The owls mittens!

I forgot to post this. It happens.

Written at end of October 2017 when I didn't want to post this too early in case the recipient saw this before Christmas, and then...  Oh well.

~ ~ ~

Shhh, Christmas is not far away so let's not tell secrets...

Here is my current knitting project and I am really pleased about the colourwork:

I also discovered the photo editor Polarr, it can do so much more than I realised photo editors can do. It was a blessing in disguise that the default programme on this Windows 10 machine didn't even do brightening let alone sharpening. I discovered a new passion!

I can see myself slaving away over photos from now on. I just hope I figure out how to best use it. At the moment it's a case of sliding around any which lever to see what it does.

Anyway...

The ribbing looks really nice: the purl stitches are in black and the knit stitches in aubergine. I also like the pattern on the other side, and I love the owls.

It was a relatively quick project though not quite as quick as I would have liked. Still it was quick enough for me to start the second pair of mittens with fairly high confidence that I can get them done by Christmas. Also a present.

What I don't like about these: my sister only has small hands and the thumb placement is too low. They came out massively too long when the ribbing could have sat a bit lower. Darn. If she likes them I'll just have to knit them a second time.

And the other side as well as the mini owl on the thumb!

An interesting vintage pattern

I really like the new blog called Catherine's Patterns.  She is talking about vintage patterns and showing very beautiful examples. She will also introduce some of her own designs in the future. I am looking forward to that.

She showed a really lovely floaty number from the Jazz Age exhibition and a 1920s pattern from her own collection - both dresses have the bodice wrap around towards the back.  A really fascinating detail!

I must say that I didn't used to be that keen on vintage patterns because most of them look best on figures that are very different to my measurements so I feel that most vintage garments would not be ideal for me.

What I love about them is that many patterns show details and design features that you can't find in modern patterns. Take the side seam that Catherine wrote about: how lovely is that?  Have you ever seen a sewing pattern with this kind of side seam?  I don't think I have.

The follow-on thing from the above that I like about vintage patterns is that you can find very intriguing design ideas and if it is possible to isolate them from the rest of the pattern, then they might be a fantastic source of inspiration for copying to your own sewing projects.

Reading Catherine's blog made me think about what vintage patterns had found their way into my pattern stash (why does a stash feel like the Star Trek episode with 'The Tribbles'? They seem to multiply when I'm not looking).

And see, I had bought several!  Oh boy.

But most of them have some kind of detail that I really like and hope to use by Frankenpatterning the vintage element with a modern pattern that will fit me.  Not that I have already developed a template block pattern that fits me really well just yet, but I fully intend to get there one beautiful day.

Here is one I just had to get because of the collar, - well, the front view of the collar:

Vogue 9083. I believe this is a reprint so you can still buy this pattern

Just look how gorgeous this looks both as part of the dress and under a jacket too!  I just love it.

It is this kind of structural looking design element that appeals to me.  Having said that, the skirt is not at all bad either.  In fact I really like the pocket placement at the bottom of the side panel seam.  I wonder how difficult that is to sew?  It is probably a good idea to strengthen the corner of the centre front piece with a little bit of interfacing...

Never mind, back to the collar.

It tunrs out that it is not part of the dress.  The dress in fact is shoulder and strap less. The bodice part is a bustier shape with a horizontal seam across under the arms, and parallel to the ground all the way around. Who'd have thought.

The collar then buttons onto that bustier in four places on the front, the back of the collar hangs down and is not attached.

When I looked at the collar before I could study the pattern pieces, I had intended to make the back of the collar a very different shape to this sailor's collar rectangle. Perhaps a gentle curve across, or some more shaping to this curve.

I still want to go with a design change like that but I may have to make a top or dress that does have shoulders.  A collar that's much less high at the centre back could flip up in windy weather.  I am also thinking of sewing this to my top or dress (made from a pattern that fits me well) as if the back of the collar is a back yoke instead.

It would also make it easier to slip into a jacket without getting the back all squashed up.

What do you think of the idea?

What about this UFO?

Do you want to join a virtual sew-along?  (January 2017)

I am planning a virtual "Sew-along" with my sewing group: look over unfinished objects (UFOs), otherwise known as WIPs (Works in Progress) - and consider whether to chuck, alter or finish.

  

And oh boy! Do I have a lot of material to work with on this one!  It's downright embarrassing to be honest.


I already posted about a couple of projects on the group's website (meetup.com - London Dressmakers). I've since remembered a lot more, or found them when I looked through a basket I've long left alone.  Oh my word, it's horrifying.

I would start projects, run into some kind of issue with it (or maybe just get bored?), decide that I'd work on it again when I am in the right 'head space'... forget all about it... Pick it back up for a look and then promptly lay it aside again.

That's what I kept doing.  Did I mention it's horrifying?

I desperately need this virtual event to motivate myself into looking into the recesses harbouring long forgotten items that I probably don't even want to think of again.  I don't know if I find it reassuring that one of the sewalong's options is to chuck anything that I don't want to carry on with?  Or does the thought make me feel anxious: I would also be throwing away my hopes and dreams and aspirations wrapped up in that never realised item?

