End of the year

Well, OBVIOUSLY I made some things for presents which I couldn't post before they were given.

There was a rather sweet little bag for my mum:

The outer is wool, and it is lined with a sea-themed cotton - because she lives by the sea!  I combined a free magazine pattern with a flap from the Amy Butler Blossom Bag, (which I have made) but I slightly lengthened it to fit.  Inside is a key strap.  I kept the buttons to one corner to stop it looking too Per Una-y.

Mum says it's the perfect size!

After that I made some pyjamas for my sister.  I got a little over-excited one evening after a couple of cocktails and ended up ordering A LOT of Liberty jersey from Shaukat.  Seven metres.  Ahem.  Ok, ok!  But it was half the Liberty cost.  And I think I should get a dress and a whole heap of other things out of it.  And it is GORGEOUS to work with - it cuts so easily and sews like a dream.

I used a free Simplicity pattern which seems to have disappeared now but was 0501, and coupled it with a long-sleeved top New Look 6230 which was free with a magazine.

The bottoms are a slouchy fit, normally with an elastic channel and a drawstring.  I added a wide and soft yoga waistband instead, and colour blocked the top to avoid full-on floral madness.

Sister says they are the perfect weight and the waistband is really comfy and they are very cheering for a dark winter's night.

I also got busy with some fur snoods lined with jersey which are really warm and cosy.

And then I made a skirt.  I had this AMAZING fabric - but only 1.4m. Isn't it lovely?  It's a really fine needle cord.  It makes me think of Eastern European folk art.

I saw it on the sample and sale rail and simply COULD NOT leave it behind.  Well, wouldyou have done?

And then I hoped it was enough for a skirt, with the right pattern.  And so I asked for ideas from my friends in a facebook group and was directed to the Cocolate Chip Skirt from Tiedyediva.  It is an AWESOME pattern!  It's quick, easy, looks gorgeous on and is really economical on fabric.  Plus, POCKETS!  I did a muslin first which was definitely necessary as I was so tight on fabric and had absolutely no hope of getting any more - it doesn't show up on any google searches.  But I got it out of my 1.4m with room to spare, and that was including lengthening it by a couple of inches too and with my hips - no mean feat!  I absolutely love it!  

The top is a Maria Denmark Kimono t-shirt - another free pattern.  It's 2 pieces plus neck and cuff bands, from cut to wear was about 90 minutes, mainly because I ballsed up the cutting and had to piece the back in the end.  And I did a simple FBA - the pivot and swivel kind - to accommodate the embonpoint.

I did redo the neck as it was flipping out, because I cut the neck band too long so it didn't stretch into place nicely, it sits more neatly now.  It's a great length, and a really nice simple tee.  I can see a few of these in the future.

Apart from there were some make-up purses, a couple of headphones pouches and I think that was it. I've got my sewing space back now the guests have gone home so I'm planning what to do next.

Two of my presents were vouchers for classes at my local sewing shop and I am really looking forward to improving my fitting, and starting on trousers.  Perfect fitting jeans, the holy grail, I really can't wait...

Still quite obsessed with Groove

I finally got some sewing time this weekend when The Girl has a playdate yesterday afternoon (thanks Katie!).

It was time to try my hand at drafting a flutter sleeve.  I found some simple instructions, drew a new short sleeve piece and proceeded to turn it into what I wanted.  And it's worked, pretty much.  It's nice and loose on the arm and drapes quite well in one version, less so in the cotton jersey as that's just thicker and less drapey overall.

As for construction, it all went together as expected - I think I'm getting to be a dab-hand at this dress now.

I'm pretty pleased overall.

The black/white flowers has a less dramatic high-low hem, even though I had 2.5m of stuff it was still a bit of a squeeze so I just cut it a bit shorter.

The blue snowflake is the cotton jersey, I was aiming for more of a tunic length for wearing with tights and boots, plus I only had 2.1m.  I might chop it a bit shorter and straight across to get the edge to roll as I don't want to hem it.

(This picture is a bit blurry and includes bonus husband-thumb shadow.)

Flip flops - ancient.

Apart from that I've made a couple of draught excluders this afternoon from some green and gold damask.  The house will be nice and cosy this winter!

It's all in my head

I'm awash in plans and thoughts of what to make next.

I had a good fabric shop last Saturday, the trusty sale rail yielded some herringbone wool, a scant metre of black jersey and just over 2m of a snowflake patterned jersey, and I also got 2.5m of a black and white big floral jersey.  So that's something for the Mothership, plus a t-shirt for me and another couple of Groove dresses.  I might go for the regular straight hem for the snowflake to squeeze it out of the length.  I'm also thinking about a flutter sleeve as well...

Plans plans plans!

First though I need some more tracing tissue, everywhere locally seems to be completely out so it has to be an online order from the enormo-retailer we all know.

