just make something: Wanted top

 Two weeks in a row! And they're both actually things I've made! 

Today is Patrick's birthday (his second lockdown birthday, poor guy) and it marks only one remaining week of waiting until a) our bed arrives and b) restrictions are lifted sufficiently to allow us to have other humans in our garden. I cannot wait. Sleeping on the floor is ruining both of us and extreme introvert though I might be, I really miss people. I think it'll take me a while to remember how to socialise, and it'll be a long while yet before I'm prepared to deal with a crowd again, but one or two humans? Yes please. 

On to the thing I made! It's a top which wouldn't ordinarily be something I'd bother to post. There's rarely much to be gained by writing about the same knit top pattern more than twice and if I were making things at a normal rate, you'd see this in a month's time being photographed with whatever new pair of trousers I'd made with a short single-paragraph aside of "oh, also I made this."

But I am not making things at my usual rate. This is the first thing I've made in months. So we're going to talk about it. 

As you almost certainly know, this is the Vanessa Pouzet Wanted top. I've made this many times and used it as the bodice for a summer maxi dress many times more. It's a particular favourite of mine because it's both a very simple knit top and a bit more interesting than a basic T-shirt, and I thought making it now would let it serve as a good transitional piece between "I'm inside all day, nobody is going to see me" and "oh, humans again" without too much culture shock. 

The fabric is a piece of sweater knit from the Abakhan bins that my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas in 2019. I've been hoarding it mostly because of the sheer novelty of someone else giving me fabric I didn't pick. But when March rolled around and I decided this whole no-sewing thing had outlived its welcome, this fabric was a no-brainer to start me going again. It's knit, it's nice quality, it's a good colour, it can become a simple top and get worn regularly and immediately. And so it was. For a while I was considering trying to make a dress out of it, but seeing how clingy it is I'm very glad I didn't! It did not enjoy being hemmed, and there's a chance I might try to piece together enough scraps to make bands so I can unpick the twin needle stitching. 

The first time I made this top I did so out of jersey with basically no recovery, and it started falling off my shoulders pretty quickly. I made the assumption that the neckband was too long and so not holding everything where it should, and for my next several attempts I shortened the band considerably. This time I went back to the original length and I have to say I prefer it. So far it hasn't threatened to fall off my shoulders at all. I also made the decision not to adjust for my quarantine boobs or quarantine biceps, in hopes that I can continue to wear it when all returns to normal. I'm fine with it being a bit tight, but it is quite noticeable in these photos. 

I cannot imagine how irritated Past Jen would be if she found out that she did all that work to whittle down and clear out her stash only to have Present Jen whine that now she didn't know what to make and this is why people have a stash. (Past Jen was correct, I don't like a big stash, but we are in very particular times right now.) 

I'm happy enough with this as a project to get things moving again. There are things I would, in better times, have paid more attention to, but the most important job this top has is reminding me that sewing is good and fun, I can make things I like and I should do it more often. Though I still might replace that bottom hem with a band if remnants allow,

Since Walthamstow is still a little while away, I've ordered myself a McCalls maxi dress pattern (8174) to try out with one of my experimental pieces of jersey. It's yet another triumph-or-disaster sort of project, so you may or may not be seeing that within the next week or two. The test jersey I've picked is bright red because I absolutely intend to overcompensate for the past lost year by showing up to everything bigger and louder and brighter and fancier than anyone has any right to be. 

Back soon, with a new dress and another background option! 

quarantine projects: maxidress mash-up

We've now been isolating for over a month. It's not getting easier (one or the other of us has a slight breakdown every few days or so) and the desperation to be out in the world again versus the terror that we'll be let out again too soon and loads more people will die is, frankly, stressing me out. If we're trying to find whatever positives we can, then I've got: a) I can really tell that my therapy is working; b) I've remembered that I actually really enjoy baking, something I haven't done for years after being repeatedly belittled by a previous partner; c) our flat has some visible floor space for the first time in ages and d) I was able to bounce back from the jacket fiasco with reasonable speed and make a simple, happy, confidence-boosting dress.

