BWOF 07-2008-108 Tunic Part 1

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a fantastic new year and are feeling optimistic about 2009. I am not going to do a review of 2008 or resolutions at this point as the little counter on the left tells me my blogoversary is coming up soon and I think I'll save it for then.

I'll start 2009 with a project I actually finished last year but it's taken me a while to get all the photos together. It's a simple project but I have done things a bit differently so I wanted to show you how I achieved my result.

The project is BWOF 07-2008-108 the tunic with an inverted pleat in the front. It's photographed in linen, but I chose a silk satin for my version. This is the second top to go with the flounce skirt I made recently.

The pattern is very simple - front and back, front and back yokes and side seam pockets (which I left off). After reading the reviews at Pattern Review I decided I would need an FBA. This is not an easy pattern to make this alteration on, so I made up a 'cheats' way to get extra room in the front.

When I traced the back pattern pieces, I used a straight 38 for the entire yoke and traced the back piece starting at 38 to the bottom of the armholes and then graded out to a 42 at the hips (the magazine photo looks very snug on the model's non-existent hips - it turns out it's not that bad!). For the front I traced a 38 on the shoulders of the yoke, graded out to a 42 at the bottom of the yoke and then traced a straight 42 for the front piece. This is not a fitted garment, I just needed room and this method worked pretty well.

No interfacing is called for - and wouldn't be needed in a cotton or linen - but I backed the yokes with silk organza.

I didn't follow the instructions at all. I completely made up my own way based on how it might be manufactured for RTW - I wanted to put this together without hand sewing (I enjoy hand sewing but sometimes like to challenge myself to pretend I'm a 'real' designer). That didn't quite happen but for a good reason, more on that later.

First I stay-stitched EVERYTHING - silk satin is really unstable! I stay-stitched the neck, armhole and bottom edges of the yoke facings, and the top edges of the front and back pieces. I also basted the silk organza to the facing pieces. Below you can see the back yoke with silk organza and the back yoke facing.

I constructed the side seams first. I used french seams but when I sewed the first line of stitches (the wrong sides together part) I stopped about 1cm below the armhole marking. For the second line of stitching I went all the way up to the marking and back stitched for security. I snipped into the seam where the first row ended and then turned a double hem around the armhole slit using up the 1.5cm seam allowance. It ends up looking a bit like a sleeve placket.

Next I sewed together the yoke shoulder seams, made the pleat in the front and joined the yoke to the rest of the top. This is a shaped seam and can be tricky but you have to keep in mind you are matching the stitching lines not the cut edges. Clip the curves to the stay-stitching and use quite a few pins to keep everything in place and remember that the yoke seam allowances will protrude at either end. For silk and fine fabrics I like to use glass-headed pins - they are pricey but worth it IMHO. As I sew I use a tip from a Sandra Betzina video I watched ages ago. Instead of maintaining the tension on the fabric in front and behind the machine foot as you normally would on a long straight seam, put both hands in front of the foot and massage with your fingers left and right. This manipulates the bias slightly and you'll find you can accommodate a fair amount of ease or curve this way. Try it on a scrap, this tip changed my sewing life!

Next time I'll go through a tutorial on how to face a sleeveless garment completely by machine, an industry technique I learned while working in the bridal studio, and show you the finished garment.

Final project for 2008

I guess it's fitting that my final 2008 project is a dress to wear out for New Year's Eve. I usually have a pretty casual NYE, so I don't need a fancy outfit but the past couple of years have just been so incredibly hot that my usual uniform of jeans, fab shoes and a cute top is just not possible. This year I decided to make a cool and (hopefully) stylish, comfy dress for lounging around in the backyard at my friends house party. I'm pretty sure I didn't look so chubby in real life - I must be standing funny in the photo!The pattern is Simplicity 4072, a threads collection dress. I have had this pattern for a couple of years and even cut and half sewed it once, but I made really bad fabric choices and it ended up in the bin. I read every one of the 29 reviews on Pattern Review before proceeding, as I was dubious about using a crisp cotton for this garment. The reviews seemed generally positive so I went ahead.

