Colette Patterns Clovers – at last they fit!

Posted on 25 May, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

I have a checkered history with Colette’s Clover pattern. Whilst I had one semi success (that are ridiculously ginormous now), remember the doom ridden pair in blue stretch velvet? I hadn’t quite got over the trauma of making those & felt scarred for life to the point that I was actually considering hiding my Clovers pattern in the section of my pattern filing that [imagine some big echoey scary voice here] “no patterns ever come out of”. But with my shape changing &lots of my clothes no longer fitting I thought in a crazy moment that it could be high time to give them just one more go. They would become a reasonable pair of transition trousers – possibly suitable for work on a semi casual day & great for weekending too.

Well, since the ill fated midnight blue clover experience, I have successfully made a number of pairs of trousers that required understanding more about fit, & one pair that was much looser fitting & did not have the same degree of fitting needing at all. So dare I say that I actually found them quite straight forward this time? Will that invoke virtual eye-scratching out to those of us who have suffered at the ~~hands~~ legs & crotch of Clovers? Don’t worry though. you will see my v.p.l. (visible panty line) of shame if that makes you feel any better.

So, just a few words I think is all I can muster on this experience. I already had some black mid weight cotton with some stretch to it, & although that’s not much of a summer colour, I wasn’t going to buy anything else as it was suitable in all other aspects. I thought “Ooh! Audrey! Let’s go for the shorter length!”

(Interesting seeing them from the side to see that they need to be adjusted as the front/ back are at different heights – I need to add length to my centre back I think)

I knew there would be a degree of trial & error so I used a long basting stitch to construct them using left over bobbins of odd thread to make it easier to unpick. And I was realistic in this approach. Multiple jigglings around at the centre front, inner thigh & crotch later I was happy enough with the fit to use a proper black thread & regular stitch length.

Do you like my waist band facing? It’s made using some left overs from a top I’m making with the Liberty fabric that was a birthday present from my boys

OK, so when I made the Pavlova top I thought it would be a match made in heaven for some Clovers, not realising that it was just too “Olivia Newton John” & my thrills really were electrifying – or shall I say, chilly. NO way am I going out like this. The things I do for the blog I tell you.

I’ll be happier wearing these trousers with a tee shirt & ballet flats,

or my new Liberty top that I’m making (you’ll have to wait for that).

I think the Day to Night Drape tops will also look great or even another Drafting Top. In fact I could not have chosen a top that I am less likely to actually wear with these trousers!! (Unless of course I make another & lengthen it some more).

And I really do need to make sure I wear decent underwear with such a tight fitting behind.

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Cake Patterns Pavlova top revealed

Posted on 23 May, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

So you saw in my last Me Made May post that I’ve made a wrap top. A Cake Patterns Pavlova Wrap top no less. I’d pre-ordered this in December was it? It’s been gazing fondly at me for a number of months until I decided it was time to just get on & make it as I needed a red jersey top. I had some fabric in my stash, a peachy red viscose mix & knew it would be a quick make. (There are four pattern pieces with an extremely interesting combined front/back piece).

And it was. I’d read that it came up short, & always feeling cold & needing to feel “tucked in” around my waist I added a couple of inches to the length before cutting out. I had enough fabric for the 3/4 length sleeves so opted to make those.

Although I also have the Tiramisu dress pattern from Cake, this is my first make. The way that markings & instructions align is an interesting angle (eg the shoulder dart is marked on the pattern with a number 4 I think, & that relates to step 4). It really feels to me as if the patterns, designs & just everything have been really thoroughly thought through – talk on the interwebs about Cake sizing has also been rated highly. So, looking at the Cake strapline I love that it says “sewable wearable re-makeable basics always with pockets”. It’s brilliant! And where are the pockets on the Pavlova? It comes with a skirt that has the pockets & I can’t wait to make (in purple jersey I’m thinking).

Anyway, the top- can I say how enamoured I am of it already? While I was making it I was getting all excited as there seemed to be construction techniques (eg the wider neck facing/ collar) that was not a regular “knit” neck band or facing. It was a little bit more challenging to sew, but did it create a wonderful finish (ahem, on the outside) that has a vintage essence to it.

