenge and you can share your makes on the Dressmaking Blogging Network Facebook group, or by using the hashtag #dressmakingbloggerchallenge. 

If you're coming along to the September Sew it Yourself Meetup (9th September), the challenge this month is "Zero Waste" so have a go at making a project that uses every  last inch of the fabric!

Happy Sewing!

Heather: April Makes

A pinch and a punch...! It's the first of the month so time for my April sewing roundup. 

The month started with a bit of 'selfless sewing' for my lovely sister-in-law, Jenny, who visited on the first weekend of the month. I've made a few items for her before and had promised to make something new for her to take on her holidays later in the year. We had a good look through the stash and found a piece of blue floral jersey that I had purchased at last year's NEC sewing show and then promptly forgotten about! She picked the Simple Sew Lena Wrap Dress and we left the boys to cook dinner whilst we set about making her dress. I've made a wrap dress for Jen before but it was a bit revealing over the bust so,  following various advice from other sewers online, I decided to do a full bust adjustment which I've never done before. This actually turned out to be a complete waste of time because this pattern is massive! I was working to the finished garment measurements but still ended up taking nearly 4 inches out of the bust and waist. Thanks to the trusty overlocker this was finished in less than 4 hours, and I think she liked it, as she told me she wore it twice the following week!

My next make is one that I am going to unashamedly describe as my 'masterpiece'. I am so, so thrilled with it. 

This stunning 'Art Nouveau' print viscose was just £4.99/m at the NEC Sewing Show. "£4.99 per metre for this beauty? I would have bought the roll" I hear you cry. I hear you, because I was yelling it to myself when I realised I had only purchased 1.5m, and that the absolutely-perfect-for-the-job Threaders pattern I had got free with a magazine needed 2.5m. 

Never one to be defeated by a piece of fabric, I set about making a wearable toile, made a few adjustments to the bodice length and shortened the sleeves by about 6 inches. I also drafted a front facing piece as I didn't want to line the dress. Once I was happy with the fit I used the muslin pieces as templates to make sure the pattern placement was perfect. I knew I wouldn't be able to match it up perfectly, but good pattern placement is just as important.  It took me a whole evening to cut everything out perfectly but it was totally worth it. I removed the seam down the centre back but still had to cut the skirt as two pieces because there simply wasn't enough fabric.I wore the finished dress to my Mum and Dad's Birthday Party at the beginning of the month and got some fab pics in their garden. 

My third make of the month was a new blouse from the pattern I self drafted last year. The fabric is a floral cotton with an almost cheesecloth texture from Fabric Corner. As the fabric is summery I decided to shorten the sleeves a little and add a peter pan collar using this fab tutorial from House of Pinheiro. It looks fab with my Cleo Dungaree Dress, which is starting to grow on me!

It was my Birthday in March and this piece of floral viscose from Fabric Corner was a very gratefully received gift, as I had been eyeing it up for quite a while! I also received a copy of the Simple Sew Lucille dress and seeing as I have a few events coming up in May I decided to have a go at something that would be suitable for a smart lunch. I had to make quite a few adjustments to the pattern to get a good fit. I shortened the bodice length at the centre back to prevent the zip from curling under; I shortened the bust pieces at the point of crossover so that I don't have any scary "eyeful' moments; I moved the front skirt pleats because they were marked in a very odd place on the pattern, and despite following the finished garment measurements on the packet I ended up letting out the side seams on the skirt as much as possible because I couldn't actually sit down (or eat any pork pies which, frankly, is more important to me.) 

Annoyingly, once I had then totally finished everything, tried it on 5 times during the making process and then hung it in the wardrobe for a week, I tried it on again and discovered that I need to pull the shoulders up by an inch to stop it gaping at the back. I'm not sure whether I missed this or whether the fabric has stretched being on the hanger, but hopefully this will get altered before the event. 

My final make for the month was actually a remake. I made this yellow tunic dress last year from the Simple Sew Colour Block Dress pattern, and whilst I'd worn it a few times last summer, I was never totally thrilled with the fit and finish. When the yellow jersey appeared at Fabric Corner once again, I decided to make some changes. 

I had a flash of inspiration that I could turn it into my new favourite, the Moneta Dress, so I decided to unpick the sleeves and side seams and cut out the bodice and sleeves from the tunic. I used the excess fabric from the tunic to make the pockets and cut a new skirt from the extra fabric I had purchased. 

A much more 'me' dress!

