She Who Sews

Last Autumn I felt spurred on to pattern test again, and saw a call for testers to join Misusu Patterns on instagram. I applied for both myself and the kids. Shortly after, a call was put for the Bing Shirtigan, which Arthur refused (fussy tweenager) and Layla emphatically wanted, under the proviso I made it in pink. I was accepted into the testing group, but then the whole test was put on hold until the new year. January came and the test began. I was in the first round of testing, to help iron out kinks in the pattern, with sizing or with instructions.



Actually, it turned out that sizing needed tweaking, so my final version pictured is as close to final size as possible, but I made a load of adjustments to get it like that. Don't worry, the final version is perfect!!



I admit to never having made a Misusu pattern before, so it was all new to me. However, the pattern pieces and instructions are brilliant. Very clear, with clear markings on the pattern pieces. Everything is true and just fits together perfectly. The unisex Bing is designed for stable, heavier knits for the sleeves and top of the bodice. This is an all-in-one piece, and requires a bit of stretch for the shoulders to sit nicely. I made the hooded version, again, the hood is made from knit and bound with thin contrast knit. I think this would have worked with a woven binding too, there isn't much stretch, if any, required in the hood seams.



The lower body is designed for woven fabrics, it features a back pleat, and a sweet curved hem. The hem is faced, to keep the curved lines nice and neat, and is perfect for a contrast colour, or splash of floral (in Layla's case!). I used a thick cotton sweatshirt fabric in pale pink for the upper part and hood of Layla's Bing. I bound the knit seams in a thin dark purple knit (very old, no idea what type of fabric composition it is!), I love the contrast against the pale pink fabric.



The main body is sewn from thick bright pink whale corduroy. This met Layla's exacting 'pink' standards perfectly. I used the corduroy for the pockets too, but the pocket flaps were lined with the same floral as the contrast hem facing.



I chose to bind the bodice seams in floral binding, I wanted to create a fully bound shirt. When worn open, you catch flashes of the floral binding, which I think is really sweet. This is not detailed in the pattern, and was artistic license on my part. When I make another of these (it has already been requested), I won't use the binding all the way into the front button placket. It made the seam extremely thick, and my sewing machine struggled really badly to sew over it. I would definitely bind the seam up to the point of the placket though, as I think it adds a lovely touch. I'm kicking myself that I didn't take the time to bind the side seams in the same way, so they are just overlocked as per pattern instructions.



Layla has worn this shirt a huge amount since I made it, and I'm genuinely surprised how much she loves it!



Pattern: Bing Shirtigan by Misusu Patterns - Hood OR collar options.
Fabric: 100% Cotton Sweat knit from Fabworks, Corduroy purchased locally a few years ago



The pattern will release on Friday 28th February and be on special release price until Sunday 8th March.

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*Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission (the price stays the same for you) which will help me in the future to buy more patterns to share them with you!*

It was almost 3 years ago that I made my first Waldorf style doll. I was so inspired by it, that I bought lots of patterns, and spent a fair amount of money buying supplies to make more. I even had designs to start making them to sell! I'm not sure what happened. I made a larger, more complex doll, who has been named Baby Sam (you can see him here), and he firmly lives with my (now) 11 year old son. I bought more patterns, and more supplies, and fizzled out. Perhaps clothing pattern tests took over?



So this pattern I have made up today, was bought in November 2018. I found the invoice for the supplies, which was May 2017. This is procrastination on a whole new level!!



Anyway, I was spurred on again by a post directing me to a new (to me) group, running a sew-a-long for the Selah doll pattern by Brambles and Blossoms. It rang a bell with me, and I went to look at the pattern on Etsy, only to discover that I'd bought it previously. I hunted out my supplies, neatly packed up in a box, and thought I'd give it a go.



I joined the sew-a-long group a day after it had started, and made a start on the second day, by valiantly printing the pattern out, enlarged, to make an 18" doll. I cut it out during the evening and left it on the breakfast table. Layla found it the next morning and said 'I don't want to upset you Mummy, but it's too big'. So matter of fact. Phew, glad I didn't cut into the fabric the previous evening! So I reprinted at the standard 14" size, and she was much happier.



By now, it's day 3 of the sew-a-long, and all I've achieved is to cut out the paper pattern. Fortuitously, the group is US based, which meant the majority of my day 3 was spent with them asleep, so I caught up pretty easily.



