tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20455185201849056702024-03-13T02:16:04.677+01:00Jo sewsamong other thingsJo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-58564129048029157492018-06-07T16:06:00.000+02:002018-06-07T16:06:48.027+02:00SIMPLICITY 1069 CULOTTES / you look radiant!Hello! Back again! This time with a garment that scores such high compliment ratings, I recommend you all go and make one forthwith!<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgX_SfIbm3A/Ww61jT2DANI/AAAAAAAAKBM/BLJ4pXQ7zU4Zhk1OzoFLeGVSJbTM4jxDQCLcBGAs/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgX_SfIbm3A/Ww61jT2DANI/AAAAAAAAKBM/BLJ4pXQ7zU4Zhk1OzoFLeGVSJbTM4jxDQCLcBGAs/s640/17.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The item in question is a pair of cropped-length culottes, sewn from view B of Simplicity 1069. I can't remember where I first came across this pattern, but it was love at first sight: the shapes in the pictures caught my eye, and then I realised it was a multi-garment pattern consisting of both culottes and wrap skirts, and was immediately smitten. Two items at once so similar and so different, both of which I'd been wanting to make for a very long while - whenever it was, this pattern hit me at just the right time, as I had neither thing in either my wardrobe or my pattern library. I had to have it!<br />
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And then of course I didn't actually do anything with it for over a year. (In fact, it might even have been two).<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tfvlNbfBv0s/Ww60gjNJu5I/AAAAAAAAKA4/k2iNapQDBJoCcGxluJsCxm9k4pJJA5AdQCLcBGAs/s1600/7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tfvlNbfBv0s/Ww60gjNJu5I/AAAAAAAAKA4/k2iNapQDBJoCcGxluJsCxm9k4pJJA5AdQCLcBGAs/s640/7.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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When I did finally open the pattern envelope, I discovered that the first page of the instructions was missing, so I didn't have any of the diagrams or general info, just the text - in Spanish. Fortunately I've sewn enough pairs of trousers to not need a great deal of info, and just googled the relevant vocab to check which way to press the pleats and suchlike. Also of great help is that there are only 4 pattern pieces: front, back, and front+back facings. It was traced and cut in no time!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8s2w13-AxH8/Ww60fWAsrlI/AAAAAAAAKAk/YCa4JXSPabo87CaqLMR2P7PkTheXyubVACLcBGAs/s1600/10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8s2w13-AxH8/Ww60fWAsrlI/AAAAAAAAKAk/YCa4JXSPabo87CaqLMR2P7PkTheXyubVACLcBGAs/s640/10.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Cutting was a pain, though. As you can hopefully tell from this marvellous pose, my fabric is a lovely drapy crepe (probably a polyester-rayon mix: inexpensive but prone to creasing) which shifted all over the place during the making process. But thanks to the minimal pattern pieces, it was manageable - and upon completion I forgave it instantly anwyay, because let me tell you: THIS FABRIC IS LUSH. It hangs beautifully without clinging anywhere, just swishes around in a cool and luxurious manner - these culottes are an absolute delight to wear, and I would probably do so whether they were flattering or not.<br />
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However, it seems they really are! I wore this exact outfit to work yesterday and had two people tell me how fab my trousers were, three people telling me I looked "radiant" (!!) and, one, well ok it was more of a backhanded compliment, but I'll take it: "Jo! You look great! Different somehow... really quite... chic!" Er, thanks? Yes probably quite different from usual, indeed.<br />
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Personally, I think it's all down to that shape that grabbed me in the first place. These trousers are wide and pleated and culotte-ish in perfect balance. There is no bulk where it's not needed, but just the right amount of fabric to skim down from the waist into those deliciously wide (but not too wide!) legs. I mean, look at those lovely pleats:<br />
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And the back view is not bad either. Having learned from <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.com/2018/06/morgan-jeans-greco-tee-plain-and-simple.html" target="_blank">previous trouser-sewing experiments</a>, I carried out a flat seat adjustment on these, which I think makes a good deal of difference - if there was too much more fabric there, the back legs wouldn't drape nearly as nicely. Small things, but important! The method I used was from <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.com/2012/11/book-review-perfect-fit.html" target="_blank">this book</a>, which I find absolutely invaluable. Often the methods it describes are different - and frequently simpler - than most tutorials online, and in fact I wanted to link to a version of how I did it for this post, but couldn't find one. So, if there's any interest in a quick tutorial for an easy flat bum adjustment, let me know and I'll post it :-)<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EjDSsIFXd78/Ww60gQEsd0I/AAAAAAAAKA0/RwnTIz4v7LUQ6SQNE8F8b8zSAKMIbwLhgCLcBGAs/s1600/5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EjDSsIFXd78/Ww60gQEsd0I/AAAAAAAAKA0/RwnTIz4v7LUQ6SQNE8F8b8zSAKMIbwLhgCLcBGAs/s640/5.jpg" width="480" /></a> </div>
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The main thing to note about the fit of this pattern is that, as we have come to expect from the Big 4 pattern companies, it comes up large where it should be more fitted. I chose my size based on my waist and hip measurements, and it's not far off being just right - but the pattern does explicitly state that:<br />
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<li>the culottes are designed to sit 1" above the natural waist, and;</li>
<li>the finished waist measurement has 1" ease above the actual body measurement.</li>
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But as one can clearly see here, these neither reach my natural waist, let alone 1" higher, because there is a lot more than 1" ease.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KrNOJs5hD00/Wxeaarix_hI/AAAAAAAAKC8/pN89BJ1ZZ2kV-n1l15Yq1kL-Gd74QFFjgCLcBGAs/s1600/collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1200" height="434" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KrNOJs5hD00/Wxeaarix_hI/AAAAAAAAKC8/pN89BJ1ZZ2kV-n1l15Yq1kL-Gd74QFFjgCLcBGAs/s640/collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These didn't turn out a <i>lot </i>too big, but big enough to not be wearable, because they just wouldn't stay put. Time for some ninja fixing skills. While I had been quite looking forward to wearing proper trousers with a zip for once (y'know, like a grown-up), resorting to elastic AS USUAL was the obvious remedy. (I realise now that I haven't blogged all the trousers I usually wear, but yes, elastic waists everywhere).<br />
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So, I made an elastic casing by topstitching the trousers to the facing at 2cm below the waistline, leaving gaps of +/- 3cm either side of the centre-back zip. I then fed my elastic through and secured it to the zip seam allowance on either side to hold it in place, stitched the gaps closed, and that was it. Waist brought in nicely! And I actually think the resulting trousers are better this way than if they had fit properly to begin with - they're certainly more comfortable, but because the elastic is only a few cm longer than the waistband itself, there's no bunching or gathering - they still hang as smoothly as if they were properly, more closely fitted. WIN!<br />
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Yes, I like them very much.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EYdfQ-h8F2w/Ww60fhwMUsI/AAAAAAAAKAo/xKlW2Y420-IWAC2mc-SosbUsUyvzHodGACLcBGAs/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EYdfQ-h8F2w/Ww60fhwMUsI/AAAAAAAAKAo/xKlW2Y420-IWAC2mc-SosbUsUyvzHodGACLcBGAs/s640/13.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Not that you can tell from my facial expressions, but we've already established that I'm giving up on those.<br />
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These pictures are just me swishing and swooshing my culottes around, hoping you can tell how fab they are.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wWGHP1KFHEU/Ww60gFqbIbI/AAAAAAAAKAw/0riU0AgvmtIPnQYb-kpVtktRvJvTPjJRACLcBGAs/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wWGHP1KFHEU/Ww60gFqbIbI/AAAAAAAAKAw/0riU0AgvmtIPnQYb-kpVtktRvJvTPjJRACLcBGAs/s640/15.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Make no mistake: these culottes are fab. Go sew yourselves some, you radiant people!<br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-47340864016998800912018-06-02T20:18:00.001+02:002018-06-02T20:21:48.660+02:00MORGAN JEANS + GRECO TEE / plain and simple<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
OK so having gone on about how great the iphone camera is, I'm not sure what happened to make these pics come out all grainy - but I'm not re-doing them! And actually, I think that's entirely appropriate to the makes themselves: low-key, laid-back - basically, clothes for lazy days off. In keeping with the whole theme, here you also have me posing without even having blow dried or tied up my hair*. Today we are doing the very casualest possible, thank you very much!</div>
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*<i> and, it turned out, with the onset of my very first migraine. Ugh.</i></div>
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So let's start wth the jeans, shall we? These are a pair of <a href="https://store.closetcasepatterns.com/products/morgan-boyfriend-jeans-pattern" target="_blank">Morgan jeans</a> that I made two years ago. At the time, this was a big deal - they were the first pair of jeans I had ever made, in fact the first pair of trousers that weren't stretchy <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.com/2014/07/hudson-pants.html" target="_blank">Hudson pants</a> (I think). So there was quite a bit of nervousness about the both the fitting and the sewing processes being more involved than I was used to.</div>
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<i>(By the way: yes, still struggling to coordinate photo-taking posture with photo-appropriate face. No longer struggling with whether to care, I shall just post them anyway. You'll be able tell when I've lost all remaining self consciousness, when I stop even mentioning it...)</i><br />
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Of course by now you've probably read approx 1 zillion blog posts about the greatness of Closet Case patterns' jeans-sewing instructions, and yes, I was pleasantly surprised to find that sewing jeans wasn't/isn't difficult (even allowing for sewing machine uncooperativeness when it comes to buttonholes). As many others before me have found, it was even rather enjoyable, especially because at the end one has MADE ONE'S OWN JEANS!! So as far as the sewing process was concerned, no problem.</div>
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On the fit, however, I stumbled slightly. I wasn't so lazy as to avoid making a muslin, but I <i>was</i> lazy enough to not bother attaching the waistband to it before deciding on my adjustments.... and I also didn't factor in that my denim had considerably more give than the upholstery fabric I muslined with. With the first wear of the final jeans, it became abundantly clear that not only could/should I have gone down a size, but also that I really didn't need to faff around shortening the front crotch. At all. See those drag lines?</div>
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And that's with me wearing these jeans as low-slung as possible. Even then, the waistband is all bunched up under my belt. Plus, that's a hell of a lot of extra fabric in the bum area too:</div>
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I've since come to the realisation that I tend to need a flat butt adjustment on most trouser patterns - but I also think that for the non-stretch Morgan jeans, sizing down and allowing the fabric to bag out a bit with wear is definitely the way to go.</div>
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In real life though, where for better or worse no-one tends to be looking that closely at either my front or back crotch, it's hardly a disaster. I have been wearing these jeans solidly for the last two summers and it's fine, even if they can't really be paired with tees any shorter than this, for the sake of covering up the fit issues. The denim isn't super heavy, so they're ideal trousers for mid-temperature weather, and at time of making, it was a real relief to switch back to non-skinny jeans again. Plus I love the cropped length and look of them with the turn-ups. So, yay for Morgan jeans! I did immediately make another pair in linen, actually - but they just came out of the wash and need ironing, and I wasn't going to do that just for blog photos, so you'll just have to imagine them. They're grey and the fabric came from Ikea. They have the same fit issues but worse, because linen.</div>
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Anyway, on to the t-shirt!! I think we can all agree that the ideal t-shirt pattern is an elusive beast, essentially because we would never be able to agree on what the ideal t-shirt pattern actually is. Everyone's ideal tee looks different. However, this one comes pretty close to mine - and, bonus points because it's FREE!<br />
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This is the <a href="https://www.ensemblepatterns.com/shop/greco-tee" target="_blank">Greco tee by Ensemble patterns</a>. As you can see, it's a loose-fitting scoop neck t-shirt. The pattern comes with a couple of options - straight or curved hem, short or cuffed sleeves. I went for the curved hem and cuffed sleeves. The pattern notes mention that you can get different effects using different types of fabric - the less drapy your fabric, the boxier your tee - and in fact I made three of these t-shirts in three cotton jerseys with varying lycra content. This orange one is the drapiest and stretchiest, and has turned out to be my favourite to wear (plus, ORANGE). The others are a shade <i>too</i> boxy for me (something I never thought I'd say!), even though neither of the fabrics are particularly stiff. Perhaps sizing down for a slightly closer fit in less stretchy fabrics would be a good idea. Anyway, overall the proportions of the Greco are exactly what I want from a t-shirt. I don't have much else to say about it than that! I hadn't come across any other t-shirt patterns that quite fit the bill, so this one plugged a gap there perfectly.</div>
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Another good thing: the pattern pdf is available in A0 format as well as A4, so I splashed out and had my local printshop print it for me. I usually don't, as they charge 6.50 euros per A0 sheet, but this pattern is all on one page and I figured I could handle the cost this once, given that I hadn't paid anything for the pattern itself. These days I'm increasingly feeling that life/time is just too short to spend it sticking together patterns tiled on A4, and will just choose printed patterns wherever I can. But there are still plenty of patterns available in pdf format only, and at that price, having the local printshop do it isn't really a permanent option. So I've been <i>extremely</i> pleased to recently have discovered <a href="http://patternsy.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Patternsy</a> - who will print large format pdfs, or even tile A4s together if you're prepared to pay a bit more, on excellent quality "heavy" tissue paper, and ship it to you at top speed at exceptionally reasonable prices (even factoring in shipping to Europe; they're based in the UK). Given that pdf-only patterns are usually slightly cheaper than paper patterns, the total cost of having Patternsy do my printing doesn't usually come to more than I'd have been prepared to pay for a paper pattern in the first place. All round win!</div>
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Right, so, there we are. I think I've said all that I possibly can about this most basic of outfits, and almost certainly more than was strictly necessary :-)</div>
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Byeeeee!</div>
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Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-20117584770678547872018-05-19T19:47:00.001+02:002018-05-19T19:47:42.474+02:00GREEN LINEN ARCHER / blog comeback?<div style="text-align: center;">
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Yo guys! I'm back! Here's a shirt I made! </div>
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<img alt="" height="640" id="id_1d76_d55c_b6b4_729b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C74-SaCMNL4/WwAL72OEnKI/AAAAAAAAJ_A/n89aNbdrpxMoFFXc63Ryhoy2nSis8Ac3QCHMYCw/s640/%255BUNSET%255D" title="" tooltip="" width="480" /></div>
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This is my second <a href="https://grainlinestudio.com/shop/women/archer-button-up-shirt-paper/" target="_blank">Archer shirt</a> - in fact, I think it's the second button-up, collared shirt I've made myself ever. The first was <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2014/04/unseasonably-archer.html" target="_blank">ages ago</a> when Archer shirts were a new and exciting thing and the whole blogworld was making them and I thought I'd join in even though I hadn't worn a shirt for about 20 years, and the ones worn 20 years previously had basically encapsulated everything that was awful about dressing oneself as a teenager in the 1990s. Needless to say, although I liked my first Archer very much in theory, it didn't actually get a lot of wear. I suspect the plaid flannel was a bit too close to teenage-me for comfort.</div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p4P8p1ALjkg/WwAL9csgIwI/AAAAAAAAJ_U/bIIcpWNMWCoQFuDt-GWfl-zkEIB1bmOaQCHMYCw/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="id_d50a_22f_ceb6_2218" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p4P8p1ALjkg/WwAL9csgIwI/AAAAAAAAJ_U/bIIcpWNMWCoQFuDt-GWfl-zkEIB1bmOaQCHMYCw/s640/%255BUNSET%255D" title="" tooltip="" width="480" /></a></div>
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This one comes from a different place. A place where Archer shirts have been around for yonks and are actually a bit boring in blogging terms these days I suspect (but you're still reading this, right, so we're good?) I am now also slightly less influenceable by what all the cool kids on instagram are making, or at least, less immediately so (I'll have been lurking whatever the algorithm shows me for quite a while before I finally give in and buy that hot new pattern from 6 months ago). So when I found myself needing long-sleeved, lightweight shirts to take on holiday to Jordan over Easter this year, I found myself thinking: hey, I already have a great pattern for that! And promptly went shopping for linen. </div>
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This rather lovely forest-green stuff comes from <a href="https://www.tissusameublementbruxelles.be/en" target="_blank">Berger</a>, my reliable go-to source of solid basics. It was 7.5 euros a meter, which is a pretty good price for a perfectly good linen, I think. It was a bit stiff to begin with, and softened up a little in the pre-wash - but it was on washing the finished shirt that it really started to "break in" and it's just been getting softer and lusher ever since. To the point that I have been falling steadily more in love with this shirt every time I wash it. I really love it! It has no 1990s overtones at all - in fact, I'm greatly enjoying the rather 70s vibes it gives off, aided dramatically by pairing it with some deliciously high-waisted and wide-legged jeans I got recently in H&M, which I probably do more than I should. (I don't care).</div>
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Other construction stuff: it's view A without the butt ruffle, I did <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2014/04/fitting-for-slouch-no-dart-full-bust.html" target="_blank">my usual no-dart FBA</a>, lengthened the shirt body by 6cm and shortened the sleeves by 2. I followed the pattern directions but found myself wishing I had used Marilla Walker's method for attaching and finishing the collar, as detailed in her <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/571671215/pdf-isca-shirt-dress-sewing-pattern" target="_blank">Isca dress pattern</a> - which by the way I must also tell you about sometime soon, I love that dress - because I found it more straightforward in getting a nice tidy finish. Right now unfortunately I can't remember the difference except that I found Marilla's version way less fiddly when closing up all the seams, but if I go away to look it up this post will never get published.<br />
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Also, while we're on technical details, I just got a remote for my phone camera, having swapped to an iphone after years on android, and these two things combined mean that taking pictures for potential blog posts is now WAY easier because a) I always have my phone to hand, b) the iphone camera is shit hot so the pics don't really need editing, and c) I can therefore just upload them when I'm on the metro or whatever. So who knows, maybe I will actually tell you about that Isca dress sometime soon.</div>
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Nonetheless, making appropriate faces for blog pictures remains a challenge.</div>
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Anyway, as is the way with holiday sewing, I finished making this the evening before departure, except that I hadn't done the buttonholes. I tremendously dislike buttonholes, not because I am afraid of them but because, despite all the sweet talking, cajoling and downright bullying I have thrown at it over the years, my sewing machine remains a bitch that refuses to sew a functional buttonhole if it can so much as smell an adjacent seam allowance, no matter how trimmed or graded. But then I had a brainwave: somewhere like Amman would of course have tailors, who could sew them on the spot. I texted my sister (who lives there, and who hosted and holidayed with us) to confirm my hunch - and went to sleep having happily avoided an obsessive pre-flight sewing all-nighter.</div>
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Two days later, we found the downtown tailoring district easily enough, located a man available right then, and proceeded to have the following conversation.</div>
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<b>Me</b> : it just needs buttonholes where I've marked with the pins.</div>
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<b>Sister and tailor</b> : <i>discuss in Arabic</i></div>
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<b>Sister to me </b>: is it a man's shirt or a woman's shirt?</div>
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<b>Me</b> : it's for me.</div>
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<i>More discussion</i></div>
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<b>Sister</b> : he says it's wrong.</div>
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<b>Me</b> : I know, that's because I sewed the placket on the wrong side by accident.</div>
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<b>Sister</b> : what's a placket? </div>
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<b>Me</b> : ... <i>explains...</i></div>
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<b>* Sister and tailor</b> : <i>more discussion, rather intense</i></div>
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<b>Sister</b> : it doesn't make sense.</div>
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<b>Me</b> : but I don't actually care which side the buttonholes are on anyway.</div>
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<i>Repeat from <b>*</b> about 4 or 5 times</i></div>
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<b>Me</b> : ok tell him it's a man's shirt.</div>
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<b>Sister</b> : <i>tells him it's a man's shirt</i></div>
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<b>Tailor</b> : <i>rolls eyes, tells us to come back in an hour</i></div>
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<b>Sister and me</b> : <i>leave, feeling a bit sheepish</i></div>
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Needless to say, this shirt has the best buttonholes of any garment I have ever made, and probably of any garment I will ever make in the future too. Now I want an industrial sewing machine that can be relied upon to power through all the seams in all the things at top speed, but the husband is sadly not on board, mainly because this would involve either an extra item of furniture, or cutting a hole in one we already possess. Spoilsport.</div>
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This picture ^^ didn't really come out as intended, but is essentially the exact image of myself I have at work when adding people to my daily list of fools, as in, I don't suffer them gladly. I am totally super-professional though so I answer all the stupid questions with enthusiastically cheery politeness, and then when I hang up I do that pose in my head.</div>
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Anyway guys. Make an Archer! In linen! They're so good! Not news to anyone anywhere, I know. So my main tip for this post is: GO TO JORDAN. I cannot even begin to describe what a great place it is to visit, so I won't even try, but seriously. Do it! </div>
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Hasta pronto, my lovelies!</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-frVWyqBZqgI/WXXnUyffIhI/AAAAAAAAJ1A/q6hV3xFplJ0TdTpPEdogqHRQh6zZ142RwCLcBGAs/s1600/ease.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1420" height="323" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-frVWyqBZqgI/WXXnUyffIhI/AAAAAAAAJ1A/q6hV3xFplJ0TdTpPEdogqHRQh6zZ142RwCLcBGAs/s400/ease.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
<i><b> </b></i><br />
<i><b>Ease In to Motherhood</b> is a sewists’ celebration of
motherhood and the changes it brings to our lives. During the month of
July, we invite you to share your experiences of the physical and mental
changes of pregnancy, childbirth and/or any other way a child comes to
your life. We invite you to share how you embrace yourself throughout
motherhood, to appreciate all the physical and mental energy it takes,
to accept and love the changes in your body, your mind and your life. We
invite you to share how you still dedicate time to care for yourself.
