SWAP 2018

These are my final choices for the SWAP this year.

Later in the week I'll try to take more photos as per the Photo Guidelines

• Provide 6-12 photos.
• Include one photo that includes the full group of garments (plus optional accessory if it applies)
• Include one photo of you wearing an outfit (perfectly fine to blur face or omit head shot)
• Additional 4-10 photos of various outfit combinations (these can be on you, dress form, rack, hangar, laying on furniture, whatever you prefer)
• Every garment must be shown in at least two outfits (as per the rules)
• Composite photos are allowed (but not required); however they are limited to a main photo and two smaller inserts
• Photos should be sized to fit the page without scrolling.
• Photos should be posted by Monday 7 May

Making a scarf - Part 2

Since the part 1 post, I went out and bought 4 spools of dark teal green thread.
I couldn't match the existing spools exactly so went slightly darker which worked out fine.

I watched the video about changing thread and about threading from scratch.
Given the serger wasn't sewing properly anyway I decided to thread from scratch (rather than knot on), so removed the cream thread and started rethreading as per the video.
It was noisy and kept going wrong. I rethreaded the lower looper for a third time and must've done something slightly different because it started working properly. It was fiddly and I used the tweezers from the kit.

Once I was happy it was doing an ordinary 4 thread overlock repeatedly, I was happy to change it to the settings for the rolled hem as per the video on the rolled hem. I used the needle remover tool as shown in the video which was great and avoids dropping the needle inside the machine (which I have done before on the other overlocker) and twiddled the dials to what seemed to match the video.

The test looked great so I then used the rolled hem on my scarf which worked really well. I fray checked the ends and left it to dry whilst I made and ate dinner. I then snipped the threads and took a photo.

I'm now thinking about all those pretty fabrics which would make great scarves!

Making a scarf - part 1

I decided to make a scarf. This should be a quick and simple endeavour but no! Here's how making a simple scarf can take many hours.

I had in mind a particular fabric. I looked in my fabric cupboard and it was not there, I waited a day and looked again still not there. Another day I moved some stuff around in another room and found some more 'sewing' boxes. I looked in these and one contained the fabric. Yay!
I dumped the 'sewing' boxes in the sewing room 'to be sorted later' and wandered away.

I then went online and looked at various instructions for making a scarf. I really liked this one.
https://indiesew.com/blog/how-to-sew-a-simple-summer-scarf
I also looked on various online clothing shops and looked at how big their scarves were. Things were a mixture of metric and imperial and varied a lot in size, I was confused.
I then rerolled all my existing scarves (noting their wild size differences) and put them in different boxes in a different place. Thinking whilst I did it "Wow I have a lot of scarves, do I really need another one?"

Some time later I laid the fabric out on the table. There was plenty, but I wanted to make sure I could still cut of the Butterick wrap blouse (or something similar) from what was left. So I went and found the pattern, laid it out and measured how wide a strip I could use for a scarf and still cut the blouse. I cut this strip off the side and levelled the edges (as it looked like the assistant had cut it with hedge shears).

I decided I wanted to do a rolled hem on the scarf as used in the indiesew scarf. My old overlocker is all threaded up for my ivory projects and the scarf fabric is teal, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity to get the Bernina 800DL out and use that instead.

I went online and searched for how to convert the overlocker to a rolled hem. I found (again) this fabulous You Tube video (which I have watched before).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yors17wQsPo

I watched the talented lady do her demonstration and thought "that looks easy".
I watched the video a couple of times and reckoned I had it down. (ha ha ha ha ha ha)

I went into the sewing room and found the overlocker in its box under a table. I moved things around and managed to extract the box. I cleared space to set it up, found a screwdriver to reassemble the thread guide. Found it was already threaded in ivory thread and looked OK so plugged it in to go. Did a scrap test. Found that it does not make stitches. Paused a minute.

Came back with the scarf fabric and looked through the 5 thread drawers for matching teal thread. Found 2 spools which matched OK, but that all the others were too light. Wondered whether to buy some more dark teal thread or learn how to do a 2 thread rolled hem as per the other video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeqLbDsHdlU

Ran another scrap through the overlocker, still does not make stitches. Opened all the little doors and noted that it does seem to all be set up OK from inspection but is not actually making stitches. 

Paused for a cup of tea.....

(to be continued)

Leaf print tee

I'm really pleased to have sewn up this lovely fabric and am really looking forward to wearing it.

It works really well with the teal items in the SWAP but also with some slightly greener things in my wardrobe as the leaves are several shades.
I bought the fabric in May 2017, so its been in the fabric collection for less than a year (just).

I used my homemade pattern made from a RTW top I liked.

More about how I made the pattern here.

Here's what the SWAP plan looks like now, I just need to make the scarf, if I can find the fabric for it, and take photos!

Current SWAP thoughts

This is my current thought about SWAP, I have a top cut out in the leaf print centre left.

