Linden Sweatshirt Dress - Paisley Vintage Jersey

Hi all,

It feels like an age since I have written a blog post! I have been so busy with birthdays and the like that posting has been put on the back burner. Well I am back today with a super quick sewing fix!

I have been doing a lot of sewing recently some of which I hope to be sharing with you guys in the coming weeks, but I kind of overloaded my self and needed a bit of a break. So I have had a week without sewing pretty much, which for me felt kind of crazy! But this week I gave in and decided I needed a quick simple project to get me back at the sewing table. 

Firstly let me explain, I have a 'to sew' list which changes on occasion but mostly I work my way through it and am pretty happy, but the weather has kind of made that a challenge recently. I had planned my next batch of sewing to be vests, summer tops, dresses, things for my holiday. In fact I had a whole post based around it ( but lets not talk about that shall we) but when the weather decided to stay wet, grey windy and well, very cold I decided, all this summer sewing just won't do! 

I got out my Linden Sweatshirt pattern from the ever faithful Grainline Studio and decided, I NEED more sweatshirts. So that was that, I cut out a lovely grey knit sweatshirt from my newly modded pattern and thought this will be my sewing fix. For some reason I wasn't quite content with that, so I went back to the fabric cupboard and sought out my Vintage paisley cotton jersey. 

I feel I must explain, this is stuff of legends, it is 100% cotton and so thick it could keep you warm in winter like a blanket, it is wonderfully stable, sews like a dream and.....is over two meters wide!

Where did I find such a magnificent piece of cloth, well like most of my snazzy prints it was handed down to me from my Aunty. Back in the day when there were multiple fabric shops on the high street, my Aunty would go and buy amazing fabric so cheaply it now makes me feel a little queezy just thinking about it. She would not only buy for herself but for me when I was a kid, so she has amassed a rather large stash of pretty rad 70's, 80's and 90's prints that she very generously donates to me when I am looking to make something super snazzy.  

Okay, sorry, getting back to the point, I got a little off track there with the whole 80's fabric shopping nostalgia. I  have saved this particular piece of fabric for about eight years, yes, that's right, eight years, I love it that much. I decided it was time to cut that 80's fabric up and have myself a new dress by the end of the day. I wanted a dress that would see me through the pretty poor weather we have been having, something I could wear with tights and a shirt underneath, but equally just on its own in the summer. I wanted to make myself a t-shirt smock dress and decided that the Linden Sweatshirt pattern was the perfect place to start.

I wanted a smock t-shirt style dress, so I set to shortening the the Linden bodice, adding some shaping and then cutting two rectangles to give the gathered skirt I wanted.

Here we have it, I think it fits the purpose I made it for, it is perfect for layering, but also great for when the weather gets a little warmer. I purposely made it just long enough so I could go bare legs if it ever gets warm enough here and the wind drops.... this is not a dress for a windy day...

I have to say I finally had some success with the neckband on this Linden, I feel super happy with the finish on it. ( I was getting a little jealous over here of everyone's wonderful Linden necklines)  I have had a little trouble with this in the past and thought it was perhaps just me being a sloppy sewer.... but as it turns out it was my fabric. My previous two Lindens were out of crazy unstable knitted fabrics that laddered when stretched so adding the neckline had been a challenge. I feel it looks neater this time around, yay for stable jersey!

Here I am laying up my dress because as predicted by the time I had finished my dress it was still mighty cold and I needed my shirt and tights to keep me warm. 

And here is how I hope to wear it if the weather gets a little warmer, however by that point I hope that my legs won't quite blend in to the magnolia colour on the walls quite like they do now.... lets just say I need some sunshine......

I am pretty happy with my quick sewing project, I think I will be making a few more, possibly in a woven next time just to make things a bit cooler for the summer.

I would love to know if you have tried any hacks out with the Linden Sweatshirt pattern. If so please let me know in the comments below!

~HJF~

Tartan Linden sweatshirt view B - and a tale of badly printed knit fabric woes....

