Phew, that title was a bit of a mouthful! Yes, I’m back and sharing another project made with free fabric from Minerva (in return for a blog post with pics on their site–no obligation to post here). This is one from early in the year–February to be exact–which is now coming back into regular wardrobe rotation. I present to you, the Stella Hoodie dress:
You can find the full post with details of the fabric and sewing process over on Minerva here. I’m not 100% sure that sweatshirting with so little stretch was ideal for this project–it’s fine for the oversized look where stretch isn’t necessary, but I prefer something more fitted which means this isn’t as easy as I’d like to take on and off. Still, it’s really comfortable and practical, and makes a lovely snuggly winter dress. Continue reading “The Stella Hoodie Dress from Tilly Walnes’ Stretch book for Minerva Makers”
This is a bit of a hodgepodge of a post, but I’m starting out with a quick run through and wardrobe analysis of the four items I sewed last winter. Here goes!
#OneYearSewn wardrobe analysis
First up is my Plum Pudding Cardigan (Jalie 2919) which definitely scores the highest in wear count, clocking up an impressive 57 wears so far. It’s no surprise to me really, as I tend to wear a cardigan layer pretty much every day of the year. Our weather out here in Somerset is highly variable, so layers are key to being able to keep a comfy temperature. Continue reading “#OneYearSewn: winter 2018-19 – a wardrobe analysis”
Just popping by to share my latest Minerva Blogger Network post, which is a super-cute zebra print swimsuit, using the now out of print Butterick B6358. You can find out all the nerdy sewing details here: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005899
Okay, this is a bit late in the year (what, it’s April already?!), but hey, better late than never. So, how did I do with my 2018 Make Nine plans?
Honestly? I didn’t do well with them, but I can see now that they were way too ambitious with another baby in the picture. Here’s the final grid:
Yep, I made the Jalie 3131 nursing bra (as yet unblogged) which was a huge success as it’s really comfortable and I wear it loads, although I freely admit it’s probably not the most flattering silhouette, having a sports bra flattening kind of effect.
I also made (and blogged here!) the dressing gown, eventually going with a Vogue pattern (V8888) that was very like the Suki in terms of design, but had the advantage of coming in paper as I really didn’t need to be assembling such a huge pdf.
Other than that I have started and am about 3/4 of the way through my knitted top. I eventually went with Andi Satterlunds Waters top, knitting it in a fine linen yarn in deep plum and cream. I’m hoping to have it finished soon as I’m on the hip increase section (it’s top down), although I’m really not looking forward to weaving in all those ends!
So, that’s only (almost) three of my patterns made, but I’m good with that. I made other stuff too. Some of it might even get blogged soon. Watch this space!
I’m just swinging by because I realised I still haven’t linked last month’s Minerva make, and my next one will be up in the next few days! No, there really isn’t much time or headspace to sit at the computer and get on with this sort of thing these days. Children. They’re cute, but they’re smelly and steal all your time.
Anyway, last month’s make is this gorgeous (if plain) black twill Cleo dress, which I’ve been wearing loads as none of my old Cleos fit me at the moment. You can find out more details over on Minerva’s site: https://www.minerva.com/posts/1005895
I’ve been sewing when I get the chance (finished my first bra–so proud!) and doing plenty of wardrobe planning. I had myself the perfect little autumn/winter capsule planned using patterns from my stash and have bought most of the fabric I need. Then I discovered the Kibbe types and they made a lot of sense to me. I reckon I’m a classic face on a dramatic body, which explains why dramatic (and dramatic classic) clothes look great on me, but the necklines are sometimes too harsh. I think I can get away with classic and probably even some soft classic necklines (like sweethearts and cowl necks) so long as the rest of my outfit is pretty dramatic in style/colour. It’s got me thinking about my capsule plans anew, particularly in terms of necklines and knitwear. It’s also got me wondering if I should rejig my rockabilly librarian style board…
Hopefully I’ll find time to do a more detailed post on this soon (and blog some more of the things I’ve been sewing), but until then, anyone else gone down the Kibbe rabbit hole and come up for air?!
Ah April, you’ve been a funny month. We had a surprise scorching hot weekend, but then it went straight back to cold, windy and rainy. Very disappointing spring this year, it must be said. On the plus side, since I can’t really sunbathe at the moment anyway (can’t lie on my front or my back!) or do much gardening (bending over hurts!) I suppose I haven’t missed much. At least I’ve had plenty of time inside to get on with sewing and crocheting.
I also took part in the #spring10x10 wardrobe challenge over on Instagram, which I’ll be posting about here later this week, I hope. It was an interesting experience and definitely got me thinking about wardrobe gaps.
