Part Ginger, part me

Hola

So, today I had the day off work and I spent the day sewing. I made me a Ginger. 

Actually, its not a complete Ginger, as it is sans the waistband. To be fair I didn't want the hassle of the waistband after the failed attempt on my last Ginger and as such I decided to omit it. Because I can. Wow, you gotta love sewing up your own clothes where its fine to make an 'executive decision'. I used grosgrain ribbon to stabilise and shape the waist instead, and I must say I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Gonna share some pictures of the construction. I am so pleased  with this skirt, its fits and is not too big, the length is perfect and I totally love the inside as much as the outside. 

Gotta love the finish of the serger !

Using grosgrain ribbon instead of a waistband

Super neat - inside and out

Pinning the ribbon in place

Pretty inside

Feeling pretty happy with this

I used the serger and played around with the tension until I got it perfect and I am so pleased with the end result. It was fun to use too !

Mr P took a couple of snaps of me in it - unfortunately we didnt get around to snapping the V8380. Another time maybe  :-)

I know - awful snap right ?

In other news, yesterday I met up with family over from the States and we went train-spotting. In the rain. But this is no ordinary train. Its a steamer from the West Somerset Railway. We took their children along as the trains are like those on 'Thomas the Tank Engine'...  They were very excited ! (so were the children !)

Choo Choo !!

Old school

Check out the happy face of the station master..... He was so happy - even in the rain !

So, back to work for me tomorrow. I am working in the Court and will wear my new Ginger. It almost makes me feel excited about going to work - the excitement of wearing a new skirt !

Now to think of what to make next   :-)  I think I may try the Sencha - I have a muslin cut out already - just need to sew it all together.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far,

K xxx

Finished Ginger

Hello all,

As promised some pictures of my Ginger. Sorry they are not that great, I been wearing it all day at a wedding, and she is a little wrinkled now ! I wanted shots in the day, but it just didnt happen. Ill try get some better snaps of it tomorrow to show you. I basically got up at the crack of dawn this morning to hem her and serge the hem. I must say I LOVE MY NEW SERGER !!!

I love this skirt, but I am going to need to sort the waistband - its too big around the top and is irritating me.

But - more importantly no one said, wow your skirt looks a bit home made. In fact one lady was giving it the eye in a 'oooo I like you' kind of way !  Perfect !

So, all in all pretty pleased with my first attempt at grown up dress making ! I really do like this outfit.

Now I have finished one garment, I can think about what to make next !!  Exciting !!

Hope you have all had great weekends.

K xxx

It's done !

People. Its 2.17 am, UK time, and I have just finished the Ginger ! It needs hemming, so I have just put it on Dolly to hang overnight, then I will hem it in the morning.

Oh its been a battle, this is my first proper 'me made' garment. There are things I could improve upon, the zipper for example. I need to practice my zipper skills. Really.

I did start to hand sew the facing down, but got bored and top stitched by machine instead. I need to work on finishes. These skills will all come in time though, of that I am certain. I am certain because even Mr P was impressed with my first bona fide homemade garment. This means I now have the confidence to blast forward; and all because my first garment is actually wearable !

I don't know what's happened to the waistband, as it appears to be wider than the skirt waist (although the pieces were cut and pinned and at that point matched perfectly). I'm blaming the loosely woven furnishing fabric for that one. I have a wide belt which I always planned to wear with the skirt, but now I pretty much wont have the choice NOT to wear the belt. Never mind.

Friends, the skirt is not perfect, there are things I will do better next time. But you know what ? I am EXCITED ! I literally cant wait to wear it tomorrow at my brothers wedding. And, making this skirt has saved me the bother of having to go and buy an expensive outfit in the morning. I am OFFICIALLY THRIFTY.

So, I bet you cant wait to see it right ? Well you will have to wait until tomorrow, I will get Mr P to take a snap of it in an ensemble. Then you can see the good overall picture, rather than the individual small imperfections.

I so cant wait to share with you.

Until then,

K xxx

I bet

Almost there

Hey people,

So, as promised I have some pictures of my almost finished skirt  :-)  I love the fabric, its a furnishing fabric, probably not the best to start with, but I so loved it, I had to have it.

Was going to sew this evening, but have some other sewing related task to do tonight, more on that later.

So, without further ado - my almost finished Ginger ! Sorry for the not so great snaps ! I ran out of flat surfaces to pose my fabric on ! (this may be a bit picture heavy -  but I did warn you !   ;-)

The altered pattern....

1 panel cut out ...

and lined......

Waistbands cut and interfused........

All the pieces together......

(Nearly) all sewn up....

Almost there     :-)

Hope to have some actual wearing at some point within the next week.

Happy Monday people,

K xxx

Sewing !!

YAY !!!

I have been sewing all afternoon, just finished for today, but I am that close to having a finished Ginger ! Today I interlined all the skirt pieces, ironed on fusible facing, sewed the seams and pressed and attached the first waistband.

