Pink & black roses skirt - with a flounce!

Finally - my Simplicity 2655 skirt is finished!  What do you think!?

I've really missed my sewing machine, so rather than watching paint dry this week (literally), I took the chance to do a bit of sewing between coats!  This is the final product from the first commercial pattern that I've bought - I have to say, it was (in the main) easy to follow and use - I'll definitely be making one of these again!

The two things I left to do were the zip and the waistband.

The zip

This was actually the first time I've used a standard zip in a skirt rather than an invisible zip - I like to tackle the really difficult things first, it seems.  It definitely was much easier to insert than the invisible one.  The pattern then indicated that there would be a bit of a fold to disguise the zip, rather than having it on show.  I really liked the effect this produced - and as it was easier to put in than the invisible zip, is definitely something to bear in mind for the future.

The waistband

The waistband, on first reading of the pattern, seemed a bit complicated!  It needed four pieces of fabric, as well as twill tape and interfacing.  After finally locating twill tape in Fabricland's haberdashery section, I was good to go.

One thing that had previously confused me about interfacing was how to get it to stick to the fabric...rather than the iron.  Thanks to a handy hints and tips web page, I discovered that the best way to apply iron-on interfacing is actually by covering the interfacing with a damp cloth and then pressing for between 10-15 seconds.  The results were perfect - and interfacing glued to my fabric, rather than my iron.

The twill tape is used to strengthen the waistband and stop it stretching.  I actually really like this idea, as I've noticed on other skirts that I've made that sometimes the waistbands do stretch, so it's good to keep it in shape.  I just sewed it in when I was sewing in the seam.

Twill tape

Finally, I had to sew in the waistband itself and sew the inside of the waist to the zip - I had to do a bit of hand sewing for this.  Hand sewing always makes me glad I normally can use my machine - I'm a bit of a clumsy hand sewer, and usually end up stabbing myself

Now it's ready to wear!

Flounce!

Sewing to do list: Autumn 2013

I thought it might be a good idea to put together a bit of a plan for my autumn sewing / crocheting - as this is my first year of crafting coming to a close, it would be good to see the things I want to achieve in these last few months and how achievable they actually are!

1. Roman blinds

We completely gutted our bathroom and put a new suite in, and we've also stripped the wallpaper and had our ceilings replastered in our hall, stairs and landing.  Basically, a fully redecoration, so my grand plan is that I'll make roman blinds for the landing and the bathroom windows.  They're quite little windows, so my hope is that it won't be too difficult a job - or at least won't be too expensive a mistake if something goes wrong!

I've found a tutorial on Pinterest, so once I finally finish painting, it'll be time for some sewing!

2. Maxi skirt

I'm going to make another maxi skirt - I really liked the summery yellow one I made a few months ago, so I thought a red one might be nice for autumn.  I picked some fabric up last week at Fabricland, and it's good to go when I get a free evening or afternoon.

3. Cord skirt

The fab striped cord that I bought out in Orlando is just begging to be used for a nice winter skirt - just to brighten up the dark days!  I'm planning to have a go at Simplicity pattern 2451 - pattern D is a short, cute pencil skirt that I'm thinking might look nice - all thoughts appreciated though!!

4. Top with sleeves

So far, as you'll have seen, I've made skirts, and a sleeveless top, but I haven't yet braved the making of anything with sleeves.  I've been eyeing the Renfrew top Sewaholic pattern for a while.  It is an intermediate pattern, so I might need to have a go at another pattern with sleeves first, but we'll see what happens.

5. Pyjamas

As the nights are getting cooler, I'm hoping to get pyjama bottoms made for Pete and me using the flannel fabrics I bought in America.  I absolutely love the last pair I made, so I'm looking forward to another pair.  This will also be my first go at making clothes for someone else - an interesting challenge, but I'm hoping the hubby won't be too judgemental.

6. Christmas presents!

This year I'm hoping to have a handmade Christmas and give lots of handmade gifts.  I've already started on some Christmas crocheting, and I'm hoping to do some sewing as well.  I'm hoping they'll turn out nicely and it won't just be the thought that counts!

And as I've not actually made anything yet, here's a nice early Autumn picture to distract you...!

Work in progress - Simplicity pattern 2655

One of the patterns I bought in America was Simplicity pattern 2655, so I took the opportunity to get started on it at the end of August.  Unfortunately it's on pause at the moment - we've been getting some work done on our house so the sewing machine is put carefully out of the way.  In the meantime though, here's how it's going so far...

I decided to use the fabric that I bought from Fabricland months ago - I'd been considering making a circle skirt with it, but I thought it would look great in this pattern.

A bit of a worrying start - I cut out all my pattern bits, and put them all together, and started to panic because they seemed far too small!  It took quite a while for me to work out that I'd mistakenly only cut two side panels instead of four - so it was quite a relief to discover I wasn't as huge as I thought I was!  I think I was so focused on cutting and trying to work out the correct sizing that I forgot to actually read the instructions on the pattern pieces themselves - oops!

So far:

• I've put together the front and back of the skirt - once I worked out how many panels actually need to be cut and attached, this was an easy step!

• Hemming - the pattern suggests that you hem the flounce before attaching it to the rest of the skirt.  This was really a great idea because it meant that I didn't have the entire skirt getting in the way when I was hemming - these pattern makers really know what they're doing!

• Flounce - I then attached the flounce to the skirt.  I really like the whole flounce idea - something different than the normal skirts I've been making.  I pinned it before, but it would probably be worth basting it first as well, because as the pins were removed as I went round the curve, it was easy for the fabric to slip and the seams become uneven.  Something to remember for next time.

Things still to do:

• Waistband - this includes using twill tape to reinforce the waistband.
• Zip installation - let's hope I really get my head around it this time!

The work on the house is almost over, so hopefully I'll get these last bits and pieces done soon!

Multicoloured mug cosy

I do like a little project for a quiet night in - so on Friday night I found this gorgeous pattern for mug cosies.  It's ideal for me, because I'm always making cups of tea and leaving them sitting around for ages before I drink them!

I learnt a new stitch - a half double crochet, and the pattern is easy to follow and adapt for different sizes of mugs and types of wool.  I've got so much wool left that I could probably do an entire matching set!!  A lovely little project for an evening.

Now to keep my cuppas cosy...!