Cream Blouse - January Garment of the Month completed

The Make a Garment a Month is having themes this year and for January it is a new skill, a old pattern seen anew, or a new wardrobe plan.

I am going for an old pattern seen anew, this is my trusty blouse pattern Vogue 8572 (OOP)  but this time I am seeing it in a very different light due to the reasons below.

Following on from my last version, this time I have made the following adjustments:

*  I moved the bust dart up by 1cm e.g. moved 2cm from the very original position.
*  Levelled the dart as per Vicki's comment.

I am much happier with the look.

I also said that the sleeves were giving me trouble, but after reading about Lisa's lace blouse I ended up at Handmade by Heather B and her photographic tutorial on how to do the Forward Shoulder Sleeve Adjustment that Gigi Louis had posted a tip about on Pattern Review.

I have been doing a forward shoulder adjustment for years, and have tried unsuccessfully to reshape the sleeve head but always had excess fabric in the back as well as getting the sleeves to sit nicely.

So I followed Heather's photo tutorial and changed my sleeve pattern and it now looks like this.

I knew that I had enough silk left over to either cut out a pair of my old sleeves (original pattern still intact) or bias strips to make the blouse sleeveless.

For the first time ever, my sleeves went in the first time, no excess fabric giving me grief and in silk, I am ecstatic!!

Now I need to do this adjustment to all my sleeves, I wonder if this will fix the twist I get in my knit top sleeves!

This blouse ticks a few commitments:

• is my 2nd piece for my first 3 pac for SWAP 2014.
• my completed January Make a Garment a Month
• is my IttyBit for the Stash 2014 sewalong as I used under a yard and it was leftover from my jacket.

I am also wearing my new brown wool skirt and will share more details about it soon!

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2014 Stash Out:    0.8 m

2014 Stash In:      19.25 m

Stashbusting once more!

I have signed up again for another year of Stashbusting with Emily and Cindy and made a public commitment to reduce by stash this year over at Tumbleweeds In The Wind and the 2014 badge is on my sidebar.

 I, Sharon of Petite and Sewing, commit to sew 3/4 of all projects in 2014 from Stash. Fabric purchases will be less than yardage used during the stash sewing in 2014.

The Stashbusting sew along is also having the usual monthly themes and to add a bit of interest are including a Curating Challenge each month as well.

The theme for January is Itty Bits for all those small pieces of fabric you keep around that are under a yard and I have got just the thing to make; and the Curating Challenge is to answer the following questions:

Why do I Sew
To have garments that fit me, in the colour I want and the styles that I like. It has also let me meet some wonderful sewing buddies and we meet up frequently to sew and chat. Sewing also is a great way for me to unwind after a hard day at the office.

What's on your list?
This is a bit harder for me to determine, there are so many ideas going around in my head and you all know that I am working on my 2014 SWAP and have committed to the Marfy Sewalong. The only other think I have on my list at present is to make some activewear!

Why am I Stashbusting
I have quite a bit of fabric, maybe not as much as others but a lot more than my current storage is capable of handling.

I also want to feel comfortable that I can purchase fabric that has to come home with me so the stash does need to reduce so I can find somewhere to store it!!

I hope you did notice that I haven't said I won't purchase fabric, because Sandra (Dilliander) and I went on a fabric tour the other week in search of activewear fabrics and look what followed us home!!!

Our first stop was Standardknit Fabrics, are a wholesaler but will sell to the public as long as you purchase a minimum of 5 metre lengths. Luckily Sandra and I like the same colours so we agreed to split the 5 metres.

SportsPlus Micro - Sand and Maroon

Stella Cotton Elastomeric - Navy, Pumpkin, Brown and Sand

Our next stop was Pitt Trading, mainly because Sandra had never been there and of course this wonderful navy and orange knit jumped into my hands and just had to come home with me.

From there we went to Metro Fabrics where we purchased two pieces of Supplex
 

Ink Navy

Grass Green

This little tour has had a major impact on my Stash already this year, so I had better get sewing!!

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 2014 Stash Out: 0 m
 2014 Stash In: 19.25 m

Beading

My sister has decided to give beading a go and to try and help her I went looking for a bead shop in her area, and guess what I found, Tribute to Tribal beads at My Beads.  Oh my I knew exactly what I would be dropping hints for for Christmas!

I definitely wasn't disappointed when I opened my present on Christmas morning.

We were at Mum's for Christmas and she mentioned that she had a new top but had no necklace to wear with it so of course I asked her bring it out and it worked perfectly with some of my new beads.

Last week I made up this necklace and posted it to Mum and she is thrilled with it.

Now to get organised to make myself a new necklace or two!!

Marfy 3 piece suit

I have admired Marfy patterns for a number of years, and even have 2 of their Annual catalogues as well as completing one garment but this was with the assistance of a sewing teacher being beside me as Marfy patterns have no sewing instructions.

Then late last year I found the free Marfy patterns that you can download to print at home.  I just love this suit.

You do need to register or sign in to your account to get the downloads, but that is only your email address and you never know you may want to order a pattern or two!

