McCalls 7432

Welcome to new readers.  I'm sorry I didn't resond as usual to the lovely comments on my Stella coat.  I really enjoyed reading them.


After my more challenging Stella coat, here is a couple of quick makes.  I've been so cold recently that I wanted something warm to wear at work. 

McCalls 7432 a "learn to sew for fun" pattern and is an easy fit knit shift dress. 

I wanted the extra warmth of a cowl neck and so I raised the neckline about 2" and added a cowl from a 14" x 13" oblong.  It worked well and I can honestly say this dress is cosy.

I cut a size medium, which according to the size chart should be a little snug, but the fit is pretty good.  Although I think I could do with a little more from the sides at the lower part of the skirt.

I prefer it with a belt but you can better see the shape without.  A little about the fabric.  I think it is amazing!  It washed well, sewed well, kept its shape and it really a warm .... but the most amazing thing is cost £3.45 .... a £7 dress (I did use a discount code its normally £4.49 from the Textile Centre.  I would definitely buy it again.

The second version is from and abstract print double border ponte roma also £4.49 and from the Textile Centre.  I'm not sure about this.  On  the website the print looked like it went horizontally and would have provided an interesting hem, but that wasn't  the case.

I will wear it with a plain black jacket for work, and for the price its a bargain, but the quality isn't as good.

 
You can see this version is a little shorter.  It was the first one I made and I think the fit of the second one is better.  This is a good basic pattern, which is suitable for work with a jacket and I'm sure I'll make a couple each winter .... but for now back to making a SWAP challenge.

I've also been making in miniature, for some newborn twins!  Little jersey dresses with baby cashmere ballet cardigans.  

 

More flounces; McCalls 5523

I think this is a great pattern!  To begin with there are 4 different looks, so great value, and a simple skirt becomes more interesting. 

As I mentioned last week I do like a bit of flounce and I also like patterns which look very simple from the front, and interesting from the back.

I've worn this skirt quite a few times already and I love it, very comfortable.  This is view D in my usual size 14 graded in a little at the waist.  The fabric is an imitation linen with a slight stretch (hence the comfort). 

Its a fairly straightforward make, hemming the flounces is the only challenging bit.  Now for the blouse which is Jalie 2921; what a great basic blouse.  I love this, a comfortable, stretch blouse with good shaping.  It's  a straightforward, very clever make, though it took me a while to work out the very neck, which is all folded in on itself to make a really neat interior.  I made this in the fabulous jersey I also used for my Camas blouse.  I would definitely recommend this pattern.  This is a lovely firm jersey from the Cloth House.

Whilst I love this jersey, it did end up being too firm for this blouse as I couldn't tie the ties in a bow, they looked ridiculous, and without tying them they are a bit too long.  However, it still very wearable.

 
I made another version of the skirt.

 
This time version A.  I've talked a little before about how fabric changes the fit, and here is a great example.

Although this is a non-stretch linen, the skirt has actually come up bigger, don't ask me how! You would think that a non-stretch would be tighter.  So I think the fit on this one is too loose, although I will still wear it.  You can also see I've lengthened this version to below the knee which I feel more comfortable in. I'm wearing this one with a knitted jumper from Pompom magazine.  This isn't one of my favourite outfits, but it is wearable.  I will certainly be making more of the skirt (black wool crepe next) and the Jalie blouse (I've ordered some silk jersey from Mood - believe it or not I couldn't find any silk jersey in the UK!).  A definite work staple.

Lace Camas Blouse

Presenting the Camas blouse from Thread Theory, which is described as "the unrestricted comfort of a t-shirt and the put together elegance of a blouse". 

This isn't really the kind of blouse I would usually choose, because I prefer a more fitted look.  But what attracted me was the opportunity to use some stretch lace in my stash on the shoulders and yoke.

The pattern is a pdf (yes another one, even though I really do hate all the extra work!).  The yoke was easy to fit and it gives a nice neat finish inside.  I used the black jersey in the inside yoke and lace on the outside.  Because I was using un-lined lace I didn't follow the instructions to hide the shoulder seams in the yoke, because they would have shown through the lace .

