Simplicity 9895, Hoodie

When my local fabric shop announced on Instagram that it had some plain black sweatshirt fabric in stock I was delighted. It seems such a simple thing to get excited about, you would think every fabric shop would have some plain sweater knits in-stock, but basics seem to be in demand, and just like you can't find a 32A black t-shirt bra in any Primark in the North of England, fleecey backed sweater material has proved elusive. 

The patten was a Christmas, or maybe Birthday gift. It was a toss up between the Simplicity 9885 and the McCalls 8365 - both hoddie patterns with panelled bodices, however the simplicty featured this relaxed, gathered bust which I preferred over the McCalls princess seams due to its relaxed-chic vibe.

With sweater fabric obtained after months being on the look out, I scheduled myself some time off work so I could relax into the world of making. I'd forgotten the sheer pleasure of being able to cut out plain fabrics on the fold instead of meticulously lining up geometric prints. this made for much quicker cutting than an anticipated. Top tip: Label up all the bodice segments, as they all look pretty similar and it doesn't take long before you're thinking which way round is this one? Is this a left or right piece? A front or back? 

Once cut out, you're straight into sewing. No interfacing or darts to line up, just some quick-forming gathers in the bust and the centre back pieces. I was a little worried the gathers would be lost in the softness of the fabric but I think they look really effective. I would perhaps move the bust gathers a little more towards the centre front next time, but once the hoodie is on everthing feels quite balanced. 

I spent a lot of time doing test strips with my overlocker, as there are a few areas where I was overlocking varying amounts of layers, each area needing a tweak of the overlocker settings to avoid carnage. 

My whole family have always loved collecting 'things', and this seemed to ramp up for my dad during 2020 when he was first diagnosed with dementia. I asked him once if he had any zip ties, with the intent of using them as boning in a corset top I was making at the time. The collection of zip ties lasted all year long, and as a result I had a mega stash of them to use as boning on my hoodie! Make do and mend! This WILL be my party piece if I ever make it onto Sewing Bee (shameless sob-story to feature also, thank you Pops). 

The boning in the bodice of the hoodie was labelled as optional, but I wanted to give it a go. the top stitching of the panels was already screaming corset-vibes. I am intrigued though to see how the hoodie would fit and hang without them. The pattern suggests placing the boning in and then sewing at the top and bottom of the channels at the 1.5cm seam allowance to stop the boning sliding out when you assemble the rest of the hoodie. I stitched all of the bottom sitches, THEN placed the boning in, just to keep the plastic out of the way of the needle for as long as possible. I have kept these stiches in, as they act nicely as reinforcement for the ends of the boning. 

I didn't press the side seams open, instead opting to overlock them together which I think was the right decision.  

Hemming could have been a hairy moment, as the pattern calls for folding along the 1.5cm hemline, then folding the raw edge into meet the fold line. I don't know if you've ever folded a snuggly-backed sweatshirt knit fabric, consisting of multiple bulky bodice panel seams, but I'll save you some time and inform you now that there is no way you are doing a narrow hem with it. So instead I overlocked the bottom raw edge then folded it along the 1.5cm hemline and top stiched. Of course, we hit an immediate issue trying to intersect each panel seam, as they now have the plastic boning encased, and although I probably could sew through it (flashback to the time I sewed through my ruler by accident which ignited a viceral fear of sewing through my fingernails), I didn't fancy breaking or dulling my needles. To hem then, I stiched in between each panel, stopping at each channel then starting again on the otherside. Fortunately this worked really well, despite it meaning that the hem sitching broke off at each channel. 

Sleeves slipped into the armholes nicely. The main fear was of course was stretching the cuffs to fit the sleeves, as the cuffs weren't appearing too stretchy. This was the only area I used a zig zag stich as I think it's the only area that would need to actually stretch. So I did a row of this that admittedly looked wavier than the Pacific, then overlocked the raw edges. When I turned the sleeves the right side out though I was overwhelmed with how professional the cuffs looked! 

