Bengaline Tartan Skinny Trousers

Here I present you a winner! Becoming, comfortable,cool, practical, wearable in any weather and suitable for any of my numerous styles, these are perfect! 

My only regret is that they contain a 25%  of polyester, and that does not agree with my sustainable fabric choices... But if you want some skinny woven trousers, this is the way to go, I am afraid... and at least, the rest 75% of it is cotton, and that is rare for a Bengaline, which tend to be all polyester! 

I choose a BurdaStyle pattern that I love for its high rise and perfect fit with 0 ease. I simply took the bell-bottoms off and about 1 cm off the side seams as well. 

Bengaline is a curious fabric. It has the stretch along it instead of across, so, after some deliberation and queries online, I decided to cut it on the cross-grain to have the stretch around my legs.

It was a wise choice, but I feel it should be stated clearly in the fabric shop, as it can lead to disaster if you simply cut it as always lengthwise. 

This is the perfect fabric for this kind of trousers, and I love them!

Pink Cotton Pullover and Denim Midi Skirt

I finished this pullover in Wool and the Gang Cotton in June, but I have not been able to wear it until now, when is a little cold in my neck of the woods. I wanted to try a cabled pullover, and after some trial and error I decided to make three cables in the middle front and back, with some reverse stitch around them, and stocking stitch for the rest. I also made one cable along each of the sleeves. 

I decided to use again Ann Budd's book and free style my design over there, adding the cables and adapting the neckline shaping, sleeve caps and the width in general to the cables. To do that, I made two 20 cm samples, one without cables  and the other one with three cables, and being them the same stitches, measured them and calculated the shrinking caused by the cables. 

I am very happy with the result, and it wears wonderfully with jeans or the jumpsuit bellow. As for the skirt, I used my old self pattern for a long A skirt, which is wonderful and sooooo fruitful, I've made a lot of variations. Wait to see the short red leather one I made just before this denim midi one. I panelled the skirt pattern into eight parts and cut it along the middle front to incorporate the button and buttonhole closing. 

The skirt was toooooo wide at first trial, so I took a progressive amount of fabric off every panel, from the hips to 5 cm at the bottom. At the 2nd fitting, there was some weird shaping and I had to readjust it with a ruler, undo the eight freaking panels and sew them again. 

And finally, Perfection. It is comfortable, and very becoming to my figure, I really love it. It is a pity I will not wear it and wash it often again for the denim to age properly. It is lovely, but too stiff now. I bought the denim in Denimlab website, with three more pieces to make jeans. This denim is 100% cotton, with pink selvage, and no elastic at all, perfect for this skirt. 

Here I am in Sitges Fantastic Cinema Festival with my Liberty Jumpsuit, which has the same tone of dust pink, and it is just perfect. The neck opening was too closed, and I undid it when we came back, making it again with bigger needles, the same 5.5 that I used for the rest of it, except for the bodice and sleeves' bottom 2x2 ribbing.

Here is my Raverly entry. 

 

Masculine Rain Jacket in Oilskin

Last summer we went to a Bad Religion and Suicidal Tendencies concert in Barcelona. It was an open air venue and, as we knew later, packed with pickpockets. My love had a light rain jacket hung in his jeans' waist, and when the music stopped, he realized it was gone. It was a cheap jacket we bought 15 years ago, but he loved it because it was light and practical, perfect for summer nights. I promised him I'd made an exact replica, and here it is. The only thing, this one is better fitted, even lighter and nicer to wear. 

It took a lot of time and research to find the perfect fabric. The obvious solution for a waterproof jacket -polyester- was out of the question. I discovered oilskin, and a good source of it in Merchant and Mills website. Having never seen any in real life, I ordered three different black oilskins. Service was excellent, and when they arrived, I clearly saw the thinnest, softest one was the only possible option for this project. It was called "Soot Soft Oilskin", and I see now it is not longer there. What a pity, it is gorgeous. Light, soft, crisp, and wonderful to work with. 