Plan:
Choose two neutral colors - Brown and teal
Add one accent color and two prints - Ivory
Make at least three garments from each neutral color - Brown 3, Teal 4
Make at least one garment from each accent color- Ivory 2
Make at least one garment from each print - leaf print, swirly print
Remaining two garments may be made from any one or combination of your neutrals, accent(s) and/or print(s) - I've used up my options already
Create multiple outfits of at least two garments that work for your personal style -
Each garment must work with a minimum of two outfits - lots of options to mix and match

Optional Accessory: add one self-made accessory as a signature piece that works with at least two of  your outfits
Not currently got one, but planning a teal scarf if I can find the teal fabric with silver in it.

Rules
Sewing begins on 26 December 2017 and ends 30 April 2018 - yup
One garment may be started on 1 November 2017 and completed prior to 26 December 2017 - the teal burnout top is from 19th November
One garment may be completed prior to 1 November 2017 -none currently
One RTW garment may be included -none currently
Garments knitted, crocheted or woven by you may be included (limit of two since we are a sewing site) - don't knit, crochet or weave
Garments such as poncho, cape or wrap must include at least two pattern pieces, be one of your knitted, crocheted or woven items or have stitch work done by you to be considered a garment (otherwise it’s an accessory) - nor relevant to me
Neutrals do not need to be the same fabric, however, they do need to work together  ** - I think they do.

Guidelines (not required but recommended)
Use TNT patterns as much as possible - mostly though the wrap blouse is a new pattern
Limit the number of patterns used since Designer Collections include the same garments made in different colors/prints - yes though I've sewn more just not included them
Consider using some textured neutrals to add more interest especially if you are a print person - a little
Consider including one trend item based on your chosen season - yes have managed this my trends are
Spring 2018 Trends
- sheer fabric (in multiple garments)
I've really embraced the sheer though in a very wearable way.

These are my 4 pieces which have sheer elements (I have more but it was hard to include them).
The brown cardigan is made form a knitted cotton lace, great as a light layer.
The ivory blouse is made from broderie anglaise (eyelet).
The teal top is made from a stretch velvet burnout fabric.
The final cardigan is made from a tie dye semi sheer fabric

Fall 2017/Winter 2018 Trends 
-florals/garden prints (last knit top is leaf print)
- silver/metallic, sparkles/glitter (if I make the teal and silver scarf)

So although I've had to leave out a lot of pieces I really like how this has shaped up.
I need to
- Sew up the leaf print top
- Find the teal and silver fabric and make it into a scarf
- Take photos of everything

Ivory Broderie Anglaise Wrap Blouse - Butterick 4395

I used some ivory broderie anglaise from deep in the stash for this pretty wrap blouse.

Being ivory it should work with a lot of pieces without the starkness of white.

I made View D with shorter sleeves due to fabric limitations. I had 2m of fabric, but only of a narrow 115cm width.
I cut a size 18. I cut both ties full length, I slightly angled the back to get a narrower back neck and wider hip. I feel the upper back is slightly too tight so wouldn't do that again. I like the shaping from the back darts. I added 1/2" to the front neckline to reduce gaping and its quite a modest wrap, probably helped by the fact that I don't have a large bust. The sleeves inserted beautifully with no puckering with just the usual ease stitching, so very pleased with how well drafted they are. There's an awful lot of narrow hemming on this and I was getting a bit bored with that by the end, but it does give a nice finish. I like how the wrap is on the striaght grain as this seems to help with it not gaping.
My fabric is semi-sheer and full of holes, so I'll probably wear a camisole underneath, especially for work!

SWAP thoughts - another try at balancing the pieces

Here I've split into layers, tops and bottoms, and want to see if I can make almost all the combinations work together.

OK I have 3 teal pieces, 3 brown pieces, 1 ivory item and two prints (3 garments). You might not want to wear the sheer cardigan over the lace tee but otherwise any combination seems to work, thoough I probably wouldn't wear all the teal pieces together!

Simple teeshirt style blouse

I made this simple t-shirt style blouse using my current favourite New Look 6216. I flared it out slightly at centre front and back by angling the pattern piece slightly away from the fold and cut it out of a linen mix woven.

It seems to have worked out OK though it needs a little press. I just overlocked the hems, turned and topstitched with the straight stitch on the sewing machine.

I originally made a skirt in August 2015 using this fabric, so hopefully now have a dress look with the two together.

I am also planning a wrap blouse, but may run out of time and energy before I get to that point!

More SWAP thoughts

Still thinking about how I could assemble the SWAP.
I looked at each colour and the prints, and tried to imagine a capsule where things played well together.

Here are the individual plain colours and the prints and what I am currently thinking.

Burgundy items

Teal items

Brown items

Prints which could be in SWAP.

Other prints which I am not going to use as they also contain a non-SWAP colour.

