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I’ve Made a Crochet Pattern!!

Published by Thimberlina

Now I don’t know what to do with it!

Last weekend we stayed in a cottage in Seahouses, Northumberland to celebrate my mums birthday. I couldn’t take my sewing machine so I took my crochet hooks instead!

I made another head warmer (my 3rd I think) and I’ve used the band as the ribbing on a hat too.

One I prepared earlier – minus the bobbles!

A new hat for my mum – I made most of this during the 2 hour drive, and finished it off watching telly later in the evening. The ribbing is the head band.

On Tuesday I wore my blue one to play golf and one of the ladies asked if I’d followed a pattern. I hadn’t. I’d just made it up as I went along. I’ve written a proper pattern out now, so if anyone wants to have a go it’s really easy. Leave me a message and I’ll email it to you. I need to put it somewhere like Ravelry but I’ve not worked out how to do that yet! Watch this space!!

PS I’ve only been crocheting just over a year and I love it!!

UDATE! PLEASE CHECK OUT THIS BLOG POST FOR THE PATTERN!

Stripes, Stabilisers And Sagginess

Published by Thimberlina

I think we all have made at least 1 Coco.

But have you made a stripy one?

STRIPES

Stripes – Dilema! Do I choose the right or the wrong side?!

STABILISERS

My husband has bought himself a new toy. Stabilisers which turn his bike into a go no where bike. Thought I might use it as a prop in my photo shoot! Trouble is, he’s 6′ 3″ so I had a bit of trouble getting my leg over!

SAGGINESS

I’ve made a few Cocos, but all with the funnel neck. Looking back they all have this excess fabric above my bust but the funnel neck detracts from it and it’s not so obvious.

I bought this gorgeously soft ponte roma knit from Fabworks down Dewsbury. (if you’re local to me you’ll know we don’t say in Dewsbury, we go down Dewsbury…) I think it was £5 per metre and I splashed out and bought 2m. Initially I thought I might make another Coco dress, or another Victoria Blazer, but yesterday I needed a top to go with my new jeans (first clothing bought since 2013!!! I joined the RTW Fast in 2014). This is a slight sidetrack from the intended post, but I NEEDED some jeans. I didn’t dash out on the 1st January for a crazy shopping spree, I do still to try and make everything I wear. But I don’t have a pair of jeans that fit me, and there’s only so many Espresso Leggings a girl can wear.

Back to the stripes and Fabworks. Don’t be put off by their website. You can’t buy anything on it. But if you are in the area do call in. And take a flask and sandwiches – you could spend all day there. Oh, and wear a warm coat. It’s in a mill, and can be a bit chilly! I’m not on commission. Just sharing the Sewing Shop love!

My last Coco had inside out arms, which has led me to look at the wrong side of other fabrics. I was undecided at first with these stripes as I like both sides.

I opted for the wrong side. The Solid stripes were making my eyes go funny and I didn’t want to give anyone a headache if they spent more than 1/2 hour in my company!

After cutting out the front piece I realised I’d dropped a clanger.

I folded the front piece in half. Can you see that the stripes must be wonky as each side isn’t symmetrical. Luckily I had enough fabric to start again.

I opened up the fabric to one layer and made marks on the pattern:

At the shoulder.

At the side notch and under the arm.

I then flipped the pattern and matched up my markings. Easy! But very time consuming!

I then used this piece to help me cut the front piece and match up the stripes.

I spent ages matching the stripes of the arms with the front and back pieces. If you’re still reading (thankyou!) and are going to be making anything stripy don’t bother trying to match the stripes there if they are small stripes. You’ll only end up with one or two will match anyway so it’s not worth the effort!! (Is important for wide stripes and plaid.)

I did make each sleeve identica. I cut one, flipped it over and used this as a pattern to cut my second sleeve.

So…..Stabilisers….not the ones on the bike this time!

I use assorts to stabilise my shoulder seams. Usually a bit of ribbon or lace or ric-rac. I just see what takes my fancy when I rummage in my trimmings box.

