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.

Apron

 

My second project was an apron with a patch pocket and binding. I made the bias binding from scratch, not too difficult, but at times I couldn't help getting carried away, sewing faster and faster until suddenly I'd realise that I had missed the other side of the fabric. I had to undo quite a few parts and I became good friends with the seam ripper.

The result looks good from a distance so I hope that next time the stitches are parallel to the edge.

Envelope Cushions

Cushions are the easiest thing to make for a beginner. These are simple envelope cushions, made out of one square and two rectangles of fabric. For my first cushion I used three old shirts, obviously the cheapest way to start small projects.

My second attempt at cushions was with shop bought fabric, as I was starting to run out of shirts, but also I wanted to make something that I could use without feeling embarrassed.

 

I learnt that patterns are useful, what a discovery! How come I couldn't draw perpendicular lines on the fabric!? My first experiments with cushions made me realise that even for a simple shape, you can only cut decently with the help of that solid material called paper pattern.