The Everlasting Fabric.

I managed to cut out the Simplicity Jacket which was a marathon ( which is why cutting out is my least favourite sewing job ) .
This royal blue crepe just keeps on going and going ! So far I have sewn a dress - Simplicity 2896 a sleeveless . yoked A line dress and also Kwik Sew 3287  a skirt with little flippy sides and now cut out the above jacket. And still I have a large chunk left !
This jacket patterns calls for 70cm of fabric for this kind of strange incomplete lining - I do not think I have seen a back lining like this . I managed to get all the  2 lining pieces out of a small scrap of polyester satin left over from some PJs ! Which just goes to show that those scraps which sometimes cause angst really are  very useful ( even if  it is many many years later ) .

I also completed my vogue Issey Miyake skirt but yet again there will not be a photo . I did not finish the waist , seams and hems as it really was only a quick and dirty muslin ( and boy was it a quick skirt pattern ) . I am happy to report that you definitely do not need to add a zipper to this knit skirt. I didnt really think this was the case but I did not want to question Vogue who undeniably have much more knowledge and experience in these matters. Also this skirt definitely reaches my ankles. I was questioning whether this look might be dated however while waiting for my daughter to have her braces removed ( yay !) I read a WHO magazine that had a fashion spread on long skirts ! It seemed like fate to read this magazine so soon after whipping up this skirt so I think I will try source some `real` fabric.
Cheers Janine

Pattern Haul. Completed Object and other mutterings.

Firstly I completed the rainbow striped cotton twill Butterick pants from the last post . However I will not post a photo to save myself public humiliation . I will say that they fit nicely  , are not too baggy , the twill is soft and thus will be a good pair of PJ pants. But I will continue to search for another pants pattern for my grey herringbone fabric which is too nice for this pattern . I have some older BWOF magazines with some good looking pants  patterns so I will try those but not for now.  Secondly I have cut out the Issey Miyake Vogue 2796 skirt so slowly my ugly fabric and pattern pile goes down. I needed the full amount of my 2metre 150cm wide material for this skirt. ( so no scraps - yay ! like other seamstresses I have a large scrap stash and sometimes wonder what to do with them ) .
Thirdly I want to show my pattern haul. Yes, just one pattern ! I really wanted Butterick 5523 - a cowl neck knit dress but Spotlight did not have my size. I have to say I am jealous of those amazing one dollar pattern sales in North America - I would probably own many more patterns if I had access to those but alas down under we do not. I  have  never bought an Its so easy pattern line from Simplicity before so I will be interested to see if there are any differences from the more expensive pattern lines . I have loved the versions I have seen of this bias cut top and I don`t own any similar patterns.
Hmmm , I think this concludes my mutterings.
Cheers Janine.

Phew 2

Phew - 2 posts in one day.
However this is a momentous milestone for me. I have finished cutting out my `muslin` butterick pants and by doing so I have reduced my STASH to under 200metres.
Before I discovered sewing blogland I thought I must have the most material in the whole world. Boy was I wrong. I then actually measured and documented what I had and this amounted to over 200metres. Not alot for some people but overwhelming for me. So like alot of other people I too have a resolution to sew this down to at least 1/2. Don`t get me wrong I enjoy having a stash just not a large one. There is also a practical reason for this as we are building a new house and I have elected not to have a sewing room as realistically someone will be moving out in the next 2-3 years ( sob ) .I have been told emphatically that I am CRAZY not to have a sewing room but I want to downsize and have less fullstop.
Anyway I am quietly celebrating my material milestone, happy to  watch my ugly fabric pile go down and use previously unloved patterns. These butterick pants should sew up alot quicker than my previous jacket effort so hopefully I will be back soon.
Cheers Janine. PS The weather is still too horrible to garden - what a pity.

Phew !

Phew ! Finally finished. I love this stage when one project is complete and then you have the delicious task of figuring out what is next. I am going to muslin the Butterick pants pattern with the bright twill .
I had trouble deciding what buttons to complete this jacket with - I finally chose these recycled gold/tarnished buttons that are quite pretty but perhaps speak too much of the 90s. I didn`t want to drive to a sewing supplies shop ( nearest one at least 15kms away ) and the other buttons I had although matching were just a tad too small and didn`t look right. Perhaps I will keep my eye out for more up to date buttons on my future outings.
I did enjoy sewing this jacket though. The Style pattern is dated 1984 and there were a few notable differences from the more modern day patterns. For a start the tissue paper of this pattern is more substantial and all the seam lines were printed on this . Also I feel the instructions were a bit better - they kept on referring to when you press your garment which I don`t recall seeing for a while. I think this would be good for beginners. I will try to get one of my helpers to take a photo of me wearing this( they are all at school ) . This jacket is fortunately not big and baggy with huge shoulders  so hopefully I will get some wear out of this .
Off to cut out my next project - it is such a miserable day I am relieved of my guilt and obligations to garden - more about this soon .
Cheers Janine

