Sew My Style: March

Another late one, but I’m all caught up now…I think. March’s Sew My Style pattern was the Blackwood Cardigan by Helen’s Closet.

I have seen so much about the Blackwood cardigan online in the two years I have been sewing. Everyone seemed to be a huge fan of it and I was keen to give it a go.
So when it came up as one of the patterns for cardigan month I took the plunge and bought the pattern. Then I let it sit there and never made it.

Well, it’s not quite that bad, I just never got to it in March like I or the challenge had intended. The month just ran away with me and all my energy was focused on getting ready to go back to work and enjoying my last days of maternity leave.

I did manage to get this cut out in early April though when I should have been making Chi Town Chinos. But I digress. For my first one, I used a lovely Navy French Terry from my stash and cut out View B, which is the shorter view with no pockets. I really like the shape of this cardigan and felt that the shorter version would lend itself better to the structured terry. And I was right. It came off the sewing machine looking a bit like a relaxed blazer which I loved.

I wore it a few times and really loved the shape of the cardigan, the length of the arms and the vibe it gave off. I just wasn’t a fan of the colour. But I wore it to a get together with friends recently and my friend who has to wear navy to work every day loved it so much that I gave it to her. It looked fabulous on her too. All this means I never got to get pictures of it.
However, this is a quick and easy make, so once I finished my Chi Town Chinos I whipped a second one up as a bit of a palette cleanser. I used this lovely two-tone embossed velvet that I bought from Chamdor and its gorgeous. I also plan to make the longer version in a fabric with more drape down the line as well. I’m just keeping an eye out for the perfect fabric. I want a sweater knit of some variety.

Sewing this together was very easy. I used my overlocker for the whole thing and I got to use my brand new tailor’s ham and sleeve roll to press all the seams. That was a lot of fun.

The construction of this cardigan is very simple as it has no closures and it quite a slim fit. This is definitely a wardrobe builder piece and will be a workhorse in your wardrobe.

Pattern: Blackwood Cardigan from Helen’s Closet $14 (I got a discount as part of the Sew My Style Challenge

Fabric: Two-Toned Embossed Velvet Chamdor Faktory Sales R49/m

Sew My Style: April

Look at me go! I actually finished a challenge in the deadline! April’s challenge was Alina Design Co’s Chi Town Chinos and spoiler alert, I’m really chuffed with these.

This make has been a lesson in patience for me. I have been really short on sewing time and have been frustrated by disruptions at every turn.

I just want to sit and sew, but unfortunately, that is not where my phase of life is right now. Instead, I have been grabbing short snippets of time here and there. Still, given all the challenges I was really surprised by the progress I made. It goes to show that even a little bit of sewing each day will still yield results.

I have wanted to make the Chi Town Chinos for a long time. The style of these trousers is very much in my wheelhouse. But I was quite intimidated by them. I have owned the pattern for ages but was never brave enough to take the leap. This month’s #SewMyStyle2019 prompt and #SewBrave gave me the nudge I needed to finally jump in. And in the end, working at a slow but steady clip has been a really good thing.

I decided to use a grey cotton chino fabric in my stash to make the shorts first as a sort of wearable muslin. I like making a tester garment that allows me the freedom to make mistakes. And believe me, mistakes were made. I had the seam ripper out on quite a few occasions.

I bought this fabric a year and a half ago to make the chinos but the colours ran when I prewashed it. I was left with a fabric that was splotchy and uneven and I was so upset by it that I chucked it into my stash and let it languish there.

When the beginning of April rolled around I decided that I would make up the shorts and it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. The uneven colour has given this shorts a relaxed lived in vibe that I actually really like, who knew?

For the pocket bags, I used this neon feather peach skin which was leftover from an Ogden cami I made ages ago. I love the little detail of the fun bright colours in the pocket but this was my first mistake. The peach skin is quite slippery and flimsy. This made my pockets unwieldy and difficult to sew. It’s also difficult to tell the right side from the wrong with these and that led to my second disaster. A combination of sleep deprivation and a drive to get as much done in as short a time as possible had me making silly mistakes. I sewed my pocket facings on the wrong side of the pocket bag and then the wrong side of the shorts leaving me to unpick everything and start again.

