Orange Wool Pinafore

Well! Five months is quite a while isn't it? I cite sleep deprivation and general exhaustion as the reasons. Evelyn had a few bad months of not sleeping as well recently so being Mum has taken all of my creative energy. I still managed a few bits and bobs of sewing here and there, and I've got a whole new batch of pics to show you so I should manage a few blogs in the next few weeks. I'm really looking forward to writing a bit again!

How honest should you be about a baby? I think the phrase 'not sleeping well' is a bit of a misnomer, when someone says they're not sleeping well I think the assumption is that it was a bit of a restless sleep right? Why would a baby having restless sleep affect your life? E's version of not sleeping well was waking three or four times a night, taking about 40 mins to go back to sleep each time. so you get your own sleep in two to three hour bursts probably adding up to about five or six hours. It's enough to feel like you can operate the shower, throw clothes on in the morning. But anything beyond that has been beyond me, so less seeing and going out etc. But she's done really well this week so I feel much better, fingers crossed it lasts a little longer!

I based this pinafore pattern on Style 1156, and made the first version last year from stretch denim. I was pregnant when I wore the pinny, but as it was made from stretch I've been able to wear it since the birth. The empire line, plus the easy access for breastfeeding has made it a workhorse. Though I have felt like I've worn denim way more than I ever have before which is quite plain for me, so I've been trying to build up my collection of tops to go with these denim things. 

My new life of sitting on the ground, and baby carrying/ pram pushing has been a big change in my wardrobe, which was all geared towards that five line if work and home appropriate. A lot of my clothes were dresses and what with the breastfeeding I haven't been able to wear them so I've been trying to find myself stylistically since. I'm now going back to work in a few weeks so now that I now feel like I'm getting a handle on my style, it will all change again! I'm looking forward to wearing non boob access clothing though!

It really needs a hook and eye at the top, this pinafore took over a month as I was making it in small increments. By the time I got to the zip, I just was done with making this ha ha. I also bought the fabric just as E was born, so it had been sat a while before I started making it. I love it, but I kind of missed the boat to wear it weather wise, it's nice to have a reason to look forward to winter though, especially as summer is only just beginning.

It has a full lining, cotton on the top, and anti-static for the skirt. I knew that I would be wearing this mostly in the winter so I needed to add this extra element to make it wearable. Unfortunately I under-stitched the outer fabric rather than the lining, so the lining pokes out. This is one of those things that you forget if you aren't sewing as often, the little things that are second nature have to be remembered and sometimes you forget something, no big deal. 

I feel like this is a good 'transition' piece of clothing, as in I'm hoping if I wear a smart shirt underneath I can wear it to work and feel smart. It's pretty seventies which was all the rage last winter, no idea if it will still be the case this year but, what do I care? Ha ha.

I've been participating in Me Made May this year and I've actually remembered to join in every day so far! Can you imagine?! I've found it really interesting in that I tend to have a few favourite items of clothing that I just wear over and over. It's like a mini capsule wardrobe, I'll fall out of love with one thing, replace it with another, and then keep those few items on rotation. I've got masses of clothes so it's interesting to see how little of them I wear on a day to day basis. I've also recently changed shape and am so now wearing jeans! I'll blog a bit more about this with a pic but it has been great to bring out some old me mades to rotate into the mini wardrobe. I'll articulate this better next time.

Also, sewing bee tonight!! So excited, all the fun, none of the jeopardy! 

Sort of skorts refashion

Hello everyone!

So sorry for the delay in postings... I'm pretty sure you'll have heard this excuse floating around but we had a summer! I mean... a real honest to goodness summer with warm weather every day :-0 What with keeping up with watering the plants (which have gone mad in this weather... im sure they're twice the size than any other plants I've grown before) and keeping up with all the relaxing in the backyard/ bbqs/ games of scatterball, both sewing, and blogging about sewing have taken a back seat.

Also... we went to Barcelona! Now I know this may seem strange seeing as me and Mr T have been together for about 9 1/2 years, but we'd never been on a proper holiday abroad together for longer than a weekend. So this year, after our now both having jobs which involve using our brains (the cheek of it!), and pushing to get the wedding invites out (now sent! Arg... it's really happening) we have exhausted ourselves and therefore we really needed a break. We had a great week in the sunshine and now feel super relaxed. So that's you up to date!

