December 2013 – THORNBERRY

children's clothing, kids clothing, miscellaneous

top 5 hits of 2013 (for my daughters)

How could I possibly do a top 5 hits without focusing specifically on the garments that I have made my daughters during 2013? I usually like everything that I make for them, which is fortunate both for them and for me. As a general rule, children are much easier to fit than adults. Less curves to worry about! The girls get involved with decisions about what I make for them, generally choosing both the pattern and the fabric, albeit with some guidance. And luckily for me they really do like to wear the clothes that I make, Clare in particular. I found it as difficult to narrow down a top five for the girls as I did to narrow it down for me! But here goes, in no particular order. Firstly for Clare:

1. Oliver + S Seashore Sundress.

2. Oliver + S Rollerskate Dress.

3. Oliver + S Book Report Dress.

4. Modkid Melanie dress with Go-To Leggings.

5. The Anne of Green Gables dress. My absolute favourite make for Clare this year!

And for Stella:

1. Oliver + S Bubble Dress.

2. Oliver + S Book Report Dress.

3. You Sew Girl! All Season’s Coat.

4. Oliver + S Croquet Dress.

5. Trapezist costume! My favourite (and possibly most-worn) make for Stella during 2013.

Of course, the girls’ Ottobre, Go-To and Crafty Mamas tops and dresses have worn a lot during the year as well. There wasn’t really anything for the girls that was a miss, thank goodness! I am pleased that I overcame my distaste for making costumes, because both my daughters were very happy with the ones that I did make. The obvious commonality between the hit makes for the girls was Oliver + S. Reliably wonderful. And let’s not forget those recently made Feliz dresses. I certainly can’t!

Happy 2014 everyone!

Tuesday, 31 December, 2013 by thornberry

miscellaneous

top 5 hits of 2013 (for me)

Okay, my top 5 hits! This is actually quite difficult for me. There are so many considerations that contribute to something becoming a hit – and they are not always evident at the time the garment is made. As with the misses, I’m going to bend the rules a little and there may be more than five of these.

1. StyleARC pants.

The Tori crop pant in stretch woven. The Linda pant, a brilliant work pant also in stretch woven. The Elle pant sewn in ponte (instead of the recommended stretch woven) and the April pant, also sewn in ponte, were my go-to casual winter pant. The Lola pant in woven rayon is quickly becoming my summer go-to casual pant. Oh, how I love my StyleARC pants.

2. New Look 6071.

I always feel good in this dress. It’s great layered with leggings, camisoles and cardigans, or as is. This pattern definitely has more life in it for me.

3. Vogue 8805.

What’s not to like about this pattern? Comfortable, flattering, stylish, and lots of opportunity for creativity in fabric choices. Three outings isn’t enough. And yes, thanks for the suggestion of making it into a top!

4. Sewcietea (Vogue 1027) and Frocktails (Vogue 1256) dresses.

I am so happy with both of these dresses! I feel that they flatter and are a little bit special – especially my rather daring Vogue 1256! I have worn both of these dresses more than once. I feel great in both of them.

5. Grainline Moss Mini.

There is a reason why so many people love this pattern. It’s such a great style and the seaming allows for easy adjustment to suit a number of shapes. It works for me in winter and in summer – actually, I’m wearing it as I type! I have another cut out, and there will be more.

And that’s five, but of course there are honourable mentions. Actually, I like most of the things that I made for myself this year!

The Grainline Hemlock tee has been an excellent slouchy tee. Perfect match of fit, fabric and style!

But there are many others that I’ve made more than once and wear a lot. StyleARC Marie jackets, Leisl + Co Weekend Getaway tops, StyleARC Amy tops, Vogue 8815 tops, Vogue 8817 tops, and my Crafty Mamas Lovely Layers.

Wow, I’m finding this difficult! Because I also love my Tessuti Eva dresses, and Lekala 5748, and my sleeveless Tessuti Lily dress.

Okay, okay, I’ll stop now. Because when I go back through my photos from the last year, there is a lot that I like! Most of my wardrobe is me-made, which satisfies me greatly. And I’ve found it interesting to watch the evolution of my haircut and colour this year as well!

