A sorta, kinda sewing plan

Hello, hello, hello! Oh how I’ve missed the sewing community. Let me start by saying thank you for your thoughtful words on the birth of our boy. He’s four weeks today! Can you believe how fast time flies? I am definitely taking the advice of soaking up every minute with him.

Two weeks old

But I am also planning on taking advantage of the time he spends asleep. I’ve found that with all my maternity sewing I didn’t make anything that’s nursing friendly. Not a thing. And how many things do I own that are nursing friendly? Two, maybe three, if I feel like wearing a bright wrap dress (not really). So here I am planning a nice nurse-friendly wardrobe. I sometimes get distracted by shiny objects so no promises I will keep to this list. But I will use it as a guide.

I snapped up this pattern as soon as it was announced. I had been trying to decide on a button up pattern and this one looked perfect. The ruffle in the back is such a great feminine touch.

Grainline Studio’a Archer Shirt

This has been in my stash for far too long and needs some attention.

Colette’s Violet Blouse

Oh Darling, I was so close to getting it right. Now with a bit of grading experience under my belt I’m ready to make this one up…again. In Chambray.

I’ve been craving this dress for ages. It’s time for it to be made.

View A, B or C. I’m not picky.

And these two from Cake Patterns.

And I can’t forget about my promise to complete a sewlution for the year. I’ve been desperate for a nice fitting blazer/jacket. I’ve decided to go with Colette’s Anise pattern.

I bought the companion booklet and I’m hoping that it will get me through the making of my first outer garment. For practice sake I’m going to make a mini blazer for little dude. Working in miniature should make it less intimidating, right ?

First up, Archer…

Loving Ava

Yes, I know. I am looking a bit smug. But I’ve been in quite the sewing drought and it feels so good to have it over. I cut out the Ava pattern back in June, I think. And it sat in a drawer until I finally decided to put it together last week.

And I am so glad I did. Initially I thought I was dragging my feet so much because I wasn’t in love with the fabric I chose. But that wasn’t it. The more I thought about it, the more I wished I had used a lovely Liberty tana lawn I’ve had in my stash for ages. Fear of cutting into such pricey fabric made me hesitate. Enter the mustard fabric. At £2 or so a meter cutting into it didn’t feel so hard. But I fell out of love for it and so it went neglected. But with a meetup coming up I figured it would be the perfect event to finish Ava so I could wear it to. And I did. Just in time.

I struggled putting in that mesh. Man, oh, man. It took three attempts, two hours and a lunch break. But finally it went in and I was so glad that I had saved my Liberty fabric from so much seam ripping

The fit (only change I made was to add a couple of inches at the waist) is pretty good. Next time I might drop where the bodice and peplum meet by half an inch. For all that feet dragging I sure love my top and look forward to the next one.

Me-Made-May Day 28 and 29

Day 28. I wore my Colette Jasmine blouse with some jeans.

Day 29. I wore my new circle skirt for the third time in a week! I love that thing.

Vintage Simplicity 4212: A grading success story

My newest blouse is easily by far my best sewing achievement. I almost cried with happiness when I finished the last stitches without any big hiccup. I really worked hard to get this blouse right. During some past attempts at grading I would miss a step and without any proper notes written I usually started again from scratch. Not with this blouse. Oh no…I took notes in a sewing designated notebook.

For my muslin I did the following changes to the pattern, a bust size 40:

1. Added 1 inch to each seam to the back and front bodice pieces (4 inches in total added)
2. Added 1/4 inch to sleeve cap and 1 inch to sleeve width

For my final version I changed the following:

1. Moved the shoulder seam back by 2 inches
2. Shaved off 2 inches from the bodice armscye
3. Lengthened the bodice by 2 inches
4. Left out the lace.

I am quite the happy bunny with this blouse. I love the fit and would love to give myself a medal for proving to myself that I really can make a well-fitting blouse. I had doubts, y’all!

The fabric is a cotton-silk blend purchased on Goldhawk Road during the Fabric Fandango meetup. I first wore my blouse on Me-Made-May Day 27, also my handsome husband’s birthday.

Maybe I lucked out with my calculations and construction but I think I am sold on vintage patterns. The blouse is so feminine and complimentary. And the construction wasn’t as complicated as I imagined it being. I’ve since added a couple to my pattern collection.

Me-Made-May Day 26

This post is brought to you by the power of Past Me who scheduled a future post for right now. A bit mind-numbing, huh? Well, I am currently here…

Photo Credit: YesRoanoke.com

…celebrating my 10th college (aka university) reunion! A full week of shenanigans and debauchery. Oh, who am I kidding. I bet I will be in bed sound asleep every night after 2 cocktails. But I can dream.

Anyhow…On MMM Day 26 I wore my first Sorbetto. A sheer one that I don’t wear too often because, well, I forgot about it.

I wore it to bake and cook all day in the kitchen, prepping for my husband’s birthday get-together the following day.

Past Me will be back here tomorrow to bring you the latest MMM outfits. And please, please forgive me if I haven’t been commenting on blogs. I’ve been reading them on my phone, which makes it hard to comment. I’ll be back to replying and commenting when I get back in a week.

