Butterick 5523 - Black and White and Red All Over.

I am getting to the last of my  winter sewing now. I bought this soft viscose lycra knit earlier this year and had a hard choice with what to do with it - there were a few patterns I wanted to resew  but I finally chose Butterick 5523 . I sewed this a few years ago  using an animal print and loved the result but the fabric was not really my thing . 

This dress is really comfy . I wore it to work today and it felt like I was wearing nothing ! 

It is also very easy  to  sew - in fact the hardest thing about this dress was taking the photos using the self timer .  I had returned home from work and wanted to take photos before I ate lunch - a sure fire recipe for disaster with me - eating and wearing my work clothes - guaranteed stains and slops . I took heaps of photos and this is the best one and only because I have the top 1/2 of my cute  little dog in it  ( Don`t be fooled by his appearance  though - he`s a little ratbag but I love him ) . 

tried to show a closer up shot of the pleats and fabric. 

Back to the sewing - as I said it is a very easy pattern - a draped collar , fitted above waist bodice with pleats in the front and back skirt and small pleats in the sleeves where they meet the shoulder seams. 

I did make a few changes with this pattern - I raised the neckline by 3cm , lengthened the sleeves by several cms so they would be full length and also lengthened the skirt ( but I could probably shorten it again ) .

The end result is the my kind of clothing - comfortable and relaxed but I think smart enough for my  work. Anyway I am now in the home stretch for sewing my winter jacket and then I am dreaming about sewing an easy bright cheerful summer tunic . 

Cheers Janine

PS - I saw this same fabric available on the knitwit website . 

Butterick 4299 - More Remnant Stash Busting.

I told you that I really ran with the itty bitty remnant stash busting this year .
With only one ( holey ) windcheater and another ( even holier ) rugby top I really did need ( rather than my usual want ) a new windcheater.
I had a small piece of  french terry type fabric - only 80cm but very wide  - and a smaller  scrap of pale blue fleece fabric . Just enough to eek out my new windcheater. I used some piping type trim to cover the arm seams and make look like a ` design feature ` .

I used Butterick 4299 - a very OOP `Lifestyle Wardrobe ` pattern . As with all raglan sleeved garments this was a very easy sew. However I am not happy with the upper sleeves - they are quite voluminous . I have saved one of my daughter`s discarded raglan sleeved windcheater and one day ( those famous well intentioned words ) I will unpick this and compare the pattern pieces.
This is a very unexciting garment but I sew for  my real life and not my imagined life - so no pretty garden party dresses ( at least for now ) . This top has been worn heaps already.

I did sew some more itty bitty remnant stash busting projects but if you  get my drift I will not be posting photos. However I will say they are more comfortable than RTW and stay up ( a bonus !) . I will also say sewing un-die grun-dies are harder than they look .

This just about covers my remnant sewing for now . Cheers Janine.

Butterick 4247 - A Green Handbag.

 I have been sewing a bag lately. My current handbag is on the way out - the straps are starting to break. 

I bought this pattern back in 2005 when I first had the bright idea to sew a bag. Better late than never I suppose.

                I used all fabrics from my stash  - this is printed linen that was in a large plastic tub of patchwork fabrics I bought last year for only $15.

The lining material was also included in the tub. I modified the pattern to include pockets in the lining and added a concealed zip flap at the top . I interfaced the bag with remnants of fleecy - the stuff that is fluffy on the inside and looks like knit on the outside. I was going to throw out the pieces because they are too small to sew any clothes with but I read about this tip to use it for interfacing bags and it is great. Really adds weight and thickness.

I finally managed to find a use for these charms  . The sewing charms I bought 20 +years ago and the tea charms on a holiday in 2006 . I found them irresistable but had no idea what I would do with them.

I used some very old and very  heavy metal buttons for the bag feet - I remember playing with these buttons from my Mum`s button jar when I was a little girl. ( Just to clarify - Mum gave me these I didn`t nick them !)

Pattern Review is having a handbag competition which was the push and the shove I needed to finally make a bag.
Cheers Janine.

Butterick Dress 5523 - Miaow .

Presenting Butterick 5523 - a knit dress pattern .I used an animal print knit -jaguar I believe, purchased from an Australian Ebayer. This is my attempt to try different clothing choices from my  usual fare - it seems to have passed the family fashion police test which is always a good start - I really do need all the help I can get .
This pattern is very very easy - I could have finished this in one day . The  busy print covers the features of this pattern which are an above waist closely fitted  bodice with pleats in both back and front skirt portions and small pleats in the sleeves where they meet the shoulder seams. It also has a large rolled collar .  The only reason I didn`t finish this in one day was to change my overlocker threads - not really hard when you get down to it but always seems a good reason to procrastinate !

I made two changes to the pattern - I lengthened the skirt portions by a good 12cm or a few inches - my legs are not up to above knee styles anymore . I also lengthened the sleeves but since this was such a quick tissue fit I didn`t allow enough for seams here - this actually ended up being fortuituous because I was forced to use fold over elastic to finish the sleeves and I like this look. One really good aspect of this dress is that it seems to conceal a bit of a tummy ( I may well be deluding myself here though )and is figure flattering .  Overall I love this pattern and am glad that I am experimenting a little - this will not be my last animal print outfit ( only because there is enough fabric left over to make a top ) .
Cheers Janine
PS- Very excited - my next project is to assist my eldest DD to make a skirt during the holidays  - the Vogue Issey Mikaye maxi skirt I muslined earlier this year. Fabric has been chosen and cut out with some small design changes she thought of herself.

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.

My Mother's Birthday Present

I have finally finished sewing this outfit for my mother with the exception of inserting the elastic since I have to measure her waist . I sewed Butterick jacket 4142 and Kwik Sew skirt 3364 out of a light weight crinkly fabric- a bit like cheesecloth but more substantial. The colour is a dark green/olive.
Just recently the health department of Australia wants to introduce plain packaged cigarettes - no logos at all on them - but with the gory pictures of all the terrible things cigarettes can do to you. They decided that the least desirable colour for the packaging was a dark olive green - hmmm - I `m not sure what this says about my choice of colour for this outfit but I know it suits my mother`s autumn colouring and she can add a pretty top to wear with this. The fabric was only $2.50 for 3.5 metres from the opshop  and it does feel very soft.
The Butterick pattern is OOP - dated 2004 and this was easy to sew. I did like the slit in the back and the mandarin collar but again I`m not sure if this is something that a certain deceased asian communist leader might have worn. Oh well. I know my Mum will like this.
The skirt pattern is Kwik Sew 3364 and I love this pattern . I have had this in my collection for a few years and until late last year I had never used the pattern - this is now the second time with the third one cut out ! I have now made this skirt in a bright summery stretch cotton, the above light weight green and the new one is cut out of a light weight grey wool blend. I really do recommend this pattern.
Well I am glad this is finished  in time and now I am off to sew a little bit more of my next skirt.
Cheers Janine