Cosy Enid Sweater for the first make of the year.

Thought I would start the year off with what I hoped would be an easy make, the Enid Sweater by Jennifer Lauren Vintage.  I wanted to try a top that was cosy, but perhaps a bit more shapely.  The pattern is designed really to be made from sweatshirt fabric, it is a cropped style and the fabric is cut on the bias.  It offers two different necklines, a V-neck and a square neckline.

Enid Sweater worn with Delphine skirt.

I chose a purple merino fabric that I already had (bought from newzealandmerinos.com), it is a medium weight with a little stretch.  Going by the measurement chart I decided to make the size 14, which just  fits me, so I would say it is a neat fit.  I would probably go up a size if I was using sweatshirt fabric with no stretch.  Being cut on the bias does give it a lovely shape and there is a slight grain on my fabric which you can see.

The one thing I'm not too sure about is that the sleeves are rather wide and baggy.  Maybe this a vintage style thing, fitted body and baggy sleeves, also they are quite long (I don't have particularly short arms).

I used a cotton knit rib banding (from plushaddict.co.uk, they have a great range of colours).  It was my first time using it and  it's fairly easy to work with.  My first attempt at the 'V' was a bit puckery, I toyed with covering it with a button or some other disguise, but it was bugging me, so I unpicked it very slowly and carefully.  I was afraid of distorting either the main fabric or the banding, but I repositioned it, stitched it up and it was fine.  It's important to be quite exact about the way you pin the band to the base of the 'V', otherwise it can bubble.  It was my first time doing a V-neck and also it is the first garment sewn on my new Janome.

So I think if I make another one, I will shorten the sleeves and look at possibly taking the sleeves in even slightly (they just feel a bit floppy, but I guess if I used sweatshirt fabric there would be less floppiness) and also try the square neckline.  Overall I do like it, instructions are good and it gives me a nice cosy outfit with my Delphine skirt (blogged here)

Next project up is a Liberty shirt for the hubbie - better get cutting, it was meant to be for Xmas.  Oops.

Winter Ten Item Wardrobe an first attempt at Project 333.

So I thought I would share my Winter Ten Item Wardrobe.  This is something I started in the spring and the idea comes from Jennifer Scott and her little book, Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris.  It seems very drastic, but I was amazed how well it worked, far easier to get ready in the morning and freeing up so much space.  I wasn't sure if it would work as well for winter, as there can be so many fluctuations in temperature and weather conditions.  I think the secret is having more options for layering in the 'extras', which are jersey tops, cardigans, jackets, coats and accessories.

Anyway, here's what I settled on for three months, mid November to mid February.

Item 1

Tilly and the Buttons Coco dress

Made in ponte jersey and very easy to wear.

Item 2

Lisette Portfolio dress

This pattern has gone out of print, it was one of the first items I mad.  It is in a gray wool fabric, trims are a Japanese flannel.  It is one for cold days.

Item 3

Grainline studio.com Hemlock tee pattern (free pattern)

I just lengthened the tee pattern to make it tunic dress length to be worn over jeans or leggings.  It is made from a heavier weight ponte jersey from Minerva.  Very cosy.

Item 4

Victory patterns Lola dress

I love this pattern, the different sections give it a nice shape and the pockets are great.  I made a plain navy one previously, which got a lot of wear.  This one is a wool based jersey from myfabrics.com, again it is very cosy.

Item 5

Liesl and co pattern Cappuccino top

This pattern was an update on the Lisette Portfolio only with a V-neckline.  One of the great additions is that the instructions show you how to do full bust adjustments for better fitting.  I have worn this a lot so far.

Item 6

Maria Denmark Yasmin yoke skirt

Back in the spring I was wanting to make my perfect skirt and this is pretty much it.  I made it in denim so it's fairly neutral and hard-wearing.

Item 7

Tilly & the Buttons Delphine skirt (from the book Love At First Stitch)

My most recent make, an A-line skirt in pink viscose/wool fabric from ditto fabrics, a very cosy, less expensive fabric than boiled wool, I love it.

Items 8 - 10

Meandem Denim slim jeans
Meandem Gray jeans
Toast chinos.

Ten items doesn't seem a lot, but it's actually quite a bit.  I have taken it a step further with The Project 333, this is having a TOTAL of 33 items for 3 months.  This is meant to include even jewellery, bags, boots and shoes.  I started it mid November, but excluded jewellery and accessories (like scarfs) of which I have loads.  I really didn't think I would stick to it, but already I am seeing how simple and great it is.  When you take it down to the wire like that, you really have to love all your stuff and they totally have to work for your climate and lifestyle.

