Mabel, all dressed up

Yup, it's Me-Made-Mabel-May chez Foxgloves. After the success of my first Colette Mabel skirt I couldn't resist whipping up another one. I had some black ponte in my stash and this time around it only took me one and a half hour, from cutting to hemming.

The feel and drape of this fabric wasn't as good as the brown ponte I used for the first version. It didn't press that well, the hand sewn hem is less invisible (to put it mildly) and the overall look is a bit less sophisticated. Too much poly? Oh well, at least the fit and finish are a lot better than in most RTW.
Although I don't think this particular version is posh enough for dressing up, I still wanted to show the versatility of this pattern. In a better quality knit it would certainly work for a comfortable night at the theatre!

So, did I mention versatile? Let's dress it down!

Still thumbs up for Mabel!

Next Mabel? Oh yes, yes, yes. Flowers, polkadots, gingham, who knows!

Happy sewing!

Mabel, what's not to like?

After a month of more sowing than sewing here at Foxgloves HQ I'm back to show you the first of many, many Mabels. I've made a lot of old school pencil skirts: woven fabric, pegged, lined, slit. The kind of skirt that is utterly useless when walking the dog, mowing the lawn or riding your bike to the grocery store. In my neck of the woods two out of three of these examples are daily business, so pencil skirts are SOO (Special Occasions Only). But, thanks to Colette Patterns there's a major breakthrough. Mabel is a pencil skirt that's so comfortable you could even go to sleep in it!

Colette Mabel skirt and Lekala 8004 top

The construction of this skirt is quick  could have been quick, if only I had put some trust in the pattern makers. In order to avoid the dreaded muffin top I chose a bigger size for the waistband. Which resulted in gaping at the back. After some seam ripping I even took out more than I originally added.

I was also worried about the length of the skirt. I'm 1.73 m (5'8) and could not find the heigth this pattern was drafted for. I added 4 cm to the pattern pieces. Guess what? Exactly the amount I had to cut off again at the final hemline. 

Colette Mabel skirt and Colette Jasmine blouse

One more note on the construction. Since I mentioned making the Mabel skirt I noticed some traffic to my blog via Google search on 'How to sew a kick pleat in the Mabel skirt'. Let me reassure you. It's not a slit construction, it's just a simple pleat. Sew a straight line, fold to one side and make a little topstitch. That's all!

Instead of using a twin needle for quick hemming I chose for hand sewing. My usual routine, never take the easy way if you can make things a little more complicated... 

This skirt is so versatile! I like all three outfits I made up with this simple skirt and can think of many more.

More on the Lekala top can be found here, for more on the Jasmine click here.

Since this was my first session with a tripod and a remote I'll make this post picture heavy, just because I can.

Well, you get the picture. When in doubt, make a Mabel skirt!

Next up: Mabel!

Tax forms, work, spring cleaning and gardening kept me out of my sewing room way too long. This week the release of the new Colette patterns made me realize how much I had missed my new best friend the serger. Back in September I won a gift certificate from Colette Patterns when this Negroni shirt was my entry to the Super Online Community Sewing Match. I happily used my store credit to order the exciting spring bundle, containing an e-book:

And two patterns for knits:

What better way to continue my journey through the Land of Knits?

First up is version 3 of Mabel, an above-the-knee length pencil skirt with seam details and a kick pleat. There's a brown ponte knit in my stash waiting to be cut. Perhaps it's not screaming spring all over, but it will have to do. For now. If this skirt is as good as it looks I will sew up a rainbow of Mabels!

By Hand London Mittens skirt

At last we can share our little secret: we've been pattern testers for the new By Hand London Mittens skirt! It's a big day for fashionable pets all over the world. 

I made view B, the high waisted midi skirt. It's a highly versatile pattern. Excellent for sunbathing:

Or wear it as a maxi skirt for city trips.

Once again the BHL Circle Skirt App proved to be a very useful tool for drafting a 'maths-free' circle skirt.