Zipper time. The most time-cosuming and tedious part of the process. The pattern suggests a 20" open ended zipper, which you can then 'cut to fit'. Sure sure how hard can that be. Well. First apparent faux-pas, I had bought a lovely chunky plastic zipper, but to shorten a zip, it suggests removing the metal tab ends from the top of the zipper, removing the excess zip teeth using pliers, and then re-attaching the tab ends at the new 'top' of the zip. Ok well my zip was plastic, do you know what happends when you try and bend plastic? It snaps. So there was no chance of re-attaching the tabs once I'd painstakingly plucked off all of the excess teeth. Luckily, I had a spare old chunky metal zip knocking around which I could (just about) remove the ends from. So my hoodie zip now features trendy silver stops at the top and what's more, they do actually function! 

I've only done a handful of open ended zippers, I found this refreshingly easier than inserting dress zips which was welcomed at such a critical step in hoodie assemblage. I lined the edge of the zipper fabric up with the raw edge, I think this was slightly under the seam allowance, but it meant the edge would be hidden under the zip tape and it seemed to fit well when the zip was placed here. It also ensured the zip was placed straight! Using the zip foot it was easy to stitch a striaight line next to the plastic of the teeth, the hardest bit being at the bottom of the pull-side, where the chunky plastic stops stopped me from following the stitch line. Once both sides are sew in, the zip is flipped to the inside and topstiched in place. Next time: I would highly recommend pressing the fabric (careful not to melt zip teeth...) along the teeth where the fabric is folded back, as I found the fabric a little bouncey here and risked wavy topstitching if I wasn't careful. Not what you need at the most obvious, central point of the garment! 

Once your hem is done and your sleeves are in and your zip is inserted and functional, inserting the hood is the final, super satisfying and not-too-stressful step. There is a 3.2cm foldline around the opening of the hood- I stitched this with a long stitch to use as a guide, then folded the raw edge in to meet it. This process worked fine with a 3.2cm hem allowance, unlike the 1.5cm along the bottom. I pinned, pressed, tacked and then finally topstitched, catching the fold close to the edge on the underneath. The neck of the hood then fits nicely to the neck of the hoodie, matching your notches to the shoulder seams and the dots as you go around. I think some of my tailors tacks fell out and some of my notches seemed non-existant, but it was quite plain sailing as long as your fronts, centreback and shoulder placement is lined up. I then overlocked the raw edge (using my two-layer overlocking settings), and topstitched from the outside around the neckline to ensure the seam allowance lay flat. This also secured my little Handmade With ❤ tag in the centre back. 

Before you know it, you have yourself a hoodie! I must say, the fit is absolutely spot on! I graded between two sizes, smaller on top and larger on the bottom. The gathers also made it easy to blend the two sizes together. 

The overall effect is very chic, I can imagine wearing this over a crop top in spring whilst going to buy an over priced Green Goddess super-smoothie or something. Due to the shaping and cropped nature, it's not really a top layer to throw over a tshirt or anything any bulkier, though I can imagine making another without the boning and perhaps slightly longer and layering up with it. There's definitely scope to play with different colourways using the panels and the cuffs and different topstitching thread, maybe even some go-faster stripes in ribbon down the sleeves?

I highly recommend this pattern, I'm surprised I haven't seen more people make it to be honest. Option B is tempting too, swapping out the zip for hook and eye tape and featuring every Reynaud sufferer's favourite- thumb holes in the cuffs 🥰 Also big love to Hillsbrough Fabrics for stocking this sweatshirt fabric and for letting me know it was in stock. It was £10.99 a meter, and you could tell straight away by touching it that it was good quality. It was wonderful to both cut and sew with. I'm feeling pretty jammy that I have some left over (I bought 1.6m but think I could have got this cut out in about 1.2m). Hopefully I can find a tiny shorts pattern that lends itself to using up the rest of this fabric. 