There’s the shoulder dart & neck from the inside. I regret that my interfacing square shows up so clumsily. And I’m being hugely honest here – it’s not the straightest of seams – this is a straight stitch using a regular machine & I reckon it looks rather wiggle-some. But never mind. Joy at 21 Wale has just written her review of this as well if you fancy seeing some other pictures including a very neatly executed back neckline!)

It’s got marvellous sleeves finished off with the neatest band.Now the way it wraps is interesting. It has a longer back “flap” which the ties neatly tie around. There are no holes in the side seams to thread the ties through. I like the longer back as it can be tucked in to skirts/ trousers! I was in between sizes for the ties in the pattern, so I cut the next size up.

This is the back flap above. I used that wonder tape to set all of the hems with. Luckily the instructions gave me a top tip – if using this type of tape, you can fix the hems as you go along, but save the sewing until the end & do the whole lot in one go. Bong! Nice & neat again.

I do find that the style although intended to cut across quite high in the chest, for me tends to cut through lower with time & gravity.

Sort of like this

And until I make the Pavlova skirt I love the way it works with my Madeleine half circle skirt. Why Oh why is there not more time in the day to be able to sew all of the things I’ve got fabric for? I want to make more of these gorgeous Pavlovas. And I also want to make a real pavlova. With raspberries ideally. Now there’s a thought ….

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News and loud purchases

Posted on 16 May, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

Hey lovelies!!
First of all thank you for so many awesome comments on my last post about my polka dot Chardon skirt. I’ve been away so couldn’t get to the ( reliable and long lasting) Internet plus even if I could it would have been at the expense of being a sociable loving daughter….can’t have that really, can we?! So I haven’t been able to reply yet. So I shall read every comment again and smile with an ear to ear beam.
This is just a quick one to first of all alert you ( in case you’ve also been offline for a matter of days) that the Colette Patterns Laurel contest is at voting stage for Readers’ choice and there are some amazing dresses in there. Gulp. I can’t believe that my blue Laurel had made it through. Have a check out the seriously wondrous takes on Laurel and if you feel like voting for me, then I’d smile even more ( not that I’d know however!!!). Thank you for all your support so far by the way. The first I saw of it was on Twitter ( thank you Vicki Kate )
Ok, in return for that I thought I’d show you my purchases from Truro fabrics, which I was able to visit on my Trip down even further into the South West of England. You know my parents live in Cornwall, right? Hence the many visits to the sea. As always it was awesome, but we don’t usually make it to Truro. This time however was an exception ( and maybe the start of a trend/ habit).

Truro fabrics did not disappoint. I’d only been once before and such is my memory that I only had vague recollections of its scale and huge amount of stock. I did not waste my time downstairs in the furnishings dept, but headed straight away to the dressmaking department. Actually, my mum took me to the clearance mezzanine first (;-) ) but nothing tempted us.

So, to cut to the chase, I was astounded by the huge selection and overwhelmed. I did not really have a shopping list, but did have a small budget. I’d seen some stretch cotton sateens on the website and was playing with the idea of those, and in fact that’s what I plumped for. But first, some turquoise Lycra to make my retro style 50s swimsuit ( this is my sewlution) – I already have mccalls 6569 as my pattern, and in theory have enough to experiment with one and two piece versions. They are general sunbathing wear, otherwise the fabric would not be suitable (imagine the drag as you make your tumble turn!)

Nice yes?

Next is a fabric that my mum was interested in, liking the blending of the colours, but not actually liking the colours or the scale of the print. This was my third decision, buying enough for a dress …I think.

The last one to show you, but it was actually my first decision – it was a rebellious choice. My poor mum. We have such different taste, she likes muted pinks and blues that blend. Me? I choose bold and bright. In fact she was quite shocked that I liked this. And maybe it was because of that, that I bought it…

O crikey!! I think I’ve made her feel ill! I bought a metre as it shall become a skirt, a ,Charlotte I think. She is still in denial that I *actually* chose it and paid money for it.
My parents are now bracing themselves for it making its appearance next time I visit them. I don’t think I can disappoint them, do you?!? Have you ever bought something that someone had such a strong opinion about, just because that made it even more exciting?

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Polka dot Chardon skirt

Posted on 15 May, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

A big thank you to Lizzy, who was so thoughtful sending me some pretty & totally “me” polka dot fabric after I was unable to catch up with her & come to the epic London blogger meet. I felt it was opportune to whip me up another Chardon skirt with it, loving the look, feel & fit of my red denim skirt. I thought it could be a skirt that could blend into my summer work wardrobe too.

