Well Helloooo Garment Sewing!

It has been quite a while since I have done any garment sewing, so it's time I got back into it!  First up will be two pieces: underwear slip and nightwear pants.  Useful, practical and won't take up much room!  I have been collecting all the lingerie bits and pieces to create Gertie's new pattern Butterick 6031 and I finally have it altogether.  Gertie is even going to start a sew-along on the 1st April which I am planning to join in with.

I also bought some GLOW IN THE DARK Star Wars fabric to make some pyjama pants for a friend who lives far away in Australia.  I know he will love them, I'm just waiting on his wife to give me the measurements of one of his favourite PJ pants so that I can best match the finished garment size.

The crossed light-sabers glow in the dark

Personal Reflection

Whilst enjoying my garment-making hiatus, I have done a little reflective thinking about why I didn't want to make garments.  This has been for a number of reasons:
1.  I don't want to make clothes for my current figure.  I am a bit ashamed that I let myself put on so much excess weight over the winter.  I don't want to be photographed either.
2. I tidied out my wardrobe and realised I have FAR TOO MUCH clothing already.  The very last thing I need in my life is more clothing!  The added trouble is that I don't ever throw clothes away.  If it is too summery to wear, it gets put into the spare room closet.  If it is too small or too big, it gets put into a size-labelled container and hidden in the loft/attic until I return to that size in the future.
3.  My sewing room -which is also the spare room- is full of my Mister's things.  We are still awaiting a joiner to create storage space in his workroom and so in the meantime my room is a storage room, which makes anything larger than a bit of patchwork piecing difficult to work with in there.
4.  I am LOVING doing patchwork at the moment.  I bought some beautifully coloured prints and am really enjoying making them into something wonderful for my sister.  I also bought some sweet little girly fabric that I am enjoying cutting up to it's best advantage to create a patchwork quilt with too - I have no intended recipient for this quilt, but it is bringing me much joy creating it.  (I'll share some pictures of these in my next post)

Autumn is making me Blue

Like so many countries, Scotland is just beautiful in the Autumn.  The air now has a crispness to it that wasn't there a week ago and I love it.  

Long sleeved t-shirts have been a staple in my wardrobe ever since I moved to Scotland, and I have acquired quite the collection of these long-sleeved-lovelies so I want to let them be seen.  The answer came to me after I made Butterick 5523 in May this year.  I could make this comfy and practical knit dress without the sleeves and collar in a neutral tone that would blend in with lots of my long-sleeved-lovelies and let their colours and prints really sing.  But the colour would also need to go with my boots - I practically live in boots during the cold months and have 2 great pairs: tan and navy blue.  And so my blue tunic was born!

Lucky me - beautiful country!

I am loving this dress and have already worn it to work, to meetings and on this day for a long car journey.  It looks great with a blouse underneath too and the fabric is quite a thick two-way stretch knit that doesn't crease too easily and is very warm.

I still love the back tab and pleats too!

Construction

I added 4 " to the hem and made some cutting changes to the neckline.  The original pattern has a collar but without the collar it would be too low, so you can see on the right hand piece in this photo I kept a bit of fabric in the dipped curve of the neckline.  On both the back piece and the front piece I folded the shoulder pieces in to eliminate a bit of width on the shoulder - I folded it to the 5/8 stitch line (you can just see these folds on the far left and far right of the photo below)

back pattern piece and front pattern piece

Now that it is finished and I have worn it a bit, there are three things that I am going to change about this dress.  Firstly my stretch stitch.  I chose a stitch that does 3 stitches then jumps to the side for one zig zag.  I used this on my other Butterick 5523 and it worked a treat.  But this time it looks awful.  The point of the zig zag stitch is really visible.  I should have had the bulk of my fabric inside the arm of my machine so that the solitary zig zag would point inwards towards the seam allowance, then the 3 long stitches would have created a sharper more regular seam line.  I am going to do the waist, side and shoulder seams again.  You can see what I mean about the visible solitary zig zag points along the waistline in the photo below.

The second thing I am going to change is the method I used to edge the neckline and armholes.  I just made it up as I went along when really I should have searched for a tutorial first.  As soon as I had cut out my bodice pieces I stitched a strip of white woven tape to the stitch line, 5/8 from the edge.  Then I folded over the seam allowance to the back and stitched it down onto the woven tape.  It does give it a firm edge and from the outside I am very pleased with the way it holds the shape of the fabric.  But the problem is that I can see the white tape!  I should have used black or at least have folded the seam allowance over further so that it would cover it up. 

Thirdly I wish I had made it two sizes smaller.  Now that there are no sleeves there is a lot of gape in the bodice beneath the arms.  I am going to take in the side bodice.

All in all, I do love this comfy, just-throw-it-on dress and it will get a lot of wear this Autumn.  This is also the first of my Fall Essentials Sew Along completed.  One down, four to go!

Autumn Sewing Plans

I have decided that I need some motivation to get me back into some garment sewing, and I saw this and thought I would give it a try.  I enjoyed the camaraderie and support from previously joining a flickr group and so am looking forward to see how other people challenge themselves alongside my own sewing challenge.
The sew along challenge can be found written in full here.  There are 7 categories in total, but I am going to be sensible and am aiming to complete 4. So without further ado, here are my Autumn Sewing plans:

Under the category of Baby It's Cold Outside, I am going to make a Harris tweed waistcoat.  I already have the tweed as well as a blazer/jacket pattern that I can use if I leave out the sleeves.  I just need to find a gorgeous fabric to line it with.

Vogue 8333

The next category for me is Fabulous Frocks. I am going to make another version of my Highland tunic.  I think I will do it in a navy knit if I can find a nice thick one and will omit the collar and sleeves so that it is more of a pinafore style and then I can wear shirts and jumpers underneath.

My third chosen category will be Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather, a garment for below the waist.  I shall make a self-drafted skirt with a waistband and tucks for work.  No thick material required as the heating is very effective where I work, so I will probably make it in cotton, unless I am tempted by corduroy whilst online shopping for the navy knit!

I may use the fabric on the right for my skirt.

The last category I shall tackle if I get a chance is Chic Chemises for Cool Climates, which is basically a top of any description.  For this I think instead of making something new I shall re-work the sleeves, shoulders and collar of a knitted jacket that I made but was very disappointed with the final fit.  It's a Debbie Bliss pattern, and I had no idea at the time that she purposely designs her patterns to have excessive ease.  Not just normal wearing ease but 80s boxy shoulders, wearing your Dad's clothes kind of ease.  I won't be knitting her patterns ever again, but I would like to rescue this one item from the bin if I can.

So there you have it, my sewing plans for the next two months.  Here is a link to the flickr group, just in case you were thinking of joining in too, and the link to the original idea is in my sidebar on the right, or you can click here.

Gertie's Sew-Along

Well, after much deliberation, I have decided that this coat is not for me.  

I've made a bit of a croquis to really be sure, but I just can't see how it is going to suit my figure.  I think I am just too big for the style, especially with the large, dramatic collar and the two waist buttons.

So if you are in the UK, I've put it up for sale on ebay if you're interested.

SOLD to Sarah in Norfolk. Thanks!