self drafted tshirt, mark II

The short version of this story is:
I drafted my own t shirt pattern and sewed a tshirt!
It fits perfectly, its comfortable and just how I imagined it. Success!
And it cost me about ten dollars, if that.

The long version is this:
I watched Cal Patch's video on drafting a tshirt pattern, and one on sewing a tshirt, and then drafted and sewed my first tshirt, blogged here.

I was pretty pleased with the finished product but only as a muslin, it had a few issues which I'm still resolving, but it was a tshirt and I learned heaps along the way and I beat my fear of sewing jersey fabric.

Just recently Cal launched a new four part series on pattern drafting; making muslins; adapting patterns; and making patterns from existing clothes.

I've spent the last month watching the series, with more than a few 'a ha' moments along the way. It built on the knowledge I'd learnt in her t shirt drafting class and then took it much further. Cal demystifies the process of pattern making and shows you the basics of different styles. I'm a big fan of her simple and straighforward teaching, and I like her thoughts on life and fashion as well. I've also learnt a bit about sewing watching her make her clothes. Seeing every part of the process is so helfpul for a visual learner like me.

The series gave me confidence to revisit my tshirt pattern. This time I started from scratch and used an existing t shirt that I like to draft the new pattern, but I compared it with my original self drafted version and the original muslin using that information to make changes and revisions.

With my heart in my mouth I cut and sewed the new pattern yesterday.

Success! This time it fits perfectly. The neckband is the right length, the sides aren't too loose and the finish is professional. I love it. And best of all I have a bespoke pattern that I can use to make a million more tshirts.

I read more before attempting my second pattern too. In particular Maria Denmark's blog about negative ease and fitting helped a lot. She has a series about fitting tees which I must more of. She also has a boat neck Kimono tee pattern for free download on her great site. I'm thinking of trying a boatneck next time around.

Because I have an overlocker (serger) I sewed the whole tee with it, except for the bottom and sleeve hems. It makes it such a quick sew and gives a professional finish. I used my walking foot and a narrow zigzag for finishing the hems which helps keep them from distorting.

built by wendy 3835

The Built by Wendy Simplicity 3835 pattern is famous on the interwebs. Everyone has made it, and usually more than once! This versatile pattern is for a top and two dresses with different sleeve lengths and necklines.

Do you know it? Its been out of print for years but still manages to appear regularly on sewing blogs. In fact all the Built by Wendy patterns are popular. And all out of print.

I don't understand why pattern companies, and fabric companies, don't revive some of their more popular designs. I'm sure there are reasons, but when they are still sought after and increasingly rare, I feel like they could do a limited rerelease.

The good news about the 3835 pattern, for me and for you if you don't own it, is that it is available as a digital download from the site sewingpatterns.com along with some of the other Built by Wendy patterns.

I bought the pattern and made this top once a year or two ago. It is a quick sew and takes a tiny amount of fabric. I quite liked it at the time, but wear it rarely because it ended up as they often do too tight across the bust and shoulders, but gapey on the sides where I ended up taking it in.

When I decided recently to finally tackle the world of the FBA, or full bust adjustment, it was this simple pattern I turned to. The FBA if you don't know it is an essential tool if you are a sewer with a larger than B cup. Its also a good first step toward making your own pattern alterations, which leads to more satisfying clothes sewing.

Its taken me a while to learn this secret, but now I'm on to it! My first basic foray into pattern making here also gave me more of an understanding about how it all works, and more confidence to fiddle.

Unfortunately this is a raglan style top and the instructions for a raglan FBA were thin on the ground so it took some dithering around until I just went for it. The only tutorial I could find online was this one. I'm not sure what she does with the dart at the end, so I pressed on and added a dart where one didn't exist before and left it there.

I sewed a couple of muslins with my revised pattern making changes until I was happy with the fit. I actually ended up coming down two pattern sizes. From making a size 16 the first time I sewed this eventually as a 12, using my high bust measurement, adding a FBA and using the size 14 sleeves with slightly extended armscyes to fit. The sleeves are notoriously tight on this pattern.

