Complete: A Jacket & Leftover Skirt

I'm back this week with an attempt to triumph over vanity. Well, to at least let pride triumph over vanity...which doesn't sound all that laudable at all, really. I'll explain - this is one of my favourite ever things to wear that I've made, coupled with some of my least liked photos (own fault: felt wretched, should've stayed home, soldiered on and can see it in every shot. Never mind, we can't all be models!)

 



This jacket is a pattern released by Spotlight here in Australia, oh, maybe seven years ago, as part of their then Get Creative range. I bought it at the time in case I ever tried making clothes for myself sometime in the future (!), and promptly forgot about it. The fabric, a wine -not purple - coloured pinwale corduroy I bought two years ago in case I ever tried making a casual blazer, and promptly forgot about it.

 

The pattern calls itself a military-style jacket. I didn't make any structural modifications; the only changes I made were to not do the three rows of topstitching at each seam (not avoidance, I just thought it would be lost and wasted on corduroy), and to lose the front tie fastenings (which looked fussy and annoying).

 

The above photo is from May, which I've included because I actually look happy in this shot. Plus, this outfit (jacket, Kanerva blouse and Burda pants) is one of my all-time favourites, self-made or otherwise, which I think is worth acknowledging!

In far less happy shots...

 As mentioned above, this jacket had tie fastenings, so doesn't do up at the front. I was dubious at first (wouldn't it just look too small?) but I actually really like how it sits. The shaping in it gives a nice line, and it doesn't feel at all restrictive like a done-up blazer sometimes can.

 Instead of the ties, I experimented with these patches for (non-functioning) buttonholes and buttons.

I sewed them on a very slight diagonal, with the cord's direction contrasting with the fabric underneath. The vintage buttons were a surprise gift from Sarah along with one of her giveaways; I'd been saving them up waiting for the perfect project.

 

I mentioned a few posts ago that I've been trying to find uses for my ever-growing pile of scraps and leftovers. Well, this gets a double tick! There was no lining drafted for the pattern itself, just wide facings at front, back yoke and hem. I'd overlocked the other seams, which were also top-stitched (just once though), and they looked fine. But I thought I'd to try something a bit special on the facings' edges, and so bound them with some of the leftover silk from my Vogue 1152 dress. Confession: it's not cut strictly on the bias, since there wasn't enough fabric, but since all the edges were straight or diagonal I didn't think it would matter too much. I love the effect! 

 

 

The other tick is given for, wait for it: getting a whole other garment out of the leftovers! True, the hem isn't as generous as it should be and the back piece is seamed rather than cut on the fold, but I'm not arguing! This is View B of Burda 7147, an A-line mini wrap skirt:

 

...and I definitely should have ironed the wrinkles out pre-photography... This is a really quick project, that can be squeezed out of just under a metre of fabric.

The fronts fold back over themselves to form facings, and snaps are sewn on to secure it.

 Some dark early morning photos there, sorry. I like an A-line silhouette, although this is a much shorter version than I'm used to. I probably wouldn't wear it without tights.

One change I did make that was choice and not necessity was to add a lining; since I planned to wear this with tights I thought that it might help stop it riding up or "sticking". And it works. I wish I could think of a way to stop it sticking to itself at the front wrap...

So, one lot of project leftovers has been used up. Now I just have to find ways to use up the rest of the drawer!

Sew Grateful Week - Day 4: Project

Hello again :) Yesterday's post (share a tutorial, pattern etc...) didn't quite happen, I'm afraid, so here's a bit of a token effort:

• If you ever need to de-mystify bound buttonholes, The Little Tailoress's tutorial is beyond wonderful.

• I've downloaded this but haven't yet made it up so can't personally vouch for it, but SBCC's (Skinny Bitch, Curvy Chick) Tonic T-shirt looks like a really promising basic fitted top pattern. And the PDF is free :)

Onto the Sew Grateful Project:

Thursday the 27th February: Sew Grateful Sewing Project Day.  Showcase your latest sewing project. Whether it's a project using up that pattern that was a present from someone or that you won in a giveaway or using a tutorial someone has prepared, or even a project inspired by someone in the sewing community... the possibilities are nearly endless!

