Infinity Scarf

The cold weather is back and sadly it is far too chilly for my new spring tops. They are too lovely to cover with a cardigan, So I set to work making some Infinity scarves. I used two meters of Liberty Tana lawn and got two scarfs out of it, one for me and one for my Mummy. They turned out so pretty I had to make more using a different liberty lawn, so my sister gets one too.

 

Souvenir Sleeves

Its good to see I am not the only one who struggled with the fitting of the sleeve. It seems as if the back of the sleeve, where it joins to the body is far to short to meet the neck edge. It really is, but I can only think it is meant to be so forced it to fit and both attempts have turned out perfect, you cannot see where I had to pull the fabric a bit to make it line up.

Pattern pieces five and six form each sleeve. Once sewn together, piece five will be at the front and six joins the back 

I suggest first lining up the underarm seams of one sleeve and the body part and stitching within the seam allowance to hold it in place. Once I had done this I lined the bias tape on the sleeve with the neck edge of the body, at the front and back and also held each in place with a couple of stitches. 

I pinned the front's together and they lined up fine, on the back there seemed to be much more fabric on the body part than there is on the sleeve part, I started at the neck and pulled the end of the bias tape down towards the underarm before pinning, I carried on pulling the back of the sleeve as I pinned it and eventually I had the sleeve fabric sitting evenly with the body.

I basted in place first and checked there were no gathers or tucks, then stitched. Once sewn you would never no the pieces had not seemed the right lengths. I guess this is some clever design feature, I have no idea why or how it works but fully trust Lisette that it is no mistake.

Sewing Space

Who needs a dining area anyway! The downstairs of my house is very open plan and I have quickly discovered my sewing essentials take up allot of space. So the only solution was to turn the dining table into a sewing table and use the shelves by the french windows to house my fabrics and sewing box. When I'm not sewing I cover my cutting mat with a table cloth so I don't have to find space for it. Whilst sewing, my ironing board sits by the doors or if the weather is fair on the decking. Perfect, I had considered moving to make room for sewing and  to gain more outside space. After discovering how much the fees are to move and how much more it costs for a bit more land in south east England, I will be content with my little space.

Another reason I am staying put, my plum tree is set to reach its personal best this year. The warm weather has made everything in the garden spring into life, all four dwarf duo fruit trees have flowers on them so I have high hopes for lots of home grown fruit. My friend Rachel treated me to a raspberry bush for my Birthday last year and it is also doing well. We are set for a week of rain so no more sitting in the garden bee watching.

Souvenir blouse

Here it is, the finished blouse, and what a cutie it is, I can't wait to start the next one.

 

I adore the fitting of the neck and sleeves it will be perfect with jeans or shorts throughout spring and summer.  The sleeves are a nice loose fit and the length is just right for me.

The back is low enough to be cool and comfortable, but the fit prevents it gaping at the front or back so is perfectly modest.

The whole thing was a joy to sew and I am still a real beginner, the only bit I struggled with was the sleeve fitting, I lined up the centre underarm seam and pinned the fabrics towards the neck, as I got there I was a bit confused about the angles.Thankfully I basted it first and soon realised it was wrong.

 

Below was how I basted it originally with the bias tape on the sleeve level with the side of the neck yoke, I found the sides of the neck went out at an angle to the front.

INCORRECT

After playing with it for an hour in confusion I realised the bias tape on the shoulder part of the sleeve needed to be parallel to the front neck edge, rather than the side of it. I stitched this in place before pinning, it pulls down slightly on the end of the bias tape and fit perfectly.

CORRECT

Lisette 1879

 I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Lisette's new patterns in Basingstoke, desperate to support local businesses. Whilst strolling around town on Thursday I visited fabric land and found they had the new spring Simplicity catalogue with 50% off. I yelped with joy when I discovered they had my desired patterns and bought both the Souvenir and Diplomat. Today was my first day off work since then and I knew just what I had to do.

All sewn today and what a pleasure to make. I decided to bias trim the sleeve cuffs to keep a little length. There is no picture of me wearing it yet as I have only attached one sleeve. It was a bit tricky to work out the angle to put the Bias tape in relation to the neck of the garment, but figured it out after several failed attempts at basting it. I adore the design of this pattern and the way the top of the sleeves form part of the neck. Now I have figured the sleeves out it will be no problem to complete the next one in a day.
 

I thought I would never find a pattern I love as much as the portfolio dress but this top is even more cute. I am going to make myself another one in in pink chambray as soon as I finish this one.