So other than my 10 items, I have 2 winter coats, 1 cape, 1 long knitted cardigan, 4 cardigans (2 of which I don't seem to be wearing very much, as they are too thick in weight, so they won't be in next winters), 2 blouses, 3 sweaters, 3 jersey tops, 1 sweatshirt, 1 sweatpants, 4 boots & 1 shoes.

Already I can see items that don't justify being there as they don't get much wear, so I will probably tweak this list to exclude them and add in a couple of accessories, handbag and jewellery next time round.  I think that's not bad for the first try and I am definitely hooked.

This has had an impact on my sewing pattern purchasing, fabric purchasing and sewing/knitting in general, in a good way.  It has made me much more selective in patterns and fabrics and has made me more particular in my sewing and that can only be good.

Happy 2015, Highlights, reflections and Goals.

Happy New Year, just taking a little time to reflect on 2014 and divulge any goals I might have for the new year.

Reflections

Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.  One of my 'resolutions' at the beginning of 2014 was overall to make less, but make better.  I did this but it was slightly enforced due to circumstances, in that my father was ill in May and then was in hospital for 8 weeks coming up to Christmas, therefore sewing and knitting took a back seat, but that's life.

I was also meant to be buying less fabric and patterns, which I did, but I still made quite a few purchases, so I have a list of things I want to try in 2015.

I also wanted to 'embrace the buttonholing' as my sewing machine was a bit hit and miss.  I did do some button holes, but it was a struggle, but my lovely husband bought a lovely Janome sewing machine for me for Christmas, so I really have no excuses now.  Very chuffed with that on Christmas morning!

My new Janome

Skills wise, I suppose my best makes as regards techniques were the Yasmin Yoke skirt (invisible zip), the Emery dress (fashioned a pleated version of the skirt, invisible zip, lining a bodice etc) and the Liberty Banksia (very proud of the placket and collar)

Megan Nielsen Banksia bouse.

So overall, in what was a personally challenging year, I suppose I didn't do too badly.

Highlights

Highlights for me were things I took part in which helped to develop the mindset of 'less is more' and striving to be more minimal.

These were:

Taking part in the Wardrobe Architect series by Colette patterns. You can read about it here.

Striving to do the Ten Item Wardrobe as per Jennifer L Scott at dailyconnoisseur here, I have also a winter ten item wardrobe, which I will post soon.

Leading on from the above two and taking it all a step further, the theproject333.  I started this properly in mid November.  You basically pick a total of 33 items of clothing for 3 months and that's it.  It is meant to include clothes, jewellery, shoes, boots and handbags.  For me this has been an amazing process, I sold a lot of items on ebay, gave a lot to charity and at the start  I felt bereft, but I have only done a month and a half and I can already see the benefits.  Will probably do a post soon about this. For a craft person who sews and knits you would think it would be impossible to do, but it just makes you a lot more selective which is great.

Taking part in MeMadeMay for the second time, lovely to see other peoples' makes, receive nice comments and seeing photos of you in your own makes.  (good or bad?)

Taking part in OWOP in September, great to show how a particular sewing pattern can be very versatile.  You can see it here.

Sewing an Emery dress for sewdollyclackett

I suppose the last highlight was receiving my new sewing machine.

Emery dress sewn for Sewdollyclackett

Goals

To be honest, I'm almost afraid to make any goals as this year showed me how unpredictable life can be, so I'm going to keep this simple.

Knitting - Still want to knit socks, but am seriously evaluating the whole knitted garment thing.  Doing project 333 has made me realise that although I have quite a few heavy, thick sweaters I rarely wear them.  I hate to say it but they're just not very useful, usually too thick to wear under a coat and usually to wet to go out with just a sweater on, so I think either I stop knitting sweaters/cardis or I have to knit in finer, lighter yarns.  Also it is really expensive to knit now if you want to use proper yarn (ie. not acrylic and polyester)

Sewing - Continue to improve my skills, especially fitting, experiment with different necklines and shapes.  Try and stick to what I know suits both my shape and my lifestyle.

Immediate sewing plans

Sew a Liberty shirt for the hubbie.

Finish the Girl Friday Culottes - there was a little error in the pattern in the size I made, so it didn't work out, but I now know the problem, so I hope to finish them soon.

Make my perfect shirtdress - Could be McCall 6696, Grainline Alder, not sure yet
Some ideas I might try to emulate on my pinterest board here

Sew some cardigans, looking most likely is the Jenna Cardigan by sewingmuse

So quite a lot to be going on with.  2015 here I come.

Top 5 of 2014 - the misses.