I need to get over that, I cannot just let things lie around and become oppressive, I really can't.  That's not good for your soul, let alone your sewing mojo.

I must say though that I started to think about some sewing WIPs in the morning before I need to go and do anything else: I think through what my next step on a project is or if there is some kind of difficulty.  Because I know that I don't have to get up and tackle that challenge right then and there, my early morning thinking time is quite pleasant and more productive: no pressure.

 

I have actually had an idea or two of how to tackle a UFO that may even help, we'll see (this is about the White Jacket, which I have now posted about).

For now I will identify those projects that I want to include in our sewalong (I can't do them all) and maybe plan a couple more blog posts around them. I already blogged about my tunic with the clever pockets.

Do you want to join in virtually? (Time of writing: Jan 2017)  Click through and describe your UFO/s in the comments and let us know what your thoughts are about it - the sewalong is on for two weeks, and can easily be extended.  There is a photo album to post pictures (close-up shots of details are particularly useful). If you need advice then the others might be able to come up with something, so use the comments to ask!

It'll be fascinating to see if we can get some of those old projects kick-started again. Happy thinking, planning and sewing!

My holy grail

My holy grail is to develop pattern blocks that I can use as Tried & Trusted garment templates.

One of the reasons why this is taking is long, is that I keep starting over.  I forget where I got to before and I was also not particularly happy with the last result so I am hoping that a do-over might be more successful.  So it’s not been going all that great.

I’ve since discovered that there are several fitting issues that I need to do adjustments for.  I start with a block that I drew to my own measurements in a pattern drafting class.  Great start but not nearly good enough – the fit is by no means close enough. Here’s all the issue I identified so far:

When using commercial patterns I usually have to move the bust dart down which is no big deal: cut out a box that contains the dart and move up or down so it points towards the bust apex.  Easy.  I have also done full bust adjustments (FBA) with abandon: this makes fit so much better for sizes that are bigger than a B cup.  I can highly recommend it.  You may need to cut a Y Line for very big cup sizes but it’s not a big deal or huge change from the usual FBA.

I am aware that I need to do an underarm adjustment that pinches out a wedge of up to 5-7cm length and possibly 1-1.5cm width – right at the top of the underarm side seam – unless I want lots more ease for arm movement, but it still looks pretty odd if there is too much fabric flapping about under the arm.  So this is a usual one.

I recently realised that I mustn’t suppress the small dart in the back shoulder: I really do need this because of my rounded upper back.  I only noticed that back looks different than I expected when I saw a photo of myself – now this issue is glaringly obvious!  Oh well, at least I know now.

I should also check if my armhole gapes at the back – if so I may need to do more of an adjustment for a rounded back by putting in darts or having a shaped back yoke that suppressed some of that gaping – I’ll need to check.

I have also become aware that two darts towards the bust are better than just the one.  It distributes the excess fabric better and is more flattering.  Best for me are darts that run into the side seam and result in an upward angled line, visually much better than downward or straight across.

And I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t get around some major work on a swayback adjustment.  I know this from my knitting projects but hadn’t been paying lots of attention to it for my sewing.  I applied a couple of SBAs but I think I didn’t pinch out enough.

The one adjustment that I don’t think I need to do is to rotate the sleeve, i.e. changing the shoulder seam either a little forward or backward. I am exceedingly glad about this, because this feels like a major adjustment!

So these are quite a few adjustments so it’s no wonder if my efforts haven’t been all that successful so far – there is lots to do and I don’t think that I applied all of those to one block yet.  I really should.

But I was getting frustrated with my attempts at a template top that fell far short (I just hadn’t followed through on all those fitting insights yet) – then I had a thought:

Why don’t I look at Ready To Wear tops that fit me well and take some measurements?  That way I can compare those to my template top attempts and at least sense check!

Great idea, right?

I was thinking of a smart top with short sleeves that I like wearing a lot.  It is the only one that has a round neckline with a vertical slit down the front – it seems a pretty flattering style, so I am all for using that as a model.

Yeah, right…


It wasn’t until I took a really long hard look at this top, and found that it doesn’t fit at all well!  I just never noticed, good heavens.

This top is made for hips that are far bigger than mine, in fact it balloons out a lot. And the underarm adjustment of that suppressed wedge that I talked about above, that’s so very much needed!  The bust seemed to fit pretty well but the underarm area has lots of fabric that’s just not very attractive.

This top also highlights my problem area:  I am low-busted so there is excess material at the side of the front armhole.  My problem is that I don’t quite know how to get rid of that – do I need a bust dart in that area that grades out to nothing at the seam with the sleeve? That can’t be quite right, can it?

I think I need to play around with taking a bigger wedge out of the top underarm side seam from the front piece only.  This will also affect the sleeve – I may just have to slash the sleeve pattern and overlap by this much at the armhole seam.

Pattern drawing challenges!

I love them really.  They are just a lot of work and I need to be in the right frame of mind.

I (almost) completed a sewing WIP!

Hey, look at that:

I finished a sewing project!