We invite you to share how sewing is a part of your life through the
journey.</i><br />
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(A discussion opened and hosted by <a href="https://seamstresserin.com/ease-into-motherhood/" target="_blank">Erin</a>, <a href="http://sewfearless.com/2017/06/ease-into-motherhood/" target="_blank">Jodi</a> and <a href="https://monserrattlopez.wordpress.com/2017/06/24/ease-in-to-motherhood-july-2017/">Montserratt</a>).</div>
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OK so I know it's a nice little play on sewing words, but I must admit that my very first thought was: um, <i>ease </i>into motherhood? HAHAHAHAHAHA. <i>CRASH</i>, more like it!<br />
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Or was that just me? </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two pics of each - I most definitely do not have four children </td></tr>
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The thing was, though, I loved having tiny babies. I know for some (most?) people, the early months of constant feeding, nappy-changing and interrupted sleep are a tortuous experience which improves dramatically as the child gets bigger. But I found the newborn phase relatively easy - breastfeeding went fine, the first child was a good sleeper, and while the second wasn't, I was enjoying myself so much that I breezed through his first six months fuelled on a mix of euphoria and strong coffee. Perhaps that's why the crash, when it came, was all the harder. I'd thought I was doing just fine. And no, I didn't much like the weaning and toddling, but this too was a phase they'd grow into and then out of. I didn't think I had anything much to worry about.<br />
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I stopped breastfeeding my son (the second of the two) quite suddenly when he was six months old. I had been enjoying pottering along on maternity leave and sort of forgot I was going back to work, and would therefore need to getting him drinking out of bottles for his time in daycare, until the week before. He took to it immediately, and the physical relief of not feeding him myself every two hours was so huge that within that week I transitioned him to being entirely bottle fed. Feeding issues for creche: sorted. Me: liberated. I hardly gave it a second thought.<br />
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I should have. Eight years later, I am now quite firmly convinced (on no scientific basis whatsoever I must add) that that sudden hormonal, physical and emotional change was what flipped the switch in my brain somewhere and kicked off my journey into depression. I've talked about that experience <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/01/2014-2015.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and luckily, not much has changed since then (the meds and mindfulness do their job!) What I do have now, though, that I didn't fully realise at that time, is an awareness of just how much my struggle with depression and anxiety is and has been a struggle with <i>the fact that I am a mother</i>.<br />
<br />
That's a hard thing to face. I'm not even sure I could say why it is (I could offer a few theories, but they're probably best kept for the therapist). But it recurs over, and over, and over again - almost any anxiety or stress I experience, however it presents itself to begin with, only gets resolved when I trace it back to the same question: who am I? I'm a mother. And what kind of mother am I? And what else am I? And who are these children, and how do we grow together? And that's where the process of working it out, picking myself up again, starts.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RoNVKjwOGTM/WXYoVZe32EI/AAAAAAAAJ1U/FBcXnucyg_ctwKrvrWzVaCHd_JLZ4wz2gCLcBGAs/s1600/PicMonkey%2BCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RoNVKjwOGTM/WXYoVZe32EI/AAAAAAAAJ1U/FBcXnucyg_ctwKrvrWzVaCHd_JLZ4wz2gCLcBGAs/s640/PicMonkey%2BCollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Left</b>: bought the fabric without thinking of the ironing those sodding ruffles would need.<br />
<b>Centre</b>: towels + bias tape. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Worn once only.<br />
<b>Right</b>: the first trousers I ever made. A rare early success!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<br />
So, motherhood and sewing. Well, I completely agree with everything Vicki wrote <a href="http://anothersewingscientist.blogspot.be/2017/07/ease-into-motherhood-get-yourself-thing.html" target="_blank">here</a> about Getting Yourself A Thing. Obviously, sewing is my Thing too, and I'm very glad I found it. Also my Things are blogging, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jo_sews/" target="_blank">instagramming</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/jo_sews" target="_blank">twitting</a> (less frequently these days) about sewing. Being able to communicate with others about the Thing does me a power of good! And if I have anything to say to other parents reading this, I suppose it's on that. Find Your Thing, yes, but also: <b>Find Your Voice</b>.<br />
<br />
I had another blog before I started this one. It only lasted a few months before I shut it down, and the reason I did that wasn't because no-one read it (though they didn't) but because it wasn't my voice that was coming out. Instead, it was the voice of someone who thought that blogging about sewing was somehow the same thing as blogging about your children, and about sewing and crafting for them and with them. You see, there were so many wonderful sewing sites and tutorials out there - <a href="http://www.madeeveryday.com/" target="_blank">Dana</a>, <a href="http://www.sewmamasew.com/" target="_blank">Sew Mama Sew</a>, to name just two - and I simply didn't know where the not-mummy things were. In my real voice, now, I can tell you this: I <i>hate </i>crafting with children. I'm SO glad mine are big enough now to do their own crafts without very much parental input. But back then, when they were small, that blog started like this...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Wednesday, February 9, 2011<br />
<b>First post</b><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M-JvqvBVWWA/WXXnJdAocMI/AAAAAAAAJ08/7Rv7WVvPdao2WArKixOYcdKiZr3bQfGEwCLcBGAs/s1600/first%2Bpost.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M-JvqvBVWWA/WXXnJdAocMI/AAAAAAAAJ08/7Rv7WVvPdao2WArKixOYcdKiZr3bQfGEwCLcBGAs/s400/first%2Bpost.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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This is my idea of a good time:
at home pottering about and making a merry old mess. Them: toys, crayons and
books. Me: pins, needle and thread.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I learned to sew with my mum and
at a rather traditional girls’ school where I and 5 others took GCSE textiles.
In my rose-tinted memory the class was a twice-weekly haven of calm, creativity
and gossip; my mum mainly remembers the enormous practical coursework burden
and desperate all-nighters trying to finish the projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These were clearly enough to put me off,
because I hardly sewed anything for the next 15 years or so.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And then last summer I got my
stitching mojo back. I rediscovered my sewing machine (a secondhand 1970s model
that cost 20 pounds and weighs about the same), experimented with some easy
dresses, and then threw myself into making Christmas presents for my friends.
Since September I’ve spent more lunchbreaks than I care to admit on fabric
porn*.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Even at its most frustrating,
sewing is total occupational therapy. It’s absorbing and it's liberating,
keeping my hands busy and clearing my head. I find myself actually thinking
about things again (with two toddlers and a full time job, it's been a while
since I did that).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So this blog is
mainly about keeping a record of the things I’ve made - but it’s also about
getting myself to keep sewing and thinking. Because another thing I really
enjoy but don’t do any more is writing.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The idea is that making stuff and
writing about it keeps me more or less sane...<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">* i.e., wandering around fabric
shops, stroking things and trying not to drool.</span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<br />
It's clearly me in that post, and I still hold to most of it. But you know what? In reality, I hate mess. And nice though it was to sew in the middle of family life, generally I find it <i>even nicer</i> to sew in my own room, preferably with the door shut and an audiobook on. In that post, the kids get mentioned first, then I appear briefly before moving on to my own mother, who pops up straight away in the second paragraph (analyse that...). That idea I had about "keeping myself sane" - I suspect what I meant was "keeping" (or rather, "making") myself the kind of mum who blogs lovely things about her children on the internet. It is me in that post - but it also really, really isn't.<br />
<br />
The only kind of parent any of us can be is an authentic one. Nobody else can parent your kids the way you do (and that's a good thing!); no-one else can speak to your experience. You might be the parent, like me, whose only choice is to embrace the fact that motherhood and identity are sands constantly shifting beneath your feet. That's ok. We're ok. Our kids are ok. It's who we are. The only stories we can tell are our own; and we are the only ones who can tell them.<br />
<br />
You just need to Find Your Voice.<br />
<br />
(It's the one that's been there all along).<br />
<br />
<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-31645174749008886502017-07-19T11:39:00.000+02:002017-07-19T16:48:33.514+02:00Back at itYesssss the scissors are out again!!<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LyTjtIa-hAo/WW5xCAO8mMI/AAAAAAAAJzM/Cnu8yj92y7gkI0T7Tx589_jhkSUKJVnMQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="1053" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LyTjtIa-hAo/WW5xCAO8mMI/AAAAAAAAJzM/Cnu8yj92y7gkI0T7Tx589_jhkSUKJVnMQCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_0184.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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One dress-length fluorescent striped <a href="http://shop.truebias.com/product/sutton-blouse" target="_blank">Sutton blouse</a> hack, coming right up!<br />
<br />
In other news, knitting.<br />
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</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KAvbspHv0ZY/WW50zgUa5mI/AAAAAAAAJzg/5wiRnwgwyws0nRYFb0neBVPB8C5YARa_wCLcBGAs/s1600/20170716_124531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1600" height="384" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KAvbspHv0ZY/WW50zgUa5mI/AAAAAAAAJzg/5wiRnwgwyws0nRYFb0neBVPB8C5YARa_wCLcBGAs/s640/20170716_124531.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll spare you the story of why there is a sofa in front of the door to the garden. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I started <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/enchanted-mesa" target="_blank">the sweater</a> - in fact I liked starting it so much, I did it about 4 times until I got a gauge I was happy with. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-avmVEKREt2c/WW5zm2vUxbI/AAAAAAAAJzY/33jLnXBT748lwofrUVlo9-tMDinlvYy6gCLcBGAs/s1600/20170716_114226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-avmVEKREt2c/WW5zm2vUxbI/AAAAAAAAJzY/33jLnXBT748lwofrUVlo9-tMDinlvYy6gCLcBGAs/s640/20170716_114226.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It starts with a neckline welt, which reminded me how much I love provisional cast ons. Such a clever thing! You know what else I love? That on Ravelry, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#pa=provisional&view=captioned_thumbs&sort=recently-popular&craft=knitting" target="_blank">you can use "provisional cast on" as a pattern search criteria</a>. (Yes I know that should be 'criterion' but it just sounds weird). On Ravelry you can use almost anything as as a search criterion (<i>ok fine, </i>inner grammer nazi). You want free patterns for socks knit sideways with a provisional cast on in Estonian, sorted in order of hotness? <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&language=et&availability=free&pa=provisional%2Bsideways&sort=recently-popular&pc=socks&view=captioned_thumbs" target="_blank">Take your pick</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ecU7VcTPhaE/WW5yq8YyjEI/AAAAAAAAJzU/vFiGLrszXik2VL8p3kzD2NWOMwsy72MbQCLcBGAs/s1600/20170715_175544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ecU7VcTPhaE/WW5yq8YyjEI/AAAAAAAAJzU/vFiGLrszXik2VL8p3kzD2NWOMwsy72MbQCLcBGAs/s640/20170715_175544.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Also this week, I blocked a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JoSewsEtc/volga" target="_blank">cowl</a> and maxed out my credit card paying the security deposit for a motorhome rental. The next time I tried to order some yarn - and it wasn't even much, less than 20 euros!! - my payment was refused. NOOOOOOOOOO. Holidays are all well and good, as is budgeting properly, I suppose. But GAH. A pattern pdf here and there never broke the bank - however a month without paypal might just break ME. <br />
<br />
On which I shall leave you, contemplating just exactly what that says about the health of my online purchasing habits #ugh<br />
<br />
<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-34787584651922800242017-07-09T22:42:00.001+02:002017-07-09T22:47:50.429+02:00Today we had nothing to doToday we had nothing to do. For the first time in months, there were no looming deadlines, no Lists of Stuff To Get Done, there was nowhere at all we needed to be. There's no school tomorrow. Work is heading into July quietly. I woke up this morning with the summer stretching out before me - blissfully filled with absolutely Nothing. At. All. (Except all the actual things it is filled with, but those are FUN and include - but are not limited to - a trip to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and three weeks in the Highlands of Scotland with a campervan. Bring it!)<br />
<br />
Anyway, I marked this momentously Nothing of a day by quietly realising that I have been struck with a case of <a href="http://www.knitting-and.com/wiki/startitis/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">startitis</a>. I'm waiting on an order of little tiny needles with which to knit socks, and some longer-but-still-quite-tiny needles with which to knit a cowl, and this morning I decided that I just didn't want to wait for them to arrive. I wanted to start knitting.<br />
<br />
So I did. Throwing reason and caution to the wind, I picked <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/istex-lettlopi" target="_blank">some yarn</a> that has been waiting to be a jumper, and a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/enchanted-mesa" target="_blank">pattern</a> that has been waiting for yarn, decided they'd do fine together, and started. Yes I know that doesn't sound exactly unreasonable or uncautious, but please understand: usually, I am most absolutely, strictly monogamous with my projects. <i>Nothing</i> starts until the previous project is done, whether knitting, sewing or anything else. But today, as I said, I woke up feeling liberated. You know what? When those needles arrive, I'm going to start knitting the other things too, BOTH OF THEM. Booyah.<br />
<br />
Because this isn't exactly having three different juggling balls in the air at once, all ready to come crashing down at a moment's notice, is it? This is blowing bubbles and watching them float slowly up and away in their own directions. Socks, sweater or cowl? I'll just knit whichever I feel like, whenever I feel like it. There's no rush: they don't have to be done, not ever if I decide I don't want to. If I decide so, I can just burst that bubble, frog that thing - and start something else.<br />
<br />
Oh yes, it's a small thing, but then the big things generally are. Dear lovelies out there, I wish you a most excellent start to your week!<br />
<br />
(And I also very much hope I haven't jinxed myself in speaking of this liberated feeling out loud. If it's another several months before I post, assume today was a one off...)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dtbflSSIGwc/WWKO8WnOXZI/AAAAAAAAJyA/2TNcJPhf-j4agXFsmyKeSaJLRg6QvBeoACLcBGAs/s1600/20170611_191117-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dtbflSSIGwc/WWKO8WnOXZI/AAAAAAAAJyA/2TNcJPhf-j4agXFsmyKeSaJLRg6QvBeoACLcBGAs/s640/20170611_191117-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not today. The other week, snapped by the boy who SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PLAYING WITH MY PHONE<br />but ok, it's a picture of me knitting, which was a nice surprise.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
P.S. Yes I know, I <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2017/01/white-grey-all-colours.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mentioned the wedding dress</a> and then disappeared. It happened and I promise I will tell you all about it... soon. Probably.<br />
<br />
Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-12116457303410852132017-01-25T18:06:00.000+01:002017-01-25T18:06:39.425+01:00White, grey, all the colours<br />
WHITE: this box, its contents, and snow.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k2GlDZD7e20/WIjLORzpz7I/AAAAAAAAJr0/tS-lbRv7NegRdJiYFWRXWuW-kpFLYNVpQCLcB/s1600/20170115_115922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k2GlDZD7e20/WIjLORzpz7I/AAAAAAAAJr0/tS-lbRv7NegRdJiYFWRXWuW-kpFLYNVpQCLcB/s640/20170115_115922.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Me and daughter went to buy the box and its contents on a day when the city was covered in dirty slush. She spent the whole time wishing she lived in the countryside where the cold is prettier, much to the chagrin of me and her dad - we both escaped from rustic tedium as soon as we could, but does she appreciate the bright lights of the big smoke? Does she crap. Ah, the circle of generational resistance! She also filled my phone with random pictures in and from the shop. This view of the car park is the only one in focus.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A0nzgTPqKu4/WIjK3PfEepI/AAAAAAAAJrA/jMt1-hJ0yh4iW03Ay6KfBDstCMoJhzZ9QCLcB/s1600/20170114_170208_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A0nzgTPqKu4/WIjK3PfEepI/AAAAAAAAJrA/jMt1-hJ0yh4iW03Ay6KfBDstCMoJhzZ9QCLcB/s640/20170114_170208_resized.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
The box and its contents cost almost 1400 euros. Well, I suppose the box was free. The contents are for my sister's wedding dress. Am I insane? Yes, probably. I have until 6 May. A mock up has been done, and I only have about 4 pages of adjustments to make before the next one.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ROt68PinTqM/WIjLOar99ZI/AAAAAAAAJr4/BWGesyX6c10OVPSGwY0noMglCOA1arowwCLcB/s1600/20170115_120019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ROt68PinTqM/WIjLOar99ZI/AAAAAAAAJr4/BWGesyX6c10OVPSGwY0noMglCOA1arowwCLcB/s640/20170115_120019.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Good thing I asked for a whole bunch of tailoring and couture-appropriate sewing supplies for Christmas, really. Here's hoping it all makes the wedding dress sewing a total breeze. That's likely, right?<br />
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GREY: January, my mood, some yarn.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X4_eGBDtFHA/WIjK3pfjNJI/AAAAAAAAJrM/T-yguLpR86IqXmSy8vqshmwbs1hEuNUpACLcB/s1600/20170115_115812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X4_eGBDtFHA/WIjK3pfjNJI/AAAAAAAAJrM/T-yguLpR86IqXmSy8vqshmwbs1hEuNUpACLcB/s640/20170115_115812.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The above was a grey afternoon earlier this month when I cut out an admittedly not-grey dress (an <a href="http://byhandlondon.com/products/elisalex-dress">Elisalex</a>, should you be interested) which I am now wearing, as I write. That fabric combined with my blue cardigan makes me feel a little like I'm in school uniform, which is not exactly lifting my spirits.You can hear the grey mood, can't you? I've basically been a total misanthrope for the last two months, December's final week of food, booze and chocolate excepted. I expect I'll cheer up soon. But it probably explains my growing addiction to <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/brands/noro">Noro yarn</a>.<br />
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The trick with Noro yarn is to always buy it on sale. Although unless you are very strong willed you will cancel out the savings by buying so much of it your cupboard is overflowing with the brightly-coloured nubbly stuff and you have no idea what you will do with it all.<br />
<br />
I am not very strong willed.<br />
<br />
For balance, I have combined this radiant rainbow of a skein - so the scarf is at least semi-sophisticated - with a contrasting solid colour. Yes, more grey.<br />
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But, see this next knitted thing: ALL THE COLOURS!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VD7VJZLf2Tw/WIjK4RtOE6I/AAAAAAAAJrg/oxyXI9sAoCsPVWnB1GL0FodWY-XDV-aQgCLcB/s1600/20170115_150020_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VD7VJZLf2Tw/WIjK4RtOE6I/AAAAAAAAJrg/oxyXI9sAoCsPVWnB1GL0FodWY-XDV-aQgCLcB/s640/20170115_150020_resized.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
Yes, I do already have a (not-combined-with-grey) Noro scarf thing. Which is just as well, because above-mentioned daughter has already claimed the new one for when its done.<br />