And the more perceptive of you would have realised by now that my blog title says that these are the top 5 hits of 2013 – for me! I still have one more post to do…

Tuesday, 31 December, 2013 by thornberry

miscellaneous

2013 in review – as prepared by WordPress

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 270,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 12 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Tuesday, 31 December, 2013 by thornberry

musings, sewing

top 5 misses of 2013

Okay, most people reading sewing blogs have already realised that it is “Top 5” time. I really enjoy the end of year recaps that have been popping up. Many thanks to Gillian for giving me (and others) the push that we need to get involved!

I’m going to start with my Top 5 misses, in the hope of ending the year on a higher note with a second blog post of the hits before the calendar clocks over to 2014.

1. StyleARC Gorgeous Gore skirt.

This is a miss purely because I don’t wear it. Actually, I wore it once. The pattern was great, the skirt fitted, I like the fabric, but in combination it never came out of the wardrobe. Long ago consigned to the op shop. And I’m sure that someone else will like it!

2. Vogue 1306 top.

Many others have had great success with this top. I didn’t. Too wide across the shoulders, I put the placket on with the fold to a raw edge instead of edges together, fabric didn’t fall smoothly from the ends of seams. I felt completely blah wearing it. It’s gone too.

3. StyleARC Linda pants.

Great pattern – I have another two pairs in exactly the same size that I adore and wear to work on high rotation. But this pair? Ewwww. No bulge camouflage there! Entirely the wrong fabric choice.

4. StyleARC Adele tunic.

Ergh. That grey near my face. Stretch fabric cut on the cross grain. Neckline too high for me. This one is also at the op shop. But I will use this pattern again in a different fabric, with the neckline scooped down a little more. I like the length and the angled point at the front.

5. Lekala 4277.

Despite all the lovely comments left about this dress, it’s a miss. I’ll never be able to wear it without thinking of my abdomen the entire time. And that’s not the way that I want to live my life.

Now, that’s five. But guess what – there’s more! I have a special misses category – better on someone else. It includes the following:

Not for me but great for Rachel.

McCalls 7358 (oop)

Vogue 1130

Liesl + Co Late Lunch Tunic

Fine on me but better on Jennie.

StyleARC Gail top.

Okay on me but better on Karen.

Vogue 8881

Some honourable mentions in the misses category go to wearable muslins that weren’t. They include:

Lekala 5481

I included lots of information about what went wrong with this in the original post. Only a miss at this stage – hopefully a hit later on!

Vogue 8815

This is basically too big all over. I made the next two versions a size smaller, and they’re a much better fit. That makes me think – maybe this would be better on Jennie too!

Victory patterns Lola dress.

This isn’t a complete miss, because I do wear this dress. But it definitely fits into the “muslin” category. I made size 12 but didn’t do my usual “short woman” alterations. I should have. And I should have taken off the neckband and re-done it a little shorter, and/or taken a wedge out of the centre front. I am absolutely going to make this pattern up again with alterations, because it’s definitely the sort of thing that I like to wear, but my first try wasn’t brilliant.

Ah, going through my makes from the last year (and there are actually over 170 in total including bags, accessories and crochet) really does prompt some reflection! There are some common themes with the misses:

Wrong fabric for the pattern. This is the main thing.
Self-delusion. Measure yourself more often Lara!
Laziness/tiredness. When I am tired or feeling lazy, that is when I make mistakes. Such as not double checking things, not flat measuring the pattern, not making my standard alterations.
Wrong fabric/style for me but great for someone else. Luckily I have some wonderful friends who are happy to take these garments.

You know, misses aren’t such a bad thing. Every time you sew one up, you learn a little more about yourself and your clothing and sewing preferences.

Tuesday, 31 December, 2013 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing

lovely layers with lola

Have you noticed all the wonderful Top 5 posts that are appearing in the blogosphere? I’ll hopefully be getting on to writing similar posts soon, but in the meantime here is a big hint about one (or two!) of the patterns that will most likely make it into my Top 5.

