January 2015 – THORNBERRY

fabric stash, sewing

Jungle January swap

Well, it’s been quite a week. Stella went back to school – grade 2 for her – and Clare started high school. She was SO excited about it; no nerves at all from her, just anticipation of what the next stage might bring. But I have to admit that I cried more than once as I took her to school for day one – but I did make sure not to cry in front of her! I wanted her to just keep on feeling great about it and not worry about my tears. It is a big step for all of us. I imagine that the next year will be a massive learning curve for her and for us as her parents. She’s incredibly well prepared and so ready for it, and I think that we are too. But it is very emotional for me! We are all very proud of her. I’m also emotional about Stella moving in to grade 2 and being at primary school without her big sister being there to fall back on. I am sure that it will be a great thing for her and give her the opportunity to grow and develop purely as herself, not in relation to her sister. There will be lots of changes there too. Phew!

You may be aware that Jungle January has been on this month, and that there was a fabric swap organised as part of it. I was lucky enough to be paired up with Liz of He Cooks, She Sews! and she sent me this wonderful little package.

That jersey is definitely going to become a wrap dress, most probably this one. This print is right up my alley! The two patterns were a lovely little extra. Clare spent a bit of time with the croquis included in Simplicity 2983 working out what styles she’d like me to sew for her, and came up with these two.

You can see the fabric and other bits and pieces that I sent to Liz over here. (Unsurprisingly, I bought some of the fabric for myself too.) Liz said some very complimentary things in her blog post about how much I get done. I do sew a lot. There is no denying that. It sometimes amazes me too that I can get so much done. But there are few reasons behind why I can be so productive. Yes, I currently do work full-time – but my husband is currently at home full-time, so I’m not doing the cooking/shopping/cleaning at the moment, which means my “free” time is more available. I am able to sew in snatches of time, because I have a fully set up sewing room that even has a couch and TV in it. So while Stella is in the shower? I can sew. While I’m chatting to Clare? I can sew. While watching TV? I can sew. I’ve been sewing all my life, so I’m pretty quick. And I sew simple things. Not because I can’t sew more complex things (I have done in the past, still do on occasion, and probably will in the future) because those styles and silhouettes are what I prefer to wear. And yeah, I’m obsessed. But I’m not wonder woman, I promise you!

I was hoping to get another item or two finished before Jungle January was over, but time flew away from me and it’s unlikely to happen (unless I stay up sewing very, very late tonight and count on the time difference between Australia and the US to help me sneak another garment in). But don’t you worry, the Jungle love will continue throughout the year in some way or another!

Saturday, 31 January, 2015 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing

Jalie 2918 – tees for him

I was recently given Jalie 2918, a men’s t-shirt pattern. Since I’d noticed that my husband could do with a few new tees, I made him one.

Yes, the fabric is pretty crazy! It’s a cotton jersey from Darn Cheap Fabrics, and he liked it so much that I went back and bought some more of their cotton jersey black on colour prints. And made another one.

And another one.

And another.

Oh wait, there’s one more!

Jalie describe this pattern as: Men’s and boys’ fitted tees with choice of sleeves (short, long or double-layered) and necklines (crew neck or V-neck). The long sleeve crew-neck tee in a stretch fleece or thermal knit makes and excellent thermal layer (long underwear). Obviously we went for the simple crew neck. I traced size X, which was a size larger than my husband’s measurements. The cotton jersey is very stable and not super stretchy, so I figured that it would be more comfortable cut with that little bit more room. All the construction was done on the overlocker, and hems were topstitched in place with the twin needle on the sewing machine. I didn’t even stabilise them first; that’s how stable this jersey is. They take less than an hour to make, including cutting out time. What an excellent basic!

Monday, 26 January, 2015 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing

SBCC Cosmo skirt and Tonic tee

SBCC patterns design for women who are under 5 feet 4 inches tall. Well, that is me! And although I am very used to folding out length from pattern pieces, it is especially nice to find patterns that are drafted to fit without major alteration. This is particularly the case with skirts. I wanted a maxi skirt and found it in the SBCC Cosmo skirt.

