A lucky break

As I said last time, I wanted to finish the trousers on Wednesday and I did I just haven't had time to post the picture.  So here they are.  I wore them on Friday with the ruffle scarf that I made.  Daughter bought me the ball of ruffle yarn for Christmas and I whizzed it up into a scarf one evening between Christmas and New Year.

You may have noticed that the trousers have buttons and not a zip.  I put a zip in (a brand new zip) and then went to try them on so I could alter the waist to fit before completing the waistband.  I made the alterations required and went to fit them again to check they did fit and the zip had broken.  I couldn't believe it.  But it was lucky it broke then rather than when I was wearing the trousers at work!  Although I did have another zip, it was exactly the same as the one that broke and I decided not to use it.  I had sort of gone off the idea of having a zip.  I removed the broken zip and found some jeans buttons in my stash and used those instead.  It was quick and simple to add a line of buttons and button holes and I feel safer with these than the zip. 

New Year, New Suit

First Happy New Year to you all. 

 During December I spent most of my spare time on the birthday cake or getting ready for Christmas and sewing took a back seat.  Then one day last week I woke up knowing that I had been dreaming of sewing and that's what I needed to do! 

My latest Burda magazine arrived just before Christmas.  There's not that many patterns in it that I want to sew as a lot of it is fancy dress costumes (may be useful in the future).  But there was this gorgeous ruffle collar jacket, and I had just the fabric to make it in my stash.  A thin woollen fabric in grey/blue that I bought many years ago to make a trouser suit that never got made.  I looked back at past issues of Burda to find a trouser pattern.

This close fitted bootleg pattern fitted the bill, both in terms of style and suitability for the fabric.  Bootleg isn't my usual style, but I thought that they would work very well with the style of the jacket.

I laid out the pattern pieces.  They had to be cut in two goes as I didn't have anywhere with enough space to lay out the whole length of fabric in one go.

The frills on the jacket had to be slightly frayed, so I did this one morning, whilst waiting for my mum to visit.

Yesterday, I set aside for the sewing.  Here is the jacket, complete with the belt that fastens it (I found the buckle in my stash0.

A close up of the ruffles, I do seem to have gone a bit 'ruffle' mad at the moment.  I'm not sure that I have ever sewn anything with ruffles before and the last two items that I have sewn have involved them!!

Here are the trousers, I couldn't get the full length into the picture.  They are very flattering when worn.  Very fitted round the top and then flaring out below the knee. 

Here's a close up of the pocket which is a feature that I particularly like but which is unfortunately hidden when the trousers are worn with the jacket.  I like these trousers so much that I might well make another pair.

So there it is the 'New Year, New Suit', all ready to go to work on Tuesday.  Hopefully the first of many sewing (and other projects) that will be completed this year.

The Shrimp Pink Jacket

Here it is, the result of my Sewing Sunday,

I know I should have made more of the sunshine but dare I say it, it was actually a bit too hot this afternoon - I did go out this morning when it was cooler.  Also I have been promising myself a Sewing Sunday for ages and it had to be today because Sunday's are a bit booked up for the next few weeks.

 Here is the picture from the magazine, and the pattern pieces.  It's a asymetrical double breasted unlined jacket.  The right front forms a soft drape above the fastening.  The fabric that I used was a lovely shrimp pink cotton, that I haven't known what to do with. The jacket is unlined as I didn't have any suitable lining in my stash.

 I only had two metre's of fabric and the pattern requirement was 2.45m, but with a bit of careful positioning I got all the pieces out of my fabric.

I was doing really well the main seams were sewn, including the collar.  Then I set it the first sleeve.  I was very pleased with how it went, until I turned it right side out and realised it was back-to-front.  I was most annoyed to have to waste time unpicking the seam.  Both sleeves were set eventually.

The seams and pocket flap are all topstitched.

and I finally used the self cover poppers that were in the box of treasures that came from my nan.

