My 'Sofa Pants' (wide leg joggers) from MHW

This month's pattern from My Handmade Wardrobe's Weekend Sewing Club is the Sofa Pants, casual lounge pants in a knit fabric with wide legs and a few variations.

I made mine in a plain navy Ponte Roma with a good proportion of viscose.

I made a lot of alterations to the front and back rise, crutch shape and depth, side hip (which impacted the pockets), took a wedge from the centre back and shortened the waistband. So they fit me now whilst still looking a lot like the line drawing.

It has become clear to me that no pattern company fits me 'out of the packet'. Not just MHW but also Mccall's, Style Arc etc.  So I'm planning to use my successes to build a library of personal slopers I can use for new patterns. This will be slightly more sophisticated than my current approach of pulling bits out of other patterns that worked and then losing them!

And I'll try not to be mislead into thinking this next pattern will be perfect for me, just as it is.

Replacement bolts for Ikea ARÖD lamps?

Replacement bolts for Ikea ARÖD lamps?

We've got 2 of these lamps (purchased a few years ago) which I've recently brought from another room to use for sewing.

However ours have the same problems many reviewers noted

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/aroed-floor-reading-lamp-anthracite-50389102/

On one light the bolt has sheared, and the other one I can't tighten it enough to stop it flopping down.

I've taken out one of the intact bolts to see how it is constructed, pictures below:-

What can I do to replace the bolt where the wing nut head has sheared off?

There are no part numbers listing within the Assembly Document for this product (I've downloaded and checked) so I can't order the part as a spare directly from IKEA. So I am looking for an aftermarket product.

Updating previous makes

Whilst I really enjoy taking a length of uncut fabric and making a brand new garment from it, these days I also tweak things I've previously made, so they work better for me. It doesn't have the same thrill as a new make, but I've come to appreciate the updates as well.

In Feb 2023, I made myself something I called a Denim Utility Gilet.

At the end of last year I unpicked the stitching at the armscye and added sleeves in the same fabric from the original pattern. However these were not quite full length and didn't give me the look I wanted for a shirt jacket. So I've now added a packet and buttoned cuffs. These fall in just the right place, and I can imagine wearing it more now.

I also made the effort to tweak some of the trousers from this post.

I removed the 'clever' zipped pocket as it was too far down the leg to be useful, and felt uncomfortable. This was just a case of lots of unpicking and a bit of resewing.

I also added belt loops to the Style Arc Delta Cargo pants. They are quite straight through the side hip and had a tendency to fall down, if anything went in the pockets. At least with the belt loops I can add a belt to hold them up.

I also unpicked the embroidered pockets from the zip front jacket I made here  as the jacket was not a good fit for DH.

I think I'll make a new garment next :-)

Yes it was 100 garments

 Yes it was 100 garments I sewed last year, I missed one!

This pink waistcoat hadn't got finished in time for me to wear it with the matching trousers and jacket in October 2024.

Here's the link to the jacket 

And here's a link to the trousers.

It was partially made up and I was procrastinating over pockets. Then instead of making a waistcoat toile for a friend in Nov 2025, I decided to finish it this one up without pockets, she tried it and it got put away in the wardrobe.

The pattern was Pattern 3, the Waistcoat from Sewing With Confidence

And I made View A, though I'd thought I was making View B

I used 4 pinky/burgundy buttons, with a wider spacing. It's fully lined with the same pink polyester lining fabric used for the matching jacket.

Here's all 3 pieces.

In January we rest

In January we rest

January isn't a new year, it's the deep middle of winter.
There's very little light. Very little warmth.
And not a lot of spare energy going around.
Yet this is the month we're sold 'fresh starts', 'big plans' and 'new year, new me' energy.
Wintering is the inward season.
When life slows, energy gathers,
and nothing is meant to be rushed.
For most women Christmas wasn't restful.
It was effort. Planning. Making it magical.
By midlife, the body knows rest isn't something to apologise for.
So when January arrives and motivation is low, that's wintering doing its work.
This month is for going inward.
Hot tea. Early nights.
And letting winter be winter.

shared by a friend

2025 sewing projects review

In previous years I've not done much in the way of end of year review, but I collected some stats this year and thought you might enjoy them.

No of items made this year  - 108 no 109 (see pink waistcoat for me here)

81 of these were for me, and 27 for other people.

There were 8 bags, 1 novelty cushion and 99 garments. found another garment so its 100

I made 19 jackets, 19 shirts/blouses and 18 knit tops....

Overall the most popular colour was Blue or Navy, though when I exclude things made for other people the most popular colour was Burgundy.

I had the joy of attending two weddings for which I made garments for myself and others, though thankfully no bridal dresses! The hardest item was a custom waistcoat (vest) with welt pockets for the father of the bride.

I tried new patterns, sewed with sequins, velvet, silk and corduroy. I entered a few online contests. I blogged and chatted on Forums. I started an online sewing class.

A few garments I made went to the charity shop. This is perfectly OK! One local charity shop are happy to take fabric, haberdashery, home sewn clothing and even scraps, so I often drop things off with them.

Some of the things I sewed for myself I have not yet worn, though everything has been tried on. Dresses and skirts need the right hosiery and footwear. Some things need a bit of tweaking.

I put a lot of time and effort into making a surprise for DH which did not fit. I'll be reworking that next year!

I sewed and unpicked, I altered things, I learned.

I sorted all my patterns and fabrics, but haven't fully maintained it. It has made accessing the resources I have a lot easier though.

Walking Trousers - pattern comparisons

Back in September I got part way through a comparison of walking trouser patterns which I neither finished nor blogged.

