Cotton skull print dress for Halloween

  

The perfect Halloween dress?

To be honest although its nearly Halloween I made this just because I fancied it and intend to wear it all year round. 

Its a really basic dress with the bodice based on the free pattern from Angela Kane that I used last year to make a top. I never bothered with the facings though,  and cut the back on the fold to eliminate the back fastenng, and added a gathered skirt which is just two rectangles.

The neck is overlocked and hemmed. It works and is very easy, but also fast and it feels like I achieved something despite its a very simple design. And yes its less professional than the facings would have been but I was acually recreating a dress I bought in the early to mid-eighties although the skulls on that were bleached into plain black cotton. You rarely found skull prints in those days.

Despite its cotton, so possibly more suited to summer, I can see me wearing this through winter and Christmas because its big enough to get layers under it.

The weather is getting much more chilly and winter is coming. We found a rare patch of sun for these photos. Mostly its feeling cold and damp. Autumn is well and truly arrived. You can feel it in the air even when the sun is out so this dress will I think make a good winter layer. 

Anyway I really like how this dress turned out. I only had 2m of fabric too which came from some random Ebay seller a couple of years ago. I don't think this cost much though, which is why I bought it. I think the muted colours will work well for Autumn and Winter.

I am, I must admit, veering towards the more simple designs right now rather than the more fitted clothing I tended to wear at the start of the year. I suppose with the colder weather I want more loose comfy clothing that I can lounge round in and wear in layers. 

Mind you I feel very tempted by some stretch velvet I was eyeing up the other day. This year, I have been trying to use what fabric I have stashed though, or at least to reduce what I have by a serious and noticable amount. 

Christmas is not far off now though and its been very much a year of using what I already have and not buying new fabric. Time for a buying spree maybe? 

I feel I deserve it now because I have successfully got rid of (well made clothing from so actually I still own it all!) lots of bits of fabric and some went back years. And when you sew all the time and obsessively, what else can you ask for for Christmas but more fabric, sewing thread, stitch rippers etc etc.

And I will be wearing this dress on Halloween this year.

Take care and thanks for dropping by,

Happy Halloween

Bracken

Velvet floral flares

  

Hello and welcome!

I am not usually someone into florals but this fabric just called to me. I bought it, probably a year ago, so its sat waiting for sometime. In the end I decided it will make some nice cheerful winter loungewear. Something I can wear for both slobbing at home, and for popping out to the shops or to a friends without looking too Loungey.

 

Its an old much used so very much Tried and Tested (TNT) pattern that is also a freebie and I have now made so many versions I can only thank the maker of this pattern very much for the use of it and for giving it away free. 

As my last couple of pairs of these, I widened the flares a little - you can read how to do this on the original post where I did this. This worked great before and has worked again.  I have now permanently widened this pattern at the hems.

This is the link to the pattern: https://siloandsage.com/2015/03/06/free-yoga-pants-pattern/

I can honestly state I have now tried several similar (paid for) patterns that are not even half as good as this one so this is a very much recommended pattern. 

I have made velvet holiday glitter flares, aubergine flares and plain flares from this pattern and used it so many times I have completely lost count of how many pairs of trousers, PJ bottoms and yoga pants this has made. It was even the pattern for my recent scuba fabric camo flares. Its seriously one of the best patterns I own. BUT if you do want flares you will need to widen the bottoms because the original pattern is from a different fashion time and is only slightly flared!

Rather than use stretch velvet for the waistband I used some thinner cheap black fabric left over from something or other because I find my previous (several) pairs made from stretch velvet are a bit bulky round the waist. 

At this point I cocked this up. The waistband is far from perfect. Still its virtually never that I would tuck my tops in or wear a cropped top with no longer top under it so this will only really matter to me. No one is going to see this but the front has a slight dip in the waist which is also a bit off centre. I think perhaps this black fabric was a little too slippy and thin. A T-shirt weight might work better?

 

Otherwise these worked really well and I very much enjoyed wearing them with my big navy hoody.

Ah and this style has even come back into fashion. Not that thats why I made them, because I have worn this style as "yoga pants" since my first pair back in 2016 and they were very much NOT in fashion then. Its just a bonus these are also very like much of what is currently on the high street- just mine are unique and therefore better!

They were also very cheap because I bought 2m of this fabric which is a high quality dancewear grade stretch lycra velvet and I paid £5 per metre. I have enough left for another pair of trousers or maybe even some leggings or a top. Not sure which as yet but I will make something else soon from this fabric. Despite the fact its a floral its very much me it seems. I felt good out and about shopping in these and thats not something I would say about everything I make. And these trousers are comfy and warm for autumn. And I feel these really will fit this year's Faerie theme!

Win, win all round with this one then.

Have a great week and thanks for popping by. See you soon,

Bracken

Fairisle jumper for Mick

 This was meant to be a copy of a jumper I knitted for Mick back in the early 90s and that he loved. 

 

It did not quite work out how we imagined it. There is not actual pattern for this. 

I will proabbly have to try again in fact. Not just ow though because I only just finished this. I reckon probably its been about a year knitting this. Thats partly down to the large size but also the fact I just went off knitting a while ago so only did the odd row or two here and there and kept stpping and puttig it away again. The baby pixie hat I made a few weeks ago got me back into knitting so I am finishing as many of my "works in progress" as possible.

Its far too big - he has "grown" over the last 30 years so I estimated the number of stitches we would need for this too fit, but even then this is huge. That might be ok in the snow though and expecially over his very thick and big hoody cowl tops for dog walking. That will be a bonus in the next few months. 

 

This is the jumper with a hoody cowl underneath. So yes its rather too big on its own.

The background is Aldi acrylic mixed with mohair and all sorts of odd yarns left from other projects ( some which go back to the early 2000's).

This time  I added mitts which he likes so that can stay for version two. They will likely be useful when holding a dog lead. One of our dogs has become very reactive since we had lockdown and he just takes a dislike to some dogs out of the blue so you do have to keep a good hold o his lead if that happens. Wearing gloves can make his harder so mitts are the best answer. Its weird though because the same dog can be nice as pie to other dogs he meets and there does not seem to be a reason for the different reactions.

Mick really should have worn his glasses for these. It was first thing today and he had not yet got up properly when I got him to model this for me. He is squinting at me taking these because he doesn't see well without his glasses! Still these are about the jumper not my lovely partner!

I think the main issue with this is its made from too much acrylic which tends to be harder and have more brighter primary types of colours rather than real wools and mohair yarns which tend more towards muted and subtle or richer colours. Since we both avoid animal products I tend to only use free ( as in gifted) or second hand ( thrifted) yarns that possibly may come from animals. Mick is very strictly vegan so I do try to avoid all animal products for him. However when it comes to the planet and recycling this issue becomes far more complicated and we both think we should be as sustainable as we can be and that includes recycling of all existing products including those with animal origins. I know many who do not agree on this point. One close friend even sold his leather jacket and bought a vegan one but he made some money from that sale so I cannot see how that is better. But we are all individuals and all have our own personal views and ethics so who am I to make judgements?

I personally see nothing wrong with recycling of animal products though respect to those who completely avoid. One of my issues with this is you find some nice yarn in a charity/ thrift shop but you have no label on it so you have really got no idea of the fibre content. So should I then not buy it and use it? 

Or a friend has a clearout and gives me loads of half balls of assorted yarns which again go back years and we do not know what they are made from. I cannot see anything wrong with this kind of recycling.

Anyway I find that the older "wool" type of yarns have more muted colours even when they are red or bright blue whereas the acrylics tend to be more plastic and over bright and kind of"cleanly" bright. Thats why this jumper came out like it has. The original was all from upcycled yarn that was probably wool or wool mixes. This thing with acrylic versus natural fibres is I think a bit like the oil paint versus acrylic paints thing as well. Though this comment will probably only make sense to a painter! 

Oils are or tend to be more complex and richer colours and acrylics no matter how hard you (or anyway me) mixes them they remain a kind of artificial brighter or cleaner colour even when they are darker or more muted rather than primary colours. Oils are just "richer" and have a different kind of hue to them.

Anyway thats why this jumper came out a litte too bright I think so my aim is to make another - it took me ages because its a big jumper, so might be a year before I can show you the next version of this. Hopefully I will also get the sizing right next time. 

Still I suppose on a plus note with the huge rises we have in energy prices (in the UK at least) if we end up unable to turn  the heating on this winter at least Mick will be warm in this jumper. 

In the meantime I am attempting to finish a few more of my works in progress while I am still in the mood to knit.

Have a great weekend

Bracken

Long Black T shirt dress

This is very similar to my olive green T shirt dress but this one uses a different pattern. Again its longer length and as long as my available fabric allowed.

 

Well actually its Sew & Sew B6041 which I bought ages ago but this time I never made the grandad collar. It might have been a bit easier to sew that as it worked out. Sewing the neck without an opening was much harder than I usually find it. Thats the fabric choice though I think.

 

I found it impossible to sew the neck on this with a twin needle which was my intention - so making a basic T shirt dress really - which I think is likely due to the very flowy, slippery fabric. Its some kind of synthetic with lycra, and previously I managed successfully to make several pairs of very basic black leggings from this fabric. 

Either way I couldn't get it to look right. I spent absolutely ages unpicking the half sewn neck - twice - and then decided, stuff this I am overlocking the edge and just adding black (stretch) lace to all hems and neck, which works, though gives it kind of a gothic night dress feel. 

The side splits also have lace edges.

 

Still, I always have liked lingerie look dresses so thats fine and if it gets cold of course I can even wear this as a nighty.

With the huge rise in energy costs accross Europe its likely to be a very cold winter for us after all! 

 

I did not add lace to the sleeve edges because I cut these extra wide and long so they can have elastic in the wrists and so they are baggy and hopefully warmer than the 3/4 or short sleeves shown in the pattern views.

 

This will also make it easier to layer other tops ( and leggings) under this if I need to which I probably will since we aim to try to keep the heating down to 15 DegC this winter to save the predicted price increases of around £2500 and I cannot see how we can possibly afford to pay that so keeping the heat to a minimum is all we can do to mitigate this. Its still likely to be a large increase on our usual bills. We normally live in winter at 18 DegC to 20 DegC. Its going to be a cold one, and since the trees and fruit bushes have been laden for at least 6 weeks longer than usual, that also usually signifies very cold weather is on the way. The last year we had this amount of wild fruit on the hedgerows was 2010 and that was a very cold year. I do hope I am wrong in predicting this!

Being black it was quite difficult to get good picture of this dress. Its actually a good dress with my very unwearable and now old pink leather jacket. I bought this jacket from a charity/ thrift shop for about £6 which was pretty good or so I thought then. But, I find this jacket very Barbie which is just not me and maybe if I still don't wear it this autumn I should just donate it back again. It was a bad buy and I think I have only ever worn it 2 or 3 times in about 4 years. Sometimes you just have to accept a bargain buy was not a good one. But I did find it handleable with this dress the day we took these photos, which is the first time wearing this black T shirt dress.

 

I know with so called "sack dresses" most people either love them, or hate them. I obviously like them, and this is very much a basic shapeless sack type of T shirt dress. I like comfortable clothing though which works as lounge wear, as you can probably tell from this blog, because its probably what I make most. But I do also like to wear fitted, dressed up clothing as well. Depends on my mood and what I am doing. 

This was actually a really difficult dress to get decent photos of probably because its basic black, and we tried several locations with different lighting and walking round locally we found these lovely teasels. In the summer this patch was full of oxe-eye daiseys, cornflowers and corn cockles. Its only a small patch of wild flowers that were planted to attract and hopefully preserve the bees but I really like these places they allow to grow more wild these days rather than the weed killered edges you used to see everywhere when I was younger.

I think these teasels are really majestic. They are taller than me. Probably about 3m high. 

