Just thought I'd run through some of the things I've made over the last few months
1) The cavalry shirt
This was made from a folkwear pattern for Frontier Shirts which means it is based on a 19th century design. I think Folkwear are pretty authentic in the designs they sell.
I made it from a brushed cotton in a pattern they called Aztec. I noticed that it seemed to be fading very rapidly and wasn't sure how to counter that. I'm hoping it can be stopped since I really like d the colour.
Other than that I think I failed to get the pattern for shirt and bib to line up too well so need to keep that in mind if I make another one.

This had some design features I found pretty difficult at the time like a curved pointed middle of the yoke at the back which I'm not sure shows anyway. With a bit more practise that should prove to be a bit easier to do but had me having to attempt it several times before i got it anywhere near right.
Then summer hit so I have hardly worn the thing so far.  Think I will be over the next few months though.

2) The striped jeans
These were inspired by the style of striped jeans that Levis and others were making in the late 60s and early 70s. They were made from a striped drill that has 2 alternating groups of coloured stripes. The main one that is visible here which is the group with a red/pink wide stripe on the outside and the same group of colours in a slightly different order with orange on the outside of the group.  The prevalent colour grouping is dictated by the way they are cut. I'm not sure to what extent the way they are cut is dictated to in terms of the way that the groupings lie on the uncut fabric. Anyway I think they look pretty good even if I do say so myself

I had a couple of problems in making these, mainly that the sewing machine I started them on broke down when I went to sew the bib on the cavalry shirt on the morning after I started them. That left them not being worked on for about a month at the start of the summer. Thankfully Vic came through with a sewing machine she no longer used and I got them done and wore them quite a bit over the summer.
 I've been worried that colours have appeared to be fading really fast, I noticed great patches of white appearing behind what was supposed to be a solid colour line which is obviously a great shame since the delight of  these things is the vibrancy. I've tried soaking them in distilled vinegar which was supposed to be a way of getting coloured dyes to stabilise. I'm not sure to what extent it's worked since I've spent more time in more recently made jeans since.
 I've also recently undone the belt loops which were too restrictive as they were which you can see in the photo on the right. I think Tina had told me that belt loops get sewn into the waistband as in captured under the seam. This proved to be really difficult to get belts in and out of. So on later pairs of jeans I've sewn the bottom of the belt loop has been attached to the top of the trouser leg.

3) The Dickensian jacket -Burda 2767
This was the first jacket I made with the new sewing machine. It is based on a pattern from a company called Burda, though i made some alterations to make it something I could wear practically.  These included changing where the waist pockets are located and adding pockets to the breast both outside on the left and inside.
The fabric used derived from 2 sets of curtains. I also used the lining that came with the main curtain to line it.  This was also the first garment that I seam finished to any extent.  It is my variation of a flat fell .

The jacket does still need to be hemmed but it finally got the collar topstitched and buttons put on the front over the last couple of weeks.

I was told that the jacket did come up very tight, I've been wearing it open all the time that I've been wearing it. Not sure if i can comfortably close it over the waistcoat I normally wear which tends to have things in the pockets. May need to expand the size if I make another one. But it's not exactly weather proof so may not be worn with too much more under it. Might not be worn in much worse or colder weather in other words.

4) The Cerise cords

I bought some material which arrived after some delay and when it was opened it was some of tghe softest stuff I'd ever felt. Kept wanting to pick it up and fondle it again.. Lovely stuff.

I think it was designed more for curtains and upholstery than for garments but it does feel awesome as a pair of jeans

These were again cut from the old dismantled pair of cords which I've now used about 7 times over the summer. They are really comfortable though the waist may still be cut too loose. I think I've had them slide off when they weren't worn with a belt.  Which indicates I have a lot to learn about fitting properly.
I wasn't sure how much dismantling and reconstructing the fabric could handle so I've left thenm as they were initially constructed. I think the central picture here which was in daylight is truer to the correct colour than the 2 shots bookending .
Anyway do love these things. I was interested in a colour range that included the darker shades of things like purple, pink, orange also the more chocolatey of browns . I am currently working on a pair of aubergine twill jeans which i had meant to make much earlier in the summer.

