A week of Mabels

Last Monday I wore my new denim ponti Mabel Skirt to work.  I was pretty happy with the simple outfit I came up with. My work is fairly casual, so a me-made pencil skirt with a RTW t-shirt and sandals is PERFECT - especially on super hot days (and when the s-hirt is a linen blend). Perfect summer work outfit!

On Tuesday, as I reached for another of Mable Skirts, I realized I had made more than enough Mabel's to be able to wear a different one each day of the week (and then some)....so I did!  It was SO hot here last week and I have to say the skirt was perfect for the gross humidity we've been suffering through.

I loved wearing all my Mabels and after the week was over I wore another to work...old habits are hard to break! I have a mix of the "old waistband" vs "new waistband" style in my wardrobe and I can report the new waistband method is far more comfortable for me....

I look so grumpy in most of these photos - it was a rough week at work I'll tell you now! But by Friday I was smiling and happy as I was off to dinner after work, in my green skirt, with the Sydney Spoolettes.

Do you tend make a the same thing over and over again - I'm not the only one, am I?

A trio of (modified Mabels)

After the raging success of my modified Mabel Skirt I jumped right in to the stash and decided to finally sew up my BELOVED teal butterfly ponti that I've been hoarding for about two years. Of course, because I love the fabric so much it turned out less than perfect.

This one should have been a #woohoomake but sadly it's more #meh due to wonky hems (the hem became totally wonky when I overlocked it, like I was drunk sewing - so the whole thing is now uneven), dastardly overlocking of the waistband (overlocker is still not stitching over the elastic at the seams very well) and it not being pegged in enough for my liking, plus I'm thinking the waist is a smidgen too big (cannot seem to get the length of elastic needed quite right). On this make I also increased the length by 3cm which I think is a bit long.

All stuff other people won't notice but I know so I'm not enjoying this as much as I'd hoped too - which is gutting as the fabric is beautiful. Nevertheless I am still wearing and I could remove the elastic, and fix up the hem too at some point.

Next up we have a simple black ponti skirt made for wearing to work. It's WAY too long, as I still kept the 3cm addition to the length but other than that it's OK.  I also wish it was more pegged in.  The elastic waistband is comfortable though the overlocker is still playing up here (I think it's the needles, they don't seem long enough to handle the elastic at the seam - any thoughts people)? The good thing about this skirt is that there's always black ponti out there, so I can remake this as some point to better suit my tastes - but for now, it'll do Pig.

And lastly! I've been desperately scouring the shops for a pull-on denim skirt to replace one that I have that it's getting a bit ratty. Of course when you want something, you can never find it. Nor could I find jegging-like denim in the fabric stores -- stretch denim that I've found just does not have enough stretch to work for a Mabel.

After a quick Google search I found some "denim ponti" online from Emma One Sock (an online store in the USA). I ordered 1.1 yards which was way too much, and with postage it come in at under AUD$40 which is OK I think.

Image from Emma One Sock

For this skirt I removed 1.5cm off the length and pegged the bottom in a tiny bit, 0.5cm off each pattern piece. I think the shape is much better BUT this skirt is super snug - I just cannot cop a break with this skirt can I? It's still wearable, but with a longer top - but I've ordered another length of fabric to make another that fits better. I think this fabric must not have enough stretch as my other skirts; and the fabric has a rayon content, not cotton (like most of my other skirts) so I guess that's affecting the stretch too.

I'm telling myself it looks like a denim skirt but Dave thought I'd made the skirt for a suit. Sigh.

I still have two pieces of fabric in my stash for two more of these, but I think I have Mabel fatigue at the moment and I think there's about 10 of these in my wardrobe now and that's enough.

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Pattern: "Mabel Skirt" by Colette Patterns

Size: XL, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance
Modifications: 5cm elastic waistband (added 10cm to the pattern to accommodate for this), 16.5cm added to length, pegged in the bottom by 0.5cm at each seam (so 2cm in total).
Fabric: 4-way stretch rayon blend ponte from Emma One Sock
Changes for next time: none.

