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...

Kwik sew 3693 - instant gratification in a cardi!

I have been really feeling the cold lately. We are having a cold Winter and our house is particularly cold while our renovation is happening. Instant warmth in a cardigan is available in Kwik sew 3693. I bought this pattern at the Knitwit roadshow as I was impressed with the sample they had on show. I have been looking for a suitable fabric to make it up in and, wonder of wonders, I found one in my stash when I sorted my fabric out into the new sewing studio.

I made View A in a lovely suede jersey I bought from Gorgeous Fabrics. This is a great fabric for this pattern. It has the right weight for the cardigan but still soft enough to drape nicely.


It is a brown colour and coordinates well with other pieces I have made recently.

The style of this jacket is probably a little boxy for my taste but this is out-weighed for me, by the ease and speed of making this cardigan. Sooper easy and satisfying...


My only other slight gripe is that like some other Kwik sew patterns, it is drafted with a slightly dropped shoulder. I like a nice crisp shoulder line - but I can live with it.


It is a good enough pattern that I am planning to make View B with the hood and pockets in a polar fleece hanging out in the stash cupboard. Review here for those interested.

While the reno has been happening I have been re-inspired to start crocheting again. At the Art Textiles show I bought a pattern for a beret and some lovely purple mink/merino/silk wool to make it up. I had a heap of trouble getting it going, so frogged it and started again in some left-over DK wool from the Phoebe Jane vest.

It was sooo easy to make in this wool and I knocked it up in one night!


So I went back and tried again and got my purple beret...


My only changes where to use a crochet hook heaps bigger than recommended. I love the Jenny King designs but I am a bit disappointed that they are written for people who crochet extremely loosely... anyway, now I know...

More cold weather sewing happening... when the photos happen, the blog posts will happen.. Ciao!

McCalls 5974 - Best Pattern 2010

McCalls 5974 was voted Best Pattern for 2010 on Patternreview.com. For very good reason... it is a fabulous pattern, easy to make and very flattering to wear. I am not sure if I will review this - see these reviews if you want to read more on the sewing of this pattern. Not that there is too much you need to know... pretty much make it (wait for the weather to warm up enough) and then wear it! ... and feel great in it!






I made this as part of my quest to make all top 10 patterns... I think I may only have 4 left to get to that goal!

Another photo opportunity

DS the elder is still home this week, so I grabbed the chance to get some photos taken of my outfit yesterday. These are taken at the end of the work day so please excuse that end-of-the-day-look!

Two new items in these photos. The top - my second version of Burdastyle 09-2010-121 (Turtleneck top). This one is made from a 70% bamboo and 30% hemp jersey. It behaves very differently to the last top in a poly jersey. It is looser, the sleeves hang further over your hands (because it's looser), however I still like it and I feel it looks a little funkier (and it certainly gets a little funkier around the sleeve edges by the end of the day of having sleeve ends in everything!)

The second item is the pants - Burdastyle 04-2011-117. Shannon from Mushywear is the only other review I have seen of these pants. I made mine from an inexpensive stretch woven purchased from Gardams a few years back. The fabric seems perfect for these pants but I am yet to find an equivalent of RTW pants fabric that has that little extra beefiness, however I was told this fabric would work for pants. Even though I don't think the weight is quite heavy enough I love this fabric - super-comfortable but did not stretch out too much on wearing. I made no changes to the pattern as this is my 'trial' version. If you have very long legs you may want to lengthen the leg length. Other than that I am very happy - comfortable, easy to wear and (hopefully) smart pants. This is a different style leg to what I usually wear but I do like them.

This pic is as I wore it with my Vogue jacket and spotty scarf (bought in Estonia of all places!).


Without the jacket...


From the back...

This is a waistband shot to show you the Petersham ribbon waist. I only had black or white Petersham and I didn't want them to show through clothing, so I tea-dyed the white so it wasn't so glaringly white (it sort of went a pink-skintone colour). It is also high-waisted - good for wearing under clothes (no tummy-peek) but if you can't handle high waisted pants it may not be the pattern for you.


My invisible side zip. Is it invisible enough or did I not quite get it??

The instructions tell you to leave the ends of the zip long at the top and tuck them into the waistband. It looks tidy enough but when you do the zip up it 'locks' into the end where they turn and it is very hard to get it started to undo... not good when you are in a hurry... I will try and fix that by making a faux stop at the ends by stitching over them. The next pair I make I will leave the zip stop at the top of the waistband and fold over only the very ends of the zip (hope that makes sense).

My review is here .  However I can say I like these pants enough to make them again and actually have another pair cut in a wool-lycra tweed (needed for this cold weather!)

I plan to wear my McCalls 5974 dress this Saturday night (office dinner) so will take the opportunity to get another round of photos ... I am on a roll...

Burdastyle 09-2010-121... the turtleneck top.

