sorrento bucket hat Archives - Handmade by Carolyn

Sunset Ocean check and Cornflower mini-check

21/10/2023 12:22 pm \ 2 Comments \ Carolyn

Hello! I made all four of these summery new things featured here during the depths of winter actually, and took a whole lot of photos whilst also wearing thick tights and boots… but obviously the vibe was strange! so here I am, the weather a little more appropriate. I was maybe a little too optimistic for warm weather at the time. Silly me.

These fabrics are both linens from Maai Design; in Sunset Ocean check and the co-ordinating blue is Cornflower mini check. With careful cutting I managed to get four items from my lengths of fabric and use up every single scrap! two tops, a hat and a skirt. I absolutely love it when I can have no leftovers.

Item 1; a Yallingup top in the Sunset Ocean check. This pattern is one of our own Carolyn & Cassie Pattern Co designs… I’m a big believer in this top, it’s truly a lovely design to wear in summer. So comfy and breezy.

Item 2; a matching skirt. This is a Burdastyle pattern, 03/2016; 101 (A-line skirt pattern). I thought this pattern would be perfect for the fabric but truthfully it really requires a slightly thicker and beefier fabric to hold up this welt pockets. It’s fine though, really; I’m very happy with this skirt and am excited to wear it! I really love how the checks look cut on the bias for the lower panels. I was lucky to find a perfect, pale blue invisible zip already in the stash.

Item 3; a blouse in the Cornflower mini-check. This is another of our own Carolyn & Cassie Pattern Co designs, with shortened sleeves due to not quite enough fabric, and a big patch pocket just for fun. Throughout I topstitched with a pink thread, also just for fun, although it barely shows up! Button also from stash.

Item 4; a hat. This is the Elbe Textiles Sorrento bucket hat, that I’ve made many many times before. I made it reversible, with the ocean sunset one side and the cornflower mini check on the other side. Now I just need bathers to match! This photo makes me smile, this is one of about 100 identical trips to and from the ocean with Theo to fill up that little watering can. He absolutely LOVES the beach and we spent hours there happily playing in the sand and wading in the shallows, Theo chortling like mad. Such a joyful day, I hope this photo helps me to remember this time.

I’m also wearing these bathers, made using my favourite vintage McCalls pattern, and my beach cover up, made using the Closet Core patterns Charlie caftan pattern.

I’ve still got more unblogged things to share soon! until then. 🙂

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: burdastyle 03/2016-101, Carolyn & Cassie Pattern Co, elbe sewing patterns, hat, Perth, skirt, sorrento bucket hat, Theo, top, yallingup

some new sewn things….

24/06/2023 10:08 am \ 9 Comments \ Carolyn

Hello! I’ve been busy; making lots of things, but not so busy posting them!

Firstly; Cassie is expecting again, so I’ve whipped up a few new maternity outfits…

Items 1 and 2;

this is the Closet Core Ebony tee combined with the Burda 7023 maternity skirt pattern. This is such a great maternity combination; I’ve made it as a set for both Cassie and Kelly in the past and it’s worked so well. This set is made with navy blue merino and a navy blue/red striped cotton jersey; both have been in the stash for at least a year. I’d bought 2m of the merino from The Fabric Store and made one single tee; I’d been planning a cardi from the remainder but never got around to it… I’d bought the striped jersey to make baby things but again not got around to it yet… Right now I’m totally over saving things for that imagined planned project but am just of the mindset to use what I’ve got, when the mood for a project strikes … it’s a much healthier mindset in my opinion! After all, I can always buy more fabric if I don’t have something appropriate, right?

Items 3 and 4;

the same pattern combo as above, in a mossy green/grey stretch stuff. I have no memory of buying this, and I’m pretty sure it’s another from Mum’s stash. I didn’t have quite enough to cut the tee full length so it’s about 10cm or so shorter than the pattern. Still looks pretty nice imo! I think the sombre colour makes it look a bit more sophisticated and smart.

Item 5;

this is a Burda pattern; 2/2015;107… I’ve made it for her once previously and she absolutely loves that dress. Thus why she requested that I make this one, using fabric from her stash. I think she bought it from Tessuti? when we were in Melbourne, and yes I know I know; I’m trying to use my own stash, why on earth am I accepting commissions from other people’s stashes, hmmm?? Madness! But she’s my daughter so of course I acquiesced. She’s pretty busy, after all!

