New job, new shirt

New job jitters had me rummaging through the stash for something fresh to wear on my first day with Big Govt, which also meant an ID photo would be taken - ughh!

Gifted to me, I’ve been saving this lovely piece of cotton shirting for the right occasion, and now was it. It’s slightly off-white (so wouldn’t flare in the photo) with a subtle herringbone stripe weave.

For the pattern, I chose Butterick 9899 with the same adjustments I made here (lengthen the sleeve, adding a cuff, etc), but this time squared off the hem with a side seam vent at the hem. The mother-of-pearl shell buttons are also from the stash.

Nice understated shirt, for $0, plus the photo turned out pretty good, so pluses all around.

Bees (Butterflies?) Broderie Blouse - Butterick 6275

Some of my blouses are getting a little shabby* and need swapping out over the coming months. Mulling over the fabrics and patterns in the stash, I imediately came up with a couple of suitable combinations for newer versions.

Butterick 6275 was bought new in the 1970's as a teenager (40 years ago - ekk!). I made version A in a blue cotton seersucker way back when. This time, I made version D, plus cut a pair of button-back tabs for the sleeves. Of course, the pattern is too small for me now, so a couple of extra centimetres were added in the sleeves and side seams. I actually made this version 5 years ago in a dark sage green cotton/silk, but the fabric was awful - everything left a stain (water, sweat, food, urgh!), so didn't blog about it then.

The white cotton broderie anglaise fabric was another Sallies score - $3 for 3 metres. It has bees (or stripey butterflies? not sure what they are suppose to be) embroidered on it, which initially I felt was a little childish, however from a distance they look like spots, so I'm not concerned about them now it's made up.

Love the finished blouse, even though it's a bit see-through, I have plenty of camisoles to wear underneath.

* I cherish my clothes and look after them carefully, so even if they're "a little shabby" (imo), they're still in good nick and will be donated. 

Boredom Busting Purple Shirt - Butterick 6811

Scratching around in the stash for boredom-busting projects during lockdown, I came across the remnant fabric from this dress. About 1.5m but ony 90cm wide, I estimated a short sleeved shirt was achievable.

I used Butterick 6811 before as a base for this top. This time I started with view B, removed the front pleat, and cut the sleeves as long as the fabric would allow, intending to do turn-up hems.However, I later decided to add cuffs instead, as a bit more length balanced out the look of the shirt.

Actually very happy with the results, apart from the ugly make-do buttons, which have now been replaced, thanks to shops being open again.

Hurray! Think I've got comments working again - would love to hear from you all. How was/is lockdown for you?

Covid Coat - Butterick 3308

Now I'm into the swing of "Bubble" life, I've got my sewing mojo back, and have to say it's lovely making things at a leisurely pace.

Noticing houndstooth coats and jackets popping up on Pinterest and fashion sites, I knew I had a blue and black piece in the stash somewhere... another gift from my mother.

Wool acrylic, it's super soft, but because of it's loose weave was an absolute pain to cut and handle. Therefore, I chose a basic pattern - Butterick 3308, (another Sallies score for 20¢) and pretty much fused the whole thing to stabllise it. The two changes I made to the pattern were lengthening the jacket by 45cm to coat length and elimitating the button fly front. Later, I added a tie belt.

A little underwhelmed during the construction process, it wasn't until the sleeves went in that I fell in love with it.

Will have to wait a while to wear it though - maybe a return to work at Level 2? (I'm fortunately able to work from home at the moment).

Or, Formal Friday, anyone?

Teal/green hoodie - Butterick 6101

Another piece of fabric give to me when my mother when she retired her stash was this lovely teal/green merino wool, also from Manawatu Knitting Mills.

Using the same pattern as this, this and this - Butterick 6101 (ca.1980), with all the same adjustments, once again it has a self-lined the hood and body.

Vintage 60's Butterick 3012 and the blue wool jacket

While spring cleaning my computer, I found a file of old garment photos which hadn't been posted about for one reason or other.

I planned to do a re-shoot of this blue wool blend jacket because the original images weren't particularly flattering. However, a year down the track, said jacket has been thoroughly worn, so I'm posting just the best image.

Made in wool blend fabric unused from another project, it's really a trial of vintage 1960's pattern Butterick 3012, which was gifted to me. In hindsight, I should have graded it down a couple of sizes as I knew it was too big. I didn't, and as a result I've lost the funnel-neck collar because it needed taking in so much. It's now a regular collarless jacket with funky raglan seams.

Oh well, that's why you trial.

I wear it anyway, it's a great colour, warm and the Pucci-inspired lining always brightens my day (left-over from a pre-blog coat).

Green wool shirt - Butterick 9899

One blouse I do love is this one. Made from a left-over piece of lightweight wool from the stash (last used for this) dyed solid green.

Butterick 9899 was a gift from a friend who - like me - loves opshopping, and knows my passion for 'rescuing' old patterns. (Heard a story of them being used instead of newspaper to wrap breakables - the horror!) Using just the body and sleeve A pattern pieces, I lenghtened the front and back 20cm, curving up to the side seams, and extended the sleeve by 12cm plus cut a cuff 3cm finished width.

