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.

Yellow pleated dress

Yellow is Jalisa's new favourite colour, so I was excited to find a white and yellow print to go with her white shoes. Finally the photos I have taken look good. Jalisa with wet hair does not a good picture make.

 

 I love this little dress and being a Burda pattern (#143 from 5/2005) I thought it would be a great pattern. It has been while since I completed this dress but I can still remember the frustration I felt sewing it.  Firstly it is much too short. Almost indecently short. Maybe some people would consider it indecently short as it is.

The designer has decided to have fold on facing. I wasn't thinking, but if you want a neat finish when sewing on straps, you really need sewn on facings to hide the ends of the straps. I decided to just go ahead do it as per the directions rather than recutting a new facing. Big mistake but I am pretty lazy!

Jalisa loves it and it is a good fit, apart from the length.

I need a hero

 

As I was thinking about writing this post, I had a song running through my head. A quick search and I realised it was from one of the shrek movies.

 

Isn't the fabric for the shirt super cute? I originally purchased it from the crafty mamas store but I do believe it would be found at the sister site. Well, having said that, I can only see another colourway now. The pattern is an old fave, Ottobre #21 from 2/2005.

 

 

 

Pale pink lace dress - feedback required

This dress is a case of when the fabric and pattern marriage doesn't work out as hoped.  I saw some lace dresses at the shops and practically raced to the fabric store to see what kind of laces they had. As it turned out, they had exactly what I was looking for - a pale pink cotton lace. Well, it is a cotton nylon blend. I thought that a very simple shift would be the way to go to let the fabric shine. 

Maybe it is the longer length. Maybe it is the colour. The basic pattern doesn't help. The resulting dress is pretty but very plain.

 

I felt I had two options. Dyeing the dress or adding a belt. I have finally gotten around to making one from satin. It helps a little, but I am not sure if it is the answer. I think it is the colour of the dress. I am used to my daughter wearing bright, strong colours. I wanted a pale pink because I thought it would work well with her new white shoes.

 The belt is not fastened to the dress at the moment. I need feedback - should I keep the colour as is and wear with or without a belt, maybe of a different colour? Or should I dye it?

BTW, the pattern is Ottobre #12 from 4/2004, with the neckline from #23 16/09 and the sleeves shortened. The lace is  underlined with a pale pink cotton broadcloth and I used an invisible zipper at the back.

Ottobre singlets

I felt a little bad yesterday when my daughter told me the only singlets that kept her warm were the two longer ones. She has had the other ones for quite a few years and because they fit width wise, I thought they were fine.

Rather than procrastinate, I whipped out my Ottobres and traced, raided my remnents, cut and sewed these singlets for her. The pattern is #33 from issue 4/04.

I have made these singlets many times before but since it has been awhile and I thought that the length of the bindings would not be as bad as I remembered. The bindings, im my opinion, are way too short and need to be a few cm longer.

The white singlets will be dyed at some stage, when it warms up a little more during the day.