Monthly Archives: October 2013

You are browsing the site archives by month.

A pale set

31/10/2013 8:27 am \ 128 Comments \

I’ve made another new set of lingerie…  fairly plain and simple and prosaic but that’s ok since plain, simple and prosaic are my middle names.  Three more of my middle names, that is.  I have lots of de facto middle names, deployed in this blog selectively and when it suits my purposes to describe the various facets of my personality and how it applies to my wardrobe. 
*eye roll at self-craziness*
The bra has no foam insert, thus the sad, limp, popped-balloon kind of a look it has in its picture above…  It does have an extra, underlining layer of cotton jersey in the lower bra cup which gives it a nice thickness.  But no padding = no visual appeal, I do admit that.   Droopy and deflated  🙁  It looks heaps better on an actual body.

The fabrics have all been in my stash for yonks; an ivory coloured cotton jersey (Spotlight) that I’ve also used for all my white Tshirts and a white stretch lace (Fabulous Fabrics).   Also, white lingerie elastic and decorative mini-bows made using creamy-peach coloured ribbon.  Unlike my previous lingerie set which was all yellow-y, the presence of pure white here enabled me to use the bright white rings and sliders on the straps of the bra.  It’s a pain that Spotlight has such limited colour range; maybe I should get global and go internet-notion-shopping for other colours.  Maybe…
I made the straps using this very pro-looking ivory lingerie strap elastic.  I spotted it in Homecraft Textiles, and bought some to try it out.  

yo, looks like a REAL bra!!

Pros; it looks real clean and neat, and gives the bra more of a professional RTW look, plus it is very strong and sturdy and feels like it will last for aaaaages, even possibly outlive the bra itself and be re-cycled for future bras too.   
Cons; looks definitely “lingerie-y” if it was to peep out under a top, whereas I think a turned-out fabric strap looks like a little camisole and doesn’t scream “BRA!!!” quite so loudly.  Plus it’s more expensive to buy notions like this as opposed to making your own straps from the same fabric as your bra. Oh well, I bought enough to make one more bra, sometime down the track.

I bought the white stretch lace to fix up these undies, and there was so little left on the roll at the time I just bought the rest.  Fortunately, that happened to be just enough for the bra upper cup pieces and another pair of Tanga knickers.  These knickers are the easiest thing in the world to make and they look super cute on, but I hated that awful seamed crotch in my first pair and ended up re-constructing the whole crotch…  for this second pair I eliminated that crotch seam right from the word go.  I cut both the lace crotch and the cotton jersey panty liner using the panty liner pattern piece.  I cut two strips of regular elastic 10% shorter than the length of the crotch edge, laid them inside the edges of the panty liner, turned under to encase and pinned to the inside of the crotch piece and then zigzagged all layers together, stretching the elastic to fit.  This makes for a very comfy pair of knickers, with no.. er, wedgy issue  🙂

don’t worry, these are as yet pristine and unworn

The other pair of matching knickers is the bikini bottoms of McCalls 2772, in the same ivory cotton jersey as the bra.  I really like my lingerie sets to co-ordinate together in some way, and it tickles me even more when the two pairs of undies in a set are different from each other but both still recognisably match the bra, somehow.  The mix of cream, white and ivory in this set is very peaceful and calm, and very pleasing to my eye.  And I expect it will be nicely unobtrusive under my pale summer wardrobe.

Details:
Bra; KwikSew 3300, cotton jersey and stretch lace, my review of this pattern here
Lace knickers; Tanga knickers, a free downloadable pattern here, modified to have no crotch seam
Jersey knickers; the bikini bottoms of McCalls 2772 with lingerie elastic attached as for knickers.

