Today I’m joining a group of international sewists posting makes that are inspired by the talented ray-of-sunshine that is Portuguese blogger Ines of La Folie Sewing Booth.
Ines sews outfits for herself and two daughters and always makes good use of knit fabric, with a particular appreciation of Nosh Organics. She also lives in a much warmer climate than I do so I thought I’d make an outfit with fabrics I know she’d love but sew them up to suit a British winter (so I could actually wear them!!).
This year I’m making a concerted effort to make some clothes that will make me like winter dressing. I love the ease of putting on a dress or jumpsuit in summer, and love how I feel wearing them, but come wintertime I feel distinctly unenthusiastic about layers and trying to coordinate them while staying warm. To address this I’m trying to make clothes that I know will work together rather than just individual pieces that I like.
The Pencil Skirt
The pencil skirt is self drafted using the same pattern block as I did for my refashioners pencil skirt but reducing the size to create negative ease for a knit fabric. I also removed the back centre seam as there was no need for a zip and added elastic in the waistband.
The fabric is denim sweatshirting in dark green from Nosh. It has a nice weight and structure to it, so whilst being comfy to wear is not quite as unforgivingly clingy as most jersey fabrics.
I used the blind hem stitch on my machine for the first time which really made me wonder why I hadn’t before. I almost always sew a hem on a skirt or dress by hand but the blind-hem stitch was a nice compromise.
The 3/4-Sleeved Tee
The tee that shrank started life as a truly voluminous number from a pattern in a Japanese sewing book (which I used to make this top). However something about the volume combined with the lovely Suhasu print jersey (also in dark green and from Nosh) made me worry that if I stood still for too long in December people might start decorating me with tinsel. I kept the bateau neckline but cut the original sleeves out and replaced them after recutting the armscyes and body for a slimmer shape. As a result the arms ended up just slightly too tight resulting in a little pulling across the upper chest and arm but not enough to really bother me.
The Turtleneck Tee
Whilst being a massive fan of 3/4 length sleeves, sometimes they’re not quite warm enough, so for those days I used the Hepburn Turtleneck pattern from Itch to Stitch to make another top, this time out of charcoal grey jersey, again from Nosh.
Using the measurements suggested on the pattern I graded between a size 4 at the chest and waist to a size 6 at the hips. I also added about an inch to the length. Next time I think a straight size 6 would be better.
The Sointu Kimono Tee
Cotton jersey might be comfy, but it isn’t always cosy enough, so for the last item to be mixed and matched I made a Sointu Kimono Tee by Named Clothing in a thick wool mix sweater knit from Simply Fabrics.
Its a simple pattern so was another quick sew. I used the overlocker for all the seams and a walking foot on my sewing machine for the hemline and neckline for which I used black jersey for binding.
If you want to see what others have made on this day of Inespiration have a look at:
Amazing! you made so many beautiful Things in the right Inês spirit!
Thanks Tone – can’t wait to see what everyone has made.
I agree with Tone! You’ve made such a wonderful set of coordinating clothes for the winter! I love the idea that they will make dressing for winter much easier, and I might have to borrow that idea for myself… 😉
I love the outfit, I want to copy it! Isn’t it wonderful the chain of inspiration on the sewing community?
Yes I love it – it really brings me such joy (and we all need some of that!)
Your pieces are so well thought out and the colours are perfect for winter. I really want to try that kimono tee pattern now!
YOur whole outfit is so well thought through! I love all the pieces so much! The colors are perfect too! Well done!
Wow, you made so much and it’s all SO good. I can’t wait to make my Sointu now. And I’m still chuckling over your worry about being decorated as a christmas tree hahahaha. I guess you got the perfect fabric in case that will ever be a dress up wish from your daughters 😉
You made me laugh out loud with your decorating with tinsel comment. Brilliant mix and match outfits you created, I need to do more ‘making clothes that work together’ rather than individual garments. I always seem to get sidetracked into just making what I love.
So many beautiful clothes! I should start planning my sewing this way. Well, planning my sewing instead of making according to my mood would already be a major step 😉 ah ah ah
I think this is the first time I’ve managed it – it’s very hard not just to be motived by creative whims but I am making a concerted effort to strike a balance!