Navy Sweatshirt with Red and Grey Stripes

It feels pointless to make dresses or even t-shirts in the autumn and winter as it's just too cold for me to wear them, so I've been trying to make items of clothing that are warm. Because of this, I've found myself gravitating towards sweatshirting fabrics which are just so soft to wear and sew with that it's going to be a while before I want to sew with any other kind of fabric again!

When I was planning what I wanted to make next, I knew that the only thing I actually want to wear at the moment is a jumper that feels comfy and warm to wear. Determined to make myself a perfect jumper, I started looking online at sweatshirt fabrics and found exactly what I had in mind at Fabrics for All. They have a large range of different sweatshirting fabrics but I kept being drawn to the fleece-lined ones which I decided would fit my brief of warm and comfy perfectly! I liked the idea of using a plain colour which I could then get a lot of wear out of but didn't want the jumper to look too dull. The design actually came together perfectly once I saw that there were three colours in the fleece-lined sweatshirt range and I decided to use the navy as the main colour of the jumper, with red and grey as accents.

I was expecting the fabrics to be soft, but the level of cosiness when they arrived was even better than what I'd hoped for! The wrong side of the fabric is fleece-lined, making it super soft and nice to wear. It's also heavyweight, making it ideal for a jumper. I've found it so tricky to find fabrics that are thick enough to make jumpers out of so I'm really pleased to have found these. There's nothing worse than making a jumper to wear in winter but finding that the fabric is too thin to actually be able to wear it.

The stripe was so simple to do but completely makes the jumper and it's definitely something I'd like to do again. I spent a while deciding on the widths and placement, in the end I went for 1.5" for the red and 1" for the grey. My main advice for doing this would be to use fabrics which are all the same weight, as I mentioned before the fleece-backed sweatshirting fabric that I used came in three different colourways which was perfect.

When it came to choosing the style of the jumper I knew from the start that I wanted a long, relaxed fit. I enjoy wearing and making more cropped jumpers like this white hoodie and this purple Linden, but when it's cold I want something a bit warmer. Also, a relaxed jumper like this one is ideal for throwing on without having to think about how it looks! With my new jumper, I'm essentially replacing this navy Linden jumper that I made a few years ago. I really loved it and wore it so much but it's a bit worn out now and shrunk a little in the wash. I considered making another Linden but decided against raglan sleeves as I wanted to add in the stripes. The design I came up with in the end was also a bit looser than the Linden is, making it really comfortable.

Hand-decorated Sewing Boxes

 

I can't believe I'm writing this - I've opened an Etsy shop! This is something that I've put off doing for a long time but I've now taken the plunge to launch it. On it you can find sewing boxes, designed and decorated by me.  

The thing with a hobby like sewing is that you end up with a lot of stuff. My sewing space is always scattered with notions like zips, buttons, ribbons and thread. I like to store all these accessories in boxes and drawers that actually look nice, so I decided to decorate some.

The bottom section of each box is painted and the top features a panel from a sewing pattern. I love the two together, they definitely provide something that is practical as well as looking lovely.

The boxes measure 16x16x7cm and are ideal for storing sewing notions. I use mine to store pattern weights, spare sewing machine needles, zips and basically any other sewing notions that need a storage space! They would also be ideal for storing fat quarters of fabric or English paper piecing tools.

These would make a lovely gift for anyone who loves to sew, especially filled with fabric or a handmade present.

I hope you like these boxes! If you'd like to buy one, you can do so on my Etsy shop. I've really enjoyed both making and using them and love the thought of others using them too.

Fibre Mood Norma Blouse

Keeping with my custom of dragging reluctant family members around fabric shops when I'm on holiday, my auntie and I visited Le Marché Saint-Pierre together. It's one of my favourite shops in Paris' fabric district, a few years ago I bought the fabric to make this skirt and this dungaree dress from there. On my most recent trip, I bought a gorgeous grey and white gingham fabric which I used to make a pair of Lander Pants. It's a really big shop with about four floors and we found a lovely selection of floral cotton prints on one of the floors. I offered to make my auntie a blouse out of one of the fabrics, and after hesitating between this fabric and one with blue, purple and pink fabrics we left the shop with 1.5m of floral cotton as well as the gingham.

What really made this blouse come together was the fact that we'd been to Rouje the previous day admired their collection of blouses. They really do have the most lovely ready-to-wear clothing, but it's also very expensive! Judith (my aunt) especially liked the Julie blouse (now out of stock) and when we found this floral cotton print the next day I said I'd try to recreate it. The main features of that blouse we'd seen in Rouje was a v-neck with buttons, gathered sleeves which ended just above the elbow and a small peplum at the hem. I immediately thought of the Fibre Mood Norma Blouse which had the same neck and sleeve details, albeit no peplum. I was initially going to try and add the peplum on, but in the end I decided to just stick with the pattern as I Judith couldn't try it on for size while I was making it.

