Sunday 29 May 2016

Tried and true - plantain dress

There's a well known sewing acronym, a T&T pattern. This means a tried and true pattern, something you've made multiple times, used as a base for variations, and continually come back to. For me the free plantain tee from Deer & Doe patterns most definitely falls in this category. This is my sixth time using this pattern and I'm sure there are many more to come!  I had been looking for some Kelly green knit fabric for a t-shirt dress for a while and when I saw this ponte on Girl Charlee I just couldn't resist, especially with their 10%  off introductory offer!


The fabric was lovely to work with, not quite as thick as I thought ponte would be but it actually works perfectly for a summer dress.  It is such a brilliant vivid green and I'm sure there's enough left for a top which is a nice bonus! I'm so pleased with this and have worn it 3 times already this month and know this will get plenty of wear both summer and winter. I do love these quick makes that I know will get so much use! It's also very satisfying to re-use a pattern so much like this.

Summary -
Pattern: Deer & Doe Plantain t-shirt, free
Size: 38 graded to 40 at the waist, and 42 at the hip when I made the t-shirt version
Alterations: From the waist down I traced round an old H&M t-shirt dress to make this pattern
Fabric & notions: Fabric £21.90 from Girl Charlee including post & packaging, with 10% welcome discount, green thread £1.60
Total cost: £23.80







Saturday 7 May 2016

Sew U Home Stretch - raglan sweater



Yes, I'm back with more pink. and with another make I'm really proud of.  This was a lot simpler than the wool skirt though!  This is the Raglan Sweater from the Sew U Home Stretch book. I  bought some beautiful knit fabric from Faberwood with birthday money earlier in the year which was earmarked for this pattern but I wanted to do a trial run first.  On my way to search the local fabric shops for sweatshirt fabric I stopped in one of my local charity shops and found a pink men's medium Reiss sweater with grey ribbed cuffs, waist and neck band. Too big to wear as it was and the grey ribbing looked very tired and worn but the pink fabric was really good quality. At £5.99 it was quite pricey, but then I was in the British Heart Foundation shop AKA the most expensive charity shop in Walthamstow. And really, it's easy to lose perspective when buying second hand - £6 for a jumper isn't much at all is it, especially given the alternative of buying new and adding to consumer waste/landfill, not to mention the working conditions of the garment makers. So I happily handed over £6 and the jumper went straight in the wash when I got home. The grey ribbing didn't look any better after the wash but luckily I had this lovely golden yellow/orange ribbing that I bought from Kitschycoo Fabrics a few months ago (along with some black and some red).



Although this was a relatively quick make I took a bit more time than I usually do with knits and pressede seams as I went along rather than just at the end. I think this made a difference with the bulkier material so I'll be doing this next time I make this sweater. I also used the overlock stitch ony Bernina to finish all the seams. I keep meaning to try the lightning stitch as I've read good things about it, has anyone else used this? I'll need to remember next time. 





Summary -
Pattern: Raglan sweater from Sew U Home Stretch Built by Wendy book, a Christmas present from my husband
Size: small 
Alterations: None
Fabric and notions: Pink sweatshirt from charity shop £6, ribbing from Kitschycoo £5 for 1/3 of a metre (I still have plenty left for toddler projects), thread from stash
Any changes I'd make next time: nope, none at all.
Total cost: £11

Has anyone else used this book? I can't wait to try some of the variations. A few of them look really dated but most of them are pretty classic. There's a plain T-shirt,  a Breton style top, and a hoody that all look great!

This has been worn a few times already and I'm sure you'll be seeing more of it during Me Made May if you follow me on Instagram! I hope everyone that's going MMMay this year is having as much fun as I am!