Best jeans I've ever made

I finished a pair of jeans this week in a cotton/linen blend pattern called Piccolo

They are based on a pair of cord jeans that I wore for a few years but had the seat wear thin so have had me making several pairs based on a dismantled version. I've been finding some of the previous pairs to be overly baggy, even had the waistband slide over my hips when I wasn't wearing a belt.
So I consciously slimmed these down to the extent that I was becoming worried that I'd gone too far in the other direction. Particularly if the fabric blend tended to shrink when washed. I think these have come through ok,. So now i'm just hoping that they will wear ok since the fabric wasn't designed for clothing use.

I really like the finished garment. It was inspired by seeing photos of bands from the turn of the 70s in what look to be somewhat similar strides. The photos I've seen lack the floral pattern though.
 This fabric is sold for making curtains and upholstery but I find it works really well for these. I've tried looking for other varieties of similar blends of cotton and linen on ebay etc and not really found anything as attractive. Very little in the combination in fact so I will be looking at whatever fabric emporiums I come across to see if there is anything comparable. That is before having really worn them much since i only finished them over the last week.

Trying to think about things i noticed in the construction of these.
1)  the width of the material is a factor i hadn't really taken into account. I think all previous material I've done jeans from has been 59 or 60 inches where this was 54.
This meant that trying to get the legs to be cut symmetrically didn't work perfectly. In fact I think this was 54 inches wide with a pattern repeat of 25 inches. Subsequently I don't think it is possible to have the symmetry leg to leg that I would have really liked. But then again this wasn't designed for clothing use and furthermore not to be cut for this pattern.
I still think it has come out ok, looks good even if I don't have things lined up like pattern on pocket to pattern below it or pattern on leg to pattern on yoke. Not sure how much that shows. Would have like d to have that maze line run up from bottom of leg to top below waistband in a way that looked more continuous than it does. Would also have liked the dark and light patches to be more alternating.
But I guess that's why you need to know pattern repeat & things like that will be factored into future purchases.

2) not really noticed in the construction of these, but factored into the last few pairs. The way that the pocket backing has to be lined up on the pocket to make sure that the back yoke is in the right place for the leg to attach front to back right.
Actually I think I had some problem of noticing that the way that I'd made that attachment left the front about .5cm below the back so I took it apart and reattached it. But found that it happened again. There is a 1.5cm seam allowance so if I line up the corner of the front to the corner of the back there is some space for it to  fall out of sync by the time you can see where the 2 pieces join. I think this has worked ok and been hidden by the waistband anyway.though.

3) I was worried that when I was cutting the fly part of the front section after trying to lay the backs next to the front when I was cutting,  I had made where the zip goes too vertical. It doesn't seem to have mattered in the long run. I thought the slope of that angle was shallower but I have only ever cut trousers from the one model so far. Something that I think I'm going to need to change before long so that it doesn't simply become my rote way of cutting.
I'm  now wondering if that verticality might have wound up with the single fly zip covering being twisted when I sewed it, it seems to not be quite flat so leave the top hanging slightly open. I'm not sure if this is important and at the moment i'm reluctant to take the waistband apart to be able to straighten it out.
 It does leave me thinking that I probably do need to add a topstitching step when I attach that fly, at the moment it is getting sewn right side to right side to attach it then only being held in place by the stitching attaching the zip. Might be better to do that topstitching and have the fly kept flat, may sound fernickety but may wind up looking a lot better.

4) I've added an extra footwidth of stitching to the seams around the waist to prevent the waistband from sliding down over my hips and trousers falling down. I don't know if I've misread a 2cm seam allowance on Wrangler jeans as 1.5cm or if  I lost weight. But I think maybe if I do these again from this source I need to be thinking more in terms of 2cm seam allowance at that point. Possibly 1.5 elsewhere since that seems to be what's on most things.

5) if the fabric had been any wider then I think the trouser bottoms would have been cut intentionally a little wider, more bootcut than flare. I think it's a look I need to explore since I do prefer something slightly wider, certainly to something narrower. been stuck with an extreme drain on the pair of leathers I've worn over the last few winters and they've been a pain to take off.

Currently not getting things completed since my sewing machine never recovered. Hopefully got at least one coming next week, maybe including a really robust one. But should at least be one that works.

I have been working on this jacket based on the Burda 2767 pattern. I haven't made Burda before this one and the pattern layout seems to be more complex than I'm used to. I think previous patterns I've made have been printed in English as about the sole language. That means there is more space on the page than Burda which has 3 languages sharing the page. It has been very difficult to look at what the finished product looks like since the cover picture is too dark for detail to show.
This is being made from 2 contrasting fabrics with the collar, side panels, pocket flaps and welt, underarm and yokes in one thing and the rest in another or vice versa.
It is taking me longer than I would have liked since it has all been handstitched up to  now. So looking forward to be able to get it machine stitched and the lining in.

