Beauty And The Beast Costumes

So as per usual I didn't take photos of all my costumes made for the production of Beauty and the Beast at Lincoln Drill Hall, or of the ones made for the production of Peter Pan that was over in Skegness and Retford. I am usually just sick of them by the time I have finished, and things never look quite as good on a hanger as they do on a person, and I certainly don't fit into them haha!

As luck would have it I managed to get hold of some of the professionally taken photos from the dress rehearsal.

Beauty and Percy Peapod

So I made Beauty's blue pinafore dress which was made to look like the existing villager girls' costumes but in the iconic blue colour. I made the yellow overalls, two of the dark green shirt, and appliqued the hat for Percy. The shirt pattern was a men's Simplicity pattern but the rest of the costumes I made from my own patterns, or by taking measurements from the existing costumes. (Beauty's, a few of the Peter Pan costumes were copies to make up the correct amount of costumes needed for the set.)

I can't SIA where I'm going!

The SIA inspired costume, which I dubbed the "Moo moo Muu muu" was a swing dress shape, with wide sleeves, self drafted. The sleeve hems and the dress hem had plastic boning in to exaggerate the shape. The bow on the wig wasn't properly attached in these pictures, but in the proper performances it stood upright completely.

Be Our Guest

Other than Beauty's dress, I made the dress for Dame Dusty Doorknockers, we dubbed it the "Liquorice dress". It is from a basic princess seamed block I have made up specifically for lovely James (Dusty), and the consists of a striped yoke (front and back) with an overlaid shaped ruffle hanging over the bust. The main body of the dress is in the lilac polka dot with sleeves and ruffle in pink. The pattern piece for the sleeves is huge! You really do have to gather  down a lot of fabric to get that exaggerated puff sleeve (which you can't really see in the action shot). The apron has a functional pocket and ties in a delightfully large bow in the back.
I am incredibly pleased with the way this dress came out, it fit perfectly, looks exactly how it was imagined to, and really pops on stage.

You can't kill a beast without a cape!

Pictures are Gustave and a villager wearing capes, I made a lot of capes for this production! Gustave's is a longer cape pleated onto a collar, Luke's cape is basically a hi-low hem 3/4 circle with a drafted hood. I made 4 of the hooded capes, and two children's ones that were the 3/4 circle without the hood. All of them were fully lined in a "gunmetal" grey colour, the ties were a mixture of ribbons and twill tape. They would have all been twill tape but I forgot I had it when I made the first few!

Marcel

So very unexpectedly I made the waistcoat and trousers for the character of Marcel due to the original costume provided turning out to be much too small and beyond the scope of alteration. I adapted a Simplicity pirate costume because I was very time limited and did not want to mess around drafting crotch curves and taking a billion measurements. The actor was larger than the patterns went up to but since I used them only as a rough base it wasn't hard to increase the measurements. The waistcoat is lined and I did it in a bit of an arse about face way because I was rushing and didn't sit down and think it through first. The trousers are cuffed with elastic, and are purposefully baggy as requested because of "trouser acting" apparently....I just did as I was told!

Ruddy mysterious in these parts!

And here we have Marcel again sporting his cape. It was made in the same fashion as Gustave's and is white because it was involved in a blackout sequence with lights to make it glow. The hat was trimmed with white twill tape for the same reason.

So as far as original costumes are concerned, this was pretty much the lot for Beauty and the Beast, although one of my own dresses was used for Dame Dusty (a strawberry print dress I had made for Tea and Tents festival in 2014, I was going to give it to the charity shop but offered it to JMP as it had more of a costumey feel to it). I also did the usual alterations, adjustments, re-jigging, and repairs but no pictures bar a couple of rubbish instagram shots.

It is a bit weird thinking about the fact that thousands of people have seen my costumes on stage, yet this is not a career I have worked or studied for, it is just my hobby! I guess it is a nice counter to my own garment sewing of black wardrobe staples!

