Busy hands | Disquiet mind

We're making Megan Nielsen's Tania culottes, view D, again (v.1 here).

But this time we'll make them to actually fit as intended, high waisted and everything. To solve the between sizes issue we'll use Curve size 20 for the front, and size 22 for the back, to the length of the size 20.

We'll be using a bright purple linen, Gütermann thread colour 392. And we'll need an invisible zipper (in black) for the side seam, cotton stay tape to reinforce the pockets, and stiff fusible interfacing for the waistband.

And that's it really. Started by overlocking the raw edges, and it sewed up very quickly. This fabric takes a press very well, so the super narrow hem came out lovely. The missing pleat marking on my pattern did trip me up again, momentarily.

These are delightful in hot weather. I'm still not sold on high waists in general, but can admit it does work lovely here. The swish, the colour, the in-seam, so far so good.

Finished, front
Photo by chebe

McCall's M8479 is a woven short skirt pattern with faux-wrap options. I was having a hard time understanding how all the pieces went together, so I made a 'base' version of the skirt with the most common pieces and without any of the wrap choices, which isn't technically an option provided. It is closest to View A, but without the over-wrap half skirt (read on for explanation of this).

But first, why a skirt pattern? Well, simply, I need basic/versatile skirt options to fill a gap in my wardrobe. And this skirt pattern has a fly front zipper, which I haven't tried before. Skirts use less material even than shorts, so it's a lower stakes way to practice. And I really couldn't figure out what they were doing, without examining the pattern pieces closely. Curiosity, basically.

( Details )

McCall's M8479, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

Seamwork's Hansie is your basic t-shirt, but non-stretch woven. I'd toiled this pattern some time ago, but found I didn't have a suitable fabric for it, so it sat unmade. In the old stash I got down from the attic I found a very non-stretch red lace fabric. I was trying to come up with an outfit for a vampire themed event and my brain smashed the two together.

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Finished cropped Hansie top, front view
Photo by chebe

Butterick B6902 is a woven trousers and waistcoat/vest pattern. The trousers also come in shorts length, as View C. (Which is a great way to fit trousers without using too much fabric.) They have slash pockets, a faced waistband, belt loops, and a side invisible zipper. This adventure begins with a toile.

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B6902, view C, shorts, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

Large chunk of the world is going through extreme temperatures, so naturally I want to talk about a wool cloak.

Seamwork's Camden is a lined mid-thigh-length cloak. Two arm slits, front button closure. That's it, nice and simple. I opted for a size 18 (this is, again, an earlier pattern, so there's no separate Curvy range). I made a partial toile of the lining, and decided to lower the arm slits by about 3cms, but that's it.

( Details )

Seamwork Camden, finished, front view
Photo by chebe