Stripey Tee

Another top, yes. And I've already got so many, right? Are you wondering why I haven't branched out and made other garments lately?

Well despite (blog) appearances to the contrary I have; I've made a frocktails dress and a little jacket, and I'm mid-way through a skirt, but the question is absolutely valid - why am I making so many tops?

Well to be honest the reason is very boring: it's easiest for me to fit tops at the moment.  I've put on weight recently, and my upper body size doesn't change as much as my lower body when I gain (or lose) weight. See, boring!  Pants are on hold for now, but I will make some more dresses and/ or skirts soon.

So back to the top. This one is "self-drafted", but it's based on tracing around a RTW t-shirt, the same one I used for the citrus yellow travel top in this post. So not much drafting skill involved really!  I was working with a very small but lovely viscose remnant from Tessuti fabrics - quite wide but less than 0.8 metres long - so I didn't have room for anything but these short kimono sleeves and this slightly cropped length.

Basically I used my earlier tracing and just folded the sleeves and body length back till the pattern width doubled fit my fabric width and the pattern length fit my fabric length. The stripes are across the top because I like the idea of drawing the eye upwards.

Oh and if you like this shape and don't have a similar RTW top of your own to trace around, I suspect it's very similar to that of the Maria Denmark Kirsten Kimono tee (which I have, but cannot be bothered to unearth - sorry).

So many wrinkles! I would normally iron a garment before photographing it, but without forethought (or ironing, obviously) I was just madly trying to get photos of as many of my unblogged garments as possible while everyone (including crazy puppy) was out.

I'm not sure if you can see it even in the close ups, but after a failed attempt at sewing twin needle finishes around the folded over neckline and sleeves I opted to instead finish these edges by hand. My pick stitching isn't invisible but it's even enough and I like the fancier-looking finish this gives on the outside of the top. I was a bit concerned the neckline stitches might pop as I put the top on and off, so I've sewn a bit loosely and added knots every now and then around the neckline so that if stitches do pop, only a small section will come undone.

So, not much to say about this one - a very simple sew - but as it turns out, this little top slots into my corporate wardrobe very nicely. The beige/light brown colour is not one I'd normally choose to wear, but maybe I need to rethink colours - besides which the top is as comfortable as you'd expect a t-shirt to be, and its lack of sleeves means it fits smoothly under even my more tailored jackets. Sold!

I've got one more top I want to try to post before the end of 2016, along with my top 5 sewing misses (I haven't yet checked - not sure how many misses there were, so perhaps it will be top 3, and perhaps top 20). And then I expect my normal (irregular blogging) program will resume in 2017...

See you soon!

- Gabrielle xx

Travel Clothes

In the weeks before going overseas in late September, apart from my new bikini pants I only found time to make a t-shirt and a dolman-sleeved jumper.  Both were intended to round out my travel wardrobe (wow, that sounds pretentious!) - and neither are very exciting garments, but they worked well for travel and if I post them I can share some travel pics, so...

The t-shirt was very simple to make: I just traced around a RTW top with curved shoulder seams, rotated the shoulder seams to the back and added darts to the shoulders to recreate the curve that was lost when I rotated the shoulder seam. The new "shoulder" seam starts about an inch below the shoulder at the neckline, and ends at the curve of the underarm.

I know that the seams don't show up very well in photos, but I like knowing that the top is a little different to your average t-shirt, and the yellow fitted in with my red, white and blue travel wardrobe really well :). The skirt is this one I made late last year as part of a set.

The front of the top is super plain - just a basic neck band, and cut on sleeves with the curved shoulder seam - I didn't photograph the shoulder darts, but they're like the ones in this orange top I made for winter.

The fabric I used was good-as-new, but taken from the skirt of this dress I made a few years ago.  I loved the colour but only wore the dress rarely because the elastic waist felt uncomfortable and the wrap top crossed too low on me, necessitating a slip. It's a viscose jersey from Tessuti fabrics, and since it was bought a few years ago I don't know that they'd still carry it.


We snapped these photos in the Vendicari Nature Reserve after a morning spent exploring Noto and before just relaxing on the beach and swimming. It's such an amazing spot!

