A Touch of Lace Top - Burda WOF 04/05- 106.

I have been loving the lace trend and in the past have had some lace shirts/tops which I  adored  but are long gone. I was going to buy some lace but then remembered that I had a small remnant left over from a lined lace dress my oldest daughter sewed about 3 years ago - sometimes  my stash surprises even me . I also love white shirts - they are my most used and practical garments but I like them to be a little different and interesting rather than just plain. So enter .......

This Burda model looks so self assured, relaxed and chic - of course I want to sew this.

Burda WOF - Pattern 106 from April 2005 - one I have been wanting to make since well 2005 . It is a dropped shoulder almost kimono looking top with a waist band  . I used a scrap of white soft poly to interline the lace pieces . The main part of the top was cut from a fabric which looks like a light weight silk dupioni  . The top was easy to construct but I did not completely follow the instructions because they made the sewing the top harder than it should be . I only sewed up the side seams once I had completely constructed the top and then added the waist band.

 

The lace panel continues around the back and I added lace to the arm bands.

Overall this is a terrific little pattern - really great for using small pieces of scrap  fabric and the main part of the top took only 70cm  . I am thinking of trying this pattern again using some scraps of satin and experimenting with colour blocking but who know when that will happen - probably when that trend has totally passed and looks out of place :).

But for now my middle DD has announced that she does want to buy any new summer clothes but wants to me to sew her a pair of shorts and a dress - patterns and fabric have been chosen after a marathon 2 hour trip to Spotlight - I am sure this will keep me out of trouble for a while.

Cheers Janine.

Butterick 4247 - A Green Handbag.

 I have been sewing a bag lately. My current handbag is on the way out - the straps are starting to break. 

I bought this pattern back in 2005 when I first had the bright idea to sew a bag. Better late than never I suppose.

                I used all fabrics from my stash  - this is printed linen that was in a large plastic tub of patchwork fabrics I bought last year for only $15.

The lining material was also included in the tub. I modified the pattern to include pockets in the lining and added a concealed zip flap at the top . I interfaced the bag with remnants of fleecy - the stuff that is fluffy on the inside and looks like knit on the outside. I was going to throw out the pieces because they are too small to sew any clothes with but I read about this tip to use it for interfacing bags and it is great. Really adds weight and thickness.

I finally managed to find a use for these charms  . The sewing charms I bought 20 +years ago and the tea charms on a holiday in 2006 . I found them irresistable but had no idea what I would do with them.

I used some very old and very  heavy metal buttons for the bag feet - I remember playing with these buttons from my Mum`s button jar when I was a little girl. ( Just to clarify - Mum gave me these I didn`t nick them !)

Pattern Review is having a handbag competition which was the push and the shove I needed to finally make a bag.
Cheers Janine.

Kwik Sew 2694/2900 -Remnant of a Remnant Top.

It feels good to be back on the bandwagon so to speak- selfishly sewing for me !
I have been doing some boring sewing - sheets, pillowcases and a swing seat roof cover.
This was very good for stashbusting but not so good for my sewing psyche.
However I did manage to use the OLDEST piece of fabric from my stash in doing so  - 2 and 1/2 metres of garbadine in exactly the same grey that primary school boys have their pants made of - see why it was in the stash for so long . When I got married I inherited this fabric from my new husband - see my husband came with a dowry - free fabric - how could I have not married him. Pity the fabric was ugly but beggars can not be choosers -lol. ( If you want to know I have been married 22 years and the fabric was at least 6 years old when I received it . )

So I have eventually gotten around to sewing the remnant knit from my daughters knit top( from my last post )  that in itself was a remnant from my eldest DD`s knit skirt !

My tatty Kwik Sew Pattern - 2694.

I used Kwik Sew 2694 but added in the long sleeves from Kwik Sew 2900 and also added a band around the front/back pieces . I choose KS 2694 because the front upper and lower bodice pieces are only small - perfectly  suited for my scraps. I only had enough fabric to cut one sleeve and the lower front  bodice and one upper front and the band . I really liked this fabric and was determined that I should get a garment out of it somehow ! A few weeks ago my Mum took me to Darn Cheap Fabrics in Heidelberg , Melbourne. I didn`t have my remnant material with me so I had to make a guess as to what would match  relying on my memory ( that can be dodgy sometimes ). I bought some dark teal mesh and although it doesn`t match perfectly I think it blends in quite well.

This pattern is very simple to sew - I made this top over the course of a week in about 6 easy sewing sessions including cutting out. I doubled the mesh where used for the back, one sleeve and one upper front - this eliminates the see -through factor and makes the top a bit more snuggly warm. Before sewing the garment I stitched the mesh together at the tops and bottoms of the pattern pieces and then just treated them as one piece of material.
I have previously sewn Kwik Sew 2694 twice before - the upper front is a bit revealing - I have to wear those tops with a camisole underneath . Adding the front band has eliminated this need. I simply cut out two long rectangles 5cm wide and sewed them together. Then this long rectangular piece is folded together - wrong sides together - and attached to the garment ( after you have sewn the upper fronts to the back ) right sides together. I then zigzagged the raw edge , ironed this and top stitched the band on the main garment pieces. Also as I was attaching the band I stretched this fabric slightly to snug up the front bodices.
I would highly recommend this pattern although it is getting pretty old now.

Now here is my ` happy` problem` - I used up all my remnant knit but in buying the  teal mesh I asked for 1 1/2 metres but the sales assistant was very generous and gave me what was left on the roll - over 3 metres ! So now I have a remnant of the teal mesh and now I will have to buy more fabric to use up this remnant ! I know - lucky these are the `problems` I face.

Hope everyone is happy and healthy. Cheers Janine.

The ultimate Sewing Experience (for me ) .

The Ultimate Sewing Experience - sewing a wedding dress for myself or one of my DDs?  sewing a bias cut silk chiffon evening dress ? sewing a couture technique fitted jacket?  Nah !  For me the ultimate sewing experience are PJ shorts.

Cheap and Cheerful Polyester Satin remant.

Sewing PJ Shorts are quick. easy and brainless sewing - like sewing meditation or yoga - it is totally relaxing.

Japanese cotton -only 40cm wide fabric but the roll had over 12 metres on it ! ? traditional Kimono fabric. Brought home from Japan by my daughter - a gift from her host family.

You can use up small remnants of fabric not big enough to sew anything else with but too big to discard. I also get to use little bits of ribbons , even almost empty bobbins and spools of threads that have been  hanging around forever.  

Polycotton remnant - white with small navy stars. Very soft !

                     Best of all they get used heaps of times. ( Also alleviates sewing guilt for not sewing for significant others and can be used for future  bribes - I sewed you some PJ shorts so you should take the dog for walks  for the next month etc etc . ) ( Not that the bribes work but worth a try .)

Liberty of London Tana Lawn - I got this from my mother - she bought this in the 80s for only $5.00/metre when Buckley`s and Nunn a department store in Melbourne was closing down.

I used New Look 6928 an OOP pattern for sleepwear. A pretty standard one seam pants pattern. I took off several cms from both the waist and the leg length - my daughter`s preferences. This pattern has both an elastic waist and a narrow tie inserted in the waist - helps to tell the front from the back and looks a little bit more upmarket !

Overall I find sewing PJ shorts VERY satisfying.

 Anyway all of this sewing `meditation` has helped me decide on the pattern for my next project. Until then Cheers Janine.