#2019makenine: Vintage Hat

I am slowly creating a collection of hats. I wanted to attempt to make my own this year, and so I turned to Angela Clayton’s video on how to make an Edwardian style hat. I didn’t follow it completely to the letter but it still turned out ok.

First I made a pattern using one of the boater hats I already own. I made the brim wider, but I think I could have gone a bit wider still. I also will make the cutout at the back narrower on my next one as I felt the brim dipped too much at the back. I stitched on some galvanised steel wire as per the instructions.

Then came the fabric choice. I had enough of this black brocade-ish fabric left from a skirt I had made so used that as the outside. I used some leftover lilac cotton for the lining of the top and side pieces. For the underneath of the brim I used leftover dobbyspot fabric from a blouse I had made.

You can see here that I made a small error when cutting out the outside pieces. I didn’t leave any seam allowance as I didn’t write it on my pattern pieces, so I made some binding to finish the outside edge of the brim. The inside edge was hidden by the side piece.

Then came time to decorate it. I had grnad plans and was going to cover it in fabric flowers. I started by tying this leftover piece of chiffon from my 2018 Foundations Revealed Competition piece around it. It looked really cute and I was excited to ramp up the cuteness but after laying out my fabric flowers I really didn’t like how it looked. I think the brim was too small and it kind of looked like a hat a Morris dancer would wear, or something you would wear to church. So I scaled back the flowers and just stuck to a sprinkling of fabric roses.

I do like the hat, and it does it’s job. I’ve always preferred simpler lines and styles. Still, when I make another one I will make some changes and hopefully I will get the flowery monstrosity of my dreams!

#2019MakeNine: The Companion Carpet Bag

So, we’re already a quarter of the way through the year and I have completed one project! I have a video of my #2019makenine plans here if you want to find out more detail. I thought it would be easier to film it rather than write it this year.

My first make is this carpet bag. I used The Companion Carpet bag pattern by Sewing By Mrs H as a base, but it was a little too small for my liking and I didn’t like the kind of severe shape at the top. So I cut out the pattern for the 12in frame and made some adjustments.

• I widened the top of the pattern to 8.25 inches.
• This meant the gusset needed to be a tad shorter and wider as there wasn’t such a sheer curve to the sides. I cut the gusset as 38.5 x 9 inches.
• Lastly, the bag frame channels were lengthened to 24 x 2.5 inches.

I ordered a 16in bag frame and stabilizers from sewhot. For the outside fabric I used some of this vintage fabric which I have available in my eBay store, and the lining was some leftover Laura Ashley quilting cotton I’ve had floating around in my stash for a while.

The bag was relatively easy to put together following the instructions given in the download, so I won’t go too much into detail. I have never made a bag before and this was a really positive experience and I am planning to make another one later in the year.

The bag does have an internal pocket which isn’t the neatest but no-one else is going to see it really!

Once the shell is completed I put on the bag handles, and the buckle. I originally bought two buckles and was going to place them either side of the handles but there wasn’t enough room. I don’t think the bag really needs buckles anyway after using it a few times, the frame is pretty sturdy and stays shut.

I then finished the bag by inserting the lining and sewing on the frame channels. The frame was easy to insert though it did need a bit of dexterity to get the teeny tiny screws back in!

And that’s it! I absolutely love this bag and will definitely be making another later in the year.

#2018makenine: Sven sweater and PJ bottoms.

Well, we’re nearing the end of the year and I’ve finished my make nines, and planned next years’. In this article I’ll be showing you my last two makes.

First up we have the Sven Sweater from freesewing.org. I actually made one of these back in April as the weather refused to warm up. This was a good idea as I had to adjust the pattern a lot! It was far too roomy so I had to take it in by about 5 inches which meant I had to redraft the armscye’s. It was such a pain that I really wasn’t keen on my first attempt. But after a few weeks, and looking at other garments I decided it wasn’t that bad at all.

I had enough of the material to make two jumpers so I have a round neck, and v-neck version depending on what I decide to wear that day.

 

I’m not sure whether it was because it was a mens pattern, or it was just the style that caused the problems but I’m glad it worked out in the end!

My last project was some pyjama bottoms. I love wearing comfy pyjamas in the winter but I hate store bought sets. They are either too small around the hips but fit on the waist, or they start the correct length but after several washes creep up above the ankle which annoys me!

The pattern I used is from 5 out of 4 patterns which I got from a pattern swap run by the sewing vlogger Kittenish Behaviour. I love that this is another free pattern (they have quite a few) which allows me to try something new.

