Lately...

I've been having so much fun crafting over the past month there has been no time to write about it! So here is a little summary of how I've been spending my evenings off.

Carpino jumper 

(taken this evening in very poor light!)

I started this jumper at the end of January and have been happily knitting a few rows every evening. The yarn is 4ply and I'm knitting with 2 strands held together to give the knit a better structure. It's not too thick though so should be good for spring when the weather perks up a bit. I think I'm about half way through and hoping it will be finished by next month in time for a little holiday!

Delphine skirt

I took the pattern for this skirt from the sewing book 'Love at First Stitch' by Great British Sewing Bee contestant Tilly Walnes. I can highly recommend this book having made about half of the patterns. Tilly's book has wonderful illustrations and very detailed step-by-step guides on how to make each of the 8 patterns included in the book. 

Last week I found this lovely wool remnant in my local fabric store just as I was looking for fabric for a new warm work skirt. I've been lacking skirts with suitable pockets and this skirt goes with everything AND has pockets....a winning combination! I now have 4 Delphine skirts including 2 polka dot cotton versions :-) 

Back with invisible zip. you can see a peak of pocket too!

Front view, with handstitched waistband and hem.

A mustard Delphine with belt tabs alongside one of the polka dot Delphines!

The Beekeeper Hat

Amidst all the sub zero weather we had at the end of January during a knitting retreat to the Lake District I cast on this cosy little hat. I was sold on making this when I saw the name! Also by the fact I love anything and everything yellow/mustard/golden coloured. Maybe that's related to my love of Autumn and the pretty colours the leaves turn. Anyway, here is my beekeeper hat to keep my head warm for the rest of the cold spell.

And here is a photo of pretty leaves in the Forest of Dean! 

Finally this is one of the sewing projects I'm working on at the moment, I've not really followed a single pattern but had an off-cut of this pretty cotton that I thought would look nice as a dress. I've put an invisible zip in the side seam, princess seams at the front and used the skirt pieces from the Delphine skirt above. The neckline and armholes are finished with bias binding and all that is left is to hem it. The insides are all finished with my overlocker, and as the fabric was slightly transparent I underlined it with a soft drapy fabric (I haven't got a clue what it is made of!) 

I'm also working on another (!) Carme blouse in a crisp white cotton fabric with a delicate floral design. No photos of what I've done so far yet, but I do have a work in progress photo at the sewing machine:

I think that's enough for one post! I'll save a few other things I'm working on for another day :-)

Japanese sewing patterns

After reading a lot about Japanese sewing patterns I purchased the book 'Stylish dress book: wear with freedom' which is a Japanese sewing book that has been translated to English. There are 26 patterns for dresses and tunics accompanied by simple line drawing instructions. 

I had heard that Japanese patterns come out quite large for size with lots of built in ease so traced out the smallest size for dress E. Even then I had to take the side seams in by about an inch or two to get a good fit. 

 

The dress is great with no zips or buttons needed. I altered the hem to make it more like a long shirt with a dipped hem and used French seams throughout to make the insides as pretty as the outside. Instead of the neck facings included in the pattern I used bias binding to finish the hem and neckline. I find neckline facings irritating, and they always seem to flip to the outside a little even when they are edge-stitched in place. The fabric, a medium weight cotton chambray is a coupon I picked up in Paris-and I think I still have 2 metres left for another day :) 

The back of the dress is made from two sections - a yoke at the top and the 'skirt' portion. The skirt section is supposed to be gathered to the yoke but given the weight of my fabric I thought it would look a little much to have lots of fabric gathered at the top of the skirt. I think this was a wise decision for the fabric, but if I make it again using a fabric with more drape I think I'd add the gathers back in. 

I love how simple the patterns in this book are, lots of them have made it to my sewing list. For now though maybe another dress E in a different chambray type fabric will have to move towards the top of the list. Perhaps I'll add the pockets included in the pattern to the next dress, because who doesn't love pockets in a dress! 

Carme blouses

On a recent trip to Paris I bought a few patterns by sewing pattern designer Pauline Alice, including the Carme blouse and Cami dress. I spent my evenings this week making a muslin version and then making a few fit adjustments to the Carme pattern. I added 2 inches to the body length and an inch to the sleeve length along with widening the shoulders by an inch on either side.

The pattern is very well designed with a pin tuck bib section at the front, sleeves with sleeve tabs to allow the sleeves to be rolled up, a button placket and a mao collar. This was my first experience with pin tucks and a button placket, but the sew along Pauline ran has excellent sew-along videos to help you every step of the way.

So after getting the fit just right I purchased a few meters of cotton to make my blouses. The first one is a soft 100% cotton which drapes nicely:

Blouse number 2- using 1.5 meters of 100% cotton fabric which is slightly thicker than the fabric used in the first blouse which makes it warmer.

I've already been out to get some more cotton for a few more blouses :)

Getting started

I've started this blog to document my knitting and stitching progress as I develop a handmade wardrobe. I started sewing in November 2013 after being inspired by all of the wonderful sewing blogs on the internet. There is so much inspiration out there and after spending months being inspired and researching I got myself a sewing machine- Janome DC3050, to get started. 

My first project was a Laurel dress by Colette patterns.

First ever me-made garment, the Laurel dress

Since then I have been learning plenty of new techniques using the internet and various sewing books. In January 2014 I learnt to knit, using tutorials on Vogue Knitting and the Lion Brand website. 

Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig

Miette cardigan by Andi Satterlund - knitting project no.1

Here's to a year filled with crafting adventure!