New Look 6071- a purple patch

 Ooh the sewing room is messy, isn't it!

It was "Paul Temple and the Lawrence Affair" today and a sudden urge to make a top. I chose this one to try out the pattern, New Look 6071, to see if I would risk the beautiful Liberty pattern jersey that I bought in November at Shaukat in London. It was £17 a metre! I know that's cheap for Liberty jersey, but it's a lot more than I usually pay for fabric! This fabric, on the other hand, was about £2 a metre from Abakhan in Preston. I bought 5 metres of it so I expect there'll be a few more practice garments with wavy purple checks.

I cut a straight size 12 although my measurements would probably have led me to the 14 but I like my tops to be close fitting. I made slightly narrower seam allowances at the low hip because it seemed to be getting stuck on my skirt and much wider seam allowances (I probably ran them in by about 2 inches) at the bottom of the sleeve so I now have nice tight sleeves (pet hate- flappy sleeves or anything falling over my hands). I did get slightly confused over the twisty bit but only because Paul Temple's wife Steve was being shot at and I wasn't concentrating on the instructions properly.

It is quite low cut and I would probably wear a camisole under it for work but it doesn't gape. I stretched the neckband facing much more than suggested to tighten up the edge and I'm pleased I did. Because this was just a practice, I didn't bother with twin needle hems- just zigzagged the edges after folding the hem in place.

The fabric has plenty of horizontal stretch but no vertical stretch AT ALL which made putting the sleeve in a little trickier than usual. I still did it flat and didn't gather the sleeve head but probably should have done but I really like the shape of it. I narrowed the shoulder by about half an inch- a standard adjustment for me.

Cheap and quick and wearable- what more can you ask?

This looks as though one sleeve is longer than the other- it isn't, I just constantly push my sleeves up!

I

Apricot skirt

Burdastyle 12-2009-122

This is the first of several recent makes. I seem to have spent more time in the room of loveliness than usual recently. Hours and hours listening to BBC radio crime drama on the iplayer and pottering between sewing machine and ironing board, avoiding the world. Fabulous.

The first on the list is a rarity for me- a Burdastyle pattern. I get the magazine on subscription every month and love many of the garments but the thought of the tracing and seam allowance marking really puts me off making anything. I actually did the tracing part for this skirt last year some time and even cut it out and THEN was put off making the skirt because it had separate bits for the fly front zip and no proper instructions as to how all that was supposed to work. After it languished in the basket of UFOs for probably eleven months, I girded my loins and tackled it head on. Actually I used the instructions from another Burdastyle magazine in which the garment with the fly front was the featured garment with the proper instructions, i.e. it had pictures. It went ok although I put the flyshield on backwards but I had well and truly reached the "Sod It" point by then and just carried on regardless. The skirt was a bit short when I tried it on and I didn't want it to get any shorter by hemming it so I made some bias binding and used that. I think all I've read about Burda fit is true though. I cut a 44 and am very happy with the way it fits.

The flouncy back view

Front

Back

Joyous waistband facing

The fabric is another ancient stashery- at least 25 years in the trunk, an apricot twill- with rather more synthetic than natural judging by the smell when I pressed it- and I didn't have enough for the front pockets or for the waistband facings. The front pockets would have been useful but the lack of waistband facing led to the part that gives me the most pleasure. I used a tiny piece of beautiful Liberty Tana lawn to face it and every time I see it, it lifts my heart. It's also butter soft against my skin. I think that is one of the chief advantages of sewing things for yourself- these little unexpected touches that set our garments apart from the run of the mill shop bought things.

I like the shape of the skirt (although not the shape of me at the moment) with its little flippy-out flounce and I think it will be useful for work and play from Spring to Autumn. It also cost nothing- the fabric was leftover from something else, the zip and the thread I already had. Free skirt! (I'm not counting the £4.75 a month subscription to Burdastyle. Out of the three and a half years worth of magazines, I have now sewn 3 things. I've just worked that out to a pattern cost of £66.50 per garment. Oops- better start sewing some more to bring the average down!)


The top I'm wearing in the first couple of pictures, by the way, was bought by my mum on a visit to America in 1964. Butterflies. Ahead of her time or what!!!

Recap of Me-Made-May

As I said in my last post, I participated in Me-Made-May but not officially and I actually did quite well! Much better than last year's half-hearted attempt anyway. I even took some pictures although that's obviously a skill I need to work on. Scroll down and you'll see what I mean..

