Tag Archives: Homemade Wardrobe

Navy Corduroy Dawn ‘Jeans’

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I’m not sure why I didn’t blog this pair of corduroy dawns with the black pair, so here we are – with another, basically identical pair of trousers!

The fabric was also from Fabric Godmother, and I also made them over a year ago, last Jan/Feb kind of time.

I always make the size 4 in the dawns, and have to take a couple of extra cm off the back seam at the waist as I have a sway back. I also always make them with zips, instead of the button fly as I just prefer it. I do slightly wish I’d hemmed them a bit longer – at the time I was thinking slight shorter would look cool, but now I think a longer wide-legged trouser would be more my vibe (more on this later!). I’ll check how much of a hem I took up and maybe let them down a bit.

Since I made these, I have actually tried a new jeans pattern, and I’ve sewn some more smart trousers for work – though judging by my track record, you won’t get to see them for a year, lol!

I feel a little out of touch with the indie sewing pattern world at the moment, because I have the basics covered with patterns I like and have made a lot! The only designer I usually check out new releases for is Helen’s Closet. Have I missed any really great patterns recently? Or new pattern designers?

Gold Spotty Jackson

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This is the last of the 4 Jacksons I made at the same time a year ago. I do have more planned, though, so I hope you’re not sick of this pattern yet!

I don’t know if I have much more to say about this pattern to be honest. It’s the same as all of the other versions, size 10 with no cuffs and hem bands, with a straightened hem.

The fabric was from Fabric Godmother and is reversible. I decided to go for the spotty side, because I didn’t want to make 2 striped tops at the same time (alongside the first Jackson I made), but I’m not sure this was the right choice now, looking back. I obviously won’t unpick the whole thing and sew it the other way around, though!

I really do like the fit of these Jacksons. I’ve got some jerseys I’m going to use for some short and long sleeved versions, and I’m going to make them all the same as these ones (and of course the short sleeved version I also made last year).

As I’ve mentioned a lot on here, my love for Helen’s Closet’s patterns is still going strong! This is defo going to become my go to knit top pattern I think. Do you have a go to tee pattern?

Mustard Window Jackson Sweatshirt

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Another day, another Jackson sweatshirt. I’m playing mega catch-up with my sewing from pretty much the last year – I want to get better at posting consistently. Though I do it for a while, then ghost my blog for like 4 months at a time usually!

Anyway, onto my latest make to make it to the blog (which I made ages ago!).

This is another Helen’s Closet Jackson sweatshirt, made to the same size and with the same adjustments as my first version, and my whale version. Namely I made the size 10, straightened the hem and added some (unnecessary) length to the sleeves because I didn’t want the hem bands or cuffs.

I managed to mostly match the horizontal stripes on the side seams – they’re not totally straight so I couldn’t match both directions.

The fabric is some fleece-backed sweatshirting from Hey Sew Sister, if memory serves. As soon as I saw it, I had to buy it – it’s the perfect shade of mustard imho.

The Jackson has definitely become my go-to jersey top pattern. I like the oversized vibe I’ve got by going up 3 sizes from my measurements. I’ve got one more to share that I made last year, and a bunch more planned. Sorry not sorry. I’m sure if you’ve read my blog for a while, when I find a pattern I like, I stick to it (*coughs* Archer, Kalle, Dawn).

Black Corduroy Dawn ‘Jeans’

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I’ve made quite a lot of Dawns so far (4 pairs of long jeans and 2 pairs of shorts I think) and I made 2 more almost a year ago (I’m behind with blogging, what can I say?!). This is the first of the 2 (though they’re both pretty much the same).

I made this pair in black corduroy (it’s quite a big whale) from Fabric Godmother. I bought the fabric at the same time as the fabric for my coat! I did sew it up pretty quickly, last February. And since I’ve made the Dawns quite a lot, there aren’t any steps any more that trip me up.

I always use zips instead of buttons as I personally prefer how it looks – no matter how carefully I’ve done button flies, they still gape! I also prefer wearing zips as I find them less annoying to undo/ do up.

As with all my other pairs, this is the size 4. I always have to take a wedge out of the back seam, I think around 2cm at the top, tapering to nothing by the time I get to the middle of the pockets. I always use my original pair to measure the pockets too – as I read somewhere early in my jeans making that pocket placement can make a difference to how your bum looks! I think I did take these in a little too much, though, as I find them uncomfortable to sit in all day at work (without undoing the button!). I often over-fit trousers and while I do test sitting in them, a short test is not enough to judge if they’re going to be too tight. I just need to give myself a little more ease in the future!

I’ve been pretty much living in this, and the other (navy) pair I made at work since I changed jobs in October. I have plans to make some more work trousers over the coming weeks because I’m getting a bit bored! My office isn’t super smart, so I can wear jeans, but I also have plans for some new jeans as I have definitely gone off wearing skinny jeans once and for all!

I am going to try some other trouser/jeans patterns but I do love the Dawns, especially this wide legged version. I do like the vibe. I’m finding I want less and less to show off the shape of my body, and gravitate towards oversized and loose-fitting clothes. Is that just getting older and giving less of a shit about what people think, do you think? I’ll be 40 at the end of the year and I just want to be comfortable and the right temperature, if possible!

Blue Patterned Archer Shirt

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Another day, another Archer shirt!

This shirt was a while in the making. I sewed it over the Summer but I was given the fabric by my aunt for Christmas 2021. She gave me some more, gorgeous fabric last year and I’ve cut it out but I haven’t sewn it yet. Not sure why they’ve both took so long!

I made this in my standard size 4 but with the reduced seam allowance, as I did with my last couple of archers. I did a mass cutting out before the Summer and realised too late that I could have traced off a bigger size. Next time!

The fabric feels like a liberty cotton – I’m not sure if it is a liberty print, but if not it’s definitely liberty-adjacent. I really love the colours in the fabric (though I had my eye on a minty coloured cardigan in uniqlo but they didn’t have it left by the time I was going to go and treat myself!

I did realise a little too late that somehow I cut the body out upside down and the sleeves the right way up in terms of the large flowers – though I don’t think anyone else would notice if I didn’t point it out. I’m also still not sure why the sleeves have ended up too long on my last couple of archers. Meh. It’s wearable so it’s fine. After I’ve made the last one I have cut out, I’ll maybe actually trace off a larger size and try to get to the bottom of the sleeve issue.

It’s kind of lucky that I like making and wearing shirt as I’ve recently changed jobs (I can’t remember if I mentioned that here before) and it’s a slightly smarter job than my old one – though not super smart. But at least I feel at least partly put together in a shirt – especially under a jumper in this chilly weather!