Dressing like my home decor

Earlier this year I bought some vibrant home dec fabric by Kirsten Katz from Spotlight with the intention of making some new cushion covers for my lounge. But the longer the fabric sat on my cutting table the more I wanted to make something wearable from it instead. Which is what I did!

The fabric is a thick, non-stretch cotton so I couldn't make anything that needed any drape or stretch. My favourite pleated a-line skirt is the perfect shape for this fabric.

The pattern is from a 2014 Burda Easy magazine that I picked up at a Sydney Spoolettes fabric swap day and I've now made several times. It is really easy to make, it has pockets, it is pleated to give space for movement but isn't too full so there's no danger of flashing anyone on a windy day - all in all, a great pattern.

The back view is cut on the fold which means there's no pesky pattern matching required which was handy for a bold print like this.

The front has a long row of buttons which frankly is the most time consuming part of making this skirt! All those buttons and buttonholes are a bit fiddly and get a bit lost in a busy print like this, but in a plain fabric it would be a nice look.

And the best part is I did have some fabric left over to make some cushion covers, because I made the backs of the cushions from plain black cotton. These are just simple square and rectangle shapes, and I used zippers from the stash so another equally quick and simple project.

There's nothing better than matching your home decor is there? 😂

 

For the love of velvet

Earlier in this never ending lockdown I needed to buy some buttons, and I discovered that Spotlight has a flat rate shipping fee of $13 no matter how much you spend. So instead of spending more on shipping than the actual buttons, I decided to fill up my order with some patterns and fabrics which handily were on sale. I ended up spending way more than the cost of the buttons and shipping, but that's sewing logic for you! 

Plus I bought two beautifully soft velvet fabrics - one a teal crinkle velvet and the other an olive green quilted velvet. I've only sewn with velvet once before many years ago so I wasn't sure what to expect, but these were easy to sew and all three projects turned out great.

The crinkle velvet I turned into a super simple three quarter circle skirt cut to a midi length. I did use an old 1980s pattern for this skirt, but there are loads on online circle skirt calculators if you can be bothered doing the maths and marking. 

For the waistband I used a lovely patterned elastic picked up from Pitt Trading - the two go together fabulously and it's a really quick way to do a waistband! I just used my coverstitch machine to topstitch the elastic to the skirt so that it would stretch without popping a seam.

I used the rolled hem function on my overlocker to finish the hem - doing it this way again was far quicker than doing a traditional turned up hem but it also gave a wavy lettuce edge effect which suits the look really well.

From the olive green quilted velvet I managed to make two projects - a bomber jacket and a vest, so that makes it a total bargain. I don't plan on wearing them together, but I have been wearing them individually alot lately - it really elevates my dog walking outfits!!

The jacket pattern is from a 2014 Burda Easy magazine which I've made twice before, and apart from the welt pockets (which are tricky) it is indeed a quick and easy sew. I used some black ponte that was in my stash for the cuffs and collar, and fully lined it with some black silk that was from deep in my stash. I also happened to have a black separating zipper in the stash so all the elements came together for a quick and satisfying sew.

For the vest I used Simplicity 1499 which is a great pattern with a couple of variations. It's only been in recent years that I started wearing vests at all, but I see a few more of these in my future.

 I made a few adjustments by fully lining the vest instead of using binding around the edges because frankly I find sewing on binding neatly and evenly a really fiddly and annoying task. I also used some bronze snaps because I didn't have another separating zip in the stash, and the colour of the bronze looks great against the green.

I had to use some of that black ponte from my stash for the side back panels because I didn't quite have enough velvet fabric, but I think that just adds a bit of a sporty look to it.

And the best part is that it has quite big pockets inset in the princess seam which I used the velvet for both the pocket bag and lining which makes it bulge out as you can see in the photo below, but it sure is nice sliding your hands into a velvet cocoon on a cold day. 

