Unselfish sewing: Simplicity 1544

At Christmas time I decided to brave unselfish sewing. I love making clothes but they always have their quirks; a sleeve slightly too short or a button hole too tight. I wasn't sure if it was possible to love these 'quirks' if you hadn't spent hours slaving over it!

I decided to make a shirt for my boyfriend. After lots of consideration I used Simplicity 1544. I debated with using Colette Negroni but I wasn't too sure about the collar. Does anyone have any experience of Negroni? I made the shirt using brushed cotton which I bought from Ebay. After beginning cutting out I probably would have chosen a plain fabric rather than checks for my first shirt as it was hard to match these up. Although I have to say I am pretty proud of how well it matches up across the front.

There were lots of new skills to master when making this shirt which made it a really enjoyable project. It also gave me plenty of opportunities to practise the dreaded top stitching! I'm pretty proud of the straight seems which are top stitched but the curved ones are a bit more wobbly so it's definitely a skill I need to continue to practise!

The fit of the shirt is nice and runs true to size for the most part. The cuffs however seem to be huge! I should have compared them to one he already wears to check but I didn't think of this. If I made it again I would definitely reduce these by a couple of centimetres.

The shirt was very well received which has made me feel much more confident in making clothes for other people. How do you feel about sewing for others?

Cape crusader!

I blogged last week about The Emery dress I made for my brothers wedding. As this was a winter wedding and was going to be rather chilly I decided that I wanted to make a cape to wear on top.

I made it in wool fabric which I bought from the man outside Sainbury's. It is an old Hugo Boss wool and is a wool/poly/merino mix. The merino makes it feel really luxurious to touch and gives it a nice drape. I lined it in a light weight cotton which was also from the same place.

The pattern is from Lisa Confort's book Sew Over It Vintage. Her book doesn't contain any patterns but instead walks you through pattern self drafting. I absolutely love self drafting, any items I have made using it have always fit beautifully and I'm yet to have a failure (touch wood!) using this method. I would recommend a dress makers ruler though to make sure that any curves you create are accurate.

I'm really pleased with the combination of fabrics. The lining picks up the brown from the cape whilst the blue background seems to lift it.

Lisa completes her cape with leather buckles. I decided that I wanted a softer look so I made a bow which attaches to the other side using a popper.

The cape has plenty of volume which makes it beautifully easy to wear and gives it a floaty feel.

Whilst the cape is beautiful and kept me warm for a special occasion I definitely need to wait for the weather to warm up a bit before it becomes a well worn item. Roll on Spring!

An Emery...made just in time...

My brother recently decided to get married (with a few weeks notice) so I quickly began dreaming up dresses to make. I wanted to make a tulle dress similar to the one Carrie wore in the final episode in Sex and the City. Alas it just wasn't meant to be. I'll blog that failure when I've worked up the courage.

After messing around trying to make the 'Carrie dress' I had five days to make a dress and cape. That doesn't sound too bad until you factor in that three of these were taken up with Christmas eve, Christmas day and boxing day. This meant that the dress I settled upon needed to be a pattern I had and fabric from the stash. I settled on Christine Haynes's Emery dress and some gorgeous silk my mum bought my from Dubai.

All in all I'm actually rather glad that the previous dress failed. I felt so comfortable in this dress and in the end it felt more 'me'. The pattern was easy to make and I have to say that hands down her instructions are the most comprehension that I have ever sewn with. I sewed a size 2 grading to a size 3 on the hips. I didn't need to make any alterations to the pattern and I like the fit.

The silk worked beautifully with the pattern and provided a nice shape for the skirt.

The skirt has pockets which I always love having in skirts and dresses. The bodice is also fully lined which made the dress feel just that bit more special. I lined it using some Liberty Tana Lawn I had in my stash. I think that the muddy print worked perfectly with the silk.

The dress comes with two options; either a collar or a bow. I decided to go for the bow, which I'm pleased about. I used interfacing on the box to give it more body but it hasn't meshed well with the silk and you can see some bubbling. I definitely need to research which interfacings should be used with which fabrics. Any tips?

Is it a quilt? Is it a bag? No it's a UFO...

With the end of 2015 drawing close I've been reflecting on this year. Last Christmas I received Tilly and the Buttons sewing book for Christmas and began my journey into dress making. Since then I have learnt a lot, failed a lot but also created some clothes which I adore. I also received a tapestry kit to make a beautiful Felicity Hall clutch bag. I have been completing tapestries for a while now and have some lovely cushions so this is by no means my first yet a year later here it is...

It's not that I don't enjoy completing it. If anything I become slightly obsessive about it when I start. However, something else will then take my attention and it will lay untouched for weeks or months.

New Years Resolution Number 1: Finish the clutch bag.

I'd like to say that this was my only UFO. Sadly, there are many more. I completed a quilt for my bed a few years ago. It was actually what got me into sewing and why I bought my first machine. I loved it and completed it in the summer holidays (I have six weeks off due to being a teacher). I decided to make a smaller quilt which would be nice to have on the sofa on cold evenings. I spent hours cutting, piecing it altogether and teaching myself how to free motion quilt. All that is left to do is to sew on the bias binding...yet it has laid in a cupboard untouched for a year. It's not that I don't love it but some how I just can't motivate myself to finish it.