Rome wasn`t built in a day.

and neither was this jacket but I am making some slow progress.( Style Jacket 3741 )   The outer shell is mostly done and I have constructed some of the lining. It seems to be going well but as always I am dreaming of my next project. This is my stress buster , my form of meditation. However I never start a new project until the last is complete right down to folding my patterns pieces and putting them away in the envelope. Until I started reading internet sewing sites I had not heard of UFOs and wadders. It seems it has always been my policy not to have a UFO since I started sewing 30+ years ago  ( although I did not consciously realise this )  and I am glad I have not gottten into this habit as it seems to cause some sewers consternation of sorts. However wadders are another story ! I do tend to wear what I sew even if  I don`t really like the garment for at least some time so I don`t think of it as a waste.I live on a farm so not quite right clothes are good for gardening, tending to the chooks, shearing sheep etc !  Sometimes garments do `grow ` on you and you can forget the imperfections. Sometimes though they go straight into the bin . Anyway I don`t think this jacket will be a wadder and hopefully I can get some wear out of this . Cheers Janine.

Ugly Fabric Purge

My mother keeps on getting fabric from her her sister-in-law who gets it from who knows who and then passes it on to me. I keep on saying yes but this year I have started saying no to the uglies. However I can not get rid of the above , I have a compulsion to use it and  I can not abide waste. Therefore I am going to muslin the above patterns which I have never used. Two birds with one stone - get rid of my ugly fabric and use these patterns that I have bought and never used. Once I have sewn the above I will be pretty happy with my remaining stash. I expect I may only actually end up wearing 2 of the above projects.
I have already cut out Style 3741 - the pleated jacket - I got this pattern back in the 80s and am only just using it ! My mother made one of these and I used to occasionally wear it but it was way too big - so I got the pattern in my size and then it has just sat there. I am using a butter yellow textured something and lining it with some beige poplin.  .
The next fabric is a purple and orange and maroon knit with gold sparkles - the photo does not do justice to the ugliness - I will muslin the Issy Miyake skirt - test the length and whether or not I can away without inserting a zipper . I bought this pattern many years ago on the strength of the positive PR reviews and again it has just sat there. I even paid an extravagant $11.00 for this ( on sale ) . If successful I will have to  buy fabric as there is nothing appropriate in the stash.
The next fabric is a rainbow striped cotton twill - the fabric is good in itself but I am not going to any dress as a clown events anytime soon. I will muslin the Butterick pull on pants - if they look decent I have some dark grey subtle herringbone fabric which will  be good for work.
Last but not least for ugliness is the royal blue crepe - again quite good quality fabric . It is actually not that ugly but it reminds me of the 80s and early 90s and isn`t really a popular colour anymore ( I think ) . I will muslin the popular Simplicity Jacket . ( I was given 4metres of this wide material and have already make a skirt and sleeveless dress - I wore the dress to work and someone said I looked like an air hostess ! Haven`t worn the dress again - not that there is anything wrong with being an air hostess - they work hard and I don`t envy their job at all  )
I hope I am not wasting my time too much but I will be glad to get this material out of my sewing room.
Cheers Janine

Unidentical Twin Skirts

This is Kwik Sew 3364. I have just finished the grey ( winter ) version this long Easter weekend but the floral ( summer ) version was sewn last year in December. I LOVE THIS SKIRT - hence why I have made now 3 versions of this.

The grey above is a light weight wool blend fully lined.I found this at the opshop for only 10cents !!  The floral version is a stretch cotton.I bought this from Ebay but the print was larger than expected but I love the colours.  Both wovens ended up successfully with nice flippy sides.
The grey skirt will be a very welcome addition to my winter wardrobe as I only have about 12 winter weight `bottoms` ( so to speak ) to wear for work. Grey is such a versatile colour - it will go with all of my winter tops. I used a couple of newer techniques for me -I usually make a casing and then insert the elastic for the waist which sometimes ( OK - alot ) ends up with twisted elastic which is annoying. Kwik Sew has you stitch the elastic ends together and then fold the waist over this - much better end result. I also used my blindhem stitch which I probably don`t use as much as I should. I used my overlocker to roll hem the edge of the lining which I have only done 3 times before. Its good to practice these.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy Easter. Cheers Janine   ( By the way that is my lovely dog Toby - a pomerian cross mystery dog. We got him from the pound - everyone calls him a girl because of that fluffy tail/bottom - but he doesnt mind. )