62: Gingham-along top

I came across the gingham along challenge by accident. I was just browsing a few blogs in my lunch break and there it was. This seemed a great challenge since I have just finished the Monthly Stitch Birthday challenge so was feeling like I am ready to take on a new and exciting challenge since I actually managed to complete a real challenge in the allowed time.

I have several meters of a lilac stretch gingham I have been wondering what to do with it for ages.  I do not want to make just anything with this fabric. I cannot see me at all in a 1950s style dress or in a school uniform dress or any of the usual clothing that I see around that is made from gingham. I obviously liked the fabric since I bought it. About 5m in fact! 

I already managed to make the top at the start of this post. 

Spider lace

Black satin ribbon edge

 This I actually made before the gingham along happened I just have not got round to writing a blog post about it. I have worn this top probably at least once a week all summer so it must be "me". The lace on the sleeves is cut from a halloween tablecloth. I collect them since the black lace is usually made up of skulls or spiders etc and are my kind of price range at around £1.00 each.

The neck edging is the same black stretch lace that I used on my black pointy-hemmed dress here: 61: 3 Dresses from one pattern - The Monthly stitch challenge August 2016 and the pattern is the same free blank slate top pattern that I made a quick top/muslin from

When I first made this top I did it just as the previous top but I hated it. Too Mumsy for my style I am afraid. But the pattern is nice and fits well having done the shoulder adjustment suggested by Mel so I took out the darts which gives a kind of wider swing effect and added black lace at the neck and wrists. I also added a black satin ribbon at the hem edge. And just changing this pattern made it into a favourite top!

here: 20: Blank Slate patterns High Low top   

                     So then to the Gingham along which you can find out more about here:

https://didyoumakethat.com/2016/08/16/ginghamalong-giveaways/

I decided I just have to go for it. I am not sure how long I will keep my confidence up after the nice comments I got for my 3 pointy-hemmed dresses: https://themonthlystitch.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/3-pointy-hem-dresses/ so best to get on with it. 

My first item ( other than the top I have already made  above but probably could use for this is challenge) is a pair of side panel leggings which are stretch black leather at the sides and gingham for the centre panels. I have made this pattern before here: 38: side panel leggings

My working area is rather small and cluttered so I could not get a picture of my entire leggings without putting them on and have no one available to take the photo so here is the top bit and the ankle bit. The pattern is for knitted stretch fabrics which could explain why I am having some issues because although the gingham is stretchy it may not be as stretchy as is needed. I thought it was else I would not have used it but the pattern was a little big when I used it for stretch knits but the same size seems a bit wrinkly with the gingham and leather. I have yet to add the waistband so hopefully this may get sorted yet. So far I have sewed up the sides and the front and back seams and left them and started to make this to go with them:

I am doing the jacket in view B so the leather version with buckles at the front. I have yet to source the buckels so that could end up changing a bit. Again I am mixing the lilac gingham with stretch leather to get a kind of punk look - or so I am hoping.

 

The jacket is so far going OK. This is the side pockets which have a lilac gingham lining but the side panels are fake stretch leather:

This is the two sides with pockets put in: 

The Jacket has princess seams. The centre front and back panels will be lilac gingham:

Fist I sewed very close to the edge within the seam allowance to secure everything similar to basting since I do not want to use lots of pins since its leather and they will make marks and tiny holes. Then I overlocked everything together cutting off the machine sewed basted line. Repeat for the other side.

As you can see the leather is a bit creased. I am hoping this will hang out since I cannot risk pressing this and melting it.

And repeat for the second side:

Then the pattern says to sew up the centre back seam and top stitch. My top stitching is far from perfect and I do not have a perfect pattern match either!
The top is not too bad but as the seam goes down the back the pattern goes out. It will have to do. Right now I am aiming at making something slightly more challenging but not at total perfection and for me this is turning out very challenging!

Next the lower back panel has a pleated bit. You need to overlock and twin needle stitch the edge first then pin into place. 

Here are the bits so far:

And this is my "TO DO" pile taking up far too much room at the end of my table.

It includes a pair of cut out cullottes which I have left sitting waiting for about a month now, my citrus trousers I have cut out but not sewn so yet to finish here: Life!, my half made summer coat:30: Summer coat, a pair of curtains I need to hem and an IKEA blind that is waiting to be put up. And out of sight are several upcycling projects and a pile of repairs to do! I really need to start to do just one sewing project not several at once!