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I like how the fringe on this one makes me feel like a hippy.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CEWxCvuOShI/WIjK4DKZ6mI/AAAAAAAAJrY/WTYItIs_6wg8bQ20ThrW1ddrwfgZekgrACLcB/s1600/20170115_120745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CEWxCvuOShI/WIjK4DKZ6mI/AAAAAAAAJrY/WTYItIs_6wg8bQ20ThrW1ddrwfgZekgrACLcB/s640/20170115_120745.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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In other news, I have been investigating (i.e. buying supplies for) cross stitch. Because I need a new hobby like I need a hole in the head. But hey, variety is the spice of life - and totally not a "I'm scared of sewing a wedding dress" distraction!<br />
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* * *</div>
<br />
<i>I think I might be here more frequently, maybe, from now on. But less, well, I don't know - I might ramble and there might be less crafts. It's time... time to let some of the writing out...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I hope you are well, dear friends! Belated happy 2017! What are you working on to start your year?</i><br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-12898920782563288702016-11-24T16:56:00.001+01:002016-11-24T16:56:33.922+01:00A year in the making: knitted Cline sweaterI have decided to be a grumpy old git for the month of November.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-glP7FvU0JC4/WCH7hHO-SrI/AAAAAAAAJN4/R4uCVp7fLdYhmBxL8CpB2bwmt8g4dTYSQCLcB/s1600/P1120840.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-glP7FvU0JC4/WCH7hHO-SrI/AAAAAAAAJN4/R4uCVp7fLdYhmBxL8CpB2bwmt8g4dTYSQCLcB/s640/P1120840.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's dark and boring. Everyone is hunkered down doing nothing much but waiting for the December madness to kick off, and to be frank I'm feeling a bit bah humbug about that too. I like Christmas and all - in fact, generally I love it - but for Christmas to go smoothly in a month's time means engaging my brain NOW about things like travel and gifts and recipes, and my brain does not wish to be engaged. It would like to hibernate. It is asking itself what the hell it was thinking in September when it decided to knit masses of presents and bought all the wool and then just looked at it for a long time, because the appearance of Git Me that does not want to knit to a deadline while procrastinating on the big food-related to-do list WAS INEVITABLE.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eS-xWGkceRw/WCH7hP9V_YI/AAAAAAAAJN0/EFsGiiy9UToBs4OD5I_XoL7nGlXT4t_3gCLcB/s1600/P1120847a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eS-xWGkceRw/WCH7hP9V_YI/AAAAAAAAJN0/EFsGiiy9UToBs4OD5I_XoL7nGlXT4t_3gCLcB/s640/P1120847a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Thing is, I know very well what September brain was thinking. It was thinking: I AM A KNITTING WIZZZZAAARD(-ess?)!!!!<br />
<br />
Because of this jumper.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IXPVczcqm3w/WCH7h2kXs2I/AAAAAAAAJOA/poCx17PkyhUbXU6GLnFWPEnc6m8pZCdBQCLcB/s1600/P1120886.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IXPVczcqm3w/WCH7h2kXs2I/AAAAAAAAJOA/poCx17PkyhUbXU6GLnFWPEnc6m8pZCdBQCLcB/s640/P1120886.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
This jumper took over a year of knitting. No, actually, that's not true: it took over a year to complete, in which time I also knit several other things, because the knitting of this jumper was at once overwhelming (it's knit in pieces! Even when you've finished knitting it, it's not done!!) and overwhelmingly tedious. (Stockinette. Knit flat. In four separate parts. Insert crying emoji here). It's also knit in about the scratchiest wool I could find - well, in any case, the scratchiest wool I have ever knit with. All in all, it was not a smooth sensory experience.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LdTC4hB_v1I/WCH7hYrUQ7I/AAAAAAAAJN8/ox4W0-GRqqYQXMVcrGwhWCnLrypugucmACLcB/s1600/P1120826.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LdTC4hB_v1I/WCH7hYrUQ7I/AAAAAAAAJN8/ox4W0-GRqqYQXMVcrGwhWCnLrypugucmACLcB/s640/P1120826.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div>
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Basically, this jumper was the very definition of knitting for the product, not the process. However. I knew, from well before I even cast on, that I would love the
product. And the reason September brain was feeling so exuberant about
its knit skillz is because I was right - all that hard work (ok, "hard
work") finally paid off. I DO love it! <br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U_OdNjnSlR8/WCH7ikVTDmI/AAAAAAAAJOM/UWibdlI0SXY08xE3PF0FkX5eEL4dH6QaQCLcB/s1600/P1120958.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U_OdNjnSlR8/WCH7ikVTDmI/AAAAAAAAJOM/UWibdlI0SXY08xE3PF0FkX5eEL4dH6QaQCLcB/s640/P1120958.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">There
are people who don't like wearing scratchy wool. There are people who
think that a baggy gray jumper is too tedious to wear, let alone make (my mum
helpfully voiced this opinion repeatedly). There are people who think dolman
sleeves are the opposite of an interesting design feature.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-16p9erdCEqg/WCH7iIzqyEI/AAAAAAAAJOI/K28cdcEUUjQxRYFqcCv9X074BRqdTIMfACLcB/s1600/P1120906.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-16p9erdCEqg/WCH7iIzqyEI/AAAAAAAAJOI/K28cdcEUUjQxRYFqcCv9X074BRqdTIMfACLcB/s640/P1120906.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I
am not any of those people.</span></span> And this piece of knitwear fits predictably, perfectly well
into my weekend uniform of (skinny) jeans and (oversized) sweater.<span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">See? I'm smiling. (This picture was taken before
November).</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jDfyEUQlNwk/WCH7iMyTSqI/AAAAAAAAJOE/1gboL3PiT_gPK_Pv6vEWdk5SjxuWTQrmACLcB/s1600/P1120915.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jDfyEUQlNwk/WCH7iMyTSqI/AAAAAAAAJOE/1gboL3PiT_gPK_Pv6vEWdk5SjxuWTQrmACLcB/s640/P1120915.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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SLEEVES GIF.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r1_hqNWOr_Y/WCH7igN5mVI/AAAAAAAAJOQ/0rkHWcc7U9sY2XcgXBRzE269ROtY8KbFwCLcB/s1600/dolman.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r1_hqNWOr_Y/WCH7igN5mVI/AAAAAAAAJOQ/0rkHWcc7U9sY2XcgXBRzE269ROtY8KbFwCLcB/s640/dolman.gif" width="480" /></a></div>
<br /><ul>
<li>Pattern: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cline">Cline dolman sweater</a> by Julie Hoover</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>My notes on ravelry <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JoSewsEtc/cline">here</a>. </li>
</ul>
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<br />
So, my northern hemisphere friends, how are you coping with the decreasing daylight? Any tips for me? <a href="http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/hygge-is-byllshytte-20161103116473">Just no-one say hygge</a>, ok. And southern hemisphere friends - NO WAIT DON'T TELL ME I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW. </div>
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Er, sorry. I'll probably be in a better mood next time... </div>
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Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-60049513037701373012016-10-27T13:09:00.001+02:002016-10-27T13:12:32.456+02:00La Maison Victor: Fran dressYou know a dress is a winner when you wear it to work on your birthday and two separate people ask if you're pregnant when you're most definitely not.<br />
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Yeah. That happened.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7wuG3nPENvo/WBHN_qHwe0I/AAAAAAAAIyA/BRXbaQo38hIw2P0FZMh4wKJvASZW9l8TACLcB/s1600/P1120729.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7wuG3nPENvo/WBHN_qHwe0I/AAAAAAAAIyA/BRXbaQo38hIw2P0FZMh4wKJvASZW9l8TACLcB/s640/P1120729.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Fortunately, I have now officially reached the age of Give No Sh*ts (see also: pink hair; tattoo). Turns out that people find it extra doubly embarrassing when you refuse to be embarrassed by their embarrassing remark - and friends, I must admit that I found it just ever so slightly <strike>EXTREMELY</strike> satisfying to see them squirm.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pcZ0pE6r4Fk/WBHN_opeKtI/AAAAAAAAIyE/hKwCwt9ASTQGGjQLJRonzyD1r12rgOLawCLcB/s1600/P1120711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pcZ0pE6r4Fk/WBHN_opeKtI/AAAAAAAAIyE/hKwCwt9ASTQGGjQLJRonzyD1r12rgOLawCLcB/s640/P1120711.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Plus, besides the Giving of No Sh*ts, I had fashion on my side. OVERSIZED IS A THING! And why should those of us who know that be cowed by the maternity assumptions of those who don't?!! It's hella wide and gloriously comfortable! <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p4LrFcJuYE0/WBHOAgXyDaI/AAAAAAAAIyM/4pSc_CV1Z30OqHPmtpf2O0Z1UO4-abDRACLcB/s1600/P1120780.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p4LrFcJuYE0/WBHOAgXyDaI/AAAAAAAAIyM/4pSc_CV1Z30OqHPmtpf2O0Z1UO4-abDRACLcB/s640/P1120780.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<br />
So, reasons why this is a brilliant dress:<br />
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<b>1. Shape</b>: on trend! (Probably. Right? I don't really care anyway!)<br />
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<b>2. Fabric</b>: viscose! FABRIC OF THE GODS. Light and flowy and warm YES PLEASE THANK YOU, especially for only 6 euros/metre (Brusselites, get yourselves to <a href="http://tissusameublementbruxelles.be/en">Berger</a>, they currently have it in various prints).<br />
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<b>3. Fit</b>: nailed! You'd think a loose dress like this doesn't need much fitting, but it's absolutely got to hang right or it really will resemble a maternity outfit. I started with my high bust measurement, traced off the corresponding size and then...<br />
<ul>
<li>Added a dart. Much as I love the <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2014/04/fitting-for-slouch-no-dart-full-bust.html">dartless FBA</a>, given that I was adding 2" width to a woven bodice, I wanted more precision. I used the paper pattern piece to locate my bust point and determine where/how long I wanted it, and I must say it turned out perfect. You'd hardly know it's there. STEALTH DART!</li>
<li>Lengthened the bodice centre front by 1", i.e. also more room for the boobs.</li>
<li>Shortened the bodice centre back by 1", i.e. swayback adjustment.</li>
<li>Did a 1cm forward shoulder adjustment and...</li>
<li>... a 0.5cm narrow shoulder adjustment.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8teZbp1ZuQo/WBHN_bkA-NI/AAAAAAAAIx8/AMsm997Tkh0KNr3KRXXlbcWuwNqIplragCLcB/s1600/P1120753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8teZbp1ZuQo/WBHN_bkA-NI/AAAAAAAAIx8/AMsm997Tkh0KNr3KRXXlbcWuwNqIplragCLcB/s640/P1120753.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Guys, this dress fits so well it actually feels weird! I have NEVER before worn a dress that didn't constantly need to be pulled forward, and where the sleeves sit perfectly on the edge of my shoulders. Or a dress with a gathered rectangle skirt that didn't ride up in front and hang low at the back. The whole thing just stays put where it is, from the moment I put it on. It's like a whole new way to wear clothes! And it's incredible what a difference this all makes to how flattering it is ("when's it due" questions aside). It is <i>far</i> superior to my <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2014/07/la-robe-lucie-jumps-queue.html">Lucie dress</a> - which is very much the same shape and concept, but infinitely less wearable because I didn't make the same adjustments.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VzigkWCLirc/WBHOAXRdPkI/AAAAAAAAIyI/fBfNKuaMEn8x9_n38bqBYl9qe2qqoxNTACLcB/s1600/P1120766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VzigkWCLirc/WBHOAXRdPkI/AAAAAAAAIyI/fBfNKuaMEn8x9_n38bqBYl9qe2qqoxNTACLcB/s640/P1120766.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Yep. That's my face for "I Officially Love This Dress".<br />
<br />
Almost as much as I Officially Love Biscuits And Cake.<br />
<br />
OK actually maybe I can understand the pregnancy comments after all.<br />
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(Pattern: Fran dress, <a href="https://www.lamaisonvictor.com/">La Maison Victor</a>, 3rd edition 2016. Slight hang-ups about other people's opinions: model's own)<br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-21503891208963161422016-09-12T17:06:00.000+02:002016-09-12T17:08:33.207+02:00Closet Case Files SallieHelloooooo! How are you all? I hope you've been having nice summers/winters, depending on your hemisphere. My summer's been spiffing, thank you very much - a laid back July at work, the kids happily employed at various sport camps, then off to Germany and Slovenia for plenty of fresh air and beautiful landscapes, all rounded off with a weekend of festival fun in the UK. And now, here I am, just hanging out in the garden at home.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oG5VXFMUGMI/V9ayRNbvXXI/AAAAAAAAIpI/qgdUB342NtkL01gpy3bhq9u5HGGrVi_jwCLcB/s1600/P1120610%2Bedit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oG5VXFMUGMI/V9ayRNbvXXI/AAAAAAAAIpI/qgdUB342NtkL01gpy3bhq9u5HGGrVi_jwCLcB/s640/P1120610%2Bedit.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<br />
Hanging out! Geddit?!! Y'know, the swing...? Yeah, ok. Moving swiftly on.<br />
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So, I made a dress. And I'm going to tell you about it even though the photos of it are so glaringly bright as to make the details indistinguishable. Better than no photos, eh? Just shield your eyes from my blindingly radiant bosom. <br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dVdqQND7b6E/V9ayR9T2AGI/AAAAAAAAIpQ/h-pgcxh9NIktD8SeRGU_CohBvLG76syIgCLcB/s1600/P1120588%2Bedit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dVdqQND7b6E/V9ayR9T2AGI/AAAAAAAAIpQ/h-pgcxh9NIktD8SeRGU_CohBvLG76syIgCLcB/s640/P1120588%2Bedit.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The pattern is no doubt recognisable to most readers as the <a href="http://store.closetcasefiles.com/products/sallie-jumpsuit-pattern-maxi-dress-sewing-pattern?variant=3581440387">Sallie jumpsuit/dress</a> by Closet Case Files. As you can see, I combined the kimono-sleeved bodice of view A with the maxi skirt of view B. <br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LoAssvGGokg/V9ayRGSgzWI/AAAAAAAAIpE/mpCq5obAuj8zuQpICBgyhyZKluNhcTVJQCLcB/s1600/P1120605%2Bedit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LoAssvGGokg/V9ayRGSgzWI/AAAAAAAAIpE/mpCq5obAuj8zuQpICBgyhyZKluNhcTVJQCLcB/s640/P1120605%2Bedit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The pattern pieces for the bodice front and back are actually identical, which - though I have no doubt it works fine for many - I decided on first sight to ignore, because boobs. I traced off separate front and back pieces, tracing the neckline and shoulder according to the size for my high bust (I can't remember which size it was, sorry) and then having the kimono sleeve meet the side seam two sizes up, corresponding to my full bust and waist measurements. So basically a lazy fudge rather than a full bust adjustment.<br />
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Then, I knew I wanted a more blousy effect to the bodice than it is as drafted, so I added 2 inches in length all round the bodice - and then an extra inch at the centre front to complete my cheater FBA. In the end, I also decided to curve the back waist seam back upwards about an inch in the middle - and as you can see above, it's a good thing I did, because there's still plenty of fabric pooling in the small of my back as it is. Yep, swayback adjustments basically happening systematically here these days. <br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GvOZCbki184/V9ay8XAl_iI/AAAAAAAAIpg/q7w-UOflxN8CnQuW-o4J45Q3Cs6mbpuawCLcB/s1600/P1120644%2Bedit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GvOZCbki184/V9ay8XAl_iI/AAAAAAAAIpg/q7w-UOflxN8CnQuW-o4J45Q3Cs6mbpuawCLcB/s640/P1120644%2Bedit.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<br />
Do you too ever feel like sewing is like one long voyage of discovering new and previously unimagined fit adjustments? I do. As soon as my eye is fully trained to spot one issue and my brain and hands
capable of correcting it, I notice something else. Like the
monkey mind will get bored if it has no more new fit issues to agonise over. Ugh!<br />
<br />
Anyway, once I was done with the bodice adjustments, sewing this up was a dream. The fabric was ordered from the lovely <a href="http://www.dressfabrics.ie/">Maeve</a> during a sale a couple of months ago, and has just the right weight for both easy sewing and wearing. I lined the bodice with some plain white viscose jersey as I didn't fancy trying to line stripes up on the inside too (the green would have shown through to the right side). I also added a knee-length lining to the skirt, which isn't in the pattern. It ends just above the slits in the skirt, and keeps things skimming smoothly over all the lumps and bumps and potential VPL in the tum/bum areas. I do have some slight neckline gaping on one side of the neck, but I think it might be down to a hollow-ish chest on my smaller-boob side rather than having stretched out the fabric (I reinforced it immediately after cutting). And the lining peeks out sometimes from one of the sleeves, which would no doubt not happen if I ironed it, but no. Not ironing it.<br />
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And in terms of wearing, well you've heard it from plenty of bloggers before: this dress is fabulously comfy and easy to wear. You just chuck it on and you're fully clothed, relatively stylish, and you get to swish around in a maxi feeling all fab. Those slits in the skirt are seriously good! I've got to say, I'm really impressed with the Closet Case patterns - I've made a couple this summer and have basically lived in them (more on the other soon!). The styles are great, the drafting spot on, and the sewing hits that sweet spot where challenging meets fun and they do a little happy dance together. I really enjoyed listening to <a href="https://blog.colettehq.com/podcast/seamwork-radio-lets-talk-money-with-heather-lewenza">Heather on Seamwork radio</a> where she talks a bit about how she aims to pitch her patterns, in terms of both the styles and the sewing, and I think she's hitting it exactly on the head.<br />
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OK, I've been hesitating about asking this final question, but I'm just going to do it. See when bodices have cut on kimono sleeves, like this pattern or, say, By Hand London's <a href="http://byhandlondon.com/products/anna-dress">Anna dress</a>. Do you find that the armpits get rather rapidly sweaty, compared to other 'normal' sleeves? Or do I just need to attempt lowering the armhole a bit??<br />
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And why is it that my right armpit apparently sweats more than the left one (I swear it!)? Am I a freak of nature???<br />
<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-53767792757116237432016-06-09T12:47:00.002+02:002016-07-11T09:26:08.986+02:00Baggy trousersPart of the reason I sew is to push the boundaries of what I think I'll wear. Dungarees, dungashorts, pinafore dresses, oversized harem pant/skirt hybrids, massive Japanese drapey sleeves, novelty print Christmas dresses (respectively <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/01/dolores-and-dungarees.html">here</a>, <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/09/combi-short-paloma-make-my-lemonade.html">here</a>, <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/10/roberts-collection-dungadress.html">here</a>, <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/06/rockbuex-experimental-trousers.html">here</a>, <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/05/drape-drape-dare.html">here </a>and <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/12/a-timeless-classic.html">here</a>)...<br />
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... and today we add to that list - baggy trousers!<br />
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It just adds to the sense of adventure: not only am I making it up myself, instead of wearing what a shop says I should, I'm also not very sure what the hell kind of look I'm going to end up with anyway. I like to keep my sense of (fashion) self on its toes, apparently.<br />
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So yes, baggy trousers. When I saw Marilla Walker's <a href="http://marillawalker.blogspot.be/2016/04/mercury-collection-pattern.html">Mercury collection</a>, I pretty instantly decided it wasn't for me - and it remains highly unlikely you (or anyone else) will ever see me wearing palazzo pants à la view C. But a little while after the pattern's release, I took a closer look at the pleated cuff of view D, and, well, you know how it goes - I was intrigued and got sucked in.<br />
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Turns out, I am now in fact a baggy trouser-wearer. <br />
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(Plus another <a href="http://shop.grainlinestudio.com/products/linden-sweatshirt">Linden</a> top, these things have multiplied through my wardrobe like nobody's business).<br />
