More Dino Shorts

I got this t-shirt fabric from Fabricana in 2023, at the same time as my lurex for the bell bottoms. I thought Big Sis needed a t-shirt, but she decided it was too pyjama-like and so she would like some sleep shorts.

I went back to Sew Over It's Poppy Playsuit pattern, my favourite elastic-waist shorts pattern. I've been making the shorts in size 10/12 here and here but, in this fabric, they came out absolutely huge! Maybe it is because it is a stretch. This is ironic because I struggled to fit all the pattern pieces on the right way up. The back pieces were in danger of being cut upside down. Instead, I re-traced the pattern to remove 1cm from each seam allowance so that I could get everything on the right way up. I was planning to overlock the seams, so I only needed 5mm.

They were a very straightforward sew, side seams, crotch seam, waistband fold and hems.

Costs:

Fabric: Fabricana, $16.78

Pattern: Sew Over It, $0.00 (used previously)

Thread: eBay, $1.00

Notions: Waistband elastic $0.00 (upcycled)

Total: $17.78

ABBA Glitter Bell Bottoms

I am lucky enough to be going to the ABBA "concert" in London this summer! ABBA is pretty much my favourite band in the world. Even though they were in the charts before my time, I love almost all their songs and their vibe of sparkly, upbeat, lyrical pop is my thing. 

Of course, their visual imagery is so strong too, and if I'm going to their show, I want to dress up! When I was in my 20s, my mum made my sister and I matching bell bottoms, in turquoise sequins. We wore them to a 70s fancy dress party and I remember how much fun they were to wear, we spent the whole night dancing. Probably to a lot of ABBA!

I couldn't find any turquoise sequins at Fabricana, but I did get this silver-rainbow-shimmer-glitter-stretch fabric. They call it Liquid Lame. I got 2.5 yards, and used it all. I love how it has a holographic rainbow effect, especially in artificial lighting. It is silver, but shows a lot of blue, green, pink and yellow too. It is not sheer, in that you can't see through it, but it is very sheer in that it shows all the lumps and bumps under, it really is like liquid. I might have to wear sports leggings underneath, just for a bit of modesty. (Plus, I wouldn't have to wear them on the London Underground, just pop them on and off at the show!)

For my pattern, I looked through my trousers patterns, and settled on New Look 6057. Considering I have never sewn an actual garment, as designed, from this pattern, it has been one of the most useful patterns I own! That wide, low, scooped waistband is ideal for me and I've used it four times now.

I cut a size 10, even though that does not correspond with my measurements. The fabric is stretch and I wasn't sure I wanted negative ease, but I knew I had room to play with. I cut the pattern to the lengthen/shorten lines at the knee and then, for the bell bottom, flared out to the remaining width of the fabric that I had. I also left the leg hem long so that I could decide after trying them on, ideally with footwear.

I cut the front and back waistband on the fold. There are two pieces each, one for the outer, and one for the lining. I used my own traced pattern piece for these. I made up the waistband and added elastic inside for extra security. I made the whole thing up on my overlocker, with the exception of the back darts. I left the hem unfinished.

I went back and carved out some more ease above the knees. It has messed up the lines of the leg, they are pulling in a funny way now, but they are pretty baggy, and bell bottoms make your legs look so slim that I didn't want to miss out on that effect. I should really make them a whole lot smaller overall, take out all the ease, but the fabric is so sheer that I don't exactly want to dress like that. Any more. 

Supplies:

  Fabric: 2.5 yards, Fabricana, $23.57

  Pattern: New Look, used previously, $0

  Notions: elastic, upcycled, $0

Dino Shorts

I had 1.15m of dinosaur poplin left after the Dino Overalls, so the obvious garment to make was a pair of shorts. In fact, I think shorts are more practical and wearable than the overalls, although these do look somewhat like pyjamas.

I used the shorts pattern from the Sew Over It Poppy Playsuit, which I had used for myself a few years ago. It was great to have these to check the fit (no changes) and remind myself of the construction. I did flat felled seams for the legs and a french seam for the crotch. The waistband was elastic from an old pair of boxers, just folded over at the top of the pattern pieces. No additional waistband piece.

I didn't stitch down the cuffs at the top, just the bottom. For which I needed to do two rows, because I missed some parts on the first row. I also secured the cuffs at each side seam.

