Crushed cotton cami

So nice to hear that you all enjoy t-shirt sewing as well!

This is a camisole that I made whilst visiting family in Brisbane, without a pattern.  I should have made a blog label for that sort of sewing, because, over the years, quite a few garments have been made that way.

 I bought the fabric on sale from The Fabric Store in Brisbane.

 Smiling or in focus?  Can't have both.

 I utilised the selvedge for the hem.

 I cut strips along the fabric's tatting (correct word??) and used these strips for the straps and to make a frill along the neckline.

The camisole sits perfectly and covers my bra when I am standing still, but on a crying, walking, sleeping, talking, living doll, it is a bit revealing, so I have to double it up with another cotton cami. 

Cotton Cami

One thing I like about my Patrones magazine is the large selection of camisole patterns on offer...something the other pattern companies seem to skip.

I confess that I haven't actually worn this top yet, in spite of completing it maybe two months ago.  I have purchased a few cotton voile pieces over the years, thinking that they would be good for summer tops, but then they always seem too sheer.  Last time I visited a city, I popped into a Lee Matthews store and was quite taken with a semi-sheer dress layered over a semi-sheer cami.  I thought I could do the same, layering my cotton voile pieces over a cotton cami.  Only, I haven't sewn any of the cotton voile pieces yet.  When I do, I'll have the right cami!

 

The pattern is  14 Top de Tirantes from Patrones No. 328.  The hip line was meant to be elasticated, but I have left the top loose and airy.

  

The front is elasticated.  I modified the pattern a little to finish the front edge with the selvedge of my fabric.

 

I sewed pin-tucks as indicated on the pattern and busted out a wing needle to sew the decorative stitching on the front, again, as indicated on the pattern.  I bought the wing needle years and years ago, but this is the first time I have used it.

The back top edge is elasticated.

 I also used the wing needle to make the hem a little more decorative.

Blusa con volante

They'll have to lock away my credit card, now that I know that Crafty Mamas sells individual copies of foreign sewing mags.  I would never sew enough to justify a subscription to any of these magazines, but it is fun to pick up one now and then.  I bought Patrones Joven extra No. 5 and a couple of knip modes.

I'm really a bit busy at the moment, but I was so inspired when they arrived that I wanted to dive straight in and test them out.  I picked a really easy pattern to start.

A sleeveless tank top, with a low scoop neckline adorned with a ruffle.

The back has cut-away armholes...oops, I'll have to match it with my racer-back bra.

There are no closures.  The front dart has been transferred to gathers at the neckline.

A copy of my pattern review:

Pattern Sizing:  I used the size charts to select a size 40, grading out to a 44 in the waist and hips.  I didn't make a muslin, but I did compare the pattern to my sloper.  The sizing seemed true to size and worked out okay for me.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?  Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?  Here is my google translation of the instructions.  Obviously, you need to apply your own interpretation to these.

Sew shoulder seams.
Gather a double pass at the neckline front from center to signal A and reduce to 6 cm
Gather another double pass from signal B to composure shoulder straps and also reduce to 6 cm
Finish neckline gathers holding by applying the bias tape, sewn and back.
Finish armholes the same by applying tape
Attach the two strips to form décolleté and finish ruffle on both sides of the strip with a finishing point, go through a double gather at the center of the strip, place this around the neckline and above the shoulder straps, tighten the gathers and sew a stitch above the furrowed center around the neckline.
Sew sides and hem.


What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  I like the modern front neckline scoop and cut-away back armhole .

Fabric Used:  In a huge leap of the imagination, I chose the same fabric as the magazine; a Liberty cotton lawn, only in a different colour-way.  Liberty is lightweight and easy to sew, which allowed me to use narrow bias binding finishes and french seams.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:  I lengthened the top by about an inch.  Initially I made it longer, but then shortened it again.  I was worried about unnecessary show of midriff (not being a young, gorgeous model and all), but I don't think the extra length was necessary.  It probably looks short on the model because she is so tall.