I then cut the sleeve lengths where I wanted rather than following the pattern, I used the longer dress length sleeve pattern rather than the top as a starting point.

Once I was happy with my revisions I made these two tops in quick succession. I think the blue and white patterned top is the more successful due to the nice drape of this voiley Spotlight fabric which was already in the stash.

But I do love the colour of the blue floral figured fabric and couldn't resist buying it. It has a bit of a starchy, quilty feel but I'm hoping it will wear in a bit. The good news is that both tops cost less than $10 to make and I now have a bespoke pattern that I can make confidently again. And it has given me confidence for altering other patterns.

As usual I hate photos of myself (I enlisted my school holidaying junior photography team for these) but as usual I wanted to pay back all those people who have shared their 3835s online and from whom I've learnt so much. Special mention to the special Built by us Flickr group. Check out my friend Jo's versions, they are all great.

scatter bricks

I got the idea for this fabric design one afternoon while cutting orders of my ever popular Bricks print fabric. I imagined a pattern depicting that ever familiar scatter of Lego bricks across the floor. A graphic pattern made up of all the wonderful different colours and sizes of bricks just waiting to be stepped on! I'm sure most families are very familiar with this scene, and many mothers have a lot of experience picking up all those scattered bricks!

I loved the idea of having a coordinating print for my existing Bricks fabrics and can see myself using the different prints together for contrast, as I already do with my different scale Bricks fabrics.

The design came together really quickly just as I imagined it, and I am delighted to see how well it translates to fabric on this crisp white 100% Kona cotton. Graphic and colourful.

I only have a couple of yards of this print for now, a sample size helping! So if you want some of this design to sew with, something for your Lego Lovers or yourself get in quick. Maybe a pencil case, a pillowcase or a cushion cover, get in quick. I'll be keeping a smidgeon to play with myself. I have a little project idea that has been on the drawing board way too long!

The fat quarters are here or email me for other sizes.

As you can see the Scatter Bricks mixes and matches perfectly with the other prints which are all in stock now.

I am hearing great things about the Lego Movie and it is on our school holiday list. Have you seen it? Check out my lego love pinterest board for more Lego mania.

banksia blouse

At last, some crafting to report! Well in actual fact there has been crafting all along, but not so much reporting.

A couple of weekends ago I got round to making Megan Neilsen's Banksia blouse pattern which I have had for over a year. I love the vintage style of this top, and the cute collar. Even better I found this lovely old thrifted fabric in my stash and knew they'd be perfect for eachother. I think its a cotton blend because it has stayed wonderfully uncrumpled, yet has a nice cotton feel to it.

I bought the Banksia and Darling Ranges patterns last year when Megan ran sewalongs for both on her blog. And while I didn't get round to joining in at the time I used all the sewalong notes in her archive and found them really useful. Megan's pattern instructions are very detailled, but I loved having her step by step photos to refer to as well.

Also useful were the many blog posts around the interwebs about making the Banksia pattern.

Some people mentioned in reviewing this pattern that they ended up lowering the bust darts. I made a muslin with this in mind, reading up on the dart and full bust adjustments which Megan explains on her site.

I was pleasantly surprised to find both unnecessary. In fact the sizing and design were pretty spot on for me though I did end up taking the sides in about half an inch each on each side.

Commercial pattern sizing rarely seem to fit my shape, which always surprises me as I think I'm fairly unremarkable and can easily buy clothes that fit. I often find these patterns either small in the chest and armscyces or too loose on the body. If I choose a large or medium I swim in it, but if I go with small it feels tight on my shoulders and I can't raise my arms!

I'm working up to learning a full bust adjustment, or even making a custom sloper or block to fit me and basing future sewing on that. There are some good instructions out there and some youtube videos about other adjustments. Has anyone done this before, I find the idea a bit intimidating but the instructions seem doable.

