New Look 6345 - Denim Skirt with a Twist.

Yippee - I finished something for me. And I am very happy with it.

New Look 6345 ( OOP ) is a shaped yoked skirt with  A line mini, straight or flared  gored options.
I sewed the version on the model photo seven years ago and it is still regularly worn to work .
Mum gave me some really lovely embroidered mid weight denim - the pattern  is in teals and bronzes with that special sheen you get with embroidery thread but I am not sure how hardy it is going to be.
There was just under 90cm of fabric but it was 150cm wide which narrowed down my choices of pattern and also with the large repeating embroidered pattern I needed something simple.

Along one long edge of the fabric was a largish area with no embroidery. This was actually an advantage because I was able to cut the yokes out of this avoiding the hassle of pattern matching and making the skirt look a bit RTW . I sewed the straight version and was a bit concerned with no walking flap I might have to do the penguin walk but no you can take normal long strides ( phew ) .

The dreaded back view - I was pleased that I could kind of match up the pattern at the back and one of the sides even with my fabric limitations . I also thought having the flowery things on the sides might avoid some unfortunate flower placement at the front and back. I admit this is something I would not have considered prior to finding so much sewing info on the net but is something I can not unlearn now !

I added an inch in length to the pattern whilst cutting out but after trying on the skirt thought that was not quite long enough so I used for the first time that nifty trick of adding a bias binding to the skirt edge to make the most of my material. I found a scrap of kind of matching cotton to make my own ( I made the bias binding 3cm in width ) and also used this to line the yokes. ( for the record I am 5foot 7 or 170cm )
The flappy things at the yoke are totally useless but I love them .

 My best friend patiently waiting for a play with his  totally disgusting fluffy pillow . I received positive unprompted comments from my family with this make and I also love the fabric and the pattern so this one is a success. 

Shirts for Everyone ( Except Me ) New Look 6647 and Kwik Sew 3422.

My sewing groove is back and  the bad news is that I have been sewing shirts . For everyone except me.
First up  a blouse for  middle DD . I used New Look 6647.
This is a really sweet pattern with a bib inset front - either pintucked or plain with a variety of sleeves. There are waist darts front and back and the blouse flares out at the waist to hips.
My daughter chose the plain bib front and the short sleeves. The sleeves are slightly gathered at the bottom only and finished with a bias band . This makes a lovely sleeve which is not overly pouffy .
We used a soft navy with pink floral charmeuse which she chose out on holidays last year .
This blouse came together really well - it was one of those projects where everything turns out right.
I have made the blouse once before for myself so I knew there were no unexpected surprises . The only changes we made to the pattern were to take the sides in near her bust a few centrimetresI( to make up for a lack of bust darts I suppose ) . I would highly recommend this pattern .

New Look 6647,  floral fabric and lovely vintage mother of pearl buttons . 

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Yay a modelled shot ! 

Closer picture of the bib front. 

Next up is a shirt for my husband. I have been a good wife and this is now the third shirt I have sewn him in the last couple of years ( as well as one T-shirt this summer ) . It is Kwik Sew 3422 again ( really I can see no need for another shirt pattern for him - shirt patterns for myself is an entirely different matter !)
I used some gray and white cotton shirting from Clear It in Melbourne that I purchased only a couple of months ago. I could not tell the difference between the right and wrong sides ( admittedly my eyes are getting fuzzy but I don`t think there was a difference ) and it felt very smooth  . I only paid $10.50 for the material - a great bargain for such quality. I am going to keep my eyes peeled for more shirting fabrics like this.
This is a great pattern . I love that they have separate collar pieces for the under and top collar pieces. The front button band is simple and just turned under twice . They have the great yoke instructions where the seams are all enclosed . This   is what I appreciate about Kwik Sew Patterns - I hope the new ownership keeps that up . Again I would highly recommend this pattern. I am so proud of this shirt I would have a gender  transplant to wear it !

Well the good news is now I have sewn the Paris Lace, the Tokyo charmeuse and the Melbourne Cotton I can now get on with some serious selfish stashbusting sewing ( SSSS) for me. Cheers Janine.

Spot the camouflaged pocket  .

Dang I am proud of that collar .