Tried and true... Ottobre faded stripes tee

I have a need in my wardrobe for some new summer casual clothes.  I have well and truly worn out the current ones I have!  I have devised a plan of action to add some more tees and some casual pants to my wardrobe which is my preferred week-end wear.

First off the block my TNT Ottobre faded stripes tee.  I have made this four times already and only one is left in the wardrobe now looking very tatty!  You can see them all here if you are interested ---> Tees.

I have traced off the larger size I need now (oops!) and to make it a bit interesting I have used my new to me cover stitch machine for hemming and for the bindings.

This first one is in a cotton jersey bought from The Fabric Store.  I really like the finished tee, but sewing it was a PITA.  The edges rolled mercilessly and I ended up using a lot of spray starch to try and make it behave.  For this one I added the bindings in the more traditional sewing machine way that Ottobre instructs in their tips section, but chose to use the cover stitch machine to top stitch the binding instead of using a twin needle like I have in the past.  I was pretty happy with the result.

Next up was a cotton jersey which I am pretty sure I bought from Wattle Hill Fabrics.  It is very bright but I think I can make it work for week-end wear.  

This time the fabric was a bit better behaved so I decided to take a deep breath and use the binding attachment I have.  I practised a heap of times and then dove in.  First the neckline binding...

Success!  Then the armhole binding...

Ba-bow... The stitching sat in the binding to start with but went off track and I ended up with one stitching line on the binding and one on the fabric.  I have decided to leave it as it is. With this fabric print I am hopeful it is not real obvious.  Any tips on what I could have done to stop this happening?

Any other cover stitch or binding tips are most welcome my stitching friends.  Ciao for now kittens...

Felt fun!

I have been having fun making some Christmas ornaments from felt,  I have recently joined a woman's group and they are planning to hold a market stall and sell decorations for Christmas so I have been mulling over what I could contribute.

I have had a good friend using felted wool and old wool blankets in her textile art so I started thinking along that line and decided on felting some wool jumpers and making Scandinavian inspired decorations.

I managed to score a 100% wool vest and jumper from an op shop sale and put them through the washing machine at a high heat and then through the dryer.  The grey jumper I bought was already starting to felt so felted beautifully.  I ended up putting the navy vest in for a second run and it has the most gorgeous suede look to it now.

I recently attended the craft fair n Brisbane and got to see and feel some commercial wool felt.  It is way nicer than the synthetic based ones you can buy at the chain fabric stores but still stiffer than my lovely soft felt.  However I am thinking about using it in the future because of the range of colours you can get it in.  Perfect for Santa faces and the like.

I was loaned a Sissix with some cutting dyes and have been able to cut perfect circles and stars.  So much fun to use!

So I trawled the Internet and found some snowflake designs to embroider and just had fun!  I made the cords by the twirling method and love the finish it has given the ornaments.  Some were made into coasters as the circles just felt right for it and the wool doubled up is perfect for protecting furniture.

Is anyone else crafting for Christmas? If you love these but don't want to make your own, I have listed some in my Etsy shop  - SusySewandSew.etsy,com.

Happy Christmas crafting everyone!  Ciao for now!

Vogue 9081 Marcy Tilton Cardigan

I had planned to make this cardigan top to take on the cruise last year and now I am sorry I didn't get to it.

The stretch mesh fabric is from Super Cheap Fabrics and I think cost the whole of $2 per metre.  I bought a few metres as it was not very wide.

The pattern is Marcy Tilton Vouge 9081.  I checked the reviews and found a few of the dress but not of the draped cardigan.  I was worried when I first started making it that the reason might be because it was a confusing make but I followed the instructions methodically and got there in the end.  The only issue I had was the facing band was too long.  However that may have been user error - I might have stretched it a bit when I pressed it perhaps.

The mesh made the sew slow going as it was fine and would melt under the iron, so much pressing cloth action and practice pieces to make sure it would work.  The pattern instructions are detailed and have tips on sewing this fabric which I liked.  I didn't follow all of them but I did follow the one about sewing the sleeve and it worked very well.

Sewing a buttonhole in the mesh fabric caused me some concern and many practices but it worked.  I happened to find the perfect buttons in my stash.

Not a fast make, but a satisfying one... 

Stylearc Eme Dress

Stylearc Eme dress:

Skirt portion shortened by 2" due to fabric restrictions, but I am very happy with the resulting length.

Skirt is a heavier purple linen from Sckafs Fabrics in Brisbane and the bodice is a linen/viscose blend from The Fabric Store in Brisbane.