The sleeves on this pattern are what really sets it apart, I love how they're gathered at the end with a cuff to finish it off.

There was a lot of gathering involved in this make which I don't mind too much but definitely wouldn't have enjoyed if the fabric was heavier weight. Luckily this cotton was perfect gathers and it was a really enjoyable sew. It's also heavy enough to give the sleeves some structure so they stand out when being worn.

In the end, the only adjustment I made was to lengthen the bodice by 4cm which was pretty easy to do. The hardest part about making an item of clothing for others is them not being able to try it on, so I took lots of measurements when I could to compare them to the pattern size chart. 

This was my first time using a Fibre Mood pattern, I purchased it from the Foldline who have a PDF printing service. The best part was that the Foldline added on the seam allowances, it's a bit annoying that Fibre Mood doesn't do that!

Although this wasn't intended to be a birthday present I finished it around the same time as my aunt's birthday, which was a nice coincidence! I really enjoyed making this and would happily make another Norma Blouse, maybe one for myself next time. 

Judith, je te souhaite un bon anniversaire et j'espère que tu aimes ta nouvelle blouse!

Black Papercut Patterns Anima Pants

 

I'm so excited to talk about my latest make, it was one of those sewing projects where everything came together perfectly and I'm so happy with the finished result! I am a massive fan of the Papercut Patterns Anima Pants sewing pattern. It was one of those patterns that, when I bought it, I had no idea I'd get so much use out of. Somehow it filled a gap in my wardrobe for jogging bottoms that I never knew I had and I've ended up making six versions! Six! Not only that but my original grey Anima Pants as well as these checked ones have been some of my most worn makes of all time.

My handmade joggers really came into their own during lockdown when they were pretty much all I wore. I actually made this pair specifically to wear in lockdown out of a pair of men's pyjama trousers. Wearing them so much made me realise that a) this is a pattern that fits me perfectly and that I love the style of and b) I would definitely wear another pair of Anima Pants if I made them. I really wanted to make myself a classic black pair of joggers that I could easily throw on and would go with everything.

Finding good quality jersey fabric can be quite tricky. There are lots of knit fabrics out there but I hate anything that feels synthetic. Also, with black it's so frustrating when the fabric isn't completely opaque. I managed to find the perfect black fabric for my joggers at Bobbins and Buttons. They have a fab jersey range and for a minute I was tempted to go for pale blue but managed to stick to black which I know I'll wear all the time! The fabric I used for these joggers was a black French terry fabric which was lovely to sew with and is the perfect weight for a pair of trousers like these. I've actually made this pattern in a variety of jersey fabrics ranging from more heavyweight to more drapey ones and all work well, but French terry is a great balance between heavy and lightweight.

I made a couple of changes to the pattern, only small things but they've really helped change the feel of the joggers. One thing I really like about the Anima Pants pattern is that depending on the fabric and details they can look dressier or more casual. For this pair I wanted a classic pair of black joggers, so kept the design simple and casual. The first thing I changed was to omit the drawstrings at the waist and just have the rows of stitching. I like the drawstring on my other pairs but it's more of a decorative feature than a useful addition so it wasn't a problem leaving it off. I copied this from a RTW pair of joggers that I saw and love the effect.

My favourite addition to these joggers is the cuffs! Again, this is something that I've seen on RTW joggers and wanted to copy. With all the other pairs of Anima Pants I've made I chose to simply turn up the end for the cuff, but on this pair I added elastic and sewed a few rows of stitching to mimic the waistband. I love how the stitching looks in the black and it's nice to finish these off a bit differently. I was a bit worried that the proportions would be wrong as the pattern isn't designed to have this finish but it was really easy to do and worked so well.

I love how all the details look together. My favourite feature of the pattern is the faux-fly, not something commonly found on joggers but I think it really makes the pattern more special. The fabric worked really well when it came to adding in the elastic which means that they hang perfectly.

As a final touch, I added a Kylie and the Machine 'You can't buy this' label to the side seam. The label sums up the best thing about sewing to me and I really like how subtle it is. At the same time, it isn't hidden inside out of sight like most labels. Because it's black with silver writing I particularly like adding them to all-black makes like these joggers.

These joggers are going to be worn so much and I'm really happy with how they turned out. I like the details a lot, especially the elasticated cuffs. They're also so comfy to wear! It just goes to show that jersey is the best fabric to make things out of.