The local women's institute ladies will collect them soon for flower arranging and I reckon this year I will follow their lead. I brought a few into the house for winter decorations last winter and loved them despite they really hurt if you touch them being so very prickly but they look really nice.The prickliness does make sticking them in a vase even with minimal fussing, very painful.  I considered even spraying them gold or silver paint for Christmas but never did it last year. I may try a few this year though I did also like their natural look. Maybe just a couple of metallic ones would be good mixed with some natural ones?

This dress also appeals to the Goth in me. I reckon I may try it, next time I wear it, with a studded belt. It does not at all seem to matter how old I get, the old goth bit is still there lingering in the background. I suppose it always will be. What shapes you in your youth never really leaves who you really are. I may not have Lily Munster style hair any more ( yes really I did in my teens) but the authentic me still identifies as Punk/ Goth, but goth as in the days before the term was even invented though its never ever gone away since, despite the goth fashions changing a bit over time. I think we tended more towards the velvet, leather, lace, studs and rivets, almost punk, styles and also the Lily Munster and Morticia looks back then. There were no bought goth clothes then though and we wore vintage or me - made or a mix of both. But then the year I started secondary school (1975, so aged 11) was the winter the Sex Pistols shot to fame ( notoriety?). 

By the time I left school the world had changed a lot and has never realy quite gone back. As time has passed its become freeer though never quite so free as those early 1980s years when it really was a time when you had difficulty telling the boys from the girls and it was not an LGBTQ+ thing then, it was all of us. The world was in many ways much less judgemental. We celebrated difference yet saw the sameness, or humanity, within all of us and we all mixed. But of course that did not last and by the end of the 1980s and 90s we had returned to the world of segregation and judgement and boys looked like boys again and girls like girls. So sad really. I think it was a much freer world when the genders were less defined. I am happy its starting to become accepted again to look and to live how you want to, rather having this forced on you by societal conditioning. 

Back in 1980 ( probably around September to December) they described us in the press ( that is most of the kids of that time) as " long haired punks". It was actually not a nice term, it was meant to be derogatory, and was meant to mean we could not be "real" punks. But then we were really too young to be punks because punk was ended - or so the music press told us. There were though hundreds of younger bands and they were better described as punk than new wave which seems to have became the more usual term. New Wave then was pop music. It was never political.. For us who did still identify as punk the belief and views were there though. I think with most of my generation we are all shaped by those views even now. 

Spikey hair was still very much there but had grown longer - hence the music press description of us as long haired punks I suppose. We spent hours with soap, and hairspray, and sugar solution ( often a mix of all 3!) to spike our hair because hair gel had yet to be invented. If you used soap too much ( soap worked best) you got small bald patches where it made your hair fall out. We were dedicated! Then I would guess about 1981 or 1982 the Damned first used the term Goth and gothic and that is now all history. The Damned were, and still are, one of my favourite bands.

Anyway, reminiscing over. Amazing what a new dress makes you think of! 

And, maybe, with this dress, I will even get into this over bright ,Barbie pink biker jacket with this as well. The black long dress does feel OK with bright pink after all and I do hate wasting money. If I can work out how to wear this jacket that would really be good though its still going to have limited wearbility in my wardrobe and I cannot help but think it would look much better with one of my black biker jackets instead!

Thanks for popping by and see you soon,

Bracken

 

Camo hoody

Its lovely and sunny today though you can definitely tell we are heading for some cold weather.

This is the same pattern as my grey glittery hoody and again I added mitts to this using the Melissa Feyr book "Make Your Own Active Wear".

I have loved camo - especially blue camo since I was in my teens so finding this fabric was great. Its actually scuba so despite not having a fleece back should be pretty stable and warm for Autumn / Fall.

I really love how this particular hoody goes together so easily and neatly. 

 

You cannot see the design well in these photos but the front has a kind of princess line seam which the pocket goes into.

 

 Its just so neat. Everything just lines up. And its easy to make!

I can see me wearing this top a lot over the next few weeks.

Thanks for visiting my blog and see you soon,

Bracken