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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.

Plaid Totes

Current project is tartan tote bags to be used as Christmas gift bags. 

The fabric is a piece of wool tartan/plaid I've had since the Warrington days (15-20 years ago). 

It would have been suitable for an exercise in plaid matching to make a coat/jacket, but I wouldn't have worn it, so it is on its way to becoming 6 bags. 

I did debate ribbon trim to Christmas-ify them, but decided they'd probably get used more by the recipients if they were more classic. 

They are unlined with self fabric handles, so easy to fold and put in handbag/car etc.

Bolero jackets

I have been sewing. I altered two pairs of jersey RTW PJ trs (one plainnavy, one navy with tiny teal hearts). They had sewn in elastic which I unpicked and replaced with a casing and adjustable elastic with ribbon ends. That took a long time for something quite simple. I also made a little navy bolero jacket for my friend to wear over the blue RTW dress I shortened for her.

Then I shortened some velvet curtains for the same friend, and made tie backs from the bit I cut off.

I cut out a shirt for DH when he was out but haven't started sewing it

I made what I hope is the final bolero jacket. This little number from sequins and silver satin! I added a layer of flat piping made from the silver lining as the sequins are very scratchy (if pretty). 

The Jackets are all the same pattern, the little bolero jacket from Prima March 2009.

Men's Loungewear Set

Men's Loungewear Set aka winter PJs

Men's Crew Neck Long Sleeve T-shirt from Tiana's Closet

https://tianascloset.com/index.php/2021/02/03/mens-crew-neck-long-sleeve-t-shirt-free-pdf-sewing-pattern/

Trousers/pants are Love Notions Men's Thomas Track Pants 

An adapted "Sweater Weather Pullover" by My Handmade Wardrobe

The "Sweater Weather Pullover" is the November pattern for The Weekend Sewing Club by My Handmade Wardrobe.

It's a Unisex pattern. I've made an XL as a gift. I added a centre front zip and 3 pockets (two embroidered with a Rugby ball logo)

Faux suede jacket

 

I initially cut out a skirt for the Endless Combinations contest, but I could not get the sewing machine to make a stitch in it, despite trying 7 different needles (all different types), so I had to abandon that and made the skirt in corduroy instead.

The overlocker was able to sew the faux suede fabric so I tried to think of something I could make from the pieces and scraps that I could construct on the overlocker.

I still had New Look 6351 out from when I'd used it for the V necked top, so I thought I'd have a go at the jacket.

I was able to cut the jacket out of the skirt pieces and the leftover scraps, including the facings. So I was pleased that I saved a wadder. But the jacket is short (shorter than the tee in the same pattern). The sleeves are not full length and the front flaps didn't seem to work well, so I added a collar from a shirt pattern to give a more moto jacket look.

My Janome CP3000P was able to deal with the fabric so the hem is cover stitched.

I found it didn't really fit me, so it's gone to a shorter bustier friend.

Sweater Weather Pullover Version 2

 

This is the same pattern but the alternative sleeve plus a few other tweaks.

I put the standard neckband in initially but the layers had shifted, I'd caught it in the overlocker and it was not good. I cut the ruined neckband off, which made the neckline lower and the only long strip of fabric I had was quite narrow, so a new slim neckband. 

This version has the bishop sleeves. I made the hem band and the cuffs slightly shorter in length, but kept the depth. It was a real struggle due to the fabric but I love the end result.

The fabric is a stretch velvet which is very slippery. I had to change my approach a bit to sew it successfully.  For each band I sewed the short ends and pressed the seam open. I then folded the band in half, but before attempting to apply it, I machine basted the two layers together. This then gave me a stable band to apply. To keep things in place I used sewing clips and extra long pins which I wove in and out several times and sewed slowly on the machine checking nothing had slipped, then overlocked afterwards. For a very simple top it took a long time!

The "Sweater Weather Pullover" by My Handmade Wardrobe

This is the November pattern for The Weekend Sewing Club by My Handmade Wardrobe. I've made two very different versions for myself in size Large. Here's the first.

The main sweatshirt is sewn from a thick fleece backed sweatshirting. It didn't have enough stretch for the bands and the burgundy ribbing I had clashed terribly, so I went through my knit fabrics looking for something stretchy enough and co-ordinating. I ended up with this lovely leaf print.

This one is sewn as per the pattern with some minor exceptions. I scooped the front neckline slightly and raised the back neck and I added a pocket, 6 inches wide by 8 inches tall (approx 15cm x 20cm) with approx 1.5" (4cm) hem at the top. I also made the cuffs slightly shorter.

More Burgundy Pieces

Two more burgundy pieces

This is the knit top from 6351. I raised the back neckline, took a thin wedge out of the upper back, down to nothing at the hip. On the front I graded from an 18 at the shoulders out to a 22 lower down to reflect my body shape. I added 5 inches to the sleeve to make it wrist length and also did a full bicep adjustment.

I shortened the neckband to match with the changes to the back neck.

After making this top I had an L shaped piece left over from my 2m cut of fabric. So I cut out and sewed up another Side Tie Top. Which was the Weekend Sewing Club pattern in August.

I drafted a simple knit neckband which I stitched a dart into at the V. The ties are the full width but slightly shorter due to the shape of the scrap. I slightly lengthened the body sections but did a 1" hem. As before I moved the ties up slightly so they tie just below the bust rather than at the waist.

Endless Combinations

 I managed 9 garments within the timeframe (I'd sewn a 10th but didn't get photos). I downloaded the free version of Canva and managed to produce some composite photos.

It was really fun trying to work out some jumps from one garment to another.

I'll let you know when voting opens ;-)

Plum corduroy skirt

I sewed a plum corduroy skirt using a Prima Pattern (New Year 2001) from my collection.

I wanted something which would work with the dark plum corduroy fabric and this pattern was designed for denim and corduroy.

This is a thick plum corduroy with a fine whale. It's heavy. I sewed it with a jeans needle which worked fine. Hand sewing the inside of the waistband was so hard going I ended up with both my thumb and forefinger bleeding!

I lengthened the pattern by 4 inches, which turned out to be too much so I was able to do a really deep (2" hem).

I also added 4 darts to the back waist to get a better fit and adjusted the waistband accordingly. I inserted the invisible zip using the new method I learned at the Weekend Sewing Club.

Note: Prima magazine is a UK monthly women's magazine. For mail subscribers it includes a free sewing pattern, for those who buy it at the newsagent, you can send off for the pattern. The pattern can often be found on ebay and some recent ones can be purchased from the publisher's site.