That Awkward Moment When You Forget You're A Seamstress

For over a year...

Forget is perhaps too cruel a word. I have told many MANY people that I am a sewist, but with starting a new job, moving to a new city, moving house, moving house again, passing my driving test, getting a car, and learning how to drive again because that new city was LEEDS, it's been hard to find the time to sew.

(Helpful hint: if you're a teacher who's too busy to sew, set up a school sewing club. You get a budget and an hour a week to sew with kids.)

But then, the GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE was reinstated! And applications opened! And this girl started applying! And fell in love with sewing again! And using exclamation marks too much!

AND! This girl also got gifted a new sewing machine for Christmas! (I drunkenly called it Craig Charles, don't ask).

So it's on, I'm dedicated again, I am a sewist. Last weekend I finished two creations and I wore one to work today. The kids couldn't believe I handmade it, until I showed them my custom made label that I'd put in the back.

So yes, Sew Well Travelled is back, and this time I really mean it (until GBSB rejects me).

How To Draft Your Own Circle Skirt | Free Tutorial

Evening all! 

So this year I have taught myself how to draft my own patterns in a way that makes sense to me, which is pretty amazing! So as this was requested by a fellow seamstress I thought I'd do a tutorial on how I draft and make my circle skirts. This is part 1, where I will focus on drafting the pattern pieces using your own measurements. Part 2 will come later this week and will be all about making the actual skirt! So let's jump right in...

What You Will Need:
Pattern drafting paper (or A3 paper and a good glue stick)
A ruler (I had to edit this post as I actually forgot to include this!)
A set square or a protractor
A calculator (unless you're excellent at dividing by decimals in your head)
A large table or area of hard floor
Patience and flexibility
About 1 hour

Optional extras include a cat who doesn't like your attention being on anything but him.

STEP 1. Measure
You need to take your waist measurement and the desired length of the skirt. I take the waist measurement snugly so I can just fit 2 fingers between the tape measure and the waist. This way it will hug the body when worn and accentuate your waist. To take the length of the skirt, measure from the point of your waist down to where you want it to stop. For the one I was making it was 67cm, which stops at my friend's knee. But obviously, everyone is different!

STEP 2. Draft

1. So I don't use pattern paper or anything for circle skirts, since the pieces are so large it would cost a fortune. Instead I always have a pad of A3 paper on hand and stick about 9 sheets together like so:

People laugh at me when I ask where my "good" glue stick has gone. Some glue sticks are just better than others. 

2. Once all the pieces are stuck together you need to draw a right angle in the corner, it doesn't matter which one!

I knew taking Standard Grade Graphic Communication would come in handy one day!

3. You now have to do some maths magic, and don't get too excited when I tell you that you get to use pi. Divide your waist measurement by pi (or 3.14 if you don't have a pi button) and then by 2. This will give you the radius of the circle which will form the waist of the skirt. I usually round it to 1 decimal place, but I don't think it would cause too much difficulty if you rounded it to the nearest whole number.

4. Draw from the point of the right angle straight lines which are the length of your radius. (This was a really difficult instruction to phrase... see photo below)

Label the right angle A, the vertical line B and the horizontal line C

Like you're drawing a triangle basically but don't join the points to make it one. 

5. You then need to take your radius and mark a series of points from your right angle between the space B to C. This will form a curve.

Join the dots (YAY!) and you have your waist for your skirt (DOUBLE YAY!).

6. Now draw a straight line from points B and C - this line should match your skirt length with about 2cm added for seam allowance. Label your new points D and E. 

You should now have a corner called A; waist labelled BC; a straight line BD and another CE.

7. Repeat the join the dots interval measurement trick that we did with the waistline to create a curved hem for the skirt. 

8. Now add a 1.5cm seam allowance to line CE. You can do it from point A to E if you want but we don't actually need to talk about A anymore. A can go.

9. Add a fold line to line BD like this one here:

10. Cut out and copy this exact pattern onto another piece of pattern paper, but with adding the 1.5cm seam allowance to BOTH lines (CE and BD) this time. 
If it helps you keep track, the first pattern piece we made (with the fold line) can be labelled front skirt and piece 1; and the second pattern piece can be labelled back skirts and pieces 2 and 3. Pieces 2 and 3 are cut by cutting 2 pieces of fabric but not on the fold, as we need that centre back seam for the zip.

