Saturday, January 18, 2014

Forgetting seam allowances!!

Well I have been enjoying my freshly painted sewing studio very much.  The reorganisation was well worth the time and pain.  I have been working on a quilt but need to hand sew the bindings and gift it before I can show you pictures.

This week-end I decided to do some quick and simple clothes sewing to clear the palate after the quilting. 

I bought 1m of fabric of the clearance section of Spotlight for $5.  However it was not as noted on the tag.  I did realise the fabric was not nylon/poly as noted on the tag.  I could see and feel that it is a nice soft knit - I suspect rayon.  However it was folded double on the roll and I wondered how wide it was and believed the swing tag that it was 150cm wide... why??    I had planned to use it to muslin a Kwiksew tee shirt pattern, but of course as the fabric was not as wide as needed so I had to look for another pattern - Ottobre 02/2010 -1 the Linnea top to the rescue.  I have made this top twice before but one version shrunk so as this top is a similar colour it will replace it.  


Sad tale continues... I forgot to add the seam allowances as I cut it!  Sooo... I have a nice top which I have sewn the smallest of seams on and I will wear it even though it looks a little tight over the bust.  I get a few of the pull wrinkles there... *sigh*.  However for $5 I am declaring it good enough so this is my finished top on Diana... fits her a bit better over the bust as I have put on weight, but Diana hasn't...


This is a great top to wear with the Tessuti Suzy pants I have made.

And while I was on the theme of forgotten seam allowances I thought I would fix a top I made back in April of 2012.  It is a another Ottobre - Cool Hippie from 05-2011.  


It was made sleeveless as I didn't have enough fabric for the sleeves but had a big opps moment with the collar.  I cut it the wrong way the first time, then when I cut it the second time I forgot the seam allowance... and of course, did not have enough fabric to cut it a third time.



I did wear it a few times but the collar was way too tight and uncomfortable so it was relegated to the 'to be fixed' wardrobe.  Finally I have got a around to it.  I cut the collar out and used chalk to mark a new neckline which was based on the neckline of the Linnea top's sister Morning Blush 02-2012-18.  Same pattern as the Linnea but with a different neckline.  Then I turned under and stitched... new top in the wardrobe.  


I am really pleased to have it back in the wardrobe as I find this teal/turquoise colour works really well for me.

Well thank you for listening to my tales of woe... Hopefully more successful sewing results to show you next time...Ciao!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Bring on the New Year!

I have been a slack blogger!  Never mind I have had good reason.  My sewing room has been out of action since the New Year while it has been emptied, cleaned, painted and then re-organised, re-arranged and now I have a lovely, shiny, bright sewing studio!



The other wall I haven't shown is a wardrobe with mirror doors.  It is better organised than it was, but still needs a little TLC.

So what about 2013?  I am pretty happy with most things I made.  Some things have been moved on (the green hi-lo dress, but I do love the navy one).  I had one top that I loved, shrink on me - a wool jersey ottobre top.  I am used to merino jersey which is obviously a lot more hardy than wool jersey.  It was a shame as I really liked it.  Apart from that everything is still in the wardrobe and I pretty much love them all, some I wear more than others, but I couldn't pick a top 5.

I have also enjoyed sewing with the Tessuti patterns and have made a few Suzy pants and one Chloe pant which have not been blogged about.  These were worn before Christmas but I didn't manage any photos as it was such a hectic time.  Since then we have had a heat wave and I haven't been inclined to wear pants even for a photo!  I hope to still show you these as I do love the patterns, particulary the Suzy pant.

The first garment for 2014 is a muslin of the Fehrtrade XYT top to wear to the gym.   I am loving the top even though I did not have success with the built in bra.  I plan to get some supplex and make some 'real' versions of this top and will show you more then... This is the back of the trial to show you the lovely details...


Well I may not be doing a lot of clothes sewing for the next while as I had a shocker of a year last year and managed to stack some extra kilos on.  I am hoping these new tops will help me with my goal of picking up my exercise plan and getting back to 'normal'.  If I don't I will have to seriously start sewing to get more clothes that fit me!  

Ciao kittens!  I wish you all the best for your 2014 sewing and look forward to sharing more of my sewing and crafting with you this year!