The Circle of Top

So in one of Papercut Patterns' sales a few months back I bought a few patterns. I had planned to get some of their most recent collection, but ended up going with older patterns instead. This is the first one I've sewn, the Circle Top.

I love cardigans and jumpers. Honestly, it's a good thing I can't knit because I'd be wanting to make so many cardis. Overflowing piles of fabric and patterns are enough to deal with without adding a yarn stash in. So I'm going to make what I can with sewing instead. I haven't yet made much in the way of cardigans because I haven't found patterns I like, but this one is really good.

What appealed to me about the Circle Top is how cosy it looked. I do like fit and some level of structure in my other clothes, but I'm a big fan of cardigans and jumpers that can be pulled around oneself, sleeves that I can pull down over my hands, and generally having cardis that are as blanket-like as possible. This pattern being a giant circle with long sleeves basically is a wearable round blanket, so it's great. It can be worn with the top half of the circle up like a hood or down like a cape collar, so it's nice and versatile.

The fabric is just a basic dove grey ponte from Spotlight which I bought for this pattern. I wasn't entirely sure on how the size of this pattern would affect the drape, and I also wanted something that was still solid enough to definitely be durable. I thought a ponte would fit the bill well. And it didn't hurt that it was on sale. I chose a plain fabric because I wasn't sure how a print would turn out with this top, and the dove grey because it's nice and neutral but not drab. Although it does look a little like the killer in I Know What You Did Last Summer when viewed from behind with the hood up.

The pattern is rated rookie, and it really is. It'd be a great choice of pattern for a newbie sewist looking to learn how to use knits. Honestly, it took longer to cut out the pattern than it did to sew it. And half of the sewing time is attaching the binding to the enormous circular hem. Even setting in the sleeves, often really frustrating to do, was very simple. The stretch of the ponte definitely helped with that. but the sizing and shape of the sleeve piece was just right.

This was also my first time sewing with a ponte, and it was a good experience. I had previously sewn lycra and double knit, so it wasn't entirely new. And just like those fabrics, it flowed through my machine with pretty much no problems. The only slight issue was on the hem binding, which is made of three pieces then sewn onto the top. That means that at the seams there are quite a few payers of fabric. My Janome handles those sorts of things, but it does let me know they aren't it's favourite thing to do. But, as long as I slow down and pay attention, it works fine.

I really enjoyed this. It's a quick make, comfortable and easy to throw on with anything.I most likely will make this again, and probably experiment with something other than a ponte. I also might move the sleeves up an inch so that when I put it up on my head as a hood it doesn't fall all the way in front of my eyes. If I make a summery lightweight version I'll also move the sleeves in a teeny bit so that the seams sit on my shoulders, rather than just off as they do on this one.

Hot Pink Merino

The weather is warming up, so this might be the last winter item I blog this year. The pattern is an adjusted version of the Fave Top from Tessuti Patterns. It's a one size pattern and designed to be oversized, so was initially far too overwhelming on me. I trimmed it in, also giving it slightly longer sleeves in the process. This was a bit of trial and error, cutting off a bit more and a bit more until it no longer seemed like I was a toddler playing dress-ups.

I added cuffs to the ends of the sleeves to make it properly long sleeved and wintery. I did initially stuff up the neckline, though. I wanted to make it more of a boatneck but cut it a little too wide so it was wanting to slip down off one shoulder. Combined with the batwing top it was all a bit too '80s, especially as my hair doesn't take much to be '80s fluffy! So I added a small foldover pleat to the centre front and a neckband to bring it in a little and keep it on my shoulders. It's still a loose neckline, but not falling off any more.

The fabric is a merino from The Fabric Store, and is lightweight but still relatively warm. I was a little daunted to sew with it, but it wasn't too bad. It behaved itself very well in my machine. Plus, it was on sale so I hadn't spent too much money on it!

I finished this top over a month ago, but it's taken me a while to put it up. Honestly, it's turned out just how I'd envisioned it, but when I put it on after finishing it I wasn't excited by it. It matched pretty much exactly what was in my head (the sleeve cuffs were meant to be maybe half an inch shorter, but that's it) but I didn't feel as good about it as I thought I would. I'm not normally one to wear oversized and untailored styles, so this top is a departure for me (apart from it being bright and colourful), so it took a few wears to get used to the shape.

