Jeans and sweaters!

Now when the new year has started and plans for it are in the making, it might be a good idea to first sum up the makings during the autumn.

The jeans making continued, with a pair out of the same pattern as the black ones I made earlier this year. The fabric for these are a stretch twill from Stoff & Stil (if I remember correctly, it has been in my stash for a few years or so). The colour is a bit lighter in real life than in the photos. The jeans turned out ok, but I need to tweak the fit some more, or maybe try another jeans pattern the next time. They still fit a hundred times better than any store bought jeans though, just the fact that there's no gaping at the waist mean I can wear them without a belt :)

I've also made two sweaters, the first one is a wearable muslin. The pattern is more or less self drafted, I started off with an ordinary t-shirt pattern. Modified it as follows:
- Widened the bodice 2,5 cm at each side, giving a total of 10 cm all around
- Lowered the shoulder point 2 cm and redrew the armscye by lowering it a total of 4 cm
- Modified the sleeve to fit the armscye, by widening it 3 cm and modifying the shoulder seam.
- Shortened the bodice length 7 cm.
The fabric used is some strange jersey knit that I've had in my stash forever, donated to me from my grandma.
The sleeves and bodice were just folded up and hemmed. For the neckline I used a grey stretch cotton for the inside since the main fabric is a bit itchy.

Last make was a chunky knit sweater in the same pattern as the grey one. This fabric has also been lingering in my stash for 10 years, I bought it during a work trip to Kuwait. It's probably some kind of polyester, but it's warm and cosy and the colours fit perfectly with the jeans above :)
Sewing with this kind of chunky knit was new to me and it was difficult to get a nice finish of the seams. I used a zig-zag stitch for the seams and a tre-step zig-zag for the hems. I first tried to just fold up the hem and stitch it, but that made the hem way to wide and wavy. Unpicked it and used a rib knit at the inside of the hem to hold it in place and that turned out much better.

Summer sewing

Now that the summer is coming to an end it's time to sum up what was made sewing wise. This summer was the warmest since at least 1756 here in Stockholm, and that did call for summer clothes.
I continued this years pants-sewing with two pair of shorts, both from the same pattern,  Burdastyle, no 3/2011. The original pattern has side seem pockets but I modified them for the second pair to more jeans style pockets. The first pair was made in a thinner denim that has been in my stash forever and the second pair was made in a plaid linen/cotton mix bought from Stoff&Stil last year.
I sewed a size 38 and graded out to size 40 over the hips. The fit is in general good, but the back crotch seem might need some modification. They have been worn a lot, and was really well worth the effort.

I've also sewn two tops. Both are made in viscose jersey and the patterns are from Ottobre design. The short sleeved top with a V-neck is from no. 2/2014 and the the tank top is from no. 5/2017.
I sewed a size 38 in both tops, with no modifications. I had som troubles with getting the gathering around the V-neck looking good, and the V-neck could have been a little bit deeper but it's still perfectly ok. The tank top is with side panels, that really doesn't show in this snake jersey, but could probably be good for some colour blocking. It also gives a more figure hugging fit which I like for tank tops. The only thing I would change if I make it again is to make the armscye a bit deeper. The pattern might also be a good candidate for sewing some active wear tops.

Now I've started planning for some autumn sewing, but have no concrete plans at the moment. I would really like to make some sort of outer wear, more jeans are always needed and of course warmer tops and sweaters. Decisions, decisions ...

Night gowns for a little lady

I sewed a "sleeping dress" for this little lady for Christmas and she has since then refused to sleep in anything else so I was asked if I could make some more of these, and of course I could :)
I used the same pattern as for the last one, from Ottobre 6/2015, and found some fabric in the stash that was left from earlier projects. This time I kept the full length of the dress since she has grown some and it worked out perfectly.

 The length is just perfect for hiding the toes :)

Another pair of jeans!

Since the last pair of jeans I made did fit really well I was encouraged to make yet another pair!
The pattern this time is also from Ottobre design, but another issue (5/2012). These have a much more slim fit than the other ones, but a more straight leg. The fabric is a stretch black jeans denim that has been in my stash for at least a few years.

I chose a size 40, and then did some modifications to the pattern to get a better fit, the most important ones being adding some width at the outer hips/thighs and took in at least one size at the waist. One more modification was reducing the length of the inner back seam about 1 cm by lowering the crotch curve, according to a tips to get rid of excess fabric under the seat according to a fitting tips from Closet Case Patterns, and it improved the fit compared to the muslin. I still have som strange wrinkles above the knee at the back leg, but it will have to do.

 This time I also added rivets to get the complete jeans look :)

I finally made jeans!

