Scrap Habits - A Tilton Butterick 5891

  Scrap Habits , I can't help myself ! I keep almost all my scraps so this blouse has been years in the making . There are five different white remnants involved ranging from one to 25 years old. As a bonus I got to use some lovely vintage mother of pearl buttons which I have had for ages too.
They were a perfect way to trial a new to me pattern , Butterick 5891 , a Katherine Tilton pattern as there are lots of smallish to medium sized pattern pieces .

I really like the end result but it is worth checking other reviews as the pattern is not without issues. The main omission are missing stitching lines ( which create a kind of pleat ) on the right peplum pieces which didn`t bother me as I elected to leave the peplums plain. As others have noted the collar pieces are unfaced showing inner seams . It is simple to cut out a collar facing from the collar pattern if you prefer a clean finish . Also the pattern says to make buttonholes on the left front and sew the buttons on the right side ! Oops .
Despite these errors it was fun sewing this shirt with all the details of the peplum and double collar .The instructions were very good ( except for the mistakes ! ) and it all came together really well.  I was worried it would be very loose fitting and overly large but it isn`t at all .

The back view is just as interesting as the front with a slanting hem line and peplum . ( And I'm really pleased with my little crab apple tree in the background which we only planted last year . Covering one of our water tanks in the background are some kiwi fruits hopefully to bear fruit soon . )

Since coming home from our road trip to Townsville I have managed to sew up quite a bit. I loved our trip away although it is bit depressing to drive through severe drought affected areas which actually seemed like most of the country except Victoria . I did miss having a creative outlet so when I came back I hit the sewing machine hard finishing a new nightie out  of very soft cotton lawn bought at an op shop in Montville Queensland and a pair of track pants since I haven't  owned a pair for a couple of years and missed wearing them . I`ve also made a new handbag which I will review next time.

back view 

front view

Fait Main La Chemisier .

close up of the crinkly dotty fabric 

This top is about the second thing I made this year so my memories are a bit hazy about the process . What is not hazy is how much I love this fabric and the pattern. Some of my favourite fabrics are from the op shop and this is no exception and it only cost 50 cents. I love the small asymmetrically placed and shaped dots on the white crinkly fabric . There was only 1.2  metres but this was enough to give me some choices in pattern selection.
I went with this simple button up , dropped shoulder sleeveless shirt from yet another European sewing magazine my daughter bought me. It is obviously French and includes lots of great patterns of all sizes. Each individual pattern comes in limited sizes though .
I do remember changing the front facing which is part of the fronts and not a separate piece . The facing was only a narrow single fold type so I added the same width of the facing when cutting out the fronts so it could be a double fold facing ( does this make sense ? ) . This provides more support and looks neater inside .

 

The top is very comfortable and I wore it on a fantastic 6 day holiday to Luganville, Vanuatu to visit my daughter ( she gets around for sure ! )  where it was quite humid at times . I am about to go to Townsville  , Queensland ( to see another daughter !)  as well so it will  get good use up there too .  I will definitely be using this magazine again at some time.

Vogue 1294 - The Anne Klein Blouse with the Interesting Collar .

Finito finally .
I have being slowly sewing this blouse for a month . I just love the feeling when I have finished something whether it is a book or sewing (  I especially love the feeling of a completed bike ride and a work day ) .
This blouse is Vogue 1294 , an Anne Klein pattern dated 2012 .

I love sewing shirts and the collar on this one is particularly intriguing , a double flounce .
I used an off white rayon which feels very soft but is very wrinkly ( bought from an op shop in 2015 , 4 metres in total , so plenty left over for a long sleeve shirt ) .
I made some changes to the pattern - I did not line it and  I did not add the chiffon trim to the princess seams . Instead I added some lace to the upper flounce piece and the edge of the sleeves but just so it peaks out .I used buttons for the narrow front bands instead of snaps ( which I can not get to keep closed )
The instructions for the blouse are excellent so even though it looks complicated it all comes together really well.  Well , I don`t follow the instructions for making the narrow hems on the flounces - I use the method that involves three lots of stitching which ends up with a good result and worth the extra effort .
( 1 . stitch along the edge of the fabric , 2. turn this up and stitch again , 3. trim the excess fabric and then turn up again enclosing the raw edge and stitch close the edge creating the narrow hem )

 It was a windy day but I like how this photo shows how fluid the flounces are - you definitely need a drapey fabric for this pattern. Now this is finished I have traced out a pattern from the Patrones magazine my daughter bought me from Spain - have to enourage this kind of  behaviour from my children . 