Hi all,

Today I am back with my second Linden sweatshirt by Grainline Studio. I received this pattern for christmas and was pretty quick to whip up a first edition that you can see here. When I made my first Linden I was so eager to make it I just decided I would make the biggest size as that seemed right according to my measurements I did not however account for the HUGE amount of stretch my knit fabric had, and I mean huge. My first Linden could keep me and seven other people warm all at the same time!! So second time around I decided to be a little bit more cautious, and plan a little better. I do try and plan my my makes really well, but I think I always let myself down when it comes to stretch and knit garments, I tend to forget there are equal if not more fit issues with a stretch garment than with a woven.  

I worked out that my new tartan knit fabric had no where near the amount of stretch my last fabric had but I still felt that I needed to come down a couple of sizes. I was making view B sweatshirt with the intention of it being layer over a shirt so I didn't want it to be too baggy or too long. I opted for a size 14 and kept the original view B length. 

One thing I also noted on my first linden was that the neckline came out huge on me (think over the shoulder, audition for FAME, do you need some leg warmers with that, wide), so I decided to grade the neckline down from a 14 to a 10. I know this might seem like a huge jump but I wanted a much closer fit around the neck than last time. (I am under no illusions I am a size 10 here folks, have no fear!) 

Ok so the after all the grading and tracing I was like, yeah, awesome, the fun bit, cutting out! I had bought me some lovely drapey tartan knit from Abakhan sometime last year. At the time I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with it but then I got the Linden pattern as part of my sweet christmas haul and I figured they were a match! So I buy quite a lot of dressmaking fabric from Abakhan, it means I can buy ends of bolts at very reasonable prices for the most part. I also like to shop there because they have a lot of imported prints and It is my ONE and only local fabric store if I don't want to venture into the depths of Manchester which right now isn't an option for me on a regular basis. 

My tartan knit is not my usual colour scheme, because well, there is colour in it, but I liked the shades and I guess the thing that swayed me was the GOLD, it has a metallic gold printed check in the tartan pattern, and I completely blame my magpie eye here, I feel metallic prints on fabrics are still emerging and It fell into my basket with few questions asked. I did not however anticipate the hassle this fabric would give me. 

I decided I was going to be a good seamstress, pattern match all my side seams, pattern match my raglan seams and step back in sheer wonderment at the gold tartan joy I had just created. Yeah, well, that really didn't happen did it, I knew as soon as I lay my fabric out on the counter top to cut it out we were not going to get along. The print was so badly off, and I mean so badly, I had to make a decision. Do I go with the vertical stripes running vertical to my body and all of the other horizontal stripes being off, or do I go with all the horizontal stripes perpendicular to my pattern centre front and the vertical stripes being off. Well I went with the first option, I decided that the bold black vertical lines that ran down the tartan would look much more obvious if they were running all crazy across my body, so this meant my horizontal tartan lines are all kinds of crazy (see bottom hem) but there was literally nothing I could do. I am not happy but I had the fabric and I wanted that Linden. If there was something I missed I would love to know, please comment below :) 

So that kind of meant pattern matching my side seams was near impossible and pattern matching my raglan seams was also going to be difficult. If I am honest here I decided it wasn't worth it, in order to get any sort of match I would have had to completely throw off the one way stretch of the knit and I just wasn't willing to do that and compromise on fit and drape. So no pattern matching for me, but you know what, I think I am ok with it, because in the end, this sweatshirt is all kinds of crazy. 

First photograph please.....

You can barely see the metallic gold here, and I feel I need to justify my fabric buying boo boo, so here is the GOLD......

I had a couple of problems with the neckline on this sweatshirt, I cut the band to a size 12 even though I had graded the neck to a 10. I hoped that the extra length would stop the fabric over stretching and making the neckband too thin, but I think next time I will go up even another size to a 14 neckband so it comes out a little thicker. I know this is mainly a problem when using the same fabric for the neckband as the body of your sweatshirt, when I did a little research other people seamed to have had similar experiences. 

Ooh look at those non pattern matched raglan sleeves ha ha... Shocker!! 