New Years Resolution Number 2: Finish the quilt.

Sadly clothes don't escape becoming UFOs. many of my UFOs are items which I discover to be failures on the way...poorly fitting or bad fabric decisions. But then there are the others...such as this full circle skirt. I like the skirt and the only reason it remains unfinished was that the zip went in poorly and ripped. I needed to buy a new zip. However, in this time gap my mind has wandered onto something else...something new which seems more exciting.

New Years Resolution Number 3: Finish the successful items of clothes.

All of my UFOs have a key theme...I become distracted by something new...a new patterns, piece of fabric or even craft itself. I may need to have a new rule; no new items until the last one is finished. But then again, maybe that's too many resolutions for one year. How do you combat ending up with piles of UFOs?

Present sewing

With Christmas looming, sewing for myself has taken a back seat. The past three weeks have been a mixture of delight and panic at the amount of sewing I needed to do. Phew though, as of about an hour ago I made my way to the end. This was mainly thanks to the fact that work tends to slow down heavily in the last week before Christmas holidays so I have been able to sew in the evenings which is usually impossible. My first Christmas make this year was a pair of tote bags. I made them with a meter each of Liberty Lawn which I bought in the Abakhan Liberty sale over Black Friday.

I'm really pleased with how they turned out and with the new shopping bag policy I think that they're a pretty useful gift. I'd like one myself but it seems so indulgent to use a meter of Liberty lawn for a bag for myself.

The pattern came from the rather lovely book 'The Liberty Book of Home Sewing' which gives very clear instructions on making the bag. It also gives ideas for how to take your product further. For the bags it shows you how to make a small bag carrier so you could clip it into your handbag. The book doesn't come with patterns but gives easy to follow instructions on how to make your own.

The bags have a small amount of top stitching. Something which I'm not very confident doing and which could definitely be better on the bags as you can see! I tend to wobble off line as soon as there's a curve!

The bags are joined by the handle and strengthened by sewing triangles. Whilst this isn't the prettiest finish (I considered many others) I came to the conclusion that it was the most practical. Here's hoping that the recipients like them as much as I do! How is your Christmas sewing coming along?

I admit it...I'm a selfish sewer.

It's confession time...I am at heart a selfish sewer. Despite having made many things for myself, clothing, quilts and cushions to name but a few I still really prefer to sew for myself. But Christmas is upon us...and I find myself considering sewing gifts for other people.

Making gifts for people is so personal, the time spent choosing patters, fabric and sizing. Then there is all the time which you invest making the item itself. Making something is so personal that I really only do it for people who I am sure will like what I make. I'd feel incredibly sad if I made something for someone only to find that it either sat collecting dust in a cupboard or worse...never even made it into the cupboard to start with.

Despite this I have decided to be brave and attempt to make some Christmas presents this year... for people who I think I know well enough to choose pattern and design for.

So here is my first unselfish make...

I made these pyjama bottoms for my boyfriend using the Tilly and the Buttons pattern in Love at First Stitch. As I want them to be a surprise I used an existing pair he has to choose the size to make.

I made them using a cotton I found at Walthamstow Market. I really like the design on them but boy do they crease! I'm sure you won't believe that I actually ironed these before taking photos! I'm pretty pleased with how well I managed to match the stripes going across the trousers. Pattern matching is usually disastrous for me! Tilly recommends having a tie go through the waist band but I wanted to use elastic instead. To use elastic I cut it to size then sewed the grosgrain ribbon on each end. This could then be fed through the waist band and top stitched it down to secure it.

As they are a present I couldn't resist adding a little extra detail...

I decided to cross stitch the initials of his name onto the top of the pyjamas. I did this by using soluble cross stitch canvas. It's brilliant stuff, you stich your design on, pop it in warm soapy water and hey presto 10 minutes later it's disappeared!

All in all I am please with them...here's hoping that he is too and I may become more open to a little more unselfish sewing.

Deer and Doe Anemone

I am quickly becoming a HUGE fan of Deer and Doe patterns! They are always truly beautiful inside and out! I made the Anemone in a stretch twill which I bought from Goldhawk road and it's lined in blue cotton. I cut it out of one and a half metres easily even when I was attempting to match the horizontal lines of the pattern. I was convinced that I wanted to make a patterned Anemone but maybe the peplum detail would have stood out more if I had made it plain.

The pattern was beautifully easy to sew. Because there were so many parts to the skirt I found it useful to write the name on each with a washable pen so I didn't get confused. The instructions were easy to follow and unlike many of the things I have made it was completely stress free!

Because of the curve which runs through each pattern piece I wasn't able to pattern match completely but it definitely could have been much better than it is. Pattern matching is a skill I really need to work on. If you have any tips that would be brilliant!

it could have done with being taken in slightly on the waist. I hadn't anticipated it sitting quite as high as it does so when fitting I didn't fit it to the correct place on my waist.

I'm completely in love with the peplum detail!

The lining makes the skirt feel absolutely gorgeous to wear. I love it when an item of clothing is beautiful both inside and out, it makes it feel so special.