Closet Case files Archives - Page 4 of 5

sophie swimsuit

22/06/2016 1:35 pm \ 33 Comments \ Carolyn

I was thrilled when Heather of Closet Case Files asked me to test her fabulous new swimsuit pattern, the Sophie swimsuit, named after the elegant and tres creative Sophie, of Ada Spragg. Thanks so much Heather! I’m pretty chuffed that she continues to even notice an old hag like me.

The Sophie swimsuit is a structured bikini top optionally underwired and paired with high-waisted bottoms, or alternatively the same structured cup top as part of a one piece, boy-legged suit. I think it’s classy, with a modest retro-style chic, and it’s a beautifully designed and drafted pattern.

I’m also enormously impressed, not merely with the Sophie pattern although that in itself is pretty damn fantastic effort because it’s quite a complex pattern… in addition to that Heather is offering a package deal; the pattern, swimsuit kits with fabric, lining and all the bits and bobs you need to put it together, AND an online workshop; all designed to take the legwork out of tracking down all those bits and pieces you need, and to ease newcomers to swimwear-sewing painlessly into the whole process. It’s an absolutely brilliant effort.

Anyway, so this is me, modelling my two new bikinis on the delightfully sunny beaches of south-western Australia… HA! Obviously it’s the middle of winter here, and while it really was a beautifully sunny day and was actually quite pleasant out of the wind in the shelter of the rocks, where I am in the top picture; on the beach itself it was just a tad chilly mind you, just a teeny tiny tad… (read; utterly freezing)

Did I dive right into that invitingly turquoise water for a frolicsome dip? NO!!!! Since I’m the wussiest wuss that ever wussed I just got my pictures super fast and then threw on my jeans and thick woollen cardi again pretty quick! You can see that turbulent water and my crazy hair, it was blowing a freaking gale and the waves were booming and thundering onto the sand like the proverbial white stallions. I do love the beach in any and all weather, including wintery and wild; I love the sparkle of sunlight on the water, the swirling foamy shallows, and the crashing of the surf. Well, perhaps more so when I’m warmly rugged up snug as a bug in a rug, of course. Sienna loves the beach too, but it’s alright for her, in her thick fur coat! hehe, the things we do…

Anyway, on to the SophieS; yup, I’ve made two… both bikinis. It’s been an awfully long time since I’ve worn a bikini, eeek! but I chose view B because I’m still more of a two-piece bathers person than a one-piece-r. There’s the charcoal version at top, and also the pink/black colour blocked version, which was made first. Tester driven feedback called for a change in the shape of the cup so the second, charcoal, one is closer to the final version of the pattern.

Also; I should mention that in the final version of the pattern, the bikini bottoms have a slightly higher rise than mine do here, sitting just at/slightly above the natural waist.

It’s funny; when I finished the pink/black one I almost immediately took a violent dislike to the colours I’d chosen… It seemed a bit… I dunno, young and sporty? or something. Then I made the charcoal version. Which I really adore. When I took out the pink/black one again, to take photos in it, of course, you know the story, it didn’t look quite so hideous after all. I actually took quite a shine to it again. The pink seemed a bit warmer and less Barbie than I’d remembered it. I decided I might even like it better than the charcoal one. I don’t know. Oooh, I’m torn! Either way, I expect both are going to get worn this summer 🙂

Heather has introduced her own sizing chart for the pattern, which I think is a pretty good idea. You know, when you’re making something and you sometimes get too lazy or too cold to disrobe for proper measurements, and go with the same size you always take, or worse; what you think you are. I do find that when faced with an unfamiliar sizing chart, you’re more inclined to get out the tape measure and do a properly slow and careful remeasure, to determine your correct size. Which I did. So saying that, how do I feel the cups fit? well they both fit pretty good. Though I do feel like the cup on my charcoal one, while it fits me; is just a smidge on the scant side for my tastes, if that makes any sense. I believe Heather has upsized them on the final version, which I reckon is a good call. I am small up top but I still kinda like to have lots of coverage there, for personal preference. I might remake the charcoal bikini top, following the new sizing of the final version of the pattern. But maybe not ’til summer!

