Endless combinations contest... piece 3... Hot Patterns pants

Piece 3 in my chain for the Endless Combinations contest is pants. I chose the Hot Patterns Fast &  Fabulous tummy taming trousers.  I love the idea of these pants - smooth silhouette, comfy as pj's... these words drew me in.  I had a gorgeous bengaline in a rich dark brown that I thought would work well in my wardrobe.

Worn here with piece 4 shown in my last post.  I did a lot of work on the fit in the muslin stage.  The pattern suggests you make a muslin in non-stretch fabric and that seemed to work well.

 This composite is to try and show you the high waist detail.  It is high but it does give the promised smooth silhouette.   Still surprisingly comfortable because of the stretch in the fabric.

Do you like my fierce model pose?  I ended up using it in my review as I thought it showed the pieces quite well.

A link to my review if you are interested in the detail of this make. Ciao kittens, piece 2 tomorrow... 

Spring is here .. Marakesh pants and Demi drape top

I have started sewing for the warmer weather and the next two cabs off the rank are the Hot Patterns Marrakesh pants and Stylearc Demi Drape top.

The pants I have made before -  version 1 and version 2.  This version is made from a polyester linen weave fabric called Harmony.  The only real alterations I made to the pattern were to shorten the leg by 1" and to sew the back crotch deeper.  I still get some wrinkles depending on how I stand, but overall I am pretty happy with the fit of these pants.  I probably won't be able to wear them on the hottest days but they will be great for most of the Spring/Summer/Autumn here.

Detail of the waistband and pocket...

The top is my 'trial' version of this pattern.  It is made from fabric left over from other projects.  They coordinate well but are heavier and not as drapey as the suggested fabrics.  

I made no alterations to this pattern and it is a straight size 8 (these patterns only come in one size).  I am pretty happy with the fit.  The sleeve is snug, so I may need to check the sleeve width if I made the longer sleeved version.  

This is why you need to use to use a drapey fabric.  I can see me catching all sorts of food in there :)  

This won't stop me from using this top.  I was trying to work out if I could use a weight but it would show so I just need to remember to smooth down the "pouffiness" every so often. 

I have made another version of this top and hope to get it photographed next.  I think it is a nice tee shirt shape and may make it without the cowl overlay some time.

Ciao for now!

Embellishment explained...

As a follow-up to my previous post, I am going to try and bettter describe how I sewed the embellishment on my Sunshine top.



The rolleau (hope I have that word right??) is sewn from a 1" strip of fabric cut parallel to the selvedge. I cut 4 or 5 lengths as long as the fabric allowed. Fold the fabric RS together and sew a seam along the long edge and then turn them trough to get long tubes of fabric.

The buttons are simply the ones you cover yourself. I fused interfacing to a scrap of fabric and used that to cover the buttons (the fabric was too light by itself). Then I simple put the top on my dressmakers dummy and played with the arrangement of rolleau and buttons until I was happy with the placement (lots of pins)!

The next step is to set yourself up in front of the TV and start hand sewing it all. It took me a few evenings to get it all done, as I kept stopping to see if it looked right and I needed to unpick it the first time. - pure experimentation, but fun!

Note - I left the ends of the rolleau raw.

If I do something like this again, I will try and remember to take some photos along the way. I was a little surprised at the amount of interest at how it was done - I do appreciate your positive comments - thanks!

Next up is some 'casual week-ender for the cooler days clothes'..

Hot Patterns Weekender Sunshine Top ... with embellishment!

My last summery top for this season. I chose to make the Hot Patterns Weekender Sunshine top in the shorter length and sleeveless.

The fabric I used is a beautiful rayon jersey bought from Bargain Box in Ipswich in July last year. I decided to embellish it after seeing this top in the window at Jacqui E.


After watching the videos that HP produced on the top and on embellishment, I decided to use rolleau and buttons covered in self-fabric instead of beads. This photo shows the detail - you can see the metal shine on some of these buttons, but it is only the flash that has caused that - they do not shine normally!

Trudy from Hot Patterns describes this top as suiting everyone, whether you have a small or a large bust and I think she is right!

I am really happy with how this top turned out and am only sorry that the weather is cooling off and I may not get a chance to wear it much until next Summer (maybe I should try it layered - could work??)

Link to my review here.

And as a parting shot(s), I have now got laundry benches in my new laundry but they have strange marks all over them...

Oh that's why...

Another Deco Vibe Flippy Skirt

This is my third Deco Vibe skirt (fourth if you count the muslin). One no longer fits and was passed to a friend (who has now also lost weight!). One in Brown and I planned another black one but was unable to easily find some black DK locally, so I ended up with the Charcoal Marle Ponte de Roma from Spotlight. At least it goes well with the top I recently made.

Fuzzy phone picture of the inside back yoke, showing the scrap of Rayon lining I used for the yoke facing and my new label sewn in. It is a pretty blue, which I liked against the grey of the skirt.

Not much else to show for the moment...

Deco Vibe Flippy Skirt ... take 2

I have not had much sewing success lately - in that I haven't finished much lately (as you can tell from the lack of posts!)

I am still working on the MacCalls top (and the ruffle isn't on the agenda any more). My reason for not finishing this top is my thread mysteriously vanished (think brown cat) and after I bought a new reel of thread, it did re-appear!

However in the meantime I started sewing another Deco Vibe Flippy skirt. Pattern cover pictured at the end of this post or can be found here. This one in a 'cheaper' double knit (than the last one). Ponte de Roma from Spotlight in a lovely dark brown.

Also in a size smaller (woo hoo!) The fabric seems lovely but is quite spongy and that made it difficult to match the seams. I do not have any detail photos of this skirt here but you can see details of my previous version here. See the puppy working his way into the photo..