Alina has done a fabulous job writing the instructions. Even someone who is operating on little sleep at the moment managed to follow along and turn out a decent pair of shorts. The pattern prepping and pocket sewing seemed tedious to me at first, but in the end, I loved that all that hard work was put in at the beginning. It meant that the construction of the actual shorts went very quickly with no back and forth. I am especially chuffed with the buttonholes on my pocket flaps. I have never done ones with rounded bottoms before and I really like them!

After the first misstep, everything just came together so smoothly. I really recommend you use the sew along. The photo-rich posts in the sew along were exactly what I needed to make it all make sense.

The fly was particularly fun to sew and so much easier than I had expected. What is this life? Zip flys have always broken my brain! Alina’s instructions are lovely and make it a pleasure to put together. I did a literal victory dance when they were done.

But the best part? I tried these on for the final fitting and they were practically perfect in every way. It was like magic. I had left the back extension in as recommended for my measurements, but in the end, I didn’t need them. The shorts legs stand away from my body just a touch, but when you fold up the bottom of the shorts that problem disappears.

I love the fit on these, I love the relaxed vibe they give off, I love where they hit on my thighs, these are not booty shorts, for which I am grateful. This pattern is legit.

This pattern is very detail oriented with plenty of topstitching and bar tacks. These details give the shorts such a polish professional finish. I also really enjoyed the process. I have come to love topstitching and I love seeing how I improve project after project.

I cannot wait to get my pants finished now. First up is tackling those welt pockets. I am also pretty enthusiastic to try the Bermuda expansion pack, make the skirt and try Alina’s wide-leg hack on her blog. I have been bitten by the bug and I now want to make all the chinos.

Pattern: Chi Town Chinos by Alina Design Co bought as part of the Fall/Winter 2016 Bundle on Indiesew ($45) Came with the Lonetree Jacket and Vest, The Bonn Shirt, the Toaster Sweater #2 and the Chi Town Chino Expansion pack 2

Fabric: Grey Chino Cotton from Chamdor Fabrik Sales (R49/m)

 

 

Me Made May Pledge

I had grand plans to participate in Me Made May last year but had to put them on the back burner when the nausea of my first trimester with Sage put me out of commission.

So this year I’m back and I’m determined to do it up right. I may post a few photos here and on my social media, but for me, this Me Made May will be more about taking a good hard look at my closet and seeing how my handmade items are functioning within it.

I have three pledges that I want to make for Me Made May.

One: I would like to wear at least one hand made item every day of the month

Two: I would like that handmade item to be something different every day if possible. I am allowed to repeat items if I absolutely have to, but I’m sure I have enough for quite a bit of variety.

Three: I would like to focus on finishing up projects I have had on my sewing list for ages and start a system that means I replace a RTW item with the me-made one each time I complete a project.

It has been a dream of mine since I started taking my sewing seriously that I would one day have a closet that was filled with Me Made items. So I’m taking this opportunity to put myself on a RTW buying ban. This ban will be a year-long project. I hope that this means that I will see the holes in my wardrobe that I need to focus on. I think this will help me to figure out how I want to direct my pattern and fabric buying.

I’m really excited for Me Made May. I haven’t really been able to participate and I do think that my handmade items sometimes get lost in amongst the RTW items in my closet. It’s a ‘can’t see the forest for the trees type situation’.

Zero Waste Sewing and Scrap Busting

One of the downsides of sewing as a hobby is the waste it can create. The longer I sew the more interested I become in waste-free sewing.

I have been looking for a way to use up my scraps for a while now. Usually, I take them to H&M to be recycled, but I have quite a few larger pieces that are too big to just chuck out.  I try to reuse them as best I can and I have found this to be much easier with knits than with wovens. With knits, I can make kids clothes or panties. But wovens prove to be trickier.

I have been looking all over for ideas on how to use up the awkwardly shaped scraps and I have come across a few that I have tried out now.

As I said for knits, the options are endless. For adults, one of the easiest projects is to make bralettes and panties. I love the Megan Nielsen Acacia underwear pattern and I have the Oh LuLu Hyacinth pattern, but I haven’t made it yet.

But when it comes to knits I really enjoy making stuff for the girls. My favourite patterns here so far are the Sadie and Sam Hadley Leggings (Size premie to 5years), the Patterns for Pirates Petite Pegs and the Patterns for Pirates Wee Lapped Tee (both 0 – 12months).

