Winter coat

I can feel spring in the air so it's probably time I blogged about my winter coat! I made a WINTER COAT! Can you tell I'm very excited about it? It's probably my most advanced and complicated make yet. Not perfect but it keeps me warm and I absolutely love it!

I wanted to make a longer coat with high collar and slightly military style. Burda 12/2012 #104 was just perfect! I got a PDF pattern and it was surprisingly nice to work with - no need for tracing the pattern is always good ;) I cut size 44 and decided to make a muslin. The overall fit was spot on but I had some issues with the sleeves. Once the sleeves were in, I wasn't able to move my arms much in any direction...not ideal. It took me a while to figure out what to do but when I found this post on Ikat Bag blog everything became clear. I lowered the head of the sleeve by 5 cm and kept the same seam length. It worked like a charm!

As usual with Burda, I had an issue with the instructions provided. They were only marginally better than "sew the pieces of the coat together." After reading them I decided I'm better off relying on my own experience. It actually went well! Turns out that sewing a coat is not much different than sewing a dress - it just has a few more pieces. In this case around 40 of them! As my fabric is almost the same on both sides I used masking tape to label the pieces and seam numbers.

The fabric is some sort of the woolen mix I got on sale. The lining was originally going to be bright yellow but my fabric was way too delicate. After going trough my stash I found a piece of silk taffeta from The Fabric Store that worked well. It's slippery, feels really good and I absolutely love the colours. The amazing metal buttons come from Made Marion - the best craft shop in Wellington :)

I'm quote proud of myself. The coat is super wearable, keeps me warm and doesn't look bad. I made my first bound buttonholes and I was amazed how easy they are to make. And then I realized the problem is to make them all look the same! Mine are a bit wonky, I'm not going to lie here ;) I'm a bit angry with myself that I listened to Burda and only interface the facings... After a couple of months of wearing my coat the front got a bit out of shape. I think a good steaming session will fix it but it could have been prevented with interfacing the whole front. Lesson learnt! Other than that I think my first coat is pretty awesome!

Simple T-shirts (and the patterns are free!)

Who doesn't like free patterns? I surely do! First top is Kimono Tee from Maria Denmark - free when subscribed to her newsletter. It is a very simple, two-piece pattern. The only thing I changed was doing an FBA and then removing the dart using this tutorial. I used some kind of viscose blend knit fabric I got from The Fabric Store. Sewing was a breeze - four seams, hems finished with twin needle, the neckline finished with a neckband. I really like this top and the pattern itself! I've been wearing it at least once a week since I made it in August :)

This one is a free pattern from Grainline Studio - Hemlock Tee. Same deal - you need to subscribe to a newsletter to get the pattern. Hemlock comes in one size only (42" bust) and it is supposed to be a boxy, oversized tshirt. I took the sides in to make it a closer-fitting top. All edges are finished with a twin needle. I used some mystery gold/ivory striped knit - one of my scores from The Fabric Warehouse sale 2 years ago - I love their sales!!!

Black and red

Very original title, huh? The top is another New Look 6150 this time made with very thick double sided stable knit. Merino on one side and something foam-like on the other. I wanted merino to be on the outside as the color was much deeper. I made size 16 and this time I didn't have to go down a size - the fabric was much more stable than in my chevron merino one. I should have done an FBA though. It would make the top to fit nicer and I wouldn't have to add armhole darts to deal with gaping. The top is really warm and it's great wardrobe basic.

The skirt is inspired by my sewing and blogging buddy Iwona. The pattern is from Burda 3/2014, model 17A. I used nice and thick cotton that was amazing to sew with but it wrinkles a lot. The skirt was an easy make but I messed it up anyway! For some reason my waistband ended up being exactly the width of the skirt so there was no overlapping needed for the button closure. I reckon I didn't get the zip instructions right or got the pleats the wrong depth. But I made a loop and put the button on the inside so while it doesn't look perfect it still does the job. And I either wear the skirt with longer tops or narrow belts so it's not an issue. I am quite pleased with both items :) 

Teal merino cardie

While the northern hemisphere is experiencing heat waves we are suffering from polar vortex. I know that 5-10 C during the day is not really that cold especially compared to polish winters when temperatures are sometimes as low as -30. On the other hand the buildings here are often very lightweight - no insulation, no double glazing, no central heating which also means that inside is not much warmer then the outside.

I wanted to be prepared for the winter so I bought two pieces of merino in May - one really nice purple-pink patterned one and then some cheaper mix of merino and nylon to make a wearable muslin. I decided to make McCall's 6844 - lovely basic pattern that comes in four variations. I made shorter peplum one.

Sewing the cardigan was really easy. No issues there other than my fabric being quite resistant to pressing! My seams look wonky and just not right no matter how long I pressed and steamed. I should have used my walking foot too. The fabric was a bad choice for one more reason - the threads are really prone to pulling.

The cardigan is also not easy to photograph well. I tool so many photos wearing it and only very few look reasonably ok. Sigh... I didn't really make any changes to the pattern but next time I will. I'm going to choose smaller size, do a FBA, shorten the sleeves and shoulder seam. And make a belt with the same fabric. I think this pattern can be really awesome once I get fitting issues sorted. I also want to make it again (in both peplum and straight short versions) in plain fabric and use my nice patterned piece for a top. It might not happen this winter though - my sewing time is limited to weekends right now and my sewing queue is huge!

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

0 Degrees Challenge

Welcome to the WSBN most exciting challenge yet! You can read all about it on Leimomi's blog. The idea itself is quite simple - we are based in Wellington, we shop in the same local fabric shops and we often have same patterns. So we wondered if we can create links between the members of our group. Spoiler alert - it worked!

I am the second one in our chain! The whole think started with Sophie's Granville shirt sewn with pretty floral cotton voile bought in the Fabric Store. I had bought the same fabric with the same pattern in mind so we have a copy cat link ;)

Having made Granville shirt before I decided to make some changes:

• I cut size 14 with 5 cm FBA
• kept size's 12 shoulder seam length
• reduced the curve on the bottom of the shirt as it was sticking out funny
• moved the waist 2,5 cm up
• shortened the sleeves but they are still too long (my punishment for not taking notes on changes made on my first Granville)

I think the fit is much nicer now but I still have some slight gaping issues (photo below). I also think that my shirt is a bit too roomy around waist so I might go back to size 12 there when sewing my next one.

Sewing this shirt included some sewing drama. When I got to the sleeves and was just about to set them in I noticed a rip in the fabric!!! I was being careful with it so I have no idea where it came from. I was about to cry as I thought it was ruined. Luckily the group helped me find some good ideas how to deal with it including adding a lace appliqué, lace ribbon or a strip of contrasting fabric. I chose adding a strip of the same fabric that really blended in thanks to a busy pattern. So let's call it a design feature ;) There is another one of those. I'm not even sure why I am telling you all of that - no one would notice it in real life! So the second design feature is the buttons and buttonholes on the cuffs. Can you believe I double checked if I got the right side to put the buttonholes and still I sewn them on the wrong side? Yeah, I'm that kind of a person! 

Can you see the fix?

Design feature number 2 ;)

Hop over to Sandra to see how she is linked to me and keep an eye out for updates on Leimomi's blog :)