Modified Mabel = Happiness

I've made myself quite a few Mabel Skirts and I really love the shape of them, and how easily they fit in to my wardrobe. That said, I don't love the waistband, and probably half of the Mabel's I've made have ended up in the charity pile as the waistband has ended up too big.

The pattern has a simple waistband that you sew to the skirt, but with no elastic involved my first ever Mabel was just too big in the waist. To counteract this, I would sew some clear elastic between the waistband and waistband facing and sometimes this would really work well, and other times my waistband would still be stretched out and too big. I really have NO idea why sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't...that's sewing for you. But when I fluffed my beautiful butterfly ponti I was ready to put the Mabel away for good - which is a problem as I still have quite a bit of fabric in the stash for this very skirt.

After sewing a few Lady Skater Skirts and attaching a 5cm wide elastic waistband my love of the wide elastic waistband grew.  Why couldn't I do this for my Mabel Skirts -- after all I have a few RTW ponti pencil skirts just like this. It's only taken 2 years, but my brain finally got there in the end!

In order to change the pattern piece I just added 10cm to the top to account for the 5cm elastic and 5cm to turn it over and then stitch it down. In hindsight, and now that I think about it it probably needs a bit more added as turning the fabric over would take maybe 1cm so the skirt is a smidge shorter than I would like.

To make this new "waistband" I sewed a loop of 5cm elastic tight enough to fit my waist, but not so tight that it would be painful. I've found that different types of elastic will make the loop bigger...or smaller  I like "soft elastic". Then I just overlocked it to the inside of the waist, turned it over and stitched it down with a zigzag to keep it from flipping over.

And the verdict? I wore this skirt to work yesterday after finishing it the night before (it took an hour to cut out and sew). It was VERY comfortable - much more comfortable than my "clear elastic waistband sandwich method".  In fact I also wore it again today for a 2 hour car trip up to Newcastle and it was pretty comfortable to sit in. My only change for next time will be to add a bit of length to it. As it is it sits just above my knees, and I prefer this type of skirt to sit on the middle of my knees.

 

The fabric was bought from my local fabric store - My Hung in Parramatta. They stock a lot of woven fabrics and stretchy "dance stuff" so I often walk out of there empty handed. I feel in love with this fabric though - I do love the pattern on this fabric and it only set me back $6.50/pm.  It's probably not the best fabric for a hot summers day - it's 100% Polyamide (whatever that is) and feels like (fake) wool on my skin, but I'm willing to suffer for my sewing (and something that goes so well with my clogs).

I'm going to call this a WIN and I finally feel confident enough to cut my really nice piece of ponti from Tessuti that I've been hoarding in case my Mabel waistband went belly up. I'm also now going to remake my butterfly skirt with some "back up" fabric in the stash, and I've even ordered some "denim look" Ponti from the USA to make myself a much longed for denim Mabel.

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Pattern: "Mabel Skirt" by Colette Patterns

Size: XL, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance and lengthened by 15cm.
Modifications: 5cm elastic waistband (added 10cm to the pattern to accommodate for this), 15cm added to length.
Fabric: 100% Polyamide (???) from My Hung, Parramatta
Changes for next time: I will probably use this elastic waistband method again, it's less fiddly than what I have been doing, quicker and the elastic is pretty comfortable. Will continue to lengthen by 15cm.

The Butterfly Mabel Skirt...of many tears

Well, thank God that's over! This is the skirt that almost ended in the bin!!!

As soon as I saw the email from Tessuti announcing the newest arrival of Ponti's to come in to their store I did a mad lunchtime dash via bus + very speedy walking to the Surry Hills store to make sure I could get my hands on some ponti before it all sold out (this stuff goes like hotcakes. And this is what I walked out with (well, one of the pieces anyway)...

I bought 1.3m of this Italian ponti with the view of making a Mabel Skirt. I bought a little too much to account for shrinkage but it now turns out that I have enough left over for the front panel of a Linden Sweatshirt. Yay! Not yay was the price - at $59p/m I was almost in tears when things started to go pear-shaped with this make.