This is actually the second lot of photos I took for this. The first were taken at a different spot and on a very sunny day and were all either far too bright or completely washed out. This time it was a slightly cloudy day and I waited for the sun to be off to the side behind some trees, and they've turned out much better.

The pink is very pink. It's been a while since I sewed a pink this bright, but I have sewn with a lot of pink fabrics in the past. At one point I banned myself from buying any more after noticing my excessive pinkness in the line at Lincraft. It was winter, so I was wearing my coat which is fuschia lined with hot pink satin, my phone at the time was pink, I was wearing pink tights, and two of the three fabrics I was buying were pink. I decided I needed to stop being the pink sewing Barbie, and didn't allow myself anything pink for a year. I do now try and be more varied in my colour choices, but was never going to be able to resist something as fabulous as this.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this top. A few things I've made this year have been outside my normal style comfort zone, and it is fun to experiment with different shapes. But it does take getting used to. And because I am, well, child-sized I do need to do adjustments when making something loose and oversized like this. Still, it's turned out well and is very comfy, which is the most important thing.

Hand-sewn Guipure Top

Lace is pretty, but scary. I think I've only sewn with it once before, and it was a cheap piece I found at the local Salvos, only costing $5 for 4 metres of it. It also seems less versatile, so while I could find something to do with a printed cotton, finding something for lace is harder. But when I saw this remnant piece at a local fabric store, My Hung Fabrics, I couldn't go past it. It was $15 for the 40cm piece, so that was an amazing bargain I had to get.

I knew pretty much immediately I was going to make a top with it. The lace is 90cm wide, so it's about the same as the circumference around my shoulders. All I needed to do was stitch the sides together to make a tube, stitch it on either side of the cut edge of the tube so that it left enough room to put it over my head, and clip out around some of the flowers on either side to form the armscye/cap sleeves. So easy on paper. And it was actually surprisingly easy to do, although a bit terrifying to cut in to.

The shape of the top is very basic and simple, given it is just a tube with arm holes, but the simplicity means it drapes really well. It's comfortable and unfussy, but looks really nice. The bottom edge of the top, which would have been the bolt end of the fabric, is uneven as the flowers fall to different places. I did remove one flower from the bottom which was much lower than the others, but left all the others as they were.

One thing I like about hand sewing is that it lets you be so exact. It takes longer, and you have to force yourself to be patient, but you can stitch everything completely hidden. I had a thread that was almost the same colour as the lace to use for this top, and now I can barely find where I stitched the sides together. Machine stitching doesn't let you do that, especially not with a fancy delicate fabric. The neckline is probably where you can most easily found where I've sewn it together, because I had to add in a couple of extra flowers and leaves where the fabric had been cut through. I removed the flowers and leaves that had been cut in half, and added in pieces I'd cut out for the front neckline.

As the whole top is hand sewn, I spent a lot of time watching Netflix while making it (like an excuse is needed to watch Netflix!). I managed to watch the entirely of The Thick of It, which makes a kind of weird juxtaposition. Sweary Malcolm Tucker and fancy fancy lace, probably not a normal combination.

When I bought this lace, the woman at the fabric store told me it was an amazing bargain because Guipure lace normally goes for $100+. So after I finished this top on Saturday night I had a bit of a look online at other Guipure lace, out of interest at its price and because I enjoyed working with it. The few examples on My Hung Fabric's website start at $120. Tessuti fabrics has one that looks pretty much identical except for the colour which is $253 a metre!. That gave me a slight heart attack to see. Honestly, I think if I'd seen that before I started making the top I never would have dared touch the fabric.

But I'm glad I did buy this fabric and make this top, because it's gorgeous. And the fabric is just another reminder that remnant bins are THE BEST PLACE to find fabrics you'd otherwise be too scared to buy.

Bettine the Elephant

My friend Erin found this fabric at the Mission Australia warehouse near her place, which has apparently a lot of fabric. There's a small op shop that's open all the time, but the warehouse is only open a few times a year. Luckily my friend happened to hear about it on the radio back on their March open day and went along. She sent me a picture of this elephant fabric and asked if I wanted it. Stupid question, of course I wanted it, who wouldn't?

The fabric looks great, with its silhouetted elephants and mottled white/grey/black background, but it's not exactly the best quality. It's some sort of poly crepe, so won't be breathable enough for high summer in Sydney when it gets to 70%+ humidity and 30+ degrees. But for nice days when the temperature is mid-high 20s and a bit drier, it should be comfortable. It's also tightly woven which means it only lets a bit of light through but isn't see through. That freed it up to a broader range of possible uses and patterns.
Enter the Bettine Dress.