So, the details. The fabric is a border print light weight cotton. Not much to it in terms of weight, but equally there’s not much drape to it. It has a border print stripe that needed to be incorporated into the skirt, but I don’t know if any of you have ever tried to match a skirt pattern’s hem with a straight line? They are not usually drafted that way, they are usually drafted with a slight curve. So that took a little bit of engineering.

What I did was generally ignored the grainline arrows on the pattern & used the straight edge of the border to “best fit” along the bottom skirt pattern edges (making sure that the stripes would match on back & front pieces). With the Chardon, the skirt is wider at the hem than the waist, despite the fabric used to make the box pleats which means that cutting the hem from the line of the border stripe makes the side seams follow a line that creates a larger waist (think of it as a different kind of pivot if that helps?) Therefore I had to recut the side seams, from the original waist size on the pattern piece – effectively cutting a new line from the hem up to the waist.

Scrappy picture drawn in the front of my notebook to explain. The shaded area is the original pattern piece. Im using the back as an example as the fold complicates it further. This is my quick method, but if you wanted to be careful you could redraft a whole new pattern piece using the same method, but applying it to paper as opposed to directly onto the fabric like lazy me.
1. Line up hem to border as best fit, taking care to match border stripes when cutting both front and back. Pin.
2. Cut hem then waist, extending waistline to fold.
3. Remove original pattern.
4. Measure the length of the waist and mark along where you’ve already cut. You will have cut a longer waist than you need.
5. Draw a new side seam line between the side edge of the hem you’ve already cut and the new marked waist measurement, and cut.
6. Pin the patterns edge to the waist edge to transfer markings for box pleats. To mark pocket placement you probably need to unpin and line up side edges of pattern pieces.

I hope this makes sense?

Apart from that I think it was plain sailing. Pockets were made using the same fabric this time, no elephant surprises! It all came together very quickly. That’s another joy of this pattern. I did make belt loops too, since I knew a belt would be a worthy accessory.

I have worn it once now, and it is a perfect little skirt. it did crease with the traumas of two bus journeys, but hey, can’t have it all ways. I had to wear it with tights ( nude) but being black I think it could be worn with other coloured tights too …seems to be the requirement this month!!

Yet again the ability to make the “bow” version has eluded me, therefore I can forsee more Chardons in the future to realise that dream….anyone else jumped on the Chardon waggon?

ps bus journeys involved going to Truro fabrics ! I have some hugely exciting fabric to show you. Yes, I was restrained, but only in my purse. NOT in the choice of print!

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Day to Night Drape Tops- compulsive!

Posted on 13 May, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

OK, confession time. I am a Maria Denmark super fan. Apart from enjoying her blog tremendously & having a stackload of admiration for her giving up her day job to live her dream designing & drafting sewing patterns, I absolutely love every single pattern that I have made that she has produced. I am particularly keen on the knit patterns she has crafted – the style & fit are perfect for me. They are distributed as pdf downloads, but don’t let that put you off – I’ve seen that she is making it even easier to download & construct all those pieces of printed A4 with her new Audrey dress pattern (yes I have it ) Anyway, I have to say also that her instructions are also very well documented with photos to help explain the steps, and are easily achievable makes in my opinion. Anyway, this post is about the Day to Night Drape Top pattern.

Folks, this is a speedy stylish sewing fix – seriously this pattern is sooooo easy to make, especially the sleeveless version. Lizzy has made it in the sleeveless variety in highly covetable stripes, & even making it up as a dress (see here) .

Remember I made it here with long sleeves as soon as it came out, & was impressed with it & it has been worn lots. Plus, you must know by now that I adore cowl necklines! With summer on the horizon I could at last make it up sleeveless.

I had some fabric recently acquired that cried out to be made up in this pattern. This is the wondrously fine jersey from Jill’s Itterations Workwear store on Etsy (remember it is still on special offer). I had me some Silver lurex sparkle on beige (hey disco!!)

So this pattern is constructed from just two pieces: a front & a back. It is easily made from less than a metre of fabric. Bargainalicious. And so stylish too.

