Last of the summer wardrobe

The extended summer has been a joy here and some summer clothes that I made towards the end of August are still seeing lots of wear,  These are both patterns that I've made before, stalwarts if you like, where I have perfected the fit or style to just how I want it.  

Starting with the Belcarra, made like this one and this one.   I used a metre of Nani Iro double gauze Pon Pocho in cream peach.  I did have to do some creative cutting to squeeze it out of such a short length and make the most of the pattern. 

The only change was that I sewed the raglan seams down around ¼" either side of the seam line and I made the sleeve cuff slightly bigger along the long edge and it attaches just that little bit more easily. 

I have made three Belcarra's- and considering it was a pattern that I wasn't especially taken with on first glance, it has been the perfect summer top and uses such a small amount of fabric.  It is especially good to use with an expensive fabric that you can't afford to buy a lot of!

The skirt is my second version of Grains De Couture Opale Maxi from this book.   I made the pockets slightly deeper and did a different zig zag of stitching to hold the front pleats.  The fabric is Oakshott Seasons shot cotton in pink early rose and is currently on sale at Oakshott.  It is the same weight as the Colourshott fabrics and needs a good prewash as some of the colour will be lost on the first couple of washes.  The piping was a scrap of Elements in a very pale pink.  I made my piping using a little fusible hem web rather than sewing it together- I saw this tip somewhere ages ago, makes it all come together a little faster!

Instead of my usual helper, Mindy came in for a few photos.  She is generally pretty camera shy and a bit of an old lady at fifteen, but age has made her increasingly mellow and she still has a kittenish side.

I'm hoping to get a dress sewn by Saturday to wear at the next local sewing meet up, something with a hint of Autumn ...

I love Nani Iro

I truly do.  Her prints with their mix of painterly and femininity appeal to my arty side and the fabrics always feel so different to everything else- total quality.  I have sewn with Nani Iro double gauze, double jersey and brushed cotton and I have loved them all.  I was thrilled with Frances's invitation to I Love Nani Iro month to promote the new Spring 2014 collection- who wouldn't be!

I sewed top J in stylish Dress Book One made as a blouse rather than dress length.  This is size 8 and I took out the fullness at the back and slimmed down the sleeves a little.

It's a pretty romantic style which matches the prettiness of the print.  Tucks are not easy on double gauze.  The dual layer of fine cotton (its a bit like muslin) stretches easily so I went slowly and took a lot of care.

I was unsure what machine needle would be best and general googling pointed to a new Universal 80.  However, I did get a few snags with that so I swapped to a ballpoint 80 - these usually sew jersey and have a rounded tip to slip between the knit stitches.  As double gauze has quite a loose weave, the ball point slipped into the holes and was a better option than the universal- no snagging.

I do love the tucks.  They give shaping and texture.  Being small busted, I like a bit of extra interest on the front of tops- tucks and yokes are my favourite. 

The sleeves are quite full with gathers at the top and wrist.  Double gauze takes gathers and pleats beautifully.  The fabric is light and not bulky and the bounce of the two layers keeps an informality to pleats especially so great for a casual garment. 

I did the buttonholes on my Singer Featherweight with an attachment and used Aurifil 50wt variegated- an idea totally stolen from Karyn Valino's version of the same top.  I am a huge fan of Karyn's dressmaking.  Top Tip: painting a little Fray Check onto buttonholes before you cut them keeps the fraying under control.

I had enough fabric left to sneak in a  Belcarra too.  Angela of Sake Puppets made one for I love Nani Iro month too.  She's right, double gauze is a great fabric for humid weather- it really breathes. 

For my previous Belcarra sewing details see here.  For the Sewaholic sew long see here.

I added a little hand stitch detail to the next and lower hem.  Double gauze is easy to sew with an embroidery needle.  Like the ballpoint machine needle, the rounded point easily slips into the weave.  A thank you to my daughter at this point for her photography.  She is studying it at GCSE which has its benefits for me!

I know from previous posts that double gauze is new to many.  I also know that those who have tried it love it.  Its best to start with something easy like a scarf: it doesn't take much fabric, it is easy to sew and there's the bonus of an accessory that is likely to be worn a lot so you get to look frequently at a beautiful print.  Sometimes I see prints that I like but don't think will suit me in a whole garment- maybe the pattern is too big or too dark- again, a scarf breaks up a pattern that would look too big in a garment or and softens a colour that might be too dark to wear as a dress.  For other ideas, take a look at the other participants this month.  Stand out projects for me were Lizzie's trousers along with other separates, Leslie's blanket and Celina's mother and daughter outfits and accessories.

