FINISHED! Denim Sorell Test Trousers

Pauline Alice has once again released some fantastic new patterns, a super cute shift dress, the Xerea dress that I will definitely be making up soon and a pair of wide leg pants, the Sorell.  Pauline asked me to test the Sorell trousers a couple of months ago, so I went all out and pushed myself with View A which has welt pockets and a cute little watch pocket.

The pattern description: The Sorell trousers feature a front zipper fly, wide legs with front pleats for more comfort, front slash pockets and a small watch pocket. The waistband sits at natural waist and has belt loops. View A has classical welt pockets, perfect for a chic pair of trousers.  View B is a more casual version with patch pockets.

You saw a sneak preview of these pants in my last post on my Caramel Sydney.  Originally I bought some wool, but while it was at the dry cleaners I realised that I probably didn't have enough time to wait for it to come back in time to meet the testing deadline, so cut into this denim from Addicted to Fabric that I had been saving for another pair of dungarees.

There are a lot of lovely little details on these pants that make them an interesting and slightly challenging sew.  I made up a straight 36 in the denim with no changes, except taking off a few inches initially for the length as the pattern is designed for heights of 5'5" (165cm).  The trousers look so great on Pauline long (and she is the same height as me I think) but for me I felt a bit swamped in them, and not my usual style, so no surprises I decided to chop them off to be more of culotte/gaucho length. 

I think the fit is pretty great around the waist and the bottom. I have a pretty 'flat ass' but these pants fit nicely.  I'm less happy with how I've got them sitting at the front - there's a bit of, well I'm not sure how you describe it, but it's not super flattering. I look at Pauline's version and they look just so great on her but not so super great on me. They seem to sit higher on me - I think my torso must be shorter. These are only a test version so I think I could get them better on the next version. I think partly my pleat isn't in the exact right place. 

Pauline is consistently putting out lovely patterns and this is definitely one of them! Are you thinking of making up any of the new Pauline Alice patterns? If you do there is a new blog for all the great Pauline Alice makes: Pauline Alice and You!

P.S. wearing Pattern W from Les Couleurs Francaise, in Liberty Wiltshire.

FINISHED! Caramel Sydney

I have become quite fixated with vest jackets and short sleeve jackets of late, so when the Sydney Jacket was released by Tessuti, I immediately snapped it up. I dreamed of making it up in leather, a deep blue leather, but when I rang the Fabric Store, it was suggested that I might need 4 hides, so in the interest of money and perhaps checking out the pattern first, I asked instead for a range of wool swatches to choose from. 

The caramel won out over a camel as I have always loved this colour and lately Chloe have been tempting me on instagram with clothes in rich colours from this palette which I find hard to resist. This wool is a really lovely soft wool with great drape and warmth that I ordered from the Fabric Store in Melbourne when they were having a 30% sale day.

I received the wool on Monday, cut it out on Tuesday, and sewed Wednesday and Thursday night for a short time each night. The pattern is not hemmed, so cutting, which has never been my strong suit is important. I recommend, and this is probably obvious, cutting a single layer at a time. I also neatened up some seams with my ruler and rotary cutter.

The pattern was fun to put together and I surprised myself by enjoying the method of construction which is to layer the fabric over each other to create the seams. It was in some ways like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. There were only a couple of spots in the instructions where I had to really think about how to attach pieces. I found marking the 3/8 seam and then laying the fabric on the marked line absolutely essential.

The instructions call for sewing in the middle of the 3/8 inch seam, but instead I sewed closer to 1/8 inch which leaves a slightly bigger seam of fabric on the inside, but the 1/8 suits my preference on the outside of the coat.  The smaller seam makes it less obvious that the fabric is overlapped, which some people might like as a feature.  I made up a petite, the smallest size with no alterations. 

I am so happy with this coat. I thought that at first that it might not look modern and smart, but I think it looks really great with both these outfits photographed and I wore it on Friday night with my jumpsuit and felt truly a million dollars.

This is already a very popular pattern popping up regularly on instagram. Every version seems to be great. Great work Tessuti and yes, I'm still keen on that leather version!

FINISHED! Chatter Saunio III

I've been up to a few things lately including testing a pair of trousers so a palette cleanser is always a lovely relief.  I wandered into Addicted to Fabric the other weekend and picked up 1.5m of this dark navy polyester/ spandex thick textured knit called 'chatter'. I love a thick textured spongy knit and I love the Saunio cardigan by Named Patterns, so it wasn't long before this knit made it's way to a Saunio.  

I've made this pattern twice before, a selfish one here and a scuba one here so it was a straightforward make. I cut it out on Friday night and had all but the hem sewn up at CBR Sewing Crew. It was a very productive day - have you seen Amanda's dress!  I think I'm getting the hang of social sewing. 

I've said it before, but this cardigan/jacket patternis a real work winner. It looks classy, but the knit fabric makes it comfortable. The collar and fronts are understitched. It has dropped sleeves (of course) which are top stitched down and the extra cross at the front allows it to wrap across the front for a bit of a self cuddle when it's cool, with a nice swing at the back. Winner!

The badly ironed shirt underneath is a Nani Iro make using Liberty of London 'Ornithology'. One of my all time favourite makes- mainly because of the great fabric. Having a nice jacket like this means that my short sleeve blouses can get a bit of a run during winter! Double winner.