My journey back into sewing

[Ouryve]

Like many here, I'm a returner to the craft, after a long hiatus due to having little space and 2 very demanding autistic boys with grabby hands. I took up knitting in that time, having failed to learn, as a child!

Having knitted, it was no surprise to me how much the world of patterns had changed in my time away.

My first returner project was a top that came with Sew magazine. The fit was bloody awful but it was a good refresher and helped me to be less intimidated by the computerised machine - a brother fs60 - that I'd had a few years and only used for the odd straight line or repair. I got my confidence back, though, and grabbed myself a copy of Tilly Walnes' Stretch, which turned out to be an excellent purchase.

I started with several pairs of pyjamas, using the Stella Joggers pattern, the Frankie top and the tabitha top that came with a magazine. I've made so many pairs of the joggers, now and have sized down for a slimmer leg and less baggy bum, adding more room for my belly. I've also retraced the frankie top with a smaller hip size and straight hem as seen with the black top I'm wearing today, made with a remnant of a see you at six French Jersey that turned out to have a hole in it, making pattern placement a challenge.

Had to show off my socks, while I was taking photos - Nemesis off the Knitty website. Can't remember where I got the yarn from.

[Ouryve]

Yes, that mirror needed a good scrub! Sticky fingers everywhere!

I fell in love with Merchant and Mills patterns and fabrics, early on, buying some lovely linen and the Shirt Dress, which I adapted to tunic length, and the Fielder. I toiled the shirt dress tunic with an old duvet cover at first, while petting the linen regularly. I wore the teal top for Christmas day, mighty peeved that we'd been promised Christmas with families, then had it taken away.

I also bought the camber set pattern and a couple of pieces of fabric from cloth atelier. This turned out to be the perfect project to introduce myself to the new machine I bought myself for Christmas, after finding the brother a little weedy and rattly - my Janome M50qdc.i wanted the M100 but the excellent localish shop I bought it from didn't have any stock and there was a general machine shortage due to covid, brexit and all the other horrors of the time.

[b15erk]

Wow! You've been busy!  Some fabulous makes there. 

I may have to steal some of those ideas!

Jessie

[Ouryve]

I hit a bit of a wall after those first makes. Currently reprising my duties as food fairy.

[realale]

Those are some lovely makes. I particularly like the white and blue tops. Well done. 

[Surest1tch]

Wow, I hope I can be that productive when I do finally get time to get back to sewing for pleasure. You made some lovely stuff

[Ouryve]

I had a brief foray into Japanese pattern books and made a couple of pieces from a nani iro book. Interesting process but nothing terribly wearable. For something more practical, I started on  Liesl & Co classic shirt. Lovely pattern but schools were closed again, at this point, youngest hadn't the capacity to understand why and his anxiety was through the roof, with his occasional tics having ramped up to an almost constant din and attaching the collar completely got the better of me. The thing got thrown across the room and then shoved into a bag.

I eventually finished that shirt in the autumn and, once I'd mastered the collar (which I will never do that way again, having remembered how I attached collars in the past) it was a pleasurable sew.

I went back to the literal comfort of Jersey for a month, several pairs of joggers, the top in the first post and a Grain line studio Linden sweatshirt. I was disappointed in this pattern, to be honest - included seam allowance was only 6mm, the neck turned out very wide, even after shortening the neckband and I didn't feel like I got a lot for my money. I do wear it a lot, though.

Not pictured is another sweatshirt in a navy leaf jacquard knit, adapted from the Stella hoodie in Stretch. That also gets worn a lot.

[Ouryve]

Some more merchant and mills for the summer, both patterns and fabric.

All state shirt for husband in hemp chambray.

Enough left for another camber top for me - an experiment in doing an fba on a smaller size, as the greige one is too wide in the shoulder.

Box box. More hemp.

And another fielder, using some gauze from a local shop and leftover ribbing. Lovely to wear but rather frumpy on me.

[Ouryve]

Wow, I hope I can be that productive when I do finally get time to get back to sewing for pleasure. You made some lovely stuff

[Ouryve]

Time to try again with the last few.

Considering there's a lot I don't have pics of, I'm amazed at how productive I have been - this goes back to about September 2020!

More summer makes

Megan Nielsen opal pants in sevenberry cotton. Love this fabric and have more of it. Also a much better value pattern than that sweatshirt with loads of options and great pattern support. Also made some shorts, not shown.

Top adapted from a fibre mood pattern. Loved making it but the neckline is almost indecent, despite sizing down, and the puffy sleeves do nothing for me.

Perhaps my favourite make (though needs an iron), sew house seven tea house top. I have some lovely red embroidered cotton that will become another, this year, hopefully with less of a scrubs vibe!

[Ohsewsimple]

  I see what you mean about the scrubs vibe.  Another colour wouldn’t give the same impression.  Yes the red top has a very low neck.  I’ve learnt over the years to always check where the neckline is going to come on me if using a pattern I don’t know.  Just placing the pattern the body helps.  Even making a quick toile of just the neck works too. Lots of great garments. 

[Ouryve]

Yes, @Ohsewsimple I kicked myself for not draping the neckband around my neck before attaching it - placing the pattern wouldn't have helped as it was a huge amount of gathering. Even a couple of inches would have made it less precarious and I always forget what a small frame I have under the middle aged spread.

I even if it was less indecent, I'd still look like a hot water tank in it, mind 

The fabric was inexpensive, at least. It might work with my proportions in a drapier fabric than a cotton dobby voile but drspier fabrics do tend to be less breathable and less breathable fabrics tend to equate to horrific prickly heat for me. Hence all the linen, hemp and cotton! (good job I'm not a stranger to ironing)

[realale]

You have been busy!! My garment sewing has been woefully inadequate the last few years so you are inspiring me to do more.

[Ouryve]

You have been busy!! My garment sewing has been woefully inadequate the last few years so you are inspiring me to do more.

I think I've been playing catch up, @realale! I'm a little miffed that I have nothing to show for the past 4 months. A top that got binned, jeans that got shelved because they took so long from tracing to sewing that my backside grew out of them...

[Ohsewsimple]

@Ouryve i wear a lot of viscose, woven and jersey.  Nice and drapey and breathable.