I cut a size 12, but found it just too baggy, so I took another 5/8" in at the waist for a more fitted look.  The other major change I made was to raise the neckline by 1" as the original would have been too low for me.

This was a fairly straightforward sew, although the placket is fiddly to fit, being so narrow!  You need to use lots of pins to ease around the curved neck (I used stretch fusible interfacing, which I don't think was necessary, non-stretch would have done the job and been cheaper).

I didn't manage to get a neat finish at the hem edge of the placket, you can see how it has sort of bowed rather unattractively.  It's difficult not to get stretch when you are adding a placket to a stretch fabric. 

Rather than top stitching the placket as per the instructions I stitched in the ditch as I thought the placket was rather narrow to top-stitch (plus I'm not sure how neat I could have got the topstitching on jersey).  I didn't make button-holes, choosing to sew the buttons through both plackets as the blouse easily pulls over my head.

I like the blouse out with jeans.  It can be worn tucked in, but if I'm going to wear it like this then I'll have to remove the two bottom buttons because they are too bumpy tucked in (you can just see this in the first photo).  But here it is to give you an idea.

 

 

I don't think I'll make another Camas, but I love the contrast lace trim and so I will be looking for another pattern which offers this option.  The other thing I loved was the cotton jersey fabric.  It is a really good weight, warm and buttery.  It's lovely quality at £9.75 and I used 1.25m.  The fabric comes from The Cloth House, which is fast becoming one of my favourite on-line shops (for quality fabrics as its not cheap).  They send really good size samples which cost £3.50 for 5, and when you order the fabric you get a tag with washing instructions.  I'll be getting more of this jersey in the cream and the grey.

I've had a hard week at work, so I've really appreciated my sewing down time.  I'm in the middle of a Robson coat and a wool jacket, so slower more challenging projects. 

We have had a little snowfall, though it didn't last, beautiful on the hills though, and I leave you with a little Cumbrian scenery.

 

 

 

If you watched Wolf Hall last week, you may have thought you spotted Rosie!  Couldn't find a photo but the dog in Anne Boleyn  entourage bore more than a passing resemblance (although a neater hair cut).  Have a wonderful week.

Coco knit top a la Great British Sewing Bee

I've wanted a Breton style top for a while, so decided to make Tilly's new Coco pattern.   I thought it might be fun to time how long it took me to see how far out of the 2 1/2 hour limit round 1 of the Great British Sewing Bee allows, not in a really serious way (after all sewing is my fun time).   I didn't count the cutting out having done that on Saturday while watching Endeavour.  So .... ready, steady, sew ......

In the first 45 minutes  ... stabilised the shoulders with clear elastic, staystitch the neck

turn under the neck, check it looks even

Stitch under (some good stripe matching!).

Next 45 minutes ....  insert the sleeves ...

Have a break .. tea and toast, walk the dogs.

Next hour  ... sew the side seams, overlock all the seams, top stitch the split ....

..... all went pretty well, with generally good stripe matching except for one sleeve which was a disaster

As you can see, the stripes ended up completely mismatched, but unpicking on knit (I used a stretch stitch is a nightmare - ask Heather?) so I decided to just turn it under as it was.

Next 40 minutes, complete the hem and the sleeve hems, finish off ends and press et voila 3 hours 10 minutes later .....

If you made the top in a plain fabric I think it could easily have been completed in 2 1/2 hours as the stripe matching took quite a bit of time.  There were also a few distractions, including the must have sewing room accessory

I probably enjoyed it less having a time constraint and definitely had a bit of back ache.  The pattern is a good fit.  I cut a size 3 graded to a 4 on the bust.  I like the fitted waist and the split sides.  The instructions are also detailed and clear which would be straight forward for even a beginner, however, I really don't think knit is easy especially with a pattern to match, and unpicking is almost impossible.    I bought some fairly cheap interlock for this but I don't like the fabric, it is quite nylonny and don't think it will be pleasant in hot weather.

It's felt like spring this week and I enjoyed

Meg sitting like a person

Dan's pizza with a cauliflower base

Mary Berry's apple cake

Some lovely new wool, approved of by Bronte (more later).

Hope you had a lot to smile about ... and now its time for the next episode of the Great British Sewing Bee ... wonder what the theme will be this week?