Datcat

As a favour to some newbie sewist friends of mine, I have created a tutorial to start on a Xmas Banner.  This is the first two parts, and covers the creation of a template, choice of fabric, and cutting out.

Creating a Xmas Banner – 1 and 2

I adore bright pink …. it makes my face look flushed, and probably doesn’t suit me, but what the heck, I like it anyway.

This fabric was part of a garage sale hoard that I scored last year (or was it the year before?).  The seller was clearing out her mother’s stash as part of sorting out her estate.  I think its sad when a seamstress passes on.  To me the piles of fabric are unfinished stories waiting to be told.  Exactly what the story is on this fabric, I don’t know.  On me its, “I am wearing a bright top to disguise that I am dog tired and in need of a nap.”

It has a lovely drape, a beautiful soft texture, and sewed up very nicely.  I hope its previous owner approves of what I made with her fabric.

Well this has been a fair time in the making, but my son’s smile makes it worth it.

I picked up this fantastic thick fleece jacket from an op shop, mistakenly believing that the initials on the front were from his school, and therefore it would make a great uniform piece for him for the winter. What I didn’t realise is that printed across the back was the word “coach” in large white heat bonded letters. Turns out the jacket was a sporting team jacket rather than a high school one. Still, I wasn’t willing to waste such a good find.

To the rescue came my sister. Her newly discovered hobby is appliqué, and combined with her impressive artistic skill (yeah babe …. but I don’t sound like a strangled duck when I sing . :p ) she is a font of possible graphics. So I put in a request, to make me a patch that I could put over the words on the back.

And to the rescue she came ….. with a design which is not only original, but also wonderfully appealing to a teenage boy (so much so that he wants to risk detention to wear it to school). I have to say, at first I was daunted. I had never appliquéd before, and figuring out how to get this design onto the jacket was testing me. With a bit of advice from Tam, I dove in.

Close up of my first ever satin stitch

I have a very happy boy, who wants to wear something I have made. And that makes me a happy mum.

The advent of the yoga band as a fashion choice had been great in many ways. Its comfortable, creates an attractive silhouette, makes clothing versatile (e.g.: for maternity) and is a good choice for clothing that requires you to move and bend.

However, there is a difficulty using a yoga band on clothing for plus sizes. Although the bigger sizes in many pattern types assume that being bigger means you are just a bigger version of a size 8, that is rarely the case. Plus sized women often have fat deposits that contribute to their size. This may be on the hips, thighs, backside or in my case my stomach. These deposits just don’t behave like a toned stomach or pregnant belly. They are not firm, they are soft. This causes all sorts of problems with the fitting of clothing, including yoga bands. You will take a waist measurement, but find the finished waistband will be too loose, or gapey at the back. I discovered this recently when purchasing a custom made yoga band skirt from Crafty Mamas. Sending my measurements off, I received a beautifully made skirt, that while it stayed up, did not feel very secure. Go for a tighter waistline, and the fabric pulls in, cutting unattractively and pulling up the pants/skirt fabric in the process.

The solution I found in RTW clothing. After my sister purchased a beautifully soft and comfy pair of cotton/lycra lounge pants from Target, I started looking around for a pair for myself. Of course I couldn’t find anything similar in plus ranges, but I did chance across a similar pair of size 18’s in the regular range, and I took a chance that they would fit. They don’t fold down like a traditional yoga waistband, but the waistband is wide, and curved, providing a similar amount of firm hold that a yoga band does. The difference is the insertion of a length of elastic in the top stitching line. This provided the security to hold up the weight of the pants, stretched enough to hold firmly to the tummy, without the extra bulk of gathered fabric.

And so to find a pattern. Not always an easy thing. But found it I did. KwikSew 3384. Yes I know its a pants pattern, but this is my wearable muslin, and mostly I was experimenting with the waistband, to see if it suited my body shape. I didn’t have enough fabric for pants, so I folded in the crotch, cut the front on the fold, and made myself an A-line skirt instead.

I can’t believe how well this has gone. I expected the hipline to cut in, or the waistband to be too tight, but neither happened. And best of all, I got a maxi skirt, not exactly what I was aiming for, but a pleasant surprise. I can’t wait to try this as a pair of lounge pants, or better still, in some slinky for evening wear!

*insert 100 decibel scream here*

I am not a great shape for these sorts of dresses. I know that, its been proven time and time again. But I found this gorgeous fabric. Linen/spandex …. a fabric I don’t usually wear. In a big muted floral print, something I almost always don’t wear either. But I have been stretching a lot of my boundaries lately, so why not this one.

Next is pattern choice ….. Ottobre – Sleeveless dress. A straight up and down shift, not a design I usually wear, but this pattern range has been refreshingly diverse with its plus sized designs, so I thought I would give it a go.

But …. I made my first mistake. First rule of sewing a new design (especially with special fabric) … MAKE A MUSLIN! (a test of the design). I didn’t, cutting my fabric. I conveniently forgot that I need at least 10cm on the waist and hips for a comfortable fit. I get away with it in knits, but not so wovens.

I finished the dress, to a spectacular standard, but its on gertie because of one very important thing, it won’t go on me.
*insert tantrum here*

You guessed it, too tight across the hips and bum. To me it was a classic, learner sewist mistake, and I took some quality time to beat myself up about it. I debated what to do. The “throw it in the corner” approach was getting heavy voting. Cut the bottom half off and make a top out of it? An online friend suggested godets. In the end, I decided on inserting two piped panels down the side.

Of course, solving one problem exacerbated another. The underarm already poked out unattractively, and adding another inch of fabric to it made it worse. Its not an elegant solution, but I decided to just stitch a dart into the side seam, pulling in the underarm. Its not perfect, but since I won’t be wearing this dress without a bolero, it won’t matter all that much.

The finished outfit:

Its more a spring/summer outfit than winter. Still, I stuck with it, when I could have thrown it away and wasted some really quite beautiful fabric. Its a win …. not a perfect win, but a win none-the-less.