There is a lot going for this maxi skirt. It is incredibly comfortable, and has a great flare around the hemline for movement. See?

The description of the pattern and the line drawing from the website are as follows: You know those yoga pants you wear on the weekends? Why not up the style ante and keep the comfort of a yoga waistband with the sophistication of a long flared maxi skirt? Easy to wear on your errands with flip flops, but pair it with a dressy top and some wedge sandals for an elegant look. This skirt is perfect for the stick-straight petites, but also for the curvy girls who aren’t afraid to show it off. Silhouette is engineered to taper higher than normal and the flared hem is not too overwhelming. If you need it shorter, roll the waistband. If you need it longer, extend the waistband so the seam falls at the hips. This easy maxi skirt sewing pattern sews up in a minimal amount of time. This pattern is designed knit fabrics only. Please consider using a 75% stretch and testing the fit in a substitute knit before sewing up in the final fabric. *Sewing Skill Level- Great for beginners and an easy sew.

I used what I think is a viscose/spandex and possibly something else blend knit from the $2 table at Darn Cheap Fabrics. It has black flecked through the blue which gives it a really nice depth of colour and is a medium weight, absolutely perfect for this skirt. I love the way that it gives a fairly straight looking silhouette until you start to move, then it swishes and sways.

The pattern description is quite accurate – it does sew up in a minimum of time. There are three pattern pieces – one piece for the front, one piece (cut twice) for the back, and one for the waistband. It does take quite a bit of fabric because of that flare at the bottom. All construction was on the overlocker, and I took a 5/8″ inch hem after overlocking around the hem of the skirt to stabilise the curve and hopefully bring it in just a tad. Then I folded the hem up once to the inside and used a zig-zag stitch to secure it. I find that on a curved edge like this a simple zig-zag rather than twin needle stitching sits more nicely without rippling.

The tee is the SBCC Tonic tee (a free pattern). I’ve made it before in a size Large, so just made the same size again. After looking at these photos I think I could have sized down to a Medium. I’ll remember that for next time. From the pattern website: The Tonic T-shirt is the cure for wardrobe woes. It is the staple item that works as a base for any outfit that needs some new life. This T-shirt is specifically made for petites, so no more t-shirts that can double as a tunic or hang out below a cardigan. Neckline is sexy, but not so much as you have to be in fear of bending over. All secure here. Make it in your basic color palette as an easy layering piece or make it in that special knit fabric that will add a pop to your wardrobe. *Skill Level- Easy

I think that this really needs to be my go-to pattern when I want a fairly classic closer fitting tee. I love the neckline. The scoop is slightly squared off, and it’s so comfortable to wear without revealing cleavage. And the fit skims through the body without clinging. The fabric is from Clear It, and I suspect that it is Gorman from quite a few seasons ago. It’s a double sided knit, with plenty of crosswise stretch but no lengthwise stretch (so no spandex). I took advantage of the different sides to have the narrow stripes on the sleeves and neckband with the wider stripes through the body. It made for easier stripe matching too! You can see the side seams in this photo (which also cracks me up for some reason):

Construction was on the overlocker, with twin needle stitching for hems and around the neckline. This whole outfit is so satisfying. All in a knit, so comfortable to wear, fast to make, and more importantly I feel great in it. And yes, I’ve got a new haircut! I like to change things around, and as much as I enjoyed the asymmetrical cut I’ve had for the last year or so I am enjoying this new short but longer on top style. But as you can see, I’m definitely keeping the red! I’m definitely going to be using both these patterns again at some stage.

Sunday, 25 January, 2015 by thornberry

children's clothing, kids clothing, sewing

McCalls 6501

Ah, the making of this dress was a tale of woe. It’s a good thing that the end product was so pleasing! The pattern is McCalls 6501.

So, where to start? Maybe with the line drawing and pattern description.