I had a large length of olive green bengaline, ordered online, which was not really my colour once it arrived. There was enough to cut three pairs of trousers for a comparison.

The three patterns were 

Itch to Stitch Mountain View Pull on Jeans

I've made this pattern lots of times before. It's designed for stretch woven fabrics with more stretch than I had in this bengaline. good fit but a bit tight on the thighs in this fabric. Additional zipped side pocket of my own invention is too low down on the leg and not very practical.

Style Arc Delta Cargo Pants

These are very straight cut on the sides, which makes putting the cargo pockets on very easy, but doesn't work particularly well for me as I'm curved at the side hip as well as the derriere. They are simple to sew up with good pockets.

Love Notions Meadowlark Pants

I finally finished these today, very comfortable with loads of pockets. Flat front with mock fly and sewn down button. Back elastic quite tricky to sew. Lots of great pockets, knee darts and an activewear fit.

Summary

For all 3 I have adapted the crutch curve shape and length to suit my body but otherwise gone for the size which matches my measurements, and because of this all 3 pairs are wearable. 

The Style Arc Delta Cargo pants don't stay up very well once anything is put into the pockets, so I think I'll add belt loops to make them more practical. Future versions are going to need a curve in the side seam :-)

The side zipped pocket on the Mountain View pants is not useable in reality, so I think I'll remove it.

The Meadowlark Pants work quite well, but next time I'd simplify the waistband and add a little bit of width at the knees.

I have a lovely piece of 4 way stretch activewear fabric, so I can now decide what pattern to use to make those up, probably the Meadowlarks with some tweaks.

Red print shirt

 

Same pattern as the reindeer shirt but with slightly narrower cuffs, and as the buttons are smaller, more buttonholes!

The fabric was a thrifted remnant, a lovely soft cotton and a non directional print.

Unfortunately the dye has leaked in places when I pressed after using the water spray during construction. I think I'll let it soak in some hot water with salt added to see if I can even out the dye, as I quite like the effect where it is pale and dark red instead of red and white.

And if that doesn't work think about overdyeing it.

----------

Updated to add that I soaked the shirt in very hot salty water overnight  - the water turned red so obviously a lot of dye came out. The next day I washed on cool in the washing machine and left to air dry - the colour is now even across the whole shirt.

The Sewing Place Forum Is Very much still active

The Sewing Place Forum (aka TSP) is alive and well. Existing members are posting and new members are welcome.

The application process for new members has some manual steps and can take a day or two. You need to reply to the email your receive.

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There were some technical issues back in October where a lot of non-human traffic broke the site and stopped real users from gaining access. The site owner and a couple of helpful techie minded members have since put in place some protective measures which have really helped matters. If you have not been on for a while you may need to verify that you are human!

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Reindeer Shirt

 

I made up a shirt (a mash up of two patterns + some extras) in this fun reindeer print polycotton.

I only had 2 metres of narrow fabric so didn't attempt pattern matching, and the print is busy enough that it worked OK.

I used red thread and plain red buttons, and its really fun for the holidays.

recycled jeans Bestie bag

 This bestie bag was made from some old jeans which were worn through at the crutch (where a patch would've looked a bit odd) so they went into the denim box and after a while got cut up into a bag

I used this fun quilting cotton for the lining

And unpicked and resewed the back pockets onto the outsides of the bag.

I made a self strap. It required some hammering and wrangling with pliers to get it through the strap adjuster

Denim Bestie Bag

 Yes, I bought the pattern for the Bestie Bag and sewed it up.

The outer is a blue denim from an old self-sewn skirt. The lining is a craft cotton with an anchor print.

I used a striped webbing that was 1 inch (25mm) wide and a slider of the same size.

The pattern calls for 1.5" webbing, so I needed to increase the seam allowance slightly on the strap tab for it to fit neatly with my 1" webbing.

The instructions for this are good. I referred a little to the written instructions, but mostly followed along with the video, pausing it whilst I completed each step.

Sequin Wave Top

There was some fabric left over, so mindful of a small fault, I managed to squeeze out a top from the sequin wave jersey.

There wasn't enough fabric for even 3/4 length sleeves, so I cut them as long as I could and added a restrained frill for extra length.

I used my new favourite knit top pattern, the tee from New Look 6351 which I've altered to fit nicely.

I suspect a festive top will see more use then yesterday's slinky dress.

Sequin Wave Dress

 Here's my sparkly burgundy dress to wear as a guest to a wedding on Sat 20th December.

The back

The fabric (more realistic colour)

The pattern - New Look 6650

As before I made the 20 grading out for the tummy and hips to the 22. I raised the back neckline slightly, and scooped the front neckline. Instead of folding the fabric under and stitching for the neckline I drafted a narrow neckband and applied that instead. The neckline measured 25" and I cut a neckband piece that was 2 inches wide by 22 inches long.

The pattern has a short sleeve and a slightly longer short sleeve, so I extended the longer sleeve by 11" to give a full length sleeve.

I didn't cut the back on the fold, instead I added a seam allowance to the centre back and moved the split round to the back.

I sewed the ties on about 2 inches higher up than the pattern indicates as this is more flattering on my body shape.

It looks rather good for what is basically a tshirt dress!

'Tap to Party' Cowl Neck Top

This is the 'Tap to Party' Cowl Neck Top from my Handmade Wardrobe's Weekend Sewing Club.

I used a remnant of red polyester mix jersey fabric. I sized down to medium. But then graded up for the waist and hips. I also lengthened it a bit. As I have large upper arms neither sleeveless nor flutter sleeves were going to work, so instead used a knit sleeve from another pattern. I was a bit short on fabric so added cuffs to get the 3/4 sleeve length.