I cut the frill on the bias so that I would not need to narrow-hem the edges of the frill.  This takes more fabric, but I also wanted to make self-fabric bindings on the bias.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  I nearly sewed it again straight away, but then stopped myself, in case there were other groovy patterns in the magazine that I should try instead.

Conclusion: A little summer top that should get plenty of wear.  I did try it tucked into a pencil skirt, it was not as flattering as a more fitted blouse when tucked into a skirt.

Green Garden Dress

Youngest son:  Mum, are you going to wear high heels today?
Me:  I don't know yet.
Youngest son:  Are you going to wear a dress?
Me:  Yes, I'm going to wear my new green dress.
Youngest son:  You can wear your green high heels then.

They are all in training around here!

This is a close-up of the fabric of my new, green dress.  The fabric was a bit of a lucky dip.  I was picking up remnants from Little Workers one holiday.  None of the remnants had much "bolt" appeal.  Thery were all tightly wrapped into little rolls.  I pulled out a few green and yellow pieces for only a couple of dollars each.  When I got home and unwrapped the fabric, I was delighted to find this rose print.

I am also wearing my new necklace, bought with birthday money from my Mum.  Thanks Mum!

Here is the dress.  The top half is from the pattern I drafted when trying to sew Vogue 1174 last year.  Now that I have made it with contrast piping, I am not sure that the piping lines are all that flattering for a small bust.  The fabric is lightweight cotton, so I thought a gathered skirt would be best.  The skirt is a rectangle, gathered about 2:1, using my cheap gathering foot.  

I did build a foundation and included a waist stay; however, the dress did not go together as nicely as I would have liked.  The piping is cheap and nasty stuff from Spotlight.  It buckled and waved when I sewed it in.  I trying putting a little tension on it, but then I ended up with the fabric gathering onto the piping.  Not every day is a couture day, so I decided to go with the satisfaction of completing a project quickly rather than labour over the details. 

I also wanted to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the earthquakes in Christchurch.  It seems a frivolity to talk about clothing when such events are occuring.  Water and power are the priorities and I wish I could send you some of ours.  Flood, cyclones, bushfires and earthquakes.  It has been a hard start to the year for many.

Liberty Tunic

What do you wear when you get home in the afternoon?  Do you continue to swan around in the outfit you put together so carefully in the morning, looking the part of the domestic goddess, glass of wine in hand as you prepare dinner?  Not so me.  The more stressed I am, the quicker I reach for my comfort clothes.  For me, it is a loose fitting purple floral 70's tunic that I picked up in an op shop.  I have re-sewn most of the seams on this tunic, as the thread did not last as well as the fabric.  Only now the fabric is starting to wear too.  Time to find a replacement.

The pattern:  A Burda tunic, previously made here.   The pattern was originally tunic length, but I only traced off a shirt length.  When I lengthened it this time, I widened it to accomodate my hips, so I ended up with more of an A-line shape than the original Burda tunic.  This kinda reminds me of the lady on the "children crossing" sign.  I have always loved the silhouette of her short dress, though when I was a child I often wondered why they did not update the woman to reflect current fashion.  I think it would be groovy to have a different "children crossing" sign for each decade.
 

The fabric:  A Liberty cotton lawn. I love the feel of Liberty prints, but sometimes I find the prints to be a little busy, not allowing the eye to settle.  I added a hand-dyed ric-rac from a local craft store Pom-Pom Rouge.  I didn't stitch it on the hemline, which would have been neater, because I wasn't sure if it would look too childish and I would have to remove it (being easier to unpick if it wasn't on the hemline).  It doesn't look too childish, but I don't think it offers enough contrast.  I think I maybe should have used a contrasting print on the yoke?  Like previous Liberty garments I have made, something is not quite right.  Perhaps small scale prints are not for me.

