Sun hat from my own pattern

With summer coming, and no nice sunhats in the shops, I decided to make my own pattern. I really like the hats that turn up at the brim, but they don´t seem to sell them anymore. Also, I really hate tight hats - they give me a headache, so making a hat with my own pattern to fit my head seems the only option.

It isn´t really a project from the book Design if Yourself: Patternmaking Simplified, but I did use some of the techniques in it to make the pattern.


Above: the inside lining.

Instructions for making the pattern below (fits my head - 56.5 cm circumference, measured above eyebrows...

Embroidered skirt

Here is a pic of an embroidered skirt I´ve just finished (with the green funked out peasant blouse I finished last year). I drew up the pattern for the skirt myself after reading Cal Patch´s wonderful book Design It Yourself: Patternmaking Simplified. It is the same pattern as my blue skirt, but slightly longer and with two inches less sweep.

This is the front of the skirt (it is even in real life - I´ve just taken the photo on a slight angle). The embroidery motif is from Alison Willoughby´s book 49 Sensational Skirts: Creative Embellishments for One of a Kind Designs. This is number 28, the Running in Circles embellishment (although in the book they did more circles on a longer skirt). The book comes with one skirt pattern, but it has 49 different ways to embellish the skirt. My next one will probably be number 30, the X-stitch embellishment. I really like the book. Although I wouldn´t necessarily make 49 skirts, it does have so many original embellishment ideas that I haven´t seen anywhere else, that it is quite inspirational. It is also supporting the recycling of old materials and fabrics, or the embellishing vintage skirts, which is also a good thing (fits in with the whole Alabama Chanin philosophy too). I could imagine trying to mix some of the ideas from these two books together, on a pattern of I´ve made myself with the Cal Patch book. Mmm...

A close up of the front embroidered circle. The embroidery wasn´t hard to do. You just use a an embroidery hoop and start from the outside working in, following the shape of the hoop. It´s all one long line, going round and round., finishing in the middle. Once the first outer circle is done, it´s just a matter of keeping the lines an equal distance from the line before.

This is the back of the skirt and a close up pic, although the camera is having trouble with exposure because the skirt material is so dark. There is no pattern to the colour changes of the embroidery. I just had three colours (dark green, medium dark green, and deep sea blue), and I changed colour whenever the thread ended. As the circles are different sizes, the colours end up changing at random points. I contemplated doing more circles on the front and back, but I think it would have been too much on a short skirt.

I wanted to do something a bit different for the hem, but I didn´t want it to detract from the embroidery. So I did an 1 1/2 inch band, with random pin tuck pleats. It is barely visible, but I guess at least I know they are there ;o). The hem is in two pieces: inner and outer side. Only the outer bit has the pleats and I added them on the pattern piece, cutting it and extending the piece out by 1/4 inch for every pleat. The pleats were then marked with pen on the fabric, ironed in place and sewn down. Then the hem band was sewn by hand onto the skirt in the usual way.

The entrance to the Marlborough Sounds, Cook Strait, South Island, New Zealand

Peasant / folk t-shirt I designed

Here is a muslin of another go at designing a tshirt. I´ve just watched the original ice-dancing section of the 2009 Olympics and I loved all the peasant and folk costumes the skaters wore. This tshirt was supposed to be gathered at the neckline, with another underlayer at the neckline, like a peasant shirt, with cap sleeves. I think I´d like to try something like this again, but with a woven fabric peasant shirt.

The neckline on the paper-pattern is a very defined flat U-shape, like a folk peasant shirt, but made up in a knit material it curves alot more, like a scoop neck. I´d might make the U-shape sharper neck time.
The neckline is a 1:2 increase for gathering, just at the base of the neckline, and 1cm up on the neckline curve, (but no additions on the sides). I did the increases as per Cal Patch´s book Design It Yourself:Patternmaking simplified. I took the sides in slightly so that the shirt would not be too baggy due to the extra fabric along the neckline.
The fabric is some lycra from my friend Anna - thank you! The purple is cut off an old scrap tshirt.

Lyttleton Harbour, South Island, New Zealand

A-line skirt I designed

Here is an a-line skirt I drew up the pattern for after reading Cal Patch´s Design It Yourself: Patternmaking Simplified book. I followed the drawing-up instructions, but in the end I just tried on the skirt and adjusted it to fit correctly that way (which is also part of the instructions). After having kids I´m not the regular shape anymore anyway, so making my own skirt pattern seems the best way to go. The fabric is a very, very lightweight denim. That makes it comfortable, but it doesn´t seem to sit the same way all the time (sometimes it ruffles, sometimes it sits flat etc). Next time I would use a medium weight denim, possibly with less sweep.

Porangahau, North Island, New Zealand

Over t-shirt vest with cowl neck

Just finished a blue over-t-shirt vest for spring/autumn. Its made from a gossamer thin knit from Global Fabrics in Wellington (the entire vest folds up in my palm). I designed the pattern myself after reading Cal Patch´s wonderful book Design it Yourself: Patternmaking Simplified. Its basically the tshirt pattern which you draw up from p 58. I did a scoop neck on it, and then a cowl collar. I wanted something different for the hemline, so I did a satin stitch hemline, which creates the wobbly effect at the hem.

I think cowls are mainly made by either adding lots of extra fabric to the neckline (bit like a peasant shirt) & then extending the neckline to create a cowl, or by having an ordinary tshirt and collar & adding a cowl collar. I did the latter because I wanted a fitted garment, without lots of extra fabric draping under then neck/bust. I´ve seen the former kind around where the garment has been given a cowl neckline by adding fabric to the neckline then made more fitted by taking it away again at the sides, and that seemed to create lots of pulling on the torso of the garment to me (just not what I wanted, although I´m sure lots of people have made super garments doing that).