Disclaimer: None of these photos belong to me, they are just being used to document my costume work to the 3 people who look at the blog ;)

Sewing And Weightloss

As mentioned in my last post, I have been having a lot of thoughts about sewing and weightloss as I have lost some weight recently, and hope to lose another 3, 4 or 5 stone depending on how I feel further down the road (I cannot set a goal weight because I am unable to visualise what I will look like at an arbitrarily set number on a scale, I will know when I have lost enough for my own preferences - I'm always going to be a curvy lady!!).

I am not the largest member of the online sewing community, but I was/am not comfortable in my own skin. At risk of type 2 diabetes, and being easily out of breath, and struggling to paint my own damn toenails, I knew things had to change.

Left me, right my sister, taken in May 2016 but at roughly the same weight as when I started WW

So in the picture I am wearing a dress I made for an event in September 2015 (obviously unblogged because I am an incompetent blogger!). I made it from my own sundress pattern, from fabric I carefully selected, buttons in my choice of contrasting colour, and hemmed by hand using some pretty lace. The nature of the pattern placement of the hearts was forgotten about hence the weird bit in the middle, and the armscye could do with a 1/4" scooped out. In no way is this dress perfect. But it is mine.

The same feelings go for the rest of my imperfect, but specially curated wardrobe. It is small, I do not have provisions for all seasons, it consists of 75% black clothing, and the rest made up from navy, grey, and the rare pop of a gingham or olive green. My clothes have meaning, each has its own story, and the small amount of items mean I really do remember when it was made and why. The only way my clothes could be more personal is if I wove the cloth they are made from (which is unlikely to happen!).

So now I am two stone lighter, and they say I should feel healthier! They say I should really feel the difference! They say I should be "#so proud"! They say I should see the difference! Happy happy, joy joy! Well spoiler alert, I don't. I can't see the difference, I don't feel healthier, I can paint my toenails a bit easier though.

I know through the evidence of the scale, and through the fit of my clothes that it is happening for real. I see my clothes looking sad and baggy. I live in leggings and a sad baggy tonic tee if I am not leaving the house. My embroidered Ginger jeans are so far into droopy arseville that I can't even go there with them any more. My dearly loved polka dotted blouse is now a sad saggy sack. But I should be pleased by this so they say.

The reason I kept my wardrobe so small is because of my preference for a sustainable wardrobe. I hate waste, I hate throwaway clothes culture, and I love having only things I enjoy wearing. I understand my views are the minority here, no hating on those sewists who have a large bounty of handmade clothing in their closet, "To thine own self be true" after all. Growing out, or should that be shrinking out, of my clothes whilst they are not worn enough to be worn out and too worn for the charity shop is causing me anxiety. I feel wasteful.

The personal nature of my relationship with my clothing is making me miserable. I can't bring myself to make some new items to tide me over the next 2 stone loss to go through the feeling of waste again. I don't even feel like I can re-purpose the fabric from any of my existing clothes into only temporary garments. I get that this is not a normal way to think about ones clothing. Buying new in a size smaller is one of the thrills most women get to boost them on their often long and hard journey, I don't even know what size dress I would pick up off the rack it has been so long since I got anything but bras and those stretchy saviours keeping me from wandering round in just my knickers.


I'm sure that for many sewists this sound like the ramblings of a madwoman, and for those who do not sew it surely sounds madder still! Perhaps I am too sentimental, too obsessed, too neurotic...but I would never choose to again have that impersonal relationship with the things that are literally, albeit not figuratively, closest to me. Sewing has taught me patience, responsibility, mindfulness, confidence, and made me aware of all those little body quirks that you would never know if not for taking all those measurements.

There is more to life than clothes, no shadow of a doubt on that one, but clothes are the reflections of life, and I for one value them deeply.

What Do You Call A Sewing Blogger Who Doesn't Sew Anything And Posts About Books Instead?

AKA My 2016 review post!

So 2016 was a mixed bag of a year, it didn't start off so brilliantly, but really picked up as it went along and on the whole it was generally a pretty good one, bucking the general trend there!

I didn't really sew much, but I have been up to the usual variety of crafty bits and bobs, terrible photos courtesy of Instagram!

