Sewaholic Hollyburn...a departure from my usual style.

Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt

The Hollyburn Skirt from Sewaholic Patterns has been around for several years, and it has taken me forever to jump on the bandwagon. I have only purchased the pattern recently and I am kicking myself for putting it off for so long. 

The skirt comes with three length variations and the choice of belt loops or button tabs. All views have pockets too. I chose view A, which finishes below the knee, and I added the button tabs to the waistband. I am wearing it here with my Style Arc Elsie Woven Overshirt.

The fabric is a 100% wool suiting in navy with a subtle stripe. This fabric was a recent gift from my mother and it originally came from my grandmother's fabric stash. I have no idea how old it would be, but she passed away in 1988 at the age of 80 so it would have been purchased a number of years prior to that. It was a large piece approximately 3 metres long and 1.5 metres wide but a big section of it was riddled with moth holes. I had to carefully mark all the moth holes with chalk before laying out the pattern pieces in order to avoid them. There was plenty of undamaged fabric available for the skirt, and there is still a large piece left over for something else.

I cut a size 12 based on my waist measurement as this is the most fitted area of the skirt. My hip measurement put me at size 8, but I decided to make a straight size 12 as I liked the idea of a nice full skirt. I am really happy with the fit of the skirt so I'm glad I didn't try to blend sizes. If your hip measurement is proportionally larger than your waist measurement then you would need to grade between sizes.

I love the roomy pockets and how neat they turned out. The instructions with the pattern are very thorough and easy to understand. In fact I was amazed at how easy this skirt was to construct and how beautifully it went together. This would be an ideal pattern for a beginner sewist. I just love the shape of the skirt and it feels so elegant to wear.

Here is a closer view of the button tab and the pocket. I cut the pocket with the stripes running the opposite way so I didn't have to worry about matching the stripes. The waistband is quite wide and sits high on my waist. I really like this and the way it gives the illusion of me actually having a waist. I did attempt to match the stripes on the centre front and centre back, creating a chevron effect, but this didn't work out perfectly. In fact this pattern is not recommended for striped fabric.  

 I used an invisible zipper in the centre back seam. The instructions recommend a regular zip so I hope this one holds up ok. I'm pretty happy with my zip insertion and getting the waistband lining up on each side. This did take a couple of attempts before I got it right.

I got carried away when constructing my skirt, and forgot to add the lining at the appropriate step. So silly, but it would have meant too much unpicking to go back and add it, so I decided to just hand stitch it in after the skirt was constructed. I'm so glad I added the lining, as it makes the skirt feel so luxurious when wearing it.

Here is a shot of the insides. I used french seams on the lining. The centre front and centre back seams were sewn on the machine, pressed open and raw edges overlocked. The side seams were overlocked together and pressed towards the back. I wanted to retain as much length as possible so I finished the hem off with some satin bias tape from my stash which was hand stitched to remain invisible on the right side.

As you might have guessed, I absolutely love my new skirt, even though it is quite a departure from my usual style. I really enjoyed sewing this wool suiting (quite a change from my usual ponte knits) and I think my Grandmother would have approved. 

Happy Sewing

Jean

Knit Dress in Black and White Stripes

I came across this lovely black and white stripe ponti on my first and only visit to The Remnant Warehouse in Sydney, way back in March. I have purchased from their online shop many times, so it was wonderful to visit the store in person and see and touch the fabrics. The staff are very friendly and helpful too. I just wish I could have spent more time there, but I had a very bored husband with me, so my visit was limited. The fabric blend is 72% Polyester, 23% Viscose and 5% Spandex.

I have been noticing lots of striped dresses in the shops so I assume they must be popular at the moment. I used the Tilly and the Buttons Coco Dress pattern as a base for my dress. This pattern is a firm favourite of mine, if you didn't already know.

I did quite a few design alterations to achieve the look I was after. The flare of the skirt was significantly reduced at the side seams to create a straighter shape.

The scoop neckline was borrowed from Sewaholic's Renfrew top (another favourite pattern).