Fabrics and bits and bobs: the fabrics are from Fabulous Fabrics; who do get some very nice swimwear fabrics in stock during the season. I bought all these fabrics in previous summers, stocking up during sales. Stashing strategically, as you do 😉 Other supplies from my fast dwindling MakeBra basic kits; the underwires, under wiring channeling and the foam for the cups. The swimwear elastic, plastic swimwear hooks for the straps and back closures are from Spotlight.

Posted in: sewing, Uncategorized \ Tagged: bathers, Closet Case files, pattern review, Sienna, Sophie swimsuit

the incredible raspberry woman…

17/06/2016 10:56 am \ 18 Comments \ Carolyn

Haha! I lolled pretty hard at this outfit above, but decided to share anyway. I look like some kind of burgeoning superhero or something yeah? All I need is the cape. “NO CAPES!!” * (Edna Mode, of course)

Fear not, fellow fashion victims, I will not be wearing my new top and tights together like the above example, well maybe for fancy dress. Or, if facing the general, unsuspecting and innocent public, then not without a lot more garments layered over here and there to break up the expanse of raspberry pink anyway, woof.

aaaa, oh dear, calming down now. See here’s the thing… I wanted to make some more coloured tights. I really enjoyed my bright paprika tights, when I had them, even did a 6-different ways post on those things once! I wear black tights a TONNE, like everyone else, but have found it’s absolutely terrific to have a bit o’ variety in the tights department, to have some more colours for layering in my winter wardrobe. I’m embracing a small pink and plum trend in my wardrobe lately, so bought this piece of poly knit during Fabulous Fabrics recent sale with a view to some Intentional Wardrobe Matching and Planning… oooo so organised! Not like me at all 😉

yesterday’s outfit, wearing the tights

I laid down my custom-fit tights pattern and then of course discovered, as you do; that I had enough around the sides that I could probably squeeze a t-shirt out of it as well. Waste not want not!

For the tee; I used my Closet Case patterns Nettie, which I’ve also made tonnes of times I’ve fine tuned the fit over and over so much it’s barely the same pattern anymore. You could call it a vestigial Nettie.

So, the tights are fabulous, and I’m happy, yay! however the top is a so-so thing that I’m a teeny bit meh about. Stretch poly is excellent stuff for tights, but actually pretty horrendous for a top. It’s slightly thick and beefy, doesn’t press at all, and is that ultra slippery slinky stuff, that slips and slides over itself, and the whole two metres of it will slither right off the table in an avalanche of fabric if so much as a small corner starts to slide over the edge. grrr. I made up the tights, easy peasy. When it came to the top, oh god, horror story stuff. I’ve re-done that bottom edge three times… THREE TIMES. The fabric just wouldn’t take anything. Attempt number one; ye olde trusty twin needle. Except, no. It kept skipping stitches something awful.. so I gave up and moved to attempt number two, a small discreet zig-zag. It stretched out and looked disgusting, so I unpicked that with much muttering and growling under my breath. Attempt number three was to turn under twice and hand stitch it, which is usually a failsafe for me. I think this will be ok. If not, I’m going to move onto plan four, which will be a folded band all around the bottom edge, same as I’ve done to lengthen and finish the sleeves.

Essentially a extra-long, folded cuff.

Anyway, it’s done. I kinda regret not using the excess fabric for underwear now. I actually think it would have worked a lot better for lingerie, than as a Tshirt. Well, we live and learn!

Details:

1) above

Top; Pattern Magic twist top in charcoal ponte, details here Skirt; Paprika Patterns Jade skirt, in wine silk/cotton knit, details here Tights; own design, my tutorial for making your own custom-fit tights pattern is here
Boots, made by me, details here

