Not quite Stylearc Luna and Papercut SJ Tee

I am one of those people that only ever buys a metre of fabric, or maybe two, but never one of those people that buys 3m or 5 m on a whim.  Even this time, when I was sure that I had bought 3 m of this Milly stretch sateen, which should have been plenty to make a collarless jacket and cropped pants.  I must have only bought 2 1//2 m.  Once the jacket was made, I only had enough for a pair of shorts.  

I could have changed my plan, but I knew that I would never wear a matching skirt, and as I already had the Stylearc Luna stretch pant pattern cut out and alterations to the pattern made, I thought I would forge on ahead.  After reading Kristy's post on pants fitting, I was eager to try a different way of altering the Stylearc patterns to fit me, by using the method she described for a forward tilting pelvis.  I didn't make any other changes to the pattern.  

It is hard to tell in this fabric, and they have been shortened, but I think the alterations worked pretty well.  Enough that I will go and buy more of the Stylarc patterns that I have admired but thought would take too much work to get to fit.

I have paired the shorts with a tee based on the SJ Tee by Papercut patterns.  I have made this tee twice before.  The first time I made a medium, and the neckline was so huge that the tee was unwearable.  The second time I cut a small and added a really wide neckband, but the proportions and fit always felt a bit off.  This time I cut a medium, but added 2 inches height to the neckline all the way around, and added a hem band.  Finally, a version that I like.

Fiesta Dress

I was invited to a party that requested dressing in the "Mexican Fiesta" theme. 

I decided to go with a Mexican themed fabric, rather than a traditional Mexican style of dress.  I found this very funky fabric from Voodoo Rabbit, which has rather a lot of Mexican themed fabrics to choose from.  There was only 1.9 m left of this 112 cm wide fabric, so my options were limited.

The skirt portion of the dress is from The Papercut Patterns Bustier Dress.  The Bustier Dress was part of their first collection, and I don't think it is available any more, so no link to the pattern.  The top half of the dress is self-drafted.  The fabric is an Alexander Henry quilting cotton, and has a tendency to stretch out whilst being worn.  It was a quick sew, with none of the internal structure that is really required in a strapless or one-shoulder dress, so stretching out could potentially lead to a wardrobe malfunction.  I decided to add a shoulder strap to mitigate this problem, but don't have any photos of the dress with the strap.

Pneuma Tank meets XYT!

I bought the Pneuma Tank the moment it was released.  Only I didn't make it up straight away because I didn't have enough bra strapping to match fabrics in my stash.  I could have used my coverstitch and binding to finish edges and extend into straps (and I will do this one day), but I kept thinking how great the Pneuma tank would be if you could change the straps, on whim / with fabric choice, just like the XYT workout top.

I used the XYT as inspiration rather than use the actual pattern pieces.  This is only because I prefer a slightly different neckline than the XYT.  I used my support tank sloper to draw in an X back that would connect with the front of the pneuma tank. You could totally use the XYT pattern though...just remember to extend the upper back pieces to meet the front of the pneuma.  If you lay the XYT front on top of the pneuma tank you will be able to see how long this extension needs to be.

 I used elastic to finish the edges.  I stitched it down with a zig-zag rather than my coverstitch because I was getting low on matching thread.

The bra part of the top is from cotton lycra and the tank fabric is a lightweight, cool knit remnant.  I decided to leave the hem raw.

I would not be surprised if this becomes my favourite running top.  I like top / bra combos because it is one less thing to pull on if you are exercising in the wee hours of the morning or if you are packing to go on holiday and it saves trying to co-ordinate bra / top in the dark, if, like me, you want everything to match.  This top should be much cooler than my support tanks because the main fabric is lightweight and probably does not contain lycra and the style is loose fitting.

Soma Swimsuit

Here are some photos of the Papercut Patterns Soma swimsuit I made - it was one of my first projects in my new house as I needed to test that my machines survived the move and I used my sewing machine, overlocker and coverstitch on these.

The fabric is from Tessuti.  The very cute ric-rac elastic was from elingeria, which has sadly closed.

After reading other reviews of the pattern, I went down a size, but I wish I hadn't as the suit is very snug and I had to remove the waistline elastic.  I added maybe 4 cm of length.  I sewed the back straps in a slightly different position as I was worried about side gaping.  I had to add darts to the upper front, near where the triangle cut out bits are.  Next time I will modify the pattern so that I don't need these darts.

Patrones Thai-inspired pants made into shorts

This was one of those projects where the fabric lead the way.  I bought  this fabric at The Fabric Store in Brisbane, a couple of weeks ago.  I think it is a poly-viscose blend.  It has a heavy drape, sort of like crepe.  I loved the fabric, but the colour doesn't love me, so I went ahead a purchased it not knowing exactly what I was going to do with it, but knowing it either needed to be combined with another fabric or confined to my lower half.  I had a couple of Patrones magazines with me, and settled on some swishy shorts.