This song uses the same guitar line as Tower of Strength by The Mission.  No idea if it's accidental, borrowed or sampled.

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat

I feel that although Colette Sorbetto is lovely, it's still a slightly iffy fit for me.  So I was really pleased so see Cashmerette's new pattern release for a sleeveless top.  It's called Springfield and as with all Cashmerette patterns is drafted for the curvier figure - up to a size 28 and in a range of cup sizes.  No having to do pesky bust adjustments YAY!  It also comes in 2 variations - one is a little more fitted with a princess-seamed back and the other is looser and perhaps a bit more casual.

I have some lovely cottons that would be perfect for a nice summery top.  So I measured and chose my size and got cutting with some sale-rail viscose.

Unfortunately I must have chosen the wrong size because it just isn't right.  Or it's possibly a printing error because the test square was a little out.  Either way it's very very wrong!  I've asked Jenny how to put it right and she's given me some great advice so I will be trying again with a different size, but not till after my holiday...

In the meantime, to lift the spirits I unrolled the already reliable Groove pattern, pulled out the piece of blue jersey and cut myself a t-shirt top instead.

Jeans - charity shop (bought just to cut down)
Flip-flops - very old

I freehanded cutting it shorter to make it a top, and it's just about bang on where I wanted it - another fluke in what I am calling my Great Groove Adventure!

This top has everything that I want - I love love love it!

I am Groovin'...

Groove is in the Heart

After the joy of discovering on Sunday how wonderful the Groove Dress is, I just had to make another one.  I had some lovely green striped jersey that I bought a few months ago, 2.3m in length, a shade under the recommended fabric requirement but enough all the same.  

I love a horizontal stripe.  All that fashion 'advice' about stripes being widening on the larger figure is such nonsense, it's actually the case that it can slim the shape as it creates a weird illusion.  I saw it on a science programme, but you don't have to take my word for it, have a Google and see what you find!

Anyway, construction - I slightly shortened the back piece to make sure I got it all out of the length, and to be honest my pattern matching is DREADFUL!  But who is looking at my seams?!

I love how this has turned out, and I'm super proud of the neatness of the neck band.

It's just so...wearable.  Comfortable, still lovely and swingy, looks smart enough for work and casual enough for going out.  AND it's madly quick to make - 30 minutes cutting out, an hour to sew up, and that included swapping over my overlocker and regular machine twice!  I started sewing at about 10.20 and finished at 11,15.

Next I'm thinking about hacking the pattern to make a swingy t-shirt top and I've got a nice bit of blue jersey just begging to be sewn...

Shoes - LK Bennett (in a sale a long time ago!)
Necklace - made by me
Bedroom - needs tidying

Let's Groove Tonight!

I've seen this pattern around in the last few weeks, there are lots of lovely makes on Instagram, and it was Meg of Cookin' and Craftin' who really inspired me to have a closer look.

It's the Groove Dress from Madeit Patterns.  Look at it!  Isn't it gorgeous?!  So swingy and loose, and so many variations.  It was love at first sight, but still I didn't buy it immediately.

Normally I am quite impulsive (seriously, the husband has to talk me out of throwing caution to the wind All. The. Time.  Which is a bit rich considering he asked me to marry him the fourth time we met!).  Anyway, I really hum'd and hah'd about buying the pattern because 1) I wasn't sure it would suit me and 2) although it's a jersey dress I wasn't sure it would fit, even with the stretch, since I am outside the upper measurement.  But I loved it so much!  I really did, and every blog and picture I saw just made me love it more.  So I bought it and printed it but I still didn't get to making.

Then, oh happy day, last week I threw on a linen dress of mine and realised that the style was pretty similar.  And I knew I should JFDI.

This comes as a PDF pattern.  I have varying success with these, sometimes they print out perfectly and other times they just don't, even when the scaling square is right they go a bit askew, usually with two separate bits on one sheet.  I was pretty lucky with Groove though.

And then I got The Fear.  I was sure it wasn't going to fit.  So I did the sensible thing and asked for advice on Madeit's Facebook page and that was great because they replied really quickly.  And what they advised was to simply increase the pattern by tracing a new line around the existing pattern pieces.  "Ok" I said, blithely.  I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE!

Actually it's not so hard, and it's probably a good skill to have.  And jersey is very forgiving.  I did measure some of it, but I eyeballed a lot of it.  And I seem to have lucked out to be honest - the sleeves and the bodice seams, and the side seams were EXACTLY the same size.  This doesn't always happen with patterns I haven't altered!

I opted for the scoop neck, short sleeves and high-low hem - one combination of many.  I can't do the maths, but with 2 sleeves, 5 necklines and 2 hems there are a lot of variations to choose from.

I also only had 2m of the fabric I was using.  According to the instructions this was not enough.  I laid both pattern pieces out and it looked fine but as soon as I'd cut one it just wasn't.  So in my JFDI frame of mind I decided to piece the back.  I cut the back piece as a separate skirt and bodice and I also had to cut the back bodice as two halves. This means that the back is not one smooth sweep, but I don't think it's made too much of a problem overall and I'm quite pleased with myself for thinking of it as a solution.