Anyway thats what I have been up to this week. Next week I will hopefully have some progress to show for the Gingham along challenge since it ends on 13th September so I had best get cracking.

Thanks for visiting

Bracken

42: Loads of mesh dresses and none for me!

These are for an event happeneing next month. I have made 8 long sleeved size 14-16 of these, 6 sized 10-12 and they are all for other people!

 The sleeveless long maxi-dresses I have made 8 of in size 14-16 also for an event for next month.

 They have a side split which you can just about see here. Would be ideal as beachwear in fact.

I am intending to make one of the shorter long sleeved version of these for me but none of these are actually for me hence I am not modelling them.

Thanks for reading

Bracken

Leather coat - inspiration. The power of teens.

I am still serious about this authenic-ness or should that be authenticity of being. Whichever!
I am still analysing my own style. Or what I percieve as my own style and as a result am also tempted to attempt to make this or something very similar:


I would not bother with the bondage straps across the back but I really like this jacket. Loads of details and could give me a serious challenge. I reckon I have enough fabric, I just need to bodge together two patterns I already own and be a bit creative with my faux leather before I use it all up on small projects. I could see myself wearing something like this but I simply could not justify the expense of buying it. Maybe 30 years ago when I was an extravagant teenager but not now. It is funny really how you have a higher income as an adult to that of a teen but you do not really have the spending power a teen does simply because by the time you earn more you have rent or mortgage to pay, bills to pay, other people who depend upon you not messing it all up. Really, when you are a teenager, that is when you are weathiest in your entire life. Or so it was for me. I just wish I had realised it then.
I also have some other similar coats saved to my pinterest page:
  
The first is actually more practical then my dream design above since it fastens up all the way down where-as the top one just does up to the waist. The last coat is basically just a pirate costume and there are lots of patterns for them around like this one:

The coat in this pattern looks quite simple to make but again only does up to the waist.  So what I really want to make is a fusion of the three styles.

So what do I want to make here:

• I do want it to fasten up all the way down if possible.
• I like the military looking top of the first pattern
• I want the back pleats similar to the top jacket 
• I want to use faux leather
• I have very little black faux leather so it has to be green leather because I have about 5-6m of that
• I could have trims done in red or black leather

 I am intending to have a go at making this jacket as soon as I finish making my cullottes: 23: Khaki cullottes
Yes I know I started them ages ago. I just seem to keep getting side tracked into making something else.

To be continued

Thanks for reading and come back soon for how I will make this coat.

Bracken

26: More free raglan sleeve T shirt patterns - Comparing the free raglan sleeved T shirt patterns available on the internet

My last post was the start of my raglan sleeve T shirt reviews. I started with the free pattern from
http://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/2016/02/15/long-sleeve-raglan-sweatshirt-free-pattern.html
Which made me two very nice tops here: 25: Comparing the free raglan sleeved T shirt patterns available on the internet
I was really very impressed by these tops which is what caused me to decide to review the other free patterns for raglan sleeved tops available on the interenet.
So next I decided to try this one from the cutting floor:
http://www.onthecuttingfloor.com/free-sewing-pattern-long-sleeve-raglan-top/
Which I thought was a bit different since it has different sleeve tops to bottoms.

Well I put the pattern together and because www.onthecuttingfloor.com has been going for a long while now and also has patterns to buy, I assumed it would all be fine. I have used loads of different free patterns some hand-drawn and many that were made with one sort of software or another. Anyway this pattern did not work for me. Well yes I made a top but look at the next two photos:

 

 

I do not know if I put it together wrong or if it simply does not work right

but the bits just did not fit. I unpicked everything and sewed it all again after I had rechecked the pattern by repinning the pattern pieces onto my cut out fabric and everything seems ok. I looked at the tutorial on the www.onthecuttingfloor.com site. The bits simply do not fit together. It looks like it should be a polo neck rather than a normal raglan T shirt.

To make it work I had to hack off the extra neck fabric. I also decided the neck band which is given is far too small so cut a new one and added wrist edges to accent the sleeves. I also added a wider hem band.

In the end it does work - kind of. Its a boat neckline due to me hacking off the extra fabric which is wearable but not what I intended. I can wear it as you can see here but I am not impressed. The photos are not really very good and its hard to tell but, the top sleeve sections are a bit tight and it kind of reminds me of those weird tops you find in H&M. 