I made the yoke lining in a rayon lining called Gold liner from Gardams Fabrics. This time though, instead of stitching it down to the yoke I used a rayon seam binding to finish the edge and left it loose. It has a more RTW feel - I will try and get a photo for you (sorry, still wearing the skirt now).

Back of the skirt (excuse the wrinkles - I have been wearing it at work all afternoon)...

and the pattern in case you don't remember it...

I love this skirt and will be making at least another black one in a double knit (yes, like the last one BUT a size smaller). Hopefully my next post will happen much sooner and I will show you my finished McCalls top (which looks like it will go very well with this skirt. After that a Burda skirt - I would give you a link but since they changed the site - I cannot find one)..

Tell me - the shoes I am wearing are cream and brown - can I wear them with this skirt, even if the brown in the shoe is lighter than the brown in the skirt?

Mini wardrobe completed!

Well this post is going to be all pictures as I am all chatted out about these pieces after doing all the reviews. Links to the reviews at the end of this post.








Vogue 2907 pants - review.
McCalls 5522 - shirt - review.
Vogue 2980 - top - review.
Hot Patterns Deco vibe Flippy skirt - review.

Mini Wardrobe - Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Flippy Skirt

Item two of the four needed for the mini wardrobe. The review is here if you are interested in reading it (it has the same photos as here, so don't bother clicking on all the links).

In summary, I think this is a lovely little skirt and I think I will wear it a lot and I really think I will be making more of these! As well as being cute, it is comfortable and easy to wear.

The front - I do think it fits me better than Diana (I still really need to spend some time making Diana resemble me a little closer!)


The side showing the nice lines of this skirt.

The back - the top stitching was done with regular thread using a triple stitch.

The zipper - as the fabric is so thick the top of the zip is isn't finished as crisply as I would normally like, but I think that is just part of using the double knit fabric. However saying that I really liked working with the double knit and will use it much more now. Making the seams match through the zip was tricky. I basted, marked it and sewed it many times with no luck, so remembered that I had recently received some Wonder tape from an American friend, so used that. It worked! It does seem a bit gummy on the needle though so I am not a huge fan and will probably only use it as a last resort.

I used Bemberg rayon lining which I interfaced to make the inner yoke piece. I also added my usual tab instead of a hook and eye. However I didn't think it through and should have put it the other way as I naturally reach to undo it the other way. Next time...

I also covered the end of the zip with a piece of the lining fabric.

I twin-needled the hem using Steam a Seam lite 2 and the tips form Sandra Betzina's Vogue 2980. Basically apply the Steam a seam, use woolly nylon in the bobbin (hand wound) and loosen the top tension by 2. I was very happy with the hem finish.

As before the modeled by me photo shoot is to come...

Mini Wardrobe preparation

I really appreciate the feedback I received on my post about my wardrobe plan. Everyone seemed to give the kind of comments I was hoping for on the pattern choices and the only expressed concern was on my choice of the winter white wool jersey for one of the tops. I had the same concerns (which is why I probably opened it to comment) but have thought about it and plan to proceed with it. The fabric is in my stash and needs to be used and I will try and accessorise it so the pale colour does not wash me out too much. I also think it will be a versatile top because of its basic colour, so with all these in mind it is staying in the plan. (I am however going shopping to a few fabric shops in Brisbane next week-end so if I find something else... well, I am always open to change...lol!)

I have been madly washing fabric and tracing patterns. Two of my patterns are still in the mail, so if they don't show up soon, my plan may well change again! I decided I need to muslin a couple of these pieces so have just put together a muslin of the Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Flippy Skirt.


The muslin is put together with calico (in Australia, muslin in America, I think) So of course it does not flow so nicely as the suggested fabrics. However ignoring the fabric, I am happy with the cut. I cut a size 12. I seem to fit a 10 top and a 12 bottom in HP. Front of skirt:

Back of skirt showing the cute 'flippy' bit (not so flippy in this fabric):


The fabric I am planning to use is a black doubleknit bought a while back from Gorgeous fabrics. I did not keep a good record of this order so I am not 100% sure of the fabric content but I believe it may have some rayon in it. (Now when I place an order like that I make sure I save a copy on my computer and actually copy all the details of each fabric from the website to the order so that later I can see the content of the fabric, washing instructions, etc).

My only concern is that I am wondering if I should use a lining weight fabric on the inside of the yoke as the dobleknit is so thick it may be too bulky to double up at the yoke. I have a rayon lining bought in my last order (not black but I thought that might work). Any thoughts?

OK - gratuitous cat shots - Lulu helping me sew (she managed to look away just as I took the shot so you cannot see her beautiful orange eyes)...


Lulu trying to work out how that wildlife got into the TV...


I plan to muslin the McCalls blouse next...

Hot Patterns Wong-Singh-Jones Marrakesh Pants - Take 2

I have finally got photographs of my second pair of HP WSJ Marrakesh pants. These are made from a cheap inexpensive fabric from a chain store. That is why it has taken so long to photograph as it has been too warm to wear them up until this week!

I found the fabric has a lovely drape but was a real b**ch to sew. It also didn't press well, but then again it doesn't wrinkle, so I suppose you can't have everything!

The other interesting factor is that these pants are a much firmer fit than my previous pair made in a cotton/linen blend. Most notably around my derriere. However they are still wearable (I hope - please don't tell me if you don't think they work) and I have noted for future reference, that different fabrics do behave very differently in the same pattern.

Anyway, 'nuff said, photo time...




Close-ups of the fly front...


I have another piece of fabric bought recently from Gorgeous Fabrics that I would like to make pair #3 from.

I am still not caught up - I should review this pattern and I have yet to take photos of my latest dress...

Pattern reviewed here.