The Grainline Studio Morris Blazer

Morris Blazer 1Yesterday after a grey and rainy day the sun came out just before sunset and we went outside to snap a couple of pictures of my Grainline Studio Morris Blazer. I love all the Grainline Studio patterns, such cool wardrobe staples, but the Morris Blazer was the first pattern that I actually bought. In an attempt to build up a closet of cool work clothes the Morris Blazer was ideal to fill the dressy but cool blazer gap.

I made this first version out of some black jacquard that I found for free in the reminants bin at the fabric shop. Except for some sample holes the fabric was in perfect condition and I easily managed to squeeze out this blazer. I cut a straight 8 as suggested by the size chart and overall I think it is a good fit. The only change that I made to the pattern was to lengthen the sleeves. Even though I like the bracelet length, I work in an air conditioned office and always freeze, thus prefer having my wrists covered. In terms of construction it was all quite straight forward. I had to read the instructions on attaching the hem facing twice, but thanks to the pictures I figured it out and love the clean finish. To match the rest of the insides, I finished all seams with pink bias binding including the sleeve hems for a pop of colour when rolling them up.Morris Blazer 6

Morris Blazer 5Overall I’m really happy about how it turned out. It has the perfect cropped length to wear with high waisted trousers and skirts. It has already become one of my go-to work wardrobe staples and I’m sure that some more Morris blazers will follow. Outside of work I haven’t worn it yet. The black blazer makes me feel a tad too dressed up, even though I think it goes well with these Ginger jeans and a simple t-shirt.

Morris Blazer 2Morris Blazer 7Morris Blazer 8All in all a very satisfying sew. I’m already eying the other grainline Studio patterns. I’m thinking Alter shirt dress out of Liberty print fabric, I’m just not sure if that’s really weather appropriate at the moment. I might have to put that plan on hold until spring. In the mean time I might venture into coat-sewing, I just have to find the perfect wool fabric. Wish me luck!

 

Linden Sweatshirt

Linden 12I don’t know about you guys but winter is approaching here in the UK and for the first time we had to put the heating on today. What better reason to sew a warm and cosy sweater? I’ve been looking for a sweater like this for probably a year now and couldn’t find any ready-to-wear ones that I liked. Then I started looking for some sweater fabric and wasn’t successful either. I wanted a really thick knit in an interesting colour but wasn’t inspired by the selection in the fabric shops and I’m still not the biggest fan of buying fabric online. So I put the search on hold over the summer and stumbled across the perfect fabric on a short trip to Wuppertal two weeks ago. Strolling through the city with the friend I was staying with, I obviously had to check out the one fabric shop they have there and was pleasantly surprised by the huge selection of knits. I settled for this greyish mint colour, which is not very surprising if you have ever seen my flat and wardrobe. I bought 1.5 meters and just about managed to squeeze those into my carry-on bag (my fabric shopping always seems to be limited by suitcase space, I’m just not sure if that is a bad thing or a good thing).

For the pattern I went with the Grainline Studio Linden Sweatshirt. When this pattern came out I was not sure if I liked the wide neckline but after seeing so many gorgeous versions I decided to give it a go. Now I like how the neckline gives the sweater a less sporty and more feminine touch. Sewing this up reminded me that I need to make more simple projects. There is nothing better than a quick Friday evening sew that results in a garment that you can wear the same weekend. And I have literally been living in this sweater since I made it. It kept me warm for a shopping trip in London yesterday (where we took the outdoor pictures) and was perfect for a lazy Sunday on the sofa today.

Linden 3Linden 7Linden 4Linden 5Linden 8In terms of fit: according to the sizing chart I’m a 8 in the bust, a 6 in the waist and a 10 in the hips, due to the loose silhouette of the sweater I decided to cut a straight 8 . As expected the sweater is quite roomy which is great for the type of sweater I wanted. For a dressier version I would probably size down in the bust and waist. The construction itself was simple. I sewed it all up with the stretch stitch of my machine and left the seams unfinished as I don’t have a serger. The insides therefore don’t look very professional but that doesn’t really bother me. I just about managed to sew through all the layers when attaching the neck and hem band. They turned out really nicely despite the chunkiness of the knit. All in all a very satisfying sew. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of wear out of this one. I paired my Linden with my Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans (blogged here) and some socks my mum made for me for Christmas. Now I’m prepared for the long dark evenings ahead that hopefully will be filled with lots of sewing.

