Monday 24 March 2014

The four tops..


 
Ok so here goes....my top making journey so far. 
 

 
Spurred on by The Sewing Bee like lots of us it seems,
 and having mastered the basic A line skirts that I make for work,
I decided that I would have a go at a shirt.
Many weeks and four shirts later I have one that I think I might wear!
 
I will try and take you through my shirt journey and would also be very interested to hear if anyone has a favourite shirt pattern they use too.
 
Attempt number one...
 



This was a trial at copying a tunic styled top that I have had for years and using some old fabric that I had in the cupboard.
I basically cut around the original top but I didn't get the shoulders and arm holes right at all, so decided to head back to a pattern..

Attempt number two...
 


 
This was made using a Burda pattern 7198 and the fabric was some linen/cotton mix that was left over from a Washi dress.
 
Unfortunately the material was a bit thick for this pattern.
So then I tried removing the godet pieces
(the little extra side venty bits at the bottom of each side seam!)
but then the shirt was too tight around the hips and at this point ended up in the bin!!
 
Attempt number three..


 
This was a man's shirt revamp.
I used New Look pattern 6104 but kept the front fastening from the original shirt.
 

 
 
It was looking fairly promising until I tried it on,
and realised that I hadn't made an allowance for the different width of the front band.
This meant that it was about an inch too tight
and made breathing difficult without popping the buttons off!



 
To give you some idea.. but breathing in - a lot.
 
And finally, attempt number four..


 
I used the same pattern, New Look 6104, view A but without the ruffle.


 
It was fairly straight forward and the instructions were good.


 
I'm a size 12 and made the pattern size 12 and it fits well with room to breath this time.
 
Happy sewing.

Monday 10 March 2014

Brown Paper Packages..



This lovely little package arrived in the post last week.
 
I have been experimenting with shirts recently
and as yet haven't got anything successful to show you.  
When I have, I will show you some of the failures too!
 
One of my main problems seems to be picking the wrong fabric so I sent off for these samples for some inspiration.
 




They come from the Organic Textile Company
 (and no, I'm not sponsored in any way, this is just my own opinion)
 and I ordered 3 sample packs:
 
1.Fair trade and organic coloured, patterned and plain
2. Speakeasy 
3. Artists Valley.
 
Here are some of my favourites..




 
Ann's Flowers - black on green


 
Blue Gingham small check (stones to stop them blowing away!)


 
Rosefinch and Heather- bamboo and cotton mix


 
Gabrielle's collection - Bikes on white, natural..


 
and red cotton (maybe not for a shirt but so cute!).

The scrappy triangles are still expanding..
 

 
 And on the flower front, this blue beauty is giving off the most amazing scent..
 

   
And finally, I have been attempting gluten free blueberry muffins (below right).. 
 

 
and they were actually edible.
Not quite as tasty as the ones with gluten but not bad.
Evidenced by the fact that they are all gone!

Sunday 2 March 2014

Grey skies and bright flags


 
There are grey skies outside here today,
 but sometimes it's nice to have an excuse to stay inside and sew,
not that I really need an excuse!
 
I've been experimenting with a shirt but more of that later.
The current version has ended up in the recycling pile but I am determined not to give up.
 
And I have also been completing a few more flags...  
 
 

 
Even on a grey day they are bright and cheerful
and the tutorial by Ashley can be found here if you fancy a go.