February | 2020 | Grangoesteckie

Next on the agenda….. Stellan Tee, Grainline studios Thayer Jacket, Avid Seamstress The Blouse, Pattern Union Molly tee, wardrobe by me Ziggy and a few others.

Well that’s how I ended my last blog so let’s pick it up and see what I’ve done shall we?

Pattern Union Molly tee with thumbhole cuffs

Well I have made a few things. I also did the stellan tee which is another free tee pattern by French Navy. It’s a short sleeved, boxy cropped little number which I like but not weather appropriate right now so haven’t got a picture of me wearing it for the sake of two people (one being me 😏) seeing it on the blog. There are enough pictures already out there already if you haven’t seen it yet.

Bit of a disaster with the Ziggy hoodie. Made it a bit too short for the hubs. Disaster averted though when I saw it’s potential as my garden jacket! I had one that was on its last legs with it being one of the first garments I made although I have got another one as well. It really doesn’t matter as they are used at different times seasonally. Ideally they have pockets to house all the bits of stuff I like to carry around as I move around outside. There’s always something that needs tying in or clipped and Phones have to be with us 24/7 or the world will sop spinning. Heaven knows what we would do if we couldn’t take a picture of our garden delights as soon as we see them.

I love all my other makes. The union tee is lovely. I really like the thumbhole cuffs and can see me adding them to other tops! I have to remember to free my hands up from the cuffs near water though….strangely I keep forgetting when washing a random cup or glass.

I really like the avid seamstress blouse fabric but there were some difficulties with the size I chose and the lack of play in the 1cm seam allowance. The instructions have you finish the fabric raw edges ahead of construction so the claiming back of a few mms was tricky. It says it’s a looser fit but that wasn’t my experience.

The Jalie polo and rebel sweatpants are worn by hubs….a lot…. He likes the polo shirts for their neckline and the rebels for their custom length….result.

The Thayer jacket is really nice and snuggly and I’ve really enjoyed wearing it on the few occasions I’ve ventured out. I’m glad I tackled it although I initially put the sleeve linings in the wrong arms so that left was in right and vice versa. Luckily I didn’t power ahead and finish seams etc so it was correctable. The fleece lining and quilted sleeve linings were a new challenge for me. Instructions were good on the whole. I usually manage to struggle at some points but it came together. There’s also a blog sew a long that I used alongside the instruction booklet. Nice pockets on this one…..phone, keys and hand gel nicely housed.

I think the tee shirts and footstool are self explanatory and they are used loads. I’m a tee shirt and jogger/ jeans person even when there isn’t a pandemic. The footstool just eats fabric scraps and the grandchildren will love using the new one. The first one I made was a really useful hit at Christmas when we had the one day get together with windows open, no hugging and seated as far apart as the the table would let us. I thoroughly recommend making one.

The wardrobe by me Whisper blouse is a top/tunic designed for double gauze and I love it. I tend not to wear longer tops as I’m short but I accidentally cut out the longer length when I was distracted. I used some double gauze I’d had for a while and I love the feel of it. The next one I make will be a top. There are design options for neckline and sleeves as well. I find the sleeves a bit bulky when rolled up but I haven’t tried very hard to try out a better fold/roll up technique. The sleeve tabs look great. already got some dg in the stash and eyes on more if the pennies allow. Adore not having to iron the tunic…..my kind of style.

Plans for the Cheyenne tunic/shirt by handmade by June and 5oo4 Mandy fitted tank/vest top. I have loads of other patterns and meters of fabric so as long as I’m still breathing you can find me sewing 💕🧵.

Enjoy your sewing and share with us all. Can’t wait to see what you make

So begins 2020 with a stinking cold! Ah well just adds to the whole misery but sewing still beckons.

Simplicity 4149. Decided to use Minerva crafts viscose for this top and fancied statement long sleeves with flounce! Did a toile first and discovered that I needed to put darts at the back neck edge or the collar portion would stand away from my back neck in a very gapey way. Didn’t think all those clever techniques for forward shoulder or narrow/broad back/shoulder adjustment would work. The big wrinkle at the back is just my usual poor picture taking and posture! If anyone knows a better way of correcting a gape at the back of neck please enlighten me. The fabric was very soft and drapey.