Island-inspired sewing

Source: http://www.cretanbeaches.com/

May is getting closer and closer and it brings a long ago booked holiday (Crete!). I thought it was still far in the future but…nope. It sneaked up on me and my plans to sew my vacation wardrobe might be thwarted. Might! I still have time to make a handful of pieces. Assuming I get the fit okay I hope to pack these (mostly button-up) beauties in my suitcase:

I totally jumped on the Lobster fabric bandwagon . Freya and I were browsing on Goldhawk Road recently and we instantly snapped some up when we saw it. I settled to make it into a skirt because I don’t think my lady lumps can pull it off in a dress.

Another pattern that I am planning to finally make is the Sewaholic’s Renfrew. Marie’s gorgeous takes on this simple T settled it for me: must make now. I have some plain red and coral jerseys in my stash that I can use but I will be on the look out for stripey ones at Walthamstow market this weekend.

So that’s my sewing plan for April. It should keep me nice and busy.

OWOP: Day 5 with Crochet Ginger, the Remix

Gail‘s comment recently lead to today’s outfit. She suggested that my Mustard Jasmine would look good with the crochet Ginger and she was right. I think the look is quite sweet. But I love my layering pieces (viva cardis!) so I think I will have to start making vests (tank tops in the UK). This outfit so needs a coolio 1990s vest. No, really.

A vest would give it a bit more umph, yes? I thought about making vests earlier in the year and completely forgot about it after the weather got warmer. Must add that to the to-sew list. Who knows how long this warm weather is going to last? Oh oh. Did I jinx us? Sorry if I did, London!

I used the belt from my Madhatter Ginger to define the waist. I turned the bow to the back and ta-da…a clean look in the front with a cute bow in the back. Sadly, no photo of the cute bow was taken.

Tomorrow: Prince of Wales Ginger.

Jasmine+Madeleine=Happy Mela

From all the Victory Patterns it was the Madeleine pattern that I was most drawn to. I love how flirty flared skirts look. When it came to making Madeleine I was quite nervous. At the time I hadn’t made a lapped zip or top-stitched a garment so heavily. I actually experienced my first thread emergency. I ran out of top-stitching thread and had to run out to Rolls and Rems to pick up two more spools.

Sewing up the skirt was relatively easy. I graded the pattern up one size and cut off 3.5 inches from the hem. The only real issue that occurred was that my waistband still came out short. I had to improvise and make a loop to catch the button on the back. Worked pretty well, I think. The only other hiccup occurred when some of the top-stitching DISINTEGRATED on one of the pockets. I had to stitch it again by hand because the dress was already completed. Upon inspection you might notice the crooked stitches but I doubt anyone will be looking that closely.

The inspiration behind the fabric color is my upcoming 10 year (!!!) college reunion. Recently I purchased my plane ticket and I pictured wearing a green Madeleine on the flight. Our university colors are green and gold. Although I didn’t pick the right shade of green I much preferred the kelly green. I purchased the fabric from an eBay seller and I am really considering buying more to make a cropped pair of the Colette Clover. The cotton drill is so soft, has a bit of stretch and it worked beautifully.

After I finished making Madeleine I knew a great compliment to it would be a Jasmine blouse. I used some navy floral fabric I picked up during Karen’s Fabric Fandango. Now that I look at the two together I’m not sold. I swear the look worked in my head. I am totally not on my way to a dairy farm or to sing in the hills of Austria.

But I will admit. I LOVE the way the navy floral fabric compliments all the details in the skirt.

Great roomy pockets to smuggle in candy into the movie theater (Muahahahahahaha). If I make the skirt again I definitely will trace two lines on the right side pockets instead of one. My second line came out a bit wonky without a line to follow.

I bought these buttons from Totally Buttons and I love them. They are so so sweet.

My improvised button loop. Can I just say that the lapped zipper might be the way to go? So pretty and easy.

I think I am going to sport the skirt with a simple t-shirt. The skirt is such a statement piece that it should not compete with a top.

This is my second Jasmine. I made it especially for the skirt but have decided to wear it on its own. It’s a bit roomy and I am thinking I will take it in on the sides a bit. I don’t know why with dresses and blouses I under-fit or over-fit. It seems skirts are just my thang. Working on making them all my thang.

After so much modeling I happily rewarded myself with a nice cup of coffee. Oh! Notice the headband? Skirt scraps I turned into a headband. Won’t be pairing that with the skirt in fear of looking too matchy matchy but I love the way it looks with the new Jasmine.

The sun will come out tomorrow…

…and when it does I can share the last garment I made during the Great Internet Blackout. And one made shortly after.

Until then here’s a wee preview because I am too impatient to wait to share.

I don’t drink (hot) tea nor do I eat mustard…

…but I will wear them.

Tea dyed crochet trim with mustard shirting. Perfect combo.

The Jasmine pattern came together pretty fast and easy. There’s not much to say about the construction except that I’m sad I didn’t bother grading the pattern up (like usual). I assumed because the pieces were cut on the bias the shirt would have enough give. Silly, Mela. Silly, silly, silly.

Loving the trim, not the wrinkly bust

But I do love how it came out. The crochet trim is a great way to go. So glad I followed in the steps of Miss Patty Snug Bug. I’d love to make another (that fits properly) in a yummy silk. Just like Patty. Have I mentioned how much I love her style? Cause I do.