Handmade by Carolyn

White Christmas; Craig’s Christmas shirt

27/12/2012 11:00 pm \ 21 Comments \ Carolyn

I made a shirt for Craig for Christmas too; and used er, hehehe; Burda 7767 again! I bought some very nice white cotton broadcloth from Spotlight; and the buttons are also from Spotlight.
Actually, this shirt is a response to a rarity; a request. Rumblings and murmurings about a nice, smart-casual, short-sleeved white shirt have been increasing in frequency and volume for a few weeks, at least.
I tuned in. I took action.
Most satisfyingly, he was very very pleased when he opened up his pressie on Christmas morning! and he put it on straight away. Actually, all my boys put their new shirts on straight away. Cassie put on her new outfit too (hers to appear here tomorrow!! 🙂 ) Most gratifying. I have to confess; Christmas lunch I looked around, and Dad was wearing this shirt, my two boys and my husband wearing their shirts, and my daughter, as well as (duh) myself; was wearing an outfit made by me. . My heart just … well, swelled. Real warm fuzzy moment (sigh)
This is a fairly simple version of the pattern. Simple was just about all I could cope with by this time, since as you can imagine I was fast approaching men’s-shirt saturation point …. And after the hard and heavy duty this pattern has endured over the past few months I think it deserves a nice little rest now 🙂 Time to go bye-byes, good and faithful well-thumbed pattern, wishing you sweet pattern-y dreams and I’ll see you in… oh, sometime in the future, I’m sure …. if when I can muster a skerrick of enthusiasm.
and (whispers) you can be sure I will be leaping with joy upon some new patterns in the New Year. Yup. NEW. Patterns! Whoo hooooo!!!
This latest version of Burda 7767 has short sleeves, and two very simple squared patch breast pockets, the left one has been partitioned to have a pen compartment.
For the first time I gave the shirt a club collar by curving the collar points off.

The armscye seam allowances are flat felled; utilising a gathering stitch along the curved sleeve cap to achieve this neatly. The side and sleeve seams are flat-felled also.

I usually like to add a traditionally curved lower hem to my mens’ shirts; but this time I went with a split side seam. It is hard to see with the white-on-white stitching; but I stitched horizontally along the top of the split with a tight, closely spaced bar of zip-zag stitching.

Going by the worn worn state of Craig’s current white short-sleeved shirt collection; I am completely confident this one will be getting tonnnnnes of wear!

Details:
Burda 7767 modified, white cotton, my review of this pattern here

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Burda 7767, Craig, mens shirt

Stripey Sam; Sam’s Christmas shirt

26/12/2012 11:00 pm \ 30 Comments \ Carolyn

Next up; Sam! and I made a shirt for his Christmas pressie too. Ohhhh yes, I have been a very very busy bee lately!
I used Burda 7767, and blue and white striped fabric from the Fabric Store, Melbourne… bought during our trip there in September. I think it is a cotton rayon mix, very crisp, crackly and crinkly, and it has silver lurex threads running randomly through as well. I bought the white and silver buttons from Fabulous Fabrics. This version has long sleeves, which can be rolled up and held in place by an arrowhead tab that buttons onto the sleeve, and a single pocket.
I received some complimentary comments about the stripe matching of the pocket on Craig’s birthday shirt, and thank you 🙂 but the truth is that stripe matching a patch pocket is NOTHING compared to the stripe matching in this shirt.
Particularly in the case of the two sleeve cuff plackets. I performed multiple repeats of teeny tiny precision measurements… checking and re-checking where the stripes were going to fall on the plackets in relation to the sleeve. Anyone who has ever sewn a tailored detail like a sleeve cuff placket will know the precision required to get these looking nice and even and perfect … and to get the stripes matching exactly like this as well? (self high-five) Truly I consider this one of the highest sewing achievements of my year!

Sleeve tabs…

Of course the stripes on the pocket match up to those on the shirt too….

