Friday 25 May 2012

Finished Project - Colour Block T-Shirt



This was my second Salme Sewing Patterns project - this time the 'Colour Block T'. It's a lovely pattern to make up, again I really took my time with it so it took me a while but I definitely think the more experienced seamstress could knock one of these out in an hour or two. I loved the colour combination pictured on the pattern so much I couldn't see past it and just went with it! This project included a number of firsts for me, one of which being the first time I made my own bias tape. For some reason I have always been really put off by the thought of this as it seemed like a long process for something so small but I really enjoyed it and am proud of the finished result. Look at that neat neckline! I used my bias tape making tool which you feed the strips through and press but I'd definitely give other widths a go freehand.


Again the fabric was just cheap from Walthamstow market (I want to wait until I'm more confident in my sewing skills before I start hacking up more expensive beauties!). I'm not sure what it is but it is lovely and lightweight and has a beautiful drape. It is however pretty slippy to sew with, which made me very nervous as this was another first for me! I had my spray starch all ready but I was also apprehensive about using that as I didn't want to ruin the fabric somehow. So I gave some of the straight seams a go first without the spray starch and found that it actually went together ok! I made sure to use a lot of pins and take it nice a slow and had no major silky fabric mishaps. This project has definitely given me the confidence to work with hard to handle fabrics in future.


Although the Salme Patterns Peplum Skirt fits really well for some strange reason this top came out pretty HUGE! I can probably turn it into something wearable by taking in the side seams to make it less tent like but as you can see from the picture above it's even big on the shoulders! I know the style of the top is meant to be loose fitting, and I was actually concerned about it being too snug as I cut a UK8 when I can vary from an 8-10, but I think if I make this again I should definitely at least go down a size.


The only area I veered from the pattern instructions on was this insertion of the sleeve. This is another part of construction that makes me very nervous! The instructions called for gathering around the top of the sleeve but at the same time to this I'd started another project which called for a lot of gathering and I was pretty fed up of it! Instead I pinned in a few small pleats and this worked out quite well. I did manage to stitch through part of the sleeve I shouldn't have on one side but I rectified it and it all worked out ok in the end! I'm not sure that I feel more confident about setting in sleeves though...


The part I was most pleased with were my seams! I discussed on my last project how I was having trouble deciding how to finish my seams and on this I made my first attempt at french seams. Let's just say I LOVE THEM! They create such a neat and lovely and strong finish. You can see an example of the seam joining the two colours above.


The only area with messy seams is now the armhole...I'm not sure whether french seams are impossible on this area or if my brain was just too fried to figure it out but I just stitched them together with a bog standard straight seam in the end! I've asked my wonderful Nan about her recommendations for seam finishing and she said her machine only did straight stitch so she used to blanket stitch along her seams for an added bit of strength! I love a bit of therapeutic hand sewing but on a whole dress that must take some time! I may instead try machine zig zagging along the edges but think this may look a little messy. Does anyone have any tips for neat and strong seam finishing without an overlocker/serger?


One more little pic of my neat hem (no bumping and twisting there for a change!) and my lovely french seam. Overall I'm glad I used some cheap fabric as the fit is so bad but I'm still very happy with the finishing and experience I gained from making it. I really like the style and feel of this top so would love to make it again but am not feeling particularly inspired by any fabric choices I could use. Maybe when I come back to it I'll see it with new eyes!

Sunday 20 May 2012

Finished Project: Peplum Skirt


Out of all the sewing I managed to get through during my week off this is the project I am most pleased with. I made this using Salme patterns Peplum Skirt pattern. I was so excited to find this lovely little independent pattern company earlier in the year. Their patterns are simple and classic encouraging the use of well chosen fabrics and at the same time their simplicity gives you room for a lot of playing around with the shape and style, adding your own details.

I chose this particular pattern because I thought it was given a classy twist with the unique style of peplum. As the peplum sits fairly flat to the body I thought this would be more wearable on a day to day basis than some skirts and dresses I'd seen on the high street with voluminous peplums at the hip which might look fantastic for a night out but not so practical for wrapping up in a raincoat!