I am very happy - this will count as my second project completed this year, meaning that I am ahead of myself in terms of the four items a year goal. Which in turn means that I might be able to up this to six projects a year!  Completing a garment every two months ought to be do-able - particularly as this one is finished in April and not in June.

I did say it was almost completed. There are two issues with this:  I should add a tab at the top of the zip.  I thought I put the zip in at the right height but there is too big a gap to the edge - it is still wearable though.

Don't ask me why the next photo is upside down, it doesn't matter much for the purpose.

Look how neatly the ribbon aligns "across" the lapped zip!  I am really chuffed with that - all it took was a bit of handsewing at the end because it hadn't gone on straight with the machine.  I am very pleased with that.

The second issue that I am not happy with is the hem.  I might re-do it with my blind hem foot.  Just as soon as I identify which one that is (my sewing machine manual is very helpful, - as long as I consult it that is...)

This is my stashbuster skirt.  I had about 20 odd centimetre of the grey pin stripe and half a meter of the dark red (yes, it is much more of a red than a pink in real life. I wish my camera could turn the colour to this shade through some kind of magic, but alas...)

I couldn't do anything with either fabric but once I realised that they are the same weight and type (superfine 100% wool), then that gave me the idea to just sew the two widths together.  Did I mention that both fabrics were the same width?  That's what swung it.

I started by sewing the two fabrics together and then treated it as if it was one piece.  I just cut all three pieces and carefully aligned the seam.  But it took me a long time to get to today's result.

Here is what it looked like for the longest time:

I need to take a photo of me wearing it.

Once I do that you can see that the seam between the two fabrics hits me at a really odd point on the hips, which is too high up. It looks really odd, trust me.

That made me think that a ribbon would draw the eye down a bit.  I think I achieved the desired effect.

I can now wear this (on Monday perhaps?) and will consider it finished for just now.  I need to get through too much material to get stuck on one project that was never meant to be the best thing I've ever done - I just wanted to use up two fabrics.

Which I did.  So there.

My Holy Grail

Where dressmaking is concerned my holy grail is the perfect fit.  It is the one element that I am most interested in: being able to make clothes in a colour and style I want is great, but to have them fit perfectly: that's what I want most of all, my top concern ambition-wise.

Other elements are nice to have, but a dress that fits really well says a lot about the wearer, just like an ill-fitting garment does too.

View image | gettyimages.com

 

So imagine my disappointment at not achieving great fit in my self-made garments just yet. I am finding this so very discouraging, it is really down-heartening.

I just started a second bias cut sleeveless top, for summer because I made it before and it fit pretty well. My wavy white top did unfortunately shrink a bit in the wash, which is unfortunate but my own fault (I should have washed the fabric first, I know, I know) but at least I knew that it fit well. I now have to lengthen the bust darts a bit - but I am still happy with this one.

Not so with version 2.  I am using a firmer cotton, in a blue batik, but surely a pattern that fit well before should behave a lot better than this one does?

This top shows up all kinds of fitting issues even after I lengthened these darts straight away.  The bust darts aren't deep enough this time (seriously?), the underarm seam sticks out and so does the back nape.  I am so disappointed that I can't find enough words.

I know that I didn't have the original back piece, but I re-engineered it from a cut-down version I copied out, and drew the missing outline of the shoulder from the wavy white top.  So it should be pretty close.

Perhaps not close enough for the back nape fitting issue, but the rest should be okay.

I feel really down in the dumps on this.  I have tried to make a well-fitting top so many different times now and still haven't solved the major fitting issues

I finally figured out that the bagginess at the front of the shoulder/side of upper chest is down to my low-busted shape - I also realised that I need to transfer this bagginess into the side seam, which is an issue I already know about: all those sticky-out side seams where I have to remove a wedge of at least a centimetre in width and 5-7cm in length.  So it is very good to finally know what this issue is about. That helps a lot.

It doesn't help that I often started over because I couldn't remember how far I got with a previous version, or couldn't find all the pattern pieces, or wasn't sure what pattern pieces I had. Starting over is safer, but it does add to the frustration.  I don't follow an ongoing learning curve by re-doing the same thing over and over.

I did try with my 'template' top and got to four versions. It wasn't a good pattern to alter because it started out very baggy while I was trying to achieve a close fit. And I didn't yet know how a full bust adjustment works. I do now.

What held me back from trying for version 5 was that I forgot to make some of the changes I had identified in version 3 and basically just made a second version 3. I had put this aside for too long and hadn't made notes.

The next time I will document everyone at length.  My odd dotted pink mini dress toile did show up that I do need some darts below the bust that run vertical across the waist. Just bust darts alone don't provide enough shaping.

I should show photos of the back and sides as well: very shapeless!

 

Onwards and upwards!

I am making a promise to myself

I want to sew more, which was the plan for quite a while, - and I decided this week that I also want to stretch myself in terms of how many garments or projects I complete within one year.

I know it's no longer January so this isn't a New Year's Resolution as such (I totally suck at them, so that's a very good thing!) - but I already caught up because of the sewing session on 8th March.

Yay!

