A Christmas Dachshund Poppy Top

That title is quite a mouthful isn't it? Well here is my latest Christmas sewing make, when I was in my local fabric shop last week I saw this gorgeous cotton fabric that is just perfect for Christmas, the shop is Happy Hare and if you are in the Sheffield area I suggest you have a look.  They have a lovely selection of craft fabrics and are really friendly, they also do lots of classes if you are looking to improve your skills.

Now I only bought a metre as I didn't know what I wanted it for but when I got home I saw this Poppy top pattern from Simple Sew that my friend passed on to me a while ago.  It does say it requires more fabric on the  pattern but there is always a way!  For me it was just a case of places my pieces right up to the very edges and making the facings and sleeves shorter.  It was a squeeze but I just managed it.  I am very satisfied with the tiny pieces that are left ;)  here is the finished top and I will talk you through the rest below.

The light in here was not great for photographs but I wanted a festive setting!

I will alternate the shots so that you can see the top better, I really like the pleats on this top and they matched up perfectly.  

It has this keyhole detail at the back and I really like that, as you can see I am wearing a top under it but that is only because it is winter.  If I was to make this top in a different fabric for another season it wouldn't need any layering.

I used a little turquoise button to pick out one of the colours in the dogs little Christmas jumpers.

The only other adjustment I made to the pattern other than shortening the facings to fit it on the fabric was to put a little pleat on the sleeves.  The reason for this was that I used cotton fabric and on the cover image the top is clearly made in a floaty fabric.  So my sleeves stood out rather than falling softly onto my shoulders so to counter this I just nipped them in a bit in a little pleat and topstitched it down.

I am very happy with how this top has turned out, it is true to size, it has basic pieces and instructions and would be a very good pattern for a beginner.  In fact I would say if you are stuck for a last minute present for someone who sews then why not get them this pattern, if you are buying fabric too though please check the back of the pattern  and buy them the correct amount.  I am able to squeeze this out of a metre because I know my size well and I have done this before. Also I only just managed it, so you wouldn't want someone to be disappointed by not having enough fabric.  Disclaimer here, I am not sponsored buy Simple Sew I just really loved the pattern. 

Here is my little roll of fabric...

Here are the pattern pieces squashed onto my little piece of fabric...

Obviously I cut them off at top length as this pattern can also be made as a dress, I will probably do that in future as well as making some long sleeved versions of this blouse.

It was a relaxing and very accurate make, the facings lined up beautifully and I didn't need to take it in as sometimes happens with a new pattern.  The pleats on the front are very easy to do  so don't be put off if you are a beginner.

What Christmas clothes have you all been making? Please let me know in the comments below and also if you have this pattern and what your thoughts were. 

Bye for now, take care. 

December...ing

A little earlier in the month this time but I thought I'd make an early start...

Making a winter dress, I bought this fabric a few months ago when I visited my local fabric shop with a friend.  I have only just made the dress as I wanted to save it for Christmas,  I know that when I make something new I always want to wear it straight away so I have saved this for the season.
The fabric is cosmo, it is Japanese and feels like a linen but I am not certain of that.  It is a good weight.

It is now fully complete but I do not have a daylight picture or one of me in it yet I will try to get one over the coming week. I only just had enough fabric so I used binding for the neck and just squeezed enough fabric for strips for the arm holes.   The lining is a combination of black and white lining, I stitched two pieces together to make a piece big enough as I didn't have enough of either colour.
It has a side zip, front and back darts and a couple of small shaping darts at the neckline to stop any gaping.

Here it is when I cut it out, just a few small pieces of fabric left, I

used another shift dress I made previously from my own pattern as a guide to cut around. Most of the shaping and fitting was done on the mannequin with a few tweaks when trying on.

Listening to some wonderful new music on youtube, I found this gorgeous song the other day after hearing it on UCB radio You came anyway by Ashton Lane it is a Christmas song but a little different  but if you listen to it you will hear the story.  Also Matt Kearney The Air I Breathe is another good one.

Designing more bags, I made this one yesterday and added some applique leaves, the coloured cottons are from a little solids sample pack I received with some fabric a while ago they are only about 5cm square but I have found this little use for them.

Paper crafting a card for a friend, I have not made any cards for a while but I enjoyed making this one. They can be time consuming if you make all the parts yourself and then if people just discard them after so you have to weigh up how much you enjoy the process I suppose.  The thing is with other crafts in fabric or yarn you know your efforts will last for more than a coupe of days.

I found a use for old magazines here as the balloons are fabric image pictures cut up.

Thrifting books from the charity shops, a couple for me and a few for friends. I am collecting the original Jane Austin books for myself, I gave up on the Austin project as I was finding they do not do the originals justice.  I picked up The Miniaturist  as I loved it when I borrowed it from the library.  We picked up a couple last week too when we visited but have not got any images of those to hand. I try to find the ones in the best condition.  Here are todays finds...

Eating probably too much in the way of starch, I am finding I need pasta and potatoes and gravy.  Really filling stuff at the moment, it must be the cold weather.  Today I found these gluten free, vegan friendly mince pies in Holland and Barrett.