I cut pocket bags, but I forgot to put them in. I didn't want to re-do flat felled seams. I'll have to keep those pockets for another garment.

This really is the perfect elastic waist shorts pattern. I got some stretch dino fabric recently. I was thinking of a t-shirt, but she says she needs shorts more.

Supplies:

  Fabric: $0.00 (used previously)

  Pattern: $0.00 (used previously)

  Notions: $0.00 (stash thread, upcycled elastic)

Total: $0

Star Wars T-shirt

 

This t-shirt was literally YEARS in the making!

Following the success of our first trip to Disneyland in 2017, we planned a follow up for 2020. Oops.

I didn't need new clothes, but my husband did, and I also knew that we would be able to visit Star Wars Land, which opened since our last visit. He is a big Star Wars fan, so I got him a Star Wars t-shirt, which happened to come with some pyjama pants.

I figured that the pants would have enough fabric for a t-shirt for me, if I pieced a seam through the centre. I used the Kirsten T-shirt pattern from Maria Denmark. I got this through a newsletter signup many years ago, and I've made it twice before. Here, and here. I chose this one because I could fit it on the tapered trouser legs, and it has integrated sleeves, so less fabric needed.

Here it is, laid out on the pants legs. The print runs both ways up, so I didn't have to worry too much about pattern matching. 

After I got everything made up, I had a few errors to sort out. I don't know what on earth I did with the neckline. (This was three years, and an international move ago.) Did I turn it around and add this panel to the original front neckline? Probably. All I know is that now, that pieced section is at the back. 

I had a dreadful time with the neckline trim. This is the point where I put it away, and thought I would never resurrect it. The movers shipped it for me, and we re-booked our trip for November 2022, so I thought I might have another go. Even better, my overlocker and sewing machine worked in our new country, with a power converter!

I thought about doing three different colour trims, for the neckline and two sleeves. There are flashes of red, blue and yellow in the black and white. I thought it might add a nice pop of colour. But in the end, I went for the easiest option and trimmed the neck in the same fabric. I had to unpick this once because it was gaping too much. 

For the sleeves and hem, I just overlocked the edge and zig zag stitched them down. I shortened the hem a lot, which helps it skim my tummy better. Things always ride up on my hips and create fabric folds in my middle section. Above the hip, but below the waist, is the right length top for me. 

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I like how it is not obvious Star Wars at first glance, but not hiding either, and I always love taking something unwanted and turning it into something wearable!

Bloody Angel

This is the inspiration drawing for the Halloween costume of a Bloody Angel. So good! I was hoping to do it justice and not let the artist down.

I decided to go with the dress pattern from Simplicity K1699. The double seam in the sleeve would make it easy to increase them to the bell shape. Based on her measurements, I cut a size 12, which is the same size as I used for my Scuba Dress. It came up pretty small though, I wouldn't make this size again. 

Fabric was just an old sheet, and the blood is fake blood from a Halloween store. All in all, materials for this dress were very cheap! I got fancy and added a panel of Broderie Anglaise fabric to the front bodice. I wanted to make it more angelic and less sheet-like. I got this fabric as a scrap from my mother-in-law.

I decided on a bias binding facing for the neckline. This pattern has a real problem with how high the neckline is. I lowered it after a fitting and it is still very high. 

Fastening is by buttons. Nine buttonholes!! I added a facing for support and modesty. I also reinforced the base of the opening with a little triangle of fabric. I was getting fancy! But I didn't do any seam finishes, and I had to press the life out of the hem to get that curved edge to sit flat.

To finish off the costume, kiddo added wings, a halo and a bloody knife.

Happy Halloween!

🎃 👻 ✞ ☠️ 🧹 🕸 🕷 ⚰️ 👽 🤡 

Disney Doll Playsuit

 

Oops, I did it again! A second doll playsuit rolled off the assembly line, less than a week after the first.

Partly because I was clearing out the outgrown summer clothes, and partly because it was an easy make. So I went for it again. This H&M t-shirt was purchased for our Disney trip three years ago. Youngest doesn't fit it any more, but it is cute and I was keen to keep it for her in some way, shape or form.

I am always fascinated by how the scale of the pattern changes so dramatically on doll clothes vs children's clothes. On a child, the t-shirt is very spotted. Here it was, being worn at Disneyland.

