My first sun sandals

Well one thing I have never made is shoes. At least until now anyway and since its Me Made May I thought I would show you these. 

I need to practice doing up the ties. They are the same length just I was wearing these and never adjusted for the photos! 

Well #MMM22 is supposed to be about real life and wearing what you make after all!

Just glimpsed here - probably I should have got better photos - is my navy Steampunk Skirt which of course is also Me Made but never mind that.

 I always thought I would have a go at the crochet boots pattern from Lion Brand yarn but when I came accross this pattern, for what are basic Viking shoes a couple of years ago I just had to buy it. 

At that time it was 75p so even if I never made these it was not much to risk losing. Well the hardest part of making these is finding some second hand leather large enough to cut the shoes from. Most leather clothing is made from small panels and I had to buy a few things to get a large enough panel to do this. 

I did though previously make some armour from some of my panelled leather so all is not lost in my efforts to upcycle old leather garments. That was fun, 

Though I must admit this armour is worn very little, but it has become something I care for and keep, despite the craziness of owning armour! 

I intend to learn how to add studs and rivets in fact and make some more armour thats a bit more "armoured".  Thats for the future though.

Back to these very comfortable sunny weather shoes.

Anyway these are my very first pair of Sun Sandals. Pattern is from Etsy though the price has now gone up. Still if you do fancy making shoes this is worth it. 

I used a second hand skirt in a lovely lilac colour which is probably totally impractical and will get dirty quick but its what I could find that I can fit both shoes onto so this is whats available to me right now. They will be nice summery shoes I think. I never took any photos of the skirt before jumping in and cutting I am afraid but its just a second hand skirt from a charity shop. There will be enough leather for another pair too and I think the skirt cost me £3.

You have to remember to draw on the wrong side of the fabric - so I chose the dirty outer side and to cut two mirror images.

Then you just tape the pattern to the cut out shoe and hammer holes all round it - they are marked on the pattern.

Cut the laces which is interesting cos you start with a oval/spud shaped piece of leather and cut in a circle to the thickness you need. Test its strong enough - one of my laces broke so I actually made 3 of these, but best you break it now not when wearing and I used the smaller bit  from the broken lace for the heel join. Then you need to thread everything together and you have an amazingly easy to make pair of sun sandals.

I would certainly reccommend people have a go at making these. They are only any good when its not raining and really are slippers but once you have them worn in you can add soles which I will do. You need to wear them first though  they say for around 2 weeks, to decide where to add the second piece of "sole" leather. You can stick rubber soles on which I may try but even then I do not think they would be very waterproof unless you can get hold of something like sofa leather. I am now keeping an eye open for anything like that I can find/ beg/ be donated to make more of these.

These are also the most amazing dance slippers you could have, because they are like ballet shoes.

Have a great day and thats for dropping by. See you tomorrow

Bracken

Glitter top updated and track pants #MMM22 - May 10th

 

Working from home today, hence my comfy clothes. The top is updated at Laura's suggestion from what was a body into a top. I high low curved it as best I could.

Its much tighter than I usually wear my tops but it is wearable and feels very like 90's or early 00's tops which were much shorter and tighter than current fashion - and often had these funnel sleeves which I also love. I can wear this.

For a British summer it will work very well. Today its kind of dull, not yet rainy and intermittent sun but I think about 14 DegC. Supposedly we get a high of 16 DegC today. Not too cold but certainly not very summery by most countries standards so velvet and fleece work well for me today and hopefully I will not need an extra layer till tonight.

Trousers are my very successful, much loved, and now much worn tracksuit bottoms ( though still looking good) made using the Make Your Own Activewear book by Melissa Feyr. They are a sheen fleece fabric. 

I have a  second pair of these cut out but have yet to tackle them because they are a bit tricky to sew due to the zip ankles and zip pockets but well worth the effort. I will get round to sewing them soon though. I have been concentrating on easy sewn stuff recently. But I have worn these so much and I need a second pair.

See you tomorrow

Bracken

Steam punk inspired Circuit board/ Art Deco pattern top #MMM22

 

Well as I said previously when I made the dress this fabric reminds me of circuit boards. Its kind of almost steampunk hence the title of this post. But its lycra so makes for comfortable fitted modern clothing. Still thats just how I see this look.

