Monthly Archives: October 2020

Long sleeved Blouse

In the past when planning a wardrobe to take on holidays I had a plan. I would take a printed fabric and make a top and skirt in that print. I would add plain tops and trousers in colours from that print. This way I would have a fully coordinated set of clothing that would mix and match and be perfect for a variety of activities.

As soon as I had finished making the Jenna skirt in this beautiful printed viscose, I cut out a long sleeved blouse to go with it. The blouse took just 1½ metres of the remaining 2 metres of fabric so this blouse will have cost £7.86 for the fabric, plus a little for the thread, interfacing and buttons, all of which came from my stash, to give a total of around £10.00 – a bargain! I have the remaining ½ metre to make a nice scarf which I can either keep or give as a gift.

The pattern that I used for the blouse was my own draft based on the bodice of my TNT shirt dress. I kept the bust darts but ignored the body darts. I re-drew the side seams and added a shaped hemline that finished about 6 inches below the waistline. I added the long sleeves that have a smooth sleeve head but with lots of fullness gathered into a buttoned cuff.

The construction was straightforward as I have made this collar and lapel many times. I top stitched the collar, lapel and front facings. The side seams of the bodice and sleeve seams were French seamed. There is a narrow hem double folded before machine stitching in place.

I was a little unsure which buttons to use but finally settled on a 2-hole button in matt finish in a variety of colours. These buttons have been in my stash for about 10 years so about time that they were used!

I love this particular printed viscose from Rainbow Fabrics of Kilburn and now that I have a dress, a blouse and a skirt they will form the main components of a great capsule wardrobe. I already have necklace, belts, sweaters, turtle neck top, gilet and jersey trousers to include in this capsule. Now I just need to add a plain skirt or culottes.

project #62 completed 31st October 2020

Jenna Skirt #2

I loved the first Jenna skirt from Seamwork.com that I made back at the beginning of the Spring 2020.

I also love this particular printed viscose from Rainbow Fabrics of Kilburn, so I thought it would be a great match of pattern & fabric. There are so many lovely colours in the print that the skirt will coordinate with a wide variety of tops, be it tee shirts, blouses or sweaters.

According to Seamwork magazine separates can add great variety to any wardrobe, and a simple gathered skirt like Jenna effortlessly marries cute style and comfortable fit. Jenna’s elastic-back waistband and in-seam pockets make this skirt as practical as it is stylish.

I retrieved my TNT pattern from the stash and cut out size 24. This time I added 6 inches to the length as I plan to wear the skirt in the Autumn with boots and maybe next Spring with bare legs (Ooooh!) The pattern took 2 metres of fabric so this skirt will have cost £10.48 for the fabric, plus a little for the thread, interfacing and elastic to give a total of around £11.00 – a bargain!

All seams were overlocked and a narrow hem double folded before machine stitching in place. I added my TNT pattern concealed sideseam pockets and fusible interfacing to all sections of the waistband. I reduced the length of the elastic for the back waistband casing. The elastic insertion was a little fiddly but it does give a comfortable and stylish finish to the skirt.

I have another 2 metres of this printed viscose remaining and plan to make a long-sleeved blouse to complete the outfit. I can wear the two pieces together as a ‘dress’ or as separates with other plain-coloured garments.

project #60 completed 27th October 2020

Bronte Cardigan #2

When I found the Bronte Cardigan pattern by Martin Storey on Ravelry it fitted my criteria of 1) double knitting yarn 2) Cropped length 3) interesting texture with cables and moss stitch features. I made the first one back in July this year before getting side-tracked into dressmaking. It was not until early September that I re-visited the pattern.

I ordered the double knitting yarn in a Brown Tweed from a seller on eBay and set off making the back. This part was a relatively quick knit as it featured the fancy rib followed by a lacy band and then double moss stitch for the remainder. Next came the fronts. I was especially looking forward to these as they featured the textured cables and a diamond pattern. This is just the type of knitting that I enjoy. I have to say that I am a convert to working from charts. In the past I have always knitted Aran-style and cable patterns from text. To see the pattern in a graphic way helps enormously in seeing how it develops.

I knew from the previous make that I would have to change the increasing so that the underarm sleeve was no longer than 17 inches and even that was generous for my arms. I have reduced the increasing so that they occur every 7 rows rather than the 8 quoted in the pattern instructions. The sleeves of this version are still very slightly too long but certainly ‘liveable’.

I have a particular dislike of picking up stitches for front bands and so I added 10 stitches to the rib section and once I changed needle. size, left those stitches on a holder. Once I had completed knitting the front I returned to the stitches on the holder, increased by 2 stitches and worked a double faux cable band until I reached the neck edge. I joined up with the stitches on that holder to make the neckband. I did have to pick up some stitches for the neckband but that was quite simple and easy, before continuing with the faux cable pattern. I love how this brings all the design features together.

I had over 100grms of the yarn left so am now knitting a coordinating hat to my self-designed Blackberry stitch banded hat pattern!

Project #60 completed 24th October 2020

Montana #10 Border Print

So now I am well on the way to making a Baker’s Dozen of this pattern! For iteration #10 I used this charming border print viscose from Rainbow Fabrics of Kilburn. I bought the last 2 metres at £2.99/metre. Currently the design is now out of stock and I don’t know if Rainbow Fabrics will have any more in the future.

