I've got pockets! Make a Garment a Month - August completed!

The track pants I made back in April have been in high rotation with the cold winter mornings we have been experiencing.

It was time to make another pair!

I found this useful tutorial that helped me draft a slanted pocket and then I found this great fat quarter in my stash for the pocket bags as I didn't want the extra bulk of 3 layers of fleece on my thighs.

To stop the pockets from bagging I used some cotton twill tape along the edge of the pocket when I attached them to the front pant piece.

Are we going for a walk?

Hurry up Mark!

Next time I will make the pocket bag a bit bigger, but at least now I can carry my phone and keys with me when I take Roscoe for his walk.


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2014 Stash Out: 26.75 m
2014 Stash In: 45.75 m

Activewear - Avocado Hoodie

I did it, I have sewn 5 garments this month, this is a first for me!

This is my last piece for the Mini Wardrobe competition, it is the Avocado Hoodie by Seamster Patterns.

With my other two tops being sleeveless, I thought I had better plan a layer piece and the hoodie seemed the perfect thing to make as I could play with the panels for some colour blocking.

The patterns is another downloadable one, and I know putting it together and tracing it off was one of my activities during my week at Thredbo last year :)

I traced off a Size 0 and then did the following adjustments:

*  1cm gaposis tuck for the front neckline and 1.5cm round shoulder adjustment on both back and front pattern pieces

*  1cm sway back (not sure why I didn't do the extra 0.5cm)

I again used the brown Stella Cotton Elastomeric 10% Spandex that I have used for all the other pieces as well as the fabric leftover from this top for the hood lining and side panels.

Last Saturday at my ASG meeting I started to sew this hoodie and finished it on Tuesday night.

The directions are very good, except I had some difficulty with the sleeve cuff. The cuff seam is to meet the notch on the sleeve, however if I did this my cuff/sleeve twisted, so my cuff seam is 1.5cm from the sleeve seam and placed towards the front of the sleeve.

I wanted the hood to be a bit warmer, so I added a lining, cutting out another hood in the top fabric, sewing them together and then top stitching around the edge to keep it in place. I like the pop of colour near my face.

Are we going for my walk?

Okay let's go!

I am thrilled with the way this Mini Wardrobe has come together, I don't have to subscribe to the black pants that you find in RTW!

I am also taking this piece as my official completed garment for July!

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2014 Stash Out: 24.1 m
2014 Stash In: 45.75 m

Flannelette Tofino's - Make a Garment a Month - June completed

I did it, the Tofino's are completed, yes there are two pairs.

This is the fun part of the Tofino's you can play with the panels.  I also had in my stash some pale lilac flannelette which was close enough to the pale pink in the flowers for it to work.

I didn't do any further changes to those I made originally, but realised after I had put them on that I had meant to raise the back rise for a bit more length as I find this a bit short in my owl Tofino's when sitting.


Above I have used the floral for the front and back with the plain for the side panels and tie.

This pair is the opposite, the plain for the front and back with the floral for the side panels and tie.

Now I need to get organised like Carolyn and get some tops made, I get too hot for flannelette tops however at present my older t-shirts are doing a great job until I find some knits fabrics that will work with the floral.

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2014 Stash Out: 17.5 m
2014 Stash In: 45.75 m

Make a Garment a Month - June Plans

It is rather late in the month to be making plans, however I really do need this month's garment, it has turned cold all of a sudden and my spotty pj's acquired some additional ventilation last week due to fabric failure!

Now this fabric has been in my stash for a while and I did earmark it for pj bottoms during the Pyjama party last year when I made my owl Tofino's.

I have just under a week left and I did cut them out last week, so with my ASG Sewing meeting on Saturday I think this is doable!

Cream Boat Neck t-shirt - May Garment a Month - Completed

So much for my commitment of finishing this top in May, it has been sitting on my ironing board waiting for the hems to be done for quite a few weeks.

I have previously made this top a couple of times and found that I needed a plain cream top (or two) in my wardrobe.

One thing Burda tells you do with this top is to turn and hem both necklines, then join the shoulders. Now trying to get the topstitching to line up this way has really given me a lot of grief.

This time I sewed the shoulders seams, pressed under the hem around the neck edge, hand basted it in place and then used my coverstitch to do the topstitching.

To turn the corner, you hand raise the needles, so that one of them is free and the other is just in the fabric, this lets you turn the neckline around that sharp corner (sorry I forget to take photos).

Roscoe has managed to be in all the photos, he would not leave my side as I had said the magic word to him "work" which means he comes with me to the office for the day and just loves it!!  I need to remember to tell him after my photo session!

This photos does show that I need to a FBA on this pattern and stop denying it, but it isn't as noticeable in the patterned fabrics.

