Another Pencil Skirt & Wool & Stripes
skirt: Ultimate Pencil Skirt pattern by Sew Over It
blouse: Pussy Bow Blouse pattern by Sew Over It
shoes: Ā s.Oliver
Hi my lovelies! As promised, here’s another version of the Sew Over It pencil skirt I’ve made a couple of weeks ago – this time in a woven wool fabric.
I won’t say much more about the pattern, I go on and on about it in this post already. The only thing I’ll say (again) is: It’s awesome! Try it! There’s a fabulous kit to buy including some great tartan fabric, and for those who just want to get their hands on the pattern – you can now also get it as a PDF pattern! For me, this skirt is a wardrobe staple and must-have. It’s just so easy to fit and very flattering. I’m sure to make a couple more versions of this number.
This second time, I used a woven fabric (I used a ponte knit last time). It’s a lovely light-weight and very soft wool with a slightly brushed look. The pinstripes suggestĀ it’s meant for suits, but who cares! I bought it on my last trip to Germany. OneĀ of the major department stores in Germany, Karstadt, has a haberdashery (fabric, notions & wool) on their top floor. You can find it in every Karstadt. So if you ever end up looking for fabric when in Germany and you can’t find any fabric stores, you’ll surely find some fabric in Karstadt. I don’t particularly love their selection, and prices also aren’t the best, but their remnants baskets are quite cool. The wool was only 6ā¬/m which wasn’t too bad and I knew I wouldn’t need more than a metre for this skirt anyway.
It was great to with. It frayed only a tiny bit and I finished all the edges with my overlocker.
The pattern doesn’t include a lining, but I’m thinking about adding one to the next skirt and maybe even sewing one into this one. The wool is quite lightweight and although it doesn’t ride up when walking, it would probably look better when lined (and also be more comfortable to wear).
I really love skirts at the moment and have made quite a few lately. I really need to get back to sewing blouses! Any pattern recommendations?
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! I’ve got two tickets for the Country Living Magazine Spring Fair (with lots of crafts and workshops!) to give away!
Happy sewing!
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Here’s a view before photos:Ā 
Hi my darlings, guess what happened? After all those years of selfish sewing I have finally made something for my man. It had been on my to-sew list pretty much every year, and last year I even went as far as making a muslin for a men’s shirt. The Mr doesn’t really wear shirts, so as you can imagine this project didn’t go very far. (I have to say though, I finished a shirt for my dad in December – not blogged – so I could tick “men’s shirt” of last year’s resolutions list).
A friend of mine made her boyfriend this pretty awesome hooded cardi and I promised the Mr to make him one as well.
The fabric:
The sleeve cuffs and the “waistband” are made of the same fabric as the rest of the cardi. I had trouble finding matching ribbing fabric, and the one I ordered did not work at all. I just used the same fabric in the end, cutting the strips much shorter than the actual hem width and it worked really well! I sewed them in with the overlocker, stretching the fabric evenly while sewing and they went in without any puckering and cinch in the hems quite beautifully.
Another great detail of the pattern is the hood. It had really interesting seaming details – the hood consists of three different pattern pieces. All the seams on the bodice match up exactly with the seams on the hood giving it a really great shape and sporty look. I lined the hood, under-stitched the lining and top-stitched it with my 4mm stretch twin needle (approx. 2cm from the edge). I used the same technique on the pockets.
The Mr loves his music, so I had to add tiny buttonholes to the back of the pockets where the audio jack can go through when the phone is in the pocket to avoid the cable dangling on the outside of the cardigan.
Hello lovelies! Guess what? I’ve got a new favourite outfit (again).
THE CARDIGAN
I hemmed the sleeve by simply overlocking the raw edge, turning it in and top-stitching it in place with a narrow zig-zag stitch.Ā All the other edges – bottom hem, neckline and front – are one continuous line I wanted to bias bind initially. Mid-way through the project I remembered that I had bought lots of stringed sequins a while ago. So instead of bias binding, I finished the edge with my overlocker, not turning it in. I sewed the sequins in place along the stitching of the overlocker.
The Pattern:Ā The cardi pattern is completely self-drafted – with a cardigan in mind that my sister bought when she last visited me in London (I think she got it fromĀ Primark). I took some rough measurements in order to recreate it at some point. I found the sketch a little while ago and thought of it when I was looking for a quick and easy project last week. The drafting didn’t take too long. With the very loose fit I was going for the measurements didn’t Ā have to be exact. The fabric was cut out quickly and the actual sewing did not take much longer. Applying the sequins probably took as long as the whole drafting and sewing process together. I didn’t mind – given that I have the time for it, I find hand-sewing so relaxing!
THE DRESS
The Pattern:Ā It’s a proper Franken-Dress – the pattern is part Lady Skater (Kitschy Coo), part Ultimate Pencil Skirt (Sew Over It) and part self-drafted.
The skirt pattern is based on my beloved 
All raw edges were finished using my overlocker. When using Jersey I sometimes sew all seams with the overlocker straight away because it is so much faster than my old little sewing machine. Because the dress’ fit is quite snug I thought some extra strong seams were quite a good idea and sewed all seams using a narrow zig-zag stitch before running the raw edges through the overlocker. Also, I needed to do quite a bit of matching with the sleeves and also with the pleats, which is so much easier on my regular machine.
The facing is also cut out from the recycled cardi and interfaced with black iron-on interfacing.The facing is quite wide and attached to neckline and armhole seams, so the bodice is almost half-lined. It makes the facing lie really flat so that it’s practically invisible.
Heeelloo lovelies! 
Sooo anyway, the sewing machine is sitting on our living room table again, there are threads and fabric scraps scattered all across the floor and sewing magazines are taking over the couch. Everything is back to normal!
The Fabric:
The Fit:
