Saturday 10 August 2013

Tilly and Colette

I finally got around to finishing my Colette Sorbetto top the other weekend... I'd made it up as a wearable muslin with fabric leftover from making my sister's bag, and some satin bias tape.  The pattern came together really easily (it's only two pieces!) but when I tried it on the bust darts were in completely the wrong place, so I fudged it! I really couldn't be bothered with unpicking the whole garment so I just unpicked the darts and redid them in a different place.  It's not perfect, but I think it's completely acceptable for a first attempt.

I don't know whats happening with the sticky out hem at the front

The one thing I love is the french seams on the shoulder and side seems, they make it look so professional, so finished.  I'm going to do french seams on everything now! The hem could have been better - the stitching is a bit wonky, but I think it's just a case of more practise required (and patience).  The trouble is that I get to the hemming and know its the last step to finishing so I rush it, where I should be taking more care.
Oh la la!

There is one thing that I might change slightly when I make another one - the armhole is a bit high and crinkles a bit under my arm.  I didn't really notice when wearing it, but when washing/ironing I saw that the binding tape was crumpled at the bottom of the armhole.


The reason that I need it finished was that we actually had summer in the UK that week.  Finally.  So we went round to a neighbor's for a BBQ. And my neighbour (who is slim, slight, strawberry blonde, pretty...) said 'ooh I like your top, where did you get it?'...... Whooohooo!! Get in! Ultimate compliment on the homemade wardrobe!

Unfortunately I didn't get around to taking any photos at the time, so I've delayed posting this until I can get to do a 'photoshoot'. I hate having my photo taken and seeing myself in photos but I realised that my clothes need to be shown to the world with me in them!  So I'm hoping this process does me some good.

And on a similar note, I should post up some pictures of my Miette skirt from Tilly and the Buttons.  I scored a great end of roll from Abakhan for a fiver and was going to use it to make up some bean bags but then I liked the fabric so much that I decided to try a Miette skirt.  It said it was dressmaking fabric on the label, and I guess its some kind of poly mix, I stuck it in the wash at 40 degrees and it came out OK so....  Its quite a good weight (like denim) and a kind of corded structure. And the best bit was that I only used about half for this skirt!



The skirt was really easy to make.  Tilly's helpfully provided two sets of instructions, one for people who know what they're doing and one for the rest of us - online with lots of detail and pictures (I used those!).  Everything came together really well.  Now I don't like raw edges and don't have an overlocker - the fabric was too thick for french seams so I decided to bind the edges. I didn't have any binding or a bias tape maker so I was doing on the fly with the iron.  They were a bit wonky but worked out OK.


I had loads of fabric left over from making my Wiksten Tova top, and the colours matched really well with this fabric so I used it to line the pockets and make the bias tape.  I added tape to the edges of the pockets as well, just because I can!


The other thing I changed was the finish on the hole for the waist tie - the instructions say machine sew around it, but my (small) machine couldn't cope with the thickness of the fabric so I hand sewed blanket stitch around it instead (like a buttonhole).  I'm really happy with the way it turned out.


Since I've finished them I've been wearing both the Sorbetto and the Miette loads - there's something so satisfying about wearing something you've made, it makes me smile everytime I see them.  I'm definitely going to do more versions of both!


6 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Tilly! I have plans involving some Boden (a little bit heavier than quilting weight) cotton with Sharks & Divers on it for the next one :-)

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  2. You are so clever! Wish I was as clever as you!! Both look amazing...nicely modelled!! :-)

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  3. The fit of your Sorbetto is looking really good. No wonder your neighbor complimented you on it! Also, I like your attention to detail on the Miette skirt, especially the bound edges. I thought you had done a Hong Kong finish at first. It's looking great and I like that it echoes the fabric within the pockets.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Adrienne! I love my Miette - so practical. I had to look up what Hong Kong finish is - I think that's what I did, bias binding on the fabric edges? Next time I might topstitch them down either side of the seam.

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