Spring Sewing Plans & Fabrics

I really wanted to title this post "March Sewing Plans & Fabrics" but I suspect I'd be over committing myself a little! I thought I'd share which patterns I'm planning to make over the next couple of months and the fabrics I've chosen for them. Hopefully writing it all down here will make me a little more accountable to use up these pieces of stash rather than being distracted by the new and shiny. Who am I kidding?

Starting at the top of the heap... 

Juliet's 1st Birthday Dress - Geranium

My little baby is one in just over a week - how did this even happen?? I made the Geranium Dress from Made by Rae back in December for Juliet, it's such a perfect basic little girl's dress, well worth the investment. I find with baby sewing it's the fabric that does the talking and the simplicity of this pattern means that those gorgeous prints can be shown off.

The above fabric is by Lewis and Irene and I picked it up in my local fabric shop recently. I'm planning on using the white base for the bodice and the blue for the skirt. I'm going to sew View A and add the ruffle sleeve, once I've made it up I think I'll pop to the local market and see if I can find some cute trims to add. I'm thinking maybe some tulle underneath and a little ric rac around the bottom, is it even possible to be OTT with a first birthday dress? Of course not!

Spring Carolyn Pajamas - Closet Case Files 

How beautiful is this cotton?! I picked it up on a trip to Harrogate last summer with my Mum. I've already made a pair of Carolyn Pajamas and the pattern is just amazing. For my second pair I'm thinking short sleeves but long legs. I can't wait to wake up on brighter mornings in these!

Floral Tulip Skirt - Sew Over It

I made the majority of this skirt back in September! It's been languishing at the bottom of my sewing basket since then, waiting to be finished. I am a terrible procrastinator when it comes to finishing, especially if it involves hand sewing. All I need to do is slip stitch the waistband down and it's ready to wear, so a quiet evening in front of the TV should sort that one out. The fabric is a gorgeous stretch cotton which again came from my local market last year. Pattern is the lovely Tulip Skirt from Sew Over It.

Pink Heather Dress - Sew Over It

This pattern joined my collection when I joined the Sew Over It PDF club. The fabric is a lightweight sweatshirting from my stash which came from Abkhan in Preston some time ago. I no longer buy from the remnant bins in Abakhan, despite their amazing potential for bargains I've had my fingers burned too many times with poor quality, strange marks and misprints. I know that this is the risk you take but I'd rather invest a little more if I'm putting the effort in to sew a whole piece of clothing.

I'm a little nervous about the fabric choice but I guess I have nothing to lose given that it's from deep stash. I've folded it back a little in the first photo to show you the reverse side, it's loop backed and a very pretty colour so fingers crossed it should work out.

Upcycling - Grandma's Nightie

This last entry is unusual for me. Upcycling is something I have never tried but my Mum passed on this beautiful nightie of my Grandma's recently and suggested that I made it into something for Juliet. I love the baby blue and the scalloped hem would be stunning on a baby dress. I think whilst I have the Geranium pattern out I'll have a fiddle and see what I can come up with.

What are you sewing this spring? Let me know in the comments - I'd love to hear from you!

Hopefully I'll be reporting back soon with some finished sews.

Until next time :-)

Sewn : Moneta

If you're a sewist and you've opened any of your social media accounts recently, you can't have missed the Moneta Party that's taking place this weekend.

If you haven't heard about it - it's an Instagram party running from February 24th - 26th, organised by Elle from Sew Positivity, Rachel from Rach Against The Sewing Machine and Abigail from Sew Abigail. You can read all about it over on the Colette Patterns blog. Basically, all you need to do is sew your Moneta dress, snap a pic and tag it on instragram with #monetaparty to join in the fun and with the chance of winning some amazing prizes.

Now I don't usually allow myself to get swept away by these sorts of bandwagons but this time I just had to succumb. I've had my eye on the pattern for a little while as I tried on this cute jersey dress in Cath Kidston in December (allbeit with 3/4 sleeves), however for the best part of £50 even in the sale I couldn't bring myself to buy what was essentially a t-shirt with a gathered skirt. I'm sorry Cath, I love you but not that much. I've had major issues with the quality of Cath Kidston clothing in the past so I walked away.

