Make a Garment a Month Challenge

Joining the MAGAM challenge, created and curated by SarahLiz, is with the hope of doing more sewing for myself.  The aim of the challenge is to create a garment for you each month within a theme.  The theme is broad enough that it can be adapted to personal needs, ideas or desires.  January’s theme was “Just Try Something New” very easy isn’t it?

Image from McCalls website.

I decided that I need shirts, or is it blouses? So using a pattern long in the stash but new to me that I love the look of, I made a blouse.  McCalls 6286 has always attracted me – the raglan sleeves and the wider collar framing the face would perhaps flatter my short neck.  I paired it with a mystery fabric from the huge Trademe fabric haul a few years back. 

 

Image from http://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/44600

Burn tests (thanks Chris for the help and link) show that it is probably cotton with maybe some rayon.  It burns to a dark powder that smells faintly of burning paper but also has a finish that leaves a slightly oily residue.  It feels and looks more like silk shantung with a shine and texture running through it. It is very nice to the touch and against the skin. 

I like that the pattern has the Finished Garment Measurements on the envelope back and I decided to make a size 20 with a finished bust of 46 1/2” grading out to 22 at the hips with a finished width at the lower edge of 50 1/2”.  This ultimately proved to be a little close fitting at the bust and measurement of a blouse in the cupboard shows that I am more comfortable with a bust measurement of 50”. This I should have done before making DUH!

Making up the blouse was straight forward until the collar; reviews of the blouse mentioned the difficulty with iron on interfacing so I cut out these in silk organza.  This was a great decision and worked a treat until I tried topstitching the collar.  I found the way the collar is assembled and the front facing attachment a little perplexing and made a bit of a botch which was fixed by hand sewing the exposed seam down.  One side of the collar and lapel lies flat against the body and looks good; sadly I cannot say the same about the other.  It wants to flip over and stands proud, I think it is a grain issue forced when I decided to top stitch (pattern does not topstitch) any suggestions on how to fix this for next time would be gratefully received.

Trying on the blouse shows that it fits well across the back with the darts in place, the side seams are straight but the CF pulls which indicates not enough fabric to cover the girls.  My question is, should I go up a size for the bust (22) or do a FBA?  I am little intimidated by the double darts regarding a FBA and would love to have some feedback about what I should do. 

I will definitely be making this pattern up again and in the same fabric. 

Blink and miss it.

Six months or more gone in a heart beat!

The poppy display was more awe inspiring in the real - it brought tears to my eyes
and wish that that modern leaders would realise the sheer waste of war.

Birmingham Bullring markets - fabric!

So what happened?  Lots of sewing, a trip to England to see my father, a new contract teaching English to Japanese children on holiday to NZ.  2014 has passed in an blink and now we are almost into the second month of 2015.

I spent lots of time in museums looking at
costumes - Lyme Regis Fossil Museum.

So far 2015 is not looking to great and if only I could be a bear and sleep it away.  Real life is intruding and it is not pretty.  While everyone else is celebrating the lower energy prices, we are anxiously watching for it to stop dropping and starting rising.  Mr DK has joined the ranks of the laid off, of which there are thousands in the oil industry.  Always a volatile industry, the oil business for the contract worker is precarious with long periods of layoff.  We have gone through this before and I guess will again in the future.

To help alleviate the depression I have joined the MAGAM sew along and have launched a campaign to tame the wilderness that was the garden.

On the topic of sewing I have become a fan of the Ottobre Magazine, as a former Burda aficionado I am disappointed in the direction it continues to go.  For the trip I made clothes that could be layered over each other for the fickle English weather as advised,  but England turned on a really hot autumn so did not wear much that I made.

The most successful item was a Merino Hoodie from the Autumn/Winter 2014 issue of Ottobre.  The fabric from Morlands Fabric in Hamilton was a pricy merino rib knit originally intended for DD#1.  I cut a size 50 with no alterations and it was just right to go over jeans etc and under jackets in Birmingham.  When I got back I passed it to DS#1 as he is off to Palmerston North to varsity and it snows there occasionally.

