Floral Print Shirt - Prima Pattern

Excuse me whilst I use the opportunity of lock down to morph from a fun loving human into the bitch from hell. 

I'm joking obviously I'm not the bitch from hell quite yet but I have been in a fairly vile mood recently. Well a vile mood, a sad mood, a laughing hysterically and then crying on the floor mood.......... basically all the moods.

Its starting to get to me now this constant separation from the people I love. I miss having a brew with my mum and dad, I miss charity shops, I miss the girls from work and my knitting and maccies dates with my girl Aly. I miss her fella Paul coming over for a brew just because hes got five minutes, I miss packing lil dude off to my mum and dads so he can have a sleepover with his cousins, I miss dragging John on a trip to the big b and m so I can fill a shopping trolley with useless but pretty crap. I'm missing a lot of things. 

So in an effort to make myself less miserable I've been trying to do more things I love. 

I've been reading, A LOT.

Over the past two weeks Ive read, gone with the wind, dolly parton my life in lyrics, goodnight mister tom and I'm halfway through Peter Pan. which by the way is a lot bloody darker than the Disney cartoon would have you believe. 

I've been playing video games with my nieces and nephew and my big brother. 

I've been doing copious amounts of skincare, done some artwork and even found a few slithers of time for sewing. 

This however is an old project. A very old project. Its my basic prima shirt pattern that I always use when I make shirts and the fabric is a cotton lawn that I was given by the lovely ladies at sewalicious in exchange for writing them a blog post.

Instantly I knew I wanted this fabric to be a shirt becuase I loved the subtle 70's vibes it was giving me. Growing up my brother had a friend called Olly and he always wore 70's floral print shirts [well at least thats all i can remember him wearing!] and I thought he was the absolute height of cool! He was also in a band which added to his cool factor, so I guess this shirt is a homage to Olly, one of those rare teenagers who is kind enough to be nice to his friends little sister.

Construction wise it went together quite simply, as always I jacked up the cuff slit binding but I i wear it sleeves rolled up it doesn't bother me too much.

Actually the main reason it doesn't bother me is because I very rarely wear this shirt. Don't get me wrong, the pattern, fit and fabric are all spot on but it has one fatal flaw. 

IT NEEDS BLOODY IRONING!

yeah this is one of those shirts that comes out of the dryer all twisted round itself and folded in like an accordion. Creases everywhere and I really do hate ironing. 

Recently I purchased something called crease release [apparently you pop the article of clothing on a coat hanger, spray it with this magic stuff and VOILA no more creases] 

So hopefully whatever black magic is in the crease release will give me more opportunity to wear it. 

The buttons were from stash, literally cannot remember the last time I actually brought buttons for a project.

Here's it with the sleeves buttoned up properly and it untucked. I definitely think it looks nicer tucked in with the sleeves rolled up don't you?

Anyway so yeah that's that. Not a lot else I can say really apart from try and have a good week, stay safe and remember if you scream into a pillow the neighbours won't think your being murdered. 

Much love 

Frankie 

 

A Failed GBSB Jumper

I feel like I'm showing you more and more projects are are failures. 

Maybe it's because I'm getting more experimental with my pattern choices in my old age. 

I made this jumper to use up the last bits of this safety pin fabric I had from sewalicious. But I didn't have enough for the sleeves so I decided to use this tartan ponte that I recycled from an old dress and have some other pits of the safety pin fabric as the cuffs. 

The pattern is the Breton top from the fourth gbsb book. Its actually only the second pattern I've made from this book this first being my asymmetric skirt.....which um also failed.  

The patterns quick enough to put together [It doesn't have the  cuffs I added then in myself] But I'm not in love with it. Maybe its my fabric choices [I though the safety pins and the tartan was a nice nod to punk rock] or that its such a loose fit. But I kind of wish I'd just tried to squeeze out another raglan jumper.

Oh that's an attractive face. That my how much do I hate this is it worth binning or shall I just save it for slogging about in?

I made it on my overlocker so it took about an hour so Its not like I've lost a whole day of sewing to something I hate. 

I posted it on instagram and a few people said they thought it was okay. So maybe I'm just being overly critical? 

That said I can't really see myself wearing it a lot. But I have no idea what I could do to refashion it?