Top is Lydia from Burda and its a nice basic T shirt though after making this I think I have gone off this pattern a little. I seem to find the front moves forward too much. Maybe I need a smaller size?

 

Or maybe the neck band is not as stretched as it should be. Its kind of baggy. You can just about see on this photo. The neck band does not quite hang right. Maybe I just cocked the neck band up. Not really sure.

Still its been washed and worn for a few weeks now and I seem to like to wear this so not a total disaster.

Trousers are part of my pre-Christmas loungewear sewing that I did and seem to have really come into their own this spring. 

Till tomorrow 

Bracken

Grey and lace hoody cowl faery top

 

I actually think this is the best top I have ever made. Since its #MMM22 I am finally getting round to showing you this top. I have actually been wearing it a couple of months I think.

When I decided to cut this out I was on a roll cutting out loads because I was not able to sew due to having broken my overlocker - or at least had dull blades that would no longer cut meaning it just blocked up and wrecked what I tried to sew. So I was really on a sewing break.

Not though a cutting out break.

This pattern is yet another Burda style hoody cowl which is a pattern I admit to having become obsessed with recently. Maybe its because I made a smaller size which actually fits now? I completely retraced the whole pattern back in January when I ealised the original I was using did not even fit inside the Pattern lines on the sheet so I had moved it when I originally traced it back in 2015 I think. So I had a very weird copy. I am amazed it fit me at all. Its obviously a very forgiving style!

I also shortened the original length on all my recent versions and this one is really a long top not even a dress. And its a High-Low. Partly the High-Low hem is down to lack of fabric. I had 1.5m of this and this style really needs around 2.25m to do it comfortably so I decided a top will work best and mean I can get this from the fabric I had.

You can see the High-Low really well here.

I used a pink and beige leopard print mesh for the inside of the hood to keep the lining nice and light. I found my original versions of this  pattern - made years ago now were very heavy round the neck. Using a very lightweight lining worked really well on my blue velvet dress so I followed the same idea here.

The red faux leather leggings are very old now. I shortened them recently. They used to be ruched around the ankles - although in my case they were ruched by being long not because I sewed them ruched so they were easy to turn into ordinary leggings by just chopping off and hemming them.

I have two other pairs of similar leggings so am intending to do the same update on them as well.

I just love the huge hood you get with this pattern. Yet it also works as an off the shoulder dress - which I did not show here - and also as a normal work worthy cowl neck top. Very versatile.

This top also has built in mitts which is a very good addition. The sleeves I made Uber long but they are not actually ruched so I can alter them later if I decide to. I do prefer over long sleeves though and its nothing to do with fashion, although I know recently overlong sleeves are back on the catwalks again. Also like my recent black dress I used a different sleeve because the flared sleeve of the original dress is kind of annoying for every day life. This turned out better than my black version but I think this fabric is more stable.

So for a bit of very boring grey-marl stretch T shirt fabric thats been in my stash for years because yes, its boring and very ordinary, this has really worked out into a lovely wearable top.

AND as a bonus it also fits my 2022 Faerie inspired clothing theme.

Have a great day and thanks for popping over,

Bracken

Steampunk navy skirt with black lace puffed sleeved top,

 

I am going a bit vistoriana today. 

I made the Steampunk skirt pattern before in dark green faux leather. 

It actualy got admired when I went to Aldi so I am very into that skirt despite how old it is now. This is exactly the same pattern - so its Simplicity 8020 which is a Steampunk sewing pattern. I bought it for the top but so far I have made both skirt lengths and not got round to the top as yet!

Its a high low as you can see - need to iron this I think!

Its made of a lightweight stretch canvas that was a bargain basement thing where you got 3m of "denim" for £5. There was no colour choices just listed (online) as black and navy and you got what you got but its a good price and reasonable quality as well so I bought a second piece and this was black denim. I have yet to use that one yet. According to the pattern it will only work for knits. However both this and the green skirt are stretch canvas so it will work for wovens if they have a decent stretch to them. Waist is elastic so its very comfortable and will work for the office too if I have a day when I need to dress up. Once its been pressed of course.