The rib knit means that this does 'grow' but does
go back after the wash.

DD#1 loves the relaxed fit.

6 PAC Sewing with a Plan

I make detailed plans for my sewing: but sadly often  they remain as strips of fabric, pictures and pattern numbers.  I take pleasure in creating a journal of the plan but need to move onto the actual task of sewing up the ideas.  It is with pleasure that I find myself completing a plan.

Inspiration for Shirt

I love the croquis from  Fashionary 

My eldest daughter has just completed her undergraduate degree in Architecture and is continuing onto her Masters.  As a poor student she was happy to have Mum make a few things to help extend her wardrobe.  At present she is enamoured with black so that was the base colour, not my favourite thing to sew or wear! I managed to slip in some petrol blue and grey to the mix for some variety.

First up were two tops from Ottobre Spring/Summer 2013.  A draped Tshirt (Lemon Juice No 13) cut on the fold to create the draped side.  This is a  petrol blue merino lycra blend from The Fabric Store in Wellington and I plan to make it in a larger size for myself.  With one piece for the front and back, the side is placed on the fold to create the drape.  

The second top was No 2 Summer Basic, made firstly in a burnout knit from the Auckland Fabric Store branch.  

I adjusted to add 3" length in the back above armhole  and 4"in the front.  The daughter wanted the long at back short at front look so the hem was lengthened.  Made in a beautiful merino knit from The Fabric Shop, Otara this is a great basic quick to make and extremely useful as a layer.

Next time I will shorten the light colour for a better proportion - although it looked good on her.

They looked great on her but unfortunately she disappeared back to Wellington before I could get photos.  She reports that they are getting a good work out in the wardrobe.

Finally a shirt was made from Autumn/Winter 5/2013 No 10 Parisian Chic.  This is a gathered from the yoke loose blouse made in a polyester polka dot.  It went together easily but the fabric was difficult to sew and pulled in places.  I normally dislike polyester but loved the polka dots and the colour.

 The gathers on the shirt meant that I did not need to make any alterations for width and she liked the look.  The final garment in the six pack is a Style Arc Skirt which is nearly finished.

Ottobre have some wonderful styles but my first experience with them proved to be disappointing as the dress was not a good fit.  These were all made in Size 46 and were a very stylish fit, I am now convinced to try some other styles in my size so watch this space.

Style Arc Maggie

I am a great fan of Style Arc patterns and the Maggie Shirt is just as good as everything else I have made.

I ordered the pattern in a Size 12 for my youngest daughter but did not get to making it up before summer ended.  At present I am making a collection of garments for the eldest daughter and had extra fabric left over from the Ottobre Shirt and cut the remainder out as the Maggie Shirt.

The pattern is very simple with dolman sleeves and a fly front.  It was this fly front that gave me so much trouble.  Style Arc instructions are more a list of the order to sew and I normally look them over then disregard but this tab front needed lots more.  While separate left and right fronts are cut it was very difficult to visualise how it went together to create the concealed button band (first you have to realise that the buttons were concealed!).  Luckily the wonderful ladies over at Stitchers Guild had the answer.  This tutorial from the blog toile & trouble completely explained the process (now printed out and filed with the pattern) and I was able to redo the front with success.

Once the front was completed it was a breeze to finish the rest of the shirt.  It has a yoke that extends into the sleeve and an inverted pleat at the centre back which gives a nice look as well as providing more room in the back. Unfortunately the fabric is not ideal for this style - a very fluid polyester which sticks to the body and crackles with static very quickly as you can see in the final photo.

Another nice feature of the shirt is the length and the shaped hem; it is very flattering and I am considering getting this in my size.

I will be making this again in time for next summer and think I will try it in a cool cotton with contrasting collar and yoke.

