Notions Of Fabric

Leading into last summer, I made my toile of the Sirocco as a romper. I really liked it and it became my staple wear for those hot days when I didn't leave the house. Now, i've finally go around to making the real deal! This is the jumpsuit pattern, including the pockets and getting the pleats the right way around this time! I also sized down to to a 42 based on the fit of the toile. Constructed entirely on the overlocker makes it fast and quite easy. This is 2 different knit fabrics from Girl Charlee, the last of the fabrics that I won in my bundle at Guthrie and Ghani during the SewBrum raffle in 2019. I didn't have enough to make the jumpsuit all in one fabric, so I used the floral for the top and solid for the trousers. I ended up using the floral for the pockets as well as I didn't have enough of the solid. Luckily they coordinate together really well and look good together. The floral knit is quite a lot lighter than the solid navy though, so it's not ideal fo...

When I made my Plantain tees, I was intending on making some making changes to the pattern. Well, this is the first iteration of them - as pajamas. My favourite pajamas to wear are from Primark. They're a long tee style that covers the butt and they're made of jersey fabrics. I decided that I wanted to try making my own! I used the short sleeve version of the pattern again. I compared the length of my favourite RTW pajamas and lengthened the Plantain pattern 7.5" to match the length. I also compares the waist curve (based on my original adjustment) and realised that it was almost exactly the same which is great because I didn't need to change that at all. I used this John Kaldor viscose jersey in both mustard and black. This was to be the first part of my me made pajama wardrobe and will match with the bottom half fabrics I bought which are Robert Kaufman Mammoth Cotton Flannel. I ordered them from Minerva and these are the first pieces to be finished because the flann...

Happy Saturday! I have discovered over the last year or so that I have not very many handmade tops (my handmade tops are pretty much exclusively Ogden camis), and that combined with the fact that May was coming up and I had some fabric remnants kicking around in my drawer, it was time to try making a tee shirt! It made sense to start with a free pattern, and my love for Deer and Doe is well documented on this blog, so it made total sense to try the Plantain tee. I made the size M as that lines up closest with my measurements - and it’s a nice fit but relatively loose. It looks great tucked into high waisted jeans or shorts but I think I might try the size down next time. I did lay down my favourite RTW tee on the pattern to compare the sizing and I noticed that heather Plantain had a lot more flare at the hip, so I adjusted the side seams. In the end I took them in 2 inches total at the bottom, going to nothing at the top. As these were essentially wearable toiles for a future planned ...

While I was sewing up my Liberty Myosotis dress, I remembered that I actually had this fabric in another colour way. This is also the Liberty Lawn called Botanist’s Diary, only in the other colour way than the blue! I bought this fabric after I made my Kelly, and used it for some selfless sewing to make my Mum (an actual, real life botanist!) a Sew Over It Sylvia robe for Christmas. She loved it and wears it, and it really felt like kismet - the name of the fabric, the gorgeous print, and the perfect colourway for my Mum! But I did have leftovers which I wanted to use for something for me. I didn’t have enough for a dress (I briefly considered colour blocking a dress with the blue colour way but decided it would be too much, even for me), and while I have a gap for blouses in my wardrobe I don’t really wear any tops that aren’t stretchy, so that seemed redundant. Then I realised a fun skirt for summer would be perfect in this kind of fabric! I wanted to make something gathered and cute...

My Myosotis toile was the practice for this garment! If you have seen this blog before (hi again!), then you will recognise this fabric. When ordering the fabric for my Kelly Anorak, I fell in love with the Liberty print Botanist's Diary, which was the perfect match for my outer fabric. And when ordering it, I may have *accidentally* put 5m in my cart, which was a crazy expense and wayyy more fabric than I knew I'd need - but then it came in handy! I had it in my mind to also make a dress using this fabric with what was leftover. I will, however be avoiding wearing them together as that would actually be too much! As soon as I made my first Myosotis (in black and white check cotton), I knew I would be making more. I had plans in my head about 3 others, one of which is made (this one), one which is cut out (in petrol blue double gauze), and another which currently only exists in my head (in broderie anglaise). I briefly contemplated using the other colourway of Botanists Diary (...

Hiya all! Now that I have posted all my catching up makes, I am up to the most current makes! I have developed a new strategy - spend the half term (or part of the holidays) cutting out things and then I have lots of projects set up for the term time, when I can actually only get a half hour or so of sewing time in and I don't have time to cut things out! I cut out 6 things for the last half term and all but two are finished (I have one dress which isn't even started, but also a bomber which only needs a zipper which is almost finished!), so I'm currently at the point where I'm thinking about the next set of things. Add to that the fact that I finally got a hair cut (thanks to lockdown easing!), so I thought I'd snap a few pictures of my most recent batch of makes. This dress is potentially the most successful thing I've ever made - definitely the best toile! I've worn it at least once a week since I made it - sometimes 3 times in a week, when I'm at hom...