The front has an integral facing that folds down to make the cowl. This is what it looks like from the inside. I am rapidly falling in love with using clear elastic to finish the neck & sleeve edges. Just requires two rows of zig zag & so neat.

I could not stop at one, I had to make two

Jill kindly sent me some black to try & it is so soft & wonderfully fine. Perfect for a drapey cowl.

Black to bring my By Hand Charlotte skirt into Spring rotation…

I think it’s just the way I’m standing that makes it look a bit tight across the chest. Although to be honest, this is clingy top.

And an added bonus? This top took me an hour tops to make, once I’d cut it out. Cutting out must take all of 15 minutes!

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The anti-climax blouse: Butterick 3082

Posted on 8 May, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

So remember way back when, I had a dream that I could replicate, or sort of make something similar to Joanne’s awesome frilly vintage blouse here?

Source: stitchandwitter.com via Scruffybadger on Pinterest

Well, I started to action this months ago & it has been a UFO…until now! (I now have no UFOs people- how cool is that!?) So it is time to tell the story of how such grand designs became a bit of a damp squib.

I used this pattern, Butterick 3082 & don’t even feel as if I’ve done this justice.

I mean I bought this because of all of the dreamy neck treatments: pussy bow, frill, gorgeous collar & bow tie. But ignored them all. So I started thinking I’d make a frill neck blouse a la Joanne using some beautiful floral poly chiffon that I’d got from the Rag Market. Gorgeous teal, brown & reds in this fabric that are just too pretty…. I cut strips & used my overlocker to roll-hem the edges in red. I made running tracks of this, I tell you…

I then made up the button-back blouse, version D, but with narrower sleeves. Now it could be that Joanne’s blouse is front fastening, I wasn’t sure. My thinking though had designed it with buttons behind me. I did make a quick version out of an old sheet to test the pattern, when I tried it on, it appeared to be a fab fit, bust darts even falling correctly. So I could go full steam ahead & make it up in the chiffon.

Everything was going well, I’d made up the blouse, inserted the sleeves & had metres of ruffle. BUT positioning the ruffle around my neck was wrong. Just wrong folks. Pierrot, Krusty the clown would have been proud. OK, so the neckline is rather high on this blouse. Possibly lowering it & then adding frills would feel more comfortable.

But that would involve recutting a neckline, facings & just general sewing-unpicking tedium. I try not to go back with sewing, not when the execution of an idea is basically flawed. High neck, ruffles, me? Remember my last dalliance with ruffles?

I have to apologise folks, there are no pictures with ruffles attached. It was one of those occasions when the camera was not handy & my fear of frills made me panic – I removed them instantly. I know, that’s what you come back here for – me looking silly & showing the warts & all of my sewing. Sadly I failed you this time. Please forgive me. Call it a medical emergency.

Still, this blouse generally moped around my sewing room waiting for me to pick it up & redeem it. You see, I do LOVE Joanne’s blouse. Still.

So I hemmed the sleeves (which were also potential ruffle victims), hemmed the blouse & put the buttonholes in the back. I made it simple. In the picture above you can barely see the buttons, such a close match they must be!

Now I still have misgivings about this blouse, despite having worn it now.

First of all I never wear a neckline this high. Ever. Which is why I tried it with the necklace. Plus, When I saw the photos I was struck by how wide & boxy it is. But then, how much do we stand with arms out like that (except perhaps to cool over-heated arm-pits)?

Chiffon hangs lightly, we move, maybe it doesn’t look huge in normal wear? I could always put a couple of vertical darts in the front too. So, to conclude. This blouse is a lesser version of its potential. I have doubts about it, but have worn it. It is a very good blouse to wear out in evenings with trousers & I am looking forward to pairing it with my red denim Chardon skirt too….tucked in it could have a whole different look. I think it is the prettiness of the fabric that is redeeming it….& maybe I don’t always have to embellish, maybe sometimes I just need to keep it simple?

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Colette Patterns Laurel Dress: my shrubbery develops

Posted on 29 April, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

The Colette Patterns Laurel Dress contest was genius, not only to create a buzz about the new pattern from Colette, but that it was this particular pattern: a simple shift dress. Take this simple shift dress & see what you can do with it…fabric variations, trimmings and clever design can create countless sources for others to get inspired. Me? I needed something to get my teeth into in April & that was really the only reason I really bought the pattern. As mentioned earlier, I am sure I have a few examples of the shift dress pattern in my collection of patterns, so didn’t really need another. Not that I feel that I am in with a chance of winning, this was most definitely something for me that the taking part was the prize. I have deliberately kept away from seeing what others have created so far, but I cannot totally avoid some peeks on blogs that have started emerging.

