Happy birthday to me – Mindful crafting

Birthday tulips

Last week was my birthday. I got myself a present for my birthday. It arrived this morning. Really quick delivery. I got some notions and interfacing for a bag I’m making. I got most of the metal hardware from the Etsy seller Bag Making Bees. For the interfacing and fusible fleece the postage was better from Sweden so I ordered some H640, S320, zip and strap adjuster from Quiltbiten.

Bag making notions from Bag making Bees

Notions and Interfacing from Quiltbiten

I’m again trying to restrict my purchases this year. Last year went appallingly bad. So bad in fact that I’m too ashamed to even tell you how much I spent. The number one reason for the buying frenzy was to get the “thrill of making” when I had no energy to actually make anything. So now I’m making plans to use the fabric and yarn I already have at home. I’m not gonna say I’m not allowed to buy any new fabric or patterns but it should be thought about thoroughly before buying and preferably for something that I’ll sew up directly and not stash.

My aim this year is to incorporate some mindfulness into both buying but also making. How often do you do just one thing? If I’m going to sew or draw or cook, that’s it. No TV or video playing on the computer. The goal is to focus on just one thing and if my mind wanders off to what to make for dinner or any other of the gazillion things we think about each day, I will try to let it pass and keep my focus on what is currently at hand. Easy? No I don’t think so. It requires practise and that is exactly what I’ll be doing – practising.

Have you thought about your stashing habits? I encourage you to go read about the Stash Less challenge over at The Craft Sessions, especially if your not happy about the speed your stash is growing.

In search of a good woven top

I never wear woven tops. There is a shirt in my closet. But it’s a bit small and haven’t been worn for years. Which means I should get rid of it. I wore it frequently when it did fit my body (and style?). It’s a stretch woven, so maybe it doesn’t count. I’m used to wearing fitted, stretch tops. Although I’ve gravitated towards less fitted and sometimes even draped tops over the last few years, I’d still like to show off my curves while I still have them. I like the concept of woven tops and I would like to make them a part of my style and wardrobe. They look good on others. Permitting I can feel comfortable wearing one. Therein  lies the problem. I need to find a woven, fitted top that looks good and feels good to wear.

SWAP 2014 – Portrait blouse, front

The plan was to make two Portrait blouses from Gertie’s first book. One from a cheap but very lovely cotton in black and white and another from my much pricier cotton voile from Cloud 9. It didn’t turn out as as excellent as I pictured it. Mostly All my fault since I altered the pattern based on holding up the pattern tissue against my body. This top was done over six moths ago and I can’t remember why I did these changes. The only reason I know the numbers are because I wrote them down. Good for me. I used a size 4 but cut the back 1 cm from the fold and the front 2.5 cm from the fold. Both back and front facings were extended the same amounts. The bust dart was lowered about 4.5 cm.

Well, the result as I said is not stunning. Maybe it’s salvageable. In the photo below, I’m pinching the shoulder, bringing it up a cm or two on both the front and back. Looks a little better and maybe I’ll try it someday. But I’d need more alterations to get rid of the fluff under the arms. Maybe just trying a regular size 4 but with some added width at the waist side seams.

SWAP 2014 – Portrait blouse, back

SWAP 2014 – Portrait Blouse, possible alteration

Both sleeves and hem were hemmed using my rolled hem presser foot. It’s a little tricky to get it started but I totally love it. Must get the wider foots as well. I put in an invisible zip because that’s what I bought before really reading the instructions. I guess vintage clothes don’t use invisible zips. I don’t mind though.

Portrait blouse – invisible zipper

Portrait blouse – detail : rolled hem

Since I apparently dread fitting so much and hoping to magically find a pattern that’s drafted to perfectly fit me; instead of doing another Portrait blouse and ruining my lovely voile, I found another pattern to try. This is the Edith blouse from Maria Denmark. This pattern is available as both a B and a C cup. These are sold separately and at the time a bought it the C-cup version wasn’t on Crafsty. It’s not perfect but probably the best one yet (I’ve also made test versions of Alma and Belcarra from Sewaholic). I’ve worn it out once and didn’t think about it too much.

Edith blouse

Well who would expect perfect out of the envelope. Not many people and did anyone think I learnt anything from the Portrait blouse. I made a high round back adjustment. The computer-generation alteration according to the authors of  Fit for real people. I can’t really get to grips with what my fitting issues are. Most of the time with woven garments (like jackets and the Belcarra) I cannot comfortably raise my arms. At first I thought it was due to a broad back but comparing my cross back measurement to at least some tables contradicts that. Well, as barely visible in the photo of the back the half cm added at the centre back is pooling below the collar. I again think it is probably a broad shoulder issue since the front of the cap sleeves dig into my arms when raised. There are also some pull lines at the front shoulder. Whatever that means.