You can also try the Patterns for Pirates Jolly Roger Raglan for bigger kids the Made for Mermaids Bonny Leggings, the Peek-A-Boo Patterns Jolly Joggers, Baja shorts or Rio Racerback or the SchwinDesigns Harrison Hoodie, Lucille top, Hello tank or Millie Blouse. A few of these patterns are girls only, but the majority are great unisex patterns. I love that they all cater to mixing and matching fabrics, colours and patterns. This really helps you to use up most of your scraps to create something truly unique.

For the wovens, I think the fastest way to use up the scraps would be to pattern hack a bit. I’m not quite confident enough to try that but I have seen some nice examples that I think I will give a go. On the Sew over It Instagram the other day I saw Becky colour blocking a Silk Tank and that gave me some idea.

One idea that I came across and love is the Floor Pouf by Closet case Patterns. I adore this idea. You can use your scraps to create a unique piece for your home! Genius. Even better: this is a huge cushion that you can stuff with all your scraps as well. I also think this would make an awesome gift for someone. I have started making mine and it’s a fun project that is coming together faster than I anticipated. I decided to use pom pom trim for mine, but the pattern calls for handmade piping which will use up even more scraps. You can access the pattern for this by signing up for the Closet Case Patterns newsletter.

Megan Nielsen also has a great post on her blog for making rugs out of scraps and I’m sure the same principle can expand to baskets which I think I’ll give a go.

I will say that I think zero waste sewing starts in the planning process. I know I’m guilty of buying fabric just because I like it and not because I have a specific plan for it. I also get all caught up in the joy of fabric buying and overestimate how much I’m capable of making. So I end up with fabric I bought for plans that never materialised. I need to be a lot better about only buying what I’m going to use.

Sew My Style 2019: February

I wrote a long post about the Sew My Style Challenge, but I thought it would be useful to talk about the specific patterns as well, especially since I am going off-piste a bit here and there.

February was t-shirt month and the featured patterns were the AK Patterns Sheona and the Doe and Deer Givre. I have heard good things about both of these patterns. But Being on unpaid maternity leave at the time I couldn’t really go pattern and fabric shopping. Instead, I looked to my stash.

I had quite a few patterns that would have worked well. But being that I was two months postpartum at the time I wanted a pattern that was loose, comfortable, suitable for lounging around the house, yet still looked good for outings. I settled on the Seamly and Co Basic Tee and some lovely Rayon Spandex jersey.

These were a match made in heaven. I made three tees – blush pink, taupe and navy – and I wore them constantly during the summer. They were the perfect throw on and go tees that looked great with shorts and jeans.
I decided to go for the size medium to accommodate my larger bust measurements and I cut all three out in one session. Then I sewed them up in quick succession. This is a great batch sewing project.

There are a few aspects of the tee that I love. I love the large, gentle scoop neck, the little patch pocket, the length of the sleeve and the loose casual fit of the tee are all great. If you want something more traditional or with a tighter fit then this is not for you. This tee needs a good quality jersey with a lot of drape.

I think I’m definitely going to make these again; next time though I will make the small size. The medium fit my bust well but was just a tad too large in other respects. This pattern and the fabric will give you quite a bit of room.

I’m really lusting after a striped version!

The ones already in my wardrobe are staples for me and I can see them being great for sleepwear as well as workout gear in the larger size so I’m really happy to keep them.

Sew My Style 2019

Why yes, it is April and I am only addressing this now. I’ve been struggling to get back into a good blogging routine with a new baby, but I feel like things are finally settling down. I think I’m going to catch you up a bit on all this and then the Sew My Style posts will be once a month.

I had heard about the Sew My Style community before, but I never really participated until last year. I also jumped on the bandwagon late and was pregnant, so I wasn’t able to fully enjoy the process last year. This year my intention was to be more involved and to make the majority of the challenges.

If you haven’t heard of Sew My Style before, it is an online community making a garment to monthly prompts. The end result is a capsule wardrobe of 12 makes that all work together. You get discounts on the chosen monthly pattern and there are prizes during the month for progress and completed makes.

The aim is to get you thinking about patterns you wouldn’t have ordinarily considered, to grow your skill set and to do so with the help and support of a community who is sewing along with you. It sounded like a lot of fun when I first heard about it.

