I used medium weight white Lycra from stash. The pattern has many curves and can be tricky to cut but the pieces went together easily and quickly.
I love the result! The top fits very well. The flutter sleeves are perfect and the peplum flatters my shape. I've never sewn a peplum garment before. Who knows why?
I'm sure I'll sew this again. Next time with more color.
Happy sewing everyone!
Yes. Two full A4 pages. Ahem.
It's 28 pieces of clothing (for my mother, a friend, for kids and myself) and 13 pieces of underwear. In stages from muslin to almost done.
Also, there is a bag of cut out handbags and a box of cut out slippers.
Errr, is that a lot? Too much? Really really too much?
Well, I get to finish some from time to time...
Is this list long enough for a year round challenge? How long do you think would it take to sew them all? All all?
Do I sound worried?
Ok, let's see what we can do... from left to right.
Progress will be reported.
Could use some cheering, though! :-)
On the other hand...
I have a super duper surprise for all of you avid sewists always in search for inspiration!
I uploaded almost ALL my sewing magazines - front page and pattern overviews - here !
There are more Burdas, but I hope to get to finish tomorrow. This was a lot of work, you know! But now I have all the magazines ready to be browsed without getting them all out. Even though some good old turning leaves is always welcome, inspirational and relaxing, isn't it? I know. Like you don't keep at least one sewing magazine beside the bed... ;-)
Yay! It's finished! I wore it yesterday evening and people liked it. :-)
To recap - the body and sleeves have been lengthened
- the pattern has been adjusted for narrow and forward sloping shoulders
- the fabric is a heavy knit, present from Grandma
- I stretched the fabric with the iron but the soaking to get it back to shape didn't work. This fabric has nothing to do with natural fibers, obviously. To save the thing I used crochet cotton and embroided spirals. (Now I'm scared to iron the hems..)
- I made polymer clay buttons for embellishment.
Buttons detail: Cute and fun!
Embroidery details: Add another layer of interest and dynamic to an otherwize broad uniform yellow area.
Well, the jacket is warm, bright, cheerful and unusual. I love it!
On the swimsuit front:
I chose a LMB bikini pattern and cut it.
On the yellow jacket front:
Almost done!
I made two funny buttons to embellish it.
Then, I also finished a pair of pink linen pants, a lovely white top and refashioned the flowery nightgown. Phew. But the camera didn't want to collaborate. Ehm, yeah, the battery was empty. Took me some time to realize it.
With all the chat going on over at the Self Stitched September Flickr group (Check it out!!!) about keeping track and organizing one's fabric stash I've got the idea to make a list of my UFOs and WIPs. Gave up pretty quickly. Too many of them scattered around the house. I managed to put them all in one place, though. More luck tomorrow. Hopefully. Maybe.I have to bake some cakes first.
Do you have many UFOs and WIPs? Where do you keep them? Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of them?
Just keep in mind that this was my first try and don't expect something spectacular, ok?
So, I finally got around to using the elastic foot on my serger. It was rather easy. Just some tweaking to get the tension right and there was a seam I liked!
Here you can see the front and back of the seam. First, I serged on the elastic (on the wrong side!) and then turned it in and finished with a three step zigzag on the right side.
The top - just triangles and straps. For the triangles I used my old swimsuit. Traced around and added seam allowances - 1 cm at the sides and 1,5 cm for the bottom where the strap goes.
These are the basic pattern pieces used. For the bottom I deconstructed an old pair of panties. After inspecting the swimsuits I own I discovered they had only two pieces, i.e., the front and gusset were cut as one single piece. Although you need the gusset pattern to cut the lining piece in cotton.
Wonky bottom...
I added 1 cm seam allowance everywhere except at the sides because I decided to give it some interest with the circle strap closure.
The sides were turned in 1,5 cm to allow the straps through.
The gusset was sewn in at the front-back seam and left loose on the other side. That's also a method discovered after inspecting my old swimsuits. They are all different so I encourage you to take some time and see what you can learn from the things you already own.
Since the fabric used for this test project were cotton knit scraps it will not be used for swimming. I hate having wet things on.
Yesterday I decided on the next pattern to try. This time I will use lycra remnants and another top (bra) shape. I don't have much to show off and those little triangles make me even flatter. :-(
I'll try to document all the steps so I can share them and, hopefully, help someone. Maybe even using the sewing machine only. For those who don't own a serger.
Ciao until then!
I made a test bikini! Here's a sneak peek:
These are the basic pattern pieces I used:
More pictures and explanations coming up!
UFO
Finally the yellow jacket! Done halfway. I redrafted the pattern with all the adjustments and it looks fine. Right now it's drying on the rack because I made a mess while ironing. Turns out this fabric doesn't like to be ironed. It's another heavy knit I got from Grandma. I had to soak the jacket to let the fabric shrink back into its original shape.
Muslin
Burda 8/2007-105. Nice pattern, bad fabric choice. Not wearable. No stretch in it. Old pajamas and boyfriend T-shirts should not to be reused for snug garments. Anyway, the pattern needs adjustments so it's not a big waste. Not to mention the plunging neckline...
Sunday market find
A nightgown that will be turned into a shorter dress. It's too big, the bias tape has to be replaced 'cause it's worn out, but the fabric, a light cotton, is perfect. And I love the flowers!
Have a nice and creative day!
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