Jenny Skirt

So as I mentioned in my post last week, I may have been away from blog-land but I have still been sewing, so I have a few finished projects that I need/want to post about. Today let's check out my finished Jenny pencil skirt!

 

Making a pencil skirt was actually on my 12 in 2012 list, which some of you might remember, and I did manage to get this finished in 2012. I actually had most of it sewn up ages ago, but it sat in my sewing room waiting to be hemmed forever! Why do I fear/loathe hemming so much? Whenever I do eventually get myself around it, it's never quite as horrific as I'm expecting. Saying that though, I'm not actually happy with how I hemmed this skirt. The skirt is lined with a fun bright pink (a colour which seems to appear quite regularly on this blog!) poly lining and due to the vent at the back I wasn't really sure how best to hem the lining and the actual skirt fabric. In the end I serged the lining and then treated the lining as one and turned them up together and then slip stitched the skirt to the lining fabric. It looked good. But then when I went out wearing my skirt and sat down, the fact that the skirt fabric could move around meant that the hem would droop a bit, which I don't like. So I wouldn't recommend doing that!!

I'm quite pleased with out these photos turned out (sorry if they are a bit grainy though - indoors, after work, during UK winter!!), they make me think that I should wear this skirt more often. However, looks can be deceiving unfortunately. I just find the large waistband on the Jenny skirt far too high on me. I have quite a short torso and this skirt doesn't do me any favours! The skirt section is good though, so perhaps I should try again with a narrower waistband, which I see being done quite a bit on other blogs.

It goes really well with one of the cowl tops I've made, so I'm pleased about that (that was a fluke, but I guess I'm drawn to certain colours, so it is perhaps inevitable!). 

 

Not too much to say about the project really. So I shall leave you with a sneak peek at another project I finished last year:

 

 

12 in 2012 Update and a Revision

 

So, I’m coming up to the half-way mark for my 12 in 2012 challenge (omg, has nearly half the year gone by already??!!) and I thought it was time to reflect on my progress and see what I still needed to focus on. Let’s have a look at how things are looking at the moment:

12 Pieces of Handmade Clothing:
1. Shirt (or shirt dress)
2. Jacket
3. Trousers
4. Some sort of under-garment - Lace Bandeau Knickers (inc. a tutorial)
5. Pencil skirt – I just have to hem this and then can tick this off
6. Summer Dress - A Nautical Knit
7. Bombshell Dress
8.Wildcard! - Pink Curtain Skirt
9. Wildcard! - Primrose Cowl Top - Purple Voile
10.Wildcard! - Primrose Cowl Top - Black polkadot chiffon
11. Wildcard! - Ikat and Lace shift dress
12.Wildcard! - Black and white shift dress

12 New Sewing Techniques:
1. Collar
2. Sleeves
3. Lapped zip
4. Hand-picked zip - Pink Curtain Skirt
5. Mitered corners
6. Baby/rolled hem - Self-drafted Cowl Top
      - Also used on my Lace Bandeau Knickers (with overlocker)
7. Piping
8. Scallops
9. Inset a Godet
10. Make own bias binding
11. Underlining
12. Boning

12 New Sewing Skills:
1. Sew from a vintage pattern - A Nautical Knit
2. Draft a skirt sloper/block
3. Draft a bodice sloper/block
4. Make a self-drafted half-circle skirt
5. Remove and replace a zip from a bought garment
6. Make my own Croquis...in progress
7. Sew with jersey - A Nautical Knit
8. Try patchwork
9. Make a garment from a Burda Magazine pattern (successfully!)
10. Learn to use an overlocker/serger
         - first post
- Rolled hem
11. Learn to crochet
12. Make a Colette Patterns garment

So I am well on target for my 12 pieces of handmade clothing, with only 4 more items to complete the list, but I’m sadly falling behind with my sewing techniques and sewing skills! On reflection I can see that, while I thought I was tying these lists together, I realise that I could have been a lot smarter. For example I have listed that I want to ‘make a self-drafted half-circle skirt’ under my sewing skills list, but I didn’t add it as one of the pieces of handmade clothing list! That was a bit of a slip-up there really. I also gave myself some ‘wildcards’ with the thought that you can’t plan a whole years worth of sewing because you never know what life if going to throw at you (like getting engaged!), but I should have built these into my techniques and skills lists too unfortunately.

