Sunday, July 24, 2011

Tops, tops & some thermal tops

My sewing has been pretty basic lately but good for the wardrobe. :)

Even though I have my sewing studio now, the renovation continues so I do find it difficult to concentrate on more time-consuming projects. My lighting has not been updated yet either (hopefully next week) so I hope when that is done it will motivate me to take on some more complicated projects.

First up, it has been cold here lately and I have been feeling it, so decided to use some thermal fabric I bought to make some thermal layers.


The fabric I used is from the Bamboo Store and is called Bamboo & Sorona Thermal.

The sorona is derived from corn and the fabric is lovely and silky smooth. It is very wide and from 1 metre I cut three things:

This Jalie 2564 camisole...

A long sleeved top (modified from Kwik sew 3740)


I used foe (fold over elastic) on the neckline and for those in Australia, I actually found this in Spotlight marked as 'lingerie elastic'. It is very similar to the foe I have bought from o/s. Not many colours available at Spotties, but I was happy to be able to source it locally.

This is a close-up of how I finished the foe. I attach it to one side first, with the fold (centre) of the foe lined up with the edge of the fabric with a zig-zag and then folded it to the front and used a triple stitch to attach this side.

The photo shows the bamboo/sorona fabric close-up as well.

I did not want to waste one piece of this lovely fabric and made a little beanie from the scraps...


Then I seemed to tackle some fabrics I wasn't sure how to handle, in terms of the print on the fabrics.

This one was purchased at Gorgeous Fabrics ages ago and I love it but had ordered it thinking I would make a dress and then decided it was too busy and the motif too large to work well in a dress for me. So I bit the bullet and cut out another Kwiksew 3740 being careful of motif placement and ended up with this pleasant little top.



This next fabric is also from GF and I loved the idea of it. It was described as a rich, metallic toned abstract print (rayon/lycra) and I loved the sound of it. It arrived and it is very shiny - dOH! it said metallic why was I surprised? The 'abstract' print turned out to more resemble really, really large flower motifs, so I also had to figure out how to place them on the garment.

I used the fantastic Burdastyle turtleneck pattern (again) 09-2010-121. This is the magic pattern and I think makes any fabric turn into a great top....

The colours in this fabric are great for my colouring and now I believe I will get a lot of wear out of this fabric. I didn't want to waste the scraps so used the last little bit to make a cami (from Jalie 2564 again). I think this little gold cami will work really well as a layering piece under those tops/dresses that need a cami...

And the next Turtleneck top (that's four all up!) was made with another great fabric from the Bamboo Store. It is a Bamboo/organic cotton/lycra blend and is divine. Now black fabric cannot be described as a difficult to use fabric but I made this top as I have an orphan RTW skirt in my wardrobe. This black top should coordinate well with it , so I am planning to put it into use by pairing it with the orphan skirt.

Black is probably not the best colour near my face but it will be worth it as I will get use out of the orphan skirt and I think it will be a versatile layering piece. I can also wear a scarf or whatever close to my face to detract from the black.

Well I still have more to show you - a different top (about time!), two new gym tops and a Stylearc skirt.

Ciao for now - more blogging when the photographer is available again...


18 comments:

  1. Wow you have been busy and they will all be really useful pieces. I love almost instant gratification sewing!

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  2. Everything looks lovely Sue - a very productive time for you.

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  3. You have been busy and your tops look very smart and the cami's are very versatile.

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  4. These all look great, what a productive time you've had despite the lack of lighting!

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  5. Lovely pieces. Really like all the little camis. I buy all my camis which seems such a shame. How are yours done, can you share?

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  6. Oh wow Sue...those tops are all fab. I especially like the one using GF fabric. Have you used FOE on the camis too? I found black & white FOE in Lincrap last week too. I only looked because you'd mentioned it!

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  7. ooh, I really love the turtle neck in that fabulous GS abstract print. Lots of good garments there.

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  8. Great pieces. I love the GF top the best. You've done so much for someone who gets distracted:)

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  9. Wonderful basics! You have been very busy and everything looks very professionally finished.

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  10. Wow! Yoou got alot done and added some serious basics to your wardrobe. I love the metallic pieces - they are so fresh looking and unique. Great job!

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  11. Wow, you have been busy! Great looking tops! You've inspired me to give FOE another try. My first attempt was disastrous, lol :)

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  12. Great tops. I especially like the Kwiksew black / white top and the gold cami.

    Thanks for the tip about Spotlight. I was in there briefly the other day and they had a large range of gorgeous looking trims...shame I didn't actually need any!

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  13. Pretty tops and like the idea of using the leftover to make camisoles.

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  14. You've been busy haven't you. Love the Kwiksew black and white top. The gold cami is clever because it works both as underwear or a nice layering piece.

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  15. super impressed by your productivity and loving those cami tops - what a great idea. you really do make lovely useful things.

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  16. Great tops and nice to actually be sewing something while the reno's are still on going.

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  17. Basics are so hard to get yourself to sew, at least in my experience, but they are so rewarding to have. Good job on getting the black and white things made up. You did a fantastic job with your beautiful print jerseys. Love the metallic print! How nice you had enough fabric for the cami too.

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  18. Super productive - I must make some camisoles - great idea - and isn't bamboo just so lovely??? You've got a great eye for prints!

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Love to hear what you think...