The armscye seams allowances are flat-felled on the inside using a gathering stitch on the sleeve cap to achieve this neatly on a curved seam; and the sleeve and side seams are French seams.

Shirt; Burda 7767 modified, my review of this pattern here; blue and white striped cotton mix with a silver lurex stripe

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Burda 7767, mens shirt, Sam

Chocolate with a little zing; Tim’s Christmas shirt

25/12/2012 11:00 pm \ 23 Comments \ Carolyn

I made a shirt for our eldest son for a Christmas pressie…
using Burda 7767 (surprise!!) and some lovely deeply sludgy, purply-chocolate linen bought from the Fabric Store in Melbourne during our September visit there, and I found the perfect turquoise buttons and matching thread in KnitWit.
Tim is quite a snappy dresser and cares about his wardrobe, he likes clothes that have that distinctive modern-hipster look; classic lines but with odd details and a slightly grungy edge. This pattern does have very classic lines, and I thought the unexpected neon jolt of the turquoise buttons and matching thread I used for topstitching throughout adds the edge that the shirt needs to steer it firmly away from boring (from a young man’s point of view) “classic” territory and shimmy it into the “hipster” sphere.
To really bring the vivid turquoise visually into the spotlight; I added buttons galore and OD’d on the topstitching, going for double top-stitching throughout, wherever a button or topstitching could be put, there it went!
I added two bellows breast pockets. The pockets have angled lower corners and the pocket flaps have contrasting curved lower edges, for a bit of visual non-matchingness… something quirky, therefore hipster.

The sleeves have a separate folded-up cuff with double buttonholes and buttons for decoration.

The armscye seams are flat felled on the inside using my tutorial for flat-felling a curved seam here to achieve this neatly, and the side seams are French seams. The lower edge is curved and finished with a narrow hem.

By the way; this shirt is a true button-down shirt.

This other shirt that I made for Dad is NOT an button-down shirt… see the difference?

A button-down shirt is of course one in which the collar buttons down onto the body of the shirt…. NOT a shirt which simply buttons to put on and take off the shirt, for heaven’s sake. A coupla months ago Club BMV sent around an email advertising a course for sewing a tailored shirt, which is all well and good and probably an excellent course… however the blurb waxing lyrical about the “classic button-down shirt” was accompanied by a photo of a shirt that was clearly not a button-down shirt. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was pained to the core at the sight of it. I’m very glad to see they’ve rectified their error now though.

Details:
Shirt; Burda 7767 modified, my review of this pattern here, made of purply-chocolate linen

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Burda 7767, mens shirt, Tim

the Wolery

24/12/2012 12:00 pm \ 27 Comments \ Carolyn

After my brothers and I had all moved out of home and started our own families; I started a rather non-rigid, and not annual, tradition of making a Christmas ornament for each of us… just something silly and small, not anything of great worth or anything but something that could be a commonality to us in our separate homes. This year I was happy to find the time for it again 🙂
so please say tu-whit, tu-whoo! (trans. Hello) to…
the Black parliament above
the Green parliament

the White parliament

and the Brown parliament.

I used this pattern developed by Moonstitches, and I used old corduroy jeans, some scraps of cotton and embroidery thread; and the little buttons I had to buy new, from Spotlight. Each owl has a circular cardboard base, covered with cotton and stitched in place. I slipped a glass bead inside just before stitching the base on, to make the owls bottom-heavy and to help them stay upright and not blow over.
I just love how the tiniest variations in height and width, and the placement of the beak and the eyes, results in very distinct and individual personalities in each owl!

Merry Christmas all!

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Christmas, handcrafts, Wardrobe Refashion

Looking sharp! Craig’s birthday shirt

22/12/2012 2:37 am \ 61 Comments \ Carolyn

It is my husband’s birthday, and I have made a shirt for him!

