Flower-power

Guess what? I made another Granville! This time using beautiful navy poly-cotton covered in flowers and birds. The fabric was just too pretty to leave behind :)

Sorry for a bad photo!

Despite its beauty it was really annoying to cut pattern pieces. The pattern on the fabric appeared symmetric but it wasn't! My main goal here was to have the pattern balanced and I also wanted to avoid unfortunate flower placement. I think this was achieved.

I had some fitting issues twice before when I made that pattern. I assumed it would all be fixed with proper full bust adjustment. I was in fact so sure that I didn't even consider other options. Turns out I was wrong. 6 cm FBA fixed the gaping and I'm really happy about it. I also shaved about 1 cm on the back panels but there is still some bagging that bothers me. I should probably go back to size 12 as 14 feels a bit too loose.
The problem is that my arm movement is restricted. I think there is not enough ease in the sleeve head. Unfortunately I cut the fabric for two more shirts before I got to this conclusion...

Anyway, I like wearing this shirt. Sewing didn't cause any problems, the fabric pressed nicely and was easy to deal with. All the seams inside are flat-felled so the shirt looks nice inside too. Initially I wanted navy or transparent buttons but while going through my button stash I found some green ones. They matched so I went with them. I think they look great :)  As I mentioned before there will be two more Granvilles and after that I think I'll look for another pattern. My obsession with shirts is definitely not going away ;)

Astoria

In attempt of being sensible and fill in the gaps in my wardrobe I decided to make a few tops. First in line was Astoria from Seamwork Magazine. I liked it from the moment I saw the magazine cover - simple but versatile design that  included cropped length and high neck.

Unfortunately high necks don't work for me - they make me look awful. I simply changed the neckline to  V-shape. It was a very quick make - took me less than an hour to finish it. The shoulder seams were shortened by 1,5 -2 cm (I can't remember exactly but it's my standard adjustment) and reinforced with clear elastic. My V-neck finish is still not perfect but it looks ok.

The fabric came from The Fabric Store remnant bin. Its some sort of cotton knit in that amazing shade of blue that I love so much! I failed to notice slight variation in colour and my waistband is in a different shade!

I'm going to assume that the terrible back view wrinkles are cause by trying to get lots of photos done before having to leave the house therefore putting clothes on without properly adjusting them ;) I really like this top, especially combined with high-waisted pencil skirts.

You can see the color difference here

Dia de los Muertos meets Hello Kitty

A few months ago I took part in a gift exchange with some WSBN ladies. The theme was everything Autumn including celebrations traditionally associated with that season - Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. There were two conditions - the gifts had to be handmade and the cost of materials shouldn't exceed more than $10.

I got to make a gift for Trees and she loves Hello Kitty and everything creepy so it was very easy to decide what I want to make. When looking through my stash of crafty things I found  forgotten soutache braids. I don't think this technique is widely known here in NZ - at least I never came across any soutache jewellery here. Below are examples of my makes. It might seem complicated but it's not. The braids are sewn together and beads and stones added to create beautiful pieces.

I had a "hate phase" creating my Hello Kitty. After I finished the white base I really disliked it and I was even considering to quit. But since I didn't have any other ideas I had no other choice but finish it. After adding the flowers and the bow it finally started looking right and I kept adding beads and embroidery elements. I added a brooch fastening and backed it up with a piece of suede. It's also been sprayed with "weather guard" to protect it from stains and water.

In the end I am happy with the results. And as far as I know Trees liked it and that's the most important thing :)

Painted Summer dress

Yeah, I made a summer dress just before winter started in Wellington! I am that kind of person! Somehow it is also my first dress made in 2015 - I've been making shirts and pants and tops last few months. I'm quite happy with it although dresses are usually my favourite garments to sew.

Photobombing are Nikki and Penny 

So I've been bit obsessed with shirts lately. Only two of them made it to my blog so far but there is more of them. So to have a break I decided to make... a shirtdress ;) McCall's 7084 to be exact.

The pattern is lovely and I'm so in love with pattern cover illustration. I bought some striped cotton with an intention of making an exact copy of it in the future. The pattern comes with 4 sleeve and 2 skirt variations.

All those photos were taken by lovely Laura

I decided to make view D with sleeve tabs. I really really wanted skirt with godets but I didn't have enough fabric. Instead of that I managed to add extra flare to the skirt pieces (2-4cm on each seam) I also had to shorten the sleeves and cut pockets out of some scraps in my stash. The whole arranging pattern pieces on my piece of fabric was like playing tetris!

My fabric is actually a 3 yard piece of quilting cotton by Lida Enche called painted summer. I love little hummingbirds among those flowers! It was my Trade Me score. It was great to sew with :)

It took me almost half an hour to set on the size. Considering my body, patterns and finished garment measurements I just confused myself. I assumed I needed a FBA and that didn't make things easier. I finally decided to just stop thinking and start doing and traced size 18 onto pattern cloth. After pinning it and checking the fit I decided to add a 2 cm wide wedge to the bust line of the side front piece and I added 0.5 cm to the length of the front. After basting the back and front pieces I had to take out some fabric above the bust - it seems that I have hollow upper chest ;) I think it worked well - dress fits nicely and there is no gaping and no extra fabric anywhere.

Just because I always mess things up I got the bottom pieces the wrong way around so the seams don't meet at the waist. Busy pattern hides it so I'm not very worried but next time I will be labeling my pieces with greater care. I added polka dot pockets - I had no fabric left for the pockets!

I wanted blue buttons to match my birds but I couldn't find any suitable ones in my local notions shop. So I got some pearl, white and silver, and chrome buttons but I couldn't decide! I asked for opinions on Instagram and went with majority of votes - chrome buttons. I'm happy with it.

And a close up on pockets, buttons and sleeve tabs :)