Year: 2017

March round up and April’s sewing plans

You know what, I honestly think I might finally have cracked sewing productivity, and over the past couple of months have managed to make one easy (knit) garment a week. It comes down to planning, folks. Simple as that. Last month I took the time to plan out some things I wanted to make in the month ahead, and I achieved most of them! Here’s last month’s post, in case you’re wondering.

I’ve also done a bit of housekeeping on the blog and have finally added a few static pages. You can see them in the blog sidebar. There’s a contact page, a few pages with each year’s blogged makes linked with handy pictures, and another ego-trip page all about me. That last one features a pic of a teenage me modelling the first item of clothing I ever made, back in the 90s. Oh dear. Fashion disaster!

March makes:

I’ve already blogged a couple of my March makes, although most of my March blogging was playing catch up on the first couple of months of the year.

L-R: Craftsy tee, Daisy’s dress

And the next two projects are completed but not yet blogged:

L-R: Seamwork Aurora top, Sew Over It Heather dress

I did also work on the velvet top refashion, but it didn’t work out well. There might be a post in that at some point, if I can finish it off so Daisy can wear it.

Money spent: £15.56

£10.78 for some ponte for making a Heather Dress

$6.00 Seamwork subscription (approx £4.78)

Pretty thrifty month. Yay for using up stash fabrics!

April sewing plans:

I really want a plain, short sleeved, v-neck grey tee, so I’m planning to use the Craftsy Sewing with Knits tee pattern (which I made earlier this month in pink) and make a swayback adjustment to perfect the fit. I might use some teal interlock to check I’ve got it right before cutting into my expensive grey merino jersey.
I’m also in the need for some new knickers, so I thought I’d have a try at making some. First I’m going to try out the Seamwork Geneva pattern, and if I find time I’ll also be having a go at the Lace V undies from So Sew Easy as this is a style I find really comfy.
One thing I’ve been wanting for a while now is a big, slouchy cardie to sling on over pretty much anything. I thought I might make the Grainline Driftless, but then I saw Jalie’s Drop Pocket Cardigan and I think I’m in love. It’s exactly the kind of shape I was after, and the interesting pocket construction makes it look like a fun sew.
More basics for summer: I’m after a staple vest top. Aurora wasn’t it, so next up I’m trying the Alabama Chanin corset top. A more complex sew, but the seam lines make it look really special.
I want to make a couple of things for the kids, too. I’m planning to start Gabriel’s potty training this month, so some more undies would be great. I’ll be trying the Made by Jack’s Mum Speedy Pants, probably both styles.
Daisy is in desperate need of more school uniform, so I want to make her a simple black skirt and if I find time, a modified Cleo pinafore dress (also in black). However, I think it might be getting a bit late in the year for a pinny dress, so I’ll probably leave this till the autumn.
One final thing I’d like to at least get started on is a maxi dress for me. Not sure yet if I want knit or woven, or if I’ll be buying a pattern or drafting my own. More thought required, but I’m keen to get going ASAP as this is a style I love but don’t currently own.
In addition to the above I’ll be planning ahead for other more involved summer makes and getting patterns and fabric together for a shirt dress and a Grainline Moss skirt. It will definitely be a more expensive month than March was, although I do have a couple of vouchers to spend at Ditto Fabrics and John Lewis so I expect I’ll make good use of those.
I’m also going to be working through more of the exercises in The Curated Closet and hoping to get a better handle on my style, so that I can make garments that really express it, that fit my lifestyle and that give me joy to wear.
What are you planning to make this month?

Me Made May 2017: my pledge

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This will be my second year taking part in Me Made May, and I had a blast last year. This is my pledge for this year:

I will endeavour to wear two me-made garments/accessories each day for the duration of May 2017 and to only wear each specific combination once during the month.

I’m also planning to finish up the mother of all crochet projects by the end of May: my broomstick Rebel Lace cardie. I think I need a deadline with this one or I’ll be making it forever!

That’s a bit more ambitious than last year, when I simply pledged to wear one me-made garment/accessory each day. I now have more me-mades to work with, though, and I fancy having a go at combining them in different ways. I’m hoping to find some new ways of styling my me-mades–especially the ones that don’t see as much wear.

I’m also hoping that by forcing myself to wear some of my lesser worn garments, I will be able to evaluate whether they have a place in my wardrobe, or if they need to be refashioned or find a new owner. And over the month I’ll be aiming to come up with some more concrete sewing plans for versatile garments I need to fill the gaps in my wardrobe.