Last holidays, my visiting sister was hanging out my washing and she asked why so many of my clothes were unfinished on the inside.  Some of them were unfinished because I made them on holidays when I didn't have my overlocker.  Others were children's clothes, finished with a zig-zag stitch because I was too lazy to change the thread colour on my overlocker for such a small garment.  Others were made from lightweight fabrics.  On lightweight fabrics I sometimes find that an overlocker is too clunky, so I use other techniques, such as french seams, zig-zagging the edges, or using a double row of stitching.  In the photo below, you can see that I used a zig-zag stitch to finish the inside yoke of the tunic.  It still makes for a neat finish, especially given that Liberty prints do not fray much.

The verdict?  It sure is lovely and cool to wear, and I have worn it a handful of times already, but I don't love it as much as my 70's tunic.  It actually looks better worn over jeans, but it was way too hot yesterday to get the jeans out for a photo shoot.  It was hard enough just putting shoes on.  There must be a thunderstorm on the way soon.

Summer Slip

I bought the Vogue DKNY 1160 dress pattern just for the slip.  I have no intention of ever making the dress.  This slip pattern has separate bust cups, which makes it a little different to my other slip patterns.  It also has a fuller skirt than most slips, which is okay for a nightie.

Summer nighties would be some of my most successful sewing projects, if you use "number of times worn" as a measure.  I last sewed a couple maybe 8 or 9 years ago, and they have ripped and worn a bit now.

The lovely thing about this pattern is that it required no fitting changes ... no shoulders to adjust, no chest area to adjust, full skirt and bias cut to accomodate waist and hip size changes.  Just a simple little whip-it-up project to calm me after a dress project that I has been causing me angst lately.

Now, I wouldn't normally include photos of me in my sleepwear, but this pattern got a poor review over at PR, so I wanted to show a successful version.  I'm not sure why mine was more successful that Ariana's ... perhaps my cotton is easier to sew and not as drapy as her silk.  The neckline edges are sewn with a narrow hem rather than finished with bias strips, but this would be easy to change if you preferred a bias binding finish.  I made the straps wider than the pattern suggested.

Print Pants

Most of the time, the "Style is Eternal" way of dressing makes sense to me, but every now and then, ya gotta have fun with fashion...and so I present to you the print pants.

(Whilst I can be a sucker for fashion, I would not pay the $1400!!! dollars for the Bally pair shown in the upper centre position of the right page shown above.  Seriously, would anybody buy those?) 

Originally, I was planning on sewing some Burda carrot-top pants, which I have admired on  Audrey and Cafe Couture.  I borrowed one of the issues from my library, but when I went to get started, I found that I was out of tracing paper.  So instead I pulled out Vogue 8657.  I ummed and aahed for a while, and then weighed up the options.  On the one hand, I had the fashion-forward Burda, complete with pockets, yoke, and fly, which I could not start straight-away and would probably take me a few days.  On the other hand, I had an elastic waist Vogue pattern that could  be whipped up in an evening.  It did not have the same details, but who would see the details in this print? Well, fashion is fun, but I did not want to spend a lot of time on what could end up being worn as PJs, so the Vogue pattern won out.

Out of curiosity, I pulled out an older pattern for pleated elastic waist pants, an Anne Klein pattern from the early 90s, for comparison.  The current Vogue pattern had a straighter back crotch curve, more tapered legs and were cut a little shorter.

The fabric is a cotton print from Gardams, with a bit of a sheen and a lovely drape.

So what do you think?  Can I wear them outside of the house?  It does seem a little ironic that fashion produces a comfortable garment and then dictates that they look best with the highest shoes in your cupboard.  I guess it is so that everybody knows that you are not just wearing pyjamas.

Summer print pencil skirt

I was really taken with the Canterbury Bells skirt at J.Crew, so I was keeping an eye out for a similar print.  I was delighted when I saw this print at Gardams.  The stretch cotton was a little lightweight for a pencil skirt, so I interlined the skirt with some stretch cotton sateen.  Now it is probably a bit heavy for me to wear in summer, but it will get plenty of wear during Spring.

