Goodbye 2012

Well the last month of 2012 has been pretty unproductive on the sewing front with moving apartments, hosting parents and in-laws (not at the same time thank goodness!) and general Christmas madness.  I still haven't figured out how to arrange my new sewing space, I think I just need to start using it and see what works and what doesn't and go from there.  I'm also planning a new year present to myself - a trip to the fabric market next week to get things moving.

Goodbye old apartment

Hello new apartment - awaiting our Christmas day lunch guests

But I have been diligently putting my completed garments from 2012 into a separate flickr folder so I could look back at them easily at year end and see at a glance just how few garments I have made compared to everyone else!

First, just for completeness are two gym tops I made from rehashing old ones, I used Jalie's crossover top pattern and even over the excesses of Christmas these have been thoroughly tested and I'm really pleased with the results, I'll definitely be making more next year, gym clothes are ridiculously expensive.

I made two of these, one is just plain black, but otherwise looks the same so no photo.

 So below is a summary of what I made in 2012, just like last year it seems like a really low output to me, but at least it is all stuff that has seen lots of wear.  This was the year of Burda magazine for me, I think as a result of trying to buy less patterns, it was also the year of the dress, but I didn't make a single pair of pants!  For those who like stats, 34 completed items break down like this;

Lets see how 2013 compares....  Happy New Year everyone!!

Burda Style 11/2012 - 136 Top

A few weeks ago I found a plus sized top in one of the sample shops here costing less than the equivalent of US$2 in a great quality inky blue jersey.  So I snapped it up and then chopped it up and made this very simple top from the November issue of Burda Style.  There are just two pieces and I kept the original hem of the top making it a really quick make.  It isn't a terribly exciting top, but a great basic and the wide cut on sleeves and narrow waist give it a good shape.

The styling in the magazine gives the impression this is supposed to be worn over another top and this would explain why the armhole is drafted so low.  I just sewed up the side seam a few inches.  This photo shows the alteration although it's a bit confusing because it's on it's side (I rotated it in iphoto, but blogger isn't ready to pick up that version yet, don't ask me why!).  The stitching line is the original, to the right is the armhole and the pins mark my new stitching.

You already saw me wearing this top with the pencil skirt from my last post, but here it is a bit closer.

Burda Style 07/2012 - 120 Pencil Skirt

There wasn't much to interest me in this July's Burda, but I did find the darts on this pencil skirt interesting.  Still, at the end of the day it is just a pencil skirt and the two versions I made are in prints that means you can barely see the dart detail!  The fit though is great and if you don't already have a TNT pencil skirt pattern you might want to consider this one.

This is my first version, in a blue/green/brown/cream woven fabric I purchased a few years ago from Metro Textiles in NY while visiting.  I love the colours and texture in this fabric and there will be lots of options for mixing it with different tops.  Maybe not with my existing wardrobe of course......

I can't remember for certain now and all my Burdas are packed away for the impending house move, but I think this pattern was originally unlined, it's easy enough to add a lining although I cut my front lining a bit big and added in a couple of pleats to take up the excess.  I used a grey silk satin from my lining stash, it feels so nice to wear.

The instructions said to clip the curved front dart along the centre and press it open which I duly did and then worried about this fabric fraying so I fused a piece of interfacing over the raw edges.  (In my second version below and in both linings I didn't clip it, just pressed it and it was fine).

Gee I sure hope I can take better self timer photos in my new place!

This is version 2, in another multicoloured fabric, this time a metallic brocade fabric that is brown, gold and a bit of orange and impossible to photograph.  There seem to be a lot of glam fabric pencil skirts around at the moment, often paired with simple relaxed sweaters and t shirts which I think will be a good look for holiday nights out.  Again, my wardrobe needs to do some catching up to match the ideas in my head!

You can see the side front dart detail here.

This fabric is a little bit scratchy so instead of using the facings I reinforced the top of the skirt with fusible tape and fully lined it, understitching the lining to stop it showing on the right side.