Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Make a Garment a Month!

Now this sounds interesting... SarahLizSewStyle is hosting:









It starts October 2013... now! And will be on-going...

Although I have just noticed this with a week left in October, and a booked up weekend ahead, I am going to join in on this fun challenge! It sounds like just the thing to keep me on track with some of my projects. I do have a dress (Butterick 5923) cut out and waiting for my attention to get it sewn up -- so maybe I can do that by the end of this month! That will be my aim, anyhow. Such fun!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Through the Wardrobe, Part 2

And now for the third & fourth items I made for Sewing Pattern Review's Mini-Wardrobe Challenge...

Along with making the dress and cardigan I decided to make a skirt and a blouse. The skirt was intended to challenge my very basic skills -- I would have to insert a zipper and I also determined that I was going to add a lining. Somehow I've avoided these procedures for oh so many years ;)

I used New Look 8643, another pattern that I've owned for ages, for the skirt. Plus a brown floral print microfibre that I've had in my stash for ages and ages. You can't really see the floral here but it's a great embossed effect. I also, as usual, added side seam pockets. I love this skirt, even if there are a few flaws -- the first zipper I ever did worked out pretty well! Except there is a small gap where I mismatched the top of the zipper & the waistband, sigh. Not too noticeable though.

Love my brown skirt
A closer look at the full Sorbetto


Then I used my first ever downloadable pattern, the infamous Sorbetto tank top from Collette Patterns. I added sleeves though, thanks to this downloadable addition from Sew Incidentally, as I do prefer a bit of sleeve. I had to make a muslin first to adjust the fit, as I've noticed a few reviewers mentioning that the fit can be a bit wonky, depending on your own shape. I know I have to alter shoulders, neckline & length often, so I tested this one and found that I did indeed have to alter. I took up 3/4" between the shoulder and bust, and 1/2" in the underarm seam. I also added 1.5 inch to the overall length, but may shorten it by a touch. This was fun to try, but I really can't imagine making a complicated design via print-out-and-tape-together patterns. I don't know how people do it!

In any case, this project was really engaging and a lot of fun. Here is the final snapshot of everything all together. I like how each piece turned out, and the colour pallette too. Glad that I decided to give it a go and challenge myself as I get back into the sewing groove. 



Monday, October 7, 2013

Through the Wardrobe, Part 1

In August I joined Sewing Pattern Review -- it's a great website for anyone who sews. Really helpful and inspiring!

In September I participated in their monthly sewing challenge, the Mini-Wardrobe contest. The challenge was to sew 4 items that could combine to make 4 different looks. I'm a basic level sewist, but I thought it would be great to challenge myself and see if I could make 4 pieces of clothing in one month.

The contest is now closed, and my entry is posted there -- I actually finished!! I had a lot of fun doing this, and learned quite a lot. It was also great to get into the habit of doing some sewing regularly. Here are the first two of four pieces I chose -- part 3 & 4 coming up tomorrow:


Photo

I have owned this pattern for a long time, and decided to make the dress and knit cardigan from this wardrobe. I had a lovely turquoise-y knit in my stash so used that for the cardi, which I love -- I think it's my favourite piece. The problem however, was that I had already cut a long slash in the knit in preparation for making a wrap, which looked horrible, so I wanted to repurpose the fabric. Fortunately when I laid it out, I just missed the slash!

Doh! Big hole in the fabric!
Finished deal, with dress
Soooo soft :)
And then I made the dress from the same pattern, using this shiny print that has just the same tone of blue as an accent. I added side seam pockets and cut the front on the fold, taking in an inch at the neckline, but otherwise didn't make any alterations.

Straight up
With a belt






This was a great challenge, and I love these new pieces. These two were the "easy" ones for me, very few alterations and they sewed up pretty quickly with no major problems ( if you don't count the sewing on of sleeve bands inside out and the resultant unpicking and resewing as very major...)

Tomorrow: pieces three and four...