taking stock and destashing

This year has been really busy at work, and I haven’t had much extra energy left to sew. During the recent cold snap here in the UK I needed some distraction and my sewing machine was put to good use once more.

Over the years I have saved up scraps left over from previous sewing projects. I’ve given some of these away through a reuse website but still had plenty left over. I had a good sort through to see what I could make use of. Inspired by a quilt design I saw online which used a cross design on a contrast background with a rainbow coloured blended template I got started.

I’m going to confess to not paying enough attention to the instructions for the blocks and quickly discovered I had messed up. Rather then unpicking all of my work I saved all the resulting offcuts and used them to create a border. The result is a quilt which uses over 36 different types of fabric, all from my scrap box and stash. The only thing I bought new was the back floral motif panels. These were intended to be used for a cushion cover. I cut them in half and rotated them for this project.

I’m really pleased with the finished baby quilt, which is a gift for a friend who recently had a baby. It’s one of the more complicated projects I’ve made and was at times challenging due to the different levels of stretch between all the fabrics. I understand a lot better why dressmaking is always going on about cutting things “on grain”. I’ve also been reminded that I am not very good at maths!

Inspired by my success with the quilt, I looked at the remaining scraps and was able to (just!) sew enough together to create a patchwork indigo colour blend of various cottons and a linen mix. After some hunting online I found a free jacket pattern by Puresoho https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2012/10/12/mollys-sketchbook-felted-wool-baby-jacket/ which I used as a basis. I chose the pattern as you dont need to sew on the sleeves, which saves on quite a bit of fabric. This was essential as I didn’t have any more indigo coloured scraps.

The pattern is designed for a more stretchy wool, so I reduced the seam allowance by 5mm throughout. All seams were carefully trimmed and top stitched to reduce bulk (apart from within the sleeves), I added wadding left over from my quilt, and a cotton lawn lining (also from scraps). The back main body was closely quilted to create more structure and for interest. I added bias binding to finish off all the exposed external edges. All the finished edges were then top stitched. The jacket is closed with a single snap.

I think a lot of clothing for baby boys is very boring and uninspiring. I wanted to make something a bit different for my friend and think this achieves that. It’s been a fun little project and it’s really nice to think both items have used up what many people would see as “waste”. It’s satisfying to see them repurposed and enjoyed.

I’m hoping to do more sewing now I’ve finished these. I’ve just started my Christmas holiday so will try to fit some sewing machine time in, Wishing everyone a good festive break and here’s to a less complicated 2023.

stop and go

So, like everyone else, a lot of things in life have been put on pause. Sewing is a bit like a comfort blanket for me, so I have been spending more time behind my sewing machine. Some things I decided to try and stick to:

• only sew from my existing pattern, fabric and notions stash
• sew things that would make me happy

Much vacuum cleaning later (the bit they don’t focus on in all the lovely sewing action photos!) over the last few months I have sewn:

• 3 baby jackets
• one child’s dress with matching jacket
• one dress for myself
• romper
• 2 face masks for a friend
• one pair of child’ s shorts

The patterns used are:

• sew-la-di-da 1940’s blitz pattern
• Burda 9422
• Burda 9456
• Kwiksew 4080
• Simplicity 8271 (again!)
• New look 8347
• Simplicity 1378

You’ve seen me make this pattern recently, this fabric was bought when I was in Seville some years ago. I planned to make a box pleated skirt out of it. Annoyingly I discovered the printed dress lines were not straight. I carefully matched up all the dresses at each of the panels of this dress so they smoothly transitioned from left to right. Feeling quite proud how nicely it turned out!

 

I have a friend who is expecting a baby, so have been busy sewing up a mini wardrobe. This was made with a silk blend outer shell, interlined with cashmere wool, and lined with silk. I underestimated how the bulk of the wool (instead of the recommended flannel) would affect the outer shell, and as a result had to let out the side seams and sleeve seams of the silk blend after sewing 3/4 of it. I think I managed to salvage it, and the fastenings (it should have had button holes but I figured the fabric would be too bulky) look great.

