OAL2014

This has been soooooo much fun! I was actually a bit torn... which do I start... dress or cardigan... cardigan or dress. So I started BOTH!

The Myrna. This is my second Andi Satterlund knit. My first, a Miette, is in very high rotation this winter, so this OAL's timing is perfect. I love how quickly 10ply knits up. And the Bendigo 10ply is a dream to knit. I spent half my time patting the wool. The colour is a little bit like butter and for some reason that's what I think of when I'm touching it. I did have a moment with the keyhole in the back. It's shape didn't look so good after knitting, but after finishing, I have to say it looks fine.

I was checking out Lauren's posts on the OAL dress when she snuck in one about stabilising button bands with petersham ribbon. What a good idea. There's nothing worse than having a fab cardi ruined by the dreaded GAPING BETWEEN THE BUTTONHOLES. So I went hunting for some butter-coloured ribbon and stabilised those bands. Very happy with the result. Minor issue with the size of button holes made. Note to self: when using irregular (flower-shaped) buttons, make the size of the holes just a little bit bigger. Whilst I can open the buttons, it's not an easy job. Oh well, I'll just have to wear it all day. Can you tell? I love it. Love. It.


Simplicity 2444. I've not made this dress before. This is a wearable muslin. This fabric is not what I would usually pick but nice enough and the lemon colour matches my buttery wool. The double bodice darts intrigued me and whilst full skirts aren't my "thing" I thought that a pleated skirt would be worth trying.

So I was making this up and, because I like doing this kind of thing, I hand basted all my skirt pleats down about 1 1/2 inch from the waistband. I still had the basting in when I first tried it on. A little bit of pulling over the hips, but wow! I really liked the silhouette. As a rectangle, any assistance in waist definition  is good (one reason that I generally make straight rather than full skirts). I usually end up looking like a box when I try on gathered or pleated full skirts. This was a nice compromise. But because it pulled and it was just hand basting, I took out the basting. Nice, but not as good as before. So I made the closed pleats permanent by stitching them down. Much better. There is also some gaping at the neckline. I've read that others have had the same problem. I might slip a couple of little darts in around the neck if I get around to it later, but I will make changes to the pattern. I will use this bodice again. Don't know if my wardrobe will stretch to another full skirt but I definitely use the bodice again.

I actually finished both the cardi and the dress in time for the grand reveal but then got sick and had to travel for work so either didn't feel like photos or wasn't anywhere near my new outfit to take them. So instead, here's my own personal reveal. Better late than never.

Book Week for The Princess

Do your kids participate in any book week activities? Mine do (or have done) with a parade at school.  I think this year was my 9th one but my first in a while where only one was involved. X is now too big (and too cool) for this kind of thing. But The Princess is still right into it. We spent a week gathering ideas. Which book? Which character? She decided on Sophie from Sophie's Misfortune. This is a lovely book by Comtesse de Ségur written in 1858 for her grandchildren which has been translated recently by Adelaide's own Stephanie Smee. So what does Sophie wear?

I spent a bit of time checking out the story and more time checking out the cover (and any other cover versions I could find online). Not much there beyond a white or light coloured dress.

So artistic interpretation was definitely an option. I have invested in a few girls patterns lately, including Simplicity 1457. A very versatile pattern. Options for length, sleeves and neckline. And a cute little bag included.

After much consultation with The Princess, we landed on a lovely poplin with a light embroidered pattern overlaying a tiny red and mint strawberry pattern. From our local Spotties. Cap sleeves and round neck. I made up a 12 which is still a little big, but maxed out the length. A few reviews mentioned it was on the short side. The length was ok in the end. 

Nothing special in the construction. The yoke is fully faced, which could be overkill but given I was using a light weight fabric I went with it. It looked fine. I had a zen moment hemming the dress. I decided to do it by hand. There is something calming about working a hem with a fine needle and thread (I am contemplating more hand sewing - don't know how I'll fit it in though). I bought mint coloured ribbon to match for her hair, but ended up embellishing the front with a bow too. I think it's a nice touch.

Importantly, The Princess is dead chuffed with the result. Lots of compliments on the day and she is already contemplating when she can wear the dress again (although it's spent a little too long in the ironing basket since). 

Jeans refashion skinnier

So I've had this pair of cord jeans with animal print! For some time now. They're from a couple of years ago and haven't got much air time. I like them but... you know... Near enough but not quite good enough. I found them again a couple of weeks ago during a camping clothes clean out. They nearly ended up rock climbing and sitting around campfires. But in a moment of inspiration, I put them aside on the "repurpose/refashion" pile. And then they started to whisper to me "Come on, you want to wear us again. Get out your favourite pair of skinny jeans and cut us down to fit. You know you want to. And we've leopard print too." So tonight after finishing a current project (trying to cut down on these too:)) I picked them up again, grabbed my fave skinnies and got started.