STEP 3: Make the waistband:
Take your original waist measurement and add 8cm to this. This is because of stuff to do with pi which I don't fully understand but intend to work out! Draw a rectangle which is this measurement divided by 2 (in my case 87cm + 8cm = 95cm/2 = 47.5cm ) by 12cm. You can change the 12cm around if you want a wider or narrower waistband, I just think 12cm is a nice width). Add a fold line to one of the shorter sides to the rectangle so that you can cut this on the fold.


And once you've done all of that, you should be left with all the pieces you need to make your very own circle skirt which *should* fit you perfectly!

Be sure to check my blog later in the week on part 2 of this tutorial, which is when we will make the actual skirt using these pattern pieces! Til then, happy drafting!

Lots of love,

Katharine

The 1950s Pattern Challenge

Sometimes there just isn't the perfect pattern for what you have in mind, that's what myself and my beautiful sister found anyway. As mentioned in my previous post, she had come home with an idea in mind of the shirt and skirt ensemble that she wanted and challenged me to create it for her. As you will have seen in my last post, pattern drafting/hacking was completely new to me and I sat staring at the 'pattern drafting paper' (I'm too stingy for the real stuff, so use greaseproof instead) for probably several hours in total. I created my own instructions and I pinned and tucked on a mannequin for quite some time before I even got up the guts to cut the fabric out.

My intention had been to hack Simplicity 6107 and just add a collar. Unfortunately, and I'm not sure why, this didn't quite work. So instead, I only used the position of the darts from the commercial pattern and the rest was drafted by myself. I'm not sure, but I think that's how pattern blocks are used? Maybe I should get a block or something. Maybe I should find out what that actually is...

When all this was finally done I worked out my own layplan, took a deep breath, and started cutting out the fabric. The collar is the isosceles triangle on the fold, which was made by measuring from the centre back to where the button stand started. In future I would taper the collar more as it met the buttons, as this part caused me issues in the final fit. Due to intense paranoia, I put it all on the mannequin again before tackling sleeves or anything. I quite liked how it looked like this and decided to make my own sleeveless and collarless version in the same fabric once it was done!

I was happy, added the sleeves, tackled with the collar which was faced with heavyweight interfacing. I folded over a seam for it and kind of slotted it onto the neckline. Once the sleeves were added, my sister came home for a fitting and we decided to shorten them. I then drafted another heavily interfaced cuff to add to the sleeves, so that she could roll them up and still have the right side of the fabric showing. Like so...

Cuff down

Cuff 'rolled' up

All that was left after that was to add the adorable buttons and attach hooks and eyes to avoid the neckline being a bit sexier than intended. And this is it finished!

Teamed with the circle skirt I made first for the whole outfit the whole finish is simply stunning. The yellow of the skirt really draws out the shirt fabric and we have coordinating buttons on the shirt for the finish. I also made her a matching wired headband in the skirt fabric and we used the prettiest daisy button ever to be made to finish it.

"Look nonchalant"

The smile on her face made the stress worth it

Heather has ordered a petticoat online to add some oomph and flounce and other exciting words to the spin of her skirt.

Nearly two years ago I started sewing again, and in January 2015 I sat down and shouted at my first commercial dressmaking pattern in confusion and panic. I never thought back then that I'd still be dressmaking, never mind drafting and fitting a whole outfit to someone else. When it was finished and she put it on I was not only beaming with pride but also nearly tearful. This was the result of a lot of hard work and is proof of how far my skills have come. Dressmaker fo' life.

And if you read that little cheesy paragraph... here's your reward, because it's wrong to make a circle skirt and not do this...

I've also had a request on reddit to digitise and publish the pattern that I made for this shirt, so expect that on Etsy soon! (which, in teacher language, means October half term now...)

Til next time loves,

Katharine xxx

8 Things To Do When Life Gets Tough

So, this is a bit of a different one for me, but I thought it might help some readers. Without going into too much detail, I have had a very rough month with things just getting darker and darker. However, I am a proactive bean and I know when I am in a bad way and what will help me get out of it. So I thought I'd compile a list of things which are proven to get me out of sad moments like this, and god dammit they work pretty well...

