We’re slowly winding down on summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, not something I’m relishing. I really miss those long southern summers and quick winters that were over just as soon as you were getting used to having to wear a jersey every day. Of course, the end of July appearing doesn’t mean I am ready to show you the last of what I made in the month, I’ve barely scratched the surface, and still not finished what I got up to in June!
But for today, I have an outfit I made for The Monthly Stitch, for Independent Pattern Month. It’s the last week of the fling and the challenge was to sew an outfit of at least two items. I’d already decided most definitely on one item, but it took a while to finalise the rest of the outfit.
I started with the Named Clothing Pulmu Pencil Skirt. In denim. I know, the pattern clearly states a lightweight fabric, but I rather fancied the idea of making it in something sturdy. I cut the 46 and after toiling it took in the side seams to remove the ease. I wanted to use a denim with 2% stretch and wanted a fit a little more like a pair of jeans. I also had to shorten it overall by 8cm. I took out 2 between the waistline and hip, 3 between the hip and the knee and another 3 between the knee and the hem.
In order to have a softer feel around the waist, the facings were cut from linen fabric from the scrap-box. A zip guard was cut from the same fabric and it looks good with the dark denim of the skirt. A decision was taken not to line the skirt. I used the overlocker to neaten all the raw edges and I toyed with the idea of binding the hem and the allowances of the vent edges. In the end I didn’t do it because it would mean using a third fabric and I didn’t like that idea. The hems are mitered with an uneven mitre to avoid any edges showing. They worked out really well. I like the skirt, it’s the first one to live in my wardrobe for about 10 years!
I decided against a woven for the top, going instead for a softer look with viscose jersey. I had some lovely soft grey viscose jersey left over from a project completed earlier in the year and decided to make the Birgitte Basic Tee from Maria Denmark. I can always do with more tee shirts! Going with the v-neck, short sleeve version, I thought I’d need to do something a little “more” with it. The morning I cut the tee out I’d needed to look out some sequin ribbons for a friend and I found a scrap of gold sequined fabric salvaged from a dress made ages ago. I thought “I wonder if this is useful, what would it look like on the grey?” and then, “ooo, I can put it on the shoulder!” I picked the left shoulder because if any bags are going to be carried, they go on the right.
The Birgitte Tee is very quick and easy to make, so it was only a couple hours work. I slightly stretched the jersey when I laid the sequined fabric on top so that it wouldn’t be pulling against the sequins once made up and being worn. Then I pinned the scrap in place and tacked within the seam allowance. I removed the larger sequins from the seam allowance and got sewing. I quite like the finished result, understated and simple, but with a bit of bling/sparkle.
To round off the outfit I actually bought a piece of fabric! Clothspot have this gorgeous black and silver striped ponte for a pretty good price. I had the Saunio Cardigan from Named Clothing in mind. Originally I wanted to make it in a woven – I have a piece of black and cream silk that would look fabulous in the Saunio’s shape, but there wasn’t nearly enough of the fabric to make it work. The pattern is so quick to make! Even with making sure I had pins in every second stripe, it took a couple of hours in an afternoon to complete.
I widened the sleeve because I have “sturdy” arms(!) and knew, from the measurements, that this ponte would never have enough stretch to make the sleeves comfortable. I love the finished length of the sleeves, I usually push all my sleeves up, but these finish at the perfect spot! This is a great addition to my wardrobe, the colours go perfectly with everything else and I love the boxy shape and cropped length. I’m going to wear it loads with my Birkin jeans!
So there you have it, my outfit for the Indie Royalty category. I will try to catch up on the remains of June’s makes and the July stuff that didn’t fall into the Indie Month categories as soon as possible. I seem to really have got cracking with the sewing since getting my own sewing room, but the stash isn’t going down quite as quickly as I’d hoped. Best I get a move on then, Mr Not Compulsive has been dropping hints about never getting anything made for him and I have a good stash of Paul Smith shirtings!
THE COMPULSIVE SEAMSTRESS 