OAL2015

Are you in this year? Andi from Untangling Knots and Lauren from Lladybird have announced another Oufit Along. I'm definitely in! I participated last year (although I took forever to get my photos posted). It's a great way to get yourself organised and sew and knit along with people from all over the world, and try out a new knitting or sewing pattern. I love checking out what everyone else is making. Check out the Ravelry group set up (www.ravelry.com/discuss/untangling-knots/3202861/). Everyone has made such great combinations of fabrics, yarns and patterns. The great thing about this OAL is that, although there is a recommended dress pattern and a knitting pattern recently released by Andi, you can make up any combination that you like. Andi has created a new pattern Vianne, which I think is lovely and I can't wait to try. Lauren has challenged us with McCalls 6887, which I like but I don't love and I don't think I have the headspace right now for a completely new frock. So I'm going back for another go (my fourth!) with Simplicity 2648. I'm going to raise the neckline a little, use the sleeve cap and this time, I'm going to line it (it's an unlined pattern). So same, same, but different.

So here's my combo. Simplicity 2648 from some stashed Lisette cotton sateen and Vianne with some fantastic cobalt blue colonial wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills. The cobalt blue yarn and the blue of the lines in the fabric pattern are a good match. Colonial is the yarn that I first tried from Bendies. Lot's of fantastic memories here, including the first jumper I knitted for my now husband.

This will also be my June MAGAM. Hopefully it fits the theme 😊

MIA

Geez! I've just realised that it's been over a month since I last posted. It seems like only yesterday but also a lifetime ago. This last month has been the perfect storm where work, family, extended family and health have all collided. I've managed to muddle my way through the craziness but the one casualty has been my "me time" and especially sewing. Before this I had embarked on a more technical detailed project (Simplicity 1421) which I had committed to for April MAGAM. So far I've sewn three seams. That's it. And honestly, I'm not keen to take on this project when the rest of my life is so hectic.

In the meantime I do have some progress to share. I have had to travel a bit lately and had planned for quiet evenings which I mostly got. To tide me over, I started knitting a cowl. Not just any cowl. Seamstress Erin's roses and leaves double knitting cowl. I thought twice about starting this. Would it be too much? I'm not the best concentrator when I'm travelling for work. And I wanted a relaxing project. I decided that it would fit the bill and I'm really happy to say that it has. This pattern is a fab balance between repetitive knitting that is good stress relief and an interesting pattern repeat to stop boredom setting in. The pattern is repeated three times in each round. Just right. Enough to get comfortable but not too much that I lost interest. So I'm now just over one third of the way through. And I'm pretty darned happy with it. Ravelry notes are here.

A quick black top

I've realised that I don't want to make every make a hard, complex make and there have been a few of these lately. During one of my recent pattern purchases I selected some Kwik Sew patterns. I've not used these patterns before. It was underwear patterns that caught my interest at first, but I also picked up Kwik Sew 3658, a dress/top pattern. Pattern notes: "Fitted pull-over dress and top with v-neckline and draped collar". It was the draped collar that caught my eye. And I thought it would be a good work staple.

I also picked up enough mid-weight black poly ITY to make it up. The pattern and fabric languished in my stash for a little while. But after my Oslo I was keen to follow up with another easy make. I've not had much experience with ITY. I was unsure what stitch would be best so I went to my sewing manual. My machine has 30-something stitches, half of which are stretch stitches. With my previous knits experiences, I have used the stretch straight stitch as well as a narrow zigzag, both with great success. But I thought I would try something different. In addition, the pattern has narrow seam allowances, so I tried an elastic overlock stitch to protect the seam from any fraying.

This pattern has four pieces: a front, back and two sleeves. I had it cut out and ready to sew in less than an hour. I had trouble visualising the collar; the front is self faced and the seam between the front and back is off the shoulder towards the back. But I faithfully followed the instructions and it all worked out.

But I am disappointed with how the seams turned out. Rather than a clean straight seam, the overlock seam has created a ripple effect on the seams. The most obvious is the centre front seam. You can see it pulling in the photo - although it doesn't look as bad when worn. I was discussing this issue with a sewist colleague. I mentioned "error". She scoffed and said "purposeful design." After I stopped laughing 😉 I realised that she's right. Just because the seam isn't smooth and how I wanted it to look at first, doesn't mean it's not "right." And the ripple seams does change a pretty bland top into something a little bit different. Fir is pretty good. ITY is pretty forgiving. I will make it up again and will add about 1" to the length. 

My Oslo

I have subscribed to Seamwork by Colette Patterns. Sarai's philosophy of interspersing complex makes with simple ones resonated with me. My pattern stash and planning has focussed on more technical, detailed clothes. So Seamwork came along at the right time. Recent makes include two fitted dresses and a semi-fitted and collared shirt so it's time for a simple make.

It's also starting getting cold! March's MAGAM marked the transition to Autumn (and Spring in the other half of the world). So I've decided to make an Oslo. Have you seen this pattern? It says "snuggle" and "comfortable" and "warm".

I've already introduced my new favourite LFS (hello Catwalk Fabrics!) and during my last visit I found some wool polyester knit in a pale cream/pink colour. It was the colour that caught my eye and its feel that got it off the rack and over to the cutting table 😊. This fabric is a one-way about 20% stretch.