One slightly unusual choice for me on this sweatshirt was that I have decided to keep the hem raw, now I may live to regret this (or not regret it but just put it under my cover stitcher and hem it) but that is my choice for now and I kinda like it! I think that this fabric has a wonderful drape and just lends itself well to being left raw, but we will see. 

 

 

This is pretty much how I hoped to wear this sweatshirt with a shirt underneath, nothing too fancy.

 

Today however Is the hottest day yet and after snapping these pictures the weather was warm enough to warrant shorts and t-shirts.... should you so wish!

 

Thanks for stopping by guys, I will be back soon with more details of my pledge for Me Made May.

 

~HJF~

 

 

 

 

Shirt refashion with a Grainline Studio Alder Shirtdress

Hello there,

Today on the blog I wanted to share with you a really quick make I made this afternoon. 

I was feeling the need to get in a little bit of sewing, but nothing too mega, (I have a 'mega' sewing list full of, you know, nice projects, that take you at least a day to fully commit to starting) ,but they all require more brain power than I had today, so I opted for something a little more simple. I had the idea of a shirt refashion in my head for a while, but I wasn't quite sure where I was going with it. 

I bought a lovely Jaeger shirt a couple of years back, smart casual, white with dainty blue stripes in a deliciously soft cotton, just my sort of thing.....  I should just stop you now and say I bought it second hand... I am not the lady who can afford to shop at Jaeger for a regular old shirt, nope, not me. So I bought the shirt loved it until I realised it was a cuff links shirt, I mean I get that cuff links are cool, but I am not able to pull off that sort of style so it went in the sewing pile, destined to be refashioned. The shirt was like new when I bought it and there was no way I was going to waste the fabric right? It was only when a piece of my lovely blue cotton chambray fell on top of my shirt did I realise they were a perfect match and had to be partners in a shirt hack up crime. 

So here it is my Jaeger/ Alder shirtdress shirt refashion. 

I used my favourite and go to shirt pattern which is the Alder Shirtdress pattern by Grainline Studio. ( Which by the way is a totally awesome pattern, if you haven't already checked it out... run, don't walk!!!!!) This pattern fits me really well so I figured it was a good place to start. I altered the length and made it shirt length rather than dress length and started to make my changes to the neck. 

I am so pleased with how this has worked out and I can see me making more of these if I come across anymore abandoned shirts in mine or Mr. F's wardrobe! 

I tried my new blouse on and instantly felt summery. So I am hoping it will get plenty of use now, with a sweater and later when (fingers crossed) we get some sunshine. 

That's all from me at the moment, this shirt was a lot of fun to make, and I definitely got my quick sewing fix that I needed for the day, plus I feel good for reusing my old shirt and stash busting my chambray. 

If you would like to know anymore about the process of my refashion, don't hesitate to ask. 

~HJF~ 

#SELFISHSEWINGWEEK Selfish Sewing Week - plans, prep and patterns

Hey folks,

I decided to take part in #selfishsewingweek over on Instagram this week. In preparation I cut out five garments to sew and patterns for three others, so I thought I would share with you my hopes for this week, it seems I may be hoping for the best sewing week of my life!! 

1 - Vintage Simplicty tank top 

2 - To toile my first Emery dress (Christine Haynes) 

3 - To toile my first Francoise dress (Tilly and the Buttons)

4 - Self drafted digital print chiffon blouse

5 - Self drafted swing tank top 

The patterns I have cut in preparation for use are

1 - The Alder shirtdress - Grainline Studio (with pattern alterations)

2 - The Workroom Social Tate Top

3 - A self drafted swing tank top 

Phew! It's quite a list and I am pretty sure I am not going to get though it all this week, but it has been a good motivation to get sewing again. 

Anyway..... Feel free to check back to see how my sewing mission is going.... Wish me luck!!

~HJF~ 

Alder Shirtdress - a Grainlinestudio Pattern

The Grainline Studio Alder Shirtdress is one of the many lovely patterns I received for christmas. 

Check out this sweet haul! 

Pretty lucky girl huh!

