Maria Denmark 103 Day to Night top

I had this cut out and put aside until I saw Sew Busy Lizzy's version and got to it straight away! Its a very quick sew (I made it in about an hour before lunch with the in-laws), this is a sz XXL with sleeves from my Macaron dress added but no other adjustments. Its a tad too long, looks nicer tucked in so next one I'll hem a bit shorter (or leave longer to wear over leggings). I have a fair bit of lower back excess too, but its a knit top and it doesn't really bother me (I'll think about adding a centre back seam next time).

I used the clear elastic method on the back neckline. The other cowl neck tops I've made had a self fabric bias strip on the back neckline and I found after wearing them all day they feel like its stretching out across the shoulders. The clear elastic already feels nicer to wear.

The instructions are really good, coloured pictures and nice plain language.

The fabric is a very thin, rayon blend knit from fabric.com I left it a bit loose as it tends to cling to every lump and bump. The fabric has the colour grading stripes through it, it would have been nice to match the sleeves to the pinker stripes but I only just squeezed them out of the fabric (the tops very economical, only need just under a meter to make the XXL).

This was my first time using these patterns and I'm pretty impressed. I have the Winnie Trouser pattern sitting on my cutting table ready to go next!

Top 5 Most Worn in 2012

Inspired by Sew Busy Lizzy's post I thought I'd list down my most worn garments of 2012 as well.

1. Juniper pants

I wasn't that excited by these after I made them but I have been living in them, they are so unbelievably comfortable and go with anything!

2. Macaron Dress: Christmas version

I love this dress so much!

3. McCalls 6408

While my black version fits better I've ended up wearing this more (I don't wear much black these days) . Its the combo of the tie belt and the ponte which makes it so flattering and comfy.

4. McCalls 5525: Violet trench coat

 

I still consider this the best jacket I've made, in how it fits and the design lines on the back

5. NewLook 6007: cape

I've worn this down to the movies a few times and out to my mums. It might be a bit sad but my inner geek just loves the fact that I'm wearing a cape, lol


Unselfish sewing;

a couple of mentions here. I've made a few quilts but the time and effort involved in the Mario quilt ranks it at number 1. (Is it bad to mention that at the moment its on my bed not my sons though!)

Mum's Velveteen jacket. I really enjoyed recycling an old jacket and want to do this again next year

Daughters red Burdastyle jacket. I love this, its such a classic shape and material and one of the only things I've made the daughter that she doesn't whinge about and actually wears (teenagers!)

I started out sewing with a miniscule wardrobe, literally one pair of jeans and a top that fit other than trackpants ( It was a combo of suddenly gaining weight and having no decent clothes shops locally/lack of money) In the last year I had the idea that I should be sewing everything that I wear and honestly it started to suck the fun out of sewing for me recently. I've finally gotten to the point where I feel like I can slow down and spend more time on the design and fit and I suppose, play a bit more. So next year is all about fun sewing :)


Thankyou for all the lovely comments, I do read and appreciate every one of them (and usually share them all with my husband/kids/mum!) I started my blog as a way to catalogue my projects (which is a lifesaver seeing as my laptops harddrive crashed last weekend and at this stage I've lost all my photos.....hopefully they can rescue them but I'm not holding my breath so everyone please backup your pictures!!). I've been a part of a few online communities over the years and without a doubt the sewing community is made up of the most supportive, lovely people around. On to 2013!

Rag Quilt: Moda Coquette

 

After a big run of wadders lately (a skirt, couple of tops, a dress, kids boxer shorts and another MakeBra........) I needed a palette cleanser so made this little cot/lap quilt.

Its a rag quilt made from this tutorial. If you've ever had any interest in making a quilt this would be a fantastic one for a beginner. No binding, no hand sewing and you quilt as you go so there is no basting and no free motion quilting.

I used a charm pack from Moda's Coquette line which was not enough fabric so there's some plain and spotted fabric added that I had in my stash. The colours remind me of cupcake sprinkles :)
The back loveheart wasn't planned ahead, I just ran out of the raspberry backing fabric and had to make do!

Its turned out so soft and cuddly that my daughters put in an order and I want one in the lounge room too!

