February 2012 – THORNBERRY

adult's clothing, sewing

tilda and elle

Before I made my Parfait dress, I ran up another pair of StyleARC Elle pants and gave the StyleARC Tilda top a go.

This time around I made the pants in a stretch bengaline, as recommended. It is much lighter weight than the fabric I used last time, and I think that I have a better overall result. I still basically consider this pair to be a muslin – skin coloured pants aren’t really the best option, but the fabric was on sale at Spotty for around $2 per metre – just perfect for trialling stretch woven pants!

Once again, I made size 10. There is plenty of stretch in this fabric. I shortened the leg length around 9cm, but possibly could have cut a little more.

This time I altered the pattern a little by cutting the front crotch curve around a quarter of an inch larger, but I shaved around a quarter of an inch from the side seam of the back leg piece through the hip and upper thigh. I think that it’s improved the fit, but I’ve still got some bagging throughout the upper thigh below my bottom.

I’ll keep on making up and tweaking this pattern – I love a pair of skinny pants and these are so fast and simple to sew. So, now on to the top!

There were a couple of issue with this top. Firstly, the instructions need a little more work, although the diagrams were useful. Secondly, the front sleeve and back sleeve were labelled incorrectly. It took me a couple of goes to realise that they were not going to fit into the bodice pieces unless I swapped them around. I have emailed StyleARC about this and they have rectified their error. Thirdly, this needs a softer, drapier fabric for the unusual sleeve drafting to fall correctly. You get a better idea of the sleeve shape in this next photo.

I used a crinkly jersey remnant from Rathdowne Fabrics. Although I love the vibrant colour, and the fact that this fabric doesn’t need ironing – it’s already wrinkled! – next time I’ll use a rayon or bamboo jersey that has more drape. I do like the v-neckline, and the neck band fitted perfectly. The curved hemline is also attractive, although it appears to be more pronounced from the front.

So, the verdict? I’ll make the top again, in a more suitable fabric. I love a loose top like this with skinny pants. Just beware with StyleARC patterns that the instructions are not what you are used to when you generally sew with Vogue/McCalls/Simplicity/Butterick etc patterns. It’s good to have some reference books on hand, or to be a confident sewer. But the drafting and the currency of the styles is marvellous!

Wednesday, 29 February, 2012 by thornberry

what I wore

what I wore – week 8

The past week was the kind that only Melbourne can serve up. Some days in the low 20s and extremely pleasant, others above 36 degrees and incredibly humid, others full of rain and thunderstorms. What is going on this February? And thank goodness for air conditioning. Consequently the last week saw a fair variety of outfits.

Well, it’s hump day, which is also the last day of the paid working week for me. I’d better toss my commuter crochet into my bag and head out the door. Enjoy yourselves everyone!

Wednesday, 29 February, 2012 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing

perfectly parfait

It was a weekend for completing projects. Starting with my Parfait!

I muslined the bodice for this dress back in November. I’m very glad that I blogged about it then because there was no way that I was going to remember what alterations I had made otherwise! Basically this dress is in a Colette size 8, but graded out to somewhere between a 10 and a 12 for the fitted midriff panel.

You can just see the invisible zipper pull in the left side seam in the above photo! I shortened the shoulder straps around an inch – maybe a little less – and eased the skirt into the midriff panel. I think that I’d left the skirt cut out as size 12 to match the midriff, so it was a little large around once I’d altered the bodice panel. Easing it in left enough flare in the skirt to skim over my stomach bulges and it doesn’t cling anywhere around my hips and bottom. Yay!

I was lucky enough to find buttons in two sizes that matched the colours in my fabric perfectly. At Spotlight, of all places! The large buttons on the shoulder straps are functional. I adore the curved and gathered pockets, and the smaller buttons set them off beautifully. They are functional too!

The fabric came from Darn Cheap Fabrics some time ago. It looks like a cotton/linen of some sort, but actually didn’t crush much over the course of the day, so maybe it’s not. I should probably do a burn test with some scrap fabric. Either way, it was terrific to wear and a breeze to sew. And I have more of it!

So, is my Parfait perfect for me? It’s not far off, actually! The midriff panel is definitely very fitted with minimal ease, so there is no allowing for any weight gain. Which is a good thing! But it means that you can see a ridge caused by the skirt/midriff seam allowance. Hmmm. The eased skirt skims over my tummy but also sticks out a little – as my husband pointed out. The bodice fits beautifully, the straps are the right length, it is bra-friendly, the colours suit me, and I feel great wearing it. So maybe it is almost perfect!

