autumn sewing: M7516 robe

It's mid-November, the worst possible time of the year except for all of January, so what we need now is comfort clothing!

I love my Asaka kimono, but it's not ideal for really cold evenings, so I've been continuing to wear Patrick's ancient fleece one, despite three failed attempts before, during and after making his fancy new robe to make a replacement for myself. My criteria were simple: I wanted a pattern designed to make a stretchy, cosy garment, and also I never wanted to sew a shawl collar ever again in my life. M7516 came up in my searches and I decided it was the one. Since it came with a hood, I could have the shawl collar effect without having to... do all that stuff I never got the hang of. Yay!

All in all, the pattern turned out not to be ideal and I had to make several alterations to it. It came with neither pockets nor belt loops (WHY do so many patterns of this type not come with belt loops?? I WILL LOSE THE BELT WITHIN MINUTES, GUYS), and I also changed the length quite significantly. The fabric requirements specify 2.5m of the main fabric, and I bought 3m with the intention of also getting patch pockets, the belt, and as much extra length as possible out of it. Which I did. My robe is approximately 11 inches longer than the pattern and I think it's about right for what I pictured. I also added a bit of length to the sleeves. OK, I added waaaay too much length to the sleeves, ended up with some kind of weird Slenderman thing, and cut them back again. This is still definitely longer than the pattern but I'm not sure by how much. I really hate too-short sleeves in dressing gowns.

My main fabric is a French terry I bought from Girl Charlee. I've only bought from them once before and my experience was mixed - both fabrics looked and felt lovely, but the cotton spandex blend washed very poorly and didn't have great recovery. The sweater knit, though, is still going strong, so I thought I'd take a punt on a third substrate. This one is lighter weight than I expected but very soft and snuggly, and I don't have any complaints about its quality so far. I'm tempted to order a few swatches to try and get a better overall read on what I can expect from them in general.

The black floral I used for the lining isn't the perfectly contrasting jersey I might have chosen, but I had this in my stash and figured that barely any of it would show so why not. The pattern instructs you to cut the belt out of the contrast fabric as well, but I don't like the way that looks and never intended to do it. I think I assumed that there would be some kind of facing along the dressing gown's opening to be made in the contrast fabric, and I thought maybe I would be able to squeeze it out of my main fabric. However, there is not a facing. You just cut the entire front piece again. The dressing gown is therefore two-thirds lined, which I find... weird. I suppose it does make it a bit warmer.

Construction was pretty simple, and if we discount the time I took to unpick a seam I'd sewn between two edges that weren't meant to go together, it only took me about three hours. I put the belt loops in at the smallest point of the waist and added the pockets about an inch below that (one of them is a bit wonky, but it's not repair day yet so correcting it is going to have to wait). Pocket-wise I just cut two squares from the largest scrap I had left over after cutting everything else, so I'm not actually sure how big they are. Big enough for my phone and a bunch of tissues, which is all they'll ever need to hold anyway.

I also made another So Zo cami from the same material, which I'm wearing here because it matches and I think it's cute. I am also wearing an old pair of capri-length exercise leggings, which are much less cute. I don't have masses of this floral fabric left, but I am considering using it to make a pair of shorts. I've never had a desire for lounge shorts before, but all my full-length pyjama bottoms look weird under this dressing gown (probably in part because the patterns and colours don't go at all) and a matching black shorts-and-cami set would probably be a nice (and space-economical) idea for weekends away.

For what I wanted - a cosy dressing gown that's much more attractive and presentable than the one I've been using for the last few years - this does the job very nicely. The slightly incongruous lining fabric bothers me less the more I wear it, it's SUPER comfortable, and the longer length makes it a bit more sophisticated than it would otherwise be. I'm not going to put it on to greet guests or anything, but I wouldn't be embarrassed to answer the door in it. I'm calling that a win.

Up next: trousers! I'm genuinely concerned I'm going to wear thigh-holes in my red ones if I don't introduce a bit of variety 

(I don't generally wear giant orange chandelier earrings with my dressing gown, they're just the earrings I put on for the day, but I have to say I don't hate it. For some reason the idea of wearing a tiny bit of a colour that doesn't go at all with the rest of the outfit appeals to me tremendously. Great, now I'm going to need loungewear earrings.)

autumn sewing: Simplicity 1613 twist top

I had this one cut out for nearly two months before I actually persuaded myself to sew it up, because I just did not want to do it. But finally, I got it done!

