Blue and Black Checked Riverside Cotton Hacked Saraste Shirt

 What a title, haha!

This fabric is AWESOME! I bought it in Stone fabrics on December 31st, just before the Brexit. I am so sad about not being able to buy fabrics online from Britain... I know many wonderful shops there, but well, we'll have to adapt! 

Well this cotton is said to be woven at Riverside, and it is slightly brushed, closer to viscose than cotton in drapeness. It is the perfect matching with the pattern I hacked from the Saraste pattern, transforming the princess seams into bust and waist darts. The result is perfect... well maybe the sleeves are a little tight, and their cuff openings too long. 

This is a gorgeous shirt that I can wear in every possible setting: rock concert, travel, work, family reunion, it is the perfect companion to a pair of blue or black jeans, and it can be worn in cold or warm weather, so I expect it is going to be a staple in my wardrobe. 

Wearing here with my new Swedish Hasbeens, which I love.

Copycat Levi's Jeans

I have always loved Levi's jeans, even when I have only found three models (along 4 decades!) that suited my body shape and made me look good. Using all the knowledge I learnt in the online course JEAN-IUS with Kenneth D. King, I copied an old pair that I loved and are crumbling to pieces, literally. This is my third attempt to copy a pair of jeans. Fisrt time, I modified a self-drawn pattern using another pair of Levi's. Last time, I used King's method to copy another pair. None of them are perfect, but they are really close, I wear them a lot, and they are becoming more comfortable with wear. 

Finding a good denim, with 2% elastane is difficult, with the perfect thickness, drape and colour. I found this in Ditto fabrics, and decided to use it to copy this old pair of Jeans that are breaking. They are semifitted, and that makes them very comfortable and .

I am now very familiar with the copying method, and I advanced smoothly from step to step. 

I love how King makes the back and front pockets, and also the back yoke, so I followed his instructions on those. 

For the zipper fly, I followed Closed Core Patterns instructions again, which are spot on. I made a self encased crotch seam though, slanted to the left, and with all that, the fly is beyond perfection. 

For the general  assembly, I prefer to sew the middle back seam, and self enclose it after finishing both sides of the back yokes. King does it in a different order, but my method allows me to fit them better, since I do not use a toile. Toiles are fine for some projects, but I think you only feel the right fit with the fabric you use, with its give and drape and thickness. 

So, I stitch and enclose the inside seam from ankle to ankle, baste the outer seams and try the jeans on to make them exactly fitted. In this case, I had to give 3 mm to my calves, I hate when the jeans are stuck in my calves and they pull when I sit. 

Once the fit is perfect, I stitch and self enclose the outer seams, and finish the waist band and belt loops. I follow King's method here, and I make sure I copy the exact waistband length of the original jeans. 

The result is absolutely comfortable to wear and very flattering to my figure. I love them. The waistband is too elastic (I cut it across weave following The Closed Case advice) and I have to wear a belt for them to keep in place when I sit. The original jeans' waistband is not elastic at all. Next time, I will make it along the thread, following King's cutting lay out. 

Ah! Talking about layout, I cut the pieces upside down to prevent the jeans from twisting on my legs, and it totally worked. 

This is a piece to last forever and to be proud of. I have witnessed how Levi's is using polyester in all their fitted jeans, so I am not buying that anymore. from now on, jeans are on me!

Knitting Toolbox

Tired of going around with a plastic bag containing all your precious knitting gadgets?

Make yourself this wonderful knitting toolbox to keep your needles, cables, markers etc. Easy to pack with your knitting project to your holiday destination or wherever you go!

Made with cotton woven fabric, with some sweat jersey sandwiched inside as padding. 

Sew two parallel lines of elastic to put the needles in and make a pocket in each side to keep all the small gadgets we knitting artisans use. 

Cherise Shrug

 I was surfing FB when I saw a gorgeous black cotton knitted jacket... I immediately asked my knitters group if they knew about some similar pattern and Esther, one of my fellow knitters, pointed me towards Kim Hargreaves' Heartfelt book. What a bunch of gorgeous projects! I was totally in love with quite a few of them... and then this shrug came as a total need. 

It was a really fast knit, with a gorgeous wool, in a wonderful color...and it perfectly matched my two Joni dresses.

It took me a month knitting only on the weekends. I made the sleeves in circular needles and went up a size to make for my tight knitting and big boobs. It resulted perfect sizing. 

I enjoyed every stitch of this project. It is awesome, and I can't wait to make more Hargreaves patterns, next one is gonna be the gorgeous cotton jacket that brought me to this book. 