For this I used some navy ribbon. I stitched it with a zigzag just inside the seam allowance.

Then stitched the should seams with a long stitch on the sewing machine.

Then whizzed it through the overlocker. The little black mark if for my 1.5cm seam allowance as there’s no gauge.

Voila!

Can I just say, I’ve never had sewing lessons and might be doing this all wrong, but it works for me. If you’re an accomplished sewer, thanks for hanging in there and still reading, and if you’re still learning like me and love picking up little tips thankyou to you too! Oh, and if you’re not a sewer but follow me anyway (Hello Mum!), thanks to you as well!

Where was I?

I don’t use pins much. Not if I can help it. To sew my side seams and under arms I shifted the top layer of fabric so I could see the bottom layer and used my walking foot. I’ve you’ve yet to invest in a walking foot, you need one! Your life is not complete!

I had a bit of problem with a saggy upper bust! I tried to get rid of the excess fabric with a couple of little tucks. It doesn’t look too bad in the photo but in real life it looked naff.

I wasn’t sure how to finish my neckline. I didn’t fancy just turning it as I thought it might look a bit unfinished. I made a band. This ended up sticking up, maybe as it was a boat neck, I’m not too sure.

All in all, I’m reasonably pleased with it. I’ll have to tweak my pattern pieces before I make my next one to try and get rid of the excess fabric above the bust. If anyone has any suggestions please say. I don’t usually need to do a FBA as I have a broad back but I’m wondering if I should use my upper bust measurement and let the stretchy fabric do it’s job where it’s needed at the front!

Having the go no-where bike in my sewing space came in useful. I was able to do the cleavage test:

And it passed! My new Coco can also now be worn on bike rides without the worry of my cleavage causing an accident!!

Oh No! I’ve lost a Coco!

Published by Thimberlina

First of all, a belated happy new year!
What with holidays in Mexico and a poorly mum-in-law there’s not been much time for sewing or blogging, but I’m back!

I’ve not made any firm resewlutions this year, except I am only going to make things with a definite outfit in mind. I have a wardrobe full of handmade clothes but not too many full outfits.
I’m not carrying on the RTW fast this year but I’m only going to buy things which I can’t make and really need (I’ve bought a waterproof coat today!).

After reading about Tilly recent makes of straight style Coco dresses I decided to make one from some fabric in my stash, and also one for my mum. I need more everyday casual clothes for the cold weather, and thought these would look great with some long boots, and they do!

Only trouble is I prefer my mums, and so does she!

The sleeves are the wrong side of the made fabric, so the tones are perfect. Here’s a close up:

The dress is now safely in my mum’s wardrobe (sob,sob!).

Does anyone else find it difficult to give away their makes?

My Leopardy Francoise Dress

Published by Thimberlina

Last month Tilly released her latest pattern – the Francoise Dress. I bought it the first day it was on sale and couldn’t wait to get started. I really couldn’t decide which fabric to use so got to work on making a muslin. Then Tilly announced a competition!! So here’s my entry! If you need some inspiration for your Francoise there’s loads over at Tilly’s pinterest board.

I was a bit stumped at first deciding which dart lines to follow I was blending different sizes from the wait and hips.

The cat helped! I really don’t know how other cat-less sewers out there manage. They always like to get involved!

I made the muslin, complete with sleeves, using an old cotton sheet with no stretch. I wanted to know how it would be with a not very forgiving fabric. The only adjustment I decided to make was to alter the position of the darts.

(photos of my muslin are floating about in the cloud somewhere and unfortunately I can’t locate them at the minute!)

I ummed and arred for a few days wondering what fabric to use. Initially I was going to make the made part of the dress with a navy corduroy and ponte knit orange/blue arms. Sounds hideous I know but I think it would have worked. But then I remembered this stretch cotton sateen which I’ve had a while. It’s been waiting for something special, but has been shrinking (last year I made some mini totes and zipper pouches for Christmas pressies).

