October

I went to an island off Naples for my fall break a few weeks ago, stayed at what used to be a convent, and took some not so great pictures of black clothes with my cell phone. But hey, they are pictures, and it’s time to share stuff I sewed this summer!

This place was pretty ridiculously gorgeous. After last winter’s complete shitness in the weather department I booked this trip in February to load up on vitamin D for this upcoming winter. I got sun and warmth, and good food, and knitting, and hiking and bathing in thermal baths. I mean… it was lovely. And, I even took pictures of some stuff I’ve sewed!

Black pants

Pattern: An out of print Stoff&Stil jersey pants pattern, also used for these pants. The Named Alexandria pants would be similar.
Fabric: A little less than 1 m of a  herringbone cotton/linen (I think?).
How much fabric is left: About a metre
How will I use the leftovers: I’d like to make shorts. I’m not sure whether to do a super high-waisted wide legged 1947 Simplicity pattern I have, or perhaps the Fern shorts from Afternoon patterns. Technically they are quite similar.

These are very comfortable pants, especially for warm weather. I wore them in London this summer as well, and they worked nicely. They do feel a little baggy, and I think they end up sitting a bit lower on my waist than they are drafted – which might be from me not having stretched out the elastic before sewing (a tip I recently read!). So, the pattern I used is for jersey fabric. I ignored that while cutting out the pieces, and lo and behold – I couldn’t get the pants over my hips when I pinned the side seams and tested the fit! Shocker. I had plenty of fabric, so I cut another strip and now there is a subtle tuxedo reference. Haha!

I do really like the elastic waist, the tuck by the pocket (there was supposed to be two, but I undid one to gain more width across), the pockets themselves, and the length. I wonder if I should make them just a hair shorter – especially since they tend to ride down a little, but I haven’t been bothered to yet.

Black dress

The dress is made from the same black fabric as the pants. I really thought it was linen, but after washing and drying several times, I wasn’t quite convinced. It’s doesn’t quite have the sheen that linen often has, and it certainly doesn’t wrinkle as much. It attracts lint like nobody’s business, but has a different hand than I’d expect from cotton. Even looking at the fibre length and doing a burn test was inconclusive! I’m calling it a cotton-linen blend. It’s a fabric that was left over after a theatre production I worked on, many years ago, and I know it was a 4 metre length from Stoff&Stil. This dress took up maybe 1,5 metres, or there about.

With everyone living their best linen lives this summer, I wanted to take part, and figured my linen(-ish) fabric was a good way to go. I’ve been especially inspired by the Elizabeth Suzanne dresses of effortless cool and impeccable proportions, and the Georgia dress in particular really struck me (to be honest, the pants above are probably a little Clyde inspired – among other recent rtw pants and pants patterns).

I used my now trusty self-drafted kimono-sleeve top as a starting point, and then estimated lengths and widths. Guys – simple silhouettes like this one is so hard to nail. It took me so many rounds of alterations to get to what you see above. The width was too much. The waist not curved enough. The neck was too high. The sleeve bands sat too low. The sleeve bands were too wide. Even now I think the neck is a bit too wide, and easily slides off to one side. My admiration of designers such as Elizabeth Suzanne and the work they put into getting the proportions just right has increased tenfold! Good design is worth paying for, because there is a lot of skill and work that goes into them.

IN THE WORKS

I have a lot of projects underway, started and half-finished. My Fåvang-kofte is getting close to done though, and I made some progress during this vacation. You can even see it lying on the chair outside my room in the pants pictures above. I parked myself there and enjoyed the sounds and smells and views as I knitted along.

I have an almost finished Ready-to-sew Jeanne t-shirt, and a black and white striped fabric I want to use for another, a finished Deer and doe Nenuphar jacket, and fabric for a Melilot shirt all picked out and ready to go. Also, a wool miniskirt still in need of assembling, a dress to be refashioned to a Beignet-like skirt, a half cut Pussy Bow blouse from Pattern Runway, and M7261 running tights to be assembled (the top has been in use since the beginning of the summer). I have actually completed some kids clothes for friends, and a set of undies for me. Fun new projects are jumping the queue all the time, but it seems like I just need to decide on one or two to focus on, and be a bit systematic!

In terms of #2018makenine I don’t think I’ll be close to completing my nine items. The running set I’ll manage, and the Fåvang kofte will be done in a few weeks I’d say. I’m pretty sure I’ll have time to make the Melilot shirt, and I will certainly start the Kalvågjakka. I’m not sure I mind too much though – pretty much all the remaining items are things I still want to make! I might just roll them over to 2019.

Final note: Shortly before my trip I listened to the Love to sew podcast episode featuring Karen Templer of Fringe supply / Fringe Association, and I loved it – for sure one of my favorite episodes of the podcast. I proceeded to binge read the entire last years worth of her posts, and I am feeling so inspired! I was especially intrigued by her queue check posts, and if I feel like it I might do something similar. Especially since I did go to Bergen Strikkefestival and bought a couple of skeins that I have plans for! Ahh, knitting. And sewing. And crafting. Making all the things!

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