sewing Archives - Page 39 of 41 - Handmade by Carolyn

black Oxford shoes, with pinking

10/03/2016 4:33 pm \ 32 Comments \ Carolyn

I’ve made another pair of shoes. They’re a bit shonky, dodgy and clutsy, and clearly home-made, particularly those rough n’ ready heels, but y’know what? I LOVE THEM!!!

Pattern; classic Oxford shoe style, drafted by myself; my tutorial for drafting your own shoe pattern is here.

Fabric; black faux leather from Spotlight, lined completely with very dark navy cotton denim from Spotlight, the two layers are lightly glued together with PVA fabric glue. Rubber soles and heels cut from black rubber matting from Bunnings, two layers of cork inner sole linings from an old set of placemats, black eyelets from Spotlight, black shoelaces and foam inner soles from Coles.

Details: I whimsically pinked various pieces of the shoe, not sure if this looks cool or just emphasises the homemade quality, not in a good way, mind you, but meh, it’s done. Actually there’s a little bit of a pinked theme throughout the shoe and the detailing…

Pinked edges to the vamps and upper edges, and below, the little bit of pleather that covers the centre back seam has a pinked edge too.

Inside; pinking to the edges of that half-circle of denim at the back of the shoe… this contains the counters, which are bits of stiffening to keep the back of the shoe stiff and standing up straight.

Confession time, I cut my counters from milk bottles… yep, household rubbish; whoops! am I going to be booted out of the cobbling club now?! 😀
Well, our milk bottles here are made of a strong, sturdy plastic that I thought is totally perfect for this purpose… it is stiff, strong, pliable, can be cut very easily, coaxed into a new shape fairly easily and holds the new shape well too. And of course; free! since it’s rubbish. What’s not to love?

I covered the inner soles completely with the same denim so they match and blend in with the interior nicely. The inner soles are removable, ie. not glued down inside of the shoe. Inside the shoe you can see the long nails that I used to secure the shoe to the sole and heel… Not seen, but between shoe and sole there are also three shorter tacks holding the sole to the heel along the straight edge of the heel. I did this because I knew this heel/sole joint would be the weakest point in the shoe most prone to coming apart under pressure.Sizing; they are moulded to my own feet, so obviously the sizing is good on me. They are sized to fit my just-slightly-larger right foot. My feet are a touch wide compared to the average so the shoes look a little wider than most you see in the shop; actually I was so worried about making them too tight I think I overcompensated and made them just a touch loose… ! This is ok though, since I’ll need to fit warm winter socks in there at some point and at least they are very comfy and totally not tight!

How do they go with socks? Phew, they still fit. Yes, I knitted these socks too…

Technique and finish-wise; far far far from perfect but I’m still pretty happy. Actually, all was going swimmingly in the beginning and I was very happy with them, then ran into difficulties and self-doubt, decided they were crap, almost threw them in the bin a few times; realised that, contrary to what it says in my book on shoe-making, shoe lasts are actually INDISPENSIBLE to shoe-making… then things started to look up and I got a bit optimistic they might even work out ok. Limped in to the finish line in the end, in spite of a little glue splodging mishap on my nice black binding which downgraded my happiness factor considerably. *sad violin* and resulted in a decision to use my “failed” stacked heels rather than my good ones. Those, I’m saving for the next pair.

heels a bit nasty… but trying not to beat myself up over it

Yes, there is a next pair in the works, sneaky-peeked here on IG; I’ve constructed the uppers already and have found and ordered a pair of shoe lasts. We’re all just in a state of suspended animation, patiently waiting, waiting, waiting; just for those lasts to arrive.

HURRY UP, LASTS!!!

Final thoughts: pretty bad really, but they’re quite tough and totally wearable, even though not pretty. Let’s just say, I’m embracing the homemade look, ok?! 😀
I’m anticipating that these ones will be hardwearing workhorses during winter; everyday things that I can just chuck on for day-to-day everything. I think they could even look quite cute with tights and my little winter mini-skirts, a go-to winter uniform for me 🙂 At least I’m starting to get some confidence that I may just actually have a small range of wearable winter shoes for my Year of Handmade. Woot!

