A One Day Wonder Shirt

We've had the in laws staying with us this week so I haven't had a lot of time (or any really) for sewing, but I woke up this morning inspired to get something done.

I have a whole list of little summer tops that I want to make so thought I'd get to work on one of those.

The inspiration for this top came from the character Toshiko on the Series Torchwood.  When I first watched this show many years ago there was an episode "Greeks Bearing Gifts" in which Toshiko wore this cute little red top.

I said at the time that I wanted a shirt like that but never found one and never got around to making one, so I decided today was the day.  Obviously it didn't turn out exactly the same, but the basic idea is the same.

I started drafting the pattern for this top at about 9:30 am on a Sunday morning and the top was finished by 2:30pm - not a bad days work if I do say so myself.

I started with my back sloper. I cut the back neckline a little deeper and wider than the sloper and then brought in the outer edge of the sleeve just a bit. I drew a line about half way down the arm hole for the top yoke and cut the sloper in two pieces.  After adding seam allowance to this cut I had a back yoke piece.

For the lower back  piece I removed the shaping along the side seams and drew a line straight from the arm hole to the hip line and then added about 1.25" to the center back seam to form a pleat a center back. I cut the top off at the high hip line to allow room for a bottom band.

On the front sloper I did the same modifications to the shoulder  and created a front yoke piece.

I again straightened out the side pieces grading straight from the underarm to the hip line.
 
I then traced a second copy of the front and flipped it over and taped the two pieces together down the center front.  I located the bust points and then free hand drew a curve down from the shoulder point, down the center of my body between the breasts, curved around under the breast and then ended about 3" above the hip hip line on the opposite side of the body to create the cross over front pieces.

The last thing to do was to added the gathers.  I wanted gathers at the yoke edge and then gathers again at the side on the front piece, but not on the piece that goes underneath.  This means I needed two separate pattern pieces for the front.

To create the gathers at the yoke I cut a line straight down from the outer shoulder to the seam allowance at the bottom, and then from the inner shoulder down to the same point and spread the pieces   I cut a few extra slashes between the two and taped them back down in a fan pattern.  I then copied this pattern and flipped it over and then did another slash and spread on one of the pieces from the same point as before across to the side seam.  I've tried to get the slashes to show in the picture but this is the best I can do.

For the fabric I used a piece that I had in my stash - a teal and grey strip knit.  Its very light weight material - I have no idea what its made of.  The teal fabric is slightly see through and seems to have some metallic threads in it.  The grey is a more substantial material adding some nice texture to the fabric.

I cut the back, back yoke and front yoke pieces on the fold with the stripe running across the body, then decided that I wanted the yoke cut on the bias.

I decided to keep the piece cut on grain to use as lining and recut the yoke pieces.

Lining for front and back yoke cut with the grain

The two front pieces were cut single layer - I tried to match up the stripes somewhat across my body but due to the gathers it's not a perfect match (and I didn't manage to match the side seams at all).

I sewed up the bias cut back yoke center seam to create a nice V shape - then sewed the lower back onto the back yoke creating an inverted pleat at center back.

I sewed the front yoke on at the shoulder seam then gathered the front pieces and sewed them onto the front yoke.

I sewed the additional yoke pieces together at the shoulder seams then sewed the yokes together around the neckline.  I top stitched the neckline then turned the two edges of the arm hole in and top stitched them together.  I finished off the rest of the arm holes simple by turning the edge over two to enclose all edges and stitching close to the edge.  The front seam of the front pieces were finished in the same way.

Showing top stitching and seam finishing

I pinned the side seams together and realised that the front pieces were way too wide.  Looking back I realised that 1. I didn't take off the center front seam allowance when I flipped the pieces and joined them at the center line and 2.  The fabric that would have been taken out by a dart in the original sloper was still in my pattern.  I re-pinned it to where I wanted and ended up taking about 5-6" off the side of each front piece.  I may have taken a bit too much off, if I were to make it again I'd only take about 4-5" off.  I sewed up the wide seams using french seams to create a nice inner finish.

To finish off the bottom of the shirt I wanted to make a band around the bottom.  I decided on cutting it on the cross grain as this fabric definitely sits nicer that way and it added another feature to the shirt.  I cut pieces 6" wide on the cross grain with as much length as I could get and sewed them together to make one long length.  I doubled it over and pinned it around the lower edge of the shirt with the extra length left dangling at one side.  I tried on the shirt again and realised that I like the extra length tied up at the side so sewed the band on and left the extra hanging free.  I used an over locking stitch on my machine to finish the seam band and top stitched it down using a straight stitch.  The free hanging end can then be tied into a knot and creates a knot at the left side.