OK - two posts in two days after a month with none, but I take my opportunities to get photos when I can.

I wore my Burdastyle 09-2010-121 Turtleneck top today to work and when I got home DS the elder took these shots for me.


The fabric is from Gorgeous Fabrics and is lovely to wear. The print is a little strong for me but I was determined to get use out of this top as the colours are great I think.

The sleeves are long, but if you don't like that style, it is easily changed. However I think it helps with the keeping warm thing as well as being cute.

The collar is a comfortable height (even on my short neck) and the one thing you must know about this top if you make it, is to use Summerset's tip on sewing the collar - posted here.


This is how I wore it today - lots of brown and a little red. Does it work??

If you follow Summerset's tip (above) and perhaps lower the sleeve cap by 1 cm and sew the sleeves in flat, you have the easiest-ever top to make and a great wardrobe filler.

Here is version number 2 in a bamboo/hemp blend...

Ciao for now....

Sewing room ...woo-hoo!

Well, the renovations are not over yet but we have had a lull where we have been able to move into some of the new spaces. DH & I are installed in our new bedroom, which means the old bedroom is now known as my Sewing Studio (or Sanity Studio). It is a work in progress, but this is it as it stands so far....


The room needs painting desperately but for now it is clean and I am moved in - Woo-hoo!

My sewing spirit has had a huge resurgence and I am having trouble controlling myself to not start too many projects at once. Now I have my clothes installed in a new spacious wardrobe (dressing room really) and the weather has become really cold here, it has really highlighted where I have holes in my wardrobe. Namely cold weather clothes. My staple at the moment is pants, long sleeved tees worn with a cardi or jacket and then dressed up with a scarf or a big chunky necklace.

So as part of filling this need for tops, I have tried the Turtleneck top from Burda 09-2010-121.

This is my 'trial'. The fabric is from Gorgeous Fabrics - a lovely quality jersey, but the pattern is not really doing it for me. Perfect to trial this first cut.

It is a great pattern as everyone says on Pattern Review. The sleeves are long but I like that, the neck is high and not my best look but necessary in this cold. I will cut the sleeve cap down a bit for my next version, but apart from that nothing to dislike about this pattern. There are some great reviews written already, so I am not sure if I need to review it.

I have also trialled Burda 04-2011-117. I used a stretch woven cheapie bought from Gardams probably 2 years ago. Even though it was inexpensive it is quite a nice fabric and I think will get worn a bit. Only a hanger shot at the moment, but I will try and get better photos.


The waistband is made form Petersham ribbon. I only had black or white in my stash, so I tea-dyed the white Petersham to take the edge of the brightness. These pants will have tops over the top of the waistband (not tucked in) and I didn't want the white waistband to show through my clothes. I am really happy with these and have a piece of stretch wool twill cut to make a second pair (from Gorgeous Fabrics).

And while my sewing machine was unavailable I did finish some crochet...

The Frilly Enchante scarf - on Ravelry here. So pleased to have a project finished and somehow I have managed to pick up two more crochet projects to take it's place (why do I do that??)

Well I haven't blogged much lately and still haven't shown you my McCalls 6974 dress in a 'proper' photo-shoot but I hope life will start settling back to a more normal pace soon, so regular blogging can resume. However we still have the kitchen and old bathroom to go... *sigh*

Sewing odds & bobs...

My blogging is still intermittent - blame it on the renovation?

Some sewing has happened this week-end. My eldest son is attending Uni studying Contemporary Art. For an art installation he is putting on soon, he needed a flag & asked me. to sew one... no Mum can resist sewing for their boys when they ask. So a flag was made... (flags got legs!)...



This week-end I also finally got around to making up some cami's in Jalie 2564. The fabric is (I think) a merino jersey purchased last year from the Fabric Store (for this purpose). The only changes I made was to leave off the shelf bra and the bra strap sliders (for adjustable strap length). This made it a very quick & easy make and I am very happy with the result.

I made two of these and I am looking forward to having these to wear next week as the weather has turned to Winter before it is officially Winter here! The review is here

On the shopping for sewing front... these fabrics...


The first three came in the mail and were ordered at the Knitwit Roadshow. The first is Bianca - a lovely (expensive...ouch) mercerised cotton knit in a turquoise colour. The second a mesh called Italian Animal Fantasy Mesh and the third, I am not sure of the content (I think cotton, maybe rayon??) Japanese style print. The fourth fabric was purchased the same day - another mesh on a fabulous green/khaki print from the Fabric Collection. (Hi - Vanessa - I will make it up soon!)

And on that subject, some gorgeous jersey bought previously from the Fabric Collection, made up into McCalls 5974.


This is part of my goal to make all ten patterns up from the top 10 on Pattern Review for 2010.
I will get photos modelled by me, so that I can review this great pattern (soon!)

And on the renovation front, my big excitement is that this week-end I got to move my washing machine into the house into my new laundry... bliss!