Jade Archives - Handmade by Carolyn

a purple mini and a striped tee

12/04/2025 3:11 pm \ 4 Comments \ Carolyn

in the Nagano region

Hello! We recently spent nearly a month overseas in east Asia, specifically South Korea and Japan. I’ll write a bit more about our trip in a future travel wardrobe post, but for now I’ll just be focusing on the two new things I made to wear for our holiday…

First up! a new mini skirt. I find a little stretchy fabric mini skirt to be an extremely comfortable and practical garment for hiking in a winter environment… which is why I make a new one practically every year, ahem. I’ve actually promised to myself to branch out into different patterns this year but that promise was made after I’d made this, honestly. Because yes, it’s yet another old favourite that pops up here with mind-numbing regularity, the Paprika patterns Jade mini skirt pattern.

I used a bright pink jersey that had been given to me by my friend N when she cleaned out her own stash. I actually already have a pink mini skirt from last year that’s still in very good condition, so I made this new one with a view to dyeing it immediately afterwards. I’d decided upon purple, thus the decision to use a purple zip which I happened to have in my stash too. I’m pretty happy with the very good colour match after the dye-job!

btw, I don’t always put a zip in the Jade but it’s usually a good idea. Also, I always have to substantially change the shape in the fitting stage, bringing in the waist by a good 15cm or so, which necessitated a redrafting of the waistband. Over numerous iterations of this skirt, I have found it a good idea to line/interface the waistband with a non-stretch material for longevity, since otherwise it will eventually stretch out.

looks lumpy here but that’s because of the shaped waistband, which won’t sit flat nicely

I added a cotton pocket inside the skirt, this cut from an old worn out shirt of Sam’s. I’ve found some sort of pocket a useful addition to the skirt pattern previously although I haven’t used this one yet, in spite of wearing the skirt quite a lot already. As it turns out I always wore it with other garments with it that had more convenient pockets so didn’t need it. The Jade pattern is not ideal for pocket addition at all, but I’ve still tried to force one upon it a few times now. I’m confident that it will prove useful in future wears, though.

The other new garment is a T-shirt, made from a blue and white striped jersey also from N. You may recognise it from G’s T-shirt in my previous post. For mine, I used our own Carolyn & Cassie Pinjarra pattern, sizing up because the fabric doesn’t have much stretch. I actually didn’t have much opportunity to take a photo of the T-shirt on our trip because it was rarely warm enough to wear it by itself! plus for some reason taking pictures of my outfits didn’t take a lot of priority in my mind. Is this a good sign? Am I maybe getting more mature?! All pictures featuring the Tshirt are pretty ordinary quality, haha…

Anyway, both these pieces are obviously comfortable and nice to wear, and feel like really good new basics for my wardrobe.

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: Carolyn & Cassie Pattern Co, daily outfit, Jade, Paprika Patterns, pinjarra twinset, skirt, t-shirt

the Pinjarra twinset

31/07/2023 8:00 pm \ 4 Comments \ Carolyn

At last! Cassie and I are thrilled to release our latest pattern in the Carolyn & Cassie Pattern Co oeuvre… please welcome the Pinjarra twinset!

A twinset? What on earth…?! you may be thinking/asking! Well, the Pinjarra twinset is specifically, a cardigan with a long necktie/collarline, and a long sleeved T-shirt/tee/skivvy with two collar options, one a higher loose turtleneck and the other a more scooped neckline with a skinny band to finish. A little wardrobe concept that once upon a time was called a twinset! This particular set of designs is a pattern I’ve used for myself over and over and over again and wear it very frequently; so I can confidently attest to its usefulness and versatility as a really good basic.

And as a special introductory offer we are offering the new pdf pattern with a 20% discount for the first week of its debut; that is until Monday 7th August! It is currently available in our Carolyn and Cassie Pattern Co Etsy store, here.

Although I have quite a few already I made a new Pinjarra cardigan to celebrate the pattern being finished and ready to release… I bought this very beautiful pink double merino jersey from the Fabric Store in Melbourne when we went there for Harry Potter. It’s so beautiful! Incidentally I’m wearing a new skirt with it too; this is once of my favourite patterns the Paprika Patterns Jade mini skirt. I’ve made this stacks of times too. This is a cotton jersey from Le Stash, of course… 🙂 The ivory tee underneath is another early Pinjarra, made a couple of years ago.

This turtleneck neckline is one I have been making the longest and I absolutely love it for winter.

I made a set for Mum too! using a black cotton jersey and some of the blue/grey cotton jersey for the neck tie… I think the contrasting necktie is very chic! A variation that gives it a slightly different look, even a little more formal looking, perhaps?