The fabric is a very lightweight silk? I think… so lightweight I deemed it necessary to underline totally with a creamy coloured, very drapey drill, also used for that visible tie. This was from the stash, yay! It was all finished and I was pretty happy; however when she tried it on it looked way too heavy. When I’d made the first one I’d simply lined it, not underlined; and I realised this was the problem… the simple fix was to cut away the underlining from the side seams and resew the underlining side seams separately to make it a lining. Sounds kinda slapdash but it worked pretty well. The silk hangs quite nicely now! This is not really a maternity pattern but Cassie has found it works just fine in early pregnancy.

Item 6; another self-drafted tee for Arthur. This was cut from one of the last of Tim’s old tees from my T-shirt bag! Feels good to have those all gone now!

bragging about careful stripe matching ahem, particularly on those very small sleeve bands!

Item 7; a kinda silly hat for Cassie. I cut this from the scraps from hers and Theo’s matching pj pants; blogged here. The fabric is of course her own design, from her Spoonflower shop. The hat is a little funny but you know, the fabric was too nice to throw out.

The pattern is the Elbe Textiles Sorrento bucket hat; this used to be a free pattern but now has a small price on it. Which is fine, imo. Designers should be paid for the work they do! Did I ever tell you the story about the sewist who sent us multiple emails trying to not only get our patterns for themselves for free, but also to donate them as prizes for her followers? All to “support us and help promote us”? No? One for another time, maybe!

Posted in: sewing \ Tagged: arthur, burda 02/2015;107, burda 7023, Closet Core patterns, dress, Ebony, hat, maternity, skirt, sorrento bucket hat, tee, Wardrobe Refashion

a green hat

29/03/2023 3:08 pm \ 1 Comment \ Carolyn

It’s a new season! and I wanted a new hat in a new and different colour from my current collection; something more “beachy” coloured. So I whipped one up. Ka-chhhhhh!

I used the ~~free~~ Sorrento bucket hat pattern by Elbe Textiles. Actually I’d originally written that it was free, which it was when I downloaded it; however now it is not. I’ve made this pattern up multiple times before for my family, as blogged here; and this is the first one I’ve made for myself. I was actually a little inspired by the one I’d made for Sam; he wore it while we were all setting up at the wedding together. I was like, hey that hat has a pretty nice shape. I want to try it for ME!

The fabric is the last leftovers from a pair of raw silk trousers that Mum tossed out quite a long time ago now. I’d originally used those same trousers to make a knitting bag for her, as blogged here. I also used it to cut some of the pieces for this dress; blogged here. So it’s produced quite a few good things in the end! And I lined it with some of the leftover silk crepe that I had used to make Mum’s dress, worn to Cassie and Daniel’s wedding; blogged here. Such pretty stuff.

I installed a hanging loop, and stitched on one of the circa 2023 labels. Still getting a kick out of these!

Bob’s your uncle! Simple and free, which is quite a nice thing 🙂

PS; yes I made the green dress above too; blogged here

Posted in: sewing, Uncategorized \ Tagged: accessories, elbe sewing patterns, sorrento bucket hat, Wardrobe Refashion

the bumper Christmas edition

26/12/2018 3:19 pm \ 10 Comments \ Carolyn

So, every Christmas I like to make a small mountain of stuff for my loved ones; this year was a smaller mountain than previously, mostly because I embarked upon a sorta epic making-adventure of a more selfish variety, ahem … but more about that particular project in a future post! But I did still manage to make some bits and pieces for others! btw, I was too busy to take any photos on the day, woops! but I’m hoping to get some modelled shots here sometime soon 🙂

Items 1-5; it’s always difficult to think of something for the boys, something “useful”, because boys are never just about the pretty things like girls are. Also, because I actually prefer practical and useful myself too, always. I recently discovered elbe sewing patterns through instagram, and noticed that she had very kindly made a free pattern available; the Sorrento bucket hat. Freeeee! So generous! and I thought it would be fabulous for my guys who do wear hats all the time. Craig, for one, who has been wearing the same sad shabby hat for about a decade now, ahem. Yes, since I make stuff it has indeed been a point of embarrassment, hehe ;D A hat also seemed like the perfect gift for Cassie’s man D, notoriously difficult to buy/make for. He loves fishing with a passion and was apparently in need of a new fishing hat, according to Cassie. Great timing!

