Row, row, row the boat…

…. gently down the stream

and if you see a pirate ship

don’t forget to scream.

So, the pirate captain (remember?)

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has been joined by a quarter master (not only did I do some research on pirate organisational structure but there is also a very interesting and unbelievably large amount on the subject out there  –  go and have a look yourself)

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matching but also not too matching I think….

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Aren’t they cute fiece? I meant fierce. I am certainly not going to make that mistake again! But then, pirate captains are most likely not following sewing and knitting blogs anyway. So lets just look at them again.

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Which brings us back to the title.

By the way, all pattern are from the Kinderleicht! Naehen mit Jersey fuer Kids by Pauline Dohmen.

 

Why the working title “Have you ever pressed a prefolded bias tape open?” needed to be changed to “The danger of the seam ripper”

Time for a little Me Made May update. I did manage to wear me made outfits three times this week, but there hasn’t been much variety and I have realised that I can not really combine those items with anything else. The wardrobe remains unsorted but it really has to be done until next Thursday.

So I have mainly been busy working on a dress. I was looking for  a breastfeeding friendly dress. I have used “breastfeeding friendly” a few times in my last posts but what does it actually mean? It is just a normal piece that allows to breastfeed a child without taking the whole thing off. My prefered choice is the two layer look, one up one down. Obviously with a normal dress this would be a bit difficult….

So, I was looking for something with buttons and found The Vintage Shirt Dress by Sew over it.

I bought a lovely vintage-y fabric with cherry print in Goldhawk Road but ended up making a very quick calico version first to not waste the trial fabric and to see if it would actually fit me. As usual, the dress would have been too wide at the shoulders and I also decided to make the skirt just a tiny bit narrower to even out the different sizes my body actually needs. I also decided to use a plain colour for the colour and the facings as I had seen one lovely version somewhere on Pinterest. As it turns out my alterations let me cut out so much more effectively that I saved roughly a meter of fabric.

But enough talking, let’s have a look. (Note: I had to use the self-timer with the camera balancing on some books)

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So it is definitely a wearable trial version but lets use it to improve the next version. I am not sure about the green collar.

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I think black would have been better but guess what, I do not own black fabric.However, the buttons in black just show it would have been the better choice. Plus, I am not sure anymore if a contrasting collar is really what I want.

The waist is a bit too high, after the photo session I pushed down the belt to where I think my waist really sits and I liked the look much more. So I might make the bodice an inch longer and the skirt a bit shorter.

The finish of the armholes with the bias tape at the inside was new for me. When I read the description I got confused and decided to follow step by step. Apart from cutting my own bias binding. I felt that would be a waste of that lovely fabric. I realised that my shop bought bias binding was slightly wider than the requested 4cm so I decided to trim it and ended up pressing the bias binding flat to make sure it had no more folds! (Title No 1), then I trimmed it and followed the instructions from there.

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I really don’t like it, I am not sure if it is only my fault, there was a lot of tension on the binding and I am not sure if it would be that easy to slip stitch it. I might try again on a little sample before ruining the next dress 🙂

I guess you are by now really excited to learn the reason for the danger of the seam ripper title, so if you feel you are strong enough, here it comes:

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I had just finished the second button-hole and opened it with the seam ripper when I slipped and slashed the whole dress open over a length of about 4cm. Great.This has been my first ever button hole accident and I usually cut it open with scissors. Sometimes huge fabric scissors. Never ever anything has happened.

I fixed it quickly with two layers of interfacing in between main fabric and facing and then I panicked and zigzagged over it. Maybe I should have thought about other options first. It is not too visible but there might have been a more discrete option. And it is just one of these things, no one might notice but I know it is there.

Up until that incident I thought this might actually be the dress for the baptism not just a trial version. But now that there is this mistake sitting on my waist, I will just keep thinking of it and that zigzag line with eventually burn a huge hole into my dress. We will see if I consider it suitable for the school run. I would definitely get a few looks. After all they only know me as a trousers and top kind of person. I definitely like making dresses much more than actually wearing them.

But enough of me, I’ll send this over to RUMS and will then have a look if others have made things to wear or trial onlys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick catch up

As you know, I am most productive when I have my children around. Still not sure why. But I can definitely get a lot done when they play next to me. At least as long as they don’t fight or try to burn the house down.

