Lovely Logan the Style Arc Shacket

Two weeks in a row what's happening!

This week is all about the 'shacket' - the shirt/jacket - and yes I'm aware I'm about a year too late to this particular party. 

Shackets (not sure I like this word) were absolutely everywhere at one point and I had purchased the Style Arc Logan pattern to join in with that fun. But like most great ideas it languished unmade for some reason. 

Yet another pattern to file under 'why didn't I make this sooner' category because it's fantastic!

Style Arc describes the Logan as an 'oversized shirt style jacket' - which I suppose it is depending on your fabric choice. I'd say mine was more 'heavy shirt' than jacket. 

The size chart would put me in a 16 however I read multiple reviews about this being VERY over-sized so opted for a more familiar 14 instead. This was plenty. Room to manoevre without being utterly swamped. My sweet spot for a casual garment.  

You'll have to forgive the crumpled state in the pictures however it's a testament to the fact I have been wearing it and it was rather 'lived in' by the time I took the photo. I'd say that was a good sign. 

The design features two big breast pockets, a rounded yoke at the back (which I actually had to put a centre seam in due to fabric allowance) and hidden side seam pockets too!

 Since making it I've found this shirt to be so practical. Whack it on in milder weather or when I've pottering between indoors and outdoors without needing a 'big coat' on. The length covers comfy leggings (yes I am still wearing those) and the pockets are super deep for chucking in tickets, car keys and whatever else when you have your hands full whilst doing said pottering. 

Plans for this shacket had been some 'Essex Speckle Yarn Dyed Robert Kaufman' cotton/linen mix however it was very narrow and I couldn't fit the sleeves on. Delving back into the stash depths I picked out what I thought was the same fabric in black - but by happy coincidence it was a brushed cotton and even better for this project! (Fabric intended for my husband - sorry love!).

This is also a Robert Kaufman - 'Black Speckled Shetland Flannel'. I have no idea where I originally bought it however that is the name if you wish to find any. As you can see close up it has colourful little flecks.

There was an attempt at matching speckles with buttons so I popped on some blue glittery ones. The whole shirt is top stitched but difficult to see on the black flannel. A contrast colour may be good if you want to make it stand out a little.

 My next sewing projects have been bags, intended as gifts, so I will have to wait to share those!

Until the next time, wishing you all well.

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Rio & Loren

 Hello all! If anyone is still out there....I appreciate it's been a long while again. 

I have managed a little bit of sewing the last few weeks and couldn't resist in sharing this wonderful jacket. Mainly because of the fabric. 

The interwebs went crazy for this fabric called Paradise Jacquard - which I SWEAR was called 'Rio Paradise' when I bought it but I can't find that description anywhere. 

The fabric is a beautiful woven jacquard from Sister Mintaka made from recycled yarns!

What better than fabric with birds, tropical trees, mountains, the moon, the sun and the stars.

Obviously resistance was futile and I bought 2.5m of this wonder fabric. Every time I look at it there's something new in the scene.  

As the fabric is the star of the show it needed a simple pattern pairing. Enter a previously made Style Arc jacket in the form of 'Loren'. The Loren Jacket is a wonderfully simple blazer that would be a great starter project if you were looking for a spring jacket.    

There is an option for side seam or patch pockets but I did neither, not wanting to break up the print. 

This is a size 16 from the chart, no alterations made to the pattern. 

The fabric is also reversible and so the unlined look is perfect! In order for have those 'pretty guts' I bound the raw edges in cotton bias. 

 No your eyes are not deceiving you - this is not Richard O'Brien in a jazzy jacket it's just me, follicly challenged right now.

It's such a fun and uplifting make this one - not exactly a basic staple of the wardrobe but certainly a museum piece to enjoy. 

My head has also had a little decoration with Henna - shout out to Nadia Sondh who created this incredible Henna Crown for me before a chemo session. 

Of course the jacket needed a little finishing touch - voila, love labels from Sewanonymous. ❤️

Hopefully I'll be back soon with a few more makes!

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Sewing Round-Up - 2023 Hits and Misses

 Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! Let's hope 2024 is a kind one for all 💕

I'm just popping back on the blog again with a little round-up of sewing from 2023 where I thought I'd pick my top 3 and worst 3 makes of the year. If it's not your thing no worries - I'm going to attempt a return to sewing when I can. 

Also if you can't be bothered to read the rest of the post I'll save you from scrolling.