The fabric is a cotton with a border print from my stash, I didn't need to buy anything, so this dress was essentially free! Not having much time available, and the weather being so hot I couldn't be doing with fitting and complicated methods so all in all this dress fit the bill.

The last time I started to make this dress it was pre-happy pounds so I had cut the pattern in a 10. I've noticed that the threads dresses tend to have a lot of ease so I decided to go with it, just adding a little length to the front bodice as a cheats FBA, I didn't need to add anything to the width.

It went together easily, there was nothing particularly complicated and I did everything the quick and dirty method just so I could finish and get back to my air-conditioned living room. I did add pockets as suggested by a reviewer (I poached a pocket bag pattern piece from a random pattern and added them to the side front seams), and I cut the tie double width and sewed it into a tube rather than hemming the edges as suggested. In terms of the instructions, the only note I would make is that before you snip to the underarm dot you should sew a line of reinforcing stitches first so it all doesn't give way later - I am amazed the instructions don't tell you to do this, that is just slack.

The dress was, as intended, very comfy and a couple of people complimented it. We had a good night out and it only took us half an hour to get a cab home - which is a minor (no MAJOR) miracle in Perth with it's useless taxi system.

Happy New Year everyone.

I love being on holiday

First a big shout out to Danuta who very kindly offered to buy BWOF in Melbourne and post it over to me. In the end I did find a copy, but not at either of my usual suppliers, which is a worry.

Here is a cute and casual skirt I whipped up in about two and a half hours total. I realised that my casual wardrobe has been badly neglected and I was finding it difficult to find clothes I could wear outside the house. Cotton a-line skirts are great in the heat (it's forecast to be in the high 30's today and for most of the week). I used the same Mrs Stylebook pattern that I used to make this skirt.

There is not much to say about this skirt - it was super easy and a cute style. I just topstitched the pockets on this time rather that use the invisible method I demonstrated in the previous post. It's a casual skirt so it wasn't necessary.

...

I received a terrific gift this week. My gorgeous, clever, talented friend Claire is visiting from Melbourne and brought me these buttons. How cute are they? They are from a designer sample sale (sorry Claire, I've forgotten the name already - it is someone I know of). There are 35. Now I have to come up with a project that will use them all!

I have finished another project and have several on the go (oh, how I love holidays!). I'll post as soon as it's not too hot to model them.

A Plea for Help!

Hi all,

I know I must be the last person in the world that still buys BWOF at the shops, but for various reasons mainly related to a non-standard letterbox and a cranky postie it is not practical for me to subscribe. Anyway, I cannot find the September issue anywhere! By my calculations, it should have been in the shops at the end of November and I have been checking everywhere I know that stocks it since. I asked my newsagent and he said he couldn't remember seeing one for ages either. What I'd like to know from my Australian readers is: Have you seen BWOF 09-2008 at your local newsagent? Or, alternatively do you know of a shipping problem that's holding things up? I am suffering withdrawals, I even have my fella staking out newsagencies just in case a lone copy shows up!

I never realised what an addict I am (hangs head in shame).

The Optimistic Christmas Dress Part 3

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season, whichever variety of holiday you celebrate! My festivities are over for the year and they have been great but exhausting. I experienced a variety of different Christmases over the past couple of days, from a vegetarian feast on Christmas Eve to a barbeque breakfast and traditional roast on Christmas day. Now I just have to start burning all these extra calories off! The weather has been fantastic - not too hot, not too cold, around 30 degrees on Christmas day. Today, Boxing Day, is forecast to be 29 degrees. By comparison, last Boxing Day was 44 (I don't even know what that is in farenheit, maybe around 110-115)! Last year was tough.

I did finish and wear my optimistic dress and I am happy to report no major stuff-ups, although the cap sleeves are a little snug so driving and reaching across the dinner table were a challenge. Here is the finished product:

It was cool on Christmas Eve evening so I wore a cardi over the top:

Some reviewers wondered how this dress would work with a more prominent butt. I just so happen to be 'blessed' with one of those so in the interests of science, here's a side view. Not the most flattering style for my body type, but I really like the girly, fifities vibe.

