Autumnal Liberty Undercover Hood

Liberty Mawston Meadow fleece

I treated myself to this lovely Liberty fleece with some money I got for my birthday last September. Like all Liberty fabrics it is ablaze with colour, strangely enough most of them are not my usual colour choices, orange, yellow and lime appear, but also blues and purples. It was a little bit pricey and I seemed to develop a fear of approaching it with a pair of scissors and also what was I going to make with it?!

I had seen a rtw edge to edge jacket made up in this exact fabric (you can see it on my pinterest here) and thought that might be an idea, then I toyed with the Papercut rigel bomber jacket which I think would have worked very well, except... well I'm just not sure that in my late 40's I should be wearing a floral bomber jacket.  Yes, I did sort of chicken out and hid it away for a year.

So out it came a year later and quick-as-a-flash I decided to make some sort of sweatshirt.  I looked at several patterns on the net and on pinterest and there are many, but I decided on the Papercut Undercover Hood.  I have made up a couple of their patterns now and really like them, this time going for the pdf option for speed.

Papercut Undercover Hood pattern

I opted for the hoodless version and chose to make the length half-way between the cropped and the longer length.  I am glad I didn't pick the cropped version as it would have been extremely short on me (I have a long back).  The sewing pattern is a simple raglan sleeve top with cuffed sleeves and a waistband cuff, nothing too difficult. The basic sweatshirt seems to be very popular at the moment so there may be other versions made. There is also a kangaroo pocket.

Kangaroo pocket.

It is lovely fleece fabric, so soft and cosy.  Yes I could have bought a sweatshirt for much less than this cost to make, but it wouldn't have been a Liberty sweatshirt and I also have some left over.

I don't look very pleased, but I am, ha.

Now, what else do I need for autumn? I think I need a plan.

My OWOP 2014

So OWOP (One Week One Pattern) is now over and my week of wearing all Coco's (in case any of you don't know - the Tilly & the Buttons pattern).  Whenever I had decided on which pattern to use I looked at the forecast and thought that there was going to be an autumnal nip in the air.  There were very few chilly 'nips' last week and, in fact, it was a beautiful sunny week and I was a little bit warm at times.  Anyway I still enjoyed the challenge and also another Coco top was made mid week, one of the great advantages of the Coco is that it can sewn up pretty quickly.

So here they are:

Day 1 - Saturday

Merino Coco

I love the colour of this Coco top, it is a lightweight merino, made up with the funnel roll neck and cuffs.  As it was a Saturday it went very well with jeans.

Day 2  - Sunday  (and another year older!)

Navy Coco top with Deer & Doe Chardon skirt and ByHandLondon Victoria Blazer.

Sunday was my birthday so had to make an effort!  It was another lovely day and nice pressies and eats.  This Coco top (it is tucked in so probably doesn't look much like the Coco) has been much worn over the summer.  It is a lightweight cotton jersey with no stretch so ideal fabric for the pattern and you can't go wrong with navy.

Day 3 - Monday

Black and white double knit jersey Coco

This was my 'panic make' the week before OWOP.  It is a lightweight doubleknit jersey from minervacrafts, again an ideal fabric for the Coco and very comfortable.

Day 4 - Tuesday

Navy Coco under the Endless summer tunic

Again the very versatile navy Coco worn as an autumn layer under the tunic dress.  I haven't worn the dress with a top under it, might get a few more wears out of it before packing it away.

Day 5 - Wednesday

Merino Coco with Anima pants

A very casual day doing stuff in the garden and housework, very comfy.

Day 6 - Thursday

Lilac Coco, pockets trimmed with Kaffe Fassett ribbon.

This Coco was dreamed up and made during the week, it is made from double knit which is quite a stiff fabric, not sure I really like the 'feel' of it.  Anyway I wore it with my Toast sailor trousers and decided to trim the pockets just to take the plain look off it.

Pocket trim - Kaffe Fassett ribbon.