With these thoughts in mind, I have decided to revise my 12 in 2012 goals:

12 Pieces of Handmade Clothing:
1. Some sort of under-garment - Lace Bandeau Knickers (inc. a tutorial)
2. Pleated Skirt - Pink Curtain Skirt
3. Cowl Top - Primrose Cowl Top - Purple Voile
                  - Primrose Cowl Top - Black polkadot chiffon
4. Shift Dress - Ikat and Lace shift dress
                     - Black and white shift dress
5. Summer Dress - A Nautical Knit
6. Pencil skirt – I just have to hem this and then can tick this off
7. Bombshell Dress (Craftsy Class)
8. Half-circle skirt
9. Jacket
10. Couture dress (Craftsy Class)
11. Shirt dress
12. Cape – (I have started this, so I’m keen to actually complete it!)

12 New Sewing Techniques:
1. Hand-picked zip - Pink Curtain Skirt
2. Baby/rolled hem - Self-drafted Cowl Top
- Also used on my Lace Bandeau Knickers (with overlocker)
3. Underlining (Bombshell and Couture dress)
4. Boning (Bombshell dress)
5. Carbon paper marking (Bombshell and Couture dress)
6. Thread-traced seams (Bombshell and Couture dress)
7. Setting sleeves (jacket and maybe couture dress)
8. Collar (shirt dress)
9. Buttonholes (shirt dress)
10. Working with silk organza (couture dress)
10. ?
11. ?
12. ?

12 New Sewing Skills:
1. Sew from a vintage pattern - A Nautical Knit
2. Make my own Croquis...in progress
3. Sew with jersey - A Nautical Knit
4. Learn to use an overlocker/serger
- first post
- Rolled hem
5. Make a self-drafted half-circle skirt
6. Remove and replace a zip from a bought garment (I have a charity shop dress that needs this done!)
7. Make a garment from a Burda Magazine pattern (successfully!) (Bombshell dress and jacket)
8. Draft own pattern (Primrose Cowl Top)
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?
12. ?

 

We shall see how I get on with my revised lists now! I have two MAJOR projects still to complete (the Bombshell and the Couture dresses) so I hope I’m not biting off more than I can chew…

How is everyone else getting on with their own 12 in 2012 lists? And revisions required or are you all sticking to your plans better than me?

A Nautical Knit

Ahoy there! Long-time, no blog! Sorry about the lack of blogging around here recently – I’ve been going through a lot of stressful/emotional/unnecessary-to-blog-about wedding-related crap recently (who knew I would find planning a wedding one of the most un-enjoyable things I’ve ever done!!) and it’s zapped my sewing mo-jo a bit. But I think I’m turning a corner and things could be looking up…after all, I have a lovely new jersey dress to wear!

This is my first proper attempt to sew with jersey (previously I made this skirt…but it was super-duper easy so I wasn’t really counting it!) and I used my lovely overlocker as much as possible. The jersey that I bought was part of a big haul that I picked up during a sale at my local fabric shop. I loved the stripes (I am a sucker for anything striped!), but it’s rather drapey, and while that might be nice for the end result, trying to tame it while sewing was a bit trickier than I thought. I had also planned for this to be a maxi-dress, but unfortunately didn’t have enough fabric for this pattern.

 

The pattern I used was McCall’s 5490, a ‘vintage’ 70’s pattern from an Ebay job-lot I won a few years back. It is specifically for stretch-knits…but requires a zip at the back. I don’t get that! I knew my jersey was stretchy enough to not need a zip, plus I knew a zip would weigh the fabric down, so I omitted it.

You may be able to see that the pattern also comes with your classic 70’s mega-collar. Not normally my style, but I thought I’d give it a go anyway. Turns out, I didn’t have enough fabric to add the collar! I was a bit disappointed about that, but I do like the dress as is nonetheless.

 

I cut the front yolk and the waist tie with the stripes perpendicular to the main body for a nice contrast effect, which I really love. The waist tie (or empire-line tie really!) is a god-send because without it the dress would be a bit sac-like. It does have a bit of shaping, but the tie really pulls it all in and make it a lot more flattering.

It’s not perfectly executed by any means, but as a first attempt at jersey, I’m pretty happy! I can see myself wearing this a LOT over the Summer (Northern Irish weather permitting!!!).

 

12 in 2012 update:

I am please to say that this project ticks off a massive THREE goals from my 12 in 2012 list:

12 Pieces of Handmade Clothing:

• A Summer Dress

12 New Sewing Skills:

• Sew from a vintage pattern
• Sew with jersey

Woo-hoo!!