 

Some nice quick projects, I have made these before, no adjustments made, I particularly like the scotty dog fabric.

 

This is one of my favourites, a little garden coat. Trying to attach the binding was a pain due to the thickness with the combination of the wool and outer fabric. The pattern is supposed to just be one layer, but I added an interlining and a lining!

This jacket is interlined with wool

the fabric is so cute!

I had a small bit of lining left after making a dress and it just fitted

 

I love cycling and think this jacket is really cute. It’s interlined with silk for warmth and structure. If you look carefully you can see I quilted the outside shell to the silk.

You’ll have to wait until the next post for the Blitz dress as I need to get some photos taken before I can add them to the blog. Hope you are enjoying any sewing projects you have planned your end.

 

New year, and new projects

Things have been pretty busy, both at the sewing machine and elsewhere. So, I have a number of projects to share.

Firstly, a slip using Vogue 9015. Using fabric from my late friend’s stash. It’s not been easy to photograph it in natural day light. Hopefully you get the idea from the close up!

I ended up having to adjust the cups slightly at the side where the seams join near the under arm in order prevent gapping. I skipped the power mesh, and enjoyed working with the lace.

As I had lace leftover from this project, and was on a mission to use up more of my stash, Simplicity 8271 was used to make this lovely little dress and matching bolero for a friend’s daughter. I’m really pleased with it, and so is the friend’s daughter!

It’s my first go at sewing a ruffle and fridges in ribbon embellishment.

 

 

 

Finally, a work in progress. This is the first side of a reversible memory quilt. Each fabric represents a different memory.

Hope everyone has had a productive January.

 

stitching through memories

Fabric can tell you stories. Of dreams, plans and expectations. It can represent hopes and thoughts of the future. Of course it doesn’t always turn out the way you had expected, and can drive you up the wall with frustration if the pattern doesn’t work, or if the fabric is  totally uncooperative.

Sometimes fabric can represent memories, like a time capsule from the past. Today’s post is about some fabric I didn’t buy. It came from my best friend’s stash. She died very unexpectedly earlier this year. We met through a mutual love of sewing and I still miss her lots.

Before her stash went to a local charity shop (where hopefully it has helped raise lots of money for a good cause) I was able to take a few pieces which I thought I could use. I wanted to do something special with each one. This was the largest piece, over 2 meters of delicate cotton in a pale cream colour with a little brown dot.

I have no idea what my friend intended to do with it. I wanted something that helped evoke a bit of her  personality and spirit. I decided to make a PJ set for another friend of many years, who adores PJs and I knew would enjoy making use of the finished set.

I chose Butterick 6225 and made the sleeveless version with the 3/4 length trousers. Not having sewn tucks before, other than a sample, it was a challenge to accurately sew straight and evenly spaced lines next to each other. One side has turned out better than the other (practice makes perfect!). I’m pleased with the colour scheme I chose, and the finished look.

The pattern has some nice finishing touches, like bias bound armholes and neckline.  I will say that the waist of the top runs very large, and I had to size it down several sizes due to the amount of extra ease included. It’s certainly not “easy” in terms of the skill set required (the pattern envelope description).  Please note, my dress dummy’s measurements are smaller than that of the friend I made it for, when you view the photos, in terms of ease.

Despite all the fabric this required, there was still some leftover. So I made a similar PJ pattern, Newlook 6334, for my friend’s daughter. I think some mother and daughter matching outfits can be a bit corny, but hopefully this will be something they will enjoy wearing together. The Newlook pattern is quite sweet, although I changed it a little to add a colour blocked wide contrasting hem to the shorts.

All the items are now in the post to their new owners. I plan to make more items with the  other fabric pieces I took from my friend’s stash, and will review each one when it’s finished. So, here they all are. Bought by one friend, sewn by another, and worn by a third.

sew what’s happened?