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Cropped jacket

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Cropped Jacket 3 Cropped Jacket 5 Cropped Jacket 6 Cropped Jacket 7I love when projects that I planned for a long time turn out exactly how I envisioned them which is the case with this fun little jacket. When I started my job here in the UK I suddenly needed work appropriate clothes and that within a couple of weeks (which is why sewing was not an option). Having studied engineering for 6 years there were basically no business smart clothes in my closet. My student “uniform” consisted of skinny jeans and oversized jumpers, sometimes mixed up with a mini skirt, casual button ups and cardigans. All quite practical and nothing fancy. As my job required business smart clothes I needed a full set of new outfits. Not being a big shopper and also not very inspired by the average business apparel, the task became tedious. I was surprised how difficult it was to find a simple white blouse that was not completely see-through or trousers that weren’t so cropped that they showed half my calf. Without a decent budget either I ended up with a random selection of ok-ish clothes with not a lot of pieces that I loved. Since then I have slowly been expanding and replacing my wardrobe piece by piece, trying to create a work wardrobe that is stylish and consists of garments that I love wearing. It’s been a slow process. I still haven’t found/developed the perfect dressy trousers pattern or tackled a simple long-sleeved blouse. But I am getting there.

One thing that I found was that I was getting tired of cardigans. While they are comfortable and can look really cute I felt the need for something more structured. On the other hand, while I think that a classic blazer is an important staple, I find them too restricting for a whole day sitting at the computer. So I needed something in between and found I was gravitating either to slightly oversized and loose shapes or cropped little jackets. The one here falls in the latter category and I really like the silhouette. The fabric was an attempt to bring more colour and patterns into my wardrobe. I’ve been trying to find a patterned jacket or fabric for ages, but I found it incredibly difficult to settle on a pattern that I really like and won’t get sick off after a couple of wears. So when I found this pretty fabric online, I bought it right away. In real life the fabric has a slight polyester-y feel but nothing too terrible and the pattern and colours are just too fun to pass it up.

Taking advantage of having the flat to myself I finished the jacket in one weekend to wear it to work on Monday. For the pattern I used a BurdaStyle pattern that I had bookmarked as soon as I saw it in the 08/2015 magazine. The only changes I made to the pattern were to lengthen the body and the sleeves by 5 cm and to narrow the shoulders a little bit (a common problem I seem to have with Burda patterns). Coincidentally the pattern was the one pattern with detailed instructions in the magazine, however, midway through I completely forgot about the instructions as putting the jacket together was very straight forward. I did my best at pattern matching at the back seam and sleeves and realised that I had never had to pattern match set-in sleeves (definitely a sign that I don’t work enough with prints). I finished the seams with a zig zag stitch for the sleeve and shoulder seams and used a Hong-Kong finish for the rest. I got a little bias binding happy and used two different ones, a simple grey one and a black and white polka dot one. I like how they both look in combination with the wrong side of the fabric. I also finished the sleeve hem with bias binding. Originally I had planned to turn it under and hand stitch it in place but I like the contrast of the grey bias binding. I will admit that I used an iron-on tape to finish off the hem of the body, for some garments I like to use this as a quick and simple solution.

Cropped Jacket 10 Cropped Jacket 9 Cropped Jacket 8All in all putting it together was a really enjoyable process, the fabric didn’t fray as much as expected and pressed surprisingly well. As for the fit, I am quite happy with it. I should take out some width at the back of the shoulders next time as the fabric bunches up a little. Unfortunately I don’t have my dressform here in the UK and my boyfriend is of little help when it comes to sewing, so achieving a perfect fit is quite a challenge at the moment. For now I am not too bothered though. I can see myself wearing this a lot and it definitely fits the bill of smart but stylish at the same time. I styled it here with some old skinny jeans and a t-shirt for a more casual look. At work I have worn it with a cream pencil skirt and a silk top. The longer I work on this business wear wardrobe challenge the more I am actually enjoying it. And it just makes such a difference if you start your work day with a “meh” look or an outfit that you feel confident and stylish in.

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