Cassie made a striped Pinjarra cardigan, with shorter sleeves, thanks to not quite enough fabric! This looks so cool, in my opinion! She is wearing it with the grey maternity skirt I made for her recently, using Burda 7023…

And here she is wearing my yellow Pinjarra cardigan, the pink Pinjarra tee I made for her last year, and the navy blue Burda 7023 maternity skirt that I made recently too. How lovely is this combination for work? I think she looks elegant and professional 🙂

The following is a little history of the Pinjarra evolution, which may or may not be interesting at all. But this is my blog which I think has all this documented over the years anyway, so why not summarise?

As I’ve long documented here; my original go-to T-shirt pattern was a Burda pattern that didn’t fit so I fine-tuned it to better fit me (blogged about here). Then I switched to the Closet Core Nettie pattern, that was pretty good but I eventually started improving the fit of that one too, until it ended up completely different from the pattern, with absolutely zero of the original seamlines left. At some point I rediscovered my modified Burda pattern and overlaid it with my modified Nettie and it was pretty interesting to me that my modifications were nearly identical! Anyway, long and short was that I now started to think of and use this as my personal custom fit T-shirt block and it became my basis for all stretch fit bodices.

the earliest iteration of the cardigan design, 2015

My first cardigan prototype appeared back here in 2015, although that one is of course quite different from this final, far more polished design. Every time I’ve made it I’ve twiddled with the design and I now feel like it’s a really nice robust cardigan with a good construction procedure.

I got the idea to make the two of them a twinset pattern back when I made the above marigold yellow, matching two piece set, blogged here. The tee’s final neckline is a little lower that this one as I thought this one a little high. Yes; I have thought long and hard about these little things! At this point I started working on the two necklines, grading the pattern, and writing instructions. And Cassie of course did her essential digital part. Et voila! the Pinjarra twinset is now here!

The name? Well, “twinset” has always sort of suggested to me, rightly or wrongly, the kind of thing a grandmother would have worn regularly once upon a time; since actually both of my own grandmothers did. And Cassie’s grandmother lives in Pinjarra. So it felt like a good fit. And having a pattern named Pinjarra seems fair since my mother, Cassie’s other grandmother, lives in Bridgetown and we’ve already used the name Bridgetown in our Fridgetown handwarmers pattern.

But I honestly think the Pinjarra is a pretty cool design and not particularly grandmother-ly one way or the other either. More like a really a good basic that absolutely anyone could wear!

another early iteration of the cardigan….

The pattern is currently available in our etsy shop, here. Remember that 20% discount for the next week! We hope you enjoy making and wearing either or all parts of the Pinjarra twinset as much as we have!

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: cardigan, Carolyn & Cassie Pattern Co, Cassie, Jade, Mum, own design, Paprika Patterns, pinjarra twinset, skirt, top

dressing like a tomato

25/05/2023 2:23 pm \ 6 Comments \ Carolyn

Hello!

So, I’ve alluded to this ongoing project previously; the mission to “use up a rather large length of tomato-red jersey” I am pleased and just a ~~little~~ lot relieved to report a successful completion of the mission, ahem…

I originally bought this “remnant” from a Morrison seconds sale… it was very cheap… when I had the chance to check it out properly I realised it was at least 6m in length, possibly more if I’m honest. Phew! Just a few weeks ago I dedicated myself to remove this from Le Stash.

Item 1; a dress for Cassie… this is the Ebony pattern by Closet Core patterns. I don’t have any pictures of her wearing it, but it skims her knees and the sleeves are elbow length. This will be a great little dress for winter for her; worn with tights and boots, over a turtleneck, and with her denim jacket, it looks super cute!

Item 2; a little T-shirt for Theo (previously posted)

yes, he looks cute

Items 3,4 and 5; a little T-shirt for Arthur, plus the sleeves for two more (previously posted)

here he is on Mothers Day. Cassie is wearing this dress I made last year, and Tim is wearing a hoodie I made for him yeeeeears ago. I’m thrilled he still loves it so much! Also, yes, the dress is still mine but I’ve lent it to Cassie for a little while because she wanted some more work-appropriate dresses and I don’t have the time to make new ones for her just yet!

