95 and 96 skirt and top for TMS "Bright" for Tools by Hollie competition

 
This is my entry for the "Bright" competition from "Tools by Hollie" with The Monthly Stitch. If I was to win those lovely accessories I would probably wear them with something pretty simply and black so I made the skirt using McCall's M6770 and the top is self drafted and based on Burda Style 04/2012#126C.
I was window shopping a few days before reading about this competition and dreaming of clothing in current high street shops so I was already going to make a top with flared sleeves because I really like the current high street flared sleeves look and I wanted a wrap top so I made this pattern but added the flared sleeve.

The skirt has a slight train at the back or high low hem. It is stretch satin-backed crepe which I originally bought for some posh work trousers but stole for this competition.  I reversed it to have the satin on the right side. Its nearly totally overlocked with just a zip and button on a waistband.


It should have had an invisible zipper but I had a normal one and was stretched money-wise so used that. Its a bit longer than it should be as well but works. And I got to play with my automatic button-holer which was good!

The top is power mesh. It just ties at the back (or front according to the pattern).

 Again its nearly all made using an overlocker. I added the circle sleeves by drafting just as you would a circle skirt. They have a lettuce edge made using the overlocker. The neck of the top has a bias strip since I found even though its stretchy mesh, it does need to be bias to lie right and it is then twin needle stitched all round the neck edge and the two ties.

This shows the sleeve with overlocked lettuce edge

 

 This shows the neck band and twin needle stitched hems

 

The inside of the top

Here you can see the hems on one of the ties:



 

 

This is the inside of the skirt

 

The skirt hem:

  

 

 

 Zip and waistband

 

 

 

Thanks for reading and for visiting,

Have a lovely day,

Bracken

 

 

93: leapard print cullottes

I made the same cullotte pattern last year here: http://brackencrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/030516-me-made-may-day-3-spring-greens.html

I did manage the pockets this time so I have slightly improved I think.
The problem was the green fabric was really too heavy for this pattern I think so I started this pair to make a second attempt, but never finished them since winter set in and this is a lightweight summer cotton ( from Ikea) so I stashed them ( in my fabric stash) till this week when I decided they would be good to get finished for this spring.

I do not really like this pattern. Still I have made them and can see me wearing them quite a bit once the weather warms up.


I will do a few attempts  with different shoes etc. because this choice went with what I took off to take the photos. Not the best mixture
Maybe its the shoes and socks but I do not like them much together.

 

 

I will maybe chop the bottom off these and my green pair (shown below) as well. I reckon better as shorts. I will have to see how it goes with them long!
And it depends on the weather!

 

 

 

 Thanks for visiting my blog. Have a lovely day,

Bracken

92: Pale blue top

 

I went window shopping last week in New Look, Top Shop and River Island. I cannot afford their prices. I have a huge stash of fabric and a huge stash of sewing patterns but I just couldn't decide what I wanted to make next. It needs to be spring-like and new so I needed inspiration.

What struck me most was the large variety of wrinkley fabrics - all of which seemed synthetic. Last time I shopped for clothing - with money to spend- was back in 2007. Since then I have never had any cash so have had to make do. I seem to remember the majority of clothing being natural fibres though and now it all seems synthetic.

Well I always used to take stuff into the changing room to look at how it was made but with now also having a decent camera I managed to do some serious investigative recording of clothing to make this season. In fact I came home and wrote a Word document tying up the photos with patterns I currently own which should keep me sorted for ideas for a few months.

I have yet to investigate Next, M&S and H&M as well so life is looking up. I thoroughly enjoyed this visit to the shops I would normally avoid so I have to do this again and more often. I was particularly taken with the small details like D-rings and black tape which seemed to be everywhere decorating shoulders ( New Look) and holding up sleeves ( River Island, New Look, Top Shop). Very 1980s, very 1990s!

Weeeell...........I did not have any black tape although I do own  eyelet tape bought for a different project but then never used. So I have ordered some black tape off ebay but it is from HongKong so will take a month or so to get here. In the meantime I decided to use my eyelet tape instead. Similar theme but I have not seen any as yet on the high street which is good. Also means that my top is unique!

 

New Look has a Tshirt ( in fushia) with a synthetic front in a wrinkley fabric with a plain back so I reversed my back and sleeves to get two fabrics. You can just about see here that there are a smooth side and a wrinkley side. This is rubbishey cheap polyester. I think it makes a bog-standard synthetic more interesting anyway. I used the Burda style Lydia Tshirt pattern for this top. Although New Look's is a sleevless version with D-rings across the shoulder seams I decided to make this with long sleeves since its still cold in the UK right now. Its my first attempt at Lydia but I expect there will be a few more before the end of summer.

 

Thanks for visiting,

Bracken

18: Easy knitting jumper - Finishing the UFOs

Well it took me over a year since I began on 7th February 2016 to knit this. Its garter stitch so very easy and should be very quick. However, this is me and I never managed to finish that scarf they got us knitting at school because I got bored. I have finished all sorts of lacey and aran stuff but never a scarf.

My conclusion is I don't like garter stitch and I need some kind of changing pattern because even with it being simple intarsia I got bored. Simple was the word though, because I never had more than three balls on the go. It was possibly the most boring knitting I have ever done.

 

I like the final jumper though. Love it. Its different to everything else I currently own but will match most things. Perfect spring jumper. By the way if you have visited before this was my failed Me Made May challenge. Finally finished though in time to wear for this years Me Made May!
I started it here in case you want to visit:

http://brackencrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/18-wonderful-people-and-easy-knitting.html

 

Thanks for visiting my blog,

Bracken

 

 

 

91: black lacey top from scraps

 
I had lots of bits left over from my lace sides leggings and lace front top I made a couple of weeks ago. These scraps were quite big bits or so I thought at first. I cut a decent top similar to these tops which I made a while ago and wear loads despite the design being so basic. http://brackencrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/8-dark-navy-top-with-step-by-step.html
Maybe that's why I wear them so much?

Anyway I was sewing this top together when I came across a really bad fault in one sleeve. When I looked closer the lace was actually coming apart into two bits. Not good because I have no extra bits of this fabric left. So what to do? I decided to cut the sleeve shorter and saved the lace edge. Then I realised I will need to do both sleeves else they will not match. Shame because the other was perfect. Still no way round this if I am to save my fabric - which was not cheap so I am not happy! Especially since when making my first top I also found a fault which I had to alter the neckline to get rid of! Now I feel ripped off with respect to this fabric. It was from ebay but from someone who I usually have had a good experience buying from.

I am wearing my Green Faux Leather leggings with it here which I made a while ago here: http://brackencrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/20-green-leather-look-leggings.html

 Then further inspection shows a similar fault straight across a body piece. I say body because the front and back are identical. So I add a seam here thinking it will become a back yoke. You can see where I had to add a seam on the back here and just about see the sleeve seams as well. There are two on each arm which round about evenly divide the sleeve into 3 bits.

Then I decide to reattach the faulty bit and have long sleeves since this top is now made of small strips anyway. I added lace from offcuts to the hem which when making my top and leggings I had deliberately saved to use later as edging. And Voila!

Its far from perfect but I am actually quite happy with this. Its a nice lacey top for spring despite being made from bits. And strangely you cannot really tell unless you look very closely!

Thanks for visiting my blog

Bracken