Butterfly Bat wing Top

I'm still not entirely sure where the idea for this top came from.  It's really not my usual style but I really love the way it turned out.

This top is based on a ready to wear going out top that I bought approximately 20 years ago that I still have lying around even though I've probably only worn it  3 times.  The problem is that the fabric in that top - whilst beautiful - is quite see through so I need to wear it over something and I can never figure out what.  But what I do know is I love the way that top feels on.

I was trying to come up with ideas for a new piece of rayon that I picked up on my last trip to the fabric store.  I was thinking of something along the lines of a jump suit with a flowy long sleeve top, fitted waistband and the pants from the sirocco jumpsuit but wasn't sure about a pattern for the top half.

So I thought I'd make a wearable muslin of the top out of another piece of fabric that I've had lying around for ages.

I love this fabric.  I bought the first lot in May 2017 and used it as a lining for a pair of nice pants plus a little woven T shirt.  I then went back and bought more because I loved it so much and used some of it to line my suit refashioning coat and kept the last little bit planning on making something that wasn't a lining - something that would showcase the fabric better and I decided that this should work nicely.

To make the pattern I pulled out the old shirt and traced the pattern onto white paper.  It's basically an oversized shirt with a cut on bat wing sleeve.  I then extended the length of the sleeve so that they were full length.  I made the front and back exactly the same except for the neckline which is cut deeper at the front than at the back.

I actually cut the shirt in one piece.  I took my fabric and folded it cross wise so that I didn't need a seam down the top of my arm, and folded it in half lengthwise to make it symmetrical down the centerline.  I then just had to cut it off to length and then a curve up the side seam and around to the sleeve length.

I sewed and serged the side seams and then cut out the hole for the head.  This I finished with a strip of rayon bias binding I had in stash.

To finish the bottom of the shirt and pull in all the extra fullness I used another piece of leftover fabric a rib knit fabric in a deep teal blue colour.  I cut the waistband 12 "wide and folded it in half for a 6"wide waistband  but decided that was a bit too wide and cut it off to about 10" or a 5"waistband.  The waistband was sewn onto the bottom of the shirt by simply stretching the ribbing to match and then letting it spring back.

I finished the sleeves in a similar way making cuffs 3"wide x 8"around.  However these were to small to fully gather the amount of fabric in the sleeve so I made 4 small evenly spaced darts in the sleeve fabric first and then gathered the rest of the fabric into the knit.

This was quite a quick make and I really love the way it turned out.  As I said it's not something I would normally choose but I think it's going to get a lot of wear.

And even better it works perfectly with my peacock jeans allowing me to show off my peacocks!

Shoes and Shoes

It's been about a year since my last round of shoe making so it must be time to start again.  My last shoes are actually still doing ok - Since I missed most of this summer I haven't had much of a chance to wear the last lot so they are still in OK condition - but I decided I wanted a new pair anyway.

In fact I decided I wanted to make two pairs.  The first was going to be soft soled and the second have a solid sole.

I used the same pattern that I used to make my last pair of grey shoes as these are definitely my favourites.  This time I used some of the batik fabric left over from my zipper dress.  I used the same fabric for the top and the lining but interfaced the tops with heavy weight interfacing.  The bottom was then made from the soft soling material that I still have in stash.

I used three layers of the craft foam inside the soles for comfort - this is possibly a bit much as they do get a bit scrunched up inside the shoe - two would probably be better.

I love these shoes and have worn them numerous times already in the last week since I finished them - and since they have so many colours in them they seem to go with everything!

The second pair have taken a bit longer to finish.  They are made from a black fabric with colourful music notes all over them.  The lining material I used for these was a bright green with small circles.  I should really have just used the same material as I did for the batik shoes as the green is a bit glaring against the black.

These I made the bottom sole out of the green lining fabric and then glued it onto the solid sole material using concrete cement.  This was a really bad idea as when the sole didn't sit perfectly against the shoe the green shows and looks really bad.

So I went around with a sharpie and coloured it in, but next time I will remember to make the sole black so it doesn't stand out.

Still a few tweaks needed on this pattern if I'm to use it with the solid sole - maybe next time.  However the soft soled version is as close to perfect as I feel the need to get.

5 pieces of swimwear

These swimmers were started over a year ago now, but they've been evolving so I didn't want to post them until they were done. 

It all started at the end of last summer (2018) when I decided I needed new swimmers and found some really cool poly lycra fabric at the store.  It's multi coloured, geometric patterned - all the things I love in a print - so I had to have it.

At that time I had been playing around with a new bra pattern and wanted to try a swimsuit with that bra.