On the doll, I tried to pattern match to get all the faces the right way up, and to have some of them visible, and in sensible places. I mostly succeeded. I also unpicked the Disney label, and included it in the back!

The bias straps were cut from whatever scraps were left afterwards, they are pieced under the arm, and one of them is cut on the bias, the other on the stretch grain. I considered doing a contrast bias, but I didn't have a good matching stretch, so I kept them in the t-shirt fabric. They probably look more pyjama-like because of this, but I'm not sweating it.

The construction is the same as the previous one, with shorter shorts because I didn't make cuffs.

Doll Playsuit

It is nice to sew something again. I haven't been at it properly for years now and I've missed it. Life just gets in the way sometimes, but this was requested for an upcoming birthday, so how could I refuse to make time for that?

I was searching my stash for something summery and these two fabrics, although not my particular style, just make me so happy! The yellow is polycotton left over from my Eurovision Circle Skirt. A circle skirt of that size leaves a lot of leftovers, and this pattern didn't really require much fabric anyway.

For the pattern, I used the bodice from the Oliver & S Popover Sundress and combined it with bottoms drafted from the American Girl Molly Pyjamas. 

You can see from these layouts how I altered the two patterns to be suitable for a playsuit. For the bodice, I didn't really measure the length, I just decided to pick the length at a fitting. The dress can only be put on the doll over their head, and this doesn't work for a playsuit, so I added width at the top of the bodice so that the suit can be pulled up from the shorts. You can see that I just drew a straight line up from my side seam, and then cut the armholes at the normal size. I cut a piece of elastic the same length as the "proper" bodice neckline and used this to gather the neckline to fit. The finished result is a tiny bit too voluminous, but it is a style that is in fashion, so we're ok. 

For the shorts, I added about an inch to the top of the waistband for a casing, and flared out the side seams on the legs so that I could make cuffs. I left loads of length for this purpose. The final shorts have only about a 1.5cm inseam.

I tried the shorts and bodice on the doll, and measured where I wanted the waist elastic to sit. Then, made a casing, attached the bias binding and made the cuffs. 

I think this playsuit would also look cute, and totally different, with the two fabrics reversed. Stand by!

Costs: 

 Fabric: stash

 Pattern: free

 Elastic, x2: stash

 Thread: gift

Total: £0

Ruffle Cold Shoulder Top

When one is a tween, it becomes more important to have a wardrobe of “fashion” choices in one’s clothing. When one is the youngest, and therefore has more clothing than anyone, of a shorter lifespan than everyone, one’s mother is not taking her to the mall for new clothes.

Instead, the poor child gets offered an upcycled ruffle top from an old sheet. Thankfully, she loves it!

The fabric is an oldie but a goodie. Honestly, this sheet has been upcycled more times than the Von Trapp family’s curtains. I used it for my first Sorbetto - which then became the lining for a Sorbetto Dress - and this particular piece was previously a ghost costume, which will not be reprised. It is a cotton sateen in a high thread count with a lovely light blue-ish colour. I call it Eau De Nil.

For the pattern, I Googled a ruffle top tutorial and came up with this one from We All Sew. Sometimes, my linked tutorials and calculations get lost over time, as websites are upgraded or overhauled, so I'm going to re-write the good ones again on this blog. They are linked too, so I've given credit.

The ruffle is 2 x the circumference of the shoulders and the bodice is supposed to be the bust circumference. I don't really get how this would fit over the shoulders, even on a very busty woman, but especially for a child. After I had cut the bodice, I had to piece another panel through the middle back to make it fit over her head. I also didn't get the armholes large enough, especially to allow her to wear the ruffle on her shoulders, so I had to unpick the bias binding from these and re-do them much, much larger. That was a pain.

My order of construction was:
Cut out two pieces of fabric, one for the ruffle and one for the bodice.
Piece another section into the back of the bodice
Slit two armholes and cut away a small width of fabric. Mine ended up being 20cm long, from the top.
Finish armholes with bias binding.
Finish hem of bodice and ruffle.
Attach ruffle to bodice, using overlocker to finish edges.
Fold over to make elastic casing.
Thread elastic and sew up final hole.

Costs:
 Fabric: £0
 Thread: £0
 Pattern: £0
 Elastic: £0
Total: £0

Snakes!