I used ~~my favourite~~ my only! men’s shirt pattern Burda 7767, adjusted for a perfect custom fit; and a gorgeously high quality, striped shirting cotton from Tessuti’s in Melbourne, bought in high cloak-and-dagger secrecy in a moment while Craig’s back was turned during our trip there in September; mwahahaha!!!! Cannot believe I managed to pull it off actually, a hidden-but-in-full-view purchase; my gosh, but I’m one devious little wife-y.
Cool as a cucumber, my friends… Coooool. As. A. Cucumber. 😉
For the white collar, collar stand, button bands, cuffs and plackets and the arrow-shaped cap on the single pocket; I used a very nice white cotton that I bought for my own use from Fabulous Fabrics. It hurt like mad to have to cut into “my” cotton. It really did. Honestly, I searched and searched for white fabric that was a reasonable textural match for the striped fabric but couldn’t find anything by the time I wanted to start on Craig’s shirt. Can you believe white shirting cotton would be such a rare beast??? well, it is. Trust me. I’ve scoured high and low, and it is currently non-existent…

Thus explaining and self-justifying why I pounce upon, buy up big, and hoard high quality white cotton whenever and wherever I see it…. and this is one of my treasures (hoarsely croaking) ” …. My precious….”
I think the shirt really needed the white contrast bits; in fact I think they make it. I really wanted this shirt to be a super high quality business shirt, like the sort he could wear in important professional situations, and look mighty spiffy at the same time. NOT one that would provoke any “oh, and did your wife make your shirt for you then, hmmm?” comments… 🙂

And I have to admit I am pretty chuffed with it. Actually I am quite thrilled with how this looks; the fabric, the quality and the finish. I think this is the best quality shirt I have made so far.
The armscye seams are flat felled inside, and I used my own tutorial for flat felling a curved seam to achieve this neatly. The side and sleeve seams are French seams. I bought the little black matte buttons from Fabulous Fabrics also.

for those like me who like checking out the insides…

Details:
Shirt; Burda 7767, striped shirting cotton, with white cotton detailing

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Burda 7767, Craig, mens shirt

Blood Orange top; 6 different ways

19/12/2012 11:00 pm \ 22 Comments \ Carolyn

Hey y’all peeps.

I’ve been
having a play around with my blood orange Vogue 1247 top… trying out different ways to wear it.

So… I might have said this before, once, or twice, or twenty times 😉 but I absolutely love brainstorming in my wardrobe
trying out different outfits like this. It never fails to inspire me with
new and different ways to wear my clothes. I frequently get tired with everything in my wardrobe and crave to break free of the
little “outfit ruts” I get into; and experimenting with unusual and different combinations really keeps my
pieces interesting to me and helps my wardrobe to achieve the fullest variety
of which it is capable.

Having said that; I have to admit that the first two looks are the two ways I wear this top and its older twin the clementine top, just about all the time. But, I’m setting my sights on breaking free from that 😀

Below left; unadorned and no frills, it is the perfect thing to wear with shorts on a really hot hot summer’s day at the beach or around the house. Cool and airy enough for the hottest of hot days. Colourwise, I also adore the unexpectedness of this sombre claret against the shocking pink too. Below right; pop on a sludgy little skirt, cute ballet flats and throw on a couple of entwined skinny scarves, and the top looks quite smart enough to sally forth on some errand requiring a bit more style.

Below left; on very hot summer days you might want to wear a dress with spaghetti straps, but need to protect your shoulders from the sun. Cardigans are too hot and cloying to even contemplate, but a light boxy top like this is comfortable and cool and fits the bill quite well. And looks sort of boho-chic too… Below right; I know we all in the sewing blogging world have been conditioned into thinking that this top must be worn hanging out! and I have sure been guilty of this too… well not necessarily! I actually love how it looks when tucked into a high waisted skirt as well. Looks pretty cute like this, yes? I was also serendipitously thrilled to discover that the top is just about a perfect colour match for my high heeled caramel wedges too 🙂

This top is just made of cotton, and therefore it’s not really suitable for really cold or winter-y days.. but it can still be worn as part of a cooler weather ensemble and not look silly imo…

Below left; sometimes, y’know you just want a bit of that colour, added into your outfit?? worn like this, I like how it looks peeping out as just a layer of colour layered over a long skirt and under a shorter jacket, and co-ordinating with a matching scarf and boots. Below right; being quite loose, it can also be comfortably worn over an insulative Tshirt, with jeans and a skinny scarf. I’ve always liked this slightly grunge-y double-top look, with shorter sleeves worn over longer.