GIRLS’/GIRLS’ PLUS TOP, ROMPERS, DRESSES AND LEGGINGS: Pullover top, rompers and dresses have back button neckband and narrow hem. B,C: elasticized upper back and blouson, dropped waist. C,D: button trim. A, B and E: gathered, single layer flounce (wrong side shows) with tab. A, D and E: back neck slit. Leggings have elastic waist and no side seams.
Designed for light to medium weight woven fabrics. F: Medium weight moderate stretch knits.
SUGGESTED FABRICS: A,B,C,D,E: Cotton, Cotton Blends, Challis. F: Cotton Knits, Jersey.

We chose to make view E, which is the view that is photographed on the pattern cover. I had become a little wary about the sizing of girls’ patterns from the mainstream pattern companies, so after checking Clare’s measurements against those on the pattern envelope we decided to make size 8. Now, I made a number of errors and had to make a number of changes when sewing this. Error number one: the ruffle.

This is one of those situations where I should have read the instructions. You cut two of the ruffle. I assumed that I would then sew those right sides together and turn them inside out and then insert into the off centre front seam. Um, no. I was supposed to narrow hem each of the two ruffles, as they open out at the top and there is actually one sewn to each of the front pieces. Out came the unpicker, I undid all the ruffle stitching, went to the overlocker did a nice rolled hem on the edges, and I followed the instructions to attach the ruffles to the front pieces. I sewed the back pieces together at centre back, leaving an opening a per the instructions, sewed the front and back side seams….then realised that my fabric was incredibly see through. Time to cut out lining pieces.

I had plenty of cream silk/cotton in stash to use for lining, so used the front pattern pieces overlaid as one to cut one front lining piece, and cut two back lining pieces. The front and back lining pieces were then sewn together, and the centre back lining seam up to the opening. After unpicking the back dress finishing, I sewed the back lining to the back dress with right sides together, thereby clean finishing the centre back opening. I also sewed the lining and outer together around the armholes, clean finishing them as well. The original instructions had you turn and topstitch a narrow hem around the armholes.

By then I was on a roll – I sewed the dress to the neckband, and tried it on Clare. And it didn’t fit. The armholes were WAY too low, the neckband was too large, and the whole dress really didn’t work. I tried pinning out the excess a few different ways, and eventually decided that I needed to sleep on it. I did remember to take this in progress photo to show just how much fabric needed to be pinned out.

I think I spent most of the next day trying to figure out the best fix. In the end I cut off the neckband, rather than unpicking it, which instantly brought the armholes up about half an inch. I recut the neckband from my fabric scraps, and used a better quality interfacing on it. I shortened the neckband completely by taking one and a quarter inch seams at the shoulder seams (and trimming appropriately) rather than five-eighths of an inch, and trimmed the seam allowance where I was going to join the neckband to the dress back to about a quarter of an inch. I then joined the dress to the neckband, this time only using a quarter inch seam allowance. It worked beautifully with a much nicer neckband than the first one.

Of course, the saga wasn’t finished. I had taken the dress in quite a bit at the side seams up to the armhole. This time when she tried it on the armholes were a bit too tight and binding at the front. I was able to turn the dress inside out and scoop the armholes out further at the front, because of course when I’d taken it in I lost some of that armhole curve. Wish I’d thought that part through earlier. So another try on later, a quick press, and a narrow hem on both the outer fabric and the lining, it was done!

Thank goodness she likes it so much is all that I can say. The fabric came from Darn Cheap Fabrics by the way – it’s a cotton with silver metallic spots (that stick to the iron terribly if you are not careful) and it’s almost impossible to get all the wrinkles out. I made a top with the same fabric here. So, will this pattern get another outing? She has expressed interest in the halter neck romper version, but I am certainly in no hurry to make it at the moment.

Thursday, 22 January, 2015 by thornberry

children's clothing, kids clothing, sewing

Another Big Joey

I do have an awful lot of patterns, but there are also an awful lot of patterns that are used more than once. This is my second go at making the Make It Perfect Big Joey dress for Clare.