Right…I’m off now to kick some wedding-planning butt!

 

P.S. For those of you who may be curious the photos were taken on Ballyholme beach, N.I. (where future-hubs and I are hoping to move to soon…if the wedding doesn’t consume all of our savings!!!)

Holy Cowl - I made a top!

Well I am so excited to be able to share my latest make with you all today. I gave you a sneak-peak on Sunday, but the photos didn’t really show the top off very well – so here it now is, in all it’s glory!

OK, so why am I so excited about sharing this top with you? It’s just a simple cowl neck top right? Well yes, but did I mention that I drafted the pattern for this MYSELF?!!! Yes-siree, I started with no pattern and ended with a top that I just totally love! Well actually, to be completely honest, I started with a RTW top that I really loved, and after a fair bit of head-scratching and a few slightly squew-if muslin attempts I had a eureka moment last Wednesday night and cracked it,

I whipped this top up (including making up a muslin version, copying that onto a neat paper pattern and then making up the purple version) in a few hours on Wednesday night, so it really is a quick and simple make. It’s super neat inside, with french seams and pale lilac bias binding on the arm holes and back neck. Oh, and the edge of the cowl neck is done with a neat baby hem (one of my techniques to tick-off for my 12 in 2012). The neatest bit though is that the shoulder seams are completely enclosed because of the cowl neck. I don’t have photos of it to show you today (doh!), but I’ll take some and show you another time (there will be a lot more of these tops to come!).

The fabric is a really buttery-soft voile which I got on sale from M is for Make last year. They didn’t have a full meter of the fabric left, so amazingly you can squeeze this top out of less than a meter! The RTW top that I copied was made from some sort of slinky poly so the cowl is a lot less prominent and drapes better, but I took a chance with the voile and I’m happy with how it turned out. It was also very easy to work with (while a slippery fabric would not be!) so that was an added bonus. As you can see from the photos above, the front piece is cut on the bias while the back isn’t. It does mean that the pattern doesn’t in any way, shape or form match up, but to be honest I don’t think it matters. Having the front on the bias obviously aids with the drape of the cowl, while having the back on the straight of grain gives stability to the shoulders and keeps the tops structure. You may also notice from the photos above, that the front of the top has a curved hem, while the back is straight. The original top has a straight hem front and back, but the curve was born out of necessity, due to lack of fabric! Turns out I rather like the curved hem – and I am tempted to turn the back hem into a curve as well. Or I might not be bothered on this occasion – I plan to wear the top mainly tucked in so it doesn’t really matter.

I had bought this fabric to make a Sorbetto out of, but I’m afraid that the Sorbetto just doesn’t really suit me (oh oh, I fear severe backlash from the huge Sorbetto fan club for saying that! I didn’t say I didn’t like the pattern – just that it didn’t suit me!!), so I’m really pleased with how I ended up using the fabric. I have a few more fabrics in my stash which I am hoping to turn into cowl tops (including a certain Liberty Silk I might have picked up recently).

And the other reason why I’m super excited to share this make with you is that, once I figure out how to actually do it, I’m hoping to share the pattern on the blog!! Yeay for free patterns!

12 in 2012: 1 month up-date and who’s joining in

Well we are a month into 2012 so I thought I would do a quick up-date on my progress of my self-made goals for 2012 (see original post here), and also share who else has decided to join me.

It’s only been one month, so I haven’t got an awful lot to show so far – but nonetheless, I would say I am on track (for the moment!)…let’s hope I can keep the momentum up:

12 Pieces of Handmade Clothing:
8.Wildcard!  Pink Curtain Skirt


12 New Sewing Techniques:
4. Hand-picked zip - Pink Curtain Skirt


12 New Sewing Skills:
10. Learn to use an overlocker/serger - first post…getting there!

I actually am well on the way from ticking another goal off each category, which I’m so pleased with, but I’ll officially consider them ‘done’ when I blog about them.

And I was delighted to see that quite a few of you decided to join in and make your own 12 in 2012 goals:

• Anna from Paunnet – her goals are here
• Gina from Fingers Chopsticks and Bobbins – her goals are here
• Clare from Magpie Makes – her goals are here
• Juliette from Sewing and Style Den – her goals are here
• Kate from One Pink Tulip
• Jamie from Flaunt
• ?? from Ololi Makes – sorry, I don’t know your name…please do let me know!
• LsaSpacey from As I Said  - her goals are here
• Kalina from Kalinchen’s Closet - her goals are here
• Renae from Seams Awesome - her goals are here 
• Caffy from Bundana - her goals are here
• Sarah from Fashion Brick Road - her goals are here 
• Lucinda from Sew Wrong - her goals are here

Hope everyone is having fun checking off their goals. I know Anna and Juliette are certainly powering on ahead – you guys will have completed your 12 goals by June if you keep it up!!!