Item 6;

a cardigan for myself… I’m in the midst of planning to make a pattern for this design this year. I’ve made multiples for myself and it’s such a useful little thing to have!

wearing it during me-made May

Item 7:

a little top for myself. This is our most recent pattern the Booragoon top, available in our etsy store here #shamelessplug

Item 8;

a little winter skirt for myself. This is the Paprika patterns Jade pattern; one I make up usually once a year. Well, I really like it! Again, pictured during me-made May…

there’s even a failed Item 9! I cut out a skirt for Cassie too, but as I was pinning it together for its first seam I noticed a fault, a few holes right across a line of the grain. By this time I was well and truly over the tomato fabric so it was with some joy that it got tossed into the bin. No regrets!

So wow, yes that’s still a lot of tomato!!

I may or may not wear all three of my own tomato items together like this; on the one hand I really love this colour. On the other hand…. well actually there is no other hand really. I love the colour, so I most like will! btw, not pictured; but the three items I made for myself each has a “circa 2023” label on it.

Now; to be honest, there is a problem with all of these new makes, well more accurately there is a problem with the fabric… I realised that it was cheap and plentiful for a reason. The fabric is super stretchy, as in it’s stretching out quite fast and it’s clearly not going to last very long. Like, probably not longer than this year. Beware a bargain! You can see in my miniskirt how the folds do not look super stable and a little stretched out already. Oh well, just gong to enjoy it while I can 🙂

Posted in: sewing, Uncategorized \ Tagged: arthur, Booragoon top, cardigan, Carolyn & Cassie Pattern Co, Closet Core patterns, dress, Ebony, Jade, own design, Paprika Patterns, skirt, Theo, top

a punnet of raspberries

29/05/2022 3:16 pm \ 3 Comments \ Carolyn

I recently made a whole bunch of raspberry things … three, to be precise. One of the large pieces of fabric that Mum tossed my way when she cleared out her stash was a length of raspberry stretchy stuff. three and a half metres!! I have vague memories of the particular pattern she had planned to make with this and I’m almost certain that she bought way too much, but anyway that’s a moot point. I was even with her when she bought it in Fabulous Fabrics, and remember it quite well. Mum has always been in the habit of buying too much “just in case”. Not something I’ve ever been guilty myself, of course, ahem!!

Anyway, I set to and used it all up; and usefully, I think!

Item one, a pair of leggings. I was planning to make tights, but realised the fabric didn’t really have enough stretch to be successful as tights. Even leggings is pushing it a bit, to be honest! but I love the colour and was determined to make it work. Pretty simple, and just using my self-drafted pattern, just with the feet lopped off. This picture is pretty bad, sorry, the light was not good at the time. If I get enthusiastic, I’ll take another photo in better lighting conditions. We’ll see!

Item two; a little cardigan with a built-in scarf that is an extension of the collar. I’ve made a few of these in my time; three actually and none the same. Al utilised slightly different construction techniques, and this latest, version four was yet another. I made a slight boo-boo when I attached the bottom band to the inside of the cardigan, and then slip-stitched it closed on the outside, but it’s only something you’d notice if you looked really closely. I think my hand-stitching is pretty neat nowadays, if I say so myself!

still love these labels… I’m going to need to buy more!

I really love this cardigan and already know I’m going to wear it a tonne.

Item three; a little mini skirt for winter. This is an old favourite pattern; the Paprika pattern Jade skirt. I think I make one of these every year?! This one has no zip at the back, and this time I fitted it quite carefully to myself first, removing a good two inches of width at the waistband from each side. This means I have to squeeze into it head first, but that’s ok!

I have decided a pocket is absolutely necessary for my life nowadays too… really it doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to be there! and only big enough for my phone and a credit card. Because I had the Claremont pattern out already to make my yellow shopping tote, I just used the phone pocket piece from that, and attached it to the waistband inside. I know this sounds like a weird way to put a pocket in but actually it is surprisingly unobtrusive and I wore it with my phone it in all day, quite comfortably.

Very very happy with how this turned out! and I am sure this too will get worn to death this winter!

I’m also very happy with how much this has taken off my #use30 challenge! three and a half metres brings up my total to 27.5m! I only have 2.5m to go, and I already have enough things halfway done already that is going to be knocked off in no time!

HURRAYYYYYYYY!!!!!

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: cardigan, daily outfit, Jade, own design, Paprika Patterns, skirt, tights/leggings, use30

golden yellow Jade skirt

11/08/2020 12:34 pm \ 3 Comments \ Carolyn

… sooo, while I was knitting up my new blue-flecked jumper I was all the time envisioning it worn with a brightly little coloured little skirt. Only problem was that I currently did not have such a thing in my wardrobe.

Ta da!! Problem solved.

