The last legs of summer

While summer only officially ended on friday, the weekend has been decidedly unsummer like, with rain for nearly 3 days. Which after 3 months of “oh my goodness why didn’t we install air conditioning” moaning, was a welcome change.

And it means I only have one, well actually two, but the pants were a bit of a last minute wonder what these would be like kind of projects, summer makes to show.

The top is Simplicity1693 again, although slightly varied from the last one, and the pants are the bottom part of this Vogue jumpsuit pattern.

Vogue 1308

As much as I love my last two versions of the Simplicity tank, the CF was gaping quite a bit, not so much when I stood still in front of the mirror, but definitely during every day wear. This was also happening with my McCalls ikat dress which made me realise it was a me problem and not a pattern problem.

Being Miss Average (average height, average weight, average shoe size etc) does have some advantages, in that I very rarely have to alter patterns aside from length. I do have a sway back but because I generally don’t make anything very closefitting it’s not usually an issue.

After a bit of Google research, I came to the conclusion that I have a hollow chest. Which sounds just as bad as a dowager hump and made me feel at least a decade older than I am!

I consulted my copy of Aldrich’s Metric Pattern Cutting to find a solution, but because I still have baby brain fog (don’t know when that is going to clear up!), doing any kind of proper patternmaking seemed a bit beyond me.

So I just took in the CF a bit. Which I am pretty certain isn’t technically the best solution, but it did do the trick for me. Instead of cutting the CF on the fold, I simply cut 2 of the front, and then sewed the CF seam using a 1cm sa. Which essentially took 2cm out of the CF. The back still sits nicely and the armhole looks and feels OK so I don’t think I did too much damage!

I also added a patch pocket, otherwise the pattern is unchanged.

The fabric? A bit of polyester that kind of looks like sandwashed silk, if you don’t get too close! It was leftover from lining another garment and because the colour was so great I overlooked the fact that it was a polyester! It is surprisingly cool to wear and the bonus is that it doesn’t need ironing.

Onto the pants.

Fabric: cotton '80's print from the op shop

These were a bit of a trial go to see what this pattern was like. I made the size 12, took the side seams in by about 1cm and voila, some comfy, casual elastic waist pants!

I do feel a bit strange about wearing these in public though. They do feel very pyjamery, and while I know that printed pants are very on trend right now, I think these would work better with a more tailored or structured top, like a chambray shirt or even a lightweight jacket and Tshirt. And maybe some shoes!

Still, the pants will get worn and the pattern is a good one, and when I have a fancy occasion to go to, I have a lovely navy printed silk stashed away to make up the whole jumpsuit.

And now the sewing table is clear, the machines are oiled up and ready to go, and next up is figuring out what to make for winter!

Another catch up post McCalls 5578

This is another pre Christmas make that has had a lot of wear over our brain searingly hot summer.

I bought the pattern back when I was preggers with Miss C, thinking that it would have been a good maternity frock, but I worked right up until about 5 days before she was born and didn’t end up sewing any clothes for myself at that time, heck I didn’t even have a nursery ready for her when she arrived!

So the pattern has been languishing in the stash since then. I have pulled it out a few times but never really had the right fabric. Until I found this great ikat style print on the $4 bargain table at Spotlight. I was a bit worried that the style of the pattern was a bit young and girly for me, but I think the big, loud print counters that effect!

And I have to say, I always get compliments when I wear this dress. It looks good by itself, over skinny jeans, and with a cardi or denim jacket, so I think I can safely say that it ticks the ‘versatile’ box!

Here are the stats

Pattern

McCalls 5578 (now OOP).

Fabric

Cotton ikat print.

Hailspot cotton voile used for the facings and pocket bags.

Vintage buttons for the back

Notes

I made View A in a size 12. This is made up right out of the envelope, no alterations at all. The fit is pretty good for me. The length could be a tad longer for better knobbly knee coverage, but only about an inch or so. I really like the proportion of the skirt to the hem band though, so I don’t know if I will change the length if I make it again.

The neckline is very wide and only just sits at the right spot for me. It does tend to gape a bit when I am moving around, so I might need to correct that on the next one.

I left the sleeve cuffs off because I didn’t think that they would really be seen in the busy print.

I had 2 metres of fabric, which was just enough. I had to cut the facings and pockets out of the cotton voile because this pattern is a bit of a fabric hog!

Conclusion

I don’t usually wear big loud prints, and I don’t usually wear high waisted, gathered girly dresses, but for some reason this combo seems to work for this dress! It is certainly a great dress for stinking hot summer days, and I definitely want some more, but maybe in a nice safe, plain linen! 

Simplicity 1693 The stripe version

I have quite a few sewing projects leftover from 2013 that I haven’t posted about yet. I did actually get a surprising amount of sewing done amidst the last minute shopping, end of year school business, sewing for others and general pre Christmas mayhem.

I mentioned before that I started this top and here it is finished. 

I like this version much better than my first one. Here are the details

Pattern

Simplicity 1693. This is View F in a size 12

Fabric

Some kind of cotton blend. This was a funny shaped piece from the op shop. I don’t know the exact content, but there is definitely some synthetic in there. It has a bit of a seersucker feel to it and has a lovely drape.

Notes

I made this straight out of the envelope and I am pretty happy with the result. I can get the top on over my head without needing the CB closure, so when I make this again I will cut the back on the fold and not worry about a closure.