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , ,

Scorpio

26/10/2013 1:44 am \ 38 Comments \
… the sign of the scorpion.
Scorpio was always going to be the difficult one.  I literally had zero idea what to do, right up until about last week.  Googling scorpion images I did see some rather cool designs for scorpion tattoos that I quite liked.  Which led to doodling stylised scorpions and thinking that I could do some printing, and then the practical wardrobe consideration that some of my older lingerie sets are starting to get to the end of their life, underwires starting to work loose, picot edging on some pieces starting to unravel…  Boom, decision made.
I forgot to take many pictures of my design process … but these are two of my preliminary sketches for my scorpions.  My final design had seven writhing scorpions, which I applied to the fabric first one way and then the other, to lose any obvious repeatability in the print.  Ahem, probably a completely unnecessary thing to do considering the tiny pattern pieces in lingerie!
The fabric is a sandy coloured cotton jersey, bought as a huge roll at the Morrison remnant sale last year.  The set used but a teensy portion of this!  I wanted the scorpions’ colour to be sort of variegated, not flat; so I used two colours, an apricot-y pink and a yellow-y mustard, put down on the screen in unmixed blobs.  The marbling turned out to be real subtle.  You can just see it if you squint a bit  😉

To economise my print, I first laid out my pattern pieces in the most fabric economical layout I could, and roughly marked each piece out by dotting about a centimetre outside the cutting lines of each, using a purple water soluble pen.  This was to ensure that I covered each pattern piece with my print fully, as well during the printing process I cut out some pieces and printed them separately to achieve better placement of the print.
Patterns: the bra is KwikSew 3300, modified to have a foam cup insert as described here.  I left the straps plain and unprinted because I’ve got a couple of bra-strap-revealing summery tops, so a nice unobtrusive beige strap is just the ticket.  I left off the sliders because the only ones I could get were brilliantly snowy white. which would have looked awful.  So I just went with a plain strap, with a length of the lingerie elastic sewn between the back and the strap providing the wearing ease.  Both pairs of matching undies are the bikini portion of McCalls 2772, a pattern I’ve used a lot for undies.  I used unprinted self fabric for the panty liners but it blends in so perfectly you can’t even see them in the picture above!

I usually use 1cm lingerie elastic on my lingerie.. and when I went to get some more of the pale yellow, Spotlight only had the 1.5cm width; aaagh!… so I had to use this wider stuff on the upper sections of the bra.  Oh well (shrug) you can only see that it’s wider on the inside!
You can probably also see the hand pick-stitching around the perimeter, my version of under-stitching that secures the bra lining to the foam cup.  I don’t know if this stitching is necessary or not?but I just don’t like the idea of the foam cup not attached to anything, possibly floating about in the wash.  I stitch it all together, just in case.
I did make some teeny mini-bows using orange-y mustard coloured ribbon, and trialled sewing them on the set as decoration, but took them off.  That scorpion print is plenty busy enough already!

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , ,

In-seam pockets

25/10/2013 4:02 am \ 22 Comments \

An in-seam side pocket is a pretty simple, basic and close-to invisible pocket, and is a modification I make to a heckuvva lot of my own sewing projects.  It can be added to most garments that are loose enough to allow you to comfortably have your hands shoved inside  ie. not anything tight and close-fitting like a pencil skirt.
If you have a good-size-for-you pocket piece already, use this, otherwise just lay your hand down on the fabric and draw around it.  Give yourself a 1cm seam allowance, and allow a plenty wide opening straight edge at least the width of the very widest part of your hand… otherwise you may have trouble getting your hands into your pockets!  Yup, I learnt that one the hard way once….

Cut 4 pocket pieces with the straight opening edge on the grain.  If you don’t have enough fabric for 4 pieces, you can just cut 2 mirror image pocket pieces from the fashion fabric, and then cut the other two pocket facings from another, tonally unobtrusive fabric OR if your fabric is bulky, you can optionally cut the pocket facing pieces from a lightweight, thinner fabric to reduce the fabric bulk in your garment.
Decide where on your garment you want the pockets to sit.  Pin the pocket pieces (fashion fabric) to the back piece, and the corresponding pocket facings to the front piece and stitch together in a narrow 1cm (3/8″) seam allowance.
Finish the edge with overlocking or HongKong seaming, if desired, and press the pocket and pocket facing pieces out.

