Animal Print Twill Ginger Pants

After making my 50's dress  with this gorgeous fabric, I had 1 m left. Then, I remembered the idea I had had long in my mind, of making a pair of camouflage pants. Finding the right fabric has been impossible til now, so I thought this fabric would be perfect to make a pair of tight-fitting Ginger Jeans.

As any other pattern of jeans, legs must be adjusted to get the right amount of ease, depending on the look we have in mind, the thickness of the fabric and most of all, the elasticity of it. Since this fabric is quite thin and it has a very good give and recovery, I thought I could make them in a tight version. 

In the 1st fitting I realized they were too tight, unwearable. One of these projects that goes to the waste unfinished, a shame. But then I gave it some thought and I decided to make serged seams instead of self-encasing them. Most commercial jeans have serged, and then topstiched seams. This meant I could give 1 cm off every seam. 

That proves to be the perfect solution. It is amazing that only 1 cm is such a game changer! They feel like a glove, they are comfortable to wear and the perfect tightness in both hips and legs. 

I have worn them to a metal festival all day, and they stayed in perfect shape after sitting, dancing and the lots. 

Last time I made a pair of Ginger jeans, I remember I had to take them in all around, so I must have cut 1 cm off around all pieces, although I cannot remember doing that. In this fabric, which is not that elastic, this was. I am making another pair nowadays, adding 1 cm in all exterior seams, we will see if that is right, or I might have to print and trace the pattern in my right size again. 

Black and Pink Chunky Cotton Stripped Sweater

I started this project to use the remnants of black and pale pink chunky cotton from previous projects. I had two skeins of each colour, so I thought that I would have enough to make a cropped tight jumper. 

I followed Ann Budd's book to make a seamless yoked jumper, knitted in the round without any seam. 

At the end, I needed to buy one more skein in each colour, but it was still worth it. 

The jumper could have been tighter, I think. I made it in size 40, the sleeves are quite tight, but the bodice has still some ease. The length is great, and it combines great with high-waisted pants or long dresses like the one in the picture. 

I finished at the beginning of summer, but I could pack it for my holidays in the Czech Republic, where it was cold in the evenings, and it felt great to wear. I love this chunky cotton, because it is cool, warm but not itchy, so I can wear it on my naked skin. 

Ravelry

Black Flowery Liberty Cotton Summer Dress

This spring and summer, we have been very busy with our house renovations and travels. I have been sewing in the mid of all the turmoil, sometimes among cardboard boxes and with little time to spare, but I never stopped sewing. Now I have several projects finished, to post, but I am not doing it in the right order, so I will state the date I finished them for my own record. I finished this dress at the end of  June, and I still wore it at my job, but only one day. I packed it for my trip to the beach and also for my trip to Portugal, because it is very comfortable and light, I love wearing it. 

I bought this gorgeous Liberty fabric last December at Guthrie and Ghani shop in Birmingham. I purchased 1,5 m not knowing what I'd make with it, because it was so beautiful, it was irresistible. 

I imagined something like this that I saw in the shop, but I will not pay 20 quid for a pattern, no way. So I found a blouse in Burdastyle magazine and I hacked to change the centre front opening to a closing with mini bows, a different neck opening and I added a ruffled mini skirt. 

The result is lovely. I've worn it a lot and I find it comfortable, beautiful and becoming to my figure. 

Green & Black Animal Print Cotton 50s Dress

 This is one of those projects that go WOW. I hAve to keep myself from wearing this every day, everywhere. 

I bought the fabric in our last visit to Birmingham, in Guthrie&Ghani shop. I saw it there and I knew it was a wonderful dress.

First, I thought in a simple shirt dress, but finally I was inspired by a 50s silhouette. This bodice is from an old pattern I bought 2nd hand when I discovered Gertie and was all influenced by her wonderful retro style, many years ago. 

I gave it another rendition, this time with the 3/4 sleeves and small cuffs under the elbow, which are lovely.

I changed the skirt, though, instead of pleats, I made half a circle skirt, adding up the pieces in the bottom of the back skirt. Nobody notices it if it is well done, and you save 1 m of fabric. 

I love the neck of this bodice, how it fits my C cup breast and my waist just perfectly.

 It is an awesome pattern and with this skirt, it is tempting to make again and again. 

Irish Wool Wrapped Jacket

 Last summer we visited Ireland in our summer holiday. During one week, we drove a car from Dublin and all around the south part of the island, to Dublin again. The west coast landscape is really impressive, and we also enjoyed the folk music and the great atmosphere in the pubs. We made a tour around the Ring of Kerry, and we stopped in the Kerry Woollen Mills to buy some local wool. I had spotted some wool + silk herringbone, but it was out of stock, so I bought this black and bone coloured pure wool tweed. 

I used an old pattern of mine, hacking it to have continuous lapels and a belt instead of buttons. 

It turned out really great, although with 1,5 m, it was really tight, and I couldn't make the belt as wide as I'd like. It is elegant and sporty at the same time, very comfortable, warm and easy to combine. Great.

Black Cashmere Knitted Jumper and Grey Wool Smart Pants

 Well, this is an 18 months work project! And it ended up great! I bought this cashmere yarn in Helsinki, back in the 2023 summer. It is lace thin, black and very expensive (80 € total). I decided to knit the Sunday Tee pattern, which I found in the same shop, Snurre. 

