Leggings 2

 This is my second pair of basic leggings made in a decent activewear wicking fabric and I very much loved wearing them. Not the best lighting but the mountain behind is lovely. Better photos below!

We went to North Wales for a week and it turned out to be 10degC colder than at home despite being only 3 hours drive away. Shocking. It was apparently really hot at home but just pleasant in Wales. The people were not very friendly though which is disappointing because we are actively trying to decide where in the Uk we want to move. The only people we met who were friendly were Scottish. Since we are both leaning towards moving to Scotland thats a nice discovery. Really I think its a toss up between Cornwall and Scotland so either end of the UK. I would have though seriously of France and Holand or maybe Germany but after the Brexit fiasco we no lonbger have the righ to live there unless we have a huge income and its unlikely we ever will so that is now out. We can in fcat only even visit the EU for 180 days at a time and then have to be stuck back on this island for a further 180 days. What rubbish these brits chose! It is so annoying that people tell me there was a huge number voting to leave but actually it was a 52/48 split with most of the leavers now being dead! They reckon the demographic has totally changed and we would choose stay in now. I hate the fact we are no longer european. I am and always will be but these ancients are convinced we should instead be solo. Makes me unhappy that!
OK rant over!

My new leggings are the same as the last pair just different fabric and I have a 3rd pair nearly finished too. I will show you those once done. All fabric is from Pound Fabrics for I think around £9 per metre. Top was made ages ago. Its quite tatty now even though its a raggy top , its seen better days but I love it. Its lightweight yet warm.

Look at that knee turning right in now. Definitely need a knee op and you can see now by the way I am standing. I cannot help this its just my joints no longer work right so probably its my last holiday before I become cyborged ( two knees and one more hip being replaced!!!). I do not actually mind being cyborged. If the first hip is like the next few joints it will be wonderful to get my life back. Its not they never hurt again though. In the wet which is lots here, I ache in the replaced hip but its nothing to the agony before they did it and I can walk and do everything. I can even sit cross legged like a kid ( or could before the second one went wrong!) and I could not do this before the op. I was an invalid. Its for certain better to be normal than in pain and unable to function which would be me if I refused these ops. The difference between being a disabled old woman or an active middle aged one. I chose a life.

But the hip they already did is strong! I really know that right now. Its all that keeps me walking. Enough of self pity. Leggings!

You can see the colours in this fabric better here. I want some more of this fabric. Just waiting for a tax refund to cash then I can buy some. Nice when you accidentally pay too much tax and get it back. I also made two dry robes for the holiday which I slogged daily for 2 weeks to get made. I have yet to get photos of them but will do so because it cost around £70 for the two instead of  £180 each! 

I would seriously urge anyone who wants one and who can do basic sewing to have a go at making them if you want one. They are very easy. I have lots of making photos too but none as yet of the finished garments. I also have measurements and can help if anyone wants to message me about this. 

And they have no pattern as such and both work really well. I will post my dimensions with the photos once I get them. Sadly never took any on holiday but will find somewhere to take some here abouts so I can share this because possibly they are my biggest make ( and riskiest) in years and I am very happy with them. That will likely be my next post if you are interested but will have to be next week due to time and needing someone available for the photos.

Thanks for popping by and hopefully see you soon with a good blog on my dry robes!

Take care and have a great week,

Bracken

Skull culottes ( RP patterns)

Having a bit of a Goth day when I wore these!

Skulls and a black lace top- I would have been so happy to own these when I was 18!

Again I am doing more sewing than blogging and its been ages since I sat down to write. Sorry about that but I decided to concentrate on the actual sewing rather than the blogging about the sewing. If you see what I mean.

The top is an old one I made a while back and rediscovered recently when the weather got hot.

I do not seem to burn so much when I wear this. Its quite hot for the UK now so getting sunburned is an issue and I rarely remember to use sun block. So despite the colour its a nice summer top.

Culottes are made from a stretch cotton lycra fabric which has been stashed for around 3 years I reckon. Definitely time I used it for something.

Yoke ( waist) is just a black tubular ribbed fabric ( cut into the pattern of course because its a shaped yoke not a straight waistband) I had a scrap of because I ran out of the skull fabric so I needed something else. Orange strappy vest just seen is also a Rebecca Page pattern and I really need to make a few more of these vest tops. They are a good basic staple. Not sure but I think RP patterns may no longer be available? If they are back online this top pattern used to be a freebie.

I made a pair of these before in a wintery glitter fabric when RP was still owned by Rebecca Page, and a pair of shorter length fluorescent velvet shorts a little after that. I love the shorts but the longer length serves my current needs better. 

