Try something Tuesday #2

So I had some stitching success last week - I stitched two lines of my son's blanket with my walking foot. 'Twas easy, but good grief it was slow. I *will* keep going with the blanket, but I get bored and seek the more instant gratification of sewing new clothes.

Today I decided to revisit a previous  fail, using a Big 4 pattern to make children's pants. I have attempted this before, the results were not very wearable. Since then, I have just avoided sewing pants from these patterns did children. This was fine when I was only sewing for my daughter, but now I am sewing for my son too, pants need to come into the equation. 

So I traced off McCall's 6779 in some stash pin whale cord - fruity no less and we'll see how they go. Hopefully they will be assembled tomorrow.

I'm planning in sewing some pants for myself  in the next couple of weeks, so it's always good to have a mini  practice, it's just a shame mine won't be fruity, or elastic waisted.

Try something Tuesday

I am an enthusiastic person. I love to learn new skills and have fresh experiences. Sometimes though, I get a little too excited and buy all the things! And then get overwhelmed and fear of failure creeps in.

A classic example is how I have quite a few craftsy classes that I have either never or barely watched. Or the number of unread sewing books. And uncut fabrics. We all know that fabric isn't truly loved until it is seen. It's like chocolate cake, it can be admired or revered but it's all just potential until you sew it.

So with this in mind, every Tuesday I am going to try  something new. A new pattern, gadget, fabric, class. I am going to have a crack at something I haven't done before. I don't want to feel sad and overwhelmed by things undone and truly, what is the worst that can happen? So a class or a project doesn't pan out, then it's up to be to find the benefit.

Today was an easy one. I intended to make my son a faux chenille blanket since about this time last year (when I was pregnant with him. I purchased fabric and prepped it, found tutorials, I even bought a walking foot and chenille cutter, and then it all just sat there. So for today's challenge I pulled out the fabrics again, pressed, pin basted and has a crack with my walking foot.

It was all fine. I've been watching the Craftsy Creative Quilting with your waking foot and I not only picked up some tips, but realised even if I completely stuff it up, a nine month old will not care and if it's really that bad, nothing I am working with is irreplaceable, even my pride.

The Monthly Stitch March: Miss Bossy Patterns

The clear winner of my Miss Bossy Patterns vote was the Megan Nielsen wrapped top. Funny story, I almost didn't include that one, because I just wasn't sure it would work as a post-natal look. It seemed like a lot of fabric and one thing I certainly don't need is more bulk around my middle. However, the collective has spoken and who am I to question their judgement?

This top has recently been released as a simplicity pattern, with a few variations that aren't included in my copy (although I think the hacks for this are available online). I have the original Megan Nielsen pattern, I love love love her sturdy pattern paper and really clear lines. I've had really positive experiences with her knit patterns. I haven't ended up making up the woven pattern I have, because I have too much bust to shoe horn into the pattern as drafted, but maybe when I'm a bit closer to my usual measurements, I'll have another go.

I had committed to make something to go with my top. I picked one of my purple bamboo jersey and some hot pink drill for a coordinating Colette patterns ginger. I actually think almost anything goes with hot pink, probably because in general people's eyes are so shocked by the pink that what you pair with it doesn't really matter.

For the top I used a really soft bamboo jersey from fabric.com. I have this is a number of different colours and I love it. It's soft, opaque, washes really well in the machine and dries fairly quickly on the clothes line or inside (I don't use the dryer for my clothes, ever, bad teenage experiences with favourite clothes).

Anyway, the top came together very quickly on my overlocker, except for the hemming. The hemming took forever. I find twin needling quite tedious, mainly because I find to do it and have a result I won't rip out, I need to take things slower that I would ideally like. I used a twin needle for the neckline and the ties up to the join and then used a single needle and I almost ran out of thread, so it was the right decision.  I did have some skipped stitches, because I went too fast sometimes and because my twin needle is a ball point, not a stretch needle.

Double needle on the top, stretch stitch on the bottom.

I did contemplate shortening the ties, there is a rough guide for doing this if you aren't going to wear it as a maternity top, but as I'm not sure the baby factory is closed, I thought it best to have as much top to work with as I could. Just in case.

Hemming forever and ever

Where I'm not sold on this top is that it is a bit of a pain to put on and you have to check that you are properly covered all the way around. I can see how I could be bothered up to a point, but probably past the halfway point of a pregnancy, I'm not sure the effort would be worth the pay off. But then, there comes a point in pregnancy (and immediately after) where changing out of pyjamas at all becomes something you only do because it is socially acceptable.

Exaggeration of wardrobe malfunction

The next photos are purely for people curious about how this works as a nursing top (don't worry my singlet stays on!), I find it endlessly frustrating when you can't accurately see how a top works in practice, but obviously this isn't something relevant to everyone.

The Easy Option

If you are feeling a bit more modest

The skirt I chose to match with my top is a Colette ginger. Assembly of the skirt was also fairly straightforward. I added lining (orange! Woo!).

Woo! Orange!