(We're back in the stairwell for these photos, because it's November and it's too cold to go outside without a coat on.)

Last time I made this top I remember being super frustrated by the instructions, to the point that I was delving super deep into Youtube for "fourteen views and one solitary like" videos of someone making this top while filming themselves on their phone. And because it was a year and a half ago, I couldn't remember how it was actually done. And also I'd lost both the band facing piece and the sleeve piece. And now the pattern is out of print. So we're off to an excellent start here.

I remembered enough about how it was supposed to look not to have the main problem I had last time (general bafflement over wtf was going on and not enough information in the instructions to help me power through it), but the bit where I had to attach the band to the front panel and then to the front facing still confused me and I did it wrong. Unpicking a stretch stitch sewn in black thread into black jersey is not fun and I do not recommend it. I made more than one accidental hole in the fabric that had to be patched up, and that's not the nicest thing in the world either. I ended up getting it right almost by accident, and I have no idea if I'd be able to recreate it again on purpose. The end result is still a little bit wonky as the neckband hasn't been incorporated far enough into the seam on one side, but if you think I'm doing any more horrendous unpicking to tidy it up, then you must be new around here.

Because I didn't have the sleeve piece I altered all the armscyes to the one from the Deer&Doe Givre top, which fits my shoulders perfectly, and used that sleeve. I was convinced it wasn't going to work but it's actually completely fine. Part of me wonders if I should have extended the sleeves to full length, but I'm not actually sure I had enough fabric to do that. Since it's a slightly fancier top I think it should be fine.

This is a much more successful version than my previous one (though the whole detail bit looked better last time). This jersey is much stretchier and has better recovery so it fits in a way I much prefer, and also will actually go with other clothes I own. And as a handy bonus, because the facings come about halfway down the torso it's much warmer than a standard light sweater knit top. I bought several metres of this fabric last year intending to turn it into a winter Kielo, but instead I've just gradually cut bits off to make black jersey tops in slightly different styles. It's all gone now and I have three successful tops, so the black jersey top portion of my wardrobe is now very much full. The Simplicity 1613 portion of my wardrobe... is also probably full, let's be real. Though I've been suddenly possessed by stupider ideas before, so who knows.

Up next: dressing gown time! And I have much to say about it...

Sassy side-eye! 

autumn sewing: the triumphant completion of my white leather jacket (and bonus Vogue 9199)

Look!

I'm not going to lie, when I got to mid-October and still hadn't even started this I thought it just wasn't going to happen. The test version was super-draining to my sewjo in general, particularly when I realised that it was too uncomfortable to actually wear, and I still haven't quite recovered (as my much less frequent posting has probably given away). When I put it on the list in the first place I knew that making a second jacket so soon would either clear away all the residual YARGH and let me get on with things normally again, or would stall me completely and utterly. And for ages, it was the latter. I made plans for getting everything going again nearly a month ago, made the Magnolia dress and then stopped. A week later I spent the entirety of Monday sitting on the kitchen floor cutting out a dozen things. Two dresses, a pair of trousers, a HUGE pile of jersey tops... and two versions of this stupid Burda jacket. Two. What is wrong with me? But it turned out to be motivation enough to get on with it.

Thankfully, this version is WAY better than the test one. The fabric is much thinner and softer, so it's comfortable to wear and isn't such a pain to do up, the hem isn't wonky, the sleeve heads aren't huge and puffy, and the zip is the right length. Also, all the zips match this time. I bought the front and sleeve zips from the same eBay shop I used last time, but bought the pocket zips in person to make sure the teeth were the right colour.

I bought this fabric from myfabrics.com. I'd been dreaming about it for a few months before I bought it, but I misunderstood the description and thought it was actually embroidered. It's not, it's just a pattern printed on. It's very different from my first fabric - it's a super thin, super soft plastic-like sheet bonded to backing fabric, which seems to be more the norm than the other faux leather, which was just SOLID. Much to my immense confusion, though, the backing fabric is 100% unresponsive to Superglue. It absorbs and dries the glue literally instantly, leaving you with a small hard crusty spot that won't bend. This was a problem I just hadn't anticipated. No glue, no pins, no tacking stitches. I just about managed to get round that for attaching the zips, but for the hem I literally had to resort to tit tape, and I don't think it's worked that well. My third piece of faux leather, also a thin sheet on backing fabric, has no such issues with Superglue, so I don't know what the hell this stuff is made of.

