I knit, and sew what?

♥ It's all about Lingerie ♥

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:21:00 +0000

I seem to be stumbling -on and off line- upon a lot of projects related to sewing your own lingerie. I guess this has got something to do with Valentine's Day, but if you ask me, there is no special time of the year for great lingerie- I love it all year round!

I did try to sew some knickers once thanks to a DIY Style/ McCalls pattern. Unfortunately I was just beginning and didn't really know about the importance of choosing the right fabric. The pattern called for stretch knit and I used cotton, so I ended up with a lovely pair of knickers which were, sadly unwearable as they had no stretch whatsoever and I couldn't pull them past my knees!

Anyway here are some of my latest inspirations on all things Lingerie!!!

I got the following book for Christmas (or was it my birthday?)

Source

Some of the patterns are good, others are not my kind of things at all. Most of the clothes in this book rely heavily on the use of stretchy lace or cotton- both are sadly lacking in my stash, so I might consider a planned trip to the fabric store. There are also some good up-cycling ideas with vintage nighties. What's good is that there are patterns for everyone, so whether you're into loungewear or more sassy lingerie you will find a project that will tickle your fancy.

I will definitely have a go at this very soon- I am thinking of pinpointing 1 or 2 particular projects, get all the fabric and notions needed and get going- and hopefully review the book in more details!!!

BurdaStyle's highlights this week feature a collection of very lovely retro looking lingerie patterns. Rather than downloading them I am considering hunting the magazine down- I believe it is available at WH Smiths?

The Guardian's Making Time section features a very easy tutorial on upcyling an old t-shirt or some of your fabric stash into a pair of knickers. It's much more basic- and a bit less glamourous- than the patterns mentioned above, but it looks like a fun project.

And finally, how more sophisticated can you get than this Maidenform shapewear collection?

Janie Bryant Maidenform Pretty Shapewear collection- (Source)

Yes, I know, shapewear. Most of it looks plain and boring (Bridget Jones's diary anyone?) but choose it plain black, add a bit of lace et voilà!!! Shapewear becomes glamourous. I guess you could even have a go at embroidery and add a rose/ some roses, for a rockabilly style... What do you think?

Do you feel inspired by all this? Have you ever tried sewing lingerie and if so, what was your impression?

x

The sewing block

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:25:00 +0000

The ever-so-lovely Louise Brooks (from http://mysingerstory.com/)

I'm not sure whether the title of this post is correct. A quick Google search indicated that "sewing block" referred to sew several blocks of fabric together, as in quilting, I don't use "sewist" and "sewer block" gave me a completely different response (all to do with blocked drains- lovely!). And I really, really don't consider myself a seamstress.

I've lost my sewing mojo (as a crafty Austin Powers would say). On Saturday I was alone in the flat for most of the day- a rare occasion and an ideal time for sewing. I started looking through my fabric, my patterns, my books, and then I froze. I was just too scared of starting anything, convincing myself that it would end up as mess, as usual.

I ended up cleaning the oven and the cooker, and feeling a bit rubbish because I messed up a precious afternoon when I could have done so much. It just has been too long since I've done anything on the sewing machine. On Saturday night my boyfriend rightly pointed out that I was stuck in garter stitch for a very long time because I was scared of trying anything more challenging, but that now I was much more confident in my knitting skills. All I needed was a little push to get back into the swing of it.

After much reflection, I have decided that I need a couple of very small, easy and enjoyable projects to gain my confidence back. Last week I found an amazing nightie in a charity shop, it's quite long so I want to shorten it and use the bottom part to make a slip (it has a lovely scallop hem so would look quite nice). The top is amazing, it drapes so well... I really hope I'm not going to mess up though. And today Casey's post inspired me to maybe have a go at the following pattern, it looks easy enough to make:

Source

Do you ever experience sewing block or is it just me? If so, what do you do against it?

x

Fashion inspiration: 1920s (and beyond)

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:11:00 +0000

Oh dear I haven't blogged a lot lately... To be honest I haven't got much to blog about at the moment. Last week I received a gigantic parcel from Phildar and since then I've made a start on the jumper for my sister's birthday. I have completed the front and am nearly half-way through the back. It's a very nice pattern to knit- and on 9mm needles it grows quickly. I am hoping to complete it some time next week- and will post a complete review when it's done.

What I have been doing though is collect all sorts of pictures from the 20s and beyond I found online. I thought I'd share them with you- they are too nice to keep to myself. Lots and lots of inspiring things... I have to get back to my sewing machine....

Enjoy!

Clara Bow

Anna May Wong


Lillian Gish

Louise Brooks

The following pictures were found on this beautiful site.

Have a fantastic week-end. Nothing massive planned here, just a friend coming over and staying overnight. Hopefully the weather will be nice and allow us a day on the seaside...

x

Present and future projects on my needles...

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:18:00 +0000

This is all the Phildar patterns which I have ordered so far, looking back I realise I am a complete nutter and wonder whether I will be able to complete all of them... Time will tell but it might be a good challenge for 2012!!

(All the following pictures are from Phildar's website)

This garter stitch skirt has been on my needles for months... I have done nearly half of it but stopped when it came to the ribbing part (typical...). I have to complete it!!!

I have made a good start on this jumper- finally!!! Since this knit starts with the ribbing part I couldn't avoid it. I am hoping to complete this in the next few weeks.

