Flutter (crazy eyes) Flamenco

This is truly a French make: the pattern is the latest release 'Flamenco' from Delphine et Morissette and the fabric, 'crazy eyes poplin' from Wear Lemonade.  (This fabric came from France to Canberra in around a week!).  Turn away now if you are sick of ruffles because this top has the best ruffle ever! The perfect match of fabric and pattern. 

There really isn't much to say, regarding construction. It's a straightforward make with binding at the neck and no sleeves to set it. The neck scoop is larger than I would have preferred but I've grown used to it.  The back piece is cut in two but next time I think I'd just cut on the fold as most fabric would be wide enough to cope with the pattern size.  There are no ruffles on the back.

For close observers of the real pattern you'll note that I added an extra bit of sleeve. The original pattern has the ruffles and the sleeve ending just at the elbow... which I don't really like on me. So I added the extra bit and I really like the extra design detail this provides.  The bottom has a curved hem (which requires a tiny hem), but for me it needs to be tucked in a bit so sorry - no photos of the hem. :(

So a very quick post on a favourite make which has already been worn heaps! Long like ruffles and crazy eyes!

Slow Sunday Iris in the City

I always keep my eyes on what Julie is sewing as it is always stylish and she often introduces me to new pattern companies and so another new French sewing company to catch my eye through Julie is Slow Sunday Paris. For me the aesthetic coming out of the French designers is hard to beat! The Iris immediately appealed to me however, not being a PDF pattern it took a little while to arrive.

In the meantime, I had purchased from Miss Matatabi hot of the press, Rifle Paper co for Cotton and Steel, 'City' in navy and gold so it sat waiting for the pattern to arrive. The gold in this fabric is fantastic! I was worried that it would fade after a wash but so far so good. The gold is as luminous as it was when it arrived. The fabric feels stiffer to me than a voile but I like it.  

Eventually the fabric and pattern were united and I was able to sew this up last weekend.  The pattern instructions have pictures, but is all in French and I admit to a lot of 'winging it'.

The pattern has no darts, drop sleeves and a facing so the only slightly tricky bit is the bottom of the sleeves which also have a facing to allow for the ties.  I was worried that mine were a bit untidy but given you knot the fabric it all works out. It was hard to get a photograph of the sleeves, but there is a cute little tie there. 

All in all a most satisyingly easy summer make and one that I will probably make again. 

Slow Sunday Iris in the City

I always keep my eyes on what Julie is sewing as it is always stylish and she often introduces me to new pattern companies and so another new French sewing company to catch my eye through Julie is Slow Sunday Paris. For me the aesthetic coming out of the French designers is hard to beat! The Iris immediately appealed to me however, not being a PDF pattern it took a little while to arrive.

In the meantime, I had purchased from Miss Matatabi hot of the press, Rifle Paper co for Cotton and Steel, 'City' in navy and gold so it sat waiting for the pattern to arrive. The gold in this fabric is fantastic! I was worried that it would fade after a wash but so far so good. The gold is as luminous as it was when it arrived. The fabric feels stiffer to me than a voile but I like it.  

Eventually the fabric and pattern were united and I was able to sew this up last weekend.  The pattern instructions have pictures, but is all in French and I admit to a lot of 'winging it'.

The pattern has no darts, drop sleeves and a facing so the only slightly tricky bit is the bottom of the sleeves which also have a facing to allow for the ties.  I was worried that mine were a bit untidy but given you knot the fabric it all works out. It was hard to get a photograph of the sleeves, but there is a cute little tie there. 

All in all a most satisyingly easy summer make and one that I will probably make again. 

FINISHED! Aime Comme (salmon) Macaroni

Frills, ruffles, stripes. It's all what you expect to see here isn't it. Same same today, although I'm mixing it up by sewing jersey. Most unlike me to sew up a jersey but I have loved this pattern, the Macaroni from Aime Comme Marie for some time and had purchased a blue and white stripe remnant from Tessuti a while ago to make it up in.