Cathy makes snakes!

Uh oh, lockdown makes everyone a bit stir crazy, and I'm no exception.

This is actually a school assignment, and in the best school project tradition, most (all) of the work is done by the parents (mothers) for the children to pass off as their own. We know the teachers know this, but still they assign us this work.

This time, it is because it is possibly needed for the end of year play, which is supposed to be happening in July. I sincerely hope that they are able to go ahead with it, so I am supporting the art teacher as she assigns this to the kids for their remote school lessons, creating a multitude of jungle themed props.

Some of them are painted efforts, but since these snakes are made of fabric, that's where I come in.

I didn't take any in-progress photos, they are just scraps of fabric, different top and bottom and stuffed with toy stuffing. Finding the scraps, and piecing this one, took the most time. Actually, turning it right side out and stuffing it took longer, but unpicking the tongue and sewing it in the correct way out took no time at all.

The idea came from the art teacher, who found a Spanish blogger who created these. I can't read the the name of the blog so I'm not able to link it here, but I did copy the spiral pattern and created a cardboard template of my own. The seam allowances are just the spiral cut around, there are no spaces down the body.  My snake is a bit uneven. Maybe he swallowed a mouse.

The kids adore him, they have christened him Bondzi Simba Snooki and they fight over who gets to wear him around their neck, like a scarf.

The second snake, named Beyonce, was much quicker. I had just a scrap of this gorgeous blue/green jacquard so I cut a rectangle into a wiggly shape and cut the belly out of the school uniform fabric. I even clipped and notched the curves on this one. So fancy!

Round Pink Cushion

I know that two cushion cover posts, and nothing else, in the last year does not make for exciting blogging. It is not exciting sewing either. We moved house a year ago and even though I have a space that I could turn into a dedicated sewing space, I have hardly sewn at all. That is partly because I feel I can't really indulge my hobbies when there are other things I should be doing, and partly because the creative part of my mind is kept occupied with interiors where it used to be fed by sewing. Let me assure you that interiors is a way more expensive hobby than sewing, and the stakes feel waaay higher because you can't just turn your mistakes into something else or donate it if you don't like it.

One of my new favourite blogs is interiors blog, Mad About the House.  Recently, she posted about the "Wes Anderson effect", essentially, the next iteration of Art Deco which sees our interior styles moving into pastels and round shapes.

While this look isn't really my thing, I do think it is fun and pretty, and a throw cushion is a great way to give a nod to a trend, show peeps that I'm in da club, if you will!

So my shopping fingers hopped on to eBay and got half a meter of pale pink velvet and a cushion pad. I got an 18" pad, but I wish I'd got the 16". I cut an 18" circle and gave it a 1cm seam allowance, I could have used 1.5cm and made it puffier too. (It's not a great pad, a bit mishapen, but not the end of the world).

I had some self cover buttons, left over from one of my very first sewing projects. They are plastic rather than metal, so I'm a bit worried about them breaking under the strain of the button tufting, but I couldn't manage to pull it that tight anyway.

I used fishing line for the tufting, and an yarn darning needle. Then I sewed up the gap which I'd stuffed the pad into and done!

Costs:
  Fabric: eBay, £5.95
  Thread: stash, £0.00
  Cushion pad: eBay, £3.72
  Buttons: stash, £0.00
Total: £9.67

African Wax Cotton Tote Bag

This is Bag No 3.

I was given this lovely African Wax Cotton as a gift, and I had a chance to make something for her daughter from it. It is a panel print so it was tricky to get something that made sense and had a nice balance of patterns in it. I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

Dimensions are the same as the others: 88cm x 35cm with straps 7cm x 35cm.

Throw Cushion Covers

We are selling our flat and I needed some cushions for the sofa. This was the only feedback the estate agent gave: "It's too neutral, can you go to Habitat and buy some throw pillows?"

It turns out that throw pillows at Habitat are really expensive. And I didn't particularly like what they had at the time. But I had charity shops on my side, in the countryside they tend to stock throw cushions. I chose two based on their size and the colour of their zips. I should have been a bit more choosy about the cushion pad too, one of them is not great. I got two cushions for £3. (I got three more for £8, but I didn't upcycle them.)

