FINISHED! Turia Dungarees/overalls

I am bombarding your inboxes this week but I have another fun finished outfit to share and I couldn't wait any longer. I've been lucky enough to once again test for Pauline Alice.  Last year I tested the Carme blouse and this time around it's a pair of overalls / dungarees the Turia!

Pauline has style. Seriously! I didn't realise I needed a pair of overalls in my wardrobe until now.  I I love these overalls, they are cute and just so so wearable and they make me feel like I'm back at university :)

Let's talk about the details. I had a week to sew up this test version so I bought some chambray from Addicted to Fabric (yes the leftovers went into my Top Victor).  I was a bit nervous as I haven't made that many pants and there is a lot of topstitching on these, including new to me flat felled seams.  You know I love to hide my sewing in print, but I knew that if I wanted to make something that I would want to wear after testing (assuming they worked out) then they would have to be in chambray.

 

I made a size up to what I usually make (I was worried unnecessarily about the fit at my waist). The fit is spot on and there is a nice bit of room in the waist. The overalls close with a normal zip on each side (but you could easily do an invisible if you wanted - not me!) but I only need to use one for getting in and out.  I didn't make any other changes to the fit.  During testing I made a minor suggestion that the pockets could be a bit bigger on the bottom.

Overalls look like a complicated make, but I was surprised at how easily they came together. There are a few pattern pieces, lots of topstiching  but it was methodical and actually a fun make.  And I was pretty excited as well to hammer on my first bit of hardware.

Many of the seams are flat felled and the pattern comes with some simple instructions on how to do them. I found getting the stitching nice and even difficult on the flat felled seams, even with my edge stitching foot, but overall I'm pretty proud of the make and the stitching is pretty good. I used a twin needle whenever I could on the pockets.

The only area of issue was in the crotch stitching of the flat felled seam...but no one is going to see that.  Oh and I stupidly cut a small hole into the front seam of the pocket as I was flat felling. Doh.

I really like this pattern  and I'm so happy that this version worked out. I've already braved cold weather to wear these a few times with my boots and I am getting them ready for a high spring rotation. By far my favourite combination is the Pauline Alice double: turia overalls and carme blouse! 

FINISHED! Ocean spray scuba saunio

I made this quick and easy jacket up on the weekend and wore it to work on Monday.  It's another of those makes that makes me laugh a little when I wear it. But first, let's talk about the fabric.  It's Ocean Spray Scuba from Tessuti. I have never sewn with neoprene before and frankly I didn't think I ever would until I became just a little bit fixated on it through makes by Oona, Julie and Debbie. I then saw this fabric pop up on the Tessuti website which I stalk almost daily and it was in my cart with my eye on a jacket before I knew what I was doing. It's Tribute August over at the Sewcialists so this is my tribute to the neoprene lovers, Oona, Debbie and Julie!

I took this photo with the fabric on the line. You can see much better here the actual repeat pattern of the fabric which was difficult to see online. The colours were also more vivid than my computer displayed. 

I'm sure there are a lot of people who will be making a gorgeous shift dress or the like with this fabric. It certainly deserves to be showcased. Both my mum and Ben thought I should make a dress, but I was a bit frightened off by the boldness of the pattern.  I couldn't work out where to place it and found it a bit bright for my usual style. I was already out of my comfort zone with this print and with the neoprene, so perhaps I should have just kept going, but I had bought it to make a jacket so after quite a bit of too-ing and fro-ing decided to stick with my original idea of the jacket. 

I used the Saunio cardigan from Named Clothing pattern. It was my first time making up this pattern, but I have enjoyed my experiences with Named patterns and this one sewed up nicely. The only change I'd make next time would be to neaten where the facing meets the bottom edge as the facing is shorter than the front and so you are supposed to turn it up where it might be nicer to turn it under somehow.  Looking at the pictures it could perhaps be a bit shorter, but that is deceiving as the front hangs down because of the way the front crosses over.