I am planning to make this jumper twice!! I got some pale pink wool for myself and ordered some grey wool to knit this for my sister. Her birthday is in February so I have to start as soon as I receive my parcel. It's knitted in 9mm needles so hopefully it should be a quick knit...

I have been drooling over the whole outfit for months (actually I have been drooling over the whole photoshoot). I took advantage of the sales to order the yarn for this jumper, but I'm dying to know where they found this skirt as well!!!!

This is marketed as an easy knit on their website- and is currently 50% off!!! I would be so proud to wear a dress I knitted myself...

I also ordered this cute metallic dress. Postage is usually 10 euros but if you spend 49 euros it's free, so I tend to order a lot at once...

This is by far the most ambitious project, but it looks fun!! I am wondering how the whole thing manages to stand up though...

Pretty impressive eh? I am wondering how much of this I am actually going to knit. After the sales I might decide to go cold turkey and ban myself from their website until I knitted every single item. (Nah, only joking. If they carry on making such cute patterns I'll probably order even more!!)

xx

Reflecting on... A Project A Week

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:29:00 +0000

Belated Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good time. This year I decided to take a couple of extra days off to make the most of my time in France, which turned out to be the best idea ever! Most of the time was spent with my sister, her partner and their baby, not to forget their adorable dog. Whilst they were getting used to being parents I was helping out in the flat. We had such a great time and it gave me an idea of the amount of work involved (lots!). But looking at new life is amazing, and I feel very privileged to have witnessed the subtle transitions happening every day. I met him as a newborn but when I left he was already looking and acting more like a baby, looking at us and trying to smile (mostly does it in his sleep or after being fed, but every now and then you could just about see one when he was awake). It's crazy to imagine everything happening in his little brain at the moment.

I also got the opportunity to spend a couple of days at my parents' towards the end of my stay. Sadly this time is now over, and I had to go back to work and get on with my own life. It's not bad though; I have been truly spoilt for Christmas and my birthday.

January if of course a time to make new resolutions. Last year I wanted to move flat and kicked off A Project A Week. We moved in our flat in February, and whilst it's far from being perfect I am not looking back and still think this was a good decision. As for APAW, well... I am not going to lie: I would have liked to complete 52 projects and feel bad for only missing 7 projects (although the comments left on a precedent posts really touched me- thank you Tors and Noas' Libellule- this is what makes blogging so enjoyable). Looking back on the whole thing, it might have been a bit too ambitious, and in the end a lot of the projects- mostly from the beginning- have ended up tucked away on top of my spare fabric pile!

On the other hand I do have a handful of very nice clothes which I love to wear- and always feel very proud when someone comment on this and I'm able to answer "I made this". Last time it happened was yesterday with my scalloped waistband half circle skirt. . As for the knitting side, I have gone from strength to strength, gone is my fear of purling- I even do ribbing now!

I also started APAW to save money. Naively, I thought I was going to stop shopping for clothes altogether. Well, this obviously didn't happen!! I did buy less- but I still did buy clothes. I have noticed I do think twice though before buying so there is a definite improvement there.

I am determined not to give up on sewing, knitting and making stuff, and maybe focus on making less stuff, but spending more time on the stuff I make. I also really need to stop buying craft supplies- my knitting project list is as long as my arm!!

When this blog was started I was thinking I would just talk about anything, but as time went by it became away of talking about my projects, my numerous frustrations and the occasional success. APAW gently forced me to update the blog regularly, and I hope to carry on posting about what I am up to. Above all it enabled me to talk to wonderful people- and each comment makes me feel happy.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. So in 2012 there won't be the cheap and nasty APAW logo but I'll still be here, documenting what I have been creating. I also hope my photographic skills will improve, as this is a major let down of the blog at the moment. I have been talking about getting a decent camera for some time but might finally take the plunge...

xx

Inspirations

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:51:00 +0000

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas- mine was fabulous, although this year it was a little bit different to what we usually do! I have been absolutely spoilt. Now it's the time of post-Christmas sales, and boy it's hard to resist. But I am determined to let my debit card sleep whilst I'm in France!!! This is so far what has really caught my eye on the Promod website- some of these could probably be made with the right fabric, better skills and a lot of time. They might turn into my resolutions for 2012!!!

Jacquard knit skirt

Mesh skirt- still not completely happy with mine...

I so want this Houndstooth dress!!!

Jersey skirt with stripes- must be so comfy...

Fine knit dress with bow details- very tempted to attempt making this!!!

Yep, I'm still in love with Art Déco style!!!

Enjoy the last few days of 2011!!!

xxx

Merry Christmas!!

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 03:00:00 +0000

Happy Christmas to you all!

Off for a while...

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:10:00 +0000

I am taking a small break from blogging for the Christmas holidays. I am due to fly on Tuesday and plan on spending a lot of my time in France getting to know my nephew and help my sister and her partner with daily tasks.

I probably won't be back until 2012- and realise that A Project A Week stalled at week 45. I am 6 weeks behind and probably won't be able to catch up this time. I am not sure as to whether stop it for a while and start again in the new year or give it up! I will probably look back at it in the new year and reflect on what went well and not so well.

Thanks to you all for reading the blog and leaving comments- have a wonderful Christmas and let's hope for a great 2012!

xx

Versatile Blog Award and other news

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:50:00 +0000

Wow, where do I start?