All in all, a pretty successful exercise, especially given that I only traced off the pattern and pre-washed the fabric on the 20th.

The Optimistic Christmas Dress Part 2

Today was my last day at work until 12 January. And not a moment too soon! To be honest I've been having a pretty rough time the last couple of months and some time away to get my (mental and emotional) strength back is just what I need. I feel really fortunate that I have my sewing to look forward to, even just thinking about projects when I'm too tired to actually do anything has really kept me going.

But enough of that. I am pleased to report that the optimistic dress is going very well so far. I made up the lining for fitting and I ended up not needing to do much to it...

The lining is 100% cotton voile and is a little see-through, which is why I am not modelling it. You'll just have to take my word for it that the fit isn't too bad. I took 3cm off the centre back neck edge, tapering to nothing at the bottom edge of the bodice, something I almost always have to do. Where I graded from a 42 to a 44 at the hip ended up looking a little exaggerated and I didn't need the room so I shaved that off the sides. The only other thing I needed to change was that I had added too much length in the vertical part of my FBA. I just took out the excess length in the lining and it worked fine. I made all these changes to the pattern before I cut out my fabric.

I have now sewed the main parts of the fabric together and the zip is in. I just need to sew in the lining and the sleeves and I'm done. I realise now that I haven't shown you the fabric. I don't have a photo but it is a 100% cotton, black with white pin dots. It has a deep embroidered border along both edges, which I've used on the bottom edge of the skirt and on the sleeves - no hems yay! You'll just have to be patient until I show you the finished thing.

I have a couple of appointments early tomorrow, then home for washing, cleaning, sewing (of course!) and cooking before my new dress gets its debut at my Mum's for Christmas Eve dinner. I'll be wearing it again on Christmas day for breakfast at my Dad's then lunch at my fella's family's house. The best part of all? It can go straight into the washing machine and will dry in about 5 seconds flat! The downside of course being that it will need ironing.

Optimistic Christmas Dress Part One, the Pattern

I am calling this the optimistic dress because there are four days till Christmas and I have to work two of them and I am still planning to make a new dress! Last year I was completely broke and made ALL of my Christmas gifts, and I had to wear old clothes on Christmas day. This year I made nothing for others and really, really want something new to wear for myself.

The chosen pattern is BWOF 10-07-105. Luckily I always check Pattern Review before starting a new project and I discovered there are some issues with this dress, specifically in the boobage area. Since I am wearing a D these days, I knew I'd better address this rather than take my usual course of action, namely 'hope for the best'.

First I took my measurements - high bust, full bust, waist, hip, plus the length from my shoulder over the fullest part of the bust to where I wanted the empire seam to sit (I hate it when the seam hits the wrong point and just looks dowdy!). I chose the size(s) to trace from my high bust (38 to the under arm), waist (42) and hip (44) - aargh, these numbers are creeping up and I am not happy! Anyhoo, I traced off the pattern, adding 5cm to the skirt length so it would hit just below my kneecap, and then set about dealing with the bodice pattern.

I decided that I would get rid of the bust dart and convert it to gathers under the bust. When you do an FBA you create extra fullness that you need to get rid of in a dart or similar, and I am not a fan of enormous darts.

The next thing was to measure the side seam of the bodice. At only 9cm, this was not going to be deep enough to hit where I think it should (around the bottom of my bra band) so I added 2cm in length to the whole bodice, front and back. Remember if you do this not to just continue the side seam line down - because it's tapered you'll make the bottom edge shorter which will cause problems later. Measure the bottom edge and make sure it's the same as the original, swing the side seam out a little if you need to.

The first step in an FBA is to find the bust point. When I learned pattern drafting, we were always told to shorten the dart to about an inch away from the bust point, I'm not convinced this always happens in commercial patterns as I see a lot of 'pointy boobs', but that's what should be done. I guesstimated the bust point to be about 2 cm from the end of the bust dart in this particular pattern so I extended the mid line of the dart to this point. Then I joined the shoulder, lower edge and centre front to the same point. I also marked notches 2cm either side of the line from bust point to lower edge. These will be my gathering guides - all the new fullness will end up between these marks and then I'll just gather the area back to 4cm.