As I was sewing the skirt, Belinda did a post on seam binding.  I had purchased some but never used it.  Belinda is always posting useful bits of information just as I need it :).  I got it out and used it to bind the edges near the zipper.   You can also see my basting where I attached the skirt outer and interlining, to hold the layers together until I stitched them.  I didn't line the skirt, as I thought the interlining was more than enough.

Arty Top

I have made up Tessuti's fave top in a woven (pattern to download).

When I ordered this fabric I was convinced that it was a knit and was very surprised when it turned up a woven.  I went back and looked up the description and it said nothing about being a knit.  Oh well, it is a gorgeous cotton and silk woven stripe, labelled as Alice & Olivia fabric.  I decided to use it for Colette's top.  I didn't have to change much to use a woven - just let out the side seams on the arms as they were a little snug.  The overall effect is rather arty, and I think you would get a similar effect with a lightweight linen.  It is great for showcasing jewellery.

Yesterday I wore it with jeans, but it also goes with my camel wide-legged pants and I am hoping to pair it with shorts for more of a beach throw-over in summer.

She gets to wear the pants

I think the whole harem pants trend is goig to pass me by...although I have made some for my daughter.

I'm having to eat my words here.  In a recent email correspondence with Jacqui, I was saying that I don't buy many children's patterns, instead just use the same few over and over again with different fabrics.  Then I saw on the Ottobre blog that they were reprinting the Spring 2008 issue because it was so popular.  Well, I thought I had better have a look at it.  It is choc-a-block full of very simple clothes, many with a Japanese aesthetic.  So I bought it, and the day it arrived I was so impressed with the designs that I made these pants up straight away.  Not too hard given that it only required tracing off 1 pattern piece.  For the pants I used a Japanese cotton from Tessuti that I actually purchased for myself.  The Selfish Seamstress would not be impressed.

 

The blouse is made from a remnant of Liberty print cotton lawn.   It is a raglan sleeve peasant-style blouse, which will be great for the summer months here.  I rushed to complete the embellishments and take photos yesterday because I thought the deadline for the PR children's wear competition was closing.  Turns out I go the date wrong.  Anyway, one of the requirements is to show photos of any embellishments. 

The flowers were made by ironing Vlieseline® Vliesofix Double-sided fusible web between 2 pieces of fabric and cutting out the shape.  I didn't know if it would handlethe washing machine so I made it removable.  The flower on the front is attached with a snap.  Yes Kristy, my snap envy got the better of me and I finally bought my own snap press.

The sides of the legs are gathered with elastic at the hem and embellished with a ribbon.

As you can see, these clothes are very comfortable to wear.

Liberty blouse

Do you want to hear a not-so-funny, well, maybe just-a-little-bit funny story.  Today my car broke down.  I had to wait for the RACQ to come and then they couldn't get it started.  The reason it wouldn't start was that I had dropped the keys in the toilet this morning and apparently the car could no longer recognise them.  So then I had to call Peter at work to bring me his key.  He works about 40 minutes away from where I was parked, so I spent quite a while sitting by the side of the road.  And as I was sitting there I was thinking "Well, at least I'm wearing a lovely blouse for the occasion, it keeps the sun off nicely."

I wore it today, even though it is not quite finished.  I still have to make a drawstring to go through the bottom casing.  Mostly it will be worn as a summer blouse with denim shorts, but I couldn't resist wearing it today just because it was new.

The fabric is a Liberty print.  At first glance you may think it is just another floral print, but take another look and you will see all the groovy mushrooms.

The pattern is Vogue 1177, an Anna Sui dress pattern.  I used it to make a blouse because I like the neckline and it has a lot of lovely tuck and pleat details.  Not that you can see them in this print, though they do contribute to the shape of the blouse.  There are tucks in the front yoke and pleats in the front panels, below the back yoke and around the biceps.  I'll pop some more pattern details in a pattern review.