So, having now made this jacket again with some idea of what I was doing and only one major fabric issue to deal with, I feel more confident in saying that Burda instructions really aren't very good. Certainly these ones weren't. Everything I've read prior to this suggested that the biggest Burda point of contention was the lack of seam allowances on the pattern pieces (I get both sides of the argument - my biggest problem is that I cut out/trace on autopilot and always forget I have to add stuff), and instructions were only mentioned as being "sparse". I don't feel like I'm in a position where I need too much hand-holding, so I wasn't concerned. If I get stuck on a thing, there's usually a more in-depth tutorial lurking around somewhere. However, these instructions weren't so much "sparse" as they were "confusing and occasionally outright wrong". At one point it instructs "sew lining to jacket" when what they mean is "sew lining to facing" and they absolutely do not want you to sew the lining to the jacket, because you haven't done the collar yet. I'm also really not a fan of the way they put about three hours' worth of work under a single bullet point. It means things that sorely need diagrams don't get them, and it's really easy to miss out a step. I didn't topstitch the collar and lapels when I was supposed to because it was under the "Hems" bullet point and I'd finished all the hemming. Luckily that wasn't too hard to correct after the fact.

I'm much happier with the overall construction of this jacket, but a lot of the finicky details still aren't great. I don't have a ton of pocket lining showing this time, but you can see way too much zip tape. The stitching line on the lapel isn't quite where it should be because I wasn't sure how to effectively work round the zip stop. The lining is right at the bottom edge of the jacket, presumably because I don't fully understand the hem instructions. Or possibly it's just that the tape didn't work. I've nearly finished version three and I'm planning to put a leather-look ribbed waistband on that one instead of wrangling with the hem again, but there's a horrible, horrible part of me that wants to try making a fourth version, out of a cotton I don't really care about, so that I can work on the techniques in a fabric that will allow me to pin stuff and potentially work out where I'm going wrong.

This is not the most practical thing I've ever made, but I think it's great. I've got a lot of neutral stuff I can throw this over, and also because there are so many colours in the print it actually ties in well with a ton of other colours. I enjoy having the occasional piece of statement outerwear (see also this) and it brightens up the "black top and silver jewellery" phase I seem to be going through at the moment. I do need to make a different style of trousers to wear it with, though, because it doesn't work so well with giant waist sashes.

Also, what I'm wearing underneath:

This is the remade version of the black Vogue 9199 I made last year (I never blogged that one, but here is my original dress), which was super useful but also made of terrible fabric. It got to the point where I was putting it on and taking it straight back off again several times per week because I so badly wanted to wear a simple black dress that would be a good backdrop for accessories, but the actual garment hung so unattractively that I couldn't face wearing it outside. It lost shape within a couple of months and then just became a giant hole in my wardrobe. I've been looking for the right fabric to remake it ever since, and nothing had presented itself until I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show a few weeks ago and found Stoff & Stil selling precut lengths of very black, very substantial ponte. So I bought one. In hindsight I wish I'd bought three.

Full disclosure: the fabric is not 100% perfect for this dress. It's got the thickness, the colour and the stretch, but not quite the drape. It's a quibble not a dealbreaker, but it does mean I'm not going to buy the fabric in every colour it comes in to buy more. (I am, however, almost certainly going to buy more of this exact stuff to make some smart-looking slim fit jersey trousers, which I didn't know I wanted until I saw this fabric.) I adore this pattern, but fabric choice is absolutely key to making it work. I've made more than one version of this dress which were totally unwearable because the fabric was a tiny bit wrong. Not quite enough stretch, not quite enough thickness, not quite good enough recovery. 

You can see above that I ended up doing a vaguely high-low hem on the skirt. I feel like this dress needs to be mini-length on me - more than once I've cut the pattern pieces longer to make a more versatile dress, and every single time I've cut it right back off again because it just looks frumpy. However, if a skirt has any amount of flare or fullness whatsoever I need to be careful about how short I make the back, because I have got a LOT of ass. In a fabric like this that doesn't have a ton of drape, if I made the skirt mini-length all the way round (even making it longer in the back so that the hem looks even when it's on) there's not enough fabric to cover my bum and then drop down straight again, so it just kind of stays sticking outwards, resting precariously on a bum-shelf that then opens the door to a world of potential wardrobe malfunctions and embarrassments. So after a couple of hours of pinning and re-pinning the hem to see if there was a happy medium place, I just gave up and went for the look I wanted in the front and the coverage I wanted in the back. It's a tough world for a super-curvy woman who actually really likes the shape of her thighs. 