These last few days have been so busy! So this post might be a bit on the long side.

I received a Versatile Blogger Award from Noas’ Libellule last week and still haven’t been able to collate a decent post. I already posted 7 things about me and Iam struggling to find more interesting facts about myself. I also like to keep a bit of mystery (ha ha ha). So I decided to also extend it to 7 things I like. It does say a lot about me in a way...

I saw The Artist last month when I went back to France and was blown away. I think this is in my top 5 favourite movies EVER, and I cannot wait for the DVDto be released. If you have the chance, go and see it, and don’t be scared by the fact it’s a black and white, silent movie- it is not high-brow at all, just highly enjoyable. Whenever I think about this movie I have a smile on my face.

Every now and then I get completely attracted by a certain era in History. The Artist might be one of the reasons why I am obsessed with late 20s/ early 30saesthetic lately: flapper style, Art deco, beads, you name it. I have been trawling through eBay for a beaded 20s style dress for my Christmas meal ( I finally got this one) and would love to sew something which would be 20s influenced. More worryingly I can see a lot of similaritiesbetween the early 30s and today, especially with the economy. I am just hoping this is just a wrong feeling and that History will not repeat itself...

I recently went back to Modern Jive dancing after a long break. It used to be held practically on my doorstep, then the location was changed and it was toofar. I just got too lazy then... But really don’t regret getting back into it, it’s a great work-out and you get to wear what you want. I love wearing one of my circle skirts when I go- great effect on the dance floor! I am planning on starting to going todances as well as lessons.

Below is one example of what Modern Jive looks like ;-)

I am not ashamed to say that I do listen to (and enjoy) BBC Radio 2 (I say that because every time I say I listen to Radio 2 people answer back saying theylisten to Radio 4, it always makes me feel a bit shallow). The evening programs are just amazing, there’s Big Band, Live music, Sounds of the 20^th Century, Mark Radcliffe’s Music Club, Gloria Estefan and the story of Latin-Americanmusic... I really don’t miss having a T.V with this sort of programs!! (If we really want to see something on T.V we just use the Iplayer on the computer, and for any for important live sport (World Cup, 6 Nations) it’s just an excuse to go to the pub!).

I do love the OTT way British people celebrate Christmas and easily join in the celebration by playing the cheesiest Christmas songs in the flat, includingthe infamous “Merry Christmas everyone” from Shakin’ Stevens. But DO NOT ask me to play any Michael Bublé- in my opinion he is a try-too-hard-to-be Frank Sinatra (who I worship). It doesn’t only happen at Christmas though- I do have a selection of terriblemusic in my MP3 player and I’m not even ashamed about it. Anyone who doesn’t admit to listening to any guilty pleasures in my opinion is highly suspicious!

I used to be a tee-total for years, even when I was in the UK in the first few years I never used to drink. Now I will have the occasional tipple, but willstop after a couple of drinks- which makes me look like a complete alien!!! On top of that I usually only need one or two drinks to feel tipsy, and always pick old fashioned drinks such as Snowball (a favourite at the moment), Pimms, and White Martini.

The last one has to be a bit of a confession, but due to my young age, I hope you’ll forgive me. Me and my sister used to dress up all the time when we werekids, and had a stash of second hand clothes in a huge wicker basket- mostly stuff from my aunt, a very groovy “yéyé” girl in the 60s, and my gran. Our favourite game was “Being Mozart” where we would stick petticoats on our heads (we thought they made terrificwigs). One of them was a very lovely white petticoat which was ruined after one too many games of “Being Mozart”. Still, we had lots of fun...

Now the rule is that I have to pass on this award to 15 bloggers so keep a look on your inbox!

***********

On Sunday I was invited by Tors from Girlmeetswolf to the Christmas market in Caerphilly. I had such a fantastic day! It was my first blogger meet and it was amazing, we had a great time walking around the castle (which is HUGE) and the town centre. Shame about the weather though (we got completely soaked) and shame on me for forgetting to take any pictures!!! But I had a really fab day, talking about blogging and our lives in general. I also had the opportunity to give Tors her "Paying it forward" gifts: a knitted hat with a crochet bow on the side, a mini Christmas stocking filled with chocolate and little gifts, including a pair of crochet handwarmers. Sadly I didn't take any pics of these either (they would have been a great way to catch up on my Projects a Week).

EDIT: You can see a post about our meet-up on her blog along with a pic of my Paying it forward gifts!!!! So excited!!!

And finally...

My sister's baby has arrived! He was born on Tuesday at 2.27pm. He and his mum are both doing well. We are so relieved that everything went well in the end. I can't wait to get back home and give him lots of kisses ^_^

That's it for me!

Christmas ideas- for less than £20

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:49:00 +0000

It’s a bit quiet around here isn’t it? I am ashamed to admitthat this year I haven’t planned any handmade Christmas projects. I still havea bit of time though, so this might change. In the meantime here are some ideasI wanted to share with you- all these are under £20- so enjoy!

Source: amazon.co.uk

Isn't this necklace gorgeous? This last year I have been wearing loads of long pearl necklaces- it just goes well with a short bob! So pearls and bows are a win-win combination for me- and at less than £8 including postage this is a real bargain.