I opted for the sleeveless and collarless version with black contrasting yokes. I laid it out on the floor (like in Tilly’s picture) so I didn’t get my pieces mixed up.

The dress was a dream to sew. Think that was due to great instructions and good quality fabric. I used a normal zip but really struggled to zip and unzip it as my arms couldn’t reach, and when I added the facing to the neck the top of the zip stuck out making it look like i needed to loose at least an inch on the centre back seam. Oh no!!

I’ve no idea how it happened but I found I could take the dress off without unzipping it. So I removed the zip and re-stitched the centre back seam, taking in an inch at the top. I could still get it on and off ok, and the gaping back neck was fixed!

I wore the finished dress last friday to my works christmas do. No pix from there I’m afraid – it was too dark for iPhone pix. Today I used the self time and managed to take some, then also braved the wild English weather for a couple of shots in the garden!

The Awful Dressmaker’s Book

Published by Thimberlina

Today I’ve spent an hour or 2 rummaging through a friend of a friend’s Mum’s stash. We came across this book which really made us chuckle:

The book was published in 1967 and there were other books in the series.

Two extracts caught my eye.

The first was instructions on how to change the elastic in your knickers!! Check out the paragraph underneath too…telling you not to tie knots in the shoulder straps of your slip as it may chafe your armpits!!

The next I thought might be a handy tip for Amanda over at Sew Deputy. She reckons she’s a wonky sewer, but has made the best trenchcoat you’ll have ever seen. So Amanda, be sure to have a good read of this next picture and how to rectify those crooked seams!

Can you imagine what people will be thinking in 40 or so years when they’re reading our blogs!! It’s amazing to think our blogs are keeping such a great record of how things are done now.

Wouldn’t it be fab if we could read them going back in time?

I wonder what they’d say?

The Hudson Pants #PatternParcel6

Published by Thimberlina

Back in October I bought Parcel 6 from the Perfect Pattern Parcel. This is the 3rd parcel I’ve bought but I’ve not gotten round to making anything until now.

The Hudson Pants, although for a lady, looked a great style for my 12 year old son.

I initially made the 3/4 length style but he felt they were a bit too tight so i chopped them to above the knee and just overlocked the hem.

I’m pleased with my button holes. My one step button hole on my machine is a bit iffy so I just did it by twiddling a few dials as I went!

They were really easy to put together. I made each pocket a different colour. Not because I was feeling particularly creative, it was because I didn’t have enough fabric!

I can’t persuade him to wear them inside out. He doesn’t quite get how good they look on the inside – all his clothes look like this!!

On one leg front piece I had to use the fabric vertically as I didn’t have enough, but I’m glad as it just makes them a bit different.

Here he is, a surprisingly willing model:

This is the first time I’ve made anything for the men in my life. I think these pants would make a great pair of men’s swimming shorts.

For sizing I went one size bigger than his hip size. I think next time i’d go 3 or 4 sizes bigger as he likes baggier shorts. Also they’ll last him longer. He’s growing like mad – 5’7″ and he’s not 12 1/2 yet!

How’s the rest of you getting on with the pattern parcels?

There’s still time to buy Number 7 if you’re quick!

A Quick Fix

Published by Thimberlina

Remember the hole I fixed in my Colette Albion? I found some photos which I took whilst I was fixing it, and thought they might be useful to anyone wishing to jazz up a boring sleeve head, or fix a hole. This technique would work anywhere on a garment if it was near a seam.

First of all unpick the nearby seam.

Stitch new piece of fabric over the top, inserting the tab in-between. (hopefully my photos will be more descriptive than my text!).

Flit the new piece up and give it a good press.

Flip the new piece up and give it a good press.

Trim the sleeve head to the same size/shape as the original underneath.

Re stitch the sleeve back in place……Easy!

My Colette Albion #2

Published by Thimberlina

Remember the ARRRHHHHHH moment in the first installment? I eventually pulled myself together, and several deep breathes & days later I had a plan.