Construction is nice and simple - without having the piece the back it's shoulder seams, neck band, sleeves, side seams.  I do love flat sleeves, it's so much easier!  In total it took me about half an hour to trim the pages, an hour or so to stick the pattern together, 90 minutes to re-draft it and then trace it off, an hour to cut, and about 3 hours sewing.

Would I make it again?  OH YES, 1000 TIMES YES! I love it.  It's comfortable, it's swingy, I love the high-low hem.  It's my new favourite thing.

I do not want to take it off!  I have some gorgeous green striped jersey which will be lovely and I'm already thinking about when I'll be able to make the time to put it together.

As a perk, if you buy the adult or children pattern for Groove you get the teen sizes chucked in free.  I would like it if one could choose whether to get the teen or the kid sizes, but a freebie is a freebie after all, and I am sure I know a teen or two that might like it!  I will have to buy the kids' pattern though because The Girl wants one.

I'm off to dance around my sitting room to some classic disco...

Summer is the time for Sorbet(to)

If you're looking for a nice easy and quick sew, what you need is the Sorbetto top from Colette.  It's a pretty and simple sleeveless top, perfect for summer.  It's a great stash buster - more on that later.  It's very variable and hackable (is that a word?  It is now...)

Sorbetto pretty famous in sewing-blog world.  I've seen it countless times and I finally decided to try it for myself - I wrote about my first one a couple of posts back.

Sorbetto easy, quick, nice to sew.  But I have had to do a fair bit to get it to fit me properly, and even now I don't think I've got it completely right.  That's down to me, not the pattern.

I hadn't mentioned in my previous post that I did actually tissue-fit.  I'd never done it before and I must say it's hard without help, and my husband, a truly wonderful man in a thousand different ways (feel free to make a vom-face), is not a natural midinette!

I did a fairly big FBA on version 1, and foolishly went straight to cutting out 4 from different fabrics.  Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Oh poor excitable me!

So, after the first one I made some more.  On the second I inverted the pleat and just secured it at the neck.  I LOVE this fabric, moustaches are ace!  It was leftover from a skirt I made for a friend, I bought it on eBay from India, it arrived really quickly and is lovely quality - it feels slightly brushed almost and with a good quality print.  The leftover piece had a bit of a fading, but I think I managed to avoid it.  A chap at work asked it is was anything to do with Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer!

Then I made one from a bit of chiffon-y stuff that came in a mystery bag from Abakhan.  I omitted the pleat altogether and used bought satin bias.  It colour matched pretty well.  The neck is slightly wide but I do really like this one.  Chiffon is a bit of a swine to sew though, it slips all over the place!  And I think my darts are waaaaaaaaay off, but if you're close enough to see that you probably aren't thinking about the quality of my sewing...

After that I was ready to sew the one I was most interested in.  And here is where I tell you all about how I squeezed it out of a metre.  And I did.  A metre of my precious Liberty Lawn Mauverina, bought a year ago at Liberty itself, treasured for the right project, frequently taken out and gazed upon...my precioussssssss.

Except...you know it's not going to be that simple don't you!  I wouldn't be talking about it if it was!

In my haste I had cut one of the pieces upside down.  On a directional print.  DAMMIT!  So then I had to trawl eBay for some more, because however much I love it, that stuff is £22.50 a metre and I really wanted to pay a lot less.  I found some at a good price, and then had to wait for it to arrive and wash it and dry it and press it and...the waiting was agony.

In the meantime I redid the FBA, and added another inch or so.  And then I checked and rechecked the direction of the print before cutting and made this one.  It's got a slight split at the side seams and I LOVE IT!

After that I hacked a Sorbetto into a bodice for a nightdress and added a gathered tube for a skirt in some lovely dotted swiss.  Totally non-matching bias binding, but I quite like the contrast.  Super cool and comfortable.

So, can you get a top out of a metre?  Liberty Lawn is 150cm wide and I'd say that even at the larger end of the pattern sizing you can do it if you've also got the width, but it would be tricky on a narrower fabric.  You might need to use bought bias, but it is possible.  Just don't cut it upside down and have to order more.

New toys!

Last month I went back to doing full-time hours for the next few months and on Friday I got my first full-time pay for almost 4 years.  Oh man!  Full-time pay!  It is, as they say, totes amazes.

I had decided to buy myself an overlocker as a 'well done for going to work' present, and I went and got it yesterday.  IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!  It's a Janome 9300DX.  Features include a 3 or 4 thread option, it comes already threaded, the upper blade is really easy to lower, the front opens up and threading is colour-coded for each path.