Edith Blouse – back view

Edith blouse – front

The cap sleeve hems were again hemmed using the rolled hem foot. Not too pretty since the curve was so tight. I had bought some regular white buttons and I was super excited to try the automated buttonholes on my machine. But they just looked ugly in the thin fabric. Even tried a small microtex needle. Pearl snaps to the rescue. Even got myself a pair of pliers. They were so easy to use. The snaps were marked jersey, but they seem to work.

Supplies:

• Pattern 1 – Portrait blouse from Gertie’s new book for better sewing.
• Pattern 2 – Edith blouse drafted for a C-cup from Maria Denmark.
• Fabric – Lightweight cotton from Tygaffären.
• Thread – Polyester.
• Notions – Invisible zip.  Prym snap buttons
• Interfacing – A lightweight nonvowen.

Edith blouse – front

Edith blouse – detail

Cost – about 300SEK for both, £24 , $36, €32

The Way of Flowers Anna Dress

This dress was finished just in time for my friends wedding. It’s the Anna dress from By Hand London made from the most wonderful fabric ever. I’m totally in love with the colours of this fabric and could base my entire wardrobe on these colours. It was my first time using and touching a voile. It borders on the side of too see-through but it’s fine and I’m guessing part of it is because it’s so light, darker colours will probably fare better.

Anna dress – front 3/4

I spent quite a lot of time messing with the pattern. I traced a size 4 and started doing an FBA. There are several tutorials on this and I like this one from Another little crafty creation. I had some problems because my lines did not end up between the two tucks/gathers. After a lot of fiddling around I realised that a size 4 is too small at the waist anyway and could not get it together. Then I was fed up with the whole thing so I just cut the size 6 with a 5cm/2″ elongation above the waist using a cheap sheet. It looked good and I realised I did not need the elongation. The reason I put it in, in the first place, was to make the seam hit on the waist line. With my change it did end up on the waistline. But that turned out to be a bad thing. It’s much easier to breath when the tight portion of the dress ends just above the waist – you can then eat all you want :). The biggest change was that I needed to take it in in the upper back. I took out about 5cm/2″ along the each centre back at the top of the zipper and graded to nothing – a total of about 10cm.

Anna dress – Side

I stitched it together using French seams, even the waistline seam. The dress turned out OK. I like it well enough. The only issues are a bit of gaping above the chest and the necklinge falls a bit too high. So if I do make it again I need to tighten it up across the upper chest and lower the neckline. Maybe the solution is to start with a size 4 upper bodice, do an FBA and let some of the extra out at the waist to match a size 6 waistband.

Anna dress – back

I’m really pleased with the attachment of the hook and eye. They’re attached using blanket stitches. I’ve misplaced where I got the instructions though. It was kinda fiddly but so worth it. Next time I’ll try to make the stitches closer together. Here’s a link to a fully covered hook and eye – looks really fancy.

Anna dress – detail

Anna dress-detail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies:

• Pattern – Anna dress from By Hand London.
• Fabric – The Way of Flowers voile from Cloud 9 Koi collection bought at M is for Make.
• Thread – polyester.
• Notions – Invisible zipper, hook and eye
• Interfacing – A light weight nonvowen.

Anna dress – closure details

Cost – 800SEK, £71, $116, €86

Sewing with a plan

In the last month I considered building an inkle loom and started making tablets for tablet (card) weaving. I’ve bought new supplies and tools for both paper and jewellery crafts. So if I don’t try and control myself I would get nothing done because I want to do everything. I will never be able to finish as many things as say Lauren of LLadybird – impressively many finished pieces. But with a plan I can hopefully get some things done that I will like, enjoy to wear and gradually build a wardrobe with matching clothes. To that end the Facebook group is so inspirational and one of few I still visit after deleting the Facebook app from my phone. The original plan of the group was to do four  6PAC a year. Now I think it’s more apt to just say sewing with a plan – SWAP; not many members adheres to the format of a 6PAC. With my limited time and energy I have no way of doing four plans a year. But I make a plan and try to stick to it. The plan I made last year is below. The colour palette is based off the Koi collection from Cloud 9. I fell in love with the fabric as soon as I saw it and fortunately the colours were just as great in person.