This top has been on weekly rotation since it came off the sewing machine. December and January have been ridiculously hot here, and this top was just perfect. I only hope the mystery fabric stands up to multiple wears and washing!

The good times are over

I am not talking about the festive season (although I do hope you had a good one), I am referring to the Aussie dollar. It has been bouncing around US$1.00 for a couple of years now, and there was even a short time when it was valued higher than the US dollar, which, for someone who likes to buy stuff (and by stuff I mean patterns and fabric of course!) from overseas, this meant happy days for me.

Now that it has dropped below 90c however, it means I will need to reign in my pattern purchases. My Burda subscription is also on shaky ground too if it drops too far below 90c.

Lucky for me I had the foresight to make a few purchases before Christmas, which should keep me going for a while.

They were both Japanese pattern books, this one arrived before Christmas, while the other has yet to arrive.

Image from here

I spent a considerable amount of time figuring out which ones to get. I wanted some basic shapes that would suit a range of fabrics, and while it was easy to get seduced by all the lovely styled images of the finished garments, I really wanted a rundown of the technical sketches, and I couldn’t find a seller or site online that listed every single style as a technical sketch.

So to celebrate the New Year, and in the interest of the public good, here is an image list of all the styles in Happy Homemade Sew Chic as tech drawings.

       

It is a nice collection of tops, pants, a skirt, lots of dresses and two unstructured jackets. I am eyeing off the sarouel pants as the first likely project.

And in other sad news, the twins have now said goodbye to day sleeps, which means I say goodbye to one lovely hour of uninterrupted sewing every day! Looks like I may have to start getting up before the kids in the morning!

Simplicity 1693

When your kid shouts out “Ooooh Mum are you making me a new nightie?” when you are in fact making yourself a new top, it does kinda diminish your enthusiasm for the project pretty quickly!

                                        
Admittedly, I did intend this to be a knocking around the house top, and I had a whole heap of this fabric, and it has turned very hot all of a sudden, so all up I am not too disappointed that Miss C thinks this fabric is better suited to sleepwear!
                                                           

Here are the details:
Pattern
Simplicity 1693. I made View C in a size 12.

Fabric
                                        
Vintage cotton print from the stash. It has quite a crisp handle, even after prewashing, which I don’t think is necessarily the best kind of fabric for this style. A softer fabric with a better drape would probably work better.

Notes
I didn’t need to do any fit alterations for this pattern, which I am really thrilled about. I bought this pattern on sale a while ago, with the intention of it being a good basic pattern that I could use for summer. The fit is great, the wide neckline is very flattering and there is good coverage over the shoulder.
I changed the elastic casing detail to a waist frill, see my review here, and while I am mostly happy with this, I don’t think that the placement of the frill is really in the right spot for me, and I am not sure if it needs to be higher or lower.

Err.........taxi?

I have cut out View E in a wide stripe so it will be interesting to see how this one will turn out.





 


Never too old for grunge maxi dress!



 As promised, here is the maxi dress from a couple of posts ago. I decided not to sew elastic in the waist and just use a belt to cinch it in. I like it with the belt, but I also like it without, especially for those really hot days or to pop on over my swimmers when we head to the pool.

Everyday styling

Back view



Too much Christmas pud styling!



Footy playing styling!

Here are the stats:
Pattern: Simplicity 7127
I made a few alterations to the pattern. Lengthened the dress to ankle length, this meant reducing the flare a tad so that the pattern piece would fit on the fabric. Omitted the pockets, used a grey marle ribbing to finish the neckline and armholes instead of bias binding and took the side seams in by 1.5cm as my fabric was a stretch instead of a woven.

Fabric: Vintage blue and white knit. Most probably some kind of cotton blend. This was a huge piece that I found at my local op shop. It was about 3m for the princely sum of $3, and I still have enough of a bit left for a tank top or a mini.

Sewing: Not much to say about this really. It is just two shoulder seams, two side seams, finishing the neckline and hem. I did everything on my four thread overlocker, except for the hem and topstitching, which I did on my regular machine.

All up, I am pretty happy with this. The dress cost me less than $5 and I am sure I will get a lot of wear out of this. I didn't prewash the fabric though, so I really hope nothing scary happens when it does go through the wringer!

Not skinny enough

I am talking about my pants of course! These were made using Vogue 8837, and the pants in the Vogue pic are much much skinnier than mine!

                               

I was after a skinny, stretchy pant with an elastic waist, that was a bit more substantial than a legging. I don't know about you, but while I love the look and comfort of leggings, I always feel that there is not enough fabric between me and the world when I am wearing them! I don't mind so much at home, but I always feel a little exposed if I wear them out of the house.

                                                 

And I really only chose to use this fabric to make my first pair because firstly, I had it in the stash, secondly, its black and white and will go with just about everything in my wardrobe, and thirdly, it is a very similar stretch to some denim that I have that I will use for my next pair. I am considering the option of dyeing them though as they are so very loud!

So while I am feeling a bit meh about these, they will get worn quite a bit and I will definately use this pattern again.

The full pattern review is here and in other news, the maxi dress is done, I am just dithering over whether to sew elastic to the waist or not.

Oh, and if I am looking a tad more surly than usual in these pics, that's because they were taken between dinner and bath time, not my finest hour for looking my best! And, if the tone of this post seems a little more surly than usual, it is past 11pm and the twins have only just gone to sleep!