Originally the neckband was cut with the stripes running in the opposite direction, but it was a disaster. Because the fabric didn't have quite as much stretch in that direction, it made the neckline gather up and not lie flat. I contemplated unpicking the overlocking stitches for a moment, but I then came up with a much easier fix. I simply trimmed the whole neckband and seam allowance off and started again. The neckband was re cut along the direction of the stripes and I carefully positioned it so that the neckband would show a centred black stripe. I then reattached it using a much smaller seam allowance, so as not to increase the size of the neckline too much. 

Although it is difficult to see in the photo, I added two fisheye darts to the back to provide a little shaping. The neckband and hems were all top stitched with a twin needle.

The stripe matching during the construction of this dress was quite fiddly. It involved pinning every black stripe very carefully, then basting the seam, checking for accuracy, unpicking parts and re basting, and then finally sewing the seam. I was using a walking foot too. I am a bit over sewing with stripes and can't wait for a nice easy plain fabric to sew.

These photos were taken last week in Dad and Elizabeth's garden during our visit to Wollongong. I'm loving all the spring flowers. Just wish this last blast of winter weather would go away, so I can enjoy wearing my new spring dress.


Happy Sewing

Lavender Cowl Renfrew

I have made another Renfrew top from Sewaholic Patterns.

View C with long sleeves.

This time I tried View C with the cowl neckline, but made the sleeves long as in View A. I have previously blogged about the Renfrew here.

The only alterations I made to the pattern was to reduce the length of the hem band by 4cm because I am not pear shaped (the Sewaholic patterns are all drafted to suit pear shaped women). I left the width of the body the same as the pattern to accommodate the extra padding around my tummy area.

I love the shape of the Renfrew because it hides all my worst features, yet still looks good.

That bulge on the front is the belt holding up my RTW jeans that are way too big in the waist. I also love the nice slim shape of the sleeves.

The back has a bit of wrinkling and pulling going on. Maybe it needs to have a bit of width added to the back piece? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry about the over exposed photo.

This is such an easy top to whip up, yet it looks quite smart. I used a 'delux lavender ponte double knit' (description from cash register docket) purchased from Spotlight. This was quite expensive at $15.99 per metre and I had purchased two metres to make a long cardigan. When I laid the fabric out for cutting I discovered a large run in the fabric. I was so disappointed. It really pays to check the fabric closely before buying it because a flaw like this can render it useless. Luckily, with a bit of clever pattern placement, I was able to eek out this Renfrew top.

Cowl neckline.

I love the cowl neckline. Even with this ponte it drapes well and is so cosy. I can see myself getting a lot of wear out of this top over the winter which is almost here now.

All seams sewn with the overlocker.

Ponte is such a lovely stable knit to sew. I constructed this top entirely with the overlocker. I used a grey thread because I didn't have lavender and this seemed the closest match. I was quite happy with how it blended in with the lavender and doesn't look out of place. Look how big the cowl collar is...so luxurious.

Overlocked seams.

I didn't top stitch around the neckline as instructed. I just didn't feel it was necessary with the ponte. The neckline sits beautifully as it is.

Side seams match.

Intersecting seams match at underarm.

I managed to get a great result with my seam matching by using this handy tip from Did You Make That. Perfect results every time and well worth making the effort. Badly matched seams are one of my pet hates, and they really spoil the quality of a garment, in my opinion.

If you are one of the very few sewers who haven't tried the Renfrew, you really should give it a go. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Gotta love an instant gratification project.


Happy Sewing

Three Easy Tops

Top No. 1

I have made another Sewaholic Renfrew. This time I made view B with the V Neck.

Fabric used was a grey cotton jersey. This was quite a stable knit and sewed well. The neckline is pulling a bit in this photo because of the way I have my arm positioned.

You can see how well the neckline sits when my arms are by my side.

And here is the back view. I am quite happy with the fit. The sleeves are a bit long but being cotton there may be some shrinkage, so I was allowing for this.

I was very happy with the V Neck. The instructions were very clear and made this quite easy. I finished the neckline with a twin needle rather than zigzag as the instructions suggest. I think this gives it a more RTW finish and stops it looking home made.

I have finally parted with my overlocker and sent it off for a well needed service. Therefore, I sewed this top entirely on my sewing machine, finishing the seams with a zigzag stitch.