It's much too hot

My children have a story book, "It's much too hot".  I find myself repeating this line at least a dozen times a day.  I need a hat to walk 3m from my car to a building.  I carry emergency water and rations just to pick my kids up from school.  I'm regretting not sewing all those summer blouses.  I have been most busy this week, but yesterday, I asked everybody to leave me alone for a while so that I could stitch together a few pieces of cotton voile.  Here is the result.

 

Just looking at that picture makes me feel a few degrees cooler :-)

My inspiration piece was a Paul & Joe top, torn from a magazine.  It has been filed away so long that it was actually different to what I had remembered.

I was going to bodgy my own bat-wing pattern, but decided to rifle through my pattern collection in case I had one stashed away and forgotten about.  I found an Anna Sui pattern, Vogue 2947, which I had previously sewn for my Mum.  Not exactly the same as the Paul & Joe top, but the same sorta feel.  The bat-wings ended up smaller than I remember, but that is probably because I tried on the one I made previously, which was a bigger size.  I omitted the contrast trim on the neck-line, because I had contrast shoulders.  Other reviewers have used a facing instead of a trim, but I just turned in a narrow hem.  I stitched up the centre-front a bit of a ways, so that I would not need a camisole underneath.

Check out the price tag on that Paul & Joe top.  $595!!! must be silk???  Mine is cotton.  The green swan print voile is from EmmaOneSock and the blue daisy voile is from a discount place on the Sunshine Coast (the name of the place escapes me but it is on route from Noosa Beach to Cooroy).  Peter is wondering why I didn't use matching fabrics.  I guess taste will always be individual!

My uniform

 

There was not much time for sewing this weekend, as we were building the kids a skate ramp, but I did manage to whip this skirt up in 10 minute intervals.  I'm a pretty conservative dresser, and although I have entended myself in recent years, I like having my fallback "uniform" of printed, cotton, a-line skirts and a t-shirt.  It gets me through most kid-orientated activities without flashing my knickers or exposing my bra.

The pattern is the "Skyline Skirt" from Twinkle Sews, which is a cute variation on an A-line, gored skirt.  The front and the back of the skirt are identical, to keep all the jagged lines even.  The pattern is for a lined skirt, but I didn't line mine and I added a narrow waistband.

The upper fabric is a tablecloth that I picked up at Vinnies.  The lower fabric is a Japanese cotton from Tessuti.  The 2 came together in a serendipitous moment when I was re-sorting my stash (a.k.a. a therapy session).  I love this spotty fabric, and although I bought it for a skirt, I didn't want a huge expanse of dots across my expansive rear.  I think the jagged lines in the skirt design were the perfect solution for this problem.  In order to get the tablecloth edges lining up with the jagged edges, I had to cut it off-grain, which has resulted in the top sections twisting as I wear it, but I don't think that matters too much.

I'm having trouble deciding what tops to wear it with.  I have green t-shirts which exactly match the leaves, but still seem to contrast too much with the peachy base.  I have tried yellow, mustard, peach and grey, which are all okay but need some accessories that I just don't have.  I have a hot pink / peachy striped top, which is good for bright days!  My favourite is a blue/ brown striped top, which is not a co-ordinating colour at all but seems to be the right colour intensity...and perfectly matches a blue / grey pair of heels that I bought last week.  Ahh, the dilemnas of not wearing neutral basics. 

Chameleon dress

I promised myself that I would conquer my fear and sew blouses this summer...but why sew blouses when dresses are easier??  What I most love about dresses is that they don't have to match up with anything else, nor do they have to by tucked in and yanked into place throughout the day.  This is my latest dress, in maxi length.

The pattern is the "Chameleon Dress" from Twinkle Sews.  I'll pop the pattern details in my pattern review.