I think I'm going to get year-round wear out of this dress. It's a great shape for me, it goes with everything, and I can wear it with bare legs or extra thick black tights and boots. It does make me want a bunch of really long silver necklaces, which I now don't feel like I can go out and buy because I can make simple silver jewellery myself. Maybe if I get a few different lengths of chain and work out a set of themed pendants? I don't think I have enough time left in my current intermediate class but I could probably book a studio day at some point. 

Next up: for the first time in ages, I'm actually a week ahead of myself in posts, so I'll have a pair of trousers and a top to show you next week! Hopefully I can keep the momentum up now that the stupid jackets aren't hanging over my head. 

a rethink and an Olivia dress

As I predicted, just getting on with a second leather jacket in much more precious fabric hasn't been so simple. My anxiety is in a very unhelpful place right now (while I'm lucky enough to be able to get therapy on the NHS, they're very short blocks of sessions and the waiting list for escalated therapy is LOOOOONG) and I'm not doing myself any favours by insisting that my next project has to be complicated and time-consuming.

What I want to do for now is to give myself a shorter list of fun things I can use to give myself a kick-start. I still intend to make everything from my autumn list, even if I carry some of it over into December, but for right now I need some easy and/or fun things that don't have to be perfect and won't feel like the end of the world if I mess up. Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Deer and Doe Magnolia dress. I wasn't huge on D&D's last collection (I think I'm the only person in the entire sewing world who didn't like the look of the Myosotis), but I LOVE both their new patterns. I've got too many coat patterns in the queue to justify another one, but I can absolutely find room for a winter maxi evening dress. I'd make view A with the neckline from view B because lol no bra, in a navy textured silk-like viscose I got at a substantial discount from a stall in Walthamstow Market. It's nice to be a regular.

2. A simple sweater knit top. Simplicity 1613 is on my list, but I keep putting it off because while I recall exactly how frustrating it was trying to work out what to do, I do not recall what I eventually did. Yay! So I'm going to make one of my favourites - either a long-sleeved Wanted top or a cropped sweater, or possibly both -out of black and white striped sweater knit.

3. A Yoyo dress. A red denim Yoyo was on my list for summer, and I did make it, but it's not really wearable. It's tighter than my previous version (I accidentally closed up too much of the dart when doing an FBA, didn't realise, was confused when the skirt didn't match the top and put an extra pleat into the skirt. Which actually looks good, but it's not in any way a comfortable dress) and SUPER short at the zip. The instructions call for a 24" zip, I lengthened it by two and it's still kind of crotchy. I'm going to try again, using the red Mood linen I couldn't find a use for, and extending the skirt by another four inches. It's not especially seasonal, but hey, maybe I can layer it up.

Those are the three I have the ideas and all the elements for currently. It's the Knitting and Stitching show this weekend, so I may find a sparkly new project there too. Fingers crossed that this works as a sewjo-boosting method...

While we're here, a few weeks ago I made another Olivia dress!

I'd made six of these prior to this one, four of which survive (I was sadly right to be concerned about the longevity of the black fabric, and the purple one just made me cross every time I wore it because it wasn't purple enough), but the only one I was wearing with any regularity was the original orange version. I wondered about this for a while before concluding that there were two problems: all the others are longer with full-length sleeves, which makes them feel more formal and less appropriate for everyday running around; and they're made out of thinner, clingier viscose jersey which a) is more annoying and b) doesn't lend itself to being cut shorter. So the obvious conclusion was: more Olivias!

I got the idea for a sweater knit Olivia when I saw this fabric at Fabric Land in Bristol. (Every time I go and visit my parents I take less and less with me, so that it'll be easier to bring 12+ metres of fabric back with me on the train if Fabric Land is having a good day.) Fabric Land's sweater knit varies hugely in quality, but this is really nice, soft and super comfortable, with no horrible static rips when I try to take it off. I had it in my head that the print was more abstract than this and didn't realise until I was pinning the side seams that the lack of stripe matching was going to look really off. I managed to fudge it to a partial match, which I think is OK. 

I've already worn this a ton and it's going to be great for when it starts getting colder. This is exactly the right length and though I think I'd prefer the overall look with shorter sleeves, I don't want to cut them down any more for fear of messing with Future Jen's comfort and winter warmth. (I did take a few inches off, though - for anyone who hasn't read about my extensive history with this pattern, the sleeves as provided are full-length and cover the wrists.)

