Starting to feel a bit put together

Today I have another double act for you, however this one worked out just as I planned. Another pair of Sew over it ultimate trousers and a Schnittchen patterns Coco jacket. The jacket was a new make for me and it was good to push myself out of my comfort zone. 

 

I’ve made at least 5 pairs of ultimate trousers and I love them but I don’t have a lot to say at this point about the construction. This pair were made in a textured cotton from Simply fabrics in Brixton. I spotted it on my last visit there and fell in love instantly, I had it made up into these trousers within days. 
 

Before I launch into a critique of my new jacket, I should say that it was always meant to be a wearable muslin and as that I think it’s pretty good. 

  

I’ve had this pattern in my stash for years! I won it as part of a monthly stitch competition at one point and never got round to making it. I’ve always had a cardigans and jackets gap in my wardrobe and really wanted a jacket in this style but it just felt like it was going to be too difficult. 

 

However I recently managed to psych myself up to just do it! I decided to use 2 fabrics from my stash that I wasn’t too precious about as a way to not get too uptight about how to make it perfect. I think I received the pattern before they had English instructions, either way there were no instructions with the pattern so I was reliant the tutorial on the blog.  Most of the construction was fairly straightforward but I struggled with attaching the lining around the back hem and it keeps rolling out of the sleeves (although this may be because of the outer fabric).  

 

 

 

I didn’t make any alterations to the pattern and made it up as instructed.  For the most part, it fits really well but the arms are too tight.  I'd seen other people on the blogosphere commenting on this but decided to give it a go, as drafted, for this wearable muslin.  I really like this jacket but it's unlikely to last me more than a season, the outer fabric is a cheap polyester, that I bought on Walthamstow market and used some of for the lining of this coat and the lining is a viscose from Minerva crafts that I bought on sale and then thought was a bit garish for a dress.

Despite the flaws, I love this outfit it makes me feel really put together.  I have worn the jacket with almost everything since it was finished and definitely need to make another one.  I've already bought some fabric, anyone want to take bets on how long it takes me to get around to actioning this?

 

Embracing the colour

Months ago I ordered this stretch cotton from SewCrafty with the express purpose of making a pair of Sew Over It, Ultimate trousers.  However, when the fabric arrived I got it into my head that I hadn't ordered enough (no idea why, as it was the perfect amount) so the fabric got relegated to my stash.

However, recently I pulled it out again and came to my senses!  I sewed it up really quickly into another pair of Ultimate trousers.  I don't really have a lot to say about this as I've made a number of other versions before here and here.  I love that I now have a pair of well fitting trousers that as an added bonus, come together really quickly.  

I really needed some more trousers for my wardrobe and while these are fun and fill a gap, the next pair should maybe be in neutral colour!  Although I think the next pair of trousers I make may be a pair of Mia jeans.  I've had loads of compliments on these when I've worn them though which is always a bit of a boost to my confidence.

 Most of these photos were taken by my flatmate in our extremely messy garden (thanks Grace) and she managed to catch one of me picking the only apple my little apple tree produced this year.

I hope you're all enjoying preparing for Christmas and I look forward to seeing the wonderful outfits that pop up on your blogs.  I'm off to finish some last minute Christmas presents.

Totally Sew Over It

So today I have a sew over it double act to show you. I loved my first pair of ultimate trousers (although they were too big and met a sad failed refashioning fate) and have wanted another pair. Also last pay day I treated myself to their ultimate shift dress pattern and figured they would make a good combo. 

The are made from black twill which I bought from Minerva crafts at the same time as the fabric for my previous pair. I had planned to make a skirt with it so I only had a metre which created some interesting sewing challenges. 

With only a metre I knew these were going to be cropped (maybe not the most practical as temperatures drop in the UK but never mind). These had been cut and I'd started sewing when I spotted a colleague wearing a pair of trousers with zips at the ankles and I knew I wanted to add them to my ultimate trousers. I followed this post from Megan Nielsen on inserting exposed zippers and I'm really proud of them. I'd never used them before and while they're far from perfect I can now see how the process works and improved from one to the next. So now bring on all the exposed zippers! I cut a size 12 with the other adjustments I had done in the class. The only thing I don't like about these trousers is that the fabric stretches out with each wear which is annoying. However, I'm going to make another pair in wool for winter. 

I cut out the ultimate shift top in cutting spree I had a couple of weeks ago. It's a liberty print fabric that I had left over from a sew over it tea dress that I made a one of their classes about 4 years ago. It seemed like fate for it to become another sew over it pattern. I needed to make quite a lot of alterations to the top which as I didn't make a muslin were a bit convoluted in the fashion fabric. I cut a size 12 (grading to 14 at hips) however, there were lots of fitting issues and I wanted it to be less loose at the waist. The upper arms needed more room plus I needed more room across the back, I will need to do a broad back adjustment in future but this time I dealt with it by sewing the top with 1 cm seam allowances. 

We took these photos in our super beautiful local park.  I always read about how other bloggers boyfriends/children/husbands/pets take such wonderful pictures without a single word of complaint.  My boyfriend rations me to the number of photos he will take of me in the cold.  When I told him I was going to out this lack of generosity to the blogosphere, he told me that I should as he should really be featuring more prominently on the blog, so to make him happy, here's a photo of him, not wearing handmade clothes.  

Isn't he cute?  (I need to keep him sweet because when looking at these photos, I realised that my next mission should be to get him down on the ground to take photos of me.  He is tall and his photo taking angle is not working for me.) 

As Sew Over it have such lovely sewing cafes I thought it was appropriate to include a photo of me curled up with a cup of tea.

Happy weekend all.