 The Fabric - poly / viscose blend from The Fabric Store

The pattern: No 31 from Patrones 326.  Obviously, I made some changes.  I cut them off into shorts.  I put an invisible zipper opening in one side, and only made a thin waistband, which I sewed over all the pleats, rather than having an opening at the wide flap (well, at least, I think this is what Patrones intended - I couldn't be sure).  I had a bit of trouble with the pleats.  On each side, there is a wider pleat sitting over the top of an inverted pleated.  I fiddled and fussed with the pattern, and then the muslin, but could not get it to work like the photograph.  I wanted the fullness from the pleats to give me the swishy effect, which it did even without looking like the photo, so I just forged ahead without getting it right.  I added an in-seam pocket on the side seam that didn't have the zipper.  The overall effect is more like a skort than shorts, and skorts seem to be having a moment just now.

When I was half-way through construction, I noticed this page in Vogue Australia's February edition.  It looks as though Marni and Bianca Spender have similar pants in their line-up, so if you have been lusting after such a style, it is probably worth getting your hands on this edition of Patrones.

I wan thinking that they would be summer shorts, but they seem to pair better with more autumnal tops.  In the above photos, I paired them with an unblogged top from last year - kill 2 birds with one blog post, so to speak.  The pattern is the Sloppy Josephine Tee by Papercut Patterns.  It was a bit of a disaster.  I made a medium, according to the size chart.  It was unwearable.  I took in all the seams., which make it more like a small.  The neckline is still so low and wide that it is indecent.  I need to layer a top underneath, but I don't have one the right colour (it is on the list).  It does look like the photo on the front of the pattern, so I should not have been too surprised - I had just seen other blog versions which seemed to fit okay.  I made another version of this pattern, using a wide neckband, which I do wear, but the proportions look off.  I haven't given up on this pattern yet though - perhaps version 3 will be just right.

Holiday sewing - Miss Chalmer's Skirt

Well, hello there! So, it's been a while. 

Mostly I have been away.  I was away for all those fabulous 2012 round-up posts, which I was just able to read on the tiny screen of a phone. 

I was able to borrow a sewing machine most places I went, so I have a lot to show you.  Not to mention the Christmas sewing that has not been documented yet.  Photos are my hold-up - I realised today that the problem is that I don't have a good spot at home to take photos. 

Since I got back, I have started a 5-day-a-week job.  This is seriously cramping my sewing and blogging style...which is why my comments on your posts are getting sparse.  I would like to spend more time on other people's blogs, but sadly, something has to give at the moment.  Perhaps when I get a little more organised...

Onto the projects!

This one is Miss Chalmer's skirt, from Papercut patterns.  I got the pattern from the Home Sewn magazine, but you can buy it individually. 

On the size chart, I measured between an S and an M.  I sewed up the S.  I didn't make a muslin, but I did add some length to the sides, to account for my pear shape, which is my usual alteration.  I added it to the top of the skirt portion, below the yoke.

 Looking at these photos, the skirt is less fitted than I realised.  It is certainly not as tight as the skirt on the pattern model, but if you look at the pattern promo photos, the model is standing with her legs apart, so it is probably a looser fit on her than first appears.

 I changed the invisible zipper to a lapped zipper.  I'm pretty pleased how this turned out, given that I did not have a zipper foot for the borrowed machine.

The fabric is a cotton from Spotlight, which I bought after seeing Belinda's version.

A nice, quick sew, which has been worn so much that it already has ice-cream and raspberry stains.

Sister Sew-along

What could be more fun than a sister sew-along to make the Papercut Patterns Pleated Pants.  Oh, I do love a bit of alliteration!

Pattern:  Pleated Pant by Papercut Patterns

Fabric:  We had each, independently, bought the same denim fabric from The Fabric Store on separate trips to Brisbane.  It has very little stretch.  It is rather stiff, but I am hoping that it will soften after a few washes.

The Process:

There were toiles.

Dare I say, I wouldn't make this pattern without them.  The sizing of this pattern is off.  I made the S (and I am not generally regarded as small) and Bernice made the M.  We were between sizes on the size chart and both started with the smaller one, and then took them in heaps at the sides.  The pattern model does look small, and her shorts are much closer fitting than ours, so I can only imagine that her pattern was specially drafted, as the pattern only goes down to XXS, and I would have ended up smaller than that.

I pleated my pleats the other way, but Bernice left hers as per the pattern.

We both reduced the height of the shorts.  I removed width from the waistband (at least an inch or maybe more), whilst she removed length from the top of the front and back pieces.

