Schnelles Shirt.. Speedy Shirt

Eigentlich war der Plan, wieder mehr für meinen Sohn zu nähen. Ein paar Sommerhosen wären gut...Der Stoff liegt in 2facher Ausführung hier schon gewaschen und gebügelt bereit. Der Schnitt ist auch schon kopiert, weil er für eine Herbsthose bereits als "gut" befunden wurde. Aber ein Blick in meinen Kleiderschrank machte klar, wer hier dringender Klamotten braucht!
Ausnahmsweise mal ich ;) Also ran an den Stoff!

The original plan was to sew something for my son, again. A few trousers for the summer would have been good. The fabric is already washed, cut and ironed for two pairs. The pattern is copied and cut out cos he liked the trousers I made him back in the autumn. And then I looked in my wardrobe. It suddenly became very clear who needs new clothes in our house! For once it is me ;) Now where is that fabric?

Vor einiger Zeit habe ich einen super schönen weissen Interlock in meinem Lieblingsstoffladen entdeckt. Zusammen mit einem ziemlich gelben Bündchen - auch dort ergattert - habe ich mein Shirt schon auf dem Heimweg im Kopf zugeschitten.

A while ago I discovered a lovely white interlock in my favourite fabric shop. Along with some quite yellow ribbing, also bought there, I had already cut out and sewn my new shirt by the time I got home.

Da ich momentan immer wieder Theater mit welligen Halssausschnittbündchen habe, entschied ich mich für den Schnitt "Kalte Schulter" von leni pepunkt (das Teil ist schulterfrei - also nicht ganz sooo schlimm, wenn es nicht 100% hinkommt.... ). Wer mich kennt, weiß auch um meine Vorliebe für Fledermausärmel. Ja, ich bin ein Kind der 80er!

As I am still fighting with wavy necklines, I decided to go for leni pepunkt's "Kalte Schulter (cold shoulder). It has an off-shoulder neckline, so it wasn't going to matter too much if I didn't pull it off perfectly. And as anyone who knows me knows... I love a batwing arm. No denying my 80s heritage!

Zum Bündchen:
Na ja, ich musste es dieses Mal wieder etwas kürzer zuschneiden und ganz ehrlich, beim 2. Shirt werden noch einige Zentimeter dran glauben müssen.
Das Shirt war aber ruckzuck genäht und ich finde, es ist super geworden! Was meint Ihr?

To the ribbing...my personal stumbling block at the moment....I had to cut it down a couple of centimeters again and to be honest, the next shirt  will loose a few more too. The top went together in the blink of an eye and I (IMHO!!) think it is great! What about you?

Hier noch ein paar Detailaufnahmen, damit ihr die Farben besser erkennen könnt:

...besagter Halsausschnitt...
Die Farbkombi finde ich großartig!!!!

Here a few close ups, so you can see the colours better. Here is the neckline. I just love this colour combination!!!

 ....das Ärmelbündchen
 ....the ribbing on the sleeve

 ... und Saumbündchen unten...
 ... and the ribbing on the bottom of the shirt

So, der Sommer kann kommen!!!
 
Summer, where are you??


Zu guter Letzt noch eine Impression der Kommunalwahl. Düsseldorf braucht einen neuen Oberbürgermeister.
...einen Blick auf Nr.6 werfen bitte! 

Haha... you've just got to take a look at the ballot papers for our city major. Düsseldorf is voting this weekend (along with the rest of the country). Just take a look at No. 6!

Another Bib.... Oliver+S

This cute little thing is a finished, useful, stash bust. Say those words slowly and if you are anything like me, you'll get my amazement.

I used all stash fabric. Sadly, you can see it on the thick denim on the main part, but then again, it will have food splattered all over it as soon as it hits the table. The bias was my first attempt at home-made bias and I am pretty chuffed about it. In it's previous life, it had been a shirt. The pocket is double lined and made from some remnants from a friend's dress. I love the fabric, but don't even know where she bought it, nevermind who made it or designed the print.

I sewed them from the Oliver+S Book, Little Things to Sew. It is the first pattern I have sewn out of it and I seriously changed it. I added the pocket, lined and backed it in toweling. The finished product feels lovely, even if it is very thick. It certainly doesn't need to be this thick. The green quick and dirty bibs do the job just fine. Next time I am sewing something like this for a gift, I would definitely come back to the pattern.

