Too cool for School!

Ah people, I've been looking forward to writing this post for a while! This is my second make for the Vintage Pattern Pledge organised by Marie from The Stitching Odyssey and Kerry from Kestrel Makes. So, it's a skirt. But not just any skirt. This is another 'Blast from the Past' pattern, one that I owned when it was first released, re-found it on EBay and sewn it up again. Why the post title? Well the first time I sewed this beauty up was as my school skirt! So, get comfy everyone, and I'll tell you the story of my old school skirt. First we have to go back in time to the glory days of 1980....

I grew fairly tall when a young lass and my mum despaired of finding a school skirt that we both felt was long enough (and decent enough!). So, after trying on umpteen skirts, she asked if I wanted to sew a school skirt. Yep! So we went shopping in Carlisle and bought this pattern Style 3092.

My mum said I could have a wrap skirt but not a skirt with a split. Looks like a wrap skirt, doesn't it? We also bought some black needle cord fabric, the zip and black lining.  Later, at home nearly 30 miles from Carlisle, I started cutting out the paper pattern only to discover it was a 'mock' wrap skirt and it did indeed have....the forbidden split! However, I received special  dispensation to go ahead and sew it up but I was warned not to make the split too high. Hand on heart, I did not know this pattern had a split until I was home. Just wanted to make that clear! I loved the finished skirt and loved wearing it at school. Nobody else had one like it!

So, here's my favourite bit, what was happening in the most important part of my life (music obviously!) in 1980? I know you're all holding your breath wondering what I was dancing to at school discos back in the day. Well, I was a big fan of Madness and the first vinyl single I ever bought was 'Baggy Trousers'. Even today I am word perfect for the lyrics of this song. Proud to say! Ska was a big thing at school and other bands like The Specials, Bad Manners, The Jam were also on the turntables and we had varying degrees of success at dancing to this music! Disco was still on the school disco turntables too...remember Kelly Marie and Feels like I'm in love (please, please you've GOT to watch this video...it's brilliant...the hair, the make up...the dancers...soooooo 1980!). Mind you, I do remember piling on the green eye-shadow myself for school discos. What about Blondie and The Tide is High? My mum made me walk into the nearest record shop to buy this single for her. The Nolans with 'I'm in the mood for dancing'? Classics. Every one of them!

So, back to the sewing in 2016. This is a fairly simple pattern, with the back cut on the fold, the front has a left thigh seam and split and the waistband is simply a rectangle. I didn't have to make many alterations at all to this pattern, I just added some length to it but can't remember how much as it was a few months ago. The tricky thing is with cutting out the pattern. You have to cut the front pieces on a single layer of fabric and you have to make sure the pieces are the correct way up. I confess I did try making this pattern at the start of the year but accidentally flipped one of the front pieces over. Undo-able mistake! I threw that mess away.

The outer fabric is a non-stretch dark-ish 100% cotton denim bought from Edinburgh Fabrics. I used an 8" jeans zip and some cream cupro lining bought from John Lewis (which at £12 a metre was more expensive than the £10 a metre denim but totally worth it). The pattern was not lined but I just adapted the skirt pieces to make the lining. I used a jeans button I already had and topstitched using black thread. To finish the skirt hem I used some 1" tan and black tiger print ribbon I bought last year from Edinburgh Fabrics during a blogger meet-up in Edinburgh organised by Helen from Grosgrain Green. I knew I'd find a use for it someday! I like using little souvenirs in my sewing.

The verdict? I like this skirt, I don't love it but then again I took it on holiday to Prague and Vienna and wore it a couple of days so it has been a success. The rectangular waistband is not a great fit on me and a bit baggy. The skirt is quite loose, especially in the front and I wonder of that's due to the front seam. I like the off centre split but I think I'm still getting used to the longer length. Will I make it again? I'm not sure but I'd need to make some changes to the pattern if I did. But I did enjoy making it and wearing it on holiday, just need to incorporate it in my everyday wardrobe now!

Ultimate trousers and a bat-wing sleeved top

Hello there! I'm still blogging some items I finished and took on my holidays. There's even more to come. This is a 'doubler post', showing you a pair of Ultimate trousers I've made before, and also a top I've made before here and here.

And...here's another holiday photo of me, complete with C's thumb in the frame, this time outside the Pousada at Cascais on the last day of our holiday. What a beautiful place! Full of palm trees which I like very much as it makes me feel I'm in another country. We ate some very good fish here.

I'm wearing my second pair of Ultimate trousers, this time in a beige stretch cotton fabric I pre-washed before cutting out. I think there's about 2% or 3% lycra content. It was good to work with. I did the same alterations when cutting out as I had done for the black pair. This is definitely a pattern I'll be making again and again and again....

Now for the top which for me is, quite frankly, the star of the show here! Quite bright, isn't it? Very 'me'! I bought this fabric from Mandors in Glasgow when we were there for a weekend break in April. Well, we went to Glasgow for the break, not Mandors....but then again, if Mandors did holidays...! The fabric is a 100% viscose fabric and quite fine. I've got a camisole top underneath this as I think it would be a bit transparent in the sunshine. I pre-washed the fabric before cutting out.

It took ages for me to decide which pattern or what garment to make. I love this fabric so I really didn't want to mess it up. It was such a cheap fabric, £3.99 a metre and 150cm wide, but I love the pattern and colours. I wanted to keep the cutting and the number of seams to a minimum so eventually I decided on view D from the vintage Style 3982 from 1982.


I keep coming back to this pattern and I've made it before for my Vintage Pattern Sewing Pledge here and here. Must be a good one!

