The pink trousers of happiness

Fairly recently I had to throw away my favourite stripy linen trousers.  I had had these trousers for many years and they finally decided that enough was enough and they wore thin.  They were brilliant trousers as they had a very forgiving tie-waist that meant that as my weight fluctuates, (a polite way of saying I sometimes get quite big and then if I am lucky I get smaller again),  I was still able to wear them comfortably.  I was therefore sorry to say goodbye to them but decided that I ought to be able to make some replacements.  A very brief scouting about on the internet and I found the pattern that was almost identical to the trousers I had just discarded.

The 101 Trousers from Merchant and Mills were quickly purchased.  I have fallen in love with their patterns as they have great style and are so straightforward and easy to use.  It was really pleasant to feel fairly confident that this project was doable before I had started the make.

The fabric I chose also came from Merchant and Mills, it is a rather delightful red chambray.  It cut out nicely and is quite a well behaved fabric.  It is not too slippy and whilst it does fray a bit at the edges, it was straightforward to sew.

The pattern made up quite quickly and I love the finished trousers.

The fabric is quite light so I think these are very much for warmer days.

I still need some stripy linen trousers to replace the lost loved pair so you can be fairly certain I will be making this pattern again.

A vintage moment to test my skills

When my daughter first announced she was getting married, my first thoughts were around offering to grow the flowers for the wedding.  My flower adventures can be followed on my gardening blog here.  As the weeks passed I started to think that I would have to consider at some point what I would want to wear.  There was no hurry so I put it to the back of my mind. As the weeks passed my sewing bug had well and truly kicked in and I started to ponder whether I could make my own dress to wear.  I was not sure I was good enough yet, but I had a look at some patterns and thought some more.

Then I found the pattern I liked, I do like a bit of vintage and I had enjoyed making the Beach Pyjamas from Til the Sun Goes Down, so I wandered back to their website to look at more patterns.

Firstly I found the perfect fabric, the perfect perfect fabric. I knew whatever I made it had to be in that fabric.  As I looked on the website further I saw that they made kits of some patterns, these kits provided you with the pattern, notions and fabric.  By buying them as a kit you pay a little less for the pattern.  There was the perfect kit with the perfect fabric and perfect pattern.  The only fly in the ointment was the unperfect me, was I capable enough to make it?

Well nothing ventured, nothing gained I decided I would give it a try.  If I failed then yes, I would have wasted some money (never a good thing) but I could go and buy something ready made if necessary.  The wedding was to be in October, so I decided to give myself plenty of time and bought the kit in August.  Much to my delight the kit arrived with a comforting hand written note, saying that they had also made this dress and that it should turn out well.  The comforting hand written note became my comfort blanket as I sewed.  I took it out and read it every and now and again as it made me feel it was possible.

The fabric was a beautiful crepe de chine.  I have never made anything out of this kind of flimsy fabric before, so even the cutting out gave me more anxiety than usual.  I always take great care on the cutting out as one false move can lead to disaster, but I went more slowly and checked more often this time.

I had a few days off work planned and so made my start.  The front bodice was, and this is a technical term, a pig to get right.  The pattern instructions told me that this was the most difficult part of the dress and also vital to get right.  I used an old sheet that I cut to the pattern first so I could practice and get it right.  This was an extremely wise move.  The  crepe de chine is very easy to damage with pins so I need to practice without ruining the dress before I had really got started.  It took me several hours to get the bodice right, but eventually I worked it out and after that the dress came together rather well.

Much to my great relief I decided it was good enough to be worn.

On the day I was very happy with it.  It felt a success.

After completing this dress I felt very chuffed with myself.  I felt I had gone through a rite of passage and could tackle even more.  I sloughed off my beginners mantle and stepped onto the threshold of the purple haze that is intermediate.  I am sure I heard a welcoming tinkle of bells as I did so.

The Rugby Dress - my confidence takes another step forward

One of the greatest things about an ecletic group of twitter friends is that they make you aware of companies you might otherwise not have found.  I cannot remember who first alerted me to Merchant and Mills, but I thank you even if my bank account does not.  I first started looking at their patterns, The Ellis and Hattie caught my eye and it still remains there as a thought not followed........ yet.......

