Julia cardigan and fabric shopping

When I saw this fabric I knew immediately that I was going to use it to make the Julia cardigan by mouse house. The cardigan has a drapy front without any buttons or zipper. And that model really shows the colour on the inside of the fabric because of the drape.

It’s also the first time I made an entire garment using only my overlocker. And I love it! It goes so fast, I made the cardigan in a little over an hour, not including the time spent on cutting. I used grey thread on the majority of the seams, because I only had white and grey. I didn’t know how I wanted to finish the edge on the collar. I didn’t want to double the fabric because that you would not be able to see the turquoise inside. The instructions suggest a rolled hem but it looked too bulky. So I left it for over a week and then my grandmother gave us a box with four spools of thread in different colours. And eventually I decided to finish the collar with black thread. I segerd the edge with a very small stitch and it looks very neat if I say so myself. I’m still not sure about the fit, lt looks nice form the front but I’m not sure about the back. I don’t even know what is wrong with it.

The pictures are too bright again, sorry. It was difficult to photograph a black garment and I should make more of an effort.

Last Sunday I went fabric shopping at ‘stoffenspectakel’ in Leuven with my mom and sister. And I bought a lot! I had hardly any fabric left in my stash and can’t wait to start working with them. I definitely got better at sewing because my sister asked me to make her black Hudson pants and a sweater. She never wanted to wear handmade clothes and now she asked if I could make her something.

From party dress to sweatpants

I finally got good enough pictures to upload this post. I made these pants in November and I took pictures back then but they were blurry and the colours where off. And I never had the time or good enough weather to make new ones.

I made the Hudson pant form true bias. I bought the perfect pattern parcel 6 because I really wanted to make the Hudson pants, and I liked the other patterns as well. I could use some more sweat pants to wear over my leotards when I go to ballet. As I said, I made these last year when it was getting colder in November. And as expected I wore them a lot, at least a few times a week. I’m wearing them at the moment when I’m writing this, and I should be writing my thesis. They are my go to lounge pants so soft and warm.

The fabric is a ponte roma knit from the ‘stoffen spectakel’. A lot of vendors offered ponte roma or other sweatshirt fabric for €10 a meter. Eventually I bought a coupon for €10 and the fabric was a little over 1,5m!!! The pink contrast fabric is leftover from my Christmas party dress.

I made a size 12, based on my hip measurements. The pants fit well on the legs and hips but were too big at the waist. I took out 3cm in the front seam and 3cm in the back and shortened the waistband. I used the pink jersey on the pocket detail, the pocket facing and the string. The pink fabric is a lot thinner and is a nice contrast. The grey fabric is rather thick and I didn’t want the extra bulk on the waist.

Next time I make them I’m going lengthen the legs a few cm and tighten the elastic at the waist a bit more. These pants are barely long enough, a bit too short for my liking. It’s fine because I hardly ever wear them outdoors but next time I will change that. Next time I’m going to use fabric that is a bit stretchier and has better recovery. The ankle band doesn’t stretch a lot so that makes it a bit difficult to get my heel through the opening. Or some ribbing at the ankle and waist, my mom has some dark purple ribbing leftover that would be perfect. But I’m definitely going to make some more.

These pants don’t count for the 12 pieces that I’m planning to make this year but I already started on a Julia cardigan and a Mimi blouse.