In order to avoid losing any of the print, I cut the bodice from the top part of the design where the motifs are randomly placed before measuring the length of what remained. I managed to centre a motif on the front bodice and also on the front of the skirt. The skirt of this Montana is long with a finished length of 31½ inches from waistline seam to turned up hem. The narrow hem was double folded to line up with the last part of the border print before hand-stitching in place. All seams are either French or finished with zig-zag or overlocking.

I was able to include side seam pockets using some of the printed viscose combined with plain Black polyester crepe de chine from my stash. The bodice and skirt are also lined with the crepe.

Due to the long length of the dress it should look very good with my Black pseudo riding boots. This is a versatile dress as it can be worn with a cardigan over the top or a blouse of thin jersey turtle neck sweater underneath depending on the weather at the time!

Project #59 completed 19th October 2020

Moira #3

As a little diversion from the Montana dress by Style Arc, I knew that I wanted a slightly different style for this pretty viscose from Rainbow Fabrics.

The ‘Moira’ dress is my hack combination of the Montana by Style Arc and ‘Hannah’ from By Hand London. The ‘Moira’ #1 and 2 were so successful that I had re-drawn the refined pattern so cutting out the updated pattern was very speedy.

Mustard background floral print Viscose from Rainbow Fabrics

I had purchased 3 metres of the print at £4.49/metre from Rainbow Fabrics and when it arrived I was so pleased that I wanted to order more. Unfortunately it was then out of stock 🙁 but on Thursday last week I noticed they had more stock – I ordered 4 metres so that will be enough to make a midi length skirt with matching blouse/tunic top. Hooray!

Mustard sweater, viscose fabric scarf & Tan suede espadrille sandals

After cutting out the main bodice, sleeves, skirt panels, frills and tie belt there was still a large remnant left over. I may well use this to make a scarf that I can wear either with the dress or with sweaters when the colder weather comes.

Front view Moira #3
Back view of Moira #3
Close up of Back Tie Belt

The usual construction was employed for making up the dress. I used Viscose Voile for the bodice lining with an applied facing in the printed viscose. There is also a skirt lining, this time a little longer. The hem on the sleeves was overlocked before machine stitching in place. All seams were overlocked with the exception of the main seams on the skirt lining which was French seamed.

Worn with Bright Blue Shrug
Light Plum Cardigan & Viscose print fabric combination

The print of the dress coordinates very well with my Bright Blue shrug, my Light Plum cardigan from Lands End and also my Blue denim jackets. I look forward to wearing the dress and later the blouse and skirt during the months to come.

Project #58 completed 10th October 2020

Montana #9 – Autumn Gold

Well, having made 8 versions of the Montana dress by Style Arc I decided to go for Gold and make at least a Baker’s Dozen! Here is version #9

I had just over 3 metres of the fabric remaining after making the Montana #8 for my sister’s birthday.

Well why not make another for me? On that distant day when we are finally able to meet together – we can be dressed as twins!

On 1st October I cut out my usual size with the deep hem frill, side seam pockets, self-tie belt, full lining of bodice and skirt and settled down to stitch. The sewing machine and overlocker were threaded with the correct coloured thread so all I had to do in preparation was a quick de-fluff, clean, dust and change to new needles.

During the next session I prepared the bodice and lining by stitching the bust darts and attaching my ‘Carousel’ label to the back bodice lining. The tie belts, main skirt panels with side seam pockets and pleated three widths of the fabric for the deep hem frill were all stitched. I pressed all that I had sewn so far and returned to complete the construction the following day.

For the next sewing session I completed making up the bodice with self-fabric lining. Once that was completed and pressed I discovered my ‘rookie’ error. By using the same fabric for the entire bodice lining rather than the Cream viscose voile with only the fashion fabric as a facing, there is a show-through of the print from the lining to the outer bodice. I have sewn and trimmed all the seams and am therefore unable to remove the offending lining to replace with a plain fabric. A solution would be to make a lining in viscose voile and applique to the printed fabric lining before cutting away to leave a ‘facing’ in print at the neckline and armholes. Alternatively I could acknowledge the error, continue with the construction and ‘live’ with the error. A lesson learned for the future …….

Final session was to attach the skirt panels, both lining and outer with the attached frill. I had cut the skirt lining to 31 inches long and made a double hem to reduce the length to 28 inches. The skirt lining was attached to the bodice lining only so that apart from the neckline and armholes, the skirt lining is hanging free of the main dress. In hindsight the skirt lining is a little too short so yet another lesson learned!

I gathered the top edge of the main skirt panels using 2 rows of long stitches. To reduce bulk I avoided gathering over the pocket tops. The skirt was then attached to the main bodice. Finally, the dress is finished.

As I said previously, the print design is rather larger than I had anticipated and the colours are VERY bold. However, I do acknowledge that as I am a ‘larger lady’ it is no good trying to hide in dull, boring colours. This dress will be worn through Autumn and will definitely brighten the days.

I can wear with the little cropped shrug with bold Turquoise or add my ‘statement’ necklace, also in Turquoise.

Project #57 completed 5th October 2020