Oslo Coat

I’ve got my laptop back! It only took six weeks… Happily it seems to be fixed, my tracking pad isn’t freaking out and opening random windows or menus or zooming instead of moving the cursor, so that’s a definite improvement! I have quite the backlog of projects to blog, including a bunch of sewing I’ve done for our upcoming trip (than you to everyone who has given me trip suggestions, either here or on Instagram, I really appreciate it!), but I’m hoping to get a lot of those projects photographed and blogged while we’re away. but first, I’m going to show you my end-of-winter coat, before it gets to unseasonable!

This is the Oslo coat, a recent release from Tessuti. Emma and I were messaging about winter coat patterns the day this was released, and we both decided it was the one to make! it was nice to have a sewing buddy to troubleshoot with! Emma also took these photos, we visited the Parkin Drawing Exhibiton at the Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, and got some photos. The piece I’m standing in front of was my favourite, it’s by Jae Kang and is called 4000 Stains of Breath.

I really like the silhouette of this coat, I don’t have anything like it in my wardrobe. I was a bit worried about the size of the shawl collar, I thought it made my head look disproportionately small, but it looks ok in these pictures! I used a reasonably fine wool in an interesting not-quite-black colour for the outer, and a blush pink silk/cotton blend for the lining, both from The Fabric Warehouse. The coat looks black in these pictures, but against a true black or grey it looks deepest green, or even inky navy in some lights. Whatever colour it looks, it’s a nice neutral. I really struggled to find a button I liked, until I had a good rummage through the stash and came up with this geometric wooden one. I think the matte black stain on the wood looks really nice against the wool, and it suits the modern, minimalist look of the coat. Unfortunately, being black on black, it was really hard to photograph!

I have to admit, I was a bit confused about some of the instructions for the Oslo. I’ve made a couple of Tessuti patterns in the past, so I was prepared for photos instead of illustrations, but I did struggle a bit with the fabrics they had chosen for the sample. the right and wrong sides of the fabric were very similar, and the lining fabric was a similar colour too, and I just found that I had to concentrate a bit more than usual to get through this one without unpicking too much! It was good to be able to message Emma to see if she had any insight into the bits that tripped me up. The pattern itself is really nicely drafted, it all fits together beautifully and the shaping in those raglan sleeves is particularly nice. I was also worried that it might swamp me a bit, as it has no shaping in the back or sides, but I like the oversized, nearly cocoon shape that it has. My measurements put me in a couple of sizes, but based on the finished garment measurements I went with a straight size 10, which I think was a good choice. The main thing I would change if I was to make it again would be to raise the pockets by a couple of inches. It was really stupid of me not to check the height before sewing up most of the coat, and they’re low enough and deep enough that my arms are pretty much straight when my hands are in them!

I made this coat as part of my #summerofbasics entry (obviously mine is a Winter edition) over on Instagram. The challenge was to make three basic pieces which could be worn together for the appropriate season, so my pieces were this coat, my Ginger jeans, and the as-yet-unblogged Melilot shirt that you can see peeking out of my jumper in these pictures. I’m really pleased with all three garments, and I think they work nicely together. I’ll certainly get plenty of wear out of the jeans and shirt, but I don’t really want to hope for lots of opportunities to wear the coat! There have been some hints of Spring around Wellington this week, I can’t wait…

Double Denim

At the end of last year, Emma from Emma’s Atelier organised a sewing challenge for the Wellington Sewing Bloggers. We were going to finally stop procrastinating and sew jeans! Now, I got my jeans finished by the end-of-challenge date in March, but the date was pushed back a few times to accommodate others who were still sewing. Eventually the 6th of May was decided on, so I decided to sew up something else for the challenge as I had already blogged my jeans…

I was going to have a crack at some Ginger Jeans, but I didn’t get organised in time. Instead I decided to use the rest of the stretch denim I had left over from my Safran Jeans to make another version of the skirt from v1247. I really liked my first version of this skirt, but it is pretty short, and the fit is all a bit squiffy because I was more worried about pattern matching than the trifling matter of accurate seam allowances…

This version does fit much better, I don’t have the odd bubbling above the pockets like I did with my first version. Guess those seam allowances do matter huh? I added 3” to the hem of this one, and I prefer the longer length. I also added an exposed zipper up the back (I thought sewing denim and using a metal zip made this skirt enough like jeans to qualify for the challenge!). I used Megan Nielsen’s tutorial for the zip, and it worked fairly smoothly. It isn’t as neat inside as I would like, due to the way the seam allowance gets clipped, but I can live with it! I bound all of the internal seams with Hug Snug, to keep the bulk down (and because I couldn’t be bothered making bias tape). It looks a bit dodgy up close, but if you aren’t looking too closely it looks pretty good!

I’ve been wearing this skirt heaps since I finished it, I didn’t realise I needed a denim skirt but it has obviously filled a gap in my autumn wardrobe!

