Adding a hidden pocket to shorts

I'd previously sewn these shorts in March 2022 and wore them lots. 

They were nearly perfect except for 2 things - no zipped pocket and no belt loops.

I had some leftover fabric so decided to fix these issues.

First I made a pocket with a zip and a single layer of fabric above.

I then stitched this to the seam allowance of the waistband, with the zip towards the shorts. To use it, just flip it to the outside and the zip opening is at the top of the waistband.

I also added belt loops so a belt can be worn to keep the shorts up when the pockets are loaded.

I'm really pleased with these updates

Olive Joggers : Wendy Ward's Monsal Lounge Pants

 Latest make is a pair of olive joggers. 

Mystery knit with looped back from stash.

Pattern is the Monsal Lounge Pants, from the Wendy Ward Book, A Beginners Guide to Sewing with Knits.

These are more an autumnal make as the fabric is quite cosy but still work beautifully with my floral scarf.

Cotton floral shirt

For this version I used the pocket pieces I'd used on the olive green shirt, only twice this time. These are large enough to be useful without being too large (as per the previous floral blouse).

I used a 100% cotton fabric which I bought from Economy Fabrics in June this year.

The buttons are shell buttons from the button drawers. Fortunately I managed to find a dozen all the same size.

The pattern is Prima March 2020 cut off to blouse length. I've also added a continuous placket for the opening rather than using the sleeve seam.

Burgundy random spot top

 

Another version on my much altered New Look 6735 top, this time in a beautifully soft viscose jersey

On this version I went for a relaxed round neckline rather than the deep scoop on the original.

The fabric was left over from a knit top I made in October 2017 from a different pattern. That one had long sleeves so may be packed away with the winter clothing, or worn out in the intervening period!

T shirt for a friend

This is a t shirt for a friend. She has a different figure to me so I hope this will work for her.

Its the cropped version of the Closet Core T, with the 18D (from the plus range)

Embroidered tote bag

 In June we had a family craft zoom session. My aunt sent each of us a plain cotton tote bag to embellish as we wished.

My aunt hand embroidered her bag. My mum took her bag apart and sewed on a patchwork block. One cousin drew freehand on her bag whilst the other stencilled a design. I decided to machine embroider, so took my bag apart, interfaced one side and during the session embroidered the central paisley.

It looked a bit lonely (and was off centre, even though the hoop was centred) so I added the celtic style animals and then the tiny motifs. I'm not entirely happy with it so parked it for a bit.

Yesterday I interfaced the back for balance, made a lining with some pockets and sewed the bag back up.

At least it is done now

Reworking a previously made shirt.

 Last August I made myself a khaki cotton shirt.

Original Version of shirt

Whilst I quite liked it I didn't reach for it a lot. Today I made two changes, first of all I lifted the sleeves slightly as I felt they were hanging off my shoulders. This small change has really improved the fit.

Then I went through all my scraps to find some of this fabric and cut out a pocket flap. I fund another button and added the buttoned flap to the pocket, its now a bit more secure if I actually put anything in the pocket.

Hopefully I'll reach for this more now!

Travel accessories

When I bought the fabric I used here, I loved the colours and print. It wasn't very practical for garments though due to the stiffness and sheerness, but its worked well for travel accessories.

I have made a draw string bag, which can be carried rucksack style, a drawstring shoe bag (with a stitched divider down the centre) and and zipped bag for use inside a suitcase.

I had previously made 3 other zipped bags so its shaping up to be a nice collection now.

The shoe bag I made in February didn't draw up well as it went against the lines of the fabric. I remade it into a zipped bag and made a new shoe bag in the opposite orientation.

Cooling waistcoats from shower curtains

These waistcoats are made from Polyester shower curtains, which is lightweight and copes well with getting slightly wet as the freezer packs defrost.

I made the striped version for myself last year when it was unusually hot here in the UK. I'm not used to the heat and wasn't coping well. I wanted a way to hold freezer packs near to me without damaging my skin, so came up with this simple waistcoat. Just add a freezer pack into each pocket.

After an hour or so the ice packs have defrosted, but it found it cooled me down enough that I was OK for a few hours before I needed to use the waistcoat again.

I used out-of-print New Look 6316 to get the shape for the front and back of my waistcoat (vest), but then cut a V neck.

It's closed with a strip of velcro at the front.

A friend who suffers from hot flushes asked for her own version, so I used a more fun flamingo shower curtain for hers and placed the pockets a bit lower down.

Strawberry T-shirt

 I've really enjoyed sewing this little tee in a fun strawberry print jersey.

I used my altered New Look 6735 pattern, raised the front neckline to be more of a round neck and added a wider band. The sleeves are elbow length as that was the longest I could get from the small length of fabric.

I picked up an 80cm remnant of this gorgeous strawberry print from a local charity shop's craft section.

Almost looks like a cycling Polka Dot Jersey!

I think this one will make me smile every time I wear it.

Floral Shirt

 

Here's my latest finished project, a floral shirt with oversized pockets, collar and cuffs, giving it a slight 70s feel.

The fabric is a floral cotton lawn in shades of green and pink which came from Auntie Joy's stash. It was a very odd shape with a large rectangle cut from one end and an irregular diagonal the other. So I did need to cut some parts single layer. The collar, cuffs and pockets were cut from the remaining scraps and I managed to find a dozen suitable shirt buttons in the drawer.

For the pattern I used the shirtdress pattern from Prima March 2020 cut down to shirt length. I added a wider cuff, a bound placket and a couple of pleats. The pockets were adapted from Simplicity 4231.

Its a fun project using things I already had.

Red tee

Pinky red tee, made from New Look 6735, with the sleeves cut off at elbow length, probably going into the travel wardrobe.

Navy jersey dress

 A navy jersey dress for my friend C

I've used Simplicity 9473, with the front slash neckline, and elbow length sleeves.

I've made her usual alterations, FBA, narrower back and raised the waist by 1 inch.

As I cut this from a knit I omitted the back zipper, lets hope she's still able to get into it!

Poppy Print Dress

 I've been sewing for my friend C again.

This is a cotton fabric printed with a poppy design.

The dress is based on View A, in Size XL.

I made a few changes

- flared the back by moving the centre fold 2.5" at the bottom.

- added a notch for side pockets (this finished 14" from the hem and about 7" long)

- added sleeve extension, to give a bigger cap sleeve

moved the tuck and ties down by 3.5"

I did not do the french seams as this wouldn't work with side pockets. I used self binding on the neck facing.

-----

Updated to add I made a floral version of the same dress for C.

For this one I narrowed the neckline by an inch on each side and raised the back neckline. Otherwise it's the same as the last version.

New Fabrics

 After I'd donated a bagful of clothes and household items at one local charity shop I walked on to the next one where I found they had loads of lovely new fabric remnants.

So I bought quite a few of them.

6 pieces of quilting cotton, 3 lengths of rayon woven, 1 length of cotton woven and 2 bits of jersey.

It has absolutely made my day!