I made the jade green simple top in two and a half hours. I could add the time I spent on two previous evenings when I drew up the pattern from my simple black top (can't find that pattern) but I won't.

It was really good to see that I can do it when I push myself.  A wonderful experience!  I can recommend it.  To myself most of all.

I decided that I want to make one garment per quarter year.  So I have three more to do in 2015 to get there.  Which is more than do-able.

If I think that I am easily on track for four this year, then I want to see if I can increase my completion rate to one garment every two months.  This might also be achievable but whenever I put pressure on myself, I fold.  That's it: as soon as I phrase an intention, a promise to myself, an ambition or a goal... I can rely on the fact that I do not, will not and apparently cannot fulfil that.

Why?  Is it so frightening to get things done?  To do what I have an ambition to do?  I could kick myself but I have a real problem with that.  Increasing expectation has always meant decreased success for me.  It is maddening.

I tried to find ways around it: not make plans but try and go for it, split tasks up into smaller steps and just try do one thing at a time... whatever it was it didn't really work.

So now I am trying to push through this terrible resistance that I seem to have taught myself: I am putting up an obstacle to my sewing progress by not completing items.  I am probably scared of success: once I actually make all those garments that I dream about I will be able to compare the actual results with the original ambitious ideas. I am probably just scared that my sewing skills won't measure up. Which they will continue not to if I don't do enough sewing!  I trapped myself in a bit of a catch 22 circle there. It has to stop!

Going for four garments this year needs to be something I can do.  Otherwise I might as well stop sewing and I have no intention of doing that.  My goals are still the same: make garments in colours, patterns and styles that I like, that suit me and that fit me better than shop bought stuff.

And one day I would like to translate my design ideas into practical garment making: giving life to the ideas that run through my head.  It is a wonderfully creative thing that I need to have in my life.

Here's to four garments and finding out if I can do more than that!

I am grimly determined.

My new year's resolution at work!

Look at that!  What a thing of beauty.  And so very useful too...

















The huge number of sewing, knitting and quilting WIPs that I have lying around is sapping my craft mojo.  When the pile of things I started gets too big (metaphorically speaking) then my practical crafting slows down.  It is just all too overwhelming.

I tried all kinds of things, all sorts of strategies - specifically with my sewing project (knitting is taking care of itself). What does help is knowing that other people have very similar problems.  So I scheduled an event in my meetup sewing group and found it a real boost.

I called it 'Pick up a Project': pulling out any project and looking it over. Then make a list of bullet points about what still needs to be done, or which items need to be assembled.  Basically putting yourself into a position where you know what's what.

It worked beautifully!  I did the bullet points for four projects and very quickly finished one of them.  I am so chuffed.  The others will take a bit longer, but hey...

Then I scheduled another event: Stich up a Project - grab the project from above and get on with the next step.

Then I thought that I would like a handy spreadsheet that shows me what the major projects are that I want to get on with (very important: not all of them, just the ones that I like best) which also gives me an opportunity to jot down notes: thoughts on what I was trying to achieve, ideas of fabric and design choice, considerations about possible fitting issues... anything that comes to mind.  Where it's nice to re-read later when you forgot half of what occurred to you.

This spreadsheet is the result.

The best column is the 'Next Step' one - what exactly do I want to do as the very next thing? And do I always get stuck at the same thing? Like perhaps: insert the zipper, or find so-and-so... or totally different things?

I haven't figured that one out yet but it is really great for getting a better feel of what I am doing and how it's going.

I put this list onto Google Sheets. This is part of Google Drive (you can also have documents on there, but the sheets are quite similar to Excel).  It is accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection and I can just use the one version to update.

I also have a second sheet of project ideas and which fabrics I want to use. Again, I am only listing some.

I'll let you know some of those major projects and the other strategic ideas this kicked off in my head.

I am feeling so much more optimistic about my sewing now!

Knitting plans

Another old blog draft from 2011. I should state up front that I haven't followed through on those plans yet.  But I will.  Fair Isle colourwork is too beautiful to not do.


I bought this book a while ago with a plan in mind:

Since then I bought a hellofalot of different colours in Jamieson Spindrift.  Think reds and pinks, think blue and greens, think some greys and a bit of dark brown and black too.  Gorgeous!

I must admit that I bought lots of them from what they looked like on the screen (never a very good idea - of course I ended up with a couple of surprises.  Shades I will be passing on to someone who can give them a good home).  Then I realised that the shade card is back in stock and the whole process could have been a touch easier.  So I bought that one too, and then of course I had to fill the gaps of those colours that had hidden behind less than well-matched shade graphics.  I've got about 20 odd balls of yarn.

Plenty to design a pattern with!

I didn't want to start from scratch and this book is terrific because there are lots of patterns in there that can be used for Fair Isle knitting.  The vast majority of those are written as black dots on a white background.  Very good for counting out and not so helpful if you would prefer to see how different colour combinations will look like.  There are a handful of examples in there.

Patterns for Fair Isle knitting tends to make strips of colour (the top half of the book cover shows this variation*), often this will be two strips that are quite different from each other (I will do one in reds and pinks and the other one in blues and greys, mixing in the greys where needed).  Some of the time you have a third strip that's much thinner and gets placed between each of the coloured strips, also in a pattern but usually in very neutral colours with a minimal pattern, often just a cross or a star shape.