So from left to right on the top row - I made a super romantic valentines cross stitch of our little family, it is pretty small but still took ages, cross stitch is a real marathon! I also started a temperature blanket, it is bigger than the shown picture, but I have about 8 months left to do...which I will probably take the whole of 2017 to do. I also made a little felt badge with the most incredibly rudimentary stumpwork(ish) bee on, this was for a climate change awareness project done through the WI, with the idea to make a green heart with something written/illustrated/created on it that would be at risk from climate change.

Middle row is a hungry caterpillar headband made for a friend for World Book Day, some banana split truffles made as a gift, and some crochet roses I turned into a headband for a camping weekend I went on.

Bottom row is some beeswax candles made at a workshop at the above mentioned camping weekend, my first attempt at the good ol' granny square, and one of the birthday cards made throughout the year.

On the sewing front I made barely anything for myself, I didn't take any good photos either! Not pictured are my Sophie swimsuit and Morgan jeans tester garments (they were not beautiful, and neither one got made into a final personal garment so no photos there either), and also a black linen dress that was a bit of a disaster and I don't want to talk about the waste of my hoarded nice fabric...

So from the top - a summery blousey thing made from my sundress pattern which was sewn up in some fabric which had serious static issues. It actually frayed apart after washing in a small spot and I decided that rather than fix it, I would be better off without it! Next to that we have a chiffon peasant top - Simplicity 1162 worn with my skull pocket Ginger jeans cut in 2015, sewn 2016. S1162 looks a bit fug in some of the variations they decided to put on the envelope, but I was after something that would make a casualish top and use up the various lengths of chiffon I seem to purchase periodically which I have little call for. It's a nice top once you get going, although it is a bit shapeless round the middle, hence the belted look.

I also finally made up the sunhat I carefully drafted a pattern for following the instructions over at Weekend Designer and it is everything I need to re-enact my AHS Coven style dreams. I think there is room for improvement, but certainly a very good first attempt!
The best project of the year was my giant pants, two pairs made from the Rosy Lady Shorts pattern with the waist extended to hit the waistline.

I also made a questionable gingham sundress, Frank likes it, but I'm not so convinced.

Finally I made a steampunk costume to wear to the annual steampunk festival held in Lincoln each year, and at which my WI holds a fundraising bake sale. I have wanted to join in the fun ever since we moved here 7 years ago, and I dipped my toe in with a steampunk inspired costume rather than a full on affair. It took ages, I wasn't overly pleased with how it turned out, and the proper photos I took make it look more ugly than it really is. But the day was a lot of fun, and I got compliments on my attire so it clearly wasn't too awful.

The top photo here was taken at the camping trip mentioned - Tea and Tents. It is a WI member only camping weekend that I attended once before in 2014. My scarf has cats on it. It is hiding the nasty sunburn I got...
The bottom photo was taken at the Steampunk festival where I also got sunburned...not a good year for my skin, I got burned in April too.
I really love being a part of the WI, and I hope that these pictures dispel a few common misconceptions about it being full of middle class ladies in twin sets and pearls  (not that there is anything wrong if you do fall into this category!)

So as well as the crafty business, and the book reading, it was also a good year for other things - I did a talk about craftivism at my WI (very nerve-wracking) which is something I would never have considered doing in a million years before I joined. After the talk I arranged for us to make our own craftivism piece - all members were tasked to make a piece embroidered with their food waste pledge which will be joined together to make one large display.
I also volunteered throughout Oct/Nov for Cards For Good Causes, they set up across the country selling cards for charities (national and local), and a whopping 80% of the price of a pack goes to the charity they are for which is so much more than the charity cards sold in supermarkets etc. I met many lovely people, and also got to volunteer twice with my friend Jo who introduced me to the CFGC charity as she ad volunteered previously.
I organised a Christmas carol concert for a group of local WIs including Lincoln, and was completely bummed out to find I couldn't attend due to panto commitments. It went well though so I was pleased.
Like the madman I am, I signed up with Weight Watchers in the last week of October, and have been doing pretty well at it, although I did find it hard missing out on all the Christmas treats. I'm almost two stone lighter now, and it brings up a lot of thoughts and feelings for the sewist with an almost entirely hand made wardrobe which I am going to post about separately.

