Scrap Sewing - Winners and Wadders .

  I might have mentioned I do not like waste and might be a bit of a hoarder when it comes to fabric scraps . Sometimes Mum also gives me little pieces like the blue patterned  cotton voile  fabric above. There was only 80 cms and I accidentally found an even smaller  piece of blue in my scrap bag which matched really well when I was searching for something else  . It was left over stretch cotton from making my husband a shirt for Christmas 2 or 3 years ago .

I really wanted to make New Look 6187 after seeing some versions on the internet and was able to squeeze this  top out using the two scraps . I used the plain blue for the yoke and tunic back and the pattern for the front yoke and sleeves.

I altered the pattern slightly - 3/4 sleeves because I did not have enough material for the full length and I extended the yoke pattern so I could make a button placket instead of a button/ loop closure. Also instead of using a facing for the yoke and tunic back I managed to eke out some bias binding to finish off the neckline.

Always times for pats in our house.

OK onto the next scrap busting project.  One late insomnia filled night I was perusing Pinterest ( not very good for actually helping one to get back to sleep BTW ) and saw a picture of a sewing machine pocket pad . Brilliant ! If I had a dollar for every time I have knocked my tape measure behind my sewing table then I would  have lots of dollars . I was seriously considering making another scrap top with this checked / little Japanese girl fabric but again only had 80 cms . Well for this project I had plenty of material and I also managed to save myself from making a dubiously appropriate shirt and I have a place for my errant tape measure ( and quick unpick /  little scissors/ glasses /secret chocolate stash ) . I was pretty happy with the result so I sewed two more for my Mum and a friend using all stash fabric, wool wadding and bias binding .

Well they are the winners :)
Now for the wadder :(
I had lots of black based scraps ranging in age from just last year to 10 years old . I wanted to use my Knipmode magazines and found a windcheater where the fronts and backs  consist of  3 pieces each  . I had enough of the various scraps but did not have a good feeling from the start of the sewing . I got the point of the hems and adding a neck band but OH in capitals . Gosh seriously ugly.  Too many fabrics  ,  too many differing textures and thicknesses  , too big , sleeves too dropped .  Most of the failure is my fault but the sweater is seriously oversized and the sleeves very low .

This photo does not do justice to how ugly the top is . Oh well  , I gave it a try and no big loss. However Bruna I do think you are right and these scraps should have been in the bin long ago.
I am off to lick my wounds now and have cut out a Kwik Sew camisole pattern - quick , easy, needed  and made before so I know it will be a success .
Happy Sewing Janine. Costings : Fabric remnants free in stash. Pattern - $3.00 . Buttons and thread in stash. Total - $ 3.00

Simplicity 2153 - Lemon-Lime Linen Anorak.

Two posts in one day !  I love this casual anorak pattern from Simplicity and then found this lovely hefty soft citrusy coloured linen in the op shop for only $5 - bargain. I thought it would be perfect match for my pattern and it was with caveats.

First of all finding an open ended zip to match was really hard - in the end I found a kind of matching one in a small packed to the rafters haberdashery shop near my Mum's house. However it was 10cm shorter than what was specified for the pattern. I thought about using buttons or adding a placket to conceal a non- matching zip. Then when I came to cut out the fabric I did not have enough ! The tag said there was 2 1/2 metres which is exactly what is needed for the anorak. On closer inspection the tag had 2.1 metres with the 1 crossed off and 2 written down so it looked like 2 1/2 metres. So I had  to shorten the body pieces by 10cm which meant the zip was perfect .
Once all that palaver was through, making the jacket was easy. It is an unlined zip front jacket with 3 collar choices and either sleeveless or with sleeves. There are optional draw strings at the waist and hem and a couple of different pocket designs.

I had to use the smallest collar option and added a drawstring at the waist , the diagonal pockets and tabs at the sleeves and shoulders .

The jacket has enough room to wear over a jumper and is nicely shaped through the middle helped by the adjustable drawstrings .

I really enjoyed making this jacket as much as I like wearing it . The linen package also came with some coordinating plaid which is used extensively inside the jacket- the bias binding along the front facings, the drawstring channel , yoke lining ,  the hem facing ( to get the most of my jacket length ) and pocket linings.
Apart from having to shorten the jacket by 10 cms  I added a yoke lining and added the totally non-functional lining / buttons to the functional pockets. I also shorted the sleeves by 2-3 cm but I think I might need to take off even more -they are quite long .

I found this cool idea on Pinterest to add a lining to the pocket and button up the top part of the pocket

My only complaint about this pattern are that the front facings seem to end in no-man`s land on the yoke so I would change that next time ( oh and the sleeves are quite long ) .

Overall I highly recommend this pattern - It is a great design that you can personalise in so many ways. There are definitely going to be more of these in my wardrobe  - hopefully a winter version if I can find some appropriate fabric.