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2014 Stash Out: 14.7 m
2014 Stash In: 45.75 m

Make a Garment a Month - May Plans

I have been trying to work out what to make this month, as I am attending a sewing weekend with my Rhodes ASG Group on the 2nd last weekend of the month and have quite a lot of garment ideas running around in my head.

So to make sure I do finish my garment this month, I am committing to this top.

It will be my boatneck pattern that I have used before from Burda World of Fashion, 02-2009-108 using some of the lovely cream Mercury Jersey that I have in my stash.

There is no binding on this top,so it should be fairly quick to make, fingers crossed.

Yellow Blouse - April Garment a Month - completed

Back in January Alison and I joined the ladies at the ASG Frocks Group at Bateau Bay to attend a Confident Coverstitch - Techniques and Attachments Workshop run by Baby Lock.

The workshop book is based on the Baby Lock Coverstitch models, however there were quite a few of us with the Janome Coverstitch and our teacher, Michelle was very knowledgeable about both brands of machines.

I love my Coverstitch and do use it for all my knit hems but I wanted to learn how to use it better as well as getting to understand the knit and woven binders I had purchased previously from Sharp Sewing Supplies.

As you all know I love my TNT top pattern and had purchased the 3/4" woven binder (finished width) particularly for this blouse.

It did take me a little while to get it working and I was very lucky that Alison had taken her Coverstitch to our ASG Group at The Remnant Warehouse the other Saturday and I was able to play with the binder with some scraps of fabric on her binder whilst I was sewing the blouse together.

Once I got back home, I settled down with my machine to finish the construction of the blouse as follows:

-  Sew the darts and press.

-  Sew the right shoulder seam and press (leaving the left shoulder seam open).

-  Edge stitched the blouse neckline.

-  Cut a 4cm bias strip which I then pressed in half as my binder is a A binder (raw edge) and I didn't want that sort of finish for this fabric.

-  Attached my Janome extension table.

-  Tightened the foot pressure knob to a height of 1cm.

-  Threaded the Coverstitch for a chain stitch e.g. single needle.

-  Set up my binder and fed the bias strip through and under the needle and did a few stitches.

I still had the 2 needles in at this stage.

-  Then I set up my fabric so that it fed half way up the binder, this worked best for me.

-  Sew the left shoulder seam and pressed, and then hand stitched the binding edges down at the shoulder seam as the binding ended up quite thick.

-  Put in the invisible zip in the left side seam, sewed the right side seam, put in the sleeves and did the hems.

Debbie Cook has some fantastic information about Coverstitch machines on her blog.

I have also managed to sew something that fits with the Stashbusting theme this month, COLOUR!

Note: I have managed to get a photo of the neck binding for those interested.

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2014 Stash Out: 7.6 m
2014 Stash In: 31.75 m

Make a Garment a Month - April plans

With the weather getting cooler, my wardrobe dictated that I need more tops, particularly those with sleeves, so this month I will make a lemon blouse using my TNT top pattern, Vogue 8572 (OOP).

I am also going to try using my Coverstitch Machine to do a binding on the neckline, wish me luck

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 2014 Stash Out: 6.8 m
 2014 Stash In: 31.75 m

Make a garment a month - March plans

February didn't see me commit to making a garment for myself, however I did cut out two different types of skirts and plan on making them both this month.

They are both from the same navy wool that my DS and I purchased during a visit to the Fabric Cave for the total sum of $10 for 13 metres.

The first skirt is the Marfy 0757 above, which I am making using the couture techniques provided in the Marfy sew-along.

My second skirt is my TNT Self Drafted Pencil Skirt which I am making like I have made all my other skirts.

I will be very interested to see which skirt I prefer to wear.

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2014 Stash Out: 5.2 m
2014 Stash In: 31.75 m

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

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.

December garments of the month - finsihed!

The final stitches have been completed and I now have a tweed suit that will need to find some serious outgoings to go to!!

Looks like DH should have mowed the lawn!

The benefit of both of these pieces is that they will work extremely well individually with plain tops, bottoms or jackets so I have a lot of ideas running around my head at the moment.

The skirt is my Self Drafted TNT skirt pattern, with the fabric being completely fused with Superfine interfacing to help stop it from bagging from sitting as well as lining the skirt in my normal fashion with Sun Silky lining.


Unfortunately this skirt can't be included in my SWAP plans, but that is okay as I have the perfect brown summer weight wool ready to be made into a skirt and the remainder of the silk crepe de chine that I used to quilt my jacket with for a top.

I would like to thank all of you for reading my posts this year and enjoying my journey with me and your wonderful comments that you have taken the time to share.  I look forward to seeing your sewing adventures in 2014 and wish everyone a wonderful New Year and a sewfantastic 2014.


