New Look 6808 - A practice shell top

I have wanted to make a New Look 6808 top for yonks.  It was a Pattern Review Best Pattern of 2012 and I have drooling over the many lovely versions online for ages.

This is my first version of several - I want to try a version each with the two collar options. (Drool). I made View B - the view with no collar and the short cap sleeves. 

The let down for this top is the totally yuck fabric - I love the colour, in fact I am currently a little obsessed with kelly green and navy, which is why I brought it -  its a stretch cotton sateen from Spotlight. However, it is horrible to work with and very hard to press, so it is hard to get a nice finish.  It creases really badly too. 

I orginally got this to make a pencil skirt with and then realised how badly it creased and how much that would annoy me so I decided to use it for a quick top instead. I didn't have enough for the sleeves so I used some leftover scraps from what I thought was the same fabric from a failed attempt a couple of years ago to use it to make a circle skirt (when I found it I thought "oh, thats right, this fabric was awful to work with, why did I buy more of it - oh yeah, it was the colour that sucked me in"),  On looking closely the sleeves are actually a slightly different colour. Shrug.  Oops.  The difference is most obvious in the first photo up top.  I'll just call it a practice garment.

I cut a size 8 going off the finished pattern measurements for the top part and then graded out to between a 12-14 for the bottom and got a very good fit - (otherwise I would have made a 12 all over grading out to a 14 in the hips, which would have swam on me).

It DID take a bit of fiddling around to get the darts to be the right shape for me.  I lengthened/extended the back darts 1" top and bottom and made them a little deeper to get rid of the pooling of fabric at the small of my back (aka: sway back).  I also shifted the deepest part of the darts from half way, moving that point further up my back - basically a very lazy/easy way of doing the sway back adjustment.  It worked for me anyway.

The front darts I reshaped and lengthened as well.  I resewed them probably a dozen times before I was happy with the fit, but the final shape has been carefully transferred to the pattern so the next time I make this I should be able to whip it up quicker.

The front side bust darts I should have shifted up a bit but I left as is - next time I will move up about 3/8".

I also note that the sleeves were a little odd - they were very large for the armscyce so they either need to be mega gathered at the sleeve head or have a massive seam allowance, which is what I did (the instructions do not get you to join the sleeve but sew them in "open" but are not very clear as to what to do instead - the side seams are already sewn up).

I also hand sewed my sleeve facings to enclose the armscye seams for a neat inside finish.

I also needed to shorten this top quite a bit, about 3 inches to get it to hit mid hip otherwise it is almost a tunic length. ( I am 5'4).

Now that I have worn it I can feel/see that the armsyce is a tad snug and I probably graded it out just a bit too much at the hips, so I'll lower the armsyce 3/8" (aka cut a size 10 armsyce) and bring in the hip curve 1/4" (aka only grade out to a 12) next time....

Drops Design 120-33 Cardigan Revisited

I recently remade my Drops Design 120-33 cardigan.  I orginally made this last year and it immediately went into the "never wear" pile due to the sleeves being uncomfortably tight and also the style really wasn't me.  It also was rather large in the body and was bordering on "feeling frumpy" territory, another reason I never wore it.

I really hate to spend so many hours on a project only to never wear it and so once some time had passed (to ease the pain) I decided to would rip back the parts that didn't suit and redo .

First up I frogged the sleeves and half the body until it was just above waist length.

I then crocheted a ribbed waistband and cuffs.  This is such a brilliant crochet stitch: just sc (single crochet, or double crochet if you are in the UK) back loop only.  Thats it.  The effect as you turn at each row end is a fantastic ribbed effect very much like knitted ribbing. My ribbed band was 24 sc with a 2.00mm hook and 4 ply wool.

 

Once I got the waistband to the length I wanted I attached the the body of the cardigan with a simple slipstitch.  I had to ease the cardigan in quite a bit as the waistband was a few inches smaller than the body.

 

For the cuffs I joined into a cuff in the final row and then attached to the sleeve by doing another row of sc on the wrong side, carefully easing in as I went.  

When I redid the sleeves I increased 9 stitches on the first row of dc for a total of 71 dc (which was essentially doing a large size sleeve on the small sized body).  The small sleeve was extremely tight but the medium was just right.  I continued with the sleeves as per the pattern but did not do any decreases until the last few rows where I decreased 4 over 2 dc rows to bring the sleeve in a little for the cuffs.

When I redid the front bands I did hdc instead of dc and on the last two rows I did sc, putting in double buttonholes as I went.  I found in the first version they don't have you do buttonholes, instead you just use the spaces left by the dc rows but I found that made it difficult to work out where to button up with plus the holes were so big I didn't like the large buttons I needed. I am really happy with the double buttonhole and the little buttons on the revisted version.

Overall, this was alot of work as I essentially completely remade more than half the cardigan (plus the sc rows on the ribbing seemed to take forever) but it is now something I absolutely love, its comfortable and I like it both dressy and also casually dressed down with a t-shirt and jeans.

