Workhorse Maritime shorts

Firstly, apologies for these boring boring pics. I view these shorts a bit like a functional car that gets me from A to B - it's useful and practical but doesn't set my world on fire. I don't mean to insult the designer in the slightest, it's just that I am not a shorts girl. I'm not exactly sure why, maybe it's that my legs are not my favourite feature (though I love my Moss Mini). Or maybe they just make me feel a bit too tomboy-ish: short hair + shapeless legs + shorts = boy? (but then there are some lovely feminine versions out there). I guess what I'm saying is that I didn't pretty these up as they are a practical item for me - for sitting on the beach building sandcastles, sclepping around the house on a hot summers day, digging around in the garden etc. But that's not a bad thing... I may not love shorts* but there's no denying how practical they are.



Anyway... as with the Moss Mini, I loved this pattern - it was a joy to sew. I made these for a weekend at a beach house with friends late last year and they were super useful and practical, just what I needed!


In situ on holiday with Polly top and Blue sky hat




I used a stash remnant of lighweight denim with a little stretch (first seen in this Belladone). As with the Moss Mini I took in the back seam quite a bit (is this like a 'sway back adjustment' I wonder?) and also the side seams slightly.



I enjoyed sewing the back pockets and thought next time I sew back pockets I may try a fun decorative stitching design (thinking of Mary Nanna here :-)



And here's something I feel a little nervous showing, the inside of the shorts. I am not the sort of sewer who prides herself on getting the inside finished beautifully I'm afraid, I'm more of the 'just get it done, I want to wear these!' sewer. But, as looking at others' inside pics of Maritime shorts & Moss Minis have been so useful I thought I should return the favour. And also I can show you that I did put something pretty in - the pocket lining is a sweet green quilting cotton and I also used coordinating green overlocking thread.

- - - -

Pattern Grainline Studio Maritime Shorts
Size 6
Fabric Stretch light weight denim from The Remnant Warehouse

T-shirt Mesop

- - - -

* Disclaimer: I do have to admit that my anti shorts stance is waivering when I look at all the lovely winter versions of Deer & Doe's Chataigne shorts styled cosily (like this)... I'm thinking of a pair in a lovely woolen fabric, teamed with thick tights, boots, merino wool top, scarf...

Horsey Moss Mini

Sometimes it takes me ages to think of a good pairing of fabric and pattern (I'm looking at you, Anna dress!) but other times they just seem to find each other almost by themselves, without any help or thought from me :-) That's what happened with this horse print fabric and the Grainline Studio Moss Mini recently.



I'm a recent convert to Grainline Studios patterns. I wasn't that interested in the Moss Mini when it first came out but then I started to see all the great versions around (as you do) and started thinking about how I could use some basics in my wardrobe. I had a rather sedate dark toned drill cotton in mind when suddenly this horse print duck cotton from Spotlight jumped out at me.



The Moss mini was a joy to sew, such a well drafted pattern with such well written instructions. I made just a couple of alterations. I had to take in the back centre seam a little to make the waist sit better but this was easy to do. I tried the skirt on after inserting the zip and before I put the waistband on. The waist was gaping a bit and I knew from past experience that if I didn't fix this the skirt would never sit right and keep twisting around as I walked. There's nothing more annoying! I fixed it by just taking the back yoke seam in a little, tapering down to the centre back, and also taking the side seams in slightly too.

I didn't bother to try to match the horse print as I thought it wouldn't really matter and I thought I may run out of fabric (and I'm lazy). Consequently I have ended up with a two-headed horse and also a bottomless horse at the front seam - oh well :-)



 I really love the details of this skirt:
: : the pockets are a generous size, and they are anchored to the centre seam so they don't move around annoyingly
: : The pockets are desinged to sit out a little to give your hands space (as pictured above)
: : The back yoke allows for a really nice fit. With a simple shape like this fit is so important
: : The fly and waistband are constructed really nicely. This was only my second time inserting a fly and it turned out well despite my slight case of nerves (and yes, the instructions for this are as straightforward as everyone says they are)

I'm really happy with my horsey mini, I've already worn it several times since making it in the new year. And I like occassionally making something a bit quirky and fun! My kids remark on my 'horsey skirt' each time I wear it :-) Having said that, I also have another Moss Mini in the works, this time the original plain drill fabric I had in mind when I bought the pattern. It will be good to have a basic too.

- - - -

Pattern Grainline Studio Moss Mini
Size 6
Fabric Cotton duck (mid weight) from Spotlight

Top Self-made Papercut Patterns Sloppy Josephine
Cuff Self-made

- - - -

Next up I want to show you another Grainline project. Can you guess which? Are you a Grainline fan too?

Sewing plans for 2014

OK, it's confession time... Last year I bought a lot of patterns. So many in fact that I don't want to count them for fear of the total! (closes eyes tightly). I do feel good about supporting indie designers (all but 1 are from them). I bought patterns from Sewaholic, Victory, Deer & Doe, Grainline Studio, Figgy's, Papercut Patterns, Green Bee, Jamie Christina and Leisel & Co. Some of them reasonably expensive, others very reasonable... BUT, I don't want to keep buying in 2014, or at least only in special circumstances*.

So my goal for this year is to reuse my patterns. Most of them I would definitely like to make again - I think I'm getting better at choosing for my style, shape and lifestyle rather than what looks good on others. And I like the thought that each time a pattern is used you get more value from it ;-)

A couple of the patterns I bought last year I haven't made up yet, so these are on the top of my summer sewing list:

A Sewaholic Saltspring:


Grainline Studio Lakeside Pajamas:



And By Hand London Anna Dress:



And at the moment I'm also thinking:

: : I need some summer arm covering tops, maybe using my Make it Perfect Shearwater Kaftan pattern

: : Another Simplicity 2226 skirt, these are such great staples

: : And for cooler weather a couple of Moss Minis in velveteen or Corduroy ( I have my first Moss Mini to show you next up that I made just after new year).


