Notions Of Fabric

After making the toile of the Calvin top which I posted last week, I dove straight in to the actual planned dress! This make was actually totally inspired - you know that feeling you get when you are just idly browsing an online fabric store (The Village Haberdashery, in my case), and you see a fabric - and instantly you know that you NEED it in your life and EXACTLY what to make with it. This is what happened with this Mind the Maker Leo print viscose - I knew as soon as I saw it that it needed to be a True Bias Calvin dress. It is gorgeous - and I've been trying to bring more green into my wardrobe, to great success! I made the size 10 again, the same as my toile. In the making process, I ended up taking 1cm off each underarm. I also took 8" off the hem (pardon my mixing imperial/metric, I work in strange ways, apparently) because it was really long on me! It is a big departure from my usual style, with the lack of a waistband and the wrap, but every time I've worn it I ...

Now, if anyone has stuck around and read most of these blog posts, they have probably learned a few things about me. One of them would be that I rarely make a toile - and if I do, it's a wearable one not a real toile. This garment is a wearable toile. The only reason I tend to make a wearable toile is because it's a style I don't usually wear - and boy is this different from my usual style! Before this top, there was precisely nothing that wrapped in my wardrobe. I always worried that because I am bigger than average on top, that it wouldn't suit me. But one of the things I love about sewing at the moment is trying things that are a little out of my comfort zone, so off I went! This is the True Bias Calvin, made up as a top. I realised when I finished my 'Shelby Rip-Off' dress that I had an awful lot of fabric left, and given it was a rayon (I think, it was from the Birmingham Rag Market in 2019 so I don't exactly remember now!) it was the right amount of dr...

Hi again guys! Hope you are all doing well - or, well enough. Another post of something from the wardrobe today. This fabric is one I picked up in a bulk order from fabric.com when I bought the twill for my Luzerne Trench - so I've had it for a while... But I have also had this top in my life for a while and wore it quite a lot last summer. It comes from right at the beginning of my Ogden cami making run, after the first one I made. But every version has turned out slight different, and this one was no exception. It is this gorgeous cotton lawn in the massive electric blue check. I have used lawn before to make several Ogden camis, but this behaved quite differently to the Liberty one which I have made. This lawn is lighter but not as drapey. It's perfect for hot sweaty summer days where you don't want to have the fabric against your skin. So it sticks up a little bit when wearing, as you can see in the photo, but I really don't mind. As with all m...

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 ...

No, you’re not imagining it - I am back with another  Ogden cami  with photos taken in Mallorca! I actually brought almost all handmade on that trip, including my  Sophie Swimsuit   but I didn’t get the chance to photograph many things due to pretty atrocious weather. In the end I only got these three sets of photos done, but better than nothing! This cami was one of the first I’d made, using a Liberty Tana lawn. The Ogden is perfect for when you love a fabric but it’s a little pricey, or you’re not so sure about how the colour or pattern will work on you. In this case it was the pattern I fell for and the fabric that was pricey! So I got 1m - and this was about a year ago, actually. It wasn’t until the Ogden pattern came out I realised that this was the best use of this fabric! Again, I made my usual size (8) with the extended lining. And again (limited holiday wardrobe!) I am wearing my beloved  Grainline Maritime  shorts. As you might be able to spot, th...

This is the first of several posts featuring an  Ogden cami   While that might not be so exciting, seeing as I’ve made several (up to 5 in my wardrobe?), I do feel like I should be realistic about what I’m both sewing and wearing - and these got a lot of both over the last few months! This Ogden I made with a lovely rayon I bought in Barcelona on my girls summer trip! I totally detoured us away from Casa Battlo (after we were finished there, of course) to a local Ribes y Casals to check things out. There was lots I liked, but I picked up this rayon-esque fabric as well as another. I think they’re rayon but all I think it said was 100% cotton - also, I don’t speak Spanish. I was drawn to the print because I thought they looked like moons, and they were beautiful! In a nice twist, these photos were taken in Mallorca on our half term break, so back in Spain! This was simply my regular size (8), with the lining extended again to go past the apex of my bust. Otherwise I find you ca...

Today I have a double post - both patterns which you have seen on the blog before. Let's go from the top down! The top is another  True Bias Ogden Cami ... I think I've made 5 at this point? I wear a lot of this style top (and did before I discovered the pattern), so I am now in the process of updating my original Primark tops in this style with Ogdens. I have also found that every time I find a print I like but am not sure if it will work as a dress, I am tempted to get a metre and make a top. Maybe I need to start making some for others! This fabric though is pretty special. It's the first ever silk I've seen with! It's a sandwashed silk, which I purchased on Goldhawk Rd while in a meet up with Claire of  Claire Sews   What I actually had planned for sandwashed silk is to make an underdressed in black to go with an embroidered tulle fabric I have in my stash, but given I'd never sewed with silk before I thought it would be a good idea to test it first to make ...

Today I have a real summer staple for the blog. As soon as I finished  my Lander pant   earlier in the year I knew that what I wanted for the summer was a pair of light denim coloured  Lander shorts   So I set off, buying a single piece of denim from  Guthrie and Ghani   Making the shorts also means much less fabric; I’m pretty sure I got this out of a metre of the fabric. I also pulled out one of my stashed Japanese fat quarters for the pockets, which are a beautiful touch. I really like using fun and different fat quarters for pockets. Same as with my last pair, they went together very quickly and easily. I love the instructions  - they make making trousers so much less scary! I did want to use proper jeans buttons, however I couldn’t find them anywhere so I used these regular gold buttons which look pretty jeans like. I still think if I’m not 100% sold on the buttons that I’ll try the jeans buttons after that. This time around, I went one size down ...

The final thing I wanted to make while I was in Australia was a huge departure in style for me. Although my style mostly consists of high waisted skirts with floaty tops, or dresses with a high waisted fitted bodice and a big skirt. Basically, quite 50s vintage vibe. So having high waisted trousers maybe does make sense, but I've never worn any before. So, in Australia with time and the Lander pattern (also bought in a Black Friday sale), I decided why not? I'd give it a go. With the plan to make a wearable toile, I thought of using corduroy fabric, again from Spotlight. And even though I had a plain color in mind, when I saw this fabric it just spoke to me! It was the perfect autumn fabric (and with the top I am wearing, which is from Cotton On, it's the perfect warm autumn outfit) and makes the perfect autumn pants! Only problem is that I've gone from Australian summer to British spring... But I forsee a lot of wear in the autumn. I made a size 12, but at the rage of ...

Hi again guys! Surprise I'm back! And with a top which I made quite soon after returning from Australia... I had tried the Ogden cami last year, and was frustrated by the fact that it didn't fit and sat strangely. I decided this time to try a size down (size 10) and it turned out that's all I needed to do! The fabric I used for this make is some kind of slinky poly from a shop (I don't remember which) on Goldhawk Road sometime last year. I don't normally go for this colour, but on that day it really spoke to me and I'm glad I went with it. I only bought a metre, so it's perfect for an Ogden. The other issue with my very first Ogden was actually fabric choice, so between sizing down and changing fabric this was now perfect! I am currently working on 3 others - two in different lawns (one Liberty), and one in a sandwashed silk. I'm particularly excited for the silk one as it will be so luxe! I don't think there's much else to say about the Ogd...