What started off this particular thought-chain was a wish to make a denim dress.  I had seen a couple for sale that were that nice casual but smart mix, but sadly also rather expensive.  I had that 'I reckon I could make one of those' moments and so started searching for the perfect denim fabric. This search took longer than I had expected.  I could find lots of denim, but which one was the right one.  I needed to be certain of weight and the aspect of colour also was perplexing me.  I saw some nice red denims and they are also stored in that little 'maybe later' corner of my mind.  In the end I found exactly what I wanted at Sherwoods Fabrics, this rather lovely red-backed denim.  But then, of course, I needed the right pattern.

There was more searching, I kept going back to the Merchant and Mills website and eventually I decided it was The Rugby that was worth a try.

I love the quality of this pattern.  The pattern itself is on thicker paper than the usual tissue paper from the large manufacturers.  I bought the fabric and waited for it to arrive.  It is quite a heavy denim and very good quality.  I read through the instructions carefully and set to work.

Gosh denim is a delight to sew!  It behaved itself and the pattern came together very well.  I was very pleased with the results.  I used the red reverse to make the contrasting collar and cuffs.   I took my time with the collar and I think I did a good job with it.  I did, however, hit a snag.  My sewing machine did not enjoy sewing this denim.  I broke three needles (yes three), it was a bit of a scrum and I started to wonder whether the machine I have was the right one for where I wanted to go with my sewing.  Anyhoo, the machine did complete the dress, it was a good conversion and I felt that I achieved my goal.

I have worn the dress a couple of times and I truly love it.  It is comfy and perfect for these mild autumn days we are having at the moment.  I think in terms of my sewing journey I definitely advanced over the gain line.

I also at this point, bought a new addition for the sewing room, a little bin.

This little bin slips into the top of the fabric stash cupboard and is incredibly useful.  It cost very little and is just a wonderful thing.  Sometimes it is the little things that make all the difference.

and so it was on to the next project......

A blouse, a Doris and a screwdriver

My sewing journey continues with the next project which was to make a jersey blouse.  I had a navy jersey blouse that I bought many years ago and I loved it as a go-to, easy to wear, casual to formal item of clothing.  I have literally worn it out, holes appeared and so it had to go.  I decided to have a go at making a replacement, so a pattern was sourced and fabric bought.

At about this time I was also progressing my sewing room.  I had removed the spare bed and tidied up the small back bedroom.  I purchased a sewing desk and drawers (more of this in a later post) and some screwdriving, and some fairly light swearing later, I now had a space that I could use.

I also thought I should buy a dressmakers dummy, in particular because I decided to make a dress for my daughter's wedding in autumn.  I knew I would need all the help I could get to do this and a dummy would help me get the sizing right and check how it would fit.

I looked at the prices of dummys and adjustable ones are not cheap.  I worried that if I spent a lot of money on one it might turn out to be an expensive sandwich toaster.  You know what I mean, you buy it because you think it will be wonderful but within a few weeks it is at the back of the cupboard, forgotten*.  I pondered how to deal with this and started to look on ebay for a second hand one.  Luck was in my favour; I found one that looked in good condition, the right size range and close enough to drive to pick up.  Purchase made: a quick hop to Stoke and back and Doris came home with me.  She is a bit worn, her leg is a little rusty but none of us are perfect.  (and yes this is her unadjusted)

I adjusted her to my size and took a step back.  Now this bit is important because Doris taught me something as I stood and looked at her.  I have struggled with my weight for many years, I put it on, I lose it, I put it on again and the cycle turns.  I do not enjoy looking at myself in mirrors or in photographs as I criticise myself harshly.  The prospect of making Doris reflect my body size did not fill me with joy but it had to be done.  When completed I was surprised that she did not look as big as I feared.  I checked I had done it accurately and actually, when considered, I think she doesn't look that huge.  This made me feel better about Doris and in turn, better about myself.  This is no mean feat.

The blouse turned out well and I chose some pretty buttons to go with it.

I liked it so much I made another, this time out of scuba fabric.  This worked well too and the fabric is very pretty.  I confess I did not intend to buy scuba fabric.  I saw it online and liked the pattern.  When the fabric arrived I realised it was thicker than I had intended but it was a happy error.  It was very easy to sew and is now a good early autumn blouse as it is warm but not too warm.

Happy in my efforts I turned to think of the dress for the wedding.  This was going to need concentration.....







*with due acknowledgement to Spaced