Tiger top - making the most of oddments

 

This top is made using the McCalls 6612 pattern I seem to always return to at least once a year. In fact that pattern needs tracing before it finally disintegrates I have used it so much. Its very fragile these days. So strange to think I have nearly worn a pattern out!

The fabric is the small bits left over after my recent almost disaster altering my tiger track suit pants.  also cut a couple of other things from the bits but have not yet sewn them up into garments. The sleeves are a bit off grainline at the bottom. I never had enough for full length sleeves so cut 3/4 length and added a bit onto the end. I cut this as a kind f extension but added extra since was not too sure if the sleeves would work so never cut off at the right place meaning I had extra long cuffs. 

Then I decided I could ruche these which disguises the seam where the top of the sleeve joins the added on bit. To make the ruching I sewed 3 lines of elastic down the sleeve cuffs while pulling the elastic taught so it would ruche the fabric once I let it go. Then I sewed the lower ruched cuff onto the normal sleeve and then put the sleeves into the top as normal and did the side seams. Its worked rather well for left over bits of fabric I think. Though doing the twin needle stitched hems was a bit difficult with the ruching. Its very uneven but luckily you can't really tell because the ruching hides it.

The top is worn here with my black broderie skirt which feels a nice late summer or early autumn-y combination. 

For a few bits of left over fabric thats all over the place grainwise I think this top is so good. I am always a bit worried cutting off grain with stretch fabric because it seems to usually mean the side seams end up all twisted. So far that has not happened with this. But then its almost on straight grain except for the ruched cuffs.  

Anyway so far wearing it so good. 

Have a great weekend and thanks for popping by my blog,

Bracken

Grey Flapper dress

I actually tried to add short sleeves to this and it did not work. So this is another idea that has not quite worked out. I suppose I am becomming more adventurous which in the end has to mean not everything works!

Never the less it is a nice short slip dress and I expect to wear it loads. Maybe with a Tshirt under and tights because we have tickets for the theatre in December. I think this would work as a going out dress. Assuming it does not get too cold. Its simple but not average.  

Though maybe not shown to its best when I walk the dog in walking boots! Still it was a nice day and this was practical at that time. 

Its made using a pattern I have owned for ages and its the first time using it. I made ( almost if you ignore the straps) view A and this is an Arrivestry pattern. I have always been a big fan of Arrivestry designs.

The dress is a very lightweight stretch woven fabric that almost looks like lightweight suiting but it would be too light weight for most suit trousers I think. Maybe shirts though? I have quite a lot more of it so will have to decide what to do with the rest of it. I used to wear a lot of grey when I was younger but it kind of disapeared from my wardrobe so maybe its time it came back in again.

I did not use the straps that came with the pattern partly because I am lazy and it meant getting the pattern back out of a storage box to cut them out and also because I had intended to add elastic type sleeves and this looked weird so I unpicked them and had to think again and in the end went with the original dress design not what I had in my head.

I have since worked out how to make it work - I reckon I just need tubes sewn at the under arms with elastic at the neck edge but I worked that out after I had finished fixing this. 

The straps I used in the end are just long strips with lace sewn on and then wide elastic to gather them so its a very easy fitting dress this one! The elastic is sewn into place as the straps get sewn onto the dress. It gives a pretty bulky "big" lace strap that kind of looks crunchy being crochet cotton lace but whatever. Its a different look. 

Well I suppose I have also used another stashed pattern which is really good and at least managed NOT to sew another TNT pattern up. I really need to try to be adventurous in what I decide to sew but this does take effort. Its so easy to just keep remaking the old favourites, and yes they are favourites, so to some extent I do like doing that, but its also good to have variety and try new things. I think many people do the same with this. Its safe. You know the pattern so know how to make it work. Its easier to ignore the new stuff and go with safe because after all all sewing is a risk. You might ruin the fabric that, even when cheap, costs quite a bit more than most of us can afford to lose. 

I really need to carry on working though my hundreds of patterns now because it is making life more interesting. Although turning out stuff to blog about is far more difficult. I have to remind myself that I started to blog to become part of the sewing community. To connect. Not to blog. The sewing is better when its shared with like minded people who interact with you and you with them. 

I do not sew to blog. I blog because I sew!

Have a wonderful adventurous weekend.

Bracken

 

 

Black Broderie TVW style skirt

The black broderie fabric I used or this skirt is left over from my recent Accidentally Gothic Top. Its really the same pattern as the Strawberry skirt just in different fabric and with less frills and added lace.  

I actually cut two frills for the black skirt too but ended up just with the one.

 

 I decided it was more likely to be worn with the single frill. It has the same cotton lace as my top. I am sure the second frill will get used on something at some point so will not be wasted.

