use it or lose it - trousers to Astoria top

I have started this month with a tidy up.... of everywhere..... and trying to figure what to do next.

I did a check (again) of all fabrics and charity shop buys..... to figure a plan.
The plan is start using these up or donate back to the charity shop, which means to get trying the patterns I keep meaning to 'try out' and to stop shelving other projects to the back of the queue.

My sewing has taken a slow down due  I had pretty much stopped buying at charity shops some time back, as I found I was getting more than I could sew and was borderline hoarding!   My sewing slowed down a bit for a few reasons

• was busy making the dance dress
• I seem to have sufficient in my wardrobe (yup seriously and I love my new makes)
• my soon to be grey hair has me wondering on whether is is worth making anything in yellow (my hair is currently in transition, with graduated roots in thanks to thoughtful cut by hairdresser kept it looking okay till christmas -however the roots are now just plain half and half)

the trousers

I bought these purple trousers sometime in the summer - for some reason on that day I bought three purple items from the euro rail and have yet to use them.  They are a 2 way stretch (barely) and a size 16 polyester.  I had thought to try a draft a pattern for a sleeveless shift, but then thought I could try the astoria pattern from Seamwork, and hope the fabric would work.  I had wanted to try this pattern for a while as there are some lovely results online (this being one)

the layout

As it turned out, there was enough fabric for the full sleeve (I thought I would have to do a two part sleeve)  All other pieces did have to be seamed!  I left the creases in place for the cut as they were my straight grain guide, and I ironed them flat with vinegar solution after cutting and left them to rest overnight.

The astoria is a one-hour sew, which would be right, except for I sewed a sleeve in wrong side out which I am part blaming on the shocking amount of Italian sweets I have been gorging....




















The top is nicely fitted.  I find it slightly too fitted for what I wear but this is also probably due to the fabric is not a 4 way stretch (its not a great 2 way stretch either).   I am glad to have it as reference for a cardigan I am going to upcycle as the sleeve fitting of the Astoria is really lovely, it sits just right, so I am hoping it will work for a slightly thicker knit/actual knit.

As I seemed to be on a bit of a go slow with crochet this January, I got some gumshoe books from the library - there were about 10 curse words in the book I just finished and some previous reader blacked out each one! strange........but even more unexpected was the first result back on a google search on 'defaced library books' (I was wondering if there was a actual term for it, and it turns out there is -  6 months...)
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/oct/14/joe-orton-defaced-library-books

Simplicity 8203 - trousers to tennis dress

The athena poster dress was auctioned earlier this year and got 15k!  It well exceeded the guide price and the back story is a good read.  Its a home-made dress and is from a simplicity pattern (is supposed to be from Simplicity 8203).  I like square necklines,  and decided to give it a go.  The pattern allows for 3 dress lengths and also has a pattern of kick pants/tap pants/hot pants for underneath.  Its a good option obviously for wearing dress at the shortest length (unless you are having an athena moment of course),  

I was able to cut the short length from a pair of linen trousers and would have been able to get the mid length also.  I lined the dress in white cotton and used bias binding to finish the arm holes and some binding for the neckline - it may have been a nicer effect to have just bound both in white, and having a white detailed neck and arm etc instead of turning them over all the way.   Its a straight-forward pattern, and quickly made up, I intended to put trim on it (part for decoration and then it became compulsory when I did a mis-cut) , but I would have preferred if I could have found the generic daisy trim that seemed to  trim every item of clothing I had as a child but not available in local haberdashery.

I decided to not finish the trim as overall, I am still undecided on the overall finish so I have pinned it (badly)n for the photo, and will figure a better 'look' for it later.  I think it needs some detailing, but unsure yet.   I made the kick-pants, they are very much of their time as they fit right on the waist - but they could also be adapted to sit lower.   The big achievement for me, was to get a dress cut from a pair of trousers.   Cute pattern - and thinking of making some other versions...........................

The Boat Neck Top - Trousers to Top

I bought a skirt in a charity shop as I figured the print was fun and the lining had a good deal of fabric, but the skirt also fitted me and was incredibly comfortable (thanks to useful pockets), so it escaped the chop.  

I did need a blouse or  top to go with it as tee shirts and camis just looked a bit odd and as it had a vintage 50s style to it,  I thought a linen boat neck would work well.  I was a bit lazy and instead of drafting a proper bodice block, I adapted a wiggle dress pattern and then realised the back centre seam does its own thing....... so there were some modifications, actually there were a lot, and I ended up drafting a new bodice block in the end but kept the 4 waist darts (and side bust dart).  The hem finishes at the waist.

The top has a side zipper.  I am really happy with the top as the linen has that soft worn look and the black is now a dusky ink....................  trousers are a good upcycle option as the cut lends itself to underarm width, and the straight grain is easy to figure - now to work on getting a dress out of them!