Monday, 27 February, 2012 by thornberry

crochet, patchwork, sewing, WIP, work in progress

loving Fridays

Friday evening again! The pizza delivery guy will be here any moment, the kids are watching “Rio”, and I’ve got a glass of wine and have exhaled. Where are those weeks going to? I thought that it was about time that I shared a little of what I’m up to craft-wise at the moment. It’s all about works in progress. Well, mostly.

When I was up in Sydney for Sew It Together last year I bought a Dresden Plate template set. Yes, that was almost a year ago. And I’ve only just got around to doing something with it. I pulled out a set of charm squares and have begun turning them into this:

I’ve got enough squares to make four dresden plates, and I’m planning on using yo-yos in the centre of each one. Then I’ll applique them onto some backing fabric and turn them into…well, something. Just a little project to learn something new with!

I’ve also been doing some softie test-sewing. It is MUCH further along than this photo suggests – just needs stuffing! I love soft toys, but as a general rule I really don’t enjoy making them. So it needs to be a really special toy or person to entice me into making a doll – and this one is both.

I’ve started a shawl in my leftover Wollmeisse Campari Orange yarn. This is meant to be my commuting project, but it’s still at such an early stage that it requires more concentration than the train/tram allows.

So in the meantime I’m still working on this Cap Sleeved Top for myself. It was much further along than in this photo, until I realised that I had somehow missed a stitch somewhere and I have now unravelled it back to not much more than this. Dammit.

This test crochet cardigan for Clare is almost done. I just need to weave in the ends, check the yardage used and the final measurements. It was fun doing a test crochet after having done quite a bit of test sewing in the past. Same same but different!

And then there is the Parfait dress that I started some months ago. It’s finally being put together, but my machine is making very clunky noises. It is in desperate need of a service, however the servicing day at my local sewing machine shop is Thursday. That is forever away! I strongly suspect that much of this dress will end up being constructed on Clare’s sewing machine.

Pizza is here! Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Friday, 24 February, 2012 by thornberry

musings, photo a day challenge

photo a day challenge – your shoes

When I was in my twenties I couldn’t understand why old ladies wore such ugly shoes. I swore that I wouldn’t ever wear ugly shoes when I got old. I would wear elegant and fashionable shoes. Well, the years have passed and I’ve now learned why many old ladies wore ugly shoes – because they were COMFORTABLE. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, so this challenge theme was very apt. Today’s purchase is these Bared shoes. They are SO comfortable, and I think that they’re also rather lovely*.

I love pointy toed shoes with elegant mid-height curved heels. They are so pretty! As are high heels and strappy sandals. But I simply cannot wear them anymore. Over the past year or two I have been wearing my fashionable shoes to work only to find that they now pinch, hurt and rub my feet and I can’t wait to get them off. My shoe collection has been reducing at a rapid rate as I send pair after pair to the op shop. Life is too short to have sore feet. Gradually my shoe wardrobe has changed and I am now shod by the likes of Birkenstock, Hush Puppies, Naot and now Bared. Shoes with lots of cushioning, shaped footbeds, lower, broader heels or a gentle wedge, rounded toes, that don’t cause pain. My bunion and fallen arches are thanking me. My wallet is not. But I have officially become an old lady wearing sensible shoes. Well, a middle-aged lady. However, I don’t think that these shoes are ugly – or maybe my perception has changed over the years!

Mind you, I remember that in my twenties I thought that all shoes should come in the colours of black, navy or brown. That was it. I thought that those colours went with everything and didn’t see why the shoe manufacturers would waste their time making shoes in other colours. Now I do my utmost to find shoes that are green, red, orange, metallic……

* And isn’t that tin that the shoes come in gorgeous? Much prettier than a cardboard box.

Thursday, 23 February, 2012 by thornberry

crochet

waterlily layer

Generally I have around three crochet projects on the go at any one time. I like to mix up the complexity level, the portability level, and even the stitch type. So I can just work on whichever project suits the situation. In late January and early Feb I completed the Waterlily Layer.

This vest ticks many of my boxes because it was quite portable, has a variety of stitches, and even varies in complexity within the one project. It’s in one of my favourite garment yarns, NaturallyCaron.com Spa.

