BMI - still overweight

Well I am still at Weight Watchers and still theoretically overweight. I have about 5lbs to lose to get into the top end of the BMI's recommended weight for my height.
That does seem quite harsh as I don't exactly look fat anymore.
I think there should be another indicator which also takes into account the 'sturdiness' of a person - measuring something like the width between shoulder blades or hip bones maybe to tell you the scale of a person's bones. Obviously it has to be something which doesn't alter when you put weight on.

Clothing size wise I am all over the place. I am mostly buying a UK size 14 in RTW, but sometimes in trousers and skirts I am a 12 or even a 10 - vanity sizing I am convinced! I have some knit tops though in a 16, to get the shoulders in and also to allow for the sweater to not be super skin tight.

I went into Outfit at lunchtime the other day, this has several different high street stores in one large shop. I tend to wander through them all as they have a different 'vibe' in each section. I looked at the Evans (plus size) stuff only briefly as their smallest size is a very generously sized 14 which drowns me - a good problem I suppose :-)

Simplicity 5193

Pattern Description:
Simplicity Design Your Own multi wardrobe this includes a dress, top, pants and sash. I sewed the pants as PJ pants.
Pattern Sizing:
14-20, I sewed the 14 pants. I have a 41" hip
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Not particularly as my fabric is much less formal. The leg width of the photo of the model is more accurate than the sketches. Its quite a slim legged pant compared to other alstic waist pants I've sewn in the apst.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Didn't really follow them as this is a supereasy elastic waist pant.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I wanted to try a new pattern for PJ pants as my old faithful ones is now way too big.
Fabric Used:
Cotton with a lovely silky feel (long staple perhaps) in a bright red print with paisleys. I bought this fabric in Abakhan Preston Lancs UK, on a test trip for the PR weekend there in October.
Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I lengthened the legs slightly, I extended the back crotch by an inch and a half to accommodate my full butt and took a wedge out of the front crotch for my short front (I think I have a tipped pelvis, these alterations give more coverage at the back, less at the front.)
I also paired the PJ pants with a purchased tee in plain white, onto which i appliquéd a large red heart (centre front) and a mini heart (lower hem) to make into PJs.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Easy elastic waist pants. So would use them again. A little neater than my old pattern for PJ pants, and I will use it again for more pairs.
Conclusion:
I am an advanced beginner and can sew things which are way more complex than this, but just now my job is super demanding, I am doing a professional course and the house is on the market and my sewing room is mostly turned back into a bedroom for viewing. I needed to sew desperately and this simple project fit the bill. The red is a strong and happy colour which makes me smile.
This could be a great project for a beginner, the elastic waist pants are easy to construct, and adding a purchased tee with co-ordinating appliqué suddenly makes them into cute PJs.

PJs finished -Simplicity 5193

I used the elastic waist pants from Simplicity 5193 to make these PJ pants. The top is a purchased tee appliquéd with a large and small heart cut from the leftover fabric.

September sewing - PJ pants

I really wanted to break the rut I've been in of not doing any sewing, so I cut out some PJ pants in this red paisley fabric which I think is a fine cotton.







I used Simplicity 5193 since it had some simple elastic waist pants included which didn't look too crazy in the legs. Photo tomorrow.

Boiled wool jackets - ideas

I am musing on using the boiled wool fabric I bought in Germany last year to make a jacket. Here are some ideas.

Pattern Review Weekend in Preston UK 24-26 October 2008

Pattern Review Weekend in Preston UK 24-26 October 2008

The itinerary is as follows:

Friday 24th October
Modern Approach to Dressmaking 1 day Course with Janet Moville which costs £62.00, please book directly with Janet
http://www.sewjanetmoville.co.uk/content/courses/courseDetails.asp?courseID=59
Course starts at 10am and finishes at 4pm. Bring your own lunch or order from the local sandwich service on arrival.

after the course check into Preston Central Travelodge
(Please book your room directly with Travelodge - http://www.travelodge.co.uk/
Rooms are showing as available and are £39 per night - you can share a family room which has two beds with a friend.)

Then at the hotel in a shared room (prob Ruth and Jenni's)- Activity Session 1 (5pm - 6:30pm)
then off into Preston centre for a meal e.g. Pizza Hut etc approx 7pm
back to the hotel for Activity Session 2 (9pm - whenever!)

