Sew Darn Tired

This the the Ottobre zip up sweatshirt I'm making. In the magazine it is made out of two colours but I am testing it with some merino terry backed nylon/lycra i.e. the merino is a terry loop on the wrong side with the right side being a nylon/lyrcra in a charcoal colour. I bought it at The Fabric Store for $8  per metre. It's great - wears well, is soft, spongy, really stretchy and warm. Washes a treat too.  I wanted a contrasting zip but couldn't find one at my usual haunt of Trad's so shopped the stash and found a red one so decided I'd use the coverstitch (finally) to contrast stitch with red too. Ordinarily I really detest black (or close enough) with colours other than white ..... I'm not really sure why.... but I digress. I tested the three thread which I really like and it worked a treat on some lycra I had in the machine at the first and only test I'd done. Then I started on my panels but the middle needle thread kept breaking. I'm cutti...

I finished my shirt last night. This is how I wore it today, with my jacket. I wasn't sure about it like this but at an appointment I had this morning, I had 3 people go WOW great outfit and then they were super surprised that I made the jacket and shirt. Thank you for all the suggestions in the comments. I took most of them up. I put a strip of interfacing in between the facing and the front and that seemed to do the trick. I also reset the machine every time too, by turing it on and off. A bit annoying but not very time consuming so it wasn't worth not doing it - just in case ;)! The cuff and button. I thought the shirt would be just too plain so I decided to put some little details like the pink button holes and sewing the buttons on in pink thread too. This was inspired by the hanging loop and the feature strip on the the collar. This pattern doesn't have a yoke so changed it to with yoke and also a pleat of fabric in the back so it wouldn't be...

I was really chugging along with my sewing and my shirt, McCall's 8053 modified, was looking good. I was  am really pleased with how it has turned out so far, up until I tried to do button holes. That's when my fire was put out. A bit of history... my first machine had a 4 step button hole, which I think makes it more fiddly to make exact size button holes. When I bought my current daily machine (Elna Elina 40, Aldi branded machine which I am very happy with), all the upgrade I really wanted was a 1 step button hole. Put the button on the button hole foot and it does the exact size to match the button. PERFECT! I've made a few things the last few years with one button hole here or there, but the last time I made something with lots of button holes was about 1994 maybe; a dress, red swiss cotton with 5cm white polka dots and tiny buttons all down the front - about 20 from memory. I need 12 button holes for this shirt.  The photo is a bit blurry but you get the idea...

Well, I'm on fire... in the sewing mojo sense anyway! Firstly, I hemmed the black pants and wore them last night. They fit so well and are so comfortable, I will definitely make some more and this time will add pockets. Although I have a Burda pants pattern I want to try next. I finished my Butterick B5187 jacket. I made view C with view D's notched sleeve detail. I've made this jacket before (View A) with some wool knit fabric and this one went together perfectly as well. It's an unlined jacket and a pretty quick make. I lined the yoke pieces with some cotton hibiscus print (which I didn't photograph for some reason) and sewed the sleeves in flat. This is a really well drafted pattern and a really simple make. The fabric is some interlined wool in a herringbone weave that my Mum bought in the '70's (I have some white too) and unlike the colour on my monitor, it is a really bright lime green not so subdued as it is here. I made sure I pressed al...

I finally finished my black trousers/pants. I made a muslin of this pattern  made way back here  in January 2014. The fit was pretty good and so I cut out another pair from some aqua and white tiny houndstooth fabric about 6 months ago(non stretch) and modified it by narrowed the legs as I found the bottom of the leg at a shorter length flapped about and annoyed me. Alas, they didn't even come close to fitting and I can't work out why as I cut the 14 like I did with the other pair and this one. They aren't finished and waiting for me to whittle down my bum to fit (ha ha..how long will I wait?). Sorry I just realised I didn't take a photo of the pants on, or a full length photo either but will do that when my photographer comes home. Hopefully I'll have a blouse to go with them!  When I was just about finished, I made the button hole. Firstly I put it vertical.... unpick, then I made another test button hole and went to make on the pants. Doh, what did my...

Glitter and Dance  are a Brisbane dance supply retailer at Mansfield, not too far from me. They supply dance fabrics, dance patterns, costumes and all the extras that go with this. Some of their customers include:  The Australian Ballet Company, The Queensland Ballet & Theatre and Warner Bros. Movie World Production. They are also a Telstra Business Awards winner (for 2014). I haven't bought much from them - some SPF50 swimwear lycra and some remnants. They are a very friendly family run company and were a pleasure to deal with. They have a VIP club that gives you early access to specials via email and some discounts. The neck is too wide on this pattern so I'll adjust it next time, but overall it was a good fit. Just so there is a photo, I'm showing the rashie I made for Alex late last year with the SPF50 swimwear lycra bought from Glitter and Dance. Of course now it is too small (as are the swim shorts) but there is no outdoor swimming till after the September...

I thought before I move on to making some stuff for the cooler temps (that have just started here),  I should finish some of the stuff I had lying around  I hadn't finished. Along with this dress, I have a pair of the Amazing Fit trousers in black nearly done and a Style Arc Dotty Blouse (sans sleeves) cut and ready to sew.  I really need a lot of things at the moment. Everything is worn out or just old and mostly just getting to and from school, doesn't worry me, but it's a bit embarrassing to wear the same old stuff when I sew and have a stash that could cover the Andes. So this dress is a rehash. If you remember I made this way back (l looked for the post but I can't find it) and it was a Burda pattern with a cross over bodice with some ties. It just never fit properly - the bodice needed a FBA and where the ties met with the bodice and skirt and side seams it was so bulky it just didn't sit well. I really love the fabric (bought in Auckland from a favo...