I used a Burdastyle jacket pattern I had used before. Three main modifications:

• I closed the neck opening 2 cm all around, and finally I adjusted the front to my liking.
• I used black organic 1x1 ribbing both for neck and cuffs. The front zip and jersey neck combination was tricky and required some planing and expertise. I finally decided to apply some facing all along the front opening and around the neck. I machine stitched it all around the neck, and then baste it and topstitched along the centre fronts, with the zip between the folded facing and front bodices.
• I made the pocket bags rectangular and stitched them to the front bodice, making them as minimalistic as possible. I closed them with a zip. 
  

The result is just perfect. I cannot be prouder of this jacket. My love wears it everywhere and feels so comfortable, he does not even take it off in a concert. Great!

Linen-Viscose Sleeveless Jumpsuit

Inspiration came from the Durban Jumpsuit pattern from Megan Nielsen. 

In a trip to Zaragoza this summer, we visited a fabric shop in the centre and I bought a couple of fabrics, this being one. This is a wonderful linen and viscose mix that immediately called to me for the Durban reproduction. 

I chose a jumpsuit from BurdaStyle magazine to start, with the following modifications:

• Close the armscye to make it sleeveless.
• Cutting the centre front and adding a button and buttonholes packet from the neck opening to the crotch.
• I planned to leave the waist darts open to get that loose effect of the Durban, but then decided to leave them closed and fitted to my non-existing waist. 
  

To my surprise, this fabric was only 150 cm wide and I had to make the legs way narrower if I wanted it to fit. So I decided to try it first with the Liberty fabric, with which I wanted another jumpsuit (I appear to be suffering a jumpsuit fever, but I am restraining myself nowadays. A short jumpsuit is on my mind for summer, even when I have one already) with narrow legs. I ended up making them not that narrow in the Liberty one, and then I could cut it in the linen-viscose taking 4 cm off all the bottom seams and up to the hips, 1 cm narrower in all seams there. 

This neck is far better than the Liberty, which I screwed, and this crotch was lower, although 2 cm higher than the Burda Pattern. 

When I tried it on, it was lovely with darts, so I decided to leave them closed. It looked great, but it was itchy as hell. I have very sensitive skin for itchy fabrics. 

That day, I went to sleep with that problem in mind, and I decided it had to be lined. A soft back viscose lining fabric would be made to function as facing in armholes, neck and front opening. I made the lining with short legs. 

It's a great piece to go to work. Comfortable, elegant and suiting to my figure. I love it with my Sewdish Hasbeens. I am in love with my Swedinsh Hasbeens. 

Great pattern by Burda. Thanks to my Bibliobús. 

Skinny Jeans for My Love

I am proud of this wonderful and successful project. When I sew for my love, The piece must be perfect, or he is going to spot the mistakes or unfitting part right away in the first fitting. I always consult him about my own projects, which I always submit to his meticulous examination and he always, ALWAYS sees the faults, even the smallest ones or the ones I almost forgive. I can accept some compromise most of the time, but he is implacable, specially when clothes are for himself.

I bought this denim elastic fabric in Stoff and Stil. Their denim is famous for having a lot of give, and this was perfect for this project, and also the weight of the fabric, only 10,5 oz. 

For the pattern, I took some old skinny jeans, and I replicate them with the rub-off method I leaned in the Jean-Ius course. 

This kind of very skinny jeans require a lot of trial and error to achieve the perfect fit. So, I basted them, tried them on (with fly and front and back pockets completed) and stitched first the inner seams and then the outer seam, giving some and taking off some until the feeling, standing up and seated, were perfect, like a glove. 

They are not perfect, the front pockets are cut too deep, because I had to raise the waist (which is always short in these rubbed-off jeans). Next time I will have to have that into account. 

For the rest, they are perfect, cool and comfortable. 

Liberty Jumpsuit

 I will never tire of sewing Liberty cotton lawn, this fabric is so wonderful. Moreover, I found this beauty in Ribes i Casals web store at half price and the print is so beautiful I could not even believe it was a real Liberty. But it is, oh yes! It has been a year sitting in my stash waiting for the perfect project. 