I started knitting that same august, using 3.5 mm needles to make it nearer the gauge in the pattern. At the beginning, I used circular needles, but the yarn kept breaking, since it was so thin and soft, so I had to make all the yoke and sleeves with double pointed needles. It has been tiresome and tiring for my eyes, but finally I have a wonderful cashmere light, soft and warm jumper. 

I made some ladders in the yoke, and then in the sleeves I was taking one more stitch each round to prevent them, so I got spiralling lines instead, but everything looked fantastic after I steam blocked it. 

When I was in the final stages of knitting it, I bought this grey wool in Barcelona and I made these great smart pants to wear them with my cashmere jersey. I used the same pattern from Cadwallader and Mckinnon book again, and this is my fifth rendition of it. This time, I made the wide leg version, leaving the pockets as open are they originally are. I have made a definitive modification of pockets for next time closing them 2 cm at the top, leaving the bottom as it is and drawing the line connecting bottom and new top. 

I decided to line the back of the waistband, and also the upper part of the  trousers, till the knee, with a soft satin lining. They feel great to the skin. I also used a hidden metal big, flat hook instead of a button, it makes them smarter. I love wearing them, I feel smart and comfortable. They also look great with my black satin silk shirt. 

RAVELRY

Black Interlock Cotton Twisted Dress

This black cotton interlock comes from Guthrie & Ghani shop in Birmingham. They have a great fabric selection, and although they are quite expensive, it is kid of OK if one saves the shipping costs. We had a gig in the very same street, so I could not go! And I spent too much money there, of course.

 

Well, among other fabrics, I bought this interlock. I love interlock, I think it is the coolest fabric, specially black. I can always imagine new interlock designs, like this twisted dress. I saw it online, somewhere. The first place to look for a pattern is BurdaStyle website. If I find it there, and it is a relatively recent number, I can order it from my library for free, as was the case with this dress. It is in the July 2024 number. 

The engineering is quite clever. The fronts are cut in the bust dart area and one runs into the other, producing this twisted effect. I simply made it a bit longer, since midi dresses are popular nowadays. Also, I sewed the neck cut higher, which is a pity, because it was gorgeous with the deep cut, but I intended to wear it to school, so...

Well, all in all, it is really nice, comfortable, and becoming, but the skirt gets a little stuck around my legs if I wear it with cotton tights. It would be better with nylon ones, probably, but I do not wear them so often these days... 

Black Sill Blouse and Golden Pants

This was a planned outfit since the beginning, and the inspiration was the fabric for the pants. It is a polyester remnant given to me by a retiring seamstress (and thus, I feel not guilty for the polyester) and it is a gorgeous golden, patterned jersey with a great glow not captured by the camera.

 

I found the perfect pattern in a BurdaStyle magazine, and I made it straight away with no modifications, in size 40. It is perfect. As I've commented before, my local library (bibliobus) has BurdaStyle magazine, so it was a free pattern for me. 

I imagined the perfect match for the pants would be a silk blouse, so I bought 1,5 m of saten silk online at 45€/m. Not a bad price. 

For the blouse, I used an old pattern of mine that I love. At first fit I saw that it was somehow tight in my big boobs area, but I wanted to make French seams, so I made it 1 cm bigger in each side and no turning back. At 2nd fit, I saw it was still tight, so I made the (wrong) decision of making it 3 cm bigger in the centre button placket. I was very naïve of me not to consider the neck opening would result too big as a consequence, and I almost ruined it with this amateur mistake. In the end, I will always wear it with the neck unbuttoned and no one will notice it is too big, but it is a pity, because I know, and this is the last time I use this pattern. I do not understand how could it be small in the bust area, when I've made it 3 previous times, and it was great (and I have not put on weight), but I will not risk it any more. And I have a couple of blouse patterns I want to try. 

All in all, a great outfit, and I love it. 

Sports Outfit

 I always choose (organic) cotton to make sporty outfits, like leggings, shorts, tank tops and t-shirts, but cotton, let us be honest, is fragile. It breaks, gives, gets out of form. I love it anyway, but sometimes one has to be fancy, for example, when exercising with other people.

For those social sporty outings, I made an exception and bought some recycled polyester in Guthrie & Ghani shop in Birmingham, when we travelled last November. 

For the pattern, I used the rub-off method to copy some old leggings and a tank top. 

The result is great.

Black Cotton Dress Pants

 I wanted some pants to go with my black wool blazer and when I found this beautiful cotton in Portugal I thought it was perfect. Because I wanted them to be in the tight side, to make them in wool would not have been a good idea. This cotton has a similar shine and hang than wool, but it is softer to the skin, and it does not itch. 

I used again the pattern from the book Sewing Your Perfect Wardrobe, which has proven perfect again. I think that to find the perfect fit for a trousers pattern is difficult to find, at least for my body. It took me many many years and a lot of trial and error to find a good trouser patterns, I've been using commercial patterns, making them myself. Finally, it has been this book, which I discovered in a library in Birmingham, that has delivered it, the perfect pants pattern. 

The only modification I have mad, is to close the pockets, because I thought they were too open. In this rendition, I closed the 1 cm all along, but not they are slightly too closed, so in the next trousers, I will try other variations. 

An advantage about this pattern is that we can have three (or more) different widths in legs. These are the medium ones, but we can make them wide-legged or skinnier. 

I will surely use this pattern often, and it has made the book very valuable.