Finally pants

I had finished these pants quite a while ago but had no photos. In fact these were planned at the end of 2014. I'll admit it, I'm slow but they are done.

Pants number 1.  Black and White polka dots

These are  Style Arc Flat Bottom Flo pants.   
I quite like these and I thought they fitted quite well till I looked at the photos.

There are still some lines underneath my backside so I think that means I need to widen the leg.  They are very comfortable and I hate pants that are too large on my thighs, so they will do at the moment. They fit my flatbackside really well. The pattern was very easy to make and I really like how the front seam sits forward.

It's a little difficult to see in the photos. These are really comfortable. I will definitely make these pants again.

The fabric is a stretch cotton from Tessuti's and is quite stiff, so maybe that causes some of the fit issues. I like these pants and have worn them several times already.

Pants number 2  Floral Summer pants

These are Style Arc Tori Crop pants.
I am not a huge fan of these pants. I love the fabric though. I bought this at Tessuti's in 2014. It's a lovely stretch cotton and feels lovely to wear. I shortened these about 2 inches, I'm only 5'3" but I would have preferred them slightly longer. I also had trouble with the split at the side.

I really messed it up. The instructions were difficult to follow but they're fine for a casual summer pant. I probably won't make this pattern again.
 It's good to finally finish these and be wearing them.
                                                      Happy Sewing!

Birthday dress

Well I had planned to make linen pants but instead I decided I needed desperately, to make a maxi dress for my birthday lunch, I became obsessed. I hope I'm not the only one who does this. I have been wanting to try Butterick 5456 for ages, Fast and easy, no problems, well not many.

I had some lovely cotton jersey from Tessuti that was in my stash, so off I went. I thought it's stretch I won't make any adjustments plus I was in a hurry. I keep forgetting I'm not young and slim and patterns fit straight out of the envelope.

It was very easy to sew and turned out well except for the bust . It pulled forward, I should have done a FBA but I was too lazy and in too much of a hurry.

As you can see it pulls forward. I added a strip across the bottom of the arm opening which meant I could wear it comfortably. A new design feature, right! To be honest I'm not sure how to do a FBA on this type of bodice that has no darts or anything to gauge the adjustments by. If anyone can help I would really appreciate the help.  Its fine, not great but fine and comfortable. No one else would notice, I don't think, I just need to keep my arms down. Plus I love the look of a maxi dress.

The back is what I love about this pattern. A bit of skin but appropriate. I love the maxi dress cool , comfortable and covers my legs.
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I'm not sure if I will make this pattern again but I will definitely be making more maxi dresses. A good summer dress though.

A beautiful place to have my birthday lunch.

                                       Happy Sewing!

Jumping into January or not.

My blogging has been a bit slow this January, usually I'm quite prolific in January. I have been sewing, I just haven't taken any photos to blog about yet. Although my sewing has been a little sparse. I have been trying to finish projects from last year.
 I don't know why my sewing mojo has been struggling, all I can think is that last year was a difficult year at work, plus I had a few quite serious health issues and all I needed to do this January was  rest and recovery.
Now I'm ready to jump into January, even though its nearly over. A  found a gap in my summer wardrobe, linen pants. Every summer I think this and I never get around to making linen pants, so this summer I'm going to do it.
I have loads of linen

this is just a few. So if I can find a pattern that suits I think I could whip these up quite quickly. I looked through my pattern and found these

plus the Tessa pant from Style Arc

I think I will try the Tessa pant first. Some of the other patterns are quite wide and I do have to be careful with width, because I can look a little swamped by fabric. I am quite excited to be sewing these. This is how I will spending Australia Day ( I hope ).

                             Happy Sewing and Happy Australia Day to all the Aussies out there.

A little Present

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and are enjoying the relaxing period post Christmas. It's lovely being able to take a breath and smell the roses. Personally I find this time of year a time to just relax, usually at the beach but the weather has decided to become wet and very cool for this time of year. This means  an ideal climate for sewing, reading and buying fabric on line.

I bought myself a little Christmas present, fabric of course. I was wandering through Etsy and looked at this japanese store MissMatatabi. I wanted some indigo fabric to make a quilt for my handsome man but I also had to buy myself some of their beautiful cotton fabrics.

The navy and orange spot and yellow spot are a seersucker fabric and they feel lovely, so soft. They will be lovely to wear in summer. I'm not quite sure what to make yet. The Blue rose fabric on top is beautiful . I could only buy about a metre, but I just love it. I think that may become the front of a top with a contrasting back. The fabrics are beautiful and they arrived so quickly. This shop has a sale at the moment , another incentive to go and have a browse.

                                                 Happy New Year!

Summer blues

When I saw this dress I just fell in love with the beautiful blue fabric and the style. I thought it would  be a lovely summer dress.

 This is from one of my favourite brands Euphoria. Unfortunately the price tag was a bit too much at the moment. Then I saw the Tessuti site and there it was, the beautiful silk fabric.
It's called Silky H2O.

It looks a bit dark in the photo but it is actually quite bright. It is amazingly similar to the RTW dress.

 The pattern  I will use is Simplicity 1621 View A, possibly with the shoulders slightly extended.

I think this will make a lovely summer dress. I am pretty excited . I can't wait to start.

                                                       Happy Sewing!

T to a Tee

Another T- shirt and I really like this pattern . Its Kwik Sew 3954.  It is quite a long T-shirt but I do like long tops. I like to wear them with straight pants and I just find them very comfortable.

This is a very plain T-shirt. Just raglan sleeves with a Hi-Low length. It really didn't take long. I made the XL with no adjustments.

I like the back as it doesn't catch in my waist too much.

This a beautiful cotton jersey that I bought from Tessuti's but has since sold out. It is lovely and soft and beautiful to wear.
 I finished the neckline off by turning the self trim to the front. This then encloses the edge.

Its a backward way of doing the binding. I really like to do this edging on T-shirts, I feel it looks well finished.  If you have a coverstitch machine this may do this anyway.
I'm happy with this top. I will be making some more of these.
                                       Happy Sewing!

Love a Laurel Tunic

I love a tunic. I have been dying to make the Laurel Tunic by Greenstyle for ages but hadn't got around to it. I decided one night I needed to try this pattern. So many other sewers had had amazing success with this pattern so I gave it a shot. I actually made this when the weather was still cooler in Sydney but  as luck would have it, the weather warmed up when I had finished the tunic but it will keep till next Autumn.

I made the 2XL without any alterations. I did a really dumb thing, I sewed the cowl on the wrong way the first time, then had to unpick and sew it on the right way, so I think the neckline is a bit smaller than it should be. Sometimes I worry myself.

I love the pleats in the skirt. I really like this pattern. It sewed together very well.

The fabric was from my stash a blue and beige knit. It was quite easy to sew and it feels lovely to wear.
I will definitely be making this again. I think I may lengthen the bodice next time. Also I didn't put the pockets in, I just don't like pockets in dresses. The only thing I don't like is I feel a bit too busty but I can live with that. A super comfortable tunic.

                           

Amazing Sunrise

 

 

                                                   

                                                      Happy Sewing !