FESA /maternity round up

Looking back and uploading these photos, I realised I have sewn more maternity clothes than I realised. I also have still got one skirt and a dress to show you but the camera is currently awaiting a new cable. Plus I refashioned a pair of brown velvet jeans found at the back of a cupboard at my mum's house and never photographed them.
Making these maternity clothes has been an exercise in making myself a little capsule wardrobe, something I have thought and read about but never managed to do.
The most used item? It has to be the mariposa jersey dress - it has accomodated my growing bump and can be layered over long sleeved tees and leggings as the weather has got colder. Dresses are so comfortable at this stage. Interestingly, the mariposa dress is one item friends have seemed surprised is home made. I think it is meant as a compliment when they say "You made that??!!"
The trousers have been good but tend to fall down a bit, a problem I have found with many maternity trousers. The grey trousers were being worn a lot but it is now too cold for them. I have also worn my shorts a lot, I love them, most recently I have been wearing them over leggings as I cannot be comfortable in tights anymore. I also love my pyjamas.

Mariposa dress Pyjamas using Burda pattern

Now to work out the cost:

Purple cords for refashioning: £2

Green trouser fabric: £2

White tunic top : £4

Mariposa dress: £6

Navy blue knit: £6 (for unblogged dress)

Black tee for refashioning:£ 1.50

Burda 8376: £8.00
Handmade Beginnings Book: £8.50

Total £32. Not bad, when the cost on the high street of one pair of maternity jeans is about £29. I also hope some of these clothes I will be wearing after the baby, and I can alter them to fit eventually.

All other fabric and notions were already in my stash. I reused old tee shirts for stretchy panels.

I now feel like I am on a wind down with maternity sewing. I was sorely tempted to make a jacket but just didn't have time. It has been a journey for me. In my previous pregnancies I was given lots of maternity clothes so never made any. Then I gave them all away and started this pregnancy with no maternity clothes stash. In fact, I thought you couldn't really make maternity clothes. I thought you needed some special techniques, special fabrics and special measurements. Sewing maternity clothes has been liberating and super speedy in some ways as I have largely given up on zips, button holes etc. Elastic becomes the maternity sewers friend instead. It has been fun to think in a different way to my usual train of sewing thought and I have enjoyed using up so much of my stash fabric.

I found the Burda 8376 pattern became my basic trouser block used for refashioning as well as making from scratch. I also like the Anna Maria Horner book, her patterns are well written and easy to follow. The book has a lot of things in it that are for baby which I haven't made but would use for present making in the future. I am however, tempted to make a changing bag from it now.

Now, once my camera is fixed I can show you the final two items.

FESA happiness

Happiness, happiness this week...is a pair of maternity winter shorts. I used Burda 8376 again and the fabric was a grey wool mix with a tiny blue stripe left over from my Uniform Project dress. (I am planning to post the dread details of that dress soon, it didn't exactly turn out well, and it feels like a mammoth post to write). As you can see the pattern photo shows a summery sort of pair of shorts worn by the lovely sporty looking blonde amazon. Hmmm.... I changed all that and made some wintery nerdy shorts.

I liked the idea of putting on the large side pockets with flaps which are more meant for a casual combat trouser look but I like to play around with ideas of suitability within fabric types. I thought about addding giant buttons to the flaps but decided to restrain myself.

The pockets and flaps are lined with some blue floral scraps from my stash.

Like the trousers already made from this pattern the shorts have an insert for the bump made from an old tee shirt. This type I followed the pattern instruction and used buttonhole elastic (bought on ebay) in the casing. What genius invented buttonhole elastic?

So I wore them on wednesday with a charity shop top and again on thursday with my me made nautical top. This thursday photo is especially for Ali, after she had asked about favourite jackets in her recent post, I was spurned on to wear one of my favourites, this red 60s style Zara jacket (via charity shop again).

The shorts are super comfortable, use up some stash, tick another item off the FESA list, and they go with lots of different colours, kind of obviously I guess.
I just wanted to add a note to say sorry if you cannot comment here - I am hoping this is a temporary blogger hitch as I cannot see what to change in my settings. I also wanted to thank everyone who left congratulations - for a week or more I couldn't respond to comments on blogger but I am trying to catch up now.

Ch-ch-changes and Finished FESA item

Sit down... I have a confession to make...

I made the first pair of trousers on my Fall Essentials Sewalong list a few weeks ago. They are a grey chambray cotton with 5% linen blend. And now it is time to confess a little something... I have given myself an extra challenge in my FESA sewalong as I am expecting a baby! He or she is due in January. So I am about 25 weeks now. This was an unplanned surprise, so much so that I had given my maternity clothes away. To someone who lives in Poland - too far away and costly to post them back. I had also given away the cot, moses basket, car seat, highchair attachment, most of the baby clothes...etc, etc, are you seeing the situation? The only big item I still had was the pram.

