If you've been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I have already made 7 Mabel skirts, 4 of which I wear frequently (3 have gone to Gemma because they were too clingy for me!). I love the Mabel for work but I also love skirts with a bit of flare at the hem. As Mabel is Collette's pattern of the month, a Mabel hack seemed just the thing. (Note: this sounds as if I hack patterns all over the place, actually this is my first and I am really pleased with myself, it feels like an indication of progression that I don't have to follow patterns to the letter any more!).
My Mabel looks quite different to the pattern now.
I have obviously added to the length by about 3 inches (I'm just under 5'4"). I cut a medium size and grade in a little at the waist.
I really like the fit (not much room for chocolate this week!).
Because the fabric is stretch jersey though, it's still really comfortable.
I can tuck it in or out (will probably wear a blouse over just to cover the tummy). The fabric is ponte roma from Minerva crafts. Its heavy-weight and sews well. Not a lot of stretch (infact I tried making the Collette Seamwork leggings from the same fabric and I couldn't pull them over my knees!) and a little synthetic looking. There is a big difference in different pontes. I like the stretch on this one for a skirt.
So the only difference I made to my original pattern was to add a flare at each of the seams as below.
Simple really and I love the effect of the flare. There is a flirty spin (rather spoilt though by the sight of a slip showing!).
This is my favourite Mabel, great for work, and I've already worn it several times. Also loving the cherry blossom at work at the moment.
Have you changed any patterns successfully?
This is the first time I've made a yoked scandanavian-style jumper.
This is the Solja by Anna Maltz from Pompom quarterly magazine. I really like this magazine. It's A5 size and comes beautifully wrapped which feels like a real treat. At £9.50 I think it's good value. There are usual several patterns I would like to knit, articles on all kinds of wooly topics and a sweet recipe!
I've got my eye on the cardigan on the cover of this quarter's issue! I knitted the second size which is quite roomy (I have a loose tension!). I reduced the sleeve length by an inch and they are still a bit too long!
The body has a little lace repeated pattern.
The sleeve was supposed to have this pattern too, but I just couldn't be bothered to try and work out the pattern among the increases on the sleeves, so I knitted them in straight stocking stitch. The yoke is easy to knit. I just changed the colour choices. The wool is Navia Trio, Faroese Shetland wool. I bought it from Island Wool, the colours seem to have changed and the pink, maroon and mustard don't seem to be available any more. I was worried that it might be itchy, but it isn't at all, it really is very comfortable for a 100% Shetland wool.
I'm wearing the jumper with another Collete Mabel (number 7!). This time version 1, though I lengthened it by 3 inches (too old for a proper mini I'm afraid). This was some pretty cheap and grotty ponte roma (really I'm trying to find some plaid ponte but this was the nearest in a dogtooth). It's a reasonable fit and I like it with thick tights and chunky ankle boots.
Just in case you have noticed I only blogged a jumper three weeks ago, no I'm not a superfast knitter I've just let my knitting pile up a bit waiting to be blocked, and so they seem to be appearing thick and fast.
I'm rather glad February is almost over, it is a difficult month for me, and the weather is so gloomy at the moment, an excuse to get in a lot of sewing! I'm in the middle of the Cascade duffle-coat sewalong; I've just cut out the Walkaway dress and a Linden sweatshirt, so I'm a busy girl. Roll on next weekend!
Firstly welcome new followers! Clearly the Bruyere is a popular pattern (I'll be making a liberty lawn version in spring) and I was really excited that I got a lot of new followers on Bloglovin. I hope you like some of my other makes as well.
Last summer I managed to find a vintage top for £5 which I really love, and this needed a navy skirt to go with it for work. Enter the Colette Mabel. I wanted a pencil skirt which was comfortable and easy to wear and the Mabel definitely fits the bill. The styling on the pattern didn't really look like what I had in mind, much to short. I wanted something high waisted and below the knee and thought version 3 could probably fit the bill. I cut a size small because the hip size looked right (I'm 28" waist and 37" hips and the sizing is 27-28 waist and 37-38" hips). Big mistake, much too tight (so version one went to Gemma). I then cut a medium and graded the waist in slightly .... perfect!
I'm really pleased with the fit here. The length is great, just what I wanted, and I like the kick-pleat at the back. This is a really easy make, easily done in a couple of hours, and even this length only takes one metre, so it's really cheap to make. I used Ponte Roma and this usually costs between £7-£12, so this is an £11 outfit! (Sorry about the strange things I seem to be doing with the remote here!)
Well I liked this so much I made another five!
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The second from the left is actually a black dot - more later). They are all made from Ponte Roma, so you might expect they would all fit pretty much to same. Not at all. The dot one fits well, but is very tight to pull over my hips and the cream ......! Well see for yourself.
Here with the Bellini blouse (not blogged because its too tight on the bust and has gone to Gemma) and with the Bronte top. Look how tight it is around the rear! Definitely not a look I feel comfortable with (yes, Gemma got the skirt too).
So I still have 4 Mabels myself, and my favourite is probably this one (sorry its on the model)
Now all these differences in how this same pattern fits in 5 different ways even though the material is ostensibly the same, has led me to wonder if it is really worth making a muslin. I have made muslins in the past which seem to fit well only to find the finished garment is too tight around the bust. Some websites suggest you make the muslin from the same fabric but that just seems so expensive, and if the slight differences in these fabrics made so much difference to the final fit, then a muslin wouldn't be really helpful! What do you think? Do you always make a muslin? Anyway I would recommend this pattern as a wardrobe staple which is easy to sew and easy to wear (and really cheap!). What more can you want?
