A new outfit because a) she’s grown b) decided she loves trousers and not leggings 3) to celebrated my favourite local fabric shop launching their website.
Activewear edition of Battle of the Stitches
DISCLAIMER: The only Yoga I’ve ever done has been sessions led by my youngest daughter who does it at school!
So Olu (Needle and Ted) and I are back for another battle. This time we both ordered some lovely quality sports jersey from Fabworks and challenged each other to some athletic wear sewing. (Which looking through my previous posts seems to be a motivation to post these days)
Battle of the Stitches: The Boilersuit
There’s no denying my love for a jumpsuit and boilersuits are no exception. Whilst I’ve never worn a ‘nice’ one before I’ve had an old oversized mechanic style one bought secondhand in Brick Lane for nearly 20 yrs ago that I use for painting. When I spotted the free pattern from The Rational Dress Society who offer it up as an ‘experiment in counter-fashion’ suggesting we ‘free ourselves from choice’ by filling our wardrobes with one item only. Although I will probably not be wearing only boilersuits from now I am fully onboard with the idea that clothing should adhere to the standards of durability, functionality and practicality. Luckily Olu (Needle and Ted) was onboard too.
The original Rational Dress Society (as I understand but am no expert) was formed 1881 in London to protest against constrictive fashion, advocating that clothing offered:
- Freedom of Movement.
- Absence of pressure over any part of the body.
- Not more weight than is necessary for warmth, and both weight and warmth evenly distributed.
- Grace and beauty combined with comfort and convenience.
- Not departing too conspicuously from the ordinary dress of the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_Dress_Society
Honestly those are pretty much all (not sure about grace?) the considerations I try to take into account when making my own clothes although I might have to reword the last one to something about reflecting my own taste.
Back to the jumpsuit/boilersuit- the pattern is FREE! and comes in a large range of varying size/shape/height combinations and in a fitted (bust darts) or unfitted (no bust darts) style. I chose the fitted I style called x-Ray which corresponded to 36-37.5″ chest measurement (mine is actually closer to 35), a 39-40.5″ hip measurement and 5’4″-5’6″ height. The first challenge was that the pattern didn’t want to print out for me in tiled pieces so I ended up having to import the large format pattern into illustrator and tile it myself.
For a free pattern the instructional video is very instructional and thorough and helpful if you like that sort of thing. I however, found it too thorough to be helpful. I tend to be a skim reader when it comes to pattern instructions and it’s not easy to skim read a video so I didn’t and just freestyled the construction.
Overall it came together nicely and the fit was pretty spot on, except that the bodice was too long so I had to take about an inch of the bottom of the bodice pieces. I used sandwashed tencel bought at The Fabric Room for the bargain price of £4.50 a metre. (The minimum order is 3 metres.) I felt the soft drape of the fabric might soften the utilitarian style in a way that made it more useful for me as everyday wear, which I think worked – certainly I’ve been wearing it a lot.
The only other thing I might change if I were to make it again is the sleeve. They ended up wider than I imagined, which I don’t mind as the fabric is drapey, but I would definitely address if using a stiffer fabric. This issue can be confirmed by Olu who did make the same pattern in a denim – you can read all about her make and changes she made here.
After I’d made my jumpsuit I found that there was a fair amount left from the original 3 metres so I got to work making another jumpsuit for the other fan of them in our house.
I used Chalk and Notch’s kids fringe dress pattern for the bodice grading from a 12 in height to an 8 in width. I had to widen the bodice at the back so that it would meet the trouser part and be possible to take it on an off. For the trousers I used my Graphite Trousers pattern again grading between a 12 and an 8. I kept the ties from the fringe dress to add a little definition at the back. Using up the leftover fabric is really practical but I’m not actually a big fan of wearing matchy matchy clothes with my kids. Luckily we look completely different in our jumpsuits though. Right?
Just when I’d finished these jumpsuits Barbara from Bobbinhood got in touch to ask if I’d help test their new boilersuit pattern. By this stage I already knew how much wear this one was getting so agreed but decided to make this one a little different, and by different I mean louder. I had a denim version in mind but Barbara asked if I could test in a drapey fabric so I used the same sandwashed tencel fabric as before but this time in pink.
As it was a test for Bobbinhood (who make and sell easy screenprinting kits) I felt compelled to add some screenprinting to my suit. Inspired by the embroidery I added to an upcycled cami top made last year I played around sketching some designs, settling on an abstract design in coral, mustard, white and black which I then added further detail to with embroider thread.
If I were to do it again, I’d probably make the design a little bit less busy, needless to say I didn’t do it again and sewed up the suit with the panel as it was. At the stage I tested the pattern the instruction booklet (which now looks great!) wasn’t finished so I can’t comment on it and again made up the construction adding hidden poppers to the front.
In the end they turned out to be quite similar suits, although I much prefer the fit of the arms on this version and the zip closure on the previous one.
So, if you’ve ever fancied making a boiler suit, there are lots of options around. Along with the two patterns I’ve mentioned above I’ve also spotted the following:
https://thefoldline.com/sewing-patterns/jean-paul-boiler-suit-coverall/
So now’s the time….
Summer Sewing with Hello Heidi
Ah, that time of the year when the sun comes out and I realise how much they’ve grown, again.
Luckily I was provided with some extra motivation for summer sewing in the form of some lovely Hello Heidi jersey fabric. (Gifted in return for making something with it!) Continue reading
Battle of the stitches: Who’s the copycat?
Here’s a comfy, lycra outfit sewn up this winter for the days I don’t have to go to work and want to feel like I’m still wearing pyjamas. I used some lovely Nosh Organics fabrics (sadly no longer selling fabrics online), that I had in my cupboard – for the jumper a slub textured cotton sweatshirt and cotton terry for the leggings. Continue reading
Mint green and navy
Now that the Harriet Bra by Cloth Habit (with a few tweaks!) is a tried and tested pattern I decided to try and adapt my well fitting full band pattern to create the same fit in a partial band style.Project Run and Play Final
So the final week is here, and after this I’ll be looking forward to a bit of sewing for myself for a change! Over on the Project Run and Play competition, the final week is always entitled ‘Signature Style’ which gives makers free rein, and is I suppose, a cue to make things you (and the small clients) will love.
Project Run & Play – Birthday Dress(up)
This week’s theme over on the Project Run & Play Challenge is celebrations around the world which seemed to me like a great excuse to make some party outfits. We celebrated my youngest daughter’s birthday this weekend so that seemed like the perfect (and most practical) choice of celebration. I tend to make a birthday outfit of her choice every year anyway and more often than not she chooses a costume, which I interpret to make as wearable as possible (last year’s was a shark hoodie and mermaid leggings!). This year she requested a hawk dress which I did my best to interpret into something that could have multi-purpose wear but also the flamboyant make-believe fun factor I know she appreciates. I decided to go with a simple dress that could be paired with a cape that serve as wings (or a simple jacket or jumper on other occasions) and chose a colour scheme that drew inspiration from a hawk but was also aesthetically pleasing. Continue reading
Project Run and Play – Beside the Sea
The theme for this week’s challenge over on Project Run & Play is ‘Inspire by Nature’ which really appealed to me. But I then found it very hard to pin down to just one idea as there is just so much to be inspired by! I settled on those trips to the beach, not necessarily the summery ones with ice creams and swimming costumes, but the long autumnal walks, where beach combing and staring out to sea seems to restore the soul. I was determined to keep the design inspiration non literal and just be inspired by the shapes, textures and colours of the sea itself (which remain a focus), but then a fabric design print idea popped into my head (and sketchbook) and wouldn’t leave!
Made by Toya 