The first pair and the second velvet pair both fit better. I reckon I must have made a smaller size. In fact after making and altering the waist on both pairs I recollect I needed to go a size down with Rebecca Page patterns so these are in fact a size too big I think. That makes them a bit loose. It will actually not matter because these are specifically for my recovery period after my hip replacement so that will be OK. Its something I should try to remember for my next version though. That is that with RP patterns I am a smaller size than the details tell me I am!

I can always make a smaller pair afterwards. I mentioned in a previous post I have to have this op and it's due any time from what I have been told. I went on the NHS waiting list last August so I think its about nowish I should get the op. 

Last time I swelled up - not surprising really when a large chunk had been chopped off my leg and replaced by an implant! So these being looser could be good. I had culotes last time but a different style and they were great for day wear after the op. These are much more fitted than my previous version which was self drafted.

I have also made a purple pair of these. Again they are a little large. I have not worn them as yet but may blog later about them. In both cases I had to take in the yoke. I hate unpicking stretch fabrics. I did achieve it both times though with no holes made but for the future I am trying to get through to my stupid head to remember to go down a size for RP!!!!!

I need to make some tops in my purple fabric. They will go with these and my other ( not photo graphed yet) pair as well as the rest of my "hospital" stuff. I am aiming for all purple for sleep and day wear. It may annoy the nurses to be honest but that can't be helped. It will make my life so much easier if everything goes together easily. The nurses do like you to have day clothes and sleep clothes (pjs). Mine will mostly all be in the same fabric so the difference will be minimal and I suspect they will be offering me gowns! But these skull culottes of course are my contrast. I am hoping for time to make a second pair of pj trousers and two or 3 tops so I really must get a move on! It's a bonus if these recovery clothes can be worn later though.

Also I have yet to try this but the PJs I made before I used a yoga pants pattern with a low waist. Its an old pattern though free and brilliant. Anyway I suspect the RP yoke will go on the waist of these quite nicely eliminating the need for elastic in an added on waistband which is my usual method of making these because I do not like the yoga band top. I do love the pattern though and it works well with a normal waistband. I will let you know if this idea works on my next pair of these.

Have a lovely week,

Bracken

Basic leggings that fit!

I have not blogged for some time and there is a good reason for this slackness. This year I have spent a lot of time looking through my old me-made clothing. Some I have binned or recycled. A great deal though I have begun to alter because its pretty much all too big for me. 

For example these leggings: 

steampunk, 

camo leggings,

skull leggings

There is a very good reason for my ill fitting clothing when I began sewing again after many years when I had done no more than sew on a lost button. Well no there are two reasons. 

1) I was scared of messing up my very expensive fabric and making something that did not fit. So long as the item was big it would fit. Actually, most of my early fabric was cheap rubbish but it was what I could get hold of and to be fair it was really good for practicing until I got good enough to spend more on my fabric. I still by cheap, don't  get me wrong, but nowadays I also buy "nice". If its cheap then great but if not I will probably still buy it if I can.

2) I wanted to blog so much I did not care if I never made things fit so long as I had a post to write about. Yes agreed that is sad. But honesty  means I have to admit that and I may as well be open with it rather than just saying it to myself. Well things have changed. Now I would rather do less blog posts and make things that are really nice.

So the last few weeks have been taken up re-making things. There is still a lot left I need to deal with but I am getting there and I have lots of well fitting clothes to wear now. And my wardrobe feels really nice ( although still somewhat over full!) 

Anyway the reason for my silence with blogging is I spent a quite a few days recently remaking these old clothes and now at last they all fit. Three things I have remade are these leggings, skulls, camo and steam punk patterned - see above links. I will not waste your time or mine doing before or after pictures at least not until next Me-Made-May when I may get round to that. For now suffice it to say these now all fit and I also chopped off the ruched ankles as well because they are harder to wear. Having re-made these leggings I now also know what size actually fits and where I need to adjust the pattern - for example the ankles are just baggy on the pattern and I want proper leggings with tight fitting ankles. 

The size problem was also compounded by my losing weight. I went down a dress size by accident. This meant my leggings were 2-3 sizes too big for me so that made it all even worse. 

I then decided to buy some ( quite expensive at £8.95/m) new active wear (wicking) fabric which is 4-way stretch. Although from what I have read although sellers say ts 4-way really what they mean is 2-way. But thats a rant for another time. Look it up if this interests you. But now I have sorted it and made some new leggings as well. I have a better wardrobe leggings wise than I have had for around 30 years I think. Sometimes you need to just step back from blogging and think about what exactly you are really trying to achieve. 

I love blogging and connecting with other sewers/ sewists but really I want to make nice clothing I like and want to wear and not just to make clothing.