The coloured strips will incorporate patterns that repeat from right to left.  These are usually symetric so you would only need to design and draw up a quarter of the pattern because it will be mirrored both across and up.  If that makes sense.

Even though a Fair Isle pattern may look like a lot of different colours are used at one time, it is actually only ever two at a time.  If you use a star shape then the star itself would be one colour and the background the second colour.  But Fair Isle lives from shaded colours: the very simplest form of Fair Isle would be colourwork of say a pink star on a grey background.  But in these patterns you use two colour for anything between one and two or three rows and then you switch to two different colours.

You have to decide whether you want more emphasis to the centre of the patterned strip or more focus on the edges of the strip.  So say you start with a dark red for the star and a dark grey for the background. You would knit in pattern for two rows and then switch to say a dark pink and a mid grey, also for two rows.  You could then have a third set of two rows in say light pink on a different shade grey.  The middle row of the strip needs another two colours and then you repeat the colour choice from the lower half but mirrored.  Starting with the light pink/grey combo, you then do the dark pink/mid grey colours and back to the dark red and dark grey.

That in a nutshell is how Fair Isle works.  At least as far as I can figure out.  And it's my plan for how to pick my colours, I've got plenty to choose from!

*: the bottom half of the book cover shows another variation of how colours can be applied in Fair Isle knitting.  The effect isn't so much stripes but a more even cover of pattern across the available space.  I will try this in a future project but right now I want to go with the stripes idea.

I am planning on knitting up a sample of my bigger stripe (in red/pink and grey) and where a single colour does not look so great, I might just embroider another colour over the top to see how those colours go together.  Same with the second, slightly less tall stripe in blue and green (and some brown and black).  I do wonder if I should put a very thin stripe of something suitably neutral so I don't end up with a jumper that's too bright and busy. Maybe something that's just five rows tall?  My swatches should be very helpful.

I can't wait to get started!  Only... I have too many other unfinished projects and it would be so very nice to finish at least one of those.

Wish me luck.

Fabric shopping in Shepherd's Bush

I only just realised that I have a number of draft posts sitting there unloved and neglected.  I completely forgot that I hadn't finished them

So just for completeness's sake, here is my blog post about a fabric shopping trip 2-3 years ago, it was the first time we went to the Goldhawk Road/Shepherds Bush area fabric shops as a group.

It is a really long time ago now...


Oh my goodness, did I have a whale of a time or what!  I went absolutely totally over-the-top bonkers mad.  If that gives you an idea of how much I felt like a kid in a candy shop.

So many beautiful fabrics!  Just couldn't resist.  There were a couple of occasions when I gave off excited little screams, might have been 'let me at it' yelps for all I know, to be honest.

There are two new shops that I didn't know and I just absolutely love and adore the range of fabrics they sell!  I know I will come back and then aim straight for those.  I'll have to try and remember the names - they were both on the South side of Goldhawk Road, maybe 3-4 fabric shops away from the tube station?

I went with a whole group of girls from my Sewing group, it was lovely sharing the shopping experience and best of all: go for a well-deserved sit-down at the end.  I still knew the building as the local library (but they seem to have moved into Westfields?) but it is now a theatre, the Bush Theatre.  Who knew?  And they have a great cafe bar - I'll come back just for this, I won't even need to buy any fabric first (oh, just who am I kidding?).  Really nice place.  On Uxbridge Road on the corner to Pennard Road, old building, has a beer garden along its side.

I can't wait to see what I'll make from my lovely new purchases.


Update: I did cut into the flowery black and white fabric for a quilt. I would like to make one with fan shapes in seven black and white fabrics, with a dark red quarter circle and the remainder of the square in white. I have a lovely Egyptian cotton from Empress Mills, they sell random cuts in a bundle - perfect for patchwork!

The pink and organgey fabric on top on the right: I gave this one away at a fabric swap. The orange or salmon colour is just not me. I'm sure it's gone to a good home.

I haven't done anything with the other fabrics, just like so many others. I am hoping that my fabric buying obsession has lessened now that I've got pretty much all fabrics in the kind of colours that I could want...

Wardrobe decluttering

Now here's a subject that really floats my boat!  Getting rid of stuff, yay!

View image | gettyimages.com

Wardrobe decluttering

This has gone swimmingly, and all because I moved house to a smaller place. The choice was to live in hoarder's paradise with stacks of clothes threatening to fall over, or get rid of everything I don't need.

Surprisingly it turns out I don't need nearly as much in the way of clothing as I thought I did!

The best tool has also been my new warerobe with sliding doors: so easy to open and see what I've got, so convenient to pull garments out and so difficult to hang any hangers on to the outside as I was used to do.  Bliss!

For the first time in my place I am hanging alike garments next each other.  My wardrobe starts with currently worn coat, jackets, then trousers, skirts and then all tops: long-sleeved tops right now and a few that I want within easy reach at the end. They are either evening wear or a couple of summer tops that I want to alter.

