Closet Core patterns Archives - Page 4 of 4

a colourful coat

08/10/2020 5:51 pm \ 15 Comments \ Carolyn

I made this new coat-ish/dress-ish/shirt-ish sort of a thing for myself!

How beautiful is this linen?? It’s stunning, isn’t it. I’m head over heels in love with the print – gorgeously colourful, bird-strewn, with the looks of an ancient, beautiful patchwork… the colours are so painterly/flower-garden with that lovely distressed quality that appeals to my quixotic little heart that likes stuff to be rustic but also pretty too. I’d only bought a shortish length really, and it really teetered on the verge of being Too Good To Cut, I had it laid out for quite a while, trying to gathering the courage to take the scissors to it! I only managed it really because it was on my list of twelve things and having those intentions blogged sorta forces me to stick by my own self-commitments. I bought it some time last year from Fabulous Fabrics, using a voucher that was a birthday gift from some of my lovely friends.

The pattern is the Carolyn pj pattern by Closet Core patterns, yes, the one named after ME! I can’t say still how thrilled I STILL am to have a pattern named after me, it was such a huge honour, and I often think how I’d like to have more of “my” pattern in my own wardrobe too… I still wear my white Carolyn shirt quite a lot. I saw Rosie from ArtworkerProjects had made her Carolyn as a shirtdress, and this made me think I’d like to make something like that, and I’d also seen, and pinned this beautiful coat once upon a time, and the two thoughts slowly alchemistry-ed and absolved themselves into this one project in my mind, eventually…

I lengthened the body pieces, obviously, and I also lengthened the turning point of the lapel a little, so the coat buttons a little lower than it does on the pattern. The other, internal, change I made was to add a back facing… this stabilises this area, something not necessary in a shirt but that you definitely want in a coat, for sure!

Oh, I added pockets… #ofcourse

I finished all the internal raw edges with HongKong seaming… because obviously in a garment that will flap open while you’re wearing it you want the insides to be as pretty as possible! For this, I used the leftovers of the turquoise poplin, that I used for one of the masks I made for Craig’s Mum.

Now’s the moment when I indulge in a bit of zero-waste bragging, ahem #insufferable? #moi? … so; I made a long bias strip using the entirety of the turquoise leftovers and have about 15cm of it left… when this happens in a project it’s actually SO satisfying!! Also, there are only the smallest of the colourful linen print scraps leftover too… I might have enough for a doll’s mini-dress, but not much else!

For the button, and continuing on with my policy of not buying any buttons unless I Absolutely Have To; I found this purple, wool-covered button in my stash, and I love how it doesn’t really match, but at the same time it’s kind of a perfect match too.

So, if you hate obsessiveness in sewing, look away right now. I initially just used off- white thread in my bobbin for when I stitched down the front and back facings… and it looked pretty terrible. I tried to not let it bother me, but ultimately twas a lost cause… eventually I had to unpick most of it and re-do it using matching threads. So, some of the sections are in blue, some are in red, some are in off-white and some in pink. Yes, this is a weird thing to do, but I’m very satisfied with how it looks, so… yeah. I think it was worth unpicking and re-doing, from my point of view!

This is the latest, and ninth, thing in my little collection of twelve things, that I proposed I would make for myself at the beginning of the year and … regretted…? many times over?!?! ok, not so much “regretted-regretted”, because I sincerely love all the fabrics, and have sincerely loved all of the finished products too, just “regretted” as in “have struggled with” as in I just don’t have as much spare time nowadays to lavish on them as I initially thought I would. I’m NOT trying to busy-brag because I kinda loooooathe when some people go on and on about not having time for fun stuff like it’s your job or something, so I apologise for those overtones… wooo! Sorry about that.

Anyway! I’m so happy I’ve got this made! and also that I stuck with my original “coat” plan and didn’t get sidetracked into some little sundress like I was SORELY tempted to do instead, multiple times over! I really love it!

Details:

Coat; from the Closet Core patterns Carolyn pj pattern, linen from Fabulous Fabrics
White dress; Vogue 1351, white crepe from Fabulous Fabrics, details here
Sandals; ye olde favourites from Zomp boutique

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Carolyn, Closet Core patterns, coat

some noice new basics…

31/08/2020 1:37 pm \ 3 Comments \ Carolyn

I’ve had this post sitting just as a draft for weeks now and just keep adding new tees to it but I’m rapidly coming annoyed with myself that when I wear one of them I have to write “not blogged yet” in my ootd blog. So I’m hitting “post on this thing right now. I know I know, so ridiculous!

A long-term goal of mine is to have a full complement of colour range in my winter tees; so every time The Fabric Store has an online sale on their merino I tend to hop on and pick up a coupla new colours. Then that luscious new fabric just sits there in my stash for a few years. Occasionally I admire the pretty colours and dream about how wonderful it’s going to be when it’s done. Of course winter is nearly over, so it seems like the perfect time for me to finally get going! Actually, it’s not such a silly plan of attack really, because it’s right about now that I become so heartily sick of my winter wardrobe that I don’t want to wear any of it, so it’s been rather nice to have a few new things to inspire me!