Sewing for Mr. Black

I sew stuff. A lot of stuff for the kids and for me.
Now it was time for Mr. Black stuff.
His birthday!
Because I never sewed one piece for him I decided to make a shirt.
Have you ever tried to find menswear patterns?
OMG!
It took me a loooooooooong time to find a good one...

I chose the Strathcona Henley from Thread Theory. A new menswear pattern line based in Canada.
Hopefully a safe piece!
(And I love sewing Indie patterns.)
Hmmm, but what about the sizes?
My Mr. Black is doing a lot of computer work, not cutting down trees...
So I used one of his well fitting Ts as a template and combined it with the pattern (size xs with 5/8" seam allowance).

I found a nice a stable knit in his favorite colour (yes, Mr. Black!!) and I sewed this up on my serger.
Because it was intended as a gift, not had the opportunity to let him try it on.
It was clear that it would perhaps be just a muslin.
So I decided to sew variation 2 without the placket.

He loves the colour and is has a slim fit to his liking. But I think next time I'll cut off the sleeves.

The fit of the shoulder is not perfect, but.....

look at the topstitching!
I just like the way it looks!
The bad taste in my mouth is the floppy look of the neckline in the back. Hmmmm, it looked good under my mashine... But the truth is, it's not flat.
That's life! A muslin (or PJ ;)

He was happy anyway!
Sew on!!!!
B

Boys' Bibs

My last post being about another project started and none of the previous ones yet finished, I thought I would share my quick and dirty response to quilt piecing. Boys' bibs. Thing Two is one mucky pup who loves his food and is still learning to get most of the food in. Fair does, it is tricky when your mum gives you soup or musli. Here is this mum's answer:

I cut them a while ago from laminated cotton from my stash. I carefully pinned one and then tried to sew it. It is a long while since I sewed anything vaguely laminated. To give me my dues, even then it was on a different machine. After the machine had chomped its way through a bit,  I decided this was not the way to come out with something that satisfied even a quick and dirty sew. Well, I thought to myself, laminated fabric doesn't fray..... what about zigzagging it? For some strange reason my machine happily zigzagged it's way around these. I just carefully trimmed them around the stitching, added some cam snaps and they were ready to go. They have been tried and tested and the verdict was.... why did I wait so long?

Getting Shirty

I've been collecting my husband's (and father-in-law's) shirts since at least 2005. He loves a good blue and white checked shirt and all of the variations along the way. He wears them lightly so basically all that is the matter with them is a little fraying on the collar and cuffs. As they all seem to have collar stiffener pockets in them, there is no way to turn them. Sadly for him,.... but not for me.

I have used them for allsorts of stuff in the past including bunting. My grand plan has always involved them in a quilt. Since Thing 1's arrival the idea of a quilt for him sewn from his Dad's shirts (seeing as they are a pretty defining part of him) has tickled my heirloom, romantic family fancy. Gotta leave a girl who lives in a house full of boys stuff some romantic space! And now there is Thing 2 too and they share a room, it seems a little unfair for there only to be one.

 So you have sewn many quilts before, I hear you ask. Well, now you come to mention it, the answer is yes.... two. Both started back when I was at school (don't ask how long ago that is), one finished then, one finished last year. So you see, I am predestined to whip up two quilts.

My original plan was to just hand the quilts to my Mum and ask her to do it. But then I thought it would be a much better plan to get her to teach  me to sew them up. My Mum makes wonderful, bright and cheerful quilts and I would love just to be able to suck up her quilting knowledge without having to bodge a zillion before getting it right. We all know that doesn't work and that you have to practise yourself before you can do it yourself. So I decided that there was no other way that to get stuck in.

I was given this lovely book

 by a great friend. Little did she know that is would finally be the kick in the **** to get this project going.

So the book, the shirts and I (and all of the other luggage) went to my parents and my Mum and I started on the my version of Candy Coated.

Being used to a quick fix (boy's pyjamas being my forte), I am now plugging away at cutting out and pinning. A few blocks have been sewn, but it sure feels like a lot of work for little progress.


Don't hold your breath on this one. It might take another 10 years before even one of these guys ends up on a bed.