I’ve reviewed this pattern before and all the details are here. The only thing that changed this time around was that I went up a size and sewed the 10. It’s a better fit, and she’ll get more wear out of it. The armholes could still be a little deeper, but they’re not a problem as they are.

The fun thing this time was playing around with the directions of the stripes. Yes, I did have to match them along the side seams, but otherwise the changes in direction made cutting and sewing much less time consuming than it could have been. The fabric came from Anna’s stash and was lovely to work with. It clearly contained lycra, which meant that there was plenty of stretch in it to allow for cutting the neckband on the cross grain. I did the same with the sleeve bands.

Clare’s favourite part of this dress is the front kangaroo pocket. The last thing I want is a massive pocket right on my stomach, but when you are twelve it’s a wonderful thing!

I cut the skirt pieces with a gentle curve up to the side seams, so that the skirt would be the same length the whole way round. This is the same alteration I made last time. Construction was primarily on the overlocker, with the machine used for gathering and top-stitching. Very straightforward.

This pattern will probably get another outing in winter, in the long sleeved, cowl neck version.

Tuesday, 20 January, 2015 by thornberry

adult's clothing, Pattern Fantastique, sewing

Aeolian the fourth

Yes, you read correctly. My fourth Aeolian. This one, like the last, is a dress. But this time it’s a knit dress rather than a woven. And a little shorter.

I made a Medium, as before, and took quite a deep hem to bring the dress up to above the knee. The fabric is a striped knit from Clear It, so it was possibly from a Gorman or similar range some years ago. And yes, it’s striped. And stripes mean stripe matching.

Now you will have to take my word for it that the stripes match along the side seams and sleeve seams. They do. But check out the matching across those curved raglan sleeves at the back! Go me! Now, let’s check out the stripe matching along the curved raglan sleeves at the front!

Um, not so much. In fact, not at all. Although they are balanced and symmetrical, and they do line up nicely. The sleeves are cut on grain, so the hemlines are also straight and along a stripe. But it’s just not possible to match slightly curved raglan seams in a way that the stripes will match perfectly, not unless the seam is at an exact forty-five degree angle. (We know this for a fact now – Gabrielle got the graph paper out and checked it when I put one of these photos up on Instagram). And it’s the lovely shaping of the raglan sleeves and the overall drafting that makes this boxy tee/dress such a successful shape. So let’s just call those mismatched stripes at the front a design feature, in addition to the twin needle topstitching along the edge of the raglan sleeves.

And if you really do want matching stripes along the raglan seams of an Aeolian, I suggest that you match up the front ones rather than the back ones and use an exposed back facing to distract from the mismatched ones on the back, or else do the back in a solid. Or you can do what I am doing in my next Aeolian and use a double-faced stripe that has wider stripes on one side and narrower ones on the other…

Monday, 19 January, 2015Saturday, 11 February, 2023 by thornberry

adult's clothing, Liesl + Co, sewing

Liesl & Co Bento and Lekala 5063

I like a well cut tee, and one with little details that separate it a little from the stock standard tee. Mind you, I quite like a stock standard tee as well, but it didn’t take long to for the Liesl & Co Bento tee pattern to exert its pull on me. Check out the little pockets!

I know, I’m never going to actually USE those pockets. But I just like that they are there. And this design is perfect for stripes. They play so well along the sleeve bands, the lower front and back and even around the neckline.

The fabric is from Darn Cheap Fabrics, and yes it was from the infamous $2 table. Often you have to sort through it rather vigorously, but it almost always yields some gems like this. It’s lovely quality, quite stable yet has good stretch and recovery. The Bento tee pattern is also everything that you would expect from Liesl & Co. Impecably drafted, everything coming together exactly as it should, with subtle curve to the arm bands that make them sit perfectly and good fit overall. I sewed a straight size Medium without alteration.