But back to talking about the Laurel Dress, yes it is a simple shift dress, however, when making it up just fits SO well. I find this with Colette Patterns: each time I make them (Ginger, Beignet, Violet) I make more than one. I think there is something of real “quality” and style about the drafting. So, this is yet another Colette pattern for which I have to admit that I have an addiction – fuelled initially by the contest. Once I started thinking about how I could interpret the Laurel Dress & make it my own, I couldn’t stop with one. Even making two was not enough. No, once the ideas started to visit me I made three in a matter of weeks, mainly snatches of weekend sewing too. And each time I try a completed version on, I LOVE the way it fits & how easy it is to wear & think I could cope with having a Laurel dress for every day of the week!! You see this dress is simple in design but also in making up. Once I’d made the top & got the fit how I liked, each dress came together in a few hours – you could make it even more quickly if you didn’t fuss with some of the detail I added. It takes a small amount of fabric too- the top even less. Every dress I made used fabric from my stash. Folks, I’ve gone Laurel crazy! Now are you comfy? Have you got your feet up and a cup of tea?

I wasn’t sure whether to put them all in one post – three dresses, three variations & three very different looks. I have camped it up for you folks….you’ll spot a new addition to my wardrobe & we’re not talking about the three dresses!! There will now follow quite a few photos with the odd bit of narrative. Not quite a photo story – sorry – missed opportunity – make one up in your head if you want. It’s hard to know which one to start with – it’s like someone asking you which child is your favorite. I shall therefore resort to chronological order.

Version One: The blue Laurel dress with a contrast yoke & some crochet trim.

It’s made from a printed cotton with a polka dot contrast yoke. Drafting the yoke was easy & I like how it has worked out. I used crochet trim like piping between the yoke & the main dress piece, as well as edging the sleeves with it. The buttons I’ve used are almost the same as the flowers in the dress print!

I used crochet trim like piping between the yoke & the main dress piece, as well as edging the sleeves with it.

The bias facings & underside of the Peter Pan collar are also polka dots wheeee!

Oh yes! Red loves it! It’s now hanging up ready for the temperatures to rise a tad.

Version Two: The Elephant ric rac Laurel dress

Now if anything could be described as a Scruffy Badger signature it is 1. Ric Rac and 2. Elephant fabric. This combines the two in one awesome dress! The fabric was sent to me by Sonja from Ginger Makes (at last, I’ve put it to a perfect use, thank you so much you sweetie!!!)

I have used some solid white as a contrast & the irony! We all say how much we detest facings, so Colette make a style that uses bias for facings & here I go & draft a facing to use on the outside! It catches the egg-yolk yellow ric rac at its edge…

I took the pocket pattern piece that came with the dress & lengthened it so that I could line my pocket piece & fold over the top. If you look very carefully you’ll see that the elephants are perfectly place in alignment with the dress fabric. That my dears is no accident. I used Mrs C’s genius methodology & have elephant scrawled tracing paper to prove it.

And here’s where it gets even more exciting….the new wardrobe addition. Both my friend & I are in love with it. It hasn’t got a name yet, but we’re working on it. (It seems to respond well to “Bouffy”)

Can you see how exciting it is to have such a perfect barnet to go with such a cute dress? I’m trying to show off my fluffy pink ring (also new) but was clearly to fidgety to get it in focus!

I did try to make sure the elephants kept to their rows….not quite perfect matching at the vertical on the centre back, but that would have been quite tricky. All of my dresses use lapped zippers (tutorial here), I haven’t got a local source at reasonable prices & anyway, lapped zippers are how I’ve always sewn a zip.

Version three: the Gingham un-sailor dress

This is the reason I’m posting my Laurels (hahaha - rather than resting on my laurels!) so near to tomorrow’s deadline. I have literally finished this one tonight. The light had gone by the time I took the photos, so they are all indoors. Ahem, sorry, back to the dress. The fabric was from Walthamstow the first time I went to a blogger meet up. It’s cotton & almost like a light flannel. I had in mind creating a version of Laurel with a sailor collar. Here it is ..

