Wardrobe In A Week

On By Sharon1 Comment

Over on Stitchers Guild they are holding a second Wardrobe in a Week (“WiaW”) contest and I had decided to join up just before we went on holidays.

WiaW’s idea is to create 4 pieces that match any combination of the 4 e.g. three tops and one bottom, or three bottoms and a purse – all that matters is out of the four things if you wore two of them on the same day together you would not look out of place.

It is actually over two weeks, you have a Prep Week and A Sewing Week as follows:

Prep week: Friday August 14th from 7:00 am wherever you are to Thursday August 20th 11:00 p.m.- Cut, mark and interface, first pin, any of your garment fabrics, wind bobbins – any activity that in fact does not involve actual needle piercing fabric sewing.

Sewing week: Friday 7:00 a.m. August 21st wherever you are and ending 11:00 p.m. (really we shouldn’t be sewing till midnight) August 30, which is a Sunday.

No rules on pictures or posting, but if you can put up pictures on Stitchers Guild WiaW site that would be good because everyone wants to see what you are making.

The prize is that if you complete four compatible pieces by the deadline you get to go out and buy for yourself a yard (or meter) of fabric you really want – one for each garment completed, so that means that every finisher wins four meters (or yards) of fabric that they really love. If anyone in the family asks why you are buying more fabric you can quite truthfully say that it is because you have won a contest. Personally I think this clause is bullet proof.”

These are my fabrics:

As I am desparate for pants in the cold office I work in, I have decided to make 2 pairs of pants and two tops as follows:

Vogue 9537 is my TNT Pant pattern and I am going to make up the black and burgundy wool in the first pair on the left on the pattern envelope, and will fully line both pairs.

Butterick 3344 is my TNT Cross Over top pattern which I have made before. I will be using the Abstraction Print Mesh Burgundy that I purchased from KnitWit last week.

Vogue 8151 – view B, round neck and make it up in the Mauve Merino Wool. This is the pattern I used for this top and I am tempted to add a cowl neckline as described in a few tutorials in the Australian Stitches Magazines (yeah I can search for key words in the excel indexes I have crearted and can find them so easily!!).

Today I purchased the lining, zips and threads and DH goes to Thredbo for 9 days tomorrow night so I can set myself up in the lounge/dining room and have fun.

McCall’s 5464

On By Sharon5 Comments

Last October at the ASG Conference in Queensland I did a Palmer Pletsch fit workshop with Wendy McKinnon and we worked on this pattern. I ended up doing View B with C neckline mainly because this is what I had cut out and tapped around all the curves for the tissue fitting. This was the first garment that I did a FBA on and doing this on a princess dart was a lot of fun, however we did get there.

This is my toile of the pattern adjustments in this polyester green/grey tweed fabric that was in my stash. I cut out the fabric and lining the other Friday night and had finished it to hemming stage by Sunday afternoon and then it has sat around for weeks waiting for me to hem it which I managed today.

Now I was either wearing a very new bra for that class or gravity has been at work as I have a curve which isn’t being filled out above the girls so I will need to adjust this for the next version.

The back looks pretty good and the final test will be wearing this to work.

I had also been reading Yorkshire Lass’s post about using scrap fabrics to create bias strips so decided to try this out instead of using the facings for the neckline and armholes and I’m very happy with the result.

Go Chanel or Go Home

On By Sharon2 Comments

I’ve joined a Sew-Along for a Chanel jacket. I just can’t get enough of them and the burgundy wool that I purchased when we went to Melbourne just needs a Chanel Jacket to go with it.

I will be using Vogue 7975 as I did for this Jacket

which gets worn to all the different activities of my life. I only have a small adjustment to do at the neckline at the centre front, the edges overlap 🙂

One of my sewing buddies has samples of the Linton Tweed so I am keen to have another look at these.

There is so much inspiration on the Go Chanel or Go Home Sew-Along thread that I will change my mind a million times.

Bits and Pieces

On By Sharon8 Comments

I’m not sure where the time has gone, we have been home for 6 weeks and so far and all I have managed to do is add to my stash 🙂

Just before I left to go overseas I purchased this Milano Printed Gold knit from Knitwit to make the Burda dress 5-2008-104 adding long sleeves as I have seen something very similar in the shops. I have already made the top 5-2008-103 so I have a lot of the fitting issues already worked out.