Source

Everyone knows about Etsy, but did you know that there is a similar website solely dedicated to British crafts? There are some gems on Folksy, including this lovely little bow necklace- only £5.50 including postage- and lots of colours to choose from!

Source: amazon.co.uk

I have picked this lovely little set of Burt's bees products from Amazon when it was on offer. It has now gone up to £11.10 but it's still very good value. I started using the Burt's Bee lip balm last winter and it was the only one which kept my lips moisturised.

Source

These knitting needles are so cute in their polka dot pouches- this would be perfect to convince someone to learn how to knit, and at £5.50 including postage it's such a bargain! You can find them at this Folksy shop- they are available in several colours!

Play.com

This book includes 30 patterns and is only £3.37 on Play.com, with free delivery. The description on the website is quite detailed, sounds like there are different projects for different time-scales and "easier and quicker options are also provided throughout the book for when your best-laid plans go awry (as best-laid plans often do" Mmmm... It might end up as a present to myself...

And finally...

How cool are these Morph and Chas book ends? I actually saw these in a charity shop on Saturday, unfortunately they were not for sale but I had a quick look on Play.com and they are currently £12.99 with free postage!

That's it for now, I hope to come back soon with some handmade-related posts!

A Project A Week 45: Knitted baby blanket

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:39:00 +0000

I have just been away for a well deserved and very restful week with my family. It was also the occasion to check on my sister and the bump, who is now quite big! I took some wool with me with the plan of knitting a chunky baby blanket. I started last Saturday and finished a week later, and this involved quite intensive knitting (including knitting in the car- as a passenger of course!!)

Sorry for the wonky bed- due to a big "edredon" in my bed!!

Close-up of the stocking stitch

Garter-stitch border!!

I just made this up as I went along: I knitted the first couple of rows then switched to a border of 5 knit on each side and the rest knit/purl. I took me a long time but now I'm loving it :-)

I used 8 balls of Phildar Rapido in Souris (Mouse Grey) from my stash originally bought on this website. This yarn was part of their discontinued sales and was quite cheap. I had some 8mm circular needles so made the most of them since I casted on quite a lot of stitches...

I didn't take the measurements but it is roughly 65cm x 80cm and feels very warm and snugly. It is now waiting for a little one to come to this world!

xx

11/11/11

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:12:00 +0000

Field of poppies, Valléede la Somme- from telegraph.co.uk

http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/support-us/buy-a-poppy

Wear your poppy with pride today.

xx

A Project A Week 44: Dogtooth 3/4 circle skirt

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:30:00 +0000

Yes, I know- another skirt!! Are you bored? I'm not!!!

I bought some dogtooth fabric last year (no, not the one I've been using for ever!!), and was planning all sorts of fantastic things with it (unfortunately too complicated for me!!). Last week I thought it was the ideal candidate for another circle skirt. I didn't have quite enough for a full circle and a waistband, so cut one circle and used 1/4 to cut the waistband in (I would have had more wide elastic like the one I used on my H&M style mesh skirt I would have skipped this and used the elastic as waistband).

Close up of the fabric:

I'm not sure what it is, it doesn't feel like cotton, I guess it's a thick-ish polyester. It was very easy to work with but frayed quite a lot on the edges. I'm very pleased with the invisible zipper which looks nearly invisible- I'm getting better at this. I did mess up a bit though as I sewed it too low, and had the two sides of the waistband being loose, but I hand-sewed two hooks and eyes and now it's perfect!! (By the way, I used the same pattern and instructions as my leatherette circle skirt.)

It took me a couple of evenings to make, mostly because as soon as I was struggling on something I decided to give up instead of getting frustrated and making more mistakes. I also put off hemming the skirt for a couple of evenings, and then realised my tartan skirt and my wool skirt also needed hemming!!! Do you see a pattern there... Yep, I don't like hemming!!

Oh I can see myself wearing this skirt over and over again. I have started Modern Jive Dancing again and this would be an ideal outfit (good fun+dancing+exercise without realising it= perfect!)

Ah ah! I do like these little gifs. I might make more in the future!

xx

A Project A Week 43: 60s style wool skirt

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:42:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I got two very cheap pieces of heavy wool fabric (less than £5 inc. postage), they were listed as mustard coloured but when I received them they turned out to be more green than I thought. I was a bit disappointed and didn't know what to do with them, until I saw a girl wearing a straight skirt in heavy wool which looked stunning. The fabric looked very similar to the one I bought, so I came home for lunch, grabbed one of my beginners pattern (Kwik Sew 3765) and started cutting my pieces. That was all I had time for, but after work I went straight to my sewing machine and an hour later I had my skirt!!!

The fabric was fantastic to work with, very thick but as much as being a problem being sewn. This is such a straight-forward pattern as well: 1 front, 1 back, make a casing, thread your elastic and hem- done!! I used it on a thinner fabric (my IKEA orange bird fabric skirt seen here). I didn't have a 2.5cm wide elastic, only 2cm so changed the casing accordingly. I also made the skirt a little longer.

Before taking the pics above I was looking for the camera for ages, so gave up and took the following with my webcam. I do apologise for the quality, but since you've seen decent pics of the skirt I guess you have an idea of what it really looks like.