I've made quite a few Mabel Skirts by now - some winners and some failures - so I don't have much to say about the pattern other than it's a great way to use just a little bit of a great...and sometimes pricey fabric. I'd just made three Mabel's in a row with NO issues and I was feeling pretty confident. Pride, as they say, always comes before a (sewing) fall.

That said this one is a bit of a fail. All was going well but the waistband must've stretched out as I was sewing as this one turned out too big...like "wardrobe malfunction" too big despite my "clear elastic sewn into the waistband trick" that has NEVER failed me before. I look glum in this photos as I hadn't figured out how to fix this.

I thought I could shrink my waistband back into submission so into a hot wash and dyer this very expensive fabric went. This did shrink the skirt...in length, but not in width. FARK!  Why are the sewing Gods so against me? So, I unpicked the waistband from the skirt and let it sit in the "very naughty corner" for a week or two. I'm not a fan of short skirts so I drafted a thicker waistband which in theory would work, but I decided to use proper, wider elastic in the waistband, not my usual clear elastic, which left everything too bulky. Back to the naughty corner...

So in the end I ended up making the waistband from some thick black elastic that I have. I was paranoid about it being a) too loose or b) too tight - always my fear with elastic waistbands.  Sewing in stressful. It worked; no trouble attaching the elastic with my overlocker (blade up so the elastic didn't get cut) BUT I did manage to melt my elastic a bit with the iron as I doing my final press so it's lost a bit of its elasticity. Honestly...you couldn't make this sh!t up if you tried.

So in the end I have a skirt from some lovely fabric, but not without a lot of stress and worry. I will wear it (as the fabric goes so well with my lovely new red clogs) but I'll always feel anxious about it when I wear it as I know it's not perfect, and that the elastic is kinda disintegrating thanks to my ironing it.

In typical "Melanie fashion" though as soon as things went belly up with this I hopped online and found some of this fabric still available for sale at a store in Tassie...so I bought 1.1m and I will make another of these when this one carks it. I'm calling in my "safety stash".

Pattern: "Mabel Skirt" by Colette Patterns
Size: XL, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance and lengthened by 15cm (and then shrunk in the wash/dryer)
Modifications: elastic waistband
Fabric: Ponti (again) from Tessuti (again)
Changes for next time: I will probably use this elastic waistband method again, it's less fiddly than what I have been doing, quicker and the elastic is pretty comfortable. Will continue to lengthen by 15cm.

Mabel Skirt - seeing double

What's better than one Mabel Skirt? Two Mabel Skirts of course!

The first Mabel here is made from an AWESOME leopard print Ponti from Tessuti. I don't know about you, but for me leopard print is totally a neutral in my wardrobe and I may have squealed when I saw this in the store! 

My second Mable is also in a great Ponti from Tessuti - it's called "Silhouetted Narita Ponti". I initially bought 1.4m of this Ponti for a dress but it wasn't wide enough to cut both panels on the fold, so I bought a 0.9m remnant online...which wasn't long enough for the dress I had planned (d'oh)...hence we have this here Mabel skirt. The great thing about this skirt is that it doesn't use a lot of fabric so you can afford to splash out on something that does cost a bit of cash (this is $42/m).

The pattern on the Narita is a bit hard to see so here's a close up...I love the geometric, but subtle pattern. It comes in two other colourways, both of which I quite like...I may (or may not) make up another Mabel in one of those colours. Watch this space.

I don't have much more to say about this pattern that I haven't already said on other posts. I've made about six Mabel's so far (including these two) but have only kept three. I think this skirt sews up best for me in a softer ponti, rather than a spongy neoprene or stretch woven.

The skirt could probably be a bit looser around the tummy and thighs, which would be easy to fix I guess but just moving things out from the fold a little (I've put on a bit of weight since my first make) but it's stretchy, and I wear a long top {ALWAYS with this type of skirt} so...whatever)! As per usual the skirt is lengthened by 15cm and I've sewn clear elastic between the waistband and waistband lining to stop the skirt falling down (it's WAY too loose without it)

 

Pattern: Mabel Skirt by Colette Patterns
Size: XL
Modifications: lengthened by 15cm and clear elastic sandwiched between waistband and waistband lining
Fabric: Ponti from Tessuti x 2
Changes for next time: nought

Tessuti Melbourne + a disasterous Mabel Skirt

Over the Christmas break I decided to take myself down to Melbourne for a few days. Now that I sew I ALWAYS stop into Tessuti located conveniently on Flinders Lane (my favourtie lane) in Melbourne's CBD.  I LOVE the Melbourne Tessuti store - so big, bright and open and it has that indescribable "Melbourne feel" that Sydney so tries to emulate but never really does.