I thought long and hard about which one to get, and my Mr Toad tendencies did have me veering towards something super-whizzy and full of features, but in the end I realised I didn't really need top of the range - I'm a domestic sewer after all, I don't need a professional-standard machine!  And my local sewing shop had this one on offer so I was able to spend my money locally which always pleases me.

I've just had a little test, re-doing the side seams of a jersey top I made a few weeks ago, the Love Notions Laundry Day Tee.

I really like the style of this pattern.  It's the one I've mentioned before that I was a bit "hmmm"  about but which has been worn a lot more than I expected.  I still think I need to do a bust adjustment on the pattern as it does pull a bit over the bust, but in general it's a nice and easy to wear top.  I will probably make another one or two.

Anyway, when I made it, I forgot to use a zig-zag stitch so the stitches were popping like crazy every time I put it on.  BUT, this is all fixed now, thanks to my new overlocker.  The seams are now nice and stable, and properly finished.  I am so happy with my new addition...

What I made next...

This is what I made on Sunday and wore to work yesterday. It's Colette Sorbetto - which is still FREE!

I have a feeling that the pattern printing was a little off, as the test square was a bit smaller, but I went for it anyway and the sticking together was ok, it all lined up. How do you get the printing right? Mine never turn out exactly right...

The pattern has been adjusted with an FBA and lengthened by about 3 inches, and I made the pleat a little narrower to increase the bust space.

I actually made a toile for a change too!

Pattern says 1.5yds/1.3m, I think you can squeeze it out of slightly less - a metre of a wider fabric should be enough...

My top stitching is orange, which you can't really see but looks rather effective.

It's a tiny bit snug but very wearable, I already have another 3 cut out and am going to experiment with it a bit - maybe 3 little pin-tucks down the front, or a few buttons. I think the neckline could be a little lower for me and I will probably alter that, and might even make a v-neck on one of them - it's my favoured neckline.

In all it's a great simple wardrobe standard, and a good addition to my lack of me-made tops.

Fabric was from the John Lewis sale a few months ago, it's a sweet little dandelion print.

Hair towel - TK Maxx

Trousers - M&S

Feet - model's own!

What shall I make now?

Doing Me-Made-May '16 made me realise I desperately NEED more tops and they need to fit better. So I am going to try and work on getting bust adjustments right.

I've got the Colette Sorbetto pattern - it's free! - and I am going to practice with it until I've got it right and then I'm going to make some summery light tops to go with skirts and linen trousers.  The fabric requirement is 1.5 yards or 1.3 metres but I'm hoping that I can possibly squeeze them out of metre pieces, though it may not be possible of course - particularly if I add the bust space and lengthen them a little.

Well, we'll see!  If I can squeeze them out of a metre, I have a bit of one of my favourite Liberty Tana Lawns, a pretty grey dandelion print, some Riley Blake zigzag and a fab sock monkey print.  Those would be nice summer tops I think.

Apart from that, my head is whirling with what to make next - the patterns and fabric are scrapping for attention in my mind so I need a bit of planning and thinking time to puzzle it out.  I'm enjoying thinking about it though.

I've made some cardboard labels and hand-written "I am going to be a..." and attached them to my longer fabric pieces and then I will write on the label when I get the inspiration.  I quite like to look of my fabric ladder with the labels waiting to be completed.

Hardest decision is what to make with the Christmas present I got from my sister last year.

It's a beautiful piece of Liberty cotton - Stile collection Lowke - and I just don't know whether to make a dress or a skirt.  I simply can't decide!  I think a skirt might get more wear, but a dress is always so easy to wear, and everyone thinks one has made an enormous effort...

More thinking time is needed!

Holidays are over *sad face* And the end of #MMMay 16

We had such a wonderful time on holiday, it was warm, but not too blisteringly hot, although The Girl did get a little burnt on one day - I wasn't in charge!

I managed to not get burnt and not get very mozzy bitten either, which is a first on both counts.  I nomally get scorched somewhere along the line and provide the local flying wildlife with a daily banquet.  It's a pleasant surprise to have escaped both of them.

I managed to wear quite a few things of my own for the rest of May and into June.  I travelled in jeans and my loose swirly blue top and took with me the Love Notions LDT, the new Dottie Angel dress and one of my Fancy Tiger Fen dresses.

My LDT is already falling apart because I forgot to zig-zag it, but I have decided to buy an overlocker and will redo the seams when I've got it.

It was really nice wearing my own things and they got lots of praise and admiration which was lovely.

My Me-Made-May '16 challenge was to wear something made by me as often as practicable, and I actually ended up meeting it for about 28 days from 31, which was a surprise!  The aim is to encourage people who don't necessarily wear their makes - and I already do, but it was still worth doing to discover what I like best, and how I wear them.

I need more tops, I love wearing dresses, I would really like a crack at some loose trousers and I have lots of fabric waiting to be made up...

Getting demob happy!

It's half-term next week, we are off on holiday and I am getting ridiculously excited!