It's been on my to do list for ages, and I finally did it! And, even better, they fit really well!
I've sewn jeans for the kids before, but not to myself. I like the process with sewing jeans, with all the details and top stitching. It does take some time, but it's worth it at the end.

The pattern I used is from Ottobre design, no. 5/2017. I started with a size 40 and did some adjustments, mainly adjusting the waist since they were way to wide. I took in about 2 cm in each side and also a few centimeters in the centre back. These adjustments gave a more curved waistband, and that really helps with getting rid of the gaping waistband in the back that I always struggle with when buying jeans. Other adjustments were letting out the side seams a bit at the hips and shortening the front crotch, both by taking in the inner seam a centimeter and wedging out one more centimeter beneath the fly. I also made a minor adjustment to the back crotch seam, scooping it out a few millimeters.
Of course things can always get better, but these are wearable as for now. The back pockets are a bit small and a more standard shape of the front pockets might fit me better. They also turned out a bit on the short side, so I hope they don't shrink to much in the wash, I've prewashed the fabric but just once. I'm thinking about testing another jeans pattern next time, maybe the Ginger jeans from Closet Case patterns.

Ylletröjor till mig!

När vintern började närma sig passade jag på att uppgradera garderoben med lite varna sköna ylletröjor!

Det första blev en v-ringad tröja, mönster från Ottobre 5/2016. Tyget är ett stickat ylletyg som jag köpte för något år sedan. Modelln var ganska enkel att sy, fållarna samt mitt bak och mitt framsömmen är sydda med rullfåll. Framstyckena är skurna på skrå så att tyget rullar in sig vid v-ringningen och ingen kastning behövs därför där. Den här tröjan blev genast en favorit, skön och lagom varm, v-ringningen lagom djup.

 Nästa tröja blev en annan från samma tidning, ganska lik med fållar och mitt framsöm sydda med rullfåll. Det skulle varit en söm mitt bak också men jag skippade den och klippte istället ett helt bakstycke. Kragen är lite högre och draperad. Jag hade en del trassel med att få till rullfållskanten i halsringningen snygg - overlockmaskinen ville inte riktigt samarbeta när jag skulle sy över den andra rullfållen. Tyget är svart, det ser lite blåaktigt ut på bilderna, och något tunnare än tyget till den första tröjan. Jag gillar att tröjan är lite längre, men har inte riktigt kommit överens med den draperade kragen, tycker inte att jag får den att ligga bra. Funderar på om den går att göra om till en mer "vanlig" draperad ringning.

Ett stickprojekt blev också klart!  Tröjan heter Bello och mönstret är från Joji Locatelli, finns på Ravelry. Den är stickad uppifrån och ner vilket gör att man inte behöver sy ihop något när man är klar utan bara fästa trådar, praktiskt tycker jag :) Garnet är en blandning av superwash ull och tussahsilke, köpt från Viola Schavon. Det är första gången på länge som jag stickade något med mönsterstickning och det var skoj, det gör att det inte blir så enformigt som att bara sticka slätstickning hela tiden - som dessutom blir bara räta maskor när man stickar på rundsticka.

 Det sammanfattar allt jag sytt och stickat under 2017 så nu kan jag börja skriva om det jag hunnit med att göra i år och mina planer för året - men det får bli i ett annat inlägg!

Presenter och julklappar

Lite blandade presenter och julklappar blev också sytt under slutet av 2017. 

Först ut en fleecetröja med tillhörande mössa till denna lilla dam som fyllde 2 år. Tyget hade jag sedan tidigare, det var en rest efter en jacka jag sydde till dottern för att antal år sedan. Mönster till både tröja och jacka är från Ottobre, tröjan från ett gammalt nummer (1/2005) och mössan från den senaste numret (6/2017). Damen är ganska liten till växten, så stl 86 passade bra. Mössan är fodrad med ett jerseytyg, samma tyg använde jag till muddar och kantning av mössan.

Årets julklappar till minstingarna i släkten gick i sov-tema. Till de större grabbarna sydde jag tigerpyjamasar i en skön stretchjersey, tyget hittade jag på Ohlssons tyger och mönstret i Ottobre nr. 6/2015. Lilldamen fick ett nattlinne - där hade jag också tyget i mina gömmor, mönster från samma Ottobrenummer som pyjamasarna. Sydde nattlinnet i stl 92 men kortade det med ca 10 cm, och det var nog tur det för annars hade hon nog snubblat omkring.

Till minstingen sydde jag en sängorm av lite blandade tyger. Omkretsen ca 40 cm och ca två meter lång, ögonen broderade jag, den ser väl ut att sova skönt :)