I have cut 4 new pairs of leggings and I am very excited to be able to show you this first pair. Its actually the second pair I have sewn up but I have not yet worn the other pair so today is the first time wearing these and yes they feel good and I am really very happy with the fit. There is a snag though if you look at the back waistband right at the end of sewing I got a tuck. 

I considered unpicking and redoing but decided no its really not worth the effort since its likely only me will ever notice and I also run the risk of making a hole in my lovely leggings when unpicking them so this is staying. 

Have a lovely weekend and thanks for popping by my blog. 

Take care

Bracken

Sun hat for child Burda style magazine #145/06/2014

 

This is a sunhat made for a child. Size is for a 52cm head. However the pattern is for a 50cm at biggest size so I cut it a little larger to take that into account and to ensure everything still fitted together right.

Its reversible because you may as well make it like that. You have to line it anyway though could have an inside seam but its not difficult to make this pattern reversible.

Its a Burda magazine pattern from an old issue I bought used but with intact patterns, from Ebay.

The pattern is #145, 06/2014 but the Burda version is not reversible. Instead they sew in lines around the brim to make it stiffer. Small person had a baby hat I made with a lining to match the outer so I decided this time to make that a feature and make it reversible. And this works well.

This is the issue with this pattern which has just 3 pieces to trace and is very easy to make larger if needed.

Unfortunately its now chucking it down with torrential rain here but thats England! We will get some sun at some point I expect.

Have a great week and thanks for popping by,

Bracken

Jeans finished -prototype

I finished my jeans! 

My jeans don't have a fold over hem. RTW jeans do. To do that would make them shorter than I wanted so they have an overlocked edge to prevent fraying and then a twin needle hem because the fabric contains lycra so stretches. In fact they are a bit too stretchy.

So, I think a stretch stitched hem will be better then a normal straight stitch. 

Unfortunately they do need a belt.

My jeans don't have a hammer in button. I could have added one but my difficulty comes with making a decent button hole not the button being hammered or sewn on. Both require a button hole and none of my machines make good enough button holes. 

In fact the next machine I buy it will by a priority it can make a decent, professional looking button hole. Until then though I have what I have and it's not made such a bad buttonhole in the end. I ended up using my old Brother 3 step buttonhole machine and then hand sewing to reinforce it after. 

However since I recently dropped a dress size by accident I suppose that allows me to put the weight back on. I probably will do. I have the opposite problem to my best friend in that I have difficulty staying in a safe weight range whereas my friend is often dieting. Both are problems according to the health professionals. These days you are meant to fit a certain range in weights and reality says that's not always easy. In both directions!

I am quite happy with how these turned out though they took me ages to finish.

And they are actually ready to wear this spring. England often has cold weather in the morning  in May but is warm at midday.  And May sometimes switches between snow showers very occasionally and more often cold rainy days mixed with scorching hot summer weather. So overall these will work for my spring trousers I think taking all that into account.

And they will be good for Autumn too.

I got held up finishing these by the belt loops. I forgot them. Put everything away and then realised and had to wait for the next sewing session to get them done and added to the jeans. That's done now which is good because as I already said these need a belt to stay up!

I really feel happy to have finally got these finished and I achieved something rather than just the same old leggings and tops I make. I do need those of course, but its good to stretch yourself sometimes and make more difficult things. I will be making more of these. 

Thanks for popping by and visiting. See you soon because I feel I have my sewing mojo back now so I need to get a few things done before it again becomes difficult.

Have a lovely week,

Bracken

Thai fisherman trousers

A few days before Christmas 2024 I had a small package containing this fabric sent through my letterbox. I opened this package and my immediate thought was this is not mine! 

I never sent for this. 

The address on the package was mine and it was addressed to me. Then inside I found a letter and a calendar for 2025! 

Well when I read the letter it was from Pound Fabrics and they had sent me this 2m if lovely cotton fabric as a gift for being a faithful customer. I was so shocked. I have been sewing (and blogging!) for years. No one has ever given me fabric before. I have won a couple of competitions but might have done that if I had not been blogging about my sewing. 

One was with the Monthly Stitch which I was an avid member of for years and the other was Minerva Fabrics. I think there was an element of luck both times really. I still wear the garments made for both these competitions.

Anyway, this is my very first gift of fabric and thank you so much Pound Fabrics for thinking of me. 

I have been buying fabric online since probably about 2010. But not large quantities of fabric purchases until the last few years when I began to blog my sewing adventures so since 2015 really I have been regularly buying fabric. Wow! 10 years!

Anyway, I found pound fabrics after a particularly bad experience with one of their competitors (Pound-a-Meter - steer well clear of them if you don't want to get ripped off is my advice!). But Pound Fabrics have been reliably brilliant. Even then I never expected to get a Christmas present from them

Perhaps really I should have written publicly about this closer to Christmas. I did say a personal thank you at New Year, but wanted to wait until I found something to make before writing a blog post about this. 

