Made 9?

9th Dec 2020 yorkiemouseLeave a comment

Hello all. I decided that as it’s mid-December, my #makenine2020 is probably as complete as it’s going to get this year. I still have a bit of Christmas sewing to do so I don’t think I’ll manage much more “me sewing”. I’ve been really grateful for Make Nine this year as it provided a plan that I could stick to in a year when all plans were cancelled. For myself, and many people, the power of sewing this year is probably the topic of another blog post….or thesis.

Cast your mind back…..

For Make Nine 2020, I decided to raid my stash (and write a blog about how I was getting along). My fabric selection looked like this:

I am pleased to say that I managed 88.8% (recurring) of the nine. At the start of the challenge, I loved all of the fabrics so it was a case of choosing patterns wisely, rather than making something just to tick another one off my list.

Reflecting on my makes as a set, there are quite a few repeat patterns, which is a good sign as it usually means that I get a lot of wear out of them.

Swimming Imogen and Jitterbugs

Look at all those short sleeves! These three got a lot of wear over the summer months, and none are a “one-time” make. Introducing Melilot, Myosotis and Fleet:

This Melilot shirt is really light to wear and I also made an Ogden cami for sleeping in. I had fun choosing the buttons for this, which is always a nice activity to put me in a good mood before having to tackle buttonholes!

After initial reservations, waist ties made Myosotis my ‘dress of the year’, with three made in quick succession and they rarely made it back into the wardrobe for long with our glorious summer weather.

The Nina Lee Fleet top is a summer staple for me and makes a metre of fabric go a long way. I also used remnants from the Jitterbug cotton for the facing and pocket detail on my green Yanta overalls, so I really used every last scrap of that metre.

Gauze and Rainbows

Double gauze was new to me when I made my first Myosotis, but I love sewing with it and it’s so comfy to wear. The secret bonus is not needing to iron it before cutting! This turned out to be a lucky event with the teal fabric because the gold dots do not like heat. The iron strips off the gold and you’re left with a little white dot which isn’t nearly as sparkly.

I made my Rainbow Melilot early in the year without knowing the significance rainbows would have during the UK’s lockdown. For those of you not in the UK, children (and adults) displayed rainbows in windows to show support for our key workers on the front line during the pandemic.

Strawberry Meadows and Liquid Gold

I’m fairly sure that the Gold Kew was the last outfit I wore with make-up in 2020! We went to a lovely wedding without realising it would be the last time we got “dressed up” for the rest of the year. I had some fitting issues with this one due to the slippery fabric, but it felt lovely to wear.

The same is true of my Adrift dress. Fast forward 5 months and elasticated waists and flip flops were the attire for summer working from home! It took some courage to cut into this fabric as it was the most expensive in my Nine (possibly in my stash) but I’m really happy that I took the plunge.

That just leaves number 9! I really wanted to make the Untitled Thoughts Amelie dress from this fabric but I still haven’t tackled the adjustments that I need to do. I’m now considering making some summer Carolyn pjs as I think I’ll get more wear out of them. That’s a decision for 2021 though.

Thanks for reading. Writing this post has been emotional – looking back through rainbows, summer walks and a hell of a lot of “ostrich sewing” (aka head in sand). It’s made me even more grateful for sewing, sewists and the indie businesses helping us create :o)

Adrift in a Meadow

22nd Jul 2020 yorkiemouse2 Comments

Hello all. Today, I’m writing about one of those fabrics that was in my stash for a while. You know the ones that are so gorgeous that you don’t dare cut into them in case you ruin them? It’s an Art Gallery Fabrics rayon from Guthrie Ghani that I think a lot of sewists will recognise. I love teal and had been lusting after this ‘Meadow’ for a while when I finally bought it. I pre-washed and ironed it (such a goodie-two-shoes) and then let it sit in my stash for ages because I couldn’t decide what to do with it.

My plans for this fabric changed approximately 15 times. I knew I wanted a floaty, feminine dress to show off the drape and pattern. I have made Papercut’s Adrift dress before and love the style. Learning from my previous experience, I knew I needed to add length to the skirt. Usually, I don’t have to lengthen things but this skirt comes up very short for my liking. My other version is a “tights only” dress.

Adding length to the skirt wasn’t without head-scratching because of the front ruffle. I added 3″ to the skirt length, then the same amount to the middle of the ruffle. Then I levelled the curve and crossed my fingers before picking up the rotary cutter.

Size-wise, I cut an XS on the bust, S on the waist and M at the hips. This means that the front frill piece is also graded accordingly – it’s a piece with a lot of notes on it!