Sew Your Own Affordable Luxury - Silk and Liberty Lawn Shirts.

 More shirts ! No exaggeration , I love sewing them.
First up a cream silk shirt using Vogue 2634 , an OOP pattern .
I just wanted a very simple pattern to showcase the beautiful cream silk that has a self small chequered pattern . I bought the silk from the op shop last year  for only $2.00 for 4 metres but it is very narrow ( only 72cm wide ) . At the time I was trying to fabric fast so I kidded myself that the silk would be for my daughter who wanted tops made out of natural fibres for her travel overseas in 2018 . Ha ! cream silk must be the most impractical thing in the world for a student travelling on a strict budget.
Just in case she changed her mind though I have quickly made it up while she is still away.
The only variation I made to this pattern was to add vented cuffs from a Kwik Sew pattern. I did not do any top stitching , did not add the pockets and hand stitched the hems to keep the shirt details to a minimum.

 

I used the collar tutorial from Four Square Walls which she took from an old sewing pattern. I remember using this method to sew up a collar / stand when I was in my teens so I went through my old patterns and sure enough I found a Simplicity pattern from the 80s that uses this order of collar construction. It really does make a very nice collar . I can not recommend it enough. 

Next up a liberty lawn shirt . I seem to be the giftee of atypical liberty lawn. This is my second liberty lawn project ,both generous gifts and not a floral in sight !  This particular liberty was a Xmas gift from my husband. It`s funny because he bought this after a Xmas work party in Melbourne . He told his colleagues he was off to The Fabric Store after lunch to buy me a chrissie present. They were apparently horrified that he was making work for me ! On the other hand my sewing group friends were very impressed that he did this off his own bat and said he is a keeper ! 

The pattern is called Matt Madison and consists of diamonds with little scenes of bare branched trees and lakes etc . Very wintery fabric with its grey and olive based tones . Unlike my first Liberty Lawn project I didn`t take years to decide what pattern to make and sew it up. 

I knew I wanted to make a shirt ( well that is all the fabric I had anyway ) and since it is an unusual Liberty I wanted to make a variation of a standard shirt pattern. I used Kwik Sew 3620 another OOP pattern. I love the collar and like the addition of the front ties. Another poorly kept  secret is how much I love the old Kwik Sew patterns and the way the collar is constructed is so neat . I used my rolled hem foot to mainly successfully finish off the front ties ( use your different sewing machine feet - really ! ) 

So there you have it .Two very different but luxury shirts that feel sooo nice to wear but cost a fraction of bought ones .  ( PS I actually really like floral Liberty lawn - I would love to get the  classic Wiltshire pattern with the berries on it . )

SImplicity 9659 - A Feminine Tunic .

   I was reading a new to me blog and realised just how much I enjoy reading chatty sewing blogs and how much I like having a little prattle too. It is an entirely wet and cold day and since I have caught up with the house work I want to do ( dusting and washing floors and cobwebs be damned ) it is time to catch up here too.
I sewed this tunic top 1-2 months ago. It is based on the Simplicity pattern 9659 below and I can not find any reviews of it on the internet . The pattern looks very dated and was bought for a song from the op shop but I liked the collar details , the empire waist and thought it would make a nice tunic top much like the Ebb and Flow pattern from Louise Cutting ( a pattern I don`t think I can buy in Australia ) .

I was also intrigued by the FITRules! on the pattern cover. I wonder if this is an early prototype of the Simplicity`s Amazing Fit patterns. The pattern had different cup sizes and some basic fitting advice .
I used some vintage fabric also picked up from the opshop . It was narrow but there was plenty of it . It has a white etched floral print on baby blue with pretty ditsy roses.

The interestingly shaped collar . I added bias binding to the facings as well. 

The sleeve vents. Several of my recent projects have them. I am obsessed !

Back ties which were popular in the 90s. These ties are not actually needed for shaping but I included them anyway. 

 I am happy with the tunic although the fabric creases like crazy. I won`t make the pattern again . Too many unused Burdas and pattern envelopes with the promise of some European sewing mags to be posted by my daughter having a fantastic overseas  adventure  this year.