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I really like these trousers. The cropped length is flattering and makes me feel a bit stylish for once, and the ankle pleats are just cool. My fabric is a nice fluid-but-not-too-lightweight viscose/linen mix, which means everything hangs beautifully. But herein lies my little dilemma with these (and incidentally, with my <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/06/rockbuex-experimental-trousers.html">rockbuex</a> too). As Liesl points out in her <a href="http://oliverands.com/community/blog/2016/06/style-file-wide-leg-trousers.html">wide-leg style file</a>, trousers like this are generally designed to sit on the natural waist for best draping effect - and unfortunately, I'm just not really a high waist waistband wearer, even when they're elasticated. It's proportionally the thickest part of my body, and I'm long-waisted too, so all my life I've worn everything I possibly can further down towards my hips. Which in this case just doesn't work: the whole effect is ruined and <i>en plus </i>it's supremely unflattering.<br />
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So I'm getting used to it. Partly a simple matter of habit, and partly a question of pairing these trousers with tops more cropped than I've generally worn (I have a pile of t-shirt hems to shorten this weekend!) And the more used to it I get, the comfier these trousers become.<br />
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Make no mistake. These trousers are COMFY.<br />
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In an effort to illustrate this somehow, I took inspiration from <a href="https://craftingarainbow.wordpress.com/2015/10/13/sittin-pretty-aka-how-to-sit-and-still-look-pretty-in-pictures/">Gillian</a> and did some sitting pics. Not sure the coffee-drinking pose is that successful though tbh.<br />
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Here I clearly demonstrate how attempting to look casual and relaxed actually has the opposite effect.<br />
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How's this? And by the way - what do you think of the bench?? Husband and daughter ordered it on a whim in February, having fallen victim to the charms of some random catalogue that arrived with the post. It's a bench WITH A POP UP TABLE FOR DRINKS. Yegads life is so exciting as a garden furniture consumer these days, isn't it? What will they think of next?? Now all we need is some summer. Oh and an end to the permanent building works. Because after 10 years in our house it would be nice for most corners of our outdoor space to not still look like this:<br />
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But those pleats tho.<br />
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With bonus cat hair. Esmerelda says you're welcome.<br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-36063912961608208992016-03-14T19:17:00.002+01:002016-03-14T19:17:41.039+01:00Summit solace pyjamasWell, my dears. Hello! How are you? I'd love to offer you a cup of tea, if only the internet wasn't in the way, but there we go. Let's just do the chatting part, shall we? I've missed you!<br />
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So, I mentioned a little while back that I've been working more these last months. Since the beginning of this year, things have really kicked off, and in a pretty fun way too. I LOVE my job now! It scores high points in the European-politics-geek league, I get to run around doing things I'm good at and like doing, so it's all good. But. Of course there's a But! The But is: I'm running out of space in my head for sewing.<br />
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Cue small-scale identity crisis, which at least added some interest to February so it wasn't all bad. But I've spent almost five years leaving work at lunchtime and putting it immediately behind me, with oodles of afternoon ahead for playground knitting, short but frequent snatched sewing breaks, and - most importantly - the mental space to consider myself a full-time sewer who just happened to have a part-time job (and children. I haven't forgotten them, they're just not really relevant to the discussion at hand!) And now? I feel like I'm learning how to be myself again, with the goalposts truly and thoroughly moved. Not bad, just very different - and occasionally a little disconcerting. Just what kind of a sewer and/or person am I now?? (A post for another day, that!)<br />
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Anyway. How very greatly I'm appreciating the sewing that <i>does </i>happen! These <a href="http://store.closetcasefiles.com/products/carolyn-pajamas?variant=1154987023">Carolyn pyjamas</a> - my first pair but, I very much hope, not my last - have been in almost constant use since I finished them in early January. In terms of sewing-effort investment, pyjamas offer a particularly high value return, don't they? You can wear them All. The. Time! (Almost). A good pair of pyjamas is like the very best kind of friend, the one that knows exactly when and how to administer big hugs (and when not to). Especially when they're made of double gauze.<br />
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(The pyjamas. I don't have friends made of double gauze). (Yet).<br />
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And have piping everywhere.<br />
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And BOUND BUTTONHOLES!<br />
(<span style="font-size: x-small;">because my sewing machine's buttonhole function is officially shit</span>)<br />
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Imagine, if you will, coming home from a summit at 3am (yes, dear readers, this happened to me). You may have spotted various heads of state, but that's not enough to cheer up the prospect of being back there at 9am the next morning. All you have is the prospect of about 4 hours sleep, and you desperately want to make the most of it. What - what, I ask you?! - could <i>possibly </i>be better at that moment than the soft, comforting embrace of home made sleepwear? (Well, not finding a small child occupying my side of the bed would have been better I suppose. But that's not something I can sew a solution to).<br />
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I adore them, in all their crinkly, nubbly-fabricked, collar sticking-up glory. (The pyjamas, not the small child who regularly intrudes upon my bed. Obviously I love him, but, well, he's not made of double gauze is he? And he wriggles).<br />
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By the way: slim fitting pyjama bottoms* are the bomb. So much comfier than extra fabric bunching up where you <span style="font-size: small;">don't want it. (*Feel free to snigger: I said bottoms!! Or have I been hanging around with the daughter too much?)</span><br />
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Anyway, that's me back on the blogging wagon. Clearly, blog writing is taking a bit of a backseat at the mo, what with wanting to spend my spare time on actual sewing and stuff - but I miss it, I like this little space which has brought me so many on and offline friends! (And which provides for all my sewing-related brain dump needs...) I've been wondering about just deciding to do a random little post once a week or so, instead of waiting to have something to write about - those are actually my favourite kind of posts to read these days, so it feels like it makes sense. So, who knows. Hopefully I'll 'see' you again soon!<br />
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And for today - tell me: do you have multiple identities or roles to play? (No doubt - we all do!) What place does sewing take in them? Would less time sewing make <i>you </i>question your own existence, too?<br />
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Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-69840851644841525352016-01-12T16:29:00.002+01:002016-01-12T19:49:43.492+01:00Maxi cardiHello and Happy New Year my dears! Having gone all seasonal in my last post, I have nothing January-appropriate to say for myself - no resolutions, reflections, what-have-you - unless you count the inner ROAR of happiness I did yesterday when my order of <a href="http://prttynpnk.com/tag/jungle-january/" target="_blank">Jungle January</a> appropriate fabric arrived. Now if only I can find the time to actually sew it up...<br />
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Last September I started working four full days a week again. For the four previous years, I worked five mornings a week and spent the afternoons at home or out and about with my kids - and I honestly hadn't realised just how much sewing (or playground knitting) this allowed me to get done. Between the homework, the after-school activities, the washing and all the other household stuff, I was nonetheless managing to squeeze in a good hour or more of making most days. I got out of work with half the day's energy left, and the older the kids got, the freer my hands became. Happy days. Productive ones!<br />
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Now, however. Ugh. By the time we all get home, I'm knackered. By the time we've all eaten and the kids have gone to bed, I'm good for nothing but lounging, and possibly knitting, on the sofa. And it turns out that one simply cannot get as much sewing done in one day off as one would over a few afternoons. One needs breaks, and sometimes one is just not in the mood to sew all day anyway. And so, I have recently come to the sad realisation that, for the time being, I am just going to have to accept that I can't sew as much as I want, in either time or output.<br />
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Now, this change was for the sake of a job I like very much, which is working out well, and while I do miss my afternoons, I wouldn't change things back (at least not quite yet). But still, it is with rather bittersweet feelings today that I'm blogging one of the relatively few things I managed to make this autumn. As with many a successful project, this one finished with me on a creative high, full of enthusiasm to make more! fantastic! things! But looking at these pictures several weeks later, all I can feel is impatience and frustration at not having done so yet. Which is a shame, because this make was (is) absolutely not disappointing or frustrating at all. In fact, it's a winner.<br />
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It's a hot pink wool jersey knee-length cardigan. Hot pink! Wool jersey! Knee-length cardigan! I just love everything about it! I'm blaming the <a href="https://thefoldline.com/patterns/esme-maxi-cardigan/" target="_blank">Esme maxi cardigan</a> by Named, it just wouldn't get out of my head, and when I realised I could make something very similar using the <a href="https://www.seamwork.com/catalog/oslo" target="_blank">Oslo</a> pattern I already had, it was basically a foregone conclusion. I spent a long time searching for a (possibly mythical) kind of funky, chunky boucle fabric - including draping myself with about every expensive wool knit on Goldhawk Road when I met up with <a href="http://www.handmadejane.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jane</a>, <a href="http://marillawalker.blogspot.be/" target="_blank">Marilla</a> and <a href="http://justsewjenna.blogspot.be/" target="_blank">Jenna</a> in October - before deciding that this fabric in my stash would suit me better anyway (I really don't do chunky very well at all). It's a wool knit which came home from another sewing meet up, the legendary <a href="http://englishgirlathome.com/2014/11/30/spoolettes-on-tour-the-paris-meet-up/" target="_blank">Paris visit in November 2014</a>. I love it so much, I had been fearful of making the wrong thing with it ever since. Fortunately, this was absolutely the right thing!<br />
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Hot pink is definitely my colour :-) And this fabric is truly lush: soft and springy, with a cool feel and a robust but drapy hand - being wrapped in it for almost the entire length of my body is basically like being swaddled in hug all day. A hug with - of course - pockets! The Oslo pattern is ideal for adding nice deep pockets to - you just add some length to the side front panel and then fold it back up on itself; the whole thing gets sewn into place when you attach the side seams and front/neck band. Clear as mud? Like so:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0DLQRJt5osE/VokmyBXG7dI/AAAAAAAAFig/utWReAumhY0/s1600/oslo%2B9.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0DLQRJt5osE/VokmyBXG7dI/AAAAAAAAFig/utWReAumhY0/s640/oslo%2B9.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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While I very carefully calculated the length I wanted before cutting (to make sure those pockets would be in exactly the right place), I left button placement for the very end. I'm glad I did so for a couple of reasons. One is that I couldn't have accurately guessed where they needed to go anyway - the top button sits right on my low waist, much higher than I would have expected but holding things perfectly in place around my midriff. The other reason is that I really wasn't sure about the width of the neckband. And indeed, when I first tried the finished cardigan on, I was just swamped in fabric - it looked sloppy and way too much for my figure (ha! My, er, waif-like frame...). I ended up folding the entire neckband back on itself in half, and stitching it down to the seam allowance to hold it in place. This looks MUCH better on me.<br />
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Of course, now the neckband was half the width, it was also twice the layers of fabric. Buttonholes were an issue. Thick jersey is not the easiest to put buttonholes in, and my machine has been making a spectacular mess of them recently anyway. So, I improvised, and hereby present my first ever half-assed bound buttonholes!!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6d6TsrZUn6o/VokmqVrsZXI/AAAAAAAAFiQ/P9Y25M28MaQ/s1600/oslo%2B7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6d6TsrZUn6o/VokmqVrsZXI/AAAAAAAAFiQ/P9Y25M28MaQ/s640/oslo%2B7.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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They're not real bound buttonholes, obviously, because I did them last and thus had no means to cover up the back nicely. I trimmed as neatly as possible and handstitched the little pieces of fabric at the back with a blanket stitch. I think it came out pretty good given the thickness of the material, and they're not visible anyway - all in all, I'm really pleased with the solution. Plus, I love the big shiny buttons.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-afz0OJABKjQ/VokmuYsabfI/AAAAAAAAFiY/8JycxPq2mZs/s1600/oslo%2B8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-afz0OJABKjQ/VokmuYsabfI/AAAAAAAAFiY/8JycxPq2mZs/s640/oslo%2B8.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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So yes, you can probably tell there's a lot I like about this maxi cardi. Quite apart from being super comfy, it also feels very stylish in a slightly different, little bit low key, not-trying-too-hard kind of way. It garners compliments, especially on the colour - people love to tell me how bright I am when I'm wearing it. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LseKb6Rik9w/VokmfIvut9I/AAAAAAAAFh4/-q9cdMh7pyQ/s1600/oslo%2B1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LseKb6Rik9w/VokmfIvut9I/AAAAAAAAFh4/-q9cdMh7pyQ/s640/oslo%2B1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Which is great, because I also made a matching hot pink hat:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QL-Ce0g8eF4/VokmeGbZKLI/AAAAAAAAFhw/u0-fVL2Xp-I/s1600/beanie%2B3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QL-Ce0g8eF4/VokmeGbZKLI/AAAAAAAAFhw/u0-fVL2Xp-I/s640/beanie%2B3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is deceptively simple <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fluid-slouchy-beanie" target="_blank">pattern</a>. While I'm completely in awe of <a href="http://www.annekecaramin.com/2015/11/im-johnny-two-hats-why-do-you-think.html" target="_blank">Anneke's hat knitting improv</a>, I am the opposite kind of knitter and I like my hand held by people who have done more of it than me, so I bought some instructions for what looks like a very plain hat. And it is a very plain hat, but it's also perfectly shaped with a delicious double brim, and there is no way I could have worked it out by myself. Supporting independent knit designers for the win! Should you be a raveller, my notes are <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JoSewsEtc/fluid-slouchy-beanie" target="_blank">here</a> - and can I just say how much I LOVE Ravelry? My goodness, what a resource, and what lovely, knowledgeable people hang out there! Also, you should totally check out Anneke's knitting-related photoshopping <a href="http://www.annekecaramin.com/2015/12/totally-radical.html" target="_blank">here</a> (be warned: you might die laughing).<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6Wde5nhahIU/VokmcG5Gd1I/AAAAAAAAFhk/ckuomOwwdKM/s1600/oslo%2B%252B%2Bbeanie.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6Wde5nhahIU/VokmcG5Gd1I/AAAAAAAAFhk/ckuomOwwdKM/s640/oslo%2B%252B%2Bbeanie.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div>
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So there we are. 2016 kicked off with lots of long rambling as usual. How does sewing fit into your life, do you have particular times that work and others that don't? Any tips for me as I suffer with withdrawal symptoms?<br />
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Maxi cardi jazz hands!!!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vDKVA1vrBro/VpOUf_9lsMI/AAAAAAAAFjE/DFDp1btoqEE/s1600/oslo%2Bjazz%2Bhands.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vDKVA1vrBro/VpOUf_9lsMI/AAAAAAAAFjE/DFDp1btoqEE/s640/oslo%2Bjazz%2Bhands.gif" width="480" /></a></div>
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And that's me over and out :-)<br />
<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-15595551659928302702015-12-24T14:18:00.001+01:002015-12-24T14:18:55.755+01:00A Timeless ClassicAh, Christmas! If you can't make/wear/blog a novelty print party dress and do silly edits on the photos, well, when can you?<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KstUfFzYB4Y/Vnu79hLBUrI/AAAAAAAAFfo/szq6o9iZpbo/s1600/P1110633.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KstUfFzYB4Y/Vnu79hLBUrI/AAAAAAAAFfo/szq6o9iZpbo/s640/P1110633.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I'm not exactly on the <a href="http://dollyclackett.blogspot.be/" target="_blank">Roisin</a> end of the spectrum when it comes to fit & flare dresses, novelty print or otherwise. But last November, I got <a href="http://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/52597" target="_blank">this pattern</a> free with a sewing magazine and was seized with the urge to make one. I probably wouldn't have followed up on that urge if it hadn't been for the realisation that such a dress could be endlessly re-used each holiday season, for one or at the most two wears a year, until it falls apart or I die of boredom. (Or develop more refined tastes in party clothing. I really can't decide which of those outcomes is most likely to happen first).<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mt_61YCc77M/Vnu72zamcSI/AAAAAAAAFfg/CsHEFD7NwY8/s1600/P1110622.JPG"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mt_61YCc77M/Vnu72zamcSI/AAAAAAAAFfg/CsHEFD7NwY8/s640/P1110622.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Thus, the silly party dress was made. I can attest that it performs perfectly, having worn it for Christmas dinner last year: those nice deep pleats around the waist allow for as much overeating as I regrettably tend to do on that occasion. And I deliberately didn't fit the bodice too closely either, because, well, same reason.<br />
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The photos are all kind of the same, but I couldn't choose between the various festive poses I managed to pull. Best to roll with it, right? Here we go...<br />
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Shhhh! Um, because... you might wake the elves??<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ymrkkAQNCU8/Vnu8NdBgNWI/AAAAAAAAFgA/kjXokdKQDtE/s1600/P1110648.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ymrkkAQNCU8/Vnu8NdBgNWI/AAAAAAAAFgA/kjXokdKQDtE/s640/P1110648.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Bauble inspection pose. In the snow. Indoors.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7ygGG7rHtY/Vnu7_npV5VI/AAAAAAAAFfw/tTc-cSo54JA/s1600/P1110635.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7ygGG7rHtY/Vnu7_npV5VI/AAAAAAAAFfw/tTc-cSo54JA/s640/P1110635.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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How to rescue a good picture of the dress accompanied by an atrociously bad picture of the face:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-357JoDshn9U/Vnu8djSJskI/AAAAAAAAFgQ/KkBolfcGrNI/s1600/P1110656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-357JoDshn9U/Vnu8djSJskI/AAAAAAAAFgQ/KkBolfcGrNI/s640/P1110656.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Do you have any idea how difficult it is to realistically blow a kiss at the self-timer? Actually, a number of you probably do I suppose #bloggerproblems.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yZ3pMwxRkkI/Vnu8Ck8QQaI/AAAAAAAAFf4/6l_Y6OdHAFM/s1600/P1110641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yZ3pMwxRkkI/Vnu8Ck8QQaI/AAAAAAAAFf4/6l_Y6OdHAFM/s640/P1110641.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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You may have spotted that I don't have any matching shoes. Not really a problem, as I'm never going to wear it outside anyway.</div>
