A friend of mine from work asked whether I'd make a couple of basic summer skirts for her.  Now, skirts are my favourite thing in the whole wide world to sew, I just love the embellishment opportunities they present, so I jumped at the chance.  (Ever since my horrific accident almost 3 years ago I haven't worn a skirt.)  Another plus with Jane is that she's tall and slim and a knee-length A-line skirt shows off her fantastic pins to advantage.

I chose a basic McCalls pattern I had in my stash, pattern #3341 and chopped off the top 7cm of the pattern because this is where Jane wears the "waist" of her skirts.  This made the darts pretty short and sharp but I went with it and when I tried the first skirt on her it fit perfectly - not one alteration!

I ended up making 3 skirts within the budget Jane had given me plus one from leftover scraps of Amy Butler fabric that I just couldn't bring myself to throw out.

Skirt 1 is a cute pink number made from Japan cotton, which has a lovely heavy drape to it.  This was the test skirt and seemed a bit short on Jane so I added a self-fabric band at the hemline and edged it with braid as a feature.  The other colours in the fabric - red, sky blue, yellow and grey - are some of Jane's favourites so she shouldn't have any problems finding a t-shirt to go with it.

This close-up of the band shows the braid detail and my Hells Bells label.  I topstitched around the label using a 90 needle so that it would punch a hole big enough for the thicker topstitching thread to go through.

Skirt 2 is made from an embroidered cotton voile.  The fabric is lovely and light but a bit thin for a skirt so I lined it in rayon, nice and natural for our hot summers here.  When I was finished I thought the skirt looked a little plain so I crocheted up some colourful doilies and scattered them at random down one side.

Here is a close-up showing the doily detail.  I really like the look of crafty embellishments added to a garment and I was pleased with how this turned out.

Skirt 3 is made from a stretch cotton.  I added a self-tie belt in the same fabric and a fabric rose, also in the same fabric using this tutorial by Tristan.  A couple of things I would add, though, such as you need quite a long length of fabric, at least 75cm, to make a decent size rose and I would overlock the raw edges for a neater back.

In this close up of the flower detail you can also see the pintuck detail that I sewed instead of sewing the front darts.

Skirt 4, as I mentioned before, is made from scraps of Amy Butler fabric.  I love the quality and depth of pattern in her fabrics, perfect for a summer skirt.  I hemmed the lower edge of the skirt with white bias binding and added a Hells Bells label.

You can see the hook and eye closure in this close-up of the back of the skirt here and a close-up of the invisible zipper below that.  I must admit I do like the look of an invisible zip!

Wish I could slip on a nice cool cotton skirt as I speak, humidity here's about 90% and has been all day, must be a thunderstorm coming soon...



Hooray the quilt's finished, hooray!

It's been a long, hard slog but the quilt is finally finished!  See the original post here.

My daughter Claude's birthday is this Sunday, the 26th of September and here it is Friday the 24th and I've just put the finishing touches to it - a 'Hells Bells' label and embroidered date on the back.  It's been a fun project, a loooong project, can't wait for her to open it up on Sunday.

I wouldn't say I was hooked on quilting but I guess I must have enjoyed it somewhat, have ordered some Amy Butler fabrics to make a throw just for me.

Bias Binding on Puffed Sleeves

This top (McCalls 5388) has become a favourite for me, it offers lots of design possibilities and can be made from both knit and lightweight woven fabrics.  The only thing I'm not loving about the pattern is that the little puffed sleeves are finished with elastic in a casing.  Hmmm, shouts cheap to me.  Time to change construction methods and gather them onto bias binding.

First things first, the pattern is the same, there are no alterations.  Hem the lower edge as usual then stitch a row of basting stitches 1/4" from the fold.

Tie off one end then gather the lower edge of the sleeve from the other.  Measure your bicep and gather according to this.  Knot off this end as well.  Spread the gathers evenly, keeping the seam allowances at either end flat.

Lie the gathered edge along the centre fold of the bias binding, encasing the edge between it's two layers, and pin then topstitch in place.

This photo shows a close up of the finished bias binding.


Construct the rest of the sleeve as per the instructions.

How to make yo-yo's

McCalls's 5388 lends itself to quite a few design possibilities.  Having already made the necessary fit changes (you can see my review of the original version) I decided to play with fabric and details (see this review here).  One of the details I eventually decided on was yo-yo's, they're easy as pie to make and give the garment a bit of a crafty, country feel.  They tend to look best when grouped together in clusters.