Now for sewing, I needed some quick makes for summery weather, with all the nice weather we've been having I had a good idea of what I needed, shorts! I find it really hard to find flattering trousers/shorts. Problems being, they're either far too tight, making me feel very aware of my shape/body, or way too lose, not fitting to my waist/hips. Now I know there's nothing wrong with my shape/ body, I just know that it's quite curvy, and I just don't want to feel bootilicious when I'm walking about... I wan't to be comfy.

I bought the below jumpsuit a few years ago...

and it definitely fits in the super big category:

It's super comfy, I've had it quite a while, and I have worn it quite a bit. But it had fallen out of rotation, the little lapels made it feel kind of formal... but because it's big it felt kind of casual, so the time to wear it never came up. Her below is not impressed:

 So! it was time for a refashion. Not something I do very often to be honest, though it's something I should do more, as I've recently been buying quite a bit of clothing. I think it was the move to Manchester, the shops are so much more diverse here in comparison to Edinburgh. I'm bound to find something I like. It's rather dangerous for the wallet, especially as we've just got back from holiday... plus the wedding.

So anyway getting back to the sewing, my I'm chatty today. I started by wearing the jumpsuit in front of the mirror, the crotch was so low on these they were practically hammer pants so I pulled them up a little, and marked my natural waist line, cutting across the middle (ensuring the buttonhole and button where about 1" below the cutting line). I then tried them on with a belt to make sure he height was right:

Ooh look at me getting all posy in the garden he he. So they fit right yay! I then measured my waist, and the top of the shorts. I used this to create two open pleats in the front, and smooth ones in the back.

I didn't really have any material that was going to blend well with the material of these shorts so I decided on a contrast fabric, tying in with the spots on the pockets. And I used one of my orange apple buttons. I bought these for my georgette mathilde, but the orange was just too bright, perfect for these summery shorts.

They were so useful on the holiday, and I know I'll get loads of wear out of these super sort-of skorts. Plus I still have the top part, and I'm thinking of adding a contrast dress to the bottom, two refashions for the price of one!

I've still got a couple of pre-holiday makes to show you, but I've got secret wedding things to do so I might be a little quieter in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, here's some pics of me jazzing it up in the back yard, by the bin :-) Happy summer!

Pyjama Party for One

Can only be read when listening to 'Me Party' from the Muppets..

This is me.... in my new pyjamas... having a party for one! I love these pjs, they are made from a cotton stretch material from Minerva fabrics. I used a rub-off of an old pair of pyjamas which became unwearable after an unfortunate ripping incident in an unnecessary area, and followed Karen's instructions for the Tofino pattern (with some minor adjustments). I added piping to the waistband as my original pyjamas rather than down the sides, and I spent a while trying to figure out pattern matching... this was a bit of an exercise in futility, but just look at where the pattern matches up at the front! So proud!

Alright, alright that's enough staring at my crotch you'll just have to take my word for it ok? I don't have much more to say other than Pyjama Win!

Burnt Orange Pencil Skirt

I finished something! Hoorah! And here's a picture of our kitchen (which only fits one person) actually looking quite clean for once. I think I could give The Little Paris Kitchen a run for its money.

Out of my entire giant list of things for last weekend, I feel I did very well by actually completing a project and not getting distracted, attempting to do four and achieving nothing.

However, I did only finish one project, but it was totally worth it. I made a burnt orange pencil skirt for the winter, and it fits both my waist and hips. Something I have never found in the shops, even when I was teeny tiny. I'm really starting to believe I can sew clothes.

I always used to give it a go, but never paid very much attention to the pattern, or ironed anything, so it was never quite as pristeen as I would like it. The sizing would be out, or I'd have made something up ad hoc and it would go wrong.

Not that I haven't done that in this project... but I'm getting better at it maybe? As you can see in this post, the skirt is a remake of a remake, a hack job I did on a skirt that was several sizes too big. I unpicked all the side seams and recut the pieces from my pattern.

Something to do with me leaving the back zip in instead of re-doing it meant that the waistband fell just short of the right size, so I bound the raw edge with navy bias binding. I think I got away with it, just. But now I know when I make the pattern from fresh that I might add another inch to the waistband just in case.

I also made belt loops, which came together very quickly and easily. Unfortunately when I was stitching them into the waistband, it seems to have pulled the waistband closer together (I should probably have basted alot more?), if you've got any tips on how to avoid this in future then please let me know!

