Sew Over It Pussy Bow blouse

Whilst on a conference in March, I bought this pattern from Libertys. High time to put it to use. I have a small collection of silk fabric that I have been working up the courage to sew. 

I made a quick muslin of version 2 and based on this I shortened the bodice 1.5" and the sleeves 2.5". I cut out a size 8 at the shoulders and neckline grading out to size 10 for armholes, bust and waist. 

Cutting it out was the hardest bit. I was helped by some Instagram advice, cutting single layer with tissue paper underneath helped to minimise slippage. Changing to a fresh blade in my rotary cutter was also a great improvement. Sadly I didn't catch this on until I had most of the cutting out done. 

Despite the difficulties in cutting, it actually sewed up well. 

I did make a little mess at the centre front as the notches didn't seem to match up but I think the neckline may have stretched out and I will stay stitch this next time. Luckily the bow covers this up anyways. 

All seams were French seamed and the hem was rolled. 

The cuffs and slits are very cute with a little bit of gathering. 

The finished object! I love it. Think I shall only wear silk from now on. Lol. It goes well with my SBCC Manhattan trousers, but would also go well with a pencil skirt or skinny jeans. Next time I will need to do a narrow shoulder adjustment and a forward shoulder adjustment 

Baable Hat

Poor  blog :( 

I've actually been thinking of deleting it. I've felt a bit odd having a blog, writing doesn't come naturally to me and taking photos of myself is never enjoyable. Two basic requirements for a blog really. But I will persist if only as a record for myself. 

So Baable hat then. Free pattern from Shetland wool week with lots of versions made already on Ravelry.  Super cute. 

I used Begerce de France wool (dk) from the stash and 4mm needles. The pattern is in the round but I knitted flat and seamed. Also cast on 108 stitches and added an extra lamb as I was using dk wool instead of the recommended Aran weight. Can't take credit for this as I copied this from one of the version on ravelry 

Seamed on a pumpkin on Halloween night. 

Baby quilt

Hi everyone 

Today I'm back with a baby quilt for my nephew. It only took me 7 months to complete it. I'm a bit start-stop when it comes to quilting. 

All the fabric for the top came from M is for Make. Some of the pieces were on sale and they don't seem to have them anymore. I made a triangular template and arrange the triangles randomly.

I pieced the top in strips then joined the strips together. Getting all the points to line up wasn't easy and some are a bit wonky. 

I used some thin cotton batting and the backing is a remnant from John Lewis.

I had some grey left over from the top and made 1.5" wide bias binding. I rounded the corners by drawing around a small glass. This was to make applying the bias binding easier but I really love how they turned out. 

The quilting was in straight lines along all the edges of the triangles. I like how this forms wee stars. 

Overall I'm delighted how this turned out, my best quilt yet. 

I also have another quilt currently in progress. It is epic in comparison and God only knows how long it will take to finish. Here's a sneak peak 

I'm trying to decide what colour to use for sashing. 

Thanks for reading 

Me Made May - the final week

Well this is well overdue considering it's July!!!! 

Day 22 

Julia cardigan and SBCC tonic tee 

Day 23

We headed off for a few days holiday. I wore a tessuti Mandy boat neck tee and some Gap jeans which I modified to skinny leg. The Mandy tee was shortened 3 inches and 4 inches taken off the overall width of the bodice. I was surprised how much I liked this as it's not a silhouette I would normally wear. A few more of these would be very useful. 

Day 24

 Chilling out wearing a dixie diy ballet dress that I hacked into a sleeveless maxi dress. So comfy to wear. 

Day 25 

No me Mades today 

Day 26 

More chilling out wearing another SBCC tonic tee. 

Day 27 

Heading home with my trusty Minoru jacket by Sewaholic. 

Day 28 

A day of unpacking and washing clothes after our breakaway. I never made it out of my dressing gown, which is Vogue 8888. 

Day 29 

No me Mades today 

Day 30 

Back to work in jacket Simplicity 1688

Overall I was really pleased with my participation in MMM15 and I managed to meet my target. I do struggle with me Mades items on my days off work. These days at home with my children and catching up on housework are usually spent in tracksuit bottoms and hoodies. These are not items that I want to spend my limited sewing time on. 

Thanks for reading 

Me Made May 15 - Day 12 - 21

Day 12 

This is Simplicity 1653 Wrap dress made out of some lovely John Kaldor wool jersey. I have seen this in various places for nearly £20 per metre but I bought mine from Sew Essential website for about £10. Might have been £11. But either way still half the price. 

Day 13 

Another Tonic Tee from SBCC with badly executed stripe matching. 

Day 14

Hollyburn skirt from Sewaholic patterns made up in a black and white viscose. Lovely drape but with the slightest wind it tends to blow up and flash poor innocent bystanders. Whoops! 

Day 15

Blouse from New Look 6107. I like this blouse but this chiffon was awful difficult to sew with. The buttons as you can see tend to pop open. I should really tack them all closed as this easily slips over my head. 

Day 16 

Sutton blouse from True Bias and my black skinny jeans. A looser silhouette from what I normally wear but I had seen so many beautiful versions of it I decided to give it a go. My sister thought my muslin was a bit like a scrub top 😦 I shortened the sleeves and took in the waist a little. Definitely wearable but I need something close fitted on the bottom half to balance it out. 

