Finished - My first Tira

I've only actually made one Tiramisu dress and this is it:

'Scuse the face - it was freezing!

But I know it won't be the last!  I fact I've got some aubergine coloured ponte jersey for the next one.

For this dress I used a poly knit which is charcoal grey with a kind of mohair effect - this worked for me as I can't wear wool and I wanted something warmer than a cotton jersey.  As you can see we have snow, and this was actually warm enough (with a cardigan) to wear to work the other day.

The pattern has different pattern pieces for different high bust measurements (including cup sizes) and waist measurements whch you mix and match for the best fit.  You use the bust and waist measurements to construct the midriff panel, making a perfect fit easy to achieve, especially if you don't fit a standard size.  It's also really easy to use a basted fitting to tweak the size during contruction (and even afterwards).

I used the 35 size bodice in a b-cup.  I had to take 1" off the bottom of the bodice after a basted fitting of the top.  I was getting a lot of gape at the front, so I shifted the centre front of each piece but 3/4" so there was more of a crossover, which fixed that easily enough.I wanted to avoid an empire line look as it really doesn't suit me, so I lengthened the midriff piece by 2".  I cut a 30" waist skirt with a 40" length (but I think I trimmed off too much in hemming and would leave it longer the next time.  The binding goes on flat really neatly.

It's such a good pattern and I'mlooking forward to seeing her other designs - I have preordered Pavlova and she's recently announced her new designs Lammington and Hummingbird.

Steph has run a really great 30 minutes a day sewalong, and i was surprised to find this really worked well for me.  It definitely got me sewing on days when I normally wouldn't have bothered as I didn't think I had enough time.  I think I also took more time with each section as I wasn't rushing to get it done - the topstitching on this is some of the neatest I have done, just because I slowed down a bit!  She put in so much work with all the posts and guidance on getting a great fit and advice on sewing with knits.

Sod this, it's too cold!

This one's definitely a keeper and I completely recommend it to beginners to garment sewing or people new to sewing with knits.  I think Steph is going to leave up the sewalong posts for future reference.  As is her usual style, she's going to be posting way to hack the pattern and change it up, which will be great - I definitely need to try a long sleeved version.

All about the knitting

As I mentioned in a previous post, I started knitting for the first time in ages to have a portable project to take away over Christmas.  It seems that I can't just sit still with nothing to do any more!

Kerry Kestrel put me on to Kate Davies designs after seeing her lovely Manu Very Scottish Cardigan and I totally fell in love with the Deco cardigan.

I love the texture of the pattern and the way the design shapes towards the waist is so flattering (you can see it better here)!

Although I have been knitting since I was about 7, and have made loads of toys, doll's clothes, baby/ child clothes and blankets, I don't think I have ever sewn an adult garment!  So I plunged into the world of tension squares (another first!).  After trying out a heavy 4 ply, I came to the conclusion that I needed a heavier wool to compensate for my tight knitting, and chose:

Rowan Felted tweed DK in Maritime.  I actually chose it to go with some buttons I bought from the market in Brighton.  I always find it so hard to choose buttons at the end of a project, so this way I know the buttons will work!

The pattern is for 3mm needles but I am using 3 1/4 mm to get the right guage.

I'm learning loads with this pattern - there's not nearly so much shaping in kids' garments!  More about that in a future post. 

But trying to get on with this and the Tira sewalong is proving tough.  Maybe I'll hold on the knitting for a week.  I had plans to take the knitting on the train with me, which was great when it was tiny, but with a cardigan knitted all in one piece, it becomes a bit bulky when you are half way down the sleeve!

Getting my sewjo back!



Happy new year everyone!

It's been a while since I posted, but things have been pretty quiet on the sewing front.

I have a secret squirrel project that I'm working on with a friend and it's been taking up lots of evening sewing/ lunch hour blogging time.  And of course there was the festive gift making which I should have heeded Karen's advice to avoid!

I'm seeing lots of reflective posts on 2013 and looking forward to 2013 so I thought I'd jump on that particular bandwagon!

First of all, my top 5 makes from 2012 (I only really started sewing for myself in about Feb or March):

1.  My Anise jacket - I love this and can't wait for it to get warmer so I can wear it again.  Jackets are great in terms of cost/ effort per wear too!