It works wonderfully well!

I shoved short-sleeved T-shirts into a plastic container with lid and put it under the bed where it's nicely out of the way.  I won't need them again until it's summer.  Or at least when it gets a bit warmer - and for once I actually know exactly where I put them!

It is also nice to see that I've hung some tops and some skirts into the wardrobe that I sewed myself. Most of them provide quite a nice flash of colour in the dreariness of the other colours I've got!

I would really like to make (or buy) at least a couple more tops in colours that make me feel more alive and energetic.  The 'make it myself' option should be no problem because I've got lots of fabrics, quite a few in colours that I am looking forward to wearing!

The only issue is that I'll have to get it done.  It's the fitting that gets to me.  I'm alright with skirts, but the top part - that's not going too well so far. Big sigh.

Wish me patience!

Pick a project or how I learned to like preparation

A blog post that spent time as a draft for too long.  Here goes:

Too many projects on the go, too many things started but just lying around.  Why do I do that to myself?

It is obviously so much more exciting to start a project than to carry on when the initial spark faded and the first tricky bits start to bite.

I think I might have found a way to get myself into the right head space: organise a group activity by my sewing group so we support each other in order to get one of those old, boring WIPs back into ship shape.
 
Thinking about it, you need to ponder a few things when you try to revive an abandoned sewing project:

You want to know that you have all the bits and pieces you need. Starting with all the paper pattern pieces and instructions, the fabrics or already cut pieces, and all the other supplies needed.

Just the act of pulling an old WIP back out from whatever dark corner it was lurking is a rather good feeling.  But only if you feel you can get somewhere with it.

The support of the others is just invaluable.  Somehow you don't feel quite so stuck, if that makes sense.

I am really looking forward to sharing with them what I am doing so I get back to the point where I can start the final sewing stage and complete a garment.

It almost feels like luxury to think that I might soon have a project less to worry about!


I did decide which one I wanted to look at: my stash-busting skirt in grey and wine red.  I was able to look over it and feel quite encouraged: I had closed the side seams already!

And I retrieved a piece of black lining fabric that's suitable. Yes, I even have enough of it!

Getting my head around what I need to do as the next steps and how I am going to cut out the lining will be a bit of a challenge. This project does not have instructions because I' not using a pattern!

The obstacle I got stuck at was the waist. I drew up a pattern to my own measurements but I left it open about how high I would make the waist.  I don't want to use a waistband but just darts to shape the top of the skirt.  I think I may need a friend's help to make sure I don't cut this wonky or at the wrong height. 

Or maybe it won't even be as difficult as my prevarication makes it seem?

I no longer have the paper pattern to hand so I will need to cut the lining free-hand. It's a good thing that the lining has to be a bit loose anyway, that makes this job easier.

I am quite sure though that my sewing excitement will return once I get stuck back in! I want to wear this and it will be a good challenge to meet.

It'll be interesting!

Three different projects

I want to take a project to sewing group tomorrow evening, I have tonight to come up with something (and not just grab my knitting).

There is a crazy fraying fabric where I tailor-tacked the skirt front cutting outline so I can overlock and cut out. I will need to match the two back pieces to this - so I guess I best do this at home and I can tell myself, with relief, that this is not a good candidate for taking along.  Good.

I cut out the paper pattern to cut out a toile fabric.  I might be able to do some marking at the meeting, but that won't take long.

I have the blue random dot circular skirt that I already hemmed and sewed two of three side seams. I could cut out the waistline - which I hadn't done because I still need to decide if I am doing a full or three quarter circle.  I can start with the higher waistline for a full circle and get the other to take a photo?  That way I can evaluate whether I actually like the fullness and the length of the skirt as is.

That's a good idea. I can also cut that waistline tonight, I already marked it on the paper piece I am using for a pattern.

My blue fabric is like the black dotted fabric in the middle (above), but in blue. Err, obviously.  I don't have a photo of any of the projects I talk about, so this photo will have to do.

I have no idea how far I got with the aqua and pink top that I really need to get done, finished, over!*  I did take it along to the last meeting but then didn't work on it.  Maybe because it's not at the right stage, that's quite possible.
*: it's going in the bin otherwise.


This is another schedule issue I want to work on this year: get some projects to the stage where I can do some hand-sewing or basting or marking - I can then take it along to group and feel that I am using my time well.

Which I didn't do over the weekend: I just lay down reading - all day.  It was very relaxing and enjoyable, but now that the weekend is over it also feels like I wasted my time. I could have done some reading and spent the rest of the time on more productive pursuits.  Damn.  Not happy about that.

Schedule

View image | gettyimages.com

I laboriously wrote several blog posts, only to lose them with the dreaded 'wrong key' occurence.  Quite long posts they were too, so frustrating.

I would like to blog more but find it annoying trying for any kind of frequency. It is either lots in a short period of time, or nothing for ages.  Famine or feast.

So I am making a new year's blogging resolution:

I solemnly swear and resolve... err, or whatever:  that for 2015 I will schedule blog posts and see how that works out for me.  No pressure, just using this as a tool to help - not as a yardstick to beat myself over the head with. Enabling myself, not punishing.