Posted in: sewing, shoes, Uncategorized \ Tagged: own design, shoes

dark chocolate suedette

04/03/2016 6:28 pm \ 38 Comments \ Carolyn

I’ve made a new little top. And I’m so happy with it in my outfit! far more than I thought I would be 🙂 Making the little top was almost a spur of the moment thing… see, I’m going out tonight and a few days ago suddenly started to think seriously; what smart/casual outfit with shoes would fit my Year of Handmade? I’ve got tonnes of lovely dresses but didn’t think any of my current handmade shoes would cut the smart/casual mustard with any of them… aaah first world problems! anyway long story short; bit of brainstorming later and dreamt up this outfit. Had the skirt and the shoes already and just needed the top to pull it all together and be the icing on the cake… or should that be the chocolate topping on the cream? Probably.

The neutral colours with a variety of textures in my outfit are very pleasing to me: the suede-y deep chocolate brown vs. smooth glossy creamy-ivory satin skirt, vs softy fluffy chocolate and ivory felt in my shoes. And smooth pine for the base of my shoes. I feel rather modern and new-age cool. Almost trendy. LOL! Yeah, funny thing; it’s been a long while since I’ve felt this sharp in my handmade clothing!!.

The fabric in my top is faux suede, from the Fabric Store in Melbourne, bought during a trip there with Mum and Cassie. I have loads left too… not a bad thing since it’s kinda gorgeous!

Pattern; Crop Top 127, from Burda magazine 2/2015. It’s quite a cute little design, boxy with lots of straight choppy lines long and dramatic diagonal darts at the front and boxy angular sleeve seams. And then the smooth curve of a high-low hemline to break it up. The bias-finished armholes and neckline are clean and neat. I do like a bias finished edge! I used black cotton for this since I didn’t have any chocolate brown. The top as per the magazine is completely open at the back! instead I chose to seam mine, leaving a slit with a little button and loop closure at the top. I covered my embroidery cotton loop with tightly spaced blanket stitching along its length, so it’s strong and neatly finished.

Adjustments; the pattern is in petite sizes, and in the past I’ve found that the Burda petite bustline sits just a little high on me … I lowered mine very slightly just by making the dart shorter. I also added 6cm in length to the bottom hem all round, because it looked like it was going to be a tad on the too short side. And I’m so glad I did!!! It would have been waaaaaaaaaay too short on me! Even at this lengthened version, I feel in constant danger of exposing the underthings. Have to be careful not to lift my arm up too high! I’m wearing my mocha Sierra bra though, which I think is a good fit for this expose-errific top… why? because it’s brown, and quite a longline bra and also since I made it very very plain it actually reads more like a cropped camisole than a bra, if anyone happened to glimpse it. So I’m glad I’ve got that already too. Honestly, everything in the outfit matches just like they were all made intentionally to go together. I feel very harmonious 🙂

Smart casual outfit? that pleases me? fully handmade? Tick, tick, and tick!

Details:

Top; Burda magazine 2/2015; 127, chocolate brown suedette
Skirt; Burda magazine 02/2014; 106; cream satin, details here
Shoes; handmade by me in wool felt and pinewood, details here

Posted in: fashion, sewing, Uncategorized \ Tagged: Burda magazine 02/2015/127, daily outfit, pattern review, top

cherry red sneakers

03/03/2016 3:23 pm \ 26 Comments \ Carolyn

Woa, crack out the sunnies! So, my second pair of sneakers. Bit bright, eh?!

Pattern, drafted it myself. I’ve written a little tutorial on how I made my pattern, coming soon.

Fabric; cherry red cotton corduroy, bias binding; a red small-print floral. Both these fabrics from my mother’s stash when she did a clean out a while back. Black bias binding that goes around the bottom edge; made from some quilting cotton from my stash. Black eyelets from Spotlight, black shoelaces from Coles. Inners; cut from an old yoga mat, stabiliser cut from thin cork (old placemats), rubber soles (matting from Bunnings). Glue is all-purpose PVA from Bunnings.