2) below

Green top; Closet Case patterns Nettie, in green cotton mix stretch, details and my review of this pattern here
Paprika cardigan; my own modifications on the Closet Case patterns Nettie, details here
Raspberry top; Closet Case patterns Nettie, with sleeve and neckline modifications
Skirt; Vogue 1247, blue corduroy, details here
Tights; black poly, own design, my tutorial for making your own custom-fit tights pattern is here
Boots; made by me, details here

today’s outfit, wearing the Tshirt

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: Closet Case files, daily outfit, Nettie, own design, tights/leggings, top

some tops, and a collar pattern

13/06/2016 8:47 pm \ 33 Comments \ Carolyn

I’ve been busy making a few tops…

SO! Exhibits A and B; two Nettie tops,both made in a really gorgeous, pale cream knit from Fabulous Fabrics, given to me by Mum. Now, I know I’ve said a gazillion times before that I have SO MANY white tops I should never ever need to make another one, but you see; a full-sleeve-length ivory Tshirt was one of my most worn wardrobe items last year. So, I’m pretty confident that these two boring things are probably going to be two of the most worn things in my winter wardrobe this year too! #ivorytopaddict. I managed to squeeze two tops from out of my piece of fabric, yes! *air fist punch*

I’ve fine tuned my Nettie pattern now for my own figure, but I still have to sorta “start from scratch” with fitting when I’m cutting out a fabric with a different stretch factor than those I’ve used previously with this pattern; and this fabric has quite a low stretch. So to be cautious I upsized quite a bit, cutting approximately and roughly a size 20, and then pinned the sides in to fit me. Also; my fabric was just big enough for the two Netties, but only-just-and-not-quite-perfectly-enough!! you know how it is… you MAKE IT WORK. They both have long sleeves coming right down to my wrists, but I had to cut Nettie B (below) just a little shorter at the hemline, so that I could get the two tops from my one piece of fabric. It sits at my high hip; Nettie A (above) is longer, plainer, with a high crew neck, finished with a grainline-cut band, applied as for this method here.

Along the back edge only, I topstitched the seam allowance down to the top, just inside the seam line. In both cases, the raw edges of sleeve and lower edge are finished with the overlocker, than turned under once and invisibly hand-slipstitched in place.

Nettie B, below, is slightly cropped and has a wide, boatneck collar.

I had some interest for this collar/neckline on instagram, so I’ve drawn up a pattern for it… it’s kinda rough-looking and I do plan to improve the presentation but just wanted to get it up here for now. It does however, work! and so I hope it does prove useful for someone!

neckline:collar

The method is as follows:

This is a collar/neckline designed for a close-fitting Tshirt in stretch knit fabric; the collar is a standup folded collar, and the neckline is wide and shallow. The idea is that you use your tried and true Tshirt pattern just ignoring the given neckline and substituting this neckline/collar for the one in your pattern. I used the Nettie pattern by Closet Case patterns, although any Tshirt pattern would do. Align the pattern pieces so the line of the shoulder seams and the centre front/back lines of this pattern are correctly aligned with the shoulder seams and front and back centre folds of your Tshirt pattern, and cut the neckline accordingly. Seam allowances are 1cm (3/8″), so if the Tshirt pattern you are using has a different seam allowance, align shoulder stitching lines (dotted lines) lines of the shoulder seam, rather than the cutting lines.

Cut the neckband/collar, with the short edges on the grain line. Sew the collar short edges together, right sides together. Fold the resulting “ring”of fabric in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, aligning raw edges… pin to the Tshirt neckline right sides together; distributing the length of the collar evenly around the neckline. Stitch using a 1cm seam allowance, and finish the raw edges with overlocking or zig-zag, as desired.

If you use this pattern, then please do leave me a comment and let me know how it goes. I’m always thrilled to get feedback 🙂

Now for some more tops, hoodies…! Smug self back-patting for unselfish sewing commences right here, since neither of these are for me

Exhibit C; I made a grey hoodie for Sam, to fulfil his birthday request… this is the same self-drafted pattern I’ve used previously for hooodies for each of my boys; and the seventh and eighth time I’ve used the pattern. The best thing about these hoodies in my opinion is the rather nice combined collar/hood, and I’ve previously written a tutorial on how to make this collar, here. Sam wanted grey, and the addition of a bit of red was my idea. I just liked the idea of some little contrast and the red seemed cheerful and fun for winter, and a bit more interesting than if it had just been plain grey. The rather gorgeous warm, grey terry fleece is from Spotlight, and the red is cut from an old Tshirt from my refashioning bag.

aaaaand Exhibit D; a Rayman Hoodie for Sam to wear to ComicCon. The same pattern, and again to fulfil his specific request! I bought some warm purple Tshirt ribbing from Spotlight, simply because it was the perfect colour. The white circle and the red hoodie bit were both cut from two old Tshirts from my refashioning bag.