I have also been trying to work on getting a jeans jacket made from Winifred Aldritch's pattern cutting book. I'm in the  middle of doing that. Just been doing up the initial jacket block and making a dummy based on that before I get into the jigsaw like cutting up of a copy of that block pattern into the panels that the jacket will be made of. Was hoping I'd get that done during this week I'm without a machine but my concentration is not fully on it. Maybe it has just been too summery for it.

So,, at the moment inertia due to the fact that despite it having soaked in WD 40 for a good 10 hours the hex screw on my needle bar won't move. Subsequently I can't adjust the needle bar and the sewing machine itself must remain inert.
I tried putting the metal panel that the light is attached to back on the machine only to find that it doesn't connect to the column. I guess on closer thought it wouldn't, since the needle column has to be free standing in order to move right. Had just thought wit it going back on it might steady the column and I would have greater purchase on it and thereby be able to turn the screw.
 I remember the first time I tried to turn the screw lower down that allows the needle to be changed it was very very stiff and had to sit in WD 40 for a while. I think I actually pretty much gave up on it and went down town, came home and it was able to move. No such luck so far with this damn hex key. I'm just watching the hex key nearly bend in the middle from exertion, or looks that way. maybe I just need to put more faith in it.  It's a metal hexagonal bar on a plastic handle & I'm just wondering if it might be easier to turn if it was shorter. Not sure what that means in terms of leverage though. I know that with some leverage the longer the handle/lever the greater the force applied but since this is sticking out horizontally from the fulcrum and doesn't have length in a dimension that extra force could be applied as far as I can see I don't think that applies. maybe I need a wrench or something, pair of pliers, that I could attach to the shaft and turn things that way? Is that the way it works?

Until such a time as I can get that screw to move, work with  the sewing machine is at a standstill. Maybe I need to move onto cutting things out in preparation for the thing to fix itself? Pockets which I might have been better off working on yesterday instead of that  bib, still need to be done. Really should have gone and refilled the bobbin  and finished off the buttonholes on the bib at the time I was doing them,. Think I'd been letting eating get very late, possibly even had food getting cold at the time so had placed a fullstop on the activity without finishing. Thought things had been getting good up to that, what with the tension on the stitching finally having been corrected. I'd even gone back over whatever stitching was already on the shirt yesterday morning before the problem began. Well, spilt milk doesn't really do anything but make a mess. So counting my druthers isn't going to make it any better is it?

>>>>>5 hours or so later I'm back with a set of Stanley Hex keys that are the standard shape not the straight stick with a handle type that I presumably got given in Maplin's several years ago. Those I had may have been designed for more delicate work on a computer. Whereas what I take to be the standard shape is more L shaped or rather short shaft, long handle which is more the other way round than the standard letter shape.  Not tried it yet but hoping that it will be exactly what I'm looking for.
Also hoping that something I heard about today which might turn out to be a C.E. scheme or something based in upcycling things as clothing and repairing donated clothing comes to fruition.

Also need to check up what patterns are available for men's clothing from Burda since there is a sale on the label in Hickey's. Just looked at a mid 19th century outfit that looks like something from Dickens or other costume drama before I left there earlier. Want to see if it's worthwhile though.

Recent projects in psychedelic clothing

I've been meaning to get back to this page and start actually adding input.
Recently I've been trying to make clothing, using a Silver Crest sewing machine I got from LIDL in 2012.

Been buying up material to upcycle from local charity shops and made some interesting stuff . This jacket for one, which I've been wearing around town recently.
It's based on a pattern for a western frock coat that Simplicity somehow got from Buckaro Bobbins, been wondering what the story was on that . Buckaroo Bobbins are a firm that sells patterns for pretty authentic Western wear as far as I understand it. and this pattern has things like polyester fleece used as sleeve heads. So not sure on the history there .
This was made from upcycled material which I'm really hoping to repeat.

