Category Archives: Clothing

Real Deal Jeans (non denim)

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It’s been a long time coming, but I’ve been determined to finish some of my UFOs over the summer, and my Real Deal Jeans are my latest completed project!

Ok, so I admit that the Real Deal Jeans* by WinterWear Designs* are really designed for denim, but I didn’t want to attempt that just yet! This fabric is a lot lighter weight than denim, but should be perfect to wear on late summer evenings and into the autumn.

I think I lined up the back pockets a little incorrectly – they seem a lot further around to the side than they should be…. but they’re still wearable, and that’s what matters!

As you can tell, I didn’t bother pattern matching any of these pieces – with a splotchy pattern to the fabric, I didn’t really feel there was any need. And without the need to do that, I managed to get these jeans made from just one metre of fabric!

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Pattern:  Real Deal Jeans* by WinterWear Designs*
Fabric: Cotton Spandex from Sewing Studio

Strawberry Button Up (UFO)

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Following on from my Owl Button Up shirt, I rediscovered this metre of strawberry fabric I had purchased in the Abakhan sale last year, and thought it would be ideal for another Button Up*.

Rather than using poppers this time, I thought I’d do it the ‘proper’ way and use some fancy buttons instead. The only disadvantage is that the buttons really need hand sewing in place, because of their shape – I couldn’t get them to sit level for machine sewing!

I’m hoping this one won’t take too long to finish – they’re forecasting some more warm weather for September, so it’ll give me a great opportunity to wear it if I’ve finished it by then!

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Pattern: Button-Up Top*  by Winterwear Designs*
Fabric: Abakhan

Tropical Jeans

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Unlike most of my sewing projects, these tropical jeans never actually entered the UFO (unfinished object) stage! I’d originally purchased a metre of this fabric to make a t-shirt, but then realised that all my t-shirt patterns required either horizontal and vertical stretch, or 40% stretch as a minimum. This fabric only had 20% horizontal stretch, so it was destined to turn into a pair of non-denim Real Deal Jeans* (can you guess this is my favourite trouser pattern at the moment?).

I will admit I fluffed the buttonhole completely – I started far too close to the edge and once I’d opened the buttonhole, I realised it just wasn’t going to be practical to use.

So, to save trying to somehow redo the waistband with the bit of fabric I had left, I decided to just zigzag over the failed buttonhole (I’ll probably add some ribbon or something over that at a later point), and add poppers instead!

Unfortunately I didn’t put the popper over far enough, so the zip is visible (oops!)

The poppers still make the waistband nice and comfy, and although I haven’t (yet) added any belt loops, I might wear a belt with these trousers just for added reassurance that the poppers won’t suddenly unpop while I’m wearing them!

I do love the way I was able to be creative with my fabric placement for the back yoke – given this was all squeezed out of a metre of fabric, I didn’t think I’d be able to be quite so picky with my layout!

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Pattern:  Real Deal Jeans* by WinterWear Designs*
Fabric: Cotton Elastane from Fashion Fabrics

Owl Button-up (finished)

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I’ve finished my Button-Up shirt! I will admit that sewing the bias bound hem on the sleeves was a bit of a nightmare….

….it caught up at points, and refused to lie flat, but it’s still wearable so I wasn’t going to unpick it all!

You wouldn’t know that shirt had poppers instead of buttons, would you? 

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Pattern: Button-Up Top*  by Winterwear Designs*
Fabric: Fashion Fabrics

Owl Button-Up (UFO)

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I’ve been wanting to make myself a shirt for a while, but the thought of all those buttons was putting me off!

Instead of tackling the buttons for my first attempt at the Button-Up Top*  by Winterwear Designs*, I decided to cheat and use poppers instead!

 

So far it’s looking suitably shirt-like – hopefully the collar won’t be too challenging to sew!

 

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Pattern: Button-Up Top*  by Winterwear Designs*
Fabric: Fashion Fabrics

Zen Chameleons

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Not content with my unfinished jeans, I decided to start another pair of trousers this week…. this fabric is the same type as the penguins, polar bears and astronomy designs and has just about the right amount of stretch to make a pair of Zen Pants* by 5 out of 4 Patterns. I bought a metre and a half this time, just in case a metre wasn’t enough, and picked out a vibrant pink for the top stitching.

I played around with the back pockets, making them a hybrid of the Zen pocket, crossed with the Real Deal Jeans pocket.

And what better way to try out my new smiley face poppers, than on the cargo pocket? This is the first time I’ve tried adding a cargo pocket to a pair of trousers, and it went surprisingly well.

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Pattern: Zen Pants* by 5 out of 4 Patterns
Fabric: Cotton Elastane from Fashion Fabrics

Real Deal Penguins!

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Ok, I know I haven’t finished my first Real Deal Jeans yet, but I spotted this penguin fabric in town the other day, and couldn’t resist seeing if it’d work for another pair of jeans.

This is a stretchier fabric than the pattern calls for, so I’ll be adding in some elastic to the waistband, just to help it keep its shape.

I didn’t do any decorative stitching on the back pockets this time, as the penguins are really all the detail it needs.

These should be really comfy to wear – I just need to get on and finish sewing them now!

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Pattern:  Real Deal Jeans* by WinterWear Designs*
Fabric: Cotton Elastane from Fashion Fabrics

 

Making my own Jeans (UFO)

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I’ve always wanted to be brave enough to make my own jeans. In fact, this year I added the Real Deal Jeans* by WinterWear Designs* to my 9 to Try in order to persuade myself to pluck up the courage to attempt them!

I decided that denim was going to be tricky on my Janome 525s – I’d struggled with it not feeding through evenly if there’s a bulky seam, and felt that denim would be a step too far as a first attempt. Instead, I found some lightweight cotton elastane fabric which looked like it might work well. I bought a metre, expecting it to be enough for a pair of shorts, seeing as the pattern says you’d need 3 metres.

As luck would have it, being petite in height and a smaller size, meant I could actually fit an entire pair of jeans on this metre of fabric!

Top stitching isn’t my favourite pastime, but I’ve made a special effort to make this as neat as possible…. even though most of it isn’t visible against the patterned fabric!

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Pattern:  Real Deal Jeans* by WinterWear Designs*
Fabric: Cotton Spandex from Sewing Studio

 

Fruit Polo Polar Bear Knot (UFO)

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I wasn’t planning on making another Knot Your Average Top* quite so soon, but when I came across some digital print Cotton Elastane in the fabric shop, I knew it was going to make a great top!

I’ve got “so far” with this top, and had to stop to try and figure out just how to make it work – I’ve added in a second layer to the top bodice part, as a ‘shelf bra’. That bit went well, but I’m trying to work out how to add in the elastic and sew the side seams neatly without getting too many lumps of crossing seams!

I think it’ll be worth the effort though, and will make a great top for the autumn, as it’s probably going to be too thick to wear on a hot summer’s day!

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Pattern: Knot Your Average Top* by 5 out of 4 Patterns
Fabric: Cotton Elastane from Fashion Fabrics