Month: January 2018

pinafore pattern – cut from palazzos

6 Comments

I have been trying for a while to make an easy pattern for upcycling linen trousers. The trousers do make great shift dresses and cute tops (and I will be sharing patterns on these later – but I really wanted to make a pattern that was ‘an easy sew’. My first sews as a teen were this style of sew, and quick and done in a day!

pinafore dress (24)

I also get rather bothered by good quality items like wide leg linen pants,  left on a reduced rail, all because they are not the fashion – it just seems so wasteful. I don’t know if this dress is ‘the fashion’ but its a useful tunic dress, has pockets (bonus) and requires little sewing. It also uses up much of the fabric in the trousers so not bad for one euro. there are not darts and no zips so I also thought it a useful beginners pattern (I don’t think there is a need of buttons/buttonholes as I got this over my head without)

Interestingly I was in Ennis last Saturday week and popped into one or two charity shops. I nipped into the NCBI, and spied some coats. I tried (and bought) one and was talking to one of the ladies who worked there and mentioned I recut clothes. Of course in my evangelical way, I said if she wanted I would send her a link to the patterns. I tried to explain them, and said how one was how to make a dress from a pair of wide leg linen pants, as I keep seeing them unsold in the charity shops. She fully agreed (maybe she was being polite?) – eitherway, she got sent these links and I do hope they get passed around!

I put the sweater blocks up on craftsy also.  They are all just in size 12/medium as this is my general size. I do intend in time to grade them, but currently am more intent on drafting a more patterns for sharing!

The craftsy link to the patterns is here.

 

2 skirts and a red raglan sweater.

8 Comments

Funny how sometimes when you change jobs, your wardrobe seems to alter a bit – maybe it isn’t that unusual but I was still surprised when I started working in my new job, that I started favouring wearing dresses and skirts more instead of trousers as in my last job. (Although, this is due to change this week as the temperatures have dropped to freezing so I will be in wool trews tomorrow morning for sure).

In November I made 2 new skirts. Both were made from discarded pieces in the Community Sew room discard box.

The Brown tweed skirt was made from a short piece – approx 75cm length It has a black line and some orange and yellow flecks so was fine to wear with a black polo.  I used the reliable vogue pattern – and it pretty much sewed itself. The pattern also uses petersham instead of a waistband so useful when there is little fabric.

 The Black skirt was a half made something and it was all black, it may have been a dress cut in half. It would not be my usual choice of fabric, and it also had some strange laundry instructions (ie do not wash) so I tossed it to the machine before I cut and it seemed to survive.  I recut a basic a-line skirt. I put a seam on the front to the side, so I could embroider some detail, originally it was to have a mock pleat, but in the end I just sewed it as a seam. I was going to embroider a geometric pattern in shades of pink and red but could not find a suitable motif so used this ‘spring’ one.

Both skirts work well with a black sweater, but I often find black a bit severe and thought ‘if I could only find a red sweater to recut….’ and sure enough, same day in the charity shop, I did! I got this ‘vintage’ one. It is a fine knit and was an XL. I had thought there was more wool content but it is 35% wool and 65%  somthing else/orlon (I was shopping without my glasses!)

I drafted a raglan knit block and recut the sweater. I had tried to figure a way to incorporate the neckline, but it did not seem feasible. It sits as a v-neck and was not that flattering. I had originally hoped to put the button placket to the back but it could not sit flat. So in the end, I had to cut it out, and sew a small seam in.

I did a wider slight funnel neck so I can wear a base layer underneath (it is not a warm sweater), and finished the neck and cuffs with a twin needle turn over hem.

I am going to do a scan of the raglan block and put it up with the patterns on craftsy as I am find these remade sweaters so useful, and a very quick sew. As well as which its a style of sweater I find difficult to get in RTW as they tend to be straight up-and-down, where as this one has a small bit of waist definition.