I got out one of my favourite little winter skirt patterns, the Paprika patterns Jade skirt, and bought a length of cotton jersey from Spotlight in the most perfect shade of bright golden yellow. I’m having a bit of a thing for this colour at the moment actually, since I also bought a few new cushions for our couch in this exact same colour too, and turfed out a few of the old, drab, neutral ones. I’m in the mood for BRIGHT! and FUN! and CHEERFUL! I think my new skirt hits the spot beautifully!

This is my fourth time making up this little pattern, I love it so much. This time, I added a gold coloured jeans zip to the centre back seam… it was a pity I couldn’t find one with a gold coloured tape too but you know, options are severely limited here in Perth. NYC we are not!

I’ve always thought the only downside to this otherwise perfect pattern was the lack of pockets, and to be fair it’s damn near impossible to add them “nicely”. I took a punt with this skirt and stitched some patch pockets onto the back. I’m pretty sure they’re going to bag out and look terrible very quickly, especially if I actually use them?! lol, but I figure that when that happens I’ll just take them off. Maybe I’ll substitute pockets made of more sturdy fabric, we’ll see. Actually, to be honest, this cotton jersey, while it is indeed the most perfect colour! is none too stable full stop, and so I’m not sure how long the skirt’s going to last. In retrospect I should have used a different lining fabric, so it’s my fault. I’m hoping it will be good for at least this winter and spring, and I’ll be on the lookout for better fabric to make up another!

Details:

Jumper; the raglan sparkle sweater pattern by Krysten Ritter via We Are Knitters, in 100% merino superwash, details here
Skirt; the Paprika patterns Jade skirt pattern, cotton jersey from Spotlight
Tights; my own design, made in black stretch poly, details here
Boots; Roberto del Carlo, from Zomp boutique
Striped sweater below; my own design, made using a yarn advent calendar by Dingo Dyeworks, details here

this is how I wore it yesterday… I’m pretty happy it looks really nice with my striped jumper too!

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: daily outfit, Jade, Paprika Patterns, pockets, skirt

chilli-red paprika jade skirt

14/06/2017 12:13 pm \ 14 Comments \ Carolyn

Oh hello, fellow needle-wielders!

Recently I decided I wanted, nay needed, a new colourful Jade mini-skirt; since my purple one was tragically taken too soon… *a minute’s silence, please*

…

Well, ta da!

I’d gone back to Knitwit in search of the same purple knit… why the same colour? perhaps because I’m a boring unoriginal creature of habit? but unfortunately they had sold out of the purple. So I chose this chilli-red instead. Rather nice, hmmm?

Every time I try to take any pictures in the full-on blasting sun, I regret it… however this does show off the lovely vibrant fiery-ness of this intense red rather well

For the lining, I cutup an old black Tshirt, one of Sam’s toss-outs, it’s quite a nice, sturdy, not-very stretchy and robust 100% cotton black knit, so should work really well as a lining. . I’d given some thought into the lining this time, since the tragedy of too-much stretchiness of the purple one… that was a 100% polyester whereas my other stretch mini skirt, my self-lined charcoal one is a cotton jersey, quite stiffish with only a one-way stretch and that is holding up very nicely. The black Tshirt fabric I used for this is very like that…

obligatory lining picture is pretty boring, sorry

With this version, I fitted and reinforced the waistband with stretch interfacing so it is quite firm and minimally flexible…

… AND put in an exposed black/brass jeans zip into this skirt.. I’m hoping these two factors will help keep that waistband firm and strong, so it suffers minimal stretching out and extend the life of the skirt… Just for looksie’s alone, I just love the brassy glint of the zip, I think it looks really cool.

Going from my past jade skirt AND my past red skirt experiences, I KNOW I’m going to wear this a metric tonne. Can’t wait to mix and match this one to bits!

Details:

Skirt; Paprika patterns Jade skirt, red silk/linen knit from KnitWit
Top; the twist top from Pattern Magic, in ivory ponte also from KnitWit, details here
Tights; my own design, black polyester stretch from Spotlight, details here and my tutorial on how to make your own custom tights pattern here
Boots; made by me and my own design, all details here

location; the bush in south western Western Australia

SaveSave

Posted in: sewing, Uncategorized \ Tagged: daily outfit, Jade, Paprika Patterns, skirt

purple-y Jade mini skirt, 6 different ways

26/05/2017 10:08 am \ 28 Comments \ Carolyn

During another of my sometimes brutal wardrobe clean outs, I parted ways with this little purple skirt… I have to admit it was a little gut-wrenching to get rid of this one because it had only been in existence for one sad little winter, albeit a glorious one, since I wore it at least once every week! Aah! little purple mini skirt, the light that burns twice as bright burns but half as long… and your light has burned so very very bright… *