Blue Silk/Merino and Mohair Sweater

 I bought these two yarns in the Barcelona Knit Fair, back in November 2019. I was inspired by Soc una troca stand, it seemed to me they got all the ticks in the correct boxes. I was inspired by Laia, the girl who designs and dyes all their yarns in a small, rural little place in Catalonia. She was wearing a beautiful stripped dress and I found the perfect combo in Merino/silk and Mohair. It was quite expensive, but all good things are, aren't they?

I decided to follow Ann Budd's instructions to make a V-neck sweater with gathered sleeve caps, which was my design and idea. 

I explain in Ravelry my adventures in the process of making this project, which took a whole year and some weeks... because I stopped the whole summer to make my black cotton dress, it is a small gauche and I had to undo and redo several parts of it. (sleeve cap, sleeve bottom, bodice bottom, and neck!) It was a little exhausting. Having the freedom to make your own design is wonderful, but if it might be a bendy road.

All in all I am quite satisfied, but not 100% happy. I might have ended up fed up with all the testing and redoing. For example, the bodice bottom cast off is too tight (easy to mend), or the neck maybe too closed (I could redo it with the same needles as the rest of the sweater, instead of going down one number).

I have worn it twice to work, and it is comfortable, because being very thin, it is very warm, so I expect to give it a good wear... time will say. 

I also made this bodysuit (my own pattern following Aldrich's book) in cotton LICRA. I always wear one of these under my woolen sweaters. 

Kate Coat

Outlander put the seed and The Crown made it grow... blessed be the fruit!

Sometime last year I decided I needed a wool tartan coat after seeing a Kate Midlleton's replica being sold online. I thought it was so awesome I had to make one for myself. Plus, I "needed" a blue coat. 

So, I checked in MacCullock and Wallis (who I knew have great wool tartan) and I felt immediately in love with the Black Watch colors and pattern. It is awesome, and it is very similar to Kate's and Kate's replica. So, I got 3 meters of it together with some blue cupro lining. Those happy times when we could trade with the UK easily and freely... 

Now I had to find a pattern for the princess-lined, flared-skirted, double-breasted coat. I found Vogue 8346 and I thought it was a pretty good match... but to make sure I asked The Fold Line and nice Rachel herself pointed to the same direction. 

So, I bought the pattern, and I decided to start the project over the winter holidays. I have this tradition of making a big project for my christmas holidays, since we mostly stay at home. We have tried to travel for christmas in the past, and it has always proved sad and inconvenient. 

Having some previous experience with Vogue patterns, I decided to go down a size, and I was proved right. So, I traced the pattern, and removed the seam allowance all around all the pieces. I then checked it was the right side by pinning it to my dress form. It seemed perfect, so proceeded to pin it to the fabric, matching all the pattern pieces to the fabric. 

I still consider a miracle I had enough fabric after all that strategic positioning of the many pieces. I only had to make a seam into the front facing, which of course is in the reverse and invisible, since I matched the checks. 

I made an alteration to the paper pattern, I added the cut-out lapel to the front panel to avoid that seam. I have always made lapels as an extension of the front piece and I prefer it that way. 

Following my traditional method, I marked the fabric with tailor tucks, basted it and fitted it. I set the first button higher, to get a more closed neck opening. I had to alter the armscyes at the front, setting them 1.5 cm backwards for them to look better. In another fitting I realized (as my boyfriend pointed out) that the skirt was too flared, and I took 2.5 off every one of the seven seams, so that means 35 cm less flare. 

The rest was as indicated, although I did not follow the pattern instructions, but used my own method of construction. 

It is an awesome, regal coat. I am 100% happy with it. It is the perfect fabric for this pattern, soft, warm and thin. I really feel like a princess wearing it. It is just a pity I can only wear it to my job at the moment, but hey! at least I can weat it! I have now another masterpiece to last forever and I hope to wear it a lot, since it is comfortable and versatile. 

Animal Print Viscose Dress

 Hello!

I have been sewing during this pandemic as much as always... but I have missed posting a couple of projects, so here I am to mend that. 

I bought this awesome and bold viscose at Guthrie and Ghani's online shop, where I found some chambray I was looking for (and smartly (?) completed the order with two or three more fabrics). 

When I saw and touched the fabric, I immediately decided of replicating an old pattern from Patrones magazine, which is a successful piece in my wardrobe. 

This pattern has a very interesting bust shaping with a panel inserted in the upper bodice, which I like a lot.

It has the perfect flow for a viscose, as well as length and sleeves... this fabric could be easily quirky in some patterns, but it looks lovely in this one. 

I received good praise in my job, which is the only place I can wear my makes these days... And I feel ridiculously thankful for having that at least, although it means assuming some risk to my health. I also feel that I am contributing to my social group by taking care of the education and emotional wellbeing of children, besides having a good excuse to go on sewing. Life must go on!