Day 17

Black skinny jeans again. Don't think another picture is needed. 

Day 18

An Archer shirt in navy georgette. 

Day 19

Black ponte dress New Look 6070.

Day 20

Another New Look 6107 blouse. This one in what I think is a Liberty cotton lawn.

Day 21

New Look 6123 with added waist line tabs and buttons. Love this dress. I get a compliment everytime I wear it. 

Me Made May 2015 week one

Well it's more like week one and a half now. Running a little behind with this post 

Day 1 

I wore my version of Sewaholic Minoru jacket. I should really blog about this as I made quite a few changes and spent a lot of time making it. I wear it quite frequently. I'm also wearing a SBCC tonic tee. First time trying this pattern but there will definitely be more of these. It's a free pattern too so definitely give it a try.. 

Day 2 

These jeans started life as massively big flares that were so long I needed to wear enormous heels. So I never wore them. The fit from the knees up was actually very good so I altered them, shortened and skinnified them. 

Now I wear these a few times a week. Need to try gingers again 

Day 3 

Skipped a day. We were away for a few days with friends. I don't have many casual weekend clothes made by me suitable for the beach on a wet bank holiday weekend in Ireland. 

Day 4

The famous Deer and Doe Plantain tshirt pattern plus bonus freaky hand 

Day 5 

Back to work :( 

In Manhattan trousers from SBCC.i have blogged about these previously. 

Day 6

I love this dress. I based this on the Dixie DIY ballet dress pattern but hacked the front bodice into a faux wrap. Sadly this is started to show signs of wear at the waist but I can always make another to replace it. 

Day 7

Lazy pyjamas day. Found these in The Pile of UFOs. I originally started these about 2 years ago and based them off a burda magazine trouser pattern. Why? I have absolutely no idea. Halfway through I decided they were awful and into The Pile they went. They resurfaced and funnily enough they weren't that bad. I had added pockets which hung open and were very annoying so I just sewed them shut and hemmed them after chopping 3" off the bottom. 

Day 8

My black skinny jeans and newly finished sleeveless Sewaholic Granville shirt. 

Day 9

Black skinnies again 

I think we may be starting to see a trend 

Day 10

Skipped a day 

Day 11

A Sewaholic day

Sleeveless Granville shirt and black Hollyburn skirt 

So I'm on target. Only skipped 2 out of 11 days so far. I did wear me made underwear most days as well but I ain't gonna be photographing that. You can thank me later! 

Thanks for reading 

Me Made May 2015

I, Carole of www.thepatternhack.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I will endeavour to wear at least one item of me made clothing at least five days per week for the duration of May 2015'

I'm very excited about this. My first time joining in with MMMay!!

Why only five days? Most of my me-made clothes are made with work in mind, and I don't make many clothes for the days I'm at home doing housework. I was hoping to have knocked up a few pairs of ginger jeans as well but I'm having fitting issues. I think I'm the only one as blog post after blog post of gorgeous ginger jeans keep appearing. But I have more denim for another attempt so hopefully before MMMay is finished. 

Watson Bra

So I have been on a bit of an underwear making binge over the last few days. I have made a few pairs of knickers - fehr trade Lacey thong, Seamwork geneva, ohhh lulu grace pants. Then I got to thinking about a matching bra. Wouldn't that be nice?

So many gorgeous Watson bras from Cloth habit have been popping up on my blog reader and Instagram, so I decided to join the fun. 

This is my muslin, made up in 36 C. The fit is pretty good but I'm going to try 36 D as well to see which is the most comfortable

I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out 

I even managed to do the pointy bit in the middle though my edge stitching is shite. 

This is a great pattern, quick to make with fantastic instructions and sew along. There will be many more. 

Seamwork Geneva 

Ohhh Lulu Grace Pants

Fehr Trade Lacey thong 

Making my own underwear is strangely addictive so I'm off to make some more 

Thanks for reading 

Simplicity Cynthia Rowley 1688

A few weeks ago I saw the Coco jacket that Kelli from True Bias made. I had a family celebration coming up and I fancied something similar in cut to wear. Well I actually fancied flying over the New York and stealing her jacket, love the fabric that she used. After googling the Coco jacket pattern and realised that Simplicity 1688 had similar style lines, rounded front neck edges, three quarter length sleeves.

I made up View A using some cerise crepe that I bought in Dublin last year and it's lined with some cream and black polka dots mystery fabric which I think came from Abkahan fabrics in Liverpool.  

I modified the pattern to include facings around the back neck and the front edges. The pattern has the lining that comes right up to these edges and I thought a neater finish would be achieved with facings. I also added some shoulder pads and a pleat in the back lining piece.

The front edges tend to curl out which is a bit annoying. Not sure what is wrong. Is it cut off grain? Is the interfacing too heavy? I would appreciate any advice. 

Up next ..... I am currently trying out the famous Ginger Jeans pattern. I have made up the high rise skinny leg version which looks good standing up but I find the front digs into my stomach when I sit down. Think they might be a bit too high so going to try lowering the rise an 1".

Thanks for reading