A Liberty Banksia and Me-Made-May Week 3

So May hasn't been quite the productive month I had hoped sewing wise, due to my lovely dad taking ill and lots of travelling to hospitals.  Life has a way of putting things in perspective and that's ok.  After all, one of my New Year Resolutions (for sewing) was to slow things down, make less and make well, so there you go.

So in spite of the change of routine I have managed to make another blouse, vvvery slowly, maybe 15 minute sessions at a time, but it is now finished.

This blouse is the Megan Nielsen Banksia top which I had made before, but hadn't quite got the placket right. (pre-blog) This really bugged me and I wanted to give it another go as I really liked the pattern.  For this one I had a rather special Liberty fabric - Travelling Threads which I had purchased last summer, so the pressure was on to get it right.

I hope you can see the detail - there are bikes, jeeps, boats  - all sorts of vehicles and dapplings of little red, mauve, yellow and teal flowers.  This is my first time using Liberty Tana Lawn so I was a bit in trepidation.  After I washed it and hung it on the line  and went to iron it I found there was actually a tear in it.  It was a particularly breezy day but still I didn't think it would be quite so delicate.  It is also extremely light weight so I can totally see the attraction with sewists who reside in hotter climates than Northern Ireland.  It was, however, a dream to cut and sew with.

To be honest I don't know where I went wrong with my first Banksia, maybe I've just got a bit more experience now, but this one went together very easily and I love the way the placket came together - I did the totally enclosed, slightly more tricky placket and it turned out great.  I also used Liberty buttons that I had in a button box so even managed to surpass my phobia of button- holing. yea!

I think on me it is ever so slightly long and I might take it up an inch or two - I suppose it depends on the way I will wear it.

As regard Liberty Tana Lawn, the proof is definitely in the wearing - it is just lovely to wear, so soft, comfortable, light and gorgeous.  If we get a heat wave in County Antrim, I will definitely be buying more!

I have managed to keep Me-Made-May going (I was determined to) and actually I can't believe how quickly it has gone.
Here are Day 15-21

Grainline Archer shirt.

April Rhodes Staple Dress

Papercut Ensis Tee

Tilly & the Buttons Coco Dress

Merchant & Mills Camber top.

Tessuti Mandy Boat Tee

Maria Denmark Birgitte Tee and Tessuti Laura Pants (with concertina pocket)

It will soon for time to round up Week 4... incredible.

A Japanese Camber and Me-Made-May Week 2

I am a little bit behind in my blogging and can't quite believe that May is over half way through.  Where did those first few weeks go to.  Sewing has taken a little bit of a back seat due to... well life, family stuff and also gardening.  I have, however, made another Camber top, this will be my third time making up this pattern, the first was the flannel top here and the second the wool camber dress here. Suffice to say I really like the pattern, it's just so easy to wear with different things and very comfortable.  You can also play around with fabrics for the yoke which I did with this one.

For the top I used this lovely fabric which is a double gauze called Fuwari Fuwari by Nani Iro.  This is only my second time using this type of fabric but I can now see why they are so popular.  They are lovely to cut and sew with, don't fray too much and are absolutely gorgeous to wear, brilliant for warm weather, but yet they somehow have a cosiness to them when it's not so warm.

So having already made two Cambers this one didn't take too long, the fun was in deciding how to use the fabric.  These double gauzes generally have two or more patterns on them so might be challenging and I suppose you may need more fabric accordingly because of this.  Anyway, I used the finer speckled pattern for the back yoke and sleeves and the bigger louder type pattern for the body and neck trim. It turned out pretty well, I think.

This was at the end of the working day and having driven over fifty miles, so not too creased, compared to linen or some cottons, so very practical.  I might leave Camber for a while, but I know I will definitely be back to again and again.

Incidentally Merchant and Mills have two new patterns out, the landgate pattern, which is a unisex over the head cagoule type jacket which I found myself purchasing and the other is the landgate pattern which is a coat.  I resisted the Landgate for now, but probably only a matter of time.

So I better do a quick round up of Me-Made-May Week 2 (before Week 3 finishes)

Simplicity 1806 blouse, trousers & waistcoat Toast

Sewaholic Renfrew longer version without waistband.

Tessuti Fave Top

Tessuti Alexa T & Sirdar knit 9662

Merchant and Mills Grandad shirt dress

Wiksten Tova top

Maria Denmark Yasmin Yoke skirt & Deer and Doe Airelle blouse.

Soon be time for Week 3 round up, I will get caught up eventually.

Breton basics & Me-Made-May 14 Week 1

Last week I just wanted to make a few basic jersey tops and as stripy Breton style tops are absolutely something no lady can do without this decade, it had to be that.  Any shop worth it's salt is stocking their version of the must-have top this year.  I really had wanted to make a stripy Coco as I love the style of my cobalt blue merino coco but the fabric I had ordered seemed just too stretchy for Coco (it was 4% elastane)

Anyway I made the red and white stripe one from a Japanese jersey using Birgitte basic tee pattern which is a favourite.  I had seen on the Jaeger website they had added two buttons on one of the shoulders of their version.  So if it's good enough for them.....

Liberty buttons from my Liberty button box.

The other one I made from the purple and white, more stretchy fabric and used the Alexa t top pattern which is another favourite of mine.  It has a higher neckline but I find it a useful style that goes with a lot.  So, no doubt, these will turn up in Me-Made-May.

Me-Made-May 14 Week 1

Tessuti Alea T top

Onion dress pattern (2007)

Tilly & the Buttons Coco top

Maria Denmark Day to night dress

Grainline Moss skirt & Merchant & Mills Camber top

Victory Patterns Lola dress

That's my week 1 round-up (only missed one day)