Snow white Astoria

Astoria is one of these patterns that needs no introductions - it seems that everyone has made at least one, I am no exception. In fact I made 5 of them (one already retired) but only one made it to the blog! Don't worry, I will catch up!

Astoria is supposed to be boat-neck cropped top but that doesn't really suit me much. I have modified the pattern to have shallow crew neckline and extended front and back pieces by 5 cm. It's still a bit short but works well with skirts and higher jeans. The sleeves are hemmed with triple zigzag stitch.

The fabric came from one of the fabric sales. It's some sort of poly-cotton knit with a nice texture. Easy to sew and  has nice recovery.  

The photos were taken at Castlepoint on the east coast of the North Island. Such an amazing place! New Zealand will never stop dazzling me with its beauty!

Green leopard

I made another Kimono Tee.  What a surprise, right?  It's my third, unless you count the dress version and I don't think it's going to be my last.  It is such a lovely T-shirt pattern! 

I used some mysterious knit I got in Masterton last year. I love the colour and I do have a thing for animal prints but it's quite hard to find good ones! There is really not much more I can write about this pattern. It's size M with 10 cm FBA and hand-stitched neckband. The only regret in making this top is not paying enough attention to pattern placement. I was sure I had it centered... I am a bit gutted but I think I've learnt my lesson! Anyway, the top is now on the bottom of my dresser under all sorts of merino/wool clothes... Winter just got serious in here!

The perfect tee

I do love Maria Denmark's Kimono Tee. I've used this pattern four times already and I don't think I'm going to stop here. It's easy and quick sew even if you decide to finish the neckband by hand! Other than my initial 5cm FBA I didn't change anything else. There is nothing much to say I guess. Kimono Tee is well drafted and nice and easy introduction to sewing with knits.

I used lovely rayon knit that I bought from The Fabric Warehouse fabric sale last year. It's drapey, quite lightweight and very pretty. I still have 3 meters or so left so you will see it again sooner or later ;) I'm thinking long sleeved dress so I can wear it during the winter. It's starting to get cold here and I don't like it one bit! On the other hand my sewjo is back and I spent most of the day today cutting fabric and planning some winter sewing including a coat. I have chosen the pattern, I have the fabric, interfacing and notions. Things left to do is tracing the pattern and sewing a muslin which is not a very exciting task... But I guess if I want my coat to be nice I really can't skip this step...

Sydney blush

This top is a huge surprise to me - I wasn't sure about the fabric, the pattern and their combination! This beautiful rayon piece came from Tessuti Fabrics in Sydney - I absolutely loved the shop but the prices were a bit out of my range. Because of that I only got 1,5m of this blush-pink and grey fabric and I'm not even sure why! I usually don't go for pale colours and I wasn't sure if they would work on me.

The pattern comes from Burda. Blouse 131 from May2014 magazine and I've been meaning to sew it for a while. I remember I had it traced at some stage and even the fabric was cut but I can't seem to find it anywhere! Anyway, the weekend before Christmas I decided to make myself a new top ;)

I had to do my standard 5cm full bust adjustment and I added it to the shoulder gathers. I used burrito method for the yoke as I love the clean finish it provides! After trying the top on I decided to take it in a little bit - I think 3 cm on each side. It sits nicer now.  While sewing the top wasn't too hard I must admit that Burda instructions are ridiculous! "Construct sleeve vents" or "attach the neckband" are the perfect example. Really Burda? A little bit more a hand holding would be welcomed here. Luckily the week before I made continuous sleeve placket so I knew what to do. The neckband was a bit of a trial and error. I machine stitched one side and the stitched the other side by hand. Because of that I had more control over the pointy ends of the neckband. It's not perfect but not too bad either.

I used some white pearl buttons from my stash and surprisingly my sewing machine had no problems with the button holes! I also realized I don't have to unbutton the blouse to put it on so I stitched the overlapping neckband pieces together (after the photos were taken) as it was gaping a little bit. I hemmed the top using my rolled hem foot - I need a bit more practice with it as the hem is a bit uneven.
Overall I think I like this top. I was worrying that the gathers in the bodice and puffy sleeves wouldn't look good on me but they somehow work. Even the colours seem to be ok and I think this top will be perfect for summer. And it will work well as office wear once I start working again ;)

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 :) 

Merino chevron

Sometime before the winter started I went looking for some wool to keep me warm. I found this gorgeous chevron merino and I fell in love with it. Obviously it had to be mine. Then I just put it aside while I mustered up the courage to cut it... 

After a particularly cold week I decided my wardrobe needed a basic top to layer over shirts or undershirts. I used New Look 6150 - I just had to make the sleeves longer. Size 16 seemed to be perfect until I tried almost finished top on... It was huge! I had to unpick the armhole stitches and the neckline binding which was quite annoying since the thread matched the fabric perfectly! Once fixed this is one of my favourite tops to wear on a cold day. The only thing that bothers me is the hem - it stretched out while sewing and it's a bit wavey. I keep telling myself to shorten the top slightly and fix the hem but knowing me it will never happen.

The photos were taken at the Wellington Zoo - I thought you might be bored of my backyard! 

Perspective tricks... I'm barely 160 cm