The fabric is very delicate and pulled a few times even with a fine needle (thankfully, nowhere obvious). I used French seams to make the insides lovely and prevent fraying. Papercut use a 1cm seam allowance so the French seams are tiny, which I think is quite appropriate for this fabric.

This dress is so lovely to wear. It’s comfortable, feminine and the fabric really suits the style. I still have a slight nervousness when wearing it that I’ll spill pasta sauce down it or snag it on something, but I’m really pleased that it’s out in the open, rather that in my stash. It’s also one of my Make Nine 2020 – 8 down, 1 to go.

Thanks for reading :o)

MakeNine2020 · Sewing

Isewlation part 3 – frocks

6th Jul 202017th Apr 2021 yorkiemouse1 Comment

I’m back for part 3 of isewlation sewing with some dresses that I’ve conjured up.

Most summers, I wear a lot of dresses and prefer a slightly more fitted look for work. Due to the “pesky virus” (I’m going through a phase where I refuse to use its name), I have had less/no need/desire to wear them this year. They’ll keep for future years but I’m sad that I haven’t worn a lot of my wardrobe this summer.

Lilac Kew

Early on in lockdown, I made a Kew dress with this lilac broderie anglaise from Lamazi Fabrics. I had made the Kew before and love the fit, especially the high/low hem on the skirt. By nature, broderie anglaise has holes in it so I fully lined this dress with a thin cotton that I dyed in the machine.

I wore the dress for a virtual murder mystery night with my family where I played a debutante (hence the pearls). I was ridiculously excited to wear heels and get dressed up that evening!

Return of the Myosotis

Who’d have thought I had reservations about the Myosotis dress to begin with?! Since I made my first one (blogged here), I have made two more.

Having dipped my toe into the ‘double-gauze water’, I decided to use another of my Make Nine 2020 fabrics for a second Myosotis dress. This teal and gold dots fabric was from Sew Me Sunshine a while ago and has such a rich colour. The buttons were from my stash and I think were cut off an old ‘rtw’ garment. I made the entire dress during The Fold Line’s #sewingweekender, which was a fun few days of sewing as a global community.

For my third Myosotis, I wanted a longer version. Another of my Make Nine fabrics was from Crafty Sew & So, an abstract floral viscose that I have always wanted to make into a floaty dress. It didn’t disappoint. I cut version B of the dress before the bottom panel to make sure I had enough to make a complete garment. Then for the bottom panel, I cut as long as the remaining fabric would allow and gathered it before attaching. The teeny, tiny glass buttons are from the rabbit hole that is The Swagmans Daughter.

Park Lane

I won the Park Lane pattern from RedWSews as she had an extra copy following a pattern test. I really liked the style of the dress and was eyeing it up before winning it. I used a drapey viscose that I got in a Sew Hayley Jane box.

I made a few fitting alterations on this dress but the main alteration was to add an elastic channel in the cuff. When I tried it on, it was really floppy around my elbow, which I decided would annoy me. I was pleased with how the cuffs had turned out though so didn’t want to shorten and resew them! The lazy woman’s choice resulted in a sleeve that I probably prefer. I unpicked a few inches, then fed some elastic through to tighten up the cuff. I’ve since made the blouse version and kept this alteration.

If I make this dress again, I’ll also probably put the zip in the back. Whilst the side zip is more discrete, it made for a bit of a nightmare when I needed to grade the dress in by a few inches. To do this symmetrically, I had to taper the back. It worked but would have been easier if the zip had been down the centre back.

The photos of this dress offer some “lockdown realness”. The weather is awful today and I wanted some photos so I asked the husband to take some. He asked “are you leaving those socks on?”, to which I said “yeah, why not?”! It’s a lovely dress to wear and feels a bit special on grey days.

Thanks for reading :o)

MakeNine2020 · Sewing

Isewlation part 2 – tops edition

11th May 202011th May 2020 yorkiemouseLeave a comment

I’m back with isewlation part 2…tops! Thanks for the love for my last post, which reassured me that a series wasn’t too bold this early in my blogging career. Today I’m talking about a few tops that I’ve made during lockdown. Two are old favourites, one is a newbie (to me).

I Am Joy

I’m opening with a bit of Joy, I Am Joy to be specific. I’ve made this pattern twice before and it’s a great top for work, not that I can remember what it’s like to be in the office, but let’s breeze past that fact.

