2014/05/13

Peter Pan Top


I love Peter Pan collars. I think the last time I wore one before 2013 was when I was...seven-ish? So it's definitely been a long time coming for them to make a re-appearance. Last year I bought about a dozen t-shirts on sale, intending to try my Peter-Pan-collar-skills on them. Until today, all those t-shirts are still normal t-shirts with no collars in sight. Knowing me, that should surprise exactly...no one.

So when I sat down to sew on Easter, I knew I finally had to get started and just try one. So I deigned myself a little pattern and got started. Of course, the collar turned out too small and I had to improvise again (hence the button), and we're not even going to talk about the 8 other construction mishaps I had, but for a first try, I'm quite happy with it. The hem is totally uneven and I think the sleeves aren't exactly the same length, but for me, that's still a passable effort.



I think I'm going to make a few more of these. They're quick and easy to make and work well for the office as well. Maybe next time I'll use a fabric that's a little easier to work with, though (that one was a little more slippery and difficult to work with than I had expected).


2014/05/07

Pleated Skirt (No. 3)


Yes. A pleated skirt. Again.. But after kind of botching the last two, I thought I needed to give it another try. Saw the fabric on the last fabric market I went to in March and it basically screamed "pleat me!", so I did.

It actually turned out quite a bit better than my last two attempts I think, though of course it also does have its construction mistakes. Maybe you remember the Black Pleated Skirt I made and how it all kind of fell apart with the zipper in the back. I was kind of scared I'd make the same mistake again this time around, so I tried to think of a way around it. I found one, but it kind of only looks good in theory. Instead of actually closing the back of the skirt with the zipper, I sewed in the zipper and folded a pleat on top, so it looks like the skirt is actually closed with just a button
and you can't see the zipper at all.


When you wear the skirt, though, that pleat always sticks out a little, so not only does it look a little weird, you can actually see the zipper and the seam from one side. So my clever thinking wasn't as clever as I thought after all. Maybe I need to press it a little more, but I actually like the fact that the pleats aren't pressed. Anyway. It's wearable as long as the top you wear with it is long enough. It still looks a lot better than the last one did.




Next up: another top, which concludes the Easter sewing session. I have about half a dozen dresses planned next, so let's see how that'll go.

2014/05/01

Collared Top (....oh, and happy 1st blogaversary to me)


Wow. I can't believe it's been a year already, but: today is actually my blog's first anniversary. I can't say I've actually accomplished what I've set out to do in the past year, but unfortunately real life got in the way more often than not. I thought I'd post more often, I thought my photography skills would actually improve a little over time and I thought I'd sew and bake a lot more than I actually did. Well, that didn't happen. But maybe it will this year. No promises, though. ;)

Anyway. Instead of celebrating with a cake, I'm celebrating with some sewing projects. On Easter I actually had a long weekend (my first actual free weekend since Christmas!), so I used the time for a sewing marathon. Considering how slow I am, I didn't manage to get as much done as I wanted, but I'm still happy with what I've accomplished, even though all of the pieces I made had a dozen couple of maaaaaajor minor construction mistakes (well it's me, what did you expect?).

This one I love though, despite its numerous flaws. I made the pattern myself (....which probably explains a lot....) and I'm in love with the fabric, even though it wrinkles as soon as you look at it the wrong way. The neckline is a little deeper than I had planned - which looks good I think, but also means I will never be able to bend over wearing that top because you can literally see through to my shoes if I do. It was also my first attempt at making cap sleeves and while I think they turned out alright, I think I also learned what to do better next time around. I'm still contemplating hemming the neckline on the back with some bias tape (because I kind of botched it a little while sewing), but I'm not sure how to actually do that without having to re-open the shoulder seams. So I'm a little scared of doing more harm than good.


I'm also a big fan of the collar. I have a dress with a similar collar that I've tried to replicate, though this one turned out a lot bigger than the one on my dress. At first I was a little afraid that it would look a little weird when you wear it (I kind of expected it to look like a bib), but it actually curves perfectly around the bust (Heh! I love it when stuff works out without me having to do anything.) So now it just needs to get a little warmer outside so I can actually wear it.



Alright. I'm off to the fabric market (...not that I actually NEED new fabric considering I have enough for the next...dozen projects at least still lying around here). Got vacation time coming up at the end of May - I see another sewing marathon in my future!