Happy Homemade pirate top

Pattern N from Happy Homemade vol. 2: a smock-style top in linen, size 110 with size 120 length as usual. 

 

I made this for R to wear as a 'pirate shirt' to a friend's dress-up birthday party, but since it's such a lovely pattern I hoped that she would wear it again on non-piratical occasions. Unfortunately, when she took the top off this evening she announced that it should go in the dress-up box.

Me: 'But it's a lovely top! You can wear it other times, too - not just for dress-ups.'
R: 'It's a pirate top.'
Me: 'No it's not, it's a real top that you can wear!'
R: 'It goes IN THE DRESS-UP BOX.'

So I don't know if I'll have any luck getting her to wear it again. Which is sad, because it's a beautiful style. I love the sleeve frills and the little lace tab under the placket. I totally stuffed up one button-hole (and tried to unpick and re-sew it, thus making it even worse) but luckily it's barely noticeable. And I must say, this top looks terrific both with and without pirate sash and sword - so versatile!

For the record, although R chose pirate over mermaid (the invitation having given those two options) she refused to wear pants - it was skirt or nothing. She might be a stubborn little pirate but she knows what she likes!

sweet girls' clothes

I feel so much better having got those sewing mishaps off my chest. In the interests of staying positive, I won't tell you how I've somehow managed to lose the beautiful wool jacket I made for R, just as I finally found the right snaps for it - I'll try to be resilient and get over it. And on the positive side, I'm very happy with the first two things I've made from one of my recent sewing book purchases, Sweet Girls' Clothes by Yuki Araki. I have to say, I really love this book and can see myself sewing almost everything in it (if someone doesn't stop me, because R definitely doesn't need that many new clothes).

The bottom layer of this skirt is shot cotton and the top layer is Japanese lawn. It's a sweet and feminine design, and R is very happy with it. I made size 110 with 120 length so it has a bit of growing room.

I was also quite taken by the pattern for this v-neck top with ruched sides, which I made in a cotton-spandex (or perhaps it was cotton-lycra - can't remember). What on earth is this colour called? It's kind of purple, kind of grey, kind of mushroom. Whatever it is, I like it a lot. And it's very similar to the one used for the dress on the cover of the book:

Now I do realise there's a bit of ribbon overload going on in this combo, and I didn't intend for these clothes to be worn as an outfit, but I was trying to minimise the time spent modelling - R's not big on wardrobe changes unless they involve donning wings and picking up a wand.

 

Both the skirt and the top were very straightforward to sew, apart from the v-neckline, the construction of which was initially baffling (but then, I am easily baffled). I messed up the overstitching a bit, but as I'm attempting a positive focus with this post I won't dwell on it. Onward and upward!

A stuffed up skirt and a sack-like dress

 

The skirt: Simplicity 2451

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. Here is a list of my transgressions:


I sewed up a skirt after discovering I'd bought the pattern in the wrong size, hoping that the sizing was generous and that a medium would fit me (it didn't).

I improvised, adding panels in an attempt to enlarge the skirt, only to find that it was now too large.

I hurriedly and shoddily cut it down and re-sewed it, resulting in a skirt that fits, but that is so poorly finished on the inside that I have to avert my eyes when putting it on.

I recklessly trimmed the hemline by eye and must now suffer the indignities of a crooked hem.

For these sins, I am truly sorry. Especially as I like this pattern, and the linen-rayon fabric I used, and think that it will look quite nice when I make version 2, using the correct pattern size and sewing exactly as instructed by the good folks at Simplicity. May I say in my defence, though, that I did use perfectly-matched thread, which made all my unpicking work that much more challenging.

The dress: Liesl + co Weekend Getaway dress 

I made the dress in a soft, almost slippery thin cotton from Darn Cheap Fabrics, which has a subtle check and, conveniently, a splotchy pattern resembling what my clothes often look like after attempting to drink coffee from a poorly-sealed Keep Cup on the way to work. I love fabrics that camouflage stains!

I figured there was a good chance this style would look stupid on me, as I'm short and lacking a waist, but I forged ahead anyway, just because. I was thinking that if it looked monumentally silly I'd just cut it down to blouse or tunic length and wear it that way. And maybe that's what I should do - because to my eye it looks kind of sack-like, especially from the back. And quite a lot from the front. And definitely from the side. Or is it just a little too long? It looks quite respectable with a long cardigan over it, but I'm on the fence when it comes to whether I can take that cardigan off. I keep thinking of that song from the 1950s:

You can't do the bop in the sack
You can't tell the front from the back
You can't do the bop in the sack
Take that crazy gown back!