So finally I just want to introduce this month's #dressmakingbloggerchallenge

May for me means Maypoles and spring dresses, so this month's theme is Stripes! 

Happy Sewing everyone, see you next month!

Heather: March Makes

Once again I've surprised myself with just how much sewing I managed to squeeze in this month! We even managed a little holiday, and a trip to the NEC Sewing for Pleasure show, so the stash has had a pretty healthy top up, and I'll share my fabric haul with you later on.

 

If you can cast your mind back as far as the first of March (it feels like a really long month!) you'll remember we had a bit of a cold snap, which meant that this fantastic fleece backed sweatshirting, from Fabric Corner at Lincoln's Craftea Sewing Bee shop, quickly became my third Sew Over It Heather Dress. This is pretty much the cosiest thing I've ever owned, and whilst I had a wide-eyed moment at the £16.50/m price tag, I'd say this little jumper has been worth every penny. 

My next make for the month was a little treat for my Birthday. Mr A had promised a surprise of some sort for which I would need to "dress up", so I set about making good use of some aztec print sparkle jersey which I purchased with my gift-voucher winnings from Adam Ross Fabrics back in December. I had seen the cold shoulder look on the high street and though I'm not normally a slave to fashion, I quite fancied recreating the look in my own style. Rather than cutting away at the shoulder and making a very one season dress, I decided to use a pattern with a raglan sleeve seam, which I could then split open to create the look (and close up again when it goes out of fashion in six months time). McCalls 6460 totally does the job for this, but I wanted a bit more detail across the front to stop it looking like an oversized sparkly t-shirt. I have made Butterick 6166 several times and really like the swag detail across the front, so I pinched this pattern piece and added it to my design! 

I really love this dress, although I was a bit over cautious with the sizing after the last time I made it (poor tiny dress relegated to the remake pile) and I could afford to lose at least 2 sizes across the back on this version. But it was really fun to wear on a rare night out and totally appropriate for the Birthday surprise... a performance from Cirque du Soleil!

After a fab Birthday weekend we took a little City Break over to Copenhagen and I came across The Last Stitch's blog about her favourite stores in the city. Lo and behold, one of the shops was only a few minutes walk from where we were staying and we happened to walk past it (total coincidence...) on our way to a few touristy sites. Skipper and Stoffer is one of the oldest fabric shops in Copenhagen, having operated from the premises for more than 300 years. The shop keeper was delighted to show us his treasure trove of ex-designer fabrics, mostly Italian imports labelled with such brands as "Bottega Veneta" and "Paul Smith". The prices were (significantly) higher than I would normally pay, but I totally fell in love with a piece of surface printed slub silk that somehow followed me out of the shop...

It's destined for something really stunning, but I'm not sure what yet!

On returning from my travels it was straight back to NEC Birmingham for the annual Sewing for Pleasure show. This is one of my favourite shows because a lot of the craft and hobby activity (cross stitch etc) is separated out into the Hobbycraft section, unlike at the Knitting & Stitching shows, so there's more room for gorgeous fabric. It's also great to see some of the designer work on display, although admittedly we didn't stop for long as we were on a bit of a fabric shopping mission. The stash got a good top up from favourite stalls The Shuttle, Montreux Fabrics, Rosenberg and Lilli fabrics.

 

I managed to squeeze in one last wintery make before the Spring really sprung in this gorgeous tweed from Fabric Corner. This is a Colette Patterns Selene Skirt. It has fabulous green satin lining!

I spent a bit of time this month destashing a few fabrics. There were a fair few pieces in my stash that I just didn't know what to do with, or that i had bought for an occasion that has passed and have no idea when I'll next get the opportunity to use it. I'll be honest, there were a couple of bits that made me wonder why I had bought them in the first place! In the enthusiasm of destashing I also picked out a couple of pieces from my handmade wardrobe that I haven't worn for a while, or had fit issues, and did some remaking. You can read my blog about transforming my blue dress here. 

My final make for the month was so much fun. A very dear friend gave me a gift voucher for my Birthday, which I put to good use on a trio of fabrics from, you guessed it, Fabric Corner!

I spent a sunny Saturday afternoon making up this fabulous pineapple-print dress from New Look 6070, a Project Runway pattern (thank you Netflix for the recent upload!) which is also my Spring make for the Dressmaking Blogger Challenge. 

The April challenge over on the Dressmaking Blogging Network is "April Showers".

It's definitely the weather for a spring jacket here in the UK, so we want to see your coats, jackets, waterproofs or anything that helps to bust the spring weather! 

