SarahLizSewStyle

This week I made Kwik Sew 3036.  The plan was to make View B, but that plan got modified as the sewing proceeded.    I used a piece of leftover knit from last week's project.  I purchased it from Spotlight last year for $5.00 per metre - it was one of their unidentified job lots.  Most pieces were polyester and nylon, but this was a good quality piece - I'd say it is a viscose, as it drapes and handles nicely and is lovely to wear. I broke from my normal habit and didn't make a muslin to check the fit.  I did lay the pattern out against one that does fit, so I knew that the top was somewhere around right.  And as this was a quick simple project, as far as I was concerned, I just wanted to get on with it :). I cut size Small, and added 1 inch (2 cms) to the sleeve length as I don't like sleeves that are very short. When I had sewn the shoulder seams and tried the top on,  I could see that the neck was going to be far too wide for me.  The pat

Last week I had an appointment and didn't have a little top to wear that was really suitable - lots of shirts and t-shirts in t-shirt casual sort of fabric, but nothing t-shirty, stretch top sort of garment in a slightly nicer knit in a nice colour.  So this week I decided to make one. I raided my stash and found another piece of the purple unidentified nice soft knit I found on sale at Spotlight last year - one of their job lots.  I'm pretty sure this is mostly viscose - it has a nice feel and handle and is soft and lovely to wear. I'm still new to sewing knits and am not really sure if I like sewing knits yet.  I suspect not, I really like to sew structured garments.  Knit garments are useful though, so I am going to persevere with learning how to handle this type of sewing.  I think basically you have to forget everything you know about sewing with wovens and adopt a totally different mindset for knit fabrics.  You sort of have to flow with them, I think. Anyway,

This week I kept it simple and made the last of the bottoms for my very casual house wardrobe.  I will need to make a smarter casual wardrobe in due course, but the essentials for the last two years have been to make the clothes for house wear - you know, the sort of clothes for the domestic everyday, not the casual going out with family and friends type of casual clothing. The last edition is a little cotton chambray skirt with pockets and elastic waist.  I used Simplicity 2258:  I have tried for months to buy this pattern in size 6-8-10-12, but my local shop just has not stocked it for as long as I have looked (months).   Many people in this town are quite large boned and I suspect the local Spotlight  stocks mostly the larger sizes.  In the end I purchased size 14 - 22.  As this is just a straight skirt with elastic, I knew that I could just move the pieces at the CB and CF  and take out the extra width there. The pockets did not need to be altered.  I cut my standard just

As I had a run of mistakes last week, I think as much as anything because I was tired, I decided to keep it simple this week and have a success :). I was also determined not to let two lengths of material leftover from an earlier project be added to the stash.  some fabrics are of the moment and these pieces are in that category.  I used my TNT elastic waist pattern, Kwik Sew 3765, as I knew I would get a quick, simple, successful sewing exercise completed. So, a few hours and then two smart skirts for casual wear.  The first is in a teal stripe: And the second is in a blue stripe: Well, there is not much to say on this blog post - a quick simple sew, and two new skirts that will work for errands or dressed up with a jacket. Over the last two years I have been working on a wardrobe of casual basics as I really didn't have much in the way of casual clothes.  I had shabby remains of working clothes, but really, they don't make you feel g

Sometimes you have one of those sewing weeks where all you attempt to make are want to be wadders. I know there are some sewers out there in the blogosphere that always turn out perfect garments every time. Perfectly. I am not one of those sewers. I have my up and down sewing weeks. I suspect I am in good company :). And I run an honest blog, where I share my successes and failures - because we all feel better knowing we are not the only ones that have less than optimal sewing weeks. ***** I guess I should have known better than to even attempt sewing this week as I  had a lot of chores to do, and fragmented sewing time is not always a recipe for success. I need a couple of hours each week to totally concentrate on planning, pattern modification and cutting. Then I can work in a fragmented fashion. Anyway, this is the story so far this week: Unfortunately I lost this time this week due to the unfortunate incident occasioned by DH, who