Wednesday 17 September 2014

We like 'em fast n' dirty*

*Blog posts and projects, not street fights or mealtimes

Howdy!

My laziness and reluctance to stand still long enough to take pictures is showing through again.

Sometimes you find yourself in the mood to sew, to write, to take pictures, to edit...rarely do all of them collide except for that massive sense of guilt that comes with 15 drafts in the wings, 10 projects waiting to be made, only 3 that actually fall in to both categories and 4 unblogged finished projects. And no photos for any of it.

Get on with it! Finish something!

Anyway. I made a fast and dirty project recently, which really deserves a fast and dirty post to go with it.



Bam. Black skirt for the office. I think it looks a little pious. Not sure what to make of it.

(Incidentally, the top is Burda 09/2012 Side Gather Top #130 one of my favourites) 

The fabric is some sort of spongy suiting. I don't like it that much because it frays like a bother and doesn't press well. But it's hard-wearing and has a little bit of give. I used it in some office trousers and they hold up fairly well after hundred of washes.

This was originally a dress that I had sewn up in a one-evening frenzy (don't get enough of those anymore) and had finished the innards nicely, and all by machine (an actual first!)




The deal is that I finished it and made it look nice, and having made a different version of the same pattern before, thought it would be a pretty simple make. Technically that was right. I mean look:

Also, I bought a deckchair, expect to see more of it

Except, this is what it actually looked like:




Not sure whose cans and shoulders that pattern was catering for, but they were definitely nothing like mine. So I sliced it up, salvaged my precious notions, chucked the bodice in the bin and made a skirt.


It is the least-fancy skirt you my ever see, there's an elastic waistband sewn directly to the top of it. No closures or anything like that. Job done. I was not about to waste more energy on either the fabric or the pattern.


 I think it worked out pretty well...


K

*Also, I swear that one day I'll get over this phobia of flash photography and post clearer pictures...maybe...*


*Also, it's Open House this weekend all across London. Hundreds of buildings are having open days and it's great to have a snoop in some hugely important buildings. If you live in Europe then it's Journees de la Patrimoine all-round, and I'd like to think it's a massive deal to celebrate our European heritage with days like these. Check it out.*