Maxi dresses! I love maxi dresses SO MUCH, man. I show up in one, everybody goes, "oh, you dressed up!" and the fact that I just couldn't be bothered to co-ordinate shoes or worry about the state of my legs remains my own personal secret. They're the best possible effort to appearance of effort ratio you can get. Over the past few weeks I've discovered it even still works on me - I'll chuck on a maxi because it's the easiest possible thing, catch sight of myself in a mirror and think "hey, I'm fancy today". 

This is the only piece of fabric I've bought so far in quarantine; I was only intending to get a couple of spools of thread etc to tide me over for what I wrongly assumed to be the next couple of weeks, but faced with the prospect of cancelling some events we'd been planning for a long time I felt in need of a boost. I went with this sky blue viscose jersey which seemed not an overly risky purchase, suitably bright, and one of the more affordable options on the Minerva website. 

You probably recognise that this is the Vanessa Pouzet Wanted top. I've used this a few times to make maxi dresses, but it wasn't actually my intention for this dress. I'd only got as far as "use the skirt from Butterick 6051 with something else" and this was basically the first suitable pattern that came into my hand when searching through my pattern stash. My purple Butterick dress is still one of my absolute favourites for summer wear, but I do not want to make that top again, no sir. It was a complete accident that it came out as well as it did, and I have zero interest in basically redrafting the whole thing to make it more reliable. The skirt is just perfect though, and I've often wished I had more dresses like it. 

To make the top and bottom work together, I cropped the top severely (so much so that as a flat piece it looked like it wouldn't fit over my boobs) and cut a matching back waist inset as the pattern only includes the front. The skirt was definitely a couple of sizes larger than the top, but I didn't want to size down as one of my favourite things about the other dress is that it's not especially fitted and most of the shaping is made by cinching the back ties. I'm not willing to bet this was an intentional drafting decision, mind. I gathered it very slightly at the waist to get the two pieces to fit together and it works well. It's not quite as loose as the purple one but it doesn't cling to my stomach either, so we're all good. 

I'm so pleased with this. It works so much better than my previous Wanted mash-ups where I cut the front piece of the BHL Anna and then some random gathered panels to make up the rest of the skirt (not that I won't still wear those until they fall apart), it's comfortable enough for me to doss around at home in, and I actually feel like me when I'm wearing it. I have a lot of what I previously considered to be very comfortable clothes, but the comfort bar has been raised substantially by this much enforced sofa time and only the very easiest clothes to exist in will do. I don't intend to compromise on that, and it's nice to still be able to look fancy sometimes. If we're allowed out by the time summer comes, this will be the first thing a lot of people see me in.

I've budgeted for another two pieces of fabric over the next month or so. One is earmarked for an indigo denim or chambray jumpsuit, but the other may well end up being another one of these. I don't want to set myself any more super-challenging projects for quarantine (I initially thought that's exactly what I'd want, but nope, I want to zone out for two hours and have a finished item at the end of it, that's what helps me right now) and I especially don't want anything that I have to hang up in the wardrobe for an indefinite "when this is all over". I want nice, cheerful projects I can make use of immediately. Hopefully some suitable fabric will present itself! 

Up next will be my second jersey make of last week, a leopard print lounge set which is maybe the most ridiculous thing I've ever made. I love it. 

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??

summer sewing: red Kielo and bonus Wanted hack

I don't think the internet needs any more Kielo posts, but hey:

Meet the new Kielo, same as the old Kielo. Actually that's not true; making a pattern a few times allows one to refine things and this is the best finish I've achieved on this dress. When I made my first one I put neck and armbands in with extreme incompetence and ended up folding them underneath and topstitching them down with yet more incompetence. My second Kielo was finished by turning and stitching, and it's kind of OK for that one because the jersey isn't that stretchy. This jersey (another Rolls and Rems purchase), however, is extremely stretchy and wouldn't have lasted five minutes with a turned-under neck hem, so with some trepidation I decided to try bands again. It turns out my sewing is much better now, so the bands went in nicely, laid flat and were as simple and unobtrusive as you could wish for. It's funny how unaware you can be of your own progress. 