 Day 7 - Friday

This was the first Coco I made, I think, or was it the merino, not sure. I wish I had got the stripes joined to the red fabric a bit more even.  I was still trying to get used to my overlocker and it was the first time trying it out to make a garment.  Both fabrics are ponte roma jersey.

So there you are, a week of Coco's, 2 dresses and 3 tops, definitely a super pattern and depending on your weight of fabric can be great for all seasons, can be worn casual or dressed up more. The top (especially my navy one) can be worn on it's own, over a blouse or under a dress. It suits my lifestyle so what more do you want.

Coco, I hope I have done you justice.

It's been great doing the OWOP sewing challenge, thank you Jane for organizing.

OWOP 2014 and thoughts of autumn ten-item wardrobe.

As a newcomer to blogging and indeed a relative newcomer to sewing I am partaking in OWOP.  This is a sewing and wardrobe challenge which is being organised this year by Jane from handmadejane.co.uk blog (I think it was originally started by Tilly from Tilly & the Buttons from Sewing Bee fame)  The idea is to show how one pattern can make you wonderful 'pieces' that can be worn regularly in your everyday life.

I (after much deliberation) decided to opt for Tilly's Coco pattern. I have used quite a few patterns several times in my two years of sewing, namely the Lisette portfolio (my first and still a favourite), Merchantandmills dress shirt pattern, Sewaholicpatterns Renfrew top and the the Wiksten tova dress & top.  Most of these were makes before my blogging so no photos but I love all these patterns. In reality, at the time of deciding, I only had made two Coco tops and one dress, so had a little panic as to how these items were going to last me for a week.  Missing the point completely I then proceeded to make another Coco dress.  Don't get me wrong I love my latest Coco dress but, of course, the point of the challenge is to show how many different ways you can wear an item by accessorizing and using your flair and creativity, so even if you only have two versions of a pattern, well - that's your challenge.

Tilly & the Buttons Coco dress.

This challenge comes at a great time for me, firstly because it's the start of a new season, namely autumn, my favourite time of the year and also because I have been trying to follow the dailyconnoisseur ten item wardrobe idea.  I have been trying to live a more minimal type life for a while now and embarked on My summer ten item wardrobe at the beginning of the summer for the first time.  I entered into the idea really in trepidation thinking I wouldn't last a fortnight but it worked amazingly well.  If I'm honest I went over the top with my 'extras', namely lots of t-shirts just in case, but this was really too much, so I now have the confidence to cut down even more.

I really shouldn't make a big deal of this, I mean this is the way my mum dressed in the 70's/80's. People just had less then, what she did have was good quality, a great cut and really suited her and that's really all it's about.  In modern day we are bombarded with so many choices we have forgotten how to have our own individual style and we are very, very excessive!

Anyway, my summer ten item wardrobe was a great success.  The only item I didn't wear much was my Toast sailor style trousers - I just felt a bit self-conscious wearing them at home although I did wear them on holiday. (I will be keeping them for next year though)  Everything else I wore a lot and that was great.  Other benefits were that my wardrobe and bedroom are a lot tidier and easier to manage, I also wasn't that interested in shops or sales and so spent less than normal. Now as a sewist I am also becoming more selective in choosing fabrics and sewing patterns and thinking exactly what suits me and works for my lifestyle.  I wasn't sure if I would last, but I really like this mindset (and that definitely is what it is.) It definitely has an element of 'freeing the mind'

So this coming week will be great for planning my ten item wardrobe for autumn - I'm not sure I will be able to go for only 10 core items (we do have very diverse weather here in Northern Ireland)  but I will certainly make a good attempt.  I would say that at least some of my Coco's will feature. It starts tomorrow (6 September - 12 September) so not too late to start, you can sign up here.

When Peggy met Josephine.

So early autumn has been gently knocking on the door, the past few weeks has been a bit cooler and so along with early harvesting are thoughts of autumn attire.  Whilst it has been a pretty good summer, I have to say autumn is definitely my favourite season, I love the autumn colours of the leaves changing and all the lovely seasonal fruit like blackberries.

