lower your presser foot

This will probably be of limited interest to anyone, but I find keeping track of things on my blog is the most reliable method for me. I'm going to keep track each month of garment sewn, fabric bought and fabric used. If you're feeling guilty about buying more fabric than you use each month, then these posts will remind you that you're not alone! In fact you could 'fess up if you too have bought more than you've used too!

Garments Made: 8 (3 for me, 3 for Toby, 2 for Anna)

Fabric Used: 8.5m

Fabric Bought: 10m (5m each from Tessuti and The Fabric Store due to their too tempting sales)

stretch cotton sateen, textured poly/cotton, textured white cotton from Tessuti

Marc Jacobs knit, Tory Burch poly cotton, stretch linen, cotton twill from The Fabric Store

Other: a bajillion patterns made their way into my stash this month, so many that I had to buy a third chest of drawers to fit them all in. Firstly a sewing friend gave me a quite a few patterns at our sewing day at Tessuti Fabrics earlier in the month, including some great suit and jacket patterns which are right up my alley (thanks Sandra!).

Then I bought sight unseen a big box of patterns from an auction house, which had loads of Designer Vogue patterns which were mostly hilarious and somewhat ugly ones from the 1980s, but a few earlier patterns and a few decent ones that I will use (one day):

And then my dad found this massive pile of patterns at his local op shop that he bought for the princely sum of $10! Again there was a bit of craziness but also quite a few lovely patterns too:

I live a pretty casual lifestyle - apart from corporate wear for work, the rest of my wardrobe needs are for simple, casual and comfortable clothes. Of course that's what I rarely sew! After making that very pretty but limited occasion wear purple floral print dress I decided to make a simple t-shirt dress that would easily go from the school gate to the playground to the shopping centre. I had some firm ponti fabric in white with navy blue stripe in the stash bought some time last year from Spotlight that I turned into this:

I used Vogue 2659, an early 2000s pattern that is now OOP and no one else on the internet seems to have made! I've made the top a few times but not the dress,

I chose this pattern because I didn't want darts or seam lines to mess up the stripes, and I was going for a loose fitting style. I was hoping that the firmness of the fabric would mean it would skim over my curves and not cling, but it actually billowed out and puffed up in a rather unflattering way around my lower back and on the front in the area around my waist. So, as usual I ended up making a very fitted dress because I took it in slightly at the sides and put two darts in the back to get rid of that excess fabric. So now the dress follows my natural shape much better:

The two vertical darts at the centre back aren't too noticeable, altough the back view clearly demonstrates that old adage that horizontal stripes do make you look wider, or in my case emphasise the width! But now I'm in my late 30s and having had two children I've come to accept my body shape as it is, so I still like this dress big butt or not.

The front view shows that a curved French dart would have done wonders for those slight folds of fabric at the front, but I can live with it. I give myself 90% on the stripe matching - the side seams lined up perfectly, but the stripes on one of those shoulders is slightly off. I did find the sleeve cap on this to have quite a lot of fabric to ease in, so I was just happy enough to get those sleeves in without puckers let alone matching the stripes fully.

Construction wise not much to say - I sewed it all on the overlocker and at the neckline I just used steam a seam to turn under the edge and top-stitched it with a twin needle. I shortened the sleeves from elbow length to cap sleeve because it's still pretty hot around here

Despite the fact I had intended to make a loosefitting casual dress and I ended up with a fitted dress that is shorter than I usually wear instead, this dress was perfect to wear to a 6 year old's birthday party yesterday with some flat sandals so I'm still calling this one a success!

Sometimes a project is all about the fabric, and not the pattern. It certainly is the case for my latest finished project - a simple straight skirt:

black floral pencil skirt burda 9/2007 #128 www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

Nothing too groundbreaking about the skirt style, but oh! the fabric. It is so gorgeous. It's one of the pieces I bought in January from Tessuti during their sale - a cotton with slight stretch in a dark floral print on a black background with white mini polka dots:

black floral fabric www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

Because the fabric is rather busy, what with the polka dots and a floral pattern, I decided to keep the pattern relatively simple. I say 'relatively' because even though the pattern is a simple shape, it needed quite a lot of fitting changes to make. I used a pattern from a 2007 Burda magazine, one of the random issues I used to buy purely because I really liked the patterns before I started subscribing in 2009 and took the good issues with the bad. Being such an old pattern it's not available for download on the Burda Style site, but for reference it's skirt #128 from 9/2007 which looks like this:

The thing is though, that this skirt is actually a plus size pattern and is mid calf length with a godet at the back, so I basically grafted the bits I liked - the wide waistband and pockets - onto another pencil skirt that I had made recently (this one here). It took a bit of fiddling to get the fit right, and even a muslin (yes I do make them sometimes) but in the end I think it's turned out great.

I love those pockets, they sit really flat against the body without gaping open but aren't too deep either that causes funny lines or extra bulk in the pelvis region.

The pattern for the side hip piece extends all the way across the front of the skirt, which helps keep the front flat and stops those pocket pieces flapping about or folding back on themselves. This is an excellent feature that Burda patterns quite often incorporate but not always:

Even though the skirt is quite straight and not as pegged as I made my last pencil skirt (here), it's still a close fit and looks quite flattering from the side view. This is probably dodgy pattern making on my part, but I usually angle the seam line in below the zip towards the hem line so that it sits close to the body without making it too tight overall. I put in a walking vent so it's still comfortable to walk in. As I said, it's probably all sorts wrong but it works for me.

So if you're wondering about the grey tshirt I'm wearing in some of those photos above, the explanation is that I was trying to be cool like a Pinterest worthy fashion blogger. These are my inspiration photos:

gray tshirts with floral skirt www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

credits l-r: uberchicforcheap.com; pursuitofshoes.com; bittersweetcolours.com

And this is my reality:

Not quite as cool. In fact I quickly realised that I'm a middle aged mother of two working in a government job taking photos in my sewing room and not a cool fashion blogger running about town with a photographer boyfriend in tow to scout out quirky locations for a public photo shoot! So my reality is I probably won't wear a slouchy grey t-shirt with this skirt because it just looks like I forgot to take off a tshirt I wore to bed when I got dressed in the morning, and instead I'll wear it with a tailored cotton shell top (made here) and more than likely with a black blazer on top because it's really cold in my office:

So overall - really happy with this project despite my cranky face in some of these photos!

