Make It Perfect

.Cuff Tops + taking matters into my own hands.

After making Spy Tops for the little girls I had on my to-do list to sew one for myself. By the time I got around to it, the weather wasn’t cold enough to commit to a cowl neck so I made a couple without the cowl.

These were fun to sew, super fast and it was a good
opportunity to put a few of those printed knits (both from Crafty Mamas) to use. I bought this
fabric with intentions to use it for myself, it is a German knit and the
quality is unreal. I used a black jersey for the contrast cuffs and like how it frames the print.

This Lillestoff print is a little less “out there” but the tone-on-tone leaf print is enough to give a bit of interest. 

The pattern was drafted using my Skippy dress as a base. I took the top portion and modified it heaps – removed the gathers from the sleeves, brought in the side seams a bit for a more slim-fit, added some length then finished it off with wide cuffs on the hem and sleeves. 

There are lots of top patterns around now, I don’t know if anyone would be interested in this one or if you can just draft your own? What do you reckon? If enough people are interested I could write up a pattern for this – and include the cowl neck option and perhaps a couple of other variations? These tops have been on high-rotation in the wardrobe lately, just right for that in-between seasons change.

 
And for the first time ever I pulled out my tripod and remote and took these photos myself! It took a bit of figuring out, but I found that it was easier to take them inside than outside for some reason. I rigged up a plastic basket on the highchair to focus on before I jumped in front of the camera! Apparently my camera and remote are supposed to have a timer function on them so that I can press the button and then hide it from view before the camera actually snaps the pic but it wasn’t working for me so you can see the remote in all of the photos!

 SUPPLIES:
Swaffing, Cherry Picking, Love Boat in Blue jersey
Black jersey
Lillestoff, Leafly in mint jersey
Robert Kaufman, Laguna in Emerald jersey

October 24, 2014
Joey, Make It Perfect, Skippy

.Skippy & Joey Hop.

Welcome to the last installment of the Skippy & Joey Hop! 
Vanessa from LBG Studio cropped the skirt of this Joey dress to make it a tunic length to wear with jeans – I really, really like! How about those big, bold florals too? Pretty!
 

Abby from Sew Much Ado has THE cutest little girl wearing THE cutest Joey! She used an unexpected print for little kid’s clothing and I think it looks fantastic, cute little cowl neck too!

 
Jane from The Drapery is ready for some Spring action in her cheery Skippy dress. Love her puffy, short sleeves. She used some Lillestoff knit – one of my favourites.

How awesome is this Joey made by Christie from A Lemon Squeezy Home? Perfect print for a little girl – and she pulled out all the cool poses in these fun photos!

And Sunni from A Fashionable Stitch has produced the cosiest Skippy top around. She used some thick, fleecy sweater knit and paired it with a pretty lace knit. Isn’t it beautiful?

I’d love to send out a BIG thankyou to the wonderful ladies who took part in my Skippy & Joey Hop! So much awesome inspiration, I love seeing what others create with my patterns.

If you would like sew these dresses for yourself you can
purchase them here:

 

October 21, 2014
Make It Perfect, Skippy

.Still Skippin’.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I know what you are thinking…another Skippy post? Sorry…(not sorry) I’ve got lots to share!
This maroon one was the very first Skippy I made. I used this fabric because I knew that I wouldn’t be disappointed if it didn’t work out. The fabric quality is great, not sure what it is as it was given to me but feels like a jersey that has a bit of lycra content as it has great stretch and recovery and isn’t thin or flimsy. But the colour just didn’t do much for me. I don’t think I have anything maroon in my wardrobe and just don’t feel comfortable in it.
Turns out, the dress worked out pretty well first time around, too good to not be worn, so my big sister scored herself another Skippy! 

Maroon is also a really hard colour to photograph. It isn’t as dull as in these pictures. I’m not sure what else to say about this one that hasn’t already been said…feminine gathered 3/4 length sleeves, a pocket to stash your hands and as comfortable to wear as your favourite pyjamas!

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Skippy sewing pattern
Maroon jersey knit fabric
 
 
October 18, 2014
Indie Sewing Patterns

.Carme Blouse.

