Holly and a Tartan Cara

Tina Givens has been really upping her game recently and releasing a lot of patterns.  So what is a girl to do?  Yep, how did you guess?  I bought some!

Here is the Holly tunic that comes with some slim leg pants too.  I used a linen mix fabric from last year that had a bit of a pattern to it.  The only change I made was to shorten the sleeves so that they were similar to the Violet that I have previously written about.

I'm wearing a plain slip underneath.  I think it is a Jaqueline but with a symmetrical hem.   On it's own, the tunic is a little short at the front for my liking, and would show off a little too much of the dropped crotch pants, so the slip works really well - although it is all surprisingly warm!

As you can see, the gathered sides add a lot of fabric!  It is rather cute though!

You can see the gathers here as well.  They are a nice addition, but probably not too forgiving if you are pear shaped.

I thought it went rather well with one of my home made necklaces, using a string of beads that were my Mums.

I thought I'd do my take on jeans and a plaid shirt with the lovely Cara . . . .

It was a bit breezy, as you can see, so I got some inside pics as well.

Now I know you are looking at this and thinking 'why didn't she match up the plaid?'  Well, there is a story behind that.  Along the lines of cutting out the back bodice on the fold and the front bodice with a seam allowance.  After a few swear words, and the fabric having a time out, I cut a bias panel to cover the front seam and left it at that!  Bah!  This is a lovely, soft, brushed cotton and I love it . . . except that the fabric clings to my jeans a bit.  Oh well.

You can see the triple zigzag on the neckline and arms, attaching the foldover bias biding.  My favourite, non-bulky way of finishing off the raw edges.

And the mismatched back pieces . . . . . but with a cute patch :)  Oh well, it will still get a lot of wear!

Well, I think that is me all caught up.  I've got more socks on the go, and planning what to make next.  This Lagenlook/Tina Givens fix is actually becoming a bit of an obsession and pushing the other styles out of my wardrobe.  Who'd-a-thought?!

What is your style?  Does it change?

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?