A spring Lantana Cappuccino dress

Hard to believe that we are now into March, I really don't know where the first two months of 2015 have gone.  Even though it is still really cold and likely to be for quite some time still, it is always nice to have something new to wear in a different colour.... and as it is officially spring, well the brighter the better.

This fabric is a Liberty Lantana fabric which I bought from www.sewbox.co.uk.  It is 80% cotton and 20% wool so I thought it might bridge the time between seriously wintery clothing and not quite ready for flimsy cotton clothing. I still might require a bit of layering to keep cosy, depends on the weather, I suppose.

The pattern is the Liesl and Co Cappuccino pattern which I have already used before in the top version here, so I already new the fit would be fine. I did the same full bust adjustment of adding an extra inch. The dress has the addition of pockets which is always good.

The trim fabric on the collar and cuffs is an organic crossweave cotton from organiccotton.biz, called purpleish.  It's a little bit crisper than the lantana which is lovely and soft, almost like a brushed cotton, really lovely to work with too.

I like these type of dresses as they can be worn with tights or more casually over jeans or leggings, I took about 3 inches off the length so it would come a little bit above the knee level and would work better over leggings/trousers.

So there we go, the first of my new season sewing, hope I get the weather I'm hoping for!

A Kwik Sew for the boys.

So after Me-Made-May there has been a strange period of itsy-bitsy unfinished sewing projects. My Peggy skirt is so nearly finished, I mean really it has taken a ridiculously long time.  All I have to do is make a buttonhole, sew on a button and hem it.  Soon, honest.  There have been other dabblings but disappointingly I haven't sewn anywhere near what I wanted to for summer, other things in life have just taken over.  However, it's not as if I don't have any clothes to wear, so it has to be put into perspective.

It is lovely in amongst all the skirt, dress, blouse desires to once in a while make something for one of my boys.  In this case it is the hubbie and a summery shirt.  This is actually the second time I have made this for him and he liked it so much last year, he requested another one.

The pattern is the Kwik Sew 3250 which I got from Sewbox which has a great range of patterns. Some of the Kwik Sew patterns might initially look slightly old-fashioned but I think a lot of the time it depends on your choice of fabric and your own 'interpretation' of the style.  This is only my second Kwik Sew pattern, but both have been for males and I found them great, very straightforward instructions and some nice wee touches, so I would highly recommend them.

So last years version was made in this handloom organic cotton bamboo mix and was great in very hot continental hot weather, very soft and cooling.  I was a bit short of time so used a similar fabric from organiccotton.biz which is a crossweave fabric called chirpy green, which I had in my stash.  I have used a lot of fabrics from this company now and personally I like them.  As the fabrics are handmade in a traditional way there may be marks which might look like flaws, but this is part of the nature of the fabric.  If you like this 'au naturel' look then you will like these fabrics.  The crossweave is slightly heavier and a bit more coarse than the bamboo cotton, but as we will be holidaying in the U.K.  I think it will be fine.

So this is Version C of the pattern, short sleeves, no collar and lots of practice of top-stitching, just in time for Father's Day. I would say it is a loose-fitting, very casual style ideal for those men who wear the tradional button up shirt and tie for work about 320 days of the year, like my hubbie does. Other male patterns to try might be the Colette Negroni or the range of patterns from Thread Theory Collection, there are a few in it I would like to try for my sons, which have a more modern edge.

So there you go, some selfless male sewing for a change.

Avocado Hoodie, boys have to get new stuff too!

So, having made the navy fleece for the husband and previously knit a hoodie for my youngest son, son number one was feeling rather deprived.  So, I thought I would make him a cosy hoodie for the winter months. This came in the form of the Avocado Hoodie from Disparate Disciplines..  This is a pdf pattern and although I have used quite a few of these now, I found the pages on this one a bit tricky to match up exactly... maybe it was the way it printed out on my printer, but I had to do a bit of freehand drawing to get the outlines to patch.  Not sure why this happened, but I got it sorted eventually.

The fabric I used was one from organiccotton.biz. As described it has a soft brushed back with a knitted front, quite substantial in weight and very cosy. Mine was the grey marl, but they also do a darker grey and a couple of natural colours.  It was a really lovely fabric to work with.

I chose to make the size 40 for him, with the crossover neckline, front pockets and the thumbholes in the cuffs.

Again on making this hoodie, it was very straightforward, with great instructions, the only thing was that some of the notches did not seem to be in quite the right place.  Not sure why, maybe my printer, just had to rely on some common sense.

The overall result is great and this a really good basic to have, especially if you have teenage offspring who seem to like this standard 'uniform'.  There is also a female version, which no doubt, I will be trying sometime.

My son hasn't really taken it off very much since I finished it last Friday, so it must be ok.

Now, I had better go and make a plan for my christmas knits, the rest of my own winter sewing (haven't really even got started properly yet) and those socks!  Maybe slightly optimistic.  Oh well.

These also arrived, Crazy Zauberball, beautifully soft.  One is planned for funky-grandpa cardigan as the contrast yarn, haven't decided on the main colours or yarns.  Think I might go down the pink colour scheme as probably by the time I get it knit it will be spring!  The other is for my first attempt at 'proper' socks.

I also see that Liesl Gibson has released four new patterns under Liesl & Co patterns seen here.. Her Lisette patterns were some of the first items I made and they were great patterns, namely the Portfolio and the Market dress, so I have great hopes for these new patterns too. Definitely, got to make that plan!

More autumn berry shades.

A while ago I was tempted to purchase one of the Japanese Stylish Dress books, of course, after seeing some beautiful versions on blogs.  In my sewing naivety, it hadn't quite dawned on me that I may not have the ideal shape for this type of style. The book is the Stylish Dress Book: Wear With Freedom by Yoshiko Tsukiori.

Having flicked through the photos of the pretty, young petite models which, of course, all looked beautiful in the dresses, I wasn't too sure if they were for me.  However, I was quite taken with the neckline of Dress 'T'

The style is meant to be loose, but I decided to modify it slightly!

I know, maybe I spoilt it, but I just didn't think the gathers were going to work for me, but I do really like the curved neckline.  The main fabric is an organic cotton crossweave in night red colour and the contrast is a red herringbone fabric, both from +Organiccotton Uk . The crossweave is literally that, a mixture of a red and black threads and the herringbone has a tweedy look.  It would probably make a lovely skirt too.

So overall I am quite pleased and I was able to get boots that match almost exactly from Whitestuff, so not a bad addition to my autumn wardrobe.

Now, I think I will get back to some knitting, it is getting to that time of the year after all.