I managed to find some fabric shops during our travels and purchased a gorgeous piece of Cashmere in London – 2 metres which DH commented that he had never seen me make a decision so quick LOL. I plan to make a jacket of some sort, not sure of the style as yet.

The Fabric Store in Sydney had a sale night the other week and Velosewer and I went to see what they had to offer. I purchased this brown spot knit and two pieces of Merino Wool in a mauve and brown colour.

I have a lot of ideas floating around, so need to focus on getting the patterns cut out and adjusted LOL.

Stripey Wrap Top

On By Sharon4 Comments

My sister gave me this fabric last week and as I need some tops to take away with me, this was made up using Butterick 3344 (oop) View A.

Now this top is not new to me, I have made it quite a few times, however this time I have finally managed to have enough fabric for long sleeves LOL.

The other plus is that it goes with my brown cropped pants for the 2009 SWAP so I am quite happy about this.

The sad news is that this is the extent of my 2009 SWAP. Time and patterns didn’t mix too well and we fly out for a month’s holiday on Monday so madly packing and not sewing this weekend.

Here is the pattern review.

Pattern Description: Close-fitting top has neckline variations and stitched hems. View A – elastic neck, mock wrap, long sleeves

Pattern Sizing: Size 10

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The neckline was a bit low so I added to this and a used “seams great” for the next edge, stitched this on stretching it a bit and then turned under and coverstitched the neck edge.

Fabric Used: Knit of unknown quality, it was a gift from my sister.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

Front Pattern Adjustments

* Round Shoulder
* 2 x Gaposis on the neck edge
* Full bust and folded out the dart
* Added 1/2″ to the neck edge
* Added 3/4″ between the bust and waist

Back Pattern Adjustments

* High round back
* Sway back
* Broad back

* Large bicep

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, this is the third top I have made from this pattern.

Conclusion: This top is such a great wardrobe item. I have it in a lace for evening, a quieter knit for work and this one is going on holidays with me and will be great for casual wear.

Vogue 8151 – Grey Knit Top

On By Sharon3 Comments

Pattern Description: Pullover tops with set in sleeves. A: wrapped front, band, shirred sides and long sleeves. B: top with three-quarter length sleeves and optional tie front. I made view B.

Pattern Sizing: 32″ to 55″. I used 32″ (A)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I found it very quick to construct.

Fabric Used: A grey rayon knit with 80% cross grain stretch.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

* Round shoulder – I added 5/8″ to the back shoulder and took 5/8″ off the front shoulder

* High round back – added 3/8″ at the centre back reducing to zero at the side seam (FFRP page 124)

* Gaposison the front neck line – took out 3/8″ tuck via slash and pivot method

* FBA – added 3/8″ (FFRP)

* Sway back – 1/2″ at centre back to zero at side seams

* Full Arms – I added 1″ (FFRP page 169).

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes it is quick to make, and feels very comfortable to wear.

Conclusion: I will be making this up in other fabrics and will try some different necklines and finishes.

Fabric Shopping in Melbourne

On By Sharon5 Comments

Last weekend my sewing buddies and I headed to Melbourne for 4 days.

We stayed in the city and caught trams and trains and did a lot of walking and had a wonderful time.

Arriving lunch time on Thursday we booked into our accommodation and caught the #19 Tram from Elizabeth Sreet to visit Brunswick Fabrics, Anne’s Discount Fabrics, Hahn Fabrics, Spotlight and Unique Fabrics (which are unfortunately closing down).

At Spotlight I purchased a 100% cotton called Blossom Printed Khaki for a blouse and then at Unique Fabrics I purchased this beautiful burgundy wool, enough for a suit. It wasn’t until we got back to our accommodation that night that I noticed they also worked well together.

On Friday morning we caught the #8 Tram from Swanston Street, for our first stop at GJ’s Fabrics where I purchased this colourful mesh for a top.

