2018 -The Final Analysis.

Another year done and dusted.
In 2018 I sewed ( and blogged ) a bit less than previous years but I am finishing on a high . Over the Christmas and New Years period I managed to wangle 10 days off altogether which meant I finished two projects ( and a book too ) - a slippery , frustrating silk satin blouse and a coffee table runner ( my one and only  UFO from 12 months ago - yay ) .

I made a total of 38 items for myself ( and three for my daughters) . These consist of
Tops / Shirts - 10
Cardigans/ vests etc - 5
Pants - 2
Dresses - 4
Skirts - 2
Nightwear - 4
Underwear
 Camisoles - 3
 Underpants - 7
Handbags - 1

My most successful item was my navy Burda pants . Navy work pants are a staple for me as I tend to wear mainly separates and they match with most of my tops . The pants were comfortable to wear and easy to care for and I am happy to report the fabric is holding up well so far.

My favourite piece I made though was my silk top . The fabric is so pretty and feels lovely to wear . Honestly the photos do not do justice to the colours and as well does not show up the floral jacquard weave.

But I also loved my liberty shirt , ditsy navy shirt and comfy dresses I sewed up.

I made four things which were failures for various reasons.

My Burda jumper - fabric looks great but was terrible to sew . The pattern  from Burda WOF August 1993 is good though and when I find more appropriate knit I will try it again.

My Burda Jacket  ( from June 2012 ) - this is too short for my liking . The fabric was just scraps but I did  buy the zip especially for this project which meant a trip to Spotlight 50 minutes away so more of a time loss than fabric and money .

My Vogue handbag - too small to be useful and I did not like the way the lining and top of the bag were constructed. I love the fabric I used in this and  luckily I still have some more to have another  go at making another handbag. A disappointment for sure and I admit I expect better from Vogue and especially a designer pattern . The pattern is Vogue 8407 , a Marcy Tilton design. I have just realised I did not blog this project.
This pattern could work if I enlarged the pattern and changed how it is made - perhaps something for the future ??

My Anne Klein Vogue Blouse  ( vogue 1294 )  . I loved the sewing process of making my blouse but did not like the end result. The fabric is a wrinkly rayon so ironing the flounce was a PITA . Also I just prefer simpler clothes so this blouse was donated to the op shop.














Overall I spent only just over $222 on my sewing projects. My most expensive piece was  the Style Arc Blakeley jeans at $39.95. Since I am given fabric and use scraps and re-use patterns and salvage zips and buttons often my clothes cost nothing to very little  but my time to make. I find that incredibly satisfying and it also means if I accidently wreck my clothes it doesn`t really matter .
Apart from sewing I purchased 8 items of clothing ( all from the op shop ) which were mainly cardigans and pants . I don`t buy many clothes  but enough that I can never participate in the RTW fast .

Over the years I have been trying to slowly decrease the size of my wardrobe and this year 11 less items came in than went out which is a consistent pattern over the last few years . I can not throw away clothing purely to satisfy a decluttering bug - they need to be stained or holey or not right to go out.
Another goal has been to use my fabric stash and try not to buy much and I succeeded in having 10 metres less than the beginning of the year . Reducing my wardrobe and my stash are slow , longer term projects and this and continuing to use my unused patterns will continue on into 2019.

Happy New Year to all .

Voir la Vie en Rose ( To See the Life in Pink ) *

 

 My eldest daughter travelled all around the world in 2018 and brought me home several sewing magazines from Europe . This is my first project from them - specifically Patrones No. 386.

I made the dress on the left which has a  round neck , sleeveless bodice gathered at the waist , waist band and gathered maxi skirt . The main difference is my dress is knee length ( not enough fabric ) but my version turned out with a much higher neckline . Also there was too much fabric at the front armscye  but this was easy to cut away.

I used an embroidered pale pink linen which is not my favourite but  was good to test out a new pattern from a relatively new pattern company ( I have made one previous Patrones pattern , a skirt , which I adore -just wore it last night for a Christmas party ) . I love the embellished look of the original dress and I was lucky enough to find some matching pink lace in my stash  which I applied to the waistband.

This photo shows exactly why it was good to do a ` wearable ` muslin . The back is tightish ( but wearable ) but look at all that fabric pooling in my lumbar region . This has not happened with my other sewing ever !
With the back adjusted I  think this will  make a terrific dress , I do really love the magazines version but mine is a bit meh. I will wear it  and  give a go though .  I just also wanted to include a photo of  the Patrones pattern sheet - much clearer than Burda`s and Ottobre`s as well.

For my next project I can truly say I am tickled pink .

I used the very very popular blouse pattern 115  from Burda April 2014 . Heaps of people have made this one and I can now see why. It was easy to make, very comfortable to wear  and is just a bit different to your usual top. The only  change I made was to lengthen the blouse by 5cms . I used another pale pink embroidered fabric - cotton voile this time - which is a bit sheer . I realised this pattern with the double crossed  over front would be a perfect match for the sheer fabric.

I highly recommend this pattern . I hope everyone has a good Christmas. I am certainly looking forward to getting 6 days off , eating some good food and spending time with my precious family.

* means to look on the bright side of life.

Scrap Sewing - Summer PJ edition.

I have documented my fondness of scrap sewing here plenty of times and I was  due another good scrap sew up , this time spurred on by the need for new summer PJs . It also allowed me to try out another new ( to me ) pattern from my collection.

First up the tops .
Kwik Sew 3232 is a sporting / golfing pattern for a skort ( shorts with a front skirt overlay , zip cardigan and tank top . ) I have never made a plain tank top like this before thus the need to break out a new pattern for such a simple and easy  garment. However Kwik Sew often have little details that belie  the simplicity of the pattern . In this case they have a built in dart at the sides created by the front being slightly longer than the back around the bust area . I made size Medium and this had a comfortable amount of ease without being overly huge . I used a plain blue pique knit given to me in 2010 and  from which I have previously made a Burdastyle Henley T shirt . Now despite the fact you could not get an easier pattern I mucked up . I only had enough fabric to cut the front on the fold and the back had to be cut out of two pieces . Yes , I cut the back on the fold and the front in two ! I rummaged around my trims bag and the best I could do was some lace with a central mauve strip which I sewed down over the front seam line .

Kwik Sew 2779 is a pattern for PJs . I used the V neck tank pattern which I thought would be an interesting variation on a plain tank . As per usual Kwik Sew instructions explain how to sew the V neck very well . I used scrap stripe knit again given to me in 2010 and from which I made a Knipmode dress  and ribbing dating from who knows when . The pattern like above includes a built dart . I  even managed to match the stripes ( except where the ` dart ` is  of course ) Like the plain blue tank it has just the right amount of ease.
I will definitely be using these patterns again especially since they take so little fabric.

Finally the PJ shorts I made using an ancient Simplicity pattern for a nightie set which includes a pattern for bloomers . I left out the elastic at the legs though . I used some Japanese cotton that my daughter brought home from Japan when she visited in 2010 ( there is a theme here ! ) . It was given to her by her host family and there was 12.5 metres of only 40cm wide fabric( There is still about 3 metres left ) . I have no idea what the kanji or hiragana symbols on the shorts mean ( or even if they are a genuine symbol ) . I ironed on a panda bear motif on the front so I could tell it was the front ! The cotton is very stiff but after washing softens up nicely . The shorts are very short and I think I need to adjust the elastic to be a bit smaller but they have been comfortable for the couple of hot nights we have had.

So all in all more scrap sewing done but ahem there are plenty more where they came from.