Fab make, that came just at the right time before I lost faith in my sewing skills after a bit of a break from making anything serious over summer. Bring on the nect project!  

x

Location: Mount Pleasant Sheffield

Currently listening to: Crooks, The Slims

New Look 6843, Mini Skirt Hack

No, you're not seeing things, that's correct, I made another wool-blend mini skirt to team with long socks and boots this winter. The moment the weather started getting colder the 4 I already have in my wardrobe were on heavy rotation and I couldn't resist dreaming up another. 

I had this plaid/houndstooth with green checks waiting patiently in my stash, it's destiny decided when I spotted this luxurious emerald green liquid satin on the Minerva website. The green was a perfect match to pair as a lining for the skirt. 

When the fabric arrived I was not disappointed. It has a brilliant sheen to it that really comes alive under the lights. The satin has quite a bit of body to it too so there is a kinds of bounceyness that adds to its vibrancy. I have been eyeing up the green silks and satins on Minerva's page for a while now, feeling green is a good colour on me and something with a bit of sheen would make for a good mini dress that had some impact on the dancefloor. I would say this fabric was ideal for lining, as its bounciness might not create the desired silhouette that a satin with more drape would. There are plenty of options on the Minerva page to try though. I am confident my dancefloor-dress fabric is also waiting for me. 

The liquid satin also feels really nice to wear, with its sheen feeling nice against both bare legs and tights (calm down). I love knowing that such a bold colour is inside, lining my chic lil skirt! 

I used Microtex needles for the lining and had to remember to keep swapping around when sewing up the main skirt, but this didn't cause too much hassle. Its bounceyness did make it a little difficult to press and hem, but you just have to keep your tape measure close at hand and show it who's boss! 

I followed the same steps to make this skirt as I did my others. My pattern is getting a bit tatty now, I could really do wih comitting it to card before it falls apart... I somehow doubt this will be my last... 

I had held off using this plaid fabric due to the pattern matching comittments, though the weave did make it easy really. There are lots of linear elements to the design which make lining up the patten pieces easy once you have decided which part of the design you want as a 'centre'. The pattern match worked really well, with the green horizontal lines running all the way around the skirt. 

The fabric also made it easy to ensure my darts were symmetrical, making sure the dart heads were placed on the same lines of the weave on each side. This attention to detail is one of the things that makes wearing handmade so satisfying! 

To finish the look, I couldn't resist making a lil scrunchie using some leftover satin. I have followed a few different scrunchie tutorials, but this was the only one that literally just covered a pre-existing hair bobble. Due to the qualities of the fabric, it was quite easy to cut a linear piece of the satin, which made lining up to sew around the little piece of elastic a little easier. The faffy bit was closing the ends, but it seemed to work pretty well. 



I think making a scrunchie was a perfect way to showcase the way the fabric reflects the light. Of course I just had to order some matching earrings off of Vinted to complete the look! 

We're off to Edinburgh in a couple of weeks. I feel like Scotland is gonna dig the look 💚💚💚

x
Location: Boyland Street, Sheffield
Currently listening to: Ramblin' Man, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan

Simply Sewing Patterns, City Backpack

I had a trusty little backpack that served me well during my city break to Amsterdam last year. But as all good Primark items do, the backpack sadly gave up the ghost and the popper popped it's cloggs a couple of months ago. 

Unable to see the true size and quality of any of the 1million backpacks uploaded to Vinted, and after receiving vague replies back such as "It's fairly mini but big enough for all major stuff" (what?), I decided the logical thing to do would be to make my own. Cue jumping back on Vinted to try and find the perfect pattern. 

There were a lot of people listing free Simply Sewing magazine bags. I must say I never realised that they had such a huge bag-catalogue. Not fancying being encumbered by a satchel or lopsided with a tote, I was still on the look out for a good rucksack. There were a couple of good looking roll-top ones but I was looking for something a bit more chic. The City Backpack wasn't popping up as frequently as others seemed to be so I took that as a sign it was a good pattern. The size looked good and the colour blocking would allow me to use up some stash items, wehey. 

I have added things below in bold deviations from the instructions and things that I would do differently, or at least with more caution next time I make this bag (and possibly any other).