Next stop was Clegs where I fell in love with this Mongolia Pattern Acrylic Knit, I’m not sure what I am making with it yet, and any suggestions are most welcome, but I just couldn’t leave without it…

We then went Rathdown Fabrics where this natural wool/cotton jumped out at me and I’m thinking of making BWOF 131-10-2008 Jacket

After lunch we caught the tram back to the city and then caught the train out to Darn Cheap Fabrics at Heidelberg and then back one train station to The Cloth Shop at Ivanhoe. When we got back to the City we still had time to go to Clegs as I had been thinking about the Picadilly Cocoa Lace I had seen earlier and had decided that it had to come home with me after seeing the wonderful lace garments at Stitchers Guild.

We woke on Saturday to a very wet day but this didn’t deter us, we caught the #70 Tram from Flinders Street and headed to Richmond. Luckily we were a bit early for Dancing Queen to open so we just had to check out all those wonderful shoe stores and I found chocolate brown shoes, what heaven.

We then wondered up the road to Astrotex and drooled over all the wonderful fabrics and then headed to Bridge Road for lunch and more retail therapy.

Sunday saw us go to Victoria Markets where there was even more fabric 🙂

We are all back home and are busy planning what we are going to do with our fabrics.

Thank you my buddies for a wonderful time in Melbourne.

McCalls 3132 (OOP)

On By Sharon2 Comments

This is my first completed “bottom” for SWAP 2009 the brown cropped pants.


The pattern was fitted for me by my sewing teacher before she moved to Queensland.

I found one of the adjustments interesting, it is a diagonal tucks across the front leg (I have drawn it in blue to highlight it but the actual tuck is not quite as straight as the blue line).

The other adjustment was on the back pattern piece, a 1cm tuck was taken from the bottom of the waist dart all the way down the leg to the hem and then this was tuck further increased from just below the crotch curve and back to the original tuck for a length of 26cm.

And now the back view:

BWOF 5-2008-103

On By Sharon5 Comments

This is the first BWOF garment I have made and besides a few fitting issues that I have found now I am wearing it for the first time, I am really happy with the outcome.

First of all I really appreciate the Reviews at PatternReview so before I even traced the pattern I was aware of a few issues.

1. The neck line was a bit lower than most of the reviewers liked, so I added 1cm.

2. The bottom hem on the front of the top is actually curved at the bottom (you can see the curve line that I drew when tracing the pattern) it ends up following the edge of the bottom of the band. This is not how I want to wear my tops, so I added to the bottom of the front pattern so that it was the same length as the back pattern.

3. Others commented about the fullness in the front gathers, so I took out 1cm in the width above the horizontal dart to reduce this fullness.


4. The band is rather wide so I took out two lots of 1cm from the width to make this smaller as well.

These adjustments are in addition to my standard adjustments e.g. rounded shoulder, high round back, sway back and gaposis on the front neck edge.

So without further ado, here is the finished top

As you can see it is pulling in the front around the armholes and I need to deepen these as they are “cutting” into me and I’m not sure if this will fix the pulls in the picture, I will have to see. This will be a bit of a challenge as I have sewn the seams with my overlocker and can’t afford to make this top any tighter LOL.

My Janome CP1000 was christened for this project, and after doing the first lot of hems on the band, the sigh of relief that resulted with no tunnelling that I continually suffered with twin needles on my sewing machine was immense and even though I did have to “frog stitch” the hem, after reading Debbie Cook’s Coverstitch Tutorials I found the secret to doing these.

Yellow Blouse Finished

On By Sharon3 Comments

This blouse was started for the July Sew Along on Stitchers Guild, however it just didn’t want to play and I finally finished it last week. I’m wearing it with the skirt and jewellery from the JCC contest.

This is the same blouse pattern Vogue 8572(OOP)that I made for the JCC contest and this time I wanted to try a piped neckline and shortened the sleeves to 3/4 to wear under my Channel jacket. I am reasonably happy with my first attempt of using bias strips and “rats tail” to make the piping and then getting it to sit nicely around the neckline.

I had a wonderful teacher at the ASG Convention in Brisbane last October who kindly shared some of her tips on piping so I am keen to try another as I really like the look of piped edges on necklines and sleeve hems.

This fabric is heavier than the Oyster Chamois I used for the JCC and somehow the top has ended up tighter (don’t think the gym sessions would be making this much difference) so not sure what has happened here.