March Madness

My how time flies. It has been so long since I have posted, I can hardly believe it, its nearly April. I haven't sewn much , well actually at all. Work has been beyond hectic and every night I have fallen asleep exhausted. To add to all this, I am renovating and had to pack up my sewing room, very sad. My stash now looks like this

Another 2 weeks and I will be unpacking my house again, so exciting. I can't wait to unpack all my fabric. Although I do have a desire to destash. I may have to visit the Fabric Cave again.

Happy Sewing!

February Garment

I have been struggling with trying to choose a garment to make for February. The beginning of the school year is always a challenge but this year we have had so many changes at our school that it has been an enormous challenge. That coupled with the humid weather I have been feeling quite overwhelmed and indecisive. I'm not sure that my garment completely fits into the theme but I really want to make this top so that is why I decided to make it.

The pattern I found at the Salvo's for $1.00. I intend to make a top out of the main black floral fabric and then the sleeves in the pink flower fabric. The flower fabric is a cotton lace that is quite open. It's marginally a frankenpattern. I'm hoping this will work.
               
                                                     Happy Sewing !

Burda top 6972 and Style Arc pants

I started this Burda 6972 tunic top last October, it was meant to be my Garment a Month top but things  didn't go well and I only finished this in January.

This top I changed the sleeves to 3/4 length . I did widen the upper arm slightly just to give me a comfortable sleeve. The fabric is a gorgeous linen I bought from Tessuti's last year or could have even been the year before. It's a beautiful fabric that is lovely to wear. The top has a horizontal dart at the front and the neck opening is bound. I did find this a bit tricky and had to hand sew the bottom section so that it sat well. The top went together very easily. I really like the shape and the pleats in the lower section.

The pants are Style Arc Elle pants. I had this fabric in my stash and it was a perfect coordinating fabric, pretty happy with that. This is my 4th pair of Elle pants. this pair turned out to be a bit tighter than I like but they were actually fine when I wore them to work. It amazes me how you can make the same pattern and they are different every time.

 Pretty happy with this outfit. I will definitely do this tunic again. Maybe a sleeveless version and then a long sleeve version for Autumn.
                                                 Happy Sewing !

The late Jungle Top

After I finished my last black and white top in my previous blog post I decided I needed another top to go with my Tummy Taming Pants . In my stash I found this lovely black and white animal print. It's a lovely stretch that I bought from Style Arc last year. I decided to make Simplicity 1463 view C, however I used the one fabric for the whole top.

I really like the sleeves in this pattern, they are loose and comfortable. I lengthened the top by 3 inches because I prefer tops longer and didn't want the same problem I had in my previous top. Its hard to see the peak at the front but it is there.

Its hard to see in the photo but there is gathering at the back yoke..
This is a lovely soft fabric and very comfortable. I am very happy with this top and will definitely be making it again.
                                                Happy Sewing!

January garment done !

I finished my garment for January nearly on time. I did finish it before the end on January but couldn't post about it till today.

I made the Hot patterns fast and fabulous Blouse-T back and Hot patterns Tummy Taming Trousers. I was happy with both these patterns and how they went together. I went down a size for each and could possibly go down a size further for the pants.
 The T shirt is a bit short at the front for me and if I made it again I would lengthen the front. I think my boobs take up length, which  meant the shirt is short. If I lift my arms the shirt shows way too much tummy for my liking

I

In this photo you can see how the front is too short for me.

The fabric I used was a knit I bought on line and I don't like the feel of it at all. It has almost a brushed feel and is not terribly comfortable. It's also quite warm to wear. I added some rick rack around the neck edge. I like this pattern though and will make it again but I will lengthen the front slightly so I feel more comfortable.

The pants I really like. The waistband folds over and they have an invisible zip down the back. The pants are very comfortable. The pants went together well ,the only problem I had was the hem. The instructions say a 3 inch hem but I couldn't work that out. My hem is about 2 inches. Also the hem was machine stitched but I hand sewed the hem , purely personal preference. The trouser fabric was from Tessuti's last year. I did shorthen the pants on the pattern an inch. Next time I may narrow the leg or make a size smaller. All in all I would definitely make both these patterns again. The new component for me was using Hot Patterns.

Happy Sewing !

Stash Busting

I am doing a small renovation at my place in the next few weeks, I hope. I am taking up the carpet and putting wooden floors in my sewing room, lounge room , downstairs hallway and stairs. So I had to start cleaning my stash up. I will still have the same space but I have to remove it from the shelves and reorganise.

So this is the result, 4 garbage bags off to The Fabric Cave. I find it very difficult to part with fabric but I did manage. I proudly told my daughter about my amazing feat. She walked into my sewing room and said "Really Mum, it looks the same," and it has hardly made a dent. Oh well. I did only return with 2 pieces from The fabric Cave .

I thought this was quite constrained. 

Happy Sewing !

Cool Comfort

I needed a loose, comfortable dress that wouldn't crush before I went to hospital, so I whipped up this dress and having already worn it about 3 times in a week. It is so easy.

I used the Tessuti Gabby Dress pattern. I upgraded the pattern about 1 size, it is very loose fitting anyway, I probably wouldn't upgrade again when using stretch. 

The fabric I bought at Cabramatta a few years ago. I think you would call it a slinky knit ( but I'm not sure). It was easy to sew and in hot humid weather at the moment its fabulous to wear. The shape is so comfortable and the fabric drapes really well, I could live in these over summer. I will definitely be making this again. Its a great way to start using fabrics in my stash. I know this is not the most flattering shape but it is SO comfortable.

                                                   Happy Sewing !