Here are a couple of photos taken in the old tuna factory (the "tonnara") - a t-shirt is never really going to be the focus in a place like this:

If you're ever in Sicily and want a break from bustling about being a tourist, this park is the place I would recommend.  It's a terrific, quiet place for long, easy walks, bird watching (like flamingos, in the next photo), spectacular views and swimming in the sea - just BYO picnic and relax.

I really want to show you some more photos of the park before showing you my new jumper - just looking at these pictures makes me feel relaxed:

So, as I said above, not very exciting but the sort of summery top that goes with everything AND covers your shoulders (in case you pop into a church).


The other garment I made was a dolman-sleeved jumper, specifically intended to fit over this white linen top as well as my many other tops and dresses with dolman and kimono sleeves, which I don't wear as often as I should because nothing fits over them.

I expected Italy to be quite warm in the daytime, but wanted a basic light jumper that I could throw on over anything in the evenings and early mornings.  If you've flicked over to that white linen top post you'll see I used exactly the same pattern for the jumper as for the top, namely Vogue 8877.  The fabric is a merino wool from The Fabric Store.

While making it, I thought it was terribly boring - dull blue colour, simple pattern - but this jumper has filled wardrobe gap very nicely indeed, and quickly become a wardrobe mainstay. Not only does it fit on top of everything, but it also goes with everything.

These photos were taken in the rambling gardens of the converted stables we stayed in just outside of Florence.  I hadn't found the iron at this point, so please excuse the rumples.

There's not a great deal more to say about this jumper - it was worn pretty much any time there was a chill in the air, and took preference over a fancier RTW jumper I'd brought with me simply because it was so comfortable and cosy.  It even did double duty as an oversized popover dress for my daughter a couple of times when she got cold!


A bit more self-indulgence now - more photos of the inviting Florentine gardens! These gardens included an olive grove, a prettily set out floral area, sunny fields, herbs, fruit and vegetables, as well as several relaxing spots to sit with a book:

That's it for my travel photos - next up I've got a couple of Vogue dresses to share with you; one from my birthday and one from Melbourne Frocktails.

Happy sewing!

- Gabrielle x

More Simple Shapes

We're approaching Christmas - help!

By this time of year I always feel like I'm going nuts - work projects are accelerating to try to wrap up in the calendar year, the kids have a million special end-of-year concerts and events on at and after school, and then there's the scramble to try catch up with lots of different circles of friends in the last few weekends before Christmas.  Oh wait on, we have to think about Christmas presents for the extended family too, right? So while I have a super long queue of new sewing patterns I'm aching to try out, frankly there isn't enough capacity left in my brain for anything complex.

At the other end of the scale to complex, we have simple. I reckon this is THE archetype of simple tops: front piece, back piece; no facings, and no darts.

A ridiculously easy top to make from scuba knit fabric

The shape may look familiar from a few months back on this blog - it's yet another of my "simple shapes" tops! 

I wore this top last week on the day Emma, Steph, Kristy and I met up for lunch - I'd finished it the night before, and I'd been thinking I might be able to twist someone's arm into taking photos for me, but when we met up I found I didn't want to waste any of our catchup time on photos. And so these awkward photos happened instead at the end of the day, on my way home from work.  I haven't taken blog photos outside in ages - you can probably see how nervous I was feeling!  Obviously the sunlight was very bright that afternoon, and all the photos I took were a bit blown out - but the fabric colour is spot on and I think you can still get a feel for both the fabric and the shape of the top...

Back view, boxy scuba knit top

Oh dear, I didn't realise my skirt was twisted around! There is no centre back seam on that skirt...


Fabric

I picked up this cheap scuba knit fabric in Spotlight a few months ago when they had a crazy pattern sale on. The colour is terrific BUT the fabric pilled substantially on the side where my handbag moved against it within an hour of my putting the top on for the day. And that was on its inaugural wear too - very disappointing!  I'm glad I didn't try to make something special from the fabric, and I'm really glad I only bought a metre of the stuff!

Close up, self-drafted boxy top in scuna knit fabric

Pattern 

No purchased pattern; of course not - it's such a basic shape!