Happy Sewing Janine. Costings. Fabric - $5.00 op shop . Pattern - $16.00 . Notions - zip $2.50, thread - $3.25, cord and stops - $4.60 , buttons - stash . Total - $31.05.

National PJ Sewing Month.

I couldn`t resist adding in the tag Handmade for a Sweet Little Girl to my teenage DD`s PJs - she did at least appreciate the humour. 

Well it is anyway at my house.
I have sewn more PJs than the number of full nights sleep I had in the first 5 years of my children`s lives. No exaggeration - they were terrible sleepers - hopefully nothing to do with their nightwear !
So I am very tired of sewing that same style easy but plain pattern . Therefore I took an opportunity to make something different - Grainline`s Lakeside PJs .
I only made the bottom part . They hardly took any fabric at all so I was able to squeeze these out of a small remnant less than 50cm I think . I used ready made bias binding because I did not have enough fabric to make my own and the pants took just under 2 metres .
Despite being a bit more challenging than my usual PJ fare they were still relatively easy, the only really tricky bit being the side seams where the bias binding is .
I made size 8 and my youngest daughter loves them. They are comfortable but do not have that excessive ease that the Big 4 patterns can have.  I can see more orders coming in for these from the other DDs .

The longer pair of PJs are a UFO . Now I don`t do UFOS - my projects either get finished or chucked out . This is my youngest daughter`s UFO - so short into her sewing career and already accumulating UFOs ! I have been gently reminding her we could finish these pants up ( OK probably nagging is a better term ) so when she wanted to buy more nightwear I just went and sewed these up myself - only took an hour. The fabric is a Japanese double gauze we bought in Tokyo in 2013 and much too cute to waste - Japanese do cute really really well. In amongst those pink flowers are little panda bears . We used a very old Burda pattern 8785 for the pants - the usual PJ pattern but with added bands at the leg hems and a matching contrast waist band. Again I like Burda for the fact that their patterns fit well .

So 2 new pairs of PJs and now I can get on with the real important business of sewing for myself .

Vintage BurdaStyle Dress - Indulgent Sewing Frivolity.

It is not very often that I get to sew something a bit more special. Most of my clothes are utilitarian because that is what I need both at work and home. So when my youngest daughter decided to do the school deb I grabbed the chance to indulge in some sewing frivolity . I love my Kwik Sews, Simplicities and Knipmodes for good sewing basics but when it comes to designs with a bit more I turn to my collection of Burda magazines. A couple of years ago I found 10 recent release Burda magazines in an opshop for $20. I raced to the counter heart beating fast and greedily purchased all 10 but it is only now that I have finally made something. ( I also own about another 1/2 dozen Burdas I have picked up over the years at newsagents ) I finally chose a vintage dress reprint in the May 2012 issue .

The dress has a bias cut top with a slim fitting pencil skirt. From the front it is a quite conservative high cut blouson top . The back tells a whole different story !

The back is low cut with the most elegant draping folds. I just love it . I used some pale blue striped georgette with swirls of leaves and small mauve roses . I have had this fabric for about 10 years and it survived a couple of past culls . I only kept it because I have few pieces of material over 3 metres and thought at least it would be useful for making a toile of some unknown dress pattern. However when I saw this burda pattern I knew this fabric would be perfect for it . It is very drapey , the stripes quietly enhance the bias cut top and the soft subtle colouring contrasts with dramatic styling . I mean I don`t want to take attention away from the young slim 16 year old debutantes -ha ha.

I lined the upper bodice with a stretch knit lining as suggested but unfortunately did not have enough for the skirt so I am just going to use a slip . ALso instead of using ribbons at the shoulder seams which did not appeal to me I managed to use another long term resident craft item . Mum gave the beaded , sequinned appliques to me over 25 years ago and I was never quite sure what to do with them but realised they would be perfect for this project . In truth the shoulder seams do not need covering at all - with Burda`s drafting the pleats at the front and back match perfectly and look really lovely left alone .

Burda and I did part ways in the construction of the dress when they started describing lining the bodice. I think Burda was trying to tell me how to line the bodice so all the seams would be neatly concealed but head scratching and peering closely at the instructions did not enlighten me further so I did my own thing and it all worked out . It did mean that to finish the arm holes I used some home made satin bias binding . Also I left small slits at the bottom of the skirt side seams instead of sewing them completely up because I want to be able to walk and parents do also dance at the deb. Overall the dress was not really hard to make at all.

  I am ridiculously happy with how my dress turned out . I might make a matching belt and use a small diamante belt buckle I have but I am on the fence about that as it is not really necessary . I hope I can get some pictures of the deb night too as any proud mother I think my daughter looks stunning in her chosen gown. Happy Sewing Janine.

 Costings - Material - so old I can not remember , Pattern- Dress 133 from BurdaStyle May 2012 - $20 . Knit lining , appliques , thread , invisible zip and satin bias binding from stash . Total - $20 + .