I swung the dart closed and allowed the bottom edge to open up. I taped it temporarily as I'll use the dart line again later! Thanks to my fella for providing a finger in need - he is fascinated with how I do this stuff and is always willing to help - bless him.
Next I sliced up to the shoulder and open up the amount needed. My full bust measurement is 4cm bigger than my high bust measurement (which doesn't technically make me a 'D' I know, but it's what I need to wear anyway!). This means I need to add 2cm on each side of the bodice, so I opened up the pattern by 2cm.

Still with me? Okay, good. The next step is to take into account the added length of a full bust (the previous step took care of the width). I measured the pattern from the shoulder, through the bust point to the bottom edge and worked out what I needed to add based on the measurement I took earlier. This was 3.5cm. I opened the dart again and this time opened it up at the bust point instead of the side edge, by 3.5cm.

Oh, I really hope this is helping, I'm starting to feel confused on your behalf! Next I cut through to the centre front and dropped this piece down by the same amount.

Finally, I patched all the gaps and re-drew around the pattern piece. Remember on the bottom edge don't just join the gap with a straight line, you need to measure the cut edges and keep this length consistent in the new section (sorry, that's not really clear but I don't know how to write it). You can see how my bottom edge has a curve in the new section. Try to visualise how that will look in three dimensions and I think you'll see why it needs to be this way.

I would normally re-trace the pattern but I've run out of butter paper so this is my actual pattern piece for the time being. Must remember to get to an art supply shop before Christmas!

I'll cut and sew the lining today as a kind of toille, then if all goes well I'll get cracking on the main dress. Wish me luck!

Project Runway Top

Okay, so I am ashamed of myself with this top. It took way longer than necessary to make! I cut it out on a Friday night, sewed all but the hem on the Saturday. Then it took me a week to do the hem and take photos. THEN I decided to make a minor alteration and it took me another week to get around to that! Anyway, here it is...The pattern is Simplicity 3504, from the Project Runway series. It's a pretty cute little tunic. I picked it because of the options, and in the end I made something that looks pretty much exactly like one of the pictures on the envelope.

I used a very fine cotton voile with a burnout stripe in it. It was cheap, maybe $7 or $8 per metre (that's cheap here!) and I know it won't last past summer but that's okay. There's not much point making summer tops to last here you just sweat all over them anyway and they go all gross, so it's not worth getting attached.

The next photo demonstrates one of the problems of this top - the fabric is so fine that the edges show through. I did french seams on everything except the armholes, so they are quite neat, but the edges of the inset really bugged me:

So I turned in the inset edges and ran a running stitch around by hand to keep them out of the way. I hadn't done this when the photo below was taken, but it is done by the last picture.

The other thing I noticed after this next picture was taken is the drags on the shoulders. I thought originally that it was a full bust issue and there was nothing I could do, but it turned out that all I needed to do was take in the back neck by about an inch on each side. I just took it out of the centre back seam. I make this adjustment pretty often and particularly in Simplicity and Butterick patterns for some strange reason.

Here's a close up with showing through edges and drag lines:

And here is a full length of the complete outfit. Apologies for the 'after work face'.

Is it just me or do I look like a giant pin head? I need a bit of lift in the upper body to compensate for my ample derriere but these sleeves are not really doing me any favours. Ah well never mind. It's comfy and will be great for the hot weather, and it's not too ugly!

Three more days of work until I have two and a half weeks off. Yay for the sewcation! Oh yeah, and Christmas.

New Work Skirt

Here is my new work skirt, part of my 'very small closet' plan. My lovely burmese cat Desmo is not part of the plan but she insisted on being involved in the photo session!The pattern is Mcall M5184, now out of print. The fabric is a light suit weight, bought at Spotlight (no matter how much I hate the place, I still seem to buy a lot of stuff there!). It have a subtle plaid design in grey/fawn/cream. I managed to match the pattern pretty well on the main part of the skirt, OK on the yoke but on the flounce - not so much. Here's the back.