I wasn't going to buy fabric this trip as I was traveling with carry-on luggage BUT I'd packed super light so definitely had room in my case for this "perfect for a Mabel skirt" fabric I found in the remnant bin.

Of course best laid plans are often laid to waste and whilst the construction of this Mabel is the same as my other two skirts my machine DID NOT like this fabric at all. It especially went berserk when I tried to top stitch the top of the waistband to ensure the elastic I'd overlocked between the waistband pieces didn't twist around. I spent about an hour re-threading the machine, cleaning out the bobin case, changing needles + bobbins but nothing worked. I hate this skirt SO much that I wore it once to the supermarket but it's going in the Vinnie's bag as it feels so uncomfortable to me (both physically and psychologically). The stitching is dodgy at the waist and every time I look at this skirt I feel RAGE! I cannot be bothered to get properly dressed to take photos of this monster so the photo below from my phone is all you'll get from me!

Ummm...not sure what else to say on this one. I hate you black Mabel skirt. So there!

A (final) Myrtle...with added kittens

Oh look, it's ANOTHER Myrtle dress...this time with armholes that fit; and accessoried by the foster kittens we are currently minding at Chez Melanie.

Because you've seen this dress, and this Spotlight fabric before, I thought it'd be nice to introduce you to Socks (with the white feet) and T.O.O (called The Other One as we couldn't think of a name for her).

Dave and I have been fostering kittens for the Cat Protection Society in Enmore for about two years now. We host a few litters each year who live in our study for a few weeks at a time (which they have totally destroyed - the couch is shredded, and the books on the bottom shelf are chewed, cables are gnawed upon and the carpet well and truly christened with pee and poop). People wonder how we can give them back...with all that destruction it's pretty easy actually.  The kittens come to us at about 7 weeks old and stay until they are 1kg. At the 1kg stage they go off to be desexed and then back to Cat Protection where they await their "furever" home.

These kittens are well over the 1kg mark but we're keeping them until the New Year as the shelter is currently full. You can see though they are still pretty light; and I can easily lift Socks with one hand...demonstrating how perfect the depth of the armhole is now. After lowering it by 2cm on my last few versions; I raised it back up by 1cm and cut the armhole as a L whilst keeping the rest of the dress as an XL. The dress is SO comfortable now...I wore it out shopping in Chatswood today and in the car as I drove there...comfy comfy comfy.

After the back neckline of my purple Myrtle stretched out to make it unwearable I stay stitched the heck out of the back neckline and back armholes of this bodice (and used tearaway too just to be doubly safe). The back neckline looks a bit stretched/bunchy, but it's just my kitten wrangling making it bunch up. That said, the back bodice is a tad wide though so if I knew how I could pinch out some fabric here...but I've had enough of fiddling with this dress. I just wear the top pull across in a faux "off the shoulder" kinda of way which makes the back fit perfectly.

Oooh, this is Flash (who I call Sad Panda as she just looks so glum all the time). She is melded to this cat bed so the best way to get some Sad Panda time is just to pick her up...bed and all!

Back to the dress: I'm still having a bit of trouble figuring out the elastic waist for this dress (and anything that requires elastic). I *think* this could be a smidgen tighter, but I'm not 100% sure. I also thought I should perhaps lengthen the bodice a bit to make it more blousey and to hide the elastic waist a bit...I don't know? What do you think?

And just a safety note for those of you who like to sew with cats around. Thread is VERY dangerous to cats...they eat it and it gets wrapped up in the guts/intestines. This can actually result in death (and a lot of pain too) and costly operations if you choose to go there. So the motto is...cats and sewing don't really mix.