Blackberry picking time.

Back to autumn attire then.  I finally have finished my Peggy skirt and I love it.  This skirt has taken an inordinately long time to complete through no real fault of it's own.  I did have some difficulties initially in the cutting out as I wasn't sure where some of the lines (especially for the tucks) were meant to be for each size, but Abby sent me a print out with the sizes marked on so that was fine then.  I then left it for summer sewing as I felt the colour of my denim would be more suitable for autumn.  If I'm honest, I also wondered if it was really my style.

Bluegingerdoll patterns are meant to be vintage style which I am not usually drawn too, but I liked the pocket detail and tucks on this one.  Not an expert on vintage I believe the styles are late 1950's and they are probably designed with the hour glass figure in mind.

Pocket and tuck detail.

I do love the pocket detail, it is designed to protrude out slightly and the shape of it is just that bit different.  The tucks also give it a great shape and detail at the front.  I am comparatively slimmer in the hips than my upper half and there is definitely more fabric in the hip area, potentially making you look bigger than you are, so if you are very thin I would say this pattern might drown you.  I toyed with taking it in but it would have been a bit tricky with the pocket fabric at the sides and anyway I felt it would take away from the overall shape of the skirt.

I chose View B with the raised curved waistband just for a change and it turned out great.  My fabric is a rose coloured stretch jeans fabric from myfabrics, sort of like a lighter weight denim, very easy to work with and just the right weight, I think, for this pattern.  There are quite a few layers when assembling the pockets and pocket fuse so I think you wouldn't want too thick a fabric.

I do have 4 inch heals on but they suck into the grass!

The skirt also has a lapped zipper, this was my first attempt at it.  In the instructions it just says "Insert a lapped zipper" ... eek! It refers you to the Bluegingerdoll website for further help, but I'm afraid I didn't find that much help either. (Sorry Abby)   In the end I think I found a tutorial on youtube, perhaps I had been over-complicating it in my head because it turned out to be quite simple in the end and looks well. (Sorry I forgot to take a photo)

So like I said I really like this skirt (in the end) and I am pleasantly surprised at that, sometimes it's good to move out of your comfort zone. Oh yes I also thought about making it knee length (my normal length for a skirt) pinned it up but it knocked it all out of proportion so I kept it the longer length - I think it will be great with knee length boots later on.

A double whammy today, my blouse is the Josephine blouse. I have been meaning to make this one for ages and again I really like this pattern.  The main details are the pintucks which admittedly are a little bit difficult to see fully with my fabric, perhaps from that point of view either a lighter coloured fabric or a plain fabric would show the details off better.  So the fabric is from the Liberty spring summer 2013 collection and is called Tresco and it is so amazing.  Although it is predominately purple when you really look closely at it there is literally every colour under the sun, cerise, various blues and greens, yellow, black, coral and even a neon green. They are fantastic at fabrics, Liberty!

Anyway, back to Josephine.  It is a great pattern, can be sleeveless, or a blouse with gathered sleeve or a tunic dress with a fuller sleeve (which I wouldn't mind trying soon).  The back has an enclosed elastic casing which gives the blouse a more fitted look but could quite as easily be omitted for a looser fit. It is a pdf pattern with great instructions and is very straightforward.  It goes well with my Peggy skirt, so there you are my first autumn outfit.

Pintuck detail Josephine blouse in Liberty Tresco fabric.

And for some more autumn colour....

Rosy Beet soup.

Saute 1 onion, 1 potato, 1 celery stick for 2 minutes in 1 tbsp oil, add 3 medium beetroot and saute another 3 minutes.  Add 1 tin tomatoes, 1.5 pints stock, 2 tbsp cider vinegar (vital to keep the vibrant colour) Add some herbs and simmer for 1.25 hours. Blend in a liquidiser, add black pepper and add a swirl of natural yoghurt or sour cream.  Simple, seasonal and oh so good for you.

Rejuvenation and relaxation.

