::Sewing:: Reflection on 2013 S.W.A.P and Sewlution Part 2

As I was writing a post about my ambitions for 2014 I realised that it was morphing into a follow on from the post I wrote reviewing 2013. That post was more of a review of the results of 2013 and not about my headspace when it came to my ambitions for 2013 and how things panned out.

My idea about what my 2013 S.W.A.P. has changed. Initially I thought that I would sew an entire wardrobe in one year. Bahahahaha! :D I was never going to complete my S.W.A.P. in one year.
I do think however, that it was an important tool for me in my sewing journey in 2013.

It acted as a 'map' for my sewing to make sure that I make things that suite my colouring, body shape and lifestyle. Therefore, I hope, lower the chance of me making clothes that I'd not finish or not wear.

I kicked off my 2013 S.W.A.P. before I committed to Sewlution 2013 and it ended up that they worked really well together. When I was thinking about what to sew next for my Sewlution I just looked at my S.W.A.P. to find the next project to sew. This meant there was some flexibility in my sewing because the S.W.A.P. wasn't strictly a queue of projects. It is a 'bunch' of things that I want to make and so I'd pick a S.W.A.P. project that appealed to me most at the time.

I think this worked really well and after reviewing 2013 I think I was far more productive than I would have been if I had not had a S.W.A.P. or a Sewlution.

[source]

It's like the 2013 S.W.A.P. is my master plan and the Sewlution was a milestone in my journey from getting from point A (and entirely RTW wardrobe) to point B (a mostly me-made wardrobe).

What inspires you? Do you strive for quantity, quality or the journey? Or is it something else entirely that compels you?
I'd love to hear from you, leave a comment below :)

Until next time,

::Sewing:: Reflection on 2013 S.W.A.P and Sewlution

Where the heck is 2013 going? How is it nearly December?

So have I gone with my 2013 S.W.A.P and Sewlution. After all that thought and planning have I fallen flat on my face? I've ticked a couple of things off my S.W.A.P. list and I've reached my Sewlutions goal ;)

Some quick notes about how I've done...

S.W.A.P.

After review several factors like colouring, body type and lifestyle I wrote a Wardrobe Plan
I think I was very ambitious considering how little I sew.
Nonetheless the plan was as follows:
4 work tops

• Colette Sorbetto
• Portrait Blouse I made one, but it wasn't a great success I haven't posted about it
• Colette Violet 
• Taffy Blouse 

4 work bottoms

• Drndle Skirt DONE-Post here
• McCalls 5591 - View A  DONE-Post here - Gave it to my mum.
• Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt 
• Ginger Skirt 
• Maybe: Jenny Skirt 

1 work dress

• New Look 6723 - View A 

2 casual tops

• Colette Sorbetto 
• Scout Woven Tee DONE-Post here

2 casual bottoms

• Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt DONE-Post here 
• BurdaStyle 06/2011-Skirt with front pleats #117A

1 casual dress

• Dixie DIY Ballet Dress

1 sleep top & 1 sleep bottom & 1 slip

• Colette Sorbetto 
• Tap pants (Lazy Stitching's Tutorial of adapting the Free Madeleine Bloomers into tap pants)
• Ruby slip (Pattern Scissors Cloth Free Pattern and Sewalong)

And a few bonus items

• 1 bolero
• 1 singlet
• 1 undies Well kinda done - I made a test pair-Post here

So that's a total of 17 garments (not including the maybe or bonus items).
How did I go? Well I made 6 items, but I'm only wearing 4.
But.....

Sewlution

The challenge I set for myself was to sew 9 garments in 2013. To help keep my eye on the prize I made a poster for my Sewlution (I think I'll make one for my S.W.A.P too)

So how many garments have I sewn?

1. Casual Hollyburn Skirt (in high rotation in my wardrobe)
2. Portrait Blouse (not blogged and not worn)
3. McCalls 5591 - View A (gave it to my mum)
4. Craftsy Knit Shorts (not blogged, Wasn't on my S.W.A.P. list but I wear them frequently)
5. Undies - Test pair
6. Casual Scout Woven Tee (in high rotation in my wardrobe)
7. Pyjama bottoms (Wasn't on my S.W.A.P. List, and wore them frequently in winter)
8. Olive Drndle Skirt (in high rotation in my wardrobe)
9. Knit Scout Woven Tee (in high rotation in my wardrobe)
10. (ETA 28Dec2013) Grey on Grey Knit shorts 

I've sewn 910 garments, not all of them are being worn, but that's ok. You can't win them all!

I'm hoping to sew more before the end of the year, but we will see as the silly season is upon us!

How have you gone with your creative goals this year?

Until next time,

V xoxo

::Sewing:: McCalls 5591 for my Mama

I have a black skirt that I just adore. ADORE! I’ve had it for years and years and I’m starting to see the effects of years of weekly wear take it’s toll. :(  She is my BBS (Best Black Skirt) and I think it she finally gave up the ghost I would be truly lost and dazed.

In my travels I came across the pattern McCalls 5591. It looked similar to my BBS with the bonus of having pockets to boot!

At the beginning of the year with the added motivation of my Sewlution pledge I started on a skirt. I made it up almost to the end when I realised it just wasn’t going to work. My ample derriere made the skirt sit strangely. I’ve come to realise Me and side zippers are bestester friends than me and back zippers. That and pleats in the back didn't work so well.

I think there was probably a dire need for a titch of grading and perhaps a Full Butt Adjustment (although, how the heck do you do a full butt adjustment on a pleated skirt :S) and the fact the skirt was made out of cotton poplin probably didn't help either.

