Month: December 2012

adult's clothing, sewing

flat cap

Here it is, my last completed sewing project for 2012!  It’s the flat cap, made especially for my Dad.

flat cap

Dad can usually be found wearing a hat or a cap, summer and winter. But he’s pretty fussy about the fit. Dad has quite a small head, so it was with some trepidation that I cut out size small in some medium weight denim from my stash, and began assembly. Would it fit? Would Dad like it?

flat cap

I am SO excited, because not only did he say that he liked it, he actually put it on and is wearing it today. Win! I am also rather keen on the lining:

flat cap

And just for fun, a few of us tried it on. Here it is on me:

flat cap

And on my husband:

flat cap

I’d need to make a larger size for my husband, but he’s refused the offer of a matching (or even a non-matching!) flat cap. He seems to think that if his father-in-law wears one, he shouldn’t. I reckon that if I can find the right fabric and make a surprise version, he might change his mind. Maybe. Or maybe not.

flat cap

Now shall I list the things that I loved about making this flat cap?

  • The pattern is a pdf download, which is perfectly suited to a pattern with small pattern pieces. Love an instant pattern that doesn’t require lots of taping!
  • The instructions are excellent. I’ve never made anything like this cap before, and reckon that I’ve done an excellent job. I’m rather good at following instructions when I’m making anything completely new to me, and the combination of text and photos worked beautifully. I don’t think that I unpicked anything at all!
  • There are lots of tips throughout that make for a professional finish.
  • It took around two hours to make, including cutting out time.
  • It’s an excellent guy gift, but would be great for lots of women as well.
  • Even my pedantic father likes the fit!

flat cap

Although he wasn’t all that excited about modelling it for the blog…

adult's clothing, sewing, tessuti patterns

linen Lily

I’ve lapsed into post-Christmas-pre-New-Year lethargy. Despite having plenty of photos up on flickr all awaiting blog posts, I’ve sat back and done pretty much nothing. Well, not entirely nothing – I have managed to cut out a flat cap for my Dad, which will hopefully be assembled this afternoon. And I’ve cut out a Cherish dress for my Mum – also to be assembled this afternoon. And I’ve cut out a Tiramisu and a sleeveless Lily for myself, and have been to Spotty to purchase some yarn dyed linen for summer pants – so clearly, I haven’t been stagnating completely in the crafty sphere. Just the computer sphere. The hook has been moving too.

But, I digress! My Christmas Day Lily dress was finished at around 11.00pm on Christmas Eve, after some issues with Stella’s Christmas Day dress earlier in the day that delayed sewing mine any earlier. Since I’d used the pattern before, it was pretty quick and I reckon that I had this dress assembled in around two hours (it was already cut out).

Tessuti Lily dress in Fabric Store linen - for Christmas day

Yes, I was happy with how this dress turned out. I love this dress! The colour is absolutely perfect for me. The linen came from The Fabric Store, and is a luscious burnt orange. I wish that I’d taken note of the colour description on the label though and remembered what they called it! There are few things that I did differently to the instructions, so I thought that for future reference I’d post them all here.

Lily dress in progress - back neckline stabilisation

Firstly, the neckline. I stabilised the neckline with Formband Bias Tape. I didn’t use the tearaway vilene stays described in the instructions at all. Instead, I ironed the Formband Bias Tape on to the neckline, both front and back, with the wider part on the seam allowance and the edge of the tape on the edge of the fabric. The line of stitching on the tape is pretty much where the neck binding will be stitched. The above photo is the back, and the below photo is the front.

Lily dress in progress - front neckline stabilisation

I then sewed the front and back together at the shoulder seams. The next step was to make the neck binding. The pattern piece seemed WAY too long, so I pretty much threw it out after taking note of the width that they suggested. I roughly measured the neck edge, and cut a bias strip 1.25 inches wide by a bit longer than the length that I’d measured. I laid this strip around the neck edge to determine the exact length, with raw edge to raw edge. Then the strip was cut to length, with a little extra for a seam allowance. The short ends were then seamed into a circle, and the band pressed in half lengthwise wrong side together so that there were two raw edges together along the length and a fold along the other length. Clear as mud?

Lily dress in progress - 1.25 inch bias band, measured to size, joined, folded in half and pressed

I pin marked centre front and centre back on the band and on the neckline, pinned the band to the neckline aligning the raw edges at these points, then pinned the rest of the band in place every couple of inches or so. I always pin perpendicular to the edge when doing this.   The band was then stitched in place with the recommended seam allowance, which I think was about 1/4 inch. I turned the band to the inside, and ironed it down. The bias cut allowed it to curve nicely around.

