Slight Stumble

Oh dear, I've had a small fall from the fabric diet wagon.

I had to go into The Fabric Store this morning to buy some suitable fabric for the dress I'm making for my brother's wedding.

The good news is that I found the perfect fabric and they were having a 40% off VIP sale.

Here it is under the {stash} fabric I wanted to use as an overlay.

The bad news is that they were having a 40% off VIP sale and an additional 4 pieces of fabric followed me home.

Here's the guilty evidence...

I'll continue to try hard to stick to my "50 Projects" goal. I'm still finding it motivating. Obviously, it didn't stop me from buying more fabric today, but I AM sewing more as a result of the goal, so that's got to be a win!

Project 13 of 50: Farbenmix Quiara



This is a TNT pattern for my daughter. She really loves the double sleeve and it's fabulous for using up little bits of leftover knits. I've made this pattern up several times before in both the t-shirt and the hooded tunic versions.


Farbenmix Quiara

This particular version is a bit special, though, because we've used some fabric (the striped knit) gifted to DD by my fabulous sewing cousin. It was a remnant that DD spied in the scraps box in her sewing room! Due to the economical nature of sewing for children, this t-shirt won't be the only project that incorporates this fabric. We've got a skirt planned for the rest.

The black cotton lycra was also a leftover scrap from a previous project, making this t-shirt virtually free! Yay!

I've found this pattern to be sized really well. I sewed a 134/140 for DD who is 136cm tall. She ordinarily wears a 128 for top garments and a 134 for bottom garments. The shoulders sit a little off the joint for this, but it's a t-shirt and I'm not going to be too fussy.

It was completely constructed on my overlocker/coverstitch machine.

Sadly, this garment isn't eligible for the PR Pattern Stash Contest as I've used this pattern before. However, the skirt that is next up in the queue for DD uses a pattern I've been meaning to make up for years!

Project 12 of 50: Dressing Gown

PR Pattern Stash Contest Entry #1

Butterick 5537: Dressing Gown

Review is here.



Man, this project has been one huge mojo sucker! I don't know why. Maybe because I normally shy away from anything competitve and, while I don't have any illusions about winning the PR Pattern Stash Contest, in my mind, it's still a competition.

I keep coming up with all these projects that need to be sewn NOW - and none of them qualify for the contest. LOL. Or maybe, I'm just resisting sewing up the patterns that I've been avoiding for so long?

Anyway, I've had heaps of time to sew up this dressing gown. My daughter and I have been on school holidays. We didn't go away anywhere in particular, but we have had a few outings. Still, there's been time. I've procrastinated like crazy. First, it was because I didn't have the right piping, so I put it off until I could get to Spotlight. They didn't have what I was looking for, then neither did Lincraft. I ended up making my own from my stash (which totally could have been done two weeks ago). The pattern doesn't even call for piping!  I just thought it would look nice.

The only main reason I've pushed through with the dressing gown (and not started another project) is because I badly want to add it to my Project 50 tally. I guess that little goal setting exercise is proving its value.

Now I've got a cuddly dressing gown to see me through this winter, and, hopefully, many more after that. I can't see myself sewing another one anytime soon.

So what did I think of this pattern?

Butterick 5537

It's not bad, but it just looks sloppy. I guess that's to be expected with an oversize dressing gown made from polar fleece. I made the size that corresponded closest to my measurements and I feel like I'm swimming in it. I had to shorten the sleeves by 19cm. Admittedly, this is partly because I eliminated the cuff, but still - the garment doesn't have a 15cm cuff!

The instructions were good. I followed them loosely, but deviated a little at times. For example, I inserted piping in between the facing and the body of the garment, I left off the pockets, I did a Hong Kong binding on the edge of the facing (turning it under 1/4" and topstitching just wasn't going to cut it) and I interfaced the hem and sleeve hems before stitching. The instructions for the collar result in a relatively nice finish, the handstitches hiding in the polar fleece nicely.

Overall, I'm sure I'll get plenty of wear out of this dressing gown and I'm glad to have the project finished!

(I even left my hair unbrushed for these photos for the authentic dressing gown experience! LOL)

Next up, a t-shirt for my daughter. She's requested another Farbenmix Quiara shirt with the double sleeves. Pity. I can't use that one for the PR contest either. That's OK. I know what's more important to me.