And on this one the side seam stripes do match up as perfectly as the shoulder seam ones, but you’ll have to take my word for it! There is only one thing wrong with this tee. After wearing, I have confirmed that I prefer a lower neckline. A bit more of a scoop or a Vee than this standard crew neckline. But that can be easily fixed, and isn’t the fault of the pattern, it’s just my preference. (I recently gave away my Marilla Walker Sailor Dress purely because of its high neckline – I just don’t like clothing lying across my throat. Funny, because I do like to wear scarves).

I made the skirt at November Sewjourn last year. It is Lekala 5063, and it turned out way too big for me. I have found it difficult to get Lekala skirts to fit me properly, as I find it difficult to know where the waist has been designed to sit and therefore which part of my torso I should measure. I solved the too big problem by taking two massive darts in the back, one either side of the centre back. The front seemed fine with the side seams at the sides; the extra width was at the back. Which probably tells me what I really already knew – most of my fat distribution is at the front of my body. I have found that I am wearing the skirt a bit, despite it being too large, but I won’t use the pattern with these measurements again. The fabric is a fairly heavy weight black denim from stash; I think it came from GJs originally.

And guess what – I made two of the tees! The second one is a gift. Matchy matchy!

Monday, 19 January, 2015Saturday, 24 June, 2023 by thornberry

adult's clothing, children's clothing, crochet, kids clothing, sewing

The ones that never made it to the blog….

Yes, there were items that had a quick and often blurry photo taken, but were never photographed properly and consequently were never blogged. I am going to include them all in this post, blurry/awkward photos and all, just in order to have a record of them. But there won’t be many details, I’m afraid!

First up, the Closet Case Files Bombshell Swimsuit. This was completed just before we went to Thailand, and it did get a bit of wear when we were there. The fabric is from Rathdowne Fabrics. I think that I made a size 14, but straightened it out to remove the waist shaping. Oh, it was so long ago, I really am having trouble remembering! I do remember that this pattern uses a lot of fabric, with lining underneath and the ruched overlays. It was also quite a slow sew. When it got wet it felt like there was a LOT of web fabric on me. I like the bottom coverage, but actually think that I sewed it one size too large. Mind you by the end of the holiday and the associated food/cocktail consumption, the size was probably fine.

I’d quite like to give the other version in the pattern a try, or else try this one without the ruching. But it’s not as though I don’t have plenty of bathers now – and I don’t really swim all that often. No need for more (for me) until the next overseas holiday…ah well, a girl can dream.

I crocheted the Katniss Cross-Body Cowl, in Patons Inca yarn. I gave this one to my cousin, who lives on the edge of Melbourne where it is that bit colder than it is here. I reckon that this garment was a fail for me and for her (not the fault of the pattern). You’d really have to know what outfit it goes with – probably something similar to that worn by its namesake in the movies.

However, it was fun to crochet, and the texture is rather wonderful. Chalk that one down more to the process than the product.

A Nessie top for Clare, in fabric left over from her Perri Pullover. She wears the Perri top a lot, and this one never. Hmmm.

This pattern has been used for a top and a dress for Stella and both of those get wear, so it might move into Stella’s wardrobe sooner rather than later. The deer printed fabric is from Spotlight, and it’s a sweatshirt type of fabric that is brushed on the inside and smooth on the outside, so it’s quite thick. Probably a little too thick for this more fitted style. The contrasting yoke fabric was in stash, and was used out of fabric restriction necessity.

I added the strip of navy piping both to be a feature and to distract from the slight mis-match of cream between the yoke and the print.

Here we have McCalls 6841. I’ve sewn this pattern twice before, and making it in the stripes was a bit of an experiment. The fabric was from the Darn Cheap Fabrics $2 table, and was a poly/lycra knit but one with a very soft, smooth and cool hand, along with excellent drape.

There is actually quite a lot to like about this pattern. The neckline and shoulder gathers are terrific, and would you believe there are only two main pattern pieces? It’s actually rather straightforward to make, but looks quite complicated. But I never wore it. It went in the Christmas free-for-all – my not-yet-30 niece has claimed it.