I still have another piece of this fabric, and I'm seriously considering making myself a coordinated cape, a bit bigger than my tartan one. This is a fab skirt, very warm for winter. The only downside is that it's a bit itchy, so I'll be wearing a petticoat under it, or maybe I'll sew some lining inside. I'm not sure I can do it though once it's finished? This is something new to me but I might investigate!!

xx

5000+ page views giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 08:30:00 +0000

I haven't forgotten about the giveaway! So here is the little set of gifts one lucky reader will get:

2 Face masks, 1 ball of StyleCraft Life Chunky in Rose (which you could use to make the same KnIT bag as seen in week 36), a pair of 40cm bamboo circular needles- 8mm, a Dr Glamour Cosmic Lipstick from Bourjois in Framboise a Croquer (these lipsticks are amazing- they contained shea and mango butter so your lips stay hydrated) and a Hand pack (because with winter coming your hands will need all the help they can!).

What do you need to do?

Well, it's simple. I suppose you know what this blog is about by now (if you don't and have just come because of the word "giveaway" in the title, please take the time to read at least a couple of posts.). So what I want is for you to give me some inspiration! Tell me what I should be making next. You can leave a link if you see something somewhere you think I would be able to make, or just give me an idea. Remember though that I am quite new to sewing and knitting, so don't challenge me too much or I might chicken out!!!

I will post anywhere in the world so take a chance! If you think this is the occasion to follow my blog do so, but I won't count multiple entries for this. I'm not for forcing people to like my blog if they don't really feel like it!

The winner will be randomly selected but if I notice there is an outstanding comment which hasn't won I will consider giving a runner-up prize..

The deadline is 20th November so you have plenty of time to find inspiring things for me. I will post shortly after this to announce the winner.

xx

PS: To those of you taking part in Paying it forward, I have not forgotten you!!!!

A Project A Week 42: H&M inspired mesh skirt

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:53:00 +0000

Ah! I finally got round to make my own version of the H&M skirt I have coveting since I first saw it in their shop this summer. It's not perfect, but it's definitely wearable!!

As a reminder, this is the original:

It's not their most expensive skirt, but the look of it made me think that it would be easy to make, even for a ~~disastrous~~ beginner sewist like myself. What really convinced me though is that straight after I spotted a very similar mesh fabric in a fantastic fabric shop in Orleans. They specialise in end of rolls Haute Couture fabric- at very reasonable prices. This is one of my favourite shops when I go back home. The staff is wonderful as well- they don't make you feel intimidated at all and are really helpful.

Going back to the skirt, I went several times to H&M to have a look at the structure of the skirt. It's several pieces (godets as they're called in French I believe) sewed together with an elastic waistband with shirring throughout the width. I'm not sure I'm making sense and using the proper terms (probably not), but if you have a look on the website the pics talk for themselves.

As mentioned before I was very anxious to mess up with the mesh fabric. I didn't spend a fortune on it- it was amazing value at 3 euros a meter, but it was such good quality that I didn't want to spoil it. I even felt a bit unworthy of having it. There's a saying in French which says "feeding jam to pigs" to talk about giving something to someone who doesn't really deserve it and dare I say I felt a bit like a pig with a huge jam jar!! Weird I know. I shouldn't feel so mystical about fabric.

In the end this is what I came up with:

Taking a pic off the hanger doesn't do it any justice so I slipped it on and very hastily took some pics!!

I changed a couple of things: since now I know how to make a circle skirt I decided to go for this instead od sewing lots of pieces together. The mesh was slightly stretchy and I read a couple of things about how circle skirts and stretchy fabric didn't go well together, so I used some pale pink acrylic fabric to make a circle skirt. The waistband is made with wide black elastic. For the mesh fabric I folded the width in half, and gathered it by hand. Yes- 3 meters painfully hand-gathered in my living room!! It didn't take me as long as I thought though!

Once my mesh fabric was gathered on a thread I shared it out evenly around the skirt and sewed it to the waistband. It wasn't easy and the gathering is not as even as I wished, but for a first try it's not all bad. It is slightly longer than the midi length I wanted, but at least I have used all this wonderful fabric without any waste. I am pleased I achieved the same "floaty" effect as the original. It's not hemmed at the bottom but I have noticed the H&M skirt isn't either!!

Total cost: 3 meters of mesh fabric @ 3 euros (around £8), acrylic fabric: from stash, wide elastic: 80p(?) so way below the £19.99 H&M skirt.

What do you think? Was it worth it, or should I have bought the original? Would you consider having a go at this? Have you got any tips to share to tidy up the waistband?

xx

Yoohoo! 5000+ page views

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:04:00 +0000

I've been a bit silent lately! Unfortunately I have a few projects on the go but haven't managed to finish any so far. Add to this a nasty bug which robbed me of a few days and which I'm still fighting, and you'll understand that there hasn't been any blog posts these last few weeks. But I'm holding on and hope to show you very soon what I've been up to!!

In the meantime I have noticed that my blog has reached 150 posts and 5027 page views. To me, this is amazing, so thanks to you all who take the time to come and visit. Next month the blog will be two years old, but I don't want to wait until then and think it's the right time to organise my first giveaway! More details will be coming very soon so stay tuned, and thanks again to all of you for keeping the blog alive by visiting or leaving kind comments.

xx

More skirts!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:08:00 +0000

I just found some more skirts inspiration! Pics courtesy of H&M.com

I love the little bow detail on the belt- something to keep in mind!