Hmm, I've just realised that photo highlights where I didn't quite match the yoke seamline at the zip - I never seem to get that right no matter how hard I try! I added a lining, and 5cm to the length of the skirt but that's all I had to do. I cut a size larger than usual - principally because I AM a size bigger than usual at the moment. I am optimistically hoping to need to take the skirt in before too long, which should be pretty easy.

I finished the lining with some lace and used bias binding to finish the hem. I suspect I will need to re-do the hem sooner or later because even though the fabric is very light and I hung it for a couple of days before hemming, the flounce is still dropping a bit in the bias sections - probably from the weight of the bias binding I suppose.

So that's it. I am making two tops to go with this as I don't have anything suitable in my current wardrobe. I am making a white pin stripe top and a coral silk satin top. This will mean I can retire a pencil skirt that is a little (OK for real, a lot) snug and two fairly scabby t-shirts I've had for ages!

Now I have to somehow child proof my house this evening. I am babysitting a friend's three year old in the morning! He's a lovely child though and the house does need a good clean! No sewing for me tonight though :( .

And the winner is...

Joyce.

Congratulations Joyce. My trusty photographer/chef/competition moderator/fella picked your name at random from the bowl. Please email me your address details and I'll get the package in the post. I hope you enjoy them.

Sorry to Carla and coolobreeze who missed out this time. Please check back as I will do this again when I have more spare magazines.

Still Alive and a Give Away

Hi everyone (she says, optimistically hoping ‘everyone’ hasn’t given up on her!). Boy I’ve really missed sewing and blogging the past few weeks. We have had a big couple of weeks at work, where everyone from our offices all around the world have flown in. We have had our staff conference, days on end of presentations and meetings, all culminating in a big industry event all day today. The preparations have been enormous and my section I have to say has been pretty hard hit, being responsible for providing statistics, performance figures and other information that’s needed to all these presenters – nightmare. That’s not to mention we are two people down in our team and likely to stay that way, thanks to budget cuts (don’t you love a change of government?). Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I was interviewed for my job last week! I am reasonably confident having actually done the job on contract for the past 7 months, and it will be nice to have a permanent job, but it is an extra stressor in my life that I would rather not have! So I apologise but I have just been TOO TIRED to blog (yeah yeah poor me – I do realise there are a lot of people worse off than I am, so don’t think I am a martyr!).

Anyway, I have been doing what I can, when I can – usually half an hour here and there so I have a couple of almost finished projects that I will be able to show you soon. I’ve also been planning again. Summer is coming (although you wouldn’t know it by the mild and rainy weather) and I have nothing office appropriate to wear.

I’ve recently been reading Jennifer Skinner’s blog ‘The Very Small Closet’, and I really like her ideas. You can get the full run down at her website, but essentially it is based around individual outfits, rather than fully interchangeable separates. This idea works for me for a couple of reasons:

• I wear different styles of tops with different bottoms – for my body shape an empire line works with straight pants, a fitted T works with wide pants or a-line skirts and fuller styles of top work tucked into a pencil skirt.


• I get bored really easily - I love bright colours but in small doses. I want green and coral and aqua and teal in my wardrobe but not together! In this plan I can have a wide variety of clothes that don’t have to all coordinate – as long as I can make two outfits from each bottom garment.

However, I still love looking at other people’s SWAPs!

So the very small closet principle consists of six bottoms, each with two tops, and up to six layering garments (jackets, cardigans or whatever). I will add to this three work appropriate dresses. This will give me three working weeks of outfits without repeating – that’s good enough for me! I have been through my existing clothes and thrown away everything that’s trashed, given away everything I hate, and packed away everything that I love but is too small (a depressingly large pile!) and I have pulled together enough outfits to start along with a clear list of priorities that need replacing!