Whilst I got the length and width of the toile right, I must confess that I am not happy with the fit at the back.  When I first took in the shorts at the side I was happy, but then I took them in some more to allow for give during wear, and I ended up with pull lines from the buttocks to the inner leg that I could not make go away.  I got a little impatient and steamed on ahead, so  I will have to toile this again for next time. 

The instructions with the pattern were okay, but the methods weren't my favourite.  The fly instructions result in a zip that is very close to the overlap.  Many RTW jeans are like this, but I prefer a bit more room for error myself.  I also like to attach the waistband before sewing the side seams, so that I can adjust the fit a little for each fabric.  I bound the bottom edge of the waistband facing, rather than turn it in.

Lately, I have modified the way I sew the waistband facing to the waistband, so that I don't have a seam at the CF.  Again, this is just to allow me room for error.  I can sew the waistband so that the facing doesn't peek out, but it does require neat sewing and allowance for turn of cloth, so why not engineer this stress away?

There was a hasty photo shoot before Bernice and her family hopped in the car for the long drive home.

So, 2 cute, sturdy pairs of shorts (and in keeping with my 'list') that should only improve with wear.  Perfect for summer.  I do recommend this pattern, just with a suggestion to toile first.

PS See her post here.

Papercut pattern Circle Top

This was one of those fabrics where I clicked to buy a little too hastily.  I was buying other fabric and saw this one and grabbed it.  Later it the day it registered...it didn't say "linen"...more something along the lines of "linen-like texture".  Where I live, it is mostly too hot for synthetics.  So here I was with a sheer, summery fabric that would be too hot for summer.

Instead, I decided to use it for a beachy sort of throw-over, for windy times at the beach, using the Papercut Patterns Circle Top.  The pattern consists of a large circle, with armholes cut out and sleeves inserted.  The top of the circle forms a hood.



The front can be wrapped closed or left to drape open.  My picture does not show this so well, but you can see this effect at the Papercut patterns shop.

The edges of the circle are bound.  I used my coverstitch to bind the edges.  Half of the binding turned out perfectly, and half didn't really work at all, but the material frays and this was a superquick Friday night project whilst the family was at my son's footy game, so I am leaving it as is.  I don't know how to bind in a circle, so I cut a little bit out and made a loop closure, which you can see (if you know where to look) at the top of the hood in the first photo.  This is not the neatest solution, so I'll have to think up something else for next time.

Panic Sewing

We recently went on a last-minute camping trip.  Even more last minute, like 9 pm the night before we were leaving, I had a panic that I did not have enough warm clothes.  I decided to whip up another pair of Ooh La Leggings.  My children were most intrigued and kept interrupting me to ask if I thought that I would finish them in time.

This time around I went down a size, which was a bit brave considering that I was using a firm fabric.  It is stretchy but firm.   It all turned out okay, though the firm fabric has highlighted a few fitting issues that would not show up in regular leggings fabric.  I lowered the front waist a little, which is normal for me.  I think I still need to shorten the front crotch a little, below the curved style line, as a funny tuck is forming there.  The only other thing is that I could take in the ankles a bit.

For the record, they took me about an hour to complete.  Sadly, I did not have matching thread for my overlocker, and my overlocker is not that great, so I have some white stitching showing through on the seams that are under tension.  I did have topstitching thread to match so I used my coverstitch for all the topstitching.

The fabric was substantial enough that I felt I could wear them on their own.  I think they look very trim, but the camera disagrees and think that they highlight my pear shape.  We all know that the camera lies, so I have cropped the photograph rather than argue with it anymore.

I think they could be styled with a flannelette shirt, but all my flanno shirts seem to have gone by the wayside.

I was hoping to bring you some great campfire shots, but it turned out that the weather was so mild that I did not need them until the last evening, and I had so much trouble gathering everybody up for dinner that night that I forgot to get a photo.

Papercut Patterns Bustier Dress

I have noticed winter wear start to creep into the Aussi / kiwi blogs that I read, but it is still sunny days here.  Just as well, because I wanted to try out another of the Papercut Patterns.

This one is the bustier dress.

In this next photo I am laughing because a man nearly crinked his neck trying to see what we were doing as he drove around the corner.  We went out onto the road to take these photos at about 7:15, which I thought would be a time when early workers would already have left and those on the school run would be inside eating breakfast.  The skies have been such a beautiful blue that I wanted to capture them (only I didn't do this well...see top edge of first photo).  First a neighbour drove home and was staring at us.  I gave him a friendly wave, then this next man was really craning to see what we were doing.  That shows how exciting our neighbourhood is...you only need to hold a camera and everybody starts to stare.

Back onto the dress.  The dress is called the bustier dress, but I did not really want a bustier fit.  I wanted a day dress that I could wear comfortably.  I have other dresses that have a close fitting bodice and fuller skirt, but by the end of the day the boning in them annoys me.