View the Nani Iro range in France's lovely shop here:  I've ordered from her a few times over the years and her service is first rate.

The fabric used for these tops was Sen Ritsu A-in real life the colours are as you can see in the photos here.  Kokka heightened the citrus in the publicity photos I think!

The Nani Iro website has lots of free patterns and shows an archive of previous fabric ranges

Visit the different blogs for this month's makes below showcasing a variety of prints and substrates and different clothes and accessories.

Straightgrain   ∆   you & mie   ∆   Lizzy House

A Little Goodness   ∆   Make It Perfect   ∆   skirt as top

imagine gnats   ∆   Petit à Petit and family   ∆   Saké Puppets

Sanae Ishida   ∆   verykerryberry   ∆   Craftstorming

Ada Spragg   ∆   Groovybaby And Mama

elsie marley   ∆   Miss Matatabi

'Belcarra' Sewaholic Pattern review

A basic woven T style top is a holy grail for me.  Something short sleeved, slightly fitted, not tent like, relaxed and suitable for tucking in and wearing out.  I have considered the Scout but I think it is meant to be a looser fit rather than a fitted one so I haven't tried it.  When the Belcarra came out hot on the heels of the Gabriola, I raised an eyebrow and had a think.  The PDF pushed me over the edge and I thought I would give it a try.  I was really pleased with the result.

Let's back pedal a little here. I had reservations.  The pattern seemed to take a lot of pages for a simple top and there are large wastage borders on the PDF.  On the upside, there is a great use of grids on the pattern as well as the usual tester print size box and it did jigsaw together well.  As the each raglan sleeve has a front and a back piece, there are a surprising number of pattern pieces although you only need print what you need- there are variation sleeves and cuffs for different looks.

I sewed view A with the addition of a pocket.  The instructions are detailed and have clear diagrams plus there is a sew-along for extra support.  After a little consultation on the sew-along fitting comments, I didn't do a bust adjustment.  I cut a size 4 initially (the fit is quite generous) but I made changes.

I ended up taking all of the sides in to size 2, and size 0 over the hips straightening out the curve.  I generally find that a hip curve seam doesn't work on me, I need more of a gentle diagonal from waist to hip.  The sleeves are trickier than they look, they need easing to fit and to match the notches but it is this that gives the drape and fluidity to the top. The cuffs are a little tricky too, I needed to go slowly but they worked first time and are a neat finish.  They are cut on the bias so would be great in a contrasting stripe.

At the neckline, I used a linen bias binding and took a smaller seam to make the neck a little higher and keep my bra straps under wraps- seemed to work out just right although this area is easy to alter and is detailed in the sew along.  

My fabric is a mongrel mix of unknown linen and something manmade but it  has good floppy drape to it and that is something this top really benefits from.  I would not sew this in quilting cotton, even Art Gallery quilting cotton.  It needs double gauze or lawn or even silk.  A lightweight viscose jersey would be good too although I'm not sure how the neck finish would work.  Hopefully that is covered in the sew-along.

I took 1.5" off the hemline at the bottom and turned up a 1.5" hem (with quarter inch raw edge turned under).  Now I've worn it out to the beach for a dog walk, I can whole heartedly give it the thumbs up.  This is the short sleeved basic that I have been looking for!    It is a relatively quick sew which gives you time to sew everything really carefully for a good quality finish- no buttons, no zips!  I didn't use french seams as each inner seam is curved and I didn't want to compromise this so I served the raw edges.  It is a well designed pattern, deceptively simple and nicely cut.  I can't wait to try more, especially the sleeves with tuck detail.

Details

Pattern: Sewaholic Belcarra Available here as paper pattern, here as PDF
Fabric: Linen mix.  Other suggestions are lawn, voile, double gauze, lighter weight jersey
Size: Cut size 4 upper body, size 2 at the side seams/underarms grading to 0 at lower hips side seam.
Modifications:  Removed 1.5" at hem.  Sewed ¼" seam at neck where bias finished the edge