The bottoms I made using the same pattern as I used on my last swimmers.  They are fully lined in yellow swimsuit fabric - it's probably a bit thick for lining material but on the plus side it keeps all the jiggly bits in place.  The legs are finished with a small casing with  3/8"elastic threaded through it and the top has a waistband with 1.5"elastic in it.

To make the top I used the pattern that I created for these bras with the exception that I left off the top piece of the cup and instead just used a thin rouleau strap to replace this place - I was just looking for a bit more of a strappy look for the swimsuit.

I then decided to try and use foam in the cups.  I didn't have any bra foam, but what I did have was a whole bunch of ready to wear bras that I could cut up and use the foam from.  The only issue with doing this was that the foam was not of even thickness.  I tried to use just the parts with the same thickness and it worked quite well but if I were to try making a foam bra again I would buy proper foam.

Again the top is fully lined.  The cups in self fabric, the bridge in tricot and the back band in powermesh.  For the bottom band I used 1.5"wide elastic and I crossed the straps over at the back.  Three snaps close the bottom band and 3/8"elastic was used to finish the underarm and around the back.

The swimsuit then sat over the winter - it got used a couple of times in hotel pools etc and it worked quite well but I did have a few issues with the top.  The main one being that with the foam in the cups takes forever to dry.  I also found that the wide band just keeps rolling up.

Then in March of this year (2019) I was headed out to an outdoor pool for the first swim of the season and wanted a rash vest to go over my swim suit - it's just so much easier to wear a rash vest than it is to put on sunscreen and so at the last minute I made a rash vest out of the same material (I had always planned on doing this so had plenty of fabric left over).

I used the same pattern that I've used for all my rash vest - it fits nicely so why change what ain't broke.

However, as I was making this at the last minute, I did not have an appropriate zipper and no time to go buy one - so I used what I had.  A zipper that was perfect in colour and length and weight, but that wasn't an opening zipper so I can't open the front of this shirt all the way.

But that's OK.  It works fine as it is.  I had planned to change it out when I had the chance but now I can't be bothered I'm going to keep it as is.

I now had  full swimsuit but I wasn't 100% happy.  The bra just had a few too many niggling issues and after my last round of bra making I decided I wanted to try the top again.

So I made a new top using the new pattern.  The only changes I made to the bra pattern was to use two small rouleau straps on each shoulder rather than the big shoulder strap from the bra and I covered the bottom elastic in fabric.  I fully lined this top in the same yellow swimsuit fabric I used on the bottoms.  This top is definitely more comfortable than the original.

And I think now I am happy (Plus I'm all out of this fabric). 

Bra and Undies and a lesson in testing stretch!

I found recently that I really needed some new underthings so spent some time trying to perfect my bra and undie patterns and realised something.....Whilst I'm pretty good at remembering to test the crosswise stretch of the fabric, I often forget about length ways stretch.....and it's amazing how much the lengthwise stretch of a fabric can affect a garment - especially bras and undies.

First up Bras:

For a while now I've been waking in the morning and really wishing I had a simple pull on bra I could throw on without the whole rigmarole of doing up clasps etc I do have a couple of sports style crop tops but I've found that when I wear them I get this whole mono boob thing going which is a look that I don't like, plus they are so high cut at the front they show under a lot of my clothes, so wanted to have a go at making something like the bralettes that I see a lot of people making.

My wish list for the new bra:

• Bottom elastic band closes with a simple snap (I would like a bra without any closures but they then tend to be very hard to get on and off so I am happy to go with a simple snap)
• As few pattern pieces a possible
• Made from stretch fabrics for comfort
• A solid non stretch band over the shoulder - I've found that elastic over my shoulders really tends to dig in so I prefer a solid shoulder strap.

I made two bras one right after the other, using 4 different fabrics

Fabric 1 - deep purple - heavy weight scuba fabric - 25% stretch across, 18% stretch lengthways.
Fabric 2 - Butterflies - medium weight scuba - 40% stretch across 30% stretch lengthways.
Fabric 3 - Black dragon- lightweight scuba fabric - 40% stretch across 40% stretch lengthways.
Fabric 4 - blue/green - lightweight swimsuit material - 50% stretch across, 40% stretch lengthways

I started with the back pattern.  I wanted something with a fair bit of coverage for comfort so used an old sports crop top to quickly draft something.   My original draft had the straps a lot closer together in the back but when I tried it on it put too much pressure on my upper shoulders so I moved the straps out by 2" to get this. 

