PJ pants or steampunk bloomers?

For the next part of the steampunk outfit I made up some off-white cotton into lace trimmed wide leg trousers.

The idea is I could wear these as sort of bloomers peeking out from my outfit for the steampunk wedding, but then wear them afterwards as PJ pants.

I adapted New Look 6438 by replacing the shaped waistband with a elasticated channel.

I cut a length 2 inches longer than the shorter length.

I have a bag full of vintage lace someone gave me, which mostly seems to have been rescued off garments and tablecloths. This was the best match in colour and length, but was very damaged along one edge. I overlocked that edge, sewed the lace to the hem right sides together then flipped the overlocked portion underneath and topstitched.

If the pant ends up being too long I'll add a horizontal tuck, as I want the lace to just show a little.

Fabric sewn so far in 2025 - 20m, fabric purchased zero!

• 3m of teal jersey
• 2m of print/brown sweater knit
• 3m of animal print jersey
• 3m of brown poly knit
• 2m of pink cotton poplin
• 2m of mauve mauve knit
• 2m of dusty pink cable knit
• 2m of ivory cotton
• 1m for a toile for a bolero for a friend

Dusky Pink Cable Knit Cardigan

 

I'm really pleased with this dusty pink cable knit cardigan. I bought the fabric in Boyes last year sometime but it is available at Pound Fabrics (for those in the UK)

I used Wendy Ward's Kinder cardigan, with a few changes. I did a high round back alteration, made the cuffs a bit smaller and gathered the sleeves into them, changed the pockets to my own design and added buttons and buttonholes down the front.

What I like most about this pattern is the sleeves which are roomy (good for having sleeves underneath) but also come from the shoulder. With my tighter cuffs and button front it becomes quite cosy!

The last three items all used the same overlocker thread but do vary a bit in colour.

(excuse the rumpled shirt, I worn and washed it, but not yet ironed it!)

And finally my totals so far

Fabric sewn so far in 2025 - 17m, fabric purchased zero!

• 3m of teal jersey
• 2m of print/brown sweater knit
• 3m of animal print jersey
• 3m of brown poly knit
• 2m of pink cotton poplin
• 2m of mauve mauve knit
• 2m of dusty pink cable knit

Mauve Metra Blazer

 

I used some Mauve Wave rib knit from Pound Fabrics to make a Metra blazer

I interfaced the pocket tabs and the area they are set into to control the stretching.

Fabric sewn so far in 2025 - 15m, fabric purchased zero!

3m of teal jersey

2m of print/brown sweater knit

3m of animal print jersey

3m of brown poly knit

2m of pink cotton poplin

2m of mauve mauve knit

Pink frill neck blouse

I wanted to sew a blouse with a slightly Victorian feel that I could wear as part of my steampunk outfit for the upcoming steampunk wedding, but also felt enough like me to wear on other occasions too. So although the classic look would have been white, I went with this lovely rose pink. I bought the fabric at my local Boyes. It's quite a narrow width, but I had 2 metres which was fine to get my TNT shirt out of.

I altered the collar stand and cuffs to be a little narrower with squared off ends to accommodate the frill. For the frill I cut fabric 2 1/2" wide and about 2.5-3 times the area taking the ruffle. I cut two long strips one used whole for the collar, and the other halved for the cuffs.

I finished the ends right sides together and turned through, pressed the whole length in half, stay stitched and then hand gathered with double thread (rather than trying to machine gather a double layer of cotton poplin.

I used these delicate metal buttons as they felt antique but also slightly industrial. I made buttonholes on the front of the shirt. I left the top button off, but can add a brooch there if I want to.

I had multiple tries at making buttonholes on the cuffs, but the gathers caught on the buttonhole foot, so I switched to snaps on the inside and buttons sewn to the outside. This looks nice when they are done up.

I'm going to wear this tonight with black jeans and a jacket to attend a concert with my friend and then later with other things instead. I'm hoping it will prove a versatile piece.

---------------------------

Fabric sewn so far in 2025 - 13m, fabric purchased zero!

3m of teal jersey

2m of print/brown sweater knit

3m of animal print jersey

3m of brown poly knit

2m of pink cotton poplin

Clef Jacket from Love Notions

I decided to test out the Clef jacket from Love Notions patterns. 

I used some fabric I find a bit itchy and some buttons which are a bit orange as I plan to donate the end result.

The overall fit was fine though I shortened the sleeves .