2.  My spotty Peony - although this was supposed to be a  wearable toile, I like it much better than the final version - a definite case of overfitting!

3.  Maria Denmark Kimono tees - I totally stalked Winnie's version of these.  Although I haven't blogged them, I have made 3 - a grey marl, a navy and white strip and a white one with a sort of textured stripe - and I wear them all the time!

4. Hazel dress - I wore this loads in the summer.  It fits really well and I feel great in it!

5.  Alma blouse - I wear this a lot.  I need to work on my interfacing application as the collar is definitely wrinkly but I have another version planned.

And of course I have a sewing queue.  My priority in 2013 is going to be the things I already have fabric for and I'm going to try not to let other things jump the queue!

1.  Tiramisu dress.



 I have a cute charcoal knit for this and I think it will make a great work dress.  I love the way Steph has drafted the pattern as it looks like it will really minimise fitting time.  I'm going to be doing the sewalong which starts next week so that should keep me on schedule.  I'm looking forward to trying out Tilly's sewing in short bursts plan as I think Steph is using this for the sewalong.  So we'll see how it works for me - I think I might not like it but I'll give it a go.

2.  Juniper trousers. 



I bought the pattern when it came out and got really excited, but the fear of trouser fitting stalled me on this one.  I have a lovely soft suiting (i think it's a poly but I can't really wear wool without lining it anyway) in a charcoal grey for these and I am looking forward to having a well-fitting (and long enough) pair of trousers soon!

3.  Gertie pencil skirt. 



I got held up on this as I struggled to get hold of reasonably priced silk organza for the underlining.  Not sure what else I can use.  Any suggestions?  I have a fairly soft crepy suiting in a lovely aubergine colour so I think it does need some structure to it to make a pencil skirt.

4.  Another Alma blouse. 



I bought a great printed chiffon as it was the last on the bolt without much of an idea of what to do with it.  I think it needs to be an Alma but am undecided on which version.  The chiffon is too floppy for a collar so think it might be the scoop neck belted version (although I'm not sure if I have enough fabric for the long sleeves).

5.  Gertie portrait blouse. 



I have a teal satin for this but i'm unsure if it will be too shiny for me to actually wear once it is finished.  Maybe I should have got this done in time to wear at Christmas!  The satin was fairly cheap so I guess I can treat it as a toile if it looks too shiny.  I do love the style and relaxed shape of it.  Gertie looks beautiful in the picture from the book too!

Over Christmas I have been mainly knitting as we've been away.  I'll post soon with a sneak peek of that too!

Finished - Alma Blouse

This was my first Sewaholic pattern and I have say, I really love it!  I'm pretty late to the Alma party and have been seeing lovely versions popping up all over the blogosphere - in particular Karen's and Jane's.

For this version I totally stalked Marie's lovely peter pan collar version - I really liked the way she used the print for the body with a plain collar as it really makes the collar stand out.

I picked up the fabric for the body in the John Lewis sale - It's a cute cotton floral print.  The lady behind me in the queue nabbed the rest to make a shirt dress for her daughter and I think it would make a great

shirt dress!  The blue cotton for the collar was a remnant from my stash.

The instructions are really clear (thanks Tasia!) and the fit was great straight out of the envelope (apart from my usual length adjustments which are easy enough by now).  The only thing I am less keen on is the slightly odd sleeve length - I am still toying with shortening them after seeing Jane's version.

I do love how versatile this pattern is - I have a sheer chiffony print to make the long sleeved version, I think with the scoop neck and I am toying with a cap sleeved version from a beautiful cotton silk remnant I recently bought (but I think that may need underlining so I am nervous!).

I've worn it loads already so I am calling it a definite win!

The Brave Peony

So I definitely have to work on hubby's photo-taking-for-sewing-blog skills.  In the approx. 2 minutes he will spend taking pics before work (resulting in about 10 pics and 1 usable one) the clothes always look awful!  This dress does actually look better on and fits better than these pictures would suggest!

Anyway here is the Brave Peony.  So-called because my daughter thinks it makes me look like Merida rather than because there is actually any real bravery going on (invisible zip insertion does not count).

It is made from teal suiting, which I largely chose because I liked the colour rather than the actual fabric.  I think this was possibly a mistake.

