Tag Archives: clothing

Spring Cleaning

I know that Spring Cleaning traditionally starts in the Spring…. but I decided on New Year’s Eve that it was time I actually sorted my fabrics. And I mean properly sorting them, not just looking at them and putting it all back in the cupboard again!

I’m sure I’m not the only person who keeps the offcuts of fabric “just in case” then never actually goes back through it again? I had a surprising amount of offcuts that were just too small to do anything with, so they all went out for the recycling collection as rag.

But what about those offcuts which are a more usable size, and the fabrics that I’ve bought and never got as far as using? I started out buying duvet covers as cheap fabric alternatives (especially useful when you can get a double duvet cover for £11, which has metres of fabric to play with). However, I haven’t used a duvet cover fabric in years, so it’s time for those to be passed on to someone who can make use of them.

A selection of the fabrics in my clear-out

Some of my online purchases over the years, were ones I probably wouldn’t have bought in an actual shop if I could handle them before buying. Things like the purple jersey in that photo above; it’s a lovely colour, but so heavy-weight it would be likely to stretch vertically while being worn. There’s also a lining fabric which came as part of a mystery box which I’m not likely to use as I prefer to add patterned cotton linings to coats. The bright blue fabric in that photos is a sweater fabric which was a lot more delicate than I had anticipated, and not really ideal to make a sweater for the male family member I had in mind.

My faux fur offcuts should still be the right size for someone to make a small cuddly toy, and the striped denim… unfortunately the stripes would be impossible for me to look at while sewing (since I’ve been sewing more, I’ve realised that high contrast patterns are not suitable for my eyes), so that had to go as well.

In total, I had a large charity sack full of fabric to donate, which I’m hoping will come in useful to someone!

I’m not quite finished yet though – I still need to sort the fabrics so they’re stored more logically, and the denims are all in the same box. Then I “just” need to work on sorting patterns (and that could take a long time!).

Superbly warm and cosy Fox Joggers

I had the opportunity to sew something from this amazingly warm fur-backed fox sweatshirt fabric. Of course my thought immediately went to another hoodie – but then I realised that what my winter wardrobe was really lacking, was a pair of warm joggers for winter walks.

This was my first make using the Apostrophe Patterns My Fit Joggers pattern, which probably was rather reckless given that I didn’t even make a muslin first. But I’m pleased with how they came out, even though I do need to adjust the elastic a little, as I think I was a bit too generous on the waistband measurements!

Check out my superbly cosy Fox Joggers on the Minerva website


Pattern: Apostrophe Patterns My Fit Joggers
Fabric: Fur Backed Sweatshirt from Minerva

Camp-a-long Critters

Do you remember the camping themed shirt I blogged about a couple of years ago? No? Well I’m not surprised, as it’s been so long, I hadn’t realised I’d not actually posted the finished shirt!

It’s always a nerve-wracking process sewing the buttonholes when you’re pleased with the progress you’ve made. One tiny little mistake, or something nudging the automatic buttonhole lever, could mess up the buttonhole and prove really challenging to fix!

Thankfully the buttonholes all went smoothly, and my Camp-a-long Critters button-up shirt is finished!

I do like the shape the princess seams give to the shirt, although either some pressing or topstitching might make those seams sit a little better.

Ok, you can see where I didn’t have enough fabric to even pattern match the horizontal stripes, but I don’t see the back of my own shirt when I’m wearing it!

One sleeve head has come out more ‘puffy’ than the other, which I think is a clear sign that I really need to get my head around the whole concept of “easing” fabric. I either end up with accidental puffy sleeves, or lots of pleats and tucks in the sleeve fabric where the easing hadn’t gone to plan.

Maybe that’s a goal for next year?


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Pattern: Button-Up Top*  by Winterwear Designs*
Fabrics: Camp-a-Long Critters quilting cotton from Sewing Studio

Around the Block – Nautical Style

Going through my photos, I realised there were quite a few sewing projects that I hadn’t actually blogged, so be prepared for some random changes in my hair length with photos!