And that’s it!… well; for now, mwahahahahahahaaaaaaa. *she twirls her cape and dramatically sweeps off to the sewing lair, maniacal laughter radiating in her wake*

Details of all clothing in this post:

Top; modified Nettie by Closet Case patterns
Skirt; Vogue 1247, yellow corduroy dyed caramel, details here
Tights; self drafted, details here and my tutorial for making your own tights pattern is here
Boots; made by me, details here
Cardigan; hand-knitted by me in Jo Sharp yarn, details here,
Cowl; my own design, mustard yarn, details and pattern here

Top; modified Nettie by Closet Case patterns
Skirt; Jade by Paprika patterns, details here

3) and 4)

Hoodie; self drafted pattern, my tutorial for making the combined collar/hood is here

Posted in: sewing, Uncategorized \ Tagged: Closet Case files, daily outfit, hoodie, Nettie, own design, pattern tutorial, top

a passing housewife

14/05/2016 11:51 am \ 33 Comments \ Carolyn

What am I? I am a passing housewife!!!

Hehehe just to explain, Izumi Curtis is a character from my favourite Japanese anime Fullmetal Alchemist. She always introduces herself as just a passing housewife, and so is the character I can relate to the most. And so, when it comes to choosing an anime character for myself… Izumi Curtis, I choose you!!!! …that’s a pikachu reference there, in case it did not translate…

Izumi Curtis, character and artwork by Hiromu Arakawa

So, firstly… WHY?? well, in Northbridge there is a retro video-gaming bar called Respawn that my kids like to go to… and I should just slip in here that this VERY MUCH a young adult’s kind of a place to hang out on Friday and/or Saturday night. Anyway, last night was Mum’s Night, like a nod to Mother’s Day last weekend, and the deal was that if you brought your Mum you all got free entry. So naturally, Sam and Cassie hatched a plot that I would be going along with them. Of course I said yes! how often do I get invited out on the town with my adult kids? pretty rarely, that’s what! I won’t say never, since my kids are pretty fun and relaxed and not usually embarrassed by my company, but going out to a nightclub in Northbridge is not generally a family thing to do, mmmm? Fellow Perthies will attest to that 😉

Another thing about Respawn is that people often cosplay it up… and so I set about planning and making my costume… I made a sleeveless white shirt-dress/coat-dress, I wore my recently completed Morgan boyfriend jeans, and I made a pair of Japanese toilet slippers like the ones Izumi always wears.

Coat-dress/shirt-dress:

I used two patterns; Vogue 8997, a dress pattern, and for the notched collar I adapted the neckline and spliced on the collar from Closet Case patterns Carolyn pyjamas.

Alterations: for the collar, I added width to the centre back lines of both collar pieces, to fit the width neckline I was after. I also squared off the collar points somewhat, so as to match the more square collar points of Izumi’s coat dress. For the dress; I cut the bodice fronts to have a centre front opening and adapted the neckline to have the notched collar bit, and added enough extra width in the centre front to accommodate the button and buttonhole band. Likewise the front skirt piece has the buttoned opening. Likewise I cut the back skirt to have a centre back seam, and added a bit extra to the lower part of the opening to hem it.

The bodice front and back are in double fabric, and self-lined, so as to enclose the princess seams within the layers. Even though this is just a costume, I reckon there’s no need to cut corners and do a shoddy job of sewing it! I had a small moment of shock when my own Mum suggested just cutting the collar in a single layer of fabric and leave it with a raw edge … oh the horror!! I dunno, call me obsessive, but nowadays I could probably not sew a garment all rough-shod like that in all good conscience. Making all my clothes for the past few years and I am now a fair dinkum full-on, signed up member of the well-made clothing snob club, right here.

Izumi’s coat-dress/shirt-dress is very well fitted, practically skin tight across her bosom which suggests a stretchy fabric. However the collar is also quite structured and stiff-looking, more like a regular woven-fabric shirt collar. So, to get that tight, fitted look; I used two different fabrics in my bodice, a stretch and a non-stretch. Actually, I used three different fabrics all together… but more on that later…. to get the fitted tightness of the bodice AND the structured collar, I cut the bodice front and back from stiff woven ripstop cotton, and I cut the bodice side fronts and backs from stretchy bengaline. This way, there is stretch at my sides, but the shirt fronts maintain that nice crisp look of a tailored notched collar shirt. When fitting the shirt-dress/coat-dress to myself, I left the side seams until the last thing, and the final step was to pull in those bodice side seams nice and tight.

