November 2018.

It’s taken a while to get this post done because I haven’t been able to get photos of Alex wearing the first thing I made this month. I had a week off in November and it meant I got some really good sewing in, and I’ve been keen to blog about it. So now it’s Saturday night and pouring with rain outside, and I’ve made Alex have some photos taken, success! (Also, living my best life here the weekend before Christmas!)

Ottobre Magazine Corduroy Jeans

I’m not going to lie, the experience of sewing these was bad from start to finish! My machine absolutely hated sewing the gorgeous stretch corduroy fabric I bought from Draper’s Fabrics. Then I cut the front and back with the nap going in opposite directions. The fabric had a small amount of stretch that then made using non-stretch fabric for the pocket bags and waistband facing a royal pain in my rear end. (They are also annoyingly hard to photograph hence the over-filtering of the photo above.)

However, Alex pronounced them “comfy” and the differing naps as “a design feature” (I did go all in when I discovered my mistake and cut all the pockets etc to run in opposite directions) – so bless him! He hasn’t had much wear out of them as yet, as despite the near constant rain, it has been a bit warm for cords.

I am super happy with all the sewing I’ve done for him this year. At last count: 1 pair of shorts, 4 tshirts, 2 pairs of pants and 2 sweatshirts. Next on the list is undies – the perfect way to use up tshirt leftovers!

Vogue Perry Ellis 1161 Culottes

This pattern is one I combed the internet for to add this specific pair of culottes to my wardrobe. My sister had given me this fabric some time ago and it allowed me to ‘single-white-female’ the pattern cover! Having made one of the other views last month, I made the decision to narrow the waistband a little. I also had to do so much patchwork to get these incredibly fabric hungry pants out of the narrow vintage fabric I had. But totally worth it!

I love these so much! I feel incredibly chic and elegant in them. They make me feel like a ballerina (retired!) and I can’t help but fluff them out to show everyone how cool they are whenever someone comments on or complements me on them.

Named Paola Sleeveless Turtleneck

When I was a teenager, I had a red sleeveless turtleneck I wore with jeans and I felt super HOT in that combo. I had enough fabric leftover from my geodesic from earlier in the year to whip up this little number. It’s proven a useful addition to my wardrobe already and the hot pink is a very joyful colour, and not one I wear often.

Named Solina Top (from Breaking the Pattern)

I pre-ordered the Named Clothing book as soon as I was able. I am a very similar height and build to what they draft for, as well as loving their designs so I was hoping the book would act as a sort of set of pattern blocks for me. Sadly no tailored trousers in the book but the Solina top seemed to be just what this gorgeous vintage daisy cotton I had in stash had been waiting for. I find ties on tops a bit problematic – the sort of ride up on my straight waist – and found this cute vintage buckle in my stash so decided to substitute a faux belt for the ties. I also added sleeves.

I added 5cms to the length after measuring the pattern pieces and am glad I did. It would have been uncomfortably short otherwise. I probably could have moved the belt/tie down too, but will consider that for next time.

I’m very happy with the result of this top. It has a nice mix of tailoring and softness to make it suitably chic as well as being comfortable and easy to wear.

Burda 11-2008-150 Pants

I have been looking for a pair of cigarette pants for an outfit I am making for a wedding in January. These were a wearable muslin to see if they would make the cut. They didn’t! I had lots of fit issues and I’m still not 100% or even 60% happy with the overall fit, but every time I wear them I get great comments so I’m just rolling with it! The fabric is a nice lightweight cotton so they are a good pant for this time of the year. And as I live in trousers, additional trou, even imperfect ones, are always welcome additions to my wardrobe.

Ottobre Magazine Tshirt

Some of Alex’s short sleeved tshirts have started to get a bit too shabby for work so I offered to make him one. We happened to be in Spotlight during a big sale and so we perused the possible fabrics. A lot of stretch cotton with a print reads either very junior, hipster or feminine. Alex isn’t at all ‘blokey’ but he does have quite strong opinions on what he does and doesn’t like to wear.

On this occasion, he handed me all decision making power and said to pick the print I thought would be best on him. I chose this green floral and whipped it up in an afternoon. I think he looks gorgeous in it and he’s worn it a lot. A definite win.

Gifts

Unphotographed, but I made 2 tote bags and a zippered pouch for a friend’s birthday. This year I have done considerably more sewing for others and it’s bringing me so much joy! Also, with the recent wardrobe and personal style musings (and a resulting cull), I feel my wardrobe is much a reflection of how I want to dress that there’s less compulsion to MAKE EVERYTHING! I’m hoping that continues.

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Happy Christmas to you all – wherever you are. Thanks for reading this year, I’ll be back in January to talk about December. X