Pin front and back right sides together, aligning the pocket seams exactly.

Now sew the side seams of the garment in a regular 1.5cm (5/8″) seam allowance, to a point just a couple of stitches below the the junction of the side seam and where the pocket bag seam will start.  Back sew those few stitches to the start of the pocket bag seam, turn and continue sewing around the pocket bag.  Do the same back sew for a couple of stitches up in to the pocket opening at the lower edge of the pocket bag seam, and then continue sewing the remainder of the side seam.  The seam junctions, with the narrower pocket SA within the side SA, will look like so:

Finish the seam allowances with either overlocking or HongKong seaming, if desired.

Press the pocket bag and all seam allowances towards the garment front.  To keep the pocket bag permanently sitting frontwards, stitch all the seam allowances to the garment front, in a short row of stitches at the upper and lower pocket opening of the pocket.  Stitch from the right side of the garment, and just go forward and reverse a few times.

E finito!
Optional; I also stitched the lower edges of my pockets to the lower hem allowance of this top to give them an extra tethering point but you wouldn’t ordinarily do any more stitching.  I just lucked out with the size and space there!

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: ,

White trees and buttons

23/10/2013 8:51 am \ 40 Comments \

I’ve sewn up my white trees fabric… into a top! I drafted it myself but it is a pretty simple silhouette; basically a big oversized T-shape, with something interesting in the form of the completely open top edge.  The top edges of front and back have a full length button and buttonhole placket respectively, stretching from sleeve hem to sleeve hem along the whole neckline, and it’s partially buttoned up to close the top of the sleeves.  Technically, you could button the top edge up all the way, except that the neckline is curved as an anti-strangulation measure.  It’s funny though, when you’re wearing it you can’t really tell the neckline is curved, it reads as an almost straight edge.

It is based on several different sources of inspiration: years ago I had a Metalicus Tshirt that had an open top with snaps, that could open like this from sleeve right the way along the neckline; and also a few months ago Kirsty posted plans for her gorgeous top from the Japanese pattern book She has a Mannish Style, a top with a wide buttoned neckline although with separate closed sleeves.  I sorta combined those concepts in the design of my own top.

Most time consuming bit: I fiddled for aaaages with the spacing of the buttons/buttonhole, so it would both look “right” and also that I could have a button placed just at the point on my shoulders where I wanted it to go.

the back view is unexciting, but I know those of us who sew like to see this bit too….  

Since the front neckline has a lower dip than the back, the buttons are spaced a little more wide apart along the front curve than the corresponding buttonholes at the back.  I sewed up the rest of the top completely, before doing the button/buttonhole plackets along the top edge, this was the last step.  The top edges were interfaced with similarly shaped strips of iron-on interfacing and then I sewed the plackets on.
What else.  Oh, and it’s got pockets, too  (blush)
I fear I have some sort of weird pocket obsession…  is pocket-aholic a “thing”?   Guess I should sign myself up  ;D

Details:
Top; my own design, coffee cotton broadcloth, screen-printed by me with little white trees here
Skirt; Vogue 1247, blue damask, details here and my review of this pattern here
Sandals; c/o Misano

LATER EDIT:
this tee has received a bit of a makeover! Basically I hadn’t worn it in over a year, so I gave it a rejuvenating dunk in a pink dye bath… voila!!!  I love it all over again and it’s back in rotation…. yay!!!
wearing it with:
pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , , , ,

the paper doll project

23/10/2013 8:21 am \ 5 Comments \
(I’ve pledged to wear only clothes handmade by me this year and to sketch my daily outfits in my Fashionary.  I’m calling this; the paper doll project)

6th-11th October
from left:
pale grey hoodie, grey skirt from jeans, white Tshirt
khaki linen shirt, grey/green floaty layered skirt
lace shirt-dress, pink petticoat, iceberg knitted jacket
blue knitted cardigan, petrol corduroy skirt, white Tshirt
emerald corduroy skirt, ecru boxy jacket from jeans, beige tshirt (unblogged)
watercolour floral dress, black wool tights, army jacket