Project 11 of 50: Flower girl test dress #2

This dress is another make of the modified Ottobre pattern I used for my daughter's dress (just in a much smaller size). This time around it's for my niece, who, along with my daughter, is going to be a flower girl at my brother's wedding. I don't have too much access to her for fittings, so I thought I'd sew a test version for her to work out sizing. As you can see, it's a pretty simple dress, but I just wanted to get the length right and the empire line in the right spot.

I purchased this fabric in Kiribati when my husband and I visited his parents in 2000, so it's matured nicely.

Just a couple of notes about this dress (for me, mainly, as I'll probably lose a piece of paper by the time I get around to sewing the actual dresses):

• Sleeve elastic = 20cm
• Neckline elastic = 61cm
• Waist elastic = 60 cm
• Remove 13cm from hem
• Cut pattern at 43.5 cm from hem and add seam allowances. This will be easier to manage with the satin and chiffon than trying to sew a bias casing on straight.

The fabric for the actual dresses has now been bought and I've received a few tips on how to sew chiffon (without going mad) on PR (Man, I love that place). I think I'll try a trick that margk suggested (by Lena):

"The recipe: take 3 teaspoons of gelatine and put it in a glass of cold water, leave it for 30 minutes. Then bring to boil, but do not boil. Add 3 litres of cool water. Pour this gelatine water in the bucket, put your chiffon there, leave it for an hour, then gently squeeze water out and spread out on the clothing line. Iron it ( when completely dry ) and it is ready to cut. The fabric will be tame but still flexible."

Sounds interesting. I'm going to try that trick sooner rather than later, just in case I need to figure out another plan. :-)

Now I'm going to work on a couple of entries for the PR Pattern Stash Contest. I've got plans for a polar fleece dressing gown for me (but I've got to pick up some white piping for that tomorrow), a knit top for me and one for Erin, along with a knit dress and a cardigan for me. Today will be spent mainly tracing patterns and altering them, but I might get Erin's top done.

I've got a couple more days of holidays left, but I also need to be preparing to go back to work. Lots to fit in to the next 4 days!

Project 10 of 50: Flower Girl Dress Test #1

Well, here goes nothing!

My favourite brother is getting married in September. I've offered to make the flowergirl dresses for my daughter and my niece. The bride has chosen a style for the girls which is both easy to sew and cute.

Here's a picture of what she wants:

Upon close inspection, the original dress is lined and has an invisible zip - no elastic anywhere. Fortunately, my soon-to-be-official sister-in-law is very laid back and easy-going. She's not fussed if I make some changes.

I'm using, as always, an Ottobre pattern (02-2005-11) as the base for this dress. It's a peasant style blouse with shirring at the empire line to give it some shape.

I'd already raised the armholes a little to stop any modesty issues when I used this pattern for Erin last year for her Red Riding Hood costume. To make it more closely resemble the dress, I've lengthed the skirt portion by 8" and cut the front and back apart at the empire line. I'm going to add in another 6" evenly across the front and the back to emulate the fullness of the original dress. I think I may need to add some fullness and length to the sleeves as well.

It will be sewn from white chiffon and some kind of white shiny fabric. I think I'll bind the neckline and sleeve edges with a satin bias binding and insert some skinny elastic through the bias. I'll have to find some kind of sparkly stretchy trim to be sewn over the empire seam, otherwise, I may have to insert a zip in the side seam. I'd prefer not to do a zip, so I'm guessing a trip to the local dance supplier is in order.

First things first, though. I have to test out the pattern. I'm making a test dress for my daughter, to be fitted when she comes home from her visit to her grandparents. I also have to make a test dress for my niece to be fitted when she comes down to visit next week. That one is the most important because I don't have easy access to her for a lot of fittings. It shouldn't be too hard, though, it's a pretty simple dress.

Test Dress #1: Tropical Sundress for DD

I made this one up in a gorgeous (what I think is a) rayon/cotton blend that my daughter picked out when we visited Vanuatu a few years ago. Originally, I think she just wanted a little shirred sundress, but this has turned out much cuter.

Obviously, the actual flower girl dress will be made from two layers of fabric and will have a trim around the waistline, but this is a nice little dress for summer.

I'm not too sure about the neckline. It's rounded, where the inspiration dress is straight across. Now, I'm not going to get that straight across look with an elastic casing around the neckline. I hope the bride isn't too fussed. I'll find out tomorrow if it's not going to work.

I also have to lengthen the dress for the 'real' one. Another 3 - 4" should do it, I think.

And one more close up shot. I LOVE this colour on my daughter!

