McCalls 2401 - Ponte - A Whole New World.

Bleary eyed photos -I have to grab a photographer when I can and in this case it was quite early in the morning . 

I love experimenting with different fabrics and patterns . I have seen so many ponte dresses and skirts which looked fabulous so I wanted to try sew with this new to me fabric too. I also have read that ponte can pill with only a few wearings/ washings . When I sew I want my clothes to last many many years not just one or two seasons . I have had good luck with fabrics bought from Knitwit in Western Australia so when I received an email about their pontes and saw a patterned one that really appealed to me I bought it ( late last year with my footy tips competition money !) It is the Daniela print and is a rayon blend ponte ( which I read tends to be better quality ) . It is plain black on the inside and a purple /bronze abstract print on the right side ( and still available last time I checked ).

I have never sewed with ponte before so I did some research on what I should be doing . I find Emma one Sock ( link here - http://www.emmaonesock.com/guides/kbponte.asp ) has excellent advice on sewing with fabrics .  Ponte is like double knit but with stretch so apart from using a pattern designed for wovens in all other respects I treated the fabric as a stretch fabric.
I used a ballpoint needle and sewed with a slight zigzag stitch .The website also suggested stabilising the neckline with some light weight stay tape  and the shoulder seams with bias knit interfacing . I used  the  selvedge edge  from  silk for the stay tape as suggested .

The pattern I used  is McCalls 2401- a slim fitting sheath dress  . This is a very popular pattern which has been around for a long time and still also currently available in the pattern catalogues . I eliminated the back zip and used a button/ loop closure . I also made 3/4 sleeves which was easy to adapt from the provided long sleeve pattern . I hand sewed all the hems.

Normally I steer away from form fitting clothes but with the ponte I think it was easier to get a good fit . There is some excess fabric above the bust near the armscye and it feels / looks a little thick with the neckline facing but overall I am pretty happy with the result and will be willing to try more slim fitting clothes if I find more ponte that I like.

Not A Knitter, So A Sewer .

I  don`t really like to knit all that much although I am very tempted when I see my friend knitting beautiful socks and knitting jumpers from wool she has spun and dyed herself- incredible !
My last knitting effort was abysmal .I spent one year knitting the front , the next winter knitting the back and then one winter each for the sleeves. I left my project under the bed for the next winter and took it out and gave to my Mum who kindly sewed up the pieces . The next year I knitted the neck band and the end result was absolutely awful , incredibly daggy and baggy and ugly jumper . Seven years to produce such fugliness.
So whenever I see woolly knitted fabric that I like I buy it.

This fabric was from ClearIt late last year -black floral lace bonded onto off white ribbed knit . I`ve never seen fabric like this before so I scooped up 1.5 metres .

Such beautiful l fabric just needs a simple pattern and I had to go all the way back to a Burda Magazine from 1998 to find what I wanted. I have bought a few old issues of Burda magazines at op shops ( they are a rare find ) but this is the first time I have used one . Just a simple pullover which was very easy. I am very happy with the fit although perhaps not as loose as I wanted but I can easily wear a shirt underneath and that is all I needed.

This jumper only took about three sewing sessions -perhaps three hours and I can honestly say I am pleased with the result. So seven years knitting fugly , three hours sewing satisfaction - is it any wonder I don`t knit !
( PS I am though seriously considering finishing knitting the socks I started in 2010 )

241

Just updating my personal sewing diary.

One of the things I really enjoy about having a blog is being able to document my sewing endeavours.  Most of my sewing has long disappeared and exists only in my mind. Not that it was spectacular or special just that I sewed it and and can see that I am getting better even if I still know just about zilch on fitting and totally nothing about drafting.
Another thing about having a blog is actually having a photo of myself wearing the clothes which sometimes even includes a back view. There are very few photos of me except on this blog. That doesn't  matter to me at all but it has been interesting to me to see what  clothes , colours  and styles might suit or not. Because that is another thing I am relatively clueless on -style etc.  And until this blog I didn't actually know what my back view looked like ( and perhaps that is information that was better that way ) .

