Monday, June 12, 2017

Loveralls~ Again.

So cute I had to sew them again ....
Tildy absolutely LOVES her Loveralls and wears them every weekend.
When she found the silver denim in my stash she almost hyperventilated 
I sort of wouldn't mind a pair myself.
Size 5 with the length of size 8.
Stretchy metallic denim from Spotlight.
 Sleek, shiny, stretchy goodness.
Copper hardware and black topstitching. 
~Tildy's Verdict~
I love my overalls. So when mum said something about overalls with shiny fabric I straight away said 'YES'! 
They are shiny and I like shiny. Shiny is my favourite colour, it reminds me of stars in the night sky with no clouds in it and it is SHINY!!!

I think she likes her shiny Loveralls...

Thanks for reading.
xx N

PS Last time I said not  to trim one front panel but this time I did have to trim it, not sure why.... I would leave it as is and trim at the last step, just to be safe.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Music Class Blouse and Skirt

A few years back my lovely sewing friend Ana Sofia sent me some gorgeous Winter weight cotton and I have finally got around to sewing it up.
And what did I sew?
An Oliver+S Music Class blouse
I have lost count of how many times I have sewn this pretty little blouse.
I went with the pin tucks and long sleeves (adding a few inches to the hem, the pattern runs a bit short on my girls)
Heart shaped MoP buttons finish the look.
~SideBar~
Hugo is up in Adelaide during the week now but still heads home most weekends.
The last few times he has brought me home some treats from The Drapery
The above pretty blue denim was one of them.
So I made a Music Class skirt.
It looked a little prissy, such a firm fabric with the mermaid gathers, so I added a faux waist tie in cotton webbing.
I made Tildy the size 8 in both.
(With length to both pieces).
The blouse is a wee bit long in the sleeves  but she is growing like a weed.
~Tildy's Verdict~
The pattens on the shirt reminds me of fire works and balls of happiness jumping around everywhere. The colours on the shirt are my type of colours. 
I love the dots put together to make pattens. 
The whole thing is beautiful. I love the light blueish colour and  I love the big pockets on the skirt.

 ~My Verdict~
Another favourite from O+S.
I love the details on the blouse and was genuinely saddened as each of my older girls grew out of the sizing.
It doesn't tuck, it is a cropped style but as my girl wear singlets and I dislike them on show I always add a few inches length.
The skirt is also, very short. Adorable but too short for my girls. This is the size 12 length and Tilly is the shortest in her class.
It is a nice speedy sew though, one hour, start to finish and it sews up nicely in a 1/2 metre remnant.

xx N

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Oliver+S Schooldays Coat

When Jed purchased the cloth for Lidia's coat
He got some for Tildy.
As the alpaca remnant was rather, ahem, pricey, I wanted to make sure she got a lot of wear from it.
So I went with the School Days coat in the largest size, the size 8.
I only had a half metre of the smokey grey so I had to cut the front panels from the offcuts of Lidia's coat.
I think it works.
The buttons are white, enamelled shell and I stitched them with pink embroidery silk.
The hood and the sleeves are lined with black, heavy, Duchess satin left over from Zara's Moto jacket.
I wanted a dark colour where it could look visibly grubby.
Tildy badly, badly wanted pink lining so I used another remnant of decadent, pearl pink Duchess satin for the body.
It is too big for her but she will grow.
And with the sleeves rolled it is not so bad.
~Tildy's Verdict~
I love the white panels and  I picked the white buttons to match.
The hood is my favourite part.
The silky inside is nice.
It works with pretty much everything. it is really warm.
~My Verdict~
As coat sewing goes, this one is so straight forward. There are quite a few pieces to trace and cut but the actual sewing is lots of straight edges and (very) gentle curves.
I do add extra interfacing to the front panels and sleeve caps, the edge of the hood, the neck of the hood and to one side of the front tabs.
I also use Nana Deb's method to bag the lining rather then following the pattern instructions.
It is bloody awesome and saves a lot of hand sewing. 
A very easy coat sew and a very economical sew too. 