And yes, the skirt is a different, woven cotton… one that is not so stiff and has a bit more flow to it, more suitable to a skirt than the rip-stop. All are long term residents from my stash, probably from Fabulous Fabrics originally. The white buttons were harvested from a recently chucked-out doona cover.

Slippers: Izumi always wears these Japanese toilet slippers…. this is to reiterate her status as a humble housewife and that she spends her days cleaning and doing housework. I made these very quickly and simply, the padding is cut from my good old yoga mat, covered with black cotton cut from an old Tshirt. For the uppers and the underneath bit, I used some very stiff thick black cotton from Remida, from when Meggipeg kindly invited me to go with her the other day. I did the WC letters on the top by couching with some thick, white wool, leftover from Cassie’s beanie that I knitted her for Christmas.

Another pretty important component of Izumi’s look is the Flamel tattoo. Cassie drew this on with a ballpoint pen; it was a little bit hidden on me, but ’twas there…

And, you may be wondering… did I wear this outfit, and these slippers in the streets of Northbridge and in the club? well yes I did! You can rest assured that the other Mums were of course wearing all black, and heels or ankle booties and the like… but not I! I am just! a passing! HOUSEWIFE!!!!!!

pictured in the club…

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: Carolyn, Closet Case files, dress, fancy dress, own design, shoes, Vogue 8997

Morgan boyfriend jeans

26/04/2016 4:20 pm \ 35 Comments \ Carolyn

I’ve made some boyfriend jeans! Hehe, I actually made these aaaaaaaages ago! and have been dying for the pattern release, just so I can wear them more often. They’re so comfy and easy to wear, they’re my current favourites. I really really love them 🙂

Pattern; the Morgan jeans by Closet Case patterns, named for the lovely Morgan of crab and bee. They are a mid-rise, button-flied, slightly cropped leg jean with a skim-the-body fit *deep breath* Wow, there are so many descriptors attached to jeans now, yeah? Jeans are no longer just “jeans” but there are so many defining clarifications that come with each style. These are quite different from any of the jeans I have made before in shape and fit, but of course they are still “just jeans” in the sense that they have all the features of jeans beloved to us all, like the 5-pockets for example. Heather kindly asked me to test the pattern, and this is my first go, off the bat. Apparently the leg has been widened slightly since I made these.

Fabric; these are designed for a non-stretch denim, so I found a nice, crisp, deep dark charcoal cotton denim, mid weight and with absolutely zero stretch to it in Spotlight. No stretch, and the jeans still feel fantastic! I also used coppery-brown Guttermann’s upholstery thread for the topstitching, and copper-y coloured jeans buttons, all from Spotlight. The grey cotton for the pockets and waistband lining is the same fabric as my grey gardens dress (Fabulous Fabrics).

My first button fly! I wasn’t sure if I’d like it at first, I thought it would be bulky; but now I’ve got it and have worn it a few days, I realised my fears were unfounded, and I really do like it. Also, it’s nice to have something a bit different, yeah?

Pockets, with lots coppery/brown topstitching #topstitchingporn

Leather patch on the back. I cut this from one of the last scraps of leftovers from my Danish suede jacket. I forgot to add it at first, doh! but it does make them look just a little more ready-to-wear, no?

Alterations: initially that waistband was quite gape-y in the small of my back, a usual thing for me. I’m quite hippy, I suppose! so I took in several inches off the waist at the centre back, tapering out in a straight line out to the hips. And shortened the waistband at centre back, correspondingly. This is my usual adjustment to fix that problem for me, and worked just fine for these too. I didn’t alter the position of the pockets, so on my jeans they are situated a little closer and more slanted inwards to the centre back seam than the pattern intended, but I thought they looked ok and didn’t need moving.

