Catching up on a few projects - pride comes before a fall.

School holidays are nearly over - I am so pleased I found my sewjo again! I went away to Melbourne to see Les Miserables (amazing BTW) and when I got back  I was keen to sew. I was sewn most days since then and rediscovered how much I just love to sew. When my life is busy, I don't dream of sewing. I am lazy and dream of sleep or vegging out. If I do sew, I make something really quick to get that wonderful feeling that I have accomplished something (a garment) rather than just collected something (more fabric).

First up is a denim pinafore for my daughter. I used Ottobre 6/2009 #32. It has princess seams, a curved waistband and the skirt is pleated.

For like the first time ever, Jalisa's measurements are pretty much spot on with her height measurements! So easy to trace one sized pattern for one.

Everything came together nicely. I used my "new" Singer 99 (with added hand crank) to get perfect topstitching. I love how older machines got through anything.

I used some Japanese cotton for the facing and some sunsilky for the lining.

I actually made this skirt a while back. I took some more pictures but I must have deleted them from the memory card. My old computer used to save stuff from my memory card automatically, but apparently not my new one. I bought this wool blend fabric as a remnant in a designer sale last year. It is a fabulous piece of fabric, nice and  hefty but it has a large pattern woven into it. I thought a simple A-line skirt would work with the pattern, so chose Burdastyle magazine 03-2010-105.

It has two darts front and back, a facing and invisible zipper in the side. The type of pattern I would normally overlook/avoid. Perfect for this fabric though. I added lining as well. I used the same sunsilky lining as in my daughter's dress. When it was finished and I tried it on, I was quite distressed. This was the first time that I had tried sunsilky lining (a polyester which is apparently anti-static) but it rustled. The skirt was loud! I ended up wearing it the next day and with tights, it is not so bad. I have actually worn this skirt a surprising amount.

I have also sewn this skirt. I had some stretch denim left over from jeans that I made last year. I had a flip through all my Burda magazines but the only skirt that seemed suitable for a denim skirt was a pattern I had made before, Burda 03-2005-126. I could have purchased another pattern (like the Grainline Moss skirt) but I have more than enough patterns and besides, my printer needs ink.

I changed the Burda pattern slightly. There is an inverted pleat at the centre front that I eliminated. I changed the invisible zipper to a fly front and I ended up leaving the patch pockets off. They looked weird because they were close to the topstitching for the zipper and it looked really uneven.

There is plenty of walking ease in the back pieces, so I don't have to worry that I can only shuffle along.

As I was sewing this, I was having smug, gloating thoughts about how amazing my Singer 99 is with topstitching - how it sews through anything. Yes, it really does sew through anything. Fingernails included. Have no idea how this really happened. I was using a hand crank for goodness sakes. I have never, ever sewn through my finger and I have sewn since I was a teenager.

Next up is some wool pants for me.