 I have tried one and they are quite nice if a little crumbly as all gluten free food generally is.

Looking at sewing magazines on youtube, yes I know this sounds a little strange but the idea was that I wanted to get a feel for a few different magazines before subscribing to one.  I was  interested in Burda and Knipmode.  I have tried in the past to get in touch with Knipmode but they never responded to my email.  I found that Saturday Night Stitch on youtube has done browse throughs on both magazines throughout the year so you can get a  feel for them that way.   This was really useful as I  now know that I do not want to subscribe to either as from what I can see a lot of the pattern styles are repeated with very little changes.  What I like is the ideas, so I will use these as a reference point then make the patterns myself just using the images for inspiration.  Go and have a look it is quite fun to look through the magazines and hear the opinions and preferences of others.

Well that is all for today, have a good week.

Using up the Scraps

This dark and dreary weekend I have managed to use up some more of my fabric scraps, some of my own and some gifted from Jo at Three Stories High.  There are still plenty left so expect to see more over the coming months, I have also used some of the bag rings I recycled from the rescued bags my mother in law brought from the charity shop rag bag.  They don't put out on display bags that are tatty but the bag furniture does come in handy, I also hate to see zips going to waste.  Now zips can be a pain to unpick but you have the satisfaction of not having to buy a zip and saving the old one from the bin, win, win.  It is also not so bad to unpick listening to a podcast or watching a show on a dark night. Here are a couple of the bags I have made using odd bits...

So this one has some gifted denim and cord from Jo, cherry fabric scraps that have been appearing in all kinds of things for the last few years and will continue to do so down to the last cm! Also the lining is leftover from a mock jumpsuit I made in the summer.  The design is a bit different on each side for this one.

This second one has some recycled shirts in the mix, a skirt and some new vegan leather. Well not new this week but it was new when I bought it ;)  I also took a little photo of the process as I make a mess on the dining room table.  I am always surprised at going form 'oh what will go with that bit of fabric?' to 'Ooh I like that together!' It just goes to show don't be too hasty in throwing out those oddments.

I have my own little pattern that I made for my own style of bag I did wonder whether it might be something I could have printed up and market but as I am not a big name I wonder about the viability of that?  I know you can have your patterns printed but there  are so many out there already.  I was listening to BBC radio  on the laptop while cutting and sewing most of these, also a few podcasts, it keeps me company and you can learn something new.

The next bag is a custom order that I was asked to make for a colleague, I am certain the person she is gifting it to will have never heard of my blog so I am safe to share.

They have a bit of a love of flamingos in the family so this fabric was ordered just for this, I hope the recipient likes it and appreciates the one off nature of such a gift.   

There is such a lot of stuff out there at the moment that can be bought on mass, cheaper and quicker from China or elsewhere but unless we all want to walk around in exactly the same clothes with all the same accessories cheap and quick is not better in my eyes.  Well ok I do like cheap but when relating to pre-owned bargains not mass produced items.  

In relation to this I also find that I get more pleasure out of finding unusual bits in a charity shop or planning what to make with fabric than I would from just going out shopping for new.  This is probably due to the maker in me but if you go in a shop and there are rails and rails of the same garment doesn't it put you off? When I first began sewing in my teens I remember going out in a particular dress and lots of people asking where I got it, as I made it myself they couldn't go out and buy it off the rail.  They could buy the same fabric and try to recreate if they were inclined but I made the pattern too so chances are there wouldn't be any exactly the same.  I liked that and still do.

There was also an evening of making make up bags, more scrap busting and these smaller projects are great for using up random bits.

All of my above makes are available on my Etsy shop here  apart from the custom flamingo bag.  I do have fabric left so will make another but in a different style, or paired with other colours.

Productive?  Well I haven't been out much and the dogs have been getting restless, I had a hospital appointment Monday and been under the weather since.  A bit drained but I can sew from a chair so that is ok, what with one thing and another I am tired so wonder if I am now a bit anaemic.  Must buy some iron supplements to be safe I think.

On a plus note I did manage to get out today to have lunch  with my two lovely friends.  We went to Jameson's Tea Room and I have never been before, it was wonderful, piano playing, beautiful tea cups and pots.  I told my husband about it after and I could see he didn't get what was so cool about that.  It felt a bit like stepping back in time to a quieter more elegant time, although I do realise that if we did step back to such a time  I would more than likely be serving the tea rather then drinking it!  They were also very good about providing me with GF vegan options an the cook had made GF vegan scones this morning (I emailed a few days ago so my requirements didn't come as a  surprise).

I don't very often go to that part of the city so it made a lovely change and we do hope to get together again before Christmas but with everyone being so busy we can only do our best. 

There were a few books returned to the library, I borrowed a couple of Frederick Backman books more to follow on those later and I also checked my placement in the queue for The Handmaid's Tale I am number five now and The Testaments number 82!  I think I will make an exception and just treat myself to these but perhaps wait for The Testaments in paperback. I think Margaret Atwood has certainly seen a revival in sales from her book being televised.  I have read a few of her other works some good some not so much but all a little odd I think. 

Well that is all for now, let's hope for a brighter week. Back soon.