Spring Mornings and Afternoons

 The worst thing to do in the early warm spring days of the year is to stop in and make something to wear on a warm day! Oh, the irony of that choice. With this in mind, I have been sewing on colder mornings and gardening in the warmer afternoons.

This is the Fen Dress by Fancy Tiger Crafts. I made a winter version in brushed cotton with a round neck in January and now this summer one with a V neck. You can also make tops from the same pattern. The fabric is a lightweight cotton sateen. I thought I would choose a large print for a change which I really love.

Another successful make is this reversible Agave skirt by Deer and Doe. The one side is black linen for winter and the other is floral cotton poplin. It fastens with two buttons and has an asymmetrical wrap front. It is genius!

Then I had a go at some bag making this is a REAL handbag! It looks and feels so much like a real one. I had to use a leather needle in my machine and it sewed up like a dream. There are useful front pockets, inside slip pocket and a back zip pocket. It is the noodlehead traverse handbag made with faux leather - an absolute keeper.

I am of course true to my sewing roots and have used up some smaller fabric pieces to make a Linden sweatshirt using up leftovers. I have two of these now and I wear them regularly. I had a few handmade sweatshirts that shrunk a little after washing so these have gone to my big girl.

The view from my studio is unique and when the lunchtime hotspot lands right on the french doors it is time to stop sewing and head outside for some sunshine. 

Bloke has worked hard finishing off the steps outside which I am so happy about. I tripped up them in January which caused my bad arm which I am struggling with at the moment. The sun shines right in my eyes at the sewing table about 1:30pm so it makes me pack up and go outside for the afternoon.

It is refreshing to take the dog out, give my daughters some fresh air and enjoy the spring weather with them.

I have lambs to show you next.... exciting times.

Jo

PS. I have managed to get my blog admin all set up on my laptop so I can blog more regularly and catch up with you folks now. I only used to be able to load stuff on the main PC in the office but we have lambs in there and it stinks! 

No Waste Sewing

 I try not to waste anything, it is part of my DNA I think. I especially try to use up my craft materials the best way I can. Today I have a few things to share that use up my purchased fabrics to the very end.

My fourteen year old has been struggling to find T-shirts that are slim enough but old enough in design for her size. She needs a child size but they have unicorns/fairies/princess slogans on - you get the idea right? So I made a pattern purchase that was rather an investment - The Rio Ringer T-shirt by True Bias. It is not a massively versatile pattern but it does come in a range of smaller sizes which was what I was after. It was eye wateringly expensive but I knew it would work for two of us. The fact that it worked out for all three females in our house made it even better value.

I ordered three colours of jersey from Minerva which I thought would work well together: a red stripe, blue and yellow.

Firstly, I made a size 2 blue T-shirt with a join down the back. It saves on fabric and my girls like it because you can see which way round it goes without the need for labels. It was a touch small for Heidi so Megan snaffled that one. Next up I made size 4 in the pink stripe and this was a good fit for Heidi. She liked the high neckline, the slightly curved waist and the contrast bands. Finally using up the last sizeable pieces I made a size 12 which was a good fit on me.

To cut multi sizes from one pattern without going out of my head with tedium tracing off each size, I simply roughly cut out the front, back and sleeve pieces then used dressmakers carbon paper and a serrated wheel to trace through the paper straight onto the fabric. The wheel has been a new purchase for me and it has been a game changer piece of kit for transferring darts and markings. It was the perfect way to trace multi sizes from one pattern. 

 We found the neckband to be a little tight causing some ripples around the neck but I will just add another centimetre next time, that's all it will need.

Heidi liked the T-shirt shape so much, I found some other jersey pieces and got creative. There was a small piece of blue striped and chocolate brown for a front paired with a yellow back which I trimmed with the yellow and brown. That one had a 1970's vibe about it.

I spent a mindful hour listening to the radio the other evening while cutting out all of the last little pieces into underwear parts. Both of my girls love these knickers which is a size up from the largest Speedy Pants pattern by Waves and Wild (free pattern). Essentially, I made my own sized pattern based on my girls leg and waist size from the speedy pants pattern shapes then used picot elastic. 

And if that wasn't enough for you, I pulled all the thin pieces tightly to roll the jersey strips into garden ties. Jersey makes fab garden ties for tomatoes etc. because they are snugly allow the stems to grow without cutting into the stalk.

All done jersey but not all done with the Rio ringer T-shirt pattern. There is a T-shirt dress which my big girl would like for next summer - without unicorns!

Jo XXXXX

and Sew on...

Lordy, lordy, will someone, anyone, please cut my lockdown hair! It resembles a horse's tail - all dry, split and unmanageable. Anyway...

I have made a rather funky Linden sweatshirt(number 5 between myself and Heidi)in a bold retro print from graziela fabrics. The fabric is fleecy on the back and super stable.

