Friday, April 19, 2013

Thank Goodness It's Done!

Kwik Sew 3889

I'm a bit OCD when it comes to finishing one project before beginning another. I can stash fabric, hoard patterns (without a second thought of sewing them) and collect any number of notions, but cut a new garment before finishing the current piece of clothing? ... Never!

The jacket has been cut since February. The sewing was pretty easy, given the KS great instructions, even the addition of lining didn't add that much to the sewing time, but I didn't like the fit of the sleeves one little bit. After tacking, unpicking, rearranging, pushing and pulling, it was obvious that with a one piece sleeve what I had was as good as it was going to get.

All the fabric had been used (it was fabric leftover from another project) cutting a 2-piece sleeve was out of the question - truth be told, if I'd gone with a toile to test the pattern, I probably wouldn't have made the jacket. At least it's one piece fabric gone, and it is a cute little jacket with jeans, and I dooo love the back detailing.



Now onto some new sewing, YEAH!!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Food for Thought

In no particular order, I've pulled 5 fabrics to include in my winter 2013 wardrobe. All have been languishing in the stash for a bit - some more than others.

First up is this lovely sweater knit, purchase July 2012 (one of the newer additions). While you probably can't see from the photo, there is a fine gold thread running through the beige knit. The knit itself resembles a lacy hand knit. The plan is to sew a draped front cardigan which will be really useful on those more casual outings, and will complement nicely my grey/black/cream flecked skirt.



Another sweater knit, this time in a cotton blend. The colour in the photo is a little inaccurate, as it is closer to a jade colour than the blue it appears here. A little undecided as to the style as yet, so this will sewn at a later date. The fabric was gifted by a friend last year, when she was cleaning out her sewing fabrics (she no longer sews garments, just quilts).



Hmmm. I bought this fabric (along with a similar piece in black)a few years ago now, thinking it would be great for after five. After making the black, this turquoise/silver shot piece was set aside. I'm thinking some kind of wrap top.



This is a lovely red linen piece. Or pants, with a bit of imagination. I'm hoping there will be enough to make another skirt from the vogue pattern.


This is to be my first piece sewn. Ihave several patterns in mind (a couple of Ottobre and a KS)for this knit, but basically a long sleeved T, in fact, there's probably enough fabric for 2 tops. With all the skirts I've been making, tops are now a bit of a priority.



Anyway, these fabrics are my jump off point.

Monday, April 1, 2013

A Jacket to Start the "Sew Your Own Wardrobe For a Year" Challenge

Today is the start of the Sew Your Own Wardrobe For a Year challenge (Well actually, it started here, Downunder, yesterday!) - Check out the sidebar for the link. So, it's time to get cracking and get that wardrobe underway.



I've started to make this jacket to co-ordinate with the skirts from the previous post, plus a couple of other items already in the wardrobe.

This KS jacket is unlined, however, I'm going to line mine.

I've chosen a cool wool fabric (perfectly suited to our milder winters here in Sydney), lined with some black satin I already had in the stash. I've fused interfacing to the entire jacket to give it extra stability and a bit of body. So far, I've constructed the main jacket and lining and am about to set in the sleeves.



Being narrow in the upper chest, there is still a bit of excess fabric in that area that needs to be removed before the sleeves can be set properly.

I'm really liking the design, especially the panelling detail on the back which extends around to the front.



With autumn well and trully here, the jacket will come in very handy.

Bye for now