Box Bags

I love bags - handbags, shopping bags, wash bags - they all hold some inexplicable excitement for me, so I thought that I would make up a couple for my travels.  I find them so useful - they hold my knitting (I am a sockoholic), wash kit, electronics etc., etc.,!

First up I thought that I would use one of the fat 1/4's that I received from the lovely Phillipa of Gloria & Me as part of the Spring Swap this year.  I couldn't resist this gorgeous seaside fabric:

And this is what it became!  

A lovely little 'box bag' with iron-on batting for structure, 

And fully lined in a great, co-ordinating Amy Bulter fabric.

As you can see I bound the inside seams - I have seen (and made) some of these bags with overlocked/serged seams, and that seems such a shame - if you are going to line the bag - let's make it look good inside too!

And then I made another one.  From some more Amy Butler fabric

Love it!

I showed these to Mr. SDSC and he laughed.  Somewhat perturbed, I asked him what the problem was, and he said that he found it funny (and endearing) that I never make just one item - I make multiple versions of the same items.  Now then, let's think . . . . Sorbettos, 4-gore skirts, Singer Shapely Blouses.  OK, he may have a point!!  Oh, and I have since made another 4 of these cute bags - two I have given away, and two more are tucked away in my suitcase . . . . .

How about you - are you a 'multiple maker'?

A Trio of Shirts

Wow - how time flies when you are busy sewing!  So busy that I forgot to post . . . . !  I have been somewhat preoccupied planning a trip abroad and wanted a few 'mix and match' tops to wear so I picked up some lovely linen and linen/rayon fabric in natural and chartreuse and got to work.

I decided to make three (actually, I have made four, but I forgot to photograph one of them!) more of the Shapely Blouses from Singer Perfect Plus -

This last photo best captures the color, and yes, I know, it really needed another pressing before it's debut!!  The previous shirt had a lot of excess in the back near the bottom of the seam, so I took this out and I think it looks a lot better now.  I serged all the seams and added a faux-fell seam to all seams (which unfortunately does not show on these photos).  I found that it has given a more professional looking finish.

This second shirt is from a natural linen.  Same design/finishes etc -

Pretty much the same as the chartreuse one, but I managed to find some mid-brown semi-opaque button that look rather lovely!  I used my Singer Featherweight again for the buttonholes (oh how I love that machine!)  This is the first time that I have sewn with linen - so I made sure that I followed all the advice to wash/dry it multiple times!  But boy, I was not prepared for the way the stitches just 'sink' into the fabric when it is pressed.  Lovely!

The last shirt is made from a woven striped patter.  As it does not crease very much I suspect that it has some poly in it, and it came from my Mum's collection -

A couple of quick comments - I managed to pick up some coat-hangers that have a black 'flocked' finish to them, almost like velvet.  They were terribly cheap, but they really 'grip' the shoulders of my tops, especially shells and knitwear - and you can see them poking out in some of these photos.

Secondly, I have to apologise for not having 'posed' photos.  Having recently moved house (OK, that was almost 6 months ago!) I can't find my tripod and never seem to be organised enough to arrange a photo shoot when I have a photographer around.  However, these clothes will be coming with me on my holidays next month so I will get lots of 'real' pics then!!

I do find that tops are my nemesis - I can sew up skirt or some simple trousers quite quickly now, so I am rather thrilled to be able to sew up these tops that fit pretty well and look good.  I plan to play around with the pattern and lift the neckline, add long sleeves and maybe add an attached facing as the collar and facing on these take up about 1/2m of interfacing.  Phew!

How about you - what is your sewing nemesis?

Singer Perfect Plus - update

I am excited to say that I have been on a bit of a roll sewing wise.  It is interesting to note (well, it is for me anyway!!) that I work better when I have a number of items cut our and ready to go.  It can take a good day or so to get lots cut out and then I can disappear into my sewing room and can work for ten minutes, three hours, whatever time I have available.  So, when I cut out Mr. SDSC's shirt, and my Chartreuse Sorbetto dress, I also cut out a couple of pairs of trousers and a top for myself.  And here are the results!

First up is a pair of grey trousers made out of suiting with a touch of lycra.  They hang really well, but are a little too heavy for the summer - they will be really warm in the winter.  I put side pockets in these and I am not that happy with them.  Pockets don't excite me like they do with others, so I will probably not put them in the next pair.

Just look at how they hang at the back (forget the dodgy pocket peeking out on the left!), I am just thrilled that they don't bunch up under my butt like my old RTW trousers do.  I used McCalls 5239 again - I love that pattern!

