skirting around

I feel I have been rather productive in the last months, yet the stash is looking big as always. I read on someone's blog that the size of the stash is always relative to its storage. If you have a lot of space then a well organised stash like below is perfect, whereas if you only have a little space (like me) you have to get creative with storage. I am still working on the ideal storage solution, because at the moment it is all crammed away somewhere and over time I forget what I have.

Anyway, after the maxi skirts I thought I work on some short skirts for myself. I started out drafting a basic A-line skirt, but the result was a little tight to be honest ... and the hem looks a little funny in the pictures for some reason. It is wearable around the house and to the school, but the next one would be bigger.

The next skirt is actually a jersey version of Sewaholic's Hollyburn Skirt. I omitted the pockets although I certainly could have done inseam pockets without problems ... hmm, maybe next time. The jersey itself was a surprise find in my stash. I have no idea how it got there. I realised after washing it that it was probably a polyester blend and judging by the smell it came from a charity shop, so really it was the perfect jersey to use as a muslin.

It is comfortable to wear with a yoga style waistband and took about a hour and a half to make incl cutting .... so super fast for me.

I don't think I have any fabric at the moment to make a 'proper' version right now, but who knows what I'll still discover.

Stashbusting so far

I intended to use at least 26 pieces from my stash this year and to not buy more fabric until September. Well, I already failed on the fabric buying bit, but I am attempting to use everything I buy when I buy it (like the mermaids for example). I arrived at the number 26 by assuming that I will be able to do something every 2 weeks if I try. By that measure, I am ahead of myself with 9.5 pieces from my stash used and 2 pieces I specifically bought.

So far I have made: 

daughter: 3 skirts, 3 dresses

son: 2 shorts, 1 pillow

myself: 1 skirt

husband: 2 boxer shorts

Not too bad, however most of these pieces were quite small, so it hasn't actually made much/any impact on the chaos that is my stash. I am slowly starting to face the reality of my stash. I have been sewing for less then a year, but I think I can sew comfortably for the next 2 years without running out of fabric. The question is though 'Do I really want that?'

Part of the joy of sewing is picking out a fabric that would go with a pattern and then making it. I am still new at this. I find new fabrics and patterns all the time. As I get better at sewing, I will want to try doing more complicated projects that require fabric I haven't got.

Actually, whilst I am feeling slightly depressed and cheering myself by surfing fabric.com, I have calculated the amount of fabric used from my stash so far this year: 9.8 meters and only a few scraps left for pocket linings and such stuff. That doesn't actually sound too bad, go Giggles :-)

Hollyburn Skirt Sewalong Part 1

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I finished my first Hollyburn Skirt from Sewaholic. I wanted to test out the sizing and make a little summer skirt with some fabric that I had little emotional attachment to. It's a cotton poplin that was on sale in Spotlight that I bought to make Colette's Crepe Dress. However, after I washed it and it hung to dry, it reminded my very much of bedding and I really thought it might be a bit much for the dress, so I thought I use it for some skirts or shorts something (I do have 5m of it, because the dress asks for 4.5 yards).

I cut a size 10 after much much deliberation - I made a chart of my measurements for a week, because in the morning I have a waist size of 27-28in, yet after dinner it goes up to 30-31in (seriously Giggles, stop eating). In this mid-morning picture the skirt sits lower then my waist, but as the day progresses it moves higher and higher :-) I did deviate from the pattern a little, because I cut View A (smallest flare), but made it the length of shortest one. I also cut the waist band on the bias and used some stretchy interfacing, because I really didn't want the waistband cutting me in half after dinner. It turned out really nice. I french seamed most of it, it's addictive really, and the zipper seam was finished of with bias tape ... ahhhhh

My downfall was once again the hemming, it was laying around for a week before I included it in my great Australia Day finish-a-tron. I even made a little skirt for the daughter (and promised myself that we never ever ever wear it on the same day)

My dilemma was how to count this with the Stashbusting Sewalong. I still have at least half of the fabric left, so it is 0.5 of a piece of fabric I guess. Now my bad news ... I picked up some more fabric ... yes, it wasn't planned, but they are only small pieces ... no, I don't have any willpower, but I will use at least 3 if not 4 pieces in February ... promise ... sorta ... we'll see how it goes :-)

the Australia Day Dress

or the dress formerly known as the Christmas Dress. In all fairness I had finished all but the hemming for Christmas, but then it was so hot and I couldn't motivate myself for that last step. Hemming is my least favourite thing to do and I don't really know how to overcome that.

I finally decided on New Look 6935 and I did view B. I guess all the work with the kids clothes was worth it, because there wasn't one thing in the instructions that made my go cross-eyed or tearful.

I measured myself and made a muslin of the top in size 14 and it was MASSIVE, so I next up made a size 12 and it fitted quite well. I seem to have a small back, because I had to take quite a bit out in the back, but otherwise the fit was okay. I least as good as I would get buying it. The pictures are a bit dreary due to the left over weather yesterday from Ex-Cyclone Oswald. Luckily we still had power and the flooding was less then expected.

I haven't got a picture from the back, because I ended up cutting a size 12 in the skirt as well (I didn't make a muslin for that thinking it flares out more then it actually did) and I think I should have cut a size 14. It fits as in it goes over my bottom, but it doesn't skim as nicely as it could, ... sigh, perhaps instead of sewing more I should be walking more. Anyway, I am quite proud of its insides ... french seams, and I used some bias take for where the bodice and the skirt connect and it's all neat.

Since I had already sewn most of the dress before Christmas I can't really count this towards the Stashbusting Sewalong, but I did make another little skirt for my baby girl.

It is left over fabric from my sister's pj pants and my girly girl likes it despite it's blueness. Since I was out of wide elastic, I made the waistband out of 2 thinner bits of elastic separating them with a seam, so I feel like awarding myself extra points for that.

This was part 1 of the great Australia Day finish-a-tron, part 2 shall come tomorrow :-)

Stashbusting Sewalong

Apparently sewalongs are like buses, you wait for ages and then 3 come along at once, well 2 really, but there is time yet.

Cation Designs has announced the Stashbusting Sewalong and it's not an ordinary sewalong, oh no, it'll go for the whole year with themes each month.

So, I, Giggles in the Sun, commit to using 26 pieces of stash fabric in 2013. I also commit to not buy any new fabric until September except for if I find the perfect 'cape' fabric (and lining) to make for this coming winter.

26 might seem a lot, but I have a lot of pieces that are about a yard or so and for kid stuff I don't need that much. I have added a ticker (yes, it is a modified weight loss one, but I couldn't find a different one that wasn't a date related countdown) to track my progress, so let's see how this goes.

This pledge and sewalong will hopefully keep me on the straight and narrow with regards to my New Year plans. Admittedly I have given myself an out with the cape fabric, but I have fallen in love with the Woodland Stroll cape pattern and I would really like to make myself one. The only fabric I have in my stash that would be remotely suitable it some raw silk coating and I think I need to work up my nerve to cut into that.

As an additional incentive when I use up the 26 pieces I will treat myself to something special like a massage or something equally indulgent :-)