Absences, New Year Resolutions and Samplers.

I am welcoming myself back into the blogasphere - I have taken a break partly due to behind the scene busyness (help finish painting the house anyone?).  Happily I am about to throw the paint brushes away  for a few years with only a little bit of trim to go. 

Fortunately I have been able to fit in some sewing here and there.  Not so fortunately when I cannot get to sew I have a habit of indulging in virtual sewing which includes some not so virtual fabric shopping. So I find that I need to make a few New Years Resolutions regarding sewing up some of these beautiful pieces.

The top ready for joining with the side.

One pleasure I have indulged in is becoming more aquainted with my Bernina 780.  The Tauranga Bernina Centre is amazing for after sales support with the marvelous Robyn providing all manner of classes related to the machine.  Last year we worked on a series of samples (This 'n That Embellishment Sampler from Bernina) which were designed to complete as a cushion etc, however Mr DK is not so keen on more cushions, so I decided to combine these all into a bag/storage dust cover for the embroidery unit.  The intention was to have something that could protect the unit to and fro from 7's class. 

Crazy Patchwork with ribbons and embroidery patterns from the 780.

Each sample was backed with iron on batting then butted together and zig zagged. Placing the samples together took some time and I ended up cutting a few up for a better look.

Each join was covered over with this tape from the stash which I have had for over 20 years. I love the way the pattern arrows run all over the place rather than in one direction

The bottom of the bag ready for assembly.

As the lining and side fabric I used a chintz from the stash.  I used some of the large embroidery patterns from the 780 to embellish the side - I padded with the iron on batting before embroidery.

 Assembling the bag had its issues as it was a plan as you go project! I used a very stiff batting (not sure what it is called) between the lining and the outer layer and two continuous zips along the top. After lots of tacking and recutting I finally hand stitched the lining to the top and added the embroidery unit.

The completed bag.

A special flap was added to attach the top of the bag to the side and hide the ends of the zips.

Fabric stops added to continous zip ends

 And here is the unit in its specially made bag - the twill handles support the unit when tipped up for carrying and there is room for all sorts of odds and ends.

In the top of the bag I added a pocket to hold all the special hoops so that they are altogether.

Subtropical interludes and encores

Recently I had the opportunity to spend some time with the husband in Brisbane,  he has been based in the inner city instead of the desert as normal.  He hates the city but I enjoyed the experience.

I spent my days exploring the shops and got very excited to be able to see (and touch) so many designer clothes etc rather than rely on photos for inspiration.  I fell in love with a Giorgio Armani handbag 

Image from http://www.savoirflair.com/

Sadly this remains in Brisbane for obvious reasons but I loved the simplicity of  design and will look around for something similar locally.

I had great fun acting the tourist visiting the South Bank and all the art galleries and museums – a highlight was the Afghanistan Hidden Treasures Exhibition.  It was well worth the fee and very interesting to learn more about the Silk Route and the role Afghanistan held at this time. 

I also stopped off at the California Design Exhibition and loved this dress and then spent way too much at the Gallery Shop, which had so many cool old-fashioned toys and art bits and pieces.

No trip can be without fabric so I set off to Alla Moda, as recommended by Lynda,. After a train trip then a longer than intended walk I entered another world of fabulous fabric.  The fabrics were sensational but pricey – I wonder if they ever have a sale? This is what came home with me; a gorgeous Italian silk print , and a remnant of fine cotton sateen.  

Italian Silk Border Print

Cotton Sateen

The youngest D has her eye on the silk as a easy top from Burda and the sateen is aging in the stash.

Back at home and an encore featuring the wonderful Heidi Cardigan.  First another version for me out of a fine cotton sweatshirting., this time I decided to line the hood.  I do not like this, it makes the hood a lot heavier.

Next up the youngest had requested a hoodie for herself.  She wanted it in the same fabric as mine.  I made her version in a Size 10 and she loves it!