Pattern: Myrtle Dress by Colette Patterns
Size: XL
Modifications: Armholes changed to Size L; and then lowered at the arm pit by 1cm.
Fabric: Polyester Elastaine from Spotlight (the same print I made my very first, too small, Myrtle out of).
Notions: Elastic, thread and kittens.
Changes for next time: None, though I'd like to try it in a "not" polyester elastaine.

Purple Myrtle

I've decided to make ONE MORE MUSLIN of the darn Myrtle dress before I bite the bullet and cut into my floral Spotlight fabric which I bought to replicate my first, too small Myrtle. Lizzie from Busy Lizzie in Brissie sent me this purple knit quite a while ago with the idea that I might like to make myself a Keilo dress...which of course never happened.

I'll keep this short as I'm sure you are as sick of the darn dress as I am. After my last Myrtle, I raised the under the arms by 1cm as I felt lowering it by 2cm was just too low for my liking. There's only so much armpit that is fit for human viewing I say! I think it's pretty much perfect now.

I was super dooper excited when I finished this dress and I planned to wear it to work for my last day at "the job" and to our team Christmas lunch. Of course the sewing Gods decided to punish me for my smugness and overnight the back neckline stretched out so much the dress was basically...ruined. Because of the way the bodice is constructed and enclosed it's pretty much impossible to fix this...into the recycle bag she goes. Lesson learned = stay stitch your necklines people. Each time I tried on this dress it stretched more and more.

Oh look, thread! Our whole house is basically covered with bits of cotton these days. Dave says it makes a nice change from the long hair that used to litter the floor and clog up the vacuum cleaner.

Pattern: Myrtle Dress by Colette Patterns
Size: XL
Modifications: Armholes changed to Size L; and then lowered at the arm pit by 1cm. Mmm, armpit - what a delightful word.
Fabric: Polyester Elastaine from Lizzie from Busy Lizzie in Brissie (thanks lovely lady)!
Notions: Elastic, thread and my tears
Changes for next time: None! Let's make this dress One. Last. Freaking. Time. and then move on!

The flaming Mabel Skirt

Last weekend I headed over to Bobbin and Ink's new store in Petersham to attend a sewing day with the Sydney Spoolettes. This was fresh after my Tessuti class so I was on a sewing HIGH!  This is the second sewing day the Spoolettes have had together and I have to say I love them...there's a LOT of chatting and meeting new people, but surprisingly quite a lot of sewing takes place too.

The fabric I've used for my second Mabel is a thickish cotton/poly/elastaine from the remnant table at Tessuti. The price tag says $42 for 1.2m but I'm fairly sure I only paid $18 for this...I hope! 

I had plans to make two Mabel skirts AND a Casual Lady Dress at this sewing day but I crashed and burned after finishing this first Mabel skirt. Talking, snacking AND sewing is hard work. So this is all I have to show for 6 hours in the sewing room...ahem. These photos are a bit dark and dodgy, but I got Dave to take them as soon as I got home...just as the skies darkened and a huge storm descended. Oh well...

I had thought that this version would be more tight than my first Mabel as the fabric was a lot...firmer, but it's actually turned out to be a much better fit. When I compare the sizes of the two skirts though (laying one on top of the other) this one is bigger than my first version...not sure how that happened as both were cut as an XL.

There's not much else to say about this skirt. I added the clear elastic into the waistband again to make sure the skirt didn't slip down though I found out the hard way that the elastic shouldn't be wider than the overlock stitch otherwise things become too bulky and it's impossible to turn the waistband neatly.

I'll probably make a few more of these along the way...I have some fabric in the stash that would work well, but I guess I'm trying to avoid a cupboard full of Mabel skirts (in a cupboard where I already have about 6 RTW versions of this skirt). What about you...do you sew multiples of a pattern once you find one that works well for you?

Pattern: Mabel Dress by Colette Patterns
Size: XL
Modifications: add 6mm clear elastic into the waistband to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions; lengthen by 15cm
Fabric: Polyester cotton/poly/elastaine from Tessuti
Notions: Elastic and thread
Changes for next time: NONE! Why mess with perfection hey?

