Simplicity 1280 - A Surprise Winner.

This is my favourite sewing out of my recent projects. It is the cross over top from Simplicity 1280 which is a very popular pattern for good reasons as I have discovered.
I was hesitant about this style because I carry most of my extra fluff around my lower tummy and thought this cross over elasticized top might emphasize it. But I really liked the versions I have seen so gave it a shot anyway.
I used a piece of chiffon which has been hanging around close to a decade 😳 . The pattern says you need 1.4 metres  of 1.5 metre wide fabric but I only had 1.25 so I was really happy when I managed to not only squeeze out the  top with this but also lengthened the sleeves to reach my wrists.
The  other change I made was instead of adding elastic to the sleeve hems I made bias binding strips the same width as the neck band to finish off the sleeves. Personally I find this more comfortable than elasticized sleeves but that could be because I cut the elastic too short.

As others have noted it really is a modest top with the deep cross over pieces. It is very easy to sew but you do  need a soft drapey fabric for it to work. The chiffon was perfect for this. I did not sew any extra stitches to secure the fronts because I think that kind of changes the way they fall and I did not find it necessary.  I highly recommend this pattern and also want to try out the other style top included in the pattern.I have included what is a totally useless hanger shot where all details are obscured by the print !

Happy Sewing Janine.

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.

Simplicity 1467 - Copycat From Ballarat Pants .




 Oh thy cruel camera why do you lie so ? I am sure these pants looked better in real life but now I have seen the photos I am not so sure ! I made Simplicity 1467 a Sew Stylish wardrobe pattern. I love all the individual pieces and can see myself making up everyone eventually. I chose the pants first because I rarely make them and wanted to do something different. However pants fabric is thin on the ground in my part of the woods and I only really had two choices - this pale grey or a black and white pinstripe. Since the only other pants that I have sewn that I wear outside the house are black and white pinstripe the grey won and it just so happens that the fabric looks virtually the same as the pattern sample ! I sewed the pants pattern as is , no alterations. They are comfortable and do not look too terrible I suppose but I can see there are some wrinkles which if I get time and can be bothered could do with some pants fitting interpretations . The pants are very easy to sew and include a couple of great features . They have an elasticated waist but with the small pleats and bias cut waist band do not have the gathering and bunching which makes the usual elasticated waist garments bulky - very clever ! Also the inner pocket piece is all in one and folded over on itself which I have not seen before. I have included side and back views too . I once saw that one of the search terms on my blog was back view of older women ! Whatever - one of down and weird sides of having a public blog. I do recommend this pattern - it was far easier than writing this blog post . I am not sure if my difficulties with blogger are to do with me and my poor computer skills or my old computer or blogger . Anyway Happy Sewing . Costings - Material pale grey polyester $3.75 , Simplicity 1467 $3.00 , thread $3.00 , elastic - stash. Total $9.75

Vintage Simplicity 7601 - Blah Humbug .

I have managed to make another blah garment - the last for the year .
I liked the look of the pattern Simplicity 7601 from the 70s - dropped short kimono sleeves , open neck , fine pintucks on both the front and back , pullover style .

However it ended up being huge both in width and length and  had giant wings sticking up at the ends of the sleeves . I chopped off about 20cm in length and took in the sides by several cms which made a big difference . I resewed the sleeve hems which helped a little  but they still stick up .
The end result is perfectly wearable - a sombre top  suitable  for work which will match unoffensively with other plain skirts and pants but it doesn`t really ring any bells for me.
The one saving grace is the fabric is a lovely sand washed silk - a remnant from Rathdowne Remnants.

I am hoping my first sew of 2016 will be a happier one - a tunic from a Knipmode magazine using a pretty japanese themed bird/ floral rayon print from Spotlight. I have traced the pattern , cut out the fabric and made a start on the sewing.
I hope everyone has the Christmas that they are wishing for  and a happy and healthy New Year.

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.

Why You Should Not Stash Fabrics !