It’s working pretty well so far and I kid you not when I say I am getting out of the house at least 15 minutes earlier every morning! I won’t be able to sew on a whim so much, but then I shouldn’t end up with so many orphans either. This plan doesn’t include casual or special occasion clothes, which I also need so I will definitely be busy! It will also keep my storage needs under control as it’s a one in – one out kinda deal. I am just hoping that work settles a bit soon and I am having some time off at Christmas so as always I’m optimistic.

Finally, I have a give away. I’ve noticed a few of these cropping up around the place and I am such a joiner! Australian Stitches is the one sewing magazine that’s easy for me to access. Burda is quite exclusive (I have to go out of my way to get it) and Patrones – no way (I’ve never even seen one in real life)! Each issue I buy comes with extra magazines and since I’ve been reading it for so long I generally already have the bonus issues. Here are two extra copies that I have and I am more than happy to find them a loving home. Simply leave a comment and I’ll draw a name at random on Tuesday night, the 2nd of December my time (which is 9 hours ahead of GMT – you do the math). I’ll cover postage to wherever in the world the winner is from so don’t be shy – I’d love to hear from you.

I fixed it!

Thanks again for the encouraging comments on my ruffled top. I doubt I would have found the motivation to fix it if it wasn't for people urging me not to give up. I probably would have just thrown it in the bin. Boy am I glad now that I didn't. And the solution was incredibly simple in the end. I was inspired by kbenco's fabulous smocked solution to a bwof dress and here is the result:

Here's a close up:

And the back:

I might actually wear it now!

Since I've never smocked before I kept it simple. I ruled four lines in the appropriate place 1cm apart and used the stripes as a guide for gathering. Then I worked two rows of honeycomb stitch, following the instructions in my trusty Reader's Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing (aka my bible). I made a long tie belt, anchored it to the back of the pleats (on the inside) with a few hand stitches then passed the belt to the outside through buttonholes on either side of the smocked panel that are concealed by the ruffle. Here's a blurry close up of the smocking:

I didn't finish my Melbourne Cup dress yet, but it was so wintery last week I wouldn't have been able to wear it anyway. But here is my finished hat - sorry for the mug shot! Sadly I didn't win the competition - the popular vote went to the novelty hats - but I had fun anyway.

Melbourne Cup Hat

The Melbourne Cup is a huge deal in Australia. Of course it's biggest in Victoria, where they get a public holiday, but even all the way over here in Perth we get pretty excited. I'm not a big gambler, five years working as a croupier in a casino cured me of any urges of that nature I might have had, but even I will lay down a couple of dollars on cup day - just to be involved.

My work social club is putting on a lunch and there will be a hat competition. I thought I'd make one just for something different.

Here's what I started with - a mini pill-box hat made from sinamay, a bunch of feathers that came from a kit to make a hair clip, and some braid. I think I spent up to $25 tops. Everything came from Spotlight - that place can deliver sometimes even though the experience of going there is almost always a nightmare.

I started by sewing 5 ostrich plumes in a fan shape to the edge of the hat with the curve going over the base. Make sure you give each feather a good tug to make sure it's attached. If your sewing isn't secure the feathers will slide right out.

Here it is from the front. Apologies for the photos, it took me a while to twig that the hat is the same colour as my wall (is it weird that in the nearly four years I've lived here, the only room I've got around to renovating is my sewing room?)

And from the 'hat' side.
Next I sewed turkey feathers pointing downwards, I allowed them to twist a bit as I did it.

Then I added some stripped feathers to the ostrich feathers to give it more dimension.
Finally I added a sinamay flower to hide all my workings.


It's Cup day on Tuesday and while I would have loved to make a new dress, I am taking things really slow at the moment. Wish me luck in the competition! I have no idea what the prize is, I just like being part of it!

Oh yes, and a little bit of good news came today. I have an interview for my job - it's in two weeks. I think my mojo is coming back so I should be okay to make at least a garment, if not a whole outfit.

The Date Dress Disaster

Ok. So just when I thought I was back up and running, my sheer exhaustion comes back to haunt me again. On Thursday night I cut out my date dress, the dress I was hoping to wear for mine and my fella's two-year anniversary on Monday.

