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!

Liberty Pants

 This is another glorious excuse to sew with Liberty Tana Lawn fabric. Last summer I made some shorts with the remnant of a dress, and they were so amazing to wear that the need to have some long trousers made with it became irresistible. My problem with wide trousers is that they are not becoming to my protuberant abdomen, so I came up with a solution: to make a jersey low waist yoke, which would embrace my belly and hold the pants in place as if it were a waistband. 

I used a me made pattern (following Aldrich's book instructions for the easy trouser block), which I had to narrow to fit it into my sparse 1 m fabric. 

It took several fittings to adjust to the waist band, which I had to place at the right spot, right under my protuberant abdomen. I used some cotton jersey elasticated with spandex. 

Well the result is gorgeous, comfortable and very practical to wear inside (we must ineligibly think about another confinement) and outside. They will also be perfect to travel whenever it will be possible again. 

Black Cotton Knitted Sleeveless Dress

 Wonderful project in all senses. 

I was invited to a big family reunion last June. That same day, when I arrived home, I decided it should be a knitted project (three months for a sewn project was not challenging enough, ha!). So that very first day I browsed in Katia's website looking for a nice summer dress and I found this one. It was perfect: sleeveless, cotton, possible to be knitted with circular needles (an easy variation), fast and simple but with a small cute detail. I ordered the cotton right away and started studying the pattern.

The first variation I made, apart from the circular needles, was to space the little holes further: ten rows and 10 stitches apart instead of six. It was an afternoon event with kids as protagonists, not proper to be too sexy, or even attempt to. 

This is a down to top pattern. To check that I was going in the right direction, I applied arithmetic and compared it with a good jersey model repeatedly. I only changed one lateral decrease, made it a bit sooner in the waist area, but I checked again and went back to follow the instructions meticulously. 

I also changed the neck cut, lowering them (back and front) 2 cm. 

And I made the shoulder straps narrower, as if they were for the lesser size. 

The result is gorgeous and it was a success in all senses. What I do not like about knitted dresses or skirts is that they deform in the bottom area after you sit for some hours in it, pitifully. Still, it is worth it. 

I knitted every day during all summer to be able to finish, even during our coronavirus travels (nature and social isolation). I set the objective at the beginning that I had to knit one ball of yarn a week. There were 8 of them, so thus it would be finished in 8 weeks and I'd still have two extra weeks for unexpected surprises. In practice, it took one extra week because I had to undo the whole neck line for some unforgivable mistake. But I still had one extra week to vapor it, and leave it to dry flat, try it on, sewing some suspender fixers at the straps, and not to stress at the end. 

The weather that day was nice, and I felt great in my new black cotton knitted sleeveless dress.

On Ravelry

Red Gingham Vintage Shirt Dress

 

Well, to be short: lovely fabric, shitty pattern. 

I bought this gingham in Ray Stitch, London, for a blouse, but at the last moment I decided the pattern I got in Lisa Confort's shop in London would be perfect for this fabric. With very clever maneuvers I managed to squeeze the Sew Over It's Vintage Shirt Dress out of 1.20 m of fabric. Just like a small miracle. It was a pity not to be able to make pockets or a face mask (a pandemic must), but the dress was possible, so there I went. 

What a disappointment! I do not usually buy these expensive individual patterns, but I have some of them, and the Agnes Top had proved to be awesome, so I thought it was a sure bet. Nothing further from reality! Obliterating the fact that I hate patterns with seam allowances included (which include the extra work of transferring them into paper and then taking the seam allowances off), this pattern has major major flaws: 

• The waist cut is way too high. Regretfully my seam allowances were very sparse (fabric saving!) and I could only add a couple of cm, so it is still too highly placed.
• Armholes are way too big, specially in the underarm. I could repair it, maybe, but I was in a hurry, so I left them like that. Not gracious at all. 
• Waist is way too big. I had to deepen the 4 waist darts 1 double cm each (So I subtracted a total of 8 cm and it still has a lot of ease). And I have an inverted waist, so this makes no sense at all. Deepening the waist darts resulted in too big ungracious darts. 

Well, as you can see, these are all major issues that make a pattern useless. I have quite a few of better options if I ever want another shirt dress. And now I've lost my trust in Sew Over It forever. 20 euros for a total mess. 

Although it is not a masterpiece, not by far, the dress is still wearable, comfortable and practical to work in the school. And the fabric still is awesome. 

Bikinis

 

I made my 1st bikini last summer. I had to make several trials to learn, and I accepted a final red version that I've been wearing a lot, despite it being too tight at the neck... well, the top was tight in general. Having still some fabric left, and after ruining my red one in a friend's too chlorinated pool, I decided it was the prefect excuse to make a new one and continue learning. 

This gorgeous recycled nylon is from Calico, and I bought it in Funky fabrics. 

The 1st modification was to get rid of the lining. This gorgeous fabric is not sheer, and the lining does not stretch in the same way, so it prevents the top to fit properly. 

The 2nd was to change the elastic band. Watching YouTube tutorials about making bikinis, I realized there is some elastic made for swimming wear. It's called natural rubber, and we can find it online in black or white, and several widths. 

I also decided to baste the elastic band before zigzagging it with the machine to distribute the fabric excess evenly. 

This elastic bands are 10% shorter than the length they have to cover. So, first we must make even parts with pins in both pieces, pin it  in the wrong side and baste it pulling the elastic band but not the fabric. 

Once it is basted, it is very easy to stitch it with the machine using a wide zigzag. 

Finally, we turn the elastic towards the inside of the piece and zigzag it again, pulling the elastic band as we sew, but not the fabric. 

It is important that we use polyester thread to resist chlorine and sun. (sorry, planet)

The pattern for the bottom is Megan Nielsen's Acacia underpants free pattern, which is totally awesome once you have set your correct size and the correct amount of elastic band. 

For the top, I used the rub-off method to copy a beloved old bikini of mine. 

No fails this time, the process went smoothly and I made two gorgeous bikinis. They are perfect for me when I swim, they are nice and comfortable, not pulling anywhere and keeping my boobs and rear covered while I swim. I totally love them, and I plan to make more versions in other colours.