No buttons or buttonholes yet, I'm a bit scared of ruining it at this late stage! I will get around to it though, in fact I searched out matching vintage buttons from the stash and have chosen those beautiful brown ones on the right.

p.s. note to self, brush hair before taking selfie and work on gormless smile ;-) at least you get an idea of it on though!

I'm joining in with Christina today, my first time in her Made by Hand linkup.

sewing with flower press - part 2

One of the most wonderful parts of making fabric is seeing what people transform it into. While I love my stash of crisp folded fabrics, it really comes to life for me when it is taken and sewn by clever people. And I have been spoilt recently with all the clever people who have been sewing Flower Press fabrics into inspired projects.

A while back I got an order for some of my fabrics from the talented and lovely Anna Graham of Noodlehead blog fame. Anna is well known for her wonderful quilting and pattern making skills and so it was really exciting to send her some Flower Press prints.

Imagine my delight when I arrived back from holidays this week and catching up on my blogs came across her post showing these wonderful bike bags she made for her (beautiful) girls. The patterns used are my Triangle Twist, Marble print, and Hundreds and Thousands designs. Anna provides the pattern for these as well as many other wonderful tutorials on her blog.

Here are some more great projects which some of my customers have been generous enough to share with me, and now with you. And if you missed it, Sewing with Flower Press Part 1 is here.

From top:

Mel covered her stools with my Filigree tea towels in different colours, an inspired idea which is also really practical.

Deb's amazing applique marble bag mini quilt made as part of her ongoing Stitching the Ditch project. She was inspired by my treasure bags photos here.

Melanie from Enchanting Crafts made this ipad cover with the Bricks fabric. So neat I want one for our iPad!

Megan from the mousehouse blog is making the most amazing handcrafted 'busy book'. I was so delighted when she made this wonderful marble run using my marble print.What a great idea even used on its own for a littlies activity. Megan shows how to make it on her post.

Kristy from Creative Corner made these peekaboo project sacks for her block loving boy. What a great idea. There is a link to the tutorial on her blog.

Becky in France's treasure bags made with her kids. This simple drawstring pattern makes an easy beginner's sewing project with lots of straight lines and simple cutting. Kids always have a use for little bags like this and I think it makes it more special if you have been involved in its making. I shared the tutorial here.

The wonderful Jodie (of RicRac fame) made this amazing laminated bunting to brighten up the school libary where she works. Check out her post to see how she used this iron on vinyl.

If you have any projects you've made with Flower Press fabrics or tutorials, I always love to see them. Send me a photo, my email address is up there on the right.

I'm hoping to introduce some new patterns soon too, so keep an eye on this space.

While I'm here I must apologise for the absence of both Show & Tell and pattern Friday this month. I think I'm going to have to just go with the flow regarding both these projects while I catch up with other things.

Bloom cheater quilt fabrics

A million years ago now I designed a Cheater print for a Spoonflower competition. I was delighted when the resulting Bloom Cheater Quilt design made the top ten. Since then though it has sat in my Spoonflower design library, getting no no attention from me, but prompting quite regular emails asking me to release it for sale.

I love the idea of a cheater print, for the less quiltily inclined of us. This one was made with great care and I had such fun designing each of the repeats which go into it. A couple of these I have printed - Chicken Spots and Bloom, both of which are favourites in my stash. Such clean crisp girl patterns that aren't too pink, for me the colour palette is another success of this design.

Anyway, at last, after a few tweaks to the repeat, I am proud to say the Bloom Cheater panels are (finally) for sale in my Spoonflower shop. The repeat is designed to sit perfectly across the generous 42 inch width of the cotton quilting fabrics. A yard would make a lovely baby size quilt. I love the Kona cotton for its weight and quality, but the basic cotton is a nice fabric too. Match it with some yardage of the coordinating prints and you have a quick and easy baby project.