12th-17th October
from left:
blue knitted cardigan, emerald corduroy skirt, beige tshirt (unblogged)

18th-23rd October
from left:
panelled corduroy dress, chocolate cardigan
corduroy/white hoodie (refashioned from jeans), navy corduroy skirt, white Tshirt (under), russet handknit socks
petrol blue corduroy skirt, purple Tshirt, paprika tights, iceberg knitted jacket
white trees top, wedgwood blue damask skirt
draped blue silk top, beige Tshirt (unblogged), beige corduroy skirt (from jeans)
emerald corduroy skirt, royal blue PM hoodie

O bliss…  the temperatures in the last coupla days have finally warmed up nicely to a level that I feel comfortable and happy in and at which I function the best.  I’m a warm weather bunny who feels the cold something awful, even when it’s not really cold; and this spring has been on the chilly side so far.  I’m hanging out for the days when I can pop my bathers on and take a dip in the ocean/pool… Funny thing, I’d almost forgotten about my new(ish) bathers… and was thinking the other day that it was getting close to swimming season and hmmmm, what would I make this year…?  when, oh yeah! I remembered that I do actually have some practically unworn, pristine new bathers already!  hehe  feels like its been aaaaages since I made them, well, probably because it has been ages; nearly 6 months now, and they haven’t even got wet yet!  I’m roooolly looking forward to taking them out on their maiden voyage…  when it warms up just a little bit more  😉

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: ,

Audrey in Unst, in Blue

18/10/2013 4:23 am \ 53 Comments \

I am finishing all of my winter knitting projects just in the nick of time for them all to be packed away.  Woot!  This is pretty typical for me.  I think  I really should plan my wardrobe far more efficiently and be more seasonally aware and prepared!
I was struck by something Roobeedoo wrote recently; that since a knitting project takes so much longer than a sewing project and, as well, lasts for so much longer in your wardrobe, the sensible self-tailored individual plans future sewing projects around a current knitting project; not concurrently.  So sensible!  An edict; the singular wisdom of which I had not appreciated before then…   
Thy knitting projects are the key to planning thy wardrobe, y’all!
I bought this lovely wool during my afternoon out in Paris with Donna of Nid de Tissus, so it brings back happy memories to me of our fun chatty lunch and fabric/wool shopping excursion together.  A wearable souvenir!  It is from Renaissance Dyeing;  4-ply poll dorset wool hand-dyed with natural plant dyes in France, colour Canigou.  Terrified of not getting enough I bought four skeins so obviously Murphy’s Law decreed that I had overestimated how much I would need… doh!  I can never get that bit right!  The cardigan used just over two skeins, so at some point I am going to order some more and make something else using my almost two whole leftover skeins.  I do already have ideas, hehehe  🙂  The full range can be viewed and ordered here.

The pattern is Audrey in Unst, designed by Gudrun Johnston; available here.  I’ve long admired Roobeedoo’s leaf green version that she has worn during me-made May and had decided that at some point I would have to make my own.  The shape is nearly identical to my recently finished Miette! but the chunkiness is the difference between the two.  The Miette is in a thick aran weight yarn, whilst the Audrey in Unst is in a light, fingering weight yarn.  So this is a light little cardigan with much finer stitching tension, and subsequently took a lot longer to knit!  I started this at the beginning of the year  (blush) and only just bought the shell buttons and stitched them on a few days ago.

 The neckline is finished off with an i-cord stitch.  This is the first time I have tried this technique and I think it’s quite a nice, neat and tidy finish and a refreshing change from the usual rib.

 The cardigan is knitted bottom up, and is, like the Miette, designed to be knitted in one piece with no stitching pieces together.  WIN!  Well, you are supposed to stitch the shoulder seams together but I elected to graft the stitches together, like I do with the toes of my socks.  This gives a very nice seam; neat and flat and quite unobtrusive.  I can do a step-by-step if anyone hasn’t heard of and is interested in this technique?

