MCCalls 5252 fleece

So because I had the fabric and the black thread in my overlocker, I have made yet another McCalls 5252 fleece.

 So this was made from two Ikea throws one green and one black.  I have taken a strip of the green, cut the sleeves in half lengthways and attached the green to the two sleeve pieces to continue the colour.

 As this is the third one I have made I made this in approx 3 hours, 

Off on my sewing course with Gill Arnold today  so will post my tips and notes when I get back.

This time I selected the sewing machine image from the Janome 350E designs that come with the machine.

Vogue 1061 & M5252 finished

Well another Saturday night in on my own so put the time to good use to finish my outfits

 I got the the pants sewed for V1061, shorten the sleeves (they are too long) and hemed the bottom of the jacket.  I did debate using a wooly thread on my overlocker/serger but decided against it in the end.

My own label - sad I know

 M5252 fleece is now finished - I have to say I am so pleased with these - I now have 2 the black one I made earlier and this one.  They feel so great one, nice and cosy for these cold winter nights.

update on Vogue 1061 - nearly finished

Well I have to say I am really pleased with the way this outfit is coming together - once you get the panels in the right order, sewing them and top-stitching the back panels is really quite easy.

My camera has just run down its battery, so will post some more pictures tomorrow once it is charged, but I have now lined the hood, put the elastic in the sleeves, sewed the ties and the side seams.

 I have cut out the fastest pair of trousers ever - (one tip, make sure you attach the bottom of the leg pattern piece with tape before cutting out) I confess I kept looking at the pattern for the trousers thinking I will have to extend the trouser leg.  I guess it was a way of economizing on the paper or something but the bottom part of the leg is an extra pattern piece and they say stick them together before cutting out (Ibet there were a few short trousers created by people who don't read pattern pieces).  Back and front are the same - two darts in back and front.  Sew each inner leg seam, turn one right side out and slip it inside the other leg which is wrong side out and that is the bulk of the trouser done - just the waistband to go - hope to finish the outfit tomorrow now.

 

Fabric confessions

So I dropped into my local fabric market to purchase some more of the fabric I used for V1061 because once I cut out the trousers, I would like to make a simple top to go underneath the outfit.

 Sadly I have no self control - I found a beautiful paisley print in a soft cotton knit jersey (bought 2 yds) a grey animal print one (another 2 yds)  and some in red 5yds.  

oooooooooooh can't wait to decide what I am going to make - drove all the way to work thinking about what I would like to make with the outfit.

MCCalls 5252 fleece

 This is the MCCalls fleece pattern and I was absolutely delighted with it.  Option C took just under 2yds of fleece at 60" wide and was very quick and easy to make.

To the left you can see some embroidery done with my Janome 350E machine - this is one of the pre-set patterns and I used a nice gold metallic thread.

I had some black lighter weight fleece left over from my quilted jacket and some melon coloured fleece left over from a longer jacket.  Here is the work in progress and I have lined the inside of the collar with the black fleece and embroidered two more of the same design but in black to blend the colour scheme.

This is a really easy pattern to make and I would recommend it to anyone.  I have already worn the black fleece a few times since making it last week due to the colder weather coming to the UK.

Vogue - 1061 my next project.

So this is my next project.  I have been looking for something that I can wear on my long-haul business flights and thought this was ideal.

I have cut out the jacket (long version) and am using a brown cotton knit similar to the pattern cover.  so far so good.  You have to make sure that the panels are put in the right order for the back. but once you lay them out correctly its pretty straight forward to sew up.

hope to do some more work tomorrow and will post some pictures. .  

Vogue - 8616

V8616

This is my version of V8616.  I did make various adjustments to the pattern before cutting out.  The sleeves were very narrow so I had to increase the width.  I also added some extra ease to the back and hip area.

In addition to the changes above I also cut mine about 2" longer giving me a tunic/top which I think looks nice with the belt.

One problem was the neck area - although it was only a light-weight fabric, once folded over the weight of the two layers pulled the neck edge down.  I dealt with this problem by taking the seams on the neck edge in and this corrected the problem.

The Pattern states very easy - and I think that is more or less true.

Turn a quilted throw into a jacket and matching bag

 So here are a couple of my recently completed projects.  I purchased the throw for £6.00 and the jacket is lined with a fleece throw purchased from Ikea £2.75 and this is the end result. 

  The Pattern is Butterick 5532 but I added a bust dart, double welt pockets and the lining.  I also made the collar larger too. 

Although not shown in these photos I have added anarak poppers to it (in white) which finish it off great.  I have to say I had more problems with the poppers than anything else.

My first blogg - UK

Hi everyone

My name is Pauline and I am based in the UK.  Like many other bloggers, I have, with interest, followed some of the projects etc that people are working on and thought I would start my own blogg.

I have been sewing since I was a child - my mother used to sew professionally and when she was alive I could always go to her and ask for help to do something.  Since her death 13 years ago I haven't had that luxury so have to resort to books and now utube which is wonderful because you can find video clips on just about anything there.

I love to sew, sometimes I just follow a pattern, and other times I like to make adjustments to make it more unique.  Many years ago I would run up a dress for perhaps an annual Christmas party, and would always ensure that I NEVER wore the same dress to an event twice.  I guess that is the luxury of sewing.

At the end of this month I am going to a 2-day tailoring workshop – which I am also very excited about.  While I consider myself a competent sewer, there are still many things, tips, techniques that I feel I could learn to give my clothes a totally professional finish.  Recently I have been trying to learn more of the techniques to get the pattern to fit perfectly.  While in the past I could buy a pattern, select a size and it all fitted, time and age now insists that I modify the pattern with a FBA, increase on the hips etc etc – I am trying very hard to not just cut into that fabric without pinning the pattern together and trying it on and making the adjustments first.

I hope I will get some interested folk who would like follow me in my sewing journey, and I look forward to hearing from any fellow bloggers with tips, patterns I am working on, and any techniques that I have learnt to pass on.

Bye for now

Pauline