I found it quite easy to put outfits together as I did sew a lot of things last year. It also gave me a chance (i.e. forced me through negligent ironing) to wear things I have worn either rarely or, in some cases, never before. There are obvious gaps though. I spent a lot of the month making a patio out of bricks and concrete and wore ancient sweats and baggy T-shirts picked up on my travels. But on the other hand, I don't think I want things I've made to be subjected to building materials anyway!

I didn't even often have to resort to knitted items. I used to work as a Rowan knitting design consultant and made a lot of garments as they give you the yarn to make 2  per season. I think I counted 70 hand-made jumpers and cardigans at one point but I gave quite a lot away as I couldn't fit them all in my cupboards.

The weather was varied enough to bring out cotton dresses as well as long sleeved T-shirts and the couple of days I failed to wear Me-Made things completely were hardly my fault as I was unexpectedly away from home without adequate (or any!) planning.
So, for next time I will:

• do it properly and officially sign up
• sort out the Gorilla tripod thing so I can take better pictures of myself
• make some trousers (I have no Me-Made trousers except some "comfy pants" made out of an old flannelette sheet)
• sew outfits rather than random items and maybe make some things to go with specific items of knitwear- I have several cardigans I haven't worn because I have nothing they go with

The evidence

This is an outfit I'm not really sure about. I feel a bit like a principal boy in a pantomime.  Or wearing the corporate uniform of a person-centred business. The top is Vogue 8546 made in some lovely but not very stretchy eco-cotton jersey my daughter gave me. The skirt is Simplicity 2211 made in some ancient Provencal cotton which might have been more suited to tablecloths. It's taking a long time to soften up! 

This was the first time on for this blouse (see what I mean about the rubbish photography!). It's polyester and I have to be pretty sure it's going to be a cool day for me to risk it! I hate sweaty polyester and don't know why I ever bother making anything with it! Except I liked the design of the fabric. The pattern is Vogue 8120 and it actually worked better than I thought (compliments even!) but I didn't dare risk putting my arms backwards in case the tiny press stud holding it together and preventing me from showing my all popped! I don't like clothes I have to think about. I really want to just put them on and then forget about them.  

This is a terrible picture of my Vogue 1250 which I love! I wear it more than anything else I think. I don't even have to iron it. See, it's the only picture I'm smiling in. 

My sewing room is tidier than this at the moment. I could have moved the chair.

This is a Simplicity 2599 made out of an old embroidered bordered skirt of my daughter's. It took a bit of judicious cutting to get it out but I love the very pale yellow colour and the fact that it's already soft and worn in. I think I need to pair it with something that's not as severe as black though. 

The jury's still out on this one. It's very, very summery and creases quite easily but it is definitely a put it on and forget it dress. The fabric was some really cheap stuff from Ikea (and I've just cut out a Simplicity 2059 from the leftovers) and the pattern is McCalls 2401. I attempted a FBA on it last year and it all went horribly wrong so it languished in the basket until April when I finally tackled it and kicked it into shape. I don't think it's going to get a lot of wear but I do like the feel of it when it's on! 

I think this is the outfit I was most pleased with (of the ones I photographed!). I wore this on the hottest day of the year so far and felt good in it all day. The cardigan is made of Rowan 4 ply cotton, the top is Simplicity 3751 and the fabric is Liberty cotton. There used to be a factory near here that printed for Liberty and they had a sale shop where I picked up lots of bargains. This piece of fabric had a ticket in the corner reading £1! If I'd known they were closing I would have bought a lot more! I miss it a lot! I love the colours in this fabric and the cotton is beautifully smooth. It doesn't get a lot of wear though. British weather. 

Essay finished but still procrastinating

The black cloud that has loomed over me for the last few weeks has finally lifted with the completion of the last wretched piece of work of any length for my teaching qualification. There's still a lot to do and no doubt I'll carry on putting everything off until the last minute, driving myself into a blue funk, avoiding everything and everybody until the last lesson plan and evaluation has been wrested from my brain. I have to say though that I feel a lot better this morning! Looking through patterns, which I've been doing a lot of (it's great procrastination) has taken on a feeling of possibly allowing myself some time to actually make something rather than just staying in the fantasy world of mentally pairing up stash and patterns.

I have a Burda World of Fashion skirt cut out in some ancient leftover apricot cotton twill but the fly fastening is putting me off starting it. I've even cut the facings out of a lovely Liberty cotton lawn. I have the zip and the thread and everything! Ok, let's make a plan. Today I'll go to the University and drop off my assignment, come back and write lesson plans for tomorrow and then do a bit of housework (yeah right!). Tomorrow, teaching, including an observation, then Thursday..... sewing!! Definitely! (Probably!)