So simple: Tessuti amara vest

After finishing that tailored green jacket I needed to make something really quick and simple - the Amara vest by Tessuti patterns was just the thing. It probably took me longer to print out and assemble the pattern than it actually did to sew it!

It's a very shapeless and boxy style but still drapes quite well so it doesn't make me look like a child in adults clothing. I made the smallest size and while it's quite wide across the body which is only really noticeable when my arms are up, but luckily I don't need to use my arms robot style too often:

The fabric I used is a felted wool bought from Addicted to Fabric in Canberra last year on a road trip with some Sydney Spoolettes to see an exhibition on the costumes from movie The Dressmaker. This pattern is exactly the project I had in mind when I bought this fabric, I just had to wait a while for someone to draft a pattern for me! 

Because the wool is felted I knew it wasn't going to fray, so I've left the bottom hem unfinished and instead of binding the neckline and sleeves I just sewed on strips of the fabric and left them on the right side. I was going to turn them to the inside and topstitch them down, but I quite like the look of the bands even though they are roughly cut so I decided to make a feature of it instead.

The shirt I'm wearing underneath is one I made a few years ago but never blogged for some reason. It's made from a vintage Simplicity pattern:

Given that it's a learn to sew pattern it was super simple. The fabric is a crisp stretch cotton, and I found some black and white buttons which is just perfect for the fabric.

I even managed to find some photos from three years with the same jeans - they are a bit blacker than they are now, I'm about 5kg lighter and I was still taller than my children. The good old days!

So all in all a lightning quick but great project. It's surprising warm wearing a wool layer even though it's sleeveless. It might be my inner nanna coming out, but I do like a comfy vest so I can see a few more of these vests in my future.

 

Green + Blue

I thought that being at home practically all the time now would mean I would have lots more time for sewing and blogging but it turns out that I don't! I am super busy with work at the moment, and most days I barely brush my hair (messy bun for the win) and only slap on tinted sunscreen so it's even harder to take photos than before.

Case in point is this green blazer I finished sewing two weeks ago - I only just found the energy to put on some make-up and real shoes to take these photos today!

I bought this beautiful vibrant kelly green wool boucle from Super Cheap Fabrics online and it turned out to be exactly the colour I hoped. I was inspired by this outfit worn by Peggy in episode 11 of the final season of Mad Men:

I used an old Burda pattern - 4/2014 #103 which isn't available on the Burda Style website but you can download from the Russian Burda website here (I often buy my patterns from the Russian website because they are far cheaper).

This pattern caught my eye because it has the notched lapel and trim like the inspiration photo, but I also really like the curved front hem and the princess seams that extend into the shoulder which make it easier to adjust the fit. I left off those patch pockets and also removed the vents at the back because I found that they stuck out awkwardly and they weren't needed for a close fit.

I did my usual fit adjustment of a 1.5cm forward shoulder adjustment and slightly narrowed the shoulder too. This fabric has enough loft and with interfacing in the shoulder area it didn't need a shoulder pad but still managed a neat fit through the shoulders.

I hand stitched the navy grosgrain ribbon on which was really tough on my fingers but I thought I'd have more control doing it that way. I tried to make the corners as neat as possible but they aren't 45 degree angles so it took a little fudging to make it work. It looks a bit messy in this photo below but we all know that people don't stand close enough to see this level of detail, especially now that we're all social distancing.

The buttons were also really difficult to resolve. I just couldn't find any that matched the colour of the grosgrain ribbon in my local stores, so I ended up making fabric covered buttons for the two front ones, and some smaller navy blue buttons that were already in my stash for the sleeve buttons.

I absolutely love this jacket and colour and I almost can't wait to be back in the office so I can wear it for real.

For these photos I've paired the jacket with a navy blue dress. Navy blue just seems natural to wear with this colour jacket especially since I used navy blue trim and buttons!

I made this dress maybe two years ago but haven't blogged it. It's made from a 1970s vintage Style pattern:

The fit is quite good but the fabric choice wasn't the best. The fabric is a thick herringbone cotton that doesn't drape so it has quite a pronounced a-line shape to the skirt and it is a magnet for every bit of fluff, lint or strand of hair in near proximity.

I don't actually wear this dress too often and have been considering refashioning it into a skirt instead because the fabric is really quite nice (except for the fluff factor). And I think this pattern made in a more drapey fabric like crepe would work a lot better too. I'll add it to my really long list!