So recently I have been thrifting and buying second hand things for baby. I managed to buy a beautiful cot bed (actually much nicer than our old one) from a friend of a friend, and a first stage car seat from another friend. I have been buying bits and pieces of baby clothes in the charity shops.

I cannot afford to be buying maternity clothes though. I just allowed myself one pair of second hand maternity jeans on ebay. They are at that stage where tend to fall down all day resulting in me permanently hoiking them up. I keep reminding myself that soon they will fit.

I have been lucky in that I happened to have made quite a lot of loose tops like Simplicity 3835 and my portfolio dress - these have been great to wear in this mid stage. BUT I am aware that at some point I may need a little extra space in my clothes.
So, I decided to start with maternity trousers. My trusty gap charity shop jeans saw me through to 22 weeks but just are too tight now. I searched for maternity patterns and to be honest the big pattern companies don't have many. I read some reviews of Easy Burda 8376 and decided to use this one as a good basic trouser pattern. Any pregnant readers out there, believe me, these are so easy to make. Only five pieces.

Seriously, this maternity sewing is great...no zips, no buttonholes, no waistbands. I loves it.

The trousers have a jersey panel that goes over the bump and they have a simple casing and elastic waist. I used an old t shirt to make the panel. The panel looks to me like a teddy bear's stomach but it is super comfortable. When it came to cutting out the trousers, being the meanie that I am, I tried to squeeze the 2 metres required from 1 metre of stash fabric. It worked but only just and I had to make an extra casing for the back from another piece of spotty scrap fabric. To give them a bit more length. They are just, just long enough but only because I have short legs! My only concern is that they won't be warm enough in a month or two. So I am thinking of making another pair in some winterish fabric, I am also thinking of using the jersey panel pattern piece to refashion some pre-made trousers into maternity but I just haven't seen any charity shop trousers I like recently.

However I liked making the trousers so much that I made some grey wool mix winter shorts from the same pattern. I have almost finished these. The photo shows the side pocket detail. I used the left over fabric from making my Uniform Project dress last year.

I am in love with these shorts even if I will look like a strange gender-mix of pregnant woman and school boy. That is weird I know. But they do look a bit like my son's school shorts. I will just have to make sure I don't wear them with a school jumper and satchel.

More sewing for others

I have been doing a fair amount of sewing but no blogging recently. I have several items almost finished to share but most recently I have been doing more sewing for others:

A birthday tee shirt for Little I's friend whose favourite colour is green and a bag for her to keep treasures in.

The teeshirt I did at the last minute, well an hour before the party. A new sewing shop opened near me and I really wanted to like it. I live in a sewing shop desert. The owner was lovely and helpful BUT she sold me fusible interfacing that was ironable-fusible on one side when I had asked for fusible on 2 sides- bondaweb type stuff. Eeeek.

I didn't have time to go back and change it before the party, and so I just used the interfacing for the tee shirt applique. I think it is going to fray more now though than it would have done with the double sided stuff.

The new shop is five minutes drive from my house, located on the edge of a small industrial estate, and has loads of patterns and fabrics and a bit of haberdashery. There were lots of useful lining fabric (I bought some grey for a skirt I am in the middle of making) and some pretty floral cottons (didn't buy any, thinking of the stash I already have). There was quite a bit of fabric that was not my kind of taste but which made Little I gasp and say things like
" Ooohh, look shiny rainbow, glittery,stars material...ooohh pink princesses material....! " (Can you imagine a world styled by four year old girls?)

I did buy a length of fake suede in emerald green and some brown fake suede off cuts. Don't worry, this is not the latest FESA wardrobe plan. Nor am I going to the Birmingham Bloggers meet up in fancy dress. I'm making T a Robin Hood costume for friday night's cub camp. We googled Robin Hood costumes (found a strange flickr group devoted to men who like to dress up as Robin Hood, let's just not go any further) and found a simple one that met with T's approval (he is not keen on dressing up) so I am spending my sewing time making it now. It is basically a tunic to wear over his normal khaki green trousers - no way this boy would wear green tights! But I have had a request for a pointy hat as well.

We only had one week's notice about the costume which is a little short don't you think?? T is very excited as this one night and one day camp is his first cub camp. I can't believe he is old enough and brave enough to go. I may cry into my cocoa on friday night - this is my just desserts as before I had children I used to be so unsentimental and laugh at soft-hearted parents.