There are some other of my prints available in the shop too so why not visit.

pattern friday - autumn

Friday again already, time for another pattern. Another oldie, this autumn pattern, but tweaked, recoloured and repeated. You may recognise these leaves from a block print pattern I made a couple of years ago. I'm a big fan of leaves and their wonderful shapes and designs which come in infinite variety!

I got my precious boys back from camp this afternoon. Its been quiet around here for the last few days, which has seen me very busy screenprinting and playing with screens and colours but also missing them dreadfully and wondering about what they're doing every minute!

I'll be back tomorrow with an exciting feature, you might know about it already if you follow me on instagram. See you then.

pattern friday - rocket

Another Friday pattern. I'm enjoying posting here, its been fun looking through my designs and sharing some favourites.

I've had this pattern doodle as my phone screensaver for a few weeks, and I still love it, always a good test. You can see my process here, I drew it in pencil, outlined it with pen and then scanned it in to the computer.  I then had a play around colouring the sketch.

The next step is fix the linework and do a proper repeat. These flowers remind me of rocket (arugula/rucola) flowers, which are very simple, but very beautiful.

pattern friday - cut peonies

Whoops, I nearly forgot my new resolution today to join in with Melissa's pattern friday. Too busy making another bee hotel for my garden I was.

I have been working today on patterns though, to make into screens with my new sun exposure techniques, and thus revisiting a few old favourites. There are a few to choose from.

This is an old design which I first blogged way back here in 2008! Its always been a favourite but one that wasn't drawn well enough to reproduce.

I've just spent some time redrawing it and making it into a proper repeat, easy to do in illustrator, and very satisfying.

I've kept the old colours, I remember these were some of my favourite colours back then, red and turquoise blue! I've also made it in some new colours. So fun to see how it changes with the hue.

Its a simple repeat, a simple pattern, but there's something I love about the simple ones! Which is your favourite colour? I like that smoky mushroom grey and the way the flowers stand out like cutouts!

march

I'm feeling pretty blessed this week. Lots of great things happening round here. Well actually I must qualify that by saying I had a shocker yesterday! but overall there's been some really great stuff to overshadow that.

Wednesday I had my photo taken. That was exciting if a bit nerve wracking. Hopefully when it appears some of you might see it and I will post about it here.

Later in the day we went to the big school open night and saw our girl and her friends in all their wonderfulness, and felt our boys start to get excited about their journey to high school next year.

Then on Saturday I spent the day at Peter Leis, a local screenprinting workshop run by brother and sister combo Shivaun and Amon Leis. The siblings grew up learning the trade from their dad Peter Leis, a legend of screenprinting in these parts. I didn't know it but Shivaun mentioned on Saturday that Peter worked with Florence Broadhurst amongst others!

Lamina and I, along with fellow student Sam, learned from Shivaun how to prepare and expose our own screens using the sun, so we can make our own screens at home. It was lots of fun and we learnt so much! Thanks again Lamina for signing me up, and for your photo of me coating the screen.

I'm so excited I'll be able to prepare my own screens. I'm hoping it will mean more of my designs making it onto fabric, and into the shop. On Saturday we each brought a design to expose. You can see my screen in the photos above. I chose to expose a new textile design with the working name Field. (I just checked and this design has been brewing since way back in August 2011! So its great to see it finally in print.)

Sunday I did just that, had a morning of printing with my new screen. I posted some pics on instagram (@flowerpress) and thanks to everyone for the lovely feedback there. I plan to show pics of it on fabric on the blog later this week, on Thursday for 'my creative space'.

To finish this wonderful week, and while I was still covered in ink, Mr F found out we'd been given last minute comps for the Neil Finn and Paul Kelly concert at the Opera House!! Like many we tried to buy tickets for this when they came out but missed out, so we were over the moon!

The concert was amazing, we had such a wonderful night seeing these two amazing singer songwriters together, singing some of their beautiful songs. I must admit to a tear or two at the start, it was so beautiful. If you missed out I just read they are streaming the last concert on Monday March 18, 9pm on YouTube.