It was a little treat with some birthday money back in January, in fact it actually felt like a present when it arrived in the post all wrapped in tissue with ribbon and a postcard. I nearly fell into the trap of 'saving' it because it felt so special. However, not sewing fabric I own is not one of my special skills so it was turned into a fab sweatshirt by April.

I'm not gonna lie, I just about squeezed the pattern out of the 1.5m fabric to the point that I had to make an alteration to get the front and back on the fold. I made the front and back pieces shorter and cut hip bands from the remaining fabric. I also used navy ribbing for the cuffs and neck binding.

At least the pattern matching makes up for the alteration and it wears really well at just the right length. There was not a scrap of fabric left over. :)

 

My sole job next week will be to book a hair appointment. Seriously, the dog has one before me!

Stay safe. I hope you all have hair appointments booked... Jo xxxx

The One Hour Top is Getting Faster!

Evening folks. I hope I find you well at the end of a restful weekend. We have been gardening, eating a Sunday a dinner at lunchtime (rare), going for a long dog walk and of course, I squeezed in a little sewing.

This is my third version of the One Hour Top from Fancy Tiger Crafts and I can say that I am getting faster! The pattern is a free download and well worth the printer ink. 

This time I added 5cm to the hem and 5cm to the sleeves at the cutting stage which made for a better fit than the last two. I kept loosing my sleeve up inside my cardigan but not anymore.

The added length meant that when I stretch up it doesn't reveal my midriff which you can only count as an alteration improvement.

The last alteration I made was the neckline. The last two had very wide necklines constantly showing my bra strap so I moved the shoulder/neckline in on each side.

The fabric is a good quality jersey which I bought from Dalston Mill Fabrics. The print does not appear to be there anymore but I did buy it in May 2020. You need 1.6m. The top is cut in two pieces without facings which is what allows it to be a quick make. The hems/cuffs and neckline are simply folded over twice.

I used a stretch needle and a stretch stitch on my sewing machine. You can get a stretch stitch by having your zig zag stitch width on 0.5 or 0 and your length slightly longer than normal on 3.

My first one is now in the rag bag as the navy polka dot viscose had faded and the neck had stretched even wider but I have worn it regularly for two years and the fabric was from a charity shop - it owed me nothing! The second one lasted about a year but the synthetic fabric was never really a winner for me. This one however is perfect.

 

Have you ever tried this pattern? It is a great way to start sewing with jersey. 

I had some strange shaped pieces left over which you always do with this fold over cut so I used them straight away to make little one a T-shirt. I lengthened the pattern with some plain green. Two happy females.

Just completed our census and now it is time to sew the underarms of my latest knit. Have a good week. Jo xxx

All Done Beautiful Crepe #31

 It is time for an All Done post sharing how I have used up a piece of fabric to the very end. It is something I take great pleasure out of. This obsession means I can play around with tried and tested patterns without looking like all of my clothes are the same while reducing the amount of waste fabric I generate.

It also means favourite fabrics can be used for both Summer and Winter which was what today was all about.

During lockdown I received a bag of fabric scraps from my friend Michelle who had undertaken a clear out and this piece of fabric stood out as my favourite piece in the whole lot. 

I made a sun top from it and saved one last piece from the bin with this Linden top in mind.

There was just enough to cut the front piece and make the rest of out of stretch jersey. Now I can wear this wonderful fabric all year round. I must say the Linden Sweatshirt top is one of my most used patterns especially now that my older daughter can use size 8 from the pattern while I use size 12.

The back, sleeves, cuffs and neckbands are all in navy which compliments the patterned crepe really well.

I am super pleased with my new top. Do you have a lovely piece of fabric or skein of wool you are saving for a special project?

All done beautiful crepe. Jo xx

Aster Crochet

Aster is a crochet pattern I purchased from Ravelry after receiving some beautiful matt cotton yarn from a friend as a gift. The yarn was hand wound and there were no labels so it was all a bit risky...as usual. 

It was a quick make made over about two weeks of evenings. The pieces are made individually: front, back and sleeves.

The border, after reading the pattern, turned out to be worked as a narrow band and sewn on separately. This was a problem because I couldn't incorporate the grey and blue yarn I had as the balls diminished. I would have been in danger of running out of a single colour to make the hemband.

I did what I always do when I am faced with this type of scenario - I made it up!

I just kept adding more rows in familiar patterns to the hem, switching between grey and blue to use the cotton as economically as possible until it ran out. The satisfaction is immense.

Of course you get a little rippling because it is hard to get the stitch count completely accurate when you are making it up but I am happy to wear it...

...this happy to wear it in fact. 

This top is working well over a long sleeved T-shirt at the moment but I am hoping it will be a year round top depending on the under garment. Thank you to my fabulous friend Mary for the yarn.

Jo xxxx