1. Start by making paper templates with a diameter twice as wide as the finished yo-yo.  My largest yo-yo template was 16cm across (finished size ~ 8cm), my middle yo-yo 8cm across (finished size ~ 4cm) and the smallest yo-yo 4cm across (finished size ~ 2cm).
2. Cut the fabric circles out.
3. By hand, turn under ~ 1/4" narrow hem using a 1/4" gathering stitch to baste close to the fold.

4. Pull the gathering stitch up to form the yo-yo, centre the gathers and tie off.  Fluff it out a bit to get the effect you want.

5. Sew a button to the centre, if you wish.

Butterick 5223 Jacket

I've got a bit of a thing about short jackets at the moment and this one, Butterick 5223, caught my eye.

I like the pleated neck detail and the wide collar - almost a 50's feel to it.

For the hot Australian summer these jackets are a dressier option while still being cool. I know they're not on the list of 'best' shapes for my rectangular figure but I sometimes get a little sick of making the same styles over again.

Whenever I finish a garment I like to add a label from my collection, usually to the back facing but occassionally somewhere on the right side of the fabric.

With this label I stitched all the way around using my edge-stitching foot, surely the most useful foot on the machine!

This is how I like to take up a hem, no matter how wide or narrow it is.  First of all I sew a line of basting stitches where the hem fold will be.  I usually do this with contrast thread and find quicker, easier and more accurate than the traditional measure and pin method.  For deep hems I place a piece of tape on the machine bed the required distance from the needle and use this as a guide for the line of basting stitches.

I then iron the hem up along the basting line, give it a good press then remove the basting stitches. From there it's just a matter of hemming it in place on the sewing machine.

How to draft a pleated pocket

I'd like this tutorial to include a whiz-bang photo collage thingy that jumps out at you when you roll your cursor over it but, well, for the moment these photos will have to do.  I have searched the internet looking for ways to format the photos but so far haven't had any success.  If anyone has any tips they'd be much appreciated!  This is the pleated pocket I drafted for my 'retro-style' jacket (Vogue 8472) and I thought I'd share the process with you.

You can see the close up of it here.  Notice that as well as binding the top of the pocket with self BB I also added a self-covered button.

Start with a template of the finished pocket. Measure the top width so you know what it should be after pleating the pocket fabric.

Draw vertical lines where you want the pleats to go. Keep in mind that thicker fabric will require more space to pleat so limit the number to just a few.

Cut through the lines, almost to the bottom of the template, and spread the top of the pocket the desired amount.

Redraw the template, including the slash-and-spread area, then add seam allowances. This is the pattern piece you will use to cut out your fabric. If you like you can draw the pleat lines onto this piece.

When I made my pocket I trimmed the top edge with bias binding (so I actually cut the top seam allowance off) and added a self-fabric button.

Vogue 8472 Jacket

This is the second time I've made this pattern, the first was made from cotton ticking as a muslin (read the review here). I was happy with the muslin, the fit changes I had made to accommodate my brick-like figure, so this is my 'real' jacket. The fabric is a jap cotton print with brushed cotton contrast panels.  It's a little hard to see the details but I have added pleated patch pockets and covered buttons on the front.

I really like the whimsical Audrey Hepburn feel this pattern has, it's kind of timeless but also of the moment. I'd probably front up to make it a third time, maybe with different details. I can definitely see this in a metallic nightclub shimmer!

My foray into Patchwork...

I've made one patchwork quilt in my life and the experience was, well, let's just say 'unforgettable' and not in a good sense of the word!  It was a lot of work and there were quite a few hiccups along the way - I fogot to add seam allowances to some pieces which threw the whole thing out, Sam the handsome (but manic) labradoodle chewed holes in several places (which led to a whole lot of extra patching and a bit of freeform applique (lol!)), and all in all there just seemed to be lots of going back and fixing up. Not really my cup of tea.

So it might come as a surprise to hear that I've stepped up to the mark for another quilt! The idea of making a quilt for my 15 year old daughter has been floating around my mind for a while now, something she could keep as she travels, goes to Uni, moves into her first flat, etc etc, and just recently I saw a picture of a quilt in a housie magazine that I thought she'd like: red, white and blue with a bit of denim thrown in. Unfortunately there were a couple of practical issues that raised their head: there wasn't a pattern, just a picture; I couldn't find a pattern similar to it; and the picture shows the quilt draped over a chair, artistic but not the easiest way to try to copy the pattern!