For my next version I'm going to rotate the pockets 90 degrees so they are deeper. Add a high round back alteration, and straighten the ends of the sleeves for easier hemming.

I'm hoping this will be a good way to make a fleece jacket when I can't easily get a matching zip but have matching buttons!

This has used another 2m of fabric so

Fabric sewn so far in 2025 - 13m, fabric purchased zero!

• 3m of teal jersey
• 2m of print/brown sweater knit
• 3m of animal print jersey
• 3m of brown poly knit
• 2m of itchy brown fabric

Kinder Cardigans with buttons

Using the leftover fabric from the joggers, I managed to cut out two cardigans. 

The pattern is The Kinder Cardigan from Wendy Ward's Book "A Beginner’s Guide To Sewing With Knitted Fabrics"

I interfaced the lower section of the front bands and added buttons and buttonholes. I also made the cuffs a little smaller and ran a slight gathering stitch round the bottom of the sleeves to help ease them onto the cuffs.

With the buttons and the tighter cuffs I hope these versions will be a little cosier to wear.

We can add the brown cardigan into the Paisley SWAP.

1 jacket, 1 fleece, 1 cardigan, 1 shirt, 8 knit tops, 1 pair jeans, 1 pair joggers, 1 skirt.

The animal print pieces could be worn with the plain items, but not with the paisley (IMO).

Fabric sewn so far in 2025 - 11m, fabric purchased zero!

• 3m of teal jersey
• 2m of print/brown sweater knit
• 3m of animal print jersey
• 3m of brown poly knit

Monsal Lounge Pants

 

The Monsal Lounge Pants from Wendy Ward's book "Sewing with Knitted Fabrics2 are my TNT jogger pattern.

I've made another 2 pairs, one in plain brown brushed polyester knit and the other in a cotton jersey printed with an animal print pattern. They are both the same variation of the pattern.

If I add the brown joggers into the Paisley SWAP with the teal tops, it looks like this

1 jacket, 1 fleece, 1 shirt, 8 knit tops, 1 pair jeans, 1 pair joggers, 1 skirt.

Prima Cardigan Pattern October 2022

As much as I love my TNT patterns, I thought it'd be fun to try some new patterns. In particular I wanted a cardigan drafted to allow it to be buttoned up the front.

For this test garment I used a remnant of sweater knit which had been languishing in the stash for some time. Originally I'd thought to make a little knit top to wear with neutral trousers, but I prefer to have some colour near my face. There was only enough to cut the front, back, sleeves and pockets so I used the leftovers from a different cardigan to cut the front bands. As the sleeves were a little short I also drafted and cut some cuffs in the same fabric.

I cut the size 20 as usual in Prima patterns, and perhaps the style is supposed to be this oversized, but heck it was very wide and short.

If I were to make this again I'd go down two sizes and add a hem band as well, but as I decided I don't like the printed sweater knit it wasn't worth me altering. 

Apparently this is just the sort of look Gen Z like so I've added a label and will be donating it to a local charity shop which is happy to take handmade clothing.

Teal cotton jersey tops

I had a length of cotton single jersey in the cupboard which is a very similar colour of teal to the corduroy jacket I made for my mini collection. So I thought it would be a good addition to my capsule. I measured it and discovered I had 3 metres. I briefly considered a dress but I hardly wear the ones I already have so I thought that wasn't a very sensible use of fabric in one of my signature colours.

New Look 6008

I put my cutting board on the dining table and cut out my TNT turtleneck top (New Look 6008 modified for fit). When switching to a new project, I like to check the needle in the machine and make a few tests to check it is OK. Well I must've tried about 8 different needles trying to find one which would sew the cotton jersey without skipping stitches. In the end it was a particular stretch needle that worked (other stretch and jersey needles didn't).

New Look 6735

Once that top was completed, I thought that finding a needle that would sew this fabric next time I pulled it from stash was likely to be irksome, so as the fabric was still on the dining table I cut out a different TNT top - this time a scoop neck with 3/4 sleeves (new Look 6735 modified for fit). I sewed that top up and was pleased with the outcome.

Closet Core Tee

with pocket detail

Astonishingly I still had some fabric left after this (which rather reminded me of a much loved childhood story about The Magic Porridge Pot). I'd got a pattern out which uses three fabrics, thinking I could make some sort of pieced top, but no, there was enough fabric for a third top! With some careful cutting I was able to get another different TNT top out of the fabric with cuffs and a pocket (Closet Core Tee, adapted).

I think I'm now covered when I want a plain teal top!