This is one of those times you feel you've made the right choice of pattern for the fabric. I stabilised the shoulder seams with some cotton tape as the fabric's very fine. Apart from that, it was a relatively simple sew. I turned over the neck edge twice and machine stitched it so it won't stretch out with wearing and washing. Oh, and of course, I had to start cutting it out and sewing it up 2 days before the holiday departure. And I worked the day before we left. Is this typical of sewists?

I love both of these garments and know I'll wear them a lot. Definitely worth the time spent sewing them!

Vintage pattern pledge - with a twist

Well, I took last week off work to sew and boy did I sew! One of the first things after my Project Jacket was an easy, quick sew which is also No.2 for my Vintage Pattern Pledge. As soon as I saw this pattern I knew I had to sew it. It's Style 3982 which has a basic batwing sleeve top with neck and shoulder variations. The copyright date on it is 1982.

So what's the twist, I hear you asking? Well, I confess that in the early 1980s when I was a child sewist (!), I had this pattern and made view 4 in black poly-cotton. I wore it all summer long and certainly during a family holiday to Kent. I really loved that top and thought I was the bees-knees in it! Somewhere back in the mists of time, I got rid of my copy of this pattern (why?!?) so when I saw it again on Etsy or Ebay I'd bought it faster than you could say 'Duran Duran'. And so, Vintage Pattern Pledge No. 2 (pattern) was decided. 

The pattern is very simple, containing just two pattern pieces. The front is cut on the fold and the back has a seam. There are folded back cuffs and that's about the most difficult and time-consuming thing about making this top. 

So, I'd got the pattern, but the next big question loomed up for me - what fabric could do justice to this 1980's gem, this trip down memory lane? Does anyone else get so attached to a me-made piece of clothing it instantly brings back where you were, what you were doing and the music of the time? Just out of interest, the best-selling single of 1982 was Come on Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners. Also big in 1982 were Adam Ant, Haircut 100, Yazoo and of course, Madness. Enough of that mental-meandering and back to 2015! 

It was difficult but I did find a worthy fabric for this pledge, an electric blue, purple and black animal print which I feel know is very reminiscent of the 1980's. 

It's 100% viscose which I pre-washed. I made view 4. Again! I cut the back on the fold as there's more than enough room to pull the top over my head. It also avoids unnecessary pattern-matching! 

It's really quick to sew this up. There aren't any facings or bias binding for the neckline. The edge is just turned over and stitched. I pinked the edged as the fabric frays, especially after washing. I've not used this technique recently so we'll see how long the neckline lasts!

I decided not to do the folded over cuffs and just turned up the sleeve hems an inch and then folded the raw edge under and machine stitched them. No raw edges are showing but as the sleeve is quite wide the wrong side can be seen. The close-up of the sleeve hem lets you see the fabric in all its glory!

For the hem of the body I turned up 7 cms and then turned under the raw edge. I prefer a wider hem on the body. The hem is also machine stitched. 

You can't really see the shape of the top so here's a photo:

 And then just when you thought I'd finished...ha ha! I decided that I needed to make a snood (going full immersion in the 80's here) to go with the top. So I used up the fabric left-overs and here is a photo of the whole ensemble. They're quite a sight together, aren't they, but see how happy I am wearing both?

I have thoroughly enjoyed this Vintage Pattern Pledge and although it has been very easy and quick to sew, that's the point about this make. I really needed an easy sew after Project Jacket but I also thoroughly enjoyed the unexpected memories of long-ago 1982 and a much younger me! 

My first garment for my Vintage Pattern Sewing Pledge- a nightshirt

Hi everyone, I did say yesterday I'd be blogging about my Vintage Pattern Sewing Pledge 'make' very soon and here it is! I decided I would only things I know I need and will wear (disasters aside) and a vintage nightshirt in eye-watering Paisley fabric fits the bill for me! You will be seeing lots of other PJs coming up though the next few months as they all seem to have gone kaput at the same time.

Anyway, fabric comes with a warning for those of a nervous disposition as it is a big, bold pattern. OK, you've been warned! So where did I get the vintage pattern from? Well, I've now developed a serious Ebay and Etsy stalking, lurking and buying addiction. Wow, I seriously love some of those patterns! Here's the pattern I chose which is from 1976-

I cut out view 1 and shortened it by 5" as I like to wear a nightshirt (and trousers) instead of a normal RTW PJ jacket which is usually too short for my height. This pattern has a long button opening in the front with a pleat detail from the bottom of the button band to the hem. There's a front pocket, grand-dad collar, long sleeves and a curved hem.

This is a unisex pattern and I never thought anything about it until I was sewing the buttons on at the end, but the buttoning is on the wrong side for me, it's for a man. However, I'm so lazy I won't be undoing any buttons as this is so roomy I can pull it on.

Now, are you ready for the fabric? It's a 100% cotton paisley print that I bought in John Lewis sale at half price. I know there's a contrasting fabric used in the pattern for the sleeve hems, pocket top and collar but I just couldn't have anything in competition with The Paisley!

When I started hemming I thought it was still too long so I cut another 5" off the length but I feel I've made it a little bit short, especially when I look at the photos, but that's fine. Here are some atmospheric evening shots of the nightshirt in its natural habitat and under normal lighting conditions!

I've decided to wear the collar turned down as it's quite high at the back and I never do the buttons all the way up. Here's a photo showing what I mean-

And here's the pocket, if you squint at it you might be able to make out a pocket shape, it's kind of in 'Paisley camouflage'!

And of course, some photos of yours truly wearing the finished nightshirt -

I added this last photo just because I like it and I'm laughing...probably at the thought of the next project I've started which is another vintage pattern. I think it's nervous laughter as it's a project with a capital P!