hadn’t added the patch at this stage…

I love how they look rolled up a coupa rolls, this makes them three quarter on me and I really love this, a little bit 50’s capri pant-like. I love how they show off a pair of little lace-up shoes. Hehe it’s probably a bit obvious from my shoe-making efforts that I’m SO right into the flat lace-ups at the mo! btw, those red sandshoes in my beach pictures below? are fully dead now, (sob) I’m pretty sad about that, I thought they were cute. #needmoreredshoes

Top picture is my current outfit of the day… I actually put on something else first thing today, inwardly wanting to wear my Morgan jeans and moaning once again that I couldn’t yet, because you know, the Reveal and all. And then I saw on IG that Heather had released the pattern. So I could wear them, yay! Other outfit sloughed and abandoned, Morgan jeans donned with joy and delight 🙂

This style is perfect for the weather we are getting right now; which is starting to get a little crisp in the morning but still quite warm during the day and not cold enough yet for socks! Not too hot, not too cold, but just right. These are going to get worn a tonne …

Details:

Jeans; Morgan jeans by Closet Case patterns, non-stretchy cotton denim
Top, (white) loose drapey top from drape drape by Hisako Sato, cotton jersey, details here (black) self-drafted Tshirt, details here
Raincoat (top picture); made by me, self-drafted, details here
Shoes; red sandshoes (below), made by me here, yellow shoes (top picture), made by me here

Posted in: sewing, Uncategorized \ Tagged: Closet Case files, daily outfit, jeans, Morgan, pattern review, Sienna

set de la tree frog

15/01/2016 1:24 pm \ 27 Comments \ Carolyn

My new lingerie set is inspired by the red-eyed tree frog. Yes, really! and this is my “thing” for Jungle January, the fun yearly challenge set by Anne of Pretty Greivances.

Deja vu!! because last year I also made underdaks, also froggy-inspired.

photograph credit, Carey James Balboa; source

So, hello there, Agalychnis callidryas. This little cutie is native to the rain forests that extend from Mexico down through Central America to Columbia… and thank YOU, Wikipedia. Also according to Wikipedia, its name callidryas is derived from the Greek for beautiful wood nymph. So while I am wearing it I shall imagine myself as a … bwahaha, I’m joking of course, I cannot even type that with a straight face. Lol.

It’s an exquisite little creature, is it not? the colours are quite magnificent. So bright and vivid and with those eyes; big, round and true scarlet, with a vertically aligned pupil. I positioned my two-hole buttons accordingly, and used black thread on purpose to mimic that.

Well I reckon it’s the attention to the whimsical detail that becomes the most fun thing about making your own clothes!

Actually this was all a bit fortuitous… I kinda forgot about Jungle January, then Sue posted her dress and I was like doh! Jungle January! aaaaaagh! but as it turned out, I’d only just cut all the lingerie pieces of green jersey, like the night before. I’d managed to squeak these pieces out from the leftovers of a Tshirt… anyway, I looked at the colour and immediately thought “frog!”

So, with the perfect colour fabric (Fabulous Fabrics), plus it was already cut out and ready to go, I already had the blue fold-over elastic, navy blue underband elastic and the red buttons in Le Stash… so I just needed to dash out to Homecraft Textiles for some orange fold-over elastic; bob’s your uncle.

squeezing all details into one picture…

Patterns; both knickers are the Watson briefs and the bra is my favourite pattern, MakeBra 2610. This is hands down the most wearable of the bra patterns in my collection.

Oh, I mentioned the lingerie set was leftovers from a Tshirt? well, now seems a good enough time as any to blog about that too. Lime green jersey from Fabulous Fabrics, pattern is the Nettie byCloset Case patterns, my go-to Tshirt pattern. It’s actually way too hot for me to really wear it right now, it’s 37C phew! so this is like a 20 second photo shoot happening here. I bought this fabric at the same time as the black-and-white striped fabric for this recent skirt, because I reckoned they’d be kind cool together, Tim Burton-ish, in a good way.

Actually, this project is pretty funny to me; see, the Tshirt was really my primary objective, because I wanted more colour options in my Tshirt department… the lingerie was cut out just as a “oh, what the hey” afterthought because the fabric was already out. In all likelihood the pieces would have got shoved away like the three other unmade lingerie sets I’ve already cut out under the same circumstances…. oops! must make those too… *blush*

Then Jungle January breathed inspiration into those scrappy bits, and I got all excited and super focused and enthused about making the lingerie and it became a much bigger deal in my head… I almost forgot about that Tshirt!