A floral Myrtle

Like the Mabel Skirt, I bought the Myrtle pattern as soon as Colette released it...and then sat on it for months. I think my main stalling point was that the elastic waist and "self-lined" bodice would be too hard for me. I also worried that I wouldn't be able to turn the neck and arms under neatly enough and that the whole thing would look like a blind 4 year old with no thumbs had made it.

In just over a year of sewing I still don't have much faith in my abilities and I try to keep things as easy as possible.

Anyhoo, inspiration finally came to me in the form of this blog post by a Melbourne fashion blogger who occasionally dabbles in sewing too. If she could sew not one, but THREE Myrtles, surely I could sew one. And I did...

I absolutely love this dress, from the groovy fabric purchased from Spotlight to the cowl neckline to the blousey-ness of the bodice. This is EXACTLY the kind of dress I would buy if I saw it in store!

All the love aside the armholes are just WAY too small for me to wear the dress and be at all comfortable. This is kinda upsetting as nearly every other blog post I've read on this make says the armholes are REALLY big. I think, thanks to sewing, I have now developed a mega complex that I have arms bigger than a X-mas ham! Excuse the shot of my armpit - but you see that I have nearly NO room under my arm...mucho uncomfortable! It also digs in at the front and back of the "sleeve".

Whilst we're still on the topic of the ham-arms, I think that perhaps the pattern piece for the front/back bodice at the shoulders is a bit too wide? It's sort of like this dress can't decide if it wants to be sleeveless or have cap sleeves?

I'm definitely going to make this dress again -- I just need to figure out how to make the armholes bigger whilst not stuffing up the pattern completely. An FBA has been suggested but I'm not even going to go there (plus it fits well across the bust).  This make is a straight XL and I think in order to bring the shoulder width in somewhat I'll reduce from an XL to an L, or perhaps even an M from the shoulders to the underarm...and then I also just hack into the pattern at the bottom of the armhole to give myself an extra cm front and back...what do we think people? Is that a good or a bad strategy?

Moving right along, the construction of the Myrtle is really easy. I had no trouble making the bodice at all and like I said I LOVE the cowl neck and blousey-ness of the front/back bodice. Very flattering on my figure I think. The instructions for this pattern were very good - very easy to follow and great for a beginner.

I had been worried about turning the neckline and sleeve hems of the back bodice under (they are not self lined) but this also proved to be a breeze thanks to my new BFF, Wondertape (bought from Addicted to Fabric in Canberra).

I also thought I'd have trouble with the elastic waist, but this also turned out to be...not too bad. I inserted the elastic twice as the first elastic was very stiff and uncomfortable (it was a non-roll elastic). My second elastic is quite supple and does roll a bit so I've sewn down the elastic at each side seam to prevent it moving around too much. Next time I think I'll just sew the casing channel and then thread the elastic through, rather than trying to wrangle the elastic and channel and sewing all at the same time which is what the instructions suggest.

That said, I'm wondering if I could forgo the elastic channel altogether and just sewing less wide elastic (or even clear elastic) onto the waistband as I join it to the bodice. I feel like that would be more comfortable.

So there you have it. Even though this dress was a fitting-fail; I would call it a win in terms of sewing and construction. I'm happy I saw it through to the end as I think my work colleague would like this so it's not going to end up in the bin. She wore one of other sewing fitting-fails to work the other day and I was super thrilled!

 

 

Also, it's worth noting that if you get tired whilst you're out to dinner or at work whilst wearing this dress you can pull up the cowl and catch a few Zzzzz's.

Pattern: Myrtle Dress by Colette Patterns
Size: XL
Modifications: None
Fabric: Polyester Elastane from Spotlight - purchased 3m and used most of it
Notions: Elastic and thread
Changes for next time: lower arm holes to give more room; perhaps reduce the bodice size from the shoulders to the underarm fom an XL to L or M. Possibly look at changing method of attaching the bodice to the skirt with thinner elastic and no elastic casing (would reduce the whole dress to an L if I did this as it's very roomy without the elastic casing feature).