Well there was a very long brief round up of my 2016, and I will have a separate panto post because it is sewing related, but to add more to this post was going to make things rather silly!



I know this blog isn't very well read, but for those that do, I hope that you had a good 2016, and have a better 2017!

Panto Prep

I had meant to post up the second part of my embroidered Ginger Jeans next but I haven't got round to any photos yet.

So one of the reasons I was not blogging over the winter is because I was busy beavering away with preparations for a panto which really eats away at your time *insert oh no it doesn't joke here*.
One of things I love most about being involved with a theatre company is the fact it throws you curve ball after curve ball and no request is ever too weird!
Do excuse the terrible photos, many of which were just taken off my instagram feed.

There was copious amounts of blinging to do, costumes to make significantly bigger, collars to make, and a million miles of ruffles to be made and added to a flat looking costume.

Mop caps and bonnets were two of the completely new to me tasks! Needless to say I had to work it out on the fly, but the results were fine.

Bloomers were made based off of a pj bottom pattern, I made them looser than intended and elasticated the leg holes.

One of the more unusual tasks was to take a comically large jacket (think Lurch from the Addams Family) and make it into a regular sized jacket and a matching tie. This is one of two ties I made for that character, the other was in a fetching blue sequin fabric.

This is a picture of it in action! I chose to keep the collar of the original jacket and work the smaller one around that. Guesstimating the sleeve cap was a bit nervewracking, I didn't have enough fabric to re do them if it went tits up, so I was relieved when it went according to plan!

Making two copies (copy shown above) of a dressy type of shirt was probably the second most nerve-wracking thing! I literally just had to spread out the fabric on the floor, draw round each piece of the existing shirt as best I could whilst it shifted everywhere, and hope for the best! Collars, facings, elasticated cuffs....not perfect results, but perfect enough for panto!

I sadly don't have pictures of everything I made, but other bits off the top of my head are:

* 28 tabard style knight costumes edged in handmade gold lame bias binding (not my idea of fun!)
* sashes and cummerbunds galore
* cropped trousers
* harem style trousers
* tutus
* sparkle tanks
* ballet costume style bodices
* ruffled poncho

I'm sure there was more, but I started with it in October so my memory isn't exactly fresh!

Stay tuned for the next part of my panto recap!

Embroidered Ginger Jeans Part 1

First I must confess that I started these jeans back in October last year...taking slow to a whole new level here!

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the Ginger Jeans from Closet Case Patterns, and as a disclaimer I should add that I received the pattern free as a tester, but I wouldn't have made like 7 pairs if I didn't love the pattern off of its own merit! (I probably have mentioned it before but I haven't posted in such a long time, and can't be bothered to check back to see if I did)

For the yet again failed FESA sew along, I listed making two replacement pairs of Gingers, and used some really great broken twill denim off eBay, such great quality, and no twisty legs woohoo!

So then I had one of my slightly infamous 3am ideas - anyone else get these?! - and decided that I simply had to have skulls embroidered on my butt pockets. Because they're skulls and it's me. So a bit of googling revealed that it was a thing, a couple of US brands did skull butt jeans, and a bit of pinteresting threw up a few choice designs. I purchased one from Urban Threads (who are cheap and wonderful and will have whatever embroidery you're looking for!) and sized it up and printed it off. I decided for the sake of needing some to wear immediately I would make up one pair as normal, and since the embroidery completion was glacial it was a smart move!

As I was using black denim (obviously) I needed to use the tissue paper method to stitch my design as the pockets needed to be mirrored as identically as possible so risking free hand was not an option. I traced the designs onto tissue paper that was slightly thicker than usual, not sure what it came with, it is a bit like that really terrible toilet roll at school that was like tracing paper.

 I just tacked the tissue paper down to stop it shifting. I chose to use two shades of grey, a lighter one for the skull part, and a darker one for the swirly bit to the side. The pockets were interfaced so there was no risk of stretching out.

