Friday, December 25, 2015

1st Day of Christmas - TG Outfit

Well Christmas came round really quickly this year.  I can put my hand up and say 'yes', I was one of those people who contemplated making Christmas gifts and decorations in July and then though, nah,  way too early . . . . . and whoooooosh, here we are!!  The best bit for me is that I am off work for a couple of weeks so it is a real luxury to be able to chill out, sew, knit, walk, talk, snooze, drink . . . . . just everything!!  I do hope that your Christmas is just as enjoyable, and I wish you and yours a relaxing and peaceful time.


And I have been busy sewing . . . . want to see my Christmas outfit?  I don't usually make something specifically for Christmas Day, but I love that other people do it, so I thought that I would give it a try.  As you have probably read, I have been embracing Lagenlook and using Tina Givens Patterns - and this was to be no exception.  The skirt is the Patricia pattern, the tunic is Cara and I used a Simplicity pattern for the cardi/jacket.  Here are my changes and info!



Skirt - Patricia

The pattern itself has a shaped yoke and then a skirt gathered onto it with a band around the bottom that draws in the fullness.  As I do not have much of a hip/waist ratio, I cut the yoke piece as a straight rectangle - no other changes made.  I love the gathered strips on the side seams - it adds a touch of fun and is somewhat unexpected!  The fabric is a cotton/hemp (55%/45%) mix and is heavier than linen with quite a loose weave.  I also made a plain nylon (?) jersey petticoat to wear underneath - I can't stand clothing sticking to my legs or stockings.  This meant that I didn't need to line the skirt.  I've made a couple of others out of a dark chocolate brown and a plain black as well.  They are from linen so they are a little more drapey.



Here you can see the petticoat in action (above)!


My attempt at Merchant and Mills photography . . . . . !


Just a little hemline action!

Tunic - Cara

I love this tunic - It is a fun and comfy make!  For this version I added pockets in the side seams and sewed a small scrap of spotty black lace and a gathered frill to the neckline.  I bound the neckline, arms and bottom with 1.25" bias strips, folded in half, and triple zig-zagged to enclose the exposed seams.  Very quick and easy.



Jacket - Simplicity 1318

I've seen this jacket made up a few times and thought that it would be a fun one to make.  I was going to make during the summer with a lightweight georgette but never got round to it.  When I started thinking of a Christmas outfit, I thought that this pattern would work perfectly - black linen with lace sleeves.  So that is what I did!  I made an adjustment to the upper back of the jacket to accommodate my rounded upper back as well as adding a small triangular shape to the ends of each sleeve so that inserting the sleeves and sewing the side/sleeve seams would be more smooth.  And that was it.  Quick and easy right?  Nope.  Not for me.  I managed to attach the two front pieces the wrong way round, so the jacket looked more like a man's shirt tails.  Grr.  I didn't realize until I was ready to sew the side/sleeve seams and had to unpick lots of top-stitching and overlocking.  It was worth it though as I love the look of this jacket.  I think that it finishes off the outfit nicely and it will work with lots of other outfits that I have.  There is quite a lot of hand stitching - the inside of the front bands and the sleeve bands, but it gives a lovely finish.  If I was to make this again - and I probably will, I will attach the inner bands first, then turn under the seam allowance for the outer bands and top and edge stitch them down.


I think that the outfit has a somewhat Victorian/gothic look due to the colour of the fabrics, but I rather like that!!

And finally . . . . I got some new shoes for Christmas . . . . and they work perfectly with my new outfit:



So, how about you?  Did you make an outfit for Christmas?

9 comments :

  1. What a beautiful outfit! Every piece is so interesting. I love what you did with the embellishment on the tunic. And I'm really impressed by the petticoat - I imagine that fabric is a little beasty to sew - looks so pretty. You look great in this style. Merry Christmas!

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    1. Thank you Coco - I did cheat a little and 'interpret' some ideas that I had seen on some other TG tunics! The petticoat turned out to be quite easy - which I think is more to do with my serger than my skills!. Merry Christmas to you too!

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  2. The colours do suit you beautifully. This does have quite an old fashioned vibe, but it's fun too. Merry Christmas, hope you enjoy the fortnight.

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    1. Thank-you! I wore it all day today, and other than picking up white dog hairs from our Jack Russell, it worked really well. It was actually quite warm - the purple fabric was thicker than linen and I could feel the difference! Lots more sewing to do to make the most of this time off! Merry Chrsitmas to you!

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  3. Your outfit is very cool and so are those shoes!

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    1. Thank-you! The shoes were really comfy and I felt that I should have been in a Victorian play wearing them and the outfit!

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  4. Your garments are always lovely. I agree with the other comments about the shoes adding to the Victorian look with that lovely hem detailing.

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  5. Awesome outfit, Twotoast! And so nicely styled, down to the shoes and stockings. I enjoyed reading about the construction details too. One thing I was wondering about, what is triple zigzag? I have a darning type stitch on my machine. Is that it? Another question: What is the circumference measurement of the skirt hem? And do you find that gives you plenty of walking room?

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    1. The circumference is about 54" and works well so far!

      The triple zig zag is also known as the three step zigzag, so each leg of the 'zig' or 'zag' is made up of three little stitches rather than one stitch left or one stitch right. I use it a lot when attaching elastic in my bra making and to sew down elasticated waistbands. Here is a link that may help!

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