The fabric was from Sew Me Sunshine. I wanted a plain fabric and was in a “purple phase” so got this rich violet twill. This fabric has the longest description that I’ve ever seen and made me chuckle ever time I saw it in my Trello list – “Modal, Bamboo Viscose & Lyocell Twill”. As well as having an environmentally friendly aspect, it’s got an amazing drape and feels great to wear.

I’ve made a lot of adjustments to my Joy pattern pieces and am happy with the fit now. I cut a size 40 and shortened the bodice by 3″. The raw pattern neckline shows my bra straps as it’s so wide, which I’m not a fan of, so I brought it in by an inch or so.

Due to my “purple phase”, I bought some matching variegated overlocker thread, which I love. It has quite a subtle finish and makes my clothes so pretty inside.

Fleet by Nina Lee

The Nina Lee Fleet top is a summer staple in my wardrobe and such a bargain. I found the pattern last year when I was looking for a basic t-shirt/top pattern that I could make in bulk for summer. I probably wear a Fleet top at least twice a week from about April – September.

I have adjusted it slightly, lengthening the bodice and extending the sleeve cap for more coverage on the shoulders. Other than that, it’s a top that I can whip up quickly with a very small amount of fabric, and is a great one for batch-sewing.

Speaking of which…the fabric! My sister and brother-in-law bought this cotton from Guthrie & Ghani a while ago and I wanted to sew it up this year, so included it in my Make Nine 2020. It’s quite a stiff cotton (e.g. it’s not like a Lawn) but it’s already softened with a few washes and it’s so jolly with a pair of denim shorts.

Somerset by Maven Patterns

I’m finishing off with a new-to-me pattern. The Somerset top seemed to take the sewing community by storm a few months ago. The billowy sleeves and deep cuff told us that this pattern was for people who wanted a statement sleeve. I made Version D for maximum sleeve impact.

I had seen lots of versions of this popping up on ‘the gram’ and wanted one for myself. A word of advice, Mrs Maven has helpfully done “quick instructions” at the beginning of the instruction booklet. I made the whole top using the quick guide before realising that the full instructions were later on. On one level, it shows how easy the top is to construct. On another level, it proves my Dad’s theory that I answered the questions before fully reading them in school exams! Note to self: read the whole instruction booklet before starting!!

The fabric was is my Sew Me Sunshine order when I bought the above violet twill. This modal tencel jersey is something else. I don’t think I’ve stroked a jersey this soft. I am sensing a theme that anything with “modal” in the composition seems to be super soft and I plan to seek it out for my wardrobe more often. I was so keen to use every scrap that I squeezed a simple Agnes top out of the remnants, as well as toiling a Hyacinth bralette from it.

I made some fairly standard minor adjustments for me – shortened the sleeves by 1″, shortened the bodice by 1.5″ and graded out at the hip. I also omitted the shirring elastic – who has that to hand in the midst of a lockdown?! I used gathering stitches around the cuffs and it worked fine, although I would like to try the shirring elastic for a new technique.

Hope this gives you some top inspiration. Thanks for reading :o)

MakeNine2020 · Sewing

Mouse’s Ear

3rd May 2020 yorkiemouseLeave a comment

Do you ever see a popular pattern and think “meh, not for me”? The Myosotis dress from Deer & Doe was that pattern for me. I couldn’t even say or spell it! On researching for this blog, I learnt that Myosotis comes from the Ancient Greek for “mouse’s ear” so it feels more appropriate that I’ve fallen in love with the pattern, given my nickname.

I felt like there was too much going on for me and wondered if all that ruffle, flounce and gathering would swamp my small frame. What I hadn’t realised was there was another, less ruffly version.

Given my apathy towards this pattern, how did I come to own it? My whole dress is a combination of goodies from the mind of Sew Hayley Jane. The pattern, fabric and buttons are all from boxes that I had purchased from Hayley over the past year or so.

When I got the Myosotis, I was slightly more interested when I saw the line drawing of the simpler version and had a more detailed look at the hashtag. In the back of my mind, I thought that waist ties might make it a dress that I would be more comfortable with. It had a collar though and I wasn’t ready for that level of complication in my life! And so, it went into my stash and was forgotten for a while.

Fabric

Make Nine 2020 was the reminder that I needed to release it from the archives. Whilst perusing my fabric stash, I came across a double-gauze with dandelions on it and wondered if it would make a good Myosotis. Spoiler alert: it did. By coincidence, this was also from one of Hayley’s boxes.

I hadn’t made anything with double gauze before. It’s light, soft and I enjoyed sewing with it. I had seen posts online about double gauze misbehaving during sewing, but I didn’t experience that at all.