Once it was finished I pulled through the tacking stitches. Then I very naively thought I would pull the tissue paper off in one piece. I have no idea what kind of brain glitch was responsible for that idiocy because as I'm sure you will all realise, it looked like this...

 Doh! So out came the tweezers, and eventually I got all the bloody stuff out!

So at this stage it was December, not too bad! Queue second pocket being finished in March. This is why I went ahead and finished the other pair, I know myself well enough to know that no matter how much I *had* to go through with my idea,it would take me forever to actually get finished.

Well, the finished pair are pretty much identical in design and spacing. I do wish I had done them a bit further in though. It looks better when all the edges are folded inwards so on the finished pair they don't look too odd.

Part two will show the finished jeans.

Have you ever incorporated embroidery into your handmade clothing? If so would you do it again or was once enough?!

"Lady Skater" Style Dress From SBCC Tonic Tee

Happy Friday folks!

Last week I finally got round to taking some photos of my Lady Skater rip off dress, and of the billion taken a few were not entirely terrible even if I do have a touch of the "about to start impersonating Michael Flatley" kinda vibe in them.

I made this dress in April, I wanted a new dress to wear for my birthday so most likely I started it in good time....the day before ;)

Sleeping or looking at something interesting on the floor - you decide!

I lightened the pics to aid in actually seeing a black garment, and yes, knickers and bra also match...

So I started off with the SBCC Tonic Tee pattern and scooped out the neck at the front and back, then shortened it to hit at my natural waist. I may have measured it, or just put a bodice pattern on top to compare lengths, it was a while ago and I can't remember exactly.

I feel like the princess of darkness with these glorious sleeves!

There look to be drag lines in this pic but I'm not sure if it is the position of my arm. I drafted some facings for the neck and it sits pretty well. I sewed down the back facing but not the front and it stays in place fine without flipping. I have noticed a bit of gaping in the neckline in some positions so I would consider a bit of clear elastic in the seam in future. I used the sleeves I made up for some other garment, possibly for the Lisette Traveller dress. I really need to invest in some hilarious 80's patterns for some statement sleeve goodness, I L-O-V-E puffy, gathered, ruched, layered, pleated, bold sleeves. It's just a thing...I cant help it! I put a little lace over the shoulder seams for added interest too.

Is that a donut over there?

I believe I used the skirt pieces for the Lisette Traveller dress which is just a gathered A line. I will have shortened it from the top to increase the gathers and keeping the width at the bottom. I used clear elastic in the waist seam but my overlocker just seemed to push it out from under the foot whenever possible, and my sewing machine hates it too. I would try using a regular elastic next time perhaps. I'm not sure if there is better clear elastic available but the "Hemline" brand stuff which is all I seem to be able to get my hands on is pretty wide and a bit rubbery, not like the stuff I have seen used in RTW. If youknow of a UK source for that type of clear elastic please tell me!

This kinky shot reveals the special surprise of this fabric - it is grey on the other side! The fabric is a double sided ponte, gloriously thick and soft, and had I known how nice it was I would have ordered more! If I had put more thought into it I could have made the dress reversible, but lets face it, I would not wear such a light grey! As you can see I just overlocked the edge and sewed a small hem.

Overall I am thrilled with this dress, and now the temperature has dropped again I look forwards to wearing it more often - although really in England it is only July and perhaps a week either side where it is too hot for anything other than a flimsy sun dress. It could do with being taken in an inch either side of the bodice, but now it is in my wardrobe I am less inclined to mess about with it, a belt suffices to be honest.

This was an easy "hack", and I recommend it wholeheartedly if you haven't purchased the Lady Skater and don't mind a tiny bit of work making the facing pattern pieces....and y'know it's cheaper!

Enjoy your weekend!

Project Wardrobe: The (Late) Half Year Update

Well 3 months late isn't too shoddy hey?! I will only talk about items here that were made, to the best of my knowledge, before June. After that the items will feature in my S/A plans.