* Now if I am good and reuse patterns and use stash fabric where possible, I may grant myself this lovely shorts pattern by Deer & Doe for winter as it is sooo lovely and I have some grey wool that they'd look fantastic in, so really it would just be the cost of the pattern :-) (sounding like a true addict).



Now please tell me you bought a lot of patterns too in 2013 (or not!)

Top 5 of 2013

I thought about doing a full review of what i made last year (as in previous years) but the thought of all that Photoshop work compiling everything was giving me a headache! So I'm following others' lead and doing a Top 5 of 2013' post. Much more sensible, methinks - there's sewing to be done tonight!!

OK, in no particular order, my favourite sews of 2013...

Deer & Doe Belladone dress
I made 3.5 of these dresses (the .5 was a fail), this one is my favourite.



Megan Neilsen Briar tops
Such a simple design but such a lovely fit. Good in plain old jersey or merino wool. I also adapted the pattern to a cardigan (unblogged) and made a bright magenta version (seen here during Me Made May).



Victory Patterns Ava tops
I looove my silk version (on the left), though haven't had much opportunity to wear it. The muslin, though (on the right), has had plenty of wear, even though it's not perfect. I just love the shape and feel of it.



Wiksten tanks
I have several of these now and all get worn to death.



'A Day in the park' bag
Such a satisfying project and such a useful bag.



Next up I'm hoping to outline my ideas and challenges for 2014. After I finish my latest sewing project of course :-)

Ruffle top - Happy Homemade Kids Vol 2

Hello and happy new year! I'm hoping to do a bit of a review of the past years craft, but in the meantime I wanted to try to get through the backlog of things that I have made but haven't blogged...



This sweet little top, made for my little girl (middle child) is another pattern from my copy of the Japanese pattern book Happy Homemade Kids Vol 2. It's the third pattern I've made from this book (others here and here) and I do like the style of the book, though I think you need a reasonable amount of sewing experience to use it as the descriptions are brief and assume a certain amount of knowledge.



My girl chose the fabric herself on a trip to Spotlight with me and her sister. I had to have a little laugh to myself at how reflective of their personalities both my girls choices of fabric were :-) This little firecracker of a kid chose this unusual bright teal coloured fabric shot with silver metallic threads, while her sister chose a sedate floral cotton :-).



It was a strange fabric to sew with as when it was ironed the metallic threads sort of kink with the heat then need to be straightened out again. It behaved unpredictably but ended up quite sweet and full of personality... hmm!

I'm considering adding another tier to the top though as it's a bit short, but she loves it. And I'm strangely looking forward to seeing what her next choice of fabric will be...

2013 advent calendar (a very late post!)

Hello! Season's greetings! I know I'm super late with a Christmas themed post, and you're probably well and truly over Christmas, if you celebrate it, but please indulge me in posting this, I really wanted to show off our advent calendar.



For several years now I've been making advent calendars using little disposable paper envelopes, but always had it  in mind to sew little fabric pockets, never quite getting around to it. So this year I elevated it to no.1 on the craft project list, did some serious daydreaming, a little Pinterest searching and gathered supplies.



I essentially sewed little pockets to hang from our silver stick (used previously to hang Christmas ornaments) in our corridor. They'd then be filled with treats or suggestions for activities. And as anyone with small children knows, the whole ceremony is quite exciting :-)



The pocket outers are made from one of my favourite oatmeal coloured linens, then each has a contrast colour used for embroidering the numbers and lining the pockets - as seen in the pic above.



Embroidering the numbers took a few days to complete - every kids soccer lesson, swimming lesson and play in the park saw me sitting stitching away, but I loved every minute of it. I find embroidery so enjoyable, particularly freeform style. There were also lengths of ribbon to cut and buttons to sew on - I used a mismatched assortment from my button jar, which worked out fine. What wasn't quite so fun was the production line style sewing of all the linings to the outers, but in the end it wasn't so painful.



And what I'm thrilled about is that we now have something that can be used year after year, creating a little tradition for our family. And with any luck it will be loved and cherished for years to come. The only thing that didn't work out so well was that as I spent so much time making it that the contents were quickly put together and sweets based, little chocolates and lollies mainly, rather than fun activities and outings. But hopefully that will happen next year, when at least one thing will be off my Christmas Craft list!!

Shibori Polly top

Well, we're at that time of year again when the holiday season is hurtling towards us and I start to feel panicky... not enough days left to sew and make everything I want but a burning desire, as always, to do it all! I find it so frustrating, but I think the lesson in it all is to just let go and don't expect too much of myself - which is hard. So I spent a bit of time today writing lists of what I would really like to make, and making up a project bag for each including my notes, the pattern and fabric. That way, I'm thinking, I can pick up a project and do it in a slightly more organised way. And hopefully not get sidetracked with all the other possibilities!

Anyway... this is another Polly top (first one here), the free pattern from By Hand London.



I used a piece of black voile from my stash for the main section, and for the front insert panel I used a piece of fabric I'd shibori dyed in a workshop ages ago. I'd been waiting for the right project to pop up, not wanting to ruin it, and was initially going to use it for a panel in a Wiksten tank, as I love that pattern, especially now that I have the fit just right for me. But when the Polly top pattern came out I thought this would be a better option as my piece was small.



I don't think I got the fit quite right in my first Polly top, and I don't think it's perfect on this one, maybe it will take a few attempts to get it just right, as it did with the Wiksten Tank, but I do like it all the same and have already worn it several times.



And I figure you can never really have too many little tops like this for summer... I'm sure there will be more.