Sunday, November 9, 2014

Of Red Walls and Raglans

There are two raglans and many a red brick to share.

Cute one first...



This is another Recess Raglan, my go-to t-shirt pattern for J. Size 4 this time (oh my!). It is a little big for him now but I have learnt my lesson that bigger is best. The skinny jeans that I made him only last post ago are now a little tight.


This main body of this tee is made up in a cute, reversible double knit which I bought online from Miss Matatabi. I think this penguin print has sold out now.



I really wish I had of reversed the fabric on the back. Now the poor little black penguins on the grey ice will not have their time to shine.


J loves this pose of pointing at the wall. Looks like punishment but I swear he thinks it is funny.

Now for the grown-up raglan...


When the newest pattern from Grainline Studios, the Linden Sweatshirt, was released, I bought it and had it cut out and made up quick smart. I had just started Pilates again and had zero casual/exercise wear so this pattern was timely for me. I have nearly finished a second version and have started cutting a third. I like this pattern alot.


I made the Size 18 and lengthen the hem by 4 inches and slightly curved it also. I have been favouring the look of turned back cuffs lately so just turned the sleeve hem to the right side and used my twin needle. I would use a single needle hem, if had the time again, as it has "tunnelled" due to the bulk.


All three fabrics, blue French Terry, navy and white striped jersey and grey ribbing were purchased at Potters Textiles here in Perth.


What you are looking at above is the best knit hem I have ever sewn! I owe that to my discovery of Stretch Overlocker Thread or Wooly Nylon! 

All the planets aligned when i finally discovered the following combination:

- the right tension on my machine (3 on my Janome) 
- the right stitch length (3.0 on my Janome)
- a ballpoint/jersey needle or twin needle 
- a walking foot
- wooly nylon in my bobbin

Resulting in neat and stretchy hems which have enough give in them so they shouldn't break.

I hope they don't break!




Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Small Fry Skinny Jeans

Meet my new favourite pants pattern for kids: Small Fry Skinny Jeans by Titchy Threads!

I had seen a whole heap of great versions of these pants around and was eager to give them a go as J suddenly only had two pairs of pants that fit.  Laura from Titchy Threads (also at Craftstorming) has generously made the Size 2 pattern a free download so I decided to try out this pattern as the measurements fit my slim-hipped three and a half year old. 




I used the instructions from the Small Fry Skinny Jeans Sew Along on Craftstorming to construct these jeans.  The instructions are among the best I have used and include very clear photos.  I did not have one head-scratching moment during construction and it was the first time I had sewn a half fly and adjustable waistband.



I love how these jeans are skinny, but not too skinny and while giving the appearance of low-riders, have a decently high waistband at the back. The adjustable waistband is a real winner for me also.



I used a dark navy denim from Spotlight with a cute animal flannelette for the pocket lining, fly guard and waistband facing.



The second pair are made from a green corduroy, also from Spotlight.




Perfect length pants!




Uh Oh! Anybody spotted a problem yet??  In my first post, I boldly stated that nobody should be scared of corduroy... well, I still stand by that...BUT, one should be wary of a little thing called nap.  Corduroy is an example of fabric with nap which usually has a pile and will look different shades from different angles.  When cutting out a pattern, all the pattern pieces should lie in the same direction.   I was at my sewing class when I cut these pants out and was probably too busy talking rather than noticing what I was cutting.  I folded my fabric cut edge to cut edge rather than selvage to selvage, trying to conserve fabric.  The top piece was ok but the bottom piece was upside down.

Ah well, hopefully I only make this mistake once.  The shading difference in these pants is not too noticeable in real life and J certainly doesn't mind.

Thumbs up for Small Fry Skinny Jeans! 


Good for sitting around...


And great for scooting!


PS. The top that J is wearing in these photos is an un-blogged Recess Raglan by See Kate Sew out of two different knit fabric remnants from Potters Textiles.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Josephine x 2

Still here, still sewing...

The Josephine Tunic & Blouse pattern by Made by Rae sewing patterns caught my eye when it first appeared with its cute details and flattering shape. This first version is made from black with white polka dot seersucker purchased from Potters Textiles. I cut the blouse version, xxl size with the C/D cup and lengthened the hem by 2 inches.



The elastic casing on the back creates a nice empire dress shape.



The pintucks add an interesting detail, even on this busy polka dot print. 



For my second Josephine, I used a printed linen, again from Potters Textiles. This print is pretty wacky for me but I really liked the colours and am trying to be a little more adventurous with my fabric choices. 


Ironing effort is undone with one sit down and one bending of the arms.

I cut the tunic length for this one in the same size as previous version and omitted the elastic casing. 