The pattern is one I've made before Simplicity 3678, the Threads collection knit dress. I'm not sure what the deal is with the threads dresses. I've made two of their coats and one of their skirts and they seemed true to size, but the two dresses I've made have been ginormous! I would normally cut a 12 with an FBA (sometimes) at the top and a 14 in the waist and hips, but in the threads dresses I can cut a straight 10! I found this particular style was big in the back too (my back is a little narrow). Here is my previous effort.

To prepare my pattern I took 3cm out of the centre back of the bodice and midriff piece. On the front skirt I took the 3cm out at the top, tapering it to nothing at the hemline and I made a 2.5cm sway back alteration. Hang on, what was that you say - the front skirt? Yes, I made all my back alterations to the front skirt! But I only noticed after I'd spent half an hour setting up my bloody overlocker this morning. Unfortunately I couldn't salvage the pieces and now I am one date dress short, but it's okay I'm sure I'll find something to wear and, after all, it's the company not the clothes that count most.

I can look back with humour now and I consider it a lesson learned about being aware of my own limits but at the time, let's just say I didn't have quite such an 'adult' perspective on it. I suppose it's one quick way of reducing my stash!

The Meatball Cardigan

Hi everyone,

Please excuse my absence. Work has been completely mental lately. We’re horrendously busy getting some big projects off the ground, plus we are short-handed by two people, who are not likely to be replaced in the near future. On top of that I am in the midst of having to apply for my own job, which is a peculiarity of working in the public service – at least in Australia, I don’t know about other places. It is starting to get on top of me and I’m feeling very stressed but never fear I am busy in my creative life too – it’s the only thing that keeps me sane!

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions on my ruffled top. Don’t worry I am not going to abandon it. You can probably tell from the post that I was feeling a little discouraged at the time. I have tried back darts but they didn’t work on their own, I think it will be a combination of back (and possibly front) darts and side seam shaping. I have the seed of an idea on a tie belt and it may also require some narrowing in the centre back (even though it’s my normal size it just seems too big). I promise I will work on it and will post the result, I just need to have a clear mind to do it.

I haven’t been doing any sewing, not only due to lack of time but I’ve been pushing myself to get a knitting project finished. And guess what? I’m not happy! My fella said I look like a meatball pizza. I wouldn’t go that far, but it doesn’t really suit my personal style. I became concerned about the bobbles while knitting it, but pressed on regardless. In hindsight I could have easily just done the lace pattern without the bobbles, but live and learn as they say! It actually fits really well and is comfy, so it will be perfect to throw on at work when the air conditioning gets a bit chilly. Maybe the bobbles will grow on me and I won’t feel quite so much like a clown in it.

The pattern is a Debbie Bliss pattern that was published free on the web, but I don't think it's available anymore. If anyone wants a copy, I'll be happy to send it if you just drop me an email. I did a search for the pattern and came up with this link which shows the cardigan made up without bobbles, it looks really nice.

The cardigan is knit in one piece. You do one front and sleeve, then the other front and sleeve, join them together, knit the rest of the sleeves and down the back then knit on the bands. Finally you sew the underarm seams and that's it. Aside from having to knit with a lot of stitches, it's really very easy.

Here it is before sewing up.

The mitred corner on the front - I could not find a satisfactory way to work the increases here so it looks a bit rough.

Here's the 'meatball' pattern up close.

My posting this project has been delayed a couple of days due to the photos of me wearing it. I looked so tired and cross that when I saw them I seriously considered getting botox! I guess, the whole work thing is wearing me down a bit so I'll make more of an effort to relax so I don't start to frighten people! Anyway, here are some new photos, taken today (Saturday) so I don't look so tired and cross.

I have set a huge goal for myself this weekend to make a date dress (cut out already) a work dress for Melbourne Cup day and a hat for a Melbourne Cup lunch. I have all the materials and as long as I can convince the fella to have a boys night on at least Friday or Saturday I think I’ll be okay. After that I will need a job interview outfit – I know everyone at work already knows what I look like but any excuse right?