Da na! The collar is completely separate & has been taken from New Look 6808, as used by Zoe recently (thanks Zoe for reminding me I have this pattern!) Now my creative processes for this dress were continual. I knew I wanted a splash of red piping, maybe a couple of red buttons too. But I didn’t start by knowing the effects I was going to implement. How much piping I was going to use & where was whirring through my mind long after I’d started to sew it. I had in mind piping the outside of the collar, but clearly didn’t as I felt less is more.

Pockets? I didn’t have these in mind until I’d already sewn the front & back darts. Whilst I opted to make them on the bias to add a nice touch I stabilised by lining them with fabric on the straight grain – so much easier than a. sewing a straight seam with bias cut edges and b. pressing the pocket seam allowances to include a curve. The pocket flaps are those that came with the Laurel extras, perfect for a pop of red piping. I tried to use my overlocker’s piping foot to attach the piping because peeps it is *awesome* & gets right up close to the piping. However, not so good when going around curves, hence the not as perfect as I’d like finish!

There was clearly a need for piping somewhere in addition to the pocket flaps. I’d thought about the neckline, but at that stage was not sure how the sailor collar would look with it. I’d then thought of piping the sleeve hems, but with a cut-out. This idea came to me when I was on the phone to my Dad – thanks BG – you didn’t know it, but you somehow helped my design process, also shameless inspired by these leggings at Sweaty Betty. Getting the piping with tie effect was fiddly & involved hand-sewing in front of Sunday night TV. I also had to draft a facing for the sleeve hem & its cut-out.

So that’s the back…here is the gingham version in a number of guises ….

This will be how I wear it for real folks!

It’s just such a comfy dress to wear – I reckon perfect for a Sunday dinner – you can hide a lot in that shift shape…

I could belt it in if I wanted to, although that does mean that it gets ever shorter …

Showing the pocket flaps in action…

Good for a giggle, but it’s just *too* dressing up to be taken seriously! Oh well! There’s something of the dib dib dib about it too!

So as I said at the beginning I have really enjoyed the challenge this contest brought me at a time when I needed a focus for my sewing. I am not expecting to win, & [cough] feel I already have the prize: three new quirky dresses! Roll on summer so I can get wearing them!!

For those of you who made it this far- well done! I have to say you have staying power….talk about shaggy dog sewing! Now I’m going to add them to Flickr and admire all the other versions! What fun. Good luck to all you fellow contestants.

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Musings on draped muses

Posted on 24 April, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

So I feel guilty for having the most awesome evening yesterday….I’m sure there were many of us glued to the set for the GB Sewing Bee final, but I’d been invited to share it with the most fabulous company you could ever imagine watching GB Sewing Bee with.

Photos give a mere feel for the party atmosphere and I’m sorry girls, they aren’t particularly posed , as they were quickly grabbed opportunistically. I may have missed the epic meet up on Saturday, but how lovely to be amongst sewing friends as the thrills of the final unfolded. Most marvelously hosted by Tilly, celebrating Handmade Jane’s birthday no less, Sewing Bee carrot cupcakes created by Rachel, much sewing chit chat & catching up with Zoe, Janene (Oobop), Marie & of course Karen. Sigh. I was blissed out. Thank you so much for the highlight of my whole month, I tell you! I hope you have all managed to catch the final but how sad, we are already pining now there’s a big hole on Tuesday evenings…

So, confession over, I’ll move onto to a source of fascination. Tilly very kindly gave me a copy of Drape Drape 3, and we both agreed that the techniques/ patterns/ effects are mesmerising and also fascinating from a learning perspective.

I’m not going to officially review this book – that will have happened else where. It does look like it’s not always had an English translation (judging by the sticker on the cover!), but clearly no excuses for not understanding how to do it! From what I can tell the garments’ beauty &/or “unusualness” comes not from complicated seams and stitching, but from the shapes of the patterns & choosing appropriately drapey fabric. Now whilst there are a lot of styles that require jersey, there are also styles that use wovens. Take this sundress.

