Women's Cowl Neck Sweatshirt

Is it just me, or does everyone have a sewing unicorn? - you know, that elusive sewing pattern where you kind of know what you want, but can't quite find the exact right thing you imagined.

For me it was a sweatshirt / jersey that had the potential to be slouchy and comfy, or more dressy casual depending on the fabric used.

I have tried out A LOT of patterns in search of this elusive garment, and followed many links to many more links.

And so it was that I found a free pattern on a website for a Cowl Neck Sweatshirt. It looked like it had potential, and hey it was free!, so why not give it a go.

I found some minky backed sweatshirting in deep stash, and cut it out. The pattern went together well, and the instructions were clear and had good photos to back them up.

I wasn't expecting too much, as it looked quite boxy, but OMG, I really like it!!

Swoon Scarf Neck Cardigan

At a recent sewing day, one of the ladies made the Swoon Scarf Neck cardigan and was kind enough to let me try it on.
As we are a similar size, it fit beautifully!

Coincidentally, I have had this pattern downloaded and printed for a while, but had never got to sticking it together.
This pattern is a bit different to a lot of others I have used in that to save paper (I'm guessing?) smaller edge pieces are put on different pages together. While this was initially a little odd, the edges where pieces joined were all clearly labelled, so it was fairly painless.

Having tried on my friend's cardigan I had my size sorted, so went ahead with a navy blue merino wool.
This sewed together easily and quickly, with all seams matching as they should.
The most time consuming part was hemming it!

I am really happy with the fit and the style, and can see getting a lot of wear from this.
I plan to make this again.

A great result from a free pattern. Yay!!

Morsbags

I happened to be looking for a free grocery bag pattern on the internet a little while ago, to use up some fabric stash. In my haphazard, one link leads to another to another to another, I came across the site for Morsbags.

The pattern was a simple, no-frills job that suited my purpose.

But then I got to reading some of the information on the site, and was incredibly impressed with what they are trying to do, and have so far achieved.

Their blurb;

Morsbags are handmade from recycled material, meaning it is completely unique. Over 175,000 morsbags are now being used worldwide (as of July 2015).

Can you sew? Go to www.morsbags.com to download the free pattern and make morsbags from old curtains, duvet covers, tablecloths etc.

This is a positive way to reduce the hideous number of plastic bags being used and to keep textile waste out of landfill - 1 million plastic bags are consumed per minute globally - of which hundreds of thousands end up in the oceans.

The idea is to get together with people in your local community, eat cake and make reusable morsbags and then give them away for free.

I really love the concept of recycing old textiles to make them - Nan's old flowery duvet, those questionable 90's curtains, and then giving them away by guerilla bagging people!

The 'giving away for free' is their main point of difference, with the idea that people will be a bit shocked to receive something handmade free, and perhaps think on the re-usable bag message a bit more than if they just went and bought one themselves.

If you are interested in making some for yourself or to giveaway, or even just have some unloved fabric that could be recycled into bags by someone else, all the details are on the Morsbags website, where you can also find groups near you if you want to join rather than play along at home.

** I am making bags myself to give away because I think this is a really good cause, but this is not a sponsored/promotional type deal. Just me being overly enthusiastic!!

Tablet covers

My children were fortunate to have been given tablets for Christmas. Both were the same, along with matching cases.
To tell them apart, and also to provide them with a little more protection, I set out to make them covers.

I used a free tutorial from Create Kids Couture, which offers instructions for cases in several different sizes for different tablets.

My only change was to replace the elastics with cotton/lycra fabric I sewed into a tube. The elastic I had on hand was either too firm or much too narrow.

These work quite well, and my only addition will be to pop a velcro dot on the back of the tablet for added security.

Birthday Present Sewing

Another one of those things 'they' don't tell you before you have children, is that children will make friends, and get invited to a LOT of birthday parties! And it seems we are in the midst of birthday season.

I am fortunate to have crafty friends who appreciate a good handmade gift, so the search was on for a great idea. I came across this Art-on-the-Go kit, and decided it would be perfect for the varying ages I needed to make gifts for - mostly 3 - 7 year olds.