  
I have had this piece of light weight denim for about  20 years now . It has been either stored in a covered basket ( when my stash was small ) or in various cupboards ( as my collection grew ) . It has always been kept away from the light . 
Check out that serious fabric foldline fading ! 
This was leftover from making a shirt that well never made it to a shirt. I  kept on sewing the patch pockets unevenly and was so totally frustrated I threw the project out . I remember that so well such was the frustration ! However I kept the large scraps and the sleeves which are in pieces ( I don`t know why ) because it is lovely soft smooth fabric and I paid a decent price for it. 

I was going to sew a knipmode tunic out of this . The tunic is made up of lots of pieces - the sleeves and back are from two pieces and the front from three pieces so I was hopeful that I could juggle all these small pieces onto my irregular scrap. Alas despite my best efforts I could not get those pieces to fit the fabric. Sigh. So again laziness made me turn to an  old pattern that I have made many times and I knew did not take much material. 

I may be trying to reduce my fabrics but I keep hold of old patterns. I bought this one about 10 years ago because I loved the white lace version on the front . Of course I have not recreated that look but I have now made this pattern up three times and I still do intend to make the white lace top. 

To get all the pieces on I had to cut the back from two pieces of material and I barely had any seam allowance. Trying to overlock that seam nicely was impossible so I used a fancy stitch and matching embroidery thread to sew down those seams. 
Then I repeated the stitching along the front neckline and bodice seams. 

I know some people would think why bother sewing with such faded fabric but it really is lovely and soft and as I have probably written before  I do not like waste . I am just calling this my shabby chic top :).
So this is just about the last of my really old fabric I have now . 
But please learn a lesson from me - do not stash fabrics ( well at least not for 20 years ) .

When Cynthia Rowley Meets Missoni. Simplicity 2472.

Mum gave me this interesting zigzag knit ( I do sometimes buy my own fabric ! ) . It is a textured knit but has very little stretch.  I admit  my choice of pattern was based purely on laziness . The pattern is Simplicity 2472 a Cynthia Rowley pattern for a top/ tunic/ dress  using woven fabric which has cut on sleeves. I was worried about pattern matching those zigzags so was attracted to that sleeve feature.

This is a deceptive pattern. The pieces look large and shapeless and likewise so does  the finished garment .
However wearing it is a different matter . I felt quite pleasantly trendy for a change !
It is incredibly easy to sew with just a front and back and narrow bands for the neck and sleeves. I was considering bias binding for the neck but having recently made a nightie with a very narrow neck band and liking the effect I stuck with the pattern .

I had to sew a centre seam in the back instead of cutting on the fold because of restricted amounts of fabric. However I need not have worried about pattern matching because the zigzags and colours are so irregular .
I should mention that I made the shortest version but would love to make the  dress one day . I would highly recommend this pattern but it is probably OOP like most of the patterns I seem to sew.

I have tried to capture the lovely woven texture of the fabric but as per usual the photography is the hardest thing to do here .
Happy Sewing Janine.

A Bloggy Catch Up and Ramblings about Fabric .

It is a lovely Sunday morning here - the rain has stopped ( our sheep at one stage had their own personal olympic sized swimming pool with a Murray River run off in their paddock  - I put a stop to their backstroke lessons when I unclogged the roadside drain ) and it is sunny.
I have had my breakfast carefully supervised by my food taster . If he does not drop dead one millisecond after eating my toast ( multigrain BTW )  prepared for me by my husband then I proceed to enjoy. My fitness instructor has taken me for a walk. The fitness involved depends entirely on how many fitness instructors have preceded us. Sometimes we need to inspect every single blade of grass and other times a quick sniff of some select trees and fence posts will suffice. Now my bodyguard will allow me to sew whilst he pretends to curl up and sleep . However I see him opening a single eye now and again to check for any potential assassins .

This year I was making a concerted effort to really sew down my fabric stash/ collection / hoard or whatever you want to call it. I made a policy that if I bought fabric then I would HAVE to sew it up straight away.

This policy works really well. I bought the mesh knit for my knipmode scarf top  from my previous post .
I bought this cream cable rib knit above  for my practice run for my black lace bonded knit . The bust darts are too low and the sleeves are too short but I was happy otherwise.