The pattern has a built-in faux side seam, which is an interesting feature.  Essentially it is just a purl stitch every knit row, and vice versa.  The shaping is discreetly alongside the faux side seam.

 The sleeves are knitted by picking up the stitches and knitting short rows with wrapping and turning to form the sleeve cap.  LOVE this feature and I think it makes for a really nice attractive finish; far smoother and sits flatter than a stitched in sleeve would be.

Are there any negatives?  Well you get started; and 36 long long rows of ribbing later, all that blasted purling through the back of the loop had just about killed me.  Seriously HATED this bit. And I’m curious, does purling/knitting through the back of the loop really make a significant difference to the rib?  and if it does then is it really an improvement on the regular sort?  That’s not a rhetorical question btw, I would like to know.

Details:
Cardigan; Audrey-in-Unst in Renaissance Dyeing;  4-ply poll dorset, colour Canigou
Skirt; Vogue 1170 lined, blue corduroy later dyed brown, details here and my review of this pattern here
Tshirt (under); self-drafted, white cotton jersey, details here
Sandals; c/o Misano

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , ,

Chequered Elisalex

13/10/2013 4:15 pm \ 98 Comments \

Hello!
A little while ago Liz contacted me to generously send her copy of the By Hand London Elisalex pattern to me.  Thank you so much Liz!  Obviously I leapt at the chance to try out this deservedly popular pattern  🙂
One of the most wonderful things about being part of this online sewing community is how we all openly and honestly share our love of sewing and our sewing experiences.  I’ve believe the sewing community to be such a friendly group of generous, upbeat and helpful women: so I really want to spread the love and pay it forward and all that, and in turn offer this pattern up to another… a giveaway!  Maybe this is a sorta blogging anniversary giveaway, since I have been blogging for four years as of last Friday, but really all the thanks and credit is due to Liz  🙂
As recommended in the pattern instructions, I traced my size onto white plastic table-clothing, which means that the original pattern is still in immaculate condition.  I refolded it carefully back into its factory folds;  I’m pretty expert at that, if I say so myself.  Years of pattern control-freak practice  😀  Anyway, it is all nicely and perfectly intact.  And the pattern packaging is exquisite, truly a thing of great beauty, with two nesting envelopes of high quality blue cardboard bearing elegant drawings of the three variations.  Seriously, this is a gorgeous thing!  So, if you would like this copy of the very popular Elisalex pattern  then please leave a comment saying so.  I will randomly pick a recipient this Thursday, 17th October.  
(Later edit: a commenter has pointed out that my giving away this pattern is morally “iffy” … obviously this is the very last thing I want! so I have decided to withdraw the offer.  My sincerest apologies to all, and my thanks for your kind comments and I will rustling up something different for a blogging anniversary giveaway very soon… please stay tuned  🙂  )

I bought this piece of black-and-ivory patchworked silk taffeta from Homecraft Textiles a while back, thinking about those Louis Vuitton shift dresses, and then had second thoughts since the silk is very thin and slightly floaty and so was really too light to work well in a structured shift dress design.  Shift dresses need a fabric with a bit of oomph.  

Louis Vuitton S/S 2013 RTW, source

I put the idea of a shift dress on ice, but as soon as I saw the big pouffy skirt on the Elisalex the silk leapt to my mind again.  The piece was wide but I only had 1.5m so pattern matching was the biggest challenge.  Also a lot of the squares were not exactly square but are slightly bigger and smaller here and there, and the corners don’t always match up perfectly.  I’m pretty pleased with how I managed to get the dress out of my small piece and got my squares, princess seams, corners and box pleats matching up not too badly.  The only area I am disappointed with is the junction between the skirt and bodice at the centre back, where the two ivory squares and two black squares are adjacent with each other and so there is one ivory and one black rectangle instead of squares and the chessboard effect falls into a heap! … but I think I can live with that little quirk.  Well, I have to because I wasn’t going to go out and buy more fabric just for that.  Although I will admit that I considered it  😉  I have the smallest mere scraps leftover, so I did make very good use of my piece.