So I winged it. I started by drafting the finished shapes, starting with a 6" square (because my quilting ruler is 6 1/2" - I like to make things easy!) and then drafting various 3, 6 and 9" rectangles and squares. I added seam allowances then played with making up repeat sequences to form long row blocks the width of a single bed. On the planner (left) I coloured in the rows to distinguish them from each other. It all makes sense in theory but as we all know, 'there's many a slip 'tween the cup and the lip'!

The Big Quilt

Being surrounded by people who quilt, and love it, I decided to give quilting a try. I love sewing, right? What could be more natural than to to progress from sewing garments to sewing quilts? I hated it.

Simplicity 3624 (again and again!)

I made this top recently in an apple green wool challis, loved it, wore it, wanted one for summer. You can see the full review here.

I have made it twice more since then, here it is made from a flocked cotton viscose - gorgeous drape, as you would expect - shortened by a good 10". Its' comfortable and cool to wear, perfect for our Australian summer. I'm just hoping those flocks don't come off in the wash.

In the final version I made it in a beautifully soft cotton jersey for winter, it goes perfectly with jeans.  You can see the review for this one here.

Design and Sew 4 (In the Studio)

This pattern is for six ponchos in a variety of shapes and styles (available in one size only), by Lois Ericson. Although the black and white line drawings on the pattern envelope aren't exactly inspiring, with a little imagination you can see the potential.
It was quite funny the way I came across this pattern ... I actually saw someone wearing the poncho and fell in love with it but thought it was a boutique buy - it wasn't until I complimented the lady wearing it and got talking to her that I found out she'd made it and there was a sewing pattern for it! :-) Here in Australia I purchased this pattern through Perpetual Patterns but I couldn't see it on their website last time I looked so here is the link for an overseas supplier.

This is a very simple pattern to make, it is essentially a large diamond with offset opening and two triangles of fabric laid over the diamond to jazz it up. I chose to make the poncho in a leaf green, stretch mesh lace. The pattern is so economical I used the leftover pieces to make a tee (see the review here).

I love the "boho" design of this poncho, a bit funky without being too young and girly. If I had one beef with it, it would be that I just don't believe that "one size fits all". In my experience there's a style reason as well as a size reason why patterns are graded and I think the proportions of this poncho would suit me better if it were 10% bigger - it feels a little skimpy the way it is.  In fact, after living with this poncho for a while, and not wearing it, I decided to give it to my petite-sized sister-in-law.  It suits her much better than it did me and I'm convinced it's because of the scale.  What a shame, I won't be making this pattern again :-(

Christmas

The holiday season is almost upon us - wow, that crept up fast! - and it's time to get cooking in the kitchen, pruning in the garden and sewing on the Husky!

In the kitchen for Christmas this year I'm going to try my hand at baking some macadamia and white chocolate shortbread, hopefully a nice little treat for my neighbours who have been a fantastic support network for me over this past difficult year.

The garden is an absolute mess and could do with a bomb, spring having sprung into summer with a vengeance, might be time to get one of the leaflet-dropping maintenance men around. Ah well, at least the gardenias are out! I love to gather up big bunches to bring inside and enjoy their perfume.

On my sewing radar is a short jacket/shirt pattern by Butterick, #5223,that I'm going to make from a polished cotton. Often in summer it's too hot for anything with extra fabric like sleeves or collars but I love the style lines of this top and, what the heck, I'll wear it in autumn!

View Butterick 5223

Simplicity 3624

I absolutely love this pattern, it suits my apple shape, cleverly disguising my thick waist with long lines and a bit of ruching. I particularly like that the top is loose but there are no unexpected 'pouffes' of fabric that can sometimes make a top look and feel 'maternity'. I also like that you can heighten or lower the neckline through the centre front ruching by lengthening or shortening the front band.

View Simplicity 3624

This tunic length or short top has an empire waistline and centre front ruching detail with a variety of sleeve options (see the full review here). I made a size 14 with a full bust adjustment and it fit perfectly. I've recently started using the Palmer and Pletsch method to fitting patterns for a full bust and I'm very happy with the results. Their logic just makes sense to me - if you add width at the centre front to go over the bumps horizontally you also need to add length to go over them vertically!

I really love this top, it's easy to make and comfortable to wear. Although it's quite distinctive I think my wardrobe can stand it if it's made in different fabrics. I can see it as a top for work in the middle of our hot Australian summer. I plan to make the tunic length with the tiny little sleeves.

My First Blog!

Blogging seems to be all the rage these days - and I must admit, I love to trawl through other people's happenings, so I thought I'd be brave and set one up for myself. Who knows where it might lead??!