I am enormously pleased with the result. It needs a good iron (unfortunately doing the ironing is my next job). I have an important meeting at work on Tuesday and I plan to wear the jacket then.

I must hunt out some of the thicker material from my stash.  I now have so many ideas, I do have time to make them all.

Pale and Interesting

I was determined to find time to sew a new dress last Friday evening and here it is:

It's far more flattering when worn than it looks in this photo.  It has a cowl neckline that draps nicely and the dress then drapes round the body, showing the shape but disguising any bumpy bits.  It's made in a fairly heavy jersey from my stash and the pattern is from my August Burda magazine.  Here's the picture from the mag.

In the above photos I have shown it as part of a very neutral colour scheme, with a mink jersey, pewter tights, coffee coloured shoes and some antique look jewellery.  The overall effect when worn made me want to 'bob' my hair again and dance the Charleston.

Mary looks very bright today

That is what my colleague (the only man in our team of 6) said first thing this morning, and this is what I was wearing: 

It is a rather close fitting patterned jersey tunic with a rouched front panel.  I made it earlier this year and wear it with black jeggings (sorry I did mention black again).

and here's a close-up that shows the pattern on the tunic better.

 I mustn't forget the picture of my newly beribboned shoes.

It's amazing the effect of changing the laces (ribbons) in a pair of shoes.  I have worn these shoes to work hundreds of times and yet today my colleague told me how nice they were and how she really liked what I did with the ribbons.

I went window shopping at lunchtime today for more inspiration and at one point I felt as if I had fallen of the shop display as it was exactly the same pink and black!  Apart from that I have heaps of ideas for Autumn outfits that don't need me to make or buy anything new.  Well OK I did buy a few new pairs of thick tights.  And since I came home I have cut out a grey jersey tunic that I want to sew tonight - but I have to take the dog first so I must go now.

Glamorous ???

 I love these three quarter lenth peg or harem style trousers, they are so comfy to wear but I never seem to get the look quite right.

 These beige harem trousers were my first attempt at making them about this time last year.  They are much higher waisted than the pictures I have found this year.  I wore them a bit last year but couldn't really decide on a top.  Working on the black and beige theme shown in the first picture above, mine is in reverse, I teamed them with a black chiffon blouse that I made a couple of years ago and wear a lot.  It does look better on me than on 'Millie'.       

My second attempt used an original eighties trouser pattern and some black jersey fabric left over from a top I made this Christmas.  I had to make some alterations to the pattern as it wasn't made for jersey fabric and came out much too long.  Overall, I'm quite happy with this look (again it looks better on me than on 'Millie').  The shirt was made from chiffon a few years ago as a tunic, but it got caught on something and ripped at the bottom.  Worm with these trousers it can be tucked in and is them long enough to pull out to balloon over the waist.  The juries still out on weather this look will work well for me, it's very differnt to what I'm used too.
I wore these too work on Friday with a black velvet jacket that was a present many years age.  At lunchtime I went for a mooch round the shops as I had forgotten to take my crochet to work, and I was so pleased whena shop assistant in Next stopped me and told me how glamorous I looked.  Perhaps these are more of a success than I thought!!

I'm not sure this is fashion

 I'm not sure that culottes are ever considered high fashion, but there they were in denim and remarkably also in shades of brown.  I do rather like this denim outfit but my outfit is in chestnut brown corduroy and was made eight years ago for one of daughter's parties.

Unfortunately 'Millie' didn't photograph very well in this outfit but I think that you can see that the outfit is a pair of culottes with a sleevless boat neck top.  It is actually remarkably similar to the fashion magazine denim version the main difference is the 'fashion' version has sleeves.  The brown culottes I saw in the magazines didn't include tops and were only small pictures that I couldn't photo.

My culottes have large back pockets

More fashion flowers

Here are more flowers.

