Ginger skirt in navy linen.

Here is my first project for 2013. A Colette Patterns Ginger skirt in a beautiful navy linen.

One of my new years resolutions (I know I haven't posted about these yet - I will soon I promise!) is to sew at least five different patterns from the Colette Patterns range. I pledged this resolution on Karen's blog post "Put your money where your mouth is". This goal is motivated by the fact I own too many a number of patterns from the Colette Pattern's range, plus the book, and all I have made from the brand to date has been a bunch of Sorbetto tops, and some Nutmeg knickers. That's all! Which is just so silly when these patterns are so cute!

You see, I have a weakness for small scale floral prints, and let's be honest, any Tana Lawn fabric from Liberty of London (Twitter and Instagram peeps you have surely worked this out by now!?). I usually turn these fabrics into dresses or tops. Whilst having lots of floral garments is nice, and quite pretty to look at in my wardrobe, I am in dire need of some wardrobe staples. Classic garments in basic colours to complement my floral addiction. For this Ginger skirt I knew I wanted a plain navy fabric. I went to Spotlight and found the most incredible navy linen.

I cut this Ginger as a Version 1 in a size 8. I didn't take any length off the hem as I like a knee length skirt. I used an invisible zipper and added some top stitching to the waistband.

And I have a confession to make. I just couldn't help myself. I may have added some Liberty to this skirt... see if you can spot where :-)

What I learnt from sewing this pattern:
- Linen feels divine.
- Linen creases easily.
- Waistbands lined with Liberty "Fairford" make me smile :-)

Sam xox

Autumn palette challenge progress.

It has been incredibly hot this week in Sydney. We have had eight consecutive days of temperatures over 35oC (thats 95F) - something that has not occurred in 150 years. And to top it off, last night was the hottest night on record for 40 years (it was still 33oC/91F at midnight). With only one tiny fan that blows the hot air around our small apartment, it goes without saying that not much sleep has been had this week.

So all I have been able to do is lie in front of the fan, drink lots of water, and plan my Autumn Palette Challenge...

I have mostly been thinking about what fabric I want to use to make this Simplicity Jacket and Skirt. Tilly made a nice version of this pattern in purple with a contrasting blue lining, but purple is not in my palette so I think I will make it in a navy blue pique fabric with a Liberty lining.

Here is what I think I will use:

A solid navy blue pique fabric available on eBay at the moment.

Tana Lawn navy blue Wiltshire for the lining - isn't this a great print?!.

I think this will look really cute with the Wiltshire lining, I just hope that the scalloped edge of the jacket isn't lost on the darkness of the fabric.

Sam xox

Simplicity skirt 2656.

Here is my first Sewing Triathlon project - Simplicity Skirt (2656).

My review:

Pluses:

- I learnt A LOT making this pattern. The skirt front is in three parts: waistband, pleated panel and yoke front. This was something I hadn't come across before so it was fun trying to work out how it all went together.

- The skirt also had pockets that button up. This was a challenge as I had never sewn pockets or button holes before. Initially I wasn't going to put the button holes in, and just sew on the buttons on top of the pocket fabric, but once the skirt was finished the pockets gaped really badly.

- The back of the skirt has darts and an invisible zipper. These I had done before so had no trouble there.

- I stay stiched the waistband lining and it looks really good.

- I love love love the fabric I used, and how it looks with the wooden buttons. The skirt is made from cotton fabric with grey and white pinstripes. It was sold in the quilting section of the material shop so it is the perfect weight for an autumn skirt.

Minuses:

- To be honest this skirt was a bit tricky to make, as it has a yoke front that a pleated panel is sewn onto. As a result the corners of the pleated panel are not quite square, so you can see tiny little bits of thread. Mill assured me with some more pressing it shouldn't be noticeable.

- As the waistband is only at the front of the skirt, I found it difficult to secure the waistband lining. I decided to overlock the edge of the inside waistband and sew a ribbon over it, this actually turned out to be a really nice touch!

All in all, would recommend this pattern!

* * * * * * *

I am now home again... but alone! Jamie is away on a cycling tour this week, and judging by his Facebook updates, is having a fantastic time. Today he did a 180km/112mile ride!

Doesn't he look cute in his bike kit?

Sam xox

Circle skirt.

I am going to my first ever Halloween party this weekend! There was no theme for the party other than "dress up" so I was at a total loss as to what to wear. I knew I wanted to sew my outfit and wanted something that I could (possibly) wear again. I also love vintage styles at the moment. Casey from Elegant Musings was able to join the dots for me, when I came across the circle skirt pattern she had scanned onto her blog.

After studying the vintage patterns instructions I went and purchased a teal blue heavy cotton fabric and contrasting white bold ric-rac. On Wednesday night I measured my waist, cut my fabric, and became confused. Why had what I thought would be an 18" waist suddenly become a 32" waist? After standing dumbfounded for several moments, Jamie gently reminded me of Year 10 maths and something about pi...

So, here is my modified version of Casey's circle skirt - I call it my "Teal Blue Semi-Circle Skirt"!

If you want to have a go at making your own circle skirt, you can find the pattern here!

Sam xox

Sidonie skirt.

I purchased this fabric over a year ago now, for no other reason than just loving the colour and pattern. After 12 months of sitting in a drawer, I finally decided to make a skirt from it. However, only having 1 meter of the fabric seriously restricted what could be done with it. I searched through the Burda Style website and came across the Sidonie Skirt pattern.

With a few alterations to the original pattern, I was able to make a cute skirt with only 1 meter of fabric. The main difference is that I shortened pattern pieces 1 and 2 by about 2 inches at the shortening line, then cut the pattern one size too big. I then shaped it slightly so that the skirt sat nicely on my hips rather than on my waist (which compensated for the shortened pattern length). I did not cut the pattern on the bias either, like the instructions told me to, rather the way I cut it means that the straight grain line is running vertically through the skirt. This does not seem to make any difference to the wear. The best part of all? The Sidonie skirt pattern only cost $3 to download and took less that 1 hour to make!

Front view of the skirt.

Invisible zipper and hook and eye.

A peak inside the skirt so you can see the stitching.

A not-so-clear photo of the skirt on. When the weather is

nicer I will take a better one I promise!

Overall I am really pleased with how easy this skirt was to make, how quick it was, and how well the pattern works with 100% cotton fabrics. I think this style of skirt is quite flattering and looks good with a t-shirt or singlet top. I can see myself whipping up a few more of these before the summer is out!

Sam xox