A tale of two tops

Back in May  when I bought fabric for my birthday I planned to make a pair of cotton tops.  I had been eyeballing the Painted Roses tee in summer 2014 Ottobre for a long while.  It is a simple woven tee shirt.  Oh, how I thought I was so clever, filling wardrobe gaps with simple tops.

First up I made the tee shirt in grey dotted liberty fabric.  This fabric was inspired by a painting in the National Gallery.  It is called Melanie Atai and it is lovely.
But, but, but I cut out a 38 and although it fits okay on the bust it is too big on my shoulders.  I also put the sleeves in very messily.  I am torn now, I like the shirt but also think it looks like a 1980s building society uniform.  (It's in the shoulders)  I am cross with myself for my sloppiness.  I wore it a lot after making it but only with a cardigan on top, hiding my sleeves of shame. Now I have bit the bullet and begun unpicking those sleeves. I am a naturally careless sewer and it can take a huge amount of effort to slow down and take more care in my sewing. I know I should, I know I can but sewing seems to pull out my slipshod, hasty self. In part this is down to having only small snatched moments to sew in, so I rush to cram in as much as possible.

The Riley Blake geeky fabric was narrower so I had no room for sleeves. I went down a size and I am happier withthe fit, especially round the neck and on the shoulders.  I cut the back slightly longer and curved the hem.  I have been wearing this top frequently, it filled a wardrobe gap, replacing worn out holey tops.
So, my two woven tops have not been the instant success I expected. I need a bit of sewing calm and patience to get the grey top right. Insert laughter here, those are not abundant qualities in summer holidays. Anyone else feel their personal qualities are reflected in  their
sewing approach?

FO: Kelopuu Ottobre Hoodie

Okay, so I know I said  I would finish my UFOs before starting a new project but well, I didn't manage it.  I HAVE fininshed my Burda jacket and will share it soon though,  But then a couple of things happened in December: 

It got colder 

I realised I have few warm tops

A couple of months ago I was sent a copy of Ottobre Women's magazine, Autumn Winter 2014.  This was not because of a blogging promo but because I cancelled my subscription and I think they sent out a free copy to entice me back as a subscriber. On impulse about a month ago, I decided to make the Kelopuu hoodie, enticed by the pockets and the asymmetric front.   I used some fabric on sale at Minerva Crafts, only £2.99 a metre.  I went back to the site and think it is sold out.   It is wine coloured with white flecks and a heavy-ish sweatshirt knit. It is not the greatest quality as it is already bobbling after two weeks but I love the colour and it is warmer than I expected.

The magazine's example of the finished hoodie

The pattern was much easier and quicker to sew than I anticipated. I started tracing on a thursday and finished sewing on sunday. That was much quicker than I had thought,   Ottobre patterns need seam allowances adding - I added mine after tracing and before cutting.   

Here are the instructions....they are brief and as you can see there are no diagrams.   The pattern calls for welt pockets which were new to me.   I had to look up several tutorials before I attempted them.  There was no way I could try them only using the Ottobre instructions!  I need pictures for new techniques.  This was the tutorial I liked best.  They were more straightforward than I had expected.  They are a bit counter intuitive as you sew the inner pocket linings to the outside of the garment, make a slit and push them through.  There was also a lot of thick bulkiness to sew through with the welts and my machine didn't like this. It also didn't like the bulkiness of the cuffs, I had to stop and handcrank the needle through the thickest parts. As the pattern is written for a sewer with an overlocker, the pattern instructions call for the cuffs to be added to the sleeves flat before inserting the sleeve.  Then the sleeve seam and side seams are sewn.  AS I don't have an overlocker, the only drawback of this is the cuff has an unsightly seam inside it.  If I make this again I think I would add the cuff in the round to an already stitched sleeve to give a cleaner finish.  That is how I added cuffs to my Lola dresses and Renfrews.  The sleeves came out really long.  I mean about three inches too long.  I learnt my leson here, I should check sleeve length before cutting out.

I have been wearing the hoodie a lot since completion.  I have been struggling to get pictures with the poor light, So I thought I will just post this anyway.  I was thinking of making it again in a darker colour.  Making it has made me look again at my Ottobre magazines, the patterns are often wearable and functional - does that sound too boring?  As I have a stash of them I wo't be renewing my subscription.  I just plan to sew using what I already have.