Before

I knew I had some solid pink quilting cotton that I'd bought but never got around to using, and decided that this would match pink flowers, giving the room a bit of a lift. Being a plain, and a quilting cotton, I also knew that I would need to add piping to get it looking smart.

I used 4mm piping cord and 1 inch bias binding. I should have made 1.5 inch binding as this would have given me a bigger seam allowance. Some of the corners are not wash proof. I made the whole thing with my zip foot: measured existing cushion covers; unpicked zip; added binding to front, attached zip to front, attached zip to back, attached back to front. I didn't finish the seam allowances. If I wash them, I'll have to do this beforehand.

I know why I would never go on Sewing Bee, the first cushion took me about 3 hours. The second one was quicker, and I was truly grateful that I didn't have a third one in the pipeline.

But they look nice on the sofa, and I am sure they will be the difference between selling the flat or not! Afterwards, they are going to look very nice on the garden chairs.

Costs:
  Cushions: Charity shop furniture warehouse, £3
  Fabric: Knitting & Stitching Show 2015, £7.90
  Piping Cord: not sure
Total: £10.90 for two

Another Tote Bag

A quick post to share another tote bag that I put together as a welcome gift for my Mum. The previous London Bag has got great use and is now very shabby, so a replacement was in order.

I wanted to use this tan/brown twill from my stash. I had it earmarked for a skirt, but the colour is not good. I'm not really sure why I bought it actually, probably carried away by new making in 2013/14.

I really loved Erin's applique on her plain sweatshirt and I used that idea to jazz up Mum's bag. I almost bought the same pink blossom, but went for the gold in the end. It arrived fast from eBay and the quality was great: no dud stitches or mistakes in the design.

I cut out a rectangle for the bag, 88cm by 35cm. The overall dimensions are good, but I went too high with the applique and didn't leave quite enough space at the top for a good facing. 90cm would have been a better height. Straps are 7cm wide by 35cm long.

I sewed on the applique before I made up the bag. I used couching to attach the stems, then machine sewed the leaves on, then ironed it on, then went over the flowers by hand. It took many evenings, but I found it so relaxing! There is something so meditative about sitting and making hundreds of tiny stitches in a piece of cloth. I listened to podcasts and sewed away. I wasn't under huge time pressure, and the work feels productive too. You can see the work growing, but slowly.

I do worry about the durability of the applique on something as hard wearing as a bag. I didn't stitch the flowers on to the edges of the petals, these will probably curl with use, but hopefully won't look too awful. Machine sewing them down didn't really work, the threads got tangled and they didn't look nice. It will work well enough for the bag, it's pretty at the moment, and I can start thinking about the next one in two year's time!

Costs: 
  Fabric: twill cotton, eBay, £2.87
  Decoration: applique, eBay, £3.98 
  Thread: stash, £0.00
Total: £6.85

Victorian Corset

As I embark on a new sewing adventure, I have made a Victorian Corset to fit under a Victorian Bustle Dress. Yes, I have decided to create something completely frivolous that I may never wear out in public. But it is a lot of fun to plan. 

A proper Victorian outfit needs the proper foundations. It is probably a good thing that the most daunting garment needs to be tackled first, kind of like eating your vegetables. Such a challenging construction almost put me off the whole endeavour, but it has been far less challenging than I expected, and I am pretty pleased with myself for how well it turned out.

I bought Truly Victorian's TV110 Corset as an e-pattern and made the first toile from a cotton business shirt. I cut a size D with a B cup. I shortened the waist by an inch, at the waistline. I made this without bones and I laced the back with knitting yarn by punching holes in the back with a knitting needle - because I didn't even have an awl yet. I sewed the front shut - no busk. Based on this try on, I decided to size down the cup and size up the waist area. I was pleased enough with this to go ahead and order the proper supplies from Sew Curvy.

For the real version, I cut a size D and graded out at the waist to a size E. I did the cup size A. 

While I was putting it together, I lost my nerve and started reducing the size of the seam allowances. It was coming up so small! When I put the first three pieces together and held them up to myself, what was meant to be the side seam was about 1/8 of the way around my body. I kept going, deciding that it was better to finish it as a toile and decide what should be done differently afterwards. I was determined not to abandon it half way through. I didn't actually have a proper idea of what I should change anyway. 