As I'm a fairly novice seamstress I decided to just stick with the pattern exactly as provided and to use some fairly inexpensive fabric I'd purchased on a shopping spree to Walthamstow market. I'm not sure what it's made from but I'm guessing a polyester imitation of wool. It has a lovely flecked weave which gives a really nice depth to the fabric up close.


I am so pleased with the neat finish I achieved on this skirt. I made sure I really took my time over each part as I have a tendency to get impatient and rush things and the effort has really paid off. I'm pretty happy with the fit of the skirt. I often find my bought skirts tend to swivel round during the day or tops come untucked but the waist on this so far seems just right. I think it could perhaps be slightly more fitted over the hips so the peplums appear slightly more filled out but that's just a small thing to think about next time that could perhaps be combated by using a stiffer fabric which would hold a shape.



This was my first time putting in a zip and I was very apprehensive about it! However I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. The top was very neat and I managed to get the stitching even all down the sides. There is a bit of a bump at the bottom which I couldn't get rid of no matter how much fiddling with it I did. I think maybe I should have stitched from bottom to top rather than top to bottom but I wanted the stitching at the bottom to look nice and neat. It doesn't look so bad when on anyway.


I think part of this problem stemmed from the added complication that I was trying to insert the zip into both the main skirt and peplum layers plus keep the bottom edges of these peplum layers level at the centre seam. I did at least manage to achieve this! I was also happy with my mitred corners (which were explained beautifully in the pattern instructions) and the neat finish of the edges of my peplums at the front as you can see below. It's so nice to feel myself improving or finding certain things easier the more I sew even such as sewing in a straight line and keeping an even distance from the fabric edge!


I'm still playing around with my ideal method of finishing seams as I do not have an overlocker/serger. On this skirt I folded each seam edge under and stitched down the fold to hold in place. This did achieve a neat edge but as you can see from the picture below, because of the narrow width of the seams, made them all go a bit wiggly so I might not try this method in future. I'd like to try binding the seam edges with bias tape but that just seams like such a long winded process when I just want to get the skirt together; I'll definitely try it on a special project though.


However you can also see from the picture above some things which I am really happy with! Firstly my darts which I think I managed to get just right when it came to smoothing out the stitching at the point to create a nice smooth shape on the outside. Secondly my 'stitching in the ditch' along the join of the waistband to skirt I was really chuffed about, you can't even see it close up! I think this is where all my hand sewing (like cross stitching) came in really handy.


Overall I'd probably say I'm 80% happy with this skirt, which for my first skirt isn't bad going! I'd love to make this again perhaps in a colour bold print cotton twill for summer?

Football Related Post - Sorry (But there is some sewing involved!)

I just couldn't resist...
Pic: Getty via metro.co.uk

Pic: via the Northern Echo

Just look at the joy in that face

Pic: from @RightToPlay_UK on twitter
But to make it a little bit more sewing orientated here's a cushion I made for my sister before I started blogging.



The Chelsea logo is cross-stitched and measures about 10" x 10" and took a LONG time! But I love the therapeutic nature of stitching in front of the telly and how neat and accurate cross stitch turns out so it was one of my favourite projects.


I made it into a very simple cushion cover by creating a frame for the cross stitch from some soft blue felted fabric using mitred corners. I then created a back out of the same blue fabric in the same size as the frame and stitched it all together. I just made the opening at the back overlap by quite an amount rather than fussing about with any kind of fastening. I decided to keep it very simple as I thought the cross stitch was enough of a feature on it's own!


Blogging about this has made me want to get started on another big cross stitch project!

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Banksy Does Sewing

I stole this little story from Pincushion Treats but I just had to share it! A new Banksy has popped up in Wood Green, London...

Source: http://www.bowesandbounds.org/forum/topics/new-banksy-artwork-in-wood-green-high-road

Appropriate for my life right now in so many ways! Set to become one his most recognised I think, along with the maid in Chalk Farm and the child with the red heart balloon on the South Bank.  Isn't it great?!

P.S. Take a closer look. The bunting's real!