I’ve also made a long sleeved version of the Deer & Doe Melilot Shirt, in a Robert Kaufman chambray from fabric.com (I think it’s this one, but I’m not 100% sure). I love my short sleeved one, so I thought a long sleeved version would go well in my wardrobe, and I was right! I really love this shirt. I’ve seen some mixed reviews of the Kaufman chambray around, but it’s really hard to find lightweight chambray in store in Wellington, so I thought I’d give it a go. It’s really nice and soft, and it pressed and sewed up nicely. Hopefully it’ll wash well, because I’d like this shirt to last.

This is the first time I’ve sewn tower plackets, and I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out. There was a little bit of head scratching as I tried to get everything to fold correctly, but it all suddenly fell into place and looked like what I was expecting! I put a bar tack right across the top of the split to reinforce it, as I’ll be wearing these sleeves rolled up most of the time, but next time I think I’ll use a shorter vertical bar tack to strengthen that area. The long bar tack is just a bit clumsy looking! I am happy with the way the cuffs turned out, the curves on the cuffs, collar and pockets look really nice together.

I hemmed this one with some grey bias tape, as I’ve never been happy with the turn and stitch hem treatment on my first shirt. Bias tape just sits so much flatter around those sharp curves at the side seams. The buttons are my favourite mother of pearl shirt buttons from Made Marion Crafts in Wellington.

I’m not entirely sure what the deal is with those big wrinkles above the pockets on this shirt, I wonder if that just happens with dropped shoulder seams? Any suggestions? I have so many versions of this planned now, I’ve got some rayon for another long sleeved version, and some more cotton for a long sleeved dress hack, and some linen for another short sleeved summer version… I need a job with a smart/casual dress code so I can wear them all!

In the end, only Emma and I had finished items for the challenge reveal, so here we are in matching denim (she used the same stuff for her Safran Jeans), and with our matching Ida Clutches, before we had delicious chips and soda at Six Barrel Soda Co!

Finally, does chambray count as denim? Is this outfit double denim? I really like both pieces, so I’ve decided not to be to bothered about wearing them together. Double denim is in now anyway, right? I’ve seen the hipsters wearing it for years! Either way, down with fashion rules…

 

A very French shirt

I really like Deer and Doe patterns, and when they released their spring/summer 2016 patterns I immediately bought both the Melilot Shirt and the Zephyr Dress. I meant to make the Melilot shirt up during the winter, but I just never managed to get it done…Happily I like the short sleeved version even more than the long sleeved one, so making it up for spring wasn’t a hardship!

  

I’m so happy with the way it turned out! I think its such a flattering shape, and the little round collar and the sleeve cuffs are so cute. I was a bit worried about the very curved side seams not hitting me at the right point, since I have a fairly high waist, but I threw caution into the wind and made it up as is in my good fabric. Thankfully it worked out pretty well! 
  

I had a bit of trouble getting the hem to sit nicely around those extreme curves. The instructions tell you to hem the fronts and back before sewing the side seams, but I was a bit wary of the length so I wanted to be able to try it on before I committed to hemming it! In the end I decided to leave the length as it is, though I might play around with it next time. I ended up sewing a line of basting stitches at 1/4 of an inch to help me fold it up, then folded it up the same again and topstitched it. Maybe I’ll try bias tape next time, I’m always happy with that finish!
  

There are some really lovely details in this pattern. The pockets are lined! I’ve only ever lined the pockets on a coat, but it does give a lovely smooth edge and makes it easier to get both pockets the same. Though in this busy fabric that isn’t such a major… I also really like that the collar on this shirt is a proper two piece with a collar stand, it sits really nicely and fits really well. I noticed when I was looking at the pictures of my M7351 shirtdress that the collar is really too big for my neck to be worn buttoned all the way up, but this one is a good size. 
  

One thing I wish I had done better is matching my thread colour to the fabric. I sewed the majority of this one in the evenings, and it wasn’t until I looked at my topstitching in daylight that I realised that it was really really white against the much more cream fabric. And then, instead of fixing it, I just carried on, and sewed the buttonholes in the same white thread. And of course, the button holes look even whiter and shinier than the topstitching… I wish I had waited and matched the thread, or that I had gone and fixed it before opening the buttonholes, but I’ll live with it! Those glaring white buttonholes will be a good reminder not to be lazy next time. I know you can’t see them in these photos, but I can definitely see them when I look down at the shirt!
  

The fabric is Atelier Brunette, French fabric for a French pattern! Last month there was a vintage fair in my local town hall, so I wandered down to have a look (hoping to find a pie dish, as I had just figured out that the one I was looking for in my kitchen actually belongs to my Mum, so was in her kitchen instead). Just inside the door was a pile of stunning bolts of French fabric, attatched to a stall that I realised was being run by Miss Maude. Thank god she was taking payment by automatic bank transfer (and thank god for banking apps!), because I would have been sad to miss out on this gorgeous cotton. I also bought a length of Atelier Brunette modal, so I’m sure that’ll be making an appearance this summer! The little black buttons came from my button stash, but I think they originally came from Made Marion, like most of my new buttons. I really like how they look on the fabric, though  sewing 11 button holes was a bit of a chore! 
  

Expect to see a few more of these over the summer! I really want to make a white silk version with sleeves, and I have a really lightweight cotton plaid that I’ve been planning to make into a button up shirt for over a year, so hopefully that’ll happen this summer too…