I also experimented with using water-soluble tape in the hem to get nicer twin needle stitching. It's definitely a huge improvement and something I'll be doing all the time with awkward fabrics from now on, but it's still not as nice as I'd like and I think I'm going to have to start experimenting with tension settings more. Ugh. 

The one issue I have with this version is that in person, the fabric is kind of see-through. It didn't look see-through when I was checking the fabric, but made up into a garment and on my body, it is very possible to tell what colour my underwear is. It's easily fixable by wearing a vest top and bike shorts underneath (although not right now because it is 32 bollocking degrees and extra clothing is deeply uncomfortable and WE ARE NOT SET UP FOR THIS there is no aircon in this country and we're all dying), but I didn't realise that when I took the photos. It hasn't photographed too badly from the front, but let's just say there's a reason I haven't posted a back view of this one. 

I also have another jersey maxi dress to share, and it may well be the last one of the summer. I'd planned to make a Butterick 5181 woven maxi, but I finished my toile this weekend and I hate it. The back is too low, the skirt is too bulky, and the waist is just weird. I still want my fancy black viscose to become something, but it won't be that. (I now have a couple of toiles that look horrendous on me and I'm considering putting them into one "fail post" so that the information is out there but I don't have to spend too much time looking at terrible pictures of myself.)

Anyway:

This is another Vanessa Pouzet Wanted top hacked into a maxi. When I made my first one back in May I loved it and had immediate plans to make a second... except none of my fabric was right for it and I didn't want to make a "maybe" dress. Then a couple of weeks ago I went to Walthamstow looking for toile fabric and this was just sitting there. Perfect maxi fabric that also happened to be in my summer colours. Win!

Originally I thought I would make the top in horizontal stripes and the skirt in vertical stripes, but after making the top part (which I had to do twice because I hadn't fully anticipated how much more annoying these stripes would be to match than regular stripes) I did some experimenting and realised it didn't look quite right. I think the variation in stripe width and unequal amounts of colour made it look unbalanced. So I just did the whole thing horizontally, which looks better but was way more annoying because I had to match these stripes all the way round. In most cases I'm not overly concerned about pattern matching, but I HATE when stripes are off. 

My first version of this dress has stretched out quite a bit at the neck from heavy use, so I made the back neckband a little smaller on this version. I also haven't elasticated the waist (just gathered the skirt fabric), though I still might go back in and do that depending on how its first week in my wardrobe goes. 

I'm super pleased with this dress. The fabric is somehow classically summery without having any of the traditional summer prints or colours, and the dress is a statement piece while also being super-casual and comfortable. With these two done I now have six maxi dresses I love, which I'm pretty sure will be enough to get me through the summer. I'm not saying I'm definitely done, just that if I don't get any more fabric/pattern inspiration, I'll probably be fine.

Up next: the jacket, hopefully? Maybe better not to plan for that during a week where the heatwave is having a heatwave...

spring sewing: the other things

Hi! I'm back from New York! We've had a great time - eaten and drunk far too much, caught up with friends, seen Come From Away which was phenomenal, rode on a strange light-up fish carousel thing, all the usual NYC stuff. I've now finally recovered from my jet lag and crammed enough vegetables into my body to calm it down a bit (is it a general thing for American restaurants not to serve veg with anything or were we just spectacularly unlucky?) and I'm ready to start thinking about sewing again. My summer sewing plan isn't finished yet due to a chronic lack of fabric (no, seriously) but I hope to have rectified that by next week. 

For your amusement, here are a bunch of things I don't have enough to say about to warrant a post of their own! Some of these are from my spring sewing plan, some of them I just made because I could. This will wrap up everything I intended to make except Simplicity 8424 (which will get its own post) and the trousers (I've made a couple of pairs but I'd like to do some more work there before I post about it).

Aqua Named Kielo

This is probably my least successful Kielo and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe the fabric is too thin? It looks odd wrapped in the front the way I normally wear them and I much prefer the look of it wrapped in the back like this, but I'm not really comfortable actually wearing it that way because it's so clingy. This one is on probation right now.