Of course it does take a bit of effort to draw a simple pattern shape the way you like it, and no doubt it would take even more effort if you were fussy :P.  But if you want a simple knit top like this for yourself and you're not too fussy, it is very easy to draw up a 'pattern' for one - just make sure you measure yourself first!


Fitting

Here's a photo that shows you the shape of this top as compared to one of my earlier attempts - you can see the main change I made was to the slope of the shoulders, though I also raised the neckline and lengthened the top.

Adjusting the shoulder line on my boxy top

I made this change to the shoulders after doing a bit more retail research into the shape I liked, backed up with simple logic. I wanted the fabric to fold deeply on itself at the underarm area, and make a smooth slight downward curve from my shoulder. My original 'pattern' had sharply angled shoulder seams, and these made for folds in the shoulder area when I raised my arms - but when my arms were by my sides there were only small folds under my arms. For more exaggerated underarm folds (doesn't this sound ridiculous when analysed!) I needed more room in the shoulders - more of a natural shoulder line, as this would make for more slack from shoulder to underarm.



The following photo adds nothing; it's here purely for light relief. Note my wry smile as I gently hold the bus in the air by its wheel rim - with no perceivable effort!

How to lift a bus by its wheel rim, while wearing homemade clothes

The verdict? Although it's very basic, this simple boxy top, with shoulders curved downwards, and creases where the sleeve shape folds, is is exactly what I was after. I do realise I was originally planning to make the final 'pattern' into a brocade top, but now that I'm happy with the pattern that aim is feeling less important. I guess enjoying the journey was enough...

See you soon

- Gabrielle x

Simple Shapes

If you sew, do you shop? For clothes, that is? Or do you just "inspiration shop"?  I have to admit to rather enjoying shopping for clothes: I enjoy stumbling across interesting shapes and fabrics, and seeing how those shapes and fabrics change when they move from hanger to body. These days I make a big effort to restrain my impulses though, and I try to treat much of what I find as research for future makes - though it's probably extremely annoying for sales staff :).

So where is this heading? Well a few months back I went inspiration shopping, and I found an amazing top. A heavy brocade top, just longer than waist length, with an unnaturally sloping shoulder line and tapered kimono sleeves that were constrained by those strange sloping shoulders. I wish I had a photo of it! I absolutely loved it. I tried it on, loved it even more. I resisted - "I can make that!", I thought, though I couldn't pin it to a pattern.

That evening I drew some sketches of the shape I'd tried on. I'd tried to get a rough idea of the angle of the shoulder line that day in the changing room by using hand lengths and finger lengths to work out how much it dropped off and how quickly, and I'd tried to keep my own basic measurements in mind for waist, bust, shoulders and neck-waist length. My first muslin (in a metallic polyester) was unwearable - I couldn't even get it over my head! - but what about number 2 (in a stretch terry)?

Well I quite like number 2, and it fits me, but stretch terry is not brocade. This top is approximately the right shape but smaller and milder than my inspiration. It's kind of cute, but a question struck me once the top was made:

                  just who needs a cropped short-sleeved sweatshirt? 

Hmm.

The below photo shows the top inside out, with the camera held directly above the top (ie the angles aren't distorted). You can see that the shoulder line really is quite angled - and if you look in the topmost photo above you should also be able to see it in the way the horizontal stripes get cut off.

You can also see what a shoddy, quick piece of sewing work this was - but it is just a muslin!


Moving right along to the third version. Still not in brocade...

Before working on getting my sketch closer to the inspiration shape (ie more exaggerated!), I decided to make up another stretch version, this time with a bit more commitment. So this time I used a prized piece of jersey from Tessuti fabrics - prized because it's such a terrific colour PLUS it has stripes!

You can see that the top looks quite different made up in a fabric that drapes... and you can hardly tell that the shoulder line is angled!

Regular stripes weren't enough; I wanted the stripes to make angles, and to make my shoulders look bigger. I roughly drew the shape I wanted, then folded my pattern piece down the centre back and at angles that would encompass shoulders and sleeves:

I was concerned that the fabric might stretch out along all those seam lines, so I went nuts with the clear elastic and stabilised everything - the shoulder seams, the short vertical seam in the upper back, and the angled shoulder seams.