Where we left off earlier this year I detailed the current state of my wardrobe, and also my W/S sewing plans. I actually got through most of those with the exception of the Bruyere rip off and the gingham dress refashion. I also had additional projects planned out because of an unexpected holiday to Turkey. A quick survey of my wardrobe suggests I have made the following:

1 x polka dot blouse
4 x SBCC tonic tee
14 x Rosy Lady Shorts (including 3 "sexy" pairs)
1 x Lady Skater style dress
1 x Ginger Jeans
1x Ginger Jeans capri length
1 x Lace trim tank
1 x Hippo dress to lace trim tank refashion
1 x dress to skirt refashion
2 x cropped length leggings

A total of 27 new items! I think I need to sit down with shock!

I can explain the 14 pairs of pants, or 11 not including the three experimental lace pairs, as a holiday necessity...it was an 8 day holiday, plus I needed a pair for the day either side, and a pair for the day after we got back and my other pants were in the wash. So I made 7 pairs of knickers specifically to make up this number. I have also rag bagged the old RTW knickers that were all ill fitting/had holes. It makes me laugh that I now only have plain black knickers (with different coloured elastics) in my undie drawer, even if it was only because I was using black jersey from my stash.

The cropped leggings were sadly too short in the waist, and a little tight. Made for holiday, well traveled, never worn. I will wait until I have shed a few pounds and then remove the existing elastic and add some more jersey and a new waistband. Nobody will be looking at that part of them so I'm not worried about weird seaming.

The full length Gingers are almost worn through at the thighs now, the capris were a juicy bonus as I made them using the leftover denim from my first and second gingers (same denim from the same place) so they felt like a freebie! I didn't have enough to put back pockets on but I don't mind. They fit a bit snug in the waist due to the combined effects of woven facing and the waistband being cut on the non stretch grain. I thought that it wouldn't matter as I always used a non stretch facing before, but it does make them a little bit tighter.

Wearing my black lace strap tank and Ginger capris in Turkey. Trying to surreptitiously get photo with the camel!

I'm super pleased with the grey dress refashion, that jersey has made a lovely tank, so slinky, very flattering to wear. The dress to skirt refashion is not so hot. Considering donating it.

The Lady Skater style dress is well worn, not for the warmer months, and would change a  few things if I made another. The SBCC tees are 50-50. the two I made first were in a bad choice of jersey and a little short in front. I think it looks quite trendy, but I prefer more coverage. Second two were made longer but I would actually still add a bit more length.

Star of the show is the blouse. I bodged a pattern for it out of the New Look pattern my tartan dress was made from. It wasn't precise, or perfect, but the resulting blouse is in constant rotation. Only problem is I forgot to interface the button bands and two of the lower buttons come open occasionally. I could sew the placket up to eliminate this if I wanted to as I can get the blouse on and off without undoing it.

Terrible mirror selfie on holiday! Love my blouse though <3

As far as existing wardrobe items are concerned, there are a few I am considering getting rid of, but not a huge amount. I think that a sizable amount will go in the new year though. A few of my RTW tops are now getting to the past it entirely stage, I also purchased a kaftan from Sainsburys which was ok in Turkey, but is too holiday item looking for me to put on at home. They had no black the buttheads. I have also purchased a fine knit cardigan as an emergency item for a job. I like it a lot so actually have little buyers remorse. I can't knit a cardi that fine, and sewing one would probably look like a dogs dinner for my first few attempts.

How is every one else doing with following sewing plans?

Winter/Spring Sewing Plans

I appreciate it should be A/W and S/S but seriously, in the UK winter and spring are colder and wetter, and summer and autumn much more temperate. It was still warm in October ffs! So I decided to go with W/S and S/A as my sewing seasons. Deal.

Moving on... I firstly wanted to share with you a list that is on my sewing room pin board. It is nothing I do not know, but it serves as a reminder when OMG-CUTEFABRIC might strike, or if an OMG-AMAZEBALLSPATTERN comes to town. It happens to the best of us.