Then during the final days of the Little French Jacket sew along (I am still going to make mine) Leisa from A Challenging Sew posted that she was going to hold a Marfy Free patterns sew along.  This decision was made after Leisa had received a number of emails asking her to show how to make the various Marfy patterns that she had constructed during last year.  With the free Marfy patterns available the sew along makes it perfect as everyone has the same pattern to work from.

So you know what is next don't you, I am sewing along and this will very likely be my 2nd 3-pac for SWAP 2014.

Here is my fabric, navy wool which was purchased from the Fabric Cave when my sister and I visited it last year before they moved to their new location at 112 Bowden Street, Meadowbank.  The crinkle georgette silk is from Tessuti purchased last Saturday specifically for the blouse or I have some tobacco silk crepe de chine that would work for the top as well as the lining for the jacket, now that is a thought!

Is anyone else going to sew along?

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2014 Stash Out:    0 m

2014 Stash In:     19.25 m

Make a garment a month - January plans

Now the tweed suit has been completed, I need to make some tops to go with.

First up will be a top using my TNT top pattern, Vogue 8752 (OOP) and the lovely silk crepe de chine left over from the lining of the jacket.

Hopefully I will have something to show soon.

Top 5 of 2013 - Part 2

This is the 2nd half of Gillian's Top 5 for 2013, my Reflections, Inspirations and Goals.

Reflections

1.  I thought that my sewing didn’t produce as many garments this year, 22 in total (2 for DH and 1 knitted), but I’ve just noticed that my goal for 2013 was to sew at least 22 so win!  This included the 2 major projects, The Trench and Chanel Jacket and a lot of my sewing was completed in the first  4 months of the year.
2. I seem to sign up for countless sew-alongs but have only managed to complete 1 on time and the others, well I will have to settle for being late!
3.  The same goes for Craftsy classes, I have 7 classes that are a combination of free and paid for and so far I haven’t finished one, although my jeans have been basted for the past 12 months J
4. I love my sewing as it gives me another focus than my stressful job, and keeps me sane.
5. I committed to sew from my stash this year,
   
   I, Sharon of Petite and Sewing, commit to sew 3/4 of all projects in 2013 from Stash.  Fabric purchases will be less than the yardage used during the stash sewing in 2013.
   
   
   and I managed to keep to my pledge, 18 of the above garments were from my stash and a total of 32.65m went out and a scary 24.8m came in.

Inspirations

This is so hard to define, I find it in all sorts of places on the internet, the blogs I follow, Stitcher's Guild, Pattern Review and life in general.  

I know that all your comments inspire me to do better with my sewing and I thank you all for that.

Goals

1. I'm not sure if I should put this here as for the last 2 years I have said I would play with my coverstitch binders and guess what, I still haven't touched them!
2. Continue to sew from the stash and commit to sewing 3/4 of my projects from the stash and fabric purchases will be less than what I sew!  This could all go out the window if I see any burgundy/aubergine fabric!!
3. Complete at least one competition either on Stitcher's Guild or Pattern Review.
4. To spend 20 minutes a day in my sewing room, it is surprising how this time adds up!
5. I am going to conquer pants!

This next bit isn't part of Gillan's list, but I do like to see at a glance all my projects so here is the collage for 2013.

I've loved reading everyone else's Top 5 and have found some new blogs to follow.

Now back to regular sewing!

Top 5 of 2013

Happy New Year!

I was going to do my normal yearly review, but this year decided to join Gillian from Crafting a Rainbow on posting my Top 5 for 2013 that is appearing on so many other blogs.

I'm going to start with my Hits & Misses

Hits

1.  Burda 11/2008/123

My Trench Coat,  I love it and it has proved very useful, keeping that chilly wind at bay and even keeping me dry during the horrendous down pour we got caught in on 16 November.  This was a major project for me this year and I would hate to say how many hours this took but I am so glad I took my time and made a coat that will last me for many years.

2.  Vogue 7975

The Chanel Inspired Jacket, another garment I am in love with and can see it working so well in my wardrobe.  This was the 2nd major project that I took on this year and again I can't say how many hours it took as there was a long break between starting this and the finish, however the process was very enjoyable and I love the feel of this jacket on.

3.  Vogue 8815

I absolutely love this blouse and need to make some with sleeves as it gets worn constantly in summer with navy and brown but I don't like the look with a cardigan or jacket for the cooler months so sleeves are necessary.

4.  Vogue 1247


I have made 2 skirts from this pattern, the brown denim and burnt orange linen and they both get worn frequently and I love those pockets!  The navy and white spot top is also one that I reach for constantly which has surprised me as this is quite a different style of top for me.

5.  Self Drafted Skirt



All four skirts are based on my Self Drafted TNT Skirt pattern, the first is the Suede Skirt which works well for both work and evening; next is the Ribbon skirt which was a lot of fun to make and has been worn out to the Sydney Theatre a couple of times;  now my forest green denim style skirt is another skirt that gets worn a lot casually and finally my Tweed skirt that matches my Chanel inspired jacket.

Misses

Burda 02/2013/126

I have been very lucky and only really count this one as a miss and you know why!  I do plan on getting this style to work so all is not lost.