I unpicked the sleeve head (shown by the orange highlighter), and added another piece of fabric – stitching along the yellow highlight. I inserted a small tab which matched the interior of the coat.

I prefer this the “uncut” sleeve head. It adds a RTW feel to it. So really it was a blessing in disguise cutting the hole, and character building too!

Here’s some more pix of the Albion:

As you can see I used the same fabric as the bias trim for the inside yoke. I used the method as per the instructions (which i think is the burrito method), but had to unpick my first attempt. The lower piece of the back ended up inside the yoke not outside. On the 2nd attempt I took things more slowly and it was ok.

I spent ages and ages with the pocket linings to make sure the right side would be shown on the inside of the jacket, but as you can see I failed miserably!

The fail on the inside meant that from the outside the inside pockets do look better!

This shows how I reinforced the fabric where the buttons were sewn on. This was my idea and not in the instructions. I used the bias binding and cut it into little rectangles and interfaced it. I sewed it onto the jacket prior to sewing on the buttons. The stitching shows a little bit on the front, but is mostly behind the buttons.

I machine stitched the buttons in place. I removed the foot from my machine and just used the base of the thing that the foot is fastened to. (sorry having a blank moment and can’t think what it’s called! The Buttons were recycled from an old Betty Jackson cardigan, but there were only 4 so I needed to find 2 more for the cuffs.

I have a fairly big button stash which I inherited from my mum in law. This is a selection of single ones with the occasional pair. I used the 2 black buttons on the mid-left.

View of the back. Not sure if you can see it but I added a loop from bias binding to use for hanging the jacket.

for the loops I bought a length of cord and followed the instructions to make them. It was just a case of folding them in half and zig-zagging the ends together. The trim on the front of the jacket do match up, they look a bit off on this photo.

My jacket in action after a walk around Shibden Park (its a beautiful place, but I only have photos of me in the carpark!) Worn with leggings, blogged HERE, and my Sewaholic Renfrew (unblogged).Think I need To learn to breath in when twirling.

the back view. don’t know why I’ve got my hand stuck in my pocket!

VERDICT:

This is the best casual jacket I own, but also the most expensive. When I was 3/4 of the way through making it I ran out of thread (soooo much stitching to do – buy 2 spools if you intend to make the unlined version). I called into Boyes in Brighouse, about 7 miles away, for a second spool. On the way home I had a bump in my car (my fault) which ended up me paying an excess of £400 to the insurance company!! Hence the very expensive coat.

It’s not put me off it though. It’s roomy enough to wear a thick jumper underneath, but looks equally good withjust a thin top underneath.

I’ve lost count of the number of “No! You didn’t make that!?” moments that I’ve had.

Not including the cost of my car, and the pattern, this jacket has cost about £20-25 to make (I used 2.5m @ £7/m), but I think something similar would be at least £70 in the shops, maybe more, I’ve lost track of what things cost since I’ve joined the RTW fast this year.

If you’re considering making one, don’t go for the unlined version if you want a quick make! I think the lined version would be much quicker. Also, if you have internet access when sewing and are thinking of buying the sewing companion I’d save your money and use the sew along instead, unless you’re a complete novice.

I’m on the lookout now for some fabric for my hubby. He’s seen a similar jacket in John Lewis for about £120 in a mustardy yellow soft twill. I’d also like to make myself a waterproof version, maybe in some funky laminated cotton.

What are you making to keep you warm? Are you joining in the monthly stitches challenge – outerwear…..?

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Colette Albion #1

Published by Thimberlina

A few weeks ago I bought a Colette pattern – the albion jacket/coat with the intention of making it for my hubby. As we sewers do, I spents hours some time looking on the net for ideas. I couldn’t believe how many versions there were out there for ladies. This caused me to think that I didn’t want my hubby thinking I was making him a jacket as a practice run for mine, so I decided to make one for myself first!