As I had made a wearable muslin already, I knew what adjustments I wanted to make.  I had already done a lot of lengthening -2.5" to the bodice and 3" to the skirt, and added a bit to the skirt waist too. 

I did a wide shoulder adjustment which I learned in my Anise Jacket works well for me.  However I do think I need to do some changes to the armscye as a result, but I'm not sure what.  You can see it pulls slightly at the armhole seam, although the shoulder is in the right place.  Can anyone advise on this?

I also moved the waist darts out about 1" as per Lladybird's post during the Sewalong.  Although the finished dress doesn't actually look as nipple-y as these pics suggest (but it was pretty cold out that day!), I think I messed up when trying to reshape the darts for a better fit under the bust as per Gertie's post and needed to shorten them a bit more.  After having resewn them a couple of times I decided to quit while ahead!  Anyway, I think this is a classic example of overfitting on my part - the original pattern would probably have been fine!  But I often feel that I have extra fabric under the bust with Colette patterns, perhaps as they are drafted for a C-cup and I'm a B.  I do love Sarai's designs though so I will probably persist in trying to get the bust darts right for me!

I also lowered the neckline 1" after reading Rochelle's post as I do feel the neckline is a bit choking on this pattern.

I will probably make another one now I have got closer to the right fit (damn you, waist darts!) but I think I prefer the short sleeved version - the long sleeved is a bit "classic" for me (although I did get lots of compliments on this dress when I wore it for the first time!).  Maybe a sleeveless one for the summer as I do love it in a cotton print!  And with the leftover fabric (I thought I had bought the right amount but I always seem to have loads left over when I make a Colette pattern, even with the extra length I have to add) the small person wants a Brave dress for herself!

Finished - Anise Jacket

 

I actually finished this weeks ago but visiting relatives/ school holidays/ dark evening and rushed mornings have conspired against getting photos of it until now!

 

It was a lot of work, but totally worth it as I learnt such a lot - bound buttonholes, welt pockets, lining a jacket, loads of handsewing.

 

I absolutely love the colour - it cheers me up every day!  (Not that you'd know it from my face in this pic - WTF is that all about?).  As with all Colette patterns, the instructions are really clear and the jacket went together just as instructed.  I bought the Anise Companion too, most of which was used in the online details in the sewalong, and it was great to have such clear pictures in front of me to study as I was working on it.

 

 

The fit is great - it's really comfortable with no pulling or tightness thanks to the wide shoulder adjustment.  The collar is the perfect size and shape and sits really well.  I do wish I had underlined the arms though, maybe with a lighter interfacing or calico (now that I have found out this is what Amercians and pattern instructions mean by muslin, rather than the thin open weave stuff we call muslin in the UK!) as I think the fabric is pretty soft and wrinkles a bit too much.  But It's a minor niggle.  (See, I am totally not mentioning the one wonky buttonhole and the fact that the inside of one of the welt pockets is on backwards).  I am really happy witht he buttons as I agonosied over them for ages before picking these silvery ones from John Lewis.

And another pic just for the terrible faces I was pulling this morning.  I hate weird face days...

I will leave you with the comment received from my sister-in-law - "it's definitely as good as you would get in Primark" (for the benefit of non-UK readers, Primark is a cheap as chips clothing shop where jackets probably cost a maximum of £40).  I think I'll give up now.  Funny thing is, I think she meant it as a compliment!

WIP: Anise body finished

Really pleased with how the Anise is coming along.

I have finshed the body and it's starting to look like a jacket!  The sides are pinned for now as I've added a bit more to the side seams over the hips to try and get rid of the pooling at the back.  Have a feeling I should have done a swayback adjustment, but too late now!

Look at the fraying seams!  The inside looks like a plate of spaghetti!

Back view (oops - I think those darts need a bit more pressing!)

I'm really happy with the curved back seams - I basted with silk thread as instructed and it's given a great finish, so I think I'll be doing more hand basting in future.  I used to find it slow and frustrating but I've really seen on this project why it is necessary.

It has 8 bound buttonholes (one is slightly wonky and of course is not one of the mock ones that will be partly covered by a button).

I'm really pleased with the welt pockets!  One may actually be on backwards but you can only tell on the inside!