January MAGM skirt finished.

Finally finished my navy Vogue 1247 skirt yesterday. Not before time. Don't really have an excuse for my tardiness except for grandson's quilt and No.1 son's 50th birthday but really I just couldn't get motivated. Anyway it's done now.

I took a few shortcuts this time and only bound the horizontal hip and pocket seams and overlocked the rest.

I used a scrap of pretty poly-cotton for the pocket linings and binding. I didn't have an invisible zip so did a lapped opening with a navy zip from my stash. Not as neat nor as pretty as my previous effort so I won't be showing it.

The fabric is navy blue although it doesn't look like it, another 80cm remnant of cast iron polyester I have had for years.  I don't think these skirts will ever wear out.

Again I added extra length to the skirt and even made the pockets a little shallower in an endeavour to fit the pattern onto the fabric but alas I had to face the hemline with some 1 inch wide bias binding to conceal my knees and preserve my dignity.

The top I'm wearing is Kwik Sew 3378 made in February 2010 and which is still one of my favourite tops. I must make it again sometime.

Now to tackle February's garment. The toile (muslin) I am working on isn't complete yet so I will have to think of something else to make.

Plans change

Here it is the 1st February and I haven't finished anything. I'm still slip-stitching the binding on my grandson's quilt, which turned out nothing like my original idea and I only cut out my January skirt yesterday and started sewing it today.

When I placed the coloured blocks around the calico art work it looked OK but I wasn't really happy with it. Then I realized that this wasn't meant to be a showcase for my dubious quilting skills but simply a way of preserving a memento. So I went with the maxim that less is more and just added a simple brown border and binding.

It's very plain, but it is for an eight-year old boy, so I don't think he will be too worried. When I finish slip-stitching the binding I will just randomly tie the main area as I don't have any free-motion quilting skills at all and this is not the piece to practice on.

With luck the skirt should be finished tomorrow.

I haven't any specific plans for February. At present I'm toiling a fitted shell and if it is successful I may make a blue print top to go with January's skirt.

Family comes first

Although I am keen to continue with my MAGAM challenge I have some other sewing I have to finish before Australia Day. My grandson's primary school class went to the Perth Hills Wildlife Discovery Centre before Christmas and while they were there they all placed their handprints, in brown and yellow paint, on a large piece of calico.

Grandson won this piece of art in a draw and Grandma has been asked to make a keepsake of it.  It is a little over a metre square so I am adding a border of earthy coloured squares around it, with a shot of green here and there, then will back it and turn it into a sort of quilty thing. I'm hoping it will turn out ok.

I finished my December Make a Garment Challenge on Friday and wore it all day yesterday. The temperature was over 37c degrees and I am happy to announce it was very cool and comfortable.

Vogue 1236

Because I made it from a 1.6m remnant my challenge was to fit the pattern pieces onto the fabric. I checked the finished measurements on the pattern and realised that a size 10 would fit me and by folding the fabric sides to middle I was able to cut out the front, back and both facings. I folded one half slightly wider than the other to fit the front shoulder on. Even so I had to fold out one pleat and sort of sqwoosh it flat to make the shoulder fit. Fortunately the extra pleat was not needed to make the dress fit over my bust.

This left me with scraps to make two pockets. After pondering for a while I joined several scraps together, keeping the grain lines straight. That gave me enough for two pocket pieces.

The other two pieces were cut from a worn sheet, pieced with two strips of fabric.

I used one pieced pocket and one calico pocket each side. Finally I used a very narrow hem, only 1.5cm (5/8")

Needless to say there was no fabric left for the tie, just scraps of scraps, so I wore it with a plaited belt, which actually looked quite nice.

I apologize for the mirror shots but my photographer is usually outside digging something up or chopping something down.

I love this dress. The fabric was a very cheap remnant, about $3 for the 1.6m and I had a bit of fun making it fit, but all in all I love the finished dress and will probably make another one with the right yardage and a self fabric belt next time.

Plan for December

My Make a Garment Plan for December is another Vogue pattern.

This time it is #1236 a DKNY dress which I thought would be nice for Perth's hot summer months. Of course, not having an original thought in my head, I really wanted to make it in striped seersucker like the cover picture. Naturally I couldn't find any and as I am trying to use only stash material I finished up with a remnant of seersuckery type cotton I picked up at Spotlight a few months ago.

Only problem is pattern calls for 2.2 metres and I have 1.5 metres.

This will require some forward planning.

My November top.

I finished my November top for Make a Garment a Month more than a week ago but have had to wait to get a picture.

I thought the stripes might give me some trouble especially as the fabric is a very stretchy jersey, but a walking foot and lots of pins kept everything on track and I am very pleased with the finished result.

Back seam

Side seam

The pattern originally had long sleeves but I shortened them for summer and altered the neckline so it was more a scoop than a boat. The pattern also called for facings which I didn't want and this created a new problem as I had forgotten how to calculate the necessary length for the neckband. I wanted a neckband to fill in a bit more of the neckline as it was still a bit too wide and low. I checked out my Knitwit and Kwik Sew books but the length was still too long to sit nice and snug. Eventually I came across  http://www.craftstylish.com/item/8413/how-to-sew-a-classic-t-shirt-neckband a tutorial by Cal Patch. This was nearer to the sizing I was looking for but due to the stretchiness of my fabric I had to remove a bit more length. Eventually I got it almost right. There are a few puckers in the neckband but it sits ok so I'm happy.

While I was waiting to take the photos I drafted an A-line shirt from my straight skirt draft thanks to instructions from Kat of Couture Academic blog. http://coutureacademic.wordpress.com/2013/10/02/ss-collection-20132014/ 

The fabric I used as a test was some weird spotty stuff I have had for ages. It has been washed three times and is still stiff. This turned out to be just what was needed for an A-line skirt. I didn't have enough for a waistband so I just bound the waist with black bias binding.  It turned out remarkably well as a wearable muslin if a tad short..

Now, what to make in December? Hmmmm!

Plan for November Make a Garment a Month

My November project for the Make a Garment a Month Challenge is New Look 6779, a long sleeved knit I first made in 2004 as a short sleeved tee. I like the back seam and the side seam shaping of this pattern but the neckline has always been a bit wide.  I usually make View D which is bottom left

so I have modified View C which is at bottom right. It is a boat shaped neckline which doesn't suit me so it won't be missed and I have added tissue and redrawn the neckline as round. I'm hoping it works. Since our summer is on its way this top will have short sleeves.

I plan to use my walking foot to keep the stripes under control.