My project is made using fabric I won in a giveaway by Fabric Tragic last year. It's a drapey wine-coloured knit with a bit of a crushed finish to it. I almost made it up as a top, then a skirt, then another top, but wasn't quite sold on any of the patterns I'd planned so it's been sitting on the desk since September. A week ago I was wearing my kimono/jacket/shruggy thing and it struck me that it could work in a knit. This one, while drapey and reasonably light-weight, is pretty stable, so it ended up working pretty well:

The indoor photos make it look quite purple, but the outdoor ones are a pretty good match. The construction was the same as last time (link is above if you're interested), except that since the last one was chiffon I used french seams. This time I did the whole thing on my overlocker, which is a first for me. I usually just use the overlocker for finishing.

Some very quick photos before we lost the light - just remembered in time!

 This one is little bit warmer than my chiffon one, so I'm hoping it'll work well during winter, given a few long-sleeved layers underneath :)

The only change I made to the pattern this time around was to sew bands onto the end of the sleeves. Last time I folded the raw edge under twice and sewed it down, but I like this as a finish for knit garments. They look quite nice folded up (half the width below) too. (Is that the way the Renfrew top is finished? I really must buy that this year.) You can see the crumpled look of the fabric here - it's not just my ironing aversion... ;)

Judging by the amount of wear my last version has has, I think this is going to be a very useful addition to my me-made wardrobe. Expect to see it in May quite a bit! 

Thanks, Sarah, for a fantastic giveaway! 

Inspired by: Jacket/Kimono/Shruggy Thing

Hello all :) I've been doing some thinking since finishing my Sew Weekly Reunion dress. It was really satisfying going "off-pattern" like that; I haven't done that for a while. And since joining Pinterest I have hundreds of pins I love the look of. (Pinterest is basically a sewing inspiration board as far as I'm concerned...) Now, while I don't want to fall into the trap of feeling like I have to make everything I see, there's no real point in collecting inspiring images if I don't ever do anything with them.

So I've decided to do an "Inspired By..." make on a semi-regular basis from now on. I'm thinking I'll wait till I notice the same kind of garment cropping up over and over in my likes/pins and go from there. I'm hoping that'll keep it manageable!

And here's the first one. I admit that "jacket/kimono/shruggy thing" doesn't sound all that alluring, but I have LOTS of pins like these below:

As we're moving into Spring weather already (I swear the weather has been watching the calendar here: 1st September and BANG! it was Spring) this seemed the perfect project to kick off with. Plus, I saw a friend the other day who was wearing a similar garment the other day, mentioned to her how I was wanting to make something just like that, and she immediately passed it over and told me to use it to draft a pattern. (she's a very good friend :) )

This is her jacket: (night time photo, I'm afraid). Believe me, it looks much nicer on, but this gives an idea of the actual shape. It was a bit tricky sketching out the pattern, because the pieces don't lie flat, and then the band (formed by two pieces) that extends right around the edges pulls the main pieces in still further.

 I used a multi-coloured chiffon with an almost abstract feather print (about 2m in all), and as much as I genuinely loathe working with chiffon, it's perfect for this kind of floaty jacket. 

We ended up with this:

I actually love it! It's exactly what I wanted it to be, and I think it's going to get a lot of wear this season, and right through into summer (great for early mornings or late evenings). In fact, it'll probably see me through into Autumn as well. Woo hoo!

For anyone who's curious, this is what the pattern pieces look like. The smaller piece is the front - this sits over the top of the larger back piece. The straight edge on the front is the opening; the small slightly jutting out sections on both pieces form the sleeve openings.

The top of the back piece folds down so that there's a straight horizontal seam at the front, just above the bust.

Below you can see the back folded over to meet the front piece, which is laid over the top. I guess you could eliminate this and just have a "normal" shoulder seam, but as is it seems to drape really nicely over the shoulders when worn. And I think it's quite a nice design detail. :)

When I cut the (9.5cm wide when folded, plus seam allowance....22cm width total) two edging bands - these sew together at the back centres at neck and hem - I broke the "rules" and cut them across the grain. This was because if I can avoid cutting chiffon (nasty, slippery stuff that it is) I will. Cutting across the grain meant I could make a small cut and then tear the rest, which gave me PERFECTLY straight pieces with almost no effort. Gotta love that!

You know my favourite part of this make? Apart from ending up with something I'm going to wear until it literally falls apart around me, that is. The whole project, even including drafting the pattern and doing french seams on all seams, took three hours. Total. It's the first thing I've ever whipped up after a full day at work. This has never happened before, so I think that's worth celebrating a little!

