Shirt from Vogue 2634

This shirt is a quick version based on view d, sleeveless and without pockets, which I might add some day. I was looking for something that I could wear on a daily basis to work. I was getting a bit bored of the usual cheap stripy blouses.

This pattern was a bit tricky at times, for instance, how to sew the collar and the armholes facings without the aid of the detailed instructions found in beginner's books. When I cut the collar pieces, I had to trim them to avoid looking like Harry Hill (great comedian, by the way). This little adjustment caused me some confusion because nothing matched! I managed to fit them thanks to online videos and some unpicking.

The armholes diagram in the pattern wasn't that clear, the facings had to be attached and trimmed but then I wasn't sure how to go on to attach the remaining part, so there is a bit of puckering on the sides, which doesn't look that bad; it seems like gathering and is also partially hidden in the underarm area.

One of the things I feel most satisfied with is the buttonholes. It's something I've been putting off for a while but they are not that complicated at all; you just need a good practice, about half a dozen or so in a scrap of fabric and that's it. My sewing machine (Singer 8280) has three settings (two for the long vertical sides and one for the short horizontal ones at the bottom and top), so the only thing to adjust is the stitch length (how close together the stitches are). A great tip from the basics book I have is to open the buttonholes from the side towards the center to avoid cutting through the stitches. I then attached the buttons by hand, which were recycled from an old shirt.

As the pattern says, it's a loose fit, and once I put it on I found that I prefer to have darts, to give some shape. I'll try, though, other views with long sleeves, more useful for the winter, and possibly the long one (view a) in knit fabric for a sort of jacket to wear at home.

Sleeveless top from The Great British Sewing Bee

After having a look at reviews and comments in blogs, I decided to buy the book from the second series of The Great British Sewing Bee: 'Sew Your Own Wardrobe'. What convinced me was that instead of being a general book for beginners, it was focused on clothes and came with full patterns. No cushions, bags or curtains. I already have a brilliant book that covers all of them, 'Sewing machine basics' by Jane Bolsover.

I made the sleeveless top, really easy after a few tweaks. The pattern fits most sizes, but mine was so loose on the back that I had to narrow it quite a bit. I learned a trick that I might use next time. You can put a narrow elastic band in the hem that will keep it in place.

One little mishap was the fabric catching on feed dog, so it's better not to look too close at some of the threads. Thank goodness it has a busy pattern!

Anda dress (Burda)

The Anda dress was my first attempt at commercial patterns, I was looking for something really easy and getting it online as a PDF seemed fairly straightforward and cheaper than in paper. It's a sleeveless dress with a gathered waist, not complicated at all, but I struggled at times with the instructions.

The facing on the sleeves was not very clear to me, so after checking a few tutorials I ended up doing a bias binding that doesn't show on the outside, which looks almost professional. It's quite different from how I had attached it in the apron. Another thing that I'm not entirely sure about is the final shape of the sleeves, the front and back in the lower side are joined in a v-shape, rather than round, although it's not a major concern, as it's hardly noticeable under my arms.

The pattern fit is certainly wide, so there is not much point in spending time adapting it as long as the bust size is right. Finally, something I would change is the neck. I found it a bit narrow, just enough to get my head through.

Drawstring trousers

These trousers look like pyjamas but that's maybe because I used a cheap cotton fabric instead of linen. I followed my approach of trying to minimise costs for the first go, and later I intend to do a proper linen version  that can be worn in the summer.

The pockets need a bit of structure so they are reinforced with interfacing, what a difference this makes! One thing I skipped was the topstitching, the curve of the pocket looked so neat...

For the pattern adjustments, although I needed to combine different sizes, I decided that I would only try to fit my hips measurements and the drawstring would be enough to keep the trousers in place.

A-line skirt

The easy part of making the skirt was the pattern, one piece for the front and two for the back, all symmetrical. The tricky part was adjusting the waist. I had to combine different sizes to fit waist and hips, which is not uncommon, but wasn't sure about the ease. I wanted to leave enough space to be able to breath so I had to keep trying it on many times to find a decent fit. I forgot to transfer the new measurements from the skirt to the pattern, not a great idea. The flowery skirt is a bit wonky on the sides, as a result. For the cord skirt I managed to get some french curves, so both sides are even (also in the pattern).

What I really enjoyed was the darts, they are really easy and make the skirt look like a skirt!

I struggled with the zip, I had to repeat a couple of times to keep a neat finish but it got better on the second skirt, and hopefully the following one(s) will too.

Bag with lining

Another of my old projects. And this didn't turn out very well. It happens.

I tried to make a bag with two handles that ended up sewn on the wrong side. See the little image from the book. I know it's embarrassing but I thought that it would be also helpful to include flawed projects to remind me what not to do.

 

I was undoing something and, when I attached the handles with both layers inside out,  I didn't check where the front and the back were until I was in the middle of sewing the outer layer. It was so annoying that I didn't even bother to finish the button holes on the flap.

Leggings finished!

Here we are with the leggings finished!

The sewalong was great fun. I got to draft my own pattern, which didn't prove too difficult. I'm really happy with it, and I'm sure that I will use it again many times, to make variations, like a wider leg or shorter for the summer, perhaps.

I took the measurements myself, they are fairly accurate, although I'll have to adjust a bit the length. I find it's too long but all in all it's great.

I tried to have some photos taken but I'm not as brave as other participants to show my derriere, so this sort of shows my legs from above.

For the waist, as I was a bit pushed for time, I simply made a casing turning the fabric in and inserted the elastic band. Not very sophisticated but very comfy.

Thanks a lot to Maider for your hard work, you're brilliant. What's next? A hoodie? A onesie?

Sewalong leggings

I'm so excited to be taking part in a sew along! It is organised by Masustak eguzkitan, and I'll be making some leggings.

It took me a while to decide on the fabric, I wasn't very keen on black or the typical marl grey but obviously I'm not leaving the house in this...

We'll see the results by the end of the month.

Little useful things made of felt

As well as cotton, I made a couple of things out of felt.

Exploring on the internet about what tools and other materials are necessary for beginners, I became obsessed with pin cushions.

  

Later I discovered needle books (I had no idea that such thing existed!) and this is the result, with some sort of daffodils on the cover.

From all the tutorials I found online, I used these two for the pin cushion by Purl Bee and the needle book by Little Birdie Secrets, with great instructions and photos.