Burdastyle denim skirt

I've wanted a denim skirt for ages.  I previously made this corduroy skirt from Burdastyle 10/15 #107.

This was made with a stretch denim.  I made flat felled seams - my first time.  I used a contrasting thread in a heavier weight topstitching thread to make them stand out as a decorative feature.  The ordinary seams worked out OK, but I struggled with the centre fly and stitching down centre front.  I had read when using a topstitch thread to use an ordinary weight thread in the bobbin and not to back stitch as that can cause birdnesting of the threads.  Instead of back stitching start and finish with the smallest stitch length, and use a longer stitch for the remainder of the sewing.  I used stitch length 1 for starting and ending and 3.5 for other stitches.  However my machine struggled, especially around the fly and ended up with some very narrow stitches around the fly.  It just couldn't cope with the bulk of fabric.  I have my eye on a new machine where supposedly the feed dogs can cope with going over seams without altering the stitches.  That would have really helped.  I ended up undoing stitches on the fly and centre seam and redoing them, which hasn't created as tidy a look as I would have hoped.  I really hope the seams don't give way when I start wearing it.  Not as happy as I wanted, and I think the front pleats with denim probably haven't worked too well, a straight skirt would have been better.

However I now have a denim skirt.

Two tops and a bag, and Gossips cross stitch update.

I've been using the fabric bought at the hospice shop to make another couple of tops.

This is the second top I've made from BurdaStyle 1/19 #103A.  See here for my first top.This time I used the patterned lace fabric from the hospice shop with some pink knit I got ages ago from Spotlight.  The sleeves are meant to be the same fabric as the top part (the lace) but I wanted slightly warmer sleeves and also was concerned th lace would be too scratchy against my skin, so I used the pink for the sleeves as well.

 

I have enough lace left over for another top. total fabric cost $8.

The second top was the first time I've made this from BurdaStyle 2/16 #122a.

This is the Burda photo.

And here is my version.

This is the first time I've made a peplum top and I'm pleased with how it has turned out.  The sizing is for a petite (5ft 3").  As I'm 5'9" I considered lengthening it, however the length given in the magazine seemed my usual length so I left it as is.  On reflection though, it would have been better if I'd lengthened the bottom red band so it sits under the bust, as in the pattern photo, rather than under the bust.  If I make it again I will lengthen that band by 2.5 - 3 inches.

It also is meant to have an invisible zip in the back.  As this was a knit with a fair bit of stretch and a lowish front neck I didn't bother using the zip.  It is easy enough to get on and off without the zip.  However as it is quite fitted, if made with a firmer material, such as the cotton satin in the magazine, a zip would probably be needed.

The instructions were pretty hard to figure out. One of the descriptions was to turn the sleeve hems to the inside and sew one.  Why would you only sew the hem of one sleeve?  I naturally sewed both sleeves.  Also the assembly of the peplum was pretty confusing, I managed through pinning in various ways and assembling on my dress form to make sure I was doing it correctly.

I am happy with the fit of this, it is nicely shaped with darts in the back and at the sleeve caps which give nice structure to it.

The other thing I've made is a new tote bag.  I found this tutorial by the Missouri Quilt company and decided to make it.  I had bought a sewing magazine a few months ago that came with some quilting fabric that I thought would be great for this.

I like pockets and closures, so I added 2 internal zipped pockets and a magnetic snap fastener.

Finally, an update on my Gossips cross stitch.  I've now completed the first row- that is 9 pages out of 72.

Most of this is sky which doesn't show up very well in the photo.