Pattern Drafting by A Newbie

Afternoon all!

My sister recently came home all excited because she'd seen a beautiful outfit in the window of a shop in York called Bowler Vintage. However, she couldn't justify the cost of it and so decided that I could make it for less money (she clearly was never intending on paying labour costs!)
This is the outfit...

She wants the outfit on the front mannequin.

So we journeyed to our favourite fabric shop and she picked out some beautiful fabric for the top and skirt, saving £35 in the process. The skirt is your basic circle skirt which I am extremely proud of as I drafted it all myself (see previous blogpost) and it's turned out beautifully. I am extremely proud of the drape on it and keep looking at it in awe.

However, the shirt is proving to be a bit more difficult. Heather was confident that I could just hack a previous pattern rather than buy a commercial one for it, I am less confident about it.
I'm hacking Simplicity 6107 (B), pictured below, but as it has a yoke and I need to add a collar I am completely drafting in the dark with it all.

I am currently at this stage with it. I have copied the pattern pieces for all components, but need to add a collar, button stand and turn ups to the sleeves. I'm not at all sure if I'm doing it right and am absolutely terrified of actually cutting it out in case I ruin it. So I suppose what I'm asking is - HELP!!!! How do I do this? Would it be better to buy a commercial pattern? And does anyone know of the perfect pattern? I am desperate to make it but terrified too.

If you have any help you can share your wisdom in the comments on here or on social media using the buttons above!

Thanks, and lots of love,

Katharine

The Matryoshka

Hello!
I am very excited to share my most recent creation with you all as this is something I am incredibly proud of. I have always wanted to make a circle skirt, but thought I'd need miles and miles of fabric to do it. Turns out, I managed to make one with only 2m of fabric!
The fabric, £5 a metre from Hobbycraft, consists of a series of different Russian Dolls. I have always loved Russian (Matryoshka) dolls since I was a child and fell in love with the fabric as soon as I saw it.

I decided to draft a pattern myself, and using the instructions from an old issue of Love Sewing created the pattern pieces for a circle skirt, adding a button down element to the front (yay, no zips!). So, I measured my waist and hips, and the length I wanted the skirt to be, I divided my waist by pi (pi, in a real life context, did you ever think you'd see the day?!) to find the radius and drew a right angled triangle with the sides the same length as my waist radius. From there, I curved the line between the two radius points to make the waist, and then extended the sides the make my skirt the desired length, and curved the line between the two points again. I copied this template to make two and added 8cm to one side for my button cover. 
I don't think the above makes the best sense, but once you start doing it you kind of see where you're going with it. 
So I did the cutting and somehow the way it was cut caused all the Russian dolls to face different directions all the way round, a very cool and almost trippy effect! 

I'm not sure you can tell that well from the above picture but the dolls kind of spin as you move round the skirt.

The skirt fastens with two buttons on the waistband and then has 7 down the front. Each button was covered in matching fabric (each with a different doll on!) and I fully mastered buttonholes with this project! I couldn't figure out how to make them with my machine so I just hand sewed them all, I also hand sewed the waistband as my machine had a hissy fit and I lost it!

The skirt was finished and ended up being 4 inches too big. I don't know how!!! So rather than taking out my beautifully sewn French seams I just moved the buttons, and I can continue to do this as my waist gets smaller. There will still be the same amount of fabric and spin, but just a better fit.

I have to say that I am incredibly proud of this project. Everything I usually make is rushed as I'm always eager to wear it, but this time I took my time and care with it. I was determined to make it Patrick Grant ready and my goodness it's made me even happier with it. I can't wait to wear it out with my beautiful new heels that I bought for graduation. The best thing about the skirt though? How it looks when I spin, I love it!

My next project is a full on 1950s outfit for my sister. Circle skirt and a shirt with a deep neckline and collar. 

Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading :)

Til next time, happy crafting!

Kat xx

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 :)

Half Term

Well hello there my fine wee corner of the internet, I'm back!

This year I have really had to prioritise things, which has meant that I have had to ignore my wonderful wee sewing club here at Sew Well Travelled, and for that I truly apologise. It is currently May half term and my school has two weeks off! Which means I am going to endeavour to do SOME sort of sewing/craft as well as plan the hell out of my LAST TWO WEEKS ON PLACEMENT!!!! That's right guys, I am officially on the home stretch, I made it through the stress that is the PGCE year and have many grey hairs to show for it.

The last few months have been very tough going, I am currently job hunting for September as well as working hard to maintain my grades to get a good pass at the end of all of this. On top of this, in April we bid a tearful goodbye to our wonderful 20 year old cat, Toyah (pictured below).

She was something else was our Toyah but she became severely ill and it was cruel to keep her for our own sakes when she was no longer enjoying life. My mum and I made a resolution to live cat-less for the first time in our lives and we lasted a week. Toyah was such a big part of our family that no one could ever replace her, but our new feline friend has softened the blow. 

His name is Murphy and he is the survivor of what seems like a severe cruelty case, as a result he has a gammy leg, no teeth on the left of his mouth and is extremely needy. Quite a lot for a four year old to deal with! He likes to help me plan my lessons by walking all over the keyboard when he's not getting enough attention.

Aside from my cat news that really is all that's been going on in my life aside from teaching. My current class are amazing characters and I am going to miss them a stupid amount when I leave at the end of June. I still don't have a job but I remain hopeful and tenacious with the process, yet right now I really am looking forward to relaxing a little this summer!

I've got a plan in mind for a top to make this half term using this fabric which I bought at the Sewing fair in Manchester last September.

It's going to be a semi self drafted strappy top, using a pattern from last year's Sewing Bee book. I hacked the pattern last summer to make the dress below and it worked out quite well! I'm thinking of breaking the rules and making the straps in a totally different fabric, just to make it a bit wilder! 

I really need to wear that dress again actually. As well as that I'm going to make a few wee bits and bobs and finally put them on Etsy with the aim to top up my ever diminishing student loan, stay tuned for a link on here! I have a huge stash of fabric that needs to be used up, my first placement class did enjoy choosing from it for their iPad cases at our craft club though!

Anyway, you'll definitely hear more from me this half term, but until then - Happy Sewing Crafters!

Katharine xx