Recently however, I snuck up to Sydney to see friends play at Cult Club. Best 24 hours in forever! Was like being in a 90's time machine. Anyway, I organised my bus so that I had a little bit of time to spend at the Fabric Store in Surry Hills (thank you Sunday trading hours!!) before I came home and managed to pick up some lovely items including this thick salmon (and navy/black) thick cotton jersey on. I bought enough to also make up a pair of shorts - so look out two piece set-acular to come! So my first Macroni is also known as the Salmon run.

Last weekend, armed with my Salmon, I headed to Bundanoon, with some lovely sewing friends to spend some time sewing. They all went on Friday, but I could only make it for the Saturday/ Saturday night. Halfway there I realised I had forgotten my stash of needles that I had bought during the week but decided not to turn around but keep going... I don't usually break needles so thought I'd be right. Oh dear .. On this project I broke 4 needles (one in my overlocker) - thank you Michelle for lending me some!

I completely ignored the instructions thinking I knew how this would go together. It's not an awful mistake but the frill shouldn't be attached at the shoulder seam and should be let free to frill over the shoulder. Knowing how much I love 'a frill to be able to frill' I'm annoyed I got this wrong but it's not exactly a big problem.  Definitely the extra thickness of the fabric at the shoulder had something to do with broken needles.

The other cause was probably my constant unpicking and resewing to try and line up the stripes. They almost got the better of me but I got there in the end. Next Macaroni will NOT be in stripes, so my Tessuti remnant may need to age a bit longer! 

Also, I took quite a few inches off the length so I had to tuck the frill under into the hem rather than if finishing in the front seam - this I quite like and doesn't bother me so I might not even change it for next time.  

This is classified as an easy make but it did take some time to come together (due to copious unpicking) and I only finished this and the start of another top over the day.  Regardless of expectations of output, it was an excellent 24 hours of sewing, singing and bubbles. I look forward to another one. These very short bursts of being away have really done me wonders and have left me feeling really buoyed. I should do it more often!

So the Salmon Run Macaroni defnitely fits into my 'uniform' and I can see it being a weekend favourite as the seasons start to turn from winter to early spring.

I love (peplum) tops

Hi! It's been a while!  I've been a bit sporadic with my making over the last few months.  I have two pairs of corduroy culottes and another blouse to post.. sometime.. but today, it's a blouse with an all too familiar shape! 

The story starts with 1.2m of Liberty Saville Poplin (Strike pewter green) from the Fabric Store. It is, as you would expect a heavier weight than the Tana Lawn which I was looking forward to using for perhaps a thicker drape.  I have quite a lot of Japanese pattern books (which I'm thinking of destashing) and haven't made anything from quite a few of them, so thought it was time to mix up my peplum game and make the pattern 2nd from the left in the photo:  The cropped top with pleated peplum (aka N: half sleeve short blouse).   It has a pleated peplum at the front only.

Warnings from Jillian that the top is very cropped came a little late as I had already cut out the 'peplum', but thought that my extra inch or so would be enough. It wasn't. I'm only 5'2" (or perhaps a bit less) but the top looked - urrrgh. Just not right.  It wasn't just the length, it was also the pleats that just weren't working for me. I tried it with my higher waisted culottes but nothing jelled.

Amazingly, this top uses the most miniscule of fabric so I was able to remove the pleated peplum and add a winning gathered peplum from the remaining fabric.

Yes, this is the third such gathered peplum top in my wardrobe, the first was my wildflowers (which has a lower peplum) and the second was my Marthe (with a much wider neck).  And you would be right... but there a minor differences in each and lets face it when you like a style, you like a style. 

What I'm loving about this is the higher waist and longer peplum.. and... always a fan of the closer neck, I like the shape better there as well.  The wide neck always bothered me on the Marthe.

