Tag Archives: style

All about pink

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Front RightWhat can I say, I don’t really need to say anything about the garment, as I have mentioned it previously in an earlier post. Left Front The fabric is a polyester jersey, to give added stretch and ensure the perfect fit.

Again, I was delighted when my daughter asked me to make something for her. I was told what colour to choose and it had to be off the shoulder without a strap (teenagers know exactly what they want these days).

A couple of hours later, the result: a pink, cheeky little number with a total cost £3.5o and a satisfied daughter, a good day all in all 🙂

Front Centre

Just a little bit crazy revisited

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This is the second time I have made this New Look 6940 garment. I had some leftover fabric from a previous top I made, so decided to make another everyday top (two for the price of one, I do love a bargain).

Front View

Without zips, pleats, or tucks it was simple and quick to make.  I am finding my gathering skills are coming along nicely.  This top has horizontal and vertical gathers through the centre, this being my second attempt at the horizontal gathers, I think they worked much better.  I do have to mention though that gathering sleeves is a bugbear of mine and subsequently I don’t feed I do the best job, I would much prefer to fit and wear a flat sleeve rather than all the puffiness on a garment of this nature.

The top has a centre back seam, a centre front seam and a v neckline which was steering towards round rather than v shaped once the bias tape was  added, I inserted a couple of stitches at the centre and the v returned 🙂

I think my next creation will again be one I have made before but the fabric will be more vibrant, there has been quite a lot of black recently, stay tuned.

A little less ordinary

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Front ViewMoving on with my knitted material, I am on a role now and getting quite used to how defiant some fabrics can be. I bought this particular material before I had a design in mind. I thought it needed something slightly different, a bit out of the ordinary and a touch adventurous if I am honest. So a little off the shoulder number was just the job.

The top comprises of a gathered shoulder seam, inside half length facing and a casing with elastic around the underarm to keep it in place. I used bias tape again on the armhole. All in all it took me about four hours to make, not enough time for the fabric to start curling at the edges out of sheer boredom.

Now all I need is a night out so I can wear it 🙂Shoulder

Knitted and fitted

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Front ViewI made this top from a new Simplicity pattern 2364, which includes a number of different versions which are made from knitted material.   I wanted to make something that I could wear every day, at home or work.  This type of design is typically me.  I decided to use simple black fabric that would go with everything it also has a slight stretch.  An easy option you might think but this particular pattern relies on right and wrong side of the material very much and plain black does not have a right and wrong side, that was my stumbling point, the more I manhandled it the more it decided to curl up in protest at the edges.

The yoke is sewn onto the back, gathered and attached to the front under the armholes, I thought this was a lovely alternative to a traditional plain round neck.  The front section is folded through the centre to give a reinforced neckline which gapes slightly and can be teased into various different positions.

The material is extremely soft and comfortable to wear and quite flattering too.  I can see this becoming a favourite of mine, I also had enough material left to make something else 🙂

Project Runway version two

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Concealed zipProject Runway DressThis is the second dress I have made from the Simplicity Project Runway pattern K2588. I decided to choose the scoop neck without sleeves, again I used bias tape rather than facings. I also chose the flared skirt rather than the fitted one and this time it worked 🙂

The front has four pleats in the skirt and comprises of separate sections on the top to create the shape. The back also has four pleats in the skirt and two darts in the top. I put in a concealed zip (finally after matching 3 separate seams down the back, it took me a few attempts!) I finished the neckline after the zip was put in so ensure a neater finish on the inside.

Something for the day job

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I decided to make something  I could wear for work.  The pattern Lisette 2059 came with a magazine, I found the material in a local shop for £3.  The garment in the pattern had long sleeves but I chose to put shorter sleeves on this one as the warmer weather is upon us. The front is plain with a coupBlouse Frontle of darts, the back is in four pieces with gathers running horizontally across the centre.Back View  The cut is bigger than I would normally wear and I took it in 1″ smaller than the pattern size too.

Project Runway that escaped me

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Armhole & YokeI finally finished my dress. This has been what seemed like an endless journey of ups and downs and much blood, sweat and tears. Sewing the bodice and the yoke was an experience in itself, all was going well and the end was in sight when to my horror the material didn’t suit the full skirt and subsequently made my lower half seem rather large. So back to the drawing board I went, zip was out, the bottom half was unpicked and turned into something more flattering then it had to be put back together again, matching seams, pleats and darts so it all looks just right. The zip finally went back in, the yoke was sewn again, hem was done and this is the finished article.

The way forward

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After making my floral dress last week, I realised after much soul searching that I resembled one of those dolls with the wide woollen skirt that hides a toilet roll; a look that really isn’t for me.  So a weekend of unpicking ensued with a plan to redesign the skirt this week .  Keeping fingers crossed that this works and its not the material that doesn’t suit me rather than the dress 🙂