Tilly and the Buttons' new Bettine Dress was released on my birthday, which was obviously a sign that I had to make it. Its semi-drapey style which made it a good fit for the elephant fabric. The pattern is also simple enough that it lets the print be the focus, which I really wanted for this fabric. And the dress has GIANT pockets! Pockets are left off far too many women's patterns, and sometimes when they're included they are added in a way that makes them bulky and generally look bad. Not with the Bettine! It probably helps that the fabric I used is very light, but the pocket and skirt sit really well.

 I'm often not a fan of elasticated waists. If they don't sit at the right spot I find them uncomfortable, they can cause the fabric to bunch up weirdly, and I find they can look a bit lazy. Luckily nonse of these issues was a problem with the Bettine. The blousy top means it hangs slightly over the elastic which makes it look nicer, and it's also just a really comfortable dress. So maybe I'll be less averse of elasticated waists in the future.

I decided to do the optional sleeve tabs just so that I could use these vintage elephant buttons. They're from the 1950s, plastic, and I found them years ago at a vintage fair for a couple of dollars. They sat in one of my boxes of buttons for years, just waiting for an elephant print fabric to be matched with. See, sometimes picking up weird pieces of kitsch really pays off as you end up with the perfect finishing touches.

The tabs themselves were probably the most annoying part of making the Bettine, because I couldn't get them quite even. Because this fabric is very much cheap quality it was a bit awkward to pin and cut out. For the main pattern pieces that doesn't matter because any unevennes can be hidden in the seams, but for little pieces like cuffs, a few millimetres off shows up with one side of the tab being wider than the other. But it's only noticeable if you look really close, so I can live with it.

It was a very easy pattern to sew, and is really comfortable to wear. I already have another fabric in my stash that I'm considering for a Bettine, so I guess I'm a fan. 

Silk and Linen Harvest Top

It's been a few weeks since my last post. I've been sewing, just hadn't gotten around to blogging. But three creations were photographed today so I have no excuse to be lazy in updating here for the rest of the month.

First up is the Harvest Top, a free pattern from Peppermint Magazine, made by Pattern Runway in collaboration with The Fabric Store. I tend to mostly make dresses and skirts, and have only made a couple of blouses, but I liked the boxy, softly oversized style of this one.

I decided that, seeing as the pattern has separate yoke and waistband pieces, that I'd make them with a contrasting fabric. The main silk fabric is a lightweight check taffeta from Tessuti that I've seen there for quite a while but never had any ideas for. I wanted the contrast fabric to be less fancy, so that the top could be dressed up or down. I wandered around the shop trying to find a good matching contrast for the yoke and waistband, but was indecisive about what I wanted. In the end I grabbed a grey cotton that seemed the right shade. Unfortunately I didn't realise until I got home that is was very much a stretch fabric and completely useless for this top. Oops. So I headed to Spotlight where I found this basic grey linen and decided it'd have to do. Luckily, the fabrics work together (at least I think so!), so my stuff up wasn't too much of a problem.

So making the pattern. I haven't used a Pattern Runway pattern before, but it was pretty straightforward, and easy to follow instructions. I am a bit smaller than the smallest size, so given that this top is already slightly oversized I decided to take in the sides an inch or so, which was easy enough. It's still probably a little looser on me that it's designed to be, but not so much that it looks like I'm wearing the wrong size. It just looks like a loose fit boxy blouse, which is exactly what it is.

The blouse buttons up the back, which I really like. I inherited a large box full of buttons from my grandma, and very luckily found these etched grey buttons that match the linen and complement the silk. There were even exactly the five buttons I needed for the top!

The looser, squarer shape of this top is different to what I tend to wear, but I like it. I think the combination of the cut and the fabrics means it has both structure and softness. And I'm already looking around Pattern Runway's site at their other patterns trying to decide what other patterns I want to make!

Winter Garden Party

The one good thing about this winter being so cold is I've finally gotten around to using this vintage woven wool that's been sitting in my stash for two and a half years. I found it at an antique shop on the Central Coast and had to buy it. The beautiful soft green with pink and orange roses has a really timeless feel to it. Obviously it was going to be a winter dress, but I had to find the right pattern first.