No.11, three piece sundress. Is it the polka dots that draws me to it? Is it the promise of sand between my toes and turquoise water beckoning me to leap in & snorkel up some fishies? Thing is I really want to make it but when would I wear it, come on, in England?! But give me the promise of a tropical holiday & this take on the sarong would be right up my street.

Other things that caught my eye, this rather beautiful top,

No.13 one piece boatneck tunic. Now I don’t know why I like this. I think the fabric choice is brilliant- just lace, no stretch required. Would it look good with leggings? Possibly. Would it look like a flying suit if you got the fabric choice desperately wrong? I think so!! I’d be tempted if & only if I could find some lace like this. I think. Maybe. Perhaps,

There is a dress I’ve been giving some attention to, No 12 three piece gather drape wrap dress. Most definitely a dress to be worn with leggings let me tell you! It’s clearly a style for knits. Look at that main piece – that’s where most of the magic takes place. Lots of places with gathering. It might not be scary at all ….making or wearing. Is the drama factor low enough to be considered for a provincial life?

And finally I have saved my “most likely to sew first” till last. Tilly will know that apart from the dotty sundress I was drawn/ fascinated/ confused/ upset even by these

They are shorts! No.8, three piece tuck drape shorts. Or when you look at the pattern pieces, they look like a nappy! And then when you look at the line drawings they look like Hammer pants! Bizarrely I am very likely to make these as my summer lounge-wear. I kid you not! I am intrigued by them & how they might be worn …They look simple enough to make, and look what arrived today…

Oh my! A consignment of sumptuous fine jerseys from Jill at Itterations Workwear (of the Drafting Top) She kindly enclosed some plain black jersey for me as a thank you for pointing out to you readers that these beautiful jerseys are on special offer, and even with international postage you are getting a decent length of quality fabric at a very reasonable price. They are mostly suitable for tops I’d say, but I would be willing to use the black or navy to make them hammer shorts. Go and check out the stripes though – there are some with lurex running through (disco time!) & as you can see I fell for the lovely fine stripes because they sang to me. And my overlocker is hungry. I could not refuse.

I really need to get my sewing for summer plan sorted. There is a danger that I continue to veer from one sewing urge to another ….which is a good thing to do sometimes, but I feel a plan or an objective at least is missing…

For now though, that’s all! Byeee xx

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My Colette Laurel top

Posted on 21 April, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

I’m just going to plunge in & reveal my affection for Colette Patterns’ newest addition to the awesome collection: Laurel

I know it’s a shift dress & I undoubtedly have plenty of shift dress patterns. But. Look on the website there are some rather nice mods to this simple style. For some reason (might it have anything to do with the competition? ) I opted to give it a go.

I compared the pattern pieces with my tried & tested New Look 6000 which is my “block” now & from experience I know that Colette patterns are usually too big in the back for me & usually bust darts are too high. How fantastic to have a pattern “block” I tell you! It makes fitting & anticipating what might need to be done so much easier …

I thought I’d make the top. But you can see that as I’ve already started with the pics. By the way, excuse the “slicked ” hair look – I’d just come back from a run, showered etc & the hair is still damp. It is not a look I take out onto the streets, honest.

Ahem. Back to the top. Laurel. It is such a quick make , even when there are all these stripes to match. The fabric came from Mandors in Edinburgh & is a buttery glazed cotton. Such a delight to sew with, but I didn’t want to make any mistakes (who ever actually wants to make mistakes :-s ?) as it seems to be a fabric with memory & I worried it would show any holes left by misadventurous stitching.

Side seams look pretty awesome to me! The back has a centre back seam, but joy of joys, this top has a big enough neckline for not requiring any zips or buttons (unless of course your hair is too huge to fit)

Look – there is a seam down the centre back – honest! So it has bust darts & rear vertical darts for a touch of shaping. Whilst I am wearing it out-tucked it might appear a bit more tube-like than my usual fitted styles, but it’s a casual top & tell you what it looks adorable with my new red Chardon skirt, tucked in. Sorry no pics, you’ll have to take my word for it.