Project 8 & 9 of 50: Monkey Pyjamas

My daughter and my husband have a running joke about monkeys. Hence the monkey flannel for these pyjamas.

I looked hard through my collection for a really simple shirt that I could use for a pyjama top. Ottobre didn't have one in all the issues I own. I didn't have one in any of the envelope patterns I own, so I turned to Burda. I found one potential winner, but it was probably going to be too small. I was ALMOST going to buy a pattern just so I could make up this monkey flannel and get it out of the stash, but I held strong and stayed true to my original goal (not to buy any fabric or patterns until I've sewn 50 projects). I came close, I had all the justifications happening in my head, but, thankfully, didn't follow through on that impulse.

So, here's the next two projects (and I'm totally counting these as two projects):

PJ Top

Pattern: Burda Style Magazine 12-2010-135
Size: 128, with added 1.5cm width at hip, blending up to armscye
Fabric: Monkey Flannel

The pattern worked well for a simple PJ top. The instructions weren't even too bad, for Burda. They are too short in the body, but that's my fault. I normally sew a 134 in length for DD, but forgot to make that adjustment on these PJs. It's OK, though, she always wears a t-shirt under these kind of tops when she goes to bed anyway.

I made some piping from the chocolate Stella knit that I used for the yoga band on the pants, just to tie in the two pieces more effectively. I hadn't made piping with a knit before, so I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked.

PJ Bottoms

Pattern: Ottobre 06-2011-40 (TNT pattern for 2012)
Size: 134
Fabric: Monkey Flannel

I didn't have quite enough fabric to cut these according to the pattern, so I folded out 2" at the top of the front and back pieces. I then sewed a yoga style waistband made from stretchy cotton lycra to the top.

Lessons Learned

I learned a couple of lessons while sewing these PJs...

1.     Just because there are SOME elements of the pattern printed both ways, it doesn't mean the print is multi-directional. It pays to take notice of how many go each way. I think there are three or four monkeys in total on both garments who are right way up.

 2.     Life is TOO SHORT to sew button-up PJ tops, but I wanted this fabric out of my stash and my DD wanted some monkey pyjamas. Going forward, there will be PJ pants sewn and paired with a long-sleeved t-shirt - more comfortable and easier to sew. :-)

Just to show that I wasn't kidding yesterday about my DD always climbing! Apparently, the monkey pyjamas are highly appropriate! Sometimes, I really wish we had trees in our yard. Unfortunately, DD has to settle for climbing up these pillars unless we go to the park.

This is what makes it all worthwhile. She is still at that age where she loves the clothes I sew for her. I'm milking it for all it's worth at the moment. I know it won't last forever.

Project 7 of 50: Another coat

If I thought I was going to whip up 50 quick projects to satisfy my goal, my daughter had other ideas.

In the wake of my niece's coat success, my daughter decided that she wanted one "exactly the same". Well, there was no more of the red floral fabric, and the pattern didn't come in her size. Thankfully, she was willing to 'settle' for one of the other cute corduroys I had in my stash, and I could easily grade the pattern up. This was her final selection.

The coat pattern: Ottobre 06-2008-17

When I went to cut out the main pieces, I realised I actually didn't have enough of the corduroy! Oh No! In the end, I had to buy some coordinating quilting fabric to cut the facings from. Believe me, I shopped the stash first. I did have a piece that could have been OK, but it wasn't quite long enough and DD didn't like it anyway. If it was a smaller project, I probably would have used it anyway, but I figured that I was putting in some serious (for me) hours on this coat, I wanted it to be just right. So a small purchase was made.

I took this project along to a couple of sewing lessons. I'd already made this pattern before, so it was the perfect vehicle for learning a few new techniques. Normally, I'm a bit slap-happy when it comes to the actual sewing of garments (I tend to obsess over fit), but this time, I was more careful.

For this version of the coat, I learned how to attach a coat lining properly (leave it loose at the bottome! Whoops!), how to join the lining, facing and coat neatly at the bottom of the coat, how to attach the sleeve lining and the coat sleeve easily and how to apply a Hong Kong finish to the coat hem.

Get ready for the picture show. We took a LOT! And, for your reading pleasure, the captions have been written by Captain Obvious!

Proving that the coat was a success, it was on with seconds of her arriving home and hasn't been off for hours! :-)

Front view

Back view

Front view (with hood up)

Back view (with hood up)

Demonstrating the use of pockets (and leaning on a post!)

Just generally looking cool!

Now that's the kid I know! :-)