Construction; stitched the uppers together first, stitched them to a corduroy “sole” with a wide border (above). Padding: glued corduroy to bottom of the yoga matting inners cut to fit, trimmed off the edges. Glued the shoe upper to the padding, wrapping the wide border down and under, snipping around corners, glueing it underneath. Glued a thin cork sole cut to fit underneath. Black bias binding, folded and pressed upper edge, left lower edge wide and raw. Glued folded top edge of binding around the bottom edge and folded under, snipping around corners and glued the excess width underneath the cork. Last thing; cut and trimmed the black rubber sole to fit, glued it underneath. (below)

As far as the construction of these ones goes, I’m satisfied. They’re tough, and will hold together just fine, and they work. Meh, *shrug* All in all, they’re ok, and not a fail.

However, my materials; yoga matting is not an ideal inner sole, really. It’s been good to play with, for learning purposes; but I think it’s time I shopped around for something more sturdy and hardwearing. And I’ve discovered it won’t glue properly to anything other than fabric.

Anyway, here’s the thing; I reeeeeeally want to move onto some of my better materials, like my precious small stash of leather, for instance. My ultimate goal is to make leather shoes for winter. These last two pairs of shoes have actually been but mere trials. And tribulations…? debatable!

Posted in: sewing, shoes, Uncategorized \ Tagged: own design, shoes

floral sneakers

28/02/2016 2:39 pm \ 40 Comments \ Carolyn

Hello! I’ve made some more shoes! floral sneakers.

Now, I have to admit; they may look kinda superficially cute at a distance, however close up they’re a bit of a fail. I’m considering them a wearable fail though, since they’re all stuck together firm and good, glued up to the hilt and are not going to fall apart in a hurry! So all is not lost and I will wear them for casual knockabout events when it doesn’t matter if your footwear gets dirty or ruined. We all have those events in our lives, right? I’m sure plenty are going to crop up in my Year of Handmade.

I have learnt a lot making these… primarily the optimum order in which one should put together a pair of sneakers…. but first things first…

Fabric; a small leftover scrap of floral upholstery fabric, maybe barkcloth, from my grandmother’s stash, given to me after she passed away. It’s pretty cute fabric though, and I have just enough left to cut out the pieces for another pair of sneakers should I desire to revisit this exact same look. Which I probably shall. Bias binding for the edges and for the strip around the base of the sneakers is unbleached calico.

Design; drafted by me, copying a pair of sneakers I have already. I thought I’d got the design not too far off, but will make some adjustments for the next pair. I’m not even bothering to put laces in these ones. They stay on my feet fine without laces so I can still wear them. I’ll save my bias cut spaghetti strap laces for when I make a good pair 🙂

Details; the bases are cut from an old yoga mat, and my first step was to glue those strips of calico along the side edges… this was my big BIG mistake. I would NOT fabric coat the bases so early next time, it made it hellishly difficult when it came time to glue to uppers to the base. Also, the bases turned out to be a little too big for the uppers and the fact I’d “finished” them meant they could not be trimmed down.

Sewed together the uppers, all fine… sewed them to the lining pieces right sides together, turned them right sides out and glued it to the bases. Next time I would sew them together, wrong side of upper to right side of lining and turn the edges under before glueing to the base… I think that could be a better thing. Then, and only then! add the finishing strip to the outside edge of the sneakers. The last step is to add the soles. I used thin cork, cut from an old set of placemats.

Well, we certainly live and learn! All in all, it was a bit of a mess, but I pushed on and finished them because I wanted to see how the fit and design would turn out. I’m actually very happy with the fit, and the design is in my opinion 90% there, I will just make a few minor adjustments for the next pair.

At least I have a pair of don’t-care sneakers that are wearable and not too precious to get out and about in.

Posted in: sewing, shoes \ Tagged: own design, shoes

a shearling jacket

07/02/2016 7:25 am \ 34 Comments \ Carolyn

As sneaky-peeked previously; my shearling jacket, and man, I’m so happy with it!! It turned out just exactly how I hoped, and was the most wonderfully cuddliest, comfiest thing to have with me in our recent visit to Japan; I loved bundling up in it each day in Tokyo and used it as a snuggly rug while on the plane… without a doubt the warmest coat I’ve ever made formyself, evah. Like wrapping myself in a fluffy blanket, and I was perfectly snug enough even in the subzero temperatures of Hokkaido.