I'm so happy with this I am going to do another version (using a different stitch pattern but same concept) using a bright coral pink wool (Lotus) from Bendigo Woollen Mills, once again in the 4 ply baby wool (its so soft like expensive italian wool but Australian made and a fraction of the cost due to buying direct from the Mill).

Refashioning: 80's Dress to vintage inspired separates

Recently, Zoe wrote a post about the importance of refashioning and stashbusting, and I couldn't agree more. If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend it as a thought provoking and possibily confronting read.

I have been thinking alot about this subject myself and it is a big reason why I started to sew again after many years, as there are so many items in my (and my mothers) wardrobe that are great fabric and quality but due to being too big, too small or a dated/ugly style are not worn.  It just seems like such a waste.

So recently I raided my mum's wardrobe and my first refashion of bringing new life to an old moth eaten skirt is here.  I am so thrilled with it, especially as when I wear it I love that I am wearing a piece of our family history.

Enter this polka dot dress from the 1980s. It was a size 16(AUS) and a shapeless shirtdress with footballers shoulders, complete with massive shoulder pads.

Mmmm, nice.  The photo is me wearing it is after I had taken off the shoulder pads and the massive sleeves.

But I adore polka dots and navy so I knew I had to have a crack at turning this into something wearable.  So with Mum's blessing I took it and got work.

Here is the result:

Oh, I'm very pleased.

I cut the dress in half and used Burdastyle Jenny to recut the skirt, leaving the centre back seam and vent untouched.  Everything else is remade.  I added a lapped side zipper and used the bottom part of the huge 1980's sleeves for the waistband.  I didn't have enough fabric to overlap the waistband so I just added hooks and eyes.

For the top I overlaid a bodice pattern that fitted well and recut the shoulders and armholes and sleeves, resewed the side seams and put in darts front and back to make it a bit less blousy and slightly more fitted.

 

I removed the scary 1980's buttons and replaced them with self covered buttons.  You can just see in the bodice shot above the piecing I had to do in the underarm seams as the arm curve run out of fabric at the side seam (due to me cutting a smaller armhole into a much larger one) so I had to add in a triangle of fabric.  I doubt anyone but me (and other seamstress) would notice though.

The other thing is I had to patch a bit on the skirt as it was where the original button placket extended to.  It looks a bit odd close up but from a distance is not visible as I matched the dot pattern as closely as I could.

The only parts of the dress not redone was the centre back seam and vent on the skirt and the collar, yoke and button placket on the blouse.

The fabric is just some kind of polyester but it pressed beautifully and was lovely to sew with, other than extreme fraying, which my serger promptly tamed.  (Thank goodness for sergers/overlockers - this would have been a bit of a nightmare to sew without one due to the fraying).

As this is now a skirt and a blouse I can also see myself wearing this as separates.  I love the kelly green and navy combo and I am currently making a couple of things in kelly green which I think would look cute.  I am also doing a refashion of an ivory blouse from Mum's wardrobe as well, which I think will look good with the polka dot skirt.

Oh, and because the original dress came with a belt, I shortened the belt (easier than I thought) and can also wear the blouse untucked and belted for a peplum look:

Thank you Mum for your lovely dress and once again, I love that I am wearing a piece with our family history.

Refashioning: Raiding Mums Wardrobe and Making Lots of Stuff

This post has THREE refashions.  I could have broken them up into multiple posts but the photos all link them together so here they are all together.

First up - McCalls 5523 from an old moth eaten skirt.

I recently had a good rumage around my Mum's closet and "found" a few things.  (heh, heh, heh)

Amongst other things, I found a vintage wool skirt that my great aunt made for my great-great aunt in the 1980's using fabric that was recycled from a much earlier project so I think I can assume this fabric is at least as old as I am, Mum thinks its at least 50 years old.

The quality of the fabric is just gorgeous but it had been eaten in many places by moths.  Because of sentimental reasons mum had never got rid of it and I was very happy to take it to see if I could maybe do something with it.

Before.  Lapped zipper, moth holes and skirt facing.

I unpicked this skirt quite reverently, it has so much family history.  Once my great-great aunt passed away in the 1980's my mother inherited it and wore for years until it no longer fit and it was stored away.

Once unpicked and washed I was amazed at how beautifully the fabric came up.  I used McCalls 5523 View B and had some fun placing the pattern pieces around the moth holes.  For the back pleat I had to cut it out of scraps and one piece is cut slightly off grain and another is cross-grain, but even I can't tell now that it is made up.  

New pattern pieces for back pleats - divided into 3 parts with seam lines on inner fold lines

So here it is.  The back is the most interesting...

And my first ever hand picked lapped zipper:

Here are a few constructions shots showing the new guts of the skirt:

Finished new lapped zipper

A close up of the many seams in the back pleats

Despite all that, I'm very happy with how this looks.  It still sits very nicely.

Worlds smallest waistband.  No fabric for facings so I pieced together from a 1" sliver, but I love it.