Finally, I saw this Durban jumpsuit by Megan Nielsen and I bought a linen fabric for it. Then, I did not have enough fabric, so I decided to try it with this Liberty first, which was wider (170 cm) and barely enough. I did not buy the pattern, though. Spending 16 € in a pattern that I have to print, assemble, draw and redraw without the seam allowances is not my idea of ideal shopping. So, I looked in the BurdaStyle online archive to see if they had anything similar and I found this wonderful pattern. I asked for this magazine in my library-bus and BEHOLD, I got a free, stunning pattern. 

I had to reduce the width of the legs, because the fabric was still not enough at 1.5m, but it was ok, since Burda has always too wide legs and I did want narrower legs in this thi, crisp fabric. 

I also modified the closing, from back zipper to front buttons and buttonholes plackets. 

I also removed the sleeves, raised the bottom armscye 2 cm and made the crotch 2 cm higher as well. 

All these modifications were successful, and I was completely in love at the first fitting. My confidence and self-esteem went sky-high and then I cut a too deep  neck line and I almost ruined it all. I saved it by raising it 2 cm by shortening the seam on top of the shoulders, a lousy move, I reckon, but it saved it. I can wear it now, with a bra. Few!

The fabric is still gorgeous, and the pattern as well. 

A note on my beautiful Swedish Hasbeens, which I totally adore. 

Circuit Dress in English Embroided White Cotton

 I had the inspiration for this piece in the Formula1 Gran Prix, held at Circuit de Montmeló, Barcelona. It was last June, and we were under a heatwave that lasted most of last summer. It was so hot, it was dangerous. I then mentally designed a dress that had to cover my skin being fresh, using this thin cotton that has small holes for ventilation.

I found the fabric in Firenze, during my holidays in Tuscany. This is the second (out of five) fabric I use from the shopping in wonderful Bacci Tessutti (as the viscose in my last entry), and it was also 10 cm shorter that ordered. 

The pattern is from BurdaStyle, although I hacked it to include the flounce all around the bottom of the skirt and one of its sides up. 

This pattern is made for a woven fabric, but it does not have any darts to shape the waist. Only side breast darts. Maybe (I cannot make up my mind) I should add some, at least in the side crossed over the other, but I can tie the belt in the front and then that solves the matter. 

In these pictures I tied it only at the back, though. 

Firence Viscose Princess-Seammed Dress

 This last summer we had a wonderful road trip around Tuscany. We spent some days in Florence and we celebrated my birthday there, going to a great fabric shop and then having a bistecca for lunch in the San Lorenzo quarter. I believe Italian food is overestimated, but not fabric. 

In Bacci Tesutti, I met this wonderful salesman, who showed to me all their fabulous natural fabrics and recommended some other under the counter ones. I had an almost mystical-consumist experience shoping there! I finally got this viscose, an English embroidered cotton, some silk and a wonderful black wool crepe. I hope to parade them all here, and this is the first I've made. 

I had in mind the Shelby Dress pattern, and I thought this would be the perfect viscose for it. I used the Saraste blouse pattern as a starting point, because it has a good easy fit and complete princess lines like the Shelby dress. 

As for modifications, I elongated the four panels, drawing and evasée skirt, simply making lines longer. I then changed the neck opening, using a self-drafted V-neck, which meets the shirt lapped opeing. I draw and made an interfaced double front placked, which included the back and front neck opening and all the front down to the bottom, with buttonholes and mother of pearl buttons. 

I like the hacked pattern better than the fabric, after all. I took the pictures after two very hot days of wear at my job, which were pretty intense... but it is wrinkled and... well, I've seen better quality viscoses... also, I realized three of the four fabrics were 10 cm shorter than I bought, and I then understood the 10% discount offered at paying.

Swimingpool Bag and Terrace Cushions in Cotton Canvas

 My old straw basket, that I used to put my swimingpool stuff in, broke after many years of use. I looked in several markets, and they were too expensive or small, so I decided to make my own bag. 

I used this pattern from the Named book Breaking the Pattern, and I bought the fabric, a beautiful cotton canvas with jungle plants and tigers from Ribes i Casals shop online. I also used some old whitish fabric I had as a lining for the back, and some upholstery foam remnant I had from my car bed project. 

I am totally happy with the result. Both the bag and cushions are perfect and after two summers I can say they are worn and used without complaint.