1. Go Away
First off, you need to get away. It's amazing how much a change of scenery can help your thought processes - different people, different environments - to me, it's the ultimate cure. I have just graduated and after the year I've had all I need is a holiday, but being short on cash and without a valid passport I decided to book something within the UK. And where better to go than home? I'm off to Aberdeen in 3 weeks and I know it's going to do me the world of good. Going away will allow you to come home with fresh eyes on whatever situation you may be in. It'll remind you of why you are where you are, and maybe even remind you of your bigger ambitions. Perhaps it'll give you that kick to move on to somewhere new? Whatever it does for you, it's only good. Take the leap - book a cheap flight and a hostel and go out and see the world!

2. Get Healthy

For me, exercise is usually a dirty word. I used to love running but hadn't hit the pavements for a few years... until the other week. The endorphins alone cheered me up a lot and it actually helped me work out some anger and frustrations. I'm now hooked again and am determined to run 10k by the end of the year. As well as that, knowing that you're taking care of yourself will make you feel more positive, more awake, and more hopeful. I'm not sure how it does it, but it does. Even if it's just switching toast for cereal, little steps can help you feel brighter and better about yourself.

3. Quit

So, not in a bad way... but quit the negativity in your life. If you have a think about the people in your life, is there anyone that just drags you down, or tries to make every situation a negative one? If so, it's time to cut them loose. Of course, it may not be a person, for me it was a habit that was dragging me down and making me feel rubbish about myself. Quitting is hard, but it's so so worth it.

4. Broaden Your Horizons

Is there anything you've ALWAYS wanted to do? For me, one of them anyway, it's to go to India. I don't care what anyone says about the dangers, it's on my bucket list and job situation come September permitting, my best Pani and I are doing it next summer! Maybe it's a new hobby or sport? I've always wanted to learn how to dance and have resolved to start lessons after my first paycheck because you know what? LIFE IS TOO SHORT NOT TO DANCE.

5. Always Have Something To Be Excited About

Maybe it's a big trip to India, maybe it's wearing your new lipstick? It could be having a bath at the end of the day, or treating yourself to a bar of Galaxy. Nothing is too small to get excited about. When you're depressed it's easy to get blind sighted by everything that's going on in your personal life and forget the world out of your bubble. If you have one thing a day that takes you away from that soon you'll start looking for things to get excited about, until your life is one excitable ball of excitement. Like one of those huge bubbles that street performers create. NOTHING is as exciting as seeing one of the giant bubbles.

6. Make Lists

The idea of staying in bed all day watching Jezza and eating crisps is very appealing at times, but it's not going to do you any good at all. There's always something to be done but it's hard to think about them when you're low. If you force yourself to make a list for the next day right before bed, you'll earn that slob time (which I agree is necessary when you're feeling rubbish, but in moderation). Even if the list consists of find scarf, paint nails and cuddle cat it's still better than lying in bed doing nothing.

7. Avoid Alcohol

All I've wanted to do these past few weeks is have a glass of wine and forget about it all, but I know it'll only make everything worse the next day. Alcohol is a depressant, and is not the solution (this is coming from a Scot too!). Believe me, go for a run or a walk or a swim. The pain you feel after a good workout is never as bad as a hangover and you'll feel amazing about yourself rather than suffer from hangover guilt.

8. Believe That It Will Get Better

It's the hardest thing to do out of all of these, especially when things feel bleaker than ever. You may be sick of people telling you it'll all be ok and that things are meant to be. Platitudes just don't work sometimes... BUT they are true. Pain is temporary and things always happen to pave the way to even better and brighter things. It may not seem like it right now, but your life is about to get AMAZING. All you need to do is stick around to see it happen. And that's my main point - stick around - you'll miss something amazing that's about to happen to you if you don't.

If this helped anyone at all then I've done my job. I know writing it alone has helped me.

Stay strong and happy, lovelies.

Lots of love, 

Kat

Next On Sew Well Travelled: My Russian Doll Circle Skirt! Come back on Friday 29th July to find out more :)

The New Heirloom

It has been over a year in the making. May 2013, when I first moved in with my mum in England I found that I had an inordinate amount of t-shirts and zero desire to wear any of them. I still had the love for them, the memories, yet absolutely no where to put them. So it started with an Instagram, claiming it was a new project.