Actually I really love both these last two looks. I just wish I’d thought of them during our winter just gone! Aah, well, there’s always next year 🙂

Which look am I wearing today? well being quite a fairly hot day and having errands I am sporting the green ballet flats, the sludgy little skirt and twisted blue and black scarves. I love dark sludgy colours made just slightly edgy with just an unexpected splash of bright colour. Kinda reminds me of Tron.

(And incidentally I’ve done something new with this 6-way post… I’ve linked to the construction posts of all the other garments appearing in the outfits here. Please let me know if this is helpful or interesting, and whether you think it is worth my continuing with this… thanks 🙂 )

Posted in: fashion, Uncategorized \ Tagged: 6 different ways, top, Vogue 1247

LBS

17/12/2012 11:00 pm \ 28 Comments \ Carolyn

The amount of Christmas “creating” going on around here has been insane lately! I have been sewing like an absolute madwoman… !
but this Little Black Skirt is not a part of that. This is a sorta urgent extra! aiyiyi…
My daughter has completed her undergraduate degree and successfully secured her first “real” job. She will be returning to uni next year to do her Masters, but will probably continue to work concurrently in the firm she has just joined…
So, just prior to her interview we attended to a detail of paramount importance: her wardrobe.
For the past few years she’s been a university student, with an appropriately fun and funky colourful casual wardrobe and lots of crazy shoes… hmmm. We assessed everything and came up with one or two smart and stylish little separates that she can wear in the office, but identified a few holes that I will have the pleasure of addressing over the next few weeks… the biggest of which is the ubiquitous LBS.
So I made one for her. It may not look very earth shattering, but I wanted this skirt to be a long-term goodie, a wardrobe builder; a simple, streamlined and smart basic, high quality enough to last for years and years; and also sturdy and practical enough to cope with being tossed in the washing machine.
I used Vogue 8363, and a very nice quality washable wool-mix suiting fabric from Fabulous Fabrics. The skirt is fully lined with black polyacetate lining fabric, also from Fabulous Fabrics, and I juggled the various views of the pattern to give the skirt a one piece darted front, to have those satisfyingly deep, slanted hip pockets, and to have a central back invisible zip opening. I shortened the skirt to hit at a very workable just-above-knee-length. This is both mine and Cassie’s favourite skirt length; suitable for both summer and winter wear.
An easier-to-see view of the pockets can be seen on another version of this pattern I made previously; here.

The hem is finished with a black bias-cut cotton strip.

I adjusted the lining pieces to incorporate an extra few inches of width at the widest part of the hips: since in my experience this is the first part of a pencil skirt to show strain, particularly in a skirt that one is seated in for long periods of time. The darts in the lining are not stitched, but simply folded in position and stitched along the top, for that little bit of extra wearing ease.

Below; the inside view of the lining, skirt back.

The skirt has one shaping dart at the front, two at the back; all the better for that slight sway back adjustment

I worked a bound buttonhole (seen above) for the single waist button.

She owned literally one pair of suitable shoes for the office, so we also bought a new pair of Misano ballet flats in beige and caramel, with black feature strips. These are exactly the same as my own ballet flats, just in a different colourway. These neutral shades are going to be the backbone of her new working wardrobe.
Cassie made her charcoal jersey jacket herself, and blogged about it on her own blog here.
I’m actually rather excited about helping to add to Cassie’s working girl apparel! what to make next, what to make next? but any new pieces may have to wait until the seasonal mayhem has subsided….. 😉

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 8363 modified, black wool-mix suiting; my review of this pattern here
Camisole; supre
Jacket; made by Cassie, and blogged here
Shoes; Misano, from Hobbs

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Cassie, shoes, skirt, Vogue 8363

Bread

16/12/2012 6:00 am \ 38 Comments \ Carolyn

Have I ever mentioned before that I married a very clever man? Maybe, but if not then.. I have. A very clever man indeed.
Well, he married me, didn’t he?
Haha! kidding!
He has done some other clever things too 😉

Including making bread.