I thought I would save you my raggedy scrawl and give you a boring but legible version.
These are just things that will really make or break something for me, and I don't like to make things I know I won't wear. Mostly sleeves is because I generally prefer them, but will make an exception for a vest top, or a summer dress if necessary. Buttons>zips is because having made a dress with a back zip, and worn one with a side zip, they are not my friends! I do not like needing assistance in dressing/undressing, and my t-rex arms combined with a boob mountain mean I cannot contort to do up a long back zip, and I find it tough to get hold of a side zip. For some reason I never encounter one that easily goes up and down using one hand (picture a monkey like arm movement). Is it just me being unlucky?! This also means I can't comfortably play an acoustic guitar should I want to inflict my lack of musical talent on anyone...first world problems hey ;)

So with these points in mind, I have made a brief outline of my projects for the coming weeks/months.

1) A new pair of Ginger Jeans. I need to wash the pair I have more often, so another pair is a priority!
2) New pants. I'm going with the rosy ladyshorts. I would like utilitarian practical versions for every day, and some sexy pairs for those occasions.
3) A rip off lady skater style dress. Black ponte.
4) Black tshirts, I'm giving the SBCC Tonic Tee a whirl. It's free, liked the look more than the other free t-shirt patterns available.
5) Sleeveless blouse - gingham dress recycling.
6) Another Bruyere blouse rip off
7) Black ponte dress refashion into skirt

There are a few other projects floating about in my head, but these are the ones I've settled on. I desperately wanted to make the Leanne Marshall coat, I have the pattern all muslined up and everything...but the fabric is short by a meter. I bought the fabric intending it for something else, the something else was not going to work in the fabric, so I thought it would make a nice coat. If it wasn't for the damn collar/shawl I would have enough! The lady I got the fabric from hasn't got any more, and so I really don't know if I should find a contrast fabric in the same colour (black) or just get whole new yardage of something else for it. It makes me sad. I did in fact burst into tears when I discovered I didn't have enough fabric - I was having one of those days!

Ginger Jeans - Closet Case Patterns

Rosy Ladyshorts - Cloth Habit

Tonic Tee - SBCC

Simplicity 1254 - Leanne Marshall

I have the line drawings for my current plans drawn out and on my pin board. I find this is a useful way to keep a check on what I'm doing, but the drawings are a bit dodgy so no sharing them here. I got a book out of the library that is aimed at fashion students, "Technical Drawing For Fashion" by Basia Szkutnicka, to try and improve my line drawing. I think it would be useful when imagining franken patterns and new designs, and just a nice skill to have, I certainly have no desire to design patterns for commercial sale, far too lazy! I have been thinking about having a couple of sketchbooks, one for ideas, and one for documenting patterns made with the info about alterations/fit issues etc. Anyone else do this? Is it useful to you?

2015 Aspirations

Aspirations is probably the most cheesy word I could have picked, but I can't be bothered to go change it at this point in time!

Having reflected on my past year of sewing, I could easily see where I wanted to go with it, and the steps I need to take. My last project of 2014 was a version of New Look 6723, and for the first time I installed (Is that really right? Sounds a bit techy to me...) an invisible zip by hand, and hand sewed the hem and sleeves. It wasn't as horrific as I was expecting, and the zip did not dramatically split open halfway through wearing it as I was worried it would. I also pattern matched tartan for the first time, and did pretty well despite it being a squeeze towards the end fitting the pattern pieces on.
Anyway, long story short is that dress has influenced my sewing goals for the year.

With some Christmas cash I purchased Claire Shaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques, and a Singer guide to Tailoring.

                                                                                                        Both images via Amazon

This year I want to focus on improving my technique to make longer lasting, better finished garments. I need to refocus and slow down my processes, instead of wanting it finished in 10 minutes. Not only did I hand sew that dress hem, I also did all of those other time consuming things like hand basting and hand gathering, and I didn't die from doing it. I aim to make a nice jacket this year, and hope the tailoring book (which was recommended somewhere I can't remember, it was during a late night blog reading binge) will give me some pointers on how to do a good job.

As well as improving my sewing techniques, I also want to use up my stash. I have plans for most of it, but to ensure I don't just buy all the things, I am going to instill a 20 m limit on new fabric purchases until I have used up at least 3/4 of my stash. Old bed linen is not included in the limit unless I am getting it specifically to wear myself. If it is for muslin purposes then it doesn't count as I am making the effort to make these up in order to improve fitting. This may all seem unnecessary but I have too much, and I want to move house one day and packing sucks big time without having a room rammed full of stuff.