Unfortunately, this year I have again not been as active as I would have liked. I have found that settling into a sewing routine has been harder than I anticipated. I have been short on time and my schedule is very unpredictable. Also due to limited funds early in the year (thanks unpaid maternity leave), I haven’t been able to take advantage of the patterns in the same way.

So I have decided that I am still going to participate, but just in a looser, more carefree way. This is what this year’s schedule looks like:

Jan – Workout wear (pattern of your choice) I chose the Patterns 4 Pirates Peg Leg Pattern, but I still haven’t made it yet. I plan to try and get it knocked out this month. I have been saying this since January…
Feb – T-shirts (The patterns chosen were the Givre by Deer and Doe and the Sheona by AK Patterns) I didn’t buy these patterns. Instead, I used one I already owned The Seamly Basic Tee. I made three in lovely, drapey rayon spandex that I wore constantly during the summer.
March – Cardigans (The featured patterns were the Helen’s Closet Blackwood Cardigan and the StyleArc Como Cardigan) I have lusted after the Blackwood cardigan for years and I decided that I would suck it up and buy it now with the discount. I then cut some Navy French Terry that I had sitting in my stash, but I never got around to actually making it. I am now and I am quite enjoying it.
April – Trousers (Featured Patterns are the Chi Town Chinos by Alina and Co and the Hepburn Pants by Wardrobe By Me). I already owned the Chi Town Chinos and I have fabric in my stash waiting to be made into a pair of shorts. I just never made them, even though I love the look of them. I think I have been really intimidated by them. This is my chance to get myself over this hump. I plan to make the shorts as a wearable muslin and I have fabulous brown chino fabric waiting to be made into pants.
May – Button Downs (Featured Patterns are t5he Novelista and Sedona shirts) I have decided to go off-piste here. I own the Cheyenne tunic pattern but have never made it. I also have a lot of fabulous shirting fabrics in my stash. So I think I’m going to work with what I have. I’m looking forward to this as I love making shirts and I have heard great things about the Cheyenne pattern.
June – Woven dress. The patterns chosen here are the Quincy and the Orchid midi dress neither of which appeals to m. I have come to realise that I’m much more of a separates person. Dresses always fall flat for me. I haven’t decided if I’m going to take part in this month with something I already own or if I’m just going to pass on it.
July – Jeans. Megan Nielsen’s Ash and Dawn jeans have been chosen here and I have been dying to get my hands on those so I’m definitely jumping on this bandwagon. Jeans are another thing I have wanted to make for ages, but which scare the crap out of me. So I’m both excited and terrified about this month.
August – Underwear. This is another garment type that has always intrigued me. The featured patterns are the Jordy bralette, the power sports bra or choose your own. I would definitely like to have a go at this. I’m thinking I’ll try the Jordy bralette
Sep – Blouses. This month the featured pattern is the Phoenix blouse from Hey June Handmade. I own this pattern and I made both a maternity version and a normal version last summer. I loved it. I have tons of fabric that will work for another one (or two) and I hope that I will have lost all the baby weight by then as well. This is a big thumbs up from me.
Oct – Denim jackets. Here you can choose from Style Arc’s Stevie jacket or the Kingston jacket. I’m not sure if I want to participate in this month. I already own a ready to wear a jean jacket that I never really wear. So it may be a bit of a waste. I’ll see closer to the time.
Nov – Bags. Here the Desmond Backpack and the Raspberry Rucksack are on offer. I have seen pics of the Raspberry Rucksack and it looks very cute. I also love that it has a mini version that could be a lot of fun for the kids. It may also make a great gift. I think I’m leaning more in that direction.
Dec – Pajamas. This month’s featured pattern is the Carolyn Pajamas by Closet Case Patterns. I may have squealed when I saw this. I have wanted to make this pattern for ages. I have ideas of making a really classy, luxurious pair of summer PJs out of fabulous fabric. This one has me really excited.

Kids leggings tried and true pattern

Almost a year ago now I discovered the Sadie and Sam Hadley legging pattern and this has become one of my most made items now. I could honestly make these in my sleep at this point.