This is the Around the Block Hoodie, which features a contrast diagonal panel across the bodice and sleeves, plus in-seam pockets and a cross-over hood.

I didn’t want my contrast panel to be really contrasting, so I picked out two designs of French Terry which had matching background colours, while still being within the same nautical theme.

The hood itself is lined with the contrasting fabric, which I also used for the ties. So far I’ve not been able to find some quality ribbing to use for the cuffs and waistband – everything I’ve used has either been quite thin, or has lost its shape after a few washes. Rather than risk that again, I stuck with the main fabric for the waistband and cuffs – if that stretches out in the wash, then at least the entire hoodie will stretch along with it!

The only thing I wish I had done, is shorten the pattern to allow for being 5′ tall! This hoodie is considerably longer than the ones I’d normally wear. However, after wearing it for a while, I’ve got used to the longer length, and it does keep my warm!

Most, if not all, hoodies have a kangaroo pocket on the front, but because of the diagonal panel, the Around the Block hoodie has in-seam pockets. They weren’t hard to sew, but sometimes I find myself going to put something in the pocket on the front – which of course isn’t there!

My nautical hoodie is finished off with some multi-coloured topstitching – I had some Gutermann red white and blue variegated thread left over from a previous project, which worked really well.

With the way our weather seems to be heading, it won’t be long before it’s chilly enough to wear this again!


Pattern: Around the Block by Ellie and Mac
Fabric: French Terry from Mibs

A Flurry of Face Coverings

It was almost impossible to look at sewing posts last year without seeing at least one face covering, or a pattern for one. Some people were making hundreds of them to give away, others made hundreds to sell, and for a while I felt that I was “failing” for not making them or scrubs!

However, I eventually came to accept that while I have the skill to be able to make things and I also liked the idea of helping out charities and local organisations / the local doctor’s surgery & hospital, the whole ‘production line’ way of making multiples of the same item like that, just isn’t something I am able to do.

I didn’t actually make any face coverings until the first mention that they were going to be essential to wear when entering a shop – so I made my first few for my parents.

A little while later, another relative requested masks for their family members which included a 5 year old child. By this point I was feeling comfortable with the adult patterns I was using, but what was I going to do for a child’s pattern? The first pattern I found was marked as age 2-5 and age 6-10 – how on earth was I going to know which would work the best, given that the masks were going to be posted?

In the end, I made three different child’s masks (one of each size, and another from a different pattern) in the hope that at least one would work well. I made the two different sized ones in totally different fabric (the foxes and dinosaurs on the bottom right of the photo above) so it would be easier to work out which face covering actually fitted the best.

Spurred on by my success, I made two matching masks for a friend’s birthday (who would’ve thought that a face covering would be a suitable birthday present?), picking the same adult patterns I’d used previously. Again, I wasn’t too sure which that friend would find most comfortable to wear, hence the two different designs. These were made from a fat eighth that I’d won as part of a bumper prize from Sew Magazine a couple of years ago.

Of all the masks, the pleated ones were the hardest to make as threading the elastic through the tunnel with all those pleats in place, was almost impossible at times. So for my next batches, I stuck with the shaped masks. These two went to a friend in Norway, while the ones below were sent to a friend in America. You can just about see the same fox fabric on the lining for the right-hand mask – these work really well for using up those smaller pieces of fabric that you’re not quite sure what to make from!

More foxes! I used the same foxes for the lining on the right-hand mask, which probably wasn’t overly intelligent – while the shaped mask is reasonably clear which way round it goes, having a different pattern to the lining (or even a plain fabric) makes it really clear for those “not quite awake” mornings when you need to go grocery shopping!

I also added in a little waterproof ripstop carry bag for the face coverings – the ring on the edge means you can clip it to your keys, or into your bag so you should never be caught out without a mask!

And finally, I had another request from the same relative for some Christmas-themed masks just to make work seem a little more fun in the run up to Christmas last year. They also requested a couple of matching sets to include a children’s mask.

