Juliette Blouse and a Few Frugal Bits

My make for this week was the Juliette Blouse from simple sew pattern I was gifted by a friend.  I originally looked at this and thought the shape looked too basic for it to hang very well, however I was wrong.  Very pleasantly surprised when I tried this on after completing it and now I think this pattern will get much use. It is easy to make up so perfect for any beginners and comes together with the ties so no too much to worry about in terms of fitting.

No pictures of me in it I'm afraid as it is cold and I don't want to go and change, get the tripod etc. So you will have to make do with my model here doing the work for me. I think I will layer this for this season with a long sleeved t-shirt underneath, I do that a lot!

It is quite a floaty feel to it so I would imagine there a re lots of suitable fabrics for this style, I think it would look nice in a linen.

So that is three of the free patterns that I have made up to now and I have been happy with all of them, feeling pleased my friend thought of me before her trip to the charity shop.

This morning I have double lined a curtain that I have hanging at the back door, my intention is to thermal line all my curtains as the lining on them is quite thin apart from the ones I made myself which are good and heavy.  When I moved in at this house we had such a large floor to ceiling window in the back room I just bought inexpensive curtains as it was cheaper than buying fabric. Also the window takes two pairs of curtains, they do the job but I am currently out to make every window as insulated as possible in the evenings, what with rising costs.  

 I have noticed that Dunelm Mill do ready made thermal linings which are inexpensive, so I am off tomorrow to go and have a look at those.  In the meantime today I found a large, lined cream curtain in a cupboard, so I took down my curtain at the door in my sewing area and pinned then stitched it to it.  I needed to take it up a little and I gathered it in to the pleats, now it is good and heavy and that is one curtain done for free!  

We have had a couple of leaks about the house this last couple of weeks, fortunately my husband is quite handy and managed to sort them without the need for outside trades people.  One of the leaks persisted and we then watched a YouTube video that highlighted one little thing that had been missed, the part was bought and now that issue is resolved.  So watch videos before splashing out on repairs even if you still have to call someone, at least you may be aware of the simplicity of the problem so that you don't get charged a fortune for a reasonably simple job. 

My next job is I have a blouse to cut out for my mum as this will be  a gift for her, then a couple of little gifts.  The trouble with that is I won't be able to share the little gifts until later due to spoilers!  I will share my mum's blouse though as she knows about it and will want to wear it over Christmas.  

Another little frugal discovery I have made is a pot of foundation I found in my cupboard, the colour was all wrong when I bought it but I didn't get rid of it as I hate waste. I got it out this morning and mixed a little with my usual plus some moisturiser to make a sort of tinted moisturiser, it works!  That will make my usual stuff last twice as long, I would love to go bare faced and to be honest I probably don't look much different but I know so that's the thing.  I was researching natural ingredients to use instead this week, coconut for moisturiser and so on.  The trouble is some sources say it can cause acne so we don't want that do we? Shea butter and argan oil were  also mentioned, plus the use of some spices to make blusher and so on, if anyone has any experience of trying these natural cosmetics please share. 

Crochet Cowl

This week I have been trying to do a little bit of crochet every evening to finish the cowl I had started, not a lot just a few rows and it worked as I finished it yesterday.  This has made me feel that maybe I could do something bigger by plodding away at it like that, I am not very fast at it but it just shows a little here and there and things get done.

I got the width and chain length from the beginner book, I also repeated the rib pattern that I did on the fingerless mitts but this time I used two colours.  I didn't make it as long as the cowl in my book I just measured around my neck, then I twisted it before crocheting the two ends together after that I carried on around putting a shell edging all around the outside.

I am very happy with it and feel it will be useful and not fall off or come undone like a scarf does sometimes.

I think I will start a small novelty item  for now while I decide on a bigger project.  There are a few images of snowflakes and little decorations I have seen on pinterest so I will have to have another look.

