Suger tee in situ PLUS some new Liberty!!!

Finally here are a couple of pictures of the sugar tee I made in January.  You might remember I didn't have quite enough fabric so the length is a result of fabric limitations.  It is a great tee and one that I wear a lot.

In exciting news I am now the proud owner of some new Liberty fabric from the 2013 Spring Summer Art Collection.  You can see all the details in my Library of Liberty fabrics.

Archipelago A

First up is the Archipelago A.  I'm going to sew Tilly's Mathilde Blouse (which I purchased the minute I saw it launched on her website this week) with this fabric.  I just love the little peeping statues in amongst the flowers.

Tresco A

The Tresco is just stunning.  The water colour is perfect - which obviously other people thought too as there was only half a metre left.  I bought it anyway, as you never know when you might need it.  I know, that's not exactly stash busting is it?

Richard and Lyla A

There is something strangely compelling about the Richard and Lyla print.  It is a fabric that I've thought often about after seeing it for the first time at Addicted to Fabric and knew that if I didn't buy it I'd regret it.  I'm wondering whether this might be good as a button up shirt or shirt dress?

FINISHED! A pattern mix sugar tee

It all started with one of my sewing plans for this year, which was to remake/replace the disintegrating sugar tee which I loved but made so poorly last year that it started to fall apart. I had two pieces of double gauze at home in the original colour way of the first tee and also a white/grey colour way, so thought it would be good to use up.  I also had to go to the fabric shop to get some material for the Charlotte Skirt sewalong starting tomorrow so I put down on my list to get some trim for a new sugar tee.  Our plans for the day were pretty light and easy (just a trip to the pool) so I was confident that I could find some sewing time and a simple little tee was just what I felt like doing.
My hunt for material for the skirt was not particularly successful (why is it when I am looking for material to make a particular pattern I can't find anything!?) but I did pick up this cute trim. Ric rac plus crochet!

The trim looked good with the double gauze, but I started playing around with the other fabrics in my stash. I remembered I had a long thin piece of Liberty Angelica Garla A, that I had used to make a top for my sister Christmas 2011.  So, I pulled it out and started playing around with matching fabrics for the yoke, first some chambray and then I settled on some striped seersucker which I still had a small remnant of, from a pair of pants I had made for Elliot when he was a baby.  

I cut the tee the wrong way on the fabric so that it would fit on the piece of material, but I think the pattern is forgiving in that regard.  Also, I lost a bit off the length, but there are advantages to being short!  It has the tiniest of hems.

The finished tee is so far removed from what I had originally thought I would make, but I love it!   I  love the combination of the trim, the stripes and the big bold flowers.  Yay, to a bit of unplanned, "organic?" sewing!

 

P.S. There's no-one around to take a picture of me in it, so an in situ photo will have to come later.  I must get a tripod for my new camera!!

in the mail: HOME SEWN

Last night my copy of HOME SEWN (from the NZ Fashion Museum) arrived, well the card to say that it was down at the post office arrived; so this morning I raced down to the post office to pick it up.  As soon as I got into the car I ripped open the packing and started flipping through the patterns. 

The book is about the same size as a Japanese pattern book and comes with ten free patterns. In one size only.  And each pattern is a different size with no obvious consistency.. which is a bit strange, but all the patterns are pretty simple and not overly fitted so I don't think they would be too hard to adjust.  

The book is divide into 3: a history of home sewing in NZ, profiles plus a pattern from ten NZ fashion designers (including the Miss Chalmers Skirt from Papercut Patterns) and a 'how to ...' at the back also written by Papercut Patterns.

Now for the designs, here are some of my favourites:

I really like this one, although it's now really my style... but you never know!

A cute little skirt which I might make.

A cute little top which looks sooo super easy. This I will definitely make when I'm looking for a quick bit of sewing gratfication.

 I think I'll make this top too.  I can see it working winter or summer.

This dress - the feature on the front is probably the most interesting of all the designs. I'll be keeping this in the back of my mind. I don't have an occasion to make this yet, but again, you never know.

If I'd seen this book in a shop and had a chance to flick through the patterns, rather than just buying blind over the internet I probably would have still bought it.  It has a lovely aesthetic, it supports NZ fashion and there are enough patterns in there to keep me interested. Usually if I make one pattern from a book I think that's a good buy, although that is probably a low benchmark! I've certainly spent $40 on less interesting pattern books and having the Miss Chalmers Skirt in it is definitely a bonus.