What an amazing July that was.  We were lucky in our choice of holiday destination this year, all the way across the water to Norfolk for nearly 3 weeks.  We seemed to miss any storms or rain and had amazing weather the whole time, the only down side were the mosquitoes which were incessant with their biting.

I deliberately didn't take my computer, no knitting or sewing.  I had a complete break from everything technological which was very welcome.  I know there are the necessities that we now have to do on-line, but we are on computers so much now, I felt the need for a real break from it all.  With the weather being so good I didn't really miss knitting and so we had a very active, outdoorsey kind of holiday.  We are, however, on a cusp as a family in that our children our now teenagers and you start to wonder what does it for them!

Anyway, with relaxation and rejuvenation in mind I thought I would share my last make before we left on holiday.  They are basically track suit bottoms and they were great for travelling in.

I used the Papercut Anima pant pattern which was a quick and straightforward make.  These paper patterns are lovely, they come in a brown cardboard flat box and the pattern pieces are in brown paper with instruction that can be formed into a little booklet.  The box also has a 'coathanger' so that it can be hung up.  Cute!  The fabric I used is this marled grey jersey fabric from Clothspot.  I only discovered this company lately but anything I have got has been great,  What I particularly like is their descriptions of each fabric and clever little links to other matching fabrics.

The fabric itself is a polyester/viscose jersey with some spandex, is relatively light but has a soft cosiness to it.  I really like it (might have to get some more) and it also washes well.

As regards the pattern it is straightforward, the pants have pockets, a fairly deep elastic waist and eyelet holes for a drawstring cord.  I tried cord but it just looked a bit bulky so I settled for some fine Tessuti ribbon which works just fine.  You can opt for cuffed or non-cuffed legs, I chose non-cuffed but they turned out at that awkward not quite flattering length, so I would either add a couple of inches or choose to put the cuff on.  I think they are meant to be like ankle grazing but it doesn't quite suit me.  Overall I am pleased, this will be a pattern to return to.  I had also chosen a patterned jersey to make another pair but have chickened out so far.  Haha.

Anyway I came back to my vegetable garden which seemed to have thrived in 3 weeks (as had the weeds, of course)

Brassicas and squash thriving.

Peas & beans

First produce of the year (apart from salad)

So lots of weeding and work in the garden, but also some sewing planning,  been saving some Liberty from last autumn which really should be cut into.

I may, however, have to call it the 'Alfie' as I see Alfie was wearing a shirt in this fabric at the birth of the twins in Eastenders.  That guy's got taste!!

Bronte Knit top.

One think I noticed on Me-Made-May this year was that a lot of my makes have round necks and I wanted to 'branch out' and try some different necklines, perhaps more flattering necklines, so when I saw the Bronte knit top pattern coming up on some blogs, I new I had to try it.  The pattern is Jennifer Lauren's second pattern, the first being The Afternoon blouse, which also looks lovely, but I haven't tried it yet.

The Bronte top is made up in stretchy jersey fabrics, so is really a neat fitting t-shirt, but with a great crossover detail at the front shoulder.  It is a pdf pattern and Jennifer seems to have really thought about all the details, even the way the pattern pieces are laid out are great.  Her instructions are excellent and it is a quick make.  I made mine from this multi coloured jersey from myfabrics which I bought over a year ago.  I love the colour mix of grey, aqua, black and white, but you could use any jersey with a good deal of stretch in it.  There is also a long sleeved version which would be lovely in a cosy jersey for winter.

I used little crystal buttons (3 on each shoulder) to attach the upper shoulder to the front piece. This is a nice feature and would be great scope to customise on plain jerseys, but you could just handstitch it if you wanted.

Anyway, I love it, it's a clever design and can be made in a couple of hours from start to finish - a great pattern and there will definitely be more of them.

My summer Ten Item Wardrobe.

'Liberate Yourself with The Ten-Item Wardrobe' is the title of one of the chapters in Lessons from Madame Chic, a lovely little book by Jennifer L Scott.  I have mentioned before on the blog, that I have been trying to have less 'stuff' in general and, in particular, been aiming for the capsule wardrobe over the past couple of years.

