New Fabrics

I have a great deal of trouble trying to get decent fabrics that I like. I will only go up to £20 a metre and no more for fabric.......I am not experienced enough to spend lots of money on fabric, I make too many mistakes.
Today my husband, daughter and I took a trip to John Lewis to see if I could find some decent fabric......well I did and because I don't go there very often I really splashed out and spent £182, I won't be going back for some time lol lol
I got two lots of suiting in a light grey and chocolate brown for trousers.....two lengths of fabric for blouses to match.....a light beige viscose for more trousers for the summer......silk organzer for interlining and a press cloth and some white lingerie satin for two camisoles......also two weights of iron on interfacing.
I also went to the Janome counter to stock up on machine needles and they didn't have any.....apparently Janome and Elna have merged and have been in a mix up over machine needles, in all of the John Lewis stores there is only a few packs of Janome machine needles, can you believe it.
I am quite tired now but tomorrow I will take photographs of my fabrics if I have time.
In an earlier post I made a wearable muslin of a Sandra Betzina cross over top. I have got some light grey stretch cotton so I am going to make make this top again........this is going to be my next project......hopefully.

Summing up of skirt and trousers

I quite like to see all of my hard work on the inside of my garments as long as it is neat and tidy that is why I have shown the inside details.
All in all I think these two garment have cost me round about £30.......and lots of blood, sweat and tears as they say.......but that isn't bad for two garment that fit and are comfortable.
I don't know what my next project will be...what I do know is I need to get some colour onto this blog .....there is too much grey and black at the moment lol lol.

Skirt details

Finished skirt hem and I had to overcast the top of the skirt facing by hand.......I couldn't risk cutting into the seam allowance with my overlocker again.

Outside view of side slit after pressing.

This is an inside view of the side slit.....I used a catch stich to attach the facing to the lining.

This is a back view of the zip stitched in by machine......I could have stitched it in by hand but I quite like a row of straight stitching where the zip is......I need to attach the fastener at the back.

I always make my waistband 1" wide so that it is comfortable.....I machine stitch it on from the right side, turn it to the wrong side and hem by hand into every machine stitch this makes a very neat finish.

Trousers and skirt finished

These are the finished trousers.....these have been worn numerous times and I feel comfortable in them, which is the most impotant thing for me.

This is the skirt finished apart from the fastener on the back. I was absolutely sick of this skirt because it has taken me forever to finish. This is the first time I have interlined with lining fabric and I think it is much better than a separate lining.

Cleansing routine

I have never used soap on my face for years and years, mainly because I have a very dry sensitive skin.
I have used Liz Earl skin products for a while now..I use the cleanser and moisturiser religiously. I recently placed and order for my usual moisturiser and a few other things and I got a free gift because I have been a good customer.
My free gift is in the picture above.......I never get anything for nothing so I was absolutely delighted to receive these trial size products in a little bag.......they also smell beautiful.

Skirt

Zip finally installed.....inside view with the underling showing.

These pictures won't go where I want them to go......arghhhh!!

I told you I had made mistakes on this skirt......can you see where I have got overcasting, well that bit is the slit that goes at the side.....I thought I could do no more than just machine overcast these side seams, what did I do nearly cut right through the seam line with the knife on the machine.......I just sat there stunned that I could be so stupid. I sat and composed myself wondering what to do.......firstly I got out my fray check to stop it fraying....sat back and did a bit more wondering and decided to try and mend it..I stitched it together as best I could, luckily the cut didn't go right through the seam line but I will have to make the side seam a little wider.

I have underlined this skirt instead of my usual separated lining and I find it is much better. I stitched the darts separately in the fabric and the lining first then joined the 2 pieces together.......my overlocker, which I have had for many, many years has never had the cutting knife changed, when I joined the 2 fabrics together at the side seams the old knife just couldn't cope.....the stitching was appaling and the knife just wasn't cutting the fabric at all.....more sitting wondering what to do the side seams were a mess......so I pulled all of the stitches out and did them again after changing to a new knife.

I also made a mess of the zip and had to redo that......every time I pick this skirt up I make mistakes.

This is the skirt I am making, it is an Anne Klein design, Vogue 2047.
I have made a few changes to this skirt.....I have put slits at both sides instead of just one side and lengthened it to just below my knee, I am going to put 2 side pockets in, I have also added a seam allowance and inserted the zip into the back of the skirt, it was previously a side zip and no seam allowance at the back.

Marking and thread tracing

These pictures were taken a while ago of my trousers I was making. I had altered the pattern, cut them out and was busy marking amd thread tracing them, I find thread tracing very useful because it marks the fabric on both sides.

The little metal measuring gauge is an invaluable little tool. I mark my fabric with tailors chalk first then thread trace to make the markings permanent. I use embroidery silks for thread tracing, they are soft and don't leave a mark and also because I have lots and lots of them in all different colours, I don't embroider anymore and rather than waste them I am using them up.

The other picture you see is the fly fronted zipper marked with tailors chalk and then thread traced.

I have finished these trousers and have worn them numerous times, I will take a picture of me wearing them in another post. I had about a metre of this fabric left which is a dark grey worsted wool.......that is what I am making my skirt out of.