OK, so the stitch picker is now out and I am unpicking the waistband, but hey ho.

I think I may be finished in the next couple of days, if I can get back on the machine, so I will show you the finished item very soon.

I am very pleased so far with the fit, and cant wait to get it finished. I was going to add piping, and as I have had to unpick the waistband I think I just might. Either navy or green, I cant decide yet.

Friends I cant wait to show you something wearable, this will be my first completed adult item of clothing. Sorry nothing to show today, but I dont have the pictures ready yet.

In other news I went to Heathcotes and spent a fortune (good old mastercard), I treated myself as its my birthday this coming Friday and so I bought presents for me ! I know what Mr P got me, as I picked it ! But I shall share with you next week. I will also share my new fabric buys, very excited as I had a plan this time, I took patterns and chose fabrics specifically. It worked like a dream.   :-)  

Well, I hope you all had great weekends, its a shame that they fly by so fast !

K xxx

Fusible interfacing.

Who knew that using an iron could be such fun ! My first attempt at fusing - and I liked it alot. In fact I LOVED it. Probably my bestest part of making clothes so far.

So, now I have fused the interfacing to my waistbands, as well as all the jobs mentioned in my previous post. I have to go study now (dratted university course) so I cant get the interlining finished, nor start to sew the pieces together. But friends, I am excited. And, I am ever hopeful that I may have a finished garment to show you in less than a week.

It is still raining here - boo. But it matches my mood.

I hope you have all had happy weekends, its a shame they fly by so fast eh ?

K xxx

It's wet outside

In fact - its absolutely P133ING down !!!

And I have a stinking cold.

Friends, today could be better (I could feel well, it could be 80 degrees and Friday evening), but I am going to make it better. Yesterday I worked on the Ginger. I cut out all of the pieces from the fashion fabric (and sewed around the edges of each piece with a weird zig zag stitch -which took forever - I defo need a serger), I pre shrunk my fusible interfacings, and I interlined 2 of the 4 skirt sections with an old Egyptian cotton sheet.

Today I plan to finish the interlining (which I am having a little difficulty with as the sections don't appear to be exactly the same size), iron on the facings and get the pieces sewn together. I may even attempt the zip. This will all be dependant on time as I also have studying to do, and washing for the week, and its already 1 pm here in good old rainy blighty.

I will share some pictures with you later of the Ginger construction.

In other news - Mr P and I tried to fix the many leaks in 'le camper' with gaffer tape. I will surely see when I step outside and into the van whether our efforts have been rewarded with a dry van.

***update - alas the van still leaks around the windscreen. DRAT !!***

K xxx

Ginger muslin

Hola people

I hope you have all had a great bank holiday weekend. Mr P's sister is back from Australia and so we went to meet her and the rest of Mr P's family for a delicious roast. Mr P's sister is a very clever seamstress and I am looking forward to spending some time sewing with her. You can read her blog here.

Yesterday I spent all day working on my muslin for the Ginger skirt. The first one I made included the waistband, but you know what, I think I prefer the skirt without the waistband, so made it without, and I liked it ! I was so stoked to finally make a muslin that actually looks like it could end up as a wearable garment. YIPPEEEE  !!

First off I traced the pattern

Then I graded the waist - using the tips that Sunni provided on her blog

 I then added to the length, but I dont think I did this bit correctly as I added all the length across the skirt as shown by the cutting line. I think I should have added 2 inches there and 2 inches at the bottom. But I didnt. Hey Ho.

 (more length added - I dont have the figure for shorter lengths !!)

I then cut the muslin fabric

And sewed it up. And Voila !

This is the first muslin that I can actually show you a picture of, as it does not look too bad ! (sorry about the crap photos, my mirror needs a clean, and I dont have the best of bodies for modelling !)

I cant believe I have actually made a test garment that I am happy to share - Finally !!  I am so stoked it actually looks like a skirt, it made me almost insanely happy. I cant imagine how I will feel once I have actually made a wearable garment.   :-))

I like the length, and I like where the skirt sits on my hips without the waistband. So I think I may make the skirt without the band  - what do you think ? Should I make without the band ? Is it allowed ? As I am new to this sewing garments malarky I don't feel very confident.

I like the idea of using bias tape to stabilize the waist - I read in the 'complete book of sewing shortcuts' (which I wrote about here) that this is a viable option. This means I don't have to face the skirt (I think !) I'm going to line the skirt with an old cotton sheet, and I am going to treat the fabric and lining as one piece of fabric.

I am going to give it a go and see what happens, as sewing is all about learning and trial and error (well for me anyway !).

I washed my fashion fabric and am almost ready to cut into it. Do any of you have any thoughts about fit ? Or whether I should forge ahead with the waistband ? I would love to hear from you.

Well, that's it for now, but I will share how I get on. I wont be sewing for a few days as I have to knuckle down to college work for the next few evenings, but I am so excited, I cant wait to make the actual skirt !

K xxx