Seams Like Vicky

Make Nine 2020 – Getting Wilder

Sorry about the pun. We had a big debate at sewing club about whether it was pronounced Will-der or WILDer. I’ve gone with WILDer, correct me if I’m wrong. I’d seen a lot of really lovely ones on everyone and was getting some major FOSMO (Fear of Sewing Missing Out). I mentioned in my previous post how the one from @lesbonbecsfabuleax had inspired me so I was really wanting to make it in a green chiffon (purchased from Fabric Land). No Toile here, I jumped straight in (error)!

I cut out my pattern in an XS according to my measurements and it fits really nicely. Due to the fabric choice of chiffon I also planned to make it lovely on the inside with French seams. Unfortunately due to brainfog (that I now know was Covid-19, horrible stuff, wear a mask) I managed to sew the first few seams incorrectly.

To help anyone who may make this mistake from the instructions: I had sewed the centre seam of the bodice the wrong way i.e. I had basted the part that was a seam and seamed the part that required basting. At this point after unpicking chiffon, with no holes, I decided it would be safer to not French seam.

The pattern is excellent. It is well written (despite my muppet moment) and comes together really quickly, I also like how different it looks to a lot of other patterns. I can see why everyone has gone bonkers for it. I’ve already made a shirt version in a gorgeous mango coloured fabric and I MAY make a winter dress version in a slightly heavier weight fabric. Inspired by Likesewamazing’s hack I’d add pockets.

This pattern would be great for beginners, with a more stable fabric as there are no tricky closures and it introduces some fun techniques. I would recommend getting some of the PRYM ‘turny things’ to turn the neck tie through as these decrease frustration by around a million percent.

To go underneath as I am not body confident enough or well co-ordinated with my underwear enough I ‘hacked’ an Ogden cami. This was mildly successful, I added a bust dart (originally in the wrong place) and lengthened it at the lengthen lines. I need to hack it better but at present it is a slip dress for being under things so it’s OK. Fabric for this was purchased from Minerva.com it’s a black armor washed satin style. I had enough left over to make a normal Ogden and I really like wearing that too.

Things I like

Absolute wafty gown of dreams
I got to try a pattern hack
Really fun and easy pattern to put together that looks totally polished
Lots of variations available

Things I don’t like

The chiffon catches on things occasionally and I have to hold my breath
I’ve made the bust darts on the Ogden look like I have very pointy nipples

Enjoy your sewing, wear a mask, read the instructions correctly.

Make Nine – The Shelbys

I first saw the Shelby (not the Peaky Blinders) in December. I enthusiastically let my friend Irmak know how cute it was. She then surprised me by buying it for me for Christmas(!). I really loved the shape and selected the dress over the romper (functional toilet needs).

What with it being semi fitted I decided to toile first. So I went to Asda and got some constellation dinosaur bedsheets. A wearable toile that would be admired by my nephew was on the cards. I’d also had my eye on these for AGES and picked them up when they were heading in to the sale. My nephew has since called it beautiful and I’ve made him a matching shirt!

I made the toile in a straight size 4. As I was making this at sewing club I got useful fit advice and bought the bodice in to a size 2 for the real deal. This is why we toile! I’d bought some vintage buttons for another project, they were bigger than expected so I didn’t put them on the original project. They are perfect for the toile, although on my old Toyota I didn’t have the luxury of a 4-step buttonhole so some of them are a tad large.

The photos above feature my blue lipstick, which I do not wear anywhere near as much as I want to.

I wanted to make another blue one (I’m starting to know my colour palette) and selected the French Navy Double Gauze from Fabric Godmother. I enjoy how it’s a slightly unusual colour. I graded the pattern to a 2 at the top and a 4 at the bottom. Sewing this up for a second time was great fun. The pattern is really nice to construct and the instructions make it really fun to sew up. The buttons are hand embroidered daisies which I then used the covered button service from Sarah at Likesewamazing (it’s super satisfying to watch). I also very much decided that this needed a headband as if I was a fairy princess, so I got the gluegun out and made one.

Things I like

Really good pattern to follow
Flattering cut and pattern
New sleeve expansion for puffy sleeves

Things I don’t like

Maybe a tad short for anyone taller than 5’3” (Only my opinion)

Enjoy your sewing, add the special touches to your makes and make toiles from fabulous bedsheets.

Make Nine – The Avery Leggings

Everyone loves leggings, I did not love leggings. Leggings were for other people. I am 5’2” (160.5cm) and all of the leggings were the wrong saggy ankled length for me. Or the seam twisted around my legs. I often wore them and ended up doing a weird not very cool dance to make them work on me properly. I figured that I couldn’t make them look any worse than my ready to wear ones so selected the Averys as detailed in my pattern selection post.

I was nervous about working with something stretchy and bought some good quality but not bank breaking Black Jersey from Likesewamazing. Then I sat down and read the instructions with a cup of tea. I’m fortunate enough to have an overlocker (thanks Lidl) and made them on this and the Toyota of consternation (it has since died, but made me swear a lot).

I made these in a Medium, option A the super high-waisted ones as I felt they worked best with my style. Being impatient I didn’t want to wait to start sewing (and thought if I’m smart this wont matter) so for the bits I did on a regular machine I used a white bobbin.

I then proceeded to put the waistband on the wrong way round so the white zig-zag stitches are on the outside 🙂 (live and learn). I then tried them on and cut them to a short person friendly length. Which was too short! All things learnt though, this is a great pattern, easy to follow instructions and likely to appear in my wardrobe in another iteration. These are comfy and as such will be worn out of the house, because why waste them?