I also went with a regular zipper, rather than an invisible one, this was a stashbusting choice. I have about 100 regular zippers and then about ten ivory invisible zippers and I wasn't sold on off-white with hot pink and orange. Nothing fancy, I did the pointed waistband, which was probably pointless, because I'm not likely to wear it with tops tucked in, but you never know. It's a little tight, because, well, because cake. But that's fairly easily remedied (slightly less cake).

The day I finished this outfit, I sat down to watch a movie with my daughter and realised that I may have been channeling a Disney film my daughter had in high rotation throughout March.

What do you think?

Source

This is Madam Mim from the Sword in the Stone.

Source

The Monthly Stitch May: Sew Stretchy Razzleberry Skirt

Sew Stretchy is not a huge challenge for me, at the moment I sew more knits that wovens. Mainly because I sew a lot for my children, but also because I am on maternity leave at the moment, so comfort and clothes that don't add to the ironing pile are important to me. However, sewing to a deadline and in particular, taking pictures to a deadline is another kettle of fish.

Using Me Made May (which has otherwise been a fail) as the impetus, I pulled out a UFO and finished it off. This skirt is a triple threat - a Monthly Stitch challenge, a competed UFO and a 100% stashbust. Woo hoo for ticking many boxes.

Alas, pancake bottom

This is the Pattern Runway Draped Skirt. I have previously made their Easy Kimono Dress (pre-blog), which was easy and was a flattering shape to wear and lovely for summer. I thought this looked flattering as well and I liked that it was a bit different.

Sparkles!

In a stash-reducing attempt, I used a Fabric.com sparkle hatchi knit (my colourway is no longer available, but this is a similar one) and it's lined in a similar raspberry knit (but sparkle-less), neither are actually stretch knit, so while the fabric stretches, it has pretty poor recovery and it also a bit on the heavy side, but has turned out ok, if not quite like the pictures. I actually originally cut this out not long after my son was born, thinking that it would make a great post-baby skirt, because it is a forgiving shape and fabric and would be easy to wear in those early weeks and months. My son is now almost nine months old, but it is a nice skirt to wear particularly in the cooler weather and the sparkle means that if I ever have a life again, I could wear it out at night.

I didn't have enough fabric to properly pattern match, so I went with good enough.

At the time I cut this out, in those early post-baby days, I just cut the largest size, not really willing to measure myself, which I think probably accounts for a lack of gathering across the front and back of the skirt, but I can live with that because the stripes are pretty cool. If I were to make it again, I definitely use a stretch jersey and probably go down at least one size. 

Lining-hem all-in-one combo.

I sewed the side seams on my overlocker, and the rest on my sewing machine, using zigzag stitch. I also did a tiny bit of hand sewing (about 10 cm). The skirt assembly is quite cool. you sew the skirt pieces together, then the lining pieces, leaving a gap in the lining pieces. 

The gap - very important for the magic to work (it's also important to read the instructions)

The gathering is with clear elastic, which is sewed into the seam. You stitch in the waist band elastic in, so far so straightforward - unless you sew the elastic on to the wrong side of the skirt and then you have to unpick stretch stitches - blerk. Then there is a tricky thing where you sew the skirt to the lining to create the hem. I had to read the instructions  A LOT of times to get this right. My only criticism of the instructions is that it would have been helpful to illustrate this step, particularly when the  instructions acknowledge that it is a bit tricky to get your head around.

The magic loop of skirt all sewn together

I'd probably make this skirt again, I'd like to see how it looks in the recommended fabric and I think to make my life easier, I'd zigzag the elastic down the side seams and then overlock over the top. Mainly because when I overlock elastic in, I always end up feeling like I need more hands.

Go on - give it a sew!

All in all a very easy make - once I actually got around to making it and another piece of stash bites the dust.

MMM '14 - Pledge and Day 1

In an effort to kickstart blogging again and also to push myself to do some more selfish sewing, I've taken the Me-made May pledge.

I, sleepyerin (thinkingmakingmade.blogspot.com.au) sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear one handmade piece of clothing for each day for the duration of May 2014.

I'm going to use May to clean out my wardrobe to create the gaps I need to fill and I'm going to take daily pictures to think more about integrating the me-mades into my regular rotation.

So, day one and first official picture of yours truly. Unfortunately today's make is not something I particularly like or want to wear outside the house (but I did, heaven help me, even if it was just to childcare and the post office).

The Blow a raspberry City Girl Top

Yes, I do feel like a dick.

I don't like this top. I purchased the Just Add Jeans from Pattern Anthology. I figured I'd give this one a go, because I love a cowl neck, also because I wanted to play around with some knit fabrics other than jersey. Well the cowl doesn't work because I didn't have enough fabric (and I bought the recommended amount). So I'm left with a sad little neckline and feeling like I am four years old again and wearing skivvies (and I hate skivvies).

Construction was fairly straightforward. The seems were done on my shiny new (early mother's day present) overlocker and then I just used a single needle for the hems. I knew at that point that I wasn't going to love this top. This happened around the time that I attempted to attach the cowl and the cowl was far to big for the yoke. In the end I cut about 15 cm off the cowl and managed to get it all together, but it did not make for a happy or satisfying experience.

