Hits, Misses and a Dress with a Destiny

Yes it's one of 'those' blog posts - a little yearly round up of the hits, misses and the great unworn. 

I'm going to start with the epic fails because let's be fair, we all like sewing a sewing fail.I've only done a few here, the list could have been much more extensive! As I was looking through my pictures there seems to be far more fails/unworns that loved makes - hmmm, that needs to change.

1. Jarrah Sweater - the cropped version just wasn't for me. It sat awkwardly on my waist and felt bizarre. I am happily able to report I did repurpose it into a long line jumper but cutting off the ties and adding in strips. 

2. Marlo Cardigan and a Maxi monster - the Marlo cardy makes me feel 90 and the dress was utterly see-through!

3. An attempt at The Blouse by the Avid Seamstress - absolutely not designed for people with biceps. No fault of the pattern, just not my cuppa. Both pieces got re-homed.

4. The 'Grab a Cuppa Cardi' - whilst a nice pattern, I made it far too big and the fabric was not a great choice as it is synthetic and itchy. 

5. Sigh - my lovely frog dress - I still don't know what to do with this - it's way more structured that I like to wear so it bothers me - I do however LOVE the fabric. 

6. The biggest fail of the year has to be this Fayma pattern!!!

7. It breaks my heart this is a fail. My late mum had a lovely spanish dress and I finally plucked up the courage to make something from the fabric. I had loved the Saltwater Slip pattern however as I popped this on in Spain - it's completely sheer!!! Unwearable :(

8. Just nope. 

To the Hit Parade! I genuinely really loved these makes and patterns and would happily re-make them again. 

1. The Sauvie Dress - an absolute hidden gem of a pattern and fantastic for that 40 degree hit this summer. 

2. Tilly and the Buttons Indigo - I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. I wore it so  much this year and got a lovely complement just about every time it went out! Mysterious. 

3. Whilst not the most fun to make, the Closet Core Pouf has had some great use in our house, and is currently the favourite snoozing spot of Bagel the Cat.

4. Tessuti Lois - my goodness this is my favourite pattern of the year. Once tweaked to get the neckline height it was a dream to whizz up and a pleasure to wear. 

5. Saltwater Slips - plural. I made loads. Such a great dress to pop on or layer up.

6. Not necessarily the tee pictured - but the free Closet Core Tee pattern is fantastic! I have found a real fondness for his pattern and it's flattering shape and have now used it several times in other makes. 

7. True Bias Shelby Dress - another winner once I'd tweaked my pattern to fit. Love this. A beautiful silhouette and very comfortable to wear.  

8. My all-time favourite pattern features again here - Nina Lee Kew Dress - I felt so good in this maxi dress (a rare feeling for me) and that's what it's all about right?

 Below are a few makes which are in the 'great unworn' category!

1. This bloody thing. I worked my ass off for this for an exhibition, what a waste of time and energy. Note to self- don't do that again. 

2. The Cameron Shirt by Helen's Closet - I made this great version for my husband but unfortunateoly despite the 'unisex' title we definitely thought it looked a bit blousey and feminine. It keeps getting  swerved. 

3. Lots of effort for a lovely ladybird made with my Cricut machine - LOVE this tee but I daren't wear it because of the white! I will. In Spring. When I'm not eating.

4. Oh this was a labour to find the right pattern - after months of trying most shirt pattern I mashed up my own to make this annnnnndddd never wore it. I think the seasons changed so perhaps it will get an outing in 2023. 

5. Love this. Made it too late though as we went from summer to deep winter overnight. True Bias Zoey Tank has a great shape and I would definitely make a couple more for summer.

 

Well done if you've made it down here! Finally the Dress with a Destiny. This was actually a 2020 dress and inspired by The Good Place final episode. (I dare you to watch that last episode and not question your very existence).

In 2022 it got to fulfil it's destiny and walk summer Mediterranean streets just as intended. The wait was worth it.

Thanks so much for everyone that hops on here and has a read of my ramblings. I do often wonder if blogs are on their way out or whether to bother but actually it's a fun thing to do so for now I'll keep going. Wishing you a Happy New Year and see you on the other side! x

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A Festive Union and a Fairy Lit Octopus

Sneaking in just before Christmas with a little festive cheer and sparkle in the form of some party wear!

First up is good ol' M6044 which is the absolute nuts of the men's shirt world in my opinion. I have made this many times!

This was completely inspired by the fabric. This wonderful octopus fabric, with added fairy lights, is from Like So Amazing. It's my husband's favourite print - now with a festive twist! It's a Sarah Watts design which was in a collection called 'Mystery Food by Cotton + Steel' but has now cropped up as Ruby Star Society 'Jolly Darlings' collection.