 
A few months ago I was browsing Kollabora when I came across these two pretty white blouses. I’m a sucker for a white blouse and at the moment I have none in my wardrobe. This pattern – the Carme Blouse by French designer Pauline Alice looked like it would be a great way to add fill the blank spot in my wardrobe but alas, I had no white fabric in my stash so decided to test out the pattern with this grey voile that I bought from Lincraft in an online sale recently. Who buys plain white fabric anyway? I must remember to collect some next time I’m doing some fabric shopping!

As much as I love the finished blouse, it was a nightmare to put together. Mostly due to my silly mistakes, but the pattern could have done with a bit more detail in the instructions and some extra diagrams. I definitley don’t think I would have made the mistakes if the instructions were more thorough. 

The thing I loved about the design is the pleated front yoke. It was really easy to make – you sew the pleats into a rectangle of fabric before using it to cut the yoke piece from but I was stung when sewing in the front placket. Not once, but TWICE! I could have cried!! Especially after all of that work sewing the pleats, my placket ended up off-centre both times. The instructions just weren’t clear enough, and even though my instincts were telling me to sew the placket in the centre of the yoke (and I’ve sewed plackets a lot so I should have just gone with my gut!) the instructions made me think that the placket should have been placed off centre….argh! 

This is the first project I have tackled in a long time which has sat half-finished for a couple of weeks – I was mad about it! Anyway, I finally got it together and finished it, but only just scraped in with enough fabric to re-cut the yoke and placket pieces three times!!

I also love the option of rolled-up sleeves – probably
how I will mostly wear it, but I like being able to unroll the sleeves
to wear under a jacket without as much bulk too.

I sewed a size 36 and am satisfied with the fit. Looking at these photos, there is some funny bunching up of fabric just under the curve of the yoke, but after looking at a few other finished blouses it seems as though most people have the same problem unless they have no boobs. It really doesn’t bother me that much, probably a lot more noticeable in still photos than when I’m moving around in real life.

The fabric is fine, nothing to gush about but it’s a very easy colour to wear and feels nice. Plus, it was cheap (I got mine half price) so makes for a good wearable muslin. It does crease really well which is great for the pleats to stay in place but not so great if you can’t handle creased clothes. It doesn’t really bother me in a shirt like this.

There will be another Carmel. It will be white and I will not make any mistakes with the placket next time! Stay tuned!

October 16, 2014
Ottobre

.Baby Tops (but not for much longer).

It has been 5 months since I last shared any tops I have sewn for Harvey. This is good and bad. 
Good, because it means that the clothes I am making him now will be worn for a much longer time. 
Bad, because he isn’t growing as fast which means that he isn’t a baby anymore. I had to title this post “Baby Tops” because I fear that it won’t be long until we are referring to Harvey as a toddler more and a baby less. Boo hoo.

The growing baby required some more tops though. I managed to squeeze the front and arms of this top out of a little piece of this favourite left over cloud fabric that I had. Because I didn’t have quite enough for the whole top, I used a little left over piece of solid grey (from this dress) for the back. I like the look and think I will be using it more in the future. A good way to stretch out your favourite fabric that little bit further too!

This pattern is one that I have used a lot in the past. From Ottobre 1/2011 called “White Rabbit”. I used some solid grey ribbing for the neckband and sleeve cuffs.

And this slouchy top was added to the collection too. I used a new pattern for this one – from an older Ottobre magazine: Spring 1/2009. The design is called “Muksis” jersey tunic and top” – you can definitley tell the way that trends and styles have changed over the years of Ottobre magazines. The older styles are much more slouchy and baggy. I don’t mind how this top is nice and loose fitting though. It will definitley fit for a long time – particularly becasue the sleeve cuffs are folded over. 

I don’t love the envelope neckline though, I never have really. It doesn’t ever seem to sit right and tends to stretch out of shape. The ribbing I used to bind the edges is quite thick too so was a bit tough to sew to the shoulder seams and ended up pretty bulky, but nothing too noticeable for a baby’s top. The little pouch pocket is very cute too. Unpractical, but cute!

SUPPLIES:
Grey cloud jersey knit

Charcoal jersey knit
Hilco campan knit in lime/blue

October 13, 2014