I will be Instagramming my outfits each day (as anna_jo_sews), with weekly roundups on the blog.

Now, I need to work on my plans for April’s sewing. Some versatile pieces that can be combined with lots of other of my me-mades, methinks! And some knickers. That gives me a bit of a cheater easy second item to wear with my dresses–you’ll just have to take my word for it that I’m wearing them 😛

Anyone else planning to take part this year? And if so, what’s your pledge? Feel free to leave a link in the comments 🙂

Dressing Miss Daisy: the favourite flower dress

Aug 15 078 (Copy)Anyone following this blog for a while will have noticed that I’m fairly selfish sewist, no doubt. Oh, I have plans to make garments for all the people I love most in the world, but with limited sewing time and limited funds I tend to prioritise clothes for myself.

But Daisy often compliments me on my new makes and asks if I can make her something too, so when she picked out this fabric on our pre-Christmas shopping trip to Rose Crafts, I offered to make it into a skirt or dress for her. After Christmas, naturally. I wasn’t that crazy!

And so we got to March, and Daisy reminded me again, and we decided a dress would be a good idea. In fact, what she wanted was a facsimile of her favourite dress. A very old John Lewis pink jersey dress, shown in the pic on the right. She’s been wearing it for a couple of years now but it fits really well and seems to have more growing room. I had a good look at how it was constructed and decided I could probably have a go. After all, how hard could it be? #famouslastwords

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In a Nutshell:

A cute jersey dress in a dark floral pattern. This is so Daisy, and it fits her perfectly! It’s become her new favourite dress. It also counts for my #dressmakingbloggerchallenge for March (Springtime theme) what with that floral pattern. Are dark florals spring-like? Okay, I don’t care. It’s floral, and that’s good enough for me. Continue reading “Dressing Miss Daisy: the favourite flower dress”

You win some, you lose some: a tale of two tees.

Not all of my sewing projects are successful. Not even when they’re as simple and straightforward as a t-shirt. Here are two tees I’ve recently completed-one win and one fail. And by recently I mean one at the beginning of January and one last week. Partially recent, at any rate!

Major photobombing from my cat, Lottie, in these pics, by the way. Sneaky little so and so!

In a Nutshell:

Even the simplest of projects can go horribly wrong. I’ve learnt lots about what sort of tee shirt patterns suit me, though, so it wasn’t time wasted. Continue reading “You win some, you lose some: a tale of two tees.”

The Madrid Dress: Seamwork’s Neenah

I’m currently dealing with a severe lack of sleep and two ill boys to look after (okay, one of them is in his 50s, but still a boy when he’s ill), so what better time than to cheer myself up by blogging my favourite recent make? And while wearing it too! Yep, this passes the secret pyjamas test for sure.

Oh, and why the Madrid dress when I’ve clearly been modelling it in my back garden? Read on to find out!

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In a Nutshell:

A quick and easy make that’s become a firm wardrobe favourite. Style and comfort, what more could you ask for?! Continue reading “The Madrid Dress: Seamwork’s Neenah”

The Rooftop Cleo dress

I know every sewing blogger out there (pretty much) has already made this dress, but I’m not jumping on a bandwagon, honest! I’ve actually wanted a dungaree dress for yonks, as I had one I absolutely loved when I was pregnant with Daisy (who’s now 11). Last summer I was busy pinning dungaree dresses on an inspiration board, wondering how I’d go about drafting my own pattern for one, so when Tilly released this pattern I was more than ready to make one. I wonder why it took me until February? I blame Christmas for getting in the way 🙂

Like with my recent Moneta dress post, these photos were again taken on our glorious roof terrace during last month’s trip to Madrid.

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In a Nutshell:

A cute but very practical dress–ideal for chasing about after toddlers!

Pattern:

The Cleo Pinafore and Dungaree Dress from Tilly and the Buttons. I sewed the knee length version with the split and used two back pockets and one on the bib.