As this was my first bag project, naturally I asked around for any tips before getting started. Shauni @Magnificent Thread hit the nail on the head when she said the hardest part is getting all the supplies ready. Aside from fabrics and the usual interfacing (I was using leftovers) the patten also calls for:

- Fusible Wadding (Think fluffy interfacing to add structure and protection to the bag)
- x2 2.5cm D Rings
- x2 2.5cm Rectangular Rings
- x2 2.5cm Rectangular Rings with Sliders
- 7" Zip for the pocket in the lining
- 2.3m of Webbing (Think bag strap strips) for the straps and closure
- x2 Press Studs (had some in my stash, wehay!)

So as you can see, the inventory is quite bitty. It took me about 10 years in Abakhan to sort out the rings and sliders situation, as there was a real mish-mash of sizes and colours, with the only rectangular rings being the next size up... which would mean I needed wider straps.. but there was no wider strap!! Luckily I had Mark with me and he is unphased by fabric, shopping lists, or his girlfriend having a meltdown about hardware, and he calmly suggested buying another pair of sliders and just taking the middle bar off. Solved. I love him. 

The pattern includes the pieces that aren't a standad rectangle, then gives you dimensions for the main bag pieces to draw and cut out. I would recommend marking the centre points on the raw edges of these pieces so that its easier to match them up.

I used a fleece fabric for the lining of the flap, so I didn't cut wadding for this too (I was already pushing the bulk-boundaries!).

The two fabrics I combined were both intially bought and used for mini skirts. The gold is a leather from Matlock leather fair and the brown was from a sale in Abakhan last year. 

I used the leather to make the strips that help support the straps and back of the bag. The instructions call for folding over 0.5cm on the long edges and pressing... I knew turning this tiny amount over and then pressing leather wasn't going to necessarily work, espaecially as the leather is coated - I was nervous too much heat would lead to melting and a messy iron. Instead I used fray stop glue to hold under 0.5cm and this worked better than I imagined! 

I used the leather for the tab for the fastening which was pretty nerve wracking as the edges were SO thick. I used a leather needle and top stich thread for this. Somehow the machine behaved - I think the tab is one of the best features of the bag! Attaching this to the front flap would have been better if I'd marked out the mid point on the flap to ensure everything was lined up properly. I was worried the machine would push the tab off at an angle due to the bulkiness of it - especially as I couldn't tack anything due to using leather. I used clips to hold the raw edges together and somehow it stayed central! Woohoo! 

As this was my first foray into bagmaking, I had to check, double check, triple check, that the seam allowance for each seam was meant to be 0.5cm. I found this a bit annoying, as the bulk of sewing the front and back together with all the wadding and leather and seam allowances from the colour blocking made 0.5cm seem a bit scant, especially thinking that I could be stuffing all sorts of weighty items into the bag! I would definitely consider adding another cm to the seam allowances next time. 

The colour blocks are sewn with 0.5cm seam allowance, which is fine from a structural point of view as this area wasnt going to take much strain, but this meant that top stitching this area sent my machine into a bit of a tizz. Due to the lopsidedness of the bulk (small leather seam allowance impossible to press open as advised) the machine would not sew a proper top stitch close to the seam allowance. It was skipping stitches and just generally looking shit. This of course was the last thing I wanted, as each attempt was leaving incurable holes in the leather. Although I of course did a number of test strips, my machine was feeling contrary, and what worked well in a test environment decided not to play ball on the actual bag. 

I tried sewing the top stitch further away from the seam, which did help but of course meant the stitching would be purely decorative and no longer hold the seam allowance down. It was here I realised that using topstich thread on my bobbin wasn't required and was probably adding to the issues. I wondered if my leather needle was blunt, so I swapped this round but it didn't make much difference. I increased the tension, which seemed to help (despite something I read online saying thicker fabric = lower tension??). 