This was a little bit to far out so for my second attempt I brought the strap attachment back in about 3/4"

I fully lined the back of both bra to finish off all the edges.  The top bra is made from fabric 3 and lined in fabric 1 whilst the second bra has both outer and lining in fabric 4.  You can see that the first bra looks smaller as it has a lot less stretch to it.

For the first bra I finished the edge around the cut out in fold over elastic but for the second one I just used the lining to finish it which is why the cut out looks bigger.

For the front of the bra I started with an old bra lining (made out of fabric 2) that I had made a while ago but didn't use - it's been floating around my sewing room ever since.  This pattern was drafted from my normal bra pattern but simplified to just a bridge and two pattern pieces for the cup and designed for use with a stretch fabrics.

When I tried this on it fitted quite nicely so I went ahead and cut it out of my fabric 1 to create a lining as I did the back piece -  but then realised my mistake - with the lack of  vertical stretch in fabric 1 the bra was now impossibly small.  Thankfully I realised early enough and I was able to unpick it. 

So I went back and cut a lining out of fabric 3 instead, this had enough stretch that the bra pretty much worked, though it is still a little snug. 

I made a few modifications to the pattern for my second attempt.  I moved the straps in by about 1/2" and extended the inner cup piece in and up to provide more coverage.

I found that the front neckline needed a little more support so added fold over elastic stretching from one shoulder strap to the other..  To make the straps I used  a black cotton sateen material interfaced on both sides.  The straps widen over the shoulder for extra comfort.

 For the bottom band I used some elastic with some rubber bits woven in so that it doesn't move about.   I don't think I'll use this again as I find that it gets quite uncomfortable by the end of the day.

Having had these bras in my closet for a couple of months now I can definitely say these are my two favourite bras.  The second blue/green one is the most comfortable and gets reached for first, the one and only downside is that it doesn't provide much in the way of support - not even a light jog could be sustained in this - but it's great for lounging around the house which is really what I wanted.

whilst the first bra gets chosen if I want a bit more support but still comfort. 

I definitely want to go back and try this again, this time in a medium weight stretch fabric lined in the light weight for the best of both world and with softer plush elastic.

Next up underpants and again I had issues with stretch.  The pattern itself is pretty simple, they have a gusset, fold over elastic around the leg holes and the top is folded over 3/4" wide elastic. I made three pairs of pants that fitted nicely, then left the pattern for a month or so before going back to make more and this time ended up with the goldilocks of underwear.  When I went to make this batch I pulled out a bunch of scrap fabric thinking I could use up some scraps and paid no attention to how much stretch the fabric has.

The first pair (the bottom of the stack) had only 30% stretch across and minimal lengthways stretchy stretch so they ended up too short. By attaching the elastic to the top and using that as extra height these are wearable, but not great.

The second pair (Middle of the stack) was made from a super stretchy fabric 50% across and 50% lengthways  so these ended up as full on granny panties just about under my arm pits.

Finally for the third pair (the top pair) I got the right amount of stretch (40% across and 40% lengthways) and ended up with a good pair of pants. 

Lesson of the day.  Double check the stretch in your fabric before you make underwear and bras!

Houndstooth Cardigan and Chevron Shirt

A couple of months ago now I posted about a boucle cardigan, that I made as a wearable muslin for this cardigan.

There is really not much else to say about this make. The fabric I used is a beautiful brushed flannel fabric in a black and white houndstooth pattern.   This fabric is so beautifully soft and warm.I used the same pattern and same methods as I did for the boucle cardigan with just a couple of exceptions.

I used a black bias binding to finish the top of the pockets and added black piping in the curved seam between the pocket and the front piece.

I used a black knit fabric to bind from the top of the front right around the back and back to the front at the other side and also to bind the sleeves.

I tried my hardest to put button holes in so that I could use these cool black velvet buttons that I have but it just wasnt working so I just added two black snaps instead.  I may go back and try again at another time - maybe I need to do hand stitched button holes, but for now'I wantéd to be able to wear this on my trip to Australia so snaps it was.

And now that I have a couple of nice cardigans in my wardrobe, I thought it was about time to remake my existing chevron over sized cardi

into a normal sized shirt.

I used my basic raglan sleeve pattern, cut the front out of the existing back, cut the back out of the original front and put a seam up the back,

The sleeves were cut out of the existing sleeves which required a reduction in length, but I cut off the band around the front and neckline and used it to make new sleeve cuffs. 

I used some of the remainder of the band to make a new neckband. 

The hem is just a simple turned up and straight stitched hem.

There is nothing really exciting about this shirt - in fact it's pretty boring, but on the plus side it feels so snuggly and warm which is what drew me to this fabric in the first place.