I wore my new dress again today - working in a different office so no-one had seen it before, hurrah! I do really love it...and it got admired and praised which was lovely!

No idea what I'm going to wear tomorrow, we'll see in the morning.

Day 25!

Well, almost at the end of Me-Made May already!  I have just put the cover on my machine and shut the cabinet for the next few days - my mum arrives tomorrow and I need to get the spare bed out, and then we are off on holiday on Saturday so there won't be any sewing till June.

I thought and thought about the side ties on my Dottie Angel dress, and decided to move them after all.  I moved them back up to where they should be but a bit lower than the actual pattern marking because, bust.  And I am SO glad I did!  It suddenly looks like the pattern packet, the shape is much more defined, the skirt flares better, overall effect is greatly improved.  It wasn't designed as a waisted pattern so moving them too far down did affect the look and I thought the pocket placement was a bit bunchy and hip-heavy.

I'm glad I conquered my inherent laziness!

Today's actual wear was the scuba Lady Skater from last Thursday.  I love it so much!

I definitely need some more tops though, and really need to get to grips with doing FBAs and moving darts and stuff.  I'm going to do it when I get back from holiday!

4 days later...

I can't remember what I wore on Saturday, it was me-made, possibly the Love Notions Laundry Day Tee...

Sunday was a pyjama day, while I was sewing up my next thing, Monday was my cherries sleeveless top.

Today!  Today I wore my new dress!

This is Simplicity 1080, the Dottie Angel dress.  You might have seen it around, I first spotted it in a magazine a few months ago and really loved it, but held off buying it for ages.  I finally stumped up for it a month or so ago, and bought the green fabric at the time.  You can't really tell, but the pattern is little diamond shapes of red purple and yellow dots.

Then I got the purple, which is a linen, a couple of weeks after that, it was only £3.95 a metre, and the pockets were from a fat quarter in my stash which by total fluke just fell right for the colour and pattern.

I traced it and made a muslin in some old sheeting to see if I needed a bust adjustment, and it seemed that I didn't so I cut the pieces on Saturday and started sewing on Sunday.

Now, I don't know whether you've read any reviews of this pattern, but they are a bit of a mixed bunch!  The pattern itself is lovely, but the instructions are completely faffy and madly inconsistent.

For about half of it you're being told to cover all the seams with bias tape and then all of a sudden you're chucked into french seam world.  And I have NO idea why it's like that, or why the pash for bias covered seams.  Essentially it's a simple construction tricked out to be quite labour intensive.  Which is great if you've got like a YEAR to make it.  Or fancy showing off your seams*.  But if, like me, you've got a couple of hours for 2 or 3 evenings, Nope, nopity nope.  No bias covering for me.

So I mostly ignored the bias stuff and did my own thing.

Ok.  So I joined the contrast panel with a regular seam and then pressed it downwards and top-stitched to catch it all.

The shoulders and sides are french seams, which I'm really glad I did because the fabrics turned out to have some serious fray-tendencies.  I made my own bias tapes for the pockets, neck and arm-holes.

And I hand did the hem - I was going to twin-needle it but the linen is one of those that ONLY CREASES WHEN YOU SIT ON IT!  Pressing it is largely ineffective so it needed pins in horizontally and a lot of stopping and hand-folding.  Again.  And again.  And again.

I also hand-finished the neck binding.

The side ties were a bit high so I moved them down.  I might put them back up again a little bit, if I can be bothered. (Clue: I probably can't be bothered).

However, it was worth all the faff, I absolutely LOVE the colour combination - SUFFRAGETTES! - and I really love the length.

I wore it to work today and felt great.

Also, POCKETS!  I love a dress with pockets.

Anyway, if you're thinking about making this pattern and being put off by the reviews or the instructions, pah, JUST DO IT!  But ignore the bias seam covering crazy-pants, unless that's totally your bag, in which case, y'know, knock yourself out!



*Disclaimer: I do like showing off my seams when I've done an especially nice one.  A french seam is thing of beauty.  Do those and show them off.

Thursday and Friday

I started my new secondment yesterday.  There's a bit of a parking issue at the new office - too many cars, not enough spaces - so I decided to walk.  It's only a mile and a quarter. I wore TOTALLY THE WRONG SHOES!  Being only just over a mile I wore the heeled shoes I had in mind for the day and although they weren't madly uncomfortable they were definitely the wrong choice...

I wore the cherry top and black trousers from earlier in the month.  It's a surprise how well it goes with plain trousers, I will definitely be adding it to the regular repertoire.

Today I sensibly put my old running shoes on and carried my work shoes in my bag.  And cut 10 minutes off my walking time!

Today I wore yet another of my Kitschy Coo Lady Skater dresses.  And one of my colleagues admired it not knowing it was made by me, so that was a really nice moment.  The picture is not from today, but it is of the same dress!