My February issue of Burda was really late in being delivered this month - it didn't arrive in my letter box until the 21st of February which was really annoying. It wasn't worth the wait though, because there's not much in this issue that's really my style, but because of my Burda challenge I forced myself to pick something: a boxy top that I thought I'd be able to write a sarcastic hate post about. Funnily enough though, I like how it turned out!

Burda 2/2015 #128 angular seamed top with slit neckline www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

The pattern I chose is the slit neckline blouse #128, which is described as a straight cut with "panel seams to give the blouse structure and visual interest".

images from Burda Style

The recommended fabric is jersey, and looking closely at the magazine photo it appears to be a textured, thick fabric. I had a mystery knit fabric in the stash which was textured and slightly stretchy which I didn't realise is actually a length of wool fabric until I pulled it out of the washing machine with the unmistakable smell of wet dog and a few tell tale signs of moth holes in one corner. I think it might actually be wool crepe that has been washed a few times and shrunk considerably, because it has that sort of texture, is a bit spongy and presses really well.

Those seams lines certainly are very interesting, and I particularly like how the triangular piece on the lower front lines up with the upper back yoke piece at the side seams. Although all those intersecting seams are a bit bulky and despite pressing it really well it still bulges out a little bit.

It felt like I was sewing the sleeves completely wrong because they turn out terribly twisted, but once I'm wearing it it's actually quite comfortable and hangs properly because it hugs the arm and elbow.

I should have made a forward shoulder adjustment like I need to do to everything I sew that has a shoulder seam, because I can see in that photo above that the should seam is sitting back a little bit too far, and the front of the top is lifting up higher than the back. Luckily it's not a high neckline so it's not uncomfortable, but it is quite short in the front. This pattern is sized for petites, which I can usually make with no problems since I'm not overly tall, but this seems a tad on the short side to me.

True to the description in the magazine, it surely is a straight cut top, aka boxy and shapeless. I admit had to fight every urge in my body to take in every seam a bit to give it more shaping because it looked like I was wearing a big white pillow case. But in the end I just shaped the centre back seam to account for my sway back and took in the centre front seam by 2cm just to make it slightly more fitted, but not skin tight. The back neckline seems a lot lower than the technical drawing suggests:

The armscye front and back turned out weirdly though. Looking at the technical drawing and the pattern pieces, the armscye is supposed to be pointed, not curved.

However I had a difficult time setting in the sleeves and trying to get that pointed effect, and what I ended up with is just a strangely curved armscye instead!

The only change I made to the pattern aside from taking in the front and back centre seams was to finish the neckline, hem and sleeve edges by pressing under 1.5cm and topstitching with a twin needle. Burda always recommends cutting narrow strips of bias fabric for bindings, but since these flap about and need to be topstitched down anyway I figure I may a well cut out that extra step of sewing a binding on.

So my verdict: an interesting but simple, casual top that was well worth sewing, despite my initial low expectations. Overall, an interesting version of the Burda boxy top! Bonus for my choice being a quick and simple project too, so that I could complete it within February. Who knows when the March issue will arrive though..........

This month I am very pleased to announce that I bought NO fabric or patterns at all! In fact I only bought 1 black zipper and some white overlocking thread. Admittedly, February is the shortest month of all but still, I went a whole month without buying fabric or patterns.

Sewing: 9 garments (5 for me, 3 for Anna and 1 for Anna's friend), 1 repair to husband's shorts. I'm so behind in my blogging, so you're just going to have to trust me on these projects!

Fabric out: 9.5m this month, 18m year to date

Fabric in: 0m this month, 10m year to date

So to end the world's most boring post, I thought I'd share some photos from the 1957-1958 pattern catalogue from the Australian Home Journal. I have quite a few of these pattern catalogues, but sadly no actual patterns but they are still pretty to look at. Enjoy!

Australian Home Journal Vintage Sewing Pattern Catalogue 1957 www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

I've nearly finished setting up my newly revamped sewing room - all that is left is a new cutting table and a few bits and pieces such as shelving and hooks etc. It's taken quite a lot of trips to my parents to bring everything out of storage, and even more trips to Ikea to buy some new storage units but it's looking great. Previously my sewing room was a mish mash of leftover pieces of furniture that I made do with, so it was neither beautiful or highly functional. Not this time though, it's becoming a lovely space. Photos to come, I promise.

Anyway my point in telling you all of this is because I'm publicly airing some rules I'm setting myself on use of my sewing room in the hope I feel obliged to keep them! They are probably things most of you are already doing, but if you're guilty of breaking these rules then at least you know you're not alone....

1. Clean up at the end of each project. A quick vacuum of my sewing space and a general clean up would probably take all of 10 minutes, yet I'm usually eager to get on with my next project or so over the one I've just completed that I never bother doing it.

2. Pack away at the end of each project. Similar to rule no.1 - I'm very guilty of leaving pattern pieces out of their packets, spare buttons floating around and left over bits of fabric in little piles everywhere. Which leads me to rule no.3....

3. Deal with fabric scraps!!! Last year when I was cleaning out my sewing room I was drowning in fabric scraps. I took a huge bag of large cotton pieces suitable for quilting to the Fabric Cave for resale, a few bags of smaller pieces and dress fabrics went to Toby's daycare centre and Anna's out of school hours care centre for craft activities, and yet I still had to throw out bags and bags of small scraps in the rubbish which I felt terribly guilty about. I'm just not a quilter, a prolific crafter or a maker of bias binding from left over fabrics or any of the other good uses for fabric scraps.

So this year I'm aiming to use up the leftover bits of fabric straight away in another project if possible and not let them linger in large piles in my sewing room. And if not, then I aim to make regular donations of fabric rather than let it get out of hand.

Hence this post. After I made my January Burda dress in the bright purple and green polka dot print cotton I had quite a bit of long skinny pieces of fabric left and since I loved the print so much I really wanted to make it into something wearable. So in February (yes I'm a bit behind in my blogging) I used them to make a shell top which I've made many times before:

Vogue 1826 Michael Kors shell top in purple print www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

I used Vogue 1826, an OOP Michael Kors pattern which is my TNT for a shell top. Because it's princess seamed with a centre back seam, the pattern pieces are long and narrow so I can squeeze it out practically any leftover piece of fabric.