The shape of the sleeve and the hem did not look quite right in this linen so I decided to narrow the sleeves and change the hem to be like the Grainline Archer shirt (View B). 


I am really happy with the shape of this top and will explore this pattern mash-up in my next Josephine further.

Top in real life pictured below...












Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Happy Homemade

Overall, I have had a good experience working with the Japanese pattern book Happy Homemade Vol 2 (Japanese print version). I did nearly go out and buy the English version of this book while I was making the trial version of the following shorts...I just could not work out how the faux fly was meant to be sewn! I ended up skipping that step in these shorts as is a faux fly really necessary?! I'm quite sure it is easy so will figure it out another time.

Sure turned out to be a cute outfit!




This little shirt is the "q" shirt from the book. I used a 57%Bamboo, 40% Cotton, 3% Lycra blend fabric from Potters Textiles here in Perth with Robert Kaufman Railroad Denim Deluxe cotton in Denim for the yoke, collar and pockets. The pattern does not come with pockets but I added them (I used the back pockets from the shorts pattern) as I thought the shirt looked a bit formal without.


These below are the "l" shorts which I made up in a blue drill from Spotlight with the Robert Kaufman Denim for the pockets. 


I am happy with how this outfit turned out and I think it fits my brief of simple, stylish and comfortable.


Thursday, January 23, 2014

Plans for Kids Clothes Week - January 2014

Time again for...

kid's clothes week

For this challenge, I would like to create some simple and stylish tops and shorts for J. All that go well together for mix and match options and are light and comfortable to wear.

I have had these two Japanese pattern books for a couple of years and they have been waiting around on the shelf for J to grow into the size range and as they are written in Japanese, for me to get the confidence to give these patterns a go.


My plan is to make these shorts...




Two of these shirts...


And one of these tops - 


Out of these fabrics - 


Madness! Wish me luck!

Monday, January 6, 2014

December Makes

Happy New Year!

I haven't been busy blogging but have been fairly busy making assorted things, mostly Christmas presents.

Before two years ago, I wasn't that fond of trims on clothing items, especially not pom poms and especially not sequins! Then I saw this tutorial on The Purl Bee for a very lovely cowl which I found looked very pleasing to me. The pom pom ban was lifted at once and I thought a cowl would make very nice Christmas presents. I purchased some double gauze, linen and Pom Pom trim in three colours from Tessuti and thats as far as I got in 2011...

Two years later, I finally got around to making one! I remember finding the pom pom trim very fiddly and gave up on it back then. Now I am sewing more regularly, I managed to take control of the slippery suckers. I did read somewhere about someone using their seam ripper to hold fabric together while they were feeding it through their machine. I used mine to push the trim between the two layers and it really helped me keep control..hot tip! Another thing worth noting is that there are varying qualities of pom pom trim out there, Tessuti nice, Spotlight not so.

This soft and light double gauze cowl was made for my Mum for her birthday. Please excuse the iphone pictures.


I liked that one so much I made another pom pom cowl for my sister in law. This one is in a lovely lightweight linen which, I think, came from Tessuti as well.





Next, I made two each of these 14" cushions for my Mum for Christmas. I still owe her two more cushions though as six is her magic number of cushions required. Tree print cotton duck and stretch denim both from Spotlight. Backed in calico, with an envelope closure. I like to use a double layer of calico for each piece for my cushions so they hold their shape better. I just overlock the two layers together and use them as one pattern piece.


Having a boy, I took great pleasure making the following present. This is the Geranium Dress, size 6-12 months and top length. Made up in Heather Ross "Far Far Away" double gauze for the bodice and pockets which I got from Calico & Ivy here in Perth. The skirt and sleeves are made from Kiyohara cotton linen blend in Solid Violet, which I bought at Lucky Lantern.


Such lovely fabric!


I made this cute little lady for a cute little five year old. I revisited this pattern as she turns out lovely and is a lot of fun to make. She is Violet from the Hop, Skip, Jump pattern book.


A lady needs options so I made a second skirt for Violet.



Did you notice the matching buttons on the skirts? These were made with a nifty button covering kit. Very easy and turned out very cute.


I again cut into my Spoonflower Lego Print knit for a present for a special 4 year old and again using the Recess Raglan pattern by See Kate Sew. I did cheat save time and used an existing t-shirt for the sleeves for this one, eliminating the need for hemming...great idea if are short on time.



And for me, another By Hand London Anna Dress. This version, my third, is my favourite so far. I added inseam pockets to this Anna making her cute and useful too. Made up from cotton poplin from Spotlight. 




Zips are going in a little easier on the third try...


I'm still not done with this pattern.