To be honest, I haven't worn the velvet skirt yet - not because I don't like it but because I've had nowhere special enough to wear it. Now the weather is warming up it will need to wait until next year. But the jacket and vest have been worn lots in the last few weeks so it was a good buy even though technically I'm trying to sew down my stash and not buy new fabric....

My current favourite skirt: Butterick 5441

I never would have thought that a simple 1980s pattern with a rather dowdy cover illustration has become a favourite skirt pattern of mine! But I've now made four versions of Butterick 5441, with no plans for stopping yet.

It's a fairly simple mid length skirt pattern which until last year was definitely not a length I'd usually wear since I'm not particularly blessed in the height department. However I have discovered that this length can look flattering, and has the added bonus of covering up my legs on those lazy days when I haven't shaved my legs.

After four versions I've now made a few modifications to perfect the fit - instead of gathers at the front I pleat the fabric so it sits flatter across my stomach, I've shifted the zip from the side to the centre back and instead of gathers at the back I put in darts instead.

The latest version I made is from a leopard print cotton, jumping on the animal print trend that seems to be everywhere right now. It's a fairly thick cotton with little drape, so it makes the skirt flare out quite a bit which I like. It has pockets which is always useful!

A change in top and shoes makes it look quite different I think.

Back in January I made a version from a mid weight linen in paprika from The Fabric Store which was left over from some wide leg pants I made last year. This one drapes nicely because the linen has softened up a lot after many washes.

For this version I shortened it to knee length so that I could squeeze it out of the leftover fabric and added belt loops for a self fabric tie belt.

The second version I made last year in December (that's why there's a Christmas tree in my photo I swear!). This is a gorgeous cotton print in a deep teal colour I bought from Nerida Hansen during one of their irresistible sales. I also shortened this to knee length as I only bought a remnant piece.

Finally, here is the original version I made back in 2017 (blogged here) made in a lovely yellow Japanese cotton I picked up from a Sydney Spoolettes fabric swap that was kindly donated by Stef. This one is still in high rotation in my wardrobe, so clearly it's a winner!

My last Burda of the month project: Burda 9/2017 #103 the skirt that goes from summer to winter

After having a subscription to Burda magazine for the last 10 years and buying random issues for 5 or so years before that I've decided not to renew my subscription. I've always had FOMO thinking that the minute I cancel my subscription that Burda will release the best ever issue - and admittedly the October issue is looking pretty smashing.

But I've come to realise that with my extensive back issues that I already have a version of about 80% of the patterns in each issue anyway, and I can easily download any patterns that catch my eye. Plus I have a very long list of Burda patterns from past issues that I really want to make and will never get around to with a new issue arriving each month. But if I'm really honest the increasing lateness of each issue being delivered each month was annoying me terribly and contributed to the decision, which is very petty I know!

Anyway, all of this is to say that after many years I'm giving up on my Burda of the month challenge. I started that challenge as a way to make me sew something from each new magazine, but these days my Burda mags are the first thing I reach for when I sew so I don't need that motivation anymore. I will keep on sewing Burda, but it will be from my past issues and I'm instead going to focus on those older ones that I haven't used as yet.

So here is my very last Burda of the month project, funnily enough made back in January from the September 2017 issue, photographed in March and only just now being blogged. Better late than never I guess. The good thing about this project is that it works equally well in summer as it does in winter:

This is Burda 9/2017 #103, which is a pleated, mid length skirt with a narrow waistband. Burda's version is made from sequins, but I think it works equally well in a daytime fabric.

I've made this from a mid weight linen picked up from Lincraft of all places. I remember 15 or so years ago when Lincraft used to have an extensive range of quality fabrics but these days their offerings are pretty sad. So when I found this linen at 50% off I bought not knowing how well it would wash and wear but I'm happy to report that it has held up really well with no fading or shrinkage.

I really like this pattern - the pleats at the front sit fairly flat so don't add too much bulk at the waist and the plain a-line shape of the back keeps the silhouette fairly slim

It doesn't have pockets though, and I know how some of you absolutely obsess over pockets! I can live without them though - they just add bulk to an already lumpy area of my body. But they would be pretty easy to add to the sides if you wanted to.