The fabric is just gorgeous.  It is Nouveau Bloom from Tessuti; a silk/cotton voile border print..  It has a beautiful wood nymph-ish feel about it.  I'm always a sucker for a wood nymph fantasia theme.  One of my first fashion influences was a huge glossy book, possibly published in the eighties, showcasing Australian designers (hazy memories, but I'm thinking Morrissey, Trent Nathan, Adele Palmer, Carla Zampatti).  There was a double page spread of a dark forest, with all these girls wandering through the trees in flowy white dresses.  It was a library book and I'm pretty sure I kept it way overdue.  I would love to stumble across it again.

I lined the dress in cotton voile and the bust cups and neckline trim were from my remnant drawer.

 

If you have this pattern, you might be thinking that my dress does not look quite like the original.  Well, you would be right.  The bust cups are in sideways.  I'm sure many of you are familiar with the process.  Layout the pattern pieces, check once,  check twice, sew, sew, sew, sit back and congratulate self on quality of edgestitching (or topstitching, or understitching), then almost immediately realise that it is upside-down.  Or back-to-front.  Or you have sewn 2 left legs because the fabric is reversible.  Etc.  I discovered this mistake when I had sewn the neckline trim to the cups and before they were attached to the dress...so not too late to fix it up...but I confess, I left it as it was.  I have been unwell lately, and the only reason I was sewing at all was because I was too ache-y to sleep.  So the dress gathers onto the bust, instead of the other way around, but, as you can see, I don't exactly need a lot of gathers over the bust.

I sewed a beautiful invisible zipper.  I applied whisperweft to the seam allowances, overlocked the edges and then basted the zipper tape in place before sewing it in.  Which was all superfluous, because then I forgot to leave an opening in the lining and in a moment of extreme laziness, overlocked the lining edges together.  Did I mention that I was feeling poorly?  I left that too. 

In spite of all that, the dress worked out fine, it just slips on over my head.  It has been so hot here that I have worn it 3 days already this week.

Queue Jumper

This week I was compelled to sew this top.  Not sure why..moon phase, hormones, tropical heat stroke?  I have plenty of must-sew (Christmas presents), a UFO, a special project for me, but this is the top that demanded to be sewn.

The pattern:  "Read Between the Lines" from "Twinkle Sews".  I liked this pattern on the model, but didn't think I would ever sew it up because it has several features that I usually avoid.  It is not very bra-friendly.  The designer recommends wearing it over a plain coloured tank, but it is way too hot hear to wear breezy, summery tops over tanks here.  The humidity is on the rise and shortly I won't be able to bear any knit fabrics against my skin.  I have modified the pattern to make it more bra-friendly.  It also has that "surely, she's not pregnant again" empire line.  It is longer than I usually wear my tops.  In spite of all this, I like the final version and think I will get plenty of wear from it this summer.  The main problem is that because it is such a deviation in silhouette from the rest of my wardrobe, I don't have the right shorts or pants to wear with it (I am sorely disappointed that this book doesn't provide the pattern for the gorgeous pants featured on p99, for anyone who has this book).  See my pattern review for details.

The fabric:  If you thought that seersucker was best left to children or tablecloths, check out the Imazu range at Tessuti.  I made this top from Imazu Night.  Seriously grown-up seersucker.  I ordered a fabric for the contrast panel, but the fabric turned out to be so popular that it sold out before my order was filled.  So I ordered a back-up fabric, which was too heavy, and a second back-up, which was not quite the right colour.  Then I combed my stash for something suitable and came up short.  Finally, I emptied out the remnant drawer and made a patchwork of different scraps.  Sometimes creativity is forced upon us!  I love the final result...the textures and colours all harmonise beautifully with the Imazu.

The ochre scraps are from one of my all-time favourite fabrics.  It is a Roberto Calvalli fabric purchased from Apple Annie Fabrics.  It began life as this jacket.  The fabric was a very generous width, so I had plenty left to make this skirt.  Then I used a strip of it on the handle of this bag.  It is a beautiful texture and so perfect for the outer of this pencil roll.  It complemented some other scraps to make-up my ballet shoes bag.  And now it features in this Twinkle top.  And still, I have some left...I reckon it will pop up one or two more times yet!