I love this top.  There is one small issue that I would fix next time - the under arm gapes just a little bit and I'd raise it about 1/2" next time - otherwise this shirt is great.

Wardrobe basics - Shorts and T Shirt

Well the weather has finally warmed up around this place so I recently broke out all my summer clothes, only to find that the majority of them don't fit me any more.  As this was in the middle of Me Made May I was only looking at my me made clothes and unfortunately not one pair of my shorts made previously will fit....well back to the drawing board. Some wardrobe basics required!

I pulled out my old shorts pattern that I created last year.  The shorts that I made from this pattern were a great fit at the time so I did a comparison between my new pants pattern that I just made and the shorts - yep I need to add some extra width this year.

I took my old shorts pattern, added about 1/4" to the side seams (Then sewed the entire thing together with 1/4" seams), added a little length to the legs and about 1/2" to the rise at the center back.

To do a test run I pulled out the scraps of red paisley I used to make this dress to use as a muslin.

I only just had enough material to cut out the shorts and the waistband and then I found two tiny little triangle scraps I could use as backing for slash pocket pieces.  This means however that the pocket openings are tiny and they're almost unusable.

The rest of the pockets were made from some scrap orange cotton I had in the stash.

I decided for these trial shorts I wouldn't bother with the front fly and cut off the front fly extension and just sewed up the front seam - they are just big enough to slide on over my hips.  A piece of elastic inside the waistband holds everything in place. (please excuse the wrinkles in all these photos my iron has been packed away and I can't be bothered getting it back out again).

I was pretty happy with the finished shorts - only problem was I had nothing to wear them with....None of my T shirts even remotely go with this fabric so I decided to use up the scraps of leftover grey knit I used for the Sallie Jump Suit to make a new shirt.

I used the kimono Tee pattern from the Sallie Jump Suit - but took about 1/2 inch out of center front/ back as I find that the jumpsuit is a big too baggy.  The V at the center front I then raised about 1/4".  At the back I raised the V about 4 inches since it doesn't need to be able to go on over my hips anymore.  I did not add the straps at the back either.

 I also added about 2" to the length of the pattern as I find it too short and wanted this shirt to be longer.  Unfortunately these new pattern pieces would not fit onto the piece of fabric I had left over so after much playing around, I found that I could cut the pieces into two and just have an extra seam just under the bust area so I went with that.

Then I had to figure out how I wanted to finish the edges - after a bit of thinking I decided that I could use a different material to line it with and make it reversible.  I had some green knit left over from this asymmetrical top so I re-cut the pattern from that fabric as well and then sewed the two layers together.

Stupid me however forgot to follow the instructions and ended up sewing the shoulders together early in the piece and was then unable to turn it right side out which ended up with me doing a lot of unpicking of nicely serged seams.  grrrrr - this simple top ended up taking me a full day to make.

Its a nice top but it's nothing special.

I then went back to my shorts pattern.  I found a piece of black twill in my stash that much have been leftover from making my sister her Victorian Walking Skirt and used that for a nice pair of shorts.  This time I did put in the front fly and full sized front pockets.

 I also added patch pockets on the back.  To add some detail I took the lining I used for the pockets and turned it over the top edge of the pockets to create a contrast edge.

All top stitching  was done in purple thread and the waistband is secured with 4 purple star snaps.

Unfortunately after wearing these shorts for a day I realised that they weren't going to work as is.  The waistband was way too big and my pants were falling off.  I couldn't however be bothered taking the waist band off entirely and reshaping it so instead I just un-picked the top stitching holding the top of the waistband together along the back from side seam to side seam and inserted some elastic in.  I stitched the elastic down at each side seams then re-sewed the waist band enclosing the elastic.  That'll do!

A smidge of non selfish sewing

I have of course been working on a number of items for myself, but this week I took a break and got started on a couple of pieces for L.

This girl is growing way too fast;  Pieces of clothing that were swamping her last summer are now way too small, in fact when we pulled out her summer clothes, there was only 1 pair of shorts from last year that still fit this year...well sort of  fit.

OK so L needed new shorts...this is when I did something really silly! I let her chose from my stash what fabric she wanted for her shorts.  Of course she chose my favourite piece of new fabric.  I picked up this piece of corduroy, in a blue and green geometric print, at the pattern review meetup in Quilters Way, Acton at the beginning of March. I, only begrudgingly, cut into the fabric cause I knew there would be enough left over for a pair of shorts for me too, but then J chimes up - he wants a pair of shorts in this material.....well at least my kids have good taste.

The pattern I used for these shorts was based on the personalised  pants pattern that I made earlier for L, but with a few modifications.  