Construction wise there's not much to say about this - I used bias binding around the neck and arm holes instead of fully lining it like I usually do, so it's a little tighter than other versions but still wearable. I also used an invisible zip down the centre back which is actually as the pattern is designed, but I usually make it with buttons down the back because I like that look. The stiffness of the zipper makes the fabric pool a little in my swayback, but I can live with it:

And best of all, it livens up a very dull gunmetal grey suit I sometimes wear when I need to be serious at work!

So I'm off to a great start, but it remains to be seen how long I can keep it up. I once set myself the rule of no new UFOs which in the last year has failed, but then again I also set myself the rule of sewing one Burda pattern each month which so far I'm complying!

So here I am breaking my blogging drought with a blog post that will be boring to practically everyone apart from myself - but since I don't keep records of my sewing beyond my blog it must be here I'm afraid. Feel free to skip on to another blog and come back next week when I have some beautiful Liberty loveliness to share.....

March just flew by in a blur of the mundane ordinariness of life, and writer's block of all things. I'm sure I've mentioned before that my day job is in environmental planning policy and legislation, and we have been very busy lately preparing a significant new piece of infrastructure legislation to be introduced very soon into parliament. And since I've recently started working a fourth day each week, it means most of my week is spent writing highly technical and legal documents, briefings etc so it's very hard to switch gears sometimes.

Anyway I'm hoping this inconsequential blog post will break my block and I can get back to normal posting, because I have been sewing a little bit in the last month and have quite a few things that need to be photographed and posted, including my March Burda project which indeed was finished in the month of March.

Sewing: 3 garments (and yet I had such high hopes for this month!)

Fabric out: 3.8m this month, 21.8m year to date

Fabric in: 2m this month, 12m year to date

And so to brighten up this post, this month I'm sharing some pages from the 1961 winter fashion pattern catalogue from the Australian Home Journal. I've come to realise the mid 1960s may be my favourtie decade fashion wise - the period after the 1950s full silhouette had fallen away but before the mini skirts and hippie outfits of the late 1960s had taken hold - the suits with cute and feminine detailing and the tailored dresses in this catalogue are right up my alley. And I would love to have a house with an open rung staircase, indoor jungle and grasscloth wallpaper like the second photograph below!

Once again I'm posting my monthly Burda project late although I did actually finish sewing it in March so I squeaked it in. I had no excuses either since the issue arrived in my letter box in the first few days of March, but I did have to think hard about what to make (there wasn't that much that excited me in this issue), and I made a muslin as well so that's almost like making it twice.

Here's my finished project:

I made the dress with piped seams (03/2015 #118), which looks like this:

This is a petite sized pattern (Burda sizes 17-21) so I thought it would be wise to make a muslin just to make sure that the wide waist panel actually sat at my waistline and below my bustline. I graded from a size 17 for the bodice, and then out to a size 20 for the waist panel and skirt, so a muslin was needed to make sure I blended the sizes properly. I don't often make muslins, so here is photographic proof that sometimes I am sensible!

You can see in the above photo that I did take out a bit of width at the waist and top of the skirt line, which is to be expected when I was trying to grade between 3 sizes. But the waistband hit the right spot on me, so lengthwise the bodice was fine.

The gathers below the bust and at the waistline aren't particularly visible due to the fabric I have used, but they do give a nice shape to the front without adding too much volume:

Speaking of the fabric, this is a lovely Liberty print in a mid weight cotton that has been in my stash for years. I'm not even sure where it came from but I think this is the perfect pattern to finally use it - I suffer from decision making paralysis when it comes to beautiful fabrics far too often. The red piping I used is slightly too bright to match the red in the fabric but I couldn't find a better match and I think it looks ok anyway.

I have to share a back view for no reason other than to show off my matching of the piping at the centre back invisible zip - getting these to match up can be so frustrating sometimes but this time it just worked out so well.

So it wouldn't be a Burda post without some complaint about the instructions,would it? So here goes: the instructions are extremely unclear about the hem bands on both the skirt and sleeves. In the magazine there is a short version (a lacey wedding dress for the 'confident bride') which is minus the hem band and this longer version which has the hem band, so you would naturally assume that the longer version merely has the hem band sewn on to the bottom of the skirt. But when I made the muslin I discovered that the skirt without the hem band was the perfect length. The pattern indicates a placement line marked for the piping but it doesn't say cutting line. The instructions aren't too clear either - it seems to suggest that you sew the piping in place along the marked placement line and then sew on the hem bands so that the hem bands are doubled layered. It was all very baffling but I'm glad I made a muslin so that I didn't waste any of my precious Liberty fabric.

Anyway, long story short - if you are of normal height and plan to make this dress with the piping around the bottom make sure you check the skirt length! When I made my muslin I didn't make the sleeves, so it wasn't until after I had sewn the sleeves on that I realised that they were also too long to add the piping and hem band, so I've left it as is. Doesn't look too out of proportion to me, so I can live with it.

I probably should have made the muslin with the sleeves set in though, because they are a little tight across the upper arms - the dress is still wearable and not overly tight, but it is a close fit and you can see some drag lines around the arms:

Since I am human and not a perfectionist, I was a tad bit lazy and didn't line the dress or put the buttons and loops at the top of the zip at the centre back. I merely topstitched the piping down around the neckline and sleeves to stop the piping flipping out, and I made the invisible zip as usual (I did add a hook and eye to the top of the zip after taking this photograph though!). It looks messy inside but it's ok on the outside and that's all that counts to me.

So overall I really like this pattern - it was well fitting for me without any major or unexpected fitting changes required apart from the length issue and is quite flattering I think for my pear shape with its a-line skirt shape and emphasis on the waistline. I'm thinking about making making this pattern in a solid colour for a work dress, because as much as I love this Liberty fabric it's a little too twee and sweet for my work wardrobe.

Finally, check out this photo of Toby - he's recently had his third birthday and already he's more than half my height! I am definitely going to be the shortest person in my family in only a few short years I think.

This latest finished project of mine was such a hard journey, and I'm so pleased I've finally finished it. Let me introduce McCalls 5815 in a brilliant blue colour:

This is the Nanette Lepore bow-collar jacket knock-off, although obviously I've made the view without the bow, which is now OOP:

McCalls 5185

This pattern was given to me by my sewing friend Sandra back in January and it's exactly what I love in a tailored jacket - a fitted silhouette with an interesting collar. Plus it is in size 4 - 12 so I thought I'd get it to fit across my narrow shoulders pretty well. Plenty of others have had success with this pattern and raved about the fit, so I just rashly jumped in and made it. I haven't made too many McCalls patterns so I'm not as familiar with their fit as I am with say a Burda pattern, so I should have made a muslin rather than just rely on a flat pattern measure check because there are a few things that haven't turned out too well and I need to muster up the energy to fix.