I have literally culled my wardrobe, cleared out the clutter, filled bin bags to go to charity and also sold some of the better things and she is so right - it is very liberating!

So with a bit of experimentation and trials (Me-Made-May helped a lot with this too) I have decided on my ten item wardrobe for summer 2014.  These are the core items of trousers, skirts, dresses and blouses.  This doesn't include extras like t-shirts, cardigans, jackets, coats, special dresses (for events or functions). They include a mixture of handmade and rtw items.  I would have liked to have had all hand made items, but time just didn't permit and we have to be realistic.

So without further ado:

Ten Core Items are:

1 skirt:  Handmade Deer and Doe Chardon (cotton print)
3 trousers:  MeandEm sand chinos
                  Toast sailor type trousers.
                  Handmade grey linen trousers Tessuti Laura pant.
3 blouses All handmade Simplicity pattern 1806 (in Nani Iro Peaceful Cooing fabric)
                                   Merchant & Mills Camber top (in Nani Iro double gauze fabric)
                                   Banksia top sewing pattern (in Liberty Travelling Threads tana lawn fabric)

3 dresses Handmade Lisette Portfolio Dress (in Amy Butler Cameo fabric)
                               Endless summer tunic (in red Brussels Washer fabric) Was wearing it so not                                  in photo.
                               MeandEm light denim shift dress.

As you can see, my colours are mostly blues with some beige and red.  I put all my winter clothes away and my wardrobe is so lovely and free.  I have actually been doing this since the beginning of June and it totally works.  The extras help in terms of flexibility and practicalities of getting laundry done.  I hope this wardrobe will carry me through until early September.

The extras

Beige merino cardigan (Meandem)
Blue merino Coco 'sweater' (Tilly & the buttons)
Pale blue cardigan (fatface)
Selection of tees and sleeveless tops (mostly handmade)

Also navy jacket (not photographed) ByHandLondon Victoria Blazer (seen in this post)

Lightweight water repellent coat (Matalan)

Merchant & Mills Landgate coat (work in progress)

Incidentally, this (the extras section) is where you might want to spend most of your budget, for example, a good coat (maybe more winter appropriate) which could potentially last several years, you could spend less on your ten core items as they are more likely to change from season to season, especially if you are trend conscious.

Like I say I have been doing this for a month now and I love it so far.  Will I be fed up with it all by September... time will tell.  It is still very much in the experimental phase.  Jennifer Scott advocates wearing your ten item wardrobe all the time, like even doing housework etc and protecting it all by wearing an apron.  As most of my housework is outside in the garden growing vegetables and plants, I am afraid I do change into my 'duds'  and I also have my exercise clothing.

So, at the risk of sounding smug (this may backfire on me), as I have decided on my summer wardrobe in June.... what now?  As someone who loves sewing and knitting will it just stop? I don't think so.

It gives me a reason to:
a.  Make clothes for other family members (Already do that a bit)
b.  Try my hand at bag making, there are so many great patterns out there.
c.  Do more knitting than I have been of late.
d.  Try my hand at more ambitious sewing projects, like coat-making, trousers and jackets.
e.  Plan the autumn winter wardrobe (too much?  Perhaps, but you got to start some time!)
f.  Apron making
g.  Have had one 'learn to crochet' class, can continue with that.

So plenty of scope.  Why not give it a try.  There is no doubt that if you decide to do this, you must love all your ten items, they must be great colours, style & fit and, of course, it must work for you and the way you live your life.  This is not the only way of looking at it, there are lots of blogs and ideas about downsizing and capsule wardrobes - I just happened to like this one.

You can read more on the 'Ten Item Wardrobe' way of thinking (amongst other things) on dailyconnoisseur.blogspot.co.uk Her way of showing her ten item wardrobe is much more professional than mine!

Also, at the beginning of the year I enjoyed doing the Wardrobe Architect series by Coletterie.  This helped me ascertain styles and shapes I like.