Obviously, and with my usual attention to weather appropriate sewing ahem, I chose to get started on this super fluffy thing during the most heinously hot heat wave… 42C anyone? phew, try-ons were hideous. Seriously I question my sanity sometimes. Well, lots of times actually 😉 Anyway it was all worth it in the end, since I’m quite chuffed with how it turned out.

What is it about making jackets that is so enormously satisfying and fulfilling? I don’t know exactly why, but I always find jackets, and dresses too, to a slightly lesser extent; to be the projects that give me the biggest of happy warm fuzzy buzzes… 🙂

wrt this one; well I’ve wanted to make a shearling jacket for oh, about ten years now. Ever since the first time I clapped eyes upon one belonging to our friend S; a colleague of my husband’s who is always super suave and cool and has a slightly alternative, very hip and happening taste in clothing. He owns a beautifully thick, oversized shearling jacket that he’s had for years and years and trots it out every winter once or twice. Every single time I see it I’m struck all over again by how awesome it is and have harboured a secret desire for one of my own…

I bought the faux shearling from Spotlight and the burnished, dull metal buttons from Fabulous Fabrics. The pattern is loosely based upon McCalls 5276, a pattern I’ve had for years but only muslined once and not got any further… oops! I pretty much chose the pattern just for the collar alone, since I wanted that big oversized 70’s lapel collar on my jacket, but not much else.

My alterations included;
Body and sleeves slimmed down and lengthened somewhat.
Welt pockets added as described here,
Belt and belt loops added.
I also fine-tuned the front edge and collar to have it so I could happily wear it in a variety of ways… a) open, cardigan style b) buttoned up halfway with the lapels flared, c) buttoned up to the neck with the collar laid down in a peter pan style, and finally d) with the collar turned up and buttoned up right to the very top in a funnel-neck style. Also, having the belt tightened or hanging loose adds to the wearing options too.

Because I was using a shearling obviously I left off all facings and all edges are left raw. When working out how to seam the pieces together, I checked out a pattern for a shearling jacket from one of my Burda magazines… which mentioned overlapping some edges to be joined and top-stitching the overlaps to minimise bulk. So; I overlapped the shoulder seams in this way, and also the collar-to-neckline seam. The other seams; namely the sleeve, side and armscye seams are sewn right sides together in the conventional way.

Even though I used the McCalls collar, I still cut it a bit bigger on the edges – just in case!!- never forget the golden rule of sewing… you can always cut away but you can’t add it back… EVER!!! And then trimmed it here and there to allow it to sit how I wanted it to look, to fit how I was imagining my collar. I’m particularly pleased with how the collar looks when buttoned up to the neck like this..

I made the sleeves extra long, so I could turn them up and have a woolly “cuff” on the sleeve ends, and also made wrist strips. These are sewn to the sleeve, then wrapped around and buttoned to themselves. The seam allowance of the cuffs are topstitched down for a neat look when they are turned back, and then I stitched-in-the-ditch of the sleeve seam down to the sleeve so the cuffs stay folded up permanently.

Welt pockets: my tutorial for how to do the welt pockets is here

Buttonholes: I’ve written a separate post detailing how I did the buttonholes here, so as not to clog up this post more than it is already! aaaaaagh! picture overload!!

In summary; I thoroughly enjoyed having and wearing my cosy new jacket in the subzero temperatures of Japan, and now we’re back home…. and it’s 35C… lol! so it’s off to the back of the wardrobe with this fluffy hulk of a thing. See you again next winter, you snuggly bundle of cosiness!

Details:

Jacket; my own design based loosely upon McCalls 5276, faux shearling
Top; the twist top from Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi, in ivory ponte, and in charcoal ponte
Jeans; Burda 7863 modified to be flares, in ivory cotton denim, and made as regular bootcut in black cotton corduroy
Gloves; hand knit by me in 4ply charcoal merino, details here
Socks; hand knit by me in Noro 4ply, details here
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: coat, daily outfit, jacket, McCalls 5276, own design, parka

buttonholes in shearling; a tutorial

06/02/2016 6:46 pm \ 11 Comments \ Carolyn

When making my shearing jacket I came up to the important matter of buttonholes… what to have? I’d googled and pinned a few shearling jackets when planning the details and features that I wanted to have in my new jacket, but it’s not always easy to make out the finer construction details of the nitty gritty like buttonholes in far-away, full-length pictures on the net. As usual, it came down to knuckling down and working out how to do it myself.