Firstly, those sleeves! This pattern has the most ridiculous sleeves I've ever seen - they are super long and super wide, which is obvious from the line drawing. I figured I could narrow them after I had sewn them up, but that didn't quite work because the seam line runs from the shoulder seam down the centre of the arm instead of towards the back like a traditional two piece sleeve. Because of my forward shoulders it meant that seam was really obvious and didn't hang straight at all.

So I dashed off to the Fabric Store to buy some more fabric and I cut a traditional two piece sleeve from another McCalls pattern. They still aren't great, I can see from the photo above that they are still a bit too baggy and I could take them in slightly more. There's also some wrinkling going on, partly because of the linen fabric (which can't be helped) but also partly because I'm not very good at altering the sleeve cap to match the forward shoulder adjustment I do to the armscye- more practice is needed there I think.

The second issue I have is with the fit - it looks too big especially around the bust along the princess seam and possibly at the hip because the bottom juts out a bit. I cut a size 6 at the top, grading out to a size 10 at the bottom because I didn't want it to be too tight since it is a jacket meant to be worn over other clothes. But you can see from the photo above and the one below that I should take in a bit more along the princess seams.

The back could also use a bit more of a sway back adjustment as well I think, to get rid of those wrinkles. And I also need to move that bottom button lower, but that's an easy fix compared to the rest.

Ok enough of the bad, I really love the key feature of this jacket: that large, pleated collar:

It's absolutely ginormous, but I think shawl collars are quite feminine and I love that pleat at the back of the neck which gives the collar shape around the front too. And to veer back to the critical again, I should have graded the collar seams better because they show through a bit too much for my liking.

Some other notes: I left off the draped pockets because my fabric, a stretch linen bought from The Fabric Store in January during their sale, was way too stiff and the pocket didn't drape but rather just gaped open. I don't tend to use pockets in jackets so I left them off. I also left off the fabric rose from the collar as well because I thought it looked a bit silly, and because I have an extensive brooch collection that I prefer to wear than a rolled up bit of fabric.

The jacket is fully lined in a stripy blue acetate lining that has been in the stash for years. Normally I use plain lining fabrics that closely match the outer fabric, so this is a bit of a departure for me:

I'm wearing it with a black pencil skirt that I made in February and didn't post because it was too boring to justify a post of its own. It's made from Burda 1/2011 #112 which has a wide waistband that I have substantially modified (see this post):

The fabric is what makes this skirt a little bit special - it is a textured polyester with raised hexagons that I bought also in January from Tessuti during their sale. It was a remnant, so this skirt cost me a grand total of $10.75, since I already had the lining in the stash and the zipper is recycled from another skirt.

So overall, I really like this jacket but I do need to do more fitting work on those sleeves and princess seams. Of course had I made a muslin I would have discovered this before making the final version. I can recommend this pattern to anyone who has this pattern (since it's OOP) and wants a feminine jacket but really think about using some different sleeves! I probably won't make this jacket again because it's such a distinctive look, but it will make a great addition to my corporate wardrobe.

I struggled a bit with picking out a pattern to make from the April issue of the Burda Style magazine - there isn't much in there that jumped out as needing to be in my wardrobe. I contemplated making a wrap shirt dress (4/2015 #122), but when Burda themselves describe a pattern as having a "plunging neckline" you just know it's going to need a lot of work to make it decent! So I've taken the easy option this month and made a simple jacket for Anna instead:

This pattern is 4/2015 #137, which is described as a short spring jacket:

I quite like the version Burda made up for the magazine using a jacquard and bead trim, but since we are about to enter winter and are having some wild and windy weather I used a length of wool coating that I picked up in a op shop for $4 some years ago. The fabric has a wonderful feel to it, not at all scratchy but soft with enough body for a jacket, however it's all a bit too much pink for me to wear. A jacket for a young lady though is a perfect use for it.

This pattern is really simple, as it has no closures, those pockets are fake and it's designed to have the edges bound in bias binding so there are no facings or linings. Because I used a wool fabric I chose to line it, using a pink lining also from an op shop purchase and a long time stash resident. I cut out the lining from the pattern pieces and lined the jacket to the edge.

I changed the pattern slightly by adding length to the body of the jacket and the sleeves - it's a bit too cold for three quarter sleeves at the moment. I also added patch pockets to the front because everyone needs functional pockets, especially a six year old!

The trim is not only the most expensive part of the jacket (the only component bought new and not from the stash) but was the most time consuming part because I hand sewed it to the neck edges and pockets. I found it really hard to pick out a trim, mainly because I'm terrible at picking out complementary trims but also because they all seemed a bit too grown up for a child's jacket. In the end the trim I used is mostly pink but it has some rainbow sparkle to it which Anna loves so that was a good choice.

I used sized 120 for the body (technically Anna is closer to a size 128), but I think the body is overall a little large and particularly at the back there is quite a bit of volume although it seems pretty good around the shoulders. I'm not sure what happened at the hem line because it definitely seems to curve up from the front - probably sloppy drafting on my part when I was making the pattern!

The fabric had stretched out of shape a bit and those white lines were slightly off grain, but I tried to steam it back into shape the best I could and match them up as much as possible. I cut the pieces out on a single layer to get those plaids to match up, which I think I did a pretty good job:

And overall the recipient is happy which is what counts and hopefully means that she will indeed wear it. Everyone who has sewn for a child knows that it is never guaranteed that something you make for them will actually be worn!

Final thoughts - a simple pattern that is quick and easy to make with infinite variations with fabric and trim choices. A lovely French style jacket for the budding fashionista!

Something a little different from me today - I'm participating in a 'Dress Up Party' hosted by Sara over at Sew Sweetness and have written a guest post reviewing Simplicity 2724. This is a great dress which has been made by lots of talented sewers, but for some reason it's now OOP. If you have this in your stash I can highly recommend making it up. I've made my version in an emerald green cotton for the bodice and a black and white mini houndstooth wool for the skirt.