The fabric is a thick-ish scuba knit which I really love - it's so easy to sew.  I didn't hem it because it didn't really need it.  It's such an easy dress to wear, I would definitely use scuba again for this pattern.

Onto the weekend, what to wear, what to wear...!

When will it be sunny again?

Another day of tights...

Today I wore a Cashmerette Appleton wrap dress.  It's great to have patterns designed by someone who understands the various fit issues of a fuller figure and wonderful not to have to make a full bust adjustments as Jenny's patterns are designed for a big range of cup and back sizes.

But...and I'm so sorry that there is a but...

I've never really got on with wrap dresses, they always make me look like a sack of spuds tied with twine, and although I had high hopes of this dress because of the design and the reviews, and I really love Jenny's makes on her blog, this hasn't changed my mind really.

I think it could in part be due to the fabric, it's not a matt jersey, it's quite slippery which wasn't great to sew, and I had a few problems making it.  The sleeves were massive at the wrist so I had to make them smaller, the length was waaaaaaaaaay too long so I had to take it up, and despite a promise not to gap at inappropriate moments - no-one wants to flash their boss! - I do find it slips and I generally need to re-tie it about 4 or 5 times during the day.

So, I don't love it.  I really wanted to, and I'm sad that I don't.  I wear it every now and then, but it's not a favourite and it hasn't convinced me that wrap dresses are 'my' dress.

No work today...

I went to a conference today, just locally, so no madly early train dash to the metropolis, thankfully.

And as it's still not as warm as I would like I went with some footless tights and the first Fancy Tiger Fen dress.  Unfortunately I can't get my pictures to load...but it's got a rounded neck, sleeves, is a bit shorter and is a lovely Liberty-ish print that came from the market.

It was a good day, some interesting speakers and lots of familiar faces, and some rather delicious cheese straw things for morning break, YUM!

Just another manic Monday

This morning I started back on full-time hours after almost 3 years part-time.  It's only for a few months but it's going to take some getting used to for all of us I think.

To avoid the daily agonising over what to wear I just settled for another of my Kitschy Coo Lady Skaters.  I forgot to take a picture this morning, and I got changed almost as soon as I got home.  But it's my joint favourite - a black and green paisley-ish jersey.  I always feel good in it, it fits nicely, it's the right length and I just LOVE it!

I got a bit of sewing time this weekend, and made a travel wallet in preparation for our holiday in a couple of weeks.  It's a lovely pattern from So Sew Easy and was a good scrap-buster.  I really don't like making my own bias though, it's hard to get a good sharp crease without starch or something and I didn't have any starch so it's a bit shonky.  But it does exactly the job I wanted so I'm happy.

I really MUST get on with tracing my next pattern and doing the adjustments, I've got some gorgeous fabric and I really want to get on with sewing it up!

Chilly saturday

It was pretty cold on Saturday - nice in the sunshine but windy and cold out of it.  And despite it being May I decided in the end to wear tights.  I am very glad I did!

We made a quick dash to the fabric shop in the early afternoon - my daughter saw a skirt last week but it was too small and there was only one so I said I'd make something for her.  And that meant a bit of fabric shopping.  I love my home city, it has a few good places to buy pretty things and this trip called for wide choice.  So we went to the biggest shop of all.  It's so big that they have a completely separate shop for furnishings and another one for teaching classes.

The main shop has a rather marvellous sale rail of roll ends and sample pieces, I get quite a lot from there - the bright flowery Alexander Henry was one I stalked for MONTHS!  And it was no different yesterday, there was a piece of striped jersey that I've been eyeing up since last year, it's 2.3m so hopefully enough for a dress.

The rail also has a 3 for 2 offer on at the moment.  So I got the striped jersey, and my daughter chose a dark brown jersey with gold spots and a bright pink and silver stretch fabric with spandex.

Later in the day we went to a special evening thing at the museum which had lots of activities and things to look at, ending in some fire-eating and then we went to a very late performance in the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.  By then I was really glad I was wearing tights and not bare-legged!

This dress was the first dress I ever made.  It's a Kitschy Coo Lady Skater and I have 4 of them now.  I don't have an overlocker so it is zig-zag all the way apart from the hem.  I did end up taking the skirt off and shortening the bodice a little, and my later versions all had a shorter bodice.  I've also made one for my mum.  She loves it too!

I love the dragonfly print of this jersey, but it is a tiny bit clingy so I haven't worn it as much as the others.

But it's very comfortable to wear, the pattern is really easy and it's a quick make.

Shoes - Hush Puppies

TGIF!

I looked out of thw window this morning, it was bright, sunny and clear.

So I put on a skirt and a top, little cardi, bare legs.  And off I went to walk my daughter to school.

MAN, it was cold outside!  I added a jacket before I went to work, but when I got home this afternoon I had to change into something a bit warmer.

So, this is my outfit for the first half of the day!