Saturday 25th October
Saturday morning shopping in Preston market - there are 3 fabric stalls as well as 2 haberdashery stalls with patterns, notions etc.
We especially liked 'Washable Fabrics' who has lovely fabric at very reasonable prices - particularly great jersey knits and wools.
We'll have a light lunch in the 'Fryers' Fayre' cafe at the market
and then drive on to Lancaster
first to the Standfast Factory Fabric Shop (which closes at 2pm so no dawdling in Preston)
Then we'll go on to Fabrix in Lancaster
http://www.fabrix.org.uk/
and later have an evening meal in Lancaster
after the meal travel back to Preston to the hotel for Activity Session 3 (9pm to whenever)

Sunday 26th October
Activity Session 4 (then checkout by 12 noon)
then to Abakhan in Preston (open from 11am until 4pm). Light lunch in Preston or as you travel home.

Variations
Hotel: If you are travelling a long distance you can book in for Thursday night as well.
I believe we have 2 ladies planning to do this, but the rest of us are travelling on Friday morning.
If you cannot attend the course on Friday you can still join us.
Either meet us at the hotel late Friday afternoon or if joining us for Saturday, car parking is in the Pay and Display car park for the Market or you can come in by train and walk to the market (not far)

Session details
The activity sessions include the following, though we've not put them in slots just yet, will update this....
- Jewellery making with Julia (to suit fabric/personality)
- Measuring for alterations with Jenni - an interactive session
- Finding your best colours with RuthieK
- Unloved pattern, button and fabric swaps (we'll tell you more about these nearer the time).

Scoping out sewing in Preston

YorkshireLass (Jenni) and I are organising a get together for Pattern review members in the UK on the weekend of 24th/25th/26th October. Since neither of us live in preston we decided we neede to do and advance trip to check out the stores for the others.

We had a fabulous time, except for the bits where we repeatedly drove round the one way systems of Preston and Lancaster, saying to each other 'was that the turning' as we went past it again. I was navigating, so its ALLLLLLLL my fault.

Anyhoo, I think Jenni planned to only scope out the shops and not buy anything, but I always planned to SHOP. Apparently some of that rubbed off on Jenni and she took a few goodies home too.

In the end I bought 9 pieces of fabric, a pattern, some tracing paper and some clear elastic.

So for those who are coming on the weekend, we have worked out an itinerary for the weekend now, and I'll post it tomorrow.

Lovely lace

Inspired by the discussion on Prada's use of lace on Stitcher's guild, I remembered some chocolate brown lace I bought last year in Germany on the European Pattern Review weekend.

The Prada skirt is a little extreme (as designers tend to be), but I liked this version from Principles, which is a whole lot more wearable by the mere mortal

http://www.principles.co.uk/fcp/product/-/BERLIN/Black-Lace-Skirt-With-Neutral-Lining/8076

August Sewing

I was flipping through my uncut patterns and came across this one - Butterick 4464.

I really like the simple cut of these pieces and have a great charcoal with red pinstripe fabric I'd like to use from the stash.

I'd use that for the jacket and pants, then sew a red shell (prob a knit rather than their lined woven shell).

I can't decide if the skirt would then be red or charcoal. I already have an RTW red skirt, so perhaps charcoal makes more sense in wardrobing terms.

For the PR August mini Wardrobe contest you have to use three colours and that's only two, but I can sew a cream shell instead of the red for the contest - it would definitely be a useful piece to have.

Ruthie's Croquis

(picture removed)
Ruthie's Croquis from Jan 2008, a lot of work so not planning to redo for a while since I am only a few pounds lighter and still the same overall shape :-)

Current lack of sewing progress

well I have changed jobs at the company were I work and the new job is interesting but I'm working more hours and travelling, plus the house is on the market so the sewing room has to look more like a bedroom - which somewhat hampers sewing progress.

I am still just a few pounds above my WW goal weight, so have had a BIG clear out of too large clothes.
I kept some stuff to be altered/recut but still managed to get rid of 4 bin bags full.
I am trying to be a little more selective when buying/sewing new things and I'm using a more restricted palette of colours.

So not got a lot of sewing ongoing at the moment to share really.

Shopping RTW a bit more has shown up that I still have most of the same fit issues that i did when I was bigger, in fact some of them are more apparent now I am slightly less padded.