I realise this is an appalling photo, but what do you think, readers? Sack, or satisfactory? Cut or keep?

Twinkle toes

I made a new ballet top for R. Although I really love the first one I made, the colours no longer go with her tap shoes - and clashing colours really bother me.

But why, you may be wondering, did the top no longer coordinate with R's tap shoes? Did she get new ones? Well, no. It's just that her tap shoes are now covered in hot pink glitter.

R's dance school recently held a weekend shoe glitterising session, an opportunity too good to miss. The process involved choosing a colour (R seized upon the brightest, pinkest shade available), covering the shoes with glue and applying the glitter. This was followed by a morning tea, plus about half an hour trying (unsuccessfully) to remove glitter from hands and clothing. The shoes were left to dry, then sprayed with fixative, although R's shoes still leave a charming little fairy trail of glitter wherever she goes. Good thing she only wears them at the dance studio... 

Here's the 'before and after':

And here is R enjoying her very favourite part of dance class: the bit at the end, where she gets to choose a snack before we leave.

Now doesn't that make you feel like covering something in glitter?

A winter jacket for R

This is jacket Q from Girly Style Wardrobe, size 110, in a nice thick grey wool. My version is very similar to the one pictured in the book - right down to the white lace trim. The jacket would have been very plain without some sort of trim, and I knew R would appreciate this touch of girliness.

The pattern has an interesting method of attaching the hood to the back section. I probably would have been totally baffled had I not remembered seeing a translation of this part of the instructions. Once you figure out what you're meant to do, it's actually a very easy pattern to sew.

R was not happy about being photographed in her new jacket... 

...until a cat came along.

The jacket is meant to have snaps on the front, which I haven't added yet. I will get round to it this week... maybe. Melbourne has been so unseasonably mild that the winter jacket, which seemed so urgent a month ago, has not yet been needed. Sadly this weather can't last, so I suppose I'd better go hunt down some snaps before it becomes one of those almost-finished-but-lacking-one-tiny-detail projects that sits draped over a chair in my sewing room.

Bad photos of a good skirt

I made an everyday skirt in babywale corduroy, light grey with yellow spots. It was such a pleasure to sew - a welcome break from deciphering Japanese patterns. I made size large based on my measurements and it turned out much larger than required - so much so that I had to pull the elastic super tight on the back section of the skirt, which you can see below:

 

This resulted in an extremely gathered back, but so far as I can tell from backwards glimpses into the mirror, the skirt still looks pretty good on. It also means that the pockets are positioned more to the sides than is (presumably) intended, but they are nevertheless the best feature of this skirt, generously sized and extremely useful for tissues, bits of paper, lens caps... or just somewhere to put your hands when you don't know what else to do with them. Which I generally don't. 

All attempts to get a photo of myself in this skirt failed dismally. First there was the attempt to get my daughter to take a picture - she got lots of great shots of trees but managed to exclude me from the frame completely:

 

Pretty, hey? But not exactly what I was after. 

Then I tried to photograph myself in the only full-length mirror in the house:

Wow, how dirty is that mirror? I had to go get the windex and clean it.

I discovered that many of the marks were permanent.

And that I can't avoid them by photographing from different angles (well, it was worth a try).

My husband offered to take some photos. Those ones are so bad that vanity prevents me from posting them here.

Never mind. It's a practical and comfortable skirt and I already have a second one in the works, in medium. Maybe I'll even figure out how to use my camera's self-timer by the time I finish it.

Toga party

It might seem like I only ever make clothes for my daughter, but look! Here's a lovely garment I whipped up for my son - just perfect for school, sports, parties, or any occasion you could name.

If you know your ancient Greek mythology you might recognise Hades, King of the Underworld. And if you really know your ancient Greek stuff, you might wonder about the authenticity of Hades' toga, not to mention the curtain-tie-belt, Crocs sandals and glittery crown... but for the purposes of the Grade 4 Mythology Day, the outfit was more than adequate.

Unfortunately Hades lasted only a couple of hours at school before developing a temperature (which I guess can happen when you wear a toga on a cold autumn day) and being taken home, via the school sick bay. Good thing I got my photos before school, hey?