My plan is to get started on the D&D Magnolia today, so barring some huge disaster I should have that ready to post by next week. Wish me (and my douchey anxiety brain) luck! 

autumn sewing: McCalls 7726 and some bonus tops

So a combination of holiday and having completely unphotographable hair means I've gone the best part of a month without posting again, well done Jen. This is the price you pay when you wait two weeks past the last possible moment to go to the hairdresser. We had a really lovely holiday, though - two days in a hotel/vineyard/spa/extremely fancy restaurant in Bordeaux, and then a few days in the town. We've managed to have quite a lot of wine without getting drunk once (the French are SO SENSIBLE with this stuff, we were never even offered dessert wine), which is... a new experience for us, if nothing else.

Anyway, trousers!

(Better hair, right?)

I bought McCalls 7726 on a bit of a punt. They looked a bit weird, which usually means the pattern has a roughly equal chance of being awesome or awful. They're high-waisted, with no waistband and shaping created by multiple pleats in the front and back, what I can only describe as very long pockets, and options for either wide or tapered legs. I finished them nearly three weeks ago and I've worn them a ton since then. However, I do have a lot of feelings about various aspects of the pattern. 

Pro: These are hella comfortable, and ridiculously easy to fit. The waist has a large grown-on facing that isn't tacked down until right at the end, so you can try on the finished trousers and then take the waist in or out as needed. For someone like me with a small waist and massive arse this was a godsend - the trousers gaped very noticeably at the back when I first tried them on, but flipping up the facing and taking a wedge out of the back was the work of seconds, and they now fit incredibly well. Frankly, that alone makes it worth a second pair. 

Con: Some of the construction is pretty weird. I couldn't really use any of my existing trouser construction knowledge on these; the pockets are unlike anything I've ever seen (but we'll get to that) and the front fly is grown on with identical pieces on both sides. Now, this does work, but it confused the hell out of me looking at these four tiny diagrams with sparse explanation trying to work out what it wanted me to do. I think I almost got it, but I didn't quite get the stitching line in the right place so it bulges a bit at the top, as you can see below. Since it's covered by the belt most of the time, I'm not that bothered by it, but it would have been nice to do it properly. 

(If I had a deep scientific understanding of pattern construction this wouldn't have been a problem, but I'm still working on that one.)

Pro: Suddenly a bunch of my tops have found an outfit! I made this Wanted top months ago with a leftover scrap from my Givre dress, and I've never worn it because it's too short to tuck into most of my clothes and it doesn't look right sitting out. However, it got several wears last month because it looks really good like this. I've got at least two other tops I've struggled to work into outfits that go with these trousers, and I think they'll go with my cropped sweaters too. 

Con: While I really like the way the pockets look, they're not the most practical shape. The bottom of the pocket is quite thin, almost triangular, so the corner of my phone ends up sticking out if I try to store it there. That doesn't happen even with my tiny wrap dress pockets, and I'm really not a fan. I'm not sure how easy they'll be to alter (as I said above, the pocket pieces are shaped very strangely), but I could definitely do with an extra couple of inches' width at the bottom. 

I haven't yet decided if the overall shape is a pro or a con yet. I really wanted the super high waist, but I haven't worked out if I'm just not used to this proportion yet or if it doesn't quite suit me. It doesn't do any of the things I hate in trouser fitting, though, and I'd like to know if that will carry over to the slim leg version. I'll definitely try making at least one more pair, probably two. 

While we're here, I haven't shared this top yet. I've been missing cami tops in my wardrobe for ages (beyond one really old one that I should have thrown away but sometimes you REALLY NEED a cami top), but the patterns haven't crossed my path. Most of the ones I've seen have been for floaty wovens, which I don't have a use for, and the cami in Simplicity 8424 was completely the wrong shape for me. I eventually found this free pattern from So, Zo and I think it's going to be incredibly useful. I do wish there was an actual shop that sold fold-over elastic so I could see it and stretch it before buying, but this stuff is fine. Getting the straps the right length and positioned correctly without a helper was a giant pain in the arse, and I think next time I'll make them an inch shorter. I'm going to make a black one for maximum usefulness (and also because that's the other colour of elastic I have. I am nothing if not practical). 

