If it ain’t broke…

Well, it worked the first time so I thought I’d experiment with different fabrics. My second attempt at this pattern was with a much thicker, tweed-like fabric in a dark grey with blue and pink flecks ( see middle). I purchased it from my local fabric shop ‘Green Ginger’ in Altrincham. The thicker fabric gave this a much stiffer, more dressy feel, which I was really pleased with.

Jumper:TKMaxx

It’s a pretty versatile colour, which is pretty easy to wear, but because the fabric’s so thick it makes me look huge unless I pair it with something fitting, especially around the waist. It can be a bit itchy  too, but thick tights and again, that under slip (!) correct that pretty easily.

 

Black top Hobbs, black cardigan with lace Oasis

And lastly an animal-type grey and blue fabric I picked up at Aberkhans in Chester. It’s only since photographing all three of these together that I’ve realised this last version is an inch or so longer than the others, possibly why I haven’t worn it so much. Being pretty short, I really need skirts to fall on, or preferably just above, the knee otherwise I tend to look a little on the ‘dumpy’ side unless I wear long boots, which haven’t felt quite right this season. Maybe I should just shorten it?

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And styled…

And styled: cardigan Yumi, top Next and belt TKMaxx.

You just can’t beat a bit of navy blue, especially in cardigan form 🙂

My First Sew

My first solo sew, outside of my beginners’ lessons, was this very simple skirt taken from ‘Sew Over It’ by Lisa Comfort, featured in the October 20012 issue of ‘Sew Home’ magazine. It took me the best part of a day to complete, (we’re talking complete beginners here…) but was the perfect pattern to begin with. The small, ditsy, floral print (from my local fabric shop) was perfect and the drape seemed to fit the style perfectly. It also happened to suit my somewhat, short frame perfectly, proving pretty easy to style. It was, however a little on the sheer side, so I had to wait until I’d purchased a suitable under slip ( I guess I’d make a lining now, but didn’t think to at the time and isn’t the word ‘under slip’ somewhat archaic these days?) from good ole M and S to make it decent enough to wear to work.

On its first outing it received several admiring comments! Always my judgement of a successful garment :-). One colleague even suggested that I could sell them, she clearly hadn’t looked up close at my too big hem and somewhat wonky stitching, but I was suitably chuffed. I’ve worn it loads since so it was a pretty perfect start. My only slight niggle with it, is that the waistband tends to ‘roll’ slightly. There’s probably a solution to this, but it’s pretty easy to unroll and doesn’t bother me too much.