Blouses and Tops – Stitch Sessions

December 2, 2022December 2, 2022

The Trudy Turtleneck – Wardrobe By Me

In this photo, Nell, a Caucasian person, kneels on their blue couch. They are wearing a white turtleneck shirt with a grey-brown, red and white striped cardigan that they are pulling up over their shoulders.

Hello friends!

It’s not an exaggeration to say that I’ve done a truly ridiculous amount of sewing over the past few months. Oh boy, does my body know about it. After this, I will be taking a much longer break to allow myself to recover! However, in the interests of pushing myself to learn new skills I’ve begun learning about pattern drafting. Not being mathematically inclined, what I was promised was a rather simple exercise became several weeks of effort. All of which I am excited to share once I get a few more bits and pieces sorted. I also sat down to perfect a PDF pattern I had bought a while ago, but hadn’t managed to fit at the time. Then, because I love to over-complicate things, I also signed up for a beginner’s short course on sewing trousers, and decided to learn how to sew stretch fabric on my overlocker. Lucky for me, I had fabulous results all across the board.

July 1, 2022January 25, 2023

Comfortable Shirts with the Wardrobe Builder T-Shirt

Nell, a Caucasian person, stands in front of a white wall facing the camera. They are wearing a black and white striped V-neck shirt with long sleeves. Their fingers are lightly knotted in front of them.

Hello friends! Having spent so much time challenging myself to upgrade my skills with the Dickey Collars pattern, I was keen for a simpler series of makes as a bit of a palate cleanser. In circumstances like this, I turn to stretch fabric. It’s not something I claim to be an expert at sewing, but I love how comfortable and simple it is to pull on something that doesn’t require ironing or buttons. The Wardrobe Builder T-Shirt pattern by Wardrobe By Me has been an absolute winner for me in that regard. After I put some tweaks into place, it’s become such a staple that I test the bodices of other patterns against it to ensure comfort.

October 16, 2021January 25, 2023

All Wrapped Up with McCall’s 8035

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a chair in front of a white wall. They are wearing a black, wrap-front dress that has balloon sleeves, an elastic waist, and very bright floral pattern. They are holding the edges of the chair.

Hello friends! These latest makes are something a little bit different for me because I didn’t begin with the pattern and take inspiration from there. Instead I sought out a pattern to make a version of a dress I saw someone else wearing and which I couldn’t stop thinking about. A dress which, in turn, had quite strong 1970’s design aspects to it! This is quite an unusual decade for me as I don’t tend to like a lot of the common design elements that pop up in sewing patterns from the time. However, the shape of the original dress, the bell sleeves and the higher waistline of the wrap-front bodice all struck me as going together so very well that I couldn’t get it out of my mind. After much scouring of the internet I was able to secure a copy of McCall’s 8035 on Etsy, and I knew this would be the perfect leaping off point.

August 3, 2021January 25, 2023

The Adrienne Blouse

Nell, a Caucasian person, stands against a concrete wall. They are wearing a light brown shirt with puffy sleeves, and a triangular print. They are also wearing blue jeans and have their hands in their pockets.

Hello friends! After a tumultuous couple of months where I have been more focused on work and things outside the creative sphere, I ended up deciding to take a several week break from sewing to get a complete refresh. I had also been through some sewing disasters that made me feel like I was turning something fun into a chore that I was required to do to uphold a schedule, and that was something I wanted to change. I went through all the sewing patterns I owned, sorted what little fabric I had, and got a friend to help me take new measurements from the waist down. With that in mind, after the break I decided to come back to a particular pattern that I knew I had the fabric and supplies for, and which I had been quite keen to make even before I got into stretch fabric: The Adrienne Blouse by the Friday Pattern Company.

May 1, 2021January 25, 2023

Getting Cosy with the Enid Sweater

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a wooden bench in front of a concrete wall. They are holding the edge of the bench. They are wearing a blue V-neck sweatshirt, patterned with forest animals, and blue sweatpants.

Hello friends! It’s well into Autumn here now. The leaves are changing into glorious shades of red, gold and brown, and the dark is coming on a lot sooner. With that comes the kind of cold that makes me long for casseroles, soup, doonas and cosy sweaters and socks. So it also seemed like a fitting time to work on a new genre of patterns, using fabric that I’m not all that familiar with – like The Enid Sweater, by Jennifer Lauren Handmade. I purchased the PDF pattern on Etsy as I was intrigued by the promise of a simple construction method, and a vintage look with the V-neck collar. I had some secondhand fleece on hand, and some matching ribbing also purchased secondhand, so it seemed serendipitous.

March 2, 2021January 26, 2023

Making 1950’s Playsuits with McCalls 3616!

