scout pops and boo

i saw this new season spring 2015 liberty called pops and boo on tessuti's instagram feed recently and decided there and then that i really wanted some.  i quite like the colours and design, but am wondering if i am drawn to it because it reminds me of my kids drawings?! given the busy pattern i thought a grainline scout would work well.  i've made a few scouts previously, but have only blogged one of them.

for this one i used the same modified pattern that i used for my lurex one, which is just a bit tapered at the waist so its not as boxy at the original pattern.

i cut a size 4 and taper the the sides, although my measurements fit with size 4 for bust and size 10 for waist.  the fit i get is pretty snug, but i'm happy with it.  the pattern suggests you need 1 2/3 yards for a size 4, which if my google converter is correct is about 1.5m.  I bought 80cm of the liberty and comfortably cut the pattern with left overs for future facings - NOTE: see below for discussion on using contrasting bias binding.

 
the skirt is my last (for now) megan nieslen kelly in midi length.  its made from some fabric i bought at clear it at a melbourne blogger meet up.  i originally made it up into simplicity 2215, but found that the medium weight of the fabric was not great for the amount of pleats in the simplicity pattern, particularly around the hips.  so i cut it apart and re-made it into this skirt.  i am really happy with how it turned out and am glad i persisted.  the only reason i persisted though was because i bought the fabric at a fun meet up and wanted to make sure i put it to good use!

 
for my scouts (or any garment that requires bias binding finish really) i use a contrasting fabric, usually left over lawn or rayon or something similar.  i do this so i can keep my left over fabric of the garment i am making in a large usable size without a big bias cut in the middle of it.  for this one i used some lemon coloured lawn.

 
for the neck bias binding i used the pattern piece, but instead of making double fold bias binding i made single fold.  it worked out fine, however the bias binding finish is narrower than intended.  i also finish the sleeves with bias binding on the scout as the curved hem on the cap sleeves makes it a bit fiddly to hem - i find the bias binding easier.  all seams are finished with french seams.

i am sure this will get lots of wear for the rest of this summer and then SS2015 and sew on and sew on!


emma

pineapple kelly midi

my personal fabric buyer lara has certainly come through with the goods recently! after seeing a great linen printed with pineapples on darn cheap fabrics' instagram feed my personal shopper was kind enough to pick me up 1.2m.

my first thoughts were it would make a great skirt.  i love the megan nielsen kelly skirt, which i made here and here last summer.  so i thought a midi kelly would work for the fabric.

i lengthened the skirt by 6 inches, mainly because that is the length my 1.2 metres of fabric would allow and am really happy with how the length looks. i didn't make any other alterations.

construction for this skirt is the same as my two previous kellys. i really love the kelly pattern. i like how easy it is - mostly straight line sewing, but that the finished skirt has a really nice shape to it.  the fabric was a dream to sew, it has a nice linen feel and you can finger press it well as you go along.

i have read a few bloggers say that the back pleats on the kelly add volume at the back where its not really wanted, but given the busyness and weight of this fabric i think it works ok in keeping a slim look.

the weather of late in sydney has been quite tropical, hot days and late storms - its actually hailing as i type this.  the light has made photo taking challenging with my limited abilities, the pic below was the best of the full length shots, but still blurry and dark.

like my last two kellys i finished the pockets with bias binding and french seams for the side seams to keep everything clean and neat on the inside.

i used bias binding on the hem too to keep the length close to what it was cut at.  i absolutely love this skirt and have already cut another in the wax print i bought in south africa at the start of the year, but have added 7 inches to the length so i can turn up a proper hem.

yep this one is a winner!

quite a few other bloggers have this fabric and am really keen to see what they all make up.


emma

Kelly the First

This is the first Kelly skirt I made, my other is detailed in this post.

I get quite a few comments about this skirt, which is mainly due to the fabric.  Its a cotton drill that I got from Spotlight in Wollongong when we went there for the weekend earlier in the year.  A lot of people comment on the colours, which was what drew me to the fabric.

I used the same construction methods as my other Kelly, including french side seams and bias bound pockets.  For this version I also added a hook and eye at the bottom of the waistband as the fabric is not as stiff as my other version and gaps here a bit.

You can see in this photo that the fabric quality is not quite the same as my other version and its already fading/wearing, which is such a shame as I really like the fabric.  You can also see I wasn't able to achieve the same quality of button holes that I did on my other version, particularly the first one on the placket which I unpicked several times as the automatic function did not like the bulk in this area.  I ended up doing it manually.

The other addition I forgot to mention in my previous post on this skirt is that I added 4 belt carriers to the waistband so I can use a belt.  Apart from liking the look of the belt, it also helps pull in the waist band at the back where it gaps a bit owing to the fact that the waistband is a rectangle.  The rectangle waistband keeps this skirt really simple for beginners and I don't mind wearing a belt.  I made the 4 carriers in pink and attached them at the pleats.  I used this great tutorial from Coletterie to make the carriers. 

Did you happen to notice my bangles in the top pic? I saw Sandra wearing them in the final of the Great British Sewing Bee and googled 'Sandra Great British Sewing Bee Bangle'.  I actually couldn't believe it when the facebook site for Bee Jewellery came up.  Bee Jewellery gave some great customer service and sent them to me in Australia.  I ordered 2 for me and 2 for my mum.  I get a lot of comments on the bangles too. 

 emma

Something old & Something new - Simplicity 3887 & Megan Nielsen Kelly Skirt

Yesterday was a great Sydney day after quite a bit of rain and I was lucky to grab some pics of this outfit.

I made the top - Simplicity 3887 about 5 or so years ago when I first moved to Sydney.  I had made it up twice before when I was living in Adelaide with fabric from Spotlight.  But for this one I used a white spotted cotton from Tessuti.  The artwork on the front of the pattern gave me hope, even though the photography is not my cup of tea.

I made version F, but added cuffs on the short sleeves and left off the waist tie.  For the hem I did a facing a couple of inches wide.  The overall look was based on similar tops in Country Road at the time.  I quite like this make, although the sleeve cuffs are just a bit tight to allow easy movement. 
   

I made the skirt - Megan Nielsen Kelly Skirt recently.  The fabric is from The Fabric Store, I bought it earlier in the year at a 40% off sale.  Its 100% cotton and a nice medium weight.  I cut a medium which generally matches my measurements.  The waistband is a snug fit and perhaps the pleats pull a bit at the back but I am fine with how it looks. 

As everyone in the blogisphere knows, this pattern has pockets - nice!

I am really happy with the quality of my stitching on this make.  Its nice to make something well within your comfort zone construction wise and then spend a bit of extra time on techniques.

Some of my best top stitching and buttonholes.  I used the automatic buttonhole function on my machine, but needed to do manual button holes on the waistband and for the top buttonhole on the placket as the fabric was too thick in these areas to allow the automatic thingee do what it does best.

I don't own an overlocker, but this is a great pattern for making everything neat on the inside.  I bound the pocket seams with bias binding and also did french seams for the side seams.  These are things I had never done before I started reading sewing blogs.  Am sure I saw this skirt done with these techniques somewhere, but unfortunately can't remember where to provide the credit. 

I also used a lighter weight cotton to face the pockets so I didn't end up with too much bulk.

The inside of this skirt makes me very happy:)