It was fortunate that I had this commitment to meet because it forced me to finish this dress - I had a hugely productive sewing weekend away a few weeks ago but lately my life has been a black hole of busyness, sickness and a stint of solo parenting which has been hugely draining on my sewing mojo and I haven't had the energy (or time) to get much done. Hopefully this can get me back on track - so many things to sew and so little time!

image via Pattern Review

What an awful saying "killing two birds with one stone" really is when you break it down. I was trying to explain to Anna the figurative meaning of the saying, but being 6 years old she couldn't quite get past the literal meaning. But why mummy? You said we should never hurt animals. Why would you want to kill a bird with a stone? Ahh, to be six years old again with such an innocent outlook on things!

So let me try this in a PC way: my latest project achieved multiple outcomes whilst utilising a streamlined approach to achieve maximum efficiencies (I have told you I work for the government right? We excel at jargon like this!). Not only did I end up with a lovely top to wear, but I also used up two separate pieces of scrap fabric and used a previously unused vintage pattern from my rather large stash. A win any way you say it!

After I made the Simplicity dress in the last post, I had a large-ish bit and some odd shaped bits left over of the houndstooth fabric. Keeping in mind my recently self imposed rule of trying to use up fabric scraps in a meaningful way rather than hoard them, I decided to make this quick top instead of tidying up my sewing room after the dress project (which is my other recently self imposed rule!).

I used a 1960s era Vogue pattern (Vogue 6056), which was one of the patterns I got in my massive pattern haul in January:

I paired this fabric with some black knit fabric leftover from long ago project, because I didn't have enough of either fabrics but together I managed to eek out this top, albeit with shorter sleeves than the pattern is designed for.

It seems that practically every pattern company these days has a raglan pattern but what I like about this vintage Vogue pattern is that it has a bust dart to give some subtle shaping whilst still being a boxy, casual style.

The pattern was designed for woven fabrics, and has a front and back facing at the neckline which I substituted with a neckband since I was using a knit fabric. It's a one piece raglan sleeve, with a shoulder dart to give a bit of shaping which seems to sit well enough on my narrow, sloping shoulders.

Overall it was a super quick and easy top to make, but is great for my more casual days and it means more fabric out of my sewing room and into my wardrobe.

After my disappointment with the fit of the blue jacket from a few posts back (which I've pulled apart but haven't finished yet) I decided the wise thing would be to make muslins for jacket patterns at the very least, even if I continue being lazy towards other projects. Ironically this one needed only a few minor tweaks for it to turn out to be very wearable, and it's made from a very old UFO so it's a winner all round!

Jacket - Simplicity 1460, Skirt Burda 9/2013 #130, Top Vogue 1826

A bit of back story: I started making a knee length princess seamed coat from this fabric to wear to the horse races one spring Saturday back in 2000ish. In the tradition of all projects destined to fail, I started making this a few days before it was needed and once the occasion passed without the jacket finished in time all motivation was lost and it has sat in my UFO box ever since. I was using one of those multi sized New Look patterns and didn't realise I had cut a size 22 for the side pieces and a size 8 for the rest until I had sewn and overlocked the seams - unpicking the seams in a loose woven fabric like this just was not appealing so it didn't get done! And then I realised I would probably never wear a knee length coat in this fabric, it would be just too much pink for me so as a result it never got finished but yet I couldn't bring myself to throw it away.

So here we are 15 years later, I wanted to make a muslin of Simplicity 1467 because there are no pattern reviews of the jacket pattern and I decided to cut into this sad, half made project because it closely resembled the final fabric I wanted to use. The fabric is a poly wool tweed, certainly not expensive but still quite pretty and deserving of a second chance at becoming a finished project.

image from Simplicity

First version - aside from making full length sleeves and my usual narrow shoulder adjustment I made the pattern exactly as per the envelope. No photos of this version (I sew late at night) but let me just say that the gathers at the centre back in this lofty and thick fabric gave me a bit of a Kim Kardashian bubble butt look - aka not good! I also had a bit of extra fabric along the princess seam at the bust line.

Second version - I changed the gathers at the centre back into an inverted pleat to get it to sit a bit flatter and I flattened the curve of the princess seam on the side front pieces (basically a small bust adjustment). I thought at this stage it was pretty good, until I took some photos of it! Uneven hem:

Gathers at the side sticking out:

And that pleat at the back was not such a good idea after all:

Verdict: out came the unpicker once again!

Third and final version: I recut the peplum pieces to take out the excess fabric so the jacket sits smoothly all around the waistline now. I let down the hem as much as I could so it has barely a 1cm hem now but because I had clipped the corners of the yoke at the bottom centre fronts I couldn't let the hem down there, so I cut off the yoke at the waist and continued the peplum to the centre front. So basically the final version looks quite different from the original pattern.

Final thoughts - I really like this jacket so it was worth the effort in the end. In fact I like this version so much I decided not to make a version from the fabric I had intended to use which is a white textured wool because I figure two winter weight jackets from this pattern might be a little too much since it's rather distinctive.

But I will make this pattern again in spring or summer in a lightweight fabric - in a future version I'll leave off the gathers at the back because I really don't need any extra fabric in that particular spot. I'll also put separating zipper down the front because not having a closure annoys me - the fronts never sit evenly and it makes the hem look rather uneven although they are straight. I'll also lengthen the peplum so I can make a decent hem on the jacket.

And that's one less UFO in my big box of shamefully unfinished projects and one more finished garment.

At the risk of sounding like a trashy 1980s style souvenir t-shirt (you know the ones: my grandma went to Singapore and all I got was this lousy t-shirt), but I have to say it: I've been sewing like a crazy woman and all I've got to show for it is a few lousy blog photos because it's all for other people!

My daughter's school held its annual fete recently which took an enormous amount of time and effort before the day in terms of organising, selling raffle tickets let alone on the actual day. I was the stall co-ordinator for my daughter's class, and we were allocated the second hand clothing stall so I spent about 3 months lugging home bags of donated clothes from school to sort, wash and store in a large pile in my sewing room. The fete was a huge success though - we made nearly $60,000 and my stall made nearly $900 which is a great result and will go towards installing air conditioning in all our classrooms, upgrading computers and replenishing the library. All things you would think the government would provide (it's a public school) but they don't.

Being a little too quick to volunteer my sewing talents, I ended up hemming tablecloths, making drawstring bags and sewing bunting. Oh the bunting! It took way longer to make than I could ever have imagined:

That's about 70 metres of bunting altogether. The actual sewing of triangles to the bias tape wasn't the longest bit, but cutting out all those triangles and sewing them together took many, many hours. Luckily it looked great, we can reuse it next year and all the fabric I used from stash to make it (about 8m) has now balanced out a recent on-line fabric purchase binge!