Sweet + simple: Burda 11/2019 #105

As the world is slowly emerging from Covid-19 social isolation bubbles, I am still working full time from home and will be for the foreseeable future. My employer, the NSW Government has decided that all back office public servants will keep working remotely to reduce the pressure on the public transport systems. Which suits me, because I quite like working from home especially now that my kids are back at school and my husband is back at his office!

I did re-evaluate my sewing plans because I don't need to be making corporate clothes since these days it's all casual. However I realise that what I like sewing the most is tailored and structured garments, so I'm going to keep on making them even if I won't be wearing them for a while yet.

I recently made three simple long sleeve blouses that will be perfect for layering under a blazer when I'm back in the office, but also work well for video conferencing even I'm wearing them with sweat pants. First version is from a very soft cotton voile with white polka dots:

Then I made a much brighter version in a glorious emerald green linen floral:

And finally a version from a jumbo sized navy gingham which I cut on the bias for a bit of a difference:

The pattern is Burda 11/2019 #105 which is a really simple top with three pattern pieces - the front and back on the fold and the sleeves:

For each of my tops, I shifted the neckline opening to the back and drafted a facing instead of self fabric binding for the neckline. I find making and sewing binding for necklines really fiddly and I prefer the cleaner look of a facing.

I really like the elastic cuffs to the sleeves - it brings in the volume of the sleeve nicely at the wrist which means it doesn't flap around and makes it possible to get the sleeve into a jacket when needed.

For the navy gingham version, cutting it on the bias made it slightly more difficult because I tried my best to pattern match. For some reason, I managed to get a good match on one side but not the other! I don't know how that happened, but as we all know hardly anyone else ever notices these things so I'm not too worried.

It's not often that I make the same pattern multiples time in a row, but this pattern seriously takes about 2 hours to make and only uses up slightly more than a metre of fabric so it's a good way to quickly turn fabric from the stash into something wearable.

Simplicity 8014: my new favourite shirt dress

Earlier this year while it was still summer here in Australia I finally got around to making a pattern that had been in my stash for a while - Simplicity 8014 shirt dress. If you google this pattern number it throws up many great dresses made by lots of other ladies, so I really don't know why I waited so long to make it.

This is quite a simple pattern with a few great variations:

I particularly like view A and B because that waist seam is a god send for those with sway backs, and the flared skirt is also great for a pear shape.

I did a slight narrow shoulder and forward shoulder adjustment which I do to all patterns, and graded out from the bust to two sizes larger at the hips - all of which are pretty standard changes for me.

I've made this out of black heavy weight linen from The Fabric Store - it's really great quality and didn't lose any colour when I did a hot pre-wash to shrink it before sewing. Being linen it did wrinkle after a full day of wear in the office (back in the good old days when we went into our offices on the regular), but nothing too outrageous:

Before I made this version though I firstly made view B which is essentially exactly the same but it just has a mandarin collar made by leaving the collar off and just sewing on the collar stand. It makes it look quite different without a collar, probably because it seems natural to wear it buttoned up completely instead of open like the collared version:

This fabric is also linen, bought online from Super Cheap Fabrics that I bought during one of their sales. It's also great quality - the colours didn't run when I washed it and it has a great weight and opaqueness for a dress.

I didn't try to pattern match at all, but it's not obvious in this busy print. And even without wearing a belt this one sits nicely around my waist and the two small waist pleats (not darts) don't fluff out too much.

Please excuse the dirty pool in the above photos - these were taken in February while we were still having those awful bushfires and the slight amount of rain we got washed all the ash and dust into the pool and everywhere else. We're now having a wet May and with all else that has happened last summer feels like a lifetime ago.

So overall this is a really great pattern that I can highly recommend. I'm thinking about trying the other view as well because I think it would be a more casual style which would definitely suit these current times, but I'm not so sure it will look as good on my pear shape.

I'm back! Meet Burda 11/2015 #112

When my enthusiasm for blogging petered out last year, I thought that would be the end of my blog. But someone emailed me recently to ask about a pattern I'd made many years ago and as I was scrolling through my old blog posts to find it I realised that I missed recording my rants and raves about various patterns as well as other snippets of things going on in my life. Instagram is good for a photo, but obviously you just can't capture the details of a pattern and project in that space, so here I am again!

These are strange times aren't they? I am very thankful that I am healthy and I still have my job when so many others have lost theirs due to the COVID-19 shutdown but I am busier than ever with work, two children to homeschool and a dog demanding pats all the time! Working from home has also forced a rethink in my wardrobe, as I don't have enough smart tops to wear and I can't be bothered putting on a dress for the camera.

