Crafty: Grainline - Scout Tee (X2!)

After getting back from holiday I have been able to go on a sewing spree - in the sense that I become insanely productive for a couple of days and turn the living room into (in Harrys words) a "sweat shop". He really puts up with it so well, particularly when there are spray pins in the carpet and not an inch of table free. I also had a big reorganise of my sewing cupboard (really its half a cupboard as Harry uses the other half for his brewing) and divided the useful scraps from the not-so-useful scraps.  So now I have a big Wilko's plastic box full of useful bits of fabric!

I have been eyeing up the Grainline Scout Tee pattern for sometime, particularly as I loved making the Moss Skirt (yet to post up!) and Archer Shirt. I ended up making 2 tees in the space of 24 hours and using some useable scraps. The problem with using scraps is that I found you sometimes have to divide a pattern piece and sew the parts together, which is what I ended up needing to do for the tiger tee.

Tee 1
Tiger stripe in pink from Cotton + Steel  - I had brought this to make a pair of pj shorts so had a large amount left over. You can see where I have had to cut the back pattern piece as two parts as there was not quite enough fabric - however I think it worked out pretty well looking like a back yoke detail! I love my french seams and so ever since learning how to do them all my projects have had them. I just love having such a clean and tidy finish with no raw edges.

Tee 2

Light weight cotton from Etsy - so cool and easy to wear although slightly see-through. The fabric is slightly off-white (as it is unbleached). I am planning on wearing this tee with a black skater skirt (stay tuned) for my graduation in a few weeks. 

L xx

Crafty: Paulie cardigan

So this post has been long overdue - I actually finished this in September... embarrassing! So this is the first "large" knitting project I have ever finished and I have to say I was surprised by how long it took me. When I started I was full of optimism and was thinking "I'll have this finished in a week no problem" and "It can't take that long" - but I was wrong. It took far longer than I thought, this was probably due to a mix of expectations not reaching reality and as this was the first thing bigger than a scarf I have knitted.

I found the pattern on Raverly (you can follow me here!). It's called the Paulie by Isabell Kraemer The pattern is available for free as a PDF download. The pattern was easy to follow and I think if this hadn't been my first "large" project it would have been pretty fast too. I did have a little bit of trouble fitting the shoulders and finishing off the collar but I feel that this may have been down to frustration of not having finished it yet!

I used an alpaca wool from Wool, Bath, which is a great shop. With floor to ceiling of every kind of wool and yarn you can think of, it's pretty easy to get inspired - not to mention dangerous to visit without a purpose. The alpaca is so soft and warm.

Overall this was definitely an enlightening project but has inspired me and given me to confidence to knit more - I'm thinking of a comfy colour block jumper as my next large project.

L xx

Crafty: Grainline Archer - Bunny attack!

I finally made an Archer! After seeing so many lovely Grainline Archers I was itching to make one. Cue awesome bunny fabric. 

It really is a great pattern and easy to follow. I really like the result and will definitely be making more Archers - got a few planned in my head already.

The buttonholes are a little off mark but as this was the first time using the magical buttonhole setting on my new machine I can forgive myself. 

I love the look of the back of the shirt.

I have to admit I did skimp on collar - partially due to lack of fabric and also laziness I decided to use just the collar stand to make a "mandarin style" collar. But I really like the look of the little collar, I think next Archer will have a full collar for comparison.

L xx

Crafty: Sew Liberated - Esme

I have again been rubbish at uploading my finished projects. I have a stack of them to do - but I'll space them out, now that I know how to schedule posts and use buffer! 

This is the Esme top from Sew Liberated, when I first saw the patter I fell in love with the tunic look. Something that you can just pull on and get on with your day, so easy to wear. I made a few alterations to the pattern - rolled sleeves and a tie at the back, although I will definitely be making one as the pattern dictates. 

The fabric is a cotton chambray (sorry for the un-ironedness). I think the next one will be a darker colour so as to avoid the "double denim" look when wearing with jeans, I definitely can't pull that off!

I used a scrap of an Amy Butler off-cut I have had for ages for the facings and inside of the bib. I also got to try out the overlocking stitch on my new machine for the first time, far more excitement than was needed!

The pattern instructions were easy to follow, although I need get a little confused when doing the bib but that may have been due to caffeine deprivation. After topping up on tea and looking at the handy video tutorial provided on the Sew Liberated website it worked out fine. The sizing came out bigger than I expected so next time I will be going down a size. But I would recommend the pattern to anyone wanting a quick sew and easy to wear tunic style top. 

L xx

Crafty: Bits and pieces

These are just a couple of other bits made with the scraps from other projects - I hate having unused, but good sized bits of fabric lying around.

Skirt made with the left overs from the Deer and Doe coat. I decided to use the liberty print for the pocket yoke to add a little bit of colour. I just have to make sure I don't wear the coat and skirt at the same time...

PJ shirt self-drafted

Soft bra using the Ohhh Lulu Bami Soft Bra PDF pattern. I plan on making a lot more of these but more practice is needed. It is very comfortable. Next time I need to pay a bit more attention to the direction of the pattern of the fabric.

L xx

Crafty: Fisherman-inspired tunic

This fisherman-inspired tunic got inspiration from the Merchant and Mills' The Top No. 64. I bravely decided to self-draft the pattern in the spur of the moment. Despite 1 failure I persevered on and ended up with a pretty nice tunic. I am really looking forward to pulling this on in the winter. The fabric came from a sale at Minerva and is so soft.

It took me a long time and lots of concentration to get the stripes of the pockets to line up so that they blend into the body of the tunic.

Chunky zip on the back.

I decided to add a contrasting stripe section under the arms - the jury is still out on elbow patches...

L xx

Crafty: Smart causal/interview outfit

I almost forgot, I also made this outfit for interviews and smartish occasions. Apologies for the embarrassingly awful selfies (I'm not used to it!). No pattern used, just lots of scratching my head and looking confused!

The top is made from an ordinary stripy jersey and the skirt is from a navy slightly stretchy twill. The skirt has a pearl button on one side and a popper on the other. With the pink belt added I think it looks smart but not too boring.

L xx