The neck is finished with a facing (which I didn't interface) and a button closure. It was definitely nice to do a facing for a change rather than binding, although I wonder would I just bind it next time.

 

All in all, this was defnitely on it's way to being a make that I was never going to wear to something that I now love!  Hooray for peplums!  

FINISHED! A sketch magellan

My love for the ruffle has no bounds at the moment and my latest make - well finished a month ago - was the new at that time Magellan blouse by Aime Comme Marie. Aime Comme Marie are another French pattern company that I'm smitten with, who provide for us French language amateurs, a page of English translation of the pattern at the back of the printed booklet.  It was my first time making up one of their patterns and am now keen to continue working through  their catalogue.

I used Sketch A from the Spring/Summer 2016 Liberty collection.  Of course.

All the photos here are with the shirt out, but in fact I probably wear it most tucked into my Esther Shorts. It's the perfect blouse for them, and hence now I'm on the job of making some longer Esthers for work to suit my wardrobe of ruffle blouses.

I made up my standard size 36. The one thing I love about all the French companies that I've sewn with is that the sizing is standard and it reflects the standardised clothing sizing that I also see in France. In Australia from one shop to another I feel like the sizing is different and the sizing for patterns is also different. I never seem to have to really think with French companies - or Pauline Alice patterns. Anyway I digress. 

As has become my habit, I lengthened the sleeves slightly to below the elbows. The sleeve heads have an unusual (well to me) two darts. To be honest not sure I'm won over by the two darts at the sleeve head. It feels a bit fiddly to me and certainly doesn't add to the fit of the sleeve. It's not awful but I wonder if it's really necessary. Have you seen such a thing before?

I only had two buttons at home that I liked in the stash, so went with only two buttons on the back. The ruffle was easy enough to put on but I wonder if next time I might make it slightly wider.  All the finished Magellans that I've seen made up have an overlocked edge, but I find that slightly messy, so did a tiny rolled hem on my machine - which meant that the width of the ruffle is probably slightly smaller than it could be. 

So all in all, another fab ruffle make which is in high high rotation. And it won't be the last!  Do yourself a favour and go and search for the other great Magellans out there... my favourite is this one!  Oh this has to be copied! Until next time, bon ruffles!

FINISHED! More Esthers

I had the last week of January off, coinciding with the last week of school holidays and managed to whip up two more pairs Esther shorts from small scraps in the stash during the little staycation. I now find myself in Week 4 of school and can't exactly account for the time. So here, better late than never a couple more pairs of Tessuti Esther shorts. That makes 4 pairs, with no end in sight. The first two are here.  

The first pair I made up using left over fabric from my Xerea dress.  These, despite the dodgey photo are my best fitting pair. I went down another half size with these and the fit is spot on with the slight stretch in the denim. The colour is excellent and it was great to rediscover tops in my wardrobe that I hadn't worn in ages which are perfect with these shorts, such as this Grainline Archer which normally languishes in my wardrobe.

 The second of the January Esthers, are this pair made with the remains of my CBR frocktails dress, which appropriately is from fabric from Tessuti purchased back in December 2014.  It is heavy weight and textured and quite sratchy so these are lined.

The fit of these are a bit snug in the waist because of the fabric but that doesn't stop me wearing them. I love these and of course paired with the ubiquitous stripe top feels pretty darn perfect. I originally bought this fabric to make a pair of culottes and while now I think that might have been an outrageous idea, these shorts are a good second best.

 

This isn't the end of my Esther making, but for now have taken a rest from shorts. I had been attempting swimwear thanks to the sewalong hosted by Susan, but now the siren song of ruffles and Liberty is too strong and have been lured into sewing up the new Aime Comme Marie pattern.  What are you sewing?

FINISHED! Blouse Pierrot

I am quite smitten with the patterns of Delphine et Morissette and after my last make la brune, I quickly jumped on the release of their latest pattern, la blouse pierrot. Yes, as the name suggests this is blouse with a rufflle neck, or as has been coined by the Canberra Sewing Crew, the neck peplum. There aren't any line drawings available, so the picture from the Delphine et Morissette website provides you with the best view of the lines of this blouse.

