Denim Ultimate Trousers

After I made my first pair of Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers back in October I really thought I was going to make another pair quite soon, but then life gets in the way and there are never enough sewing hours in the week!  In the end though I didn't really wear my mustard trousers much in the winter because I didn't like them with any of my winter shoes but as soon as the weather warmed up enough they have been back in constant rotation.  Me-Made-May has highlighted the fact that I needed another pair which has given me the impetus to get these made.  Perhaps if we had had a warmer May I may not have got round to making them so soon, although I bought this fabric a few months ago specifically for these trousers.

The fabric is a stretch denim with holes punched in that I bought from Croft Mill.  I had some very similar to this a few years ago which I made skirts for the child and I from, so I knew I would like it.  It has a nice amount of stretch to it and was lovely to sew with.  I bought 1.5 metres and have just enough for something for the child (I have just bought a few patterns from Compagnie M and have plans for the Lotta dress fairly soon).

I made exactly the same size as last time although these do feel a little bit snugger than the last pair.  I don't really mind though because the mustard ones do stretch out after a full day's wear.  I had decided to have a lapped zip in this pair and extend the waistband to include a button and button hole.   All this would have been absolutely fine had I not made two simple errors: I got my front and backs confused so as a result my trousers do up on the wrong side with the lap bit facing the wrong way and I put the waistband on upside down so the wider bit was at the top.

I can't really do anything about the first issue so am leaving it.  I am sure no one else but me will notice and the zip went in nice and neatly so I don't want to unpick.  The waistband problem was more tricky though, because it really didn't fit and it was now quite late on and we were going to London the next day.  So I improvised and ran some waistband elastic inside the top of the waistband and secured it with a zig zag stitch all the way round.  

I have no idea what I was pointing at!

I now love the fit and will definitely be making elastic waistbands all the time now!  These trousers definitely do not need hoiking up at all, the feel nice and snug around my waist and no one but me (and you!) needs to know that I've gone all mum style in my elastic waisted trousers!!  I have yet to put in the button hole and at the moment they are secured with a safety pin, but it will be rectified soon.

I would love some stretch sateen trousers next but I have a very long sewing list at the moment so I don't know when I will get time for it.  I still prefer wearing skirts in general but can appreciate the usefulness of a nice pair of trousers.  These are as near to perfect as trousers get for me and I think they will get a lot of wear - especially if the weather doesn't warm up soon!

Me Made May Roundup - Week 3

Wait, week 3??  Where did that go?  This past week I have been struggling a bit with the weather.  I have never really had "spring" clothes, I just go straight from wearing tights and boots into summer dresses.  This year, however, has shown me that I need a few things to help me transition from one season to another.  Namely trousers for those days when I am too hot to wear tights but too cold to go bare legged.  I did have another jersey maxi skirt which I was planning on wearing on day 15 but it got coffee on it and I realised it is not really opaque enough.  I wore it with a slip last year but just couldn't be bothered so ended up in a pair of my Mum's old jeans which don't really fit that well but serve a purpose.  I have cut out another pair of Ultimate Trousers and hope to have them finished this evening, ready to wear tomorrow.  I have had the fabric for these for a few months now and they were next on my list anyway so I don't feel like I am panic sewing, but I am a bit!  If the weather was better I would be in dresses and they would probably get put off until the autumn.  Silver lining right there!

Day 15: Work day (nice warehouse background!) in my Marilla Walker Maya Pattern top.  I love this top and cant wait to wear it with my new trousers. Second hand cardi and hand-me-down jeans.

Day 16: Home day in my dip dyed blouse using indigo (messy but fun!) and jersey maxi skirt

Day 17: Really busy day including ballet lesson (not me!) and a birthday party at a farm wearing my Ultimate Trousers and a Sorbetto.  Child is in an Oliver and S Puppet Show top with Sunny Day shorts

Day 18: Work again, wearing my Marilla Walker Evan Skirt, a NewLook 6808 and a Marion cardigan knitted by my Mum (totally counts as me made!!)

Day 19: Mum's jeans again with another NewLook 6808 (which I prefer tucked in now) and an old cardi.

Day 20: I felt tired, and cold and miserable all day on Wednesday so I was obviously going for comfort here!  Wearing my Françoise dress and Girl Friday cardi

Day 21: That pretty backdrop again!  And those Ultimate Trousers and Bronte Top again!!  Oh well, if it works....

I am now having quite a few repeats but other than feeling like I am writing the same thing over, and over again I am okay with that.  I have said this before but I don't want a massive collection of clothes, I just want to have enough to wear in all weather conditions and this month has highlighted to me that I need more transitional clothes.  How is May going for everyone else?  Anyone else feeling like they are repeating themselves?!

Me Made May Roundup - Week 2

Yay!  It's my one year blogiversary today! And after a fairly eventful week here is my round up of days 8-14:

Day 8: Bronte top and Ultimate Trousers (again!) for moving day.  I really hate moving house!!

Day 9: Bonnie Sweater with Marilla Walker's Evan Skirt for the daytime, followed by....

