Top 5 Favourite/Most Worn 2012

Posted on December 17, 2012 by sewbusylizzy

Gillian at Crafting a Rainbow is posting her Top 5 hits/misses/reflections/inspirations/goals for 2012. Great idea.

I think it’s always great to sit back and reflect on hits & misses – celebrate your moments of joy and absorb what you have learnt from the ‘minor’ hiccups.

So here are mine. Can you guess Number 1? Sorry no prizes for guessing the obvious…

SEWAHOLIC CAMBIE – I’ve got THE CAMBIE POX
Well you are hardly surprised are you? I adore these dresses. Beautiful finish, fit and the two skirts produce two completely different dresses. I adore my floral the most, with polka dots a very close second and then the lovely black number (it’s very sensible which makes outrageous adoration a little pathetic).

Sewaholic Cambie, View B. The perfect sundress, pretty, ladylike but not ‘old & fussy’.

SEWAHOLIC ALMA – not squee or twee
The perfect woven top. No buttons, no buttonholes, no fuss, versatile, comfortable. Perfect. If I had to teach the world to sew in perfect harmony… we would all be making Almas. There is enough variation in that pattern to keep anyone happy.I would be hard pressed (no pun intended) to choose a favourite between these tops.

Sewaholic Alma – view A

Sewaholic Alma – not squee or twee… just me

VOGUE 1247 Skirt & top – the tardis skirt and top
Love, love, love this skirt. Amazing. Best casual skirt ever. I wear it all year round thanks to boots and leggings. We are BFFs.
Top is gorgeous. It could look big and boxy but in the right fabric it drapes beautifully. I wear the skirts and top… a lot.
This picture doesn’t do the pattern justice. However if you don’t have this pattern you really must buy it.

What I really wore all day… Vogue 1247 top and skirt…

VOGUE 1236 – not a sack of potatoes a frolicking frock!
This was one of my early makes. It’s not super flash but it’s so comfortable, nicely finished and I wear it quite a lot. A lovely simple pattern.

Vogue 1236 – Definitely not a Sack of Potatoes

SEWAHOLIC LONSDALE
I made this last week and worn it twice already. Great casual summer dress, flattering, simple to make and comfortable. Yes, yes! Pictures coming very soon.

Sewaholic Lonsdale fabric choice

HONORABLE MENTIONS

MARIADENMARK
I haven’t had a chance to take photos for the blog for my Yasmin Yoke skirts. Or make my final pair of Winnie Wide Leg Trousers. I suspect they will be on my 2013 Top 5 list!

Life intervened in a spectacular way late this year… work, family, you name it, was all going pear shaped. Casual clothes I find easy to photograph as I spend lots of time on the beach. Work clothes I am always racing out the door and the evenings are long and late and the light is bad. Great simple design, easy to wear and make. Although I did sneak in this picture when I had to pick one of my girls up (sent home from school sick – so I enlisted her to take a blog photo. Come on! She just had ‘itchy eyes’ which turned out to be an allergy and was better within an hour of medication and home!)

Sewaholic Alma – as a work blouse. I’ve paired this with Maria Denmark a-line Yasmin Yoke skirt!

I have only muslined the Winnie wide leg trousers, I suspect these are my perfect trousers. They fit perfectly, I adore the wide legs and they are really easy to cut out and put together. There are not a million and one pieces. Just a simple clean design. Love them. There will be a ‘real’ pair of these in 2013.

MariaDenmark Winnie Trousers: muslin back

Love the simple t-shirt and look forward to making more – I also printed out the Kimino tshirt pattern this week. I’ve also just purchased her brand new Day to Night top which I’ve just got to get some elastic for! It’s just $5.50 on Craftsy at the moment – special introductory price!!

MariaDenmark Birgitte Basic T-shirt – short sleeved t-shirt

SELFLESS SEWING
I adored making the Fishing Vest, it was trimmed with all manner of frivolousness, she admires it, I adored making it.

A Fishing Vest – this project was a blast, I loved every minute.

Confirmation dress. Not my most stellar make but again Miss 7 adores it and that’s the most important thing of all! I think it’s in her Top 5!

Giselle’s confirmation – she is doing well not to shiver. It was freezing and they made us wait outside in a cold wind for 20 minutes! Lovely!