Well this really is the perfect fabric for this project.

I have been planning to make a pair of these trousers since 2008 when I came across the ( then free) instructions for the Easy Breezy Wrap pants from Laupre who I think may now be on Etsy.

Whenever I considered making them I just never had the right fabric. Until I was gifted this that is.

And the thing about these is they are super simple to make and wonderful to wear. I have plans for a few other pieces of fabric currently in my stash in fact because now I know how to make these I want more.

You can wrap frontwise as these are or backwise for a different look. I will be going with the easiest way which seems for me to be frontwise wraps. 

I did do a couple of alterations to the original pattern - I added a channel to the top of the front and back panels and then made straps to thread through and so mine have pullords rather than sewn on straps. I like this better. Its more adjustable than sewing the ties to the tops of each piece. I also made these much more gathered than you perhaps could do. Laupre says a 12" overlap. I have much more than that but will just adjust as needed depending on my fabric because you might as well use all the piece if you can. That stops small pieces ending up for years in my stash and makes for a nice loose fit with lots of overlap and therefore modesty. I do not fancu flashing my knickers to the world when the wind blows but thats just my own feelings on this. 

I have to say also the instructions are great and if you wanted to make these I would recommend this seller.  There are also some YouTube videos on these as well if thats your preferred method of making.

So here I have a double thank you to make to Pound Fabrics for the 2m of lovely fabric and to Laupre for the generous sharing of the pattern/ instructions back in 2008.

Have a great week and thanks for popping by my blog. 

Bracken

Tiger suit

It's not really a tiger suit as such but tiger print lounge wear. I have worn both the and bottoms together twice so far though and it feels fine to do so. Usually with animal prints I only handle one item so this is a bit different. No idea why though!

I wanted a wide leg tracksuit.

The trousers are not quite right. I hacked the Lekala track pants onto the Mood Sewciety Jamesia pants with the result the pockets are too long or too large or just too far down the leg. They are OK but when I do this again I will use the Lekala track pants as the top with the wide Jamesia leg at bottom instead of transposing the pocket onto the Jamesia. 

I think that will work better. Otherwise the trousers work well and I expect only I will see what's wrong with them.

The top pattern us a new one I recently bought from a charity shop. Despite being second hand its uncut and was a bargain at 99p.

 It's McCall's M8144.

I think the two patterns work well together. I actually finished this in time for UK Mother's Day when my son took me on a train ride on a vintage diesel train. I just never blogged about this before. Lack of time. Life seems very hectic right now. 

Thats not the same as the Mothers Day the rest of the world seems to have. Ours was exactly a Month before Easter. There's a rhyme " Mothering Sunday, Curds and Whey, Palm Sunday, Easter Day" with each bit referring to one week. It was a fun day out anyway going on the train with my son.

This is a nice cozy suit for the british spring weather which can be very varied.

I made it exactly as directed. It's pretty easy but a very nice top pattern with funnel neck, slight cowl and raglan sleeves. I seem to have a current liking for high funnel and polo necks. This is more of a funnel. 

The sleeves were too short so I added Feyr Trade's thumb hole mitts from the Make your own Sportswear book.

 

That's worked really nice. I might just lengthen them next time but this is really my muslin. 

We have lots of sun right now but the mornings are icy cold warming to about 15 degrees C at lunchtime so this is a nice outfit for the time of year here in the UK. The rain we get in spring has already started too so I suspect its going to be a good outfit for our variable weather and May might be supposed to be warm but it can also snow here so at least I have a nice cozy new outfit now in case that happens. 

Its a very simple to sew pattern and I intend to make a few more tops like this when I get more appropriate fabric. Right now I have nothing I can use that is not already cut into something else. I would like a few of these though. The pattern has 3 sleeve options so I might try a different version next time.

It was very fast to make this and not expensive because its a bargain basement fabric from Pound Fabrics at £2 a meter. I bought 3m. I wish I had bought more! This is the orange colourway. It also came in brown, and grey and white. I think they just have the orange now though, but if they get more of the grey I will be buying more because its a nice warm jersey. They described it as heavy weight. I do not agree. It's quite thin but is warm and cozy. It's not sweat-shirting and works well on this kind of outfit because the fabric has a almost sweatshirt weight to it. But its a knitted acrylic jersey with lycra. It's perfect for all sorts but I only have small bits left. I am seriously wondering if I can squeeze a second top from it but probably will not have enough for this pattern. Maybe with contrast sleeves? Something to look at another time anyway.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Take care

Bracken