A-line midi skirt- a good way of using all my spare leatherette fabric!

What has been inspiring you lately?

xx

A Project A Week 41: Leatherette midi skirt ( as seen in my Skirt Inspiration)

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:30:00 +0000

I gave in and decided that I wasn't going to wait until payday to get the fabric to make my "leather" skirt- I was just really eager to see how it would turn out, so on Saturday, after a trip to the hairdresser (I *finally* have the same lovely haircut as back in May- for £7.75!!) I went to my local fabric shop to have a look at their selection of leatherette fabric. Sadly, they did not have anything in the rich burgundy colours as the original inspiration skirt so I settled for a rich chocolate brown instead. I was thinking of following the instructions on Casey's blog (she had a circle skirt sew along a couple of weeks ago) but then found these very handy instructions on Ficklesense- on a very convenient PDF format which included everything from start to finish. The only problem was that I didn't have a clue on how much fabric I needed, and Casey mentioned that circle skirt do eat a lot of fabric, so I ended up buying 4 meters. I know, it's even more than for a dress, but I really didn't want to run out of fabric. So after purchasing the fabric, matching thread and a zip, it was back to the flat to start on straight away (then once home realised I still needed to seam my knitted blue jumper before starting anything else!).

The PDF gives you several choices of circle skirts: full, 3/4, 1/2 or 1/4. It has several really useful pics showcasing the different types of skirts. I hesitated between the full and 3/4 and opted for the latter as it seemed to look more like what I wanted. After a couple of calculations I drafted my paper pattern (as I am bound to use this again...)

I wrote 3/4 but it's not right, it's only 1/4. I was never really good at Maths...

and then decided to cut the fabric. 1st impression: there is a lot of it, so I just folded a bit and started cutting.

You can laugh at me for the next bit: I just didn't get the instructions on folding and ended up cutting 3 separate quarters instead of a continuous one. But I just laughed it off and just sewed them together.

By the way, cutting and sewing this fabric was wonderful. It wasn't too thick or too thin, and was a pleasure to work with. Obviously it didn't fray either, which was fantastic.

I then followed the instructions for the waistband, but got to a standstill on the interfacing. I wasn't sure I would be able to use fusible interfacing on the leatherette without melting it/ ruining my iron/ causing a disaster, so decided against it altogether. The fabric is thick enough. I also followed the instructions on inserting the zipper. They recommend the method of basting first, sewing the zip then removing the basting to let the zip through. I tried and it's allright, but I need more practice I think to achieve a better result.

I then finished the waistband with some hook and tape (Velcro) rather than hook and eye- a lazy shortcut but it works! And it was done, since it didn't need hemming. I still let it hang 24 hours though (I'm not sure it made a difference this time).

It fits perfectly and looks fantastic, exactly what I wanted. Here are a couple of pictures!

Headless shot!!!

My mirror really needs a clean...

I will wear something more covering than this when I'll wear the skirt, honest!

And I just realised that the girl on the bag behind me seems to be looking up my skirt with a spyglass!

Once again, I am very pleased, and was very inspired when I decided to make a paper pattern- I'll definitely use this again. Needless to say, I have about 2 meters of leatherette fabric left- but I'll find something to do with it!!

The original skirt, from Ben de Lisi at Debenhams costs £175. I paid £5.99 per meter of fabric (in the end I only used 2 meters so that's £11.98), thread was £1.80 (I used Coats Moon- 200m on offer), 1 leather needle (£2.40 a pack of 5 so 48p) and zip was £1.50, so that's less than £17- 1/10 of the price.

I think this deserves a little dance don't you think?

A Project A Week 40: Knitted Bright Blue Jumper

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 19:14:00 +0000

After a few sewing projects I can proudly present you what's been in the pipeline for a while: my first knitted jumper!! I am so excited; I thought I would never be able to commit to a lengthy project such as this but I've made it, and stuck to it from start to finish.

It all started on Ravelry (of all places eh). I was looking for garter stitch patterns (this was when I was still lazy) and noticed a beautiful pattern called Nati which looked beautiful and easy enough to make. It was £3.50, but I thought it looked so easy that I would, at some point, have a go at it (I'm a bit reluctant when it comes to buying pattern in case they are way too advanced and will discourage me completely, so usually I stick to the free ones). When I looked into it, I noticed it was made with a very chunky wool very similar to some discontinued vintage Emu Snowball I had- 5 and a half balls, bought on eBay in the early days of my knitting adventures (I got the blue yarn after making the cape in red). All I needed was a pair of 10mm circular needles. I was a little scared because I stupidly thought you could only use circular to knit in the round (yeah, laugh at me all you like). I soon realised there was nothing to be scared of, and I actually understand now why so many people prefer to use them than straight needles. It was a very interesting experience.

The pattern is unbelievably easy and knitted in one piece, with minimal seaming in the end. Most of it is garter stitch but there's an interesting reverse stocking stitch part on the waist which gives the jumper a little twist. Also, I got stuck on one part and got in touch with the designer through Ravelry and she got back to me the day after, she is really friendly (I doubt anyone else would need help though- the explanations are so clear and easy to understand).