Where the frill attaches to the skirt body I just sewed and overlocked the edge. Then I added a row of lace above the frill and lace along the bottom edge. I also finished the waist in lace. This has no interfacing so is rather an experiment. I have no idea if this will mean the waist stretches but the lace is quite stable so I am hoping!

I took this after wearing it hence the creasing.

It makes for a pretty edge to my waistline anyway.

Summer is nearly over for this year so I am trying to get another break somewhere away before it gets too cold so assuming I manage to arrange time off work I intend to take both this skirt and my Strawberry skirt away somewhere. 

 

Its too cold now for many of my shorts and summer tops but I think these two skirts will work well with tights or leggings under them and transition into the early autumn that is fast approaching. Its worn here over my mesh T shirt dress/top.

This is my grey glitter sweatshirt. I found it goes really well over this skirt. I really should try and get some more of that lovely sweatshirt fabric with lurex because I have lived in this top all summer. Time to start thinking of sewing up sweatshirts and coats I suppose!

Are you already planning your winter sewing?

Bracken

Almost a disaster! - Remodelling my orange tiger track pants.

 I found the original version of these, shown below, totally unwearable. I kind of felt old in them. And unstylish!

These were the trousers I made a few months ago that I just could not bring myself to wear:

So they had to go. Its really a very small change to make them OK and these became wearable for my every day life. So weird really because all I have done is add ankle ribbing. But my journey to this point was rather involved and not at all as planned.

Having made the decision to change them I also decided not to get rid of them. I toyed with just adding a row of elastic to the ankles which felt kind of 90s? Or maybe 80s? Not sure! But I was not convinced I would wear them then either.

I would have worn as PJs but such waste of good fabric. Thats the issue tho. I love the shiny shiny velvet tiger print but its just too much!

So then I spent ages taking them apart with the intention of recutting into leggings.

So, what I decided to do was cut the back centre panels of the leggings ( shown below) from the old track pants because I never wear them - so I decided to make them into a new item.

Using the same pattern as these green ones which I love but they are pretty worn now and this fabric would make a nice version of these I think - and be more wearable than my track pants. This was not, as it turns out, a good idea because at the very least these were a nice pair of PJ bottoms. The problem is I just never wore them as track pants they were just " too much" for me. So I wanted to recut into something new and not waste the lovely shiny shiny velvet fabric.

Well what a disaster. I intended to make them into these style of leggings and I checked the pattern fitted etc then cut the wrong bits!

I realised I had cocked up big time because the pattern parts would not fit onto the old track pants despite my previous planning had said they would, so I had a problem, because this meant I had trashed the track pants for nothing. 

So what to do - Well recut a new back panel of course and remake back into track pants since I still have some of this fabric and if nothing else I want to salvage for PJs. I am hoping the unused bit will be the same colour as the original cos they have only been worn a couple of times so washed once or twice at most so hopefully the back is the same shade as the rest of them! Luckily I did get the nap right when recutting the back panel so not all a distaster that day!

Oh disaster, disaster! I was so upset. I just could not believe this had happened. Its been a few years since I made such a bad mistake. So I gave up on that having trashed my last bit of fabric and I recut the back of the leg to remake the original track pants I had just butchered and I need to resew them back up.

And then try to get the leggings parts out of the remaining bits of fabric left over so now I have to resew the track pants and also make some leggings as well!

Then I cut out the leggings parts. But then I managed to somehow cut the wrong part - I cut the back side panels instead of front centre panels! Disaster!

And of course it also explained why the pattern parts would not fit. When I had planned I put the correct pattern pieces onto my old track pants but when I cut I used the wrong bits. 

Never cut things out after a hard day at work when you are feeling tired is what I would say after this mess!

Now after all this messing around I did not have enough fabric left for my leggings.  But I have remade the track pants using a newly cut back panel.

I then added ribbed ankles as I had originally thought about though I was going to just put elastic into them and I think ribbing works so much better, but at this point I was desperate.

I put the waistband back on. I did improve this on the original trousers because I rushed the first one to take them to Scotland and it was a mess so not the worst thing to redo that bit of these trousers either. 

The end result is I actually have made these more wearable or at least they feel better and I have bought more of the tiger stripe fabric from Minerva ( luckily they still have some left because its a sale item! Not that it helps because paypay is still someway off but if I delay buying this I may not get any more of it - meaning I have really trashed my fabric, and its just wasted - so now I am short of money as well and I cannot really aford this sort of mistake this month after already paying out for new tyres for my car. Life is never easy is it!!) so the leggings will eventually happen and now I will have to make two pairs of them so I do not waste what I already cut out. One with tiger centre panels and one with tiger side panels! 

So really this weekend has not been the best one for crafting!

Does this kind of error happen with things you do?

Bracken