Tim’s hat

I had to measure everyone’s heads… awkward! but well, I guess everyone’s used to my strange stealth-measuring attacks by now! Cassie helped me out by stealth-measuring D’s head… she said she did it while he was sleeping which made me laugh to imagine that! Fortunately he says it fits him perfectly!

D’s hat…

The boys’ hats are all made from Spotlight’s cotton drill, it’s hard to find fabrics that are both masculine and interesting, but luckily Spotlight currently has these camouflage prints in a wide range of colours. SO AMAZINGLY LUCKY!!!

Craig’s hat…

I opted to interface the brims with medium weight fusible interfacing, and they are all fully lined; Cassie’s with a stiff white cotton, the drills I used for Craig’s and Tim’s both have an olive-ish cast to them so I used an olive poplin from my stash for them, and Sam’s and D’s are both more blue-ish so for them I cut up the trouser legs off an old pair of Sam’s navy blue work trousers. It was exactly the right shade of navy blue, and also a really nice weight for lining a hat.

Sam’s hat…

And I found this old label in my notions basket! the very last one! leftover from when I used to sew their names in their school uniforms! I had a little giggle putting this in, and Sam too when he saw it in there on Christmas morning.

Cassie’s hat…

I also made one for Cassie using some of the leftover fabric from her Christmas dress for this year… more on that later! Cassie’s floral linen is very lightweight compared to the cotton drill that I used for the boys’ hats, so I fully interfaced all the pieces in this one, including the lining, with medium weight fusible interfacing.

This is a free pattern so obviously you can’t complain, and I’m not! because this is a fantastic little pattern! However one thing I want to note for if I ever use this the future… the pattern specifies 30cm for fabric and 30cm for lining. Yes, this is technically correct; but personally I prefer for the brim lining of a hat to be of the same fabric as the shell, because you can see it while you’re wearing it. So if you’re cutting out all 4 brim pieces from the outer fabric, 30cm is enough, but just barely! and only if you throw all grainline specs out the window and are super vigilant about miserly pattern placement! I did make sure to cut the band pieces on grain though, I think you have to for the hat to look nice. If you want to cut the brim plus brim lining pieces all on grain then you’d need at least 40cm, or 50cm to be safe

I made all my paper pattern pieces full size, which I HIGHLY recommend; because when you are cutting out fiddly little pieces like these on the fold, and in multiples; then they rarely come out identical to each other.

Best thing; everyone seemed to love their hats! I might even get around to making one for myself one day 🙂

Items; 6-7; I was going to make hats for Tim’s fiance Kelly and for Sam’s lady L too, but when it came time for choosing prints for them, well I chickened out! There were loads of gorgeous prints in Spotlight, pretty, feminine and cute and probably lots that they’d love, but well, you know, choosing a print for another girl is quite a personal thing, and I was nervous they wouldn’t like my choice. Eventually I hit on the idea of making a reusable shopping bag for them. Yes, these are in a print too, that I chose, but a bag is definitely “safer”!

During the last year, it became illegal for supermarkets here to give out single-use shopping bags, and now everyone has to remember to take their own shopping bags for their groceries… of course there are lots of branded reusable shopping bags you can get but everyone likes a cute one to hang up in their kitchen, yes? Kelly and Tim have recently done up their kitchen and btw, it looks AMAZING!!! it’s all dramatically jarrah, black/white, stainless steel, and grey blue; and they also have a lot of indoor plants there. So I chose the above fabric for Kelly’s.

For L; well she loves baking, and she loves cute stuff, so when I saw this bright and fun doughnut print I knew instantly it was perfect for her!

I made my own pattern, based upon the measurements of the little bag holders in Coles checkout stations. My own experience is that the stitched-on-strap style of handle is a weak point in shopping bags, the first thing to go; so I designed the bags to have cut on handles, and to be reinforced with a facing. It is a bit of a fabric hog to cut it out like this, but I’m thinking it will prove to be a much stronger and robust design than separately cut and stitched on straps.

I found some pieces of stiff plastic film to line the bottoms of the bags, and for the groceries to sit on.

