A couple of gifts

I've been a very good girl since my last post and have made two handmade gifts. In my house we have birthdays in January, February and March so I thought I should start early to get organised.

It's my husband's birthday next week and I told him I wanted to make him a shirt. He wanted a crazy Marvel comic or Star Wars print but when I went window shopping, I calculated it would cost over $50 in fabric to make. I'm way too much of a cheapskate to spend that much on fabric so I went to good ole Spotlight and grabbed some checked cotton from the sale rack. 3 metres for $12. Much better than $50!

I've never made a proper shirt so I used this casual shirt pattern that I purchased last year with the intention of making a shirt for my son (obviously that never happened). It's a great little pattern. My boy will be getting some cool shorts from this pattern for his birthday.

 

It was a super easy pattern to follow. Construction is pretty simple. There is no button placket- the front has facings instead. The collar is one piece. It was pretty tricky to put in but that's because I'm not super experienced with collars. 

Click on the photo and spot the pocket. Yep, pretty pleased with my pattern matching here!

The hardest part was the pattern matching. I made sure the pocket and centre front matched but every other seam looks crap. I probably picked a bad check for my first attempt at pattern matching- an even check would have been far easier. All in all I'm happy with it. I'm not letting Husband put it on until his birthday so this is the only pic I have of it at the moment.

Now that Birthday #1 was sorted, I was ready to start on #2- my little girl's fourth, which is in exactly a month. I decided on a dress, a hat, and a soft toy. This is the pattern I chose for the dress- I've had it in my stash for a while and hadn't used it yet.

 

The fabric was a gift from a friend and has been in my stash since my girl was a baby. I'd been waiting for the right project and I think I chose well.

The dress took about 3 hours all up including cutting. Much longer than I would normally spend on a child's dress! There were lots of fiddly little bits. I hated the pockets- it tells you to cut two pockets, stitch around the edge of each then fold along the stitching in press inwards. It would have made much more sense to cut four pockets and construct each one by sewing them right sides together- it would have given a much nicer curve to the bottom of the pockets. Anyway, I love it and I hope she does too! I made some little matching hair ties.

Next up is the hat which I will make this week. Stay tuned!

Projects for 2014

I find it very exciting to think about what I'm going to make this year. I love making lists. I just find it so satisfying!If you are a list person, you'll understand.

I want to make a couple of summer dresses for myself. I haven't made a shift dress yet and I have a feeling the shape won't suit me but I'm going to try anyway. One of these two patterns that I have in my stash:

Sorry about the flash. I suck.

And this dress (main view) in some beautiful yellow floral with butterflies.

And I will have another go at the 50s mail order dress...

 And I want to make the full-skirted version of this....

Okay, that's  probably more dresses than I will actually make. Or not. We'll see.

There are 3 family birthdays coming up and I am making a few gifts. A shirt for my husband and shorts (and maybe a shirt) for my son:

(need to hurry up and start this as Husband's birthday is in 2 weeks and have never made a shirt)

An alien softie for my son and a mouse softie and hat and some kind of clothing for my daughter.

Now practical stuff. I need a simple, lined, straight black skirt. I have about a million black skirts but many of them don't have waistbands. I like to wear blouses tucked in so a waistband is essential. Will be using this marvellous pattern again:

And a couple of blouses. A plain and a print. Maybe one from the above pattern and  View B of this one:

Some smart, well-fitting black pants. They are essential for any woman, especially a performing musician who wears all black at gigs! I'm going to make the Thurlows again but in the 2nd smallest size instead of the smallest as I'm sure my ass will grow more.

Knits! I'm not going to be scared any more. I just need to find some decent fabric. What kind of knits are best for these? There are so many- it's confusing!

I should have a great, practical wardrobe by the end of the year!

2013 Sewing Round-up

Getting this one in at the last minute before the end of the year! Here's what I made this year (not including gifts or things I made for the kids).

 

 Kwiksew 3668

 

Another Kwiksew 3668

50s Mail Order Dress

 

Sadie the Cleaning Lady Frock

Colette Patterns Pastille

My Dream Dress

Circle skirt

Butterick B5032

Ottobre knit tunic

Hideous 70s dress

Ridiculous 60s dress

Black cords

Ponte tunic

Sewaholic Thurlow

Spring Dress

 

Vogue gored skirt 

Polka dot blouse & pink skirt

Awesome skirt

 

Blue gingham Cambie 

Apple Skirt 

Floral Cambie

22 items. Not bad! I am going to aim for quality over quantity in 2014.

My biggest hits this year:

-Colette Patterns Pastille. 

The fit is not perfect but I love the print and the shape is flattering. I will make this again next year.

 
-My Dream Dress.

So, so cute! I get comments every time I wear it.

-Butterick B5032

This fits me pretty much perfectly. It's a really smart looking dress for work or a nice dinner.

-Ponte tunic

I absolutely wore this to death in winter and can't wait to make some more!

 -Spring Dress

This makes me happy every time I wear it. The fit is almost perfect and I love the fabric. It's a real 'any occasion' dress.

 
-Awesome skirt

The name says it all! Just so damn cute. Also, the Apple Skirt .

 

 

 

....and the misses. I'm ashamed of how many there are!

 

-50s Mail Order Dress

Just doesn't fit! A shame because I love the shape. I plan to make another one next year.

 

-Sadie the Cleaning Lady Frock
Completely fucking ugly. Plus it's too tight across my shoulders. It went in my 'donate to charity' bag today.

 
-Hideous 70s dress
This is only saved from the charity bin because it looks great with my 70s denim jacket. It looks totally shit by itself.