TOP 3

•  Alex Coat - Atelier Jupe - stylish but not difficult to make
  
• Sorry, not sorry - Closet Core Kalle (she's a classic and I love her, ok) 
• Ruby Skirt - Sew Over It - converted me to skirts, who knew that could be done
  

 WORST 3

• Friday Pattern Company - Saguaro Set - Nope. Sewing world peer pressure.
• Dressmakers Closet - The Dolly Top - it's not you its me

I can't think of a 3rd so I'm going to give a special mention to a GREAT basic pattern which I made a few of this year:

• True Bias - Zoey Tank
  

There was a challenge over on Instagram for #mymakesforthemonth which I joined in with. This was a great way of collating some projects into easy view posts. 

January started off very much in the blue. 

Most worn: The Baa-ble Hat 

Least Worn: Greenstyle Valerie Tunic - mostly because I forgot I made it

Fail: A Tilly and the Buttons dress in the bottom right. Looked awful and got the chop into my most worn item for February.

February brought some different colours but only just.Whilst I was proud of the pink coat I haven't worn that either. Fear of standing out? No idea. I still have it so perhaps once I'm feeling up to it a return to neon may be made! The Alex Coat was also an absolute labour of love and an 'overall' winner.

Most worn: Friday Pattern Co Westcliff Dress 

Least Worn: Pink Butterick Coat

Fail: Some Style Arc trousers that looked fit for a clown

March was another mishmash of items including gifts for my sister and husband. 

Most worn: Kalle Shirt with hacked collar - by far my most loved shirt

Least worn: Yellow sun dress - never worn. It was a panic make for holiday.

April saw me do the usual pre-holiday sewing frenzy including a little foray into swimwear. 

There is an epic fail not pictured which was a lilac sequin dress for a gala dinner but WOW that did not suit me.I looked like tinkerbell on crack. It has been re-homed. 

Most worn: The black Ocean Daze shirt (bottom middle) which was amazing for layering on holiday and also saved me post-surgery when I was recovering in the heat. 

Least worn: One shoulder tank - mostly because it wasn't warm enough at the time

Fail: Hands down the saguaro set. What was I thinking.

May makes me a little sad as it's the last time I felt good about life and things were going well. However not to dwell on that the sewing was a fun one. The Nicks shirt was a gift for my mother in law, a fun dino repair for my husband's jeans and an Indigo dress was my sister's birthday present. 

Most worn: The Ruby Skirt - I absolutely loved wearing that outfit

No misses in May :)

June was quite fun in terms of makes but potentially the least worn items of all.The cardigan was too small but got rehomed. The succulent garden dress felt a bit 'off' and the sports bra was a toile. The pretty bra - well it was interesting to make but oh the irony. The bottom right is a Kalle space dress which was fun - but quite stiff and not my usual substrate of choice. 

Most worn: None!!

July was a sporty one as I was training for a fitness event, having even made the mascot (I am happy to report he supported the team even without me on it).

Most worn: Kalle 'dip in the lake' shirt - my absolute favourite wear this year.

Least worn: Style Arc Nova - although I actually love the dress I didn't really have anywhere to wear it after finishing it off

August brought some cheery colours and my first attempt at the Zadie Jumpsuit. 

Most worn: Gym wear

Least worn and fail:  Tessuti shorts (bottom right) - fit was off.

September was surgery month so I managed to make myself some nice PJs and joggers for recovery.

Lore Piar had me pattern test the Lenne Top and that's all that happened. 

Most worn: Carolyn PJs

Least worn: Everything else

Made a few bits in October. Another panic dress (bottom left) as nothing fit right after surery and I needed a quick win. 

Most worn: All-In-Easy-Fit Shirt with snakes (bottom middle)

Least worn: The panic dress (Tilly Buttons Indigo)

By November I was trying to get outdoors walking as much as possible so made a load of outdoor-activewear!

Most worn: Jalie 2795 (bottom middle) - damn that thing is warm

Least worn and FAIL: In  desperate attempt I made a frilly Dolly Top by the Dressmakers Closet. I should have known better.  

Special mention: Closet Core Kelly Anorak - so happy I got that finished.

There was no sewing in December just lots of sofa knitting. 

Once more another year of makes which I haven't really worn however I did found a little niche in making activewear and outdoor wear and thoroughly enjoyed that. 

My body shape has changed so much over the last few months I have no idea what sewing in 2024 looks like. I would definitely like to try and make trousers that fit and move away from leggings (although I fear you may have to prise them off me).

You can also probably put money on another Kalle Shirt! 

Do tell me what patterns you have really loved making and any recommendations.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend. x

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Christmas Creature Crafting

 Hello all - just popping on with a little festive ridiculousness.

Sewing has very much taken a backseat as my chemo treatment started but I managed to do a little bit of knitting this month. 

Starting off with the obvious choice of 'what shall I knit today' - sweaters for frogs.

These 2 likely lads were treated to a new Christmas jumper each. 

Barnham the Frog sporting a sparkly white little number with adorned tree. There is a sequin star at the top but his roll neck hides it. Short neck problems.