Needless to say I will not make this one again but I may try the original pattern available on the same site which has one colour sleeves since I wonder if it is me that put it together wrong. Who knows?

I might try a bought pattern for my next version.

Anyway I personally do not rate this pattern very highly at all.

Thanks for reading

Bracken

Being Authentic. My new challenge.

Being the "authentic" you seems to have become an aim for lots of people recently and rightly so. I can completely identify with being yourself. I also have drifted away from the way I want to be in order to "fit in". In order to do the mundane jobs we do most of us have to "tone it down". But, I  need to make things I like to wear and recently I seem to have been making stuff that is a bit "girly" in a way that doesn't feel like the real authentic me. It is a case that I have found a pattern and followed it. It has increased my skill level but some although not all of my sewing has been a bit unlike me if you see what I mean. I do not want to be an everyday clone and that is my reason for making my own clothing in the first place so why am I just following a pattern and making stuff that doesnt feel right for me? It is not the pattern. Its my lack of daring. My lack of imagination that is my problem.

So my aim is to define and make things that are really ME. That probably, if I am honest, means punking everything up a bit. Or maybe more Goth. Either way I am sure that cannot be so very difficult. I just need to be a bit more imaginative while still challenging myself. Really most so called alternative fashion is simply made from everyday patterns. Its just the mix of fabrics and extras such as lace or studs that makes the item alternative. Punk and similar clothing simply uses lots of colour blocking and segmented patterns. I love a lot of the steampunk patterns around right now but I also need to be a bit more mature about things because I am no longer young so could end up looking a right idiot if I do it wrong or go too far. 

Having said that though, why should I have to dress boring just because I am no longer a teenager. Well of course I shouldn't have to. No one should. Famous people manage to do it and are expected to do so. When we are teens we all dress like rock stars. Its just what you do when you are discovering yourself. A small number of people manage to do this all their lives but for most of us life simply does not allow us to look how we feel inside. Or not if we want a career that is. Only a very small number of people manage to keep their own "style" past the teenage years. Well I am not having it anymore. I wanna be me again. It is just case of making my own look and making it work for my life as well.  

So now I am challenging myself to make clothing that reflects who I am rather than just follow a  pattern. But that also does not mean making unwearable items of clothing. So for the rest of my 100 garments I am going to aim to reinvent who I am and to become who I am inside again. But still maintain a liveable wardrobe that I can go to my normal boring job wearing and not upset my boss. I just need to find my own style again and live it.

I seem to have been collecting patterns now for about 5 years. I have a wonderful and huge stash of fabrics as well as patterns. I started with really good intentions to make them all but it seems I collect far more than I really get round to using. I have now stopped my Burda style magazine subscription as well because again I dream of making far more than I really manage to. I seem to always have an idea of what to make in my head but I simply do not have enough time to make everything I desire. Sadly!

Since all these patterns take up lots of storage space and I live in a very small house, I have decided to make a list of the items of clothing I most want to make in the next few months so I can look back later in the year and see how many if any I actually manage to complete.That way I do not keep getting magazines out and messing up my home whilst I ponder what and if I am making this or that. I need to be organised so I am making a list to keep my sewing on track.

Originally, I thought I should make at least one pattern from each magazine I have collected but I have found I like lots in one and none in another. Hence cancelling the subscription. Also besides very similar patterns from one year to the next a lot of Burda patterns are just not my style at all. I will probably still buy the odd magazine but will just buy those I want to make something specific from. Burda do lots of repeats too it seems. For example:

Drop waist leather skirt pattern from 09/2015:



Drop waist tartan skirt pattern from 09/2014:

 

The only difference I can see here is one has a back zip and the other has a side zip!  I have both of these magazines and other than that they look identical in construction. There are lots of other examples as well. So having realised this I reckon I will look at the previews I get from burdastyle.de and decide then whether or not to buy a particular magazine.

But I also need to get my head round making things that I WILL ACTUALLY WANT TO WEAR! Not just "Oh I like that!" and end up making something I will never really have the lifestyle to wear which is what I have done with some patterns. I am seduced by the magazine image and it does not really fit in with my life so will rarely be worn no matter how lovely it is. 