I used the pattern pieces for Simplicity 3904 and laid them over the pants pattern pieces and found that L's pattern aligned fairly well with the size 10.  I redrew the pattern blending these two patterns together down the length of the legs and cutting the pants off to the length of the simplicity pattern.  I then added about 2.5" extra to the top of the pattern to created a folded over waistband to put some elastic in.

The shorts ended up way too long - L wanted them the length shown in the pattern but they ended up being at least 3 inches too long.  In the end I cut off 2" turned the edge under about 1 inch, turned it again 1 inch then turned it back on itself to make a cuff and it ended up the right length.

L wanted patch pockets so these were added to the shorts at the end.  I just used a left over rectangle of fabric, pleated it in the center 1" either side, turned the edges under twice.  Top stitiched across the top and then top stitched them on centered on the side seam of the shorts.

These are nice and large so will - hopefully - last the entire summer.

The tank top was a throw together I did at the last minute.  As I was putting my fabric away I ran across a couple of free T-shirts that my husband had gotten at one of his conferences that I knew he was never going to wear so I had stashed to be reused as needed.  L had said something about wanting more tank tops so I thought I would see what I could do with the T shirts. I chose a neon yellow one, used her existing tank top to create a pattern and managed to cut the entire tank top out of just the back of the existing shirt so I didn't have to worry about avoiding the advertising on the front.  I used the bottom of the shirt as the bottom of the tank top to avoiding any finishing there.  The side seams and shoulders were serged together then I had to figure out how to finish the arm holes and neckline.  I had some left over neon orange from T shirts that I made the kids last year and decided that that would be a good contrasting colour. 

I cut the strips to the length of the edges, sewed right sides together  using a basting stitch on my regular machine, then folded the orange over twice to encase the raw edges.  I used a simple zig zag stitch with yellow thread to stitich it all together.  The arm holes ended up a little stretched out but the neckline was pretty good.  Certainly good enough for a simple kids tank top.

The only thing I would do different next time is flare the pattern out at the hips - its definitely too snug around L's hips.

Grey knit Sallie jumpsuit

Well I made this jumpsuit, photographed it and wrote this post a good couple of weeks ago now, but I have to say I'm not happy with the pictures,  I kept putting off this post and planning to get more flattering photos, but then I thought about it some more and decided that I'd blog the jumpsuit as is - ugly pictures and all and then I'll do another update if and when I get around to fixing this outfit.

so anyway....

The very first time that I saw the Sallie jumpsuit pattern by Closet Case files I fell in love.  I don't know what it is.  I've never been a fan of jumpsuits so its not that.  I'm don't particularly like the spaghetti strap maxi dress version, but that kimono sleeve, wide legged pants jump suit just spoke to me for some reason.  So after months of deliberating about whether or not I wanted to waste my money  (as someone with a 5'1", short torso and extra weight around the waist line figure I don't really have the ideal silhouette for a jumpsuit).....I finally decided to just go for it.  I bought that pattern, taped it all together and got started.

Based on my measurements compared to the size measurements for the pattern I'm a size 12 to 14 in the bust, size 16 waist, and size 12 to 14 hips.  I looked at the final measurements chart on the pattern and found that the pattern is drafted with negative ease in it and I wasn't sure how fitted I wanted it so I decided the easiest thing to do was cut a straight size 16.

The instructions say that the pattern was drafted for someone who is 5'6" tall, therefore at 5'1" I knew that I was going to do something about the length.  Some measuring of the pattern showed that I didn't want to take any length out of the top, but the rise in the pants seemed to have extra room so I ended up taking about 1.5 " out there.  I cut 1" off the bottom of the pants but that still left me with about 3 inches for a hem.  That actually ended up pretty good as the extra weight at the bottom of the pants helps them hang a bit better.

The only other change I made was that I didn't have any clear elastic to stabilise the neckline...or any of the other options it mentions, so I ended up using some black fold over elastic that I had lying around.  I lined up the edge of the elastic with the raw edge of the neckline and basted it in place. I then sewed the lining onto the main top section with a 3/8" seam which allowed about 1/8 " of the elastic to protrude when the top was turned right sides out. This gives a nice contrasting edge along the neckline edge.

As far as fit goes - its not bad....but I think that I need some extra length in the top.  The top just seems way too short to me  I'm seriously considering separating the two pieces again and adding in a separate waistband....a different colour I think would add a nice contrast.

So the final verdict..... I'm not sure....it's nice and comfortable and has been my go to outfit for wearing around the house, but I'm not sure about out of the house.  My biggest issue is around the tummy where it shows off all my lumps and bumps that come with two kids.

I have worn it out a couple of times but I don't think it's the most flattering thing.....my husbands input......."it makes you look like a middle aged housewife".   Hmmmmm well, I suppose I am technically a middle aged housewife.

Crappy Cargo Pants

OK, so I'm not overly thrilled with how these turned out - but they are a wearable pair of pants, so I figured I should really blog them.

