January Sewing Makes

Happy Blue Monday to you all!

I was hoping to share with you today a review of my shiny new Owyn trousers. I picked up a beautiful blue linen with a subtle leaf print from John Lewis, reduced in the sale from £22 per metre to a mere £6.60 per metre. I bought two metres to be safe, and made myself a muslin toile of the pattern before cutting into the real deal. I had realised I needed to size up as I had gained an inch on my hips, but by sizing up, with my toile on, minus the elastication in place, it seemed that the waistband was far too big.

‘Not a problem!’ I thought, and cunningly re-graded the pattern piece to skim my hips. I also made a swayback adjustment, as I wanted to make a perfect fit. My new iron had arrived, so off I went, cutting out my regraded pattern from the blue linen, sewing everything correctly, and pressing it beautifully. So far, so skilled.

Except for the part where I had made a pair of trousers that I couldn’t get on. The waistband, which was waist-sized, could obviously not get much beyond my knees, as these trousers did not have a zipper, and that excessive bagginess I had removed from the hips was a deliberate part of the pattern. You know, it was added to it so that you can take the garment on and off.

Argh!

I went back to John Lewis at my next available opportunity to find the fabric has sold out. They had a green version, but it just wasn't the same. Sad, sad times.

Back to the garment. I unpicked the front seam, tried them on out of curiosity, and decided that if these had the space to add in a zipper, they would be a snug fit. Too snug to salvage a flattering pair of trousers from, so I learned to add in more ease to my Owyns, which probably puts me at an XXL (beyond the pattern sizes in the book. Oh my.)

So that was that; this item couldn't be saved. I sat back and did a pros and cons list of the experience. My sewing was great, my adjustments had sort-of worked, and I enjoyed the making process. I was annoyed at the wasted fabric, when it occurred to me that the garment I had created was a good fit. A skin tight, impossible to get into fit, but a body double. Like a custom made dress form. I had been meaning to buy a mannequin, and my hips are a nightmare to fit for…

So I made a dress form!

The Owyns had a high waistband. I measured where they ended for belly protuberance, then measured upwards to the under bust (10cm height). I cut a strip that had my waist at the bottom and underbust measurement on top, and added it to an old bra, (retrieving the underwire for a future project). For the shoulders, I grabbed a coat hanger, hooked in the bra straps, put an old t-shirt over the top, and clumsily hand sewed the hanger in place.

I stuffed the me-shaped pillow case with my stash of fabric scraps. It is not finished yet, and ideally, I will make an upper body toile and attach that instead of a hodge podge t-shirt, but for now I have the beginnings of a new mannequin. I’ll be needing a stand and possibly some lightweight stuffing, as she is pretty heavy. And eerie. So very eerie.

So yes; I haven’t got any new clothes to show you today, but I managed to turn a frustration into a moderately successful outcome.

My January 2018 makes so far:

• One refashioned Lovesick Bralette (see here for Instagram picture, and previous post here for pattern information)

• One Hawthorn Handmade Unicorn embroidery kit (completed yesterday) available here

RTW Ban Challenge Update:

I have not purchased any new clothes in 2018. BUT I am enjoying my late 2017 purchases! This is taking the sting out of my failure to create anything wearable thus far!

• I am currently living in my new Boden Jeans which fit really well (size 16) although they have some odd navy material stripes down the side. I am also living in my new purple cardigan from Thought. It’s lovely- casual and slouchy and also ethically sourced. I hadn’t heard of them before, but they have a very stylish set of garments here.

• I wore my Boden Calissa dress (size 12) this weekend. It is nice but the material creases and is a nightmare to iron. The original price of £90 is rather steep, but mine was 70% off in the sale, so I can’t complain. (Image from http://www.boden.co.uk/ )

• I bought the Oliver Bonas waffle skirt I was lusting after on Instagram. It’s swish and quite grown up. And was not on sale but it’s so lovely- see here to marvel at it.