The only problem I had was that the pattern called for 6 balls of yarn for my size (S) and I only had 5 and roughly 3/4 (having used a bit of the blue wool to make a knitted collar on a red t-shirt, which turned it instantly into the perfect clown outfit.). So I downsized the width of the sleeves a bit of a couple of centimetres, which in the end was a good idea since I finished knitting and there was less than 1/4 of the last ball left!

Thanks to Ravelry I know it only took me two weeks to complete- and bear in mind that during this time, I was working late, but I found this jumper so nice to knit that I never missed an occasion to grab it and knit a few rows. I also took it with me to the Motorpoint Arena last week during the Knit 1 Pass it on event.

This was also my first go at blocking...

This was actually just before blocking. The front panel is clearly longer than the back, but blocking sorted all this out. I just used the sprinkler on my iron (switched off obviously) and sprinkle some water on the whole piece, then placed T-Pins (which I had real trouble finding- everyone ran out of them the week I wanted them). This morning, it felt dry but I left it a little bit longer- just in case. This afternoon, I seamed it, and was finally able to see how it looked!!


The great "Taking the picture from my phone" pose!!!

I am surprised at how comfortable this is, the yarn has a high content of wool (63%) so I thought it might be a bit itchy, but it's not, it's very cosy and unbelievably warm without being too bulky. And as many people said on Ravelry, it has a very feminine shape and drapes very well- I can see myself pairing this with so many of my skirts!!

I can't remember how much I exactly paid for the yarn (it was a couple of years ago) but I'd guess no less than £20. I can safely say I wouldn't get anything like this, with the same quality and the same content of yarn in the High Street for this price. I don't really count the time it took me to make it, because it wasn't a chore at all. I'm even thinking I could make another one for someone for Christmas...

Next on my knitting list is the burgundy jumper I ordered from Phildar (featured on my Autumn Equinox post). It is slightly more advanced, but hey- I'm not scared anymore!!!!

xx

A Project A Week 39: Tartan Autumn Skirt (Inspired by Radka @ Moon River and Me)

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:52:00 +0000

Wow this has been a very impressive week in terms of sewing. It made me realise I have a sort of love/ hate relationship with my sewing machine. When something goes wrong I will shun it for weeks, but once I'm happy with something I made I'm on a roll (until the next failure...)

I have been very pleased with my cape, and there was this leftover fabric which just screamed to be turned into a skirt that I didn't resist, and followed Radka's comment on my previous post- go freestyle!!!

A couple of hours later... I have such a cute coordinated Autumn outfit!!!

This fabric is SO comfy, it is a pleasure to wear, and the cape is surprisingly warm. I still need to hem the skirt by the way, you can hardly notice but as I'm very pleased with it I want to give it as professional a finish as I can (ha ha ha). The waistband was slightly too big (I blame my weird body shape- tiny waist and big hips/ bum) so I threaded a fabric tie in so that I can tighten it with a knot on the side of the zip, and it's much better this way. I achieved the effect I wanted- floaty without looking too baggy.

The whole process was quite straight forward, apart from the gathering of fabric. I realised I was using the wrong setting on my sewing machine, which didn't make the gathers loose enough, so always ended snapping the thread- very annoying. But now it's all sorted, I will be gathering everything and anything!

Now that I've started on my skirt list, I'll have to carry on. I kind of start having ideas on how to make the H&M skirt, ordered the yarn for the Phildar knitted skirt (very naughty), but have to wait until payday to get the fabric for the leather skirt (or not, depending on how much the leatherette fabric costs at my local fabric shop- well I've been naughty, I might as well carry on!). The next project should be a bit different- if I ever finish it!!!

xx

A Project A Week 38: Tartan cape a la Vivienne Westwood

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:30:00 +0000

My post yesterday was very short, so today I am posting about a bigger project. It has been quite a random one- about 2 hours ago I hadn't started yet!!!

By now you would have noticed that I like a bit of tartan. So when L'Express.fr had a slideshow today on all things tartan I had an innocent look, knowing only too well that most of the stuff would be ~~overpriced~~ ahem, over my financial means.

I saw a lot of gorgeous stuff but this below really caught my eye:

From L'Express.fr

This lovely little cape is from Vivienne Westwood's Red Label, and is priced 405 Euros. I had a look at it, and realised that for 405 Euros all you get is a rectangle of fabric with a drawstring at the top and a big blue tie. OK, it's a wool cape, and it's Vivienne Westwood but come on...

In my post about all the skirts I was planning to ~~mess up~~ make I mentioned a tartan cotton bought in France this Summer. I did try to start on a skirt this week-end, but ended up being confused and sewing right side with wrong side (...), so I used this to make up my own version of an Autumn cape (I still have enough fabric left for the skirt, which I'm still hoping to make- it would make a lovely outfit with the cape!).

An hour later (and feeling very sorry for my neighbours who had to listen to my sewing machine a bit later in the day than it should have been)...

It is not as "covering" as the V. Westwood one, as I had a little less fabric than expected, but in a way I think it's better as it doesn't seem to be getting in the way as much. The fabric was a real pleasure to work with, a kind of thick, brushed cotton, like flannel. I sewed two squares together to make it a bit thicker, pressed the seams, tidied up the edges and made a casing. The tie is one of my numerous scarves.