So actually I was really busy during the first half of the Easter break. I am still working on a big yoga bag order but I did take some breaks (when I had done my daily task) and made a few things for my children.

The least exciting one would be this shirt, using the left overs from my niece’s shirt in combination with a stripy jersey that was once in a “surprise bag” from Michas Stoffecke and a cheap grey jersey from Shepherds Bush, initially intended as trial material on my search for the perfect breastfeeding top (which I will ideally make while still breastfeeding)

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I used my usual pattydoo pattern but I am now normally hiding the seam at the neck which looks much more professional:

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and I am trying out a new stitch for the hem. I used the twin needle in the past and was really pleased with the look but that seam actually fell apart in some of the shirts which is not exactly ideal.

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I am not sure if I have even posted a picture of the initial girl version, made in February already:

The second most exciting item was a dress, using a klimperklein pattern and a pink flowery sweat that I have since a while:

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I find this dress really cool. I think the sporty raglan pattern and the colour of the heart go very well in combination with the rather girly fabric.

So two lovely projects for two lovely children but the loveliest (project, not child – they are all exactly the same lovely) of all is still to be shown:

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A reversible jacket with a pointy hood. Just right for the “in between seasons” season.

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I didn’t have enough of the brown car sweat left for the whole jacket so I made blue sleeves. Then I thought that the inner jacket should similarly have different sleeves but I am not entirely sure about it. It looks a bit odd. Maybe I should have done the hood in the orange stripes as well. Plus the teal of the star fabric doesn’t go with the blue of the sleeves but I was really keen on using it. It is a lovely fabric, almost a bit of a waste to be used as lining only. I can’t wait until the outside gets vomit on it so I’ll have an excuse to turn it.

I have used another klimperklein pattern, this time from her book. I was so excited to get that book. When it finally arrived I was slightly disappointed at first. I guess, after all the great e-books I expected much more pictures and variations of each pattern. Which is silly and totally my fault. A book simply can’t provide the same amount of  step by step pictures and 20 variations of each item. And actually the author Pauline Dohmen must have thought the same as she is now even publishing amazing tutorials on her blog for the most crucial questions. Like how to properly sew and turn a reversible jacket…. or a lined coat :). The tutorial landed in my inbox just about a week after I had struggled with the coat! What a bad timing. But I will now know forever how to do this 🙂

Just a few pictures of my little jacket, a proper tutorial  can be found on the klimperklein blog.

First, the two jackets sewn together, except at the sleeves. The two jackets are NOT to be put inside each other. (And obviously, there is a gap at one of the side seams of the inner jacket so they can later be turned inside out):

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Now, join the sleeves, being careful not to twist them. Pauline Dohmen refers to it as kissing elephant trunks. What a useful image!

Finally, the jackets fully sewn together – except the turning gap at the inner jacket, you can see it on the left side.

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I love that little jacket so much, I have never been happier to live in England where it will be just the right weather for an “in between season” jacket for another 6 months 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Sunday: The 2 months wrist warmers

As you might remember, shortly after giving birth two months ago, I started a quick and easy knitting project: wrist warmers for my cycling friend and midwife. Mid project, I decided to keep them for myself and make her a pair out of silk as it will be even more delicate. And who would deserve a delicate gift more than the woman who took care of me and the baby during pregnancy and after birth ? Plus, considering how long this was taking me, a woolen gift would not be appropriate anyway.

Soooo, 8 weeks later, the quick and easy project is finally finished 🙂

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Considering that the pictures have just been taken by a 6 year old who could barely hold up the camera, I think they are great. If you now even imagine a little bit of cool dark red nail polish and maybe, lets say, the sophisticated hands playing the piano … then the pictures are really amazing, no?

The yarn is a left over of my great woolen jumper from my favourite jumper designer atelier alfa (I have already bought the next pattern, I am just waiting for Mr Reflux to stop vomiting on me. Well and to give me time to knit more than a pair of wrist warmers in two months)

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The pattern is Gansey Wristers by Kallipi Aronis who has clearly had the time to put on that nail polish 🙂 Great pattern and I have already started the silky version.