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Stash Out:    32.65m

Stash In:      24.80m

Make a garment a month - December plans

I have decided that December is going to be my month for finishing 2 garments - my Chanel style jacket and matching skirt as they have been progressing slowly but now I want them finished.

I have used Vogue 7975 for the jacket and my self drafted TNT skirt pattern.

Here is a picture of the fabric showing the skirt which I have fused with Superfine fusible interfacing purchased from Spotlight however I can't seem to find any reference to it.  This is a very fine interfacing just enough to give a bit more structure to the skirt to help stop it from bagging from sitting.

Now to get back to more hand sewing!

November garment of the month - finished!

I did it, a bit late posting, however Vogue 8572 (OOP) has been made up using the damask fabric.

This fabric is a lot thicker than my previous versions and it shows a completely different type of fit which is interesting to me.

For this version:

• I moved the bust dart down 3cm, and I can't make up my mind if it is too much or not, and
• Piped the neckline and sleeve hems

The sleeves in this thicker fabric did cause me a lot of thought and fitting.  There is a fold of fabric at the back of my sleeve above and then when you look at the back view below, there seems to be excessive fabric all through the back and something funny is going on with the right sleeve.

Even with this being not as perfect as I would like, it is definitely wearable and will be a good staple in my wardrobe.

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Stash Out:   26.35 m

Stash In:     24.3 m

Make a Garment a Month - November Plans

All of a sudden I seem to have no blouses/tops for work so I have decided to make another version of my TNT top, which is OOP Vogue 8572 using an off white damask fabric that has been in the stash for years.

Even though this is the base pattern, my addition of fitting darts has changed the look of this pattern quite a bit as you can see here and here.

I hope to be back soon with the finished top and another completed piece from my October list.

Raglan T-Shirt

I have finished Burda 02-2013-126 the short sleeve version of the gathered sleeve t-shirt using a latte mercury jersey that was in the stash and purchased from Lincraft a few years ago.

This was supposed to be my October garment for Make a Garment a Month as promised.

This is a quick t-shirt to sew, but this is where I let myself down.  I tend to sew too far along before I try on anything and at this stage I had overlocked the sleeves in place before I tried it on.

Oh no, far too much fabric in the front and back  necklines and the gathers on the sleeves weren't even (I thought I had checked those).  I'm not certain if the neckline stretched or the fact that I didn't do my normal 1cm gaposis tuck to the front neckline.

Not sure why I put the beads on!

I am not a fan of undoing 4 thread overlocking so I decided to put the neckband on and see what the result was.

You can see above that the front of the T-shirt has gathers where I don't want them especially when there is not enough fabric across the bust!

The back neckline wasn't quite as bad, but it still needs some work.

The sleeves also grab my arms when I move them forward, not comfortable.

I am calling it a fail, as this top doesn't meet my expectations of a wearable garment e.g.outside the house.

I can see the possibilities with this top so I will give the pattern another try with more care with the gathers, some adjustments and trying it on much sooner.

On other news I managed to pick up Vogue 8904 from the Spotlight sale but now that the weather is warming up I have suddenly realised I am in dire need of summer tops so it looks like my garment for November will be a top!

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Stash Out:   25.5 m

Stash In:     22.3 m

Make A Garment a Month

You may have seen that I have in my side bar a badge for Make A Garment a Month challenge which SarahLizSewStyle is hosting to help keep us focused on sewing a little each day for ourselves.  There are a lot of wonderful fellow sewers joining up.

My garment for October will be this raglan t-shirt from BurdaStyle Magazine as I have a RTW coral one that I wore constantly last year as I really liked the style.

However, I also want October to be the month to completely finish a number of garments that I have  in various stages of completion:

• Chanel style jacket, that I started back in March during a weekend workshop in Brisbane. It is up to binding the jacket with a special gros-grain ribbon that has a groove in the centre.  Once this is done the sleeves are set in and then the buttonholes (I think I will let Mick do these once I have purchased the buttons from All Buttons Great and Small).
• Pencil skirt in the same fabric that has the darts sewn and ready for the invisible zip.
• Denim style skirt in a forest green twill that only needs a buttonhole and jeans button which I have ordered from M.Recht to arrive.

 I wonder how much I will achieve?

Now it is confession time, look what has followed me home from my last two ASG meetings at The Remnant Warehouse, the girls there are so obliging in pointing out fabric they think you will enjoy.

Silk mix (more silk than anything) with every colour in it for a jacket

Very dark brown and cream stripe knit for Vogue 8904

Looks like I have got November's garment already lined up, but first I need to purchase the pattern whilst it is on special at Spotlight!