A friend mentioned that I can line up posts and then publish them later. Genius idea!

No idea why I didn't think of that myself.  Oh well, a case of better late than never.


UPDATE
I am worried that I am already pulling back on this idea.  I just haven't done anything about it. I should probably just see this as a possible thing to do, and not as a 2015 resolution.  That way I will be happy when I do schedule posts, and not too disappointed when I don't.

PS: I also have a tool to introduce that I am trying to use to improve my productivity when sewing. I need to check back whether I already wrote about this (I haven't, have I?) and will definitely write about it soon.  It seems to be working, so far...

More stash-busting ideas

Oooooooh, I just came across another fantastic stash busting idea in this blog post:

How to find and follow an idea - by Myrna Giesbrecht.

Have quite a bit in remnants left over from previous projects?

Answer: make a child's garment out of it!

Now if that's not another stash busting genius idea then I don't know what is.  How utterly fabulous!

The little girl's dress that Myrna is designing here is looking very gorgeous.  I will look out for her next post on the same project: I can't wait to see how it pans out!

I love her use of the thin ribbon like pieces (are they selvedges?)

Beautiful.  Now I just need to find time or make myself sit down to sew whether I feel I have time or not.  Let's get to it!

I seem to have bought a pattern

I went to this charity shop for a men’s shirt.  I wanted a shirt to upcycle (I just fancied it as a sewing challenge) and not having any men’s shirts to hand, I gave this charity shop a go.  They did have quite a few shirts, but none in a fabric that I liked.

Instead I found this:

Excuse the badly lit photo

Also a cardigan which I got rid off as soon as I got it home because there was a stain I didn't see in the shop, plus the fabric wasn’t all that nice.  So off it went to another charity shop.  Oh well.

This blouse looks lovely: I had not worn any ruffles placed like this before and now I think this works really well with my shape ('apple' as they say. Or 'barrel' shape: wide in the middle, tapering off on either side  - my waist is my problem area).  As a bit of a coincidence, I had decided a short while ago that I do need to add interest to the neckline area and the ruffles here do an admirable job.  I want to explore that element further in future in terms of clothes that I would buy or sew.

Unfortunately I don’t love the linen fabric and its thin weight.  The wrinkled linen look just doesn't look all that great in this particular linen.  Not utterly besotted by the colour either.  I don't hate it but I’m not in love with it either.  A chalky looking pale blue.  It is a bit insipid and puts me off from wearing this blouse.

Then I discovered that the bust dart is in the wrong place: it sits too high, points in the wrong direction and it is too short.  All of this is something that cannot be fixed in an existing garment.

But!

But I can easily adapt a pattern to use the design elements of this blouse and position the dart in the right place.

Now that I discovered the dart issue I am more than happy to get rid of the blouse.  As in: get it out of my wardrobe to never be worn again (I did wear it once, today, so that's fine: I got some use out of it).

I am thinking of taking this blouse apart: this will give me the shape of the ruffles (I suspect that they are circular, with the lower ones cut out of a slightly bigger circle than the upper ruffle) and the main proportions of the blouse: length, width, neckline shape – and also the sleeve pattern.

The sleeves are definitely something that I have to take apart to see what pattern they are based on.

With all that information I should be able to draft a blouse pattern that’s very close to this one. I know that I’ll want to take the side seams in a touch at the top and make a slight change to the neckline: I would prefer a simple V-shape instead of this neckband type facing which doesn't contribute anything particularly clever to the design.  I do like the yoke across the shoulder, I want to keep that.

So its seems that I haven’t so much bought a second-hand blouse as a pattern to use to sew something that I know will fit!   It turns out that this purchase was not a waste but a clever way of getting a wearable muslin – it is exceedingly useful in that function too!

Do you shop in charity shops and what kinds of clothes do you look for?  Something to upcycle or to wear as it is?  Do you ever frankenpattern several old clothes into one new design?  I would love to hear and see ideas!

Drowning in stash

Oh of goodness' sake!  I've only just now figured out why I have such a massively inflated stash: I keep buying more, and more, and more fabric, it has got very much out of hand.  I just don't know where to put the stuff any more and I can't possibly hope to use it all up!

 

Why oh why am I doing this?

And, oh boy, I only just realised!

Buying beautiful fabric is the best and most enjoyable part of "sewing" for me!

Never mind that I'm not yet sewing anything at all.  Nevermind that this is all still an unrealised ambition, hopes and plans, and nothing more.  As long as I'm still dreaming I can dream of anything at all - nothing has to be put to the test yet!

When I do sew something I often feel frustrated and discouraged because the garments don't fit me well enough. The couple of times or so when the finished item did fit well, I have been very pleased and even delighted with the result.  But that's not often the case.

What I would like to do is develop a range of patterns that are tried and tested: templates that I can cut out, sew up and they'll fit!  No fiddling, no faffing about.

Doesn't that sound brilliant? And it's not impossible to do, I just have to put the work in.

I have quite a lot of plans for my stash fabrics - and I've had an idea that might bring home how much of it I can realise and whether I can get rid of excess fabric.