APRONS
This might seem a weird choice but I loved making these – thank you Karen for a light-hearted sewalong that really got me to make something completely different! I loved photographing them – particularly when the tourists started taking pictures of me too! They are just fun. I’ve even made an amazing one as a Christmas gift. Yes, yes! You can see it soon!

Butterick B5474, view E: Strawberry Fields Forever. Oh and that? In the background? That’s coathanger – also known as Sydney Harbour Bridge.

I’ll be with you in a Jiffy… with a Pattern Pyramid!

Posted on December 15, 2012 by sewbusylizzy

Simplicity Jiffy 4977 – at the Lighthouse, this is only a few minutes from my home… I really do sew by the seashore!

When I said I’d be with you in a Jiffy… I really meant it!

In November I won a Pattern Pyramid on Made by Trisha’s blog. I managed to keep quiet about it as I knew it would take while to arrive from USA. Trisha was off at a conference, check out the dress she made to wear to it here.

The pyramid arrived this week… and you will be pleased to know that I’ve already made two things! Hey don’t look so shocked, I’m not SewBusyLizzy for nothin’! LOL.

OK I know that you ain’t so interested in my sewing as you are in the Pyramid itself, huh? *sniff* After stalking many a Pattern Pyramid I understand, really I do *sniff*.

And yes, it’s a pretty good one.

The jury is still out, I can’t decide what to keep. At the moment I’m a little bit in love with the very simple Jiffy 60s number. And yes, that’s the Jiffy that I’m wearing at the top of the post 🙂

Simplicity Jiffy 4977

I made the Jiffy on the spur of the moment. I was digging through the stash looking for something else and stumbled across this vintage fabric (you know how that happens) I picked up at an op shop for $3 for 3 meters. I suspect it’s a 70s print. I have no idea what it’s composed of… but it’s quite heavy, a twill weave and has a fabulous drape. It just felt ‘right’ and in a jiffy – or a few hours – the Jiffy was born. Miss 9 and ELH decreed that I should make the sleeveless number so I obliged. I even had some vintage hooks & eyes to close the back (it’s supposed to be a button & loop but this felt ‘right’). So total cost (excluding electricity and cotton etc for those auditing types) was $2. I have enough fabric left to make an Alma with this 🙂

My modern cheating touch was to use my brand new overlocker/serger to finish the seams – this fabric is a ‘frayer’.

Simplicity Jiffy 4977 – interior

Verdict? Jiffy = lots of fun and a very comfortable dress!

Now I had thought I would keep Simplicity 4687 – the shift, jacket and overblouse. So cute! It seemed the perfect solution to my Christmas dress dilemma. I thought I would make a red dress with a green lace over blouse.

Simplicity 4687 Pattern Pyramid fail

Glad I muslined this. It’s too big. Yes, yes, yes. I could grade the pattern. I could make alterations. And I really admire people that do that. However for me… there is a world of patterns out there that fit me and I’d rather fritter away my time with those 🙂 This was nice enough to sew but a major sewing/fitting fail. I could not even be bothered to tidy up the hem for the pictures 🙂

Simplicity 4687 Pattern Pyramid fail – back view – it’s huge!

Verdict? I’m not a vintage size 12. Lesson learnt. It’s staying in the Pyramid.

I’m still dying to try the 6512 pants… they might be too small though. And trust me you don’t want to see my stretch marks in that crop top. I am a small person and had two babies around the 9 pound mark – scarred for life I tells ya. I’m sticking with the dresses.

What am I keeping? I don’t know!!! Decisions!! I thought about tracing off the pattern but decided I will just throw a few more in. I have plenty of vintage patterns and I actually love seeing how the Pyramid morphs and changes with every blog it passes through. At the moment the Jiffy is definitely the front runner. I can see myself making this up many times…

What should I throw into the mix? A jacket? A Vintage Vogue? An 1980s fashion crime?

Excited? Wanna win? You can find the rules of the Pattern Pyramid here – when it was started by the lovely Karen of Did You Make That? In a nutshell you must have a blog to participate (sorry non-bloggers!). Leave a comment and let me know if you are in!

The Pattern Pyramid winner will be chosen by a lucky draw on December 23, 2012. Good luck!