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However, I do have coordinating jewellery.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oQyVxDhW72I/Vnu8Z8RXDLI/AAAAAAAAFgI/zpE1YZIzCRk/s1600/P1110722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oQyVxDhW72I/Vnu8Z8RXDLI/AAAAAAAAFgI/zpE1YZIzCRk/s640/P1110722.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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PURE CLASS.<br />
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Merry Christmas!! May you get tons of sewing-related presents!<br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-89496482502207760882015-10-30T08:00:00.000+01:002015-10-30T08:57:22.736+01:00Leaves on the line: a shawl for BommaI don't often show you my knitting, do I?*<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VppTo3jubKo/VjDROXME_KI/AAAAAAAAFdM/pGn-WDjwOCI/s1600/P1110421.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VppTo3jubKo/VjDROXME_KI/AAAAAAAAFdM/pGn-WDjwOCI/s640/P1110421.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">(* unless you follow me on instagram, in which case I hardly ever show you my <i>finished </i>knitting)</span>.<br />
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Theoretically, this is because knitting is a lot slower than sewing, and tends to happen disproportionately in autumn, and, well, I'm just more used to talking about sewing. But just because something happens less often doesn't mean it's not happening at all, and as a matter of fact I knit all year round, plus, I'm actually very capable of wittering on about all kinds of random crap (in case you hadn't noticed). No, that's not the reason I don't blog about it. The reason is: I'm rarely proud of my knits in the way I'm proud of my sews (yes, as a noun. Suck it up).<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xGmM-stM34Q/VjDROtgpynI/AAAAAAAAFdI/1ctl6CyC3e8/s1600/P1110408.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xGmM-stM34Q/VjDROtgpynI/AAAAAAAAFdI/1ctl6CyC3e8/s640/P1110408.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I've knit enough now to more or less know what I'm doing, or to be able to figure it out. I know when I'm prepared to troubleshoot and when I'm prepared to frog it and start again. I can follow the instructions, which is an achievement in and of itself: learning to read knitting patterns is like learning a foreign - nay, ALIEN - language (and don't even ask me about knitting from charts). But generally, I just don't have the experience, the <i>feel</i>, for it yet that turns out the level of finish I'd like.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdGfmE5ItW0/VjDROWwHPCI/AAAAAAAAFdE/1VHpnzb4Z1M/s1600/P1110414.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdGfmE5ItW0/VjDROWwHPCI/AAAAAAAAFdE/1VHpnzb4Z1M/s640/P1110414.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I know realism and fail-commiseration have their own, rightful places on sewing and crafting blogs. It's not like I deliberately avoid those things. But what can I say? It's just <i>more fun </i>to share the things that turned out cool, isn't it?<br />
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Yes. It is. And so we have here a piece of knitting that, ok, I'm pretty pleased with. VERY pleased with, in fact! <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fmonwnIMp3s/VjDRPaikIXI/AAAAAAAAFdQ/neKp95-eYq0/s1600/P1110424.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fmonwnIMp3s/VjDRPaikIXI/AAAAAAAAFdQ/neKp95-eYq0/s640/P1110424.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I made it for my husband's Bomma - his grandmother - who turned 90 last week. I don't wear a great deal of shawls myself, and really not ones with lace patterns, but for a while I'd been itching to try one anyway simply because there are so many patterns out there that look fantastically fun to knit (<a href="http://metro.co.uk/2015/10/25/21-struggles-every-knitter-faces-5444190/" target="_blank">see point 14</a>). Which this was! It's deceptively simple and surprisingly quick, yet those leaf shapes are really high impact - and it was a little bit like magic watching them appear.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EwYHyPe_S1k/VjDRP88xT8I/AAAAAAAAFdg/oqF9hcgLeKw/s1600/P1110447.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EwYHyPe_S1k/VjDRP88xT8I/AAAAAAAAFdg/oqF9hcgLeKw/s640/P1110447.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The pattern is <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/leaves-on-the-line" target="_blank">Leaves On The Line</a> by <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/designers/susan-ashcroft" target="_blank">Susan Ashcroft</a>, who is otherwise known as the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/stitchnerd" target="_blank">stitchnerd</a> and has legions of devoted fans on ravelry. I can now be counted as one of them - both the design and the explanations are incredibly intuitive, and this was one of the most relaxing things I've ever knit. (If you'd like more technical details, my ravelry notes are <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JoSewsEtc/leaves-on-the-line" target="_blank">here</a>). Plus, SHE'S FROM BRUSSELS! Which is where all the cool kids live, don't you know?<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dPwoUZ6q6UY/VjDRQFnMcII/AAAAAAAAFdk/Dobd0dgRlrk/s1600/P1110451.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dPwoUZ6q6UY/VjDRQFnMcII/AAAAAAAAFdk/Dobd0dgRlrk/s640/P1110451.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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This weekend there was a big family party for Bomma - literally. She's the lynchpin of an enormous extended family, having (step)mothered thirteen children - who now have children of their own, who now have children of <i>their </i>own, and everyone plus spouses was there. We estimated about 80 people present, all of them related to each other in some way.<br />
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Understandably I think, at 90 years of age, Bomma had instructed 'no presents'. But me and the husband decided that
what she really meant was that she didn't want to be swamped with <i>stuff</i>, especially considering the number of people involved, and that something handmade and useful would be exempt. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yhNbiqHCtdQ/VjDRPraqL4I/AAAAAAAAFdY/cDBlm-Z535Y/s1600/P1110444.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yhNbiqHCtdQ/VjDRPraqL4I/AAAAAAAAFdY/cDBlm-Z535Y/s640/P1110444.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We didn't want to make a fuss, and gave it to her quietly as we were leaving. She opened it out, and we had a little chat about the knitting, and then she looked
up at us, and smiled and said:<br />
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"You know, I don't like presents usually,
because, well, people these days just don't make an effort."<br />
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Which was about the best thing anyone has said about a homemade present ever.<br />
<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-15596612225413536492015-10-23T08:00:00.000+02:002015-10-23T08:00:05.803+02:00Something for the weekendOne Friday morning a few weeks back I woke up wanting to wear my <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/06/rockbuex-experimental-trousers.html" target="_blank">rockbuex</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MqD_HmAcE_I/ViP1z5uSjfI/AAAAAAAAFcA/ECnn6ugTSHo/s1600/ilsley%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MqD_HmAcE_I/ViP1z5uSjfI/AAAAAAAAFcA/ECnn6ugTSHo/s640/ilsley%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Not<span style="text-align: start;"> the</span><span style="text-align: start;"> rockbuex.</span><span style="text-align: start;"> Don't</span><span style="text-align: start;"> worry,</span><span style="text-align: start;"> all</span><span style="text-align: start;"> will</span><span style="text-align: start;"> be</span><span style="text-align: start;"> explained.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Problem: the rockbuex wasn't cold proof. Summer was cruelly short-lived this year, and that Friday morning, the only things I could find that went with the
rockbuex were t-shirts, which was not going to cut it any more. So the first thing I did, after a cup of tea but before breakfast, was sew a jumper.<br />
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Here. Rockbuex + emergency sweater:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ulB4KMLxHVA/ViP17ACwucI/AAAAAAAAFcg/mtqsqYMvARQ/s1600/rockbuex2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ulB4KMLxHVA/ViP17ACwucI/AAAAAAAAFcg/mtqsqYMvARQ/s640/rockbuex2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's not going to win me any style awards, but this cropped <a href="http://shop.grainlinestudio.com/products/linden-sweatshirt" target="_blank">Linden</a> with a hem band hits the rockbuex in exactly the right place, taking the whole thing<i> </i>just far enough over the line (for me, anyway) between oversized pyjamas and acceptable street wear. Nothing more or less than super-comfy, super-relaxed stuff for Friday through Sunday. Happy happy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Excuse<span style="text-align: start;"> </span>the face #Fridayisforderps</span></td></tr>
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But some projects just spontaneously breed other projects, don't they? And once I'd made the Linden, I realised that I <strike>wanted with toddler-like urgency</strike> needed more things with sporty 5 cm elastic waistbands, so I could mix and match the comfy stuff all weekend and never have to squeeze myself into a pair of jeans again, or at least not before the day I get round to making jeans that fit, which is very likely to be several decades hence (does anyone else have projects that just appear in your head as a fully formed thought, exactly like that overly long sentence?) Also because, well, different shoes need different outfits. Of course. Even when it's just one pair of trainers or the other.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TuhMIxqyaIs/ViP168zh6eI/AAAAAAAAFck/vpzpib6B4As/s1600/ilsley%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TuhMIxqyaIs/ViP168zh6eI/AAAAAAAAFck/vpzpib6B4As/s640/ilsley%2B3.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Or perhaps all this was actually just a load of mental excuses for making an <a href="http://marillawalker.blogspot.be/p/ilsley.html" target="_blank">Ilsley skirt</a>. *LOVE* those hem curves. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KDNayE5MEC8/ViP11eRj1xI/AAAAAAAAFcI/--XPIPpruy8/s1600/ilsley%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KDNayE5MEC8/ViP11eRj1xI/AAAAAAAAFcI/--XPIPpruy8/s640/ilsley%2B2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Like with the rockbuex, I used my favourite, most comfy waistband technique, which is: 5 cm wide elastic threaded through and then topstitched down twice, making a channel in the middle for a drawstring. Cheapskate tip: shoelaces make excellent drawstrings. They can be found in good range of colours and thicknesses without too much difficulty, and cost about half as much as the average crafting cord, and BONUS the ends are already finished.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w-CDnxVX0zg/ViP12aqLOYI/AAAAAAAAFcM/USL4rczy4Sw/s1600/ilsley%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w-CDnxVX0zg/ViP12aqLOYI/AAAAAAAAFcM/USL4rczy4Sw/s640/ilsley%2B5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Both the jumper and the skirt were made from sweatshirt fabric I had in my stash. The black for the sweater cost 2.5 euros in a sale two years ago - I got 5 metres of it, and there's still a good bit left (see <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/02/knitter-sweater.html" target="_blank">here</a> for a previous, not very different, outing). The grey for the skirt I bought at <i>Les étoffes du Sentier </i>in Paris last January - it was 3 euros a metre, and I got four, and have <i>just </i>squeezed out this and a <a href="http://marillawalker.blogspot.be/p/freemantle-pattern.html" target="_blank">Freemantle coat</a> from it with nothing but tiny scraps left over. All in all extremely satisfying!<br />
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The fact that these were stash projects, and one of them was a TNT pattern I'd made multiple times before, also meant they came together extremely quickly. Both of them that same Friday, in fact. And I have to admit - I sort of hate to during <a href="http://fringeassociation.com/2015/09/15/slow-fashion-october/" target="_blank">#slowfashionoctober</a>, but I must - I have quite a serious weakness for the quick & dirty when it comes to my homemade clothes. I guess fast sewing isn't the same as fast-fashion in the high street sense, but I do think sometimes the "rush" of having an idea
and executing it IMMEDIATELY is in no small way similar to a shopping high. This was brought home all the more by the fact that my next project was/is the aforementioned Freemantle coat which forced me to take things slower. I don't know what to think about this. On the one hand, well, so what? My fabric sources and project choices are what they are, and I'm not sure what I could do otherwise, realistically. On the other had, I sort of feel guilty. Should I, do you think?</div>
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Well anyway, let's not end on too serious a note. Here I am, getting out and about and taking action shots for the <a href="https://craftingarainbow.wordpress.com/better-pictures-project/" target="_blank">Better Pictures Project</a>:</div>
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God it's exhausting to even look at. And watch the grass - my own personal launch pad!<br />
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Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-46628937454938921042015-10-11T13:19:00.000+02:002015-10-11T13:22:11.216+02:00Roberts Collection: dungadress!Hello hello, and happy weekend! How are you all, fellow sewists? I hope you're having a good one! After a few busy weekends with little time at home, me and the kids have been enjoying some quality time going nowhere these last couple of days, and I'm pleased to report that I've made a decent dent in a warm winter coat project. Hopefully I'll have a couple of finished things to share soon. (Shock news - more Lindens! Does it get boring to read? They never get boring to make or wear). <br />
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Anyway, in my humble opinion, the highlight of this weekend - at least as far as the sewing blog world is concerned - is indisputably the launch of <a href="http://marillawalker.blogspot.be/2015/10/new-pattern-roberts-pattern.html" target="_blank">Marilla Walker's Roberts Collection</a>. This, my friends, is not just a new sewing pattern: it's a bargainous FOUR sewing patterns all in one! And are you surprised that I love it? No, I expect not. Let's look at my test dress, shall we? :-)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iBg0HGZqmHQ/Vhooc8sHWfI/AAAAAAAAFbA/imDLR_yPuDE/s1600/P1110130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iBg0HGZqmHQ/Vhooc8sHWfI/AAAAAAAAFbA/imDLR_yPuDE/s640/P1110130.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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This is view C, the dungaree dress. Unfortunately for representative blogging purposes, this version has actually been changed the most since testing, so the version you see here is not exactly the same as the finished pattern. The main changes are slightly less ease at the waist seam (about 4cm less I think, so not an enormous difference) and the side closures, which I'll show you below. Overall though (no pun intended...) it's pretty much the same. My favourite feature in any case - the one that I think makes this design stand out - is the lovely slim straps. Combined with the low-slung waist, it's got the stylish slouch factor absolutely bang on. And as you know, I'm all about the stylish slouch :-)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VWldWoKk3x0/Vhoohm9mHpI/AAAAAAAAFbY/tLM_vC5vOUk/s1600/P1110082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VWldWoKk3x0/Vhoohm9mHpI/AAAAAAAAFbY/tLM_vC5vOUk/s640/P1110082.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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So I attempted to take pictures out and about, dutifully doing my <a href="https://craftingarainbow.wordpress.com/2015/09/01/better-pictures-project-taking-pics-out-and-about-with-heather-b/" target="_blank">Better Pictures Project</a> homework. I can't say they turned out great, mainly as I didn't exactly scout any interesting locations, I just went to the end of the street and back. But hey, it's a start (and I have better locations lined up!). These pics don't show you anything much new either, just me and the dress in natural light, but basically they're here because I had such trouble narrowing down how many photos to show you - I seriously, absolutely love this dress! It's so bright and so comfy and so FUN, and in much the same way as a trapeze dress, it's just delightful how flattering it is when it feels so much like it shouldn't be. I'd always thought lack of waist definition was a figure-flattery risk, but I am so very, very happy to be discovering that it's a benefit! It's one of the things Marilla mentions as inspiration for the pattern collection - being a fan of wearing jeans, but not a fan of wearing waistbands - and I both totally agree, and totally think she nailed it.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F1FiNE3t_DY/VhooZ9L-LoI/AAAAAAAAFa4/2bno8TgRbJI/s1600/P1110084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F1FiNE3t_DY/VhooZ9L-LoI/AAAAAAAAFa4/2bno8TgRbJI/s640/P1110084.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here's a side view so you can see a bit more what that all means in practice. The A-line shape hangs quite wide on this, which I like - though I do wonder if that's slightly different in the finished pattern. The front bib now draws in slightly more to meet the back, so I suspect the skirt is less trapezey and more of a classic A-line than mine is. But I really like this version as is, and while that little triangle you see at the side was a development that didn't make the final cut, I think it's a cute little detail. As and when I make this dress again, I'll be sticking with it!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_1xWzEdho2k/VhooXNF32nI/AAAAAAAAFaw/QDV2XAr7-ho/s1600/P1110126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_1xWzEdho2k/VhooXNF32nI/AAAAAAAAFaw/QDV2XAr7-ho/s640/P1110126.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here are a couple of close ups of how the sides come together - and I think the lines here are just so flattering. It's kind of a 'big' garment but with a very light touch: those thin straps, back and bib shaping mean the overall effect isn't big at all. And the little pleats at the waist are just enough for a little extra breathing (ahem, eating) room, without being particularly noticeable at all.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UwoCS70pZGs/Vhood8r8yqI/AAAAAAAAFbE/23uWnFGWi9E/s1600/collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="544" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UwoCS70pZGs/Vhood8r8yqI/AAAAAAAAFbE/23uWnFGWi9E/s640/collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And ah! The back! That strap/back piece symmetry!<br />
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Mum comment: You're very bright.<br />
Brother-in-law comment: You're very yellow.<br />
Husband comment: It looks like an apron. Is that... a thing?<br />
Friend H comment: Err, Jo, your apron... oh, ok.<br />
Friend B comment: OK, either you made that dress, or it's designer. Right?<br />
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(Friend B wins, obviously).<br />
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What do you think? Could <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/251250034/roberts-collection-sewingdress-making?ref=shop_home_active_1" target="_blank">this pattern</a> be an entire wardrobe solution for you - or are dungarees and jumpsuits just a step away from waistbands too far? No prizes for guessing which side I'm on :-)<br />
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P.S. Quick edit to add: the fabric is a medium-weight denim with very slight stretch. In case the info is useful for reference purposes :-)<br />
<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-19380363095692283612015-09-24T14:41:00.001+02:002015-09-25T10:02:31.506+02:00Off topic: free screensaversHi guys! It's totally off the usual sewing topic, but I thought I'd share a couple of screensavers I've made in the last couple of months for work (well, for my computer at work - I wasn't commissioned to do them or anything!) Offices can be boring and I figured a screensaver is as good a place as any for some mild light relief.<br />
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The 'messages' maybe reflect the fact that I'm a personal assistant in a team full of people who like to get in a tizz about 'urgent' things, I don't know - can you can tell that I'm the one who likes to stay calm by relativising? I mean, it's not like any of us are going to die over it or anything. Anyway, they're free to use should you wish to! <br />
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:: I'M NOT HERE ::<br />
download <a href="http://b78i.imgup.net/nothere9dd0.jpg" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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:: DON'T PANIC! ::<br />