Had summer in mind for this very floaty tunic but will need to tidy up my seams. The pattern advises French seams but I was happy that my overlocker would save me time. Couldn’t get it to do a rolled hem finish on the sleeves. Might benefit from reading the manual…..🤔. Struggled generally with the overlocker finish, think threading had gone awry but as usual I ploughed on regardless.

Simplicity 4149
Been in the pattern stash for forever

Simplicity 4149. Elastic waistband and material used from stash…great. My favourite sew over it round the house Carrie trousers are nearly through so succession planning led me to these. Really quick sew and so easy to wear. Took out some crotch length and needed to shorten them but easy to fit with that elastic waist. Made sure I put a small tab at the back band to ensure they were worn correctly. Wish I’d put some pockets in but next time maybe, have made notes!

Claire Louise Hardie (Great British Sewing Bee fame… series 2, 3 and 4 I think) kindly gave a new year discount on her patterns and I bought the Dawson Coatigan as I have lusted after it for a while. It was a toss up between the sew over it Cocoon Coat or this one and in the end given my lack of consistent success with the sew over it patterns I went for what I hoped would be the better drafted pattern and therefore more versatile for me. Plus Tracey Symonds from series 4 of GBSB did a shortish demo as did CL on the Sewing quarter (all still on You Tube https://youtu.be/1OtGLWPkpr8?t=12153) which got my interest in the pattern originally. As usual you can # instagram for all the inspo.

Dawson Coatigan (The Thrifty Stitcher). My picture again does it no justice. Fabric soft shell outerwear fabric from 1st for Fabrics. Pattern is unlined and needs decent seam finishing if you care about that sort of thing. Sorry about the picture, after I washed the fabric the pressing marks completely disappeared and I should have updated the picture. Excited to share it with you instead of taking a better picture.

Lovely pattern with feature darts at back neck, front shoulders and sleeves that can be stitched down if made on the right side or recede into classic styling if sewn in the normal way. I think I should have sized down on this pattern but first time of making I didn’t want it too tight to wear a layer or two underneath it if needed. The shape is lovely but I needed to shorten it on overall length and unfortunately discovered late on that the sleeves were about 1 inch too short so had to add on to the bottom of each sleeve by turning the sleeve facing into a cuff. I also added a couple of poppers to the front of the coat as my Coatigan was large enough to overlap and fasten. I didn’t dare do buttonholes but feature buttons would have looked nice. I took these pictures before washing the fabric. Prior to sewing I had washed and dried a 10x10cm square of the fabric ( I bought 2.5m of this fabric for the 2.5 metre requirement stated) therefore didn’t have much leeway to trial wash a bigger portion. The square remained 10x10cm post laundering but I still remained sceptical re washing the fabric. Knowing it was likely to be a bit big I waited for completion of the garment before thrill seeking the nail biting laundry test of the garment. During the sewing process I duly pressed the fabric with a press cloth, steam iron and used a wooden clapper. I lengthened the stitch and used a matching thread colour and a sturdy needle as the double layers of this heavyishweight viscose/wool mix was quite thick at times. It sewed well and was easy to mark with tailors chalk which brushed away easily. When I eventually washed this coat for 20mins at 30 degrees and tumble dried it ……it looked so much better…. no loss of colour…. no shrinkage but beautifully plumped up and gorgeous…still a little big tho!

Probably a size too big but plenty of jumper wearing room! This picture was taken pre washing and looking at this you wouldn’t think the arms were in any way too short but I think that’s just sleeve width and fabric weight making the sleeves look humungeous plus of course my lack of photo taking skill 🤨

Made two of these for my gkids 6 yrs and 2.5 years old. One was cars main body with plain sleeves and the other car sleeves and plain body. Pattern Made by Jacks Mum hot chocolate pattern. Stof of Denmark car fabric from first for fabrics and plain blue fabric (also stof of Denmark) from Sew and Fabric as was the navy rib cuffing.

Health wise I remain still here….anxious with every ache and pain or cough and sneeze. Life is not always easy but you get to live the one you’ve got so …..onward, stop bellyaching and get sewing. So IBFs hope you are enjoying your sewing too no matter what your circumstances. Overlocker manual here I come!

Grangoesteckie

ramblings around sewing and dressmaking

Monthly Archives: February 2020

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