My waist measurement put me between sizes 3 and 4, and my hips were between sizes 4 and 5. Although the pattern instructions cautioned me to go with the larger size, I’d heard this pattern came up quite roomy at the waist so I rebelled and cut the smaller sizes, grading between a 3 at the waist to a 4 at the hip. With hindsight, this might have been a mistake! More on that in a minute… Continue reading “The Rooftop Cleo dress”

Seasonally inappropriate sewing: the Aster blouse

I’ve been finding the sewing challenges I’m taking part in so motivating that I’ve done the unheard of: completed a summer blouse in the middle of winter! Okay, it’s early spring really, but if it feels like winter, that’s all that matters. I don’t think you can see the goosebumps on these pictures, but I can assure you they were there. Oh yes, and I must thank my darling 11-year-old daughter Daisy for taking these pics. Didn’t she do a great job?! 🙂

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In a Nutshell:

A pretty summer top, but I think this pattern will need some adjustments for next time. I decided to treat this as a wearable muslin, but I spent my time sewing it carefully to get a good finish as I wanted to practice some shirtmaking skills for future projects.

Pattern:

The Aster blouse, by Colette Patterns. It’s a loose-fitting, V-necked blouse with a yoke, and I sewed View 1 with the short sleeves. My measurements put me between an 8 and 10, but I chose to cut the 8 with no grading as the pattern has lots of ease over the hips, and I know I have narrow shoulders so I figured I’d be better having the smaller size there.

This was one of my #2017MakeNine projects as I wanted to build up to making a proper shirt, and I figured this pattern would give me some practice while leaving out some of the scarier parts (collar and cuffs). The reason I sewed it in February was the #WardrobeBuilder challenge for this month: shirts and blouses. That and I fancied filling a wardrobe gap before the weather heats right up. If it ever does… Continue reading “Seasonally inappropriate sewing: the Aster blouse”

February round up and March sewing plans

I’ve decided to shake up my “monthly” crafting posts and make them more structured. And more about sewing than crochet or knitting, because let’s face it, that’s what I do most of these days.

So, without further ado, here’s what I made in February:

L-R: Tilly and the Buttons Cleo dress, Seamwork Neenah dress, Colette Aster blouse

That’s three complete garments in the shortest month of the year. Go me! At this rate I could be sewing one garment a week before long–speedy Gonzalez, that’s me!

I’ll be blogging all these February makes really soon, I promise. February was also the month I started a proper sewing journal, and already I’m finding it’s helping me to focus on my sewing more and make better plans. I might blog more about that in the future…

March sewing plans:

I’ve got t-shirts on the brain at the moment–partly because of this month’s #WardrobeBuilder challenge, but also because I desperately need some new tops. I’m planning on using up stashed knits to begin with and will hopefully have a bit of fun playing around with patterns and techniques. The Plantain tee is probably going to be first up as I’ve made it before, in a hot pink interlock with short sleeves. Perfect for wearing under my Cleo dress!

I also really want one more longer sleeved knit dress in my arsenal, and so I’ve got the SOI Heather Dress pattern printed out. My eye is on some pink and purple ponte at my local fabric shop–colourblocking ahoy!

I’m also thinking about cami-style tops for the warmer weather that will hopefully just be around the corner. I would like to use up the leftovers from some of my knit projects to make the Seamwork Aurora top.

I also have a “going out” top to refashion from an old velvet tee that was cut into by someone (can’t remember who, but they gave it to me years ago). Should be a really quick make and will hopefully fill a wardrobe gap for warm yet fancy clothing.

And last but not least, another knit project, but this time for my daughter, Daisy. She wants a dress made from some fabric she picked out before Christmas. It’s black with flowers, and she wants a copy of her favourite short sleeved dress. I’m feeling confident enough with knits to attempt this now, and what’s more, it will be my entry for this month’s #dressmakingbloggerchallenge, as that’s all about florals.

That’s nearly all from stash, so March should be a thrifty sewing month for me 🙂

What are you planning to make this month?

A respectable party dress! My very first Moneta.

I’m getting in just ahead of the #monetaparty with my first go at this very popular pattern. Oh, and coincidentally I made this for my Dad’s 70th birthday party last month, and I’m finally getting around to blogging it on my 40th birthday. Significant birthdays all round! Oh yes, and for a bit of added exoticism, the photos were taken in Madrid last week, on the roof terrace of our gorgeous Airbnb apartment 🙂

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In a Nutshell:

I have to admit the Moneta pattern never really grabbed me when it came out, as I tend to like my silhouettes more fitted. However, it’s a hugely popular pattern and I figured so many people loving it must mean something, so when Colette allowed me to spend my Seamwork credits on Colette patterns I decided to give it a try. And then the prospect of the upcoming #monetaparty put a boot up my arse to actually get it made. That and needing a dress suitable to wear to my dad’s 70th birthday party–tea and cakes in a church hall. All my existing party dresses were too slinky looking, and I figured Moneta might give me the pretty-but-wholesome vibe I needed 🙂 Continue reading “A respectable party dress! My very first Moneta.”

Mending crazy!

 

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Arrrgh! The giant mending pile of doom! It’s going to bury us all!!!

I’ve been inspired by the internet to get on with my mending pile. Yes, it’s been an ongoing ambition for some time now, and I’d got as far as gathering it all together, cataloguing it on Trello, and buying a giant plastic storage box from IKEA to house it all, yet still the pile remained. Albeit safely contained in a plastic crate. Don’t want dangerously unmended items on the loose, now, do we?!

But now I’ve cleared the vast majority of it. What changed, I hear you ask?

Inspired by Melly’s January challenge I divided my mending up into 6 piles, according to what the next step was:

  • Needs either cutting or seam ripping.
  • Needs a trip into the loft to find some fabric for patching.
  • Needs hand sewing.
  • Needs pressing.
  • Needs the sewing machine.
  • Needs the overlocker.
  • Needs more thought/trying on before deciding on the next step.

Continue reading “Mending crazy!”

Craftysticks: the Christmas edition (in January, naturally)

Things might have been quiet on the blog, but that’s more down to having computer issues than me not being crafty! I am currently dictating this post into my phone as the PC is still misbehaving. Thankfully Andy ordered us a new one last night, so hopefully I will be back on the blog more often in future 🙂

Sewing:

img_0147-copyThis year I decided I wanted to make more of my Christmas presents again, and went the sewing rather than my customary knitting and crochet route for a fair few of them. First up is the one I’m most proud of, mainly because I’ve had it in my head to make for my friend for several years now. It’s a cushion featuring her favourite TV detective, Colombo! I used Dylon Image Maker to transfer a black-and-white laserprinted picture of Columbo that I found online. It was simple enough to do, and the only real difficulty is the number of times you have to wet and gently scrape off the paper residue; definitely more than the two times they suggest on the packet. I had originally intended to put the pom-poms as trim around the edge of the cushion and piece the front with a mitred border, as well as inserting a zip closure, but the image making took longer than expected and I had to cut some corners. The cushion is now a simple envelope design, and I used the pom-pom trim to cover the less-than-perfect edges of the Columbo appliqué. My friend was thrilled, and the cushion now resides on her computer chair. Continue reading “Craftysticks: the Christmas edition (in January, naturally)”

Rainy Day Cardie

This is a toile for a pattern I’ve had my eye on for ages. Apologies for the ropey indoor pics. It just wouldn’t stop raining!

ETA: I realised this morning that I made a mistake while sewing this. See sections in bold italics below!

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In a Nutshell:

I’m considering this casual cardie a success for a toile, even if it hasn’t had any wear just yet… It’s also a proper multitasker as it qualifies as my make for the following 2017 pattern challenges:

#wardrobebuilder: January: Jumpers and Sweaters

#dressmakingbloggerchallenge: January, Keep it Cosy

#2017MakeNine: cardie

Pattern:

The Wembley Cardigan by Seamwork. It’s a relaxed fit, cropped cardigan without any fastenings to worry about, so a really quick and simple sew as all Seamwork patterns are intended to be. I cut a straight size small based on my bust measurement, reasoning there was really no need to grade this out to a medium at the hips as it’s such a relaxed style. Continue reading “Rainy Day Cardie”

2017 sewing plans (#2017MakeNine)

 

I’ve been following Rochelle’s blog for ages now, and I really like her approach to creating a wardrobe of handmade items that really fit with her lifestyle. So this year I thought I’d give her #2017MakeNine sewing challenge a go. Nine items shouldn’t be too many to make in one year, and the idea is to keep the list fluid, changing things as and when I see fit. I’ve been thinking hard about capsule wardrobes and the garments I feel a need for when rooting around for something to wear. Rather than picking just nine patterns I’ve instead picked nine types of garment, with several pattern options for most of them. The idea is that I will hopefully find a pattern in each category that I like enough to want to make several versions of it in different fabrics and colours.

Dresses:

Dungaree dress

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There’s only one contender here and that’s the Tilly and Buttons Cleo Dress. I’ve wanted a dungaree dress for ages–I last had one when I was pregnant with Daisy (who’s now 11!) and I wore it to death. I have been seriously inspired by alisesaye‘s gorgeous version pictured, and I have some aubergine needlecord in my stash which would be perfect for this pattern. It that works well then I’ll want to make a denim version too. Continue reading “2017 sewing plans (#2017MakeNine)”