Goodness, it has been a long time since I have posted here! For some reason I thought I had written something more recently. Sorry readers, I should have made a bit more of an effort. In my defence there have been quite a few personal events. Some of them unfortunately rather sad. Hopefully the rest of the year will see better things develop.

I’ve made quite a lot of children’s clothing for friends. Below is a combination of Burda 9424, New look 6398, Mccalls 6913, Simplicity 8101, Simplicity 1204, Made by Rae Geranium dress, a ruffle skirt, a shirred dress x2 plus matching doll\s dress.

 

Which leaves the adult size projects. I tried my best to make a corduroy fabric jacket using Simplicity 1781 work. I think I chose both a difficult fabric to work with, and a pattern just not well suited to my body type. Despite lots of fitting adjustments and seam ripping it just wasn’t coordinating. It’s currently being ignored, likely permanently!

Happily I have had some successes. Below are Vogue 8723 (I wore it loads in last summer’s heatwave), Simplicity 9769 (not made for me), and Simplicity 2444. I love the fabric for both of the dresses I made for myself, and am really pleased to have found patterns that did them justice.

 

I am currently working on a jacket (wool) using Vogue 9339. It’s coming together nicely, but as usual I have paused at the button holes. I always get stuck on this as I worry about making a mistake. The lining is all sewn up, so I will have to bite the bullet and get this finished. I thought this was an unseasonal project, but given the weather I might actually get some wear out of it sooner rather than later!

projects of all shapes and sizes

I’ve been rather poor updating this blog this year. The good news is I had a bit more to post about as a result. I ended up making an extra unexpected project (Newlook 6548) as the dress I was making for myself (see further down this post) ended up having a lot of extra fabric leftover. This was because Burda uses 1.4 meter fabric on the envelope and I bought 1.5 meter wide fabric. Which resulted in a much more efficient pattern layout and 80cm left of fabric.

Not a huge amount to say for this dress. It’s cute, and I liked the neckline. Due to fabric constrictions I cut the skirt piece on the fold instead of using the two pattern pieces. Slightly less full but it still works.  This is age 5.

 

Next, is “Margo” from sew la di da. I picked up the pattern at the knitting and stitching show in London. They design patterns for taller women than the standard pattern companies. I had to take several inches off the trousers as a result. I dropped a dress size for my bottom half after reading reviews it was roomy. The legs are, but I had hardly enough room for my waist! I had to let out the side seams a fair bit. I also had to redraw the crotch curve to accommodate a more rounded tummy and derriere.

The cotton fabric was a bargain at about £4 a meter. This project gobbles up the yards. To save on fabric I cut the bottom half on the cross grain. As the legs are so wide you really can’t tell the difference.

Next, a mandarin style dress pattern. Burda 6830. I had hoped this would be a working toile for the beautiful silk I bought in China. I don’t think I trust it enough to cut into the good stuff. This fabric stretch cotton jacquard. £5 a meter, so not too heart breaking.

Modifications so far, added 4cm to skirt length. Removed 2cm from waist as it was too long. Took the waist in by about a cm or 2 on each side. Added an extra dart at the back. Reduced the width of the main dart at the bottom point. The reason for this is that pattern is not drafted for those who have a 10 inch waist to hip difference. I need a sewing friend to help me sort out the fit further as I am not entirely happy with it.

I bought this stretch terry cotton a while back to make some projects for a friend. It has finally been transformed into Burda 9381 (a child’s bathrobe) and some free patterns from swain designs for the top and fleece fun the leggings. Thankfully these were simple enough projects as the fabric shed little bits of green over everything (I am still finding them over a month later). I had to top stitch each seam to keep things tidy, but the finished items look pretty good.

 

So, given that the mandarin dress is on pause, it was time to look at the next project. Vogue 8723 has been in my pattern box for sometime, and now the weather is sunnier I thought it was time to dig it out. I found a lovely designer linen and have carefully pattern matched cutting out the pieces to ensure the matched. You can see the front and back below. I’ve lengthened the skirt by 3 cm. Oddly the under arms were much too tight compared to my Vogue sloper, so I have cut out a size 16 here instead of my normal size 12.