Item 8; Cassie specifically requested that I make a dress for her this year, and we went to Fabulous Fabrics together to look at fabrics. They had this divine pink hydrangea print in a cotton sateen, and Cassie wistfully fingered it and mentioned she would love this if it was in linen. We looked at a few other prints and she pointed out a few others, which I tucked away in my head for the future, mwahaha. But just imagine my joy when I went back in to actually buy something for her, and saw they had actually JUST got the hydrangea print in, IN LINEN! PERFECTO!

For the patten, I cut up an old favourite little tunic dress, that she had discarded a long time ago; it is a simple but very pretty little T-shirt style, with a high rounded neckline finished with bias binding, raglan sleeves folded up at the hem, and a centre back zip, and I always thought she looked gorgeous in it. The new dress did seem a tad short when I’d finished it, but otherwise I was very pleased with it. Then she tried it on on Christmas morning, and it was Super Short! Turns out 26yr old Cassie likes to wear her dresses a little longer than 18 yr old Cassie did, haha. who knew?! 😉 Anyway, fortunately I had extra fabric, even after making her matching bucket hat, so I extended it with an extra piece attached underneath the hemline. This is a technique I’ve used on several of my own dresses in the past, I do think it makes for an interesting hemline detail, even if you don’t need to add length. To make it look more like “intentional design detail” rather than “whoops, need to add length because it’s scandalously SHORT” I folded and stitched a series of tucks, and love how this looks! A hidden bonus is that this adds some weight to the hemline… and I think linen dresses can often benefit from a little extra weightiness at the bottom.

Items 9-2000, might be overshooting the mark but just roughly guess-timating there; so I also like to make something both useful and fun for my extended family members, and this usually ends up being an edible something … this year it was gingerbread pussycats! So of course we have our own three darling little fluffykins, and I hit on the bright idea of icing the gingerbread puddycats to symbolise The Girls.

I’d made huge batches so this took quite a long time, but turned out pretty cute I think! The kids were tickled pink!

My recipe is adapted from a free recipe from Taste.com, and my own lemon icing is a sort of hybrid royal icing/ regular icing. Sophie has green eyes, so I painstakingly picked out the green cachous from a multicoloured jar. I couldn’t get black food colouring! so settled for dark purple-y/blue for Sophie, and sky blue for Zoe, who is a greyish blue point with blue eyes. Zoe was by far the fiddliest pussy cat to recreate!

Mischka is a mischievous fuzzy wuzzy ginger striped pussy with amber eyes, so I tried to capture her cute and perky nature with a riotous striped icing.

It’s funny; everyone immediately said, “but what about Clara?” and there were lots of jokes as to why she was excluded from the fun but of course the real answer is perfectly simple… I don’t have a dog-shaped cookie cutter! Maybe next time, haha.

I buy these airtight thingies to give them away in, see, practical and useful are my middle names! Each one perfectly fitted 16 gingerpussies.

So, I blog very very rarely about the meals I make; but this year Craig and I decided to cater for the entire extended family lunch, which is a BIG undertaking. We ambitiously planned for a rather (for us) long and involved menu and I’m so proud of us for pulling it off that I thought I’d share … we made all the various dressings and everything!

the makings of maple carrots…

pumpkin and couscous salad…

German-style potato salad…

BBQ asparagus, zucchini and snow pea salad…

veggie rosti with smoked trout; we doubled this recipe and made one with the smoked trout and the second one with smoked salmon

peach and raspberry trifle…

and cherry and nougat semifreddo

the recipes are all from the free Coles cooking magazine that they put out every month. Fair dinkum, this is hands down my favourite source of recipes at the moment… I love it! We also had a ham that I forgot to take a picture of, and Vintage Cellars had high-end champagne going for half price so I bought a dozen of these… honesty, it all felt very special and went so well, we had such fun, and we were so chuffed everybody at our party had such a gorgeously happy day too!

So that was Christmas this year!! it felt rather epic and stressful all month leading up to it, but now it’s the morning after, and I’m feeling peaceful and relaxed with a happy post-party glow, the house is clean and back to normal; and most of all I am SO GLAD that I did go to the effort of making as lovely a day as I could for all my amazing family. It’s always SO worth it 🙂 Until next time!