 

 This outfit teams a flowery skirt with a plain black top so it's not the most exciting.  The skirt was originally part of a sixties inspired shift dress which made years ago and shortened to a skirt a couple of years ago.  The black wrap top was bought in a charity shop many years ago.  It's very versatile and has been worn with many different outfits over the years

    As the flowery skirt outfit isn't very exciting, I'm showing a second outfit based around 3/4 length peg top trousers and a jacket.  It fits in this section as the trousers also have flowers on them. 

The trousers were made seven years ago from some embroidered denim material.  They have a inegrated belt front fastening which I made using a bickle from an old broken belt.  The jacket I bought a few years ago because I loved the colour.  Originally the trousers were full length and flared, but after a while I didn't really like the flares the material wasn't thick enough and they flapped around.  I put the trousers away until I decided what to do with them and so here they are reinvented as three quarter length trousers with cuffed bottoms.

 I even added button's to the cuffs as I had seen in some pictures - unfortunately only three on each side not loads.  I didn't have enough matching buttons in my stash for more than three each side.

Spring Flowers - the inspiration continues

I hope that nobody got the wrong impression about my following fashion.  I'm not a slave to it.  But I do like new things and if I can't have new then a change is as good.

This year I seem to be in luck, flowers are everywhere and I have loads of flowery things, as they are a favourite of mine.  Today's outfit features flowery maxidresses, another favourite of mine.






And here's my version, without and with a black jacket.

This almost floor length maxidress was made about five years ago.  I got the material very cheap on the internet and the pattern was free with a magazine I used to buy at the time, this version of the dress has a V-neck front and back with a zip up the back.  The ric-rac was given to me by my nan to help create the seventies look.  The black jacket was a present (also from my nan) so many years ago that I have fogotten.  I haven't worn the dress for a few years now, but in the past I have been stopped whilst in the supermarket and told how lovely it was.  I can see me wearing this a lot this spring.  With a long sleeved white top underneath and thick black tights and boots to start with, then moving to bare legs and sandals when the weather gets warmer.

New Clothes

After all the effort I have put into the parties I thought I deserved a little treat and as I'm off work this week I took a walk into town to visit the charity shops.  The thing I love most about charity shop shopping is that you never know quite what you will find.  I'm trying to smarten up my image a little for work and so I was trying to stay away from the things that I would normally go for - flowery shirts and long flowing skirts.

I found this gorgeous checked jacket, which was absolutely brand new (I removed the original shop tag myself).  I also found a rather nice pair of grey trousers and a blue pencil skirt, all of which will be great for work with some of my existing clothes.  I have a lovely black chiffon blouse that I made that will go with the blue skirt.  A very nice black, grey and mauve jacket that I bought a long time ago and a white shite that I made to go with the grey trousers and probably plain black to go with the jacket, so that the jacket really is the focus of the outfit.

I'm rather pleased with these finds, and if I get time later in the week I will go again.  I'm also planning another Sewing Sunday, if I can decide what to make.  I have some dark red jersey fabric that I love, but I can't quite decide on a pattern.  Or there's some dark 'ink' blue cord that would make a nice jacket...........

Friday

Hooray, it's Friday.  The last day of the week that I actually 'go to work'.  Today's outfit is rather subdued for me, but I love it because it alway's seems to get compliments.  It's also what I consider to be a cheat outfit as I didn't make it.  I bought this gorgeous grey cashmere knit dress in a charity shop a couple of years ago.  It's actually mid calf length but I couldn't show this because the knit fabric pulls in on itself and it looks really odd on 'Millie' as she stops at the hips.

The scarf and belt are made by me.  The scarf is a really simple pattern, ny friend taught me.  Cast on 10 stitches, First row: cast off 4 stiches and knit 8 stitches, second and subsequent rows: Cast off 4 stitches, knit 4 stitches, cast on 4 stitches.
The belt was made from an old buckle and a piece of faux suade that I had left over from some place mats I made.

This is the end of my workwear clothes.  I'll put a final post for this series on Sunday to show my weekend clothes.