Now let me explain… we are not foodies, oh nooo!.. although in fact I have been “making bread” for the family for about fifteen years; only I use a bread-maker which is kinda cheating, and not really like making your own bread at all. So, while I do “make my own bread”, please note the use of self-mocking inverted commas. Well, you see; Miss Frugality, in her zeal for DIY, went and bought a breadmaker, even though it was expensive and she is allergic to kitchens. Fortunately it turned out to be so easy even the worst cook in the world could cope, and the cost per use is probably down into the micro-cents by now. So, the kiddies grew up on that deliciously chewy, crusty, chocka-with-seeds stuff it produced and we quickly discovered we just could never go back to that crap masquerading laughably as “bread” sold in the supermarket, ever again… so the homemade bread habit has continued to this day. Chuck in the breadmix, water, yeast, press a few buttons, a few hours later, hey presto, a yummy loaf awaits. Simple as that. Easy peasy. And domestic contentment ensues.
But recently my husband read a book “52 Loaves” by William Alexander; which outlined the author’s grail-like quest to make bread the traditional way, truly from scratch. Very entertaining read, by the way.
My husband, not a man easily impressed, was impressed. He was like, “Challenge Accepted!!”
Yes, in case you’re wondering, my husband is an inquisitive as well as a competitive man. On those personality thingie tests, he always comes out as a lion; an A-type; a born-leader; a go-getting, never-admit-defeat, super-intelligent dynamo of doing-ness; or whatever.
Anyhow, he found himself compelled to make bread, too. The hard way. And like just about anything my husband attempts, he succeeded.
So.
He started out by developing his own starter.
You begin with blueberries… yes, really. Why? Well, blueberries are one of the few substances which are still sold today with their protective layer of wild yeast intact. That white, slightly powdery substance coating the surface of blueberries?? well, that is an atmospheric fungus, a naturally occurring thing, that has been used for centuries by our ancestors to grow the leavening agent for bread. Nowadays, most of us are lazy and use either dried yeast or a pre-made starter developed by somebody else, but fortunately for the apocalypse-minded amongst us: the materials are still at hand for those who wish to make use of ancient techniques and go the pure unassisted route towards making their own bread. Can you make your own yeast? why yes you can!

It also occurs on other fruits and veggies, you sometimes see it on grapes and apples here but most of the time it gets polished off before they reach the grocer.

Craig soaked a punnet of blueberries in pure (chloride and fluoride free) water to harvest, or in old terms; “catch” the yeast. Then he combined this “live” water with an equal quantity of flour, and left it to develop. After a few days he had a thick bubbly paste with a pleasantly fertile, brewery-like aroma.

This is the levain, and it lives in our fridge. In colder climates people keep it in a warm spot on the window sill, but we are in a very very hot climate so it would get bloated and whiffy in no time at all on our windowsill! You need to feed and tend to it every few days to keep it in good shape.
As you can imagine, in ancient times the levain was like gold in a family; it was their ticket to the staff of life and it was essential for it to be kept well maintained. The health of a family’s levain was literally the key to the health of the family!
Obviously we are a very fortunate first world family whose survival is not dependent on the survival of our levain; but after all the effort that went into producing this stuff you can be sure Craig is taking blinkin’ good care of it!
He baked the bread on pizza stones. Fortunately we’ve had these already a Christmas gift one year I think.
Incidentally I was allotted about one nanosecond in which to take this photograph… something to do with “YOU’RE LETTING ALL THE HOT AIR OUT!“… or something or other…