I’ve bought thread, zip and lining today so can get started on sewing tomorrow. Hopefully I will have some more photos to share soon.

New year, lots of new projects

Fear not, despite the long silence my sewing machine has not been idle. Writing this post has been long overdue, and apologies for the absence! I’ve been on holiday, away for Christmas and very busy at work.

So, what have I been up to in terms of patterns? A lot of the things I have made have been for others, but have been fun to do. It will be good to get back on track though in terms of The Stash which really needs to decrease. I have this bad habit of buying new fabric once I have used up something so it doesn’t seem to decrease much….

So, first of all I made Simplicity 8339 after being disappointed at both the styles and price of sports bras when I did some shopping research. I haven’t sewn with scuba knit before, but it was nice and stable. I haven’t made the second version yet (which will be the same pattern, but colour blocked in the opposite colours).

It’s a snug fit, and luckily the straps were just long enough for me – for those taller than me you would be well advised to check before cutting out the straps. I skipped the recommended hook and eye at the back and just went for elastic all the way round.

 

Next up were several projects for a friend who is expecting a little boy, and his big sister who has had projects reviewed on here for several years. I used the same fabric in both projects so they would coordinate. I also got to sew with silk denim fabric which I didnt even know existed! It is lovely and soft, nothing like the cotton version.

Simplicity 8101 –  I added a lining. Note to anyone out there who hasn’t tried this before. If your lining fabric is thicker then your outer fabric don’t expect a happy result when stitching them together, as they will stretch at different rates. I accidentally used bias binding on the armholes instead of the narrow seam in the instructions (which I should have followed more closely).

 

I had some of the floral fabric leftover, so of course had to save this as it was far too pretty to abandon!

This is lined in a stiffer cotton which helps fluff it out, and I used the selvage for a waistband.

 

This next item took a while to make as I gave it a substantial upgrade from the pattern instructions, which to be honest weren’t great. I think this pattern should have had a lining added automatically, it didnt tell you how to finish them hem and missed off instructions like under stitching.

This has a lining, I added bias binding for the hems, and stitched down all of the facings to stop them flapping about. I also interlined the silk denim with a viscose/wool blend for warmth and body. This is Burda 9831, and my first use of a blanket stitch in a finished garment. The buttons are vintage, and from my trip to Prague last year. They matched the jacket perfectly.

The final project is a belated Christmas present for a friend (before you think I am massively slow, I was only given the fabric after Christmas!).  The silk was very slippery to sew with, and the body is cut on the bias. So, I did my best to be very careful when cutting out. This is Vogue 7837 – the trim should have been scalloped on both sides but as I was using lace fabric I made do by adding a narrow ribbon trim in a matching colour to cover the raw edge. It worked pretty well.

No modifications to this, other then shortening the crotch length slightly as my friend is petite. I also managed to sew on some snaps, which is not something I look forward to usually!

 

 

Now I just  have to finish the knickers I managed to squeeze out of my friend’s fabric so she has a bonus gift, finish the silk bolero I started before Christmas (for myself) then I can crack on with a fresh project…..

 

no sweat – some easy projects!

Normally when I make a project, it either involves fitting adjustments, or complicated cutting/sewing. For once I have had several weeks of neither. First, the Lekala S3002 pattern I started a while back. I think I am something of a convert! the fit was really good, and I only had to make a small adjustment by taking in the hip side seam slightly by about 1cm in total on each side.

I added a lining, and reduced the hem allowance as my dupioni silk was quite stiff and not forgiving to easing. Plus it frayed badly. So I did a generous baby type hem by turning over 1cm, then turning over again and stitching. The one other thing I had to do was reduce the seam allowance for the facing as it was a bit too small for some reason to fit the skirt.