L-R: A Vogue Patterns V8759 shirt for Andy, and my crochet Persian Tiles Blanket
You’ve already seen the dressing gown, which took longer than I anticipated to make. Before that I spent a week or so working on cutting out and fitting Andy’s new shirt. It’s not finished by any stretch of the imagination (just the torso tacked together at the moment), but it hopefully will be very soon.
I’ve also spent plenty of time with my feet up, crocheting away at the Eastern Jewels colourway (affiliate link) of Janie Crowfoot’s Persian Tiles Blanket. It’s been such a fun project!
Money spent: £40.03
Patterns: £0 , Haberdashery: £40.03 , Fabric: £0
Yep, after a few months of spending next to nothing I decided to use some of my birthday/Christmas money to treat myself to a few bits and pieces to make my sewing life easier–especially for the projects I have coming up (shirtmaking!). From Jaycotts I bought:
One of those Simflex gauges for spacing buttonholes I’ve been coveting for ages.
A handy little hem gauge (I love this so much already! Do they make them in metric, I wonder?).
Another water erasable marking pen in white (my blue one doesn’t work on dark fabrics).
Some beeswax in a holder for treating thread for handsewing.
And some more Fray Check liquid because my last lot went cloudy and gloopy after many years of good service.
I also ordered a couple of things from eBay sellers: a loop turner (where have you been all my sewing life?!) and a small buttonhole chisel.
I’m really pleased with these purchases as they’re things I’ve wanted for a while, and I know they’ll all get used plenty over the next few months. Assuming I find any time to sew, that is!
May sewing plans:
I’m keeping my plans for May pretty minimal, as I know I’ll be having a baby at some point in the next eight days. If I can finish Andy’s shirt and the crochet blanket I’ll be a happy bunny. I think I might also cut another short-sleeved nursing top using the Megan Nielsen Amber pattern, as I have plenty of stashed jersey I could use. Whether I’d then get it sewn up is anyone’s guess…
After a pretty rubbish start to my sewing year, I feel I’ve managed to regain my sew-jo this last month–and just in time for the end of pregnancy when I really don’t want to be sewing myself any more clothes to fit the bump–doh! You can see last month’s plans here, and I didn’t do too badly with them, all things considered. Here’s where my crafting’s been at:
Okay, so the eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that’s a picture of some crochet, not sewing, but hey, you’ve already seen the sewing in the form of that Amber dress. There was also a RTW dress refashion I finished off for Daisy, but I don’t have before and after pics of that one. I have a pile of dresses needing refashioning as my Mum keeps buying them in charity shops, deciding she doesn’t really like them, and passing them on to Daisy. Of course, they’re all much too big around the shoulders, but I guess I can sort them all out. Eventually…
As for the crochet, that was the state of play on my Persian Tiles blanket a week or so ago, and I’ve made more progress since then. I think I’m on track to get all the motifs made by the end of the month, then I can put them together and do the border in May. As well as having a baby. Heh. Totally doable, amiright? #overambitious
Money spent: £0.00
My cheapest month to date, methinks! I’m actually looking forward to treating myself to a pattern and fabric (and possibly haberdashery too) this next month. It’s been a while, and I have birthday and Christmas money saved for that purpose 🙂
April sewing plans:
I’ve already got April off to a good start by repairing three items of clothing yesterday: a button fly on Andy’s jeans that had completely torn apart, topstitching down the zip tape on Daisy’s onesie (it kept getting caught in the zip), and giving Andy’s lounging shorts new elastic as the old had perished. I know repairs don’t make exciting blogging–or even exciting sewing, come to that–but I always feel really satisfied when I’ve managed to fix much-loved items of clothing and given them a new lease of life. Anyone else feel the same? Or would you rather stick needles in your arms than actually repair things?!
In terms of other sewing, I’ll be making two Vogue patterns: a black and white polka dot viscose challis dressing gown for my Minerva make, and I’m really looking forward to getting going on that as I’ve never made one or worked with challis before. I’ll also be having a go at traditional shirt making for the first time, as I’ve finally traced out Andy’s first shirt: Vogue 8759, and I have some old striped cotton shirting in the stash I can use for the trial run. This week I’ll be cutting the fabric for both those projects when the kids are at my mum’s. Cutting out with a good podcast on and no little fingers trying to steal my rotary cutters–bliss!
If I feel like a simpler project between those, I might make up a final Megan Nielsen Amber top, as it would be great for breastfeeding this summer and could also be worn in the last little bit of pregnancy. I have a few knit fabrics in the stash and might make it out of a mauve viscose knit. Alternatively I might make that Railfence Quilt I’ve been planning for Gabriel. I don’t want to put any pressure on myself in this last few weeks of pregnancy, though, as that’s no fun, so I won’t worry if I don’t get around to either of these.