You may notice I didn't overlock my edges (no need), and that the seam lines where I didn't want any stretching were sewn with a straight stitch before having the clear elastic sewn in. No apologies; that's what works for me :).

And here's how that looks on:

The hems were just pressed in place with steam-a-seam as I didn't want the look of stitches. We'll see how well that lasts!

I like this top more than the terry version, but I think it needs taking in at the waist and hips so as not to pool. And I have to admit I haven't been wearing it - though perhaps I will when we hit summer? 

And what about version 4, in brocade? Great question! To be honest, the original photos I took of these tops a couple of months ago were so dire (I was bone tired, I hadn't ironed them properly, the weather was appalling, and there was a LOT of mess in the photo backgrounds) that I had this idea pegged as a bit of a failure, and lost interest. Then someone on twitter recently was asking why more sewists didn't post their sewing failures, so I retook the photos intending to do a roundup blog post of these tops along with a couple of other recent disappointing sewing projects, and whaddayaknow, I actually like them.  So I guess the brocade top project is still a possibility... Has that ever happened to you? 

See you soon

Gabrielle x

MMMay14 Days 11 - 18

Another week of Me Made May documentation, taking me up to Sunday the 18th of May:


Day 11


Day 11 was Mother's Day in this part of the world. My kids spoilt me with handmade treasures, and Mr UpSewLate had repaired a favourite glass ring for me - yay! And we celebrated with my mum over breakfast at a lovely sunny French cafe.



I wore my recent BHL Elisalex/Vogue Pink Panther dress (a SewDollyClackett make) with a big yellow RTW cardi - I got it at a third of the normal price even though it was brand new stock, simply because most people apparently don't want to wear yellow. Crazy!!! But I do wish I could knit so I could make my own big chunky knitwear!
 

Look what the shop was selling - I was so tempted by these French oilcloths till I looked at the price:



Later in the day we headed over for a "bring a plate" dinner at my mother-in-law's house to celebrate a brother-in-law's birthday.  We brought a traditional bouef bourgignon that Mr UpSewLate had spent hours slaving over (we use the Simone Beck / Louisette Bertholle / Julia Child recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking and I'm going to resist a little aside on Julia Child mythology, as it really irritates me... ). We finished off with my MIL's lemon pound cake, then it was time to scarper off home and rush the kids to bed.  It had gotten chilly so I wore an old Vogue patterns black wool jersey dress. I'm not too sure of this dress - it always feels too short and too loose on - but my MIL loved the way it draped... And unfortunately I took very few photos and you can't see much in them. If you do want a better view, you can also see this dress under Day 17 in this blog post from MMM13 and under Day 25 in this blog post from MMM12.
 

Photos taken by me and MrIUpSewLate (backdoor of the cafe), then later with camera on tripod with 10 second timer on, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 12

Back to work - I don't hate Mondays though! It was another gorgeous Autumn day, so I wore my plaid wool jacket-cape, made from a vintage Vogue pattern reissue. Evidently I don't know how to wear scarves, even though I wear them all the time in the cooler months. These pictures were taken in the Royal Botanic Gardens.  I was planning to take pictures with the sea and /or Opera House behind me, but there were too many other people already doing the same thing (tourists? or maybe they were MMMay-ers?). 

Photo taken by me with camera on a bench (tree photo) and attached to a handrail (statue), on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 13

A long meeting at my old office meant one good thing: photos on one of their terraces after the meeting. The doors to this particular terrace are normally locked, but the staff told me I was allowed out there if the doors weren't locked - and they weren't :). So I got the whole area to myself, with the downside that everyone walking past the glass doors on that level would have been able to see my foolishness. Oh well, I'm working on that thick skin... Wearing my self-drafted geometric silk top (this shape reminds me of the Belcarra top!) with my cropped cashmere jacket and The RTW pants that fit (even though they don't fit perfectly).
 
