Jacket Express

I am so pleased with my jacket made with the instructions from the Craftsy class I enrolled in. This was Sew better, Sew faster with Janet Prey. An excellent tutorial which was well designed and I made this jacket with virtually no pins.

I used the left over fabric from the jeans but they weren't made to wear together exactly.

I have some similar fabric in my stash but it's a dirty orangey colour so I'm thinking of dyeing it a brighter colour first. I've never tried dyeing material before so I'll let you know how I get on!!! I'll upload some before and after pics so you can see the difference.

I also recently made a green shirt using my Sure-fit Designs pattern fitting system. Using my body blueprint to fit the shirt adding a hidden button placket and designing double cuffs. I originally thought a double collar would also be unique but it didn't work out well [it was too bulky and didn't sit right] as you can see in the photos, so after some good advice I changed it to a mandarin collar and it looks a lot better.

Looking at this photo I can see I need to put a small popper at the top of the placket!!

My first blog

Well I've been sitting on the sidelines for far too long, it's now time to take the plunge and write my own blog, so here goes.

Like nearly every other sewing blogger I started making my own clothes because I couldn't find what I wanted or at a price I could afford in the shops.

I started only a few years ago with a knitting machine (which gradually became 4!!) but eventually I had so many sweaters, cardigans and knitted tops in every colour and pattern that I just couldn't fit any more into my space. What I needed were shirts, blouses and jeans. So that was my aim and after buying a sewing machine and serger, working out how to use them both and making lots of terrible garments on my journey to succeed, I now feel happy to share my creations in the hope of inspiring others.

I didn't mention dresses or skirts because I rarely (make that never) wear them. I am more comfortable in jeans or trousers but at 67 years old, my shape is no longer the one standard jeans are made to fit. I also don't think the public view of me should include parts of my flesh only I should see so tops need to be long enough to tuck in and waistbands need to be nearer my waist and not my knees. I want to be comfortable yet modern and I love bright colours but my shopping choices left me with either vibrant fabrics that didn't fit me or mature, shape hiding garments in dowdy,  non-descript material. So now retired with plenty of time to learn a new and rewarding hobby, I am stitching away.

So what have I made recently? Well the first pair of jeans that I'm really happy with. These were made from some heavyweight green brocade that was originally going to be a muslin but they turned out well enough to be a fair garment. I experimented with my new Janome sewing machine's embroidery features to create the pocket detail using two threads instead of top stitching thread to give a better emphasis.

I also made the T-shirts I'm wearing in the photo. I'm using the rest of the fabric to make a jacket using the pattern and instructions from the Craftsy class, Sew better, Sew faster. I'll post pictures next time.