JIFFY DRESS
Pattern: free
Fabric: $2 op shop.

LOCATION
Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie
Tacking Point Lighthouse is Australia’s third oldest lighthouse. It was built on a rocky headland about 8 kilometres south of Port Macquarie in 1879 by Shepherd and Mortley, to a design by the New South Wales Colonial Architect, James Barnet. It is classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW). Tacking Point was named by explorer Matthew Flinders in 1802 during his 1802–1803 circumnavigation of Australia
(source: wikipedia)

Oh and if you have read this far it was WINDY today. Really windy… we were lucky to get these pictures… some of them looked like this…

I’ve been nominated for some blog awards – more on that later… oh and I made the Sewaholic Lonsdale dress. Verdict: sewing WIN! Photos soon.

I WON… and a Pyramid is coming…

Posted on December 12, 2012 by sewbusylizzy

It’s so funny how things turn out. Remember this dress?

Vogue 1151 – just can’t wear it!

Where I could not decide whether to wear it or not? Well when the Exposed Zipper contest, sponsored by Coats & Clark, popped up on Pattern Review I thought ‘hmmmm, I have something with an exposed zipper I might just enter it’ and then it won! I was always pleased with how the zipper looked and it’s gratifying that all the work that went into making this dress (it’s really nicely finished) paid off! I’m not so pleased with how I’ve got those two bulges on my back – but that’s me pulling my shoulders a little rounder so the zip is more ‘exposed’ *sigh* the things we do for sewing!

I won a Restyling with Exposed Zippers course with Angela Wolf and a pack of fashion zippers from Coats & Clark. I’ve always enjoyed Pattern Review, I think it’s a great resource if you are thinking about making a certain pattern or just cruising the gallery for inspiration. Thank you Pattern Review!

And OMG, I just spotted these Christmas ornaments on Coats & Clark… how cute!!

PATTERN PYRAMID…

I won a Pattern Pyramid a little while ago from Made By Trisha. It arrived yesterday – just got to take some pictures of the patterns, write a post and then you can all start jumping up and down and screaming ‘pick me! pick me!.

HOODIES FOR NICE GIRLS… Vogue 8854

Posted on December 1, 2012 by sewbusylizzy

I made a hoodie…

Vogue 8854 hoodie – for a ‘nice’ girl

I can’t be a bad-ass cos it’s a Vogue hoodie. Yes the hoodie for ‘nice’ girls… from the latest season release from Vogue.

I used a Marc Jacobs knit that I picked up in Sydney’s Surrey Hills The Fabric Store last month. It’s divine. Soft and cuddly. Navy on one side and royal blue on the other. And a screaming bargain at just $8 a metre. Yes, yes I know you are really jealous now… I only needed 1.6m for this top! I got the pattern for about $7 (including postage in a major indulgence haul from BMV).

Vogue 8854 hoodie – neck closed with toggle

Rachel of MyMessings in Twitter suggested making it fully reversible with flat fell seams… completely awesome idea… I eventually came to the conclusion the fabric would be a little thick (the fabric! not me thank you very much!). Good decision. I snapped two needles making this hoodie (or maybe it’s more of a bad ass hoodie than I thought).

My biggest dilemma was whether navy should be on the outside or inside. I know! Decisions!! I nearly put navy on the outside. However I have quite a few dark jeans and felt the royal blue was more versatile… and sometimes a huge chunk of shapeless navy or black just looks… well… shapeless.

This is absolutely nothing fancy (except the dead posh fabric of course) about this. I love the contrast colour that you see inside the lower back hem, hood and neck facing.

Vogue 8854 hoodie – back view

I found the hem went a little wavy/wonky but I’m not too concerned. I think it will settle down with some wash & wear. Again I think the weight of the fabric is an issue here… but it’s so snuggly all is forgiven. Despite being quite thick fabric, it’s very soft and drapey.

It’s extremely comfortable, easy to wear and I think will be a casual winter favourite. It’s not fancy wear but hey, everyone needs a little ‘slouch’ in their life right?