Later edit; I eventually got tired of the Tshirt’s lime-green colour and dyed it brown, now it’s a delightfully sludgy shade of olive!

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: Closet Case files, cloth habit, jungle january, lingerie, makeBra 2610, Nettie, top, watson

tie-dye cardigan

03/12/2015 1:50 pm \ 28 Comments \ Carolyn

I’ve made another little cardigan… the last, I promise! for at least a little while!
I didn’t really need another one but I said I’d thought of yet another little way the construction of this design could be improved? naturally I just had to try it out…
Fabric; a toss-out from Mum, a cotton or something or another jersey, original provenance unknown. I barely had enough for the cardigan but just managed to squeak out the pieces; the tie is a little on the short side and is pieced in several places but no biggie, I still got it out! and the joins are lost in the print. I rather like the tie-dye print and my only concern was to avoid situating a bulls-eye in the boob-al region when cutting out. Mission accomplished!

Pattern; the Nettie, by Closet Case patterns, modified to be a cardigan with a loose extended neckband that hangs down in a shawl-y type of a way. The neck band on this, third, version of the design is a little short to be tied in the front like the last two iterations, so I’m planning to only wear them hanging loose like this.

My desire for a super-clean finish is finally satisfied with the insides on this last version… they are super neat and tidy! with no exposed seams or stitching, barring inside the sleeve/armhole. *happy sigh*

I’ve written my order of construction to illustrate how it all went together… it’s a little more fiddly than the previous methods but perfectly doable.

Cutting; cut the fronts on a centre fold so they are double layered. Same picture as the previous cardigan because it’s identical. I sized up a couple of sizes to get that looser cardigan fit, rather than the tight bodysuit-fit that the pattern is designed for.
NOW; the first step is to sew fronts to the back at the side seams, right sides together.

Now, fold the fronts in half, right sides together, and stitch the front facing to the back at the side seam over the previous stitching, enclosing the seam allowances within the front and front facing. You will need to pull the pieces inside out a little to make this step possible, basically you are sewing the front piece in a tube with the back piece encased between the two side edges. Grade seam allowances, turn out and press.

Cut the lower band to fit and stitch to the lower edge, keeping front facings free. You will need to stitch each front section and the back section of this seam separately to each other, stopping and starting at the side seams; fiddly? yes, but worth it in the end. Press open then down onto band.

Fold the band in half lengthwise and stitch the short edges, right sides together; trim and grade seam allowances, turn right sides out.

Snip all layers of the band seam allowances at the side seams, and also the lower band facing seam allowance at the same point.

Now, from the shoulders/top; reach inside the front/front facing “tube” and pull the lower edge where it’s stitched to the lower band through along with the loose facing edge and band facing edges. Align all raw edges, taking care to make sure corners are sitting tight and accurately together because with a stretchy fabric it can be all too easy to stretch them out of place! and stitch the whole shebang together in one seam. Trim corners, grade seam allowances, pull it all right sides out and press.

Voila! yes it is a fiddly business but it look at that lovely absence of exposed seams on the fronts!

That last remainder of the lower band facing is turned under, pinned and hand-slipstitched in place. Hiding those seam allowances, too 🙂

Now stitch the shoulder seams, front to back, enclosing the back between the two fronts as for the previous version of this cardigan, here , in fact the remainder of construction is exactly the same… stitch sleeve seams, finish; set in sleeves, finish likewise; sleeve cuffs, as per this method; neckband, as per this method described for my previous cardigan.