It's a jersey half circle with a yoga-ish waistband.  Very comfy and easy to wear.  I didn't even hem it - can you tell?!

Cami - Can't remember, possibly Matalan
Cardi - Fat Face
Shoes - LK Bennett

3 for 2, not a bogoff.

Catching up with the week, today I didn't wear a made-by-me.  The first day in May that I didn't wear something in whcih I'd had some involvement, but there's this dress I bought last summer that I really love and I chose that today.

Up until today it's been me-made all the way!

I made this top last summer.  It matches a full circle skirt I made and together they look like a dress - which was my aim because I thought making a dress was hard!

Anyway, I can't remember what the pattern is, but it was a round neck.  Which I had to change because it felt a bit strangly and uncomfortable.  so I sliced the front and tuned the edged in and made a v-neck.  And then I put a zip in the back.

Essentially it needs a bit more boob-room so an FBA would have been an idea, but I haven't got to them.  Yet!  It's quite snug in the hips too, I am standing V-E-R-Y still here to make it not ride up!

But actually, after a year of thinking it was a bit 'hmmm' I think it looks ok!  I'm going to bias-bind the neckline though, the flappy excess fabric annoys me!

And this is a Colette Aster.  I love this, but again, it needs an FBA.  As a wearable garment though I really love the cuffs and the button placket, I did a good job on those.  And some flukey pattern-flow/matching across the front too.

I'm really enjoying this challenge!

Crazy skirt

Today I wore the very bright Alexander Henry print skirt.  I LOVE it, it's so colourful and bonkers!

It is also very slightly the wrong length for my work chair.  Work chair is that slightly rough industrial fabric so by the end of my working day I did feel as though the backs of my legs had been scrubbed.  Repeatedly.  I may need to take a cushion or a cover or something!

Party till you drop!

Yesterday was a friend's 50th birthday get-together.  Our daughter went to stay with one of her besties (Thanks Katie, you diamond!) and the husband and I went out.

I started the day in the first of my Fancy Tiger Fen dresses but changed because I do think it's a tiny bit too short.

So I changed into some cut-downs and a tunic-y t-shirt.

The cut-downs were an alteration - I bought a pair of jeans from a charity shop (PACT, they do two items for £1) for the sole purpose of cutting them down.  They were also too big so I ran a seam up the sides to take the waist in.  They feel so nicely fitted, I was genuinely sad to put them away last autumn and really glad to get them out again last week.

The top is a Laundry Day Tee from Love Notions.  I love the stripy fabric, but it was a remnant and had a bit of a hole and a stitched up tear so having to work round that was interesting!  I had to re-cut the neckband as the first one was too short.  And I forgot to use zig-zag so it is already coming undone in places - I'll probably go over the seams again.

The top needs a bit of a bust adjustment and the sleeves are a wee bit small - but the pattern has been re-drafted by the pattern maker to take account of the sleeve and armscye fitting issues.  Originally I thought I wouldn't wear it, but it's one of those things I keep reaching for, despite its faults.

I would make it again, but would do an FBA on the top and make the v a bit lower.

It's the perfect length, is easy to wear and did very nicely for a night out in the pub.  God, I'd forgotten how much fun that could be, we had a great time.

Today I am in the cut-downs again with a different top, but I'm not planning anything other than some reading and an early night.

Shoes - Asda

Also, my daughter's bedroom is finally tidy.

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll

Today we had a bit of english country dancing at my daughter's school. So we all sat in the sunshine watching the children, the PTA sold cakes and ice-creams and I decided I should wear a 50s-ish circle skirt for the occasion.

This was the first skirt I ever made for myself and I completely love it!  I love the style, the spots, the wide waistband...everything.  It kickstarted a mild 50s obsession that has me looking at vintage fabrics and styles and wanting to hang out in diners and soda shops.

I think the spots are a very dark navy but they look black.

I'd maybe cut it a little shorter next time and I know I could re-hem it to shorten it, but I probably won't!

I drafted the pattern myself using the circle skirt calculator from Patty Brower of 3SnugBugs.  I looked at By Hand London but they don't really cater for the fuller figure so I found this one instead.  I've used it for my daughter as well as myself and it works every time.

I feel very cool and breezy and summery today!

Top - Primark
Cardi - Fat Face
Shoes - Asda

Sunshine

It's been so beautifully sunny in East Anglia in the last couple of days.  So I wore a dress and got my legs out!

This dress is one of most recent makes, and it's one of my absolute favourites.  The fabric is a lovely cotton that I bought from John Lewis in January - it was in the sale.  It sews beautifully, doesn't crease much and is so comfortable.

The pattern is Fancy Tiger Fen and this is the second one I've made.  I made an alteration to the pattern in lengthening the bodice by a couple of inches as I feel my first one came up a little short.