Things I Like

Comfort
High Waisted
No Outside Seam
Easy to follow instructions

Things I Don’t Like

My Impatience and short crop
My impatience and white thread showing on the outside.
Sometimes I put them on the wrong way (this is not exclusive to my me-mades)

Enjoy your sewing, thread your bobbin with the right colour and don’t cut things before you’re sure.

Make Nine – The Faux Jumpsuit

Before Covid-19 hit I had 3 weddings to attend this year. I used to be someone who wanted a new outfit for every occasion. I’ve smartened up a little since those days, but it’s hard not to get caught up in owning ever more things. I’ve pledged to myself that everything I buy/make will get 30 wears. This is why I decided that this jumpsuit needed to be faux, so each piece can be worn separately.

As I explained in my pattern selection post I chose the vintage Burda 6968 for my top to showcase my collarbones and the Winslow Culottes from Helens Closet for the bottoms. I posted my idea on Instagram in late December.

I had been admiring the Atelier Brunette fabrics for a long time and I had subtly hinted (directly told) to my boyfriend that I would like 3m of the Forest Green Moonstone viscose for Christmas. (I also advised him to buy on Black Friday and he purchased from The Drapers Daughter). Greens are my colours and everyone deserves a little bit of luxury from time to time.

With expensive fabric on the line I toiled both garments. Non-wearable and now hidden in a Closet Case Pouff. This allowed me to change the Burda 6968 from a gathered neckline to a pleated one to mirror the Winslow Pleats. It also allowed me to stop being vain about my sizes due to the lack of ease in the Winslow pattern and to go up from a size 6 to a size 8 in the culottes. Please see the wonderful toiles below.

Having toiled my final sizes were Burda 6968 graded from a 12(top) to a 14 (waist and hips) and a size 8 for the Winslow Culottes. I am really proud of the finished garments. Both were sewn on my Singer 201k, which I trust with my very delicate and precious fabrics. The top also required bias binding and I cheated and bought some pre made bias binding because I didn’t want to deal with the faff. I took special effort to make both invisible zips invisible because getting a colour match for the zips was a big challenge. I had to take to my old machine (Toyota R2200) for the buttonhole on the neckline and fortunately she behaved admirably. The button is a vintage one I picked up from a Charity Shop. Also, due to these being special makes I added some Kylie and the Machine Labels for me made luxury.

Things I Like

Swishy Palazzo Pant Culottes
Separates for more wear.
Pleated Top to mirror the pleats in the culottes
Good Quality Soft Fabric

Things I Would Change

Better attention to colour matching the zips
Being less vain about my measurements in the toiles.

Enjoy your sewing, toile when you need it and step away from the scissors if it’s all going wrong.

Make Nine 2020 – Pattern Selection

I’m starting the blog with a series of posts on my Make Nine 2020. I restarted my sewing adventure in August 2019 when I moved to Bristol and suddenly had time to sew and a sewing community to join!

I decided that a make nine would be a good way to keep my sew-jo going during the year and to keep a vague plan rather than just deciding things willy-nilly. I completed my make nine on the 7^th May and before I charge into more makes, I wanted to do a review. I’ve also completed a lot more additional makes this year too.

1&2. I’d had an idea for a fake jumpsuit in my head since October. I wanted a faux jumpsuit rather than a jumpsuit as I felt it would be easier and more sustainable to have more opportunities to wear.

1. One of my favourite parts of my body is my collarbones and I wanted the jumpsuit to show case these. I didn’t want to go for a standard halterneck and so I found the vintage Burda 6968 on ebay (after much research).

2. I was also a little wary about making trousers. The Winslow Culottes from Helens Closet were well reviewed and the Palazzo pants seemed to be a luxurious way to finish the jumpsuit combo.

3. I’m short and leggings usually bunch round my ankles or twist randomly. So I decided making my own would be better. The Avery Legging again from Helens Closet had two features I really liked. a) The high waisted option. b) The lack of seams on the outside of the legs and therefore on the list they went.

4. The Shelby from True Bias was something a little different to me. I really like the princess seams and the style that is reminiscent of the 90s. I wanted a cute spring/summer dress and this fitted the bill.

5. How could I resist the siren call of the Wilder gown, despite my boyfriend helpfully informing me that it looked like a nightgown I was smitten. Having seen one on Instagram from @lesbonbecsfabuleax (see it in its beauty here) I knew I wanted a dramatic green one for myself. Friday Pattern Company had a new fan!

6. When I re-joined the sewing world the Indigo from Tilly and the Buttons was about to launch. I wasn’t initially sold but I saw some versions which looked good and I liked the bust darts on the bodice.

7. The Estuary Skirt from Sew Liberated had been on my lust list since September. It fitted my idea of swishy, functional and fun. I knew I was going to make it in rust and my wonderful sister had bought be the pattern for Christmas

8. At the Likesewamazing Christmas party me and Measure Twice Kat Once tried on each others clothes. I really liked the casual and relaxed fit of her Nora (Tilly and the Buttons) and decided that as I had nothing like it in my wardrobe, to add it to the list.

9. My ready to wear jeans are a little worse for wear. They’ve been relegated to my ‘site visit’ wear for work. So filling the hole in the wardrobe was a necessity. I like high waisted things due to my proportions so I decided that the Dawn Jeans from Megan Nielsen fit the bill. I decided on these over the Ginger Jeans from Closet Case Patterns, I wanted to work with non-stretch for my first foray.

I didn’t make the garments in any logical order having just bought fabric as and when I saw the perfect fit (some before deciding on my make nine). The next few posts will outline the making process and show the finished objects.

Until then, enjoy sewing!