Very soon after I started seriously checking out other people's sewing blogs I discovered  Miss P who is a fabulous refashioner. Check her out. She has a great post on quick and easy jeans modification, which I followed closely.

The photos are terrible - grainy night time doesn't do the leopard print justice. But I'm really happy with the outcome. The jeans have stopped whispering. They're know they will have an outing this week.

At the starting blocks...

Today I officially begin the 2014 OAL. I ordered that 10ply Luxury from Bendigo Woollen Mills I mentioned last time and it's arrived. I've put the fabric and wool together. Check it out. I'm buzzing!

Today's job is to draft the pattern pieces. I will need to modify the waist and I will pay attention in case I need to make a potential swayback adjustment. Hopefully that's all I need.

I'm still here... And pretty excited

I know, I've not posted for a while (ok not for ages). It's not that I've not being doing stuff, it's just that other parts of my life have required my attention. I'm hoping to rectify this in the next few months, but in the meantime, be reassured that I'm continuing to create.

So onto the excitement bit... Woo hoo! Andi from Untangling Knots and Lauren from Lladybird have organised an Outfit Along. What an awesome idea! Andi has released a new cardigan pattern Myrna. She will host a knit along. Having just made Andi's Miette, I'm dead keen to try out this new pattern.

Lauren will host a sew along using Simplicity 1803. Now, this is not on my to do list or in my pattern stash and honestly I don't think that this is a pattern that I would normally use. But that doesn't matter. You can make any dress. So I've chosen Simplicity 2444. Fuller skirts are not usually my thing, but I want to try the pleats.

I'm hopeful that I'll be able to complete everything in the required time, before the end of July. I have some leave coming up and this would be the perfect time to knit up a new cardi.  There's also plenty of time to try out the dress pattern.

Off to find some fabric for (hopefully) a wearable muslin and match it with some 10ply, probably from Bendies  I have fallen in love with their sunflower shade.

My Miette is finished!

In amongst Christmas and school holidays and not one but two heat waves (definition at least 5 days with maximum daily temperature of greater than 35 degrees Celsius) I managed to finish My Miette! This is one good pattern. And I'm very very happy! 10ply chartreuse (!) wool. Check out my effort on Kollabora - I'm new to it and  having a play. A few notes also on Ravelry here.

My Meringue

So I've tried to work through my tension issues. And I think I'm winning. But in the meantime I have a bunch of UFOs that are demanding attention. Add the now-9-year-old Princess demanding sewing machine time and things are getting interesting.

I started back on my Meringue from the Colette Sewing Handbook. With lining. I made up the lining and shell and then with wrong sides facing, treated them like one. I slipped the lining inside the skirt shell and pieced it with the facing. I really liked Sarai's steps for attaching the facing around the zipper. Very tidy and straightforward. I struggled to see her description in my head but her excellent descriptions carried me through. The will now be my go to process for "how to insert a facing around a zipper".

I also attempted my first invisible zip with a proper foot. Yippee! Apart from a small amount of puckering around the zipper base (truly two stitches only) it was a great job. Can you hear the huge sigh of relief from where you are? So many bloggers have written about their successful invisible zipper experiences. The "magic" moment for me was using my new invisible zipper foot. I have had unsuccessful (and unblogged) attempts at inserting an invisible zipper using either the standard foot or a zipper foot. I was never confident about where the needle should be positioned. That's the great thing about the invisible zipper foot - it takes the guess work out of where things should be. Now I know how it "feels" I would consider trying one without the specialty zipper foot, but let's be honest, why would I bother when things are soooooo much easier with the right equipment [aside: I'm now seriously considering other specialty feet...].

Zipper with just a little pucker at the base

I do have to mention Sarai's procedure for sewing a scalloped edge. Noice! The template to shape the scallops is simple but smart. I was really pleased with the way that the scallops turned out. Also the trimming suggestions - a little extra at the points between the scallops.

Scallops!

I finished everything off apart from the lining hem. I left that for a couple of days in case there was any stretch. And then a simple hem a good inch above the highest point of the scallop. I find putting lining hems too close to shell hems ends up with another hem (on the lining) being required. I chose a narrow zigzag which is good for fray-able fabric like rayon lining (turn up lining seam allowance, pin, iron, narrow zigzag close to the hem and trim off excess seam allowance).

Narrow zig-zag hem. Still a few tension issues here. 

In my first post on this skirt I did mention concerns about size and they were warranted. The skirt is too big - not ridiculously so - but enough that it is not a good fit on me. A-line skirts are not usually my favourite look so I think I might hand this skirt on. I have a friend in mind who I think would both love it and look great in it.

This was still a great project for me. My first pattern from the Colette Handbook. My first invisible zipper. Inserting the lining. Trying a scalloped hem. And using fabric from my stash.

Ta da!