Pattern Anthology - Just Add Jeans

... Or a black pencil skirt. Huzzah!

When Andrea from Pattern Anthology emailed me to ask if I would like to play with their brand new fourth pattern collection, I fist pumped the air ... and then replied yes - because emails can't see fist pumps ...

The collection is made up of four stretch patterns for us la-la-ladies and are made for the lass who wants to be both stylish AND comfortable. Yes ladies, a garment can be both. What WHAT? 

You-learn-something-every-day.
The reason I didn't know this, is because ... I'VE NEVER SEWN WITH STRETCH BEFORE!!!

Woh, sorry(not sorry) about the shouting there, but these patterns weren't just a revelation for me, they were a game changer! You mean I don't have to stay standing upright in my tight dress all day because I've eaten too much and bending will make me vomit out of my eyes? I can wear clothes that will stretch with me?

EMOTIONAL!

I made up two versions of the Parisian and I freaking LOVE this pattern. Not only is the pattern super comfortable but it's so fast to make up!!! I mean you don't have to line stretch. You don't even have to ... now this is a big one ... finish the edges! GASP! I spent a good two minutes head butting the wall mindlessly as punishment for not having tried stretch sooner (bad dobby!)

The instructions are wonderful and put me the beginner stretch-seamstress right at ease with heaps of helpful tips for sewing with stretch fabric.

The pattern features a peter-pan collar and gorgeous puff sleeves that are the perfect amount of puff.

Fabric
The lovely people at Girl Charlee fabrics supplied some fabric for this project, and people I went a little overboard. Given I'm partial to fabric stashing, and the fact that I did not yet have a stretch stash, I may or may not have bought over seven different types of fabric. I mean the selection was cray-cray!

I mean would you look at this fabric??!!! It has skulls and freaking roses! I mean seriously! I dare you NOT to buy this fabric. It's a cotton spandex knit fabric and it feels like you're wearing butter and gives you that wonderful feeling that only good quality fabric can give you.

The second top is also from Girl Charlee fabrics and is made of a lucious navy blue solid ponte de roma and it could be one of the most comfortable fabrics I've ever worn. 

I contrasted it with a floral knit that I also got from Girl Charlee and I love the sweet touch it gives the top.

Styling
So the general theme of these tops is that they can easily be thrown on with a pair of jeans. Except I'm more of a pencil skirt sort of gal. Here I am wearing it with a skirt I made a million years ago (it wasn't as tight then!) The good news is that these tops go perfectly with a fancy skirt both tucked in or out!

Alterations
Um ... zip, zilch, nada! Praise the Lord!
I made the top in a small size as I likes my stuff nice and fitted. The good thing about stretch is it's very forgiving on sizing. I probably could have done an FBA, but I think it still looks good. P.s. the instructions come with FBA instructions so you don't have to try and work it out yourself. Winning.

Conclusion

Fast and easy to make, these tops are effortless, gorgeous and comfortable; a definite keeper. And it has smoothly introduced me to the world of knit fabrics, a world I used to run screaming away from. Consider me converted.

These patterns will be touring the blogs over March, so check out these other fabulous bloggers to see their awesome versions!

March 11th: Stef - the Girl Inspired

March 12th: Delia - Delia Creates

March 13th: Merrick - Merrick's Art

March 14th: Julia - Julia Bobbin

March 17th: Liz - Cotton and Curls

March 18th: Katy - No Big Dill

March 19th: Caroline - Sew Caroline

March 20th: Suzannah - Adventures in Dressmaking

March 21st: Jessica - Craftiness is Not Optional

March 22nd: Dixie -  DixieDIY

Mad Men Challenge
How's everyone coming along with their Mad Men outfits? Only a few weeks left!  I'm loving seeing the pics coming into my inbox. For more details on the sew-a-long click here!

So who else in a knit-fabric convert? Let's be friends!

Fruity Tessuti - Butterick 5145

Ever laughed so hard your face actually looks like you're in pain and people start instinctively backing away from you like you're a crazy person? Well that's what I look like when I watch the TV show 'New Girl'. Things get a bit messy.

I saw my first episode of this show while flying back to Melbourne from Washington DC and my poor husband was ready to smother me with my pillow if I didn't stop laughing out loud. Bless.

photo curtesy of www.zdw.com

In one scene the lovely Jess played by Zooey Deschanel wears this striking hot pink coat and both my sister and I instantly fell in love with it, so I decided to make a similar version.

I used Butterick Pattern 5145 in a size eight for my gorgeous sister Angeline. It was nice sewing something so small!

I used a stunning wool/cashmere coating from Tessuti Fabrics for the shell of the coat which I purchased from the Melbourne store.

I actually made this pattern over a year ago for myself in a gorgeous green (also from Tessuti) but it was before I started this blog so I've never posted about it before. Here are a few pics of the green coat:

I'm having serious face-fail in this photo. Dear. Lord.

