26 August 2018

StyleArc Airlie pants

I've made a few of the StyleArc Barb pants which are recommended for bengaline, or stretch fabrics.  I've had success making these in bengaline, stretch cotton sateen and ponte.  They don't have any pockets though.  StyleArc recently released the Airlie pants that seemed similar but have pockets so I was keen to give them a try.

I swear I hadn't had a drop of alcohol, despite the drunken face!!!

They do look very similar to the Barb pants.  However when I made the Barb pants, unusually for me I had to shorten the legs by quite a bit.  I stupidly assumed the same would apply to the Airlie, so didn't check the length.  They are a bit short.  I ended up hemming with a 3/8"hem and even so they are too short.  I used the length of elastic recommended for the size I made, but find that they pull down when I sit, so next time I need to lengthen the legs and shorten the elastic.

The pockets were super fiddly.  The instructions given were hopeless and refer you to their tuition on youtube.  However the youtube video was terrible quality.  The audio was hopeless, I just couldn't make out most of what they were saying.  I gather the person sewing was the person who normally test sews their garments and is  a professional sewist.  However a professional sewist does not a teacher make.  She went too fast, trying to figure out how the fabric was manipulated from the video involved a lot of replays.  It took me an hour to do each pocket! However I am happy with the final result, albeit there is a tiny bit of puckering in the corner.

More shots


I should probably go up a size to get rid of those wrinkles at the back, but the fabric is so stretchy I don't think it will matter and it fits well across the butt.  I may just add 1/4" to the thighs and see if that makes a difference.

The fabric was only $6 bought online from Backstreet Bargains so for a cheap pair of pants it is a fair result.  I have some more bengaline in black so I'll make up another pair with alterations.

21 August 2018

itch to stitch jumper and sweatshirt and stylearc jumper

I still don't have my embroidery machine back from the technician.  There is another delay on it. This time, the Janome Australia don't have the part needed. This means they have to order it from their supplier in either Taiwan or Japan, the part needs to be sent to Australia and then Australia have to send to New Zealand.

This means I haven't been in to the shop to look at coverstitch machines yet.  As winter is nearly over I had made a couple of woolly snuggly jumpers that I want to have a chance to wear this year, so I gave in and sewed as normal on the sewing machine.  I still have 2 long sleeve laundry day T's that can be done on a coverstitch that are all sewn up just need hemming, but they are a lighter weight so I can still get some wear out of them in spring.

I had this lovely boucle type knit from SmartDress fabrics.  I bought 2 metres of it, as it was 150cm wide I had enough for two jumpers.

First was the StyleArc Winnie



Because it is a looser knit it has turned out a lot looser than the first one I did here. But I like it, it makes it feel super cosy.

The other one was the Itch to Stitch Visby Henly.

This has snuck in without me realising it as a TNT.  This is the 4th Henly I've made.

These 2 jumpers take no time at all to sew. About 1 1/2 hours each.

My next project was a more time consuming one.  I reckon this was around 10 hours.  There is a lot of detail in it which produces a nicer than a usual zipped up sweatshirt.  

This is the Itch to stitch Jacqueline hoody.






The jacket has a side zip, welt pockets and a lined hood. The photos don't show it, but it also has epaulettes. The pattern called for 20 buttons, but I just used 12, 2 are on the epaulettes. The fabric is sweatshirting from Morelands fabrics.  I decided to use black ponte for contrasting hem and sleeve bands, pocket welts, hood lining and hood binding.

Photo below shows the extension is nice and wide.


8 August 2018

Lingerie sewing

I haven't blogged for a while.  Not because I've not been busy though.  I've made 5 jumpers since the last post, but they aren't quite finished.  Why not?  Well a long story.  It starts 5 weeks ago when my embroidery machine broke down.  The timing was out following a tangled nest. I took it into my sewing machine shop for repairs and was told it would take about 2 weeks before I got it back.  It turned out I'd stripped the gears.  Then the technician got pneumonia.  That was the first delay.  The second delay, well it needs a part from Janome Australia.  The warehouse in Australia is closed for 3 weeks while they move. All I can do is wait.

In the meantime I had decided I would really like a coverstitch machine to finish knits more professionally.  Especially after my blue Sew Over It Heather dress started ripping the stitches at the hem, even though it was finished with a twin needle.  The sewing machine shop is a hike across town, so I want to wait until I have to go back to pick up my embroidery machine before looking at their coverstitch machines.  Hence 5 jumpers ready to hem.  It is already getting too warm for wearing jumpers, so I guess I've got a head start on next winters jumpers.

I've also got an Itch to stitch Jacqueline hoodie all cut out. It has a lot of topstitching which I wanted to do on the coverstitch.  But I really need a hoodie, right now,  that I can do up with a front zip.  I really only have 2 decent sweatshirts and both are pull over style, not always convenient, especially now weather is changeable and sometimes I need to get a sweatshirt off as it is too hot.  I may have to give in and sew it on my sewing machine.

Anyway in the meantime, what to do?  Answer - bras.  These are my heavily frankenpatterned version of the Alison Smith Eva bralette.  This time I wanted to try with foam cups. The pattern doesn't come with foam cups as an option, so I had to draft my own, one pattern for the cups with centre seam removed, and another pattern for the fabric cups, slightly larger so I can do a rolled hem finish.  Another change this time was to add adjustable straps.  Now I'm happy with the bralette, though it doesn't bear much resemblance to the original pattern.

The first one was made from left over fabric from one of the Sew Over It Heather dresses, a lovely textured black ponte.



The bands are power mesh.  To finish the bottom hem I used a shell hem for a decorative finish.
Inside of the cups have white tricot to cover the seams.  Hard to see from here, but the foam cups are covered with a rolled hem 


Back view of the bra.

The second bra was made from a lovely embroidered tulle, black with blue flowers.
Inside of the cups, the seams are covered with a bright red tricot, for a vavoom. As it has a lace edging I couldn't use a rolled hem, so instead finished the raw edges of the foam with a black bias binding.



Finally I made a pair of Cloth Habit Watson bikini briefs.   These are made from the same textured ponte as the first bra.  I had a tiny scrap of the embroidered tulle left over so added it to the top of the briefs.