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! 

Vintage Pledge Pinafore Complete!

Aloha folks! How is your day going? I have finally reached the end of the five thousand social engagements that have taken up my every weekend for the past six weeks. I'm pretty tired, but only have a week and a half of work left so am looking forward to finally taking a moment off before Spud arrives! 

This weekend my plan is to potter, finally make those dresses I needed for work.... so I can wear them in my last week (oops) and sit with my feet up for a bit. We had a baby shower over the weekend, and showed off the nursery to family and friends. I managed to stay up til 2.30am! Pretty chuffed with that as my last hoorah for a while ha ha. 

Today I'm showing you my stretch denim pinafore, made from vintage pattern Style 1156, this is the first ever vintage pattern I have ever used! Can you believe it? People are always saying I have a vintage style, I like to think I like everything and that's why I have a bit of a vintage aesthetic. 

Therefore I have completed my #vintagepledge for 2015, to actually sew an original vintage pattern! Im pretty sure that this is from the '70s. 

For some reason I look a bit unimpressed in these pictures, but actually I'm pretty darn chuffed! I used the stretch denim that I bought for my simple stretch maternity skirts that are now a bit indecent (I didn't realise quite how high my bump would be... it pulls skirts up rather high! :-)  ). You can't tell in these pics really but it's got a lovely flock pattern. 

It looks in the pattern like there is a placket centre front, but in fact this is a small fold which is topstitched with buttons added. Once it was topstitched, and because I added the button tab detail I decided it looks better plain. I'm sure I'll make another one at some point, I might change this so it's a proper button placket for breastfeeding. 

I went to a workshop about breastfeeding on Monday, and am feeling a little better about it all. My only worry is what I'm going to wear? I wear mostly dresses that don't open at the front, so the double layer vest and top thing would basically mean me getting naked? The two dresses I'm making at the moment I'm ensuring have front openings to try and limit this issue but if anyone has any suggestions (that don't involve me wearing solely jersey for the next six months) I'd very much appreciate it. 

I used the original skirt pieces from the pattern, as I figured it would stretch around the bump, and I was right hoorah! This now means that I have something that has a different skirt to the washi in the wardrobe. I mean I love the washi skirt (clearly) but I am getting a little fed up of having the same silhouette every day, especially as I can't wear my skirts.

When looking at the cover art it appears to be a pinafore, but in fact this is a dress with a a full back. I didn't quite have enough fabric to pull this off so adapted the back to be more like a pinafore, with tabs coming from the back, at an angle so that they would sit well on my shoulders.I also used these straps as tabs, adding in the buttons to complete the pinafore look. It was nice to use up some buttons from the stash. I probably should have ironed this before taking pics, but what can I say? I'm lazy these days. 

.Again I've got that sway back problem like with my last make, but I'm pretty sure this is due to bump and will go away once I'm back to relatively normal. The zip is also separating at the top, so it probably needs a hook and eye.

This picture must be about a month or so ago, so imagine this picture, but bigger and you get an idea of how big my belly is now he he.

The pockets are lined with a white muslin with little red flowers that I've used in lots of projects and now have lots less. After talking about trying to get through my stash, I started the process last week, going through my massive bag of excess fabric that is left over from other projects. I separated out all the cottons that I'm likely to make patchwork/ possible kids clothes from, set aside any pieces of material big enough to make big people clothes from, and put all the wools and heavier materials into a bag under the stairs. This is only one bag of the masses of stuff I've to get through, but I feel better now for having made the first inroads on this massive task. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on my stash stress.