...a Tilly and the Buttons double whammy (Françoise dress and Mathilde blouse) for a fab evening with friends. 

Day 10: Bronte Top and Ultimate trousers (again, again) for a recovery day

Day 11: Brand new jumper (which I'm now on the fence about, I may get round to blogging it at some point) with a jersey maxi skirt.  I did get too hot in the afternoon and put a renfrew on instead.

Day 12: Resized skirt with an unseen NewLook 6808 and a Mum knitted cardi.

Day 13: Marilla Walker Evan skirt with Zoe's Dolores top and a second hand cardi for work.

Day 14: Another Tilly double, yellow denim Delphine skirt with Mimi blouse (and new coat, oops!) for a wonderful morning spent with Portia at the local charity shops.

And just in case you were wondering what I bought, here is my haul for the day!

A home made suit (we think, there is a lot of hand stitching on the inside AND MATCHING SHOULDER PADS!!) made from something that looks a lot like tie fabric for £4.  I mostly bought this because I didn't want to leave it behind but I don't know what I'm going to do with it.  Maybe resize the jacket and wear it as a blazer.

A maxi dress which I'm going to make into a skirt for £2

A pair of shoes for £2

A Joules top for £3

Salt and pepper pots for £2 which Portia saved for me from being poached by a very grumpy man!  Also, I am convinced these are my parents old ones which is a bit strange!

And a selection of knitting patterns and a book on smocking for 50p which I can't turn round for some reason!

It was so lovely meeting Portia again and I had a great time browsing the charity shops with a real pro!  It felt like a good bit of escapism from the trauma of moving!  We still haven't got any internet in our new place yet and I am really missing seeing everything in the Flickr group, but hopefully tomorrow something will be sorted.  I also haven't been able to read any blogs for over a week now so will be spending a very productive morning tomorrow with my computer!

Me Made May Roundup - Week 1

Last year I didn't do a round up post during Me Made May because I only started my blog halfway through, but I have always loved reading everyone else's. So here is days 1-7:

Day 1:  Bronte Top and Ultimate Trousers for a visit to my Aunt, Uncle and Granny

Day 2: Simplicity 2452 in punched denim with stripy Renfrew and a cardi knitted by my Mum.  This was a really comfy outfit for a day spent running errands.

Day 3: Delphine Skirt with Bluegingerdoll Bonnie Sweater:

Day 4: No photographer!!  My first Françoise dress

Day 5: Delphine Skirt and Bluegingerdoll Bonnie Sweater 

Day 6: Navy corduroy Simplicity 2452 with my Stitchraft 1961 Snowflake Sweater

Day 7: Jersey maxi skirt (no pattern), stripy renfrew (again, I didn't even realise I'd had this on twice!) and Girl Friday cardi

So week 1 down, another 3 to go.  I can see my outfits getting a bit repetitive soon but that's bound to happen.  I would never have room in my house to have a completely unique outfit every day for 31 days!  How is Me Made May going for you?  Bored of the selfies yet?!!

Sewing Swimwear - Jalie 3023

There is not a lot of sewing going on around these parts at the moment, due to an imminent house move, so I thought I would share this swimming outfit I made for the child just before our recent holiday.  

The pattern I used is Jalie 3023 which has all the sizes in which I chose so I could make myself some swimwear too but what I really wanted to do for me is make the Watson Bra as a bikini top and draft some high waisted bottoms to go with it.  I have the fabric and some of the notions so at some point I will be doing that, just need to pluck up the courage!

I started with the tank top from the pattern but left off the side ruching (is that even a word?!). After measuring properly this time I decided to go for the third size which is just a bit bigger than her measurements.  I don't know if I have made a mistake somewhere along the way but the pink straps stick out slightly under the arms when it's on.  It is not that noticeable and the Child does not care in the least but I am not 100% happy.  I did wonder if the straps were narrower this would not happen.

I also made the bottoms using this pattern but I did not finish them.  I found them too fiddly to make and they looked quite skimpy for a little girl. Instead I turned to KitschyCoo's Boy Cut Brief pattern.  I know this fits well, I like the finish on it and there is plenty of coverage.  I sized up to the 4-5 but should probably be doing this for all her underwear now anyway.  She thought they were really comfortable!

I also made a short sleeved t-shirt, like a mock rashie, using the KitschyCoo Skater Dress as a base.  I lengthened the bodice by 13cm and added a few centimetres to the width of the neck band to give it some extra height.  I was really happy with this and if we had been somewhere really hot it would have helped keep the sun off a bit.  

I bought this fabric from Funki Fabrics and got half a metre each of the two prints.  Out of this amount I managed to make two different tops and two bottoms (although as I said above one did not get finished) so each outfit cost £9, which I think is quite good.  I will be interested to see how the fabric washes and wears but at the moment it feels really nice and better quality than supermarket swimwear.

I think I will continue to make at least the Child's swimming costumes.  I had fun making it (after all, sewing is a hobby and should be fun!) and it was certainly appreciated.  Out of the scraps I made Edwina a little swimming costume too, I think she enjoyed her holiday but she thought the pool was a bit on the chilly side so she stayed on the side!