Following on from my Top 5 Hits of 2014, here are the misses:

1.  Knitting (in general) - The only item I completed was a cardigan for my little niece.  I am so near completing the Sprig sweater, the body and sleeves are finished and one cuff, whenever I went back to the other I couldn't get my head round it at all.  It's probably really simple but I just had to leave it for a while.  I also have a sore shoulder and elbow which doesn't help.  So a disappointing year for knitting, still haven't got even attempting socks.

2.  Bluegingerdoll Peggy skirt  - Took ages to make as some of the pattern markings were missing, so that may have put me off.  It hasn't been worn hardly at all, I think the length and shape aren't right for me, I might try taking it up to see if I will wear it more.

3.  Merchant & Mills Camber dress - Haven't worn this dress very much, I think mainly because of the fabric.  It has a wool content which is quite itchy and also the check fabric has a lime background (not obvious on internet shop photos, as sometimes happens when buying fabric on line.)  I have made the top version of the pattern twice and wore them a lot, so definitely not the pattern itself.  Will maybe try it in the summer in a nice linen or chambray.

These are my misses, only 3, didn't want to add things just for the sake of it.  Next time I will be looking at my highlights, reflections and goals.

Sewing and knitting review of 2014 and Top 5 Hits of 2014

Time to start relaxing after the Christmas flurry.  Every year we say we are going to keep it simple, buy in less food, spend less and so on and over the past few years I have improved a lot with that, but there is still a certain degree of stress and anxiety.  So it is lovely in these days between Christmas and New Year  to rest, relax, take stock and, of course, start planning again

I saw a link to Gillian's Top 5 of 2014 on the scruffybadger blog so I thought it might be as good a way as any to evaluate my year.

Sewing wise it was my intention to slow things down a bit and that did happen and the things I did make, I put more effort into improving the fit, finishing items off nicely and generally taking more time over them.

I still made a total of 29 garments:

Quick Summary

For husband: Colette Albion coat

                      Kwik Sew Shirt 3250

For myself:  3 skirts
                    9 jersey tops
                    6 woven top
                    3 jersey dresses
                    4 woven dresses
                    1 coat
                    1 jersey trousers


TOP 5 HITS FROM 2014

I have based my decisions mainly on how much I wore the items (apart from one) as to me that must mean that I like the fit, the fabric is right and it fits into my everyday life perfectly.

So here they are:


1.  Maria Denmark Yasmin Yoke Skirt

Yasmin Yoke skirt

I had wanted a good 'basic' skirt pattern, slightly A-line with pockets and this turned out to be it.  A great pattern and proved itself by me regularly wearing it right from March until now.  Probably also helped by the fact that it is made in a lovely denim fabric, so a great neutral.

2.  Tilly & the Buttons Coco

Well this pattern had to appear as, to date, I have made 5 versions I think.  I love the shape of it, all versions of it are great and can be made in so many different ways with different fabrics, yokes etc.  I also used in my OWOP post.  All versions have been worn loads of times, so to me that makes it a great pattern.

Coco top

Coco dress

3. Liesl & Co Cappuccino dress/top

I was so pleased that this pattern worked for me.  It had sort of replaced/updated the Lisette Portfolio pattern (which I love) but with a slightly different neckline.  It also had instructions for a full bust adjustment which I used with great success.  I have only made the top but have worn it a lot.  Had intended to make a dress version but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Liesl & Co Cappuccino top

4.  Colette Pattern Albion

Well... it's a coat and I did make two of them, so it had to appear here.  I'll be honest, my own version could do with more tweaking, size wise, it's not perfect.  It's really too big in the shoulder region and maybe overall a bit big, therefore probably not that flattering.  However, it is a great pattern and a very warm, cosy coat.  My husband loves his too.

Colette Albion Coat

5.  Victory Patterns Hazel dress

Now this dress hasn't had a lot of day-to-day wear, but as I made it in silky fabric for more special occasions and I loved it for that (think I wore it to 4 'do's') I think it still deserves to be in my Top 5.  It was a bit different for me which is always good, easy to sew and I had intended to make it in a denim or suiting fabric for more everyday type wear and with sleeves - still have to do that.  In general, I have had great wear from the Victory garments I have sewn - The sizing seems to suit my shape.

Victory Hazel dress

 
So this was the nice, easy bit - I think it will be harder to pick the misses.  I suppose looking back through the years photos will help and also if I haven't worn something very much.  Will have to go away and think about that.

Love at First Stitch Delphine skirt.

I have been meaning to make the Delphine skirt for ages, having bought Tilly's book when it was first released.  I don't wear skirts all that often, but its good to have a couple of faithfuls to fall back on.  I wanted a warm winter weight skirt to fit into my wardrobe, most of the wool fabrics I might have fancied were rather pricey, so I settled for a this wool and viscose fabric fabric from dittofabrics.