I did try taking a photo with the cuff tucked up. I added the cuffs because I couldn't get the whole length of the sleeves from my recycled fabric so I thought I'd need to add some extra on......But LOLZ I have short arms so apparently not. 

Son which do you prefer with or without the cuffs?

Much Love 

Frankie 

Saftey Pin Sweatshirt

I've had a fairly crappy day. In fact I'd say today was the grand finale of several crappy days all strung together.

I'll start with the sewing first because that's what your all here for but if you want to find out why I was sat in my kitchen crying at 1.30pm today then be sure to read on afterwards. 

But sewing first eh? 

I made this jumper from this sweatshirting fabric from sewalicious. I recieved the fabric free as a thank you for writing sewalcious a blog post on sewing the trends!

Its a gorgeous fabric, its soft and snuggly and I thought the safety pins fit nicely with my love for sewing. I must use hundreds of these every time I baste a quilt. 

Like with my unicorn sweatshirt I used an old prima pattern that I had. I actually sized this pattern up for making big cosy jumpers so this size is the 16. 

I decided to size up to make sure their wasn't too must strain on the jumpers stretchiness and make it bag out of shape. I used to have some great band hoodies but the constant strain across my boobs meant that they became quite misshapen in that area. 

I sewed the majority up on my over locker and only did the top stitching on my regular machine. 

I also used little binding clips from holding the seams together instead of pins. I've had a few close calls with nearly sewing over pins on my over locker [Knits just hide pins so bloody well!] and whilst I can fix my sewing machine myself I wouldn't know where to start with my over locker. 

Anyway because these clips are bigger and brighter your less likely to accidentally sew over them. 

Its also easier to clip the seams together rather than pin on thicker seams like the neck band and the cuffs. 

Print wise I didn't think it was directional but now I look at it most of my safety pins are the wrong way up. Although saying that is their a right way up to a safety pin? 

I love big snuggly jumpers like this and wear them all the time. This one saw quite a few mornings on the school run and it fits under my coat nicely. I'm hoping it will do just as well when we start camping again in the summer. 

Its basically like wearing a secret pair of pjs! 

For some reason the bottom cuff is really sticky out? I'm wondering if it needs a good iron? Or maybe I just cut it a bit big because it wasn't an actual pattern piece.

All in all I really love it. I think its a cute jumper and its really nice to wear something handmade with my collection of jeans! Although I have seen a lot of fashion bloggers wearing jumpers like this tucked in to gathered skirts and they look pretty cool so I might give that whirl one day! 

So onto my day.

Basically at the start of the month out washing machine decided to break, so we ordered a new one to delivered the next week [closest date they had].

 Then they cancelled delivery because of the snow [actually all the snow had gone the day they were meant to deliver but hey ho] and rescheduled for a week after that. 

Then on that delivery date the freezer we had ordered came but no washer!!!! By this point we'd had no washer for 2 weeks and lil man had decided to get sick. 

So I got on the phone and it turned out it was out of stock and they organised to deliver a week later. 

Which was today.

Now the washer arrived but even though I had carefully measured the gap and compared it to previous washers we'd had the man couldn't push it all the way back. First he blamed the lino, then he blamed the pipes [which is odd because Rikki and his best mate struggled to get a washer in their last year and they managed] then he knocked something and water started leaking onto the floor. Then he tried washing up liquid to get it in and took the cupboard door off. 

And long story short somehow they bamboozled me and ended up leaving it as it was even though I'd said either they put it in properly or they took it back. I know it sounds wussy but this is the first time I've had a delivery like this and having men in the house when I'm by myself made me feel really uncomfortable. [The previous two deliveries had been scheduled for when Rikki was home but we needed to washer ASAP after three weeks without]

Anyway the long and short is I ended up with a cupboard door off its hinges, a washer that sticks out three inches and water and washing up liquid all over the floor [They had used washing up liquid to try and slide it in.]

I hadn't noticed the washing up liquid/water mess that they'd left and slipped on it.

And that folks is how I ended up sat on the floor crying....... Its getting sorted now but it was a fairly emotional day to say the least!!! 

And I'm never ordering white goods again!!!