Next up I offered to make Anna and her friends matching t-shirts for the sports carnival that was scheduled for last Thursday. Her school decided to have a retro themed sports carnival (in the early years it's all about fun and not competition) so I thought a 1970s style raglan t-shirt worn with some sweatbands would be extremely funny in a cute way. Unfortunately the sports carnival was postponed until mid July due to bad weather, but I did finish all these t-shirts:

1970s style raglan sleeve sports t-shirt

I used Kwik Sew 2893 (now OOP) which is just a basic tshirt pattern but is drafted really well (all the notches lined up and the pattern piece for the neckband was spot on) and the sizing of the pattern is quite accurate which in itself is somewhat amazing for a child sewing pattern. I made sizes small and medium for 6 and 7 year old kids and all the tshirts fit very well.

I thought the curved hems, and contrasting sleeves and neckbinding were very retro. The different colours are for their different teams. The lettering on the front is made from iron on transfer paper and each t-shirt has their name and year of birth which the kids thought was very cool so the effort was worth it, even if I ended up making these really quickly for no reason.

Finally I had to make an emergency pair of pyjamas for Anna. Anna's school was holding a wear your pyjamas to school day to raise money for some good cause, and it wasn't until the night before that I realised that Anna has had a spectacular growth spurt and all of her pyjamas were way too short. And here's where the value of having a large stash of fabrics and patterns really proves it worth: I was able to dig out a lovely soft piece of pink check flannelette and some textured knit (like the fabric used for spencers) and made a simple pair of pants and raglan tee using the same Kwik Sew pattern again since it was still out on my cutting table:

pink check flannelette pyjamas and white knit raglan top

Pyjama disaster averted, more fabric used from the stash and all done in about the same amount of time it would have taken me to to get to the shops!

So now that's all over and done with, I can get back to my regular sewing projects. I have a blazer for myself about 85% done which I want to finish very soon and I do need to get cracking on my June and July Burda projects because if I let that get too far behind I'm sure I'll never catch up again. Hopefully I have something more exciting to share next time I post

It's been so chilly here in Sydney lately that the single digit overnight temperatures have made the 6pm news (apparently we're in a polar vortex) and prominently in our major metropolitan newspaper. In the part of Sydney I am there hasn't been any frost let alone snow, and during the day it's been sunny with temps between 15 - 18C so life has continued on as normal with just an extra coat to go with the sunscreen and hat!

It seems that us Sydneysiders in general just cannot cope with the cold. Myself as well - I've spent far too many nights recently curled up on the lounge under a blanket with hardly any motivation to venture in to my sewing room, hence the blog silence of late. But as they say in the business, here's one I prepared earlier!

Kwik Sew 3740 cowl neck top in red wool knit www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

Back in May I had a weekend away with my Australian Sewing Guild group which was not only lots of fun but also quite productive. I made this cowl neck top from Kwik Sew 3740 on the first night, and it took about two hours from cutting out to finishing because it's such a simple pattern and I made it mostly on the overlocker apart from twin stitching the hems. I had been planning to make this for such a long time after seeing lots of lovely versions around (see Sharon , Kyle, Shannon and Sue) - I have no idea why I took so long to get around to making this one. It won't be the last one though.

Kwik Sew 3740 - image via kwiksew.com

The fabric I used is some type of wool knit that came in a big tubular piece but it's exact composition is unknown because I bought it for a bargain price at the Fabric Cave at Meadowbank last year (a charity shop selling donated fabric and other craft materials for those not familiar with the bounty that is the Fabric Cave!). The fabric pressed beautifully, is not too scratchy and is the most wonderful deep shade of red.

I made a straight size small, and the size isn't too bad - it's loose enough to layer over another top for extra warmth. It's a bit long when untucked, and it definitely looks better tucked in especially at the back because it disguises the likely fabric pooling at my swayback I will have:

The neckline is exactly as wide as the pattern envelope shows, so that wasn't a surprise but I wasn't expecting the shoulders to be so wide - the seam line is so far off my shoulder it's almost a dropped shoulder.

That cowl is quite big and it does need to be carefully arranged to sit properly otherwise it looks like a scrunched up mess, but it would probably sit a bit better in a more slinky knit.

My verdict: this is a great pattern with Kwik Sew's usual precision drafting. Their patterns may have the most boring cover envelopes, but they sure are reliable when it comes to proper drafting. For my next version (and I'm hoping that will be sometime this winter) I think I will try to raise the neckline a little because it's a bit too cold to have that much chest area out in the cold air!

Those of you that have been paying close attention may have noticed that I haven't posted a Burda of the month project for the last, oh, 3 months. I got very annoyed because the May issue didn't arrive until June 1 and was then followed the very next day by the June issue - both landing in a very busy month which I didn't get a chance to sew anything from them. And then to top it off the July issue arrived on June 30 - that would be 3 months worth of Burda in one single month.

I'm part way through making my project from the May issue, but I'm having some annoying fit issues that I'm still contemplating the best way of fixing. So I decided to skip forward to the June issue and make a rather simple top, since nothing else really caught my eye. Funnily enough for a pattern made of two pieces it gave me just as many fit issues as any complicated pattern.

I'm going to say this right up front - this project is a wadder and will not even make it into my wardrobe at all. But for the record, here's my completed project: Burda 6/2015 #116:

Burda 6/2015 #116 drape front blouse www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

Burda 6/2015 #116B

If you are a sewing purist that appreciates fine finishes and proper techniques you may want to stop reading now - because between the unsophisticated pattern design and my dodgy fixes this is not my finest moment.

Let's start with how bad the pattern is - I should have known from the outset that it was going to be all sorts of wrong. It has only one pattern piece - the front and back is the same, and it is cut on the fold.

The v-neckline is created by cutting a slit down the centre of the piece, and spreading the piece open which creates the shoulders, causes the draping of fabric along the front and technically should have straightened that pointy hem out:

I've used a very fine cotton fabric that has been in the stash a long time that drapes very well, so I thought it might be ok. But instead I ended up with this top that gaped open very badly at the top of my arms at the bustline:

But I'm not the only one that had this problem - there is a version on the Russian burdastyle website that looks exactly like the one I've made, although there are two other versions that don't seem to have the problem. I didn't cut my v - neckline as deep as the pattern was designed, so I don't know if that has caused this, but at this point I knew that this was going to be a wadder.