Before I cut into my fabric, I researched how I should handle it. Here's what I did:

• I prefer shears to a rotary cutter but in order to minimise distortion I traced each piece onto the fabric before I cut out
• I used pattern weights (aka cans from the pantry) instead of pins
• I did consider cutting out on one layer of fabric, but this knit is fairly stable and the wool loosely locked together with very little movement, so I cut out the pattern with the fabric doubled
• I used a jersey needle, with a fuzzy poly stretch thread in the bobbin (hand wound - a zen moment) and a triple knit stitch on my sewing machine
• I always back stitched at the beginning and end of each seam - learned this one the hard way

I cut out a straight medium. The fit is very forgiving so I didn't make any adjustments.

Sarai's instructions are excellent. They were easy to follow with plenty of detail. I made up according to the instructions with the exception of the cuff hems which I finished by hand with a slip stitch. I'm into hand finishing seams at the moment. I didn't add buttons. I like the more casual no buttons look. 

I'm really happy with the result. Arm length is perfect although some people might think they are a little long. The shawl collar sits nicely.

I've been waiting for weeks for a drop in temperature so I can wear my Oslo out. Last week I had my first opportunity to wear it and received some lovely compliments, but it's taken me another week to remember to take a photo.

Humming Bird Shirt

I've been inspired by some fave bloggers working through shirt construction (MPB and Sewaholic - excellent blogs!). I am short of nice shirts and wanted something that would look equally nice dressed up for work or down for casual. I have been looking for a shirt pattern with shape but not too fitted. Also a collar. I took ages to find one that fitted the bill and when I did, of course my choice was an OOP pattern - New Look 6407. But luckily I found it in Etsy. I like the variations available in the single pattern: collar - no collar, short sleeves - long sleeves, cuffs, lace. Love it!

I had a recent stash acquisition languishing in my pile. It's black poplin with bright coloured humming birds flirting across it. Not my normal fabric style but I like it. It wasn't expensive so I decided that it would be good for a wearable muslin.

I made up a standard 14, with short sleeves and a collar. The final fit isn't too bad. Good dart positions. A little large all over and a bit larger again over the hips (usual for me). The main issue is the plunging neckline. It sits waaaaaay lower than I comfortable with - especially at work 😉.

Here's a bad mobile shot from work.

Little Black Dress

I've become a convert to making multiples of one pattern. There are plenty of bloggers out there showing how efficient this approach can be. You can tweak fittings and refine techniques. So I'm up to make #3 of Simplicity 2648, the Amaziing Fit dress. This time as a little black dress. I found some mechanical polyester at Spotties. A nice mid-weight fabric.

It's also "Frankenpatterning" month of the 2015 Make a Garment a Month. Given that this is make #3 of this pattern, I thought I would change things up a bit. So I've taken the shell of S2648 and the neckline of a free pattern available from craftsinstitute.com, the 1950s party dress by Jeanne Spaziani, to make a high boat neck dress with a v-back.


I had lots of fun drafting the bodice pieces. I had already copied the pattern pieces onto tissue paper. This meant that I could easily overlay the pieces to draft the correct lines. More of a challenge was figuring out what to do with facings. The basic pattern has both neck and armhole facings for the sleeveless version, but when the neckline was changed, this made too much bulk at the shoulders. So I had a go at combining the facings into one facing for the front and one for the back.

Honestly, this has not been an easy make. The fabric has been difficult to manipulate. Ironing seams needed lots of steam and a heavy duty pressing cloth. I top stitched the princess seams to get them sitting flat. Some how I managed to get the princess seams on the front bodice and skirt pieces slightly misaligned. So I have to wear a belt. Oh well, I think that's the way I'd wear it anyway. Getting the zipper to line up at the bodice seam was a real pain too. The fabric has some stretch - enough to be a hassle. Ripping seams on black fabric at night time is no fun at all. It took three goes to get it in right. Argh!

I had to get inventive making up the facing seams too. I read the party dress sewing instruction after I had drafted the pattern pieces and cut out the fabric. Luckily I read them before I started sewing. The seams allowances are 1cm (compared with 1.5cm in the Simplicity pattern) (note to self: READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU DRAFT PATTERNS AND CUT FABRIC). I just started with 1cm seams at the shoulders and graded out to 1.5cm at the back zipper.

I did have to think about how to sew up the all-in-one facing. And yes, I did get all the way through to trying to turn the facings before I realised that wasn't going to work (sigh - more unpicking!). I discovered two approaches - turn with open shoulder seams, or turn with open side seams. I chose the shoulder seams as I had done so much sewing but next time I do this neckline, I'll try the side seams approach as it was tough pulling through with such a narrow shoulder seam. 

But in the end, I finished (one day late for MAGAM whoops!). And, I'm really happy. I wore the dress to work today and had two compliments, including "it looks like something you'd get from Cue" which I took as a complement 😊

Bad mobile shot in a work mirror...

Off to plan my Mad March MAGAM.

Amazing Fit #2

After my success with Simplicity 2648 with my wearable muslin, I decided to have another go pretty much straight away. And no, still not an LBD, but a pretty go-to-a-wedding dress (congratulations Alanah and Luke!). I had some dark blue with white, pink and tangerine flowers stretch sateen in my stash - sounds weird but I love it - that was earmarked for a frock one day.

No significant mods beyond what I had already done with the muslin. Pattern placement was important as the flowers were distributed in bands across the fabric. I wanted to maximise the pretty flowers! I just managed to squeeze it all in. I decided to give the short sleeves with folded back cuff. I think it turned out really well - good fit, good pattern placement and very suitable for a warm January afternoon beach wedding.

Sorry, no wedding shots (of me!) yet.