 
-Ridiculous 60s dress
Ugly. Stupid. Pointless.

-Circle skirt
I love it in theory, but in reality it doesn't suit me. There is just far too much fabric. I think half circle skirts suit me better.

So what have I learned this year?

I've learned that there are a few things I need to do to pretty much every pattern before I cut my fabric. It seems I have a short torso, hollow chest, and thick waist. It's good that I've found this out because it makes life much easier when it comes to fitting.

I've learned that there are some things that just will not suit me, no matter how much I want them to. Flowy shapes or boxy shapes are just not me. 

I've learned not to take short cuts. There are some steps you cannot skip, such as stay stitching! 

I've learned to be patient and not force myself into deadlines because that results in crappy garments.

I've learned to use fabric from my stash (mostly).

Each year I can see tangible evidence of how much my sewing has improved. I still have a long way to go, but I'm not in a hurry!

 

Final project for 2013

I snuck in one last project for the year....another New Look 6106. I made the midi version this time- I had intended to make my first one this length but didn't have enough fabric.

Pretty basic and straightforward really. This pattern is a dream to sew. The only thing I changed was the lapped zipper to a centred one. 

 

The fabric is Montreau drill from Spotlight, on special for $9.99/m. I bought 2 metres and ended up using almost all of it because my first skirt front had a huge mark right in the middle of it! I noticed it when the girl was cutting it for me and she looked on the right side and told me that it didn't show on the right side. Well, it did! I should have checked it myself. Silly cow! And she didn't cut it straight so one side was a whole 2 inches shorter than the other!

Anyway, I love this skirt and it will get lots of wear and I plan to make a gazillion more. Although I think I prefer the shorter version!

Have a happy new year and I'll be back in a day or two with my 2013 sewing round-up!

Christmas & Cambie

Hello there! I hope you all had a merry Christmas. We sure did! For the first time in a few years, it was stress-free with no family issues. I got some great gifts- mostly fitness stuff from my husband and his mum. My sister-in-law made me this beautiful wrist pin cushion and hand sewing kit. I absolutely love handmade gifts! 

 

This is what I made for her- a wrap skirt from a 1970s pattern. I wanted to make something for her without having to ask suspicious questions like, "Um, what is your waist measurement? Just out of curiosity!". I spied this pattern in my stash and it was sizes Small, Medium and Large so it was a winner. It's a bit hard to see with my craphouse photography, but there are big ol' pocekts on the front. It was really easy to sew up and I plan to make one for myself soon.

 

I wanted to get my Cambie finished to wear on Christmas Day but it took a bit longer than my first one. I had a devil of a time with the zipper and slip stitching the bodice lining. This time I added the pockets and I am so glad- they really make the dress! I also left out the skirt lining again because I don't think it needs one.

This fabric has been in my stash for ages, waiting for the right dress. I think I've definitely found it! I will pop some action pics in the next post.

Sewaholic Cambie

Finally...I've made a Cambie! I must be one of the last sewists in the world to make this wonderful dress. I received the pattern for my birthday in May and decided to give it a crack.

I used some gingham that my sister-in-law gave me. I had 3 metres of it, and although I've never worn gingham and didn't think it would suit me, I used it anyway, thinking that it would be good fabric to test out the pattern. (Funnily enough, yesterday I bought a blue gingham Sourpuss blouse...now I own two country bumpkin items!)

 

I cut a size 2. Once I'd sewn up the bodice, I basted the zipper on to check the fit and discovered two things- the waist was far too tight, and the bodice was too long by 1 to 2 inches. I must have a very short torso! I didn't want to start all over again, but I found that when I folded up the waistband it fit fine. So I unpicked the waistband and just sewed the bodice to the skirt. 

That was the only change I made- the bodice fit me really well and I didn't even need to bring in the darts. Oh, and I did a centred zipper as I didn't have any long invisible ones. Oh, and I only lined the bodice, not the skirt too as indicated on the pattern. Think that's it! Oh, I also left out the pockets!

Nope, did not even bother with pattern matching.

I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I wasn't sure about all the fabric in the skirt- especially in the back. I thought it would be super foofy and make me look silly but I like it. I forgot to understitch the lining and I didn't like the way it was rolling out so I topstitched all the top of the bodice.

 

I will wear this a lot- it's lovely and light and floaty.

I'm going to include more pics of me wearing my creations for the times when I don't have any new ones to post about. Here's me going to a Christmas party last Saturday wearing My Dream Dress, which everyone raved about at the party. 

More un-selfish sewing

I've been a busy girl again.This coming week is Jimmy's last week of prep (the first year of schooling in Australia- I guess the same as Kindergarten in the USA). His teacher has been so amazing and I know that she will love these gifts. 

 

The bag on the left is for the teacher; the one on the right is for the teacher aide who is also awesome. I am in love with Spotlight's Monteau printed drill that they have at the moment- it's reduced to $9.99/m. I ended up going back and buying another 2 metres of the one on the left for myself.

 

 

The bags are very simple and quick and have pockets on the inside.

 

I also whipped up this reversible pinny for the teacher's daughter.

 

And some 'taggies'- one for the teacher's bun-in-the-oven, and two more for a couple of other lucky bubbas that I know. The weird-lookin' green fabric is minky, a deliciously soft fabric commonly used in cloth nappies.

I love making taggies for babies- they take about 20 minutes from cutting to finishing and babies just love holding onto them and stroking the ribbons on their faces.

The other side :)

 I have two more things I'm working on, but unfortunately I can't share those until after Christmas. I hope to fit in another skirt for myself between now and that time.

And here's my baby girl in front of the Christmas tree.