Last month I finished sewing another burda style henley T.
This was a sewing project that I needed ,  not just wanted. A basic cream T .
The fabric is a fine ribbed knit bought on a lovely fabric buying day in November 2013 with the lovely girls from the monthly sewing group ( sadly this year it has been an annual sewing group for me ) . The month before had been a stashbusting sewing month - pure genius ! The fabric was from Rathdowne Remnants and the first piece I have made up from that day ! I thought it would be difficult fabric to handle because it is so fine  but it sewed up quite easily and I was delighted there was just enough to make  another kwik sew singlet as well - hence the two for one blog title .

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 !

Vogue 8793 Tilton Top - Scrapbusting Extravanganza.

So happy  to be able to be back sewing again after a three month momentous hiatus.

I finally finished the fourth pair of New Look shorts and then contemplated sewing up a` new` piece of fabric. However I have had my little basket full of scraps sitting in my sewing room for over 6 months so thought I should just  sew them up and then have a fresh start. I am  glad about that decision because I am very pleased with my completed top .
I bought Vogue 8793 after seeing Sham`s and Jilly`s versions .
I have used 5 different scrap  fabrics in this top and only one was new !
Front made from black /white eye crossing poly - from New Look T 6405 - October 2013
Other front from black, red , grey rayon lycra - from Butterick dress 5523 - July 2014
Back from a garish floral `vintage ` spotlight poly  knit - from New Look  dress 6429 - March 2006
Inner collars pieces from Cleggs Bamboo knit - from Kwik Sew 2694 - May 2013 .
Outer collars and cuffs used small scraps of the above prints .
Sleeves from the only new fabric - black cotton lycra remnant from Darn Cheap - bought April 2014.
I didn`t have enough fabric to cut the front in one but this turned out to be a great design feature .

I did also have to buy two  new zips but basically it is almost made from scraps  which is very satisfying  .
I was concerned that the zip feature around the neck might be scratchy but it is not at all and I just used the stock standard cheap zips from my local store because that is all I can access anyway. I could not get a zip long enough so had to piece together the zips but this is only noticeable to me .
The T shirt itself has a relaxed but not too baggy fit with slimmer fitting arms so will be a good basic top even without the neckline zip focus. I really like the artsy funky feel to this top - it is my new favourite.
Well it just goes to show that it is definitely worth saving those scraps and I am not just a bit crazy to do so.

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.

Pattern Review Sew Stylish Sew Along - New Cardigans.

 
Hello ,  these are the initial results of my attempts at following along with the Pattern Review Stylish Sew Along .
Note I am interpreting this as becoming more stylish not being stylish . So believe me these two cardigans are a whole lot better than what they replaced because even I realise that these cardigans are not what you would see on the best dressed lists!

The first cardigan is made from Butterick 3461 ,  a Kathy Ireland Lifestyle Wardrobe pattern from 2002. It is a long line slim fitting cardigan with a V neckline and gentle side seam shaping.It is such a basic pattern that I can't see any reason to but a newer pattern.  The fabric is a white stable  knit with a herringbone pattern. The recommended fabric is a knit with moderate stretch but this worked out fine.
I actually bought and made this pattern when it was first released from a caramel coloured fake suede which was the worst fabric I have ever sewed with even though it looked really good. I'm glad that I have revisited this pattern despite my bad memories . I was so pleased with the end result that I  actually hand stitched all the hems rather than my usual machine hem job  . I think it  looks much better and  I should just consider doing this all the time.

The cream cardigan on the left uses Kwik Sew 2875 which I have made several times but using  the hoodie version and also the great little camisole that comes with it.
I used my paisley embossed fleecy which is really lovely fabric but impossible to photograph . I only had one metre so I was really limited in what I could sew and in the end  this was the only pattern I could use . I actually wanted to make a raglan sleeve windcheater . There are pros and cons to op shop fabric and this is one of them. Finding great material but just not enough of it. From now on I will just have to leave these pieces behind .

Anyway end result is that I got rid of a couple of old cardigans and used some old stash to make replacements- a win-win situation .

The Stylish Sew Along has also inspired my next sewing projects. I am finally going to use some Liberty lawn given to me by a friend 4 years ago and am making up a couple of new tops which will match as well.
I highly recommend reading this sew-along/ discussion  . There are all different sewers , from different parts of the world , with different sewing needs but with the same common goal - trying to lift style game and get out of a rut. Happy Sewing Janine.