Turner the Frog went for a striking red knit with felt holly berry motif and beading.

The frogs had a great ol' time decorating their mini Christmas Tree. Check out their slippers.

Dot Pebbles (aka Clare Garland) then released a new Reindeer pattern and of course, being a big fan of hers I had to make him immediately. 

Meet René the Reindeer. An absolute pleasure to create. He has a wire skeleton inside, wired legs and antlers making them all bendy and poseable.I love that all the patterns are anatomically correct and include all the hind leg undulations and features of an animal.

Which reminds me, I never shared the lovely Bat that came out at Halloween. Here is Cloud the Bat:

The next project was a quick little one but equally as cute. I usually make my friend's little girls a knitted treat at Christmas and this year we went for Robins!

These little cuties have long dangly legs and a tail at the back aswell. The roundness is adorable. Pattern from FluffandFuzz (aka Amanda Berry) called 'Jolly Robin'.

I hope everyone manages to find a bit of peace at what can be a stressful and weird time of year. 2023 can go and get F$%$*d in my opinion so here's wishing one and all a Happy New Year! x

Merry Christmas from the Crafty Clyde Crew!

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Jalie Jacket 2795 - Walking with Turtles

Following my latest venture into outdoor wear in the form of the Kelly Anorak I got a bit obsessed about making another jacket - with a bit of an 'outdoor activewear' vibe.

I'm trying to get out and about for a walk as much as possible at the moment and so it gives me the perfect excuse for sewing something up.  

Enter the Jalie 2795 Jacket. It doesn't have a particularly fun name but it did look quite appealing with all it's colour blocking potential and sporty looking details. 

Jalie have an absolute array of sizes in their patterns  which are given in alphabetical format rather than numerical sizing. This jacket comes in 27 different sizes and so you're likely to find a combination that fits. 

For reference I made a AA-BB (which means nothing really other than it being about a 44-45 in European sizing).

I made a toile for the fit as I wasn't too sure on Jalie and managed to use up a whole load of sweater scraps I had been hoarding. That felt very satisfying to get rid of them. Whilst not the prettiest of hoodies, it's a very warm wearable toile!

The pattern has a high cosy collar, with optional hood, blocked princess seams and some 'sort of' welt pockets. 

My toile was absolutely fine fit-wise so I brought out the big guns in the form of this stretch softshell from Activefabrics (also known as Aktivstoffe for the German site). 

I found it almost impossible to find softshell with any amount of stretch in it, in the UK. Minerva do some but I didn't like the muted colours available at the time and REALLY wanted cobalt blue.

This amazing technical fabric was found on a deep dive of the internet called Medea 4-Way. Water repellent, fleece lined and wind-proof.  

Hat is the Baa-ble Hat by Donna Smith Designs

The final version is a little snug around my hips which is annoying but not so much that it makes it unwearable. I was actually looking for a jacket that went to hip-length but couldn't find anything. Just after I cut this all out, Itch-to-Stitch brought out the Andes Jacket which would have been perfect! Ah well. This may be better with proper trousers.

The Jalie instructions are NOT detailed. There was a 2 page diagram and a few words and I struggled to understand how the welt pocket went together. A quick search of Youtube came up with the goods and it was actually not too difficult. 

The hood of the jacket is great, it actually stays put and has a little rain peak shape on it which is a nice detail.

I'm currently sporting a new 'hair do' which is acting like velcro so perhaps thats why it stays in place!

Having the high collar is a great detail and very warm. I wore the jacket out on a really cold and wet night and can confirm the windproof fabric worked wonders and it was very toasty. Bonus points for being able to fit a t-shirt AND jumper underneath aswell.

The fit is boxy so if you wanted it a bit more shapely, make sure you adjust your princess seams BEFORE doing all the flat-fell or topstitching of the seams. 

I think I have been spoilt by the immaculate instructions and construction of the Kelly jacket as a lot of the finishing on this one is a bit basic. Seams are raw and there are numerous places I think the edges could have been enclosed but were not. I overlocked all my inner-seams and tucked under the inner-collar for a neat finish. 

It was all looking rather plain by my standards so of course I had to add a little jazz to the sleeve. This way when I'm out and about I can take my turtle with me. 

 This little fella is from SisterMintaka by a company called Malicieuse and it's a beauty. I find they don't stick particularly well just with an iron so I did stitch around him for turtle-arm-security.

Photo from Sistermintaka - Iron-on patch

Thank you for reading - hopefully this is of some use if anyone tries the pattern :)

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Closet Core Kelly - Finally.

Well hello there. Remember me?

Feels like an age since I was last on here but in reality only a few weeks! I've been on Insta if you follow me on there. 