I would be slightly less bothered by this top if it wasn't so wide at the bottom. No that's not true, I still wouldn't like it. However, I think that currently the top makes me look wider than I am, which is truly the chubby person's nightmare.

Bad, just bad.

Oh the horror. Mush boob paired with the impression of an even thicker waist than I actually have. This would probably look better with a singlet/camisole thing underneath, but better than blerk is still bler. Plus, see all that gathering under the arms? Not a part of the pattern. Alas.

Do I like anything about this? I love the fabric, it's an organic cotton french terry from fabric.com. It's soft, it's smooth, it was easy to sew. The colour is actually a sort of raspberry and I love it. Which is why rather than trying to fix this unfortunate top, I'm instead probably going to cut this up into something for my daughter and maybe even my son as well. I love how easy stable knits are to sew, no twiddling with dials like with jersey or slinky knits.

In terms of the other parts of my MMM challenge, I don't particularly like these jeans, but they were clean. They are Calvin Klein and they are supposed to be skinny jeans. This highlights my biggest problem with RTW clothing, for something to fit my waist, it is very unlikely that it will fit properly from the hips down. Certainly these fit more somewhere between bootcut and straight leg jeans than anything approximating a skinny leg. They are fine, but not my favourites. I'm just wearing black flats, nothing exciting there, but probably the best part of the outfit.

So day one, done. Tomorrow I'm going to wear a winner, so I don't seem so grouchy. I promise I'm not, I just hate it when things don't work out.

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Boxers, as far as the eye can see

During a previous fabric.com shopping extravaganza, when I was still at work and had much more disposible income to fritter, I purchased some NFL cotton prints. What need would an Australian have for such things? Well, the leading gentleman loves him some gridiron.


I don't get it, both the love for, and the sport itself (why all the armour? It's like jousting without horses or lances), but then, he accepts my love of Project Runway and Australia's Next Top Model, and compromise is surely the key to a happy married life.

Anyway, I was going to make boxer shorts for him using Simplicity 9958, based on the positive report of the speediness of sewing by Scruffy Badger. Regardless of design, speediness is always a good thing in my book.

So I bought enough fabric for five pairs with the logos of a variety of teams (the advantage of not being American, you can be totally fickle about which team you support) and was primed and ready to sew.

Or clearly not. Possibly it was not my smartest move to purchase fabric and a new pattern three weeks before having a new baby. Possibly that was unrealistic.

No, not possibly. However, it was the project I chose to get back in the saddle after my son was born. I made the first pair as a trial. What I learned in the trial is that it is important to make sure you TURN OVER THE PATTERN PIECE before you cut the other leg. Otherwise you will end up with two left legs, and you really can't just make it work. Sorry, Tim Gunn, I tried, but it just wouldn't work. So I know these are the first pair, because the whole print running two directions is not a clever design choice.

But, in a testament to their success, these shorts were tried on and then stayed on and I wasn't able to properly finish them off (trim the last threads, sew up the gap where the elastic went in), until they had been washed.

I cut out the other four pairs, then they sat there while my overlocker was threaded with the wrong coloured thread. Yes, that's how much I love my overlocker, I use the thread in it to dictate what I sew because I don't want to change the thread. Next time I buy an overlocker I will move up a few price brackets and get a Babylock, because those things thread themselves and figure out their own tension. Probably why it cost ten times my current Aldi overlocker, because it's at least ten times more awesome. I still love you Veronica, but you have shortcomings (my overlocker is Veronica, my sewing machine is Betty).

But I digress. So I have been working my way through the prepped pairs. Two down, two to go. Then I got distracted by St Valentine's Day and the possibility of getting some fancy chocolate if I proposed some small time gift giving.

So I made some out of lovely gingham with a terribly corny appliqued love heart (it's not just a heart, it's a love heart).

I also gave sewing in sportswear elastic a go, which I think is preferred by the recipient, but my goodness it takes forever to sew in. I chose to enclose it, which is why I had to sew around the waistband EIGHT times, but you could just sew it in and have the elastic showing on the inside, because it is fairly soft.

Don't worry, I know what you are thinking, I didn't sew over the pin.

Sewing time may have been increased by sewing the shorts to the waistband. Clever.

However, to increase the desirability of wearing homemade things, I generally attempt to emulate ready to wear when sewing for others, so I folded it over, which I thought was very virtuous of me.

Yes, the tag is also hearted. It's how I roll.

I didn't even realise you could buy this elastic until I read about it on Male Pattern Boldness and it's not something readily available at shops here, but it does look a bit better, I think and I have some left, so maybe the last two pairs will get the same treatment. Maybe. Or maybe they'll sit in a ziplock bag while I sew a skirt.

Lucky IKEA make such big ziplock bags.
 Feel free to admire the side by side food choice in the background: brownies or fruit, you decide.

And now it's time for me to get ready to go to the football. Go Brumbies!