My dress is fully lined with cream-coloured polyacetate lining fabric.  The pattern does not mention lining the skirt, so I cut the skirt pieces out as narrower versions of the skirt pattern pieces without the extra “pouffe” at the side edges.  I also chose to add huge inseam side pockets, because well duh!  Sorry to sound like a broken record on the subject, but in my view this design was just screaming out for pockets!! For the pockets I used a lightweight ivory swiss dotted cotton voile.

Details:
Dress: By Hand London Elisalex dress, patchwork silk
Tights; self-drafted, black wool, details here
Shoes; Misano, from Labels boutique

Pattern
Description:

An elegant dress with a princess seamed, fully lined bodice, box pleated tulip skirt and exposed zip at centre back.  There are three sleeve variations and the bodice is designed with very little ease to enhance a cinched waist.
Pattern
Sizing:
UK 2-16; US 6-20,  Based on my bust and waist measurements I made the size 6/10 and it fits perfectly
Did
it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished
sewing it?
Yes.
Were
the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions are warm, encouraging and friendly and would put the beginner seamstress immediately at ease.  There is some idle chit-chat; I’m not criticising, just observing… for example; “Find a quiet room and a big table.  A girl’s gotta concentrate, especially when getting ready to cut out”  (this particular girl cut out on the living room floor while watching the telly, but then I’ve always been a rebel) … But at the same time some key little sewing steps are missing; tips that I believe are really necessary to get a good finish in your garment and that a beginner wouldn’t “just know”.  For example; to fit the bodice curve in the princess seam, you really should ease stitch the side bodice pieces.  And under-stitching the seam allowances of the armholes and neckline is always a good idea too.
Step 8; very wordy with no pictures, opening with “this is a little fiddly and unfortunately impossible to clarify with a drawing …” really? Vogue manages to illustrate this step with a drawing in their instructions for this very same technique.  Vogue also mentions and illustrates ease stitching and under-stitching in their instructions too.  Just saying.
The “what you need” section is a little baffling, commencing somewhat hilariously with “your fabric” and then going on to list such things like pins, zipper foot and tape measure.  The actual fabric quantities you need are printed elsewhere; down at the bottom left in an inconspicuous little table.
What
did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Likes: The whole design is absolutely lovely.  The size of the skirt pattern pieces gave me pause at first, but when I had basted them together and tried it on I was enchanted with the gorgeous feminine silhouette it gave.  The bodice is a beautiful fit and looks really elegant both front and back views, too.
The pattern itself is beautifully packaged; this is an exceptionally high quality product.
Dislikes: There are NO metric measurements, whatsoever.  This is just about inexcusable in a modern pattern.
I was
surprised that the pattern didn’t have pockets considering that the big pouffy skirt could so easily accommodate them.  Fortunately it is super easy to put them in yourself.
Considering that the skirt has a tulip silhouette curving in towards the hemline, one would normally measure the desired length of the skirt before cutting out, in order to plan and accordingly cut the side edges so the hem allowance juts out; so that it can be turned under to sit flat against those angled side seams.  The pattern piece doesn’t allow for this and it isn’t mentioned in the instructions, so I sure hope a novice seamster wouldn’t think it is their mistake when they end up with a hem allowance too narrow to turn under smooth and flat…
Fabric
Used:
Patch-worked silk taffeta
Pattern
alterations or any design changes you made:
Pockets  🙂  
My dress is fully lined; I cut the skirt lining as a narrower version of the pattern pieces removing some of the pouffe and folding narrower box pleats in the same spots.
I chose to insert an invisible zip rather than use an exposed zip, as it suited the style of dress I had in mind.
Would
you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I will definitely sew this again!  A really beautiful and classic design.  For winter I would sew this in a rich tapestry or an upholstery type of fabric, with the sleeves.  This is a sure thing in my future.
And
yes  🙂
Conclusion:
Technically, the absence of metric measurements is quite annoying, and the instructions could do with more finishing tips and details to help beginners.  
Design-wise; it is an absolutely beautiful and classic design, and I am very pleased with how mine turned out.  
Packaging: exquisitely packed, and of very high quality and eco-friendly materials.   For the connoisseur of really beautiful patterns.
pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , ,