Oh, how I am loving the StyleARC Lola pant! My last pair was in rayon, and so is this pair. (And so is the next, which is already cut out. Although I’d rather like a pair in silk crepe de chine as well). As with most StyleARC pants patterns, I have shortened these both above and below the knee, which takes them up around three inches in total.

I made these exactly the same as my last pair. Size 12, elastic in the hem in the back. I did shorten the length of waist elastic in this make, and they feel even more comfortable on. I included the side pockets, but didn’t add a zippered closure.

I cannot get over how comfortable these are to wear. That rayon is so soft against the skin! I bought it at Darn Cheap Fabrics, and think that the fabric for the top came from there too (it was in deep stash).

The top is the Crafty Mamas Lovely Layers tunic top, shortened to hip length. The fabric is a little sheer and is a soft mesh knit. I left the bottom and the sleeves unhemmed, and tried a fancy raw edge/rolled edge neck finish, with varying degrees of success. I think that I need to actually watch my Craftsy Classes on Sewing Fashion Knits and The Ultimate T-shirt and see what other tips I can pick up. Besides the importance of ironing/pressing garments before they are photographed!

And I think that is almost it for what I have made in 2013! There are some unblogged items – notably two pairs of Peta pants that I made for my Mum, one in printed rayon and the other in shot linen – but most things have eventually made it onto the blog. Now I need to put on my thinking hat and work out my Top 5’s. Before it is 2014!

Monday, 30 December, 2013 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing

Vogue 8805 take 3

And it’s back to a tried and true pattern, Vogue 8805! I love the first two versions that I made (here and here) and definitely believe that when you’re on a good thing, you should stick to it. (In contrast to my other definite belief, that there are so many patterns and styles out there waiting to be made, why not try something new?)

Anna had given me the gorgeous floral printed linen some time ago, but I was really unsure what to make from it. That beigey-lineny colour is absolutely not a flattering colour near my face. It was when I was doing some stash sorting that I put it down next to the green shot cotton (that also came to me courtesy of Anna, thanks so much again Anna for growing my stash!) and realised that the two would work well together. Enter Vogue 8805 for a little colour/print blocking!

As with my second version of this pattern, I joined the bottom two panels together into one, which left the contrast just as the solid across the top of the bodice. I made size 14 with a B cup as per the pattern measurements, and shortened the dress through the centre of the body piece. I used a covered button at the centre back closure, and finished the neckline with a strip of bias binding cut from the floral linen and turned to the inside. I have scooped out the neckline considerably more than the pattern, lowering the centre front around two inches or so. It took me quite a few tries to get the curve looking good – thank goodness I had access to a french curve.

Despite not looking very happy in the above photo, this dress is a success. The amount of ease that I like, nice and cool, and a great way to use some of the beautiful floral linen.

Monday, 30 December, 2013 by thornberry

adult's clothing, Lekala, sewing

Lekala 4148

Oh yes, another Lekala! This time it’s Lekala 4148, made when I was at Sewjourn. As described by Lekala, it is “dress with decorative belt” to be sewn from “well draping knit fabric of middle stretchiness of natural or mixed fibers”.

Dolman sleeves are rather popular at the moment and I think that overall this dress/tunic is rather cute! It suffers slightly from the same problem as my last Lekala make in that I would prefer more ease around my middle. And yes, I am wearing a control slip in these photos too.

And as you can see from the above photo, it could do with better pattern matching as well. The fabric was from Spotlight, and is another of their poly/lycra jerseys. They do such wonderful colours and patterns, and the fabrics feel very silky and smooth on the skin, but I need to not be so distracted by the colour and instead remember the slinky factor that shows off every “curve”.

Overall, I think that this is rather cute. At Sewjourn I tried it on with cropped navy leggings and blue shoes, and think that I prefer it worn that way rather than with bare legs. It will be interesting to see how often I take this dress off the hanger.