I used doll skin, which is 100% cotton interlock by De Witte Engel. It's super expensive, and feels seriously soft and squishy. I had a hard time finding cotton fleece that was suitable as a lining fabric, so in the end I went for another thick white cotton interlock fabric instead. I filled the limbs (and torso) with glass doll weights (it looks like grey sand) and carded wool.



It took a good while, I spent countless hours in between the kids groups/classes and after they'd gone to bed, sewing and hand stitching. I even took my basket of supplies to the kids martial arts class, and whilst they were having fun for an hour and a half, I was hand sewing the traditional style head up!



And then she was mostly made. I presented her to Layla just before dinner on Thursday evening, and her little face was a picture. She was instantly in love. Even with a naked body, and no face or hair, she was treating her like a real baby.



I spent the rest of the evening embroidering her face, and then making a start on her crochet wig cap. I spent a rocking Friday night (hahaha) finishing off her hair, so she was ready for Saturday morning first thing.



Layla has named her Emerald, and it was her request that I make her eyes green to match her name. Next on the list of items for her, will be a hat and booties. Then of course, she'll need a carrycot too... and no doubt the list will go on!



Doll pattern: Selah doll by Brambles and Blossoms
Doll supplies: Little Okes Dolls and Mohair Bear Making Supplies
Sleepsuit pattern: Puppenjumper 2 by FirleFanz
Sleepsuit fabric: Olumis fabrics
Doll blanket: Doll size Euro leaf by Twig and Tale

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*Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission (the price stays the same for you) which will help me in the future to buy more patterns to share them with you!*

This sweater has been a long time coming, and here is the story:



Way back in September, I bought the Jessi pattern by Coemi, which is a German pattern, from Makerist.de. I'd seen lots of people raving about it, and the hoodie sweatshirt looked good. It was on offer, and I thought I'd take a chance.

After buying it, and doing a bit more asking around, it seemed that the Jessi was more suited to jersey, rather than sweatshirt knit or french terry. To me, this would be pointless. I'm the coldest person in the world, and need the extra warmth of sweatshirt fabric!

So I got a bit put off... not to mention that it comes up small, and extremely fitted, and basically I'd need the largest size, which made me feel quite sad.



I shelved the idea, and basically felt sorry for myself, until Splashings advertised some stock of Hamburger Liebe brushed back french terry, and basically, the sweater idea came back again! I knew I couldn't get away with the Jessi pattern, so went back to a company I had been admiring from afar for a few years, Paprika Patterns. I bought the Jasper Sweater and Dress pattern. From what I could tell, the pattern was comprehensive, and there were links to relevant fabrics to buy, and adjustments to make, which frankly, took a load off my frazzled mind!



But again, I printed the pattern in the three sizes my measurements covered, and it sat there waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Until a couple of weeks ago, I thought enough was enough, and I should man up and just get on with it. I read the blog about a full bust adjustment, and how to apply this, and more importantly, when to apply this. I re-measured myself, and I fell into the smallest of the 3 sizes for high bust (largest for waist... hmm). According to measuring, I'd need a 3.5" bust adjustment, so that's what I did. The end paper pattern was rather large, and it looked improbable that it was going to fit me.



I tried it out using two long sleeved Christmas t-shirts I bought in the ASDA clearance sale (size 16-18 and 20-22, you'd think that was enough fabric for a trial run of a typical size 12 woman? You'd be wrong, I had virtually nothing left of the two tees). So the muslin/toile version got sewn up with just one short arm, and a front that was obviously too short, but on the whole, I could tell from the rest of the panels that this was indeed way too big. I needed to take the FBA in by about 1" in width both sides, and reduce the princess seam curve. I also needed to take the shoulder points out by 1/2" each side. I unpicked my trial top, re-cut with the smaller side panels and sewed it back up. It was MUCH better!



It only took me 2 days to make up the toile versions, then another 2 days passed, and I got on with the actual end result. So overall, I added 1/2" to the width of the shoulders, keeping the front high bust measurement the same. I did an approx 1.5" FBA, all this to the straight size 3. I wonder if I'd just cut the larger size 5 if it would have fit just as well? I suspect not, because the back is perfect in the size 3 once the shoulders were extended, and the FBA added extra width to the front, where I need it for my belly.



Overall, I'm pretty happy with it, the fit is good. I love the welt pocket openings and the fact that only I know I lined the pocket with cat print fabric. I really like the tall collar and epaulet too. But I do wonder if the style isn't doing much for my shape though?



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