I did reduce the length a bit because I don't have the height of a Burda glamazon and instead just made it slightly below my knew. I think this length makes my legs look a bit stumpy and probably breaks all sorts of fashion rules about not ending hem lines at your widest part but as I'm getting older I've decided I don't care about those things as much any more. Plus wearing this length means I only have to shave a quarter of my legs which is a great thing all year round.

I replaced the singlet top with a turtle neck top and denim jacket and it was warm enough to wear on a mild winter Sydney day just recently.

So to everyone else who is doing their own version of a Burda challenge, whether you've been doing it for years or newly started this year best of luck to you! I've found that by doing this challenge I've made patterns that I wouldn't have normally considered and it did introduce some structure to my sewing so many good things came out of it. But it was starting to feel like a bit of chore that I had to get done each month before I could get onto making other things, so I'm looking forward to just making whatever catches my eye now.

Burda of the Month: 2/2018 #119 high waisted pencil skirt

I managed to finish February's Burda project in February, so yay for me! I skipped January for the time being because it has been far too hot around here to think about long sleeved dresses, but I will get onto it soon.

The February issue had quite a few nice patterns, but I decided to make the high waisted pencil skirt 2/2018 #119 to see me through the last few weeks of our summer. The jacket that goes with this skirt (in the photo below) is on my to do list for winter, possibly with a matching skirt in a nice tweed or boucle.

image via Burda Style

For this version though I've used a cotton barkcloth in a vibrant emerald green floral. You may recognise this fabric because it's very distinct - this is Elaine Orange from the Outback Wife range by Gertrude Made. I bought this last July from Selvage, and have been umming and aahing ever since trying to figure what to make with it because it was too lovely to use on any old project. This fabric has a rough textured look to it, but it's actually soft and wears really well - I took these photos after a long day in the office and the skirt isn't too rumpled.

The skirt is a pretty simple shape. It doesn't have a waistband, but has a band that wraps from the front dart around the side to the back dart and the raw ends of the band are enclosed in the dart. Whilst this is a nice design line, it made it fiddly to fit because to take in that side seam I had to take that band off to re-sew the side seam. And funnily enough in this print you can hardly see that panel at the waistband anyway!

Burda calls this skirt high waisted but I find it sits just slightly above my natural waist line, which does feel strange since I'm so used to wearing everything low slung. It does have the benefit of keeping your blouse tucked in though! Burda also describes this as narrowly cut, but I think the skirt could use a little more pegging to get the classic pencil skirt shape.

I do like the side and rear views of this skirt, I managed to get quite a neat fit and although I didn't attempt to pattern match due to a lack of fabric you can't notice it on the side and the back pattern somehow matches really well.

Fitting wise I made a size 40 at the waist grading out to a size 42 but found it slightly too big and ended up shaving a bit off. According to Burda's measurement chart these are the sizes for my measurements, but I do like a tighter fit in my clothes so perhaps that explains it. I also reduced the length by about 8cm which is standard actually since I'm normal sized and not a Burda model glamazon.

I happened to have an emerald green standard zipper in my stash at the correct length, so I sewed a hand picked zip instead of using an invisible zip. It turned out barely visible except for a few prick stitches in the yellow part, so I'm glad I went the frugal path and used what I had because it turned out just fine.

Overall I give this pattern the big thumbs up. The pattern is well drafted with all the seams lining up how they should and the instructions aren't too bad but since it's a simple skirt you don't really need them anyway. I can see this in a solid version that would make that side band at the waist more obvious, and a bit more pegging of the skirt it will be perfect.

In case you're wondering, the top is Burda 8/2015 #120 that I made back in March 2016, posted here.

And finally thank you to all those who have been commenting on my posts - for some reason my replies aren't showing up but I am definitely reading them. I may need to reinstall Disqus or look into some other commenting platform because I very much appreciate all those that take the time to read and comment.