Much Love Frankie 

Threadcount 1613 - My Xmas Dress - Fabric from Sewalicious

My advent calendar has reliably informed me that there are only 6 sleeps until Christmas! 

So I thought this would be a great time to show you the dress I've made for Christmas day!

First of all I'm a tricky customer for dressing on Christmas day. My anxiety skyrockets and that triggers my IBS and makes my tummy bloat and feel really uncomfortable.

So number 1. The dress has to be comfortable enough to wear for the majority of the day. 

2. I have to be able to wear it with regular underwear [IE. not spanx. Spanx is the devil]

3. There has to be enough room for me to eat my body weight in roasts potatoes, Yorkshire puds and piggies in blankets....and then there still needs to be enough room for half a tub of quality street. 

4. I must look and feel pretty darn good, and it must photograph well because those pesky camera phones are everywhere now days]

Its really hard to see the details because the dress is black and black doesn't photograph well. But to start with the fabric this is a Stretch viscose from sewalicious [they kindly sent it to me in exchange for a blog post I wrote for them.]

Its a fairly thick fabric with a flocked velvet diamond pattern on it. Its special enough for Christmas but not so special that I'll feel like a bauble on the tree. 

I lined it with a purple cotton that I had in my stash and I think originally came from my friend Jeanette - [Instagram Pin_n_tonic]

Pattern wise I used threadcount 1613 which I'm fairly sure someone gave me but I can't for the life of me remember who!!! [so sorry if its you, hit me up with a message so I can credit you!]

 

The pattern is printed on tissue paper and I cut a size 12. For this dress I chose to do the pencil skirt version rather than the full skirt. And I opted out of the sleeves and weird hip flaps. Because well hip flaps? Really? We want to add more volume to my hips? 

Construction wise I lined the bodice in cotton and I REALLY struggled with the instructions. Because of the wrap over top style I think I must have lined it and unpicked it about 6 times before I was happy. Next time I think I'll just follow my instincts and do the construction my way. 

I also struggled with working out which way round some of the pieces were meant to go and which pieces were which, especially with the shoulder yokes. I think this issue came about because the notches also line up with other notches which meant I got really confused. I think the pattern could do with some better markings so nothing gets confused.

I also had to add some extra gathers on the shoulder straps [you can see the ribbon I gathered it into on the picture above]. Basically when I tried it on, it looked really matronly and I nearly cried because it wasn't the Marilyn Monroesque look I was going for and I was worried I had wasted the beautiful fabric. I looked online and the neckline looks okay on other people but it was just too much on me. Rikki has since suggested that its because I have little shoulders. Anyway I added some gathers in which just opened up the neckline a bit and made it more flattering. I think I gathered about an inch or two? But it makes a huge difference.

Apart from the shoulders the rest of the fit wasn't too bad. I did shorten the skirt by about 4 inches and I had to take two inches out of the back seam. Now the dress fits really nicely without being uncomfortably tight. 

Because of the weight and thickness of the fabric I decided to use a metal zip rather than a plastic or invisible zip. I personally don't trust invisible zips on thick fabrics or places where there are lots of bulk on the seams [like the waist seam because I ended up having to bias binding it to make things look neat] And in my experience metal zips hardly ever break no matter how much you abuse them.

Style wise I think the gathered wrap over bodice is really flattering and I love how the skirt skims over my curves. I think this is because the skirt is made up of seven panels so you can really tweak the fit and contour it to your own body.

All in all I really love this dress and I can't wait to wear it! The fabric works perfectly with the pattern but I have no idea how this pattern was given the beginner rating? I mean this bodice was head scratchingly hard. That or I can't read and understand simple instructions? It could be that one...but I don't think it is? I personally would say this pattern is more suitable for a intermediate sewer who not afraid of their unpicker.

In other news! 

Every single present is wrapped.

School finishes today, so tomorrow I am going to have a big ole lie in and watch Disney movies under a blanket with my lil man! 

My cold still sucks, I think its reached into my sinuses BUT I have high hopes that a few days of rest will leave me feeling perky for Christmas!!! 

Much Love

Frankie 

[Disclaimer: Sewalicious sent me this fabric free of charge as a thank you for a post I wrote for their blog. They did not ask me to review it or link to it]