Hacking some waist ties

I had my mind set on additional waist ties to cinch the dress in. Rather than look up a tutorial online, I decided to “wing it”, which is a very rare approach for me. I cut two rectangles of fabric and folded them in on themselves then stitched closed (sort of like bias binding). As I predicted I would, I forgot to secure them into the bodice, so ended unpicking a bit of the sides to add them in! The waist ties allow me to pull the dress in at the waist a bit, which I prefer as a silhouette than it hanging loose.

I cut a size 38 on the collar and bust, then graded to a 40 on the waist and hip. I shortened the skirt by about an inch and did a full bicep adjustment to give myself a bit more space on the arm.

Buttons

These buttons are from Whim Wham Buttons and I think they’re called “Joy”. I was undecided on whether to use the pink or yellow ones and even did an Instagram poll (my followers couldn’t make their mind up either). In the end I went with yellow, partly because my husband preferred them and partly because the yellow were from a SHJ box, whereas the pink weren’t!

Verdict

I’ve badged this as a ‘surprising make’ as love it and wasn’t sure through the whole sewing process. I definitely prefer the simpler version and added waist ties. It’s so comfortable to wear that I’m considering another one in the other double-gauze that I have in my stash and Make Nine!

Thanks for reading :o)

MakeNine2020 · Sewing

Liquid Gold Kew

18th Feb 202029th Feb 2020 yorkiemouseLeave a comment

When I opened my Sew Hayley Jane box in December, I actually cooed. It contained this silky, velvety, shimmery gold viscose that I stroked for about 5 mins before even taking it out of the box. It is so light and drapes amazingly well. I knew fairly quickly what is was destined to be.

Some friends of ours got married this month and I knew that I wanted to make something with long sleeves for a winter wedding. I made Nina Lee’s Kew dress in summer 2019 and love the shape and fit. I have also made the Sewaholic Nicola dress twice, which comes with a long sleeve version. The Nicola has a part-elasticated waist, which I didn’t think this fabric would appreciate so I decided to combine Kew version A with the long sleeve from Nicola.

This photo really captures how the light reflects off the fabric in such a scrummy way

Hacking a sleeve pattern piece together

The sleeves took some patience but I’m really pleased that I persevered.

I started with the Nicola sleeve as a base, adjusted the arm scythe to match the Kew and did a full bicep adjustment. I also added some volume in the shoulder – I do love a puffed shoulder. After sewing what I would consider two near-perfect cuffs, I tacked the sleeves to the bodice and discovered the full bicep adjustment wasn’t enough and it was too tight…so the whole thing went on the ‘chair of shame’ for two days (sort of like the naughty step for WIPs).

Refreshed and ready to show the sleeves who was boss, I took the already adjusted sleeve pattern (thank goodness I trace!) and added more volume to the bicep and shoulder then made a toile before committing to the gold fabric again. One of the most frustrating things is that I had measured the original hacked pattern piece and it should have been fine. Anyway, live and learn!

This time it fit and I breathed a sigh of relief. If it had still been too small, I would have had to re-think the whole dress as I didn’t have enough fabric for a third set of sleeves.

Sewing with liquid gold

Quite quickly, I named this fabric “liquid gold” because it was soooooo slippery. It required lots of clips and fine pins to keep it together. I think the fabric moved when I was cutting it as the bust fit is closer than the cotton-sateen Kew that I made in the summer (which still fits). There was a scary moment when I thought it wasn’t going to fit – I had spent so much time focusing on the sleeves that I didn’t really try it on with a view to actually closing the bodice. I had used the same bodice pieces as my previous dress, so why wouldn’t it?!

I had decided against using spray starch as I’ve tried it in the past and didn’t like it. Plus, I didn’t want to risk staining the fabric as it’s so delicate. I think the lesson I’ve learnt it to check the fabric pieces against the pattern before committing to sewing.

As it was a special dress, I spent a lot of time on the details. I used French seams throughout, which have the added benefit of extra strength with a fine fabric. I think that it also looks nicer on a dipped hem, which the dress has. I often opt for self-covered buttons – this approach means I can dig out my old compass from school to draw all the circles! (Nerdy and proud) I know that some people loathe hand-sewing but I find it quite meditative to sit and sew buttons or a hem for an hour or so…which is fortunate because this dress had 17 buttons to attach and a lot of hem!

My final thoughts on this dress are that I loved wearing it. It was comfortable but I felt glamorous in it. There were a few nerve-wracking moments with the fit and trying to create a sleeve from two patterns and a vague idea, but it turned out remarkably close to the image in my head.