I'm not sure I'm a neoprene sewing convert.  It doesn't iron well so I had to do a bit of top stitching with my walking foot where I wouldn't normally: firstly around the sleeve seam and then all the way along the front and the collar. Normally I would have just understitched here but there was no way the facings were going to stay under without it.  The style of cardi/jacket means that quite often it flips out so it's good to have the facings there.  I had studied a RTW neoprene dress at the shops over the weekend and noticed that they simply cut the armhole and the bottom without hemming it. I contemplated this, but in reality this neoprene is just bit thicker than ponte so it felt a bit slack not to hem. I used a twin needle with the hem turned up once and it worked perfectly.  I didn't bother overlocking the seams.  It does have good body to it which suits this jacket well.

All in all I like how this turned out. It's not exactly me, but I am so glad I made it into a jacket as I prefer the bits of pattern that I used, especially on the sleeve seam where there is light and dark. I wore it to work on Monday and I admit to feeling just a little bit over the top in it, but I enjoyed wearing it. I like the Named Saunio pattern: the dropped shoulders and 3/4 tapered sleeves. It won't be the last time I make this pattern up.

As for neoprene, I've probably done my neoprene now. But never say never. What about you? Are you dipping into the neoprene craze? Are you participating in Tribute August?

FINISHED! Another undercover sweater

When I bought this fabric a little while ago, I was after some patterned tiny flower fabric to make a pair of Animas for the infamous Anima competition. I had in my mind something and not finding what I really wanted I bought this fabric.

It never made it into a pair of Animas and a few weekends ago I decided to make it up into a sweater thinking that the fabric could work in a top. The fabric is really soft and lightweight jersey knit (composition unknown) . It is really comfy, but I haven't worn the top out of the house yet. There's something about the fabric and pattern that makes me hesitate - too pyjama-ery?  Now I wish I had enough to make some Animas for the matching bottoms for an over the top lounge suit! Maybe I should check at Addicted to Fabric tomorrow..

The pattern is again the undercover sweater by Papercut Patterns. I was interested to make this up again with the fabric on grain, unlike my last one, to check the fit.  I think I could go down a size, especially in the top of the arms.  I also added 5cm to the length of this one, but I'm not sure it's needed. I took quite a bit of width out of the cuffs to make them tighter. Oh and I think the neck on this is also too big, but it might be the soft lightweight material.

There you have it. Not the most exciting of makes. It definitely won't be my last undercover sweater as I really like this pattern.. but I promise I have something more exciting on the way next week!

FINISHED! Victor Chambray

This pattern is the latest of the PDF offerings from Republique du Chiffon, the Top Victor.  Roobeedoo just posted her finished Victor which looks great on her.  She added 5cms to the length which seems to be a common adjustment.

It is a very cropped style with optional detailing (using fabric paint). It caught my eye straight away for the fun boxy shape and before I knew it I was racing ahead, sewing it up with some left over chambray.  It looks like a simple make doesn't it? It is and it isn't.

Unfortunately I don't really enjoy attaching pieces (like bias binding), you know sewing one side then turning over and top stitch (like a waistband). Which is a problem when it comes to sewing as this is a pretty fundamental technique! It just has the potential to be a bit messy for me.  The sewing level of difficulty on this particular make was increased further due to the extremely visible yellow top stitching I decided to attempt.

The sleeves went in well (only unpicking the top stitching once or twice) and I was loving how it was looking.  I stumbled however at the collar, which I installed twice then unpicked not liking the results.  I worried then that it was probably too short and wondered whether I should put a band on it.  The top then sat in the cupboard while I pondered it's future.

Saturday we had social sewing, and I decided to look at finishing it and I unpicked the collar again. Sage advice from Jen suggested that I leave the bottom alone and so I hemmed it with bias binding (cut lengthwise in half) and attached at a scant 3- 4mm from the edge.  The collar went on much better the 3rd time, but again I laboured over the top stitching. It's sounding painful isn't it! (I also have another make waiting to be blogged that has an enormous amount of topstitching.  I must get a dose of prints soon to bring the levels back to normal.)

Now that it's finished, it's ok but I don't love it. I'm not really not sure how to style it  to get the right shape and silhouette (I'm not up for showing lots of skin).  These trousers are very old RTW but it struck me that they might be fun together and I like the slight bagginess of the trousers (except for when I've got my hands in my pockets !!) although the odd way that this style cross at the front is marginally annoying so it's not perfect.

I do love chambray on chambray and denim on denim which may account for the silly photos. If I grow to love this top I might need to make a matching pair of papercut pleated pants.