I had some cotton herrinbone twill in my stash, which I bought when I was in Cornwall in August 2013. Perfect!

I bought the accompanying ebook Companion from The Coletterie to help me along, and I soon had all my pieces cut out and a narrow shoulder adjustment made. (I don’t have narrow shoulders, but I made a one armed muslin and decided I needed to loose a good inch due to it being a man’s pattern.)

I even made all my own bias trim!! I didn’t go for the continuous method. I just did it in strips, which worked out ok as I never needed to join 2 strips together as there wasn’t any need for any extra long pieces of bias.

One of the first things I did was to practice flat felled seams as they were a feature on the front of the jacket so had to be spot on.

Well, try as I might, I couldn’t get them to look good enough for the front. They’d be passable for the seam on the hood but not on the front.

I decided to see what a trim of the shell fabric would look like, and sewed it like you would when you add piping but without the cord. I was super duper pleased with the effect!

The jacket (I was making the short version with inseam pocket and no patch pockets) came together really easy. I loved every minute of sewing this. Even finishing all the raw edges with bias trim, it just gave a dull coloured coat the WOW factor!

I had 2 disasters though whilst making the jacket.

No 1 Disaster

Whilst trimming the seam allowance at the head of the sleeve I accidentally snipped into the sleeve!!! ARRRRHHHHHH!

I almost cried. It almost became a UFO.

I didn’t have any fabric left to cut another sleeve. I pinch together the sleeve head and pinned but I lost too much length off the sleeve and it looked daft.

That’s all for now folks! Didn’t want to write too long a post, so tune in next time to see how I overcame this mini disaster, and also how this jacket became my most expensive garment ever owned (with the exception of my wedding dress!).

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Deluxe Coco – with sprinkles & cream

Published by Thimberlina

Deluxe Coco coming up!

Not quite with sprinkles and cream, but does have lots of topstitching and a smattering of ric-rac.

Remember earlier when I was trying to squeeze a coco from just 1m of fabric. A remenant I bought last time I visited Fine Fabrics of Harrogate. I wanted the funnel neck. I wanted cuffs on the sleeves. I wanted more fabric!

Eventually I opted to add a colour blocked top after rummaging in my scraps in my stash.

I drew a line where I wanted my seam then drew 2 lines either side 1.5cm away. I didn’t want to chop my pattern so I just folded on the lines.

I cut the front, back and funnel neck. I had this small piece left which was just enough for the cuffs. Phew!!

Even though this is a simple make I took my time and tried to add the finishing touches to this garment. I’ve made 2 already (unblogged).

The first one was black in a cheap double knit. Its pilled up but I’ve worn it loads and everytime I wear it someones always asks if I’ve lost weight! Result! I need one for everyday of the week!

The 2nd one was for my sister in a lovely ponte roma in charcoal that I think has some wool in it, judging by the smell of it when it was drying on my radiator! It was the leftover bit of this that I salvaged for my new coco.

I usually use ribbon for reinforcing the shoulder seams, but used this bright blue ric-rac instead:

When it came to the hem I’d already managed to squeeze a couple of inches to the length and I didn’t want to loose it. I need to it cover my butt when wearing leggings (and I have lots since discovering Cake’s Espresso leggings).

I cut a 1 1/2 inch strip of the charcoal ponte knit and finished one edge with my overlocker. I then sewed it to the right side, turned, pressed and stitched with a narrow zig-zag.

This finish gave the hem some body, as this fabric (a poly jersey) was a bit too fine and stretchy for a coco. It was a good job really that I didn’t have enough to make the coco totally in this fabric, as the top yoke in the ponte gave some structure to the neckline.

I thought I’d try and for once get some pix straight away and post my latest garment soon after making it. So here’s a variety of poses and quality:

can you make out my new boots? they’re burgandy patent and I LOVE them!

Think I’m getting of touch of Coco-itus, which is only curable when one has 7 Cocos hanging happily in one’s wardrobe!

How many Coco’s have you got?

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