download <a href="http://v64i.imgup.net/panic876b.jpg" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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And I'm assuming you know or can work out how to change your computer's screensaver all by yourself :-)<br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-80475076339461030822015-09-20T20:32:00.004+02:002015-09-20T20:32:38.368+02:00Tiny pocket HemlockHello! How are you today? I'm feeling a little underwhelmed - Sunday evenings tend to have that effect, don't they? Plus I'm about to show you a fairly unexciting t-shirt. But then life isn't always exciting is it, so, well - suck it up haha! :-) Yeah, I'm keeping it real with the sewing blogging here. It just felt like time for a chat, so here I am.<br />
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So I made a knit <a href="http://grainlinestudio.com/2013/08/06/grainline-studio-x-britex-hemlock-tissue-tee-tutorial/" target="_blank">hemlock</a>. I can't really remember why to be honest, apart from a kind of sewist's curiosity - just to check out what all the fuss is about. It is indeed a very easy sew, and clearly an excellent base for all sorts of variations - but then you knew that already. I used a remnant of brown/cream striped jersey and slapped a tiny gold pocket on it (no explanation needed, surely. It's a tiny gold pocket). On me it's considerably less oversized than it is on <a href="http://grainlinestudio.com/2013/08/05/hemlock-tee-pattern-its-free/" target="_blank">Jen</a>, ahem. (Shits given: zero)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zj-qnMo2eE/Vf7eI7XKp6I/AAAAAAAAFZw/rjOdbQLCLLw/s1600/P1110029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zj-qnMo2eE/Vf7eI7XKp6I/AAAAAAAAFZw/rjOdbQLCLLw/s640/P1110029.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I finished the neckline, sleeves and hem by turning under 1cm and coverstitching. People with coverstitch machines - do you have trouble tying the ends off? I thought I'd pulled the thread through and tied them up really carefully, but still the sleeve hems have unravelled after a couple of washes (see below). Any tips for me? Plus they flip to the inside which is really annoying, I guess it's because it's a pretty narrow hem. Next time I'll finish the sleeves with little bands/cuffs anyway as I'd like them to be a teensy bit longer.<br />
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I did have grand plans for a bunch of other quick, fun hemlock tees - I even started sewing one with some rather nice flutter sleeves cut on (get me, fancying things up). But its been distinctly autumnal in temperature round here recently, and once I realised I'd given up hope of an indian summer, I couldn't bring myself to carry on. This bothers me tremendously - I absolutely hate UFOs, I have to finish things or chuck them out, but I just can't bring myself to do either with this one. Really, I think a tee like this is generally an instant gratification kind of project, isn't it? Which doesn't work so well when there's going to be a six to nine month delay before you actually get to wear the outcome.<br />
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Ugh. Autumn. Sunday evening.<br />
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Actually I can't wait for Monday morning tomorrow - we've had some seriously irritating bad behaviour from the kids this weekend (well one of them, but I won't identify which, to save potential embarrassment when he's older. Oh wait, oops...) There are many things to like about the office (adult company, intellectual stimulation, relative quiet, coffee) but what I'm most looking forward to this week is the chance to speak again without whatever I say causing someone to throw furniture around while manically cackling with laughter and attacking me with plastic ninja turtles. (And in the unlikely even that that <em>did </em>happen, we'd just have the person concerned carted off by security or the doctor and it would totally not be my problem. It's all about context...)<br />
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ANYWAY. Now for some random other things, which might be marginally more exciting than the hemlock, for those of you who've stuck this post out to the end.<br />
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First, yesterday I realised that quite literally* EVERYBODY (*<span style="font-size: x-small;">god I hate when people say that</span>) on Instagram was signing up for <a href="https://www.periscope.tv/" target="_blank">Periscope</a>, which is basically the same thing but with live video. So I did too (I know, I know, I'm such a sheep). I have to be honest: this kind of thing makes me feel really old. My phone asked did I want to sync it with my twitter account and I said yes, and as a consequence I can tell you that I <em>think</em> my username is the same on both: @jo_sews. Right? (Er, good luck finding me there, should you wish to...) I did one video so far and, having replayed it, realise that next time it would be better <em>not</em> to put my finger over the microphone half way through. Anyway, it's pretty fun to hear my sewing friends speak and see them in live action, so if you're at all tempted, come and join us!<br />
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Second - this is a thing that is actually, truly exciting! Drum roll please!!! ... On Thursday 29 October, I will be in London, for the sole purpose of fabric shopping and meeting some of my lovely online friends! Yippee!! For the moment, it's just me and the lovely <a href="http://marillawalker.blogspot.be/" target="_blank">Marilla</a> (yes, I get to fangirl in person!), and I think we're probably not up for organising a sewing meet of enormous proportions (which is why this announcement is hiding at the end of a fairly boring post - just for the true fans hehe), but if you're around and free and fancy joining us at some point - please just say so! There are loads of you lovely UK-based sewers that I'd love to meet, and it drives me nuts that I'm there fairly often and still never manage to meet up with anyone! We don't have a specific plan yet but the general idea is Goldhawk Road and/or Walthamstow market (are these combinable??), and if I can fit in a quick pilgrimage to <a href="http://www.loopknitting.com/" target="_blank">Loop</a> as well, I'd be a very happy lady...<br />
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Have a happy Sunday evening, everyone! Or Sunday morning / Monday morning / whatever day it is when you're reading this (* delete as applicable).<br />
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Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-63811160404736256932015-09-01T19:27:00.002+02:002015-09-01T19:27:55.422+02:00Combi-short Paloma: Make My LemonadeDon't you just love when you make something so all-round great, you can't decide which part of it is your favourite? (I hope that does happen to other people too and this isn't just me sounding terribly smug). Well, my lovelies, this is one of those makes.<br />
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I love the back. The surprisingly not-symmetrical lozenge-shaped back yoke, the angle of the straps, the roominess of the bum...<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g47ytk9xsDY/VeSlFCmJcII/AAAAAAAAFYA/Fc4Mbwg_t0I/s1600/P1100871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g47ytk9xsDY/VeSlFCmJcII/AAAAAAAAFYA/Fc4Mbwg_t0I/s640/P1100871.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div>
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... but then I also love the front, from the pointless seam down the middle of the bib to the shorts slouching over the hips, taking in the ties, pockets and belt loops along the way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4kmDB0EYxrU/VeXfISruvCI/AAAAAAAAFYo/Suf04gD0_Ks/s1600/P1100949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4kmDB0EYxrU/VeXfISruvCI/AAAAAAAAFYo/Suf04gD0_Ks/s640/P1100949.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrinkles! #pressalltheseams #ironnothing</td></tr>
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(Things I do not love: husband taking the photos. I was all set up with the tripod when he arrived back from his run early and insisted on 'helping', which <em>never </em>results in good facial expressions/stylish poses).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4fdCBAUHbPA/VeSlFOLwGxI/AAAAAAAAFX8/1luRK114MmU/s1600/P1100881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4fdCBAUHbPA/VeSlFOLwGxI/AAAAAAAAFX8/1luRK114MmU/s640/P1100881.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awkward pose? Check. Facial expression? Cropped.</td></tr>
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And all that is just the stuff I love about the finished garment. Whereas what I really, <em>really </em>loved was the whole process of making it. I fell for this pattern hook, line and sinker well before it was a wearable garment. It's a delight! So, before I give you a tour of the guts, here's the lowdown:</div>
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The pattern is the <em><a href="http://makemylemonade.com/wear-lemonade-7-salopette-paloma/" target="_blank">salopette Paloma</a> </em>(Paloma dungarees) by <a href="http://makemylemonade.com/" target="_blank">Make My Lemonade</a>. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that, although I speak French fluently, I've hardly dipped so much as a toe into the vibrant world of French/francophone sewing blogs, and thus I only became aware of this lovely little pattern because <a href="http://marillawalker.blogspot.be/" target="_blank">Marilla Walker</a> put a picture of it on instagram. It's an open secret that not only do I love dungarees, but I also have a total fashion-crush on Marilla, who manages to discover and design the most lovely things - it's like having found my own style by stealth, because basically she's doing it already (just better. Crushes have to have an element of aspiration, really, don't they?)</div>
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Anyway, long story short, she posted the picture and I immediately bought the pattern. Wait, short story slightly longer: the other thing was, it only costs € 1.99. Seriously! Look <a href="http://www.wearlemonade.com/fr/patrons/58-patron-de-couture-paloma-pdf.html" target="_blank">here</a> if you don't believe me. For that knockdown price, you obviously don't get a beautiful package with detailed instructions (<a href="http://www.wearlemonade.com/fr/patrons/57-patron-de-couture-paloma.html" target="_blank">which does exist</a> but will set you back € 14.90 + shipping) - you get the pdf pattern tiles, the layout for sticking them together and an online instructional video (both in <a href="http://makemylemonade.com/wear-lemonade-7-salopette-paloma/" target="_blank">this post</a>).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jSGT_dMe2ng/VeSlFWmvCaI/AAAAAAAAFYI/2Ux2tZtYdSE/s1600/P1100826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jSGT_dMe2ng/VeSlFWmvCaI/AAAAAAAAFYI/2Ux2tZtYdSE/s640/P1100826.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See what I mean about husband photos? Ugh <<em>shudder</em>>.</td></tr>
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Now, the video is in French. This may understandably seem like an obstacle if you don't speak the language, but if you're prepared to patiently pause your way through it, I think the visuals are probably enough to follow along anyway. You clearly see which bit matches up where, which is the key thing really - if you've used google translate to label your pieces accurately, you'll be fine. Watch it through once for the big picture, then take it slowly. My only big tip: the notches show where to fold, <u>not</u> where to match pieces up.</div>
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For those who do speak French, the video is worth a watch/listen just because she has such a lovely, truly French accent. Or maybe it's just me who'd appreciate that, because I speak French almost exclusively with non-native speakers (or, less frequently, Belgians. Belgians, don't get outraged please!! Native French-speaking Belgians do, of course, speak very nice French too, but, well, how to put this...? It was just lovely to listen to a well-spoken Parisienne for once - and all the more so for not having to experience Paris at the time. There, is that neighbour-insulting enough to make it ok...?)</div>
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Err, I seem to have digressed. Yes, the point! The point was, I had basically fallen in love with the pattern the second I started watching the video. I can't help it, I <em>like </em>French, it's my thing. And I've been wondering ever since whether this coloured my view of the whole thing. But, there's no escaping the cold, hard facts that this pattern is not only stylish and comfortable but also impeccably, <em>interestingly</em> drafted. What more could a (Francophile) sewist want?</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s9G6X05rAsU/VeSg3bT9nMI/AAAAAAAAFXw/6KeDlzKVlHo/s1600/P1100961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s9G6X05rAsU/VeSg3bT9nMI/AAAAAAAAFXw/6KeDlzKVlHo/s640/P1100961.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the things I found most pleasing is the way the shorts pieces are completely straight at the waist, but the waist seams of the front bib and back yoke pieces are curved - which is what gives the <em>salopette</em> it's shape. It was really a little bit magic to sew it together at that point and see how it turns oversized into flattering, just like that. You can just see too, above, that the straps overlap ever so slightly at the back, which makes them sit very nicely when wearing it. Then there are the belt loops, to visually break up the waistline just enough but not too much. Plus, I don't know - look at the shapes there? So balanced and geometric! <br />
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And that, in the end, is my absolute favourite thing about this make. Most specifically, it's these triangular overlaps at each side for the snaps. They're so very shapely, so very pointedly contrasting with the curve of the shorts - and they're gloriously, beautifully tidy to construct. The drafting here is ever so precise, and everything matches up where it should, until you end up with a perfectly neat and oh-so-aesthetically-pleasing side/pocket finish.<br />
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I just. I can't even. I LOVE THEM.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yKRQvG0dDJo/VeSfGoTT0eI/AAAAAAAAFXM/21k9LDTVEu4/s1600/collage%2Bflap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yKRQvG0dDJo/VeSfGoTT0eI/AAAAAAAAFXM/21k9LDTVEu4/s640/collage%2Bflap.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Too much, maybe? DON'T CARE. Look at this from the right side out! Seriously - how could anyone wear these and <em>not </em>be constantly thinking about how wonderful the closures are?? I can't. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oo7WUAEC-_I/VeSfxidCwgI/AAAAAAAAFXc/IdMSW5MPZJ8/s1600/P1100956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oo7WUAEC-_I/VeSfxidCwgI/AAAAAAAAFXc/IdMSW5MPZJ8/s640/P1100956.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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One thing I did do that's not in the pattern is to topstitch various seams, and in particular the side seam from about 1" below the pocket, to reinforce and hold everything in it's perfectly precise place. Then went back and extended it as far up as the lower snap (you can see here, below, where I stopped and then added a couple more inches) because the first time I wore it - fortunately only inside the house - I realised there was some serious knicker-revealing gape. Which has it's time and place I suppose, but this ain't it.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nXCcApzJaCg/VeSfYuUo9eI/AAAAAAAAFXU/lOouY6K69xU/s1600/P1100982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nXCcApzJaCg/VeSfYuUo9eI/AAAAAAAAFXU/lOouY6K69xU/s640/P1100982.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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My other, minor changes were for fit. Make Lemonade mentions that this pattern runs big, and it really does. I made what I hoped would be a wearable muslin and was drowning in it - this version is a size down from the one my measurements put me in. I also slimmed down the sides of the bib a little - the muslin was making me look wider in a place where I'd really rather not be, and it kind of threw the balance off. It's truly amazing what a centimetre's difference can make to how good a garment looks! The other thing the muslin revealed was the need for a <em>serious </em>flat bum adjustment. I'd show you a picture because it was hilarious - but in the end I couldn't even stand to take one of me wearing what basically looks like a hugely oversized nappy with straps. I just traced the back crotch curve a couple of sizes smaller, and fortunately it worked fine.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p9cm_Ken6cw/VeSlHY9eMxI/AAAAAAAAFYU/Gp3hCBrncGI/s1600/P1100942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p9cm_Ken6cw/VeSlHY9eMxI/AAAAAAAAFYU/Gp3hCBrncGI/s640/P1100942.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div>
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So, there we are. My salopette Paloma has been worn every day it's been warm enough (like three times in two weeks ugh Belgian summer) and has stood up very well to picnics in various parks as well as both the construction and de-construction of a mahoosive tent.<br />
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With me all the time inwardly smiling about those snap flaps and the pointless, but oddly lovable, centre front seam.<br />
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Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-86605699048650450572015-08-10T13:14:00.000+02:002015-08-10T13:38:13.119+02:00The Holy Grail: a well-fitting bikiniHello! How is your summer going, sewing friends? Or your winter, should you be in the southern hemisphere? My three weeks of hot, sunny, Spanish lounging are sadly over - and after two weeks back at work, they already feel like a very long time ago. But they were good, and the office is slack over the summer, so I'm not really complaining. And, now that it's been sewn, well-used and photographed, I can finally show you my bikini! SHOCK SPOILER: it's totally wearable!!!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rB590voVSLc/VcSKM-PXiZI/AAAAAAAAFRg/5YRkmleBeVQ/s1600/bikini%2B6%2B-%2Bpattern.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rB590voVSLc/VcSKM-PXiZI/AAAAAAAAFRg/5YRkmleBeVQ/s640/bikini%2B6%2B-%2Bpattern.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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A bikini that fits has been one of those sewing goals elusive enough to end up becoming totally obsessive. The idea started about three years ago over a conversation in the hammam, where I was bemoaning the fact that finding a bikini to fit my small back & large bust had proved frustratingly, utterly impossible so far throughout my adult life, regardless of how much time, money, fitting room anguish and indifference to stylishness I was prepared to throw at it (I'll be honest - not that much of any of those things). There was general sympathetic agreement from my fellow full-busted friends, if I remember correctly. And then Lucy said: come on Jo, surely you could sew yourself one? It's just two triangles and a couple of straps! Of course, it took no reflection whatsoever to know she was right. And so, the quest began. I ordered <a href="http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m5400-products-8768.php?page_id=118" target="_blank">McCall's M5400</a> the same weekend, dived into my first attempts as soon as it arrived - and then gave up. It was too difficult.<br />
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Here, how about a gratuitous beach picture to move things along a bit? (Also, because once I got there, taking modelled swimsuit photos suddenly seemed totally unimportant, so I have none. Just imagine me here, when we get to it).<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b9tnCFPb8XU/VcSVTkw29eI/AAAAAAAAFS8/5yNDduiTTyc/s1600/sant%2Bsalvador%2B1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b9tnCFPb8XU/VcSVTkw29eI/AAAAAAAAFS8/5yNDduiTTyc/s640/sant%2Bsalvador%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Anyway, in hindsight, view B - two triangles and a couple of straps - was the wrong version to start with. It was never going to provide enough support, and I had no idea how to make it fit in the first place. For some reason though, I never looked past it. Instead, I looked at every other swimsuit or bra pattern available, keenly scrutinising every new indie release, endlessly wondering - could this work? Might this be the one I can make into supportive, attractive beachwear? When I made my <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2014/07/summer-swimmers-omg-omg-omg.html" target="_blank">Bombshell </a>last year, I knew it wasn't The One - but still harboured the unspoken hope that maybe, perhaps, it would surprise me. Could it be the DIY swimsuit to conquer all??<br />
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No, my list of demands was too long for that. It had to be a two piece. Non-underwired, but holding everything in place nonetheless. Full coverage, but not frumpy. (Actually that's not a long list, is it? Just virtually IMPOSSIBLE). I tried the <a href="http://shop.clothhabit.com/products/watson-bra-bikini" target="_blank">Watson bra</a>, but alas 'tis made for smaller bosoms than mine. I tried the <a href="http://papercutpatterns.com/products/pneuma-tank" target="_blank">Pneuma tank</a>, but harboured doubts about the monoboob effect: when you're sunbathing in 38 degree heat you really don't want a swimsuit that pushes your assets into one hot, sweaty pool of cleavage. Add "lift and separate" to that list of must-haves. (I'm not done with the Pnema pattern though, it's great and I have other plans...). In the end, with one week to go before my holiday deadline, I picked up the McCalls pattern again. And wondered, with a certain weary sigh at my own short-sightedness, why I'd never before considered view D.<br />