The seam was pinked and as you can see the pattern includes a sewing label.

What changes would I make? As you can see below there is some risk of wardrobe malfunction on breezy days. Next time we'll go for view C, the pencil skirt.

Finally. On behalf of all canine customers of By Hand London the furry assistant wants to protest against marketing the Mittens skirt as a cat-skirt-only. Come on, girls, don't do that to our doggies!

But today she's wearing her skirt with pride.

New men's patterns!

Just as I was about to give up on Dutch pattern magazine Knipmode they issued an interesting special edition. Men's wear! Fashionable patterns, nice styling. See for yourself:

Not bad, ey? The issue comes free with Knipmode april 2014. The individual patterns can be downloaded as pdf from the Knipmode shop . Mr Foxgloves already put some of these on his wishlist!

And you know what? There are rumours about a vintage issue of Knipmode too!

Hitchcock's sewing machine

Last week I was at the opening of the Threads exhibition at the Arnhem Museum of modern arts. Here you see me standing in front of an installation featuring an antique sewing machine and acrylic yarn. And yes, I'm wearing my Deer and Doe Plantain.

Life of thread, Chiharu Shiota

Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota creates her own spaces by stretching hundreds of threads through the room. The threads compose a labyrinth, which can be seen as a reflection of the choices one has to make at each intersection. For some, the installations are a threatening presence, but the stability of the structure can also be reassuring and provide protection. Central to the work of Shiota are the themes of memory, dreams and fears. In Life of thread the sewing machine in the middle seems to produce the treads and is simultaneously caught in it's own product.

Walking around it I could both see it as a very cosy sewing cocoon or as a scary scene from a Hitchcock movie. You know, the one where sewing machines take over the world and you get strangled by your own bobbin thread.

A sewn statue

Recycle by Faig Ahmed

This piece shows the sacrifices that have to be made when tradition is being reused or modernised. Ahmed cut a 150 year old carpet in pieces, arranging them in the global symbol of recycling.

 Hand embroidery on found photograph by Julie Cockburn

The exhibition can be seen till August 17, 2014 at Museum Arnhem, the Netherlands

                                     

Testing Lekala 8004

During my search for more knit patterns I discovered the Lekala pattern company. For those of you not familiar with Lekala: you pick a pattern from their large selection, send them your measurements and within minutes you receive a printable PDF of the pattern of your choice. Customized for your size. Sounds too good to be true, right?

Time for some testing. Lekala offers some free patterns, to convince sceptical sewists like me. As it's serger month I kept it simple, though you could also pick a free pattern for a wedding dress, a teddy bear or men's trousers. I selected Lekala 8004, a faux wrap knit top.

The printed pattern was glued together a few weeks ago while I was watching Olympic speed skating.

Some quick tissue fitting told me something was off. The horizontal seam that is supposed to sit under the bust went across my widest part. Needless to say this is not a good look. Hey, wasn't this pattern supposed to be customized?

Well, the blame is on me. I sent Lekala my height, bust, underbust, waist and hip measurements but overlooked the adjustments section. If only I had told them about my 'increased breast width' they would have known what they were dealing with. Since the placement of the underbust seam was my only worry I executed a vertical only FBA, as per Sham's instructions.

From there it was a quick and easy make. I added clear elastic in the shoulder seams and used a twin needle for the hems, just like I did in my Plantain shirt.

I bought a nice plaid for a pencil skirt to go with the top, but it will have to wait in the sewing queue till autumn.

Right now we are enjoying some bright and sunny spring weather, and some surprisingly early polka dotted guests in the garden. 

I will make another Lekala pattern soon, just to see how adding those optional measurements will influence the fit. But for now I'm already impressed. Although at 1.73 m I'm not particularly tall, I'm just slightly taller than the average height most companies draft for. It's nice to have just that little bit of extra length in the arms and bodice and the overall width was spot on.

Happy sewing!