SWAP 2014

My first thought was to stick to the plan until everything was finished. But as winter came and a new year was approaching I just did not feel like finishing those shorts. So the blazer/cardigan and the bottoms are still clothes I want to make. I’m just transferring them to a new plan for 2015. Below is the results of the pieces I did finish. I’ll post separate posts for these items under the tag SWAP2014.

SWAP 2014 – results

The plan for 2015 is under way and most of it is finished. New for this plan is that I’m including jewellery. Those figures on the bottom left are supposed to be earrings.

Planning for spring 2015

Verdict on my first 6PAC

I finished the trousers for my first 6PAC -6 piece autumn collection- or SWAP -sewing with a plan. There were both hits and misses amongst the makes. The piece I wear the most is by far the drop pocket cardigan – Jalie 3248. I definitely want to make another one in either purple or petrol.

The two tops are not too bad but I don’t feel comfortable in them. The twist top -New look 6164- is nice under a cardigan but the armhole is too loose to wear on it’s own. Plus the V-neck is too low for me to feel comfortable at work which limits its use. The white Renfrew top is a bit of a wonder. The fabric is bought from the same place as the grey jersey used for the  cardigan but it is so much stiffer. Despite trying an FBA there were pooling between the breast and the armhole and I added armhole darts to remove the excess. The darts make me feel a bit awkward and I mainly use the top when I’m at home.

The trousers have scarcely been worn. They are just too tight over the hips. Unfortunately I serged the hell out of the side seams because the toile looked good, therefore not leaving any room to take them out. Lesson learned – different fabrics behave in varying manners so sew a toile with similar fabrics or be more careful when sewing with the fashion fabric.

6PAC 2013

Supplies 1:

• Patterns – Drop pocket cardigan from Jalie and Twist top 6164  from New look.
• Fabric – Grey ecological cotton jersey from Jofotex and lilac cotton jersey from local store Tygaffären.
• Thread – Polyester, Dor tak from Gittes.

6PAC 2013

Supplies 2:

• Patterns – Thurlow trousers and Renfrew top from Sewaholic.
• Fabric – Pinstripe grey blend and a printed cotton from local store Tygaffären and white ecological cotton jersey from Jofotex.
• Thread – Grey Gutermann polyester and white Dor tak polyester.
• Interfacing – For the trousers I used a non woven from Gittes.

Below is the the last ensamble together with the knitted cardigan I put in the plan. This cardigan is a lot warmer than the jersey cardigan and therefore more suitable for fall and winter.

6PAC 2013

Inspiration

3 hours drive. One way. Crazy?

Probably according to some people.

Last week I packed my car with my sewing machine, overlocker, loads of fabric, patterns and drove south to spend four days together with like-minded people. Four days of sewing and eating, sewing and eating. And lots of laughter. It’s great for inspiration and everyone is so helpful – techniques, choice of colours or fitting help is available.

Many clothes were sewn during the long weekend.

Since most prefer staying up late and sleeping in, the mornings are calm and quiet. These photos were taken the last morning and show the finished clothes hanging from the ceiling. There were a few non clothing items as well. In the second photo, it is easier to see the machines. There were at least 50 machines in there. No one brought less than two and quite a few had three – sewing, overlocker (serger) and cover lock.

Loads of machines!

Summer

The weather here is quite terrible at the moment. We got a bit of snow last week but this week it is raining and all snow is almost gone. It’s not that I am a huge fan of winter but snow is much nicer than ice and rain. Summer will eventually arrive and we need all four seasons in order to fully appreciate the splendour of spring and summer.

Flowers and bumblebees, rule of thirds

I found this photo when looking through some photos from this summer. It’s not easy getting good photos when you have to snap a shot while keeping an eye on a toddler and in the next moment run after them and put a stop to the fix idea of the day; like eating gravel.

The photo is not edited and it still manages to draw the eye in. Think I did pretty good on the rule of thirds.

Location: Tivoli in Copenhagen
Time: August 1 2013 at 14:25
Camera: Canon EOS 600D
Lens: Sigma 17-70 2.8-4 Macro HSM
Settings: Apperture priority with f/3.5 and -0.7ev exposure compensation, 34mm focal length. (Set by the camera ISO 100 shutter speed 1/250s.)