I not only made the Christmas themed ones, but also added in some more spring and summer face coverings just to give them something fun for the warmer months when Father Christmas and snowmen didn’t quite seem ‘right’.

And just to try out a different pattern, I made one of the 3D Masks for myself. I didn’t get the topstitching quite as close to the fold, so the shape feels a little smaller than I think it should, but it does feel pretty comfortable.

I used the same thin elastic for all my face covering makes, as I felt that thicker elastic might cause a problem if it caught the back of the glasses arm behind the ear.


Patterns used:
Shaped Face Covering – the Big Community Sew
Pleated Face Covering – the Big Community Sew
Children’s Shaped Face Covering – the Big Community Sew
Children’s Olson Face Covering
3D Mask Template – See Kate Sew
Face Covering Pouch – Hobbycraft blog

Embroidered Cord over at Minerva

I can’t believe I haven’t posted these here yet! I made these jeans last year, with some embroidered cord from Minerva. To make it fit on their new website (I had too many photos for a single post!), the blog post is split into three:

OneTwoThree

I’d never sewn with cord before, let alone embroidered cord, so this was an interesting experience!

As usual, I was gifted the fabric in exchange for the blog post as part of their Minerva Makers team 😁

A very summery look – tropical shirt and shorts

I’m excelling at non seasonal makes right now, but at least this one can help me dream of sunny summery days, when it’s dark and drizzly outside!

My latest make is now live on the (new!) Minerva website! I split it into two posts, so you can read the shirt make first, then carry on with the shorts!

As usual, I was gifted the fabric in exchange for the blog post as part of their Minerva Makers team 😁

Back to Minerva Crafts today….

….with a lightweight Eden Jacket, made from this awesome Memory Raincoat fabric! I’ve been able to put this jacket through its paces in rain, and as long as it’s not torrential rain I’ve kept dry – torrential rain is another matter entirely, but my walking companion was wearing a purchased waterproof coat and that let more water through than my Eden jacket did!


Pattern: Eden Jacket by Tilly and the Buttons
Fabric: Memory Raincoat supplied by Minerva

Softshell Eden Jacket

Ok, I admit I’m not exactly sewing seasonal projects right now! But I have managed to get the Softshell Eden Jacket finished…. and my Mum has already claimed it for herself!

I wanted to make the topstitching quite noticeable, so I used some multicoloured Guttermann thread just to liven up the plain navy fabric. Unfortunately my sewing machine decided to skip stitches at times, so it’s not quite as evenly stitched as I’d hoped. I discovered on a later project that if I used a regular needle rather than a sharps needle, it actually sews an even stitch – just don’t ask me why!

I did purchase some poppers, but I haven’t yet tried adding them – Mum seemed quite happy with the jacket not having popped pocket flaps, and she never uses the poppers on her bought waterproof coat anyway.

The “alien” stage of turning the Eden jacket out – not the easiest of things to do with such thick fabric!

I’d never sewn a “proper” coat before, and certainly hadn’t even considered bagging out a lining… but it all went surprisingly smoothly, even down to the thread chain to finish it all off.

The finishing touch – a thread chain to hold the lining and outer fabric together under the arms (never done one of these before)

I couldn’t resist using a rainbow zip on the front of the jacket – the front placket does cover it, but it does give a flash of colour when you go to zip it up / unzip it.

And of course a colourful lining, to make up for the very understated plain dark blue outer.

All we need now, is some suitably cold weather so Mum can test it out!


Pattern: Eden Jacket by Tilly and the Buttons
Fabric: Navy softshell from Fashion Fabrics
Other supplies: Zip from Mibs

Nautical Product Testing

Hop over to the Minerva Crafts Blog to see what I made from this nautical polycotton – it’s never too late to think of summer sewing!


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Patterns: McCalls 7381 and Endless Summer Shorts* by WinterWear Designs
Fabric: Nautical Polycotton supplied by Minerva Crafts