My shoulders/upper back/upper chest are quite broad, and my upper arms fleshy, this is a limiting factor with jackets/blouses etc. Tailored blouses in particular just are not the shape I am. The size which fits my shoulder/back and arms is loose below the bust. The bust darts are too low - and I have less bust than they expect for my size.

Skirt and straight leg pants - if they fit on the hips are quite loose on the waist. This varies depending on the brand, but is pretty much always a problem. Wide leg pants allow extra space in the hips/thighs in the cut of the pant, so I can go down a size and the waist almost fits (not quite but much closer).

So I've been buying knits in cotton or viscose, wider leg pants, fitted jackets and flared skirts. Oh and of course accessories like shoes, scarves and costume jewellery!

June Capsule Contest results

June Capsule Contest results as collated by Elizabeth, contest organiser

And here they are!!! Drumroll please!!!

First some stats:I received votes from 20 people, meaning more people
finished the capsule than voted (!). I'm not really surprised because everyone
said how difficult it was to choose winners, and all the capsules received at
least one vote (from someone besides themselves) in one category or another.

Self-voting did NOT influence the distribution of the prizes, although
second and third prize in one category would have changed places, as votes were
close. I didn't vote in case you are wondering.

Therefore, congratulations to all of you, you are all winners and other
people like your work! Also you should ALL have received a message from Ms Fine
Fabrics for your 10 dollar gift certificate to her shop! Thank you, Ms Fine
Fabrics, on behalf of all the participants!

Now, on to the winners!

BEST ACCESSORY: -- a battle of the Titans, but it came out as
follows:

First prize and a 20 dollar gift certificate to Gorgeous Fabrics goes to
ANN ROWLEY for her embroidered bag

Second prize and many congratulations to Tumblina for her amazing crocheted
hat

Third prize and much admiration from the voters to MaryPat for her lovely
bag

BEST GARMENT: -- votes distributed far and wide! An exciting contest!
Thrills galore!

The winners are:

First prize and a 20 dollar gift certificate to Gorgeous Fabrics to ANN
ROWLEY for her sweater!

Second prize and warm congratulations to Jafael for her handkerchief
camisole!

Third prize and oohs and aahs to KayB for her gorgeous jacket!

and finally...BEST CAPSULE: -- great competition here!

Grand prize, a 50 dollar gift certificate from Gorgeous fabrics and 50
dollars from yours truly to ANN ROWLEY for "Simple Summer Sewing"

Second prize with huge congratulations to RuthieK
for "Sophisticated Safari"

Third prize, thrills and admiration to KayB for "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

CONGRATULATIONS ANN ROWLEY by popular vote the winner of all three
categories!!!Many many congratulations to all of you, it's been a lovely contest
and I was awarded 100 votes by Robin so I WIN TOO!Thank you again to our
sponsors at Gorgeous Fabrics and Fine Fabrics.Elizabeth

Sophisticated Safari so far

Top1: Simplicity 4699 print knit shell top
Bottom1:Simplicity 4638 olive wool pants
Top2: McCall's 4304 ivory wrap blouse
Bottom2: Simplicity 5524 olive wool skirt
Accessory: Necklace, bracelet and earrings made from recycled vintage beads in olive with a few gunmetal coloured ones for balance.

Why my capsule should win!

Elizabeth asked each of us to say why we think our collection should win, and pointed out that it is not being conceited but gives everyone some sense of what you think are the best aspects of your collection.

I'll put mine in pictures! This is me wearing the olive pants I sewed for myself in June 2007, I felt reasonably pleased with them and posed with a happy smile - they had wide legs and an elasticated waist.

In June 2008 I was again inspired by the safari theme and sewed another pair of olive pants for myself. This time I used a slim leg pants pattern with darts and a zip, and this pattern is also 2 sizes smaller as well as more closely fitting. What a difference 35lbs makes!

I only need to lose 5lbs more to get into a healthy weight for my height, but I need to sew more clothes as nothing fits anymore. So for this reason vote for me :-)

OK I think I should win because I have lost 35lbs and have 5lbs to go, but I have sewed for the body I have now. My clothes fit me well and are practical for my lifestyle. The garments are constructed in a way that will allow me to alter them to fit when I get to my goal weight.

Simplicity 5524 Skirt

Simplicity 5524 Skirt. Needed some alteration to get it to fit, but gives a flattering look once that had been done.