I talked in depth here about how I did the muslin for these pants. In the end I knew the pattern wasn't fantastic, but I decided to just go with it anyway cause I wanted these pants finished.

These pants are made from a cheap cotton purchased at the local discount fabric store for $2.99/yard.  It's actually a bit thinner that I originally thought so it's really not the best fabric for a pair of pants but it does make a nice pair of long pants for spring/summer where you want coverage but not warmth. I've worn them a couple of times this spring when I would normally have worn shorts, as when I pulled out all my me made shorts from last year they no longer fit.

The best thing about these pants are the pockets and the top stitching.   The entire pants are top stitched in two colours, green and blue.  I didn't put in a real fly but I did top stitch in a flake fly.

Two slash pockets were sewn into the front of the pants and top stitched along the top edges and also around the curve of the pockets holding them in place.

Two patch pockets on the back with arrow top stitching.  I got the placement of these pockets totally off, though I do have to say they work better slanted like this than they would be if they were straighter.  If this were a better pair of pants I'd take them off and re position them  but for these pants I really can't be bothered.

Down the side seams there are two pleated pockets with flaps.  I haven't secured the flaps with anything and I don't think I will - I hate having to undo pockets before putting things in them.

  

 The waistband is two rows of 1" wide elastic separated with a row of stitches.

I think the two biggest problems I have with these pants are.

1.  The rise is too high especially in the back and the back side does not look great this is the best picture of it and it's not great.

This is more like it.   When I move it pulls in weird directions and just generally feels off.

2. The pants leg are too wide.  This probably isn't a real issue, I'm just not a fan of the wide leg pants look on me.

I've thought a couple of times about cutting these off into knee length shorts but I cant make up my mind.  I'm also contemplating taking off the waistband and cutting off some of the rise.  We shall see.

Brown Corduroy Flares - and a Me Made May Update.

I know I know Its been a long time between posts - But I promise I haven't been slacking off.  It's just taken me forever to get photos of the things I've been making.  I've got three new makes to share.  In my next post I'll show you a pair of black cargo pants which I am not happy with  and the Sallie Jumpsuit in grey knit, but today I want to share my favourite new make, brown corduroy flares.

These are made using the pants pattern that I've been playing around with for the last two or three months.  It's still not perfect, but it's getting better.  If nothing else these pants are so comfortable that I may never taken them off.

They are made from a light weight, quite stretch corduroy fabric (fabric content unknown).  

The fit of the pants at the front is fairly good, though I think I could have made the front panels a bit smaller.  They look good when I'm standing up straight, but if I'm not thinking about my posture they tend to get a bit wrinkly across the front.

I think I also need to lower the rise in the front just a smidge - whilst I like my pants high waisted they are just a bit too high.


As for the back - Well I spent hours trying to get rid of the wrinkles under the butt.  I got rid of most of them - but this is as good as it gets.

The yoke was pretty much an add on after I had finished fitting the pants - I'm not sure that I like how it sits.  More work will need to be done on this on my next pair of pants.

I do however love the design on the pockets.  simple yet gives an almost quilted sort of look.

The fly front also worked nicely and I extended the pocket bags all the way into the fly to (hopefully) flatten out the tummy area.

I have this irrational hatred of buttons - I don't like doing them up and I don't like making button holes so I used three snaps to secure the waistband of the pants instead.  I didn't bother with belt loops either as I generally don't use them.  I did however top-stitch everything in blue which I love the look of.

The flare on the leg I like- I took the pattern in to fit snugly through the knee then flared it out as much as I could.  I love a good flare - and who cares if it looks a little silly on a 5'1" model.

Overall I'm pretty happy with these pants - but of course have a list of little changes I want to make to the pattern before I make them again.

Now a brief update on Me Made May.  I've been doing OK with my challenge, but I haven't been able to keep it 100%.  All my clothes have been me made, but I've slipped a little with the socks and shoes.  I always knew socks would be hard - since I only have 1 or two me made pairs, so I was hoping it would be warm enough to go without them for the whole month, but no such luck.  So I have on a few occasions worn store bought socks.  The other issue has been shoes.  Whilst I've been mainly wearing me made there have been a couple of occasions where I've resorted to store bought -mainly when its been raining.  However I also found a fantastic pair of sandals at the store the other day (of course I wasn't looking -  that's the only time I do find anything). I ummed and ahhed about whether I should buy them but then decided that there was really no reason why I shouldn't.....however it did mean I had to wear them a couple of times to test them out.

What I have found is that none of my me made shorts fit me any more so I need to make a new pair - so that has now made it to the top of my to make list.

I have not managed to take photos of my outfits each day so sorry no pictures.