There's one other thing I'm going to trial with this post. Me Made May '13 showed me that a lot of the things I've made (and was planning to make at that stage) didn't really go with anything else I had. This is an issue for someone who's trying to gradually replace her existing wardrobe with a hand-sewn one! Since then, I've tried to only buy fabric if I can think of at least three other things I already have that it will go with. It's actually been extremely helpful! So I'm going to try from now on to show that in each post - see below. Plus, I'm hoping it will give me some much needed practice in styling - not my forte at all!

 I think it'll also work really well as in the first photo at the top of this post with cut off denim shorts. I do have some, but it's far too early in the season to show any leg above the knee - the winter legs above are quite blindingly pale enough as it is!

What's inspiring you at the moment? Do tell!

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle oxo

Completed: Audrey Jacket

It's been a little longer between posts than I planned, sorry, but I haven't had proper internet access for a good two weeks. In the meantime though I finished my coat/jacket (Style Arc's Audrey Jacket pattern) I was going title this post, "A Fail Or Not A Fail?", since that was my question, but we'll get to that! Here 'tis:

(Huddled under the eaves in this shot - the rain and wind were evidently competing to see which could be the most energetic...)

And a back view for Nessa! Wish I'd adjusted my top first... :(  And for all of you lovely people who commiserated with me on the Buttonhole Debacle (and thank you, by the way - I would take you all out for coffee and cake if we lived nearby):

Hooray! Bound buttonholes sewn AND positioned correctly! So why was I thinking Fail? Well, it all went together fine (eventually...) but when I tried it on, I didn't like it on me. Painful moment! I loved the slightly retro shape of it in the pattern picture, but it's not a style I've ever worn before, and it just felt wrong on. I didn't make a muslin, so I guess that's my own fault. If I'd tried it on in a changing room I'd have rejected it immediately. Can you call it a successful project if you don't end up wearing it?? Has this ever happened to you?

The collar bothered me too. It still does. It's supposed to sit up like this (back view below):

(That looks uneven in the photo - I promise it's not!) But at the front it collapses in on itself a bit. If I ever make it again I'm going to fuse the collar - at least the front sections - twice. It's fine around the buttonholes, which have the extra fabric patch sewn in to make the welts, and that's what suggests to me that the front collar needs a bit more reinforcement. It just doesn't seem to be holding the weight adequately. I'm wondering too whether buttons with a shank wouldn't be a better choice, as much as I like these red ones. I have some dull gold ones in the drawer - might give them a go. Any thoughts???

So it sat there for a week or so. And, because I really do love the fabric, I tried it on every now and then. And slowly, it began to grow on me. I still don't think it's a perfect style for me, but I don't think it's the unmitigated disaster I thought it was at first. It is wearable, and having worn it to work yesterday I can attest that people don't point and snigger. It fills a wardrobe gap. So, I'm calling it a cautious success.

Although I don't consider myself remotely qualified to post tutorials, I am going to show step by step below how the hem lining went together, mainly because I would have loved to have this two weeks ago! Not sure if it's the standard procedure, but it worked. That's the thing about Style Arc patterns - I love their designs, but the instructions given do assume you know what you're doing. I've decided to take that as a compliment.

All was going fine till I got to the point of sewing the lining to the jacket. (Aside: I really wanted a striking print for this, a la Claire's Lady Grey jacket, but couldn't find anything that looked right. And then this silk lining went on sale. Couldn't resist. And that's another reason I kept trying the thing on - wool coat with silk lining....) The instructions said "Sew lining to jacket continuing around hem." Looked down at this:

Thought I'd cut it out wrong at first! Checked. Hadn't. Reread instructions. Didn't help. Googled. No love. So I went to the wardrobe and looked at the way other wool coat linings had gone together, and worked it out from there. This one has an overlocked edge on the front facing - mine's folded under. The lining is sewn at hem and folds down over itself. It started to make sense.

First I had to unpick 3cm of the front facing/front lining seam. This allows for manouevering room when you sew the lower edges.

 Then I sewed the jacket front/front facing seam, stopping directly above the right angle where the jacket front extends downwards. After that (not pictured, oops) I pulled the lining down to meet the jacket's lower edge and sewed them together. Imagine another finger pointing to the edge below - that seam.

