Sunday 19 January 2020

Baby X-mas Sewing - The Little Girl

This is the last batch of kid's sewing I did just before x-mas.

Of course, sewing for little girls is just fun, I can play with colours, buttons and all the frills I would not put on my own clothes. It is also challenging, because my rule on kids' sewing is not to buy any new fabric and only use scraps or fabrics I bought and do not like any more for myself. (actually, one of the reasons I sew for kids is to use up the scraps and balance my stash in general). And therefore, I need to find a way how to use my "adult" fabric to make cute clothes for kids.

Also, it all goes so quickly and is so nice, so why not do some more.

This year was definitely a year of sweats and hoodies and the little girl could not be an exception. In the one and only Ottobre Kids I own, they actually had the same sweater pattern in both, boy and girl version. The girl version does not have pockets, but has a large ruffle on the bottom and little ruffles on the shoulders. When sorting my scraps, I found I had a remnant of a French terry and a cotton jersey which were ALMOST the same colour, so I used the French terry as a base and the cotton jersey for the frills and the hoodie hem. Apart from the fact that I had enough fabric to cut out the sweater and used up more scraps, I think it was really a good choice because the ruffles are less voluminous.

And to go with the sweater, I made a little dress.

The pattern is a combination of two Burda dresses. It is made from a fine cotton-silk which I tried to reinforce on the bodice part. I used the bordeaux jersey for the neckline and found buttons which were of an almost the same colour. I really like when things work out so well.

Sunday 12 January 2020

Next Decade Sewing?

Ok, I should be more realistic here, but I like having new year's resolution and trying to stick up to them, so sewing cannot be an exception and here are my sewing related ones:

1. Stash reduction
As already mentioned, I would like to decrease my stash by 10m (and get to 80m at the end of 2020).

2. New sewing skills
So far, I have been sewing all my jersey items on the standard sewing machine. I think it is high time I bought my first serger/coverlock. I have already done some research, I just have to find the right shop and go for it.
Also, I really need to get my current machine serviced, as I do not like its noise right now.

Linked to this is my resolution to start sewing my sports clothes. I do quite a lot of sports (I run 3-4 times a week + some bike riding and a weekly squash session with my BF) and find it more and more difficult to find the sports clothes in the right size (Nike did some serious vanity sizing a few years ago, so no longer really fit now). I bought a few meters of sports fabric and 4 patterns back in November so I have to get to sewing them now.

3. Follow the wishlist
I would like to stick to my "to sew" list in general even though I do not plan much for my sewing. I do not do any "Sew 9"  challenges, but I have a "to-sew" wishlist which I try to follow, at least sometimes.
What is in there right now:
  • Black winter coat (Burda)
  • Black mid-season coat (Burda)
  • Pair of jeans (Closet case)
  • Black jumpsuit (McCall's)
Not to mention that I have all patterns and fabrics already bought for these.
All other items will be added afterwards, so no pressure here.

4. Burda challenge
I was offered Burda subscription this year, so I guess I will try to follow the Burda challenge and sew at least one pattern from each issue.

I also hope to sew some kid's clothes because these are primarily fun and a great way to use up the scraps. And the parents usually like them, so unless somebody asks me to stop, I will definitely continue.

Friday 3 January 2020

2019 review - Top five misses

I am not sure that there were really a lot of negative things in my 2019 sewing. Honestly, I feel my skills are getting better, I pay more attention to fabric/pattern combination, I manage to adjust the sizes (mostly on Burda), so the real misses are becoming rare.

But I tried to pick the top 5 anyhow, just to highlight my lessons learned.

N°1: Violet structured dress - as much as I liked sewing it and as much as I like the pattern puzzle and as much as I love the fabric (viscose-linen blend in this gorgeous violet), I did not wear this dress at all. Well, I also sewed it rather late in summer, so I had less opportunity. I think it is not fitted enough and somehow does not do me much favour. But looking at the pictures, it is not so horrible. 

N°2 and N°3: jersey dresses sewn from uni cotton jersey, not blogged yet. Clearly, not a great combination, as both dresses are way too figure hugging and the fabric is way too thin (you can even see my ribs in them, so no good). Lesson learned here: do not buy uni cotton jersey, as the results are not great.

N°4: white paisley dress. This is clearly a fabric issue. I was so in love with this fabric when I bought it 5 years ago, that I had to sew something from it. But looking at the pictures, I definitely need a dark jacket with it to break up the pastiness. Worn once probably. It is a pity because I am really proud of my pattern matching here.

N°5: Black "Kate" coat - I think I seriously overfitted this coat, which in combination with a slightly stretchy cotton, makes for a few pull lines which bother me every day. They are less visible on the black fabric, so I still keep wearing this coat, but I already have a pattern/fabric combo chosen for its replacement.

It was rather difficult to find the real misses this year, as I wore successfully most of my makes.