This garment is another product of my SewBrum 2019 raffle prize win. While the colours in this fabric aren't bad, I just didn't feel they were really me. However, in the bundle was also a dark blue and a complimentary dark blue floral, and when I saw them I immediately imagined them as an opportunity to finally make the Deer and Doe Sirocco jumpsuit. But, would I wear it? So I decided to use this other fabric from my bundle to make my wearable toile of the romper version. It's a really light jersey in this sage green pineapple print. As you might be able to see, I made a few changes and they were all simply to make it fit on the fabric. Firstly, I left the sleeves off! I also taped the pocket and front pieces together so that my version has no pockets. This meant that I could fit it all on the approximately 1.5m piece I had, although I couldn't be particular about where the print ended up. I cut a size 44 all over, which is my usual size for D&D patterns. I ended up...

This skirt is something that I don't do very often - making 2 things from the same fabric! This is a Chardon skirt. Again. You will have seen it before a bunch of other times. I've made it in black (twice), in brown corduroy, in blue and red... I love it. After making the Blackwatch Plain Ruby dress, which I love, I realised that I had heaps left over. Like, a lot. So I did what any self-respecting sewist would do. I used the same fabric to make a skirt! I cut my usual size, which is a 44 and it still fits great. I used bias for the hem and it looks great, and I used a lightweight slinky poly lining from my stash for the pockets. Not much else to say other than it gets a lot of wear and it's another great cold weather option!

This pattern is the Deer and Doe Belladone. Those who are long time readers of my blog will recognise my love for this pattern company. I have made Belladones, Daturas, Chardons, and of course a Luzerne! I actually also am planning to make Sirocco and Magnolia at some point soon - they're both on my Make Nine for 2020. (Since writing this post originally, I have made the Sirocco once, with plans for a second, and I changed my mind on Magnolia, buying the Myosotis pattern instead!) I have made quite a few Belladone's in my time, it must have been 4 or 5, although not many are still surviving. This is mostly due to moving interstate, across the world, and also my fluctuating weight. But I do like the silhouette and I always really loved the cross over element at the back (to the point where I've never made it with the plain back!) This fabric was, I believe, one of my earliest purchases from TMOS (the Man outside Sainsbury's) in Walthamstow? It's a lig...

Now that we've covered what happened in 2019, let's look forward to 2020! Last year, I didn't reach my #makenine goals, but I think it's still good to have something to aim for. This year, a lot of these patterns are ones I would have like to make in 2019 but didn't get a chance to! In the end, what I really want to do in 2020 is to sew from my stash, using both existing patterns and fabrics. So what I have done is created two linked lists, one of patterns, and one of fabrics I want to use. Because I have a lot of plans already in my head, of the two lists 6 patterns are already linked to fabrics on the corresponding list. So, let's discuss, shall we? 2020 MAKE NINE - PATTERNS 1: Cottesloe swimsuit (Megan Nielsen Patterns) Having made a bikini already, and having bought swimsuit fabric I haven't used yet (see fabric #4) I decided to add to my me-made swimsuit collection soon by making the one piece Cottesloe with the tie. I think I have everyt...

I know people say this every year, but how is it the end of 2019 already? It has been a big one for us in many ways. We had to leave the UK for a few months to get new visas at the beginning of the year, I lost a job, I got a new (better) one, we have travelled, I have seen much theatre, and as usual I've bought more fabric than I've sewn! Of course, this is a common problem among sewists and I will do a post in a week or so with my intentions for the year 2020 but for now this is a wrapping up post! In terms of sewing, I did a lot in the beginning of the year. It helped to pass the time while I was back at home for 2 months, unemployed and with my family at work every day. And that period of time was a real eye-opener for me! I made three projects which were challenging me in different ways - piping and pattern matching, trousers, and many buttonholes! After that, and the successes which I had with those, I realised that I need to challenge myself more in my sewing. So then ...

This is another oldie but goldie today. I have blogged a long time ago about my favourite Datura, which is black with stars in, but this version actually came first! I made this version with the peter pan collar first as I knew that it would be a good confidence booster - even though I preferred the version with the cut out triangles, I also knew that I was such a newbie sewist that that version would be harder and I wanted to make sure I liked the style first. This was made based on a gorgeous remnant I bought back in Sydney from Achieve Australia (back before it moved, it used to be in Meadowbank 5 minutes from my flat. That was a great but dangerous time!). I believe it's a rayon (but not 100% sure about that if I'm honest), in this lovely navy-based floral. I was drawn to the colors in the print and the lovely feel, but there was only a small amount, not even enough for a top! But with this pattern it’s perfect, as it’s great for small or odd shaped pieces. Instead, I went ...