For the lining of this coat I used an awesome print that I found on spoon flower. It's called 'Fruit and veggie madness fabric' by heidikenney I love her quirky designs, and they are perfect for the lining of a coat! I had it printed on a silk/cotton blend.

 

For those of you that are not familiar with Spoon Flower, it's an awesome website where you can upload your own fabric designs and have them printed on a number of different fabric types. You can also purchase other peoples designs, which is what I've done here. It's such an awesome idea!

So let's talk construction:

The Jacket

I made view C with the length of View B in a straight size 8.

It closes with three button holes, has a peter pan collar, and a lovely box pleat in the back skirt of the coat.

The Lining

The coat is fully lined, so it looks pretty on the inside and out.

I didn't have quite enough of the lining fabric for all the pieces, so I made the biggest part of the sleeve linings out of a yellow satin silk with the cuffs of the sleeve lining in the proper fabric. That way if the sleeves are rolled up you can still see the proper lining.

Favourite Bits

My favourite features of this coat is the cute little peter-pan collar ...

... the back pleat ...

... and the sneaky little side pockets.

And just to be a bit of sewing nerd, look how the fruit on the lining matches up on the inside pleat!

    

But before you start calling me a genius, I must admit that this was actually a complete FLUKE. A glorious, serendipitous accident.

Changes I made

Bound Button Holes 
Instead of doing the regular machine buttons holes, I thought I'd challenge myself and try bound-button holes. I absolutely love the effect! It is a lot more time consuming, mainly because you have to make sure that you make everything absolutely the same so that you don't end up with uneven button holes, and also because it's my first time so I'm slow.

Yes they take a lot longer but they are well worth the effort. They are neat, strong and I reckon they look so much nicer on a coat! Now-a-days you only would ever see these type of button holes on couture items in the stores. Infact, if you opened up your own closet you'd be hard pressed to find any purchased garment that didn't have a machine stitched button hole.

Here's a comparison picture of a bound button hole and a machine button hole.

 

Images curtesy of Threads Magazine and Wikipedia

I ordered my fabric covered buttons from Button Mania Yes I know I could do them my self, but this is so much easier for a time poor lass, and Kate from Button Mania is a perfectionist so you know you are going to get good quality.

Pleated lining Hem
For extra movement in the lining I added a little pleat in the corner of the lining hem. This allows the lining to move up and down at the hem when you do. Stops potential tearing.

 

Conclusion

I love how this coat turned out and how well it fits my sister Angeline. It's definitely heating up in Australia, so my sister is going to have to wait a while before she can wear it.

 

Melbourne is known for being a sea of black clothes, so I like the fact that this pink coat will definitely stand out in a crown of muted colours.

Sunshine and Spots + Give Away Winner!

Thank you to all the lovely people who commented on my recent blog post ‘lace giveaway ….’ And for all your colour suggestions for the vintage dress that I recently purchased the pattern for. Looks like I’ll be making about ten different colour versions of this dress, which could not possibly be a bad thing!

The winner of the delicious guipure lace was selected by random. I assigned a number to each person who left a comment and then got my husband to pull one name out of a hat. To highlight the importance of the task, I made him thoroughly wash his hands first, and then wrap them in 100% silk before selecting the random number from the hat. These things must be done properly!

So, without further ado I am very excited to announce the winner of the Guipure lace is the lovely …..

Abby from the blog Sew Get Dressed 

Yay! Congratulations Abby!

Thank you everyone for your super kind comments that filled me with all sorts of warm and fuzzies.

Meanwhile, here’s a lil’ something I’d been working on. I call it ‘Sunshine with spots’ because … well, it’s yellow, and it has spots.

This dress is another creation made with Tessuti Fabrics. The yellow shell is a Stretch Cotton called Canary which was an absolute delight to sew with and had the added benefit of cheering me up every time I looked at it. You just can’t help but feel a little more chipper when you look at such a friendly colour.

I drafted my own Peter Pan collar for the neckline and made it using a Japanese cotton also from Tessuti called Sand Yuki Small 

I made little ‘stick-out’ sleeves (pretty sure that’s not the technical term) which I lined with the same polka dot cotton. Isn’t it pretty?!

I made my first attempt at a scalloped hem on the skirt of the dress. It gives it a playful look and was surprisingly straight forward.

I'm seeing scalloped hems everywhere at the moment and so I thought I'd see what the fuss was all about. I quite like the idea of the scalloped hem, though it does make me feel a little bit Wilma Flinstone.

I adjusted the width of the skirt back on account of my fuller behind (thank you Christmas!) without changing the side seams and hem, using my recent technique. You can see the ‘How to’ blog post here. 

I made a round scoop neck on the front and back.

Thanks again lovely people for following my blog and helping me celebrate my first milestone!