Shell buttons from Pete's Emporium.

Why not remake a favourite - Butterick 6101

If you love something, why not have two? Or three?

Since making the green hoodie, I've hardly taken it off. It's so cosy and comfortable to wear. In fact, it's embarassing how often I find myself in it, so it seemed a good idea to make another. Then SunnyJim started dropping broad hints about his only hoodie having holes in it...

The red merino was a lucky find in a Salvation Army store earlier this year - more than 2 metres for $3. However, I spied a few moth holes, so immediately washed it when home*, followed by line-drying in full sun. Once dry, it was placed in a ziplock bag in the freezer for a few days, just in case there were still any nasties about to hatch, then washed again.

SunnyJims maroon flecked merino has been languishing in the stash since being purchased through TradeMe several years ago.

I used the same pattern - Butterick 6101 (ca. 1980), with all the same adjustments. This time I self-lined the hood, plus the body (x2), as the left-overs were enough to cut another front and back, but not enough to make another garment, so these ones may as well be toasty!

Zips were easier to come by this time, as the red zip had been in the stash so long time I've no idea what it was originally purchased for, and the maroon zip I stubbled across rumaging through a $1 bin at Pete's Emporium, which put the hoodie idea in my head.

Once again, I created self-fabric cord for the hoods.

Happily, both hoodies are now in regular use.

*  using the wool setting on my machine (delicate cycle, warm water wash and rinse).
Apologies if you have been receiving the same post several times. I'm experiencing issues with blog posts. Bear with me, trying to sort it!

Kelly Green Merino Hoodie - Butterick 6101

A few years ago, I was tempted into buying a piece of merino sweatshirting I saw on TradeMe. It wasn't cheap - about $35 p/m from memory, and a minimum of 2 metres, but I was intrigued because I hadn't seen merino in this form before (nor since), plus it's my favourite colour. The idea was to make something warm for shavasana, as my yoga class can be chilly mid-winter. I pinned many ideas over the years, before settling on a classic hoodie.

At Moeraki boulders wearing Kelly Green Merino Hoodie (Butterick 6101)

An old, tried-and-trusted pattern - Butterick 6101 (ca. 1980) became the basic template, with a few tweaks. Pockets would be a must, plus I added cuffs and a hip band. The hood in the pattern is lined, but because the merino has a wonderful soft fleecy backing, I left it unlined, instead making a flat-felled seam down the centre back to keep it neat.

The hardest part was finding a zip and cord to match. I considered white, lime green, daffodil yellow, brass and chrome, before finally finding a dark green zip in The Fabric Warehouse - not perfect, but close enough. There doesn't seem to be any cord in Wellington that isn't black or white, so I created my own out of fabric.

Hands-down my favourite make in recent times.

(BTW, can anyone tell me what happened the lady's leg (with the tennis racket) on the pattern?!)

White broderie anglaise blouse

I had a hankering to make a simple broderie anglaise blouse to pair with a vintage black lace circle skirt I've owned for years. I found the ideal fabric in The Fabric Warehouse - 100% cotton with embroidery that's not too foufou.

An hour or so on Pinterest helped refine the look. Fortunately, I was able to base the blouse on a couple of patterns from the stash. There were enough changes to each pattern to warrant making my own, using the body (and sleeve) from Butterick 6811 and the neckline from New Look 6754. I also curved the sleeve edge on the drop shoulder and hems at the side seams to add a little more interest.

A quick and easy make with french seams, rolled hems, and a bias bound neckline.

The fabric, after a couple of washes, has now lost most of its starchiness, giving the blouse lovely drape and softness.

K. Walker silk and vintage Butterick 9698 (©1960) blouse

Every once in a while I give-in to temptation and purchase a piece of fabric off TradeMe. I do think long and hard before bidding though, because I've noticed there's a bit of ignorance about what fibres some fabrics are made from, and colours can be very different, depending how they've been photographed. I hummed and haa-ed about this piece of Crêpe de Chine until the very last moment before bidding because, although it was listed as silk, it definitely looked like polyester. Happily, it is silk.

At only 80cm (×140cm wide), I needed to think carefully about what to make as there was no room for error. Finally I settled on a blouse using just the bodice pieces of Butterick 9698. I added 20cm to the bottom to make it a better length for a blouse, curving upwards towards the side seams like a men's shirt hem.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough fabric to cut bias bind for the neck edge on Version A, so I went for the bagged out and topstitched Version B. Next time I'd like to make Version A though, because binding will add a bit more definition to the button overlap. From a distance this looks like a fairly run-of-the-mill v-neck blouse with an odd, slightly off centre button. It's only when you come in a bit closer you see whats actually going on.

And speaking of buttons, 20¢ from the Mary Potter Hospice shop in Kilbirnie. These days if I can't find something in the stash, this is the first place I look. They have a great variety of vintage buttons, the tricky bit is finding enough of the same ones to complete a project!