First up, above: a gorgeous strawberry-milkshake pink – technically Rose pink – new Pattern Magic twist top, from the first Pattern Magic book by Tomoko Nakamichi.. I’ve made this design up several times before and have loved each and every one. I love this one too, though I kinda wish I’d made the straight-grain sleeve just a leetle bit wider because while it’s fine while I’m wearing it it’s hard to squeeze my hand through the sleeve and pop it out the other end! I had actually anticipated this and made it a few cm wider, but it’s still a wee bit snug. Wearing it here with a skirt made using Vogue 1247, and a scrap of denim given to me by a friend cleaning out her stash… details here

Secondly, a new heavily modified Nettie tee, with a collar variation that I’ve used before, and love. Yes, it might look boring but I absolutely know this is going to get worn to death! This is in the Vanilla colour way. which I think is my perfect white. I made this one with the sleeve and lower hems finished with a self-band, as per this method.. worn here with my newest skirt, my sunshine-yellow Paprika Patterns Jade skirt, details here

Thirdly, another heavily modified Nettie using this stunning burnt orange merino, actually colour Paprika from the Fabric Store…Worn here with my Sabrina mini-skirt, made with a beautiful herringbone wool tweed, inherited from my grandmother’s stash, details here

Fourthly; yet another modified Nettie, made with this Avocado merino from the Fabric Store; with a slightly wider and higher collar… to be honestly I’m not totally sold on the collar, it’s maybe a scant 1cm too high and I haven’t ruled out cutting it off and shaving off that little bit! mostly just for appearance sake, I may even be glad of the height when the weather is cold again. We shall see, we shall see… worn above with my blue Sasha trousers, also a Closet Core pattern, and blogged here.

Anyway, I really like how fresh my little collection of new basics is looking right now!

Posted in: sewing, Uncategorized \ Tagged: Closet Core patterns, daily outfit, Nettie, Pattern Magic, top

an exciting need for maternity gear!

15/08/2020 7:43 pm \ 15 Comments \ Carolyn

so, I have some very exciting news! I’m going to be a granny again! Well of course I’m already a granny to darling little Arthur, but I am going to be granny to TWO. That’s cause for celebration, I think! Especially if by celebration, I mean celebratory sewing … which is specifically the kind of celebration this blog recognises, hehe.

Cassie is quite early on in her pregnancy but is already uncomfortable and in need of maternity clothes. Kelly passed on to her one or two of the things I made for her last year, but they are different sizes and so Cassie needed some things of her own, too.

Exhibit A!

I printed out another Closet Core patterns Ebony pattern to cut out Cassie’s size… now I know it’s not technically maternity, but in my opinion this makes a really good maternity option! And there are so few! Honestly, you go and check out the maternity range around at the moment and it’s quite shocking how few there are on offer. Quite disgraceful, to be honest! There used to be lots of options back when I was sewing for my own pregnancies, but those options seem to have sadly dwindled… today’s pregnant ladies who sew for themselves have to be resourceful because there is practically nothing at all being designed specifically for the expectant figure. And even less that’s very interesting.

Anyway.

The first thing I made is the above cotton jersey floral dress for Cassie… she absolutely loves it, which is great because I was initially not a fan of the fabric she chose! However, once I’d made it and she put it on I could see she looks lovely in these fresh, bright, pretty springy colours. She wanted something that could work for just about everything, casual and comfortable for both at home and out, she can wear it to work, and even to a formal event if she wants with the appropriate shoes. Specifically, she has a friend’s wedding coming up, to which she is planning to wear this; and with her high heeled black booties I think it’s going to be lovely. Plus, it’s stretchy fabric, so it’s very comfortable too, she can curl up on the couch in it just fine. Pretty? and comfortable too?!! win win!

I used the aforementioned Ebony pattern, of course, with the set-in sleeve. The swing of the skirt is a little less than the pattern, because the fabric I had wasn’t as wide as needed.

Exhibits B! and C!

This top is another Ebony, naturally, in the tunic length and with the raglan sleeves. This spotty cotton jersey is absolutely lovely! such a pretty print. Oh, both of these fabrics, the spots, and the green, plus the previous blue/pink floral, were all from Spotlight.

please excuse the lumpy look, there’s a cushion doing baby stand-in duties in there and it’s not doing a very good job…

The skirt is Burda 7023, one I made several times previously for Kelly, so we know it’s a fantastic little pattern. Thanks again to my lovely reader Graca, who very kindly sent this to me! xx

I did the same thing I did before for Kelly’s skirts, with a self-drawstring in the front band coming out through little eyelets on the inside, so she can tie the front up tighter during these earlier days before she’s very big.

Exhibit D! and sorta E? though I’ve shown this little top here before so it shouldn’t really count actually. Cassie made the skirt herself, using the Megan Nielsen Axel skirt pattern, and a pretty embroidered and pleated organza that she bought from Megan Nielsen store too actually. It has a stretch jersey waistband, and is lined with lightweight cotton jersey too. The little top is one I made for Kelly, and is a streamlined Closet Core patterns Ebony, first blogged here. I made it using the same oatmeal-coloured, lightweight cotton jersey Cassie used for the waistband and lining of her skirt… I originally bought this gorgeous stuff at Homecraft Textiles.

I just wanted to add pictures here of two other me-made clothes that Cassie is finding very useful in her pregnancy, a sort of pregnancy-appropriate, pattern round-up, if you like. Both these dresses are getting worn a LOT.

Exhibit F: this Megan Nielsen patterns Sudley dress that I made for her in 2017, in a gorgeous spotty rayon from Spotlight, originally blogged here.

and also Exhibit G: this Burda dress also from a few years ago, made using a really beautiful, Amalfi coast printed crepe from Fabulous Fabrics, and Burda 02/2015/107, and originally blogged here. This was my Christmas present to her from 2015, so I’m thrilled she’s got so many years of great wear out of it!