Sew Serendipity - Skirt

I love this fabric is it 100% cotton chambray. I original made it into a gathered skirt for my daughter  but after a year of it sitting at the bottom of her drawer I realized she was never going to wear it. So I unpicked the skirt thinking I could reuse the fabric for smaller projects.
Inspiration to use it to make a skirt for myself came from looking through Sew Serendipity. All the skirts in this book are made from 6 panels and all use a combination of fabric. Ideal for using up small pieces of fabric.
I chose the tailored skirt, its a knee length A-line skirt with pockets and invisible back zipper. There is a contrast fabric at each seam and on the pocket tops.
I had enough fabric to cut the 6 panels and 2 pockets without worrying about pattern matching. Honestly I think the only people who will notice and mind I have not pattern matched are other sewist, a small number.
The facing and inner pockets I cut from the contrast fabric.
I cut a size medium, the finished skirt sits comfortable below my belly button. I made no alterations to the pattern, the finished waist measures 32 inches. I did not see listed any finished measurement and for me 2 inches wearing ease on a skirt is a lot. Now that I know how it fits next time I will use a wider seam allowance to eliminate some of the ease. For the zipper, instructions are given to install an invisible zipper using a regular zipper foot. Handy if you don't own an invisible zipper foot.
This skirt came together nicely all the pieces aligned exactly. The instructions are well written and easy  to follow as long as you don't mind flipping back and forth to all the different steps sections, the skirt instructions are on page 40, general skirt instructions on page 30 and zipper instructions on page 22.  The nice thing about this book is  all the included pattern pieces are full size. There are 6 variations on the skirt pattern . Also included in the book is a dress and jacket pattern with 6 variations each.  Patterns are graded from  XXS to XXL.
Sew Serendipity by Kay Whitt retails for $27.99. I got my copy from amazon for $9.99.

So very Happy!

Remember this cotton + Steel Mesa lawn fabric? Back in January I made a dress with it and just hated the dress, so I unpicked it and  made something  I do like with the dress skirt. so very happy I could salvage some of the fabric from the rubbish bin.
Its a New look pattern that came with  Sew magazine Feb 2018. I made style B the shorter top version, since I was working with cut piece of fabric. I cut a size 14, when I made up the sides and tried it on it felt a little tight, so I unpicked them and used a 1cm seam allowance instead of the 1.5cm allowance. its a better fit now. for the back closure instead of the loop and button I used a hook and eye that I already had. otherwise I made the top up as per the instructions which are easy to follow.

The Drape Top

The Drape top is a sleeveless top with a scoop neck line. Ordinarily I would not choose this style for myself but the pattern is rated  as a great beginner project so I thought yeah, why not try making it.
 I used up the rest of 100% polka dot cotton jersey so its a no extra cost make.
I measure a 14 in the waist and hips and between a 12 and 14 in the bust. I made a size 10-12 and the fit is good.
All I need now is some warm weather so I can start wearing my new Drape top.

Easy Sewing Project

Inspired by the Gym Accessories feature in Simply Sewing issue 38, I trimmed some white terry toweling fabric , that I  purchased a long time ago for I project I never made, with some colourful quilting cotton to make two new hand towels.
For the first towel I followed the project instructions using four strips of fabric to bind the edges. This results in a wider band.

For the second towel I used my regular binding method. Both methods are easy, which method you use is personal choice.

Regular binding Method.
1. Cut 3''  wide strips, length of fabric, Join strips to make one continuous strip long enough to cover all four sides.
2. Press in half lengthwise with wrong sides together.
3. Align raw edges of toweling and binding ,stitch together using a 1/4'' seam allowance. At each corner fold binding away from project to form a 45 degree angle, fold binding back down onto the next raw edge, align edges and continue sewing.
4. To finish binding fold one short raw edge to wrong side by 1/2'', tuck other binding tail into the folded tail and stitch to finish.
5. Fold binding to other side of towel and top stitch in place.

The Vest Top

I enjoy an easy and quick make like this vest top from Cotton and Chalk's "Holiday Set".
The suggested fabric for this top is stretch knits with 35% stretch. I used a 100% cotton jersey polka print  from Fabric.com.
The instructions are easy to follow just join the shoulder seams and side seams, double hem the neckline and arm holes with a 2.5cm hem for the bottom. I ignored the neckline instructions actually I did follow them to begin with but did not like the finished results, one shoulder ended up wider then the other, not a good look.  I unpicked it and used 1/2'' single old bias tape instead.
To use bias tape, firstly pre-shape the tape to match the curve of the neckline with a steam iron, right side of bias tape to right side of fabric. stitch in place , trim seam allowance to just under  a 1/4''. Turn bias tape to inside and straight stitch into place. Its a neater finish.
I used a 80/11 knit fabric needle and a narrow zigzag stitch for all sewing except the hem and neckline. For the hem I used a twin needle.
I made a medium, its a loose fit. I was expecting a tighter body hugging fit. When I make this top again I will blend a small bust with a medium hip. I think this will give me the fit I was expecting.

See and Sew Pyjama Top

Spent part of our snow day yesterday making this super soft pyjama top.  Its loose fitting and super easy to make. The pattern is  Butterick B5517. I made  a size medium without any pattern adjustments. The fabric is organic cotton jersey from Fabric.com.
The red bias tape on the neckline I chose it to  add a little colour even if its on the inside but now I am worried the red might run and ruin the white top.
Overall very happy with this quick and easy make.

The Betsy Tote

My latest make is the Betsy tote pattern by Alice Caroline and Simply Sewing. For the interfacing I used 987F fusible fleece, my bag is soft and floppy and  the base sags. The instructions recommend a heavy interfacing, I also skipped the internal zippered pocket (will probably regret this latter when I am using the bag).
The purple webbing is from Icraftforless.com.
The fabric was purchased years ago from Joann for a different bag but it was never made. I pieced two piece for the gusset as I did not have enough fabric. My favourtie feature is  the front pocket, the way its patched on the bag front with the raw edges hidden by the straps and base seam gives you two pockets for one.
The pattern instruction are well written making this an easy pattern to sew.