Up next: depends on how well my ill-advised second leather jacket is progressing! Also I went to Abakhan with my mother-in-law a couple of weeks ago and they had a 2m piece of super-soft thin black faux leather for £7, so I'm possibly making TWO more ill-advised jackets. What is wrong with me??

sewing plans: autumn 2018

Hey, I'm not dead! I had no intention of taking all of August off, but... then I did. I decided to make my experimental leather jacket my next project, and it took me aaaages. Partly because I've been ill (turns out I've developed asthma at 33, YAY), partly because it was a ton of new techniques and a new material, and partly because it was a royal pain in the ass and by halfway through I was really struggling to motivate myself. The end product is frankly decidedly mediocre, but I should be ready to share my many thoughts next week when I've done a bit of finishing on the sleeves. For now, let's skip ahead to my autumn plans.

Outerwear

A white leather jacket

There's a decent chance this is a fool's errand, given that it's taken me most of August to get halfway through the practice version, but the point of that was always to make this. I have two metres of a very soft white faux leather printed with embroidery-style designs which would make the most amazing statement jacket, and it's what I'd like to be the main focus of my autumn sewing. Hopefully finishing the first version doesn't make me gun shy. If it does:

A knee-length autumn-weight coat

One way or another I want to make a piece of outerwear this autumn, and this is the other one on my list. There's a small chance I'll make both, but I'm not betting on it. If this is what I end up making I'll use V1365, a Donna Karan pattern from 2013 that Patrick found me on eBay, ideally in a bright colour. I don't own any bright coats or jackets and I want a statement piece.

Daywear

A sweater knit wrap dress

I have a bunch of Named Olivia dresses, but the only one I wear frequently is the original orange version. I've wondered several times why that is, and I've come to the conclusion that it's the shorter length and, crucially, the slightly thicker fabric. I want a couple more that work as everyday dresses, so I've bought some blue sweater knit that should make an awesome snuggly autumn wrap.

A pair of trousers

My inability to make trousers that work for me is super frustrating, so this is one of my top priorities for this season and I'm prepared to have to try several patterns. I only have one pair that I wear regularly, the Megan Nielsen Flint trousers, and it's got to the point that one pair just isn't enough. I've considered just making another pair of the same, but I would really prefer a zip closure to the half-open pocket. The next pattern I have to try is McCalls 7726, in what the fabric label claims to be a denim-linen mix. I also really like the Camille trousers from the new Sew Over It ebook, but I don't know if I can bring myself to shell out £25 for five patterns when I only want the one. Once I've found a pair that fit decently well, I'm finally going to have the pair of yellow trousers I've tried and failed to make four times now. Yeesh.

A black top

Last summer I tried making Simplicity 1613. I barely ever wore it because the fabric was crap and it didn't go with anything, but I really like that twist detail. I'm going to try again, with some black sweater knit, and I'm going to put sleeves on it. The sleeve that came with the pattern has got lost in the midsts of time somewhere, so I'm going to try and engineer it to have the Deer & Doe Givre armscye and sleeve.

Loungewear

A dressing gown

One of the few RTW items I still wear regularly is Patrick's old dressing gown, a slightly ratty fleece thing that I keep trying to replace but have only just realised I've been doing it wrong. I do still want to increase my swanky loungewear wardrobe, but fancy crepe kimonos really aren't the thing for when you're cold and damp just out of the bath. To remedy this I'm going to make McCalls M7516, lengthened and with big pockets, in some kind of fleece or towelling. I've seen some red and white stripy stuff that I either really love or really hate, and I haven't decided which yet.

A presentable loungewear outfit

So I haven't quite fleshed this idea out yet, but what I'm looking for is something comfortable enough for me to wear around the house as a matter of course, but fancy enough that I don't have to change out of it when people come over. I know I want three pieces (trousers, a top and a layer) and I need to work out what form that takes. I'm currently having an argument with myself over recreating a Miss Fisher outift with swishy trousers, a butter yellow cami top and a black capelet lined with the same butter yellow fabric, which would be amazing but also even I'm not ridiculous enough to make a capelet strictly for indoor wear. I think the shape of the trousers and length of the layering piece are going to be crucial here, so I might have to *gulp* sketch things. (I am terrible at drawing. Even with a croquis book most things still come out looking like drunk ghosts.)

I'm going to keep it to this for now. It's slightly fewer things than I usually plan but with the stupid jacket in there I think that's probably wise. Also I don't want to plan too many things I don't have the fabric for. Hopefully it all goes smoothly enough and I can make another couple of things as and when I get inspired.