Something that I do really enjoy about sewing for myself is the opportunity to try out different styles. As well as being interesting to sew a variety of things, it’s interesting to see if they actually get worn. It’s always about how they feel and about how I feel wearing them as well as about how they might look on. I can tell that for me, style is an evolving thing. It does change over time – and I think that it is also changing as my body shape is – ahem – maturing. But it mostly seems to change depending on how I feel about myself. Hmmm, more to think on!

Monday, 30 December, 2013 by thornberry

adult's clothing, Lekala, sewing

Lekala 4277

When raving about Lekala 5748 the other day, I mentioned that I am better off choosing garments with illustrations of “fuller-figured” girls in them to get the ease that I prefer. Lekala 4277 is a perfect example of when I did NOT do this.

The resulting dress is mostly an example of sewist error (not pattern error). I almost considered sending this dress to the op shop before having photos taken, but knew that in the interests of sewing blogging I should show you the failures as well as the triumphs.

Now remember, this is a pattern that has been drafted pretty much to my measurements. Let me list the wrong for you.

1. Bad fabric choice. I chose a slinky poly-lycra jersey from Spotlight that flows like liquid and clings to every curve. Especially the curves that I do not want to show off. And yes, I AM wearing a control slip in all of these photos!

2. Pattern placement. Appalling! I originally thought “oh yes, I should use some of the border in the pleated insert, that would provide nice contrast”. No, it puts bright white across my mid-section and draws your attention entirely to where I don’t want it to go. Duh.

3. Pattern placement again. Because this pattern is a border print, I cut it on the cross grain. This didn’t really make a difference in terms of the way that the fabric hangs on me, because it is 4-way stretch and will drop anyway. But you would think that I could have got it all symmetrical. Instead, the repeat is slightly off, both at the front and at the back.

Okay, what I like about it.

1. The neckline and cut-on sleeves. It fits beautifully around the shoulders and bust, and I love the small drape.

2. The colours and print. All quite out there!

I will never wear this dress. I may – and that is a dubious may – try it again in a ponte knit, which is actually much more like the fabric recommendation of “natural/mixed knit fabric of medium stretchiness” than the poly/lycra that I used. All that said, I still like Lekala!

Monday, 30 December, 2013 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing, tessuti patterns

Christmas Day Eva

My Christmas Day dress was the Tessuti Eva dress.

A bright pop of colour on Christmas Day certainly adds to the festivities! The simplicity of my dress was in clear contrast to the elaborate dresses worn by my daughters. I used washed cotton from The Cloth Shop, and as you can see I made the version with sleeves.

As with my sleeveless wearable muslin version, I sewed this up in size Medium (Australian 12-14). I shortened the length by taking a fold out of the lower skirt piece at the “shorten/lengthen here” mark. The hem, sleeves and neckline are all finished with bias strips, folded in half and applied like a facing turned to the inside. The skirt is basically a lantern type of shape, and has side seam pockets.

This was a very comfortable and cool dress to wear during the Christmas Day heat. And yes, no doubt I will be making this dress again.

When I was at Sewjourn both Leith and Rachel were making it in a Tessuti cotton/metal blend, and Anna has bought Tessuti’s linen/polyamide Giolica for hers. I’ve also spotted a beautiful Giolica version on Sue, and know from comments left on my earlier blog post about this pattern that many of my readers have already made it as well. It is especially suited for textured fabrics, but the seaming allows for some fun with prints and colour blocking as well. This is clearly going to be a very popular pattern!

Saturday, 28 December, 2013Saturday, 11 February, 2023 by thornberry

family, miscellaneous

bumper thumper

First things first – thanks to all of you for your lovely Christmas wishes and for the comments on the girls’ dresses! I really do appreciate them. The girls are wearing their Feliz dresses again today, so they clearly were a bit of a hit!

Another Christmas Day hit was the presents that the girls received from their grandparents. As well as the slip’n’slide, they received “body bumper thumpers”.

And clearly, the adults had just as much fun with them as the kids did.

Hilarious!

And now I’m going to see if I can get my remaining blog posts for 2013 written so that what was made in 2013 actually gets blogged in 2013. Because there is plenty cut out to be sewn up during the 2014 summer holidays!

Saturday, 28 December, 2013 by thornberry

Month: December 2013