I made it in a purple wool/silk knit from KnitWit, using the Paprika patterns Jade skirt… and it was such a devastatingly useful, mix-and-match-tastic item of clothing! actually as all sludgy coloured little mini skirts are. Sadly, the knit, while a gorgeous colour, of a lovely weighty thickness and with a magnificent “quality” feel and texture to it, didn’t have a huge amount of recovery… and I’d used a VERY stretchy black poly for lining it, some leftovers from my tights! if I recall correctly! Definitely not sturdy enough to give the purple knit the backbone it needed, so the whole thing got floppy quite quickly. Toward the end of winter I actually worried a bit that it would at some point slide slowly and gracefully south down my smooth, black-tights clad legs to my ankles and become a rather gorgeous purple hobble…. haha wouldn’t that be glamorous/fabulous/amusing… NOT.

Anyway, because it’s been that good I thought I’d give it a little farewell party… the fact that I only wore it for one winter and still found six outfits where it is paired with almost totally different items of clothing in each one is testament to its versatility! Also, since these were all taken during my Year of Handmade; you know, that year in which I wore ONLY clothing and shoes made by myself, ahem…I made every single blinking thing I am wearing in each of these photos, which is why the black boots appear in so many outfits, sorry…

Links to all construction posts provided 🙂

Below: at left; with its matching top, charcoal gloves, black tights, black boots
At right; with ivory top, blue cardigan, navy cardigan, purple scarf, charcoal gloves, navy tights, black boots

Below, at left: with charcoal twist top, raspberry tights, black boots;
At right; with pink jumper, green scarf, lime green hand warmers, black tights, black boots

Below at left: with ivory top, grey coat, raspberry scarf, black tights, black boots
at right: with coffee Tshirt, striped jumper, black tights, black oxford shoes

Ok, so it’s awff to the sewing room… because clearly I need a new one …

* Blade Runner, after Lao Tzu

Posted in: fashion, Uncategorized \ Tagged: 6 different ways, Jade, Paprika Patterns, Sienna, skirt

purple-y jade

23/05/2016 4:18 pm \ 21 Comments \ Carolyn

Remember my little charcoal Jade skirt? and how I mentioned I ~~needed~~ wanted it in a heap more colours? well, to cut to the chase, ta-da!

Pattern; the Jade skirt by Paprika Patterns. Now I’ve always said Vogue 1247 is my favourite pattern for a little winter skirt… well. It’s early days and I can’t say this pattern has usurped that princely position just yet, but it’s peeping over Vogue 1247’s shoulder, and sneaking its hand quietly up to the crown. It doesn’t have pockets, true; but it’s fun and cute and different from just about everything else out there, and for stretchy knits I reckon it comes pretty close to the perfect little winter skirt.

below; the lining perfectly matches my tights for some reason, oh yeah, because it’s cut from the leftovers
Fabric; a silk/cotton knit from KnitWit in a rich bordeaux purple, and lined with black stretch polyester, the same stuff I make all my tights from. It appears slightly browny-rusty coloured in these pictures but trust me, it’s really rich wine/purple. I initially honed in on this exact fabric in a very nice, mossy swampy green, then thought a bit more about the skirts I already have and the colour of tops I have… see, trying to plan a bit more, be more, what’s the buzzword of the moment? o yeah… intentional about this and not so spontaneous and frivolous and crazy impulsive. Sensible, even! So this is a very handy colour, new to my wardrobe but still toning in very nicely with tonnes of things in there quite beautifully, and I’m trying to push away naughty thoughts of zooming straight back over to KnitWit and snapping up some of that nice moss-green anyway. Still thinking about it, but trying not too. Semi successfully. I’m giving myself a month, and if I’m still dreaming about that mossy green, then I’m giving in; but in the meantime I’m going to be strong and RESIST.

Because there were faults in the fabric, the lady in KnitWit kindly gave me a little extra, so I still have enough left of this purply knit for a top of some kind, though probably with contrasting sleeves… so am giving some thought to black pleather, or even olive suedette or something like that.

In the meantime I have a zillion other things on my list too; gotta get cracking. Just too many ideas, and not enough time!

Details:

Skirt; Paprika Patterns Jade skirt, in reddish purple cotton/silk knit
Top; the twist top from Pattern Magic 1 by Tomoko Nakamichi, in bottle green ponte, details here
Bodysuit (under); Closet Case patterns Nettie; in paprika stretch polyester, details here
Tights; own design, black stretch polyester, details here, and my tutorial for making your own tights pattern here
Shoes; made by me, details here