I trialled several different types of buttonholes but am only sharing here the details of my two “finalists”, the two types I eventually decided upon using for my jacket.

Sewing details: I’m using a faux shearling, but this technique would be fine for real shearling too, as well as for thick leather or other thick and bulky, non-frayable fabrics. For real leathers which can be very thick and tough, use a leather needle and sturdy threads like upholstery or topstitching thread.

The first buttonhole, pictured above; is designed to look well-finished and to look identical from both sides of the fabric, meaning, both the suede outside and the woolly inside of the shearling fabric. I used this technique for down the front opening edges of my jacket and on the buttoned wrist bands. It is like the shearling version of a bound buttonhole, if you like.

Mark the buttonholes on the suede right side to be the same length as the buttons; in this case 2.5cm (1″), and cut two rectangular, self-fabric “bindings” per buttonhole, each the same width as the buttonhole – 2.5cm (1″) wide, and 2cm (6/8″) long. Trim away the shearling from the wrong side of the bindings as closely as possible, and cut the buttonhole slit in the fabric between the marking pins. I used a rotary cutter for the middle bit, for straightness and for a clean cut, then clipped into the ends with small sharp scissors.

Trim away the wool from around the buttonhole slit on the wrong side out to a width of 1cm (3/8″) each side

Wrap the bindings around the buttonhole edges and align edges top and underneath as neatly and as evenly as possible; pin. Stitch carefully along the long edge just inside the cut edges. Also, stitch-in-the-ditch along the short edges of the buttonhole also, to strengthen the slit and help prevent it from ripping out. Truth be told, I wouldn’t think ripping is all that likely in a tough fabric like shearling, but not impossible of course, so I reckoned it was better to be safe rather than sorry!

It’s more important for the stitching to be perfectly neat and even on the right side of the jacket than the wrong side, obviously. If the inside shows uneven edges, they can be trimmed off with small, sharp scissors.

And that’s it! pretty simple really. Apart from the fact that it looks almost smart and sorta polished as much as a raw-edged rustic technique can look, the beauty of this buttonhole is also that it looks identical from both right and wrong side of the fabric.. also I think the suede wrapped edges looks quite attractive against the woolly insides too!

The second type of buttonhole I devised is an easier, more workmanlike, “invisible” buttonhole, which is situated on the lapels and collars of my jacket. I wanted this one to be less obtrusive; to still look acceptably nice if seen from the outside of the coat, but more importantly to be as invisible as possible on the wrong, woolly side of the fabric. Reason; I wanted to have the option to wear the coat sometimes with the lapels and collar fully buttoned up, and also sometimes unbuttoned; and when unbuttoned I didn’t want them to show at all.

This one is like a letterbox-on-a-door, with an outside facing to reinforce and strengthen it on the right side. Cut a rectangle of shearling, 4cm (1 1/2″) wide and 1.5cm(5/8″) long, for each buttonhole, and trim away most of the wool from the wrong side. You can trim away the wool as completely as possible if desired, or if you want a frame of wool to fluff out around the edges, leave a slim border untrimmed around the edge. I decided a lightly woolly frame looks pretty cute, and couldn’t resist having it for my buttonholes.

fluffy edges are cute!!!

Pin the trimmed rectangle to the right side of the fabric where the buttonhole will be, and stitch just inside each edge. Remember to use white or ivory thread in the bobbin! Cut the buttonhole through both layers, using a rotary cutter for the middle bit, and snipping out to the edges with small sharp embroidery scissors.

I think it looks nice from the outside, but the best bit is that it is almost completely invisible on the wrong side!

For the button inside the collar, I needed something matching the woolly interior; and found the perfect, ivory tweed, covered button, originally from my grandmother’s stash and, knowing my grandmother, I expect it was salvaged from off of an old coat or skirt or something. Waste not want not! and I’m glad she did because it has finally found the perfect home 🙂

I hope my tutorial proves useful to someone… as always if it is helpful then please do leave a comment saying so. Thank you!

