Craftiness... baby fun and more cowls

I love making things for babies... who doesn't?  We have more young families in my place of work and they are making beautiful babies so I have indulged myself and made some bibs for the latest baby boys that have arrived.

I have made this pattern before in pinks and it is the Fabulous Fifties bib from Nicole Mallalieu.  I did use toweling again for the backing but searched for a thinner towelling to make the sewing easier.  I found tea towels made from microfiber toweling and I am hoping their absorbency will make this a good bib.

The only changes I made was to make the ties a little longer than the pattern states and I would highly recommend making or buying more binding than given in the pattern.  Other than that a great pattern!

Knitting wise - I had a second ball of the wool I made my willow cowl from so made myself another cowl (can you have too many?).  This time a crocheted cowl using the pattern Richmond lace infinity scarf.  

This is the scarf worn by me.  I was at the Jumpers & Jazz Festival held in Warwick in July.  For those yarnies out there the kitchen behind me is fully yarn bombed, including the knitted black and white tiles.

And to come full circle, while I was at Jumpers & Jazz I bought a lovely ball of hand-dyed, hand painted yarn...

and made another willow cowl...

Modeled here by Diana as the weather has turned too warm here to model it myself.

Ciao kittens... more sewing soon...

The Sewing Workshop - Olive Top

The Sewing Workshop Alex & Olive top pattern isn't a cheap pattern to buy but when you consider it has two really good but quite different tops in it, the value goes up.  Last post I showed you the Alex top I made, this time the Olive top.

I made this top in some fabric purchased from the Fabric Store in Brisbane.  The stripes are woven in but were skewed so did not run at right angle to the selvedge.  So cutting was a bit of a PITA.  I basically cut the top so the grain line markers ran at right angles to the stripes so that the stripes would sit straight in the top.  Luckily the pattern allows you to cut each piece whole (not on the fold) so it helped in keeping the stripes straight.  I did not concern myself too much with stripe matching as I felt you really want to see the seam detail in this top and matching the stripes would hide them.  Other than that the cutting was straight forward and the top hangs fine (phew!)  The only alteration I made was to shorten the sleeves.

The top has plenty of great details and the description is: Scoop-neck knit pullover with diagonal side seams and exposed decorative back zipper on the diagonal. Curved left back hem detail and open vents in long sleeves. Zipper is a 22" separating zipper.

I like the detail - all the seaming and the vents in the sleeves, but was concerned the zipper would be too heavy for this fabric and would result in it not sitting well and buckling into waves.  I spoke to my sewing buddies and got a great solution.  I used a different seam finish for the back seam (where the zipper was supposed to be).  

I sewed the seam as per normal but used a long basting stitch on the machine.  I neatened the edges and pressed it open.  Then I applied ribbon to the seam on the inside - first by pin.

and then basted by hand on each side of the ribbon

I then sewed the ribbon on each side by machine and removed all the basting including the basting that I initially did to sew the seam together.

The end result...

I thought this was quite perfect for this seam.

The only issue I had with the pattern was the application of the neck binding.  It was not stretched on, so ended up wavy and would not sit flat no matter how much I steamed it.  I did cut the band on the bias as I wanted the stripes to look interesting but I don't believe that affected this piece.  

I did not want to unpick what I had done as the fabric is quite thin and I did not want to risk harming the fabric.  So after some thought I simply turned the binding another time to the inside and stitched from the front in the ditch to hold it.  I was much happier and this sits much better now.

I am sorry I forgot to get a photo of the sleeve vents.

I love this top and I don't think these photos do it justice.  It really is nice to wear and falls beautifully.  I had knit (DK) pants on so don't know if that is why it is not falling so nicely in the photos.  You will have to take my word for it.  I love this top and would make this another time.  I prefer this slightly slimmer fit to the loose fit of the Alex top.

So next time some crafting and knitting... Ciao! 

The Sewing Workshop - Alex top

I recently bought some lovely black pants which are very slim in the leg (like leggings but a really firm nice fabric).  Sooo as always happens I decided I needed a tunic length top or two to wear with them.  After a little hunting around the web I ended up buying the Sewing Workshop's Alex and Olive pattern.   (For the aussies reading this, you can purchase this pattern here at Can Do Books.) Being tunics I needed a good length of fabric so bought some on my last visit to Brisbane at the Fabric Store.

I ended up with a gorgeous purple fabric for the Alex and stripe in green for the Olive.  The purple was marked as vintage and when I asked I learnt it came from a dance wear company that had sold stock off and it was from the 1980's.  The quality is divine, the colour is vibrant and I wish they still made fabric like this!  