I'm not usually a speedy sewer but I am a deadline motivated person (i.e. last minute suits me just fine) so on Tuesday I printed the pattern and headed for my local fabric shop. Despite buying 2.5m of fabric I managed to squeeze my dress out of just 1.25m, partially helped by omitting the pockets, I don't really need them on a jersey dress.

It only took a couple of evenings work to pull together the dress. I sewed most of it on the overlocker, with the exception of the hems and gathered elastic waist. This was my first time using clear elastic (I got mine here at Guthrie & Ghani, it came really quickly too, thanks guys!) and I'm really pleased with the result, so much lighter than ordinary elastic and it creates a great structure, just like you'd find in a RTW garment. 

I finished the hems with just one row of stitching, (so overlock, turn, press and hem) as I can't use the twin needling function on my machine just now as my spool pin is sadly broken. I did topstitch a second row of stitching around the neckline to give the effect, but how I could love a coverstitcher!

I'm really pleased with my finished dress and will certainly be making more variations. I adore sewing and wearing jersey so this pattern is a perfect wardrobe staple. It could be dressed up for the office or just for a comfy day doing my Mum duties.

You'll find me as JennyStitches over on instagram - hop on over and take a look at all the amazing competition entries!

Until next time :-)

Sewn : Vintie Overalls

I'm quite a selfish seamstress, but recently I have sewn a couple of little pieces for Juliet, after all I'm so grateful to have a little girl again, I'm making the most of her whilst I can!

Juliet is now 11 months old and a speedy little crawler. As much as I adore a sweet little baby dress and tights they tend to hold up her crawl pace, or make her slip and slide on our wooden floors. Also pale coloured tights tend to get quite grubby as she scoots around.

For this reason I decided to make her a pair of little dungarees. I came across this gorgeous fine needle cord on our local market stall a few weeks ago but hesitated as I didn't really need to buy it. The next time I visited I decided to go for it as I often walk away from purchases and regret it later, luckily for me there was 0.8m left and just enough to squeeze this little project out of it. There's a little bit of growing room but they are comfortable enough for her to wear right away. 

The dungarees came together quickly enough but my sewing time has been limited in the last few weeks. Jack has recently celebrated his 5th birthday so we have been busy with visitors, presents and commitments as a result. I've mostly been baking birthday cake in my spare time, or so it feels! I'm hoping to get back to my machine once half term is out of the way and getting going with a few makes for spring. 

Pattern details : Vintie Overalls by Tadah Patterns

Size sewn : 1

Fabric : Needlecord from Barrow market hall (I'm unsure of the manufacturer, sorry!)

Until next time :-)

Sewn : The Brooklyn Hoodie

Well hello there! A little while has passed since my last post, I've been living my life in a blur of nappies, housework, gardening and getting myself back on track with a few things. Hopefully I'll post a life update shortly but for now lets have a finished sew!

I've had these photos sat on my hard drive for around a month now, and the hoodie was finished probably a month before that. The reason why I've been reluctant? I felt enormous. I'm just being honest here, I chose to make a nice cosy hoodie as my first post baby sewing project as it wouldn't need to be fitted, so I could get back to my machine as quickly as possible. Also, who doesn't love a comfy slouchy hoodie?!

However, when I had finished I asked my husband to take a few photos and promptly burst into tears.  I'm not being hard on myself, just a 6 week post partum body is a pretty scary place, it's probably not a bright idea to have photos taken.

Fast forward another month to when these were taken and I was feeling much more myself, I've been back to exercising and clean eating and settling back down to my pre baby figure. There's another post in that one I am sure! It turns out that if you spend 9 months eating all the Reese's peanut butter cups you end up with some erm, excess timber. Who knew?

