Casual #EbonyTee Dress

After a successful Full Bicep Adjustment on my last #ebonyTee dress I hopped online and ordered some long-coveted ribbed knit fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics. The fabric arrived within a few days and whilst it was a bit more lightweight than I was expecting it was still pretty perfect for the Ebony, so here we are. I've really been struggling to find dresses/tunics for casual (yet somewhat put-together) wear and this fits the bill perfectly. I wore it out to a picnic today and it was perfect (despite the strong winds blowing my dress up and showing my underthings to everyone)!

Pretty pleased with my stripe matching on the sides. It's NOT quite perfect as my cutting was a bit off so there was some stretching to get it to sit this well. Near enough is good enough I think!

I decided to cut the neckband on the bias as I wanted all the colours of the fabric to be seen - I love the way it looks though do wish I'd cut a slightly wider neckband as I think they look nicer.

I REALLY like this dress but it was only until I sewed the hem that I decided that I liked it. As the fabric is so light it felt VERY long and frumpy (almost like it was getting longer as I sewed it) and I wasn't feeling motivated to finish at all but I forced myself to finish it off last night.  I decided on a 2" hem so it sits above my knees at the front and I think this really helps in making it not look like I'm being swallowed in fabric.

I bought the same fabric in a different colour way - I wasn't sure what I was going to make with it, but not it's definitely becoming another #EbonyTee dress.

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Pattern: Closet Case Files "Ebony Tee"
Size: 16
Modifications:  1" full bicep adjustment
Fabric: Darn Cheap Fabrics -  85% Polyester / 10% Viscose / 5% Elastane
Changes for next time: none  

542 Ebony Tee's

I eluded in my other post from today that I've been on a bit of an Ebony Tee bender...I haven't made 542, but it sure feels like it!

This first top was meant to be a dress, but based on the length of the tee I thought it too would be really short. I went about adding 2" to the length which also entailed adding width. Short version - WAY too big and sack like and WAY too long. I decided to just turn it into a tee rather than faff about taking in the sides. It's a different shape to my other Ebony Tee's as I just cut along one of the stripes and then rolled the hem...it's dipped at the sides and shorter at the front/back. The fabric is from the Hoi An Central Market - I was very sad when I thought I'd ruined the garment, but I actually wear it a lot despite wondering if it was too short at the front/back. Who knew?

The next three follow the pattern, with my usual modification of adding 6.5" to the length. As we're heading into winter I also added 1" to the sleeve length as "bracelet length" = cold wrists and we don't want that. This fabric is from Tessuti -- a viscose elastane jersey. It's actually quite thin fabric so perhaps not really right for warmer weather - but it's pretty and I like it. Again with the rolled hem (because I LOVE it)!

More fabric from Tessuti - that you'll recognize from this Marianne Dress. I liked the print so much I bought more of it with the intention of making a Mandy Boat Tee but that pattern isn't really working for me at the moment due to tight sleeves and too high neckline. I wore this out to dinner on Saturday night and it felt sufficiently fancy whilst still being very comfy. 

And, lucky last (for now)! I bought this fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics -- either the last trip or the trip before? No idea what it is other than it's stretchy, and cozy. I bought it with the intent of making an Our Fave Top -- but the sleeves on that are also too tight and the neckline too high, ergo this top was born. The fabric is quite thick and I almost feel like I'm wearing a PJ top. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this top yet...

And that's all for now. I really like this pattern (oh, really?) so I'm sure there will be more in my future...

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Pattern: Closet Case Files "Ebony Tee"
Size: 16
Modifications:  added 6.5" to the length. Rolled hem. These all have 1" added to the length of the sleeve.
Fabric: as above
Changes for next time: none for View B? 

More leather and another Essential Wristlet

I was super chuffed  with my experiment in incorporating leather into my last Essential Wrislet so of course ploughed right ahead with another "Essential Wristlet" by Dog Under My Desk.

The leather for this purse is from a HUGE hide I bought awhile ago from Birdsall Leather - I have LOADS left and it will become a tote at some point in time as well as being incorporated here and there in other small projects. The fabric is some scraps of pineapple line bought from Darn Cheap Fabric about two years ago - the majority of the fabric is sitting in my UFO pile (an unfinished Ginger Skirt that will now be too small for me and stalled on the zipper insertion).