I made up mine in  Liberty but as the fabric hasn't photographed so well, I have included a richer photo below. The print is Opie (thanks Michelle for recognising the print), which I bought at Addicted to Fabric during their December sales.  Opie is from the Fall/Winter 2014 collection.

I originally bought this fabric to make la blouse dahlia by Dessine Moi un Patron, but was too impatient to wait for the paper pattern to be sent from France (and the price in Australian dollars was a bit high) so settled instead on the fun pierrot. 

  

As I said yesterday on Instagram, I acknowledge that a ruffle neck isn't exactly for everyone, and as I was making it I was mentally thinking that I could just leave the neck off, but once it was done I couldn't resist it. I adore it.  And while I think that I partly look like I'm wearing a 60's maternity smock I can't wait to wear this to work!  It is quite an Autumnal look so will be better with a change in season. 

Despite having some basic French, and a French husband, I paid no attention to the instructions. They were a bit beyond my French and there is a lot of explanation so I just winged it. There is a 'pas de pas' on the blog, some photo instructions, but again I only referred briefly to these.   

Partly because I was winging the instructions, partly because I could hear Amanda calling 'pirate shirt' but mainly because I prefer the silhouette of less flared sleeves, instead of staying with the puffier sleeves with the button cuff, I simply slimmed to arms down to the wrist.  Certainly made for easier sewing!  The blouse is quite airy, with a gathered front. The back is not gathered.

I had a little bit of trouble getting the sleeves in but I think that might have been related to my tracing of the pattern onto paper as the pattern was partially layered.  I hand stitched the binding onto the neck and the back of the neck is closed with a self covered button. 

So there we have it. La Pierrot. I don't think I'll have a lot of these in my wardrobe but I'm very happy with this one.

FINISHED! A seersucker two piece setacular

For Christmas I received 2 metres of Japanese blue checked seersucker from Tessuti from my sister! Such a great present! I debated about what to make, I had seen so many gorgeous Annie dresses and other maxi dresses using this fabric on Instagram, but decided on the Esther shorts and then quickly after, a matching top to wear for NYE.  

Honourable mention firstly, to my first pair of Esther shorts made out of rayon (viscose) ottomon suiting from Spotlight. I initially saw the fabric as some amazing pants on Kat and then the fabric was kindly enabled by an instagram moment by Lizzy, who picked up some for Amanda and myself.

So these shorts are ok but they are too big. Easily at least a size too big in the waist and bagging in the butt. I still wear them because they are comfy and because the flowers are super - but they aren't the magic shorts that I had envisioned. A wearable muslin if you will. 

So newly armed with a better sense of sizing I cut into the seeksucker. This time I went down a half size in the waist and used the darts for a 6 in the butt.  I think I need to go down a tad more in the waist.

I added an inch to the original length of the shorts, but looking at these photos the shorts could probably be shorter. I have higher shoes which I had planned to wear with this outfit but I left them at work over the holidays (my drawer has a few pairs of shoes in it as I tend to race into work in sneakers some days!).

After finishing the shorts I realised I had just enough fabric left over to make a matching top. Thank goodness!  I turned to my trusty Kanerva which has served me well over and over. It wasn't the plainest sailing - those sleeves for some reason were a nightmare to get in and I wasted time putting the back and front darts in only to pull them out as the top didn't sit as well as I wanted it to with them in.. but I just adore the top and especially with the shorts.  I love the curved hem. 

I've left some blooper shots in as my oldest boy was sitting in the loungeroom pulling some blue steel faces as me as I took theses photos. 

So while technically this is a 2015 make, I'm calling it the first #woohoomake of 2016. I wore it NYE, then washed it and wore it yesterday. I'm years late to the setacular party but I'm here. May there be many more #woohoomakes this year.