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: buttons, tutorial

Cassie’s bikini

23/01/2016 3:48 pm \ 28 Comments \ Carolyn

Hello!

so here is Cassie modelling her new bikini, previewed on instagram the other day. We both popped on our bathers this morning and headed off to the beach for a quick photo op, and of course a swim! aaaah, it was totally divine, like heaven. The water was crystal cool and clear and it was all just so delightful. Every time we head off to the beach I think “hmmm, should come down here more often…” but then we get busy and a few weeks go by just like that. I guess it wouldn’t feel like such a treat when we do get there, so maybe we’ve got just the right balance!

The colour may look a little familiar… remember when I told how Cassie had given me some lovely brick fabric from Fabulous Fabrics for my birthday, with which I was make my bathers this year? well this is the exact same stuff! Cassie liked it so much she bought some for herself too, to make her own bathers! We must’ve made a kinda funny sight this morning, in a Sound of Music kind of a way.

But anyway, sewing stuff re the bikini…

Cassie designed and made the top herself, basing the wrap-around band design on that of Madalynne’s free sierra bra pattern; except she drafted her own halter neck bodice pieces and gathered them gently underneath the bust into a double layered, turned out band. The band ties at the back in a self-tie, likewise the halter tie. All pieces are self-fabric lined.

I was commissioned to make the bottoms. I used the ClothHabit Watson briefs as a basic starting point, splicing the front piece and gusset together and cutting them together as one piece. I always do this mod every time I make this pattern. To get that tied-together-sides style; the side edges were extended by 2cm each side, and the elastic starts and ends at those extensions. The extensions were then just turned under to make casements, through which I threaded a little self-tie up and down each side. Meaning the bikini is held together at the side edges by this tie.

That’s it, really!

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: bathers, Cassie, own design, sierra, watson

a palace skirt

16/01/2016 3:37 pm \ 50 Comments \ Carolyn

The latest instalment in my quest to “fun up” Cassie’s work wardrobe…

I dub thee the Palace skirt. Fabric a soft, heavy, slightly stretch sateen from Fabulous Fabrics. Of course. Pattern; Vogue 8363, my other favourite skirt pattern. Those discreet, yet deep, slanted pockets; so chic and so useful!

I had to buy quite a bit of the fabric in order to get the full printed panel and so as to have it centred on the skirt both front and back, and I only just managed to get the pieces out! Meaning, there was more wastage than I can normally tolerate… oh well, them’s the breaks when you choose an obvious large-scale print like this! The only downside.. notoriously fabric-hungry. 🙁 I only have the most awkwardly shaped scraps left. Oh well, it was worth it. I absolutely adore the print and am so damn happy with this skirt, I think it looks just gorgeous on her. I want one too!!

So I’m sending my daughter out into the world with naked men printed on her clothing… It’s art, ok?

And also, don’t you just hate it when people boast smugly about their perfect pattern matching?
*proceeds to boast smugly about my perfect pattern matching*

Actually, the print placement at the back gave me serious pause, and I’m talking specifically about that door there, ahem. I didn’t want to have the print off, I really wanted all of that magnificent palace room to be there on the skirt as beautifully as it appears on the fabric and just could’t see any way around the door, or any way of eliminating it either, but it just had to be there, right boom in the centre back of the skirt. The best way I could think of doing it was just to have it there, no apologies,and to make sure the print matched up as well as I could.

Pale silver-grey invisible zip from Fabulous Fabrics as well, all raw edges inside are overlocked inside to finish, and I finished all the edges before sewing the seams, so as to get maximum lee-way in matching up the print on the side seams as well. I managed to cut the pockets from the self fabric, only one had to be pieced at the bottom due to the difficulty in cutting out around that print satisfactorily. The pocket lining, pictured above, is silver-grey polyacetate lining fabric, scraps from le Stash.

The final verdict from the recipient…? “I can’t wait to wear it to work on Monday!”

Details:

Skirt; Vogue 8363, stretch sateen, my original review of this pattern here
Tshirt; Cotton on