Tag Archives: Winterwear Designs

How is it half way through January already?!

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Well I think it’s quite clear that my resolution to sew more in 2021 (or at least blog more) didn’t actually materialise! Following on from my grand clear-out of fabric offcuts & those fabrics I bought with great intentions several years ago but never actually used, I thought this year’s 9 to Try should be things I already have the fabric lined up for!

I know the ‘classic’ name would be “Make 9” but that always makes me feel like I’ve failed if I don’t achieve making all nine! So I feel “nine to try” is better, as that counts any that might get started and subsequently abandoned.

My Nine to Try for 2022

Hey June Handmade Amherst Shirt*
A friend gave me some fabric for Christmas several years ago, with the idea I made it into a lap blanket. I think the fabric would be much better suited to being a shirt, so that is this year’s aim! I also have some England Football cotton (probably originally designed to be a duvet cover, given the size of the print and the extra-wide fabric), and some “splotchy” purple cotton which would also make a couple of great Amherst shirts.

5 out of 4 Zen Trousers*
A couple of years ago I bought a “stretch fabric mystery package” online, and received a white floral cotton lycra, and a black crepe-like jersey. Along with the purple cotton lycra I’d originally bought to make a top from, I’m hopeful that these will make some comfy Zen trousers.

Ellie & Mac* Around the Block Hoodie*
Bright blue and navy sweatshirt fabric (as long as the colour doesn’t bleed out from the navy!) would make a striking Around the Block hoodie, with those diagonal lines being much more noticeable than on my original Around the Block make.

Woven PJ Bottoms
I have some Winter themed cotton that would make a great pair of PJ bottoms – I just need to finalise the pattern I want to use!

Tilly & the Buttons Joe PJ Bottoms
I bought the pattern and fabric a couple of years ago, to make these as a present for a relative. Unfortunately the relative was reluctant to actually let me measure him… but this year I’m determined to make these PJ bottoms!

Woven Nightie
Much like the Joe PJ bottoms, the woven nightie was meant to be a gift for a relative. I’m hoping that this year she’ll let me measure her, so I can get the nightie sewn!

Blank Slate Bookworm Shirt
Depending on the fabric content (I thought it was cotton, but I’ve got it written down as jersey), this will either be another shirt for K, or a t-shirt! Whatever it’s going to be, I’m aiming on getting it made for his birthday in the Spring.

Megan Nielsen Dawn Jeans
or Winter Wear Designs Endless Summer Shorts*
I have quite a bit of denim set aside to make jeans, although I have put weight on since lockdown, which isn’t a problem but does mean I need to re-measure myself and maybe change the size of pattern I was making previously! If I don’t feel confident enough with the jeans, then I do have some fabric that would make Endless Summer Shorts (and that pattern is easier to amend the sizing).

Megan Nielsen Matilda Shirt Dress
I’ve never actually got as far as making myself a shirt dress, and this is actually the only one on my “9 to Try” that I don’t have the fabric set aside for. However, I do like the idea of dresses, even if I can’t wear ones with a zip in the back as I really hate the idea of having to get someone to help me zip it up!!
My alternative to the shirt dress is to finish the faux fur bears I’d cut out years ago but never actually got as far as sewing.

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Camp-a-long Critters

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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

A very summery look – tropical shirt and shorts

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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 😁

Nautical Product Testing

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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

Camp-a-Long Critters

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I cut out this Button-Up Top* last year, then shelved it because I ran out of fabric for the sleeves. I managed to get some contrasting fabric in the autumn last year, then decided that it a summer-weight short sleeve shirt wasn’t a project I wanted to work on in the colder months, so it was shelved again.

So this week I started sewing the pieces together, and realised that my first attempt at pattern matching (albeit only the horizontal lines) actually worked surprisingly well!