And ta-da!! My very first hand picked zipper.  My stitches could be more even but I'm happy with it as a first attempt.  I wish I could show my grandmother.

I really love McCalls 5523.  I have already cut out another version and plan to make every variation.  It is so easy to get a lovely fit with the princess seams.  I pegged my skirt in at the hem an extra 1/2" each seam all round as otherwise it was looking a bit boxy for my liking, but that is such an easy adjustment.  I really recommend this pattern for a classic pencil with a lovely interesting feature at the back.

Next up - A crochet cardigan redo.

You may notice in this post my crochet cardigan I am wearing.  This is a redo from a cardigan I made last year but have never worn as the sleeves were way too tight and I also didn't really like the bottom part.  I will blog later on this week  about how I made the changes and the crochet ribbing to give a knitted effect. But here is a quick look at the before/after.

Nothing really wrong with the before, other than it just wasn't me and the super tight sleeves were soooo uncomfortable to wear.

And refashion #3 - Jeans into a Skirt

While I was at it I also turned an unworn pair of jeans that were several sizes too big for me into a simple pencil skirt.

I used Simplicity 9825 as a base and made it probably 4 sizes smaller than my normal size to accomodate the stretch  because I didn't have enough width in the fabric to make it bigger but I got away with it as the denim is super stretchy.  The yoke pieces I used to make a facing instead of a yoke.

I harvested the material by cutting all the seams off the jeans and then squared everything off so I had four rectangles on grain - 2 front legs, 2 back.  I didn't use the top part of the jeans as the sizing was so large I would have had to completely remake to get it to fit plus the stretch element made the top waistband and flyfront zip sit weirdly (which is why mum never really worn them - it sat really strange around the waistband).  But I am happy with the very simple streamlined look.  I made it all on the serger to maximise the stretch factor.

Not much more so say on that.  Its just another wearable basic.

Next up is the 1980's polka dot dress refashion.  I've already made the pencil skirt and I am THRILLED TO BITS about how it is turning out. 

Wearable Basic - Another Tee

This post is not very interesting but I do like to keep an online record of everything I make so I am adding this to the pool.  Another basic tee, its a mash up of the my own self drafted tee and the Burdastyle Lydia sleeves.   I copied a RTW top to do the neck binding and neckline and I like how it turned out.  The sleeves are elbow length as that is all I could fit on the fabric.  The back armsyce is a bit stretched out due to some faffing about/my bad but its still wearable and so hence, it's worn.  It's actually my first Me-Made-May outfit for the month.

A Girl Inspired Make a Doll Party

I'm not a very "crafty"* person but when I stumbled across this free tutorial and pattern for a Doll I knew I had to have a go for the sake of my 6 year old daughter.

Today it turned out to be a perfect school holiday activity to keep 4 little girls amused.  They loved the stuffing part and choosing their head, body and legs to make their own customised doll.

I used fabric scraps for everything (so this was a great stashbuster) and only needed to purchase the felt for the hair.  The stuffing was from an old cushion and futon stuffing (yay, recycling).  It didn't take me long, just a couple of quiet evenings to assemble everything and do the faces.

I embroidered the faces on and used black buttons for the eyes and coloured in the checks using a red pencil.

The dolls also served as great entertainment as puppets just before they were stuffed and the legs and bottom sewn up!

The tutorial and pattern was great.  Thank you very much Stef for making it available. 

*By crafty I mean the kind of person who makes stuff (knick-knacks, doo-dads, stuff that does on shelves or walls purely to be looked at), as opposed to clothes or something that has a practical use.  

Lace Yoke Tee and Me Made May 2013

I cobbled together another t-shirt using some scrap lace and this pale pink jersey from fabric.com. The back and sleeves are sheer, the neckline and sleeve edges are bound using a 1" strip of the jersey.  I serged one of the sides, sewed the unserged side right sides together and then flipped over and did a line of top stitching on the lace just catching the serged edge of the strip.  Very easy and non bulky finish. 

The front is lined with the jersey.  I planned to have it sheer but I didn't like how I could see my bra so I lined it.

 

I wore it today with jeans but I think it would look pretty tucked in to a pencil skirt as well for a dressier look.

Anyway, not much more to say about that, its the same self drafted pattern I used for my other t-shirts.

I say it was cobbled together as I really didn't try very hard to make the binding perfect.  It was very much thrown together but hey, its just a t-shirt and its very wearable so I'm glad I didn't waste spend hours extra trying to make it all perfect. 

And also, here is my signup for Me-Made-May-2013.

'I, Janelle of Sew Hopeful, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I will endeavour to wear a handmade or refashioned garment/accessory every day for the duration May 2013'.

Me-Made-May was a real turning point for me last year. I met some amazing people who I have maintained contact with over the past 12 months, I got inspired, encouraged and motivated.  I am SO looking forward to it again although it WILL be challenge.

The flickr group is here (no pics until May though) and the twitter hashtag is #MMMay13.  Two weeks to go and no panic sewing happening here (cough cough).