I still have a few things to document here - a cream silk blouse  , a panne velvet T shirt , a grey tweed look long vest , a refashioned polar fleece top and a blouse made from my Christmas pressie Liberty lawn and I am just about to finish a pair of Burdastyle pants.
It doesn`t feel like I sew a lot but my sewing corner is my safe happy place and sewing a little bit every so often gets stuff done. My sewing is uncurated ! I pull out patterns and magazines I haven`t made before and match up with fabrics in my cupboard . I will see something someone has made and think that looks great and try sew something similar . I will put out a piece of fabric taking up lots of room and make it up . It all seems to work though . I make what I sew work for me so there are few unloved or disastrous makes even if I just end up wearing them around the house.
I have pulled out a few more wintery  fabrics and have washed and ironed them all ready to cut out and sew
hopefully before the end of Winter.

New Comey Vogue 1503 and Old McCalls 2094 and How Long Do You Keep Your Clothes For ?

I love the colour red and in particular red tops . This is the fourth summer red top / shirt I own !
I finished sewing this red  rendition  a few weeks ago and was initially disappointed in the outcome but I have come to realise that the bottom piece I wear with it is essential to its success.

The pattern is Vogue 1503 and I made view A . There are lots of lovely details . The back pieces extend over the front shoulders and the front has a gathered peplum but the back piece is plain so avoiding extra width in this area. The sleeves are finished with bands creating a  neat look. The front and back necklines are finished with self made bias binding.  The instructions include french seams and  bias binding covering exposed seams so the inside looks very professional.
I used a very fine red dobby polyester with small white and green dots and black dashes which Mum gave me over three years ago. A fine drapey fabric is needed to make that gathered peplum work.

These photos were taken with me wearing a loosish pair of linen pants and the combination did not look good . However later on I tried a pair of skinny navy pants  and I liked my peplum top much better.So for now it is a keeper and it will match up with newly completed embroidered skinny jeans ( have to get photos taken of those yet ) . As an aside I really love the long sleeved version too and will make that one day !
I should say there was one small mistake in the instructions. They forget to tell you the finish the back  neckline with a bias strip after staystitching. The pictures show the bias binding though. Apart from this the instructions are fine and the pattern is easy to follow.

I have been reading  a few  blog posts about how many times we wear our clothes and the number 30 seems to have been chosen as representing environmental value. It seems a quite random number and I am not sure if there are any studies which proves its worth.

The above red and white floral broderie anglaise shirt would fulfil the 30 wearings number ( as would my other red tops) .

I made it using McCalls 2094 in 2007 which makes the shirt 11 1/2 years old. It is probably one of the best fitting shirts I own and I still love it. In all honesty the upper back is starting to get a bit yellowed as is under the arms but nothing that can not be covered with  a cardigan or jumper .  This is not the oldest shirt I own though. 

 Also using McCalls 2094 is this sleeveless shirt made using some cotton lawn . I sewed this in 2001 so it is now 17 years old ! The cotton is so soft and wonderful to wear on hot days. It is not stained or holey.I simply can not bear to get rid of it and I can see no reason to . 

So am I weird to have clothes for so long ? Does anyone else have clothes this old which are worn over and over ( past the magic 30 number !) 

Button Front Shirt with a Tie Front Twist - Burdastyle 11/2011 .

My  sewing has been very slow in the last month and in fact it feels like I am not achieving much of anything .
But I have finished  another project .
After finally completing my Knipmode challenge by sewing up at least one pattern from each magazine  I have turned towards my Burda magazines now.
I had about 6 unused Burda magazines and the idea was to get through those as well but something happened. Last month I went to a Melbourne op shop and I spotted a basket on the ground full of Burda magazines . I almost fell over myself in trying to get there before the man and child in front of me could steal them . Luckily they were not interested  in sewing magazines so I plonked myself down on the ground  , emptied the basket and started trying to work out which ones to get . After a little while I realised that was useless so I just lugged the magazines to the front counter and bought them ALL. Ahem , 31 of them .
Now they were old - ranging from the years 2000- 2006 but for 75 cents each I don`t think I would be the only crazy sewing female to get them ( would I ?? tell me I`m not nuts ) and there are some really good patterns in there that don`t look out of place for now and besides I am not exactly the most fashionable person around in case you hadn`t noticed.
So there goes my Burda Challenge because sewing a pattern each from 37 magazines might take a long time.

So back to the really important stuff - the shirt I just sewed.