Gunmetal linen trousers to jacket-y thing

10/10/2013 3:02 am \ 36 Comments \

So new top…  well, new? not really, this funky little jacket was until recently a pair of menswear-inspired, wide-legged, linen trousers, that have been sitting in my re-fashioning bag for a coupla years now.  True!  I took them out to wear as fancy dress last year, but they went straight back into the bag afterwards!
I originally made these trousers back in 2009 using Burda 7944, and they have been good trousers.  I wore them a lot and even featured them in a 6 different ways post forever ago. 

 But eventually they got to the stage where they looked like a dishrag practically as soon as they went on and got “knees” in them instantly.  That’s linen for ya; I love it to bits but if it’s not a quality weave it does tend to lose its integrity quickly.  This linen was not particularly fine-grade in the first place.  Some linen trousers can get away with the dish-raggy look but not a tailored design like this one. 
I’ve re-made them into a loose-sleeved jacket thingy.  I’ve done this very same re-fashion once before, making a boxy little jacket out of a pair of Mum’s old cast-off three-quarter pants, but these trousers started out with quite a different shape to those pants so have ended up as quite a different shaped jacket.  The waistband is close-fitted, not loose, and those long wide legs with a satisfyingly deep cuff have resulted in long wide sleeves, still with that satisfyingly deep cuff on the ends.  You put it on with unzipped fly, and then zip it up down! and do up the buttons, just like when it was trousers but upside down.  Cool huh?  I really like it in it’s new identity.  Making something like this is deeply satisfying to me.  Taking something old, unwanted and un-chic and making it into something different; and I use the term different as in the kind of thing you rarely see a pattern for.  It’s hardly mainstream, is it?  This is why I sew; to make things for myself that are individual and unusual.

A quick run-down on the procedure…
Firstly, you cut off the legs to give a “body” section, and cut open the inner leg seam from one inner leg to the other.

as my son says; ironing is for the weak!!!

Re-stitch both the front and back crotch seams to be straight lines from the waistband(back)/bottom of zip(front) to the old-crotch/new-neckline opening,  Cut off excess fabric (the old-crotch curves).

My trousers had pockets; stitch the opening closed and trim off the pocket bags inside.  I know I know, it’s slightly painful to remove pockets, even useless ones, but they just do not work in this design.  I also switched the old plastic, colour-matched buttons I had used previously for nacre buttons sewn on upside down with the mottley-brown underneath showing, just because.

Stitch up the shoulder seams and cut armhole curve on the body section, and a sleevecap curve at the top of the cut-off legs, now sleeves.  If you have a great fitting shirt pattern then use this as a guide.  I just tried it on a few times, pinned it and winged it, being sure to keep both sides symmetrical.
Set the sleeves into the body section.

Fold in a hem around the neckline and stitch it down however you choose, I used a short bias cut strip of silk, leftovers from this top, invisibly fell-stitched.

Don’t know if it’s obvious or not, but it was crazy windy while I was taking these photos.  My tripod actually blew over once!  Goodness knows why I pick the absolute blasting-est days to get out and photograph my makes.  I must be some kind of freaking masochist.  Hair; styled by gale-force winds.  Lovely, not.  But, seize the moment, and all that.  After all, this is what I actually look like here.  Keeping it real.  Man, I’m a loon.
This one gave me a laugh when I saw it!

Details:
Jacket; refashioned from a pair of Burda 7944 trousers, gunmetal linen
Shorts; Burda 7723, themselves refashioned from an old skirt, details here, and see my review of this shorts pattern here
Tshirt (underneath); self-drafted, white cotton jersey, details here
Sandals; c/o Misano

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , , , , ,
Switch to mobile version
↓