I want to make a list of all the planned projects that I have in mind.  I want to list the following:

1. Pattern (the number of the dressmaking pattern or template name)
2. A description that reminds me what it was I had in mind
3. The fabric (out of my stash obviously!) that I want to use

I have a feeling that I'll get quite an unpleasant surprise at how many, say for example, dresses I want to make. I might find that I can edit those plans a bit and cut down on the sheer volume of specific garment types. Make it all much more realistic and with that much more manageable too! (Yes please!)

I am also hoping that I'll be able to pick the most promising two projects out of each category and then get on with making those projects that promise to fit the easiest.

Now that does sound like a plan!

I am hoping I'll get somewhere with this.  How instructive to realise where I get my sewing jollies from!  Seeing as it's not from actually sewing it really isn't to be marvelled at that I'm not doing all that much sewing then, isn't it!

Trouser pattern

I did a really great course on Sunday (well, recently):  drawing up the pattern for a basic trouser block.  It was the trouser workshop at MIY Studio in Brighton, with the very patient and supportive Wendy Ward.  I had such a great day!

And I must say the pattern came out fantastic!

The trouser toile fits almost perfectly – as if I got poured into it in fact!  It only needs a tiny little sliver sliced off the side seams to get rid of some slight bagging in the hip to waist area, absolutely no problem:  I know by how much as well as where to start that slice and where to stop.

It was such a lucky thing that Monday was a bank holiday here in the UK.  I could have started to sew but alas I didn’t.  Only for the reason though that my massive stash of fabric did not yield a convenient length of suitable cloth.  All the right sized fabrics weren’t the right kinds of fabrics.  I had woven cotton that would wrinkle too much or dressmaking fabrics that would be great for blouses and all sorts, but no good for trousers.

I wanted something with good drape, a nice handle and in a colour that is not too attention seeking. I would like to reserve that kind of thing for my blouses and shirts.  Or skirts.  But not trousers.  They should be a bit more non-ostentatious.  Although I can see myself make a Capri style trouser at some point in a nice bright floral pattern – think Kaffe Fassett or Amy Butler.  Something like that.  But only for summer wear, away from work, on my own time.  Not for work (I reckon).

Plus I am very much after a very versatile pair that I can wear at work and elsewhere.  I usually get my basic black trousers at Marks & Spencer – I hadn’t recently because I went round all the rails and couldn’t find the exact shape I was after.  I wish they kept their styles a bit longer!  So you can go back and always buy the same ones again.  What do you want in a pair of black trousers?  Great fit and a very simple visual style, nothing else.  So why can’t retailers offer that?  Why chop and change when new styles don’t fit as well? All they do is lose customers when it gets too frustrating.  Those customers might not just go to the competition, they might even start to make their own!

Ergo why I am. So there retailers!  If you don't provide what I want, then I’ll go and make it myself.

I am still pretty motivated from the successful day on Sunday – so off I went to Goldhawk Road on Tuesday evening after work – and I found loads!

I got three lengths of fabrics that are more than suitable for trousers.  The shop owner gave me a discount and I paid £50 for the lot.  I think there is almost five meters there.  I got a really good discount because these were the end of bolts of between one and a half and two meters.  Great for trousers but not enough for a suit.  I don’t wear suits much, so I don’t care.  I am delighted to have found such lovely fabric.

And even more fabric: two lots of lining, an amazing black fabric with appliqué shapes on it, a grey fabric that I’ve been looking for for a while...  I can’t physically add it to my stash because there is no space.  But I also couldn’t leave the fabric I bought in the shops.  Damn.

I will just have to cut my newly made trouser fabric from two fabrics at once (not literally) and get sewing!

I can't wait to see what I get done!

What Iffing

I love this blog post!  And I love her phrase 'what iffing' even more.  It is delightful and quite wonderful.  Exactly my cup of tea because that's how I think too.

The blogger is writing about the Vogue shrug pattern V8721 that I am interested in.  I love the way she discards the instructions when it doesn't make any sense to not sew the lower piece to the lining and then attach both to the rest (oh yes, so much easier) - and even better to eliminate a seam when you don't need that one either.

I am thinking of making this shrug myself:

I like how this apes the shape of a knitted shrug at the back and that the slot for the arm is horizontal.

I am thinking of changing the front centre though.  I want a shrug that exposes the lovely seed bead embroidery on my Christmas party dress, wearing this shrug with it just as it is would just show an expanse of plain velvet, nothing more.  That's not what I'm after.

I could keep either the top one or two buttons and then cut a sweep towards the hem or even towards the bottom of the side seam.  Well, where the side seam would be if it had a conventional side seam I should say.

Which means that I'm not just the person to discard nonsensical instructions, but the one who insists on messing up the design lines as well.

Well.

I guess the only way to find out whether this could work is to give it a try!

I can pop both the dress and a made-up muslin onto my dressmaking dummy and see how I need to draw this new edge to achieve the effect I want.  How hard can it be? (I'm already sure that that's got to be 'famous last words')


'What iffing'. I like that.