So the skirt that was meant to be my new BBS sat sadly in my sewing space for some time... Until my mum was in town visiting me and she spotted it. The conversation that followed went something along the lines of...
Mum: “What’s this?”
Me: “Oh just a skirt I was making that didn’t work out. Try it on if you like.”
Mum: “Oh. It fits alright.”
Me: “Would you wear a skirt like that?”
Mum: “Yeah.”
Me: “Well then I’ll finish it and give it to you.”
Mum: "Ok, but can you....."
And thus followed a couple of adjustments she wanted me to make, like put the zipper in the back and not make the hem too big.

That was back in early February. I chugged along slowly on finishing the skirt, but then mothers day was around the corner and dad was going to be in town a bit before so I could give it to him to take back to mum. All the stars aligned and I had to get the skirt done so mum could have it for mother’s day. I finished the skirt not including the bottom band as mum had said that she didn’t mind it being that short. But after finishing and hemming it I thought it was a bit too short....especially considering it was for my mother!

So I decided that I would use some grey fabric I had on hand to add a band to the bottom; as it did in the pattern anyway. At least the skirt could still be a neutral that could be worn with a variety of tops.

The back seam did some creepy wrinkle thing that made it slightly shorter at the back, but other than that the skirt was good to go.

That my friends is the tale of how my mother got herself a black and grey skirt sewn by me. She wore it on Mothers day. I don't have any piccies of it on her, oh well. you win some you lose some.

This skirt is going in the Sewlution Tally so booyah! I will try my hand at making another black skirt to replace/supplement my current black skirt fave but I've got other things on my radar at the moment. All will be revealed..... :)

Until next time, I hope you're finding some successes in your not so successes,
Vanessa xo

::Sewing::FO:: Hollyburn Done!

I did it! I finished my first wearable garment for 2013! I signed up to participate in My Messing's Hollyburn Sewalong.

When sewing I didn't even look at the instruction sheet that came with the pattern I just looked at Rachel's fantastic instructions!

I was a little slow to get started. I didn't start until after the sewalong posts finished. I sewed most of the skirt last weekend and finished it up in the last few days. I wanted to wear it to a lunch I was having with friends yesterday for my birthday.

I did have a little hiccup. When I went to attach the waistband there was a difference in length between the waistband and the top of the skirt. Half the waistband measured 19 3/4 inches and half the top of the sewn up skirt was 20 3/4 inches.

Half the waistband measurement

Half the top of the sewn skirt

Luckily I had enough fabric to cut another waistband. I simply cut and spread the pattern for the waistband and recut the waistband.


I did make a few changes though...

• When sewing the waistband down I overlocked the raw edge before sewing it down by topstitching around the bottom of the waistband.
• I used in invisible zipper instead of a dress zipper 
• I made a very narrow hem by overlocking the raw edges and then simply turned the fabric up just enough to hide the overlocking and then stitched it down by machine.

Skirt Front

Skirt Back

Now lets take a look on the inside....

Inside skirt front

Inside skirt back

Close up of the inside skirt front
and the different kind of seam finishings.

Things I would change.

• I'd staystitch the top of the skirt pieces as soon as I cut them. This might stop the top of the skirt from stretching out, which is why I suspect there was a difference in measurement between the waistband and the skirt top. The skirt is a little loose. I should have shortened the top of the skirt top instead of lengthening the waistband.
•  I'd overlock all the raw seams instead of using a bound seam finish. It would be a lot quicker than bound seams and I want garments that I can throw in the washing machine (on a gentle cycle of course)
• My mother and I measured the hem to it would sit parallel to the floor, but it looked a little like a mullet hem when it was hanging up because the skirt sits lower at the front when I'm wearing it, but I ended up just hemming it as is. I think next time I'll cut the hem so that it sits parrallel to the floor instead of what I did this time.

And this is how I styled it for a lunch with friends.

Final word...
I love the skirt design. POCKETS! (need I say more) It's a very flattering cut and I love the colour.  I'm not entirely sold on the length, I may shorten it in future. But all in all I'm very pleased this skirt fits in with my S.W.A.P. and is a garment that counts towards my Sewlution pledge.

Until next time I hope you are making headway with your goals too,
Vanessa xo

::Sewing:: Hollyburn Sewalong - Lock that in!

On the back of my 2013 Sewlution pledge I'm going to follow along with My Messings Hollyburn Sewalong in Jan/Feb! Eeek!

So I've popped the badge on my Sewing Challenges page and popped a badge on my sidebar. Oh! And the most important part is I've bought the pattern from Sew Squirrel, so hopefully it will come in the mail asap!

I know that I haven't finished my S.W.A.P. posts, but I think that this skirt would work in a dark colour....And I want to get started on my Sewlution Pledge! Woohoo. Pretty pumped. 2013 hear me sew!

Until next time, I hope your jumping in feet first,
Vanessa xo

::Sewing:: 2013 Sewlution Pledge

I've taken the plunge and I'm going to participate in Karen's (of Did You Make That?) 2013 Sewlution Pledge Jar. I'm a massive commitmentphobe when it comes to setting goals (now don't try and shrink my head over that!), but I think this is a fitting way to keep my eye on the prize of a much better wardrobe after deciding I need to step up my game when it comes to my wardrobe.

So I have pledges to make at least 9 garments in 2013 - here is my pledge (this is getting really serious, I'm showing you evidence!)

I've added a badge on my blog and added it to my Sewing Challenges page. It's on like Donkey-Kong.

Have you made any pledges or got any goals or plans for 2013? Leave a comment below :)

Until next time, I hope you're finding fun ways to challenge yourself,
Vanessa xo