As you’re used to if you have sewn Colette before the instructions are just right, but then remember this is a simple make. And peeps, no facings, yes, did you hear me there are no facings, just plain old bias binding! (Or handmade self bias binding which is what I used & boy it looks cute with those diagonal stripes! oops – again I’m teasing as I haven’t taken any photos of that either!) My version, sleeve length, top length etc is just about out of the packet as designed, except (& you can see this a bit on the rear picture above) I did not gather the sleeves but made a few tiny pleats as this fabric is so lovely I didn’t want to create any puncture marks through extra gathering stitches. (Oh & remember I made adjustments to fit, as expected – narrowing the back & lowering the bust dart)

I am won over by this pattern, seriously. There is a lot of scope for individualising it (who me?!) & if the dress is anywhere near as lovely to make as the top….(hint hint, it is! ) I will come back & show you my next Laurel soon …..

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Deer and Doe Chardon Skirt: not grey but red!

Posted on 17 April, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

Dear all,

Thank you so much for your comments to my last post on grey & the sometimes negative associations clothes & the things we make can have, & your kind comments – big hugs to you all The dress’s fate is being considered & I’m feeling liberated by knowing that I have so many options! Progress was made in that I deliberately chose not to wear it to work on Monday! Anyway, thankfully I wrote about that dress with my sights already set on some cheerful making: a red denim skirt. But no ordinary red denim skirt, but my first venture into the cute French Deer & Doe styling: the Chardon skirt, or if we are being cosmopolitan, the Jupe Chardon.

When Roobeedoo suggested that it looked like a Kelly skirt (which I must admit to have had a hankering for)… but without buttons… my little internet shopping finger twitched & clicked. I mean, I can always alter for buttons later, right? What I hadn’t appreciated when I ordered it was that it had two styles: the simple version with belt loops & single fabric, or a style with a contrast hem band plus….wait for it….a surprise bow belt behind you! This image below shows you the bow belt style, not the belt loop style. Now I like the idea of the bow coming out at front, don’t you?

I’m sure that can be arranged ….

I’d made the mistake of ordering my fabric (red “sheen” denim here from Ditto) before thinking this through, supposing that I had enough denim in my stash to make the contrast band. I did not, so the single colour, single fabric skirt was plumped for. Realistically it’s going to be possible to wear it with allsorts being of a single colour methinks.

So when the pattern arrived (or should I say “patterns” as I also ordered the blouse Datura too ) I was ecstatic to discover that there are now instructions in English as well as French. Hurrah. Although I could have exercised my school French & on-line translating I had thought.

Making this skirt was a dream – except that I foolishly inverted the box pleats to the wrong side which made them un-inverted box pleats= box pleats I guess. The lines however call for the box pleats to be inverted so that the silhouette around your waist is not too pouffy – & with denim this really would be unacceptable – oodles of stiff fabric pleated around one’s waist. Therefore there was some unpicking to properly invert the pleats & topstitch them. (Nice thread matching thanks to Ditto!)

It’s got wonderful side seam pockets made out of elephant fabric , & I know I am not alone- side seam pockets mean that hands gravitate towards pockets whenever there is opportunity- am I right?

I followed the instructions to the letter, even (but not using an invisible zip), hemming using bias. Now I could have used some fancy pretty bias, but not having enough elephant fabric to do this meant that I kept it simple & used run of the mill shop bought solid red. Too boring to photograph I’m afraid! I had wondered if this was going to be a “young skirt” ie too short for a badger in her 40s, but I made it to the pattern & turned up a good inch hem (but remember I am a shortie).

What did I do extra to the pattern’s instructions? Well whilst this was a simple skirt to make & the instructions are easy to follow (the box pleat mis-inversion was my error!) I felt that the waist needed extra steps. It has no waistband, but is a waist hugging style. It’s faced & so I understitched the facing, but also felt that the waist edge needed top stitching as with denim it was thick & I wasn’t confident that it would stay where I wanted it. I’d made my belt loops with top stitched edges (OK, if we are being precise that is actually “edge stitching isn’t it?!) & so felt that it was an OK style diversion in keeping with denim. What did I wish I’d done now I’ve worn it? Well, being denim & denim’s tendency to fray, I should have finished the cut edges of the belt loops as I am still picking out bits threads from the fabric.

It was catching the wind ….imagine the fun in a lighter fabric!

I’ve worn it a couple of times now & it’s flirty & girly & wait for it…..cheerful!

I can’t wait to make it with the contrast fabric & a bow ….& then the top …I will need to make all varieties of the Datura! With so many ideas buzzing around my head I need to sit down & get planning …watch this space!

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