 

Photo taken by me with camera on a low wall, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 14

On day 14 I had another long (all morning) meeting at my old office, so I took my lunch break on the way back, via Darling Harbour. There are plenty of photogenic backdrops here, but there are also always loads of tourists and city office workers down here at lunchtime, so it was hard to find a spot that wouldn't have other people in the pictures. I managed to hide some people behind posts, and then I went up to the pedestrian overpass that takes people across Darling Harbour from Pyrmont into the city - I figured people up here would either be moving too briskly to notice me or taking pictures for themselves!  I was wearing my Converging Lines Brasilia dress - I really should make another of these, and take in CF below the bust!
 

Photo taken by me with camera on a raised ramp, then later attached to a post, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 15

Busy, busy day! I had a substantial piece of work due on Friday, so I put my head down and only dashed out to Martin Place briefly for photos when I was grabbing some lunch. I completely mistimed it though and ran out at the busiest time - people everywhere! Because I was a bit nervous and in a hurry I thought I'd probably stuff my photos up, so I found an attractive backdrop (which I asked permission to photograph) to distract you just in case :]. And the me made clothes? It's two Vogue/Tessuti combinations: a V8486 dress made from a gorgeous Tessuti silk, and my lush cashmere-wool V1098 jacket.  I don't wear either of these garments too often, but that's because I want to keep them nice!

 

Photo taken by me with camera on a bench next to a very confused young man who had to get to walk away from it all, replaced by a solicitous older man, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 16

On Friday we had a team yum cha, and we ate so much and so fast! Our organiser had warned us to wear loose clothes, but I think I was the only one who did so :). After lunch I raced to the top of Martin Place for a photo with the lucky wild boar (Il Porcellino) that sits on Macquarie Street.  I wore my Starry, Starry Gabby dress with a red linen jacket (I know this looks like the Tokyo jacket pattern, but it's an old Vogue Anne Klein pattern, and the sleeves aren't cut on). Not the best pictures, but embarrassing getting them as usual as the boar faces down Martin Place across a pedestrian crossing / set of traffic lights, and there are always office-y people coming and going down Macquarie Street. As well as joggers who are determined to do ALL their stretches by the boar even if your camera is clicking at them lol. As I don't think he was wearing me mades I shan't include those photos.

Photo taken by me with camera attached to railings, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode, then a regular non-timer photo looking down Martin Place from across the road from the wild boar.


Day 17

Saturday was going to be a quiet day with a bit of kids sport thrown in, but we were woken at 7am by the sound of a large concrete mixer truck coming down our driveway to do some work for the neighbours who live behind us. I'm glad my neighbours are finally fixing up their driveway - we'll be able to have a side fence soon! - but I do wish their builders wouldn't use my back garden as their staging area. I talked to the builders about it before I went out, they apologised and said they'd fix it, but when I came back home they'd established even more equipment in my garden! Grrr! I went out again and bought some cheap plastic fencing and bamboo sticks and that was the afternoon's craft activity - making a crappy plastic fence to remind the various builders of the boundary. While I was out getting my fence supplies I took these snaps of what I was wearing - I don't know what the buildings are but the light looked lovely and I didn't think anyone else was around. Wearing my Maria Denmark Kirsten Kimono tee and my denim Grainline Moss Mini.

Photo taken by me with camera on a low bollard, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 18    

Sunday! I haven't been doing enough sewing lately but on Friday night I read all the reviews I could find of the Papercut Patterns Pleated Pants, on Saturday night I traced the pattern and and on Sunday morning I cut out some nice weighty denim. I won this pattern last year from a giveaway on Juliet's blog and I have been so slow to sew it up! Sorry Juliet! Anyway, for a comfortable day at home I wore another Gabby dress, this one made from a stretch fabric. Unfortunately not only have I shrunk in the last year, but the weight of the fabric has also stretched this dress out - so it's another I really need take in. In the photos below you can see I'm cutting out the instructions for the Papercut pants and celebrating unreasonably once that was done :). Small steps, small steps...

 

Photo taken by me with camera on a tripod, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.

Phew!  Another week down. I don't have too many observations to make at the moment, apart from that it's nice to see my sewing has improved over time (there were some dodgy seams back when I started, like in the silk dress on day 15) and that I obviously like blue and red!

I'm aiming to wear 10 me mades each 7 days in May. My tally for this week is 13 me mades in 8 days, including repeats, and to date that's 28 me mades in 18 days.

See you soon


Gabrielle x