So I sewed it up and closed off the back edges. Then I sewed the boning channels and inserted the bones. Sewing the boning channels was actually really fun. I decided to put them beside the seam where the seam allowance was not. The pattern calls for topstitching the seam allowance down and adding the boning channel beside that. My machine was struggling with four layers of coutil, so I didn't want to finish it off by making it sew through six layers. Putting the boning on the other side gives it less bulk and the seam allowances balance out the boning plus give a modicum of strength opposite each bone. 

Making a two layer corset seems like a bit of a faff at the time, but I can fully appreciate how much easier it is than adding boning channels. Especially if you have to make your channels out of self fabric. All I had to do was run a seam beside the existing one and push the bone in. So easy.

I decided to add the laces without grommets to check the fit first. I put one straight bone in the back, but didn't place it very well. I could see an issue with my sway back in the fit of the lacing over the back waist area. It was very puckered, even with the bone. I wasn't exactly sure how to fix a sway back in a corset, but it definitely needed less fabric in this area. I pinched out a wedge but then straightened up the back edges from top to bottom. It added quite a bit of fabric back into the waist circumference.

I was truly surprised, when I tried it on, at how well it fitted. I was delighted because where I thought I was going to have to re-make the entire thing, with new coutil and a shorter busk, I now only had to re-do the back piece and buy one pair of shorter spiral bones.

I had also realised that the bottom edge was too low, and would dig into the top of my legs when I sat down. This was pretty disappointing, since I had bought pre-cut bones, based on the measurements from my first toile.

But I ordered more supplies and put the too-long bones to good use. I re-positioned them on the centre line of the corset pieces. Each piece is boned twice, once at the side seam and once in the centre. There are also flat steel bones at either side of the busk and on both sides of the eyelets. 18 spiral steels, 6 flat steels, the busk and 12 eyelets. The whole thing is very heavy but I love the armoured plate effect that the three bones in the first panel give where they meet at the bottom.

The fit seems to be pretty good. I have a about 1 to 1.5 inches of lacing gap, but the back is even throughout the laces. The fit in the front of the bust seems pretty good. It is not particularly supportive, and there is not a proper amount of "spillage" at the top. Unfortunately, all the spillage is at the back, not the front. I think that is more a problem of my body than the fault of the corset. I am not sure what to do about the back fat spillage though. The tight areas have to press the flesh somewhere but this will show with a fitted bodice over the top. I'll probably have to make a corset cover but I think it might not be enough.  Not very pretty, but look at that that straight lacing gap!

The waist fits really well. I think I shortened it by the right amount and the fit is snug but not uncomfortable. There is no pressing on my hips, which is what my short waist usually leads to. I love how the corset makes me look the right shape and flattens my tummy! I got a 3 inch reduction. Now, how to wear this in real life...

The fit at the bottom of the hip is not quite as perfect but I am not going to fuss with it. I am so pleased with the overall general fit and it has come out a lot better than I expected, especially with my usual short waist issues.

I flossed the bottom of the bones before adding the edge tapes. These were done with linen thread because I had it with no real use for it and I really like the pale taupe colour against the white. All the stitches are different, I couldn't get it perfectly even. One of them is done backwards (as is one of the eyelets), but who's looking? The edges are trimmed with cotton twill fabric, also from the stash. I only broke one needle in the process of adding it - although there were some close calls. I didn't do a great job of matching the points at the bottom front. These parts of the tape were very thick and I was having an epic battle with my sewing machine just to get them folded under. They will be under the skirts and the whole thing will be under the dress, so it is only for Instagram that I even need to think about it.

I added the lace by hand at the end. Partly because it is very narrow and I would have struggled to catch it into the edges, but mostly because I forgot until I was halfway through. It is polyester, but I had plenty of it, harvested from the nightgown.

I'm actually pretty surprised that it has turned out as nice as it has. It's a lovely pattern to start with and it looks fab all made up. The coutil got a bit dirty in my iron, and with all the handling, but if you squint, you can pretend that it is due to age. As a very first corset, from an amateur maker, I'd say it's pretty amazing.

Now on to the petticoats!

Costs:
 Fabric: Sew Curvy; £10.50
 Pattern: Truly Victorian; £7.87
 Notions: busk, flat steels, spiral steels, eyelets, lacing cord, teflon tape, thread, shipping; £39.96
 Tools: eyelet setter, awl, machine needle; £3.24
Total: £61.57