Pink Sweater and Pirate Jeans

 

I found this pink sweater fabric in Guthrie and Ghani, a fabric shop in Birmingham that we visited last summer. It has a small white thread that gives it a lighter shade, beautiful. The denim, I bought online in Denimlab. It has 2% elastic in it. 

I used my old Coco pattern for the jumper bodice, and then I hacked the sleeves using Aldrich's book method. 

For the pants I used an old pattern from BurdaStyle that I love, my Concert Twill Pants, although I had to take 1 cm off the external seams (x4!). Still, they kept falling down when I wore them, so I had to undo some self encased seams and take some 2cm more at the waist piece and the top of the sides seams. 

This is a wonderful pattern, the perfect crotch length, tight at the hips and straight wide from the hip down, I really love this pattern and I will use it again. 

Tartan Minishorts Suit

I bought this fabric online and it was a disappointment, because it has quite  a lot of a sparkle, although cameras do not take it. The sparkle also meant it was not 100% wool (as advertised in the website), so I wrote to them, and they confessed it had 20% plastic in it. They also offered half a refund, so the sin was done, although unintentionally, and the cut fabric was on my stash. 

Being that the given situation, I chose to go for it and make some tacky thing for christmas time, where a sparkle might be forgiven. 

Well, the pattern of the jacket is from Burdasyle magazine. The construction is fun enough, but I am not a fan of the bust-armscye shaping I got... the jacket is acceptable, but the pattern is not a keeper. 

The pants are another matter. I made them before, but I forgot to take the seam allowance off and it made not sense… I am proud of having kept the pattern with some intuition of further use... and then here I discovered I had to take the damn seam allowance off. PERFECTION. 

I have always wanted some classic chino-like pants, with pockets. These are perfect, and can be made in slim or wider legs. The book was worth it only for this pattern. 

Well, all in all, I don't think I will wear it too often, but the fabric was not what I expected and i think I made the best I could out of it. 

Clio Dres Replica

I am proud of this make! 

Fabric and pattern are an excellent match, it is very wearable, becoming and comfortable, versatile, and a free pattern after a good inspired design. 

Some time ago I bought this gorgeous viscose by Mind the Maker, and it sat in my small stash for more than a year waiting for the perfect project. 

Then, one day I saw this wonderful Clio dress in The Fold Line and I loved the wide, feminine silhouette... I searched the Burdastyle website for similar dresses and I found just the perfect one. I only had to eliminate the straps in the back, and add a flounce at the bottom. I took the magazine on loan from my local library and there: a free pattern!

Right on the first fitting, with paper pattern pieces over my dress-form, I realized the shoulders were too wide, so I modified the front and back bodice arm scythes, taking 2.5 cm from the shoulders' width at the top. I like my sleeve caps to begin in my shoulder tips, no down in the middle of my upper arm.

For the flounce at the bottom, I cut two rectangular pieces 1,5 times bigger than the skirt of the dress where they were attached. 

The final result is perfect, a copy of my inspiration Clio dress. I can wear it over some black tights and bodysuit or for warmer weather, with nothing underneath, showing my good old cleavage. 

Alpacino Hat

I received this kit by a mistake from Wool and the Gang. They most kindly let me keep it, and sent me the correct order. 

This kit incluted a ball of Alpachino Merino and the pattern for the Viva Hat. 

 

I followed the instructions precisely, except that I made it on the round. I also added a pom pom on the top, since I still got yarn left. 

The result is lovely, and this is not the last time I knit with this yarn. 

Black and Red Cotton Pullover and Black Cotton Jeans

Pullover:

This is the first project I knit for my love, and it has ended up so nice, that it is not going to be the last. I earned his trust in me making nice, wearable clothes that match his style.

Together, we chose the colours of Wool&theGang Pima cotton. I followed Ann Budd's book for circular top-down knits and added the stripes to the design. The only tricky part was to match the sleeve stripes to the bodice ones. I had to change the short rows of the sleeve cap to be able to accommodate the 2nd stripe, and I omitted the first one, as I saw no way of making it with the short rows.

The result is wonderful, the colours are vibrant and cool. I have doubts with the sleeves, they might be too tight around his arms, we will see with wear if he is comfortable with them or not. Anyway, they are very easy to widen, and I have cotton left.

 

Project in Ravelry

Jeans:

This is my 2nd rendition to this pattern, which I draw copying an old pair of tight Levi's jeans my boyfriend has. 

This version has a higher waist (2 cm) and wider legs, becoming "stovepipe". 

This fabric is absolutely gorgeous, perfect in it thickness (13.5 ounces), deep black colour (black-black), amount of elastic (2%) and composition (98% cotton). It is from Denim.lab and I love it. 

The result is excellent, and the pants perfectly fit my sweet love. 

Pink Linen Gingham Blouse

 This pattern is from BurdaStyle magazine, but I had to perform a major modification to solve the issue of being too wide on the upper part of the bodice edge, front and back. 

I solved the issue in the front by simply making the elastic band shorter, but there was too much fabric in the back bodice. I had to cut it in the middle, taking 8 cm off (aprox) and rearranging the upper and bottom tape channels. The result was then perfect, but it is not a pattern up to Burda reputation. 

The fabric is from Merchant and Mills, a lovely linen gingham in hot pick and ivory. I love it. 

Purple Silk-Viscose Pants

A very simple pattern for this wonderful fabric. I found it in Utrecht Fabric market, where we travelled last May. 

This was one of the few fabrics I bought, and it is stunning. The base of the fabric is silk and the ply is viscose. 

The drape is exquisite and the flashes of silvery purple are amazing. Kids at my school are mesmerized by it, as it shines when I move. 

I choose a very old pattern of mine, simple straight wide pants, since there was a scarce metre of fabric. To avoid bulk and fabric, I sew some elastic jersey as a facing at the waist, inserting a rubber band inside the channel that it made.

The only drawback is that this fabric is so delicate, a water drop can leave an eternal mark, wrinkles stay forever, and it cannot be washed or even hanged doubled. But well, it is also forgiving to irregularities, and it only cost me €15, so it was totally worth it.