I used  pattern 107  from November 2011 which has side pieces which tie at the front . I am seeing quite a few patterns around with this feature even now but I figured if I get sick of them I can unpick the side seams and remove those bits and just have a plain shirt . They really remind me of how we used to tie our jumpers around our waists at school . I went to two secondary high schools and at the government school no-one cared that we did that but at the private school we used to get told off by teachers and prefects so wearing this shirt makes me feel a little bit naughty . I am tempted to call this post Naughty School Girl Fashion or the Tie Me Up shirt but can imagine the creeps that might look that up !

I used some very old stash to use the shirt - a seersuckery striped cotton in beige with blues and greens and plums . The fabric looks much nicer in real life . The last couple of shirts I have sewn , I have made the sleeves first because I think these are the trickiest parts trying to sew the sleeve slit / bands well. It then feels like the rest goes quicker and easier. The shoulders on this shirt are wider than I would like but not an easy fix . After sewing the shirt I noticed that  it  looks wide on the models as well . It is also very long which is fair enough since Burda calls this a dress not actually a shirt . I did make the shortest version of all three variations ( but I have included a photo of the midi one not the short one ) .

Overall I like the pattern but I won`t be making it again ( hello  37 unused  Burdas and many more  unused envelope patterns  ) I wore the shirt today for Me Made May which I am participating in for the first time . So off to post this on instagram and also the facebook stashbusting group I am in ! 

Snakes And Flounces and Peplums and New Buttons - Simplicity 2501

I have combined four things in this blouse that I don't normally do such is the pull  of this great pattern. I have sewn  this once before years ago in what is my favourite fabric EVER - cream vintage silk with a self pattern of scattered bamboo, blossoms ,irises and chrysanthemums combined with a circular asian symbol. Seriously beautiful fabric but I treat the shirt with the respect it deserves and only wear it for special occasions ( by the way I bought the material at the op shop for $1 - crazy ! ).
So I have always wanted to make this again in a less special fabric and when I saw Marec's version this project pushed itself to the top of the list.

The snake print started off as a scarf so there was only  just enough to sew the sleeveless top. I have avoided snake prints because where I used to live we saw a few  snakes each summer with at least one next to our house. Now we have shifted I have only seen one in the last two years and it was dead! So the nightmarish memories of snakes are fading .Also I  am not usually a frilly/ flouncy kind of person but this flounce is understated and I think makes the blouse elegant. Same with peplums - I think they are hard to wear and carrying my weight around the middle I didn't think peplums would like me but this one being split in the centre seems to drape nicely and not protrude. Finally I had to buy buttons for this top . I can not remember the last time I had to do this  - it must be many , many years.
The end result is worth it though. This pattern has many lovely features apart from the peplum and flounce. It also has pleats giving  a relaxed blouson feel and a mid riff band. I love the tie neck and there are a couple of interesting sleeve variations too.

I would highly recommend this pattern but I think it is a more recent OOP.

Kwik Sew 3026 or How Not To Sew Plaid.

Pattern used - Kwik Sew 3026. I love this pattern having now made it 5 times. It is a great basic pattern for either a button up or placket shirt. It has separate pattern pieces for the under and outer collar pieces and a gently curved hem.
Fabric used - pink and blue textured plaid cotton. This has been in my stash for 20 years ! It feels  sturdy and soft  and I had trouble working out which were the wrong and right sides . Overall a great quality fabric which is hard to find these days.

 From memory I have  not sewn a plaid shirt before. I did make a plaid dress  20+ years ago and I am certain there were no thoughts about pattern placing going on then  This time there were plenty of thoughts but I still managed to muck up!

1. The front placket is not cut on the true bias - I thought it was but I must have been wearing my foggy glasses .
2. The front main plaid is cut slightly off centre .
3. I cut the pocket pieces on the bias and the pocket flaps on the straight grain. I carefully matched  the pocket flaps to the shirt front and then sewed them on the wrong sides so the pockets are lower and closer to the placket than intended. Annoying but the end result is fine .
4. The back of the collar plaid pattern is meant to align with the main back piece. Mine doesn't because I didn`t know .

No back view of the shirt because. 

Much loved and much used Kwik Sew 3026. 

However I did manage to cut the cuffs and yokes on the true bias and matched my side seams really well. I used larger buttons than originally intended on the placket to cover up my mistake :).

The Verdict - I love my new shirt !