Originally I bought 2 metres of a lilac fleecy material to use. But when I went to cut it out, I realised that it was too narrow to place both pieces on there as I lengthened the pattern by 3.5 inches. It had also got some stains on it from some other fabric that I washed at the same time. I was a bit miffed but went to my local fabric shop to have a look and bought this lovely bold brushed cotton. It felt really light at first so I was worried that they wouldn’t be very warm but having worn them I can say that they are very good.

 

I didn’t really use the accompanying instructions as they were so simple to put together. The measurements were pretty spot on. I graded from a medium waist to large hips and it fitted me really nicely. I have enough material left to make a matching shirt, or another pair of trousers and I could get some navy jersey and make a couple of tops using the Sven pattern.

I hope you have enjoyed all my articles on my make nine projects this year. I will be doing a round up in the form of a video as there were things I liked and disliked about doing this series. 🙂

#2018makenine: Theodore Trousers

As I’m writing this, I have actually finished all of my make nine’s for this year! My last two projects went together really easily so I will put them together into one article. For my 7th make I made the Theodore trousers from freesewing.org in a gorgeous emerald green cord from Minerva Crafts.

I have never made formal trousers before and they weren’t terribly difficult. However I did find the provided directions confusing at times though there are video instructions if you are more of a visual learner like I am. It took three attempts to do the fly, which resulted in some shredded fabric which I had to fix with a modified darning stitch, but it looks like an intended feature on the final garment.

They fit James really well. He spent most of the first hour with them doing lunges just to show how good they are. The only things we would change in the future is to add a tiny bit more to the back seam as it is very fitted over his bum which he is not a huge fan of. I would also make the seam allowance on the crotch seam bigger, as I made a booboo and didn’t change it from 3/8 inch to 5/8 so the zip can peep out at times. With a bigger seam allowance I could set the zip back further.

I hope you enjoyed this article and I would definitely suggest having a look at freesewing as you can easily get an amazingly fitted garment!

#2018makenine: Simplicity x American Duchess Stays

Another #2018makenine project done! I’ve done 6 so far so there’s only 3 more to go. I’ve started on the Theodore Trousers, and made a wearable toile for the Sven Sweater.

Anywho, this article is going to be for the Simplicity 8162 Stays pattern in collaboration with American Duchess. Similar to the Laughing Moon Corset article I don’t have a huge amount of photos to show the process. As it was only 12 steps it actually came together really easily!

I started with a mock up and didn’t have to make any changes, so I forged ahead with the actual garment. I used white coutil for the strength layer, and a gorgeous floral linen for the fashion layer.

The markings were clear and the instructions easy to follow. You simply stitch all the panels together, create the boning channels, put the lining on and then bind and insert grommets to finish. It probably took a comparable amount of time as the Laughing Moon corset because even though there is no busk to insert, there are longer edges to bind.

The binding was actually easier than expected, it just took a bit longer as there were longer edges to bind! I did find the 1/4 inch binding a little fiddly to handfinish, but I think that was mainly my choice of a relatively open weave linen and it’s penchant to fray easily.

The only thing I did change on it was to make both the back and the front spiral lacing. On the packet it has both the back and front as cross lacing, but on the pattern pieces it has the back as cross lacing and the front as spiral lacing. This was terrible confusing and I wanted to keep everything the same style and looking at garments that American Duchess have made, they used spiral lacing for both front and back. I think it’s just personal choice, and whatever works best for you.

If I was to make this garment again I would order wider bones. The boning channels are wider than in Victorian and most modern corsetry which I didn’t realise, so I got to the boning stage and used the plastic boning I already had. This wasn’t too much of a problem but the flat steels I had ordered for next to the grommets was also too thin so I do get a bit of wrinkling in this area but I am thinking of narrowing the channels with my zipper foot and then embroidering a nice decorative stitch around the channels.

I really love how the stays look and I think they make nice outerwear with the colourful ribbon. I do find that one side seems to ride up, and I’m not sure whether this is due to an asymmetry in my hips or just the way it’s laced so I may try a closed front stays pattern next, or change it to cross lacing.

#2018makenine: Laughing Moon Chemise & Silverado Corset

It’s been a while since my last article, I haven’t had much to write about. But during the start of summer I’ve been working on two more of my ‘make nine’ projects. I’ll start with the chemise as it is the quickest and I only have finished photos of it.

It was really easy to put together, and I love the pintucks which were easier to do than I originally thought. I wanted to use up some fabric in my stash but I ended up not having enough of one fabric so it ended up as a bit of a patchwork.

The only things I would change would be to make it an inch shorter and put a button or snap in the front. I would also maybe make a slightly smaller size as I find the underarms to be strangely bulky though that may just be because I’m not used to wearing things like this.