Details:
Cardigan; the Nettie by Closet Case Patterns, modified as stated
Tshirt under; another Nettie, white jersey, details here
Shorts; Burda 7723, details here
Location; Bunker Bay, Dunsborough… we had it completely to ourselves! so lucky

photos courtesy of Craig

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: cardigan, Closet Case files, daily outfit, Nettie, own design, Sienna, tutorial

tie-front cardigan from a Tshirt pattern; a brief tutorial

18/11/2015 6:09 am \ 30 Comments \ Carolyn

Remember recently I made a little paprika cardigan? and I wasn’t super happy with my construction technique of the fronts and could visualise a far better method of getting that front edge nice and neat … well, of course I could not rest until I had seen it through.
Voila; new, stormy-grey-blue cardigan
Essentially, the gist is to cut each front piece on the fold through the centre front; meaning the fronts are double thickness, with one half acting as a facing. The fold at centre front is its own neat finish with no further need to do anything at all to it. Also, the front plus facing enclose the lower band between their two layers. For this reason, this technique works very well with very thin knits.
Fabric; thin blue/grey marl cotton jersey, leftover from Sam’s hoodie and originally a remnant bought from the Morrison sale, although when I say remnant there was at least 5m of it! Morrison is tres generous with their “remnants”, to say the least! I still have quite a lot left.
Pattern; I used the Nettie from Closet Case patterns, which is my go-to basic now for form-fitting Tshirts/bodysuits, however any tried and true Tshirt pattern could be used for this same modification.

I cut my pieces like so: top parts; fabric folded along the right hand side; with the top two horizontal bands being the “rough cut” lower edge band and the sleeve cuff bands respectively; underneath are the back cut on the fold, the sleeves and at the left is the long neckband. This last is joined right sides together along one short edge to make a double length band on the grain.
After cutting these: the fabric is then re-folded in from each edge so as to cut those two fronts (below) on a fold, with the centre front laid on each fold. Cut from the inside shoulder edge out to the CF fold at bustline level on a straight diagonal line, to create the V-neck opening edge.

front piece at left is folded in half, front piece at right opened out along CF fold

Construction details:
first, stitch fronts to back at shoulders. Sandwich the back between the two fronts so that the seam allowances get tucked away between the layers. You have to twist it around it in a weird funny-looking way but it does work out.

Stitch front to back at side seams, keeping the front facing free.
Then trim the cardigan to the length you want it to be, taking into account the width of the lower band. Measure the around the lower edge to determine the length of the lower band and cut it to fit; allowing for a 1cm seam allowance at each end.
Pin the band to the lower edge of the cardigan, again keeping the front facings free. Stitch, between the seam allowances, right sides together.

front facing free

Turn the band up in half, lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch the short edges closed, ceasing stitching at the end of the previous stitching. Turn bands right side out and press.

Now fold the facing to the outside, laying it over the lower bands and keeping raw edges even, and stitch lower edge seam through all layers, keeping the stitching just a whiskers’ width outside the previous stitching. The reason for keeping it just outside is so that the previous stitching does not show through on the right side of the band.
Now when you pull the band out and turn it all back right side out, the seam allowances are nice and neatly hidden away out of sight. Yay!

outside of cardigan? inside? impossible to tell which is which!

To anchor the front facing to the side seams, I opted to simply lay the front facing down to the side seam allowances, aligning raw edges, and top-stitch from the right side, 6mm away from the seam. The raw edge won’t fray, and it looks reasonably neat stitched down, also the top-stitching also accomplishes a sort of faux-felling of the seam allowances too. However this is definitely not ideal and I have to admit I have since thought of a different and better way of doing this bit too! so there may well have to be yet another little cardi in my near future… to see that thought through too… eeek! am I getting a bit obsessive or what? hmmm could be could be… 😉

Sleeves; same technique as for every other Tshirt/cardigan ever invented. Namely, stitch the sleeve seams, set sleeves in the armhole and stitch. The raw edges can be finished with overlocking if desired.
Attach sleeve cuffs, for this I nearly always employ this method, which gives a nice neat finish I think.
Last step; the neckband: pin the long neckband to the raw edges of the neck edge, including the facing, keeping raw edges even, right sides together and stitch.

Fold the ties in half along the length, right sides together and stitch the long tie ends together, starting at the endpoints of the previous stitching. Stitch the short ends in a diagonal point, if desired.

Trim, turn the ties right sides out and press.
Turn under the seam allowances of the remaining raw edge of the neckband, press, pin and slip-stitch closed by hand.

Finito!

Details:
Cardigan, the Nettie, by Closet Case patterns with my own design modifications
Tshirt (under); another Nettie, white jersey, details here
Shorts; Burda 7723, pinstripe linen, details here
Thongs: Havaianas
Location; Coode St jetty, South Perth