This top is made from Butterick 5562 view B. The top is squeezed from just 1m of fabric which cost me £1 so thats a serious bargain. I also very much love it so its going to get worn. Its stretch lace. I made this top before too in a scuba fabric. I actualy cocked up the sleeves totally on this early version but only realised when I made the lace one. Despite that I have worn it so much it has to be classes as one of my best ever makes.

This time I had to piece the sleeves so instead of ruching all down the sleeves, I have a long cuffed part going from just below elbow to wrist

and then a further cuff round the wrist to give the sleeve enough length. So its gathered at the top of the sleeve and puffed and on top of that from the elbow kind of has cuffs. That is how I could make it from just the one metre.

The sleeve gather is elastic down the sleeve - I used soft fold over elastic because I have found this is nice on this kind of ruching on delicate fabrics and its also pleated around the shoulder.

I suspect this top will be less wearable than its predecessor ( in black scuba) but it will make for a lovely weekend / going out top. Its worn here over my strappy cami but I will make some new small tops for under this I think. Not that I mind the red lining but its a way to have lots of variety with lots of different coloured under layers.

When I made each of these they were not really meant to be worn together but I really like them that way. Both are reasonably simple patterns and both I know will be nice to wear this summer and into next Autumn. I do like to plan ahead. I also think they both fit well into my Faery theme despite they are also quite "officey" or even a little bit Gothic.

Unfortunately, I do not make the best model. At least when photos were taken, but never mind. You get to see the important bit which is the clothes or fashion and not me!

Thanks for popping by my blog and hope to see you again soon,

Bracken

Blue dresses in Negative 1

These are my summer "play clothes". I have made two of these dresses but have yet to post about the other one which is the negative (or opposite) fabricwise to this one. 

Based on the Peppermint patterns dress I made back in the winter. It was very windy when the photos were taken but the dress is great even in wind.

 

I made a glittery sweatshirt dress ( also in lightweight french terry ) from the same pattern which has the same alteration to the original in that I added a hood. This time I made the neck slightly wider and the hood has a wider channel/ hem so that it fits better and is less of a cowl neck unlike both my purple velvet version and my grey glitter version. 

But they were winter dresses and these are for spring into summer. 

I accidentally messed up the green and black velvet dress making the neck wider and I liked it so much better so this time I have done that deliberately to get the same slightly wider neckline for these sweatshirt dresses. 

Like the velvet versions I left out the pockets because although I do like pockets they do not work well in the grey glittery version and keep popping forward or out and not staying where they should do unless I have my hands in them. Pockets should not need you to have your hands inside in order to stay hidden in the seams of the garment!

The Peppermint pattern seems really ingenious to cut the pockets as a main part of the dress but from experience, for me at least, it does not work for living in. It also takes loads of extra fabric to cut the pockets as part of the dress instead of adding them as seperate pieces like most patterns. Anyway I left them off. I am so far happy with the decision despite meaning I have no pockets. 

 

Its bumbag season anyway! And using a bumbag will mean I do not have to worry I have everything because I will end up having my lippy, my phone and keys all constantly there and if we go away probably also my toothbrush.

I bought the fabric which is a lightweight cotton french terry last autumn. Its got lycra in it which is a bonus and should keep these two dresses in shape. I think probably originally I thought I would make flares or a sweatshirt from these fabrics but I just think it would have been too OTT to have been worn. Well unless for a festival but I want to wear these a lot. At £8 a metre for me this is very expensive fabric! I must wear this.

Also I made this tie dyed velvet ( beach) dress last uear and only ever wore it to the beach - hence its now designated as a beach/ festival dress. I do not really want something else thats unwearable for every day.

So when I cut these I decided to swap the sleeve fabric and hoods fabric but not the mitts - so the sleeve is a continuation with matching mitts rather than over chopped into blocks of pattern with contrast mitts. The end result is very 90s but never mind. I enjoyed the 90s immensly. Possibly that was the best period of my youth so I do not mind reliving certain looks second time around. 

And I have worn both of these dresses now and I really love them. It was risky swapping the parts around and making this colour blocked look but I am very happy with how its worked. I will be taking them away if I can manage to afford a holiday this year. Its all down to the cost of fuel now because I would love to go to Scotland again. If it carries on rising then I will be wearing these in my garden. Still never mind. It will still mean time off work or so I hope anyway. 

Have a great day and thanks for visiting my blog,

Bracken