Vogue 8854 – hood up

I turned under the inside edges of the neck facings. They just looked untidy unfinished or overlocked.
I flipped over the fabric to get a contrast on my neck facing when the toggle is undone. I thought from the look of the pattern only one facing would be revealed. Doh! Not true (although I could be a little neater in my styling – this was a slap on the nearest jeans/footwear and run into the backyard photo shoot). I don’t mind it so much as I figure it’s going to be done up most of the time. Note to self: stop trying to be tricky.
Vogue hoodie – all the guts – no glory. Still need to tidy up the end of the neck/hood seam. It was tough to sew through the thickness of the fabric neatly.
I used a wooden toggle instead of a button – a suggestion from ELH.
I omitted the snaps which are to hold the flap down more firmly. I just think they would look messy with the neck open.
I used a twin needle on the hem and cuffs. Yeah I know, dead fancy for a hoodie right?
I set the sleeves in flat because… well it’s just so much easier! There is no gathering in the sleeves. I attached the sleeves and then sewed up the sleeve and side seams in one go. Why make life hard for yourself?
I love this fabric and I like the cuffs turned back so the contrast inner shows. I haven’t stitched these back as I want the length for the colder winter days. Yes, tragically I live somewhere where winter isn’t really that cold and this will probably be quite snug most days…
Vogue hoodie – neck open.
I hand-stitched the outside bottom of the neck opening down, rather than edge stitching along the bottom edge as the pattern says. I found the edge stitching was very obvious due to the thickness of the fabric. It created a giant puffy indentation. Not so fancy. I also stitched a little further up the bottom of the opening as I did not want to put little press studs to close the opening. I just thought it would look messy when the toggle was undone.

I figure if I get sick of the ‘bum flap’ as I have nicknamed it, I can always shorten it a little.

Next time I am fortunate enough to make it to The Fabric Store, I am going to pick up some lightweight Metalicus wool fabric, or NZ merino knit. I think this would make a gorgeous t-shirt weight top. Almost like a tunic… I suspect this is the sort of fabric Vogue have used in their top.

Good news? I’ve got the same fabric coming my way at Christmas courtesy of my mother-in-law. 🙂 this time it’s soft pink and fawn… not sure if it’s another hoodie or a jacket… I’ll have to wait ’til it talks to me…

Random interesting facts about hoodies: Madalynne recently posted about hoodies and a little about their origins.

IN OTHER SEWBUSY NEWS…

Whole Wheat Progress, the back

I’m knitting a cardigan… I think… I had a major brain explosion and couldn’t nut out the pattern. When I woke up one morning this week and went ‘Doh! You IDIOT’ (and that was being nice to myself – I can knit I’m just not very good at it – and of course I’ve chosen a pattern with lace and cables… see My Messings… I’ve been in love with this pattern ever September she posted it as a consideration in her knitting adventures… she went on to knit Miette.. and has now started Whole Wheat by Alexandra Charlotte Dafoe (you can pick up the pattern for $7 on Ravelry – where I am SewBusyLizzy if you wanna be friends) … I decided I could not live without it anymore either.Now I have figured out the pattern I don’t know what my problem was…. other than being ridiculously tired of course…

Funny… I can sew a dress with boning, lining and underlining but knitting is hard!

Final picture – taken by Miss 9 at bedtime on the iPhone…

Hoodie shot by Miss 9

Now I have to go and cut out a corporate jacket for Miss 9 who is starring as the corporate b*&^% who tries to outsource the elves work at Santa’s workshop. Cheery Christmas stuff…

NOT SQUEE OR TWEE… JUST ME… Sewaholic Alma: View B

Posted on November 26, 2012 by sewbusylizzy

Sewaholic Alma – not squee or twee… just me

I’ve been in love with this fabric ever since I spied it in the deserted rayon fabric corner of Lincraft.

Sewaholic Alma fabric – I LOVE these birdies

I kept going back and stroking the roll… and not buying it… I eventually realised that I would always regret not buying it once it disappeared and I couldn’t visit it any more. I could only imagine it as a top – with very few seams or darts – so I purchased a metre to soothe the birdie craving.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to make another Alma and it occurred to me that the birdies might work. I love this Sewaholic pattern, I’m not much into fuss and the simplicity of this design really appeals to me, no buttons, no frills, no tucks just a blouse that sits beautifully. I adore my first Alma (how could I not with all the compliments I get when I wear it!) and the love affair looks set to continue!

