Summer shirt

I am really enjoying using my new sewing machine and being able to make the most of my local haberdashery shop.
I have a McCalls boys pattern for T shirt, casual shirt and shorts so I bought a piece of super fun printed cotton which is perfect for this sort of project.

I like the collar which uses fusible interfacing. I have also been able to make good use of the automatic buttonhole foot which makes getting the right size buttonhole so easy and gives a very neat finish.
I like the relaxed curved hem at the back.

I can see this will be a pattern I use quite often!

Holiday Cool

As soon as I saw this super jumper I knew I wanted to knit it for my grandson Joel who is going to be four in the summer.
It is made in Stylecraft Bambino which is lovely for baby knits but with these colours perfect for anyone.
The oversize jumper has three colours in a medium stripe and a double opening feature at the neckline.
The main picture on the pattern is for a baby/toddler but there is a second version modelled by a very cool looking young man and I thought it was perfect for Joel. The dusky blue goes perfectly with jeans and the gold is so on trend for this year and very grown up for a young person.

Bambino is 100% acrylic, washes brilliantly and has a slight sheen which gives great stitch definition. The yarn is prone to splitting because of the multistrand twist but I used a very smooth round point needle and it worked very well with a good even finish.

I am very happy with it - I hope Joel will enjoy wearing it this summer.

A New Adventure

So after more than 30 years I have bought myself a new sewing machine.
My old one was perfectly adequate for my sewing needs and totally capable of tackling most projects I might try.
However I have alway wanted to try stretch fabrics and have often toyed with getting an overlocker but never invested in one mainly because it is yet another machine to store. A couple of months ago I saw on offer for a standard Butterick sewing machine that was so good I couldn't resist and it has a range of stitches designed for stretch fabrics plus embriodery stitiches and so much more to explore

At the start of February I went with my daughter to a craft fair at Event City Manchester and as usual we paid a visit to a wondeful stand DotsnStripes to look at the beautiful european fabrics.
Of course now with my new machine I could buy and sew these wonderful fabrics so I bought a half metre of sweatshirt material and a pattern to make a hoodie for my grandson Joel.
The pattern is brilliant and although in the European style ( you have to add your own seam allowance and trace the pattern off the card) it was very easy to follow.

I have totally enjoyed making this and after a busy few weeks with the day job I will be tackling my next project - jogging pants and a top for Joel.