Here's a set which could work, all the tops (except the plain brown) can work with all the bottoms, and the cardigans each work over multiple tops. I have decided that 'sheer' could be my trend (there's a list in the rules) and the brown burnout items have a bluish section which works with the teals quite well. It may need a little more teaking....
-------------

Ann suggested I should include this one. It contains teal, brown, black and gold. Is that allowed in a print?
It does go with all the bottoms but only with plain cardigans.

Maybe the most variety is obtained by print tops, plain bottoms and cardigans.

Possible SWAP Items

Have I made enough things to satisfy the rules?

Choose two neutral colors
I choose chocolate brown and teal
 
Add one accent color and two prints OR two accent colors and one print
I am adding an accent colour of ivory and two prints
 
Make at least three garments from each neutral color
I have made a lot of brown garments so should be OK there, and teal is not too bad either
 
Make at least one garment from each accent color
I only have one accent colour of ivory and have a single garment, an ivory tee, this is the minimum but does meet the rules
 
Make at least one garment from each print
I need to pick two of my print garments
 
Remaining two garments may be made from any one or combination of your neutrals, accent(s) and/or print(s)
probably more brown things then
 
Create multiple outfits of at least two garments that work for your personal style
Each garment must work with a minimum of two outfits
Will need to give this a try but should be doable

New Look 6216 simple ivory tee

I've used the simple tee from New Look 6216 again.

This is a very simple and basic top which should be really useful in my wardrobe.
I used a mystery ivory knit from the fabric resources. This isn't a proper white (which is too bright for me) but is my version, slightly softened and not too yellowy.

I seem to make at least one ivory tee every year, and by the next year I need to make it again.
They get worn and washed a lot and seem very prone to getting stained so I need to keep replacing them.

I've got a lot of use from this pattern!

Thread colour change - to ivory...

Yes I've decided that after a lot of garments (24 apparently) sewn up with dark brown thread I really fancied a change. So I'm going to thread all three machines (sewing machine, overlocker, coverhem) with a new thread colour which is going to be Ivory.

I then plan to sew at least some of these....
- an ivory tee - could be in SWAP
- an ivory and brown print floral knit top - could be in SWAP
- an ivory/pink/taupe leaf print linen woven tee
- an ivory/pink/taupe leaf print linen woven wrap blouse
- an ivory sweater knit cardigan - could be in SWAP
- an ivory/pink/taupe floral knit print top
- an ivory and taupe stripe knit top - could be in SWAP
- a turquoise leaf print knit top - could be in SWAP
- a blue and brown animal print knit top - could be in SWAP
- an olive leaf print knit top

I may have to stop before then to replenish the thread as its getting a little low. I think 'Buy ivory thread' needs to go on my to do list somewhere so I don't stop mid flow.
I may also throw in a few home dec type things like cushion covers and shortening curtains.

Fixing Previous Makes

I find it really hard to get myself to go back and fix previous makes, even though I know I'm more likely to wear the item if I invest just a little bit of time tweaking them.

I have mentally done with brown now I've noticed as I just cut out a simple plain ivory tee. However I need to do some rework on a few items before I change the brown thread and I have reworking stuff sort of boring.
However maybe if I post it here it will encourage me to do something?

So brown tie dye cardigan - shoulder is too wide and the sleeves are a strange 3/4 length hybrid. Task - remove sleeves, narrow shoulders slightly, cut new sleeves in a classic full length and insert them instead.

And the lace sweatshirt has a wobbly topstitched neckline that probably needs a skinny neckband adding to draw it up.
This one shows on the garment, but not when worn, maybe I need to wear it and wash it to see if it is still a problem later.

 I'll go and cut a sleeve for the cardigan and see how that goes.

I altered the cardigan, and will wear and wash the top to see how that goes.

Animal print type tee

I've carried on sewing with brown as this print was more brown than ivory and I'm pleased with how it came out.

I used my home made pattern again. You can read here more about how I made it if you are interested.

This fabric has been in the resources for a long time and so I can't recall when or where I bought it. It was absolutely beautiful to sew, though has very little stretch and I hugely enjoyed an evening in my clean and tidy sewing room with three machines all in a row and a DVD of a film playing on my little TV. I need to acquite some musicals or box sets to watch in there (no aerial or internet connection).

I was planning to switch over to ivory next, but maybe I should fix the tie dye cardigan before I do that. I'm going to narrow the shoulders and put new standard long sleeves in. I could then reuse the sleeves in something else or put them to one side and call it a day on brown.

New Look 6216 panelled tee

Whilst sorting through the fabric I came across a small remnant of ivory and brown leaf print fabric. I put it with the plain brown end of the tie dye brown fabric I used for this top to make a simple tee using New Look 6216 View C.

 I cut the neckband from the print also.

Here's the result.

I plan to wear it with dark brown skirt or trousers and a coloured jacket or cardigan.