My cowl is 52cm along the inner neckline (because I did a low scoop neckline on the tshirt), 90cm on the outer neckline, and 10 inches width. I think this turned out OK, but if I did ever make one again, I would make the outer neckline more like 80cm. I wanted an oversize cowl, but I also like it to be sort of ruffly (as opposed to flat sitting) and the cowl I made was borderline in this regard.

Although this cowl isn´t heavy due to the fabric, I used straight stitch (as opposed to a stretch stitch) along the neckline. Inside, I also turned under the edges of the seam and sewed them under to create more strength along that inner neckline seam (where the cowl joins the tshirt).

In my post-pregnancy state, it took me quite some time to figure the whole cowl business out. Here are my hastily written ¨notes to self¨in case I make another one sometime. They are probably illegible and cryptic, but I thought I´d post them anyway (if it saves just one other woman enough time to have a chocolate bar, then its been worth it), so if anyone in internet-land wants any clarification, just ask. I´m not a professional dressmaker, so no promises of correctness! I´m sure someone a ¨few notches¨ better in the sewing world could explain it better and more correctly ;o)

Beach at Porangahau, North Island, New Zealand

Vest I designed

This is a vest I drew up the pattern for after reading Cal Patch´s wonderful book Design It Yourself: Pattern Making Simplified. Its from the basic T pattern in the book (p58), just without sleeves. The neckline isn´t too different from that in the book, but of course, I´ve put a cowl-like collar on it. Its from the same material as the stretchy shirt I made, although I´m hoping a bit funkier... The fabric is difficult to see in the pics, and my camera has totally failed to pic up the colour correctly (its actually a much nicer shade in reality than what the pics have shown here).

I experimented with freestyle gathers, inspired by this shirt, whose maker was in turn inspired by this website. Basically, I just cut the pattern out as per the basic-T in the book, allowing an extra couple of cms. Then I did all the freestyle gathers, which are only 1/8 inch wide, done on the right side. The tucks weren´t hard to do - I didn´t pull or stretch the fabric unnaturally, but just changed the angle of the sewing every so often to create curves. I´d do them a bit wider next time (1/4 inch?) as they are a bit difficult to notice. Then I lay the pattern over the finished fabric again, and trimmed it to be exactly like the pattern I drew up, and sewed it together as per usual. The cowl is one layer of fabric only, sewn wrong side (of cowl) to right side of top, so that the cowl then sits up and lays on top (probably makes no sense... :o)) Also, next time, I would extend the shoulder line by about a cm, so it kind of sticks out a bit. Can´t quite put it into words, but I think it would look a tiny bit more like some of the shoulder lines on the clothes that Makeshift makes, which I really love.

Worser Bay, Wellington, New Zealand

Ruffle neckline l/s T I drew up the pattern for

Here is another top I drew up the pattern for after reading Cal Patch´s Design it Yourself: Patternmaking Simplified book. It is based on a maternity top I used to wear, although I´ve altered the upper and lower bodice and sleeves. The neckline has a ruffle along it. Its hard to see from the pic, but the cuffs are a slight bell shape. The fabric is a knit fabric from Global Fabrics in Wellington. I´ve put the instructions on drawing up the pattern up too. Instructions:

Shirt I designed

I think this worked out OK. Here I am walking like an egyptian in a shirt I drew up the pattern for, after reading Cal Patch´s Design It Yourself book. Its a shirt made from some end-of-line designer knit fabric that I got on sale for $1-2/m.

Its basically a shirt pattern, with no ease (because of the fabric). I´ve seen collars like these on the internet, where the placket doesn´t go vertically straight up to the collar, but veers off at each side like a v, and thought I´d try it.
I´ve entered it in TheTrainToCrazy.com make it wear it sew along, which is lots of fun.

Here are the instructions for making the shirt, if anyone would like to adapt something similar

Lucy´s Kimono from Weekend Sewing book

Here is Lucy´s Kimono from Heather Ross´ Weekend Sewing book. Well, not really. Shrunk to teddy bear size. I didn´t trace a pattern, but drew one up using my new skills from Cal Patch´s Design It Yourself book. But its based on the Lucy´s Kimono picture. Anyway, teddy seems to like it. Its purpose is to stop ted´s arm falling off through excessive cuddling, so I made the sleeves snug.

T shirt I designed

I have just bought the Design it Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified book by Cal Patch. I´m very, veryhappy with the book, and I hope she writes a sequel. I´ve tried reading patternmaking books from the library several times, but they have all been too technical or aimed at fashion students designing for other people. This book did make everything very clear, and was really easy to read and understand and its about designing for yourself. I already have several other designs that I want to make (nothing totally original of course - just ideas from things I see in shops etc).
I also found it very helpful to read the book Perfect Fit which helped with finer points like adjusting patterns for a broad back and shoulders, and finding the edge of the shoulderbone etc etc.
When drawing ideas, I found it helpful to trace a line drawing of my shape from pictures of me, and enlarge it. Then its easy to draw ideas for clothes over the line drawing (I have the outline drawing of me under the piece of paper I´m drawing my clothes ideas on), and to see how the clothes I´m thinking of sit on my actual shape. Like how they relate to my width, where my waist is, my shoulders etc.

This is a t shirt from some fabric my friend Anna gave me. The neckline is shirred, and then sewn onto a straight ungathered neckband. Its based on the Charlotte Top in the book, although a bit altered.