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Like, duh.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Lt9vUSRj_M/VcSKLb63nsI/AAAAAAAAFRE/fGc6pP0rj_Y/s1600/bikini%2B1%2B-%2Bcollage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Lt9vUSRj_M/VcSKLb63nsI/AAAAAAAAFRE/fGc6pP0rj_Y/s640/bikini%2B1%2B-%2Bcollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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View D is basically <i>made </i>for those of us who want non-underwired, lift-and-separate, support, style and coverage. I'm not the only one, right??</div>
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Now, this is not to say that I didn't have to do any fitting. Hahahahahaha. Haha. That doesn't happen. And anyway, this pattern is not drafted for full busts. Plus, there's the small back thing. So, I just did what I do with any other pattern: picked my size based on my high bust and carried out an FBA. It works pretty easily with this design, because you can slash and spread as if you were adding a dart and then rotate the extra fullness into the underbust gathers. Woot! The first muslin revealed I had got the extra volume right, but the straps needed significant tightening at both the back and neck in order to pull in enough support to hold everything in place. I believe the pattern runs large actually, which would probably account for the huge amount I took out of the straps. </div>
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Anyway, after that, it was just fine tuning. I scooped out the armhole (not enough, as it turned out) and - this is my FAVOURITE thing EVER - changed the curve of the cups at the centre front from concave (curving down/inwards) to convex (curving slightly up & out). Have you noticed that almost all bras have a slight concave curve there? This, this!! This is the reason why boobs that are any less than utterly perky just won't stay put in a plunge bra (I <i>know </i>it's not just me). BUT: change that curve, and the shape goes from exposure-risk to full-cup fabulous. Ooh yes! </div>
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WHY HAS NO-ONE INVENTED THE FULL CUP PLUNGE BRA?? Just asking.<br />
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Right, this picture is here because it made me laugh. The original pattern piece and my modified one, side by side: <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-scTIEFEenqM/VcSKOLH1oDI/AAAAAAAAFRw/l7OJnQbZ0jQ/s1600/bikini%2B7%2B-%2Bpattern.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-scTIEFEenqM/VcSKOLH1oDI/AAAAAAAAFRw/l7OJnQbZ0jQ/s640/bikini%2B7%2B-%2Bpattern.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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On the left we have the bikini as drafted for pert young things. On the right we have the bikini as drafted for people in their late thirties with a couple of kids under their belt whose boobs have long since given up the war on gravity.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OsNTxV2hnkQ/VcSKLlQ_pHI/AAAAAAAAFRI/tIJZK5H4FE8/s1600/bikini%2B2%2B-%2Belastic.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OsNTxV2hnkQ/VcSKLlQ_pHI/AAAAAAAAFRI/tIJZK5H4FE8/s640/bikini%2B2%2B-%2Belastic.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The one additional change I made to the pattern was to add a well-stretched piece of elastic all the way along the underbust seam - which in combination with the close-fitting straps provided exactly the amount of support I needed. (If you're reading and thinking pffff that'll never work for me - for reference I wear a 32GG bra).<br />
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The sewing itself was pretty straightforward. By this point I had made
multiple muslins of multiple bikini/bra patterns, so I can now say that I
am very familiar with swimwear sewing techniques! I did have to do it at high speed though, so it's not as tidy as it could be. I serged the elastic to the suit, then folded it over and topstitched with a zigzag stitch, which I aligned to fall just over the inside edge of the elastic. (Is that clear to anyone?? I hope so...) I was having trouble on previous attempts with the elastic flipping to the outside of the suit, and this technique put a stop to that.<br />
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Yeah, not that neat. But effective!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WtWDzQopj6c/VcSKLtIxiWI/AAAAAAAAFRM/Xa6b38Tw5Ck/s1600/bikini%2B3%2B-%2Bclasp.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WtWDzQopj6c/VcSKLtIxiWI/AAAAAAAAFRM/Xa6b38Tw5Ck/s640/bikini%2B3%2B-%2Bclasp.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here it is! Just a little more on the details - as you can see here, my underarm curve/strap is still too tight so I need to scoop that out a bit. And I will also reduce the depth of the bodice/strap at the front, as it permanently flips up. One of those things where the design looks great until you start moving.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDy-OpzAUvg/VcSKMpQAZoI/AAAAAAAAFRc/QtKZ-IUtkXI/s1600/bikini%2B5%2B-%2Bfit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDy-OpzAUvg/VcSKMpQAZoI/AAAAAAAAFRc/QtKZ-IUtkXI/s640/bikini%2B5%2B-%2Bfit.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Tadah!! Here I am in all my bikini-wearing glory! The bottoms are the lower part of the <a href="http://www.store.closetcasefiles.com/products/nettie-pattern" target="_blank">Nettie bodysuit</a> (with a flat bum adjustment, but you can't see that from here :-)). <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h4mfuE_VyhM/VcSKMUFH6lI/AAAAAAAAFRk/vZ5k3Qp8YdA/s1600/bikini%2B4%2B-%2Bmodelled.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h4mfuE_VyhM/VcSKMUFH6lI/AAAAAAAAFRk/vZ5k3Qp8YdA/s640/bikini%2B4%2B-%2Bmodelled.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div>
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OK, ok, I'm trying not to be too self conscious but let's move on quickly shall we? Time to cover things up a bit.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H2UoW0zvyNg/VcSKOQDGexI/AAAAAAAAFR0/srTwdHVcqQk/s1600/cover%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H2UoW0zvyNg/VcSKOQDGexI/AAAAAAAAFR0/srTwdHVcqQk/s640/cover%2B1.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Because at some point one must drag oneself from the beach to the bar for a beer and a <i>bocadillo</i>. Gratuitous photo...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NZkmC7PeemI/VcSWaFLlu1I/AAAAAAAAFTE/KM4SOarsuls/s1600/collage%2B-%2Bsant%2Bsalvador.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NZkmC7PeemI/VcSWaFLlu1I/AAAAAAAAFTE/KM4SOarsuls/s640/collage%2B-%2Bsant%2Bsalvador.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Knowing just how hot and humid it can get on the Iberian peninsula, I made a beach cover up this year with as much scope for air circulation as possible: <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iuzm0AYL8BA/VcSKO9Ay2eI/AAAAAAAAFR8/0g10KEVnOc8/s1600/cover%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iuzm0AYL8BA/VcSKO9Ay2eI/AAAAAAAAFR8/0g10KEVnOc8/s640/cover%2B2.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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It's the racerback tank dress from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drape-Hisako-Sato/dp/1856698416/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439202716&sr=1-1&keywords=drape+drape" target="_blank">Drape Drape</a>. I love me a racerback, and while this doesn't exactly qualify as actual clothing in my book (unlayererd at least) it DOES provide the most fantastic breeziness over a swimsuit. I used some stripy viscose knit from <a href="http://www.tissufabrics.co.uk/viscose/viscose-rayon-elastene/spots-and-stripes/wide-stripe-viscose-cotton-stretch-fabric-q724-crmbk.html" target="_blank">Tissu Fabrics</a>, and the fabric is lusciously cool too.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9D94WDFHigE/VcSKPAqzFeI/AAAAAAAAFSA/iilsa_Ob9To/s1600/cover%2B3%2B-%2Bback.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9D94WDFHigE/VcSKPAqzFeI/AAAAAAAAFSA/iilsa_Ob9To/s640/cover%2B3%2B-%2Bback.JPG" width="480" /></a> </div>
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I got funky with hot pink thread in the coverstitch machine to tart things up a bit. Lots of fun playing around with that! Sometimes I think I didn't really need to get the coverstitch and have tremendous guilt about my expensive hobby - it doesn't get used all the time, after all. But then every time I <i>do</i> use it, I remember that it's the Best. Toy. Ever! No regrets :-)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--zLG7x9OG4w/VcSKPrWexnI/AAAAAAAAFSE/QfRgCDGuyNA/s1600/cover%2B4%2B-%2Bdetail.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--zLG7x9OG4w/VcSKPrWexnI/AAAAAAAAFSE/QfRgCDGuyNA/s640/cover%2B4%2B-%2Bdetail.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div>
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Anyway, this is getting pretty long! Kind of like talking high speed with all your school friends the first day back in September. So much excitable blah blah! Well, forgive me, I AM pretty darn excited. A wearable bikini - I thought it'd never happen! It got put through it's paces too: lakes, pools and two full weeks of long days swimming in the Med - it held up to all of it and looks like it'll be going strong for a while yet.<br />
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Well, to sign off I'll leave you with my top water-related tip in Barcelona. Should you find yourself there in July or August and in need of cooling off, I highly recommend making your way to the <a href="http://esports.bcn.cat/en/detall/piscines-municipals-montjuic_92086000228.html" target="_blank">Municipal swimming pool of Montjuïc</a>. It's easy to find, doesn't cost much (it's the municipal pool!) and comes with absolutely unbeatable views over the city. Plus you're conveniently placed to visit the sights at the same time (my favourite is the <a href="http://www.fmirobcn.org/en/" target="_blank">Miró museum</a>, but there's plenty else too!)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MI0MJszOYlI/VcSPrBTSFuI/AAAAAAAAFSk/cWgbBnjzpuI/s1600/montju%25C3%25AFc%2Bcollage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="576" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MI0MJszOYlI/VcSPrBTSFuI/AAAAAAAAFSk/cWgbBnjzpuI/s640/montju%25C3%25AFc%2Bcollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On that note, I think I'd like to know what <i>your </i>favourite off-the-beaten-track recommendations are! If I were to come and visit, what would be your favourite thing to show me? What travel gems have <i>you </i>discovered that the rest of us probably don't know about? Spill!<br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-69539505501075025662015-06-29T13:46:00.001+02:002015-06-29T13:48:17.635+02:00Sewing space downsizeYou guys, you guys. I'm hurtling towards the end of term in a blur of LAST MINUTE EVERYTHING mayhem. Was it a good idea to be leaving on holiday just one day after school finishes? Probably not. But it's too late to change plans now, and I have a bikini and a dress or two to finish (to start!! omf*$%g!!) before we pack ourselves into the car on Saturday morning. Thank the lord I know there'll be plenty of wine when we get there. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B7I0eUcb34A/VW2hPVV18dI/AAAAAAAAFN0/7T6rXL2pJww/s1600/overview.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B7I0eUcb34A/VW2hPVV18dI/AAAAAAAAFN0/7T6rXL2pJww/s640/overview.jpg" width="588" /></a></div>
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Needless to say - because isn't it what all sewists do before a holiday? - I have been making things like a maniac. Of course, I have no photos and thus there is no finished-garment blogging today - I shall be photographing them on location in sunnier, beachier climes OBVS. No, instead, today I would like to present to you - ta dah!! - the attic sweatshop where it all happens. Welcome to my new, improved and radically downsized sewing space!<br />
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Now, I'm not actually grumbling about the downsize. I knew it would come at some point, and I still have my own, now permanent, room. NOT COMPLAINING at all. But, here's the old one, bird's eye view from the mezzanine:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EsJtPERKZi4/VYQDj0fhXKI/AAAAAAAAFQI/WixEbhXADKE/s1600/old%2Bsewing%2Broom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EsJtPERKZi4/VYQDj0fhXKI/AAAAAAAAFQI/WixEbhXADKE/s640/old%2Bsewing%2Broom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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(I blogged about it previously <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2012/09/i-sew-here-where-do-you-sew.html" target="_blank">here</a>, btw). It's now my daughter's bedroom. Fair enough, that was always its destiny. But I hadn't really realised just how much of that luxuriously huge surface and floor space I'd been using, until faced with moving all my stuff to a 2x3 metre box room. If I wanted to be able to get any yardage spread out on the floor in the new space (let alone all of it with space to walk round, sob!) I had to think creatively. Likewise the ironing station. There's no room for just putting things to one side: the room is all sides and it gets clogged up mighty quick.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sj18EgM7KRM/VW2hP_XDmuI/AAAAAAAAFN8/trW3ol0rM2A/s1600/rail.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sj18EgM7KRM/VW2hP_XDmuI/AAAAAAAAFN8/trW3ol0rM2A/s640/rail.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UbWsMHyIDeY/VW2hQVlWOAI/AAAAAAAAFOE/PU7Qzf_nYS4/s1600/shelves.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UbWsMHyIDeY/VW2hQVlWOAI/AAAAAAAAFOE/PU7Qzf_nYS4/s640/shelves.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The answer of course has been to put things on walls. The shelving isn't exactly earth shattering, but can I just say that I have been BLOWN AWAY by the utterly brilliant usefulness of that rail with hooks (now <i>much </i>more cluttered than when this picture was taken)? I'd always thought hanging your paper patterns would involve a space-hogging rack, like this:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lilblueboo.com/2010/05/new-studio-pics-organization-and.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="click for source" border="0" src="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z315/ahackshaw/IMG_4519-1.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">click for source</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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But no! <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/20213538/" target="_blank">Ikea to the rescue</a> - and they hang flat against the wall! As does anything and everything else I might want to hang on it! Leaving me room for manoeuvre at the desk, and space to move my little cutting table (in the first pic above) around to wherever works best. The cupboard under the window is where current projects and supplies live, nicely hidden behind a wax fabric curtain thank-you-very-much. Patterns are in a separate cupboard downstairs, but I keep a queue of the ones I'll be using soon on the shelves where I can get at them easily.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vn7puf3AvVs/VZEvoVElQAI/AAAAAAAAFQw/E6-oEC3O7Nc/s1600/cupboard%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vn7puf3AvVs/VZEvoVElQAI/AAAAAAAAFQw/E6-oEC3O7Nc/s640/cupboard%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H8K7suc_JYY/VW2hOPTVw3I/AAAAAAAAFNk/z5UJj_e73UA/s1600/desk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H8K7suc_JYY/VW2hOPTVw3I/AAAAAAAAFNk/z5UJj_e73UA/s640/desk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I always wonder how we all fit sewing into our lives as well as our spaces, so here's a step back to show you the bigger picture. This is the top level of our house, and the two doors to the right are the kids' bedrooms:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-43-tJmycqkk/VW2hNIILtOI/AAAAAAAAFNQ/lyZJawiCWR0/s1600/attic%2Bhallway.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-43-tJmycqkk/VW2hNIILtOI/AAAAAAAAFNQ/lyZJawiCWR0/s640/attic%2Bhallway.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure why, but this arrangement of rooms suits both the kids and me much better. Perhaps I've <strike>neglected</strike> trained them thoroughly enough, or maybe it's just what happens when they get big enough, but these days I get to spend a lot
of time not actually really doing things with them. It works well for
all of us that I'm there next door, and we chat while they do
their various things in and between their own rooms, as well as mine. Sewing no longer seems the big deal activity it used to be when it took up so much more room, and I'm suddenly finding it easier to fit in odd minutes here and there while they're doing other stuff.<br />
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Moving the kids to rooms of their own now has also brought them a definite understanding of personal space, which is really interesting to see. When they're very small, that's one of the biggest things you lose, and I think we'd almost forgotten what boundaries were like! (They're 6 and almost 8 years old now). But they've seemed to instinctively work out that if I'm in my room, I'm doing <i>my </i>thing, just like in their rooms, it's <i>their </i>thing. It's been a surprise and a pleasure to find us all respecting each other's space quite so harmoniously!<br />
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Plus, on those occasions it gets less harmonious, we can just shut the doors.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qWg2sFtlqoY/VW2hPenrsgI/AAAAAAAAFOM/uLLo3gi6X2c/s1600/iron.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qWg2sFtlqoY/VW2hPenrsgI/AAAAAAAAFOM/uLLo3gi6X2c/s640/iron.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ah, bliss!<br />
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(Genius <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90090384/" target="_blank">wall-mounted iron stand</a> is also Ikea. Of course). <br />
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How does the place you sew affect the way sewing fits into your life? Do family meals happen in front of the TV so as not to disturb the <strike>dining</strike> sewing table? Or do you hardly see your close relatives, only emerging from your remote sewing cave for food and water? And if you have children - how do they handle your sewing time (or don't they?!)<br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-63023237548658665622015-06-11T13:32:00.001+02:002015-06-11T13:32:30.098+02:00Rockbuex // Experimental trousersCannot. Stop. Wearing. The Rockbuex. <br />
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The what?<br />
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Well, glad you asked! Let me show you...<br />
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(<i>You might want to put your sunglasses on. I inadvertently captured the full force of the sun in these pictures!</i>)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K-4ZTO4PsiA/VXf61ImTXNI/AAAAAAAAFOw/H273eQoTCsU/s1600/rocbuex%2B1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K-4ZTO4PsiA/VXf61ImTXNI/AAAAAAAAFOw/H273eQoTCsU/s640/rocbuex%2B1a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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So, the Rockbuex. A pattern by German blogger <a href="http://www.schneidernmeistern.de/" target="_blank">schneidermeistern</a>, available <a href="https://www.kollabora.com/supplies/rockbx-experimental-pants-0" target="_blank">in English on Kollabora</a> where it is enticingly-named "Experimental Pants". Because, as you can no doubt tell, it's not <i>ein Rock</i> - a skirt - but something closely resembling a pair of trousers. Trousers with a veeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrry dropped crotch. Although I suppose you could look at it the other way, too, if you wanted: as a skirt that happens to be closed at the bottom, with ankle holes.<br />
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But let's be straightforward here. What it is, is extreme harem pants. And I really, really like how that fact covers all sorts
of style bases - from high fashion harems to festival-gear sarouels, and
all the faux-maxi-skirt mum-clothes in between.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-12epsDy2BGs/VXf600gV7hI/AAAAAAAAFOs/MgEjgG-fQiE/s1600/rocbuex%2B3a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-12epsDy2BGs/VXf600gV7hI/AAAAAAAAFOs/MgEjgG-fQiE/s640/rocbuex%2B3a.jpg" width="480" /></a> </div>
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<br />I first became aware of this particular pattern when I saw it on the ever-stylish <a href="https://instagram.com/ute_ig/" target="_blank">Ute</a>, but this wasn't the first time I'd considered the appeal of this type of garment. When Oonaballoona posted her <a href="http://www.oonaballoona.com/2014_07_01_archive.html" target="_blank">romper-with-room tutorial</a> last year I was sorely tempted to give it a go then - but stalled at choosing an appropriate fabric and promptly forgot all about it.<br />
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Fortunately,
by the time the same temptation arose this spring, that little issue
had resolved itself. On my visit to <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/01/yak-hat.html" target="_blank">Paris in January</a> I had picked up
this beautiful blue silk at the rather bargainous price of 8 euros a
metre. Even with a 3-metre minimum purchase, it was worth jumping on!