This is described as a layer rather than a vest because it can be worn in a few ways. My photographer wasn’t available when I snapped these photos in the mirror, so I’ll need to show off the styling possibilities another time. But it can be worn back to front and upside down as well as the more conventional way in these photos.

I really do need some proper photos to do this justice! And the mirror obviously needs cleaning as well. I highly recommend this pattern. I found it enjoyable to crochet and it was well written. It needed major blocking to really show off the stitch pattern, but that wasn’t hard to do. Ravelled here.

Thursday, 23 February, 2012 by thornberry

crochet

Hey girl

A friend emailed this to me today. I was drinking coffee. I think that I snorted. Love it!

More Ryan Gosling Hey Girl crochet photos can be found here. And there is a whole blog devoted to Handmade Ryan Gosling here.

Wednesday, 22 February, 2012 by thornberry

what I wore

what I wore – week 7

Those weekly photo montages are still coming! If you are feeling stymied with the problem of never having anything to wear, try taking a photo of your daily outfit. You may also find that you think of what is in the wardrobe in a whole new way. Lots of my clothes are old, but I’m trying new combinations, different accessories, and generally dressing a bit more nicely than I used to.

Did you spot the crocheted vest? I’ll be back with more details on that one later.

Tuesday, 21 February, 2012 by thornberry

crochet

popcorn

I have a new crochet love. It’s the popcorn stitch.

Oh, the texture! Oh, the touch! Oh, the yarn usage! With this stitch, I have made a Raspberry Bag (although mine is more Scarlet than Raspberry).

This bag took around three balls of Lincraft Cosy Wool. This yarn goes on special fairly often, so it’s worth waiting for a sale. I enjoyed working with it and my 6.5mm bamboo hook. It’s lined with some groovy button printed fabric, which you can just see peeking out in the photo below.

I am now keenly investigating other bag patterns that involve popcorn stitch. I currently have two contenders, the Taupe Bag and the Dolce Tote. Although I am also sorely tempted to crochet the Thundersnow Bag, which doesn’t involve the popcorn stitch but does involve wonderful texture. So many choices!

Monday, 20 February, 2012 by thornberry

sewing

interfacing

Today I was lucky enough to slip into a spare spot in Nikki‘s Choosing and Using Interfacings class. Nothing like a last-minute decision – the best one I’d made all day! Although I have tested many a pattern for Nikki, I have never taken part in one of her classes. And wow, what a wonderful class it was!

I have been hankering to make an interfacing swatch set for some time (very nerdy, I know). I’ve known what a difference good quality interfacings and waddings make for quite a while, and threw out the cheap non-woven fusible a long time ago. It was such a good thing to actually try different combinations of quality woven interfacing, non-woven interfacing and waddings in different combinations of weights and layers, in order to achieve different results on our fabrics. Nikki’s class is aimed at choosing and interfacings for bags in particular, but she is very happy to extend her knowledge to what works well with clothing. We got to feel different bags and purses and discover what combinations of interfacings and waddings were used in different parts of each of them, then had the chance to sew some bag elements and learn a few more of Nikki’s tricks of the trade.

We played with calico samples and worked on seams and the magic 3cm rule, understitching, when to trim and not to trim, and lots of other exciting bits and pieces. Although some of the information is available in the You Sew, Girl! book, but there is nothing quite like the extra knowledge you gain by doing a class. I thought that I knew a lot already – well, now I know lots more! Many thanks to Nikki and the other lovely women that took part in the class – some who came from as far away as Tasmania and Greece! (Yet I, coming from one suburb away, was the person who was late….)

Today is actually my fifth bloggiversary! Who’d have thought that I’d still be doing bloggy show and tell five years down the track! I celebrated in anticipation with a little stretch fabric shopping/therapy with Nikki last week. Guess which one of these Stella chose? And speaking of classes, this year I have enrolled in two of the online sewing classes run by Craftsy. I am undertaking both the Sew Retro Perfect Bombshell Dress and The Couture Dress. Do you detect a theme? I am hoping that I will do some “slow slowing” this year and put a number of techniques that have been all theory for me into practice. I don’t actually anticipate that I will get a great deal of wear out of either dress myself, but am focusing more on what I will learn. I like the format, in that I can take the classes entirely at my own pace and re-watch segments as often as needed. And one day I might want to make one of my daughters a “bombshell dress” (but thankfully that is a long way away).

Saturday, 18 February, 2012 by thornberry

Month: February 2012