I added in tartan panels for the pocket pieces to add contrast (and because I ran out of material) and added in the belt loops in tartan to keep up the theme.

When I did the top stitching on the pockets, I did it in navy to tie in with the pockets.

I learnt something new on this project too, understitching. When I read the description of what this was on the pattern, as usual, it all sounded complete gobble di gook, so I looked up understitching on google, and what should come up but the lovely Colette of Colette Patterns. Her instructions here, were clear and easy to follow with pictures (v. important to a person like me who gets all those words confused in their head). I was very pleased with the results, this makes the fabric not roll out revealing the navy lining.

Overall, this pattern worked really well. It was easy to follow, and fit me to the dimensions that it said on the packet (not always something that actually happens). I'm still learning, but feel like I really made progress with this, and haven't stopped wearing it since it was made! Any projects you're particularly proud of at the moment?

Deborah

September success

The September weekend was a success! I finished a whole skirt, very proud of myself for actually finishing a project. And I'm itching to share it with you, but unfortunately Mr T took the final pictures with his camera, so I’ll have to wait until he has a second to put them on the laptop.

In the meantime here’s a sneaky peek. This picture makes it look like I play guitar... in fact I'm far too lazy for all that learning... I took the guitar off Mr T so he could take the picture, obviously wasn't paying enough attention to put it down again.

I also attached the embroidery below (which I finished ages ago) onto a canvas. The little art shop in Stockbridge is having a sale on canvas, and it occurred to me that this was the perfect forum for my embroideries. These usually hang around folded up in a ‘to be completed’ pile because I can never decide what to make them into when they’re done. But I’m really happy with how this came out, and think I’ll do it again with any new embroideries.  

It’s easy to do, I used metal drawing pins, pulling the fabric tight over the canvas and hammering it in at the centre of all four sides. I folded the excess fabric at the corners over, and hammered that in place. Then I added in pins wherever it looked like the fabric was loose. Ill try and take pictures the next time I do it. I was sorely tempted to buy a heavy duty stapler for the occasion (something I’ve wanted for ages) but resisted temptation (for once), sticking with the drawing pins I already had in the cupboard.

September Weekend Projects

Working for the Council has some benefits, the best of which is the Midlothian September weekend. I have a four day weekend to play with, and for the first time (probably since we moved up) we don't have visitors!

The original plan was to make a practise version of my wedding dress (above left), but with the prices of fabric up in Edinburgh, and the amount of fabric needed for my first draft pattern V1094, I decided to get a pattern with a little less fabric. So I chose New Look 6723, and a beautiful vintage wallpaper-esque navy blue fabric. I think I need the most practise on the bodice, so went for a basic one to start with, to work my way up. I'll keep you posted with progress on this one.

The project I've first started is a re-working of the orange skirt (in the centre of this picture), when I first bought this skirt it was a number of sizes too big for me. So I did my usual job of taking it apart and adding a couple of pleats. It sort of fit, but having lost a little weight over the summer, it has just become unwearable. So I've gone back to basics, taking all the seams apart, and making the pattern pieces from New Look 6128. I ran out of fabric to do the waistline, so I've added in some dark green and blue tartan as the pocket pieces, adding some contrast. I think it works, but will have to wait and see if I wear it when it's finished.

You've seen a variety of pictures of my flower embroidery, and I'm coming to the end of finishing it. So I bought some teal pom pom trim (my favourite kind of trim) and I'm going to add it to the edge of the pillow/ cushion to make it slightly more cushion looking (hopefully). Also, Im thinking it needs something a little more in the main area of the cushion, feels a litte white to me. I've got some plans for how to fill this in... watch this space!

Obviously I have taken on way more than I can do in this weekend, but it's quite nice to have exciting plans ahead. Ill update you soon with my progress!



Deborah

Great Granny Greens and pre-nostalgia

I had a fantastic evening with Granny Greens last night, and I'm super proud of everyone for getting their fancy french knots done. Saw some beautiful inspiration, and some old friends!

I hope everyone who came along had as much fun as me, and I'm looking forward to you bringing your embroideries along to Granny Greens next week.

Last night made me feel a little bit pre-nostalgic, I'm going to miss you Edinburgh! So on the way home, in the drizzling rain which didn't appear to touch me at all (see, the rose-tinted haze has already come down). I took this picture of the lovely night lights over Dean Bridge, one of my favourite views of Edinburgh.