This fabric is also the first of my 2020 Make Nine. My only regret is that I didn’t get any decent photos of myself in the dress – this rather fuzzy one doesn’t really do it justice. I wanted to get a better photo but the storms in the UK mean I haven’t been outside much!

This is the only photo I have of me wearing the dress
(Elton overseeing proceedings)

Thanks for reading :o)

MakeNine2020 · Sewing

My 2020 Make Nine

21st Jan 2020 yorkiemouseLeave a comment

I’m back! I’m trying to get into the swing of blogging so I’m starting with a commitment that I made a few weeks ago – my Make Nine 2020.

What is the Make Nine Challenge?

The Make Nine Challenge is branded as a “gentle self-guided challenge for makers“. Home Row Fiber Co launched it in 2016 and, rather than inarticulately explain the history and idea myself, I recommend you read this post (after you’ve finished this of course!) and take a look at #makenine, if you have Instagram.

This will be my third year of setting myself a Make Nine Challenge and for 2020, I’ve looked at my fabric stash. My stash has spilled out of the box I have allocated to it. I’ve just laughed at typing that because in my head I have “a fabric box” which is genuinely neatly organised and folded. However, there’s also a “lining fabric” box, two scrap boxes, there’s ~~sometimes~~ usually some on top of “the fabric box” because it doesn’t all fit, there’s some on a chair in the dining room and there’s often some in the laundry basket awaiting a pre-wash. Maybe I should get a bigger box…or a room?!

Anyway, where was I…

My 2020 Make Nine

For 2020, I have selected nine fabrics in my stash. Coincidentally all are wovens, some I’ve had for a while, some are more recent purchases, some I have plans for, others are awaiting inspiration. All are fabrics that I love and want to wear, rather than keep hidden away in a box.

First up are three fabrics that I have ideas for:

This Gold Shimmer fabric is a silky, velvety viscose that is destined to be come a Kew Dress with long sleeves. The fabric came in my Sew Hayley Jane December box. It was one of those fabrics that I knew fairly instantly what it was going to become.
I’ve had this cotton viscose blend since the summer when Lamazi Fabrics had it on sale. I want to make a short sleeved Melilot shirt. It’s still at the toile stage because I often find Deer and Doe patterns too narrow on the shoulders and have to adjust them. Plus, it’s winter in the UK so I don’t really need a breezy summer shirt right now!
If all goes well with the Melilot toile process, I think I’ll make another from this Lady McElroy Rainbow Clouds.

The next three are all drapey fabrics that I can’t decide what to do with but all cry out “summer” to me.

I’ve got 3m of “Imogen” from Crafty Sew and So and have always thought I want to make a dress from this but I do have the Sequence blouse in my pattern library and keep coming back to that as an option. Alternatively, another Kew Dress maybe, or maybe an Adrift dress??
Another Sew Hayley Jane gem is this Strawberry fabric which needs to be made into a summer dress to wear for a picnic. I think it’s got enough body/drape combo to be a lovely Amelie dress but I’m struggling to fit the back of that dress. I’d really like to revisit it in the Spring and try and get the fit right.
A lot of sewists have this Meadow fabric that I bought from Guthrie & Ghani. A lot of sewists also seem to struggle to convert it from “2D fabric for admiring” into “3D garment for wearing”. I’ve got enough for a dress but am wallowing in indecision about this one. I think a tried and tested pattern is most likely so I know I’ll wear it and the fitting is already done.

And finally, a trio of cotton

This Jitterbug cotton was a gift from my sister and brother-in-law. I’ve got about 1.4m of it so it is likely to become a top. I made several Fleet tops last summer and wore them on rotation. My current thinking is that this pairing would work.
This Teal Gold Dots double gauze almost became “the one that got away”. I saw it on Sew Me Sunshine’s site in the summer and it sold out before I convinced myself I needed more fabric. I emailed the lovely Harriet who told me that it was coming back in stock. The day it came back on her site, I didn’t hang around! Double gauze feels quite light but this is opaque so it’s perfect for summer, especially as it’s cotton. My current thinking is to make a Bettine dress because I have a few of those already and wear them a lot in the summer.
Last but not least, another Sew Hayley Jane fabric – a cotton gauze with dandelions floating around. I have the Myosotis dress pattern and didn’t really think it’s my style. However, I followed the hashtag on Instagram and I think adding waist ties might convert it into a dress I love.

Hope you’ve enjoyed a stroll through my 2020 Make Nine. I’ll update you throughout the year with how I’m getting along.