Hey, I hear you shout - that's a cute top . . . you know what, I have all sorts of conversations in my head, and I guess this is one of them . . . well thank-you!  I really want to make a great co-ordinated work wardrobe.  Although I work in an environment where casual clothing is acceptable, I personally like to dress up a bit and 'look the part'.  Using the information and suggestions in the Singer Perfect Plus book, I made the 'shapely shirt' out of some cotton with lovely woven thick and thin stripes.  I made a number of alterations such as a FBA, sway back and rounded back adjustment.  All in all, I am happy with this.  Seeing the photos of the back, it looks as though I can take in the excess fabric under the swayback adjustment - you can see it in the photo above where the fabric sticks out and catches the light.  I like the cute little sleeves and I love a collar on my tops as they help disguise my rounded upper back.

As with Mr. SDSC's shirt, I used my old, old, Singer Featherweight and buttonholer attachment to make the buttonholes.  Boy that is a good combination!

The other pair of trousers are from some black suiting that has woven black on black stripes that you cannot see in these photos, but they do look rather smart.

Again, I am really please with how they hang, and I am happy to be able to knock these out with some consistency, quickly and easily.

The same pattern (with more generous seam allowances) also made these jimmy jam trousers:

And the cute socks?  They were a 'mystery sock pattern' on Ravelry.  They have little glass beads down the side and are very soft and smooshy!

Well, having polished off that sewing, I am ready to have another cutting out marathon.  I have three lengths of linen/rayon in grey, natural and chartreuse, so I plan to cut out a 'shapely blouse' and a Sorbetto from each of the lengths.

These will be part of my 'Antipodean Adventure' collection for my trip to Australia.  The blouse and the Sorbetto can be worn on their own, or layered with the blouse acting as a lightweight jacket.  I also have fabric for three more shirts for Mr. SDSC and finally, oh yes finally, I am going to cut out my Oscar de la Renta shift dress.  The fabric has been washed (a 70/30 wool/silk houndstooth) that I planned to make for the Pattern Review RTW competition that  never made.  Here is the original version that I love so much!

So there we go, that should keep me busy for a while - what about you?

MMM - Week 3 and Plans!

The easy thing (for me anyway) is that I can wear something that I have made every day of the week.  Take right now, for instance, I am wearing MM jimmy jams and hand knitted socks.  My problem is getting photos of said clothing.  Oh well, I think that will be my challenge for next year!  I should also add that when I get home from work, I change out of work clothes and put on comfy loungy bottoms (jimmy jams) and hand knitted socks - hence all the sock photos!

I did get a Monday photo - and really I should learn to stand better in trousers as these actually hang really well.  Honest!

These trousers are based upon McCalls 5239 (if it ain't broke . . . . !) and the cardigan is based upon McCalls 4466.  I am wearing a black RTW tank underneath.  The trousers are a dark charcoal and have a cream/white pinstripe.  Great for office life!

Oh, go on then, I'll show you some more socks before I get on with my plans for the next week or so!

The rainbow ones above are one that I particularly like.  I dyed the yarn so that I would get a self striping rainbow effect and I am rather pleased with these.

I just love the yellow, pink and lilac in these - the yarn is Drops Fabel. 

Now then, back to sewing :)  I have almost completed my mustard linen trousers - I just need to hem them, then will get pics.

I also made this pair - they are cropped and made from a 'technical' fabric.  Years ago I was involved in a small business making fleece jackets and trousers for climbers and and a small section of the UK military.  My partner in the business gave me some of the fabric that was no longer required and I ended up with a few meters of this.  It is definitely polyester and is totally windproof!  If they were made by Patagonia or Berghaus they probably would have cost around $200-$300!  Mine?  Free!  Now looking at them I can see that you are thinking that these are really boring looking trousers - how do you jazz up a pair boring, sludge colored trousers? . . . . . . .

Well, you use pretty pink serging thread and fancy smancy ribbon for hemming!  Incidentally, the legs are level - it is just my photography that is somewhat wonky!! 

So really, it was a quiet week of sewing for me, I do have a bias cut 'A' line skirt cut out that I did not have chance to sew up.  And today I worked on a blouse/top pattern that I can wear without having to tuck in.  It is based upon the blouse in 'Perfect Plus' and I plan to start the wardrobe using this beautifully soft grey suiting (pants and long sleeved top) and the blue/grey striped cotton (short sleeved blouse).  I have been reading and re-reading this book and am excited to get started.  I know that a lot of people have given this book bad press because some of the styling/clothes are outdated and that the book is aimed a the Petite market (patterns can be adjusted to regular), but I love the idea and am excited to get going!

I also cut-out a skirt from this cotton/lycra jersey. 

The skirt will be my version of the Hopscotch Skirt by iCandy:

Source

I won't be sewing the 'jog' in the middle as my stripe repeat is about 12", nonetheless, I think it will make a fun skirt!

Well, that was my week - how was yours?