The Burda pattern instructions instruct you to leave the neckline raw, but use a binding strip for the armhole edges which struck me as very strange because the fabric suggestion is for silk satin (view B is for a knit) which would surely unravel and look terrible. Surely Burda could have drafted a facing for the neckline?

Since I thought this was a losing battle, I just turned the overlocked edge under and top-stitched. Which of course on a v-neck doesn't work very well (remember purists I did warn you to look away!):

Anyway I still wasn't happy with that gaping at the shoulders, so I decided to baste in a dart to take out that excess. It took out away the gaping but it didn't really improve the top (look, I can barely crack a smile at this point):

The drape on the front view looks ok, but the side view makes this look like a maternity top which I definitely do not need:

And there is loads of excess fabric in the back:

I tried tucking it in and hiding it beneath a jacket, but that defeats the point of a lightweight, drapey top doesn't it?

My humble opinion - I do not recommend this pattern at all. I like the pleats at the shoulder and the overall idea of the top, but that neckline is just lazy drafting and I'm pretty sure you could find a better pattern for a v-neck top with draping. I just don't think an easy pattern needs to be this poorly designed.

But the good thing about my Burda challenge is that it forces me to try something different sometimes, and nothing has been lost but a bit of stash fabric and a few hours of my time. Onwards and upwards for the next project I say.

By the way it still is bitterly cold here in Sydney, I've just cranked up the heat to take these photos!

I'm still fiddling around with the fit on my May Burda project so I decided to move on ahead with the July project so at least I could say I sewed it within the same month of issue. This was another issue that not much caught my eye - so I picked out a simple dress pattern to use up some lovely fabric I bought last week at the Fabric Store sale:

It's still very cold here in Sydney, hence the tights. This pattern is 7/2015 #115, which looks like this:

It's just a simple gathered rectangle attached to a loosely fitted bodice, which I thought would not interrupt the fabric print too much. The fabric is a light polished cotton with a woven stripe running through it. I underlined the skirt portion in a thin cotton poplin to stop any transparency issues, which is why it's sticking to my stockings in these photos.

There's not much to say about this pattern really, because it is very simple. I left off the hem band and just cut the skirt portion long enough to fit me with a decent hem. I also forgot to put those inseam pockets in before I sewed the side seams and was too lazy to unpick and put them in, which I'm sure I'll regret because pockets are always handy.

I also cut the back bodice on the fold line because I couldn't see the point of having a centre back seam - there's no shaping there and no opening so cutting it on the fold made no difference fitting wise and also meant that I didn't have to do any pattern matching:

I do like that the skirt is gathered before it is sewn to the bodice, and then it's further cinched in by elastic because it means that the bodice isn't as blousey as it would have been without doing it this way and it avoids the need for a zipper. But I didn't particularly care for Burda's instructions to sew the elastic to the seam allowance at the waist line - you have to use quite narrow elastic and it makes the seam allowance dig into the body a bit and cause a bit of ridge at the waist line. If I were to make this again (or undo this and remake it) I would make the seam allowance bigger and sew down the seam allowance to the bodice to create a casing for elastic to be inserted into.

It definitely needs a waist tie like the pattern suggests, or a wider belt with belt loops because my narrow belt kept slipping off the waist seam due to that ridge caused by the elastic. And without anything at the waist it looks a bit bland:

But overall I like this pattern - simple, quick and easy to make which is perfect for a simple summer dress. The neckline is wide enough to get on without needing a zipper but isn't too wide to reveal a bra strap. The skirt is nicely gathered without being over the top voluminous, be wary of a windy day kind of skirt:

And most of all I'm impressed with myself for sewing up fabric within a week of purchasing it - it doesn't happen all that often I must admit!

I've had a terrible case of start-everything-but-finish-very-little lately - I think I currently have about 5 projects in varying stages of progress (not to mention a rather large box of UFOs that have been hanging around for years). I forced myself to finish this latest project because although we are still having very cold weather our winter will shortly come to an end and I really want to get some wear from this tailored jacket I've made in a polyester-wool blend:

Vogue 9716 white wool tailored jacket with inset collar www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com

I used Vogue 9716, which is an OOP pattern from 1995 which doesn't seem that long ago to me! It's an obscure pattern and I could find no reference to it on the internets except for a few for sale on etsy and eBay. I'm not sure what the difference is between Vogue Woman and ordinary Vogue patterns - the body measurements are the same, so maybe they are a more mature style perhaps?

I've actually sewn this jacket before in my pre-blogging days in a powder blue cotton sateen which was terribly frumpy - those extended shoulders and mid thigh length certainly do not suit me at all. That jacket has long since gone off to the charity shop.

For this version I shortened it significantly, by almost 15cm which meant I had to leave off those patch pockets, and I narrowed the shoulders to a more natural line because I didn't plan on wearing armour style shoulder pads with this jacket. I also nipped in the centre back seam and princess seams on the back to deal with my swayback - there is still a little bit of excess fabric in the back but I really didn't want a jacket to be too fitted since it's meant to be worn over other garments.

I only did a minimal amount of tailoring since there was no rolled collar or lapels to pad stitch and support, but I put in a back stay in a crisp cotton to prevent the shoulders stretching out and I added a sleeve header to get that nice rounded look to the top of the sleeve. I left out shoulder pads though because I felt it was structured enough without them:

I really do like that inset collar - tailored jackets with a quirky collar is definitely my favourite garment to make and wear. I find them a bit more feminine and interesting than a traditional notched lapel tailored jacket, especially when worn with a dress. I could have done a much better job in grading the seam allowances though, because the wool is quite thick and the ridge of the seam allowances is clearly visible.

But apart from that nitpicking (why are we so harsh on ourselves?) I'm really pleased with how the jacket has turned out. A white jacket will go with so many things in my wardrobe so it will be really useful. I just need to stay away from my small children when I'm wearing it though!

One of the reasons I think many of us have beautiful and lovely fabrics sitting in our stashes unused is because of a fear of ruining it. I know it's certainly the case for me - many times I've either completely stuffed up the project or I've made it into something less than stellar that made me wish I'd waited for a better pattern or project idea to come along. And that's why I have many pieces in my fabric stash that I really want to use but just can't bring myself to do so.