Nell, a Caucasian person, stands in front of a wooden bench and concrete wall. They are wearing a cactus print playsuit over a white, collared blouse with short sleeves. They have one hand on their hip.

Hello friends! It’s true that I am excited about each pattern of the month and can’t wait to share what I’ve learned while making them, but this particular pattern holds special meaning for me. I have a love of all things overall, romper, jumpsuit and playsuit – which I think comes as no surprise, and it’s been on my sewing bucket list for quite a long time now that I wanted to make some vintage playsuits which would be tailored to me. No cramped crotch, no awkward tightness about the thighs, and I would make them in fabric which doesn’t bother the skin! But patterns of even roughly my size range were either thin on the ground, or would cost so much it honestly wasn’t within my budget to buy them. This was where the miraculous find of McCall’s 3616, a circa 1956 bathing suit pattern, in PDF format by The Vintage Sewing Pattern Company came to my rescue! I purchased it on their Etsy website, after first checking there was some kind of scale marker to help me keep printing accurate.

February 1, 2021January 26, 2023

Wardrobe Basics with the Anything but Basic Tee

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a wooden bench in front of a concrete wall. They are wearing a high-neck T-shirt in brown fabric with a triangular print. They are also wearing green, highwaisted corduroy shorts.

Hello friends! The New Year is a time for change and fresh opportunities. From what I’ve seen a lot of other sewists are using this time to set new sewing goals, or pick their patterns for the months to come. I’m doing something similar by continuing the theme of pattern of the month, but adding in a seasonal flavour whereby I’ll be picking holes in my wardrobe each season and sewing for those! And since it’s now so hot and I’m disinclined to pull on a button-up blouse, I knew I had to make some basic T-shirts. I managed to find some stretch fabric on sale and once again sat down to learn more about this kind of sewing, using the the Anything but Basic Tee pattern.

January 1, 2021January 26, 2023

Classic Peasant Blouses with Style 1524

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a wooden bench in front of a concrete wall. They are wearing a white peasant blouse with a blue space-themed print, and a blue denim skirt. Their hands are folded on their lap.

Hello friends, and welcome to the New Year!

I had originally intended for my pattern of the month to be another exploration of bottoms, with a view to making some overalls for summer. In particular I was very keen on giving the Jenny Overalls, by Closest Core Patterns, another go. I had first tried the pattern quite awhile ago before I truly understood how to grade and tweak and fit trousers, and at the time attempted a record number of muslins before giving up. I tried the pattern once again, and – after so many alterations it was no longer particularly recognisable compared to the original, I still couldn’t quite get the fit I wanted. I decided that rather than settle for something not quite as good as my previous makes, I would finally allow this pattern to be removed from my stash and attempt something else.

August 17, 2020January 26, 2023

Learning about Stretch Fabric with The Gable Top

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a cabinet covered by a white sheet. They are wearing black jeans, and a blue slash-neck top patterned with cartoonish lemons of different colours.

Let it be known that I am now a convert to the wonders of stretch fabric! I had honestly avoided stretch fabric in the past as learning the ins and outs of certain fabrics isn’t at all intuitive for me, and I thought it would be best to attend some online classes on the topic first before I dove in. But at the time I first started working on this pattern, I had been thinking quite a lot about the gaps in my wardrobe, and how to continue this passion for sewing without making things for the sake of simply having something to make. I couldn’t ignore the fact that I didn’t have a lot of winter tops, despite the fact that I live somewhere with long-lasting cold seasons. So after researching patterns for vintage inspired stretch fabric tops, I at last settled on a PDF version of the Gable Top, by Jennifer Lauren Handmade, which had a plethora of positive reviews.

June 1, 2020January 26, 2023

Simplicity 6550 – Vintage Blouses

Nell, a Caucasian person, stands in front of a wooden bench and concrete wall. They have their hands in their pockets, on a slight angle to the camera. They are wearing a brown and white polkadot blouse and black culottes with suspender straps.

Hello friends! After the incredible success I had with my first attempt at a proper pattern hack, I was looking forward to testing even more wintery makes that would be appropriate for the chilly weather. I was keen to try all sorts of new heavier weight fabrics and see if I couldn’t create some more vintage inspired, seasonal clothing. However, my laptop took a not entirely unexpected turn over one weekend and simply refused to hold a charge. This meant a lot of hasty backing up onto an external hard drive while I still could, and the generosity of a friend’s brother in sharing his store discount to help me afford a new machine. As someone who rarely buys brand new this all was a bit exciting, but also meant I had to seriously rethink all my immediate sewing plans for the next while due to the budget change. Enter Simplicity 6550.