Sleep tank #116 and sleep shorts #110 BurdaStyle 12/2016

So I needed some new sleepwear for the summer.  I also wanted to get rid of some of that accumulated stash I just don't know what to do with and some knit remnants.  A perfect marriage.

First were some sleep shorts.  I made these from some polyester that was on clearance at Spotlight when I first started sewing.  I'm not really keen on the shinyness of the material, so used some on these shorts.

They should be really simple to make, just 2 pattern pieces, with the tie for the casing being enclosed in self-facing.  However the fabric was horrible, it shifted about when I was cutting it and I ended up with one front piece being longer in the leg than the back, and the other front leg being longer at  the top than the back, so was real fun (not) trying to match these up.

The pattern is also meant to have 1/8" cording in the piping.  I elected not to put any cording in, so just had the bias fabric showing in the side seams.  I also embroidered a little white cat on the bottom of one leg.

The waist is tied with a drawstring, I used twill tape, the drawstring is inserted into buttonholes which are made on the top side only of the waist casing.  I've tried to show this in the photo below.

Again, this should have been easy to do.  When I put the buttonholes in I hadn't realised the fabric had shifted so far off, so I used the pattern to measure down from the top for placement of the buttonholes.  As the fabric itself didn't align, this meant my buttonholes were off, so I ended up having to redo one of them and had to fudge around the waist casing as well.

Anyway, they look OK.  I don't think anyone else would notice the problems, and as these are for sleepwear, no one else is going to see them anyway.

The second one was a sleep top to use up scraps of knit fabric.

So the colours are a bit odd together, but hey it uses up scraps, and again no one is going to see it. 

Thankfully this one came together easier.  However the instructions for attaching the band to the bust pieces made no sense to me, so I had to figure it out myself.  Notice I added a little  embroidered kiwi on a cloud to the bottom.  I'm not really into cute for clothing, but for sleepwear thought he was just right.  Nice coincidence that the brown of the kiwi blends into the brown of the top.

Merry Christmas.

Xmas Sewing

The last couple of weeks have been spent making my mother some shirts.
The first pattern I chose was this Bow Blouse from BurdaStyle 11/16 #131.  Burda describes it as:" A look inspired by the fiery secretary chic styles of the 70s, the blouse is sewn in a sheer leopard print with a tying loop and gathered sleeve caps."

The pattern is for long sleeves, but I shortened as more suitable for summer.  After making this I wasn't very happy. As it is a surprise gift I couldn't do fitting and my mother is a completely different size and shape from me, but I felt that the neckline was too low, and it seemed very long.

I decided to remake it, but shifting the necktie 2 -3 inches higher and took 4 inches off the bottom.

Much happier with the changes I've made.

Then just to be sure, I made her a TNT (tried and true) from BurdaStyle 11/15

I've also been making a lot of gifts using my new embroidery machine.  Will post pics once they've been gifted.

Burdastyle dress 7/16 105

I'm just loving the July issue of Burdastyle.  This is going to be my Christmas dress

I first saw this neckline on an episode of The Great British Sewing Bee where it was one of their challenges.  When I saw this in the magazine I knew I had to make it.

 I made a mistake with the fabric.  I thought I was buying cotton sateen because it was with other cotton sateen fabrics.  However it is very, very stiff.   When I went back to the fabric shop for another shopping trip, I looked at the label and it is a nylon/rayon/spandex mix.  It is stiffer than I would have liked, however for this style of dress it actually works quite well.

There is a sort of flap over one side of the bodice, joined with a neckband to the other side, creating a faux cut-out look.Here is a close up of the overlapping 'flap' and the neckband.  The neckband took me about 4 hours to do and get sitting right.  Trying to turn it was very difficult, but worth it.

I made it in a size 44.  I should have gone with 42 on top and 44 for the skirt as I ended up having to take the side seams in a lot - about an inch on both sides.

I think I would make it again, but this time in a cotton sateen.  I would also probably leave that flap off, as the neckline under that is quite a nice shape and size for me and leaving the flap off would make it a fairly quick dress to make up.  I would also have to check the bodice properly and redraw it to a size 42.  I was lazy this time as I wanted it made up ready for next weekend for a Xmas dinner with friends.

It closes with an invisible zip in the back.  It also has nice inseam pockets in the skirt.  I'm very pleased with how I did these as you really can't see them at all.  The instructions say to sew the side seams to the pocket notches, then you insert the pockets.  I've done this in the past and found it impossible to get a perfectly straight seam as the pocket edges.  This time I stopped a couple of inches before the notches, then sewed the pockets to the seam.  

Here are some more photos