New project... can you guess what it is yet?! - May 6th 2013

Funnily enough it didn't happen, and then I went to Poland. Here, have a photo of Poland. I love Poland.

Bloody love Poland.

ANYWAY. I came home in March, got a job, had an unproductive summer, then realised I had two weeks of holidays to take before the holiday year reset and hastily booked them off. With no money. So I nicked my mum's sewing machine and began. It started with Netflix and an iron. Two months, several punctured thumbs and four cheapo Primark fleeces later and it was done. And I am so proud.

So here it is, my quilt journey:

Step one: wash.

Both yourself and the t-shirts. Because you're human and have stored the t-shirts in suitcases for years. And they were smelly. Not bad smelly, just musty smelly.

Not having a tumble dryer problems

Step two: iron.

This was painful. I don't iron. I straighten my clothes after I've done my hair if necessary. I also discovered most of the t-shirts weren't yet dry and so things got a little steamy (teehee). I gave up on the ironing half way through.

I also like close ups of my thumbs. Before the pins ended them.

Step three: make templates for the patches and scream at paper.

Rolls of paper plus scissors and no patience. Well, enough said.

Step four: use screamed-at templates to cut squares out of t-shirts.

Accumulate off cuts and make pact to use them in some way. Still haven't.

A good pair of fabric shears are VITAL with this stage. Even though the edges will be hidden away in the end you don't want to accidentally hack away at the logo.

Cut your tshirt, not your thumb.

Step five: Cut out backing.

Ok, so what I made isn't a quilt but more a patchwork blanket. I used fleece blankets from Primark at £2.50 a pop and cut squares to fit each t-shirt patch. I began by colour coordinating it all, then realised that was pointless as you're never going to look at the front and the back at the same time. I simply pinned the t-shirt to the fleece and snip snipped, I also kept the pins in after to keep it in place ready for sewing. You're going to need lots of pins for this.

The black goes nicely against the red, dunnit?

Step six: Make patches

So now I simply sewed the t-shirt onto the fleece (t-shirt motif facing down) and left a wee gap to turn it round the right way again after. I machine sewed the patches together, mainly because I would still be doing it now if I'd decided to hand sew it. That's a lie actually, I'd have given up on it.

This was probably the most time consuming stage, I started counting up the hours but got to 30 and decided to stop. I had a routine of cutting a few squares out then sewing and repeat. This was how I maintained my sanity.

I was the coolest Brownie ever. 

Step 7: Lay patches out on double sheet and play t-shirt jigsaw

Well this was pretty sodding difficult. When I started the project I decided not to make it perfectly laid out in a brick pattern, but rather higgeldy piggeldy, because that's what memories are. Putting this into practice was a headache and a half. The first row comprised of perfect squares, and then it just got confusing. I would sew a few together, then lie it out and pin more on... my patience levels really suck and so this was a true test of how much I wanted to make it.

Tshirt jigsaw is taking Toys R Us by storm

Step 8: Sew again

I used blanket stitch to hand sew each patch together. At one point the blunt edge of one of the needles went through my thumb. Fun times.

This stage took six seasons of Gilmore Girls. Because Gilmore Girls is now a unit of time.

No other patches fitted together so perfectly.

Step 9: Edge that thing.

I used bias tape to finish off the blanket. This was the first time I've ever used it and as I am not the neatest hand sewer I found it to be a life saver. The nice lady at the haberdashery taught me and steered me away from the pretty ribbons as it was quite clear that I was clueless, and then my genius Mumma re-taught me. 

So close!

Step 10: Scream, jump around and marvel.

That moment when you finish such a big project after months of work, differing stages, learning and relearning techniques, it's like nothing else. The pride was overwhelming and I am hooked. So here it is... my heirloom.

Started: 25th September 2014

Finished: 7th December 2014
Patches: 39
Estimated total cost (minus tshirts): £13.50

I'm in love.

The best bit? I got my yearly flu the week after I finished this, so had nearly a week off work which I spent watching Christmas movies curled up under this bad boy. My timing is impeccable.