I've not done a huge amount of sewing these last couple of month but what I have done is FINALLY FINISH my Kelly Anorak. This has been 2 years in the making!! Well - it was probably put in the UFO pile for most of that time but here she is in all her completed glory. 

 Hands down the most complicated bit of sewing I have done. So many bells and whistles on this one. Zips, snaps, plackets, drawstring, flat-felled seams...you name it, it's probably got it.

The fabric I chose is a. Fleece Back Softshell and b. Can be seen from space. 

A safety jacket if you will. 

The best bit about Softshell is that it's water resistant, great for a coat, but also doesn't need lining because of the fuzzy fleece on the reverse.I struggled to find non-plain softshell and settled for this bright paint splatter one from Minerva. The rose gold findings are from the Trimming Shop and neon zip was Etsy.

It's quite thick and dense so a microtex needle and a walking foot are a must.

I cut this out and starting sewing it in 2021 at a sewing class. I had messed up the placket about 3 times and had to recut and unpick everything repeatedly, by which time class had finished and it was put in a bag to 'finish at home later'. That clearly never happened. 

After a big ol' sewing room clear out recently I found the bag and decided it was about time Kelly should get made up. After bodging up the placket a further 2 times (I still have no idea what I did wrong but it was too short to reach across the zip) it worked! Not exactly how it was designed but it works.

After getting over the placket hurdle the rest of the coat was fairly smooth sailing by using the Kelly Anorak Sew Along.

I had apparently cut a Size 16/18 and 2 years later god only knows if that was going to fit but I powered through. It's actually a really nice fit however I can't get a knit jumper under there. Just a t-shirt or very thin sweater.

The only adjustment I made was for the pockets. I didn't like the open nature of the ones on the pattern so made myself some square patch pockets that could be fastened with a snapper.

The marvelous thing about the Kelly Anorak is that all seams are enclosed and looks fantastic without any raw edges showing.  The neckline and armholes are bound with bias binding for a nice clean finish. The rest are either enclosed in seams or flat-felled.

The fun part was putting in all the S-Spring snaps. I have a 'Big Green Machine' and it makes short work of snaps and fastenings. About 5 minutes to do the lot!

I finished off the jacket with the only label that would possibly be suitable. 'This Took Forever' by Sew Anonymous.

Definitely worth hopping back on the blog for this mini-win.

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Last of the Summer Sewing Part VIII

 It's another annual 'Last of the Summer Sewing' post - andddd potentially the last of a bit of sewing for a wee while. More on that later.

But first - a little round up of bits and bobs that never made the blog! 

I am a massive fan of Sew Dynamic fabric as it's made from recycled ocean plastic pollution. Not only does it have that to it's name, the lycra is ridiculously comfortable, comes in fun designs and is perfect for a crazy gym outfit. Exhibit A:

This particular print is a load of chameleons! I was trying out the Greenstyle Power Bra and it is AMAZING. Massive recommendation for this one if you're looking for good activewear. Supportive, great coverage and true to size. 

Another wonderful print I picked up at Sew Dynamic is this beautiful seascape with a whale shark. For the leggings pattern both are the MyFit Leggings from Apostrophe Patterns. 

Gratuitous action shot to show how the print is when stretched out. Perfectly opaque and squat tested! 

Now for something entirely different - a summer space dress!

My Closet Core Kalle obsession continues into 2023 and in need of a little number to meet my hero Col. Hadfield I whipped up an A-line dress version. An astronaut dress felt appropriate for this event. I can confirm I was not the only person wearing 'space' gear.

The only adjustment to this was to extend the skirt out from the waist point. I used a belt buckle and a wide piece of elastic to make the belt just to break the print and pull it all in a little.

This amazing fabric was from Stitch Fabrics and I believe it's a stretch cotton sateen. Easy to work with but a little crispy to wear. 

Kalle also came out for my absolute favourite shirt in my wardrobe right now. A viscose Dip in the Lake by Lady McElroy meets Kalle. :: Chef's Kiss :: I feel very much myself wearing this and I love that feeling.

 I also started doing a Closet Core Nicks Dress however it was very oversized and the toile turned into a top for the MIL. I need to revisit that pattern as it was quite nice to make but size down a couple. 

And this is where most of my sewing, patterns and plans become a little defunct. 

Whilst I had some grand plans for sewing for an upcoming big birthday holiday, life came along and slapped me in the face. Well...boobs. Some of you may have seen my post on Insta however I've now got to clock off for a while.

I'll just repeat my post where I said that my near future involves a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. However I'm not saying that for sympathy as many people have and are going through this. But obviously, my shape, and my sewing, are going to drastically change in the coming months.

So I think I'll be back on the blog :) Until then wishing you good sewing!

P.s. I found the perfect post-op t-shirt. You may laugh.

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