Thanks for reading!
xx N

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Forget-me-not Jewellery Pouch

Hugo asked me if I had a little something in my present drawer  for his Peer Mentor at university.
She has been very supportive and a great sounding board for him.
I didn't but offered to sew him a Forget-me-not pouch.
Zara very kindly chose the fabric for me, ice blue and silver vintage Thai silk and some baby blue velvet ribbon.
Forget-me-not pouch
Now crafts are definitely not my thing but I knew a Liesl Gibson pattern would be a winner.
The little pockets that stop your jewellery getting tangled up just bump it up the clever ladder.
There is a wee circle of batting, sewn into the layers, which enables it to sit nicely and not flop over.
The only variation I made from the instructions is to neaten the seam where to two edges join, with a narrow zigzag (you can see a peep of raw edge and I was concerned the delicate fabric may fray)
~My Verdict~
I don't do craft I don't do craft but, I really enjoyed sewing this.
I had the pattern drafted already from here and here so it was a pretty quick sew too.
Two hours from cutting to finished. 
I think I will turn to this pattern a lot more now I have actually timed myself as I know I can make one in the evening.
Lots of clever Liesl tips (including one that gives you perfect petals).
It's a winner.
(However, a bit more warning would be appreciated next time Beamish)

I hope she likes it.

xx N
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Sunday, June 4, 2017

Lekala #4566

Another, another Witchery 'compliment'
You know the story.
Total knock off of this shirt
available here
Perusing the Lekala site we found this.
It had the concealed front and a nice collar stand.
I just left off the collar and added 9 inches to the hem, following the shape.
The shirting was from eBay. A gorgeous, silky cotton with crisp hand.
The embroidered flower was also an eBay purchase. I cut it to size, pressed it in place with a Goddess sheet (it has glue on the reverse) and then topstitched it for extra security.
  The concealed placket was surprisingly easy even with Lekala's instructions.
The buttons, MoP from my dear friend Katy
 The neck ruffle was an easy swap out.
I do like the elegant neck pleats.
I love back shoulder darts, they give such a nice fit.
It was meant to be a tunic but came out more like a dress.
The 'fit and flare' is so nice on her.
So smart on her
~Lidia's Verdict~
I love this dress very much because the Lekala pattern fits me perfectly. 
 I think that where mummy put the embroidered blossoms was perfectly placed. I love the cuffs with the little peak of  skin showing and I can not wait to wear it next.

Another happy sew!

xx N
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Thursday, June 1, 2017

Hatteras Hoodie

Another sew another Witchery inspired garment.
After perusing her favourite clothing website Liddy made another request.
available from Witchery
Okay....
My initial thought was 'No chance'
Where on Earth would I find bunny printed cotton fleece?
But I googled and this popped up. 
Spotlight doesn't give you a lot of information but I ordered two metres as soon as it came on sale and crossed my fingers it would be cotton.
It wasn't.
It is polyester. Very velvety on the right side but the nastiest nylon on the inside.
It slipped and stretched as I sewed. I probably should have basted it but I was not basting a flipping hoodie.
It was extremely wide and a generous cut so I was able to cut a size 12 for Lids, the 9 for Tildy (with faux sleeves) and a size 3 for Trixie.
Next, a pattern.
I remembered the Hatteras hoodie had a similar look.
To achieve my Witchery knock off I used View B, re-drafting the neck to View A.
I then added 3 inches to the hems. (Not sure for Trixie's... 1 inch)?
View B is a cropped style.
With a narrow hem, the length is just right.
The weight of the hood was pulling the neck line back so I added a hook-and-eye to Liddy's.
Tilly's doesn't bother her and Trixie's fat tummy keeps hers in place.
The bunnies are very sweet.
I used a silky cotton knit for the hood lining (Eliza's of Sunshine) and some oatmeal ribbing for the cuff (from my stash)
I overlocked the neck edge and covered it with my label tape rather then binding it as instructed.
I do like the binding suggestion though
To achieve the front vents I overlocked the front edge panels before sewing the sleeves.
Then I overlocked the front to backs to just below the under arm seam and the sewed a flat seam on my normal machine and then pressed the seams and hemmed them.
 I didn't have quite enough bunnies to make Tildy's long sleeved so I added a faux long sleeve, underneath.
I simply hemmed the shorter sleeve and then placed both sleep caps together and treated both pieces as one.
 ~Lidia's Verdict~
This hoodie is so comfortable when I first saw it on Witchery I just loved it. I begged and begged mum until she agreed and I am so glad she did as it is so comfortable. It is so velvety on the outside but warm and silky on the inside. I think that the one mum made is my favourite hoodie I will ever get.
~Tilly's verdict~
I like the warm sleeves . I love the bunnies because they are so cute!
They feel like I am cuddling a bunny.
 It works with nearly everything I have in my wardrobe.

I feel happy that Liddy has one because I like wearing her clothes and I more feel grown up and happy to have the same as Trixie. 
~My Verdict~
My first Hey June pattern.
I would recommend this to a beginner, there are sooo many directions.
I didn't enjoy sewing this but I am pretty sure it was the fabric, not the pattern.
The hood pulling back really bugs me but to be fair I swopped it to a View that didn't have a hood.
It was a good PDF that went together well.
Hmmm, possibly the cuteness of those bunnies renders the sewing a little less repugnant.