I've been very, no, kick-ass productive craft-wise for the past two months, sewing my little heart out. The little sewing machine hasn't seen this much action in years!
It started with two little red dresses before my vacation in August:
On the left: Simplicity pattern 3778, using a Liberty lawn. It's a huge tent dress, big enough to hide a melon under it. Because I didn't want people asking me if I'm expecting again, I made a tie for the waist. ;-)
On the right: Vogue pattern V8380, in lightweight linen. I'm happy with the sewing on this one, but I've not worn it. I need to find a bra that's not going to peep out on the sides, and since it's starting to get cooler now, I probably won't look for one til next year.
I'm really pleased with the sewing on this blue Liberty lawn dress. The collar, with which I usually have so much trouble, turned out perfectly, as did the sleeve caps. The pattern is New Look 6587, and I kind of wish I'd used the red Liberty lawn for this as well. No matter, I'll probably make this again. I made small mods, including downsizing the collar (it was originally edging towards 70s proportions), and adding elastic to the sleeve hems. Next time, I'll probably make the collar even smaller, and raise the neckline. As it is, the neckline hits just at where the cleavage, if I had one, should be.
A chance visit to the purlbee introduced me to the wonderful world of Nani Iro fabric, which is what really fuelled my latest sewing obsession. When I read that the double gauze cotton is good for hot and humid climates, I had to try it! The dress and skirt patterns came from the Nani Iro book (ISBN4579111834). The dress pattern uses to good effect the fabric border, which you can't tell in this picture, is made up of silver dots. I shortened the dress by a couple of inches, and used up a half meter less than called for, and so had enough left over for a little skirt, probably big enough for a two year old.
It's good for bags too! The larger bag is based on one I found in a Japanese craft book (ISBN4579110412), and the pouch pattern is found in another book (ISBN9784529044219). Because the fabric is so soft, I had to use a very stiff interfacing for the bag bottom in the lining. For the handle, I used a triple layer of grosgrain ribbon, handstitched with some pink embroidery thread. The final size for the larger bag is about 9" wide at the base.
A robe for me, and a little dress for my friend's daughter. The robe pattern comes from the Nani Iro site (there're lots of patterns in the 'sewing' section), and the dress pattern (size 90) is from the Nani Iro book. The original dress pattern has the waist seam as a raw edge, but I sewed it inside instead.
And then I found this store, which is a bonanza of Nani Iro and other Japanese fabrics. In addition to the gorgeous prints, they have lots of solids too. This purple Nani Iro is sewn up using a Burda pattern (7808). I made the collar smaller, and eliminated the plackets on the cuffs. The side seams were widened a little so I didn't have to add in a side zipper, and I didn't make the ties at the back.
As I said, this stuff is soft and comfy, so it's perfect for night and lounge-around clothes. The lounge pants pattern is found on the Nani Iro site, but I had to make them bigger, and the yellow nightie pattern is an old Vogue pattern from 1994. (So glad I didn't throw that pattern away, because the size was too big when I bought it years ago, but I've grown into it now.) Oh, can you tell I love this floral print? It's the same as the black bags and ivory robe/dress print.
The pattern for this T-shirt is also from the Nani Iro book. The leftovers from the purple dress were used for the facings and pocket linings.
One of my Japanese friends had a little girl recently, and I hope that she'd like this little yukata. I bought the pattern from this store. I'm not sure that I stitched the pleats near the shoulders and waist correctly, so if anyone knows, let me know how it should be done.
A new skirt for fall. There're twenty gores, and it took a surprising amount of thread to sew up. The pattern is Vogue 7767. When it was time for hemming, I shortened it by a couple of inches, cutting the excess by eyeing it. Uh, I don't recommend that. It turned out quite uneven, and I had to keep cutting. Now it's two inches shorter than what I wanted! The thing I like about this tweedy linen skirt, the teally T and purple dress is that even though the colors are fall-ish, the fabric is light and breezy, which is perfect for the fall weather in HK.
I've started my Christmas gifts! The purple bag is for a niece. The pattern is from the same book as the black pouch, except I added a contrasting lining with pockets.
For another niece, this bag uses some leftover Lotta Jansdotter fabric (with heavy interfacing), a Japanese cotton border print, and some leather handles purchased in Tokyo last year. I didn't use a pattern per se, but the idea comes from bags I'd seen in various Japanese books. My son wants one!
There'd been a little bit of knitting too.
In celebration of Socktober, some baby socks for a colleague. 40 sts in 2x2 ribbing. The yarn is some Kaffe Fassett Regia leftover from socks I made for my son last year.
Vacation knitting, which I'd put aside after the yarn (Noro Silk Garden sock) broke while I was trying to cast on sleeve stitches for this Garnstudio baby cardigan. I also think I'll need another ball of yarn to finish the 6-9 month size.
Whew! That's it for now. There're still a couple of sewing projects I'd like to finish before year's end, and there's a little stash of Nani Iro fabrics so you'll see more of that next year, but I'm itching to do some knitting again. :-)
