OPAM July Round Up

While I am still smarting over my Malden Post disappearing I decided to do a little round up of my makes for OPAM July.  I succeeded in finishing 4 items one being a garment which took a bit longer.

First up is my skirt made using some fabric that I have had for some time.

It is 100% cotton so it does crease a bit, I fully lined it with cotton fabric as I do not like nylon lining at all.  I have a simple top edge which has been topped stitched with the lining as I am not a fan of waistbands and the hem has been over- locked and stitched using a slightly larger stitch to prevent puckering.

I used this pattern again........

I made up the version shown in red and white.

It says 1 hour and as I have said in the past it is longer than that really.  I fit them to me by stitching in the zip and side seams and then adjusting the front and back darts accordingly.  This makes it possible to fit it on your own.  I simply make the lining skirt to match and sew them together at the waist.  Flip round and top stitch then add a hook and eye at the top.  The out hem is turned up and stitched, then I take the lining hem up a further 1cm to make sure that it does not peep below the outer skirt hemline.  I took this on holiday with me.

Next up was my monster for the workshop at school.

 A much larger monster than those that I have made over the past few years.  For safety he is staying with me at home but I have had many enquiries from students who want to sign up to this workshop next summer!

Summer Bunting.  Now, I have done two sizes of template and I am waiting for hubby to show me how to make it accessible for everyone to download here but he has had an influx of work since we returned from holiday but it is sitting on his desk.  I shall watch carefully so that I can do it next time.

Then finally some swap items including this hand cut and handmade keyring.  There was also a mug rug but I made that a few months ago.

Not bad really considering how busy July is at work.  I have been busy knitting some mini hats for The Big Knit and I hope to make some outdoor bunting for my garden this month.  Just hope the weather holds, it is a glorious day with blue skies, sun and a light breeze!

Best get back to it.

xx

OPAM 2012 July Round-Up

I have had a very busy month and I know that only one item needs to be made per month but I use OPAM 2012 as a method of motivation, especially after hard going days at work when it would be so easy to just slump in a chair and fall asleep (and yes, I do that sometimes as well!)  It encourages me to make more of my spare time and learn not crafts and skills.

There is one item that i did not get a chance to post about in July and that is my new skirt.

I did in fact start this skirt last summer!  I cut it all out and stitched the darts, pinned the side seams.  Then the rain started and did not stop so I could not see the point in working on it.  So the nice weather last week meant it was dragged back out and very quickly finished before the weather turned again this week.

It is a pattern that I have used before.  LOOK pattern number 6843 and I made up style A this time (white with pink flowers).

I do not like waist bands so I just add a binding on the top edge and I also add a lining underneath as well.  It does say easy and 1 hour.  It is easy but the 1 hour bit is a little over generous really, it takes longer than that.

I have a tunic pattern waiting to be tackled but I am not sure what to make it up in.  I am trying to use fabric that I already have and I can not "see" tunic fabric yet in my supply.  Or could I get away with making it in panels of quilting cotton fabric?

Off to Plymouth today (oh could look at tunic fabric I suppose?).  Our trip to Dartmouth was rained off with weather that quite frankly resembles that of December.

I will also have a small announcement on Friday as well

xx

Simple Gingham Layered Skirt for Sophie

There are many things that I love about being a Mummy.  The hugs, the kisses, the big smiles and of course the requests to put my sewing skills to good use.
Making skirts for girls is not something that I have done very often.  Even at college we tended to make items for adults.  Made may other clothes but not many skirts, not sure why either....anyway.

Sophie mentioned a RaRa skirt months ago and to be honest the weather did not really spur me on.  A week before the summer holidays Sophie spotted some lilac gingham with a delicate white daisy printed on it.  With no actual pattern I took a deep breath looked at the width of the roll and said "1 metre please".

Due to not having a pattern I decided to Google it and I found a tutorial over at Dana Made It.  It is called a Layered Skirt but to me it will always be a Ra Ra skirt, it is my age you see.  

I did tweak the instructions a little to suit the measurements I needed and my own approach, but it went together surprisingly quickly.

