Interview and March Garment of the Month - completed

Emily, our Stash-busting co-host asked me to share my thoughts about how I go about creating a cohesive wardrobe and you can read all about it on Emily's blog.

Now half of My Garment of the Month has been completed, it is my TNT Self Drafted pencil skirt in the navy wool that I told you about here.

Again there is not much to tell, it is made like all the others

Looks like the fabric is a magnet for Roscoe's fur!

Waistband using twill tape.

This is also a garment for the March Curating Challenge - Wardrobe Evaluation - I definitely need more work attire and this skirt fits the criteria perfectly.

Now to get back to work on the Marfy skirt, it has taken a few backward steps since last Saturday, I had to undo the hand picked zipper and pick stitching along the waist facing as the skirt is too big!!

Seeing I am still working on my SWAP garments, I am not sure if this will be part of the 3rd 3-pac as my coral top will be great with it!

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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

Coral shirring!

Over at Pattern Review there is a new contest, "New to Me Pattern Company" and thinking about it, I realised that I have a couple of Christine Jonson's patterns and thought I would make up the Shirred Top in a gorgeous coral knit that my DS gifted to me a couple of Christmas's ago.

The reviews of the pattern over at Pattern Review say it is a snug fit and seeing I was inbetween the XS and SM sizes I decided to play it safe and cut out a size SM and did the following pattern adjustments:

• shortened the lower bodice length by 4cm
• shortened the short sleeve by 2cm

This pattern is very fabric hungry as the top pieces are on the fold and you cut 2 of them each, so I changed the top back and top front pattern pieces to a single layer, as my knit is 150cm wide and this worked out a lot better.

I basted the front and back together using the 1.5cm seam allowance and tried it on however it was a bit snug so I stitched it permanently together with 6mm seam allowances essentially meaning it is a size MD.

I used my Coverstitch to stitch the neckline edges.

The rest of the pattern went together fairly quickly until I came to the sleeves which gave me a bit of grief, so this is when I did a Full Arm adjustment (Fit for Real People, page 169) of 1.5cm

and cut out another set of sleeves! They do look much better.

My top is still very snug and looks like I need to do a small FBA as well as a gasposis for the back neckline.

I really like how the ruching looks on the side seams, which surprisingly doesn't look like it adds any bulk.

This is quite a comfortable top to wear.

Still making up my mind if it will be another top for my SWAP, however at this stage I'm not 100% certain where it will fit in.

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

February Stashbusting

I did have high hopes this month, cutting out 2 skirts and also making a new top, however the skirts haven't progressed very far at all and the top, well all I have left to do is put in the sleeves and all I can say is that we are not talking to each other at the moment.

Thankfully my Marfy top was finished in February so I did manage to get one garment completed.

My other news is that a few weeks ago I received an email from Becki wanting to know my address as she had some fabrics that were orphans and they needed a new home and look what the postman delivered.

and inside packed in a Mood Designer Fabric bag was 5 pieces of gorgeous fabric:

Top to bottom:

• Liberty of London Tana Lawn
• Brown Wool that has a pattern woven into it
• Silk charmeuse animal print
• Silk cotton
• Aubergine Wool Gaberdine

as well as two of the cutest Marfy labels

This is a very generous gift and has saved me from trying to find the Aubergine wool that was on my wish list!

Now February's Curating Challenge was to find 10 of your most favourite pieces of fabric and here they are:

February 2014 Curating Challenge

Why do I love them so much!
Most of them are wonderful memories of friendship and travel, as well as being in my colour palette and fitting in with my lifestyle.  Some are fabrics I wanted to challenge myself with e.g. 3ply gortex for a jacket and there is cashmere and camel wool for coats and jacket and the bottom row is for tops and a cardigan and a denim jacket, they were all purchased with a plan and so far that plan has not changed.

Doing this has now made me realise that I need some bottom weight green in my stash, I have the rust and browns to go with the multi coloured sweater knit and fine cord on the end, but some lovely moss or deep olive could be very handy!

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2014 Stash Out: 3.2 m
2014 Stash In: 31.75 m

Off-white squares!

I have only completed one Marfy garment before so I thought it would be a good idea to make up a wearable version of Marfy 1913 in a similar fabric to the silk I purchased for this blouse.

First of all I made it up without any of my normal changes in some lining fabric that I have a lot of and soon realised I needed to lower the front neckline by 2cm as it was choking me.

The next problem was the back, I had these drag lines and I wasn't sure where they were coming from.

tried High Round adjustment but that didn't work!

Thankfully I had an ASG meeting to attend at The Remnant Warehouse and knew one of my sewing buddies would be able to help.  Wendy quickly pointed me in the right direction and I now know that for this pattern I needed to do the "Sticky Out Shoulder Blade" adjustment  (Fit for Real People, page 125 number 3) as well.

This brown Georgette with off-white squares has been in the stash for a long time, so after putting it through the gelatine mix I started to work on this top.

Over at the Marfy sew-along, Leisa had been given permission from Susan Khalje to post her wonderful tip on how to do the back slit, which is essentially a dart!

French Seams have been used for the shoulder and side seams.

For the collar I used Pro-Silk Organza from Fashion Sewing Supply for the interfacing of the collar (both upper and under) and added a self fabric rouleau for the button closure at the back.

When I attached the collar to the neckline, Leisa suggested that we machine stitch to the gathering and then hand stitch the gathering section.  I did this as my fabric was a bit stiffer (without the gelatine) than the silk and I wanted the gathers to fall softly, which I think they do.  I then pick stitched the collar in place from the right side.

To finish the armholes I cut  2.5cm bias strip of Sun Silky as Leisa explained under the Couture heading, and then pressed this in half, matching the cut edges right sides together, machine stitched this in place and then turned the bias strip to the wrong side and catch stitched it in place.

My hem length was another challenge, I added 8cm to the pattern and then cut off 6.5cm and realised the top was too short for the elastic to be used so this version has no elastic and will only be worn tucked in as it is a bit full around the hips for my comfort level.

After wearing it today, I have realised it needs a couple of extra changes e.g. lower the armhole, add the length back to try the elastic at the hem and add some extra to the armholes to cover the bra straps, but for this version I will add some strap keepers!

I am still very happy with this blouse and was surprised at how well it matched this skirt, so I think this will be my one of the two wild card for SWAP 2014.

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2014 Stash Out: 3.2m
2014 Stash In: 24.25m

First 3 Pac for SWAP 2014!

As I mentioned in my last post, my wool skirt is finished and I now have all 3 pieces for my first 3-pac for SWAP 2014; a skirt, blouse and jacket!

This is my TNT skirt pattern and the fabric is a very fine light brown wool which was gifted to me by a wonderful sewing buddy who decided it needed to go to a home where it would be used!

There is not a lot to say about this skirt, it has been made exactly how I make all my skirts -

Waist finished with twill tape and edge stitched.

Hong Kong finish on vent, mitred corner, slip stitched hem and lace on lining

and the complete 3 Pac!!

I have made a toile of Marfy 1913 blouse and will show that as soon as I wash the gelatine out of it.

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2014 Stash Out: 2.4 m
2014 Stash In:  19.25 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