My blog has been a bit quite quiet sewing wise this week – which is ironic considering the amount of time I have spent sewing recently!!! Lots of sewing, but little photographing (except on Twitter)! I’m working on a really great project that I just can’t wait to share with you all…but it involves a fair bit of prep, so stay tuned and hopefully I’ll have it up on the blog for you all in March (ps. I’m not talking about my soon-to-open Etsy shop, although I have been working on that too)! 

 

And I just wanted to leave a wee note to say how really grateful I am of all your support and lovely comments on my blog. I would love to have some friends locally who share my hobby, but unfortunately my friends aren’t really into it so it’s brilliant to have a place to go to share my hobby with like-minded souls - the on-line sewing community is such a fantastic group.

I would have loved to have joined in with the activities that are going on in blog-land this week for Sew Grateful Week, but unfortunately I didn’t know about the deadlines soon enough! Do pop on over to Debi’s lovely blog to check it all out though!

12 in 2012 blog button

As promised, here is the blog button for the 12 in 2012 challenge. Just copy and paste the code in the box below and either add to a widget or gadget on your blog or pop it in a post!







<center><a href="http://su-sews-so-so.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-year-goals-12-in-2012.html?utm_source=BP_recent//"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnq0UsqxfcP-snQvOASdGCWfpdcZ6FCLS-vfi5-_phd5FbXMSVHSiSyhcUHsHd5pPnUmVx1g2ASkOEFuzJGwLZDqdqkV8gGSnaXD573U9Cp24ETiWabShRgZcsvYQZvphHlhqTiue6EQ/s1600/12+in+2012+200pix.png"/></a></center>

New Year Goals - 12 in 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm not overly thrilled with my lack of productivity in 2011, and so I've sat myself down and had a little thought about how I could rectify this. Rather than new year resolutions (which, come on, we all know we don't keep!), I have come up with 12 in 2012! I'm setting myself SMART goals (lol, can you tell I'm a Project Manager in 'real' life?!) which I can tick off as I complete them. And to help me along the way, I've added a page to the blog to keep track of it all.

Specific: each goal is a specific item

Measurable: I'll link to each project/goal once it's achieved

Achievable: every goal has been achieved by others before me, so they should all be achievable!

Realistic: Hmmmm, perhaps not....should I change 'R' to Ridiculous?!

Timely: all to be completed by the end of 2012

Because I'm a sucker for punishment (biting off more than I can chew! Makes me think the 'A' and 'R' in my SMART goals aren't very accurate!), I've got three lists that I hope to achieve:

12 Pieces of Handmade Clothing:

1. Shirt (or shirt dress)
2. Jacket
3. Trousers
4. Some sort of under-garment
5. Pencil skirt
6. Summer Dress
7. Bombshell Dress
8. Half-circle skirt
9. Wildcard!
10.Wildcard!
11. Wildcard!
12.Wildcard!

12 New Sewing Techniques:

1. Collar
2. Sleeves
3. Lapped zip
4. Hand-picked zip
5. Mitered corners
6. Baby/rolled hem
7. Piping
8. Scallops
9. Inset a Godet
10. Make own bias binding
11. Underlining
12. Boning

12 New Sewing Skills:

1. Sew from a vintage pattern
2. Draft a skirt sloper/block
3. Draft a bodice sloper/block
4. Drafted a half-circle skirt
5. Remove and replace a zip from a bought garment
6. Make my own Croqui
7. Sew with jersey
8. Try patchwork
9. Make a garment from a Burda Magazine pattern (successfully!)
10. Learn to use an overlocker/serger
11. Learn to crochet
12. Make a Colette Patterns garment

As you can see, I'm not completely in over my head, I've made sure some of the goals under each list link together - so when I finish sewing a shirt, I can also tick off collar and sleeves, and when I make my Bombshell dress, I'll be able to tick off Burda Magazine pattern, underlining, boning etc!

Anyone fancy joining in? Feel free to make your own 12 in 2012 goals and we can panic together as December 2012 looms and only have half the list ticked off   share our achievements together! In my next post I'll share a button which you can add to your blog if you like. Do let me know if you join in!