As usual it's a just for fun challenge. Share your pics using #dressmakingbloggerchallenge

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Until next time, happy sewing!

Heather: February Sewing Roundup

Sitting down to start writing this blog I thought I would struggle to find much to share- I haven't managed a single blog post this month- but the sewing has been ticking along quite nicely even if it hasn't felt like I'm getting a lot done, and I've ended up with a pretty full roundup!

 

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The month started with a bit of a mad dash to finish my make for the Secret Valentine Exchange organised by lovely instagrammers Ute and Sanae. 

 

Into its fourth year, the international exchange invites crafters of all kinds create a beautiful item and ship it off to another creative soul to share a bit of love during the Valentine's season. I was paired with a lady in Canada who liked grey and yellow, and with very little other info to work with I decided to make a tote bag (who doesn't love a bag?!) in a remnant of Snoopy-print fabric from Fabric Corner!

 

It seems the gift was well received, which is really lovely- it's pretty scary to send something half way across the world not knowing if it's what someone will want. I received a parcel of gorgeous flamingo-themed gifts from Ginny '@ginpins' which couldn't have been more appropriate given my love for those leggy birds. 

 

Look out for sign ups in January next year if you'd like to take part! 

Valentine's Day was also broadly the theme for this month's Dressmaking Blogger Challenge, where we asked the blogging community to share an item which they had made for someone else, or something that they had made for themselves with love. 

 

Back at the end of January I came across a forgotten piece of autumnal print viscose which I had purchased back at the 2016 Knitting, Stitching and Hobbycrafts show in Manchester. I bought it specifically because I knew it would be perfect for my Mum, and then promptly forgot about it amid the making-flurry of last year's challenge! 

So I decided to finally make good on my intentions and make a blouse for Mum to wear to Grandma's Birthday Party (I won't tell you how old; she wouldn't thank me for putting her age on the Internet!). I picked out a tried and trusted Burda pattern that I also used for her Birthday gift last year and whipped this up in an evening. 

 

(My Mum enjoys neither standing still, nor having her photo taken... but she did really like her blouse!)

February also saw my first ever trip to Abakhan! (I know, how have I lasted this long?!). We don't have a store here in Lincoln so when I arranged to meet an old friend half way between our homes we settled on Manchester and I made my maiden voyage to the fabric mecca. I really had no idea what to expect, so was pretty thrilled to come away with a metre of printed sweater knit, 1.5m of border print viscose and 1.5m of indigo denim for the grand total of £15. £15!!!!

Not hanging about, I made the viscose into my favourite Burda Patti dress, and the sweater knit into a jumper which... I'm not sure is totally me. I spent ages trying to make sure the pattern placement was right but in the end I think it overwhelms it a bit. But actually it looks really fab with my Cleo pinafore and is super cosy, so even if it gets destashed at the end of the season I will have been warm up to that point.

 

 

It was at this point in the month that I decided my sewing room was getting a bit out of hand. I spent an evening tidying up and sorting out my fabrics, and even managed a mini destash (some of it may have been restashed...). I picked out quite a few pieces of fabric that I'd completely forgotten about and made a rather bold commitment to use up 6 pieces of fabric, or destash them at the end of the month...

 

So on the plus side the Patti dress (top right) got made that very evening. 

The bottom two fabrics have become a gorgeous Sew Over It vintage shirt dress and there's a jacket in the making too.

 

The rest of them... well perhaps we'll have a rollover into next month...!

My next make was the unexpectedly lovely McCalls 7381 which came free with this month's Love Sewing magazine. I'm not going into much detail as I intend to write a full blog about this one, but here's a pic of my rather hacked version in a piece of jersey from the stash which has been waiting quite some time for its perfect pattern partner!

 

And finally, what's the end of a month without a party? I decided to join in with the Moneta Party (another full blog on the way about my hacks for this pattern) using some stripe zigzag sweater knit from SewEssential. It's basically my new favourite dress! 

 

So those are my highlights from February. There were a few more makes which haven't made the cut this time but perhaps will feature next month! 

All that's left is for me to introduce the theme for the March Dressmaking Blogger Challenge which is... Springtime ! 

 

We want to see lots of cheerful brightly coloured garments. Perhaps you'll pick a spring flower for the theme of your garment, or maybe just something bright and cheerful. As always, the challenge is just for fun and you can tag your posts with #dressmakingbloggerchallenge to share them with us online.

Happy Sewing everyone, see you next month.