Goth dress

I bought this fabric to cheer myself up and to indulge Teen Goth Jen. This is an Anna/half circle skirt and I completely hate it, so much so that I got rid of it a week later. It's just not me in the slightest; even taking a few photos in my back garden I felt deeply uncomfortable wearing this. Teen Goth Jen will have to find another way to feel her oats, and having been reminded that I do actually like red, I will have to make myself another red dress in a style that fits Current Jen better.

Stripy Wanted T-shirt

I really love this, but much to my confusion it doesn't seem to go with anything else I own. I'm going to try and work out why this is so I can find a way to fit it into my wardrobe.

(Also we took this photo in the grounds of our hotel in Seville a few months ago and that place was so beautiful it almost makes me angry.)

Kwik Sew harem trousers

This was an attempt at exercise/loungewear. I like them in theory, but they are WAY too big. I fell between sizes and the pattern tissue told me in no uncertain terms that I was not permitted to cut between sizes or blend between them, without explaining why, which I found kind of weird. In case there was some sizing danger I wasn't aware of, I played it safe, cut the larger size and found that they nearly fell off. (Also it only includes a 6mm seam allowance, which seems weird for something with this much gathering?) I will have another go, but I'll probably size down twice. All of this has left me not hugely enthused about future Kwik Sew patterns, if I'm honest.

Also in the above photo I'm wearing a Simplicity 1716 cowl neck top. I've actually made three of these (one of which was a Christmas present) but I've never blogged them because I cannot find anything to wear them with. This seems to be a running theme with me and tops and I need to work out what that's about.

Up next: my summer sewing plan and my trip to Mood!

all I ever Wanted, all I ever needed

You may recall that last year I made several attempts at a grey T-shirt maxi dress, and failed every time. I gave up on the grey (it just doesn't work on me head-to-toe), but I still hankered after the T-shirt maxi. I wasn't sure what to do - I was still smarting a bit from all the wadders I ended up with last year, and also didn't really want to pay for the kind of simple pattern I was after. It was only when this dress finally gave up the ghost that I realised I could just copy that, except... you know, properly this time. 

This is the Vanessa Pouzet Wanted T-shirt with a gathered skirt attached. Much like last time, I used the front panel of the BHL Anna skirt at the front to give me a side slit. My original gathered skirt was just one piece of fabric bunched up terrifyingly at the waist, but this one is three panels at the front and one at the back, which works much better. 

I decided against using the Anna bodice this time. Every time I've made it in lightweight jersey it's very quickly got stretched out and pulled down and lost shape, so I'm reserving it for woven fabrics and heavier knits in future. Also, this neckline looks great on me. 

This fabric is from Fabric Store in Walthamstow because of course it is, and it's fabulous. It's lightweight but not see-through, stretchy with great recovery, and super soft. And this print is awesome. I must try and get some more. 

The main issue I had with this dress was trying to get the waistline to sit in the right place. I cut the bodice to where I thought I wanted it to sit, without considering that a maxi skirt is obviously going to weigh the whole thing down. It ended up sitting a good couple of inches below my waist in an extraordinarily unflattering way, and rather than unpick all the stretch stitches (ugh) I just cut the whole thing off below the stitching line and did it again. The finished version sits pretty perfectly on my waist from the front, though it is still a little too low at the back. But I can't see that, so eh. 

For an experimental dress I am pretty damn pleased with this. I absolutely love the chilled-out summer Goth (well, recovering Goth) vibe of it, and it's really great to have a summer dress that isn't bright and floral. It's incredibly comfortable while still being put together, and I will be wearing the shit out of it this summer. If I can find the right fabric, I'm going to make a second one. I have bought another piece of summer maxi dress fabric, but since it's bright and floral I think I'm going to reserve it for another Kielo. I strongly prefer to have my legs covered when it's sunny (unless the dress in question is really amazing), so half a dozen maxi dresses and a few jumpsuits will see me quite happily through the entire summer. 

(There just is something incredibly bitchfacey about this whole look, so I figure I may as well run with it.)

Next up: jumpsuit time!