I bought this border print from an op shop - a bare one metre and sewed up Simplicity 4368 again . This is such a nifty little pattern - to be able to get a top with sleeves from such little fabric ( I use size 12 )  . However it seems the fabric buying policy expired in late July.
My excuse is my daughter had an exam in a regional town a couple of hours away. I rarely go there and I had 3  1/2 hours to spare . So I went and looked at an op shop . And found a mother lode of fabric . In the end I limited it to just under 20 metres - taupe  tropical wool, cream rayon, floral dotted swiss , cream rib stretch, cotton-silk ( I think ) floral , lemon and rust coloured crepe de chines and a pale grey mystery . Yes so in one swell swoop I bought the amount of fabric it has taken me to sew for the year . Sigh - there is always next year yes ?

I will finish with a word about my  food taster / fitness instructor / bodyguard. Just in case you are jealous or think he is perfect , well he is not . I have given him several dissertations on how to make the perfect cup of tea. He knows the theory well but has yet to put it to practice.

Happy Sewing Janine.

Knipmode May 2012 -Amazing Technicoloured Dream Skirt .

 Hello , I have finished sewing a new outfit in February .

Pattern Used - Knipmode May 2012 - Skirt ( Rok 16 ) . Out of my 4 Knipmode magazines this is my favourite. There are heaps of patterns I want to sew and this particular one was not even on my radar.
I was inspired by a photo of Princess Mary wear a gently pleated colourful skirt with a cowl necked satin top . I finally chose this pattern - a semi-circle skirt with deep box pleats in the front  and in-seam pockets .
The pattern is well drafted and the markings on the pieces are all the directions you need if you have sewn heaps of skirts before.

Fabric - Liberty Tana Lawn - This was a special gift from an English friend posted to me 4 years ago . The print is called Ian Rhodes and was from the Spring/Summer 2011 collection. She suggested I sew a dress and I even bought a couple of dress patterns for this but finally decided I would get more wear by making a skirt and fabric like this deserves to be worn. It is an unusual  liberty print made up of rectangles of   muted  colours of aqua, rose, terracotta , indigo, chartreuse , ecru etc. The colours are so crazily varied but somehow it works ! This is the first time I have ever made myself a garment from Liberty and hopefully not the last. I lined the skirt with some blue whatever stuff that was in my stash as the lawn is too fine as is for a skirt.

 I was so hyped up from sewing this Liberty ( finally ) that I went and bought some - for  another  friend- paying it forward so to speak . She is turning 50 this year and is a seriously good seamstress ( like drafting her own designs, only using natural fibres, proficient at fitting  etc ) . There are hundreds of designs to chose from but the decision was really easy because I chose the one that has her  professional name - how seriously cool and weird  is that -having a liberty fabric name the same as your own .

Now I have so many tops that  match this skirt already but a project like this deserves a new one . So I also sewed a new top .                                                                        

Pattern Used - Simplicity 2418.
Fabric  - Navy charmeuse from the Clegs remnant sale in 2012 . If ever there was a way to slow down your sewing then charmeuse is it.
Slippery and difficult but beautiful. A real prima
donna of fabrics .






And then because I was procrastinating making yet another pair of New Look shorts for my eldest daughter I went and sewed yet another top to match.

Pattern - Simplicity Threads wardrobe  Pattern - 4368 . It includes patterns for a jacket , pants, skirt and top . I love the square neckline with three little pintucks . It only took one metre of fabric and it includes sleeves !
Fabric - lemon light weight silk look dupioni .

OK so now I really don`t have any excuses to not sew that fourth pair of shorts - sigh.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend . Janine.

Vintage Simplicity 9497 - White and Navy Spotty Dress.

I sewed this pattern a few years ago  but at the time of cutting out my fabric I wasn't  quite sure if it was home dec or dress fabric. Well after a few wears and washes I realized it was definitely home dec stuff. I mean if the large roses and flowers which looked like my great aunt's couch weren't a giveaway the scratchy feel which did not improve with washing made it a certainty . But the fabric was so pretty - lemon background with large various pink roses and I got lots of positive comments too! But they didn't have to  wear it so out the dress  went . But I loved the pattern so out it came out  again with fabric that was definitely of the dress variety this time. 

 This is one of the few patterns where I think the dress made up looks better than the pattern cover photo . 