Both front pieces line up really well, give or take a few millimetres, and I tried to line up the back yoke with one of the lines, so it gives a nice border to that piece. Unfortunately I wasn’t as careful in cutting out the back – I was more eager to use as much of the fabric as possible, than trying to match the lines.

I’m trying to ignore the back not being anywhere near lined up… after all, when I’m wearing it I won’t be able to see the back anyway! All I need to do now, is work on the sleeves and collar, then find some suitable buttons. Hopefully I can still get it finished during the summer!

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

Minerva Product Testing

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I’m over at the Minerva Crafts Blog again today with a product test of this super stretchy denim! Head on over to see what I made – I’ll give you a hint, this time I made two items!

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Pattern designers: WinterWear Designs* and From the Studio (Jamie Kemp)

Still working on the faux Jaeger Denim Fashionista

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It’s taken a while, plus some unpicking when I accidentally stitched the sleeve to the neckline… (yeah, don’t ask how I managed that!) but my denim Fashionista* is looking less like a pile of pieces, and a lot more like a jacket now!

You can see the stitching on the left sleeve where I accidentally made a hole in the fabric was I was unpicking my mistake. It’s not visible from a distance though, and nobody should be looking that closely anyway!

The lining was where I came unstuck when I shelved this project last month, but I decided I ought to just get on and try it again. I didn’t unpick the seam where it caught up, but to be honest I don’t think you’d know now it’s all sewn together!

I hadn’t expected to find branded lining fabric, but when I came across this Jaeger lining, I knew it would work really well for a jacket lining. It does make the jacket a lot more structured – the jacket looks like it’s still being worn when it’s on a hanger!

The sleeves need a little hand stitching just to catch the lining into the side of the placket, but other than that they were sewn exactly as the pattern suggested. Eventually the cuffs will have buttonholes and denim buttons, but I want to test using my Prym pliers to attach the buttons as I think that might work a lot better than hammering them.

I decided to stay with just one line of topstitching but deviated from the pattern to top stitch the sleeve seam as well. I thought that would help to strengthen the seam after I had to unpick it.

Although the jacket looks mostly finished, as you can see by this photo, I still have the waistband to attach, and the buttons to add. As with my Showerproof Fashionista, I chose to sew the facing as you would normally expect, rather than adding it like bias binding as the pattern suggests. That was I was able to use my ‘take it easy’ ribbon piece on the back as a label.

Starting the Denim Fashionista – Part way through the Denim Fashionista (this post) – Finished Denim Fashionista

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Pattern: Fashionista * by WinterWear Designs*
Fabric:
Denim and topstitching thread from Sewing Studio
Lining fabric from Minerva Crafts

Waiting for the rain….

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….or in other words, I’ve finished my Showerproof Softshell Fashionista jacket! I still haven’t finished my denim version of the Fashionista*, but this softshell jacket has come out looking fantastic.

I found some buttons which fitted well with the blue, and was planning on using some smaller ones on the cuffs. Unfortunately the bulk of fabric on the cuff meant that my sewing machine thought the one-step buttonhole was meant to be a lot smaller than I was aiming for. Rather than trying to unpick one line of stitches, I cheated and added a popper to the cuff instead. It’s not quite what I was aiming for, but it’s better than risking making a mess with the buttonhole!

I’d already decided I wanted to have a label on the back, and assuming the neckline would be sewn as a regular facing, I added the label and some bias binding around the edge as I didn’t fancy sewing a narrow hem on the curved edge. Then I read down to the next line and realised that the neckline works more like binding than a facing. I really didn’t want to scrap my neckline piece, so I skipped the proper instructions and just attached it as if it was a facing, then topstitched around the bias bound edge to hold it in place.

This has made the neckline slightly lower, but that’s not a problem for me. I’ll have to remember that when I get to that point on my denim Fashionista though, as that bit will come after I’ve added in the lining.

I obviously wasn’t going to try ironing the softshell, so the waistband isn’t quite as crisp as you would expect. But overall, the jacket has a great look, the buttons and buttonholes all line up, the pockets work, and the jacket fits!