These are great as they don't use much fabric, so I have been able to make use of my leftover offcuts from previous sewing projects.
I have also been able to match the fabric and colours to the child I have been making them for.

I have so far made at least half a dozen of these, and my own children are making noises that they would like one for themselves.

As well as the examples pictured, there have been art rolls made from denim, shirting stripes, sock monkey print, pinwale cord, and I have used what I had on hand for the batting layer - mostly towelling, polar fleece and flannelette.

Christmas Sewing Round-up

A quick round-up of the Christmas presents that were sewn up by me. Mostly, these are all patterns I have sewn previously, so not much to add.

Another Perfectly Preppy skort, from the pattern by the Scientific Seamstress. This was a popular choice again featuring favourite colour, purple. The spots fabric is a cotton, and the lining a poly/cotton poplin.

The free downloadable popover sundress pattern from Oliver and S. I chose not to use a contrasting fabric for the yoke and straps, as suggested in the pattern. This is made from a very light weight cotton.

These shorts in a size 18-24 months are made using the Oliver and S Sketchbook shorts pattern. These are made from a remnant of cotton drill used previously. These looked and sewed up very similarly to the previous pairs made with the Burda 9793 pattern. I would choose to sew the Burda pattern in preference to this one, while the boys are in the size range for it.

These mens boxer briefs were made using Kwik Sew 3298. Unfortunately, the yellow contrast fabric was a bit more contrasting than anticipated! They sewed up quickly and easily, would sew these again with a more considered choice of fabric. The main fabric is a cotton jersey, the contrast a cotton/lycra jersey.

More Bucket Hats

As we are coming into Summer again here, I decided it was time for some more sunhats at our place. Fortunately, I came across a hat sew along here, and decided it was just the motivation I needed.

I again used the Oliver and S bucket hat pattern from the 'Little Things to Sew' book. You can find this pattern for free here.

The first one is made from left over cotton drill, from the Superhero cape made previously.
The second (and third) one is made from some leftover rip stop cotton, from a pair of pants.

All of them have plain black cotton drill as their reverse side.

A great hat pattern, that I've made previously, and will continue to use.

Colette Sorbetto

Pattern Description: ultra-simple and swingy little top! With its ultra simple construction, elegant loose cut shaped with bust darts, and the box pleat detail down the front, this is a pattern you can throw together in a huge range of fabrics for summer.

Pattern Sizing: 0 - 18

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? This version doesn't quite look the original, due to a minor design change.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Super easy!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I have now made this pattern up three times, with plans for at least one more. You can make quite small changes, that give a completely different look

Fabric Used: This floral fabric is a mystery length that has been lurking in my sewing box for several years. No real idea what it is, but it drapes nicely!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: On this make, I did the front pleat as an inverted pleat, rather than a box pleat.
On previous makes, I've done the neck and arm bindings to the inside, and another version with an inverted pleat.
I also lengthened it by 2".

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I have plans to make at least one more of these, as they are easy to make, and easy to wear!

A great wee top, with lots of design possibilities.

Your Style Rocks - Eva Dress

After reading about the Your Style Rocks on Lazy Stitching's blog, I went to take a look, and fell in love with the Eva Dress.

It's size range finished just a squirt below my own, but I was keen enough to want to give it a try.

After taking advice from the ladies over at Pattern Review about the best way to incorporate my needed alterations, I made a trial of the pattern up in a cotton jersey. The fit was pretty spot on, so I went ahead and made it up in a lovely raspberry coloured merino knit.

The alterations I made were to add 1" to the centre of the front pattern pieces to accommodate a fuller bust and a fuller tummy than was originally intended. I also pulled the top drape piece a little tauter than than the under piece it is tacked to, so the pleats were held a little better.

The drape is designed to start at the waist on one side, and sweep down over the opposite hip, which is a nice detail that lifts the design beyond a plain dress. It also has an inverted box pleat in the back that provides nice shaping too.

It is a very flattering design, and was reasonably quick to go together. I think it has the potential to be dressed up or down depending on how you styled it, and it would make a great dress for travel if you were to use a no-crinkle knit.

I'm still trying to figure out how the cowl neck should be arranged, but this seemed the most flattering way on this particular day!