Planning and cutting

Before I allow myself to buy new  fabric I am determined to sew up some of my stash.  And I am determined to finish off my half made/ cut out projects.   As I typed up the list in this post, I could see there are enough plans here to keep me sewing for a long time.  I seem to have started more projects than I realised.

I  have cut out these high waisted winter shorts from Ottobre.  I used a hand loomed tweed that was in the binbags of inherited fabric.














The tweed is from Bovey Tweed in Devon.   I have used a cotton also from the binbags for the waist band facings and pocket linings.  I am uncertain as to whether tweed shorts will be a good or bad thing.  Let's just say they are a bit of an experiment.

I have pieces of bright pink and orange fleece left over from scarf making almost two years ago.  I am using the mitten pattern from Littlle Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson to make Rocket Girl and Little I some mittens.

I have almost finished making a tutu (also from Little Things to Sew)  this is for Little I.
I am halfway through making a yellow jersey Staple dress.  I lost interest in completing it three months ago!  It is gathering dust on my shelf.

I bought a lovely stepweave wool crepe about three years ago and then chickened out of using it!  I have cut it out to make a seasonal dress, but it is unlikely to get finished soon.

I seriously need an apron and was planning on using leftover denim from my skinny jeans to cobble one together.  Phew...what a list.

I am still planning on making my parka but need to sell a few bits on ebay to get the funds for the fabric!

recently

Recently.....

there's been a flu bug, followed by a sickness bug, followed by a different stomach bug....Little Rocket Girl's body clock has gone so haywire that she's frequently waking at 4am and not returning to sleep until  10 or 11am.  Some days with the older kids in school I have crawled back to bed and slept with her....consequently there's been no blogging time and not much blog reading.  Now it is holiday time so I am hoping to crack this 4am waking.  It's a killer.

Anyways, there's been some sewing reorganisation.  I went out and bought new needles for my machine...I found a local independent sewing machine engineer who serviced my machine for half the price of the services at the nearest sewing machine shop!  Plus he collected it and brought it home for me.  This was a fantastic service as I was stuck at home with ill kids.  So, now my machine is running smoothly, especially, since I read the section on thread tension in my handbook,there has been some sewing...using this "subtle animal print" jersey from Minerva Crafts sale section, 

I made a second Ottobre tunic, the first one is here

I have been wearing it almost daily.  It is warm and I just loves it.  I am ducking my head to avoid showing the horror of  my eye bags after the 4am wake ups.  

Ottobre Autum/Winter

I thought I would share some images from the new Ottobre women's magazine. There are some patterns in it that I  would like to sew and some that I would not!  I am planning on canceling my subscription now as I feel I have enough patterns to keep me going.  Some of the styling here is not to my taste, though I always try and look past the styling and study the line drawings.




 I like the jersey dress although I think I would like it in a solid fabric.  The text by it suggests you will need control underwear to go with this dress!  hmmmmm...kinda puts me off.  I also don't want to have to just breathe in while wearing a dress.

The line drawings

 I like the stripey tee.  Always good to have tee shirt patterns.  I am tempted to make these.  I can see that I also like the styling of the pictures here, and the model's short hair. So am I swayed by the pretty pictures into choosing what to sew?  

I think this tunic tee would be a good wardrobe staple for me.  I wonder what it looks like if she turns sideways though.  I like the little pockets.  I am thinking of making this one.

I am intrigued by the parka - I would love the challenge of making a practical coat.  Do I dare take on a complex project though?  One that would require proper fabric buying?  I seem to be drawn to making quite functional garments at the moment...jeans, tees and now a parka.  Whatever happened to sewing pretty dresses?  

But urgh, I don't like the turquoise knit jacket .  I don't even like it in the line drawing.

  I guess there is a nice simple dress there...it's just that fabric makes me shudder!  

Another look at the parka...hmmmm...got me thinking....

 

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.

Bumble bee cardigan

This is my bumble bee cardigan. It is dark purple and mustard stripes and started off life as a sweater with short sleeves and a cord threaded through a casing at the bottom hem. The cord made it quite baggy. To me there is something counter-intuitive about a short sleeved sweater or cardigan. I mean, I am either cold enough for long sleeves or too warm for a sweater.