Delphine skirt with velour Grainline Scout tee.

The fabric on the website is called burgundy, but in my book it's more of a fuchsia colour. (really nice)  It's quite thick, a bit like a boiled wool and could be used in the same way, as in the edges don't fray, so you could just leave the raw edges.  It's easy to cut and work with and would be great for jackets and cosy dresses too.

The Delphine skirt is a simple A-line skirt with facing and an invisible zip on the back.  Love at First Stitch is a great book and would be ideal for anyone starting to sew for themselves, as there are different techniques to try with every projects.  The photographs are excellent and the instructions are brilliant, it has been extremely well thought out and planned, sort of like a 'let me take you by the hand' approach, which is great.

As my fabric is 50% wool/50% viscose I thought there might be an itch factor, so I decided to line it.  As I have never added a lining to a skirt, it was great that Tilly had a post on how to sew a skirt lining. It made it a very simple process.

As the main fabric is quite thick I decided not to hem it in the normal way, instead I made some Liberty bias binding (same as the facing fabric, Tresco left from my Josephine blouse) and used it to bind the hem.  The lining is a little bit shorter because there was no length taken off the main skirt, but it's not a big deal.  The lining fabric is pretty cheap standard lining fabric bought locally (£2.50).  The length is perfect on me (I am 5' 5"), I think if I had hemmed it, it might have been a bit short for me.

So a great pattern and a cosy skirt, which I think I could get a lot of wear out of.

Not long to Christmas now, so nearly time to review the year, decide on hits and misses and, of course, there has to be a plan made for next year. Better get cracking on that!

Albion finished just in time for the winter.

So, I finished my Albion duffle coat a little while ago, but only got a chance to photograph now.  Is it just me or does November light not lend itself very well to either sewing or photographing.  I really struggled this last month with lack of light and somehow artificial light doesn't quite work either.

Anyway, my coat is finished and I am pretty pleased with it.  Just to recap from my last couple of posts, my fabric was a teal coloured wool fabric which I bought from Clothspot in early Autumn (appears to be sold out now).  I suppose I rushed into my purchase, should have really got a sample first and so when it arrived I felt it was really a bit lightweight.  But as I had bought quite a bit of it I wanted to use it anyway.

I chose to make the medium size of the pattern and did not make a toile, and as the style is oversized anyway I feel it is a bit on the big size, especially in the shoulder area, but I think I can get away with it.

I really like my lining fabric which is a soft, fleecy double gauze in grey/teal polka dot which I got from MissMatatabi on Etsy ages ago (with a view to making a dress).  As I mentioned in my previous post, I didn't think it was going to be quite warm enough so I have sewed interlining fabric between the outer fabric and lining.  This was obviously a bit more work and expense, but worth it.  I have been wearing the coat the last few days and it is very cosy.

If you are thinking of making your own winter coat,  my advice would be to spend the most you can afford (especially if you want protection from the elements & some longevity) and get some samples as it's really the only way to judge the weight of the fabric for sure.  I think my fabric was £6.95/metre, it is wool, but light weight, I would say to up the budget more, but for the price I paid it's actually ok. Of course, with wool the sky is the limit, you can pay up to £40/meter or more (eg Harris Tweed or merino suiting)

As regards the pattern,  as I may have said before (having made one for my husband back in January), there is nothing too difficult about it, the instructions are great, there are just a lot of small steps.  As it is a duffle coat there is no real shaping or fitting, so it is ideal for a beginner/intermediate sewer.  Due to busyness, mine took an inordinately long time to complete, but I made my husbands in a couple of weeks back in January (and I would still say I'm a beginner)

I got the toggles on Etsy and deliberated over whether to machine stitch or hand stitch.  After much deliberation, I hand stitched them zzz! boy was that tedious, but I was afraid that if I used a needle for leather that it would tear my fabric, so there you go.

I intend sewing press fasteners down the facing at the front as the coat tends to part slightly with the toggle closure, so probably fasteners will keep it more secure.  Also I love the pockets, the in-seam pockets are lovely and deep and cosy and, of course, there are also the front pockets.

Cost wise I haven't worked it out exactly, but I reckon it's around £70, yes perhaps I could have bought a coat ready to wear at that price, but it would be more synthetic, so for the money I think I have a pretty good coat.

Anyway overall I am pleased and also glad to finally finish it and judging by the weather forecast it may come in useful. Maybe I can get on to some faster, 'lighter' projects now.  I have, of course,  a list of desirables so where to start?

(A few more details are on my previous posts)