The challenges

Tomorrow is the start of Sew for a change. 75 points to spend on clothes and shoes. Plus it will be possible to earn 10 more points in the monthly challenges. Can’t wait to see what Malin and Alexandra have in store for us. February’s theme is de-clutter. Am hoping it is to de-clutter the wardrobe. Started with the undies drawer after the Holidays and the rest must follow.

Sewing or knitting your own clothes should cost less points than buying and I am hoping to be able to avoid buying any clothes . I won’t make any shoes and probably not undies either. I will definitely consider making my own bra later, but for now I don’t have the time. Nor should I need any more this year; I bought 4 at the end of December. But I do need new boots and maybe a pair of shoes, will see when spring arrives. So I think 15-20 points must be reserved for shoes and possibly underwear. That leaves 55 points to be used for fabric, which equates to 17 to 55 metres of fabric. The higher number is for organic natural fibre and the lower for synthetic fibre.

Hmm, doesn’t seem to difficult. What am I missing?  Plus, I am hoping to stick to my stash diet to try to get back to my original plan of not creating a fabric stash. Thus I need to control my tendency to shop whenever I feel blue and only buy just before I will start a project. Will have to see if a compromise is necessary. I buy online and since I plan to buy more ecological fabrics I suspect most shopping will be online thus inferring a shipping fee and usually cost less if buying in batches and not separate. Anyhow, lets get to the point. I think it is OK to have fabric for three projects at home and that’s not counting scraps. So until there’s only three unused fabrics in the house I shall follow this diet:

Fabric stash diet

*Sew 4 projects from stash before buying new.

*Use at least 2 patterns before purchasing a new.

*My Exclusions:
-Notions, muslin and lining fabric – to be bought on a project by project basis.
-Fabric or patterns bought to make specific gifts – unless of course these can be made from stashed fabric.
-Gifts of fabric or patterns I receive from family or friends – this includes gift certificates to venues that sell such items.
-Fabric bought during travels – while on vacation I will try and refrain from visiting such tempting places as fabric stores. Should I find myself at such places due to forces beyond my control (ha!), I will allow myself to purchase a maximum of 3 new pieces of fabric per vacation destination.

The exclusions are copied from Stitch parade, except I changed the vacation allowance to only 3. Even though I am allowing gifts they still count in Sew for a change.

Buliding my wardrobe

I wear a fraction of the clothes currently in my closet. This probably means I need way less clothes than I think. But ultimately I’d like to look and feel more put together and not buy or sew clothes I’ll never wear. I began my journey in that direction when I joined a Facebook group dedicated to sewing a 6PAC – 6 piece autumn collection – or SWAP as some say, i.e. sewing with a plan. My first plan is below. I only need to finish the trousers. I’m not doing a plan for spring since I want to focus on accessories and need to do some toile fitting.

6PAC fall 2013

So when Sarai of Collette patterns posted about her coming series on building your wardrobe I felt that was perfect for me. So I’m definitely gonna try to do that. Then there is Stitch parade’s and Today’s agenda’s stash diets. Haven’t decided on that yet but I will try to make the Sew for a change challenge. I will have 75 points to spend on clothes or fabric and there is a list of how much every thing cost in amount of points.

Not a garment in sight

Last year I mostly made garments. I’ve learnt a lot and am now at a stage were I realise I need to alter the patterns to get a fit that I’m happy with. Coupled with the fact that I’ve reached a dead end trying to fit my pants – I wanted to sew something else. Looking through my wishlist on Craftsy I found the Suzi purse insert. Off I went to Stoff & Stil and bougth some fat quarters, a cutting mat and rotary cutter.

Purse organiser

Oh the bliss. Alone one evening in my sewing room/our spare room with the cutting mat, cutter, rulers, fabric and pattern and audio book on the Nexus. Listening to The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis on Storytel. It was very relaxing and definitely something I want to do again. Another pattern and another book of course.

Purse organiser, other side

The pattern is very nicely laid out with plenty of photos to guide even a beginner like me. I did the larger size in order to fit my Nexus 7. The clip for my keys and loops on the side are my additions. Quite easy to add in the top seam. Other than that I think I followed the instructions to a T.  Oh, wait that’s not entirely true. I added a thin interfacing to the inside pockets, because it was too see-through.

Adding straps to the organiser

Supplies:

• Pattern – Suzi purse insert
• Fabric – Four fat quarters from Stoff & Stil
• Thread – Off white and turquoise polyester from Stoff & Stil
• Interfacing – Hobby from Stoff & Stil

 

Inside of organiser

Cost – 200 SEK, £18.5, $30.5 or 22.5€