A similar situation is in order for yarn, I have a shocking amount, most of which given to me. I have yarn I have bought for specific projects set aside, but most of it is kinda random assortments of colour and weight. I will be trying to make more hats and scarves for the homeless as I have done previously, and also more hats/mitts/booties for premature babies since I have yarn perfect for it. I am not the world's fastest knitter so my already decided queue of projects will likely last me the year, but I will be able to get through a good chunk of the stash yarn with the smaller items made.
I might document the lot of it in a shameful blog post when I sort it out properly, it is currently in boxes underneath my pressing table and piled up in corners. I nicknamed it yarnia...possible to lose a small child amongst it!

Before this becomes a mega long boring/more boring post, I will cut it here. I don't want to be to specific in setting targets such as x amount of items made, and you can never tell what life will throw at you. I have quantifiable resolutions outside of sewing, I want my hobbies to remain a pleasure not a chore though!

2014 Year In Review

I suppose that a year in review for a new blog is kind of odd... But I have been sewing and creating during this time so why not. 2014 has been a year of learning, and of experimenting. It has been a time of figuring out online fabric ordering, resolutely deciding that better quality is definitely worth the extra money, and further deciding what is right for me.

As I am unashamedly nerdy, I made a pie chart -

As you can see, in total I made 38 items. Very few of which were for the long suffering OH!
I will address the failures first. Outright wadder territory goes to one dress (no photos as I took it to the charity shop already.) which I even tried hacking into a skirt but it was just wrong fabric, wrong pattern. It was some kind of knit that reminded me of staticy nighties from my childhood. Just wrong.
Lesser wadders were 3 of the tshirts, one too big (and crudely over locked down to size - its for sleeping in so it is passable), two too small, although I will be holding on to them as they may come in handy later in the year. The undies were also wadders, the woven pair (Amerson undies) looked like a nappy. I am intending to scale the pattern down in size in some areas and have another go, I suspect woven knickers are better suited to the slim (less sumo wrestler). The knit ones just have poor fit, but each pair improved and so learning from them means they weren't a total waste of time.

The remaining items are mostly all in regular use. Other than my current employment having a work uniform, I am usually wearing at least one self made item every day. I will be going through my wardrobe and discussing the annual cull in another post. The misc items include a clutch bag, tote bags, and a mini pouffe to wedge my bedroom door open with (so her ladyship can come snooze on the bed/ be a nuisance at her whim).

I have found some pictures of my outfits in the wild, I don't seek out photos so they are quite random choices!

Some hits and misses, and one off wacky items!

Evidence I have a sense of humour...there is a collection of pics of me and the cat sleeping in the same position, my OH's hilarious hobby....

Surprising favourites included my Ginger Jeans, I pattern tested them, and they have barely been unworn since. I had no idea I would, or even could, look nice in skinny jeans. My pair has a bit of twisting going on because I need to do a full calf adjustment but I can live with it enough to not waste fabric by throwing them out. I will be looking into other jeans patterns towards autumn/winter to try out a new style. Another favourite is my Bruyere rip off inspired blouse. Wearable muslin so was made using cheap polycotton, but ok to wear still. I will eliminate the tiny pleats nearest the button placket because they aren't altogether flattering (and I don't think they are always flattering on the real deal either).

Other than sewing, I also made 2 crochet cardigans, one giant crochet Puppycat, and some WI related projects like Big Knit hats.

Puppycat, Alice for Tea and Tents (I made the body, apron and face), Lincoln WI's Christmas Wreath (Green knitted base by my friend Sarah), and Strawberry fascinator for Tea and Tents

All in all a good year, and many positive lessons learnt for the future. I will be doing a post on my tartan dress, as this was a very valuable learning curve for me, and a frustrating but satisfying result. Maybe a few other things not pictured will get a separate mention too.

I will be posting my 2015 aspirations later on in the week.