On hanging this up in my wardrobe when finished I realized that out of my five summer work dresses three are basically the same variation - 1/2 shirt waister dresses with notched collars . This one has dropped shoulders , the sleeves are cuffed and the bodice is slightly gathered and attached to a yoke but otherwise very similar to Simplicity 2923.My other 2 summer work dresses are wrap styles made of knit . So there I am in a style rut . I'm not making any resolutions sewing or otherwise for 2015 but I think I will at least try another dress style next year.
I have one other completed make to blog about and am currently sewing some shorts for my daughter as well . Then I will tackle my ` coffee` twin set I recently posted about  and see what I can do with that. After that I have no  projects planned so can start  afresh .
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and is well.
Cheers Janine.

Simplicity 5552 - My Favourite Pattern ? .

Simplicity 5552. Possibly maybe this might be my favourite pattern if I was forced to choose - We will kill your dog ,pull out your eyeballs and confiscate your hidden chai latte cache  if you do not choose your favourite pattern !
I have been admiring the Wiksten Tova pattern but then realized  this simplicity was very similar .
I have made this five times now - twice for Mum and this version is replacing my first version made out of wrinkled white cheesecloth with lace. I wore that far longer than I should have - for seven years ! -but I loved it so much.

This is made out of a self patterned stripey white cotton from the op shop again ( I do sometimes buy new fabric -lol. ) I changed the pattern around  a little. I added a button placket in the front yoke,  slightly widened the ends of the  sleeves and added a band to bind them instead of just using elastic. I used white embroidery thread and using a fancy stitch included in my sewing machine I embroidered around the edges of the yoke. This covered the seams that showed through the white fabric, anchored them down and added an  interesting touch

.

Close up of the embroidery stitch and front yoke. 

Simplicity 5552, dated 2003. 

I have not yet finished with this pattern. I can imagine a version with a colourful embroidered yoke, a version with tone on tone embroidery, using lace for the yoke and also using a contrasting fabric for the yoke and sleeves as shown in the middle version B above. 

I have also sewed the version of this pattern with the square neckline  out of yoryu georgette . This was made in 2005  and I take this away on just about every holiday I go on because the fabric does not need ironing , feels dry almost as soon as it comes out of the washing machine and I love the colours and pattern.

 I actually made the white  shirt a few months ago and am kind of trying to catch up with blogging. I have finished sewing a dress and couple of shirts as well but I need to bribe my photographers when they are in helpful moods. Until then. Cheers and happy sewing.

PS- what is your favourite sewing pattern ?

Simplicity 2923 - In the Red .

Obstinence rather than common sense resulted in me sewing a summer dress in winter.
Fabric makes it way from my main stash to a little basket in my sewing room to the machine and then the wardrobe.
This fabric had been in the basket since October last year and I was determined there would be no retrograde flow with this one.
I used Simplicity 2923 , part of the Pattern Runway collection from 2008 and previously made into a much used yellow print dress .

The fabric is a splotchy aqua/ teal  drapey rayon with floral outlines from deep stash and another lucky find at an op shop .
The pattern is a button front dress and I used the notched collar bodice and flared skirt options.
I had 2.9 metres of fabric and only just had enough. I had to piece the fabric to get the pockets and two of the bodice fronts. In the end I eliminated the pockets because they looked terrible - bagging out and making my hips look huge AND cut over 20cm away from the skirt because it looked a bit frumpy. I had some trouble getting the notched collar right but apart from this sewing the dress went smoothly and the fabric was a dream to sew with . However I suspect that this fabric will not be sturdy because I have sewn with similar pieces in the past  and little holes seem to appear quickly .  With the cut off fabric I might in the future made a matching belt with one of my hoarded belt kits that I keep on buying  .
I` m happy with the dress now - I think the fabric shows off the blouson effect of the bodice nicely and looks a bit vintage styled as well.

With this project more fabric has now officially left the stash than has come in   I am in the red .
Echoing Lynley Dodds*  bossy little warthog character  " Eee " squealed the fabric hog  "Snip, Pin , Sew " and slowly the fabric stash went down and down .

Lynley Dodds is a NZ childrens author  famous for Hairy McClary but our favourite book of hers was Sniff, Snuff , Snap about a bossy little warthog.