Been wondering how much the source material shows and is obvious as to what it was originally. I found 2 items that cost me €2 each and a third item I lined it with which I'd bought new  to sleep under several years ago and then found my feet kept getting caught in so stopped using. Initially bought some purple polyester lining material but then rethought what I was using at which point I thought of this duvet cover which I'd also thought of as using for a shirt. Thought I might use the other side which had a different pattern on but think this works better as this and it's poly-cotton so may not have been the most comfortable shirt while it is at least breathable as a lining which the straight polyester wouldn't have been. This is now heading towards the middle of the summer so it is better that it is breathable at least.
It is thankfully light enough weight for this time of year and may show off its roots in the way it billows when I walk. I still need to finish off seams and the hem.

At the moment my sewing machine has decided to stop sewing and I'm waiting for WD 40 to do its work,. This will hopefully make the needle bar hex adjustment  become  movable so I can adjust it and get back to things.
This morning I was trying to finish off the Cavalry shirt I had been making earlier this week off but I think I must have had a needle smash into the Needle plate as I attempted to sew a buttonhole on the bib. So the interlocking of the threads from the bobbin and needle has been thrown off and needs to be fixed. Been told it is likely to be a problem with the needle bar timing.
I didn't notice a problem at first but when I went back to sewing a little while later, things were getting weird. At first I couldn't get the bobbin thread to catch despite several attempts, the needle just seemed to be dropping too short which seemed odd. I continued and possibly changed the direction I was turning the hand wheel which was eventually successful at least in catching the thread, then when I finally did have the end of the bobbin thread up and then tried to sew a line down a test section of the Aztec material I had used for the Cavalry shirt I discovered I was only sewing from the upper side, nothing was catching on the lower side at all.  Now looking at the column below the block where the hex adjustment opening is you can see there is a line which is presumably where the column normally sits in relation to the needle that is a cm or 2 away from where it normally sits. That means the needle could never drop low enough to catch.
So fingers crossed that I can sort this with little difficulty when that WD 40 soaks in. Now having trouble with the entire column moving when I try to move the hex key since the column isn't secured to anything.

I'm having a lot of trouble with the sewing machine, I guess so far it's just a learning curve. Up to the beginning of this week I had the tension on one side of the thread very badly sorted. I hadn't realised that adjustments needed included tightening  the bobbin screw, since it seemed more obvious to adjust the controls visible on the top of the machine. Subsequently the thread the bobbin tension  was controlling was basically just lying on the material not sewn properly with most of the actual stitching coming from the other side. It was only later that I realised that each side's tension controlled the other thread, bobbin controlling the thread from the top reel and the visible tension adjustments controlling what came from the bobbin. As my understanding stood, when I was having the thread that was coming from the reel on the top of the machine not sewing properly I was wondering why no adjustments I  was doing to the visible tension controls were having effect on the thread from that side  while the other thread mainly seemed to sew ok. But now I get it, as explained above, each tensioning device controls the thread coming from the other direction. Took a bit of googling to get that plus some help from facebook friends.
Today as I took the top section of the machine apart I scrolled the tension screw from one end to the other and saw the end section of the sewing machine go from being flat with the body to being very raised. I couldn't tell if I had just not noticed that action before because I was looking at another aspect or if that  had greater freedom of movement because an otherwise place keeping sidescrew had been removed. But very weird looking effect, seemed to rise a good couple of cm or so.

I think I need a course in sewing machine maintenance. I mainly got heavily  into sewing this year thanks to a couple of courses I did through the local community centre and a teacher called Tina O'Rourke. She is a great teacher so if you get a chance to study with her I'd take it. She is a lot of fun and has been sewing for years so can be very helpful in information she can give you. My confidence has gone up no end since the beginning of this year.
Up to January which is when  that first course started, I had this sewing machine sitting in its box since I bought it a year and a half earlier. Now when it isn't in pieces it is in use several times a day.



I'm dying to get these striped drill jeans

finished. Have wanted a pair of late 60s Levi's style jeans for years so finally making a pair. This striped drill material has 2 different ordered variations on the same colour group stripes on it, one has a pinky red around orange, blue green and white ,the other has the orange as the larger stripe. I'm wondering if I've gone the right way by going with the red as the dominant colour which I think is down to the way that I layed out what I was using as the pattern on the drill material. I'm assuming that it would have been as easy to have the orange dominated grouping as the central to the design. Not sure if that could be done with the same economy of material as what I've used but as yet I'm only doing this for about the first time with a pattern that behaves like this. The coat above might have been layed out differently with more experience too.  But it's early days yet.

Over the next while I have a number of projects that I am hoping to do. The striped material