Lily dress in progress - neck bind attached, pressed to inside

Then I pinned this down – pins perpendicular once again, and edge stitched the band in place. This gives a nice finish on the outside and inside without any ripples and because of the tape it is quite stable.

Lily dress in progress - neck binding topstitched in place

When I make a sleeveless version – which will happen over the next few weeks – I’ll use the same technique to face the armholes. I love the effect that you get with a bias strip for these types of garments, and they’re much easier to wear than facings. I’ve also taken a couple of photos of the pockets in progress, since they are something that lots of people have had some difficulty with when making this dress. Tessuti have an extensive tutorial for this over on their blog here. First, the pockets with side and bottom hems pressed in place and the top hem pressed and top-stitched (the pocket on the right).

Lily dress in progress - pockets

And from the right side:

Lily dress in progress - pockets

Then with the top pleats/folds done:

Lily dress in progress - pockets

I think that the key with the pockets is to not over think and over complicate  it! But looking at mine as compared to the tutorial, I haven’t twisted them as deeply as Tessuti have.  Not that it matters much, but I must have skimmed over that part of the instructions!  The sleeves for this dress are super simple, but they are beautifully drafted and the sleeve cap eases into place perfectly with one row of easing stitches. I did take about one and a half inches out of the sleeve length by folding the pattern up a bit about half way up. Do make sure that you transfer your notch markings so that you can set the sleeve in easily.

Lily dress in progress - sleeves

The hem tucks are also quite easy – a few folds, staystitched in place, that are then stitched down when you do the hem. I used double sided fusible tape to secure the first fold of the hem and stabilise the bias of the skirt curve. The second fold up of the hem was top stitched down, just like the topstitching around the double fold of the sleeve hem.

Lily dress in progress - hem pleats

This was such a comfortable dress for Christmas – it didn’t matter how much food and drink I managed to consume, it still fitted – and it has really convinced me that I need to sew with and wear linen more often. You can see in this photo how nicely the back bias neckline sits against my upper back, despite my emerging dowager’s hump.

Tessuti Lily dress in Fabric Store linen - for Christmas day

It matched very nicely with my Elk necklace and bracelet, and I paired it with some Funkis clogs for the day. This solid linen is also a terrific background for contrast necklaces and scarves. I’m sure that I’m going to get loads of wear from it! As always, I love the pockets.

Tessuti Lily dress in Fabric Store linen - for Christmas day

It also went beautifully with my new Christmas gift handbag (from B.Sirius – and yes, I bought it to give to myself).

new bag from b.sirius

So that’s two Lily dresses for me. But there is a sleeveless one to come. And Mum and I went shopping yesterday and bought some beautiful linen for her to make one too. I know why this is such a popular pattern!  Perfect for the Australian summer.

Tessuti Lily dress in Fabric Store linen - for Christmas day
I’m particularly enjoying the end of year sewing review posts that some bloggers are doing. It’s very interesting to see what they’ve sewn, what their favourites are and what their failures have been, their inspirations, lessons learned, and future goals. I might even get around to doing that too – but with my current blogging lethargy it’s not likely to happy for a couple of weeks!

family

Christmas Day

I love Boxing Day.  I love the slow pace and the gradual getting myself and the household back together after the hustle and bustle of Christmas Day.  But Christmas Day is great too.

Christmas Day

Lots of laughs, lots of bubbles, lots of fresh food, and lots of family fun, especially with the indulgent big boy cousins.  As Stella said, “best day EVER!”  And yes, I did manage to get my a dress for each of the girls and a dress for myself finished in time.  Back later to blog each of them!  And hubby wore his fish shirt.

family, miscellaneous

Merry Christmas

To those of you who believe in God’s greatest gift to us, Jesus Christ, Merry Christmas!  And to those of you who don’t, Happy Holidays!  I pray that the next few days will be safe and happy ones for all of you.  I will be celebrating the birth of Christ, as well as spending time with family.  I suspect that is what many of us may be doing.  Take care of yourselves and those you love, and we will all remember those who are no longer with us.

Christmas 2012

Luke 2:10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

adult's clothing, sewing

New Look 6130

Since the peplum trend started I’ve watched gorgeous peplum tops appear on a myriad of blogs and sat back and thought “oh, those are so gorgeous, but there is no way that they would suit me”.  The solution?  Make one for my cousin Freya, who has the proverbial hourglass figure.  (In contrast to my proverbial apple figure).