Now we’re onto the corset! Again, this was relatively simple to put together with the instructions. I made a mockup and the only tweaks I had to make were to widen the hips slightly and fiddle with the bust gores.

I ended up making two slightly different shaped gores, rather than having one that you use twice. It was also at the point that I realised that the notches on the gores don’t line up with the notches on the corset. They are more of a guideline to make sure you are putting the gores in the right way round, and you make sure your stitching lines match up at the top instead.

I then marked on the boning channel placement onto my coutil layer and created surplus boning channels out of bias strips of the same coutil. For the boning channels at the seams, I just used the seam allowances to create the channel as I usually do in my modern silhouette corsets.

Apart from the gores, there wasn’t anything new in this pattern so it went together in the same way as my other patterns. This corset is really comfortable but if I was to make it again I think I would take the waist in by about an inch, and I would probably try flossing the boning channels. I might still do that on this corset as it has gone quite wrinkly.

It was really nice to try something different and more vintage, but I’m still more into modern silhouettes. Thanks for reading, and for sticking around whilst it’s been a bit quiet.

Late Victorian Cycling Outfit: The Bloomers

I’m really excited about this project. I’ve been wanting to make bloomers for about a year as I cycle to and from work at least 3 times a week, if not more. I usually wear leggings and a t-shirt as they are pretty comfy. I originally got the idea from Angela Clayton (big surprise…not) and her cycling costume, and around the same time Christina DeAngelo wrote some articles for Foundations Revealed (you’ll need a membership to read them) using an old pattern from the 1890’s for cycling bloomers. These were written in the summer of 2016 and I squirrelled away the idea in my brain at the time. However my leggings have become very threadbare and patched so I decided it was time to make my bloomers.

I wanted my bloomers relatively tailored, I’m not a fan of the clown pant styles of the 1890’s. So I started with a shorts pattern to draw out the crotch. I used the size 20 lines to make sure the crotch was deep enough and then added an extra inch to the front and about 3 inches to the back. I then made them about 30 inches long from my waist to just below my knee. After making a mockup there were very few tweaks I had to make. I added 1.5 inches to the side seams and added material to the center back seam as it pulled slightly when I sat down and the last thing I wanted was for it to split whilst on my morning commute.

For the real thing I used this gorgeous petrol wool/polyester blend from Minerva Crafts. I was surprised by how thin it was, so these will definitely be summer bloomers and I’m planning on making some other pairs in a twill, or maybe even a boiled wool for the winter. My camera had a really hard time with the colour which is why it looks different in all the pictures but the picture above is the closest! I stitched the side seams together with a flat fell seam to give it some durability.

I then pleated the waist and leg holes. The pleats are only small but are concentrated towards the back to give me the room I need for sitting.

It’s slightly hard to see from the picture but on the leg holes I zigzag hemmed about 3 inches of the side seams (which weren’t included in the flat fell seam) and turned them under so they were neat  and would allow me to get my foot through.

I then cut two strips of fabric 4in x 20in to create the leg bands. I interfaced one side of the band and the leg hole was pleated down to 17.5 inches. These do tend to slip down, but if I made them again I would be making them in a thicker fabric, and as it would be for colder months I would be wearing thicker socks/stockings so they shouldn’t slip down as much.

I stitched buttonholes and added these lovely little brown buttons. I didn’t have anything silver that was small enough but these go really well with the colour and style.

Then I cut another strip of fabric that was 4in x 33in for the waistband. I cut the same size strip in interfacing and ironed it on. I then attached the band to the top of the bloomers using a 3/8in seam allowance and folded it over so it would encase the raw edge.

I then added an invisible zipper. This was the first time I had ever done an invisible zip and it turned out really well! The last thing to do after that was simply to handfinish the waistband and legbands, and that was it. I was really surprised by how quickly these actually came together, I thought they would take a couple of weeks working around my other commitments but they only took one week.

I haven’t got any decent shots of it being worn yet but you can have a slightly blurry phone picture of it to tide you over until I get the jacket done. I also want make gaitors if I have enough fabric left over!

#2018makenine: Wahid Waistcoat

We’re a third of the way through the #2018makenine challenge, with 3/4 of the year left to go! This month I focused on the Wahid Waistcoat pattern from freesewing.org. I made it up using the construction method from the simplicity waistcoat pattern I use which involve sewing up the side seams last, rather than the freesewing instruction which get you to sew the armholes last by hand.

