My Home Sewn Week - Sunday

And just as quickly as it started, my home sewn week was over! (Forgive me for starting a sentence with the word 'and').

Before wrapping things up completely though, there is still one day and two homemade garments to write about - yes, two!

I'll start with the outfit I wore for the majority of the day; a super cosy jumper, mixing different fabrics of ponteroma and printed cotton:

The angle of the picture doesn't show it brilliantly, but the floral inserts on either side of the top are actually even! 

When I first made this top, I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about it, but having now worn it out for coffee with friends, I do really like it! It was very comfortable to wear, and even though the sleeves are only elbow length, the thick knitted fabric made if really warm. The construction process itself was pretty straight forward too, this was a bit of a freehand chop and stitch - I'm hoping that knitted fabric will never let me down and shatter my illusions of it forgiving a lot of mistakes! The one thing that did cause me trouble though, was something that really shouldn't have done; I stitched the right sleeve on upside down, cuff to shoulder. How I didn't notice this at the point of pinning is completely beyond me...I considered leaving it as it was, but quickly concluded that, however hard I try to convince people an uneven domed cuff is the new fashion, I don't think anyone would buy it.

The second garment I wore today was a real achievement for me, as I finally made something I have shied away from sewing since I started out on my sewing journey: a pair of trousers!! We'll, jeggings if we're going to get technical, but still, they are an item of clothing, worn on the bottom half of the body, that isn't a skirt!!

I hadn't actually been contemplating making trousers until I came across this heavy weight stretch cotton. I really fell in love with the modern monochrome photographic floral print, and couldn't see it in anything other than a pair of trousers. Does that happen to other people? The fabric absolutely dictated the garment, rather than the other way around.

The thing that had always put me off making trousers was the number of seams and not understanding the construction method, plus, finding a decent fitting pair of trousers is really difficult, so I didn't think that making them would be any different (which is a little ridiculous, considering that one of the reasons I started sewing was to have a wardrobe of clothes that fit perfectly!)

Luckily though, I had an old pair of work trousers, which were already dismantling themselves down several seams that were crying out to be my real life pattern. Another plus, is I knew that these trousers fitted well.

Once I had cut out 2 of every piece, it actually became really clear how to sew the pieces together and this was a really quick project! Obviously, I'm still working up to installing a fly and constructing a proper trouser waistband, so elastic was my friend here, a medium width piece, cut to fit comfortably around my waist was stitched into the waistband piece, and there you have it! A pair of jeggings!

I know that these trousers aren't perfect, but they are unique and turned out better than I thought they would, so I'm really glad that I finished my homesewn challenge with them!

Phew! 1 skirt, 4 tops, a dress, and a pair of trousers later and I'm done! I have really enjoyed documenting this week, but I'll be honest, I'm looking forward to getting dressed in the morning without having to think about what I'm going to write about my choice! That aside though, I think this last week has made me view my homemade garments in a new, positive way; I've learnt to see them as part of my wardrobe and how they can be incorporated into my day to day life, without feeling the immense pressure of wondering whether to wear something I've made and risk someone seeing a dodgy seam or loose button and realising it has been made by an amature seamstress in her bedroom!...

...And hey, If nothing else, I've discovered that I need to invest in some fabric in a colour other than blue!

Thanks for joining me on my journey this week, and I'll see you soon (but not tomorrow!)

Em x