Due to the fraying I hand overcast all the seams (don’t expect this kind of work with all projects) and added a lining as it was close fitting. I am surprised this isn’t included.

 

I still have a matching bolero to make which is half finished. Totally out of season of course given that it is now really cold. Still, something to look forwards to next summer.

I also happily cut up an old work sweatshirt from a previous job which has produced both trousers and top for a friend’s toddler. Very happy with the result, and even better both patterns were free. I even got to reuse the hems. So apart from the trousers elastic the entire project was free.

 

If you are interested here at the links (to fit a 3 year old):

http://www.madeeveryday.com/2008/07/tutorial-and-pattern-kid-pants-the-basic-pants.html/

http://www.madeeveryday.com/2013/02/tutorial-and-free-pattern-5-steps-to-the-basic-tee.html/

sailing through more projects

It’s been a while since I last posted – rest assured the time has been spent busy on projects. I just hadn’t quite got round to posting about them! One of the reasons I now have time to do so is that I am without my sewing machine for a whole week whilst it is being serviced. I am going to do my best to console myself by cutting out new projects.

In the mean time, here is a look back. I decided, with only two weeks to go, to make a quilt for a friend’s son’s christening. You would have thought after deciding to make a full sized quilt a month in advance of a wedding I would have learned this isn’t such a good idea, but I did manage to get all bar two seams of hand stitching done on the day, and hand it over the following day.

I was asked to look at a boat theme, and of course as I don’t go for simple ideas I made it reversible. This made the quilting a bit tricky as I wanted it to look good from both sides. So I ended up quilting around all of the animals. I’m pleased with the final look, and was even able to eek out a cushion cover the left over scraps.

The above work sidelined the coat (Vogue 9219) I had already started making a while ago, and once I got to the button hole stage my enthusiasm waned and I took a bit of a break. I finally sat down one weekend and worked my way through them all. They’ve not turned out too badly. I did discover I had miscalculated the width of the hem facing (I used a different size for the width to the height) so added an extra section and machine embroidered the recipient’s name in the middle.

 

I’m pleased to report that both parties were very happy to receive the completed work, and so am I as it means I can now return to my original (shelved) plan to make a matching skirt and bolero.

all boxed up and ready to go

As is often the case I have ended up working back to front. I was intending to make a Vogue 9219 coat pattern. After cutting out the many pieces (it will be interlined with wool, the outside layer is cotton) I made the discovery that there would be a good amount of fabric left. This was not entirely unexpected, as originally when I bought the fabric (a while ago now) I intended to make a matching dress and coat (both colour blocked).

Other sewing projects came first, and the girl I am sewing for had definitely outgrown the maximum size of the pattern I had bought. So, a new pattern was chosen and purchased. Although it used more fabric then the original there was still some left, so I ended up making a dress, which used the fabric from the coat for the skirt, and two different (leftover from other projects) fabrics for the bodice. Both of these had stretch which should make it comfy to wear.

Its been nice to use them all up. The pattern Simplicity 1211 is pretty cute. Alas, my leftover fabric for the skirt wasn’t wide enough to create the full range of box pleats required for the design. I – drumroll please – redrafted the entire lot from scratch to ensure it would match the bodice. I am pretty pleased with the finished result and the side box pleats almost match the side seams.

I also fully lined the dress instead of the originally planned bodice only as specified by the instructions. To help ensure it continues to fit, I increased the depth of the hem to 10cm so it can be adjusted at a later date.

I’ve now been able to turn my attention back to the coat. As like most Vogue patterns that are rated “average” there are a fair number of pieces to cut out and assemble. I rapidly decided to skip the instructions to use sew in interfacing for everything that needed stiffening and used a good quality iron on instead.

I’m intending to use bound button holes instead of the snaps the pattern suggests.Given the thickness of the interlined fabric this is practical as well as a nice finish. I’ve got a lovely viscose duchess satin type lining sewn up to insert shortly once the collar is added. Not too long to go now!