Oh Stitch, Please!

Oh Stitch, Please!

Thursday 30 April 2015

Ikat Tate

I am smugly clapping myself for my forward planning in writing this post before I left for my trip. Well played 'super organised in all the wrong area's' self...

But anyway! - here is the tate top! It is a brilliantly easy and flattering sew up from workroom social.



The pattern comes with no instructions, but is fairly simple - after reading Elizabeth's review, I was happy to plough along and make the same alterations as she did with omitting the zipper in favor of a hook and eye closure. Much more summery!


The fabric is a beautiful soft cotton I picked up in Bali in 2013. So soft. And so cheap! I wanted some light summery tops for my trip away, without breaking the bank! So I turned to the stash, and flicked through sewn by Elizabeth's so cheap challenge looking for a free summery pattern! Such a great idea, and a fabulous reference when looking for a quick and free project! Thanks Elizabeth... :)


I made my own bias binding, and bound the neckline and armholes, choosing to turn the binding to the inside. My binding turned out a bit big, so for my next version I will use smaller binding for a neater finish.


It was fairly straightforward to match the seams, simply lining up the bottom pieces on the bottom of the Ikat print, allowing the scoop hem to dip below the Ikat line. Not perfect, but it did the trick for a quick project.



Very happy with this quick little top. To keep it simple, I popped it through my overlocker and quickly serged all my seams. SO QUICK.

I also used the length size from the size 20, while using a sz 12 - 14, as I like my tops a bit longer.



Specs:

Pattern: the Tate Top - Workroom social (free download!).

Fabric: Cotton Ikat - Bali.

Size: 12 and graded to a 14 at the hips.

Mods: omitted the zip in place of a hook and eye closure, and lengthened the tunic to the size 20.

Cost: pattern - free! so a grand total of about $5- for the fabric :)

See also:


Happy Sewing Team!



Emery - nautical linen love.

Ahoy! This past month has been some serious out of season sewing in preparation for my upcoming adventures in Vietnam and Cambodia... This means that all my me-made-may shenanigans will occur from my backpack.. Brace yourselves for loads of wrinkly linens!

The first item I wanted to sew up, was a Christina Haynes sleeveless linen Emery. The emery is not new to me, in fact this is my fourth! I have feaured my earlier ventures here.


The linen is an el cheapo' painted version from my dear friend Eliza around the corner from my work. It is still quite stiff, despite a wash and run through the dryer before sewing. As I had planned this dress to be a midi and made specifically for travel, I couldn't face paying a bomb for the linen and then having is not last some hard wearing while backpacking...





I love my little necklace - navy, blues, reds and whites - my kind of neutrals! Made by a friend from my home town. Modestbeads. I was hoping to channel the gorman fit and gathered midi dresses. I have been perving on them ferociously for about 12 months. They have a gorgeous moth print dresses and tops at the moment. Must find moth fabric.



I took the time to match my stripes, which turned out beautifully. But they are quite big, so I can't pat myself on the back to much about that... The back skirt stripes are a little off. So just make sure you squint while looking at that...



Sewers confession: I forgot to staystitch my neckline... BOOO!!! So it did stretch out a little. It will be fine for my holiday, but I will go back and nip the front neckline in at the shoulder seam when I get back, I like this dress more than I thought I would and want to keep it in the wardrobe!


My favorite closure of a lapped zipper. I really love the finish of these and they have become my go-to closure. Hurrah for lapped zippers!


Emery spam....

Lotta's from stockholm.





The specs:

Pattern: Christina Haynes Emery

Fabric: Printed linen - Eliza's fabric.

Mods: Added about 4" (another fabric stripe) to lengthen it to mid calf and embrace the midi rage. Also - sleeveless.


Beads: Modestbeads

See also: Miss make, any from Sarah over at a million dresses.

Anywhoooo.... looking forward to seeing all your creations for me-made-may-15!

Thank you 'pre-holiday semi-organised about the wrong things Rachel' for nabbing some snaps of my holiday sews before going away.. and writing some posts! So they will be up over the next few weeks!

See you all soon! xx





Tuesday 14 April 2015

Me-Made-May '15


I am jumping in again this year!

Last year i signed up for four me mades per week - and easily made this target.

This year I am going for a daily me made item.

HOWEVER! I will be in Vietnam and Cambodia for the first 3 weeks of MMM15. So I am going to allow myself outfit repeats for those three weeks only. I am hoping to whip up a few light tops to take, and I already have a huge selection of dresses for summer. I am not expecting to find huge holes in my wardrobe with MMM this year, simply because I will have a holiday wardrobe for the tropics! Which doesn't really lend itself to real life here in Melbourne...

MMM15/holiday sewing plans:

ALICE top x 2.

SOHO blouse by Sew Kate Sew - x 2

SCOUT by grainline.

IF I have enough time, I also wouldn't mind attempting another EMERY - however, I think that may be a bit too ambitious... 

It will be nice this year to participate with some summer clothes in mind, as last years MMM was particularly chilly and a bit boring!

As with last year - I will be documenting my memades over on instagram. So pop over there if you would like to check it out! :)