This will be a great casual top for the weekend.

Top No. 2

Dolman Sleeve Top from Cation Designs which is a free pattern.

This a great little pattern that has been popping up quite a bit lately. I have made this previously (Pattern Review) but the neckline was a complete disaster.

For this one I changed the dimensions of the neck band from 24" x 1.25" (61cm x 3.2cm) to 21" x 2"(53.3cm x 5cm) This worked out much better. I also used the length and the hem band from the Sewaholic Renfrew. Fabric used was a jersey left over from my Wrap Dress. 

I finished off the neckline using a zigzag stitch which I thought suited the fabric design better than a twin needle finish.

This is a great addition to my weekend wardrobe and a great way to use up some leftover fabric.

Top No.3

This one is a combination of the Cation Design Dolman Sleeve Top and the Sewaholic Renfrew V Neck Top.

Fabric choice can make a huge difference. The fabric I used for this top was a very fine knit (unknown content) that had a lot of drape and not a very good recovery. This had sat in my stash for a while. I didn't quite know what to do with it so I thought it would do, to try out this pattern combination.

See all that fabric pooling at the back? This is exactly the same back pattern piece I used for Top No. 2 (except for the neckline), and I didn't have any fabric pooling problem with that one. Also the sleeve bands are too loose. You might notice that the hem band is a little narrower too. I cut the original one off and removed nearly 7 inches before reattaching it.

This fabric is really tissue thin. I purchased it online, thinking it looked like a sweater knit from the online photo...I was bitterly disappointed. I guess that's the risk you take when ordering online.

You can see how thin it is in the shot above where the flash has picked up my bra through the fabric.

One thing I was really pleased with was the V Neck on this top. It turned out really neat, so I guess I will be making a few more of these easy tops in the future. (Just have to be quite careful choosing the fabric).


Happy Sewing

The Accommodating Renfrew

I am probably the only person in the sewing blogosphere who hasn't made the Renfrew before now. If you have been living under a rock you may not have heard of Tasia and Sewaholic Patterns. This is an independent pattern company based in Canada, and they offer a variety of patterns particularly suited to pear shaped women. Maybe, it is because of this that I had not paid a lot of attention to Sewaholic patterns ( being more of a rectangular shape, definitely not a pear). I have been admiring her patterns and enjoying reading many reviews and blog posts about them.

I finally decided to try the Sewaholic Renfrew Top, because nearly every review I have read has been so favourable and I thought it would be easy to make it a size smaller at the hips to suit my rectangular shape. I purchased my pattern from Sew Squirrel here in Australia.

There are so many options with this pattern too. Three different necklines and three different sleeve lengths that can be combined in many different ways. 

Here is my version of View A:

I made the size 12. The only change I made was to remove 4cm of length from the hem band. I decided not to grade the pattern down to a smaller size at the hips because I have a bit of extra padding around my tummy area and I didn't want the top to be tight across there. My alterations worked out perfect. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough of this lovely royal blue ponte to make the whole top, so I used some left over charcoal grey ponte from my Style Arc Kristin Dress. It doesn't bother me that it is grey on the back, because I can't see it when I am wearing it (it just bothers everyone else, apparently). Anyway, I think it is fine to wear around the house on the weekend.

I think the fit is very accommodating for my figure. It fits comfortably and it looks good. I love the nice slim cut of the sleeves (without being restrictive in any way) and the flattering scoop neckline. It's shapely without being tight and skims over any lumps and bumps. The sleeves are nice and long which I really like for a winter top.

The neckband sits nice and flat, however, next time I might cut the neckband slightly shorter so it hugs the body a little more. I zig zaged the band to the seam allowance, as instructed in the pattern but I might use my twin needle next time, for a more professional finish.

I just love this pattern, and I am kicking myself for not trying it sooner. I can't wait to try out all the other views. I can see this Renfrew pattern is going to become a real wardrobe staple for me.

OK, I suppose it does look a bit silly with the grey on the back, but desperate times call for desperate measures (and what I can't see, still doesn't bother me) Ha Ha.

And now I had better get back to finishing my outfit for my nephew's Wedding which is next Saturday.


Happy Sewing