I tested the stitching on a piece of bulky non-leather fabric and it sewed fine! So was the leather the problem? I sandwiched it between tissue paper, interfacing - No difference. I tacked a piece of woven tape to the back of the stitching line to see if the bobbin thread just needed to 'catch' onto something woven? I changed the needle another few times and ended up with a 100 Denim needle that was starting to make stitching look like stitching should. I noticed the stiches were skipping when the needle lifted and it took the fabric up with it a bit. I added some pressure by gently pressing on the front of the foot as it stiched and SOMEHOW I had tentatively coaxed my machine into delivering a nice straight topstitch. I haven't read anywhere online about pressing on the presser foot, so I'm guessing this must be either illegal or undiscovered. Worked for me and my lil backpack tho. 

The bag flap topstich also proved trixy and as a result the stitches aren't beutifully even. I sort of feel with what I have learnt I could unpick and have better results, but I also don't want to fall victim to contrary topstitching so I will leave as is. There was no way the machine was going to go over 8 layers of leather, so I improvised with some faux topstitching by hand across the top of the tab. It is a shame though as this area could likely do with the extra reinforcement. 

The next tricky part was placing my bottom gold strip. I probably overthought it, but 'place the strip 5" up from the bottom of the bag' - Does this mean the centre of the strip? The top or the bottom? Where do you place the ends of the straps underneath this? In hindsight it would have been better to palace it lower to secure the straps underneath with both the top and bottom row of stitching. 

I couldn't pin the leather cross strips, and couldn't use clips as they are placed in the middle of the bag. Chalk and water soluble pen wouldn't show up on the leather to mark the placement, so instead I measured and used a straight-egde strip of masking tape to line the edge of the cross strip against. I then used little bits of masking tape to hold it in place, peeling away as I stitched. I held my breath the whole time, as one skipped stitch from my machine could ruin the whole effect. The machine did not like 'climbing' where the end of the straps added significant bulk. I found I had to stop and start stitching around the strap ends, which is annoying really as this area needed the most secure and consistent stitches. I was able to join up the stitching eventually though, though I am aware I darned in some ends by hand and am skeptical as to whether they will withstand the test of time. 

The pattern does not suggest tacking the bottom of the straps onto the bag before securing with the cross-strips. I did do a row of stitching, but if I made the bag again, I would secure this with three or four rows of stitching which would all be hidden under the cross strip. This would provide extra security as this area of the bag takes some of the most strain. I would repeat this with the top of the straps. Although the pattern does suggest tacking them in, I would tack in with several rows. Next time I would definitely secure the hand straps with X-stitching to help take the strain too.

Lining went well, I used left over lining fabric from my skirt made of the same fabric. I was worried it would be a little on the silky side and not as durable as the cotton suggested in the instruictions. I did remember this fabric being deceptively hardy when I made my mini skirt though, and I'm glad I used it. The sheen gives a bit of luxe which I think contrasts with the almost outdoorsy sheepskin lining the flap. 

This was my first time putting a zip in using the 'letterbox' zip method. It worked well, but I would lightly interface around the back of the letterbox next time. I guess this wasnt included in the instructions as the suggested cotton fabric was more stable than my satin. Interfacing the area would have allowed for a crisper edge where the letterbox is turned to the underside. The pocket is fully functional though, and I am pretty proud of it only taking one attempt. 

Lets talk about the straps. I think I picked a good colour and enjoyed using the webbing for the first time. The gold hardware really compliments the leather on the bag and the autumnal tones overall. Contruction was easy enough to get my head around, possibly from experience making bra straps. I did find however, that the straps are a little on the short side?? Please tell me someone else found this too? I'm CERTAIN I measured correctly, but I found I needed the sliders to be at full length and the bag is a little bit tricky to get on if I'm wearing a billion layers. I did have some strap left over after cutting the lengths instructed, I'm wondering if this should have been included in the strap length. Next time I would add at least 10cm to each strap, at the very least just to utilise those sliders I so lovingly created.

The bag is finished by inserting 2 poppers at the opening to stop it sagging when the bag isn't super full.I love the shape these create when in action, but (pickpocketers look away) I do still find it quite easy to just shove my hand in, and I do worry about stuff falling out. I think the poppers could be placed further apart to make the opening smaller, or alternatively, I could do away with poppers and insert some large eyelets and some kind of drawstring mechanism. 