It's fairly roughly textured, not smooth - I know very little about the
proper terms for these things but I think it's what's called a washed
silk?? (Please correct me if you know better!) Anyway, whatever it is, I
had to have it, even though I had no idea what I was going to do with
it. The only thing I <i>did </i>know was that I wanted as much of it as possible next to my skin at all times.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U1ezDN05fho/VXf61NwGe3I/AAAAAAAAFO0/8GVVsfrlPCA/s1600/rocbuex%2B2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U1ezDN05fho/VXf61NwGe3I/AAAAAAAAFO0/8GVVsfrlPCA/s640/rocbuex%2B2a.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Megan Nielsen's <a href="http://megannielsen.com/products/tania-culottes-sewing-pattern" target="_blank">Tania culottes</a> were my default plan for a long while - especially when saw her <a href="http://blog.megannielsen.com/2015/02/tutorial-how-to-make-midi-tania-culottes/" target="_blank">boxier midi-length version</a> - but I hesitated over the relatively high waistband. While I love how that can look, I know that I just don't wear high waists regularly, and certainly not with the comfort level I wanted for my special fabric. And I'm glad I waited, because the Rockbuex hits the exact spot I was aiming for. Totally, utterly comfortable, while giving off a wonderful vibe of laid-back chic - and laid-back chic is absolutely how I roll at the moment.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VRX6Us5x2qg/VXf61iKn09I/AAAAAAAAFO4/ZXBlNByZIFQ/s1600/rocbuex%2B4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VRX6Us5x2qg/VXf61iKn09I/AAAAAAAAFO4/ZXBlNByZIFQ/s640/rocbuex%2B4a.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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In terms of construction, this pattern is extremely straightforward. The 'skirt' has front and back darts if you're using a woven fabric, to help it fall more smoothly, which I think it does. It has pockets (insert obligatory pocket YAY here) and, as written, includes ribbing at the waistband and ankle cuffs. I made a self-fabric waistband instead because I wanted it to match, with 5cm elastic inserted and then topstitched in the same way as the <a href="http://truebiaspatterns.bigcartel.com/product/hudson-pant" target="_blank">Hudson pants</a> (I didn't get any close ups but you can see it in the photos above). At the ankles, I shamelessly copied Ute by adding a hem allowance and creating a little (+/- 5cm) pleat to draw in the 'cuff'. This keeps things nice and airy - though the silk is warmer to wear than I thought it would be, so this definitely isn't a high-summer garment. (Not that that'll be much of an issue in Belgium...)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6mXoeMspiKU/VXf62hiwUdI/AAAAAAAAFPI/Ql8d304UgCQ/s1600/rocbuex%2B7a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6mXoeMspiKU/VXf62hiwUdI/AAAAAAAAFPI/Ql8d304UgCQ/s640/rocbuex%2B7a.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div>
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In fact, to my mind, the Rockbuex is absolutely ideal winter wear - and not just because it makes a maxi skirt out of a pair of trousers. While I was contemplating the cuffs, and mulling over fabric choices, it occurred to me that one could make some of these in fleece for lounging on cold evenings, and doesn't that sound appealing, curled up on the sofa inside your nice cosy trouser/skirt thing? Well, from that vision it was a mere mental hop, skip and jump to the thought that, ok, ankle cuffs are good enough, but you know what? You could just go the whole hog and attach a pair of slipper socks instead. Seriously. You're not tempted? :-)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kdyyNdzOm-M/VXf62Pz-qoI/AAAAAAAAFPY/-9AYiFvdZcA/s1600/rocbuex%2B5a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kdyyNdzOm-M/VXf62Pz-qoI/AAAAAAAAFPY/-9AYiFvdZcA/s640/rocbuex%2B5a.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Anyway. I still have just over a metre of the silk left. I'm thinking of making an <a href="http://marillawalker.blogspot.be/p/ilsley.html" target="_blank">Ilsley skirt</a> for maximum silk-wearing over the summer. After I've crawled out of the swimsuit vortex I've been sucked into over the last couple of weeks - I literally cannot think about anything else. Do you get like that too?? It's like my obsession with finally making a well-fitting bikini is demanding to be unleashed and, finally, completed - or else it'll destroy my ability to create anything, ever again. (I may be taking it a bit too seriously). <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-llin91MOJow/VXf62SEmP5I/AAAAAAAAFPE/bsgtNr_HO3w/s1600/rocbuex%2B6a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-llin91MOJow/VXf62SEmP5I/AAAAAAAAFPE/bsgtNr_HO3w/s640/rocbuex%2B6a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Rockbuex: Cat Approved.<br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-66119518860512743352015-06-02T12:38:00.002+02:002015-06-02T18:09:28.929+02:00Dress like yourselfJust what <i>is </i>personal style?<br>
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It's probably inevitable to end up asking yourself that question during Me Made May, isn't it? This was the first year I've taken part wholeheartedly - i.e. without getting bored and giving up half way through - and with more or less daily outfit photos. It's a funny thing, to put those pictures out there (out <a href="https://instagram.com/jo_sews/" target="_blank">here</a>) and see yourself through the eyes (or likes, or comments) of others for a change. Funny because that's what we do every day - put ourselves out there, in our outfits. And like it or not, that's the person that others see.<br>
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They see if we're wearing a trend. They see shapes, colours and a level of over- or understatement (perhaps carefully constructed, perhaps not). I think it's usually fairly clear to see whether we like what we're wearing, whether we feel comfortable. Maybe they see an image we're trying to project, consciously or unconsciously, even when that projection is the one saying: I'm not projecting anything, thank you. Those who know us well might be able to tell what kind of day we're having.<br>
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I struggle a bit with this. That on some level, "personal style" can only be perceived through the eyes and, well, the judgements, of others. I want to be able to say: personal style is about self-expression, regardless of what anyone else thinks. That those who look really great in their clothes are those who care least what others think of them. These things are true, surely. It's just that - I'm not at all sure what it means when I say: I simply want to feel and look good. Good how? Good to who? Is it really even possible, or indeed important, for my only judge to be myself?<br>
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I don't know.<br>
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The only thing I <i>do </i>know is that finding a personal style which works for me has been a lifelong battle and that finally, at the grand old age of nearly-38, it's a battle I now seem to be winning. <br>
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Cue another series of soul-searching questions... <br>
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... am I winning because I'm older and I give less shits? Because the sense of self that was so thoroughly purged by early motherhood has now risen from the ashes, stronger than before? Or will I hit my mid-forties and find myself wondering, again, how to adapt to a stage of life that seems to bring so many internalised preconceptions and ideas?<br>
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Is it because, nearly 40 years into dressing myself, I've finally worked out what I like to wear and what I don't? Is it because of sewing - that I know what I want, and can make it work?<br>
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Or is it because the online sewing community has turned out to be an unexpectedly uplifting place to publicly post photos of oneself - to, essentially, invite the judgements of others, and for those judgements to be ever kind, positive and empowering?<br>
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Again, I don't know.<br>
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The fact is, Me Made May is a brilliant opportunity for some collective,
positive exploration of personal style. That I feel slightly awkward
at my 'best' handmade outfits getting more likes than others, is <i>more</i> than
offset by the overwhelming joy I find in other people's #MMMay selfies.
If I'd had the time, there would have been likes for every. single. one. <br>
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When I put these collages together, I was thinking to analyse a little the outfits that really worked, and those that didn't so much. The <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/05/drape-drape-dare.html" target="_blank">drape drape tops</a> above, one t-shirt weight and one sweater, turned out to be immediate favourites. My <span id="goog_1910248084"></span><a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/03/two-skirts-and-cropped-linden.html" target="_blank">Linden</a> <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/05/evan-skirt.html" target="_blank">sweatshirts</a><span id="goog_1910248085"></span>, below, paired with various skirt/dress options, were also super easy to wear. Far and away the most-repeated item of the month was my <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2015/01/dolores-and-dungarees.html" target="_blank">Turia dungarees</a>, which was unexpected, but it seems I love the bib neckline and the fact that they have no waist (err, duh). There may well be more.<br>
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Call it coincidence - but of course, I'm pretty sure it isn't - the pictures in these three last collages of the "hits" are also those that proved the most popular when I posted them on instagram.<br>
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And I'm left wondering: were these my favourite outfits <i>before </i>other people said they were that good?<br>
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And yet again: does it really matter?<br>
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As an aside, another thing I find intriguing is that these are among my most recent makes. Are sewists drawn in disproportionately by the new and shiny, I wonder? Is that inherent in the fact that, one way or another, we're all making our own fashion - and that's just what fashion does?<br>
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Well, I'm not attempting to answer any of these questions. In fact, I'm going to go all postmodern and say that I think the questions probably <i>are </i>the answers. (I love that that kind of evasion was basically how I ended up getting a decent degree, haha! Gotta love the humanities!)<br>
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If you're interested in thinking more about this kind of thing, I highly recommend reading through the intelligent and perceptive discussions going on in the comments of <a href="http://didyoumakethat.com/2015/05/31/a-state-of-bewilderment-brought-on-by-a-dress/" target="_blank">Karen's recent post</a> on her Merchant & Mills Factory dress. There is a wealth of food for thought there, about dressing for and through the transitional stages and ages of life.<br>
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Now, I want you to tell me: what's your take on personal style - <i>can </i>such a thing exist without being filtered through others' eyes? Does that matter to you, or not?<br>
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And, surely I'm not alone in this: are you too perpetually curious about the age of other sewcialists??? I find it impossible to tell - some of you are spring chickens barely into your twenties, others of us bear the weight of many years! I always think of 'us' as being all the same, indeterminate age, but of course we can't be.<br>
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GO ON... I told you mine, now tell me yours: how old are you?! :-) <br>
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<br>Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2045518520184905670.post-54304616400523336082015-05-20T14:59:00.001+02:002015-05-20T14:59:47.053+02:00Evan skirtA broken collar bone. Six stitches, two stitches, and three stitches caused by an IKEA escalator, a slippery bathtub and the swimming pool, respectively. Emergency stomach surgery. And the infamous near-hospitalisation for extreme constipation (yes, really) avoided only by some spectacular eleventh-hour shooting poo. In their short lives so far, my children have between them put together a remarkable portfolio of medical disasters - or so it seems to me, who has never broken a bone or been hospitalised for anything other than childbirth.<br />
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Last night was the most recent of these episodes, the
swimming pool tumble and chin stitches thing. We handled it rather well,
I thought, especially when the doctor brought out the gas and air and, "Yay!" they chorused, "that stuff is fun!!" Cue raised eyebrows from the
medical professionals: do your children do this a lot, Madame? (Rather
like the time a kitchen cupboard fell off the wall on to my head, and
the kindly, concerned doctor gently asked: has this happened before? It
took some confused explaining before he was convinced that 'kitchen cupboard'
really wasn't a euphemism for 'wife-beating husband').<br />
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Anyway, this latest in a long string of hospital visits was also just the latest in a long string of little life events that cumulatively have prevented me from blogging this skirt before. (How's that for a tenuously-relevant intro!) Which is a shame, because I've been dying to tell you about it since I made it, what feels like AGES ago. It's <a href="http://marillawalker.blogspot.be/" target="_blank">Marilla Walker</a>'s <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/226468981/evan-skirt-sewing-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_3" target="_blank">Evan skirt pattern</a>, which I was lucky enough to test before its release, and it's absolutely chock full of lovely details. Here, let me show you!<br />
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Front and centre, here's that split from closer up. Such nice pointy corners and pleasing topstitched detail...<br />
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THOSE PINTUCKS. I could not love a back pocket more than I love this one.<br />
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Topstitching, (pink!!) topstitching everywhere! And oh how nicely that centre back seam and belt loop match up - my inner detail-freak did a little happy dance for joy!<br />
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And there's (optionally) more of those pintucks on the front pockets too! My only reservation here is that this part is really not easy to do tidily on thicker fabrics: my (purple!!) denim was not the ideal fabric for this level of detail, although it's hardly that bad unless you're looking closely.<br />
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Finally, I have to show you my pocket lining, just because otherwise no-one will ever know it's there. I used some scraps left over from my <a href="http://jo-sews-etc.blogspot.be/2014/09/summers-last-hurrah-technicolour.html" target="_blank">Eva dress</a> - the colours were so harmonious, it makes me happy every time I put my hands in them. Which is often, because let me tell you, these pockets are <i>perfectly </i>sized, placed and angled. Also, that there is the back of my first ever zip fly, painlessly and perfectly done thanks to the nice and clear instructions.<br />
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As for the sizing and fit, I found it pretty spot on. My waist falls between two sizes, so to be on the safe side I went with the larger one and then graded down a couple of sizes at the hip, in line with my measurements there. By the way, this involved re-tracing the side seam curve on the front, back yoke, pocket facing and pocket lining pieces - a slight fiddle but not exactly difficult. Anyway, I can tell that my choice of waist size means my skirt sits slightly lower than it's designed to: the waistband is nicely curved to sit on the natural waist, and doesn't sit quite right below mine. But that's a minor niggle and one that can easily be fixed by making the smaller waist size next time. It's still supremely comfy and very, <i>very </i>wearable. I wear it a lot :-)<br />
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So all in all, you can probably tell that it's a total thumbs up for this pattern from me! A skirt like this is always a classic, and the pattern has less detailed and longer versions so you can get tons of variety out of it. I have an idea for a corduroy Evan in the autumn, and in the meantime would LOVE to find the time to put this skirt and its details together with the top half of the <a href="http://www.paulinealicepatterns.com/turia-dungarees" target="_blank">Turia dungarees</a>, for what I'm convinced will be the best pinafore dress EVER.<br />
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And now a quick word about the top. Quilted knit <a href="http://shop.grainlinestudio.com/products/linden-sweatshirt" target="_blank">Linden</a> awesomeness! Me and the family were in Maastricht around Easter and stumbled on the fabric market just as it was closing up. 10 frenzied minutes later, I escaped with 1.5 m of this at a total cost of 3.75 euros. Self restraint guys!! It could have been SO much worse :-)<br />
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Anyway, this fabric didn't have enough stretch for a normal knit neckband finish, so I drafted a facing instead (Hanne's <a href="http://www.hannevandersteen.be/tutorials/how-to-cut-a-facing-that-fits/" target="_blank">quick tips</a> explain how). I quite like the wider neckline for a change.<br />
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So there you have it! What do you think - are you tempted by the Evan skirt? Have you tried any other of Marilla's patterns? She's a relatively new indie pattern designer and I love her aesthetic - absolutely <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/marillawalker/" target="_blank">everything she pins</a> is just so cool, and she's super stylish and sociable <a href="https://instagram.com/marillawalker/" target="_blank">on instagram</a>. This skirt is the first of hers I've tried but it's so good I'm eager to try the others - I've got my eyes on the <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/215705872/freemantle-coat-and-jacket-sewing?ref=shop_home_active_2" target="_blank">Freemantle coat</a> for when autumn rolls round. Total fangirl moment!!!!<br />
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OK. Final outfit pic.<br />
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And with that I'm outta here before anyone else does themselves an injury.<br />
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<br />Jo H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13489890415848995136noreply@blogger.com17