Then a few months back I did a big internet search of free sewing patterns and found the Garden Party Dress from Honig Design. The cut of the dress is really nice, but it's the neckline that stood out with its slashed front detail. It gets to be a high neckline which is good for winter without being too tight or dowdy. The pleated skirt has enough fullness while still sitting flat at the waist. The fabric had a finished selvedge, so I didn't need to hem the skirt or sleeves - yay laziness!

As is usual for me, I made a few adaptations for myself. Firstly, I lengthened the sleeves to bracelet length. Originally the sleeves were meant to finish just past the elbow, but sleeves that length tend to annoy me because they get caught in jumpers and the cuffs cut in when I move my arms. Also, the longer length makes it more of a proper winter dress. To work with the extra length I also narrowed the sleeves a bit so it would have the same softly fitted look as the rest of the dress.

The big thing that wasn't in the original pattern is the pintucking. It was something that I'd thought of for the fabric long before I found the garden party pattern, and I really didn't want to let go of that plan. And I had four metres of the fabric, so I knew if I screwed it up I would have enough left over to make a plain bodice. I didn't have a plan about how to add pintucks, though, and don't have any patterns with pintucking, so I basically made it up as I went along. I widened the bodice at the shoulder seams and neckline, and then added pintucks until the shell was the same size as the lining. I trimmed a bit off the side seams because there wasn't enough for a third pintuck, and I had to add a centre tuck which I initially wasn't happy about, but I think it ended up looking fine.

The bodice is lined using the same wool fabric. But because it frays like crazy I wanted to hide as many raw edges as possible. Working out how to set in sleeves while keeping the lining out of the way was a bit of a challenge; attaching the skirt while trying to do the same was even harder because of how much fabric there was to keep track of. Then I folded the seams back in to the bodice and hand stitched the lining down so that everything was enclosed and neat.

When I finished the dress and tried it on, I thought it had a very sixties folk vibe, like something that would have been worn at Newport Folk Festival when Dylan went electric, or maybe by Michelle Phillips from The Mamas and the Papas. I actually put on California Dreaming immediately after as it seemed completely fitting. So I now have the right outfit should I ever become a sixties folk singer.

Of course, once I'd finished the dress and washed and pressed it, in came the rain. And with more rain forecast over the next few days I thought I was going to have to wait a while to take pictures. Luckily the rain today only lasted a few hours and I was then able to go out and get my photos, although I did have to be careful not to slip over in the mud!

I really liked making this pattern and love the final result. Given the garden party dress has a few skirt, sleeve, and neckline variations, I'd say I'll probably make it again. Although I don't think I'll try and add pintucks again next time.

The Lola Jumper

It is cold down here in Sydney, so it's jumper and cardi season. I haven't owned a fleecy jumper in years because I never liked any I saw in stores, but last year I made the Lola Dress by Victory Patterns, an empire line princess seamed fleece dress, and it was wonderful and cosy and easy to make. So I decided it would be a good base pattern to adapt for a jumper.  

I bought the fabric at Spotlight, in the clearance section, for $8 a metre. They had a lot of other fleeces - there are lots of fleeces with assorted animals on them around at the moment! - but none of them really grabbed me. This one, with windows and clocks and buildings printed on it, was probably the simplest print, and colourwise goes with more thins. And being half the price of the others, I decided it was the best one.

Because the original pattern is an empire line dress with a scooped back seam and elbow-length sleeves, I obviously had to lengthen everything. I also went up three sizes so that it would be roomier without  being too oversized. I got the roominess right, but I didn't quite add enough length. Even though I measured it before cutting it out, even thinking I'd added a bit more than I might need but would be able to trim it back if necessary, my measuring was obviously off. It finishes about an inch and a half shorter than I'd planned on the sleeves and the waist, making it a slightly cropped jumper when it wasn't really meant to be. But the cuffs keep the warmth in, so the length isn't really an issue.

I like that the curved hem makes the jumper longer at the back. I don't know about others, but I find that my lower back being exposed on a cold day makes me feel colder than anything else. Although the jumper is a little cropped, it still ends far enough down at the back to keep me covered up and warm.

The jumper was very easy to make, the instructions are straightforward and easy to follow. Although attaching the ribbing is a bit tricky. I swear it takes more time just to get the ribbing pinned evenly than it does to sew the entire jumper! I really think it needs three hands to properly get it in place, unless you want it to be very loose.