Sadly my latest project is a bit of both - a few small stuff ups and a poor pattern choice has meant that I used this lovely dark indigo chambray with polka dots in a poor way. It's only a Robert Kaufman fabric bought from fabric.com last year so it's not irreplaceable, but still I wish I'd made something better than this:

I wanted to make a loose fitting shirt to layer over t-shirts to wear with skinny pants for a casual winter look. I almost reached for a standard button down shirt pattern of which I have many, when I came across a vintage McCalls pattern in my stash which is a raglan sleeve woven shirt pattern. I am inexplicably drawn to raglan sleeves (probably all sorts wrong for my narrow, sloping shoulders but still I love the style) and it is a 1977 pattern (my birth year) which I took as a good sign to try it out.

I did say I wanted a loose fit, but this pattern turned out huge. I didn't get a photo of it but basically it looked like an oversized art smock. Easily fixed though - I ended up taking 10cm out of the side seams and the sleeves to get it a bit more slim line but still a relaxed fit. The back has an inverted centre pleat which adds quite a bit of volume to the back and is the complete opposite of my usual obsession of removing excess fabric in my lower back area, but a different silhouette is good for a change:

Unfortunately re-sewing those side seams led to a stuff up - I accidentally caught the fabric in the side seam when I was overlocking the edge and cut a nick which is of course right in the centre front and too low to cover up with a pocket:

I applied some of that iron on mending tape to the back of it which I hope will hold. I may need to sew it down after a few washes if it starts fraying though. So annoying when something like that happens!

The collar is a one piece collar (i.e. the collar stand and collar are combined) which is not my favourite way of doing things because it means the collar tends to sit more widely open and it doesn't seem to roll over properly the whole way around the collar, although it easier and quicker to sew. I suppose I could have put that first button up a little higher (or put another one in) to bring it in closer, but I don't think it looks too bad and certainly has a 1970s vibe:

Buttoned up to the top just looks a bit too work shirt style to me and a bit lopsided for some reason:

I do like the curved hem at the sides, and I remember to shorten the shirt quite significantly (about 20cm) from the pattern because I didn't want a tunic length shirt:

So overall not one of my best projects, but it's not always rainbows and lollipops around here. Or highly structured tailored jackets and pencil skirts! I might try styling it differently before I give up on it, perhaps some skinny pants would make it work after all except that I don't have any and I don't plan on doing double denim. And if it is unsalvageable, well I guess I can always order some more fabric!

In my last post I was lamenting doing horrible things to a nice fabric - in this post I will lament doing nice things to horrible fabric! I picked a long term resident from my stash because I liked the colour and it draped nicely, composition unknown though, maybe some sort of woven polyester.

Unfortunately it's one of those fabrics that creases the second you dare touch or move it, so badly so that when I pressed one section another would immediately crease and so this top looks creased, puckered and altogether terrible. I'm calling this one a muslin, because I did need to do some fitting changes to get the pattern right so it still has some value in that regard and I definitely plan on making another one in a more beautiful fabric. But for now, here it is:

I used pattern #120 from the 8/2015 Burda magazine:

images via Burda Style

I have to say this issue is fantastic - after struggling to pick anything for the last few months this month I struggled just to pick one thing because there were quite a few great patterns. Yay Burda! But (and there's always a but), it does annoy when Burda does what they have done here and treats very slight variations on the pattern as three separate patterns. Honestly, the only difference between view B and C is using contrast fabric on the neckline, and the only difference with A is that the drape is sewn from two different fabrics.

As you can see from the line drawing, the top is rather shapeless. I seem to have an allergy to shapeless, unfitted garments and can never leave well enough alone! I curved those side seams in quite a bit at the waist line tapering out to nothing at the bottom. I think this has made it look very shapely whilst still being loose enough to wear with a zipper in the back.

I also significantly curved in that centre back seam to get rid of the excess fabric at my swayback as usual - I took it in about 5cm in my lower back tapering out to nothing at the top and bottom which has given me a slim fit at the back too. The hem dips slightly at the back too which is a nice touch:

I really like how the drape overlay on the front comes out of the shoulder seam - close to the sleeve but not part of it:

And I've certainly learnt my lesson from previous Burda projects that have a keyhole neckline and I lengthened the opening by another 4cm to make sure it would fit over my head (which I'm sure is normal sized!).

The model in the magazine is wearing her blouse tucked in, but I'm not so sure about this look. Because the drape sits over the waistband it just looks like the top is sloppily half tucked in and half slipping out to me:

The sleeves are a very slim fit, which I very much like the look of but they do mean you have a bit less movement. Which is fine because I won't be wearing this top playing tennis but if I stand with my hands on my hips or arms crossed (which I do far too often), the sleeve cap does pop up:

But overall I love this pattern - it's simple but still interesting. It did take me longer to sew than I expected though - several hours over a few nights mainly because I was fighting the whole way with the fabric but also because I basted those side and back seams several times to gradually take it in and doing a narrow hem on the drape edge is a bit fiddly. I did think about doing a rolled edge on my overlocker except I didn't have enough matching thread to do it.

When I make this again I think I will round out those angles on the drape so that it's one continuous seam instead of having those sharp corners to make it easier to sew. And hopefully I can find a decent fabric in a pink colour because I am still keen on making on a pink top despite two failures in a row now!

January sewing stats

Simple dress in stripes: Vogue 2659

Burda 9/2007 #128: simple skirt in a stunning floral

Burda of the Month: 2/2015 #128 the seam crazy top

February Sewing Stats

Vogue 1826 - the leftover top

March sewing roundup and winter 1961 vintage sewing patterns

March Burda of the Month: 03/2015 #118 piped seam dress in lovely Liberty fabric

McCalls 5815: brilliant blue jacket

Burda of the Month: 4/2015 #137 - a miniature French style jacket

Dress Up Party: Simplicity 2724 review

Vintage Vogue 6056: Houndstooth top

Simplicity 1467: from 15 year old UFO to wearable muslin

So, I've been busily sewing....

Sewing in the polar vortex: Kwik Sew 3740 cowl neck top

Burda of the month: 6/2015 #116 draped top

Burda of the Month: 07/2015 #115 - sometimes you just want something easy

Vogue 9716 - tailored white wool jacket

When sad things happen to nice fabric: vintage McCalls 5700 chambray polka dot shirt

August Burda of the Month: 8/2015 #120 another pink drape top