I bought the sweater at easter in a charity shop near Exeter. At the time my mum said I would look like a giant bumble bee if I wore it but I ignored her and bought it. (Do we all ignore our mothers like this?) I had not planned to wear it as a a sweater as I don't particularly want to go out dressed as a giant bumble bee. Are you surprised at that?
It had an open neck and four press studs at the top. It has been lying in my to-do pile since easter and last week I finally took scissors to it. I just sliced it up the centre front and then zig zagged a tiny hem on each side. I left the original four poppers as I liked them and their detail. I think it is mainly a cardigan for wearing open anyway and for layering up. Despite my short sleeved cardigan reservations I like it and how it adds a pop of colour to the greys I have in my wardrobe. (Worn above with me-made anna tunic and me made nora tee shirt from Ottobre magazine, Autumn 2010)
This refashion is shared at Recycled Fashion Finds

More from Ottobre

First up before Ottobre, my work in progress, my shirt, I went a bit wrong this morning putting on the collar stand so it is due to be unpicked and redone. The colour in this photo is not very accurate it is a deeper browny red.
Now, back to the post subject, I wanted to show in more detail some of the patterns I am thinking of sewing from Ottobre. I think I could get a lot of use out of these patterns if I can get to grips with them. Firstly, I need to work out which of my fabrics in my stash would fit for the patterns. I am limited to only buying a small amount of fabrics new this year. I do think these patterns would give me some good basic wardrobe staples and would be worth a bit of new fabric. I have a weakness for peacoat style jackets. I would love this in red with white top stitching and buttons, or navy fabric and red detailing.... BUT I have no suitable fabric already in the stash so have to think about it. Also a big project...am I brave enough?

Next up...jersey tops:

I like the use of a woven fabric here to edge the neck, but I would probably make the cuffs plainer as I would just get that style of cuff wet and dirty very quickly. Maybe take the cuffs from Susie and give them to Bessie? (Would Bessie be very offended?)

I like the use of women with a range of body shapes and ages as models. It is refreshing to see "real" women showing the clothes.

I think I would like to make this Nora top. Probably without the roses. The yoked neck appeals to me as I always struggle with my neck edging on t-shirts. This gives me a good alternative to the neck band.

Sports capri trousers. They would be useful but the idea of making them doesn't seem very exciting.

I would like these in navy or black, maybe with some red topstitching for Spring and Summer.

I have a piece of grey cotton jersey that I can use to make a top, just got to choose...Nora or Bessie??

Ottobre magazine

Totally irrelevent cake picture, I just wanted to share virtually if not in real life! New Year's Day - friends came over to play and to eat cake and party food. I love making and eating party food. Yum, yum. Now back to sewing business....

I bought myself a christmas present - a two issue subscription to Ottobre magazine. (Cost 12.50 euros) What a treat when it arrived just before Christmas - it has several patterns for using knit fabrics which I hope to try out to expand my sewing knits experience. Plus it has some sportswear patterns (bottom row of the pictures, vest, hoodie and cropped trousers) - a big gap in my homemade wardrobe is exercise clothes. I used to do a lot of exercise before children and after I had one baby only. I went back to the gym last year and found my old sportswear kind of pitiful and a bit holey (that was the stuff that still fitted, my days of cropped gym vests are so over). I am hoping (if the babysitting works out) to join a free women's running group soon as I cannot afford the gym and I do get bored in there. So sewing sportwear is on my to-do list.

I did have a feverish moment on the sunday before Christmas, and I decided to cut out and make the wrap/scarf featured on the cover. I am always a sucker for easy quick patterns.

You are supposed to be able to wear it a multitude of ways but somehow on me I just look like I am wearing an odd piece of material. Closer inspection (and a quick visit to the Ottobre blog) showed the cover model is wearing two wraps over a matching longsleeved t shirt, thus creating the look of a draping top. I think it takes a certain kind of talent and stylishness to wear this as a top/ shawl. These are qualities I do not possess..

And so, I found I like wearing it best as a scarf, it is really light weight and good for warmer days. The light today is awful, really dull so I will try and get a better photo if and when it brightens up.

I am planning a giveaway soon, I just need to check the quality of the proposed items....