So I am gradually trying to work my way through the patterns, Linden - done, Nest egg Tote - done, and now the Alder shirtdress is finished, Yay!

I decided to try out this pattern using some lovely fabrics from M is for Make (they had a super sale on, and as ever they have excellent service)

I used a Kona cotton solid in Prussian (which in honesty was a little more *blue* than I had anticipated, more on that later) and some rather awesome Leah Duncan Florascape Moonstone from her Meadow collection by Art Gallery Fabrics. 

This pattern was a breeze to put together, it really was. I was a little hesitant about putting a collar in, it has been a few years since I have done one, the pattern is beautifully cut and didn't give me any trouble. 

I decided on adding some top stitched lines down either sides of the button placket to add some texture to the plain fabric. I have used bright blue Kam Snaps instead of buttons, and I am quite happy with the finish. 

The Snaps however were not the breeze I thought they would be! I trialled a few on Christmas Day when I got my new tool, and thought....yes! This is the most amazing thing ever! What can I put snaps on, I want to put snaps on everything!!! Quick, make something you can put snaps on!! Ha ha. 

In reality, I wasted seven, yes, SEVEN! Snaps making this dress, think I was tired and rushing to get it finished, so maybe I will have better luck next time. 

I adore the contrasting fabric I used for this shirtdress, in an ideal world the whole dress would have been made from it, alas, my contrasting collar and back yoke will have to do. 

I finished this dress and before adding the snaps I tried it on, and couldn't quite believe it. It fit, no FBA needed, no awful drag lines, ok, I would prefer a slightly softer fabric but the fit is good! 

Please excuse my awkward posing and weird non smile face, it is -1°C, there is still snow on the ground and I am outside prancing about in my summer weight shirtdress and jelly shoes trying to look all casual like I am not freezing... Ha ha. 

(p.s. I had ironed the dress just before I took the pics, looks like it's going to crease a little) 

All in all I love this shirt dress and I already have a lovely soft floaty rayon mix lined up for my next version. I also plan to take a few inches of the hem, so it sits just above the knee.

 I do have a slight issue with this dress, the colour. It is more blue than I anticipated, I was going for navy and this is quite royal blue. Totally my fault, it is true to the website colour swatch, I guess I didn't have my eyes on straight when I was ordering ha ha. The colour reminds me of a uniform a little too much, but I will still be wearing it. 

Thanks for stopping by.

~HJF~ 

My first Linden!!!

I was recently a very lucky girl at christmas and received a lot of amazing sewing patterns! But the first one I wanted to try out was my Grainline Studio-Linden pattern. I love sweatshirts and jumpers, let me tell you! So I jumped at the chance of a homemade, raglan sleeved cozy sweatshirt. I have made sweatshirts and hoodies a plenty before but I really wanted to see what all the hype was about! 

When I am sewing jersey or knit garments I like to make one straight out of the packet to see what it sizes up like...... Here lies my error.......

Baggy jumpers are my thing, but well I hadn't quite anticipated this amount of, well.... Slouch! Ha ha 

So here below is my first ever Linden sweatshirt in all it's bad fabric choice, slouchy, loveliness. 

I really like the sweatshirt pattern, I honestly think it is great and I can't wait to make another in some more suitable fabric. This was my toile, hence the rather questionable choice of fabric.

I did encounter a few problems, mainly because my fabric was a lightweight fairly unstable knit. 

I cut the neckband piece according to the pattern but due to the nature of my fabric when I attached the neckband it stretched virtually to nothing, leaving me with an unsightly looking thin neck band. Urgh!!!!

So I ripped out all of my overlooking for the neck (favourite job) and recut the neck double the depth. Second time around and the neckline was much better. 

If you would like to check out the pattern for yourself head to http://shop.grainlinestudio.com/collections/tops/products/linden-sweatshirt

I will definitely be making another, I have some rather nice grey and navy stripe fleece backed jersey that I think will be an entirely different story.

I wouldn't call this a complete disaster, but I have learnt my measuring lesson... I am pretty sure I have learnt that lesson before! 

And here is me in it pre yoga class because it is just perfect for that!