For now I want to make these items:
At least one more huge hoody similar to the 15: Burda style 01/2016 hoody
I love to wear this despite making it in a naff fabric. It was always meant to be a muslin anyway but I find I am still wearing it lots and I need to make one or maybe two good ones. I am thinking a mesh or lace fabric without the pocket and a patterned fabric with the pocket.


I also have some lovely ladder mesh fabric which I want to make into something. Punk styles would really work with this so I may just stick with a quick easy top similar to my
7: Dark navy top with a step by step tutorial guide to making

It will look kind of jumpery I reckon and will be very wearable.
Then I want to make some more of the 19: Green leather look leggings 
because I have loved wearing them even to work. But I think maybe in dark red and black faux leather.  So thats several quick makes I want to do, where I have already traced the pattern. I also have some light brown faux leather ( no idea why I bought this cos I hate brown as a colour) and some almost metallic jeans-blue faux leather but I am not too sure I want to make these trousers in either of them so need a new project for them. Maybe a leather dress?

Or maybe this top:





I think it would work in leather, but that also brings me to a sportswear kind of look. I am kind of hankering after a sportwear look right now. Probably because it is spring. I do not want actual sportswear but something with A 90's feel so colour-blocking and maybe piping.  Maybe black and a flourescent in colour blocking. I have not quite made up my mind as yet. So what I need to find is a raglan sleeved top or dress pattern since I think that is the look I want to go with right now.

I have a  raglan sleeved patterns such as this from Burda that could be made with or without the colour blocking:

I might have to chop the hem a bit shorter though for the look I am after since I am thinking more tennis-ey but not quite as short as a tennis dress and I also would like a top or two in a similar style. This would make a reasonable raglan sleeved top I think. Maybe even keep the A-symetrical hem if the bottom panel was missed out. I am very short of nice tops so that should be high on my list.

I also need some kind of jacket. I have had several jacket patterns out on my work table but so far not made any of them. I even washed and dried some fabric but I think first I need to decide what I want. Like; do I want a leather jacket, a peplum jacket or a coat?
I am considering all of these:

But along the sportwear line I also like these :


I can see matching leggings for the Burda young 7140 too. Or maybe a short skirt?  Maybe in a double sided fabric. I have some that is magenta one side and black the other.Kind of a ski look but not as warm as ski wear since I am after all in the UK and even in winter it is rarely that cold.


On Pinterest  I have a "bags, hats, scarfs, shoes, cuffs and gloves" page
https://uk.pinterest.com/brackentracy/bags-hats-scarfs-shoes-cuffs-and-gloves/
and I keep going back to this kind of thing:

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/535013630712771303/

 

I love mitts because I suffer from Raynauds syndrome so I often have very cold hands even in summer. And air conditioning is torture for me! I work in real life in a cold office with air conditioning or in a lab. The lab can be stupidly hot or very cold. In the lab usually I have to wear rubber gloves anyway so really I want these for when I am sitting typing in the office. Because I work with mostly very average boring ( clothing wise) people I cannot really get away with anything too outrageous but these I could wear. I have some fabric off-cuts of grey stretch velvet left over from my 21: Burdastyle 01/2016 112 track pants or lounge pants which I think would make some lovely mitts. All I need is some stretch black lace and I am pretty sure I have some hidden in my stash somewhere. Maybe this should be my next make!
  
Or maybe first for spring I should make some cullottes before they go out of fashion again since I did make a pair when I first went back to sewing but have never made any since. These were my circular cullottes made with my own pattern:

I think maybe some more like these next:
from Sasha on Kollaboro.

If I made them in Khaki and wore with tights( maybe stripey tights!) that could be a nice spring look and I could wear that to work.

First though before I can make anything, I am aiming to spend an afternoon just tracing loads of patterns since I have found I am most productive when I trace several, cut several and then sew them up as and when I am able to.
So my list looks like this:

• raglan sleeved tops - colour blocked
• dress also colour blocked
• cullottes
• mitts
• jacket
• hoody x2
• leggings in red and black faux leather
• sports wear jacket - Burda Young 7140
• leggings with side stripes to match 7140
• short sporty skirt

So that gives me 10 key items to aim for. That is not including any repeats since I want two pairs of trousers and two hoodys. So what to make first?
Thanks for reading and leave a comment if you have time. I love comments!
Bracken