IMG_9703

I came across New Look 6130 a little while and it appealed to me on a number of levels. It gave you the option of a simple straight skirt or narrow pants for the bottom half, and a peplum top with options for neckline, sleeves and peplum shape for the top half. For Freya’s outfit I made the skirt in a cotton/lycra sateen from Darn Cheap Fabrics, and the top from a lighter weight but matching cotton/lycra print, also from Darn Cheap Fabrics! One of them is here on their web site.

IMG_9734

The hardest part was deciding what size to make. I asked Freya to email me her measurements, and made the skirt in a 12 but the top in a 14 around the bust, narrowing down to a 12 through the waist. As it turns out I could have made the top in a 12 throughout – maybe even blending down to a 10. Sizing is always a challenge! She popped down to her local clothing alteration guy and had it taken in (I’d posted the top and skirt to her) and it looked wonderful on her at pre-Christmas lunch yesterday.

IMG_9710

The skirt is super simple – a kick pleat at the back, centre back seam invisible zip, two darts at the back but none at the front, and a narrow facing at the waist. The top has the option of sleeveless, cap sleeves or elbow length sleeves. Both sleeves have a lovely inverted pleat at the cap. The neckline can be a V, a simple curve, or a notched curve, and the peplum can be even all around or have an assymetrical deeper point at the side front. The peplums all have pleats where they meet the princess seams.  You can make a tie belt to go with it, or be as lucky as Freya was and already have the perfect matching one.

IMG_9704

Good blog posing Freya!  I think that you’ve been taking notes!  There were lots of positive comments on the outfit at lunch yesterday, so I was quite smugly pleased with myself. There are more photos, including detail photos (and some photos of the outfit on me) over here.

what I wore

what I wore – weeks 49 & 50

Work finished for the year.  Kinder/Childcare finished for the year.  School almost finished for the year.  Christmas shopping almost finished for the year.  Christmas sewing not yet finished for the year.  What I wore not quite finished for the year either, but not much more left.

what I wore - weeks 49 & 50

As much as I tried to be organised in advance for Christmas and to eliminate “unnecessary” tasks and duties, the past few weeks have been hectic and I’ve been feeling a little frantic.  There have been health issues of close friends and extended family to occupy our our thoughts and our prayers, and there have been the usual end of the year worries and the usual planning for the holidays worries.  There hasn’t been any vacant headspace.  I could do with some headspace.  I reckon that I’ll be able to find some between now and when I return to work at the beginning of February!

adult's clothing, sewing

gone fishing

A long, long time ago I promised my husband that I’d making him a fishing shirt.  For his fishing trips.  Which are “fishing” trips.  Sometimes they don’t even take a fishing rod.  They’re really an excuse for my husband and his brother and his brother-in-law and his best mate to have a great time chatting, eating and drinking somewhere in the great outdoors.  Or occasionally the great indoors in a cabin if the weather is inclement.

Negroni shirt - version 2, short sleeves, no pockets

So his fishing shirt isn’t actually a fishing shirt with a myriad of pockets and handy things for when you are fishing. It’s a shirt with fish on it. To remind him of what he’s meant to be doing when he goes away for those weekends.

Negroni shirt - version 2, short sleeves, no pockets

He really didn’t know what to do with his hands in these photos – needs some more posing practice, I think! The shirt is view 2 of the Colette Negroni shirt (I’ve made view 1 before) without pockets or the collar loop. I figured that there was enough going on with this fabric to eliminate the need for any extra details! The back has a couple of small pleats to allow for movement, and the yoke is fully lined.

Negroni shirt - version 2, short sleeves, no pockets

I also sped up the sewing process by using my overlocker for the side and sleeve seams, rather than flat-felling them. I needed to get this finished by Christmas and still have time to get to more of the items on my list! It’s a lovely shirt, and I’m pleased with the fit. I was lucky enough to find lime green buttons to go with it. The fabric is a quilting cotton, and I wish that I could remember which line. If I figure it out I’ll include a link from the On The Rio Grande line, by Free Spirit.

Negroni shirt - version 2, short sleeves, no pockets

This will be my husband’s Christmas day shirt. Hooray, I got it finished in time! And just for some added interest, had anyone else noticed this resemblance:

Separated at birth?  Mr Thornberry and Griff Rhys Jones

Mr Thornberry and Griff Rhys Jones. Separated at birth?

Stop press: Check out this shirt that Jennifer made for a friend’s baby back in June 2011!  Snap!
Great minds clearly think alike.

adult's clothing, sewing

dark chocolate

I know that I’ve mentioned before how much I love chocolate.  Especially dark chocolate.  And I love to wear it, as well as to eat it.  This three piece outfit is made from dark chocolate wool/something blend crushed jersey that I was lucky enough to pick up from the Darn Cheap Fabrics $2 per metre table at the end of last winter.  (I’ve actually got some in black and in mustard as well – oh, and a small piece of grape).