This left a 'hole' where these two horizontal seams don't quite match up. The photo shows the reverse side of what's pictured above (i.e. the interfaced part you see below is the jacket facing - imagine the jacket in the above photo has been lifted up towards you.) My thumb is on the jacket front/facing seam, and my first finger is on the lining/ lower jacket edge seam.

When you bag it out, it looks like this, with the lining folding down over itself, hiding the actual seam.

 Hope that makes sense!

In wedding sewing news, we've had the bride's first fitting, and it seems to be coming along nicely. Which is making me rethink my "one sewing challenge at a time" rule.... All of a sudden there seem to be all these online sewalongs and challenges I really want to have a go at! I would love to be part of Thread Theory's Jedidiah Pants Sewalong. And the Sew Weekly Reunion Challenge is waking me up o' nights (Can you be part of a reunion if you weren't there the first time around??)... I know I have a tendency to take on too much at once though. And I think I really need to ensure that wedding sewing is as stress-free as possible. On the other hand, I planned to make a dress to wear to it anyway, and the colours of the SWRC are sublime. Think I'll leave it to chance - if I find suitable fabric next time I go shopping I'll jump in and go for it!

Are you taking part in any challenges or sewalongs at the moment? Do tell!

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle oxo

Hmmm.... Links don't seem to be working, sorry. Will fix ASAP

New Year, New Goal

Well, hello! Here we are at the beginning of a new year, with a new resolution and a new blog especially to chart its progress. For any of you that have read my other blog you may remember a post on how impacted I was by Lucy Siegle's book To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World?  For anyone else, let me get you up to speed...

TDF is basically an expose of the global fashion industry, and its appalling environmental and humanitarian cost. What I really liked about it though was how attractive and feasible the author made alternatives to the high street / local mall seem. As someone who loves fashion and clothes herself, she totally gets the appeal of a gorgeous garment, but maintains it's completely possible to have one without damaging the environment or exploiting the poor. In a nutshell, you can be ethical without being a hessian-wearing, dreadlock-sporting hermit. (Unless that's your thing, of course...) To which I say, hurrah!

So to the resolution. I'm resolved for the duration of 2013 to either:

1. Make my own clothes.
2. Refashion clothes out of old ones.
3. Buy secondhand.
4. Buy from eco/ethical businesses (and aren't there just so many out there! Thanks, Peppermint magazine...)

I think its doable! In fact, over the last two weeks or so as I've been trawling the internet for inspiration, I've been amazed at how many people are doing just that. (I had no idea there even were sewing blogs!) So, I'm feeling excited and motivated by the prospect.

I thought I'd start off by posting the refashion I did right after reading the book. This was a bit of an experiment to see if it the idea worked. I haven't done much sewing for myself, mainly because it's so much easier to fit other people, but it seemed to work alright. Here's before:

A-line skirt in a tweedy kind of fabric. With a bit of creative cutting it became this:

(Sorry, that's an Instagram photo - won't use those in future :/ )

This was a modified version of Burda 7494. Unlike the pattern, each front here is actually a single piece, with a dart running the whole way down - there simply wasn't enough fabric to fit two front pieces. Sleeve length and volume had to be sacrificed a little too, but I thought these half sleeves continued the line of the garment well enough. Discovered when I came to do the buttonholes that my machine couldn't make them large enough. At some stage I'll actually try and master other buttonhole techniques but in the meantime a ribbon loop (using the trim that was around the skirt's waistband) did the trick.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM THIS:  Refashioning involves a lot of problem solving! Also, I need to be selective in what I choose to refashion if it's for me: yes, there was enough fabric in the original (just...), and yes, I'm happy with the finished piece. Only thing is - I don't actually like wearing pink....I'll have to find a home for it with someone else who's pink-compatible.

I had a play around with the scraps too. There were just enough to feel wrong about just throwing them out, but none were really big enough to do anything substantial with. So... here's Scrap Option One:
















Covered button hair elastics. I may not wear pink, but my girl does! I tried three different sizes (2.5cm, 3cm, 3.5cm) and I think I prefer the medium one. Depends on the hairstyle though, I guess. The smallest one might look better with a thinner elastic too.

Scrap Option Two I'm of two minds about:















Fabric flower brooch. I think the idea's there, but I'll keep playing around with the pattern. Maybe it's the little crochet flower in the middle that's bothering me...

Anyhow, I'm going to chalk this one up as a success. And I think this challenge is going to be fun!

Have a wonderful week :)