More Mabel Skirts...

Nothing new here today - just three more Mabel Skirts. Two are winners, one is a big fat fail. Let's start with the bad news first and then end on a happy note!

I'm really bummed that this skirt is a fail as the fabric is my much sought after "jegging" fabric - bought in Hanoi at the Dong Xuan market (so it's not replaceable at this point in time). Basically - the stretch on this fabric runs up and down the fabric and not across but I still but it cut it out as I normally would. Thus, we have a really bloody tight skirt that is so uncomfortable! I'm lucky I have enough left to give this another go - hopefully it will work out when the time comes. I did also find some similar fabric via an online store in Australia...so all is not lost.

This skirt is refashioned from The Casual Lady Dress that I made back in 2015. The dress either shrunk in the wash or I expanded in the wash - either way it didn't fit comfortable anymore and wasn't getting worn. I love the fabric (from fabric.com) so decided to make it into a Mabel Skirt. I was (obviously) very tired when this photo was being taken.

I have no idea why I bought the below fabric - I think I had it mind for a dress, but hindsight is 20:20 as this is not a fabric I'd wear in a dress as it's not stretchy enough. This Cotton/Elastane Stretch Woven Velveteen is from Tessuti and I still have quite a bit left (no idea what to do with it). Anyway...it's made an nice skirt, though it does get a bit baggy in the butt area after I've been sitting in it for awhile.

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Pattern: "Mabel Skirt" by Colette Patterns

Size: XL, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance and lengthened by 15cm. Depending on how stretchy the fabric is I add 1cm - 2cm. 
Modifications: 5cm elastic waistband (added 10cm to the pattern to accommodate for this), 15cm added to length. 
Fabric: Various
Changes for next time: none. 

Hacking Simplicity 1366

I really like my dress version of Simplicity 1366 - so I decided to make two more. When you're onto a good thing you may as well keep going with it!

I decided that I needed the dress to be a smidge longer than my last version so I added an extra inch to it (so 17.5" added to the top pattern to make it hit just at my knees when hemmed). I'm pretty happy with this length now.

This fabric was bought from the Ben Thanh Market in Saigon on my recent trip to Vietnam. It's hard to see but it is a ribbed knit. I can't remember how much I paid for this but it wasn't expensive and it's really good quality - a nice weight and was great to sew with.

I also found my last version just a bit too sack like so I took 1cm off the CB fold, thus reducing the back by 2cm overall. I think the fit is much better now, though still loose.

Neckline - I'm basically including this photo as it shows the rib pattern.

Ta da! Another dress version. This fabric is a ribbed knit from Tessuti (yes, I have a THING for ribbed knits at the moment). I actually HATED this dress when I first put it on - it felt really stiff, frumpy and blergh. I threw it in the wash and left it hanging upon the washing line for about two weeks. I tried it on again yesterday and I'm quite fond of it now. Go figure.

This jumper was initially a Mandy Boat Tee, but the fabric didn't have enough stretch and those sleeves were T-I-G-H-T! Luckily I had enough fabric left over to fangle something else out of - and this Simplicity 1366 jumper is what I came up with.

I made this back in late April I think so I can't really remember what I did! The length of the top was dictated by the fabric I had left over; and the story with the sleeves is the same.

This fabric is from Cabramatta and is knit of some sort - not very stretchy. I'm glad I could salvage it and turn it in to something else. I did go back to Cabramatta to see if this fabric was still there, but it had all sold out. Bummer!

I guess this top is a "win" though the sleeves are a bit annoying - the kind of sleeves that will flop into your soup if you're not careful! It's also not quite long enough to wear with my winter work pants (which are a slim-fit ponti pant).

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Pattern: Simplicity 1366
Size: 18
Modifications Dress:  added 17.5" to the length, added 1cm to both the side of the front and back neckline and dropped the front neckline a bit. Shortened the sleeves by 5cm. Took 1cm off the CB fold. 
Fabric: various as per the post
Changes for next time: nada 

Crochet baskets - another class

I know that I *just* did a class on making crochet baskets but I didn't feel that I got everything out of it that I needed to make awesome baskets. I did hesitate quite a bit about booking another same-same class but I'm glad I took this one at Workshop in Redfern on Saturday as I walked about with some new skills to make more professional looking baskets...and a new obsession!

The class is taught by Amy from The Knot Collective - she was a great teacher and very patient. We got to choose what size basket to make (small, medium or large) and I think nearly everyone in the class went with the medium size. I really love the handles on the baskets she brought as examples so we got to make those as well - they are so much more simple than I had thought!

The class went for four hours and I remember thinking when I booked it that that is a VERY long time. It's not! We all finished our baskets but worked right up until the last minute. The yarn (t-shirt yarn) was very thick and the hook was a mammoth size 15 -- so it was slow going as the hands get very tired.

Below is my finished basket - I LOVE it! I love the handles and I love that we learned how to turn the work so there is a distinct base and walls. I think it looks pretty professional and am totally going to give up my day job now to open an ETSY store selling baskets. I wish!

Here we all our with our finished baskets....I love how they are all same same but different.

As soon as I got home I whipped out the Spaghetti Yarn I bought from Lincraft after my last class and got stuck right into making another basket. I wanted to practice the "magic circle" technique used to start the basket as well as turning from the base up to the walls. Needless to say I LOVE THIS BASKET!

We were also shown in class how to change colours so I wanted to practice that too - it's something that will come in handy with the rest of my crochet (to date I've just been tying a knot in my yarn and continuing on...naughty). I LOVE the way this one looks - the pink is fantastic. I'm giving this one to a friend as a gift as I don't think I need a house filled with these - though it would be nice.

I have some of the pink and colourful white yarn left over and I'm going to have a go at crochet a rug/bathmat from it. And a friend at work is keen for a basket...so yay to more crocheting!