Colette 1001 Macaron: Christmas dress

I've been loving reading about the Christmas dresses everyone has planned and decided to make one too. I'm still in love with this pattern - I've worn my first version heaps and have been itching to make another one.

Same adjustments as last time - size 12 knit yoke and sz 18 dress with the eclair bodice. I also took a tuck about 1cm out across the bustline as I had some excess on the last version, plus took a wedge out at the lower back to straighten up the hem line.

Fabric is sateen from Spotlight again, this is one of the very few fabrics in my stash that wasn't on clearance, lol, shows how much I love it! I still have about one metre of it left but not sure what I can use it for yet. Knit is an interlock from Lincraft.

I had another Macaron wadder before this one, used a knit that just wasn't stretchy enough, I can't stress enough with this pattern to use the exact same type of knit that you muslin with!

I wore this out tonight for my daughters graduation from year 7 and got asked where I bought it from *grin*, very happy!
I've got a crazy couple of weeks coming up, my works christmas show, street party with my Mum, dinner with the inlaws, christmas lunch bbq with my Dad so this dress will have a few more outings yet!

I took some family pics tonight at the same time and they crack me up. Heres classic family pic

and then the real family pic with the kids being ninja's, lol! We all go to Karate though so I suppose there is some excuse!

Lekala 4177: Peplum top

I've been eyeing off the peplum top currently in City Chic and this pattern was nearly identical except for the mullet hem which I think looks better than a straight hem anyway!

I've sewn lekala before so I knew I'd need to add seam allowances and that the instructions are pretty scant (think Burda magazine, lol). I still had credit on the original site but it looks like you can now buy Lekala patterns on Craftsy and on this new site and you can request they are sent with seam allowances (I forgot, D'oh!)

I used a ponte knit so didn't have to use a zipper but I did end up taking it up at the shoulders a lot, I think it was the stretch in the fabric made it sit way too low, plus the shoulders were too wide so they got narrowed as well. When you order from lekala you give them height, bust, under bust, waist and hip measurements, but no shoulder or upper bust. Next time I'll order by my upper bust measurements and do a FBA, so much easier than adjusting the shoulders and armscye.

The proportions look a bit off now, the midriff needs to be wider and the peplum longer too, its my own fault from raising it at the shoulders so much! I need to lower the neckline next time as well, looking a these pics its a bit too high.
I'm wearing it with a RTW shrug and my Juniper pants that I didn't think I'd wear much and have been living in them!

Christmas Quilt: Joy by Moda

I've been itching to try a zig zag quilt for ages, I love the chevrons and colour grouping plus they are so freaking easy!

This is half a layer cake (so the equivilant of 2 charm packs) and the grey fabric is a Prima cotton from Spotlight.

First time doing straight line quilting, I like the effect of it on this quilt but it uses a lot more thread than I thought and takes longer than free motion quilting too! (the marks on the quilt are water spots from the wet seat, I thought I wiped it dry but must have missed some!)

Cake 0144: Tiramisu top

I'm a huge fan of Steph C from 3 hours past, she was a huge help with my pants block and I'm thrilled she's started the Cake pattern line. My copy of the tiramisu dress turned up on Friday and I got started straight away! Since I really need more tops I thought I'd shorten the dress into a top this time round.

My muslin was a 45D to start with, this was erring on the larger size of my measurements and it ended up huge, to get the front to sit right the midriff band needs to be pretty fitted and it just wasn't. This version is a 40D with the midriff band about half the height (I have a short waist and the original length was sitting down near my hips) and the bust wraps sewn further across to make it tighter (I was getting some gaping), I actually think if I'd made the 40C it might have fit better.

Instructions are great and I really like the construction method, it ends up very neat and its so easy to apply the binding. The fabric is a lightweight rayon knit from fabric.com and I left it unhemmed.
The bust line looks like its a bit high in these pics, I think if I'd done the dress the weight of the full skirt would have pulled it down enough to sit perfectly, but in real life it looks fine.

Don't mind the grumpy face, it had just started to rain again! I'm really happy with the top, wore it all day today after I took the pics and it really is a comfortable but pretty top. Can't wait to see more Cake patterns!