Three Things to Sew for Autumn

When I sat down to make a list of things to sew for Autumn/Winter, it got longer and longer. I remembered about all the heavier weight fabric from my stash that I wanted to sew with, and the things I wanted to make for Miss Kestrel. It was a bit overwhelming, so I decided to pick out 3 items that were top of the list and use the long list as an 'aide memoire' that I could dip into.

Here are my top 3 things to make:

Raglan sleeve sweatshirt 

When Girl Charlee offered me some free fabric I chose the fox print (as blogged previously) and also this monochrome geometric print french terry. I have never sewn with french terry and was intrigued to try it, as well as loving the print.

I got the Simplicity 1317 pattern on sale at just over £4, which is like the ubiquitous Grainline Linden sweatshirt but, y'know, cheaper. I don't sew with modern Big 4 very often so I will be keeping my eye on the sizing as I want a fitted look and they tend to have a lot of ease. I've ordered some samples of ribbing as I think it would look good with a white or black rib at neck and cuffs. It would probably look good with black sleeves (like the bottom left view) too.

Denim skirt or pinafore

I have some lovely stash denim and would like to make both a denim skirt and pinafore since I wear my existing skirts all the time and I love the idea of a pinafore. The pattern used will definitely be a vintage one from my stash - despite having lots of 70s and 80s skirt patterns, I've just bought the one above because I love the big pocket version. I think I will probably make it first.

I bought this pattern from the awesome DestinedRendezvous Etsy shop - they have a brilliant range of patterns and shipping is reasonable, perhaps because it's from Canada and not the U.S. as I find most U.S. Etsy sellers have crazy shipping prices these days. Also, I was buying 2 patterns and she combined shipping costs when I asked. Lauren Lladybird has recently made a 1970s denim skirt with big pockets (but more A-Line shape) using a pattern bought from the same shop.

Tights

This is my adventurous one! I admired Marilla Walker's tights on Instagram recently and she encouraged me to try making my own too. She has made her own Alice tights pattern (which she kindly sent me) that I would really like to try.

I find that my winter wardrobe can look a bit lacking in colour, and coloured or patterned tights would be a great way to inject some brightness into my life. As a tall lady, I also find tights that are too short are incredibly annoying so to be able to make my own would be amazing.

I bought the above mustard rib fabric from Minerva Crafts for £3.99/m because it was one of the fabrics Marilla had successfully used for tights, so I felt I was on safe ground with it. I think the colour will look perfect with reds, denim and tan - all colours I want to incorporate into my wardrobe a bit more.

K x