They are super simple jogger style kids leggings that are perfect for mixing and matching the fabric. This makes them ideal for using up scraps. Kids clothes can be fiddly to make due to cuffs etc being so small, but they are rewarding because you can churn out multiple items in one sewing session, especially if you’re working with knits and have an overlocker.

I even find these great for refashioning projects. I was clearing out my wardrobe the other day and noticed the large amount of knit items that I was removing from my cupboard. It was a lot of really nice, perfectly usable fabric. So I decided to try my hand at using the fabric to make stuff for the kids.

For Sage, I can get a whole pair of leggings out of a t-shirt and still have a few bits left over. For Willow, however, I can pretty much only reuse the t-shirts to make waistbands and cuffs. I need to add in some other fabric to get the length for the legs that I need.

A lot of my old shirts are Brushed Polyspandex which is the perfect substrate for kids leggings. It is warm, stretchy and comes in tons of funky prints and designs. Using the Hadley legging pattern I managed to cut seven pairs of leggings for Sage and I still had tons of leftovers. I have to say though; I think my favourite pair is these adorable leopard print ones.

A close second is this blue and white striped pair. This was a t-shirt I had from H&M that had a really cute little embroidered heart on it. I cut the leggings so that I could save the heart and it would be a sweet little accent. The stripes don’t match perfectly, but that doesn’t bother me all that much.

My next mission is to make her some coordinating tops. I discovered a lot of rayon spandex in my clear out which will make great lapped tops. For this project, I plan to use the Patterns for Pirated Petite Lapped Tee pattern.

I love how this is a fun sustainable project that allows me to reuse fabric that I otherwise would have thrown out. This would also be great to do for a baby shower gift.

Easiest maternity hack ever: Hack your jeans

I just wanted to share the easiest maternity sewing hack ever: How to turn your regular jeans into maternity jeans.

I have seen a few methods on how to do this, but I found this way was so super simple. You can also cut a triangle out of the waistband and down the side seam, but to be honest I was a little scared to try that.

What you need for this is:

A pair of jeans (I sized up because I usually put weight on in my hips and thighs. If you stay skinny in the leg then your regular size will work)

A sharp pair of scissors (denim can be a challenge to cut)

Broad elastic (try taking the jeans to the store and getting wide elastic that will fit your pocket and then some, otherwise by the widest one you can find)

Pins

Needle and thread (get a thicker needle if sewing by hand, you’ll need it) or sewing machine.

How to:

Lay your jeans out on a flat surface.

Take your scissors and carefully cut out the front pockets. Try cutting out any rivets etc as well if you can (while not interfering too much with the pocket line). It will just make your life easier when it comes to sewing.

Take your elastic and lay it flat, place your pocket on top of it aligning at the cut edge. Then fold it over so you get twice the amount of elastic to pocket and cut.

Place the elastic into the opening you made in the jeans (where the pocket used to be) and pin the elastic to the jeans.

Now you’re ready to sew. I used my machine and a denim needle for this, but you can absolutely do it by hand it will just take a bit longer. Carefully stitch the elastic to your jeans. You will sew the pocket closed here. I tried to find a way to keep the use of the pocket, but I wasn’t able to. If you have suggestions I’d be happy to hear them! If sewing by hand keep your stitches small and consistent being as neat as possible. If sewing by machine remember to work carefully around any rivets so you don’t break your needle.

I trimmed away the excess elastic, but you don’t need to.

Voila, a pair of maternity jeans that open and close like regular jeans and are super comfy. These will work really well postpartum too!

June makes and July Sewing plans

My sewjo is back in full swing and I am stoked. I have made quite a few things in June and I’m really happy with all of them.

This has been the month of the maternity Agnes. I have made one dress and two tops, the second of which just squeaked in as I finished it on the 28th. I made a navy and white striped cotton jersey dress, a white t-shirting top with drawstring and a floral rayon spandex top with sweetheart neckline. I have pretty much cleared all non-maternity items out of my wardrobe, so I am very grateful for these.

I also made a very nice pair of Style Arc Andy Maternity Pants that I am calling a ‘wearable muslin’. They fit, but the fabric didn’t have quite enough stretch. So I’m making a ‘real’ pair with better quality stretch denim from Fiona’s in Randburg.

I planned to whip up a few Sadie and Sam Hadley leggings using fabric from my stash for our little girl coming in November, but I never got around to it. So I am moving these over to next month. I have made these before for Willow and they are a very easy make. Luckily I still have plenty of time.