And last but definitely not least we have the double cotton gauze scarves that I made as teacher gifts this year. A long length of fabric with the ends sewn together into a circle and the edges hemmed. Done.

A huge shout out to Gaye of Notionally Better who I bought the fabric from – it is the loveliest Thai cotton double faced gauze, different on each side, and incredibly soft. You can get some from her Etsy shop here. I have more that will become garments.

Phew, what a long blog post! But guess what – that’s not quite everything from 2014. But I’m nearly there, so surely I’ll be closer to caught up by the end of January!

Saturday, 17 January, 2015 by thornberry

children's clothing, kids clothing, sewing

Seraphic Pants

Yet more sewing for Clare! This time a pair of Figgy’s Seraphic pants – just perfect for in-between summer weather. She wore then when she headed off on camp on Sunday afternoon. The house always seems so quiet without her, but I’m sure that she is having an absolute ball. And in the meantime Stella is rather enjoying having her parents (and Buzz) all to herself.

The pattern description is as follows: Going out to dinner, playing in the fields or just lounging about the house, these are the pants to be wearing. These unisex pants are designed for cozy stretch knit for comfort but they don’t lack in style. This modern pant includes front/back topstitched seams, pockets, faux fly and waistband. A slight drop in the center seam gives the pants a touch of contemporary without dragging down the look. Pair these pants with the Celestial Pullover for the perfect Fall ensemble.
Pattern Size Range: 18mo – 8/9yr.

Firstly, did you notice that the pattern description specifically said designed for stretch knit? Well, I used a woven rayon. I figured that since these were a baggy style that it wouldn’t matter at all. And guess what – it doesn’t! The fabric was bought at Spotlight last year, and it’s a lovely medium weight rayon. Sews up beautifully! They had a few different rayon prints at the time, and there are a few still left in my stash.

The pocket construction was a little different to usual, with just one pattern piece per pocket, that folds in half. Everything worked very nicely. I made the pants exactly as per the instructions, fake fly opening and all. Much of the construction was on the overlocker, with topstitching and hems done on the sewing machine. Clare decided that she’d like the topstitching in pink. I cut the size 8/9, and they fit Clare perfectly.

I reckon that I might be able to get another pair made before she grows out of this size. I wish that the Figgy’s size range went up a little higher – maybe I’ll just have to start grading!

Wednesday, 14 January, 2015 by thornberry

adult's clothing, sewing

Sutton for Mum

Have you met my Mum? She does pop up on the blog every now and then – usually shortly after Christmas! It seems that sometimes the first garment that I sew for the year is for her, when I am visiting. Last year I made her a couple of Crafty Mamas Cherish dresses, that somehow were never photographed or blogged. So there was no way that I was going to let her get away without some photos this time. May I present Alison in her new Sutton blouse!

Okay, the phone photos aren’t quite as clear as I’d like, but you can still tell that Mum looks great, can’t you! I really, really like this pattern. We chose some fabric from deep stash to make the blouse. The print is a vintage John Kaldor, and the black I have no idea about. I’ve used it before in some Style Arc Lola pants, and think that it is a very fine wool jacquard. It washes and presses beautifully and is lovely to wear. I decided on the size 14 for Mum, knowing that the pattern has plenty of ease. As it turns out it is just a smidgen closer fitting than we’d like, but still very wearable. I didn’t make any alterations.

I outlined all the things that I like about this pattern the last time that I made it. The hemline that is higher at the front than the back, the yoke with centre back pleat, the gentle curved edges of the V-neckline. The instructions are clearly written too. No dislikes.

Since I was away from home sewing on my Mum’s machine, there is no overlocking at all in this top. I did everything that the pattern told me to in terms of edge finishing and seaming. Are you aghast and surprised?

So I think this is a great look on Mum. I still want to make this pattern for me (and might sneak another one in for Mum eventually one day if she is lucky). Thanks for modelling Mum – that is the price of having me sew for you!

Tuesday, 13 January, 2015 by thornberry

Month: January 2015