The pattern says you need 3 yards (that's 2.7m).  I could have got my first one from 2m of 140cm wide by piecing the back bodice if I hadn't forgotten to flip the pattern *rolls eyes*  Rookie error!  But you can definitely get it out of 2.5m, if you use pre-made bias binding, or make it from a contrast colour. It's nice to use self-made same fabric bias, but it's a massive fabric eater to make and I prefer the contrast of a different fabric or block colour.

The hem is double folded and twin-stitched.

Aside from that, the cutting is easy, and sewing took about 3 hours.

Also, POCKETS!  I do love a good pocket and these are just great for size and depth.

I absolutely love this dress, it's easy to wear, it's easy to make, it looks nice.  I will be wearing this dress a lot this summer.

I might make another one, perhaps with a hem variation.  But definitely with the v-neck, I prefer it, though I need to improve my binding technique...

Cardi - Braintree
Shoes - LK Bennett
Legs - Johnson's Holiday skin!

Dust and boxes

I moved offices today.  Lots of boxes, lots of trips in the lift, lots of throwing away bits of old paper...

So I decided to wear something easy.  So I chose this top, which isn't actually that easy at all.  #contrary.

I made this top a year or so ago, and it perseveres even though it isn't really that successful.  This might be because I am low on me-made tops and none of them have been wildly successful so far.  I really need to get better at pattern alterations, especially the FBA.  I haven't got it right yet.

I love the fabric, it was a remnant from my local fabric shop. The pattern was a self-drafted thing from a sewing magazine, the shoulders are a bit too wide which heads into bra-strap world and falling off one shoulder (aaaaargh).  And the bias binding is a bit of a problem.  But you can't see any of that so it's fab and perfect ;)

I don't have an overlocker - I WANT one - so it was zig-zag on a regular machine, and I don't think I even knew I had to use a stretch needle.  As I recall it was a bit of a fiend to sew.  No surprise really!

I do love the swirly pattern and the colours and being jersey it is stretchy which is always a bonus.  So it comes out every now and then, even though it slightly irritates me!

I did wear shoes today.  At least, I'm fairly sure I did...


Grey jersey trousers - M&S
Cardi - Fat Face

Day 3 in the Me Made May House

Ok, I don't have a geordie accent.  And no-one's being voted out, or having to visit the diary room...

Today I wore the same skirt as yesterday - the favourite one with the funny godets.  Different top and cardi though.

Tomorrow is harder because I'm moving offices and need something to bridge the gap between work-wear and moving-dusty-kit scruffs. I'm thinking about it...

Day 2 MMM 2016

I was soooooooooo looking forward to wearing this particular skirt.  It's one of my earliest makes from around a year ago, and one of my favourites.

The fabric was from a vintage shop and labelled as genuine 50s.  It certainly has that feel.  It's quite a peculiar texture, feels thick and almost like heavy j-cloth or something, but it washed well and ironed like a dream.  And it drapes really nicely.

I cut it late at night, and I made a MASSIVE cutting error and just ignored putting it on the fold first which totally screwed up my calculations, so I ended up having to put funny little godets in the bottom to cover up where there was a gap in my pattern piece - in the spirit of an IT developer I'm calling them a feature not a mistake!

If I'd known or thought about it at the time I would probably have made pockets too - I do love a good pocket!

It's easy to wear, comfortable and pretty much perfect length and will be a summer staple, starting now.

And The Girl made the necklace!  She also wore a home-made dress, but my husband seems curiously unenthusiastic in having a made-to-measure shirt.  I'll convince him, one day...


Cami - Primark
Cardi - Fat Face
Shoes - Sketchers

Me Made May 2016...

THREE YEARS!

Yes, I am rather a lax blogger at the best of times...but that's a bit ridiculous!

So, ahem, yes, Me Made May.  Starts today, and is aimed at encouraging sewing folk to wear the stuff they make.  But I do tend to wear the things I make, so I don't necessarily need the encouragement.

Read more at http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-me-made-may.html

I'm going to take part anyway to see how I wear my makes, and what gets the most wear.

My personal pledge is to try and wear something made by me as often as I can.

Today I've worn two things of my own.

The first, an a-line skirt I finished yesterday.  It started off as an elasticated waist which looked AWFUL, so I undid the top, added a proper waistband and put in a zip.  And now it's much better.  Although it needs a bit more alteration as the waistband is too big and so the skirt droops rather than sitting on the waist.

The fabric is Alexander Henry 'Kleo', I got a remnant at my local fabric shop - I was eyeing it up for MONTHS before I bought it, and I always know it would be a skirt.  It's bonkers and bright and fabulous.

After I decided to re-do the waist I had to get changed so I put on my other weekend make which is a half-circle in a splendid green cotton with a camera print.

I drafted both patterns myself and I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Apart from that I've made a dress for my daughter this weekend which is all twirly and lovely so she is in a me-make today too!

Pink vest/cami & black top - Primark
Cardi - Braintree
Shoes - Brantano