I decided to use the leather to make the strap and ring-holder...the leather is not particularly thick or sturdy so it'll probably stretch out over time (I'll make another strap out of the outer fabic so I can interchange them - I just haven't done it yet).

I also used the leather to make a bigger pocket (for my cash) and a smaller one for a card or two.  The lining fabric is pretty much the last of my Nani Iro haul from my trip to Osaka a few years ago.

Again I've sewn a front pocket as they are super useful. I didn't really follow the instructions for the top zipper - next time I'm going to sew zipper tab for both ends of the zip...

I now have three me-made clutches plus five bought ones...that's probably enough. For now!

Seamwork's Oslo Cardigan

When we in Melbourne last weekend for Frocktails a few of the Melbourne ladies were lovely enough to chauffeur a few of the out-of-towners around to some Melbourne fabric shops. I was very excited to tag along as I strongly strongly believe (very strongly) that Melbourne's fabric shopping game sh!ts all over Sydney's. Melbourne seems to HAVE so many great fabric shops. We visited Rathdowne, Darn Cheap Fabrics and the Cloth Shop at Ivanhoe.

It was at the famed Darn Cheap Fabric were I picked 2.5m of the fabric below, initially ear-marked for a Lady Skater Dress, but when I got it home I thought perhaps a cardigan might be better for this slightly thicker cotton/poly/spandex mix. The fabric is sort of quilted...with material on the front and back that are stuck together somehow. It's quite cozy and feels lovely to wear.

The Oslo Cardigan is one of the first patterns from Colette's Seamwork Magazine. I don't pay for a magazine subscription (if you do the patterns are free) so this pattern cost me about $6 - pretty cheap really. I bought the pattern AGES ago but bulked at putting the PDF together as it's about 1000 pages long. Like the Colette PDF patterns the page margins are 1" on each side which seems a bit...wasteful. I was sick all of last week however so had plenty of time to stick this thing together *grumble grumble*.

The pattern is an "oversized" cardigan with sleeve cuffs and a collar that goes the entire way from hem to hem. I sewed a size XL leaving the length at the 3XL as I'm tall-ish so didn't want a short short cardigan to wear with skinny pants.  It fits as expected (it fits = YAY) although I am wondering if I could size down next time...the only thing stopping me is that there is quite a big difference between each size - so going down just one size could make it too small.

There's not much to say about this make really. I read through the instructions before starting and referred to them again only when it came to attaching the collar - just to make sure I was getting things right. It was a very easy garment to sew and (for a change) I had no machine troubles so everything went swimmingly.

The pattern piece for the cuff was ridiculously long so I decided to half the length of the cuff, and even then the sleeve is still too long for my liking, but I guess that goes along with the whole "oversize" thing the Oslo has going on. Next time I will stick with my shorter cuff, but take about 1" off the sleeve piece.

The only other change I made to the pattern was to tack down the collar piece as it would not sit flat due to the bulkiness of the fabric and it was making me feel a bit messy and swamped by the garment. I put in a few machine stitches at each hem and at the back of the collar to stop it flipping up and standing at attention. I feel a lot more tidy in this cardigan now and less swapped by how big it is.

Just gotta say though that this cardigan desperately needs pockets -- how would I go about that doing you think - robbing the pockets from the Tessuti Jacket perhaps?

Back view...just for kicks. I think the cardigan does look big in this photo, but again that is the style and in a more drapey, snuggly fabric I think it would be OK? Still cannot decide if should size down or not?

...and side view...you can see how "drop shouldered" this style is...

When I first put this on my thought was "uh-oh, I've made an old man's kimono-style bathrobe" mainly due to the pattern on the fabric and how stiff the fabric makes the collar. That said, I still wore the cardigan out today for lunch and a walk in the park and whilst it is pretty comfortable I'm not sure how I feel about it, or if it's flattering. I had visions of a Metalicus type garment when I bought this fabric but I'm pretty sure I am not challenging Metalicus at all. Hmmm...

Pattern: Oslo Cardigan by Seamwork Magazine
Size: XL with the length left at size 3XL
Modifications: reduced the length of the cuff by half; stitched down the collar at the hem and back neckline to stop it flipping up.
Fabric: Cotton, Poly, Spandex from Darn Cheap Fabric
Changes for next time: add in some pockets and try it in a more "jumper-like" material. Maybe next winter though...