Happy New Year! And a rainbow mini skirt…

Happy New Year everyone! May 2017 be a fabulous year for you 😀

This is the first of my two remaining 2016 makes to blog. Not lagging too badly here as I completed this project back in September. That was just in time to wear to a convention for writers and readers of GLBTQ romance, hence the six colour Pride rainbow.

SONY DSC — Oh look, I polished my boots in your honour!

In a Nutshell:

This is a skirt I’ve been planning to make for years, and while I’m really happy I’ve finally got it done, it’s not exactly how I envisaged. It’s an awful lot shorter, for starters…

Pattern:

Self drafted. Actually, I didn’t even draft a pattern–I just fitted it to me as I went. It’s a straight skirt with two back panels and two front panels (does that make it a four gore skirt?), and an invisible zip in the centre back. There’s no waistband, just a grosgrain ribbon facing. It sits a couple of inches below my natural waist, and I decided not to go for darts for shaping as I didn’t like the idea of them breaking into the next layer down of the rainbow. All shaping is done in the seams.

Fabric:

Scraps of needlecord from my stash, left over from my doll-making days. It’s a really high quality, 100% cotton British-made corduroy from Brisbane Moss (I believe it might have been their 16 wale Chiltern). Unfortunately they only supply to trade, so I’ve no idea where I’ll get my corduroy in the future. Good thing I’ve still got lots left… Continue reading “Happy New Year! And a rainbow mini skirt…”

Totally not boring Grey Surplice Dress

This is the last of my 2016 makes to blog (completed early November), which means I’m not doing too badly this year! Blogging more promptly should definitely be a New Year’s resolution, though…

SONY DSC

In a Nutshell:

A simple, neutral knit dress that’s already become a firm wardrobe favourite!

Pattern:

This is the Surplice Dress from the Craftsy Sewing With Knits class. It’s a simple knit dress with an empire line waist, a wrap bodice and an A-line skirt. The sleeves are meant to be elbow length but ended up being slightly shorter because of an alteration I made (more on that later). Based on my measurements I cut a size M.

Fabric:

Grey ponte from Sewn Bristol (I can’t see it in the online store and I bought it back in the summer so perhaps it’s all gone now). I am seriously amazed by the quality of this fabric. At £5.50 a metre I assumed it might not wear all that well–after all, every single ponte I’ve bought in the past has bobbled after a couple of washes, despite me treating it like royalty with the finest delicates detergents, washing cycles and line drying. Continue reading “Totally not boring Grey Surplice Dress”

It’s a Christmas Gay-pron!

Prepare yourself for the world’s kitschest Christmas apron, featuring the campest underwear models you’ve ever seen. And I even finished it in time for the big day!

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In a Nutshell:

I’ve had the materials for making this apron for at least four years now–probably more like five. I have no excuses for taking so long to make it up (other than Christmas prep always getting in the way), but this year I got my act together and actually sewed the damn thing. It was my Christmas present to myself, and I made it a priority before working on presents for everyone else. That’s the kind of selfish sewist I am these days 😛

Pattern:

Butterick B5125. This is a gorgeous retro and somewhat glamorous apron, if such a thing can be said to exist. The pattern includes a full and half length version, both with a flounce and with really long and wide waist ties. These are a great feature, as they’re long enough to wrap around and tie in a bow at the front, which is the way I normally wear it (I’ve been wearing one of these aprons for years now). Unfortunately this pattern is now out of print, but it looks like there are still some copies available. Continue reading “It’s a Christmas Gay-pron!”

Top 5 sewing hits and misses of 2016

So, this is my second (and final) response to the #sewingtop5 prompt over on Crafting a Rainbow Even though I haven’t sewn that many garments in 2016 I decided I wanted to take part in the hits and misses anyway, because it’s a good exercise to reflect on the things I’ve made, particularly what works and what doesn’t. Here then, are my top 5 sewing hits of 2016:

Top 5 Hits:

Ladybird skirt

Me Made May (15) (Copy)
I haven’t blogged this one because it seemed to simple to warrant it. It’s just a self drafted maxi skirt in a lovely viscose jersey, with a self-fabric waistband (no elastic). I never wear it out of the house as the fabric has pilled and just doesn’t look right, but it’s so wonderfully comfy I wear it pretty much every day as loungewear. Recently I even upgraded the waistband to one made out of a black lycra as it had much better recovery, and I took a couple of inches off the skirt at the same time to stop it dragging on the ground. It’s now better than ever! Continue reading “Top 5 sewing hits and misses of 2016”

Top 5 of 2016: Reflections, goals and even some non-sewing stuff!

I really love reading these kinds of round up posts, but when I first saw the #sewingtop5 prompt over on Crafting a Rainbow I thought I had no business taking part as I’ve only sewn about a dozen things in 2016. Okay, I’ve sewn more than that, but only about that many garments for myself, so a list of my top 5 hits and top 5 misses would cover just about everything I’ve made.

But then I thought how much I love year-end navel gazing, so I’m doing some of the challenge anyway 😛

Actually, this is replacing my rather long winded yearly round up posts, so it’s got to be a good thing all round. Less waffle.

Top 5 Reflections Continue reading “Top 5 of 2016: Reflections, goals and even some non-sewing stuff!”

Red Mini skirt

I made this skirt back in August out of a very small piece of fabric from my stash, hence the length! It was only ever intended as a (hopefully) wearable toile to test out a skirt pattern’s fit and learn some new techniques. It’s been a mixed success…

Pattern:

On Safari Skirt by So Sew Easy. I bought this pattern a while back after searching for a pattern with the features of my favourite ready-to-wear denim skirt. I thought this would not only give me a great skirt I’d love to wear, but would also allow me to practice some of the techniques needed for making jeans as I intend to make a pair at some point in the next year or so. Continue reading “Red Mini skirt”