Earlier this week I made  a little hairbow for the daughter of a friend who was admiring my flamingo blouse, I knew I had a little bit of fabric left and some children's hair slides from a while back.

Sometimes it is nice to make something small, especially if you can use up those last bits of fabric.  I have started keeping really small pieces now just in case I fancy doing some micro patchwork (if that is a thing!)

A little bit of progress has been made working through my library book 'Drawing on the right side of the Brain' fascinating stuff!  While I was working on one activity that has you copying an image from the book upside down, I was thinking this will never look anything like it should, well it turned out better than if I had done it my way, right way up.  I have since done other images this way and it really works.  It is just to get you looking and not to suggest you forever draw upside down.  So far so good hopefully I will be improved by the end of the book.

Today I have been taking up curtains for a friend, I listened to another radio 4 drama while I was doing that, it had a little twist to it.  You can find it here Heather.  I have also just quickly  cut out a top from one of the patterns I was gifted a few weeks ago.  It is a very basic shape so will take no time at all to sew up tomorrow, or later this evening.

I have to say it looks very large at the moment I am hoping it will be due to the effect of it having a tie back, otherwise there will be some adjustment's made.  The spotty/floaty image on the cover looks good (future fabric choice perhaps). 

Burda Trousers and Sewing a Pocket Welt

This week has been lovely and relaxing, a few things made, books read and these Burda trousers finished off.  I don't know why but I had them near completion about two weeks ago and then they just sat there waiting to be finished off.  My husband thinks they are a little busy but I like them, there is no point making your  own clothes if they all look the same, change is good.

My husband did point out that you can't see the details because of the pattern and he does have a point so I have taken a few close ups so you can see the pockets and belt loops.

I actually have two buttons on the back pockets that are not exactly the same, they are the same colours but slightly different. I'm ok with that.

I did have to make the seams a bit larger on this pattern as it starts from a size 10 also once I had alsmost finished and was about to put the waistband on I had to alter that at the sides and back too.

I chose to put a button and button hole at the front although the pattern suggested a bar and catch, I prefer and feel more secure with a button as I've had trouser with that sort of fastener and they can come undone.

The fabric is lovely and soft and was bought along with the pattern from Minerva Crafts, after trying these on I may have to make some more for the winter.

One thing I thought I would mention is the way the welt pockets at the back are created, on the pattern you are instructed to cut tow small pieces for the inner vents and that is not the way I do it so here is my way.

I just cut one rectangle and stitch it over the marked points on the pieces. Put  a piece of interfacing over it first  then cut out your little letter box opening.

 Next you push it all through then arrange the folds so they feel even and hold them at the sides ( this manipulation gets easier with practise so have a go on a few  scraps first.

Flip it over at the sides and you can put your fingers on the little triangle bit, it does get easier the more you do it.

Then machine stitch it, you may find you want to stich all the way around to maintain an even width or you can just do that part when you add the back of the pocket.

I hope that is clear enough I just find it easier than messing about with two pieces. This may have been explained by  me before on here when I have been making skirts, so if you have seen it before I apologise for repeating myself but without going back through and checking I can't remember!

I also made another pair of fingerless mittens for my younger son in grey and I have just started on a cowl. It looks a bit narrower than I thought so I made add an edging once it's complete so any suggestions welcome.

Friday we had a browse in the charity shops and I found this super book...

It was only  £1.50 and is full of recipes, places to see, tips for camp sites, days out and all kinds of camping information.  Plus many vegetarian recipes or ones that can be easily adapted.

The book is also divided into seasons and this recipe above is from the winter section, I may have to try that one.  I was going to take a few more shots then the battery went dead, photo overload for today.

Back to work tomorrow so that will interfere with my making time :(  I have decided I am going get up a little earlier each day to fit a bit of something in before I go to work, as I have to be there for 7.30 on Monday this may be a push put even if it just a row or two of crochet or a few stiches on something it will be a start.   I will keep you posted.