This is how it looks on a slouchy person:

So there, a perfect Project A Week for me, I used my stash and now have my own trendy cape for a fraction of the price. Now I have to make this damn skirt!!

xx

A Project A Week 37: Fimo buttons

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:02:00 +0000

I've finally tried Fimo clay and my goodness it's GREAT!! I always loved Play Dough when I was little so it was a bit like being a child again. These buttons are my first ever attempt- good enough to eat don't you think?

xx

A Project A Week 36: The KnIT bag (sorry, bad pun...)

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 19:10:00 +0000

Ooooh I'm a little late in sharing this project with you- it was completed last week!!

A couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted a new bag, and since the weather was turning cold and Autum- like, I thought a nice knitted bag in chunky yarn would be fab!! So I knitted this long rectangle mostly in stockinette stitch. I used 6mm wooden needles (gift from my partner's gran) and a ball of Stylecraft Life Chunky in Rose.

I just love how it turned out, but I still needed to do a bit of work to turn it into a bag. First I sewed some lining (a never-used tea towel bought once in France- because it was pretty!)

Well, yes, it IS pretty, even as lining of a bag.

Then I decided to use a spare dogtooth scarf (I have so many...) as a handle. I first threaded it into the stitches at the top of the bag (drawstring-like) but of course, the lining was not included, and it was messy to open and close... For practicality, I made a couple of small holes in the lining (I'll just have to make sure they don't grow too big and tear the whole lining apart- I'm afraid I didn't do this in a very tidy way.)

As a finishing touch I decided to add a bow in my never-ending black and white fabric. It looked great when I made it, but sewing it onto the bag puffed it up a bit, and it doesn't look as good as I thought. Still, I like it!!

Here is the final result! The first day out to try it on was actually an evening (a meal with my workmates) and someone did comment on it, saying it looked really well made! I also had a couple of people telling me about it the following week- it is so nice when people compliment you on something you made isn't it?

Since then the weather has gone crazy! Today was 1st October but it was hotter than this Summer, so the bag looks a bit out of place at the moment- but I'm sure it will get plenty of use in the next few months!

Talking about knitting, today was the day where I was volunteering along with the UK Hand Knitting Association at the Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft show at the Motorpoint Arena. There were so many youngsters who wanted to learn, it was amazing!! I taught only one teenager, and she was a little bit grumpy. I don't think she really wanted to be there, but I showed her anyway. Who knows, when she sees all the chunky knits in the High Street she might think "Hey maybe I could do it myself". The show was good, I saw a wonderful exhibition on the art of Lace, some costumes from Downtown Abbey and Above and Below the Waves, a huge 3D knitted aquarium raising money for the RNLI's Train 1 Save Many campaign. There were also a couple of shops selling wool- and although I did buy some it could have been much, much worse (I'm thinking of a pack of 12 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in mustard which I put back after seriously considering it, even though I didn't have a pattern in mind for it.). A great day all-in-all, and I hope that there will be more crafts this week-end!!!

Inspirations: skirts and what I’ll be up to this week-end

noreply@blogger.com (Popbabe7) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:44:00 +0000

I’m getting obsessed with making skirts right now, and havebeen drafting a mental to-do list, so I thought I’d share it with you- whoknows, this might push me to actually start making them instead of daydreaming!!

In my previous post I showed you a leather skirt which I sawon this Guardiangallery. I’m not usually a big fan of leather skirt (a bit too edgy and ifworn the wrong way can look really tacky) but the length, full shape and therich burgundy colour really make this look feminine and elegant. Only problem,I currently haven’t got this sort of fabric in my stash. If I consider having ago at this I’ll pick some fake leather fabric from my local shop (I don’t wantto order this online- I’d rather make sure I like the fabric and it doesn’tlook tacky!).

This Autumnskirt blogged by Radkashould have been part of my Autumn Equinox post!! Why oh why didn’t I includeit??? I just happen to have a very similar, thick cotton remnant which I boughtin France this Summer, it is a lovely shade of green and red tartan. I hope Iwill get the same bouffant effect. I need to see whether I have a suitablepattern though, or will I dare to go freestyle??

Of course I have been talking and talking about how I’mhoping to have a go at making a skirt very similar to this H&M one.I do have the fabric- 3 meters of fine mesh polyester fabric bought in France(the shop specialises in end of rolls Couture fabric!!!) but I don’t reallyknow where to start ... The fabric is so lovely that I’m a bit scared ofmessing it up, so at the moment it’s beautifully draped around my dressmakingmannequin (oh yes, forgot to talk about this!).

Last but not least, I have been drooling over thisskirt from Phildar. I have a hard time finding knitting patterns for skirtswhich are straight forward enough and this looks ideal. I got the pattern intheir Autumn catalogue, I just need to find equivalent yarn though- I tend toorder from the French website and delivery to the UK costs me 10 euros, so whenI order it has to be a coup de coeur(or straight after payday.)

What do you think? Will you be having a go at making any ofthese?

Talking about making and creating, I will take part in Knit 1Pass it on at the Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft Show on Saturday at theMotorpoint Arena, Cardiff. The aim of this project, created by the UK Hand Knitting Associationis to get more people to learn how to knit, and I volunteered to share my skillsto whoever will be interested! I think the show will be amazing, some costumesfrom Downtown Abbey will be on display, and I’m hoping to attend one of theirdressmaking workshops, and who knows, have a go at making these skirts?