Ottobre Love Autumn 2011

Quite a while ago Ali blogged about using patterns as blocks and having

some pattern books which can be adapted to make a whole range of different clothes. I have found that Ottobre magazine sometimes delivers on this score. The subscription is 15, 90 euros per year which gives you two magazines. This comes to about £13.84, so under £7.00 per magazine. A bit more than Burda magazine but the sizing and styles of Ottobre are more to my taste and fit than Burda.

My copy of the Autumn Winter Ottobre magazine arrived a few weeks ago. It then got lost for about ten days after a hasty tidy up before guests arrived. I was happy to find it again on Monday. I had started to question how carefully I had checked the recycling box before it was emptied.

Reading this Ottobre makes me wamt to sew knits. Sadly I have no knit fabric in my stash, but happily I am going to Birmingham's rag market in October so I plan to write a Ottobre based list and look for some affordable knits.
Lots of these items are of the wardrobe staple variety rather than the "wow" sort. For instance, the turtle neck would be ideal to wear with layers in the colder weather.
I have one ancient GAP black ribbed turtle neck that has been mended many times. Definitely time for a me-made replacement.

The everyday t shirt speaks for itself, though it would present a new challenge of buying ribbing. Maybe its the changing season but I have a yearning to make these cosy trousers for home.
I have never been a big fleecey casual clothing wearer but a good zip up hoodie is ideal for cosy evenings and pulling on for going to school pick up.

I am also intrigued by the idea of making this wool knit duffel coat. I just don't know if I could find or afford to buy the fabric for it. I am going to have a good look though on the forthcoming Rag Market meet up.

Finally, I have to say it is a "no, no, no" from me for this coat...it just makes me think of a butternut squash in its shape. What do you think? This would look good on a little girl but I am not sure on a grown woman! Nice tights though.

There are also some great vintage style dress patterns in this magazine...I will show them next time.

Self stitched September catching up

Thursday 8th September - Simplicty 3835 made with charity shop curtains.











Friday 9th September - Simplicity 3835 made with Amy Butler fabric

So, another catch up with September pictures. I have tried to wear skirts and bare legs the last couple of days while I still can. The Amy Butler top I made last week. I had the fabric in my stash and the colours fit with my autumn FESA planning. Simplicity 3835 is so quick and simple to sew up. It is my no-brainer, pattern block to sew when I want to have a wearable top quickly. The top hangs slightly stiffly as it is quilting cotton
and so the sleeves puff up a bit too much at time. But the colours and pattern compensate for the awkward fabric.

Saturday 10th September - Me made stripey tee (Sew U Home Stretch), me made denim skirt (Sew Hip Magazine Summer 2009), me made jersey scarf

I am excited about the response to our Birmingham meet up...excited and a bit of trepidation. Sunday 11th September - Me Made top from Simplicity 2295 with vintage lace trim from stash. Self drafted skirt. Both fabrics were from my bin bag stash.

Autumn planning

I have joined the Fall Essentials Sewalong hosted by Rhinestonesandtelephones, Farbenfreude and The Wardrobe Reimagined.

I have found that sewalongs help me think out my plans and also help me to carry them out!
I am going to try and use up fabrics from my stash before buying any new ones.

The fabrics lacking in my stash are knits and plain fabrics. I deally I would like to buy second hand fabrics but I have to say I find it hard to buy second hand knit fabric and second hand plain fabrics (except for sheets). I am inspired by the latest edition of Ottobre magazine. I am sorry to be so vague and I will post photos soon but at the moment I have lost my copy. It was last spotted on my sofa a few days ago....
There are a number of categories for the sewalong. I have only opted for some as I want to keep this achievable and also I am trying to make things that fit in with my existing wardrobe. Below are the ones I have decided to concentrate on:

Fashionable foundations for frosty weather:

I am making a pair of light grey trousers (fabric is second from right in the top picture). I also hope to make a skirt using the black and grey stripey fabric in the top picture. Then I also have some grey poly-wool mix fabric with a thin blue stripe left over from my Uniform Project dress. I am not sure if I have enough for trousers. If I don't have enough then anothe skirt beckons.

Chic chemises for cooler climates:

I am half way through making a tunic top in the paisley patterned fabric shown above. This came from my bin bag stash and is more patterned than I would usually go for but I like the colour palette and it is good to try something different. In the middle picture it is next to my grey trouser fabric and I think the two go together well. I have just finished a Simplicity 3835 top from the Amy Butler spotted fabric in the top picture. I have already flickr-ed it in Self Stitched September.

Fabulous frocks

I would like to make a knit tunic dress...no fabric yet. I have got some gorgeous raspberry wool crepe to make a very simple dress with but have to admit I am scared of using it as it is such lovely fabric. I have read up on trueing wool crepe and I am scared.

Those cosy nights

I am planning on using a knit jersey trouser pattern from Ottobre and if I can find fabric also a kint hooded cardigan. Okay, that's enough planning for me.