I like that this one has straps.  The strap is a curved piece, which makes sense, because shoulders are not square, but I have not seen this in a pattern before.  I moved the straps slightly inwards at the front, to better cover my bra straps.

I like the skirt.  I am not too fussed on dirndl skirts, which seem a little infantile to me.  In this skirt, the gathers are limited to the centre front.  The skirt is more of a tulip shape, only using gathers instead of pleats.  Mine looks more straight than tulip, but that is because I went up a couple of sizes to accommodate my hips.  I cut a XS on top and M for the skirt.  If I wanted the skirt to look more like the that on the model, I could have brought the side seams of the skirt back to the XS lines by the hem.  I want this to be an everyday dress, so I am happy with a more practical, wider, skirt hem.

To get a M skirt to fit onto an XS bodice I added a second set of darts to the back skirt and just gathered the front skirt a little more.  The back photo shows that I could have done with a little more length over the hips.  I did alter the top edge of the skirt to allow more length here, but it looks as though I could have done with a bit more.

The seaming on the bodice is not dissimilar from Vogue 1174 (see here and here).  I never got a great fit with this seaming before, so although I did make up a muslin of this dress, I did not fret over getting a perfect fit.  I took about 4 cm of length out of the bodice, which is not an unusual alteration for me.  I removed all this length below the empire seam, but looking at these photos, I think that I could have got a better fit if I removed some of the length in the bust cups.

The instructions that came with the pattern were good.  The only changes I made were to use Sherry's method to attach the lining to the zip by machine and her trick for getting the zip to line up at the waist seam.  Next time I might change the pattern to insert the zipo at the centre back, as I prefer to step into dresses.

The fabric is a cotton from The Fabric Store.  It reads as a eucalypt green, but close up, you can see that it is patterned.  In the mirror, I really like the colour on me, though in this early morning light, it does make me look pale.

This papercut pattern also includes a top, which uses the bodice pieces and then has a separate below-waist panel.  I think it is the top shown in this and this papercut photo. 

This last photo is not to show you my dress, it is to show the roof that I painted on the weekend.  It is the roof of my sewing room.  I painted it with 2 coats of infracool, to reflect sunlight.  This paint is supposed to be applied with a sprayer, but I do not have one of those, so I used a roller with a corrugated foam fitting.  Not the best method of application and I think it still needs another coat, but it is a job that I am pleased to have done.  Don't want to get too hot doing all that sewing.  Of course, we won't really know how effective it is until next summer.

Papercut Patterns

Last week I had a quick trip to Brisbane and I finally got a chance to visit The Fabric Store, where I discovered the New Zealand patterns "Papercut Patterns".  So funky!  I bought a couple of patterns straight away and one of my sisters bought another couple, with plans that we will swap and have a very groovy wardrobe indeed.  I think we bought most of the Spring Summer Collection between us.

Since I am on a knit binge this week, I made up the Oh La Leggings.  These ones are from a thin fabric, so they will be worn under dresses which will not show the interesting design lines, but I will definitely make this one again in a heavier fabric for sportswear.

Since this is a new pattern company, I will post a review at PR and put some more details here.

Fabric:  I can't remember the content of this one.  I think it might be viscose.  Very stretchy.  Doesn't hold stitches very well.  I should have tied off my overlocker threads as all the seams are unravelling!

Sizing:  The size chart is on the pattern sheet.  I would have liked them to be included with the pattern instructions, as I read through these when preparing to sew something.    I fell between a S and an M.  I cut the M, but I took them in at the knees, the ankles and the front waist section, so maybe I should have cut an S for such stretchy fabric.

On the pattern my sister made, she ran into a bit of trouble because the finished measurements weren't printed on the pattern and she is a little on the short side.

Instructions:  The instructions come in a little booklet.  I had no problems with them.  The patterns are printed on brown paper in multiple sizes.  I used an overlocker for the seams and my coverstitch machine for the topstitching.  1 cm seam allowances are included in the pattern.

Alterations: I did have to shorten them a little.  I put cuffs on the bottoms instead of hemming, because I thought that cuffs suited my fabric better.  I took them in behind the knees, which was easy to do because of the seam that ran down the back of the leg.  I took them in at the ankles.  I messed up sewing the fronts.  I marked the fabric but these marks didn't show when I went to sew and I forged ahead regardless.  The seams didn't go together right.  I cut off the overlocking instead of unpicking, but then the seams didn't match because the curved seams meant that the seams lengths changed with this cutting.  I fiddled and fussed and then added a seam to the CF of the waist section, which ended up improving the fit for me anyway.

The only problem I have with this pattern company is that their unique packaging means that the patterns don't fit nicely into my new pattern organisational system.  Sigh.

I also bought a pants / shorts pattern and a top / dress pattern.  Hopefully I will get to these soon so I can share some more of this exciting new pattern company with you!