Now where’s that rain so I can test out how waterproof this softshell is!


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Pattern: Fashionista * by WinterWear Designs*
Fabric: Softshell from Fashion Fabrics
Tag – ribbon from The Makery, Buttons from Sew + Sew

Showerproof non-denim Fashionista Jacket UFO

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I fully admit I’m already starting more projects than I’m finishing this year, but having spotted this softshell fabric in my local fabric shop for £8 a metre, I couldn’t resist getting enough to make a showerproof Fashionista* jacket for the spring!

At the moment, my Denim Fashionista is semi-shelved while I figure out where I went wrong with the lining – I’d already sewn the denim sleeve to the neckline by mistake (don’t ask how I achieved that!), and in sewing the first part of the lining together, I had more pleats and tucks than I should’ve done. So that’ll need unpicking and some careful pinning to try and resew that.

But rather than plough on through a project that wasn’t going all that well, I decided I needed to feel I could successfully make something. Softshell fabric has a waterproof outer, with a fleece backing – perfect for spring, and also perfect because it doesn’t need a lining!

Now I know this jacket won’t be 100% waterproof, because at the moment I’m not planning on using any tape or anything to seal the seam lines. That means that water could seep through the stitch holes along the topstitching. But really, I think for my first attempt at sewing a proper showerproof jacket, I’m happy with it being 95% showerproof rather than aiming for 100%.

I didn’t want to try colour matching the pockets, so I picked out some ‘natural’ patterned cotton for the pocket bags – if I get them sewn in correctly, they won’t be visible from the outside so it won’t matter that they don’t match!

The back is all sewn and topstitched – I’m beginning to wonder if I should have made an attempt to fussy-cut the foxes, but I think this was the most realistic use of the fabric. If I’d fussy cut or tried matching the fox heads across each piece, I think I would have wasted a lot of the fabric.

The neatest front yoke I’ve stitched so far – yes there is a slight catch where the yoke joins the front panel top stitching, but it’s much better than my denim jacket’s front yoke! I did have a bird’s nest of bobbin thread on the pocket topstitching (I hadn’t realised I was sewing that with the pocket flap upside-down), but I’m hoping I can unpick that without too much hassle.

So far so good, although I’m not looking forward to adding in the sleeves – that’s where my denim Fashionista started to go wrong!


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Pattern: Fashionista * by WinterWear Designs*
Fabric: Softshell from Fashion Fabrics

The first UFO of 2019

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Ok, I will admit that I did the very first part of my WinterWear Designs Fashionista* last year, but because I filed it away over Christmas and New Year, I’m counting this as my first UFO for 2019.

The Fashionista* has a shaped front yoke which looks really good, but did prove a little challenging to sew accurately. I know there’s a slight catch in the front section below the yoke, but there’s a matching one on the other side so I’m calling it a design feature rather than a mistake 😉

The back still needs pressing from where the middle panel was stored folded, but it’s looking like the variegated topstitching thread was worth buying. I chose to only do one line of topstitching instead of two, but I’m using a triple straight stretch stitch so it shows up more than a regular stitch.


That’s the front and back panels complete, so I’ll be working on the shoulder seams next, before diving into the sleeves. Denim jackets normally are unlined, but I spotted this ex-designer fabric on the Minerva Crafts website and thought it could make an interesting addition to my Fashionista. Once I’ve got the sleeves attached, I’ll then work on the lining, before adding the front plackets, cuffs and waist band…. or at least that’s the plan – it might well end up unlined if I can’t figure out how to add a lining!

Starting the Denim Fashionista (this post) – Part way through the Denim Fashionista – Finished Denim Fashionista


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Pattern: Fashionista * by WinterWear Designs*
Fabric:
Denim and topstitching thread from Sewing Studio
Lining fabric from Minerva Crafts