I used a red paisley fabric for the fashion layer and a black cotton for the lining. The basic construction was pretty easy. It has two darts in the front and in the back for shaping. The beauty of the freesewing website is that is gives you a really basic pattern that will fit your measurements. However, as this is a mens pattern it did not fit my shape perfectly so I did have to make a few tweaks.

The first tweak I made was to insert a bust dart. Generally I avoid these where possible as I really don’t like the look of them. However I had already cut out the pieces and didn’t have enough fabric to re-cut them. The shoulders were also a tad wide and flared for me so I thinned them down a little around the armhole. This mostly helped the flaring, and as I am wearing this with a ruffled top it won’t be noticeable, but I did shave off a bit on the shoulder seams for next time.

The other alteration I had to make was to the back. The pattern algorithm had tried it’s best by putting wide darts in the back to compensate for my small waist. However when the pattern was made up my butt shelf made the waistcoat wrinkle horrifically at the back. My other half said it wasn’t too noticeable, but I really wasn’t happy. So I researched how to do a swayback adjustment. However this involves taking away horizontal excess (think of a dart but horizontal rather than vertical) which I couldn’t do as it would have left a random seam in the back. So instead I put the waistcoat on and pinched out some of the excess from the back seam. In total I took away about an inch from the waist, grading out to the bottom and up to the mid back (about the middle of the armholes). As you can see this has smoothed out the back amazingly.

Lastly I finished with four buttons and buttonholes at the front. Overall this project was pretty quick to put together with only a few adjustments to change it from fitting a male form to fitting a female one. I will hopefully get some worn photos soon 🙂

Hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for my next article about making some cycling bloomers!

The Thor Dress: Photos

I finally got the chance to take some photos of my Thor Dress. I really wanted to get some pictures of it in the snow. They came out alright, but I’m not completely enamoured by them. It was really cold so we were kind of rushing. But I hope you enjoy looking through them. I really like the silhouette that was created.

This is my ‘I’m cold and can’t feel my fingers’ pose.

And this is my ‘come hither’ look. You’ve got to love photoshoot bloopers.

#2018makenine: Maxine undies & Bruce Boxers

If you read my article on my 2018 plans then you know that this year I am taking part in the #2018makenine challenge! I have planned out my projects into particular months and February’s projects were the Maxine undies from Evie La Luve and the Bruce boxers from freesewing.org. These were both free PDF patterns and I printed them out at home.

I don’t really have much to say about the construction of the maxine undies. They were incredibly quick to put together following the printable instructions. There are also videos on construction points over on the Evie La Luve youtube channel. I did have to grade the pattern out from a large at the waist to the XXL at the hip and they fit pretty nicely.

I finished the edges with a zigzag stitch which is a bit hard to see in this photo. It was also my first time using fold over elastic (FOE), and it was easy to use on the straight edge at the top but I definitely need more practice with it on the curved edges around the leg holes. If I was to make these again I would probably cut an inch off the top as they do come up a tad high for my liking, even though I made a mockup!

The Bruce boxers were slightly more complex, though still something that an advanced beginner or intermediate sewer could handle. There are good instructions on the freesewing website, and an accompanying video.

I stitched all the pieces together with a straight stitch according to the instructions and then ironed the seams out. This was quite easy to do especially if you understand how to do the double faced front section. The only small problem I had was that I couldn’t get the crotch seam to be completely smooth, it always had a small point to it. Though I did find that with a press and some wear it wasn’t noticeable anymore.

I then top stitched the seams. This create visual interest and also keeps the seams down. Whilst this material doesn’t fray, James did find that seams without top stitching had a tendency to twist, and whilst not uncomfortable, it was noticeable.

The next step was to turn up the hem and stitch it down. I used a zigzag stitch for this and it seems to work just fine. I had back stitched the ends of the top stitching, and once it was turned up twice for the hem that point became a little bit bulky, so in future I wont back stitch as it will all be encompassed in the hem anyway.

Once this was all done it was time for the waistband. I used a plush waistband elastic which was 32mm wide. When I was making the mockup I didn’t have James with me to measure his waist which the instructions suggested to do. So I used the same technique as the maxine undies. I measured the top of the boxers and subtracted 5cm. This includes a lcm overlap allowance and means it is nice and snug to the body. I overlapped the two ends of the elastic and did a dense zigzag stitch up and don the join a couple of times. I then laid the elastic and boxers together, right side to right side and zigzagged around the very edge. I then flipped the elastic up and top stitched another zigzag to keep it in place.

James really likes these boxers and likes the funky flower print. He doesn’t mind that they have no fly opening, but I am thinking of a way to hack them to include one in the future.

I hope you enjoyed this article and look forward the my other #2018makenine projects 🙂