A t-shirt and a lesson in patience!

Ok so this post has been half written all week! A dose of the cold and the inability to look at a screen for longer than 5 minutes without my eyes streaming like crazy, meant I didn't want to look at a PC once I got home from work. Anyway.......

Last weekend we escaped the mess of the flat back to my parents house.  I had bought the March issue of Sew Magazine through the week and decided that I wanted to make the t-shirt and kimono from the free New Look pattern 6217.  

Keen to do some machine sewing at the weekend I toddled off to Remnant Kings during my Friday lunch wander for some fabric.  I decided to just go for fabrics I liked rather than trying to get fabrics that matched as the likelihood of me wearing the two together is slim.  They were only £2.99 per meter, 100% viscous and the tropical flower print can be found here . 

I didn't get to the kimono due to an error with pattern placement when cutting (story for another day) but really pleased with how the t-shirt turned out.  Excuse the lighting in the photos, it was getting late on Sunday and it was blooming freezing so I didn't want to venture far from the front door!!!



I was really keen to get back to sewing clothes and have something completed in one go. Unfortunately I ended up losing my patience with this top!

I had cut out a straight 16 as that corresponded best to my bust measurement and I figured that 4" ease would mean I would not have to grade the pattern.   However, once I got the shoulder seams done I started to panic that I had made a mistake and that it would not fit round the tum!

This resulted in me getting frustrated and instead of trusting myself I rushed the seaming of the sides and one of the arm holes figuring 'what does it matter its going to be too tight anyway'.  You don't notice it but I have a feeling it will unravel in the wash..... I tried tidying the seams after the fact but that just resulted in me putting a hole in one of the side seams (ahhhhh).  Quickly sorted but highlights how frustrated I was.

When trying it on it also looked like it was going to be way too big at the neck line.  It turned out ok when I put the button loop and button on but it is still wider than I normally wear.

My first ever hand made button loop - quite chuffed with that!

Overall I am actually really pleased with how it has turned out.  Slightly disappointed in myself for getting frustrated and not finishing the seams properly,  It is unlikely that it will hold up very well in the wash but we will see.  It is a nice quick easy top and I can see myself making another one.  Maybe take a bit more care and attention next time!

See you soon x

P.S. I love to chat so feel free to leave a comment!

A collapsed ceiling and some crochet

We have had a bit of an odd February.  At the beginning of the month we came home to find that our upstairs neighbours had flooded their bathroom which caused our bathroom ceiling to collapse!  Not fun and a whole lot of mess.

This resulted in us being out of the flat for three weeks and living in a Premier Inn while they got round to clearing all the debris (insurance companies don't seem to move fast!).  

To entertain myself I decided to try and learn crochet.  It is something that I have never been able to master and I spent quite some time reading over online tutorials and youtube videos.  Eventually I managed to figure it out using this really good tutorial from Bella Coco.  It still took around two hours to make my first granny square mind you!

It also took me a while to get my tension right!

I had bought a couple of balls of Siddar Snuggly DK  John Lewis on a whim and could not figure out what to do with them.  I decided to just make a granny square, alternating the colours every two rounds and see what happened.

I ended up with a square which was around 18" square.  I hummed and hawed about buying more to make it into a baby blanket but decided I could not be bothered and that a cushion would be a quicker make.

Another google and I had a couple of ideas as to how to make my big granny square into a cushion.  I eventually settled on this tutorial by Bunny Mummy which meant I didn't have to crochet a back!  (See told you I was being lazy!) I purchased some lovely snuggly white fleece and made a very simple envelope back.  I then whip stitched the crochet square onto the cushion cover, inserted the pillow form and that was it!  

Its something I could imagine cuddling into when not feeling great but I think it is destined to be a gift for my Gran.  A granny square for my granny - quite apt really!

See you all soon x

P.S.  I love to chat so feel free to leave a comment