Anyhow, onto the hoodie! The pattern is the Brooklyn Hoodie by Skinny Bitch Curvy Chick patterns. I made the medium size, in this gorgeous light weight sweatshirting from Backstitch. (You can find it here if you'd like some of your own). There's a great series of sew a long posts on the SBCC blog too which are really helpful.

Sourcing notions was a bit tricky for this one. I live in a small town on a Cumbrian peninsular and our shopping options are fairly limited. We have one or two sewing shops in town and a couple of haberdashers on the market but it can be difficult to get bits and pieces, though I try to shop as locally as possible it can be frustrating.

I love it! I've now lost a bit more weight than these photos show and it's probably on the too big side but it's still lovely to snuggle up in when an extra layer is needed. I really wanted to get it finished in time for James completing the Fred Whitton Challenge back in May, which I did! Cycling is a big thing for the boys in our house.

I'm modelling here with scruffy post workout hair! Apologies for the less than brilliant photos.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some more completed projects and an update on our little family.

Jenny xxx

2015 In Makes

Suddenly we are into February and it feels a little late for a "round up" post but since I've not blogged any of these projects it seems appropriate to jump in with a little catch up what I was making last year.

*Warning - There's some really bad selfies in here... I can only apologise*

Simple Sew Lottie Pencil Skirt

This pattern came with an early issue of Love Sewing magazine. I was just returning to work after maternity leave here and was planning a few work friendly wardrobe basics. I had so many issues with this pattern, from the poor instructions to the fact that the waistband pieces just didn't fit the top of the skirt. Which is a shame as the end result was cute and withstood quite a bit of wear in the early part of the year.

Sewaholic Renfrew - View C Cowl Neck

It's no secret that I love Sewaholic patterns and like many others the Renfrew is a definite TNT. I made my usual adjustment of adding 3" to the bodice length, I like my tops to comfortably cover my hips. This stripe was a lightweight knit I picked up in Abakhan some months earlier and had been sat cut out in my sewing box since the previous November. I'm really happy with one and it's taken a lot of wear, I'm looking forward to pulling it back out post baby!

New Look 6150

This gorgeous knit was picked up on my local market stall, we have a couple of fabric stalls and shops in our town and whilst they don't hold a massive array of choice I often come across lovely pieces whilst having a lunch time potter.  This crossover top is really sweet and has been worn a few times for work but I have to confess to finding the neckline just a touch high for my taste, that's a fairly minor issue though, it's still a really wearable make.

Sewaholic Cambie - My 30th Birthday Dress!

I had a proper party for my 30th so I wasn't letting the occasion pass without going all out and making a pretty frock in gorgeous Liberty fabric. It took quite some time to get the fit right, I must have put together 4 or 5 bodice muslins before settling on a 1" FBA in the size 8. Looking at these photos I am mourning my pre-pregnancy figure! This was such a fun sew, fully lined and paired with a gorgeous petticoat I really felt great wearing it. Pictured here with my wonderful friend Emma, who came along in her gorgeous BHL Flora dress.

More Sewaholic Renfrews

If in doubt, make a Renfrew, or two. Just using pretty fabrics from stash (the floral cost around £5 from Abakhan) to fill out my wardrobe with some basic tees. Not sure I will ever tire of making this pattern, it just provides the perfect base to show off gorgeous fabric in a totally wearable and useful garment.

Julia Cardigan

By this point in the year I knew I was pregnant so attempted to shift my sewing to garments that would see me through regardless of belly size.  This pattern was so quick and easy to put together, I could definitely see me making it again in a drapier jersey. It's seen plenty of action, great for wearing either with jeans or belting over a maternity dress.

Simplicity 2447

There are no finished shots of this shirt as, it's not actually finished. It doesn't have any buttons or buttonholes yet. But shamefully I wear it quite regularly! The pregnant body situation means that I couldn't button it up if it was an option so I tend to throw it on over a maternity tee and leggings. This was my first adventure into shirt making and I thoroughly loved the opportunity to get really into details such as topstitching and plaid matching. The fabric is a soft brushed cotton I purchased from Croft Mill some time a couple of years ago. So one day I had better sew those buttons on!

Simplicity 1359 Maternity Skirt

Super quick and simple maternity skirt using a nice heavy grey jersey from the market. The elasticated waist can be expanded but I haven't needed to. I have worn this most weeks for work during pregnancy, a great basic. I wish I'd had time to make the t-shirt on the pattern too!

Swoon Patterns - Scarf Neck Cardigan

I love this pattern but the acres of narrow knit hem were challenging and I wish I'd made it in a slinkier, drapier fabric. I wear it a lot for work though, it's been another great piece to layer with maternity dresses.

Patons Fab Big Cowl

If you hadn't noticed, the knits are pretty thin on the ground so far in the year, I've got to confess to having completely lost my knitting mojo for several months so I just went with what interested me at the time, dressmaking and developing the garden. In September I picked up this giant ball of mustard yarn in John Lewis whilst out shopping with a friend to see if I could get myself kick started again. The terrible selfie is a "look Mum I finished something" photo from bed time one evening!

Burda 7165 - Maternity Trousers

Both pattern and fabric were purchased as part of a kit from MyFabrics. I loved sewing these up but shamefully they haven't actually left my wardrobe once. This isn't the first time I've made a leap for patterned trousers and not got to grips with wearing them. I think I prefer my prints on the top half. The fit of these was superb though and I was particularly pleased with the over bump band.

Pipe Dreams by Natalie Jubb

Using up some chunky yarn from stash for an instant gratification knitting project. The urge to knit always returns with the autumn weather. I started out making this for myself but a certain small boy stole it for himself.

Foxy Hat

I tried making him his own hat, which he loves, but I still didn't get the grey one back. This hat gets so many compliments!

Winter Wonderland Mittens

Probably the worst photo of what is actually a gorgeous finished item. In fact I don't even think they are blocked here, the cuff of the glove on the right still needs sewing down, oops! I started these shortly after Christmas 2014 so in a bit of an amnesty on WIPs I got them polished off. I love them, and just wish that this winter had been cold enough to actually need them.

Megan Neilsen Perfect Nursing Top - Simplicity 1469

I had such high hopes for this top but was left pretty disappointed by the sizing, it came up huge and I had to take about two inches off each side of the bodice to get it wearable, which was a shame as it put me off making it again. I've worn the end product plenty though which only goes in it's favour.

Baable Hat

If you went anywhere near Ravelry last Autumn you couldn't fail to have come across this gorgeous colourwork hat designed for Shetland Wool Week. Fast and fun to work up this is one of my favourite knits ever! I do so love knitting fair isle.

Santa - Jean Greenhowe

Years ago I made Jean's knitted snowman and he's a firm part of our Christmas decorations so I thought it would be fun to add Santa to the collection, mostly for Jack's sake. I love how these knitted toys breakdown into little sections, making them perfect TV knitting.

Quilted Tree Skirt

I've been meaning to do this for a few years now, in fact I pinned the Pinterest tutorial 4 years ago! With redecorating our living space in time for Christmas we invested in a bigger and more beautiful tree so the time had come to give it a pretty skirt. The Michael Miller fabrics came from a local sewing shop.

If you've made it this far, well done! Before I put this post together I didn't think I'd made a lot in 2015, but all together like this it's not a bad output.

I've certainly learned in the last year that less is more, and to pick my projects based on wardrobe need rather than leaping for the shiny "frosting" patterns and fabrics. I've also really embraced sewing with knits which has helped make my creations much more in line with the RTW pieces I would head for in the shops.

So lets see what 2016 brings! At the moment I am enjoying a little baby knitting, my sewing machine has fallen quiet as I feel so very rounded that I'm not feeling inspired to sew for myself. I'm really looking forward to getting back to it in the spring with a bit of luck.

If you'd like any links or more details on any of the projects, just pop your question in the comments and I'll do my best to help. I'll also try to brush up on my finished item photography!

Jenny xxx