1204 Sewaholic Alma – a beautiful versatile blouse

I decided to make View B which is the Peter Pan collar version. It feels a little ‘sweet’ to me so I decided to add a black contrast collar to take down the ‘twee’ factor a notch.

This pattern is a cinch to sew but I took my time. As it is rayon it is a little more ‘flighty’ than an obedient voile or lawn. I cut it out carefully and did the best I could to line up those slightly wonky wires that the birdies are perched upon.

As with my first Alma, I french seamed the shoulders and non-zip side. I even managed to get the fabric lines to match up at the front and back darts.

Sewaholic Alma – the side zipper

I also used the trick I learnt when I made the MariaDenmark tshirt & Simplicity 1880 – setting in the sleeve flat. How much easier does that make setting in a sleeve!!!

I wore it to work today – paired with my Maria Denmark Yasmin Yoke skirt. This skirt is very simple to make/fit and even has two little pockets. It’s available as a PDF download, and the pattern itself is just 12 pages! I don’t tend to print out the instructions, I read them on Evernote on my iPhone or iPad as I sew to save paper. There is also the benefit of enlarging bits to read! Maria sent me this skirt when she released the pattern – and it’s just taken me ages to photograph it (sorry Maria!). I whipped up two of these skirts over two nights – and I made this black one from the leftovers from my Sewaholic Thurlows. It’s very easy to fit. You sew the front and back and then pin the sides together and take in as necessary before you sew the side seams.

Sewaholic Alma – as a work blouse. I’ve paired this with Maria Denmark a-line Yasmin Yoke skirt! Photo by my daughter!

I’ve also made the Yasmin Yoke skirt in a burgundy ‘butter suede’ (whatever synthetic concoction that is!). So will need to photograph that too sooner or later! This skirt can be made in two lengths – as usual I favoured the ‘hussy’ length version 🙂

Slight Mishap

Despite being so careful in the making of this Alma, I botched the collar.

Like Sew {MM} when I added the facings to the neckline, I flipped them over to discover that the collar did not meet perfectly in the middle. I decided I could live with it. I even bought buttons to sew in the little gap to make it look deliberate.

Then we had a family trip to Sydney and on the way home I decided I could not live with it after all. I just felt as the collar was such a strong contrast to the rest of the top it was just too ‘obvious’ any attempt to disguise it would just look like a botched job.

Even though I had trimming back the neckline seam allowances, I unpicked about two-thirds of the front neckline. I ran a gathering stitch across the blouse body neckline I had unpicked. I used this to pull the neckline in just a tiny bit, re-basted the collar back onto the blouse, re-attached the facings and hey presto collar perfect! If I make this version of Alma again I will definitely be running that row of gathering stitches around the neckline before attaching the collar and facings.

I should have taken photos of the botched job but I had been sucked into a black hole of sewing pain & dilemma and could not think of anything else but my collar!! Sorry!

I’m really pleased with this ‘fix’ as you can’t tell that there is any gathering at all – it is very minor. And it saved the birdies from a fate worth than death… the rag bag!!

WHAT I LEARNT

Sometimes it’s better to just get up and walk away from the sewing machine when something goes wrong. Leave it for a few days but don’t give up on a problem. Sometimes the solution will pop into your head when you least expect it. Just let it happen don’t let the frustration or disappointment overwhelm you. Remember it’s a hobby not a life/death scenario. 🙂

VERDICT

I’m really happy with this blouse. I feel like I’ve somehow blended ‘twee & squee’ and come up with something that is very ‘me’.

Sewaholic Alma – not squee or twee. Picture taken late in the afternoon – light not so good!

DETAILS
Inspiration: Marie of A Sewing Odyssey
Alma Blouse: pattern from Sew Squirrel (no postage charge to Aussie stitchers!!). Fabric: rayon blend from Lincraft. Size 0
Maria Denmark Yasmin Yoke Skirt: Pattern available on Craftsy. Fabric from Lincraft – leftovers from my Sewaholic Thurlows.
Vogue 1247 skirt: Blogged about here.

Made-by-me family. Me in Vogue 1247 skirt & Alma blouse. LIttle Miss in her confirmation dress that I made/designed.

Sew Busy Lizzy

she sews by the seashore…

Category Archives: Sewing Projects