Two tiers was about right but Sophie wanted it just a little longer and thought that it would last longer seeing as she is growing so quickly.  I wonder sometimes....is she only 9 years old?

Sophie did help with the making by whizzing along the edge of each tier with my over edge stitch before I turned up a small hem.

Unlike the tutorial I decided to work from the waistband down to check length and I changed the proportions of the first tier to make it a little narrower.

Sophie had quite an input to the overall appearance of the skirt, it could have been much frillier and with more layers but this is exactly how Sophie saw her new skirt in her head, as she puts it.

It has already been worn many times and ready for its first go in the washing machine (crikey) and a request for some lightweight dungarees has been put in.  Not got a pattern for that either...any suggestions any one?  

I had a hug and a "Thank you Mummy."

Oh...a slushy Mummy moment.

xx

Skirting the issue 2.....

After having made two skirts last summer I wanted to have another go with a different style.

So, using Newlook pattern 6843 I decided to splash out on some Amy Butler fabric. Very straight forward pattern and ideal if you have never made a skirt before. Suitable shape for wearing to work too. Three styles/shapes come in the pattern.

Now, I will need to confess that I actually bought this fabric last November and quickly cut it out and then...............nothing. Very naughty I know, but Christmas, kitchen, work, commissions etc just needed to be done first.

However, after the New Year I had decided to concentrate on all of my UFO's and this was one of them.

I did make a few changes. Firstly, I hate waistbands so I replaced this with navy blue bias binding to conceal the raw edge at the top of the skirt. Also by using the same skirt patterns I added a lining to the skirt just to make it a little thicker for our lovely UK weather!

I then used my overlocker foot on my machine, overlocked the hem then decided to do a double turn hem. The overlocking actually made the edge firmer and easier to get a smoother hem. Always iron the hem before stitching it. It is a lot easier and will give neater results. By using the sewing machine attachment you do not actually cut anything off.

A tip is to iron your garment at each step of making then when you get to the end it should be lovely and ready to hang up/wear.

I am really pleased with this and it does fit. Beautifully modelled by Rose of course. Next on the dress form is a blanket jacket, however marking exam coursework has to come first at the moment. I can not say that another skirt may also be in the pipeline before the summer is out!

xx

The issue of Skirts..

You may remember a little earlier in the year this skirt. I made it using some lovely fabric from IKEA. I went to the Bristol branch a couple of weeks ago but they did not have any more in stock which was a shame. I am visiting Bristol again in two weeks for a course so I shall try again.

This is a simple wrap around skirt using a NEW LOOK pattern 6637. I wanted something simple that i could make with my GCSE students. We have yet to do this but I have put it to them and they are keen. It can be adapted and the fabric changed to something thinner so that it can be used at the beach. If we ever get any proper summer weather again!

I wanted to have another go as I did not like the a couple of things and I made the skirt for my size but as is often the case my body shape is not the same as a pattern envelope. It was ok and I did wear it that summer.


This time I made it a size bigger so that I could fit it to me better at the darts in particular. I used IKEA fabric again as I like the way it irons and it is a little bit thicker so it is not necessary to wear an under slip. As yet I have not worn this due to the poor weather over the summer!

I have now bought another skirt pattern to try out, a simple skirt with a zip in the back. I ordered it from the NEW LOOK pattern website. It is pattern No. 6843 and if you want to see it made up then pop over to Darling Petunia's blog as she uses this pattern a lot. She has a link in her side bar. There are too many links to put here. So this is next on the list of garments to make and I am also now on the prowl for a tailors dummy!

Completed some more student work today which I shall upload at the weekend and I have a special order to start (yes Pamona I have not forgotten, just need to headaches to go. It took two days, four paracetamol but it was the three soluble aspirin that cured it!).

Back tomorrow, many thanks for the nice comments on the previous post. I would also like to say a big hello to the new visitors who have been commenting lately. I am trying to do a return visit to say hello. I like to find new blog sites and your links via my comment box is a good way to do this.

xx