I'm really glad I picked this pattern up. Although there are a few changes I would make, thanks to its easy to follow instructions, I wasn't too phased by my first bag making attempt. The fabrics were super fun to work with (aside from top stitching bulk!) and I'm really proud of myself doe persevering with the topstitching and finding a way to make it work. 

Matching skirt and bag combo? Yes please. 

x
Location: Ponderosa
Currently listening to: Goca Dünya, Altın Gün 

Clothes Clone, Spotty Skort (Instructions)

One of the great things about literally picking apart a garment step by step, was that it gave me a good insight to how I was going to assemble to garment once I had everything cut out. As I was essentially putting together the skort with nothing but the disassemblage process and my past knowledge as instructions. I decided to keep note of all the steps I followed so that when the time comes, I'll be able to make the next in my skort collection without too much head scratching. I wrote these out on the plane to Berlin to stop me overthinking about being 10000s miles in the sky, but hopefully they will make sense when I come to my next one! 

Seam allowance: 1cm throughout
Suggested fabric: Something with some body but also a slight bit of stretch
Fabric requirements: 1m fabric, small bit of interfacing
Notions: x1 7" zipper & thread to match fabric

1- Interface:

• Waistband front x1 back x2 (L&R)
• Seamline on fron x2 back x2 (use a 1.2cm strip of interfacing)
• Bottom edge of top flap and underflap (3.7cm strip of interfacing)

2- Stitch darts in back pieces and press

3- Stitch waistband front and backs at side seams

4- Press hem of flaps (2.5cm)

5- Overlock:

• Bottom of waistband  (optional- turn under the overlocked edge  on waistband and stitch a narrow hem)
• Centre back of waistband (L&R)
• Short edge of each flap hem
• (Fold up short edge) Overlock long edge of underflap hem ONLY)
• Raw edges of front / back leg hem
• Centre back of L&R back pieces down to the notch

6- Unfold upper flap hem, and stitch to the underflap. Overlock the seam. 

7- Stitch front pieces together along front rise, leaving a gap before reaching the the leg seams to allow room to stitch the inside legs together later.

8- Match notches at the front side seams to notches either side of the upper flap

9- Baste 0.5cm seam allowance, ensuring flap hems are folded under. Baste the top edge of the flap to front leg pieces, fitting the slight curve and stopping and restarting at the centre front, so the seam allowance can be overlocked later. 

10- Place back pieces overthe top RST and stitch seam. Match hem at front and back / top and the notches. Press the seam and overlock the side seams.

11- Stitch front to back at inside leg seams

12 - Overlock inside leg seams, press.

13- Overlock legholes

14- Match inside leg seams, pin and stitch back rise from the notch (end of the overlocking), to the front rise.

15- Overlock the rise seam allowances together, from the front to the back (to the beginning of the single overlocking at the zipper area)

16- Match centre front, side seams and centre back of the waistband to the top edge of the skort RST. Pin and sew.

17- Understitch the waistband to the waistband seam allowance and press.

18- Pin and tack invisible zipper to left side centre back. Ensure the top of the zipper sits at the top of the waistband opening. Stitch using invisible zipper foot as far as it will go.

19- Pin and tack zipper to right side, ensuring waistlines match at the top. Sew as far as possible

20- Change to a standard zip foot and secrure the top of the zipper area. Flip the end of the zip tag out of the way and stitch from the bottom of the zip to the backrise seam, backstitching for security

21- Flip facing RST at zipper opening and stitch from the lower edge towards the waistline seam - as close to the zip as possible to secure the zipper ends. Turn back out

22- Check waistline matches before clipping bulk from the inside of the top of the waistline opening. Turn out again and press

23- Turn up 2cm hem on each leg and press

24- Blind hem the leg hems by hand

25- Blind hem the lower flap hem

26- Blind hem the folded edge and hem on the upper flap

Finished!

x

Location: Bakers Hill, Sheffield

Currently listening to: The Moon is Full, Hindi Zahra