Enter my latest project - a simple funnel neck top with a neckline zipper which helps get it over my head and adds a bit of interest. This fabric - a Marc Jacobs wool bought from the Fabric Store in Surry Hills a few years ago - has had a long journey into becoming this project. Firstly I made this fabric into a shapeless sweater dress but I really should have known better that shapeless looks like a literal sack on my curvy body so I pulled it apart and instead made it into a fitted dress with darts. Which was great until the next wash when the fabric shrunk a little more even though I did prewash and it became too tight to wear.

Finally, I've made it into a top using Burda 11/2015 #112 and I plan to hand wash and stretch it into shape from now on in case it still has a bit more shrinking to do.

images from burdastyle.com

The only changes I made to the pattern was to lengthen it by 5cm as it is a cropped length and I graded out to the next size below the waist. I really like the centre back seam even though I had to pattern match the plaid because it made it easy to get rid of that sway back pooling I often get.

Although it's a simple pattern the Burda magazine has illustrated pattern instructions in the magazine. However (and here is my rant!) I don't think the method for the neck zip is the best way of doing it.

Essentially you sew cut the seam allowances off, sew the zipper tape on top, then hand sew the ends of the zipper tape together and sew the ribbon over the top of the zipper tapes. Doing it this way leaves a gap between the end of the zipper tape and the shoulder seam, unless my zipper tape is unusually short because I'm sure I transferred the mark from the pattern where the zipper stop goes correctly. I had to sew a small square of fabric to the underside to fill in that gap. I think a better method would be to sew the seam from the shoulder edge to the mark for the zipper stop, and then install the zipper as an exposed zip with a welt pocket type opening instead - this would hide the zipper tape, leave no gap at the end and keep that shoulder seam strong too. Or at lease use a zip longer than the magazine recommends!

Ironically it turns out that I should have narrowed the shoulders anyway because this sits off my shoulder point - that would have solved the problem of that little gap! Although looking at the pattern I think it's designed with an extended shoulder.

Because of my forward rounded shoulders (thanks to being a side sleeper and having poor posture) I'm getting a fold of fabric across the front below the neckline. For my next version I would do a forward shoulder adjustment by taking a bit of width out of the front and adding it to the back instead.

So if you're still here reading - welcome back and thanks for sticking around! I hope to get into more a regular routine with my posting. So many projects to catch up on....

Vintage Vogue 1489: giant collared suit

After what seemed like an endless summer and non-existent autumn Sydney is finally having some cold weather. I love winter - wearing chunky knits and not having to worry about getting a sunburn from being in the sun for three seconds is definitely my thing! So it's timely that I finally finished sewing a new wool suit for work - actually I finished this about 3 weeks ago but it took me some time to find the right buttons and then get around to sewing them on.

When it comes to collars on suit jackets, I usually prefer no collar at all except it seems when the collar is HUGE! This is a 1960 Vogue pattern that is a pretty simple style except for that oversized notched collar.

Luckily this was a fairly simple project to sew because in true vintage style there was only one page of instructions for the entire jacket. I followed the vintage techniques as well, including hand basting in canvas interfacing instead of using fusible, and pad stitching that giant collar to support it.

I also lengthened the sleeves because my wrists get too cold to wear bracelet length. Apart from that I didn't make any changes - I even put in some slim shoulder pads. I used premade ones though - no one has time to make their own! I'm not sure about those shoulder pads though, they make me feel really bulky around the shoulders and I think my neck looks really short and stumpy in this.

The back view is fairly plain - darts at the shoulders and vertical darts to give waistline shaping. If only I had better posture and stood up straight then I wouldn't have those annoyng drag lines on the back! 

It took me a while to find some buttons, and I was very nearly going to make some fabric covered buttons when I stumbled accross these simple angled buttons in Spotlight of all places. I didn't do the bound buttonholes because I thought there was a high risk of stuffing them up and ruining my jacket when it was practically finished. The buttons cover the buttonholes though, and those buttons really make the jacket. At nearly $5 each they are the most expensive part of the jacket, because the fabric I've used was picked up from a Sydney Spoolettes fabric swap last year. It's a gorgeous wool, so I can't understand why anyone would give this away, but I think I've made very good use of it!

The skirt I've made to go with the jacket isn't from this pattern - I just used my favourite Burda high waisted pencil skirt because I know it fits me perfectly. This is Burda 2/2018 #119, which I've made a few times before, including this cute version in green floral barkcloth that I wear all the time.

Overall I really like this suit even if it makes me look like a football quarterback with those shoulders. Maybe one day I'll undo the lining and remove the pads, but knowing me I'll probably just keep wearing it as it is and just think about doing it everytime I wear it