This shirt comes together so quickly. There is no yoke and the cuff plackets are formed from a 2 piece sleeve so no fiddly bits to contend with there either. A seriously good beginner pattern if you haven't made a shirt before.

Mr Crafty Clyde wanted to wear cuff links and I realized I'd done the button holes in the wrong direction. These have been sewn up and re-done so it just looks like a blue cross. Plus, the cuff link covers the stitching anyway.

It's been a while since I've made this shirt and let's say, it could have done with another inch of breathing room this time. I must re-trace the pattern as it's such a great one for showing off a fantastic print.

As this little number was made for a work Christmas party, I popped an appropriate label in (from Sew Anonymous). Oh yeah - and I hand stitched the cuffs and collar - wooooo!

As for me - I WAS going to make a Gala Gown by Patterns for Pirates. About 5 minutes away from cutting it out I changed my mind, as it was snowing and the idea of a dress and no tights felt a bit chilly considering we're in minus figures outside now. 

So instead I genuinely just 'winged it'. Out came the velvet sparkly leggings - maximum comfort and jazz factor combined. I then figured it needed some kind of tunic top - with a difference.

I used my TNT Union St. Tee pattern as a base and cut it at the waist. The greatest thing about this pattern is that there's a shaped back option that fits amazingly on a sway back. (It's for the Sheridan Sweater but works on all their patterns :)

 

The peplum is made from a circle skirt shape - with wiggles in. That's the only way I can describe it!! Diagram alert:

 Attach the skirt to the t-shirt and BOOM - super comfy party outfit. In need of a press here!

 This fabric is really sparkly in real life - but incredibly difficult to photograph! It's from Pound Fabrics and AMAZING! The quality is lovely - it's a viscose jersey but has good weight to it and sews up really well. I actually ordered another piece for the stash as it's so good. Would recommend - think it's on sale right now too!

So off to the 'ball' we go in our handmade outfits! (And a quick selfie was all I had for you...)


Wishing you all a happy holiday period whatever you may be doing. 💖 From me and all the creatures!

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Seasonal Stitching and Sewing

 Helloooooo

 It's that time of year where the blog gets a little neglected. I haven't posted in ages as I've mostly been working/poorly/sewing up secret Christmas gifts that can't be photographed yet! 

I'm back today with a very random array of seasonal sewing and knitting for you - a bit of 'sew and tell'. Nothing life changing, just a bit of 'sewing sorbet' in between bigger projects. 

It's no secret I'm a big Snoopy fan and so this Hey Sew Sister jersey leapt into my basket in November. (It's on sale now if you want a piece!)

It called out to be a roll neck - total 80's ski vibes. I used the Tilly and the Buttons Freya top which I've found to be very comfortable around my neck and not particularly tight.

Next is my new love, in the form of the FREE Closet Core Tee pattern. I'm really loving the loose yet feminine shape of this one. 

I snapped up 1 meter of this super cute penguin fabric from Like Sew Amazing and managed to squeeze the tee onto that piece. 

I also raided my stash a while back and whipped up a Helen's Closet Jackson Pullover from this 'glitter bug' french terry. Another fantastic basic pattern that can be re-made a zillion times. 

I popped this on with some snazzy Style Arc Parker Ponte Pants for a recent festive Sew Day and was nice and cosy all day.

As you can see it's all simple TNT patterns that I've made before and take about an hour to sew up. I can't handle anything too challenging at the moment!

Next come the knits. Dark nights and sofa sitting lends itself well to knitting and I enjoy faffing about making random stuff. This included some knitted fairy lights! This was a free pattern from Ravelry, but a little boring to make if I'm being honest. Fun to hang up though.

I FINALLY finished a pair of socks that have been on the go for the best part of a year. Not perfect but nothing is so who cares. It's self-striping yarn called 'Pairfect' however they are definitely not identical. 'Sisters not Twins' as a lady once said about eyebrows....

My Christmas present to the world this year is a little knitted ladybird pattern called Linden Ladybird. Beginner friendly. Knit him in sparkly yarn and hang him as a decoration or keep him as a pocket pet! If you'd like a copy of the pattern you can download it here.

 

I gave myself a little introduction to Fair Isle knitting and had a go at this mouse with an integrated sweater - so cute! He's called Slyp.Another freebie pattern that you can find here.

I shall pop back on the blog before Christmas as I do have a couple of party pieces to show you! Just need to actually finish them off.....

Until then I'll leave you with Elf on a Shelf - lovely Big T in a Tree!


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