I have drawn up my list for my July Sewing plans. And I seem to be quite a list!  Sew here’s what’s on the table at the moment:

I have one more maternity Agnes dress to add to my collection, this time in a beautiful, soft grey rib knit. I am very excited to put this together. I have decided to make it in a size smaller due to rib knit being so stretchy and I can see so many ways to wear it. Having made this pattern so many times before I anticipate it will be quick to put together.

Next up is those Andys from stretch denim. I enjoyed this make last time, it was quick and simple. I’m pretty confident it will be just as fast this time, if not faster. The fabric is washed and ready to go.

Then I have some lovely navy Rayon Twill earmarked for the Blank Slate Patterns Forsythe Trousers which I chose as part of the Sew My Style challenge. I decided to go with these as I feel they will be maternity and postpartum friendly due to the elasticated waistband. I also love the look of them.

I also want to make a Kimono. I was stuck between the Helen’s Closet Suki and the Sew Over It Kimono jacket and I decided to go with the SOI one. I missed the discount code for the Sew My Style challenge last month, but I managed to score a SOI promo which kind of tipped the scales in its favour. I want something that will work as a nice layering item in the spring. I have a lovely piece of chiffon in my stash as well as a gorgeous length of navy and navy floral rayon. Leaning towards the rayon, but I may end up making both. I still want to make the Suki, but I’ll give it a whirl at a later date.

Finally, I found the most delicious grey/green stretch twill which will be perfect for the Allie Olsen Lonetree Jacket View B. I have felt the lack of a utility vest in my wardrobe for a long time and now is the time. I struggled to find an open-ended zip in the right colour, but I came across this lovely maroon one that goes very nicely with the colour of my twill. I also got twill tape in the exact same shade. It was meant to be! I’m very excited for this project.

I know that five items will be quite the challenge. I am giving myself plenty of grace. If I get it right then that’s awesome. If not I will move them on to next month, although y sewing wishlist is growing longer by the day!

Schwin and Schwin Lucille Top

I don’t know why, but I have a bit of a mental block when it comes to kids projects. I always really enjoy the process and the final result, but I delay getting started so much.

I have had this project on the cards for ages and just never got going. Now that I’ve finally completed it I’m not sure what took me so long. Another thing I love about kids projects is that they are brilliant for stash busting. I have some really cozy French terry left over from previous projects and this pattern from the Black Friday sales. So I decided to make this my weekend mission. I made two, one for Willow and one that will be a birthday gift.

For the gift, I went with the grey with pink foiled stars left over from a sweatshirt I made for Willow and I combined it with the mint I had left over from my Toaster Sweater. I wasn’t sure about the colour combo at first, but now that it’s done I am obsessed with it! The grey pulls a lot of cool tones from the mint. I love how it’s a fresh take and it still came out looking girls, but not OTT.

For Willow I went a little more subdued – a navy French terry paired with a navy and white polka dot. I love the classic feel and I think she’ll really enjoy wearing this in the winter. I’m going to make another for her though. I can see so many combinations: Navy and mint, navy polka dot and pink or sky blue. It’s really fun to come up with more combinations.

This was a really fun pattern to make. There are a few pattern pieces due to the fact that you have the colour blocking on the upper and lower body. I used a stretch stitch to do the main construction of the top and then used my overcast stitch to achieve a nice clean, professional finish. I also used my stretch stitch for the topstitching and I love how it came out. I think if you want to be really fancy you could use a contrast thread to add even more fun to this top. I did that with Willow’s where I used red thread, but for the other top I played it safe with a soft grey and it came out beautifully.

This top goes together very quickly. The only place I had issues was the neck binding. I didn’t want to use ribbing, so I had to experiment with the length of the strip a bit to get the right size for the amount of stretch I had.

As I made this with French terry it’s quite a structured top while still being very cozy and easy to wear. I think this would also look great in scuba or a jersey knit. You could also mix your substrates; just keep the heavier fabric on the top so you don’t stretch your lighter fabrics out.

Honestly, I could make Willow’s entire winter wardrobe from the pattern and be very happy. The pattern is graded from 12 -18 months to 8T so I think we will get a lot of use from this in years to come.