New Look 6470 skirt, Simplicity 2283 vest, Simplicity 2181 top

The skirt is New Look 6470. Although on the pattern cover it is in a woven, summer fabric, it has worked just as well in this jersey. And it was very fast to make. I haven’t even hemmed it, as I didn’t want to disturb the drape in this knit fabric that wouldn’t ravel anyway.  The lower flounce drapes beautifully, as it has a much larger hem circumference than an otherwise straight-ish looking skirt would suggest.

New Look 6470 skirt

The front and back are identical, and the waist is elasticised. I cut a length of elastic to fit around my waist, sewed the ends together into a circle, then applied it to the wrong side of the skirt waist along one edge with the overlocker. Then I flipped it back to the inside again, and finished it by stitching it close to the edge with a zig-zag stitch. I became a fan of the zig-zag stitch instead of a twin needle for finishing knits on my last Sewjourn weekend! I really like the look – and I am over thinking that because ready-to-wear doesn’t usually zig-zag edges, neither should I. Since when was Target the arbiter of how I should sew things?

New Look 6470 skirt, Simplicity 2283 vest, Simplicity 2181 top

The vest is Simplicity 2283. I’ve made it twice before. As with the skirt, I left the edges raw so that it would hang well. You do have to be careful with how you hem things on crinkled/scrunched fabrics, so that you don’t flatten the crinkles/scrunches. I originally bought this pattern to make the top, but it seems as though the vest is actually the winner for me. I like to hide my mid-section with it, and feels that it adds a more modern edge to the whole outfit.

Simplicity 2283 vest, Simplicity 2181 top

The back has a nice pleat in the centre, and the armholes are very cut away. It was windy when this photo was taken – it doesn’t generally stick to my butt like the photo suggests!

Simplicity 2181 top

And the top is Simplicity 2181 view B, which I’ve also made before. This stretchier knit was a better fabric to make it in than the one I used last time. Once again, I think that the crossover twist feature is very flattering. I shortened the sleeves to just above the elbow because that was all that I had enough fabric for! The edges are all hemmed on this top – with a zig-zag stitch of course!

New Look 6470 skirt, Simplicity 2181 top

The skirt and top work nicely together without the vest as well. I wasn’t originally planning on making an entire outfit, but I like the way that the three pieces go with one another, and am probably more likely to wear it this way. It’s a terrific trans-seasonal weight, and works well in the air-conditioned office!

New Look 6470 skirt, Simplicity 2283 vest, Simplicity 2181 top

adult's clothing, sewing, tessuti patterns

Lily #1 (the trawler/Rapunzel dress)

This pattern is a definite winner for me – the Tessuti Lily dress.

Tessuti "Lily" Dress in fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics

I have some beautiful linen that I want to make this up in, but thought that I should try it first in a cheaper fabric to check the fit. This fabric is from the Darn Cheap Fabrics $2 per metre table, and as it turns out it is absolutely lovely. Very soft cotton, but in a similar tightness of weave to the linen that I will use next time. And I love the print! My husband calls this the “trawler” dress, since he thinks that it looks like a whole lot of fishing net.  Edited to add: Lee comments that it should really be called the Rapunzel dress, as they are plaits, not rope.  I think that she is right!

Tessuti "Lily" Dress in fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics

There is a lot to like about this dress. For one, the pockets! They have a lovely little fold/twist feature at the top, which isn’t hard to do if you don’t overthink the instructions. There is also a tutorial on the Tessuti blog for how to do the pockets, but I found it simpler just to read the instructions and have a go. There are also tucks at the hemline not far from the side seams, two sets in the front, and two sets in the back. The dress just slips on over the head. I made my own binding for the neckline, pretty much ignoring that pattern piece.

Tessuti "Lily" Dress in fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics

I cut this out as size Medium, and am pleased with the fit through the shoulders and the bust. I shortened the sleeves a couple of inches by taking a fold out of the pattern piece about half way down, and am pleased with the finished length.

Tessuti "Lily" Dress in fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics

The pattern is available in print at home or a copy shop options. There was no way that I wanted to print out and tape together all those pieces, so I put the copy shop option onto a USB stick and took it to a copy centre that does plan printing. It cost me $6.60 to have it printed on one big sheet. A much better option than getting out all that tape!

Tessuti "Lily" Dress in fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics

I really recommend this pattern if you are after a loose, comfortable but stylish dress. I’m looking forward to making it in the solid linen. I’ve also seen it made sleeveless and with shorter sleeves before, so I think that it is quite versatile in that regard.

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