I made the pattern to my bust size and think the sizing is pretty true.  The only change I made was to shorten the sleeve length.  The instructions were pretty good but I did insert the sleeves flat rather than follow the pattern instruction which does them in the round.

I love the details - the collar, the gathering at the back neckline and the insert piece in the centre front.  However the gathering at the back looks which lovely on Diana....

 on me does not sit nicely... 

That is about the only disappointment with this pattern. I have shown it here with my Mabel skirt but I love it with my new trousers (more than this combo).   So it has fit the bill.

Photo bombing kitten cannot be left out....

Ciao kittens , the Olive top soon...

Crafty shopping... live, laugh, love

To take a break from clothes sewing exploits, I will show you the results of a lovely Sunday out.   Saturday was miserable... wet, windy cold so on Sunday when the sun came out we went for a drive out to Highfields (just outside of Toowoomba) to a little precinct called the Village Green.. 

First I shopped at the Quilters Angel and then we sat in the sunshine and had lunch at the Chocolate Cottage.  At the Quilters Angel I knew I would find what I need to make some gifts and I also picked up a magazine.

After lunch we strolled some of the other shops and I bought a few pieces to decorate my sewing studio.  Theses are the pieces hanging on the wall.

And to give you perspective on how it looks from the doorway of my sewing studio.

Ciao kittens - some Sewing Workshop tops and (obviously) some crafty goodness soon...

Teal Jalie drop pocket cardigan 3248

I bought the most beautiful merino heavy weight teal merino specifically for this pattern from the Fabric Store in Brisbane,  Expensive but sooo worth it!  The pattern is Jalie 3248 the drop pocket cardigan.

I think the only alteration I made was to shorten the sleeve length which I do with just about every long sleeved pattern.  

What can you slay about a Jalie pattern... so great - fit is great, instructions are great and the finished product is ...well... great!

My only negatives with this pattern is that it is a fabric hog because of the doubled up fonts. Expensive merino... ouch!  The only other negative is that the cardigan does not meet at the front.  It is the design and is clear on the cover picture, but I didn't think that through.  However the style of it is perfect, just not for the coldest days!

This teal colour is so, so versatile on my wardrobe and goes with my two winter basics of black and brown so I have worn it heaps!  I think I wore it 3 times in the first week after I made it.

I also love it with my willow cowl.

I had a strip of teal merino left over and I wasn't going to waste it so I paired it with some leftover mustard merino (form this cardigan) and made a cowl (you know I love a good cowl!)

Ciao kittens...

Basics in brown... another Mabel skirt

As part of the basics I made a second Mabel skirt.  The same version 3 with kick pleat.  I made it a size down this time and still put some elastic in the waistband.

The fabric used was a leftover piece of brown suede-like double knit.

It is a great pattern given that it takes little fabric, is a quick make and looks smart with some nice features.

Another post soon with the teal cardigan shown above... Ciao!

More basics - Colette Mabel skirt and knitted accessory love.

As part of making some basics for my winter wardrobe I figured a few basic skirts would be in order.  The Colette Mabel  is the one I chose and it is great for this kind of basic sewing - quick, doesn't use much fabric and gives a great wardrobe staple.

I made version 3 - above the knee with a kick pleat and some nice seam detail.  I used a left-over piece of black double knit. 

 It was close to perfect.  I wore it as made and decided that I really needed to make a size down from the size I made in black.  I also think (regardless of size made) a bit of elastic in the waistband is a good idea.  You may need wider hips to make this baby feel secure.  I think if you had young children who love to tug on your skirt you may end up with it around your ankles.

So I did add elastic to the waistband.  I did it in the manner described in the Kwik sew yoga pants - sewn to the inside of the seam then stitched with a zigag to the inside band.  It is not tight but adds a bit of security.  I also ended up lining this skirt in a tricot as I had real problems with the skirt riding up/bunching when walking with the tights I wore.  The skirt is nice lined but I decided the black tights I were using had a rough texture that made it worse.   I did try all sorts of ways to take out any static but I do believe it was those tights (which have since been binned).

My other make which has added to my wardrobe was a knitted cowl.  Details are on my ravelry page for those interested in more info on it.  

I love this cowl - the style and the yarn.  This colour graduation goes so well with a lot of my wardrobe (the black/clear colours part of my clothes).  I recently bought a dark blue jacket that it also coordinates well with.  So a big win for me. 

Ciao kittens - another Colette Mabel to come (and a few other pieces.)...

BTW - the jacket is my Stylearc Harper jacket - blogged here.