And yes, there’ll be plenty of sofa time crocheting the rest of those Persian Tile motifs. I have another 13 Octagons (3 are half done), 6 squares and 10 triangles to go. Gulp. I can totally do that, and it does give me the excuse to do lots of chilling in front of the telly, which is probably good considering how much effort moving around is taking these days.
What are you planning to make this month? Anyone else thinking summer clothes already?
So, it’s New Year’s Eve and a traditional time to take stock of what’s gone on in the past year. Okay, here in the UK it’s also a traditional time to get drunk and stay up till the small hours, partying, but there’s not going to be any of that for me this year, that’s for sure! I expect to be in bed by 11 🙂
I posted my initial #2017MakeNine challenge back in January, choosing categories of garment rather than specific patterns as I wanted to find as many TNT patterns as I could to flesh out my me-made wardrobe and liked the flexibility of setting it up that way. Here’s all my finished makes for the different categories (click on the pics to be taken to the original posts): Continue reading “My #2017MakeNine challenge: the results”
So, I set myself a pretty ambitious sewing list for July, but I did well with it and have enjoyed trying some new-to-me patterns, and getting some more summery clothes in my wardrobe. I’m scheduling this to go live while we’re chilling in the south of France, hopefully wearing some of my new makes! Anyway, here’s what’s been going on with me lately, sewing-wise:
The blouse blog was my first guest post for Minerva Crafts, and I also wrote a guest post for the Sewcialists blog, and gave a six month update on my Make 9 plans.
Sewing done in July:
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Leopard print bikini (Seamwork Reno and Dakota), Colette Crepe Dress, Animal print Hacci Knit Kimono, Colette Wren dress.
I did pretty well with my planned makes for my holiday, although I have had to bump a couple of patterns to this month instead (Simplicity 8342 top and the Pedal Pushers). Not all the holiday makes are completely finished, but I reckon I can get the thread ends dealt with on the plane over to France. #lastminutesewing
I needed this to be a thrifty sewing month, and it was. All those spends were for my bikini, which was much cheaper than buying a RTW bikini. August will need to be a budget month too, although I might let myself buy a little bit of fabric while on holiday as a souvenir 🙂
August sewing plans:
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I know I should probably be thinking ahead to the cooler months of autumn, but for August I’m still all about the summer makes. But hopefully summer makes that can transition into autumn, with the addition of a cardie and shoes rather than sandals 🙂
So, this month I’m definitely going to get the Pedal Pushers from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual made up, along with the Simplicity 8342 Rockabilly top (I have a great navy anchor print jersey for that one–thanks again, Minerva!). I’m also thinking about making a cropped blouse, and have the now out of print Butterick 5895 in mind. It’s another Pattern by Gertie, so it should be a good’un. I’d also like some woven exercise shorts and am wondering about the Seamwork Nantucket pattern as a possibility. Finally, I’d like to make that shirtdress I’ve been threatening all summer. Maybe it will happen this month. If not, I suspect it will have to wait till next summer!
What are you planning to make this month? Are you getting into autumnal sewing yet (or spring if you’re south of the equator!)?
I’m really getting into the swing of blogging regularly now, and am getting things up pretty promptly. Yay, me! Here’s last month’s round up if you’re interested in seeing how I did compared to my overambitious (as always) plans.
Phew, lots of makes blogged last month! I also wrote a post all about my current sewing set-up at the end of our main living space (living room/dining room) in the hopes of inspiring anyone else struggling to sew in a limited space.
Time for an update on how my #2017MakeNine challenge is going. Here’s the current state of play, with original images replaced with my makes:
However, although I’ve tried out some of the patterns I originally planned to make, my actual goal was to find a TNT pattern in each category so I could keep making the same pattern in different fabrics and colours. So this is more like the actual situation right now: Continue reading “#2017MakeNine challenge: six month update”
Okay, I’m really getting into the swing of thinking of my sewing in monthly chunks. Not sure why this is so helpful to me, but it is what it is. May’s plans are here, should you be interested. But now on to what ACTUALLY happened in May…
Blogged in May:
The month was rather dominated by my Me Made May roundups (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4 and Week 5) but I did blog my main sewing projects completed in April: The Gertie Skirtie, The Knit Sweetheart Top (black tank version) and the Jalie Drop Pocket Cardigan. I may not bother blogging my simpler April makes (knickers and Daisy’s skirts), or I might lump them together in a future post if I make more knickers. Who knows…
April has been an incredibly productive month for me, sewing-wise, although I must admit the blogging has rather fallen by the wayside. That’s partly because of the way I’ve been working (batch cutting lots of projects, then batch sewing all the grey overlock bits, followed by all the grey sewing machine bits, then the black overlock bits, and so on) which meant that I had lots of projects on the go at once, and most things weren’t completed till nearly the end of the month. It’s also because I wasn’t one hundred percent happy with the finish on two garments, and had to redo them until I was happy. That meant I’ve only just been able to get photos of those two projects, but rest assured, there should be plenty of April’s sewing making it onto the blog in May 🙂
Clockwise from left: Daisy’s Striped Skirt, Seamwork Geneva Knickers, Made by Jack’s Mum Speedy Pants Boxers for Gabriel
I also made a black knit school skirt for Daisy, but I don’t have a picture of that one yet so you’ll just have to imagine it. It’s like the striped one above, only, you know, black.
There were a few projects I’d hoped to complete in April but didn’t get done: a grey short sleeved tee and some more knickers, along with a school dress for Daisy. But that’s okay, because I made a couple of extra skirts instead 🙂
I had also hoped to get some materials together for a maxi dress (done and ready to cut), as well as a shirt dress and a Moss skirt. Those last two aren’t at all ready, but I’ve been thinking about the shirt dress so that counts for something, right?!
I’m really proud of everything I’ve achieved in April, and particularly the way I worked through some of the exercises in The Curated Closet and finally figured out the style I feel happiest in. I posted about my Off-Duty Rockabilly Librarian style here, and I’m already planning lots of projects that will fill in the gaps in my current wardrobe, allowing me to express my true, sassystyle.
I’m going to make May a budget month (out of necessity) so I’ll be shopping the stash as much as possible. I’m planning to make a couple of dresses: a red and white polka dot maxi dress, using the Gertie Knit Sweetheart Top pattern along with a self-drafted maxi skirt one; and another Cleo dungaree dress using my star print stretch denim.
As for tops: I want to have a go at a self-drafted chiffon kimono for wearing over vest tops and jeans (two chiffons to choose from there: the grey flowers and the b&w bird design), a cap sleeve Knit Sweetheart Top using my striped jersey, and another vest top would be good, using the Alabama Chanin corset top pattern and some purple interlock.
I’ll also be making some very quick and simple projects, like more knickers (leopard print FTW!) and a rockabilly style headscarf, and making some alterations to a leopard print maxi dress I already own but haven’t worn in ages (needs straps and a fresh hem).
If that doesn’t keep me busy enough I want to make a few unselfish projects too, like more boxers and a sunhat for Gabriel, and an apron for Daisy.
I think that’s probably a ridiculous amount of sewing for one month and I’m sure some of it will spill into June, but hey, I’m fine with that. This isn’t a race, and it’s meant to be fun.
As well as all this I’ll be finishing off a complex crochet cardie, documenting my daily outfits on Instagram for #MeMadeMay17, and posting some round-ups here on the blog. I’ll also be doing some prep work (researching patterns, techniques and fabric) for some more complicated patterns I want to make over the summer: shorts, cigarette trousers, a shirtdress, a bikini (swimwear sewing–eek!) and a shirt for Andy, because I haven’t sewed him anything. Ever. But don’t feel too sorry for him coz I’ve mended loads of his jumpers and trousers and crocheted him a hat, so I reckon he’s doing okay.
Anyone else planning a crazily ambitious sewing month in May? And what’s on your sewing table at the moment?
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.
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:
This 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)”
November is nearly over, so it must be time for an update!
Sewing:
This has been a month of quite dull but very useful sewing. I had a sudden paranoid thought that if a winter vomiting bug hit I wouldn’t have enough spare bedding for Daisy’s bed. She used to be in a double bed (long story) but is now in a single, and I only had one set of bedding for it. I’ve been saying for ages that I’d cut down her old favourite duvet cover to make a single, and this month I finally did it. I also made a fitted sheet out of another old duvet cover that had a few random stains from fabric paint (absolutely impossible to remove, but I managed to avoid them by careful cutting) and I cut down her mattress protector too. I’m particularly proud of the way I utilised the print on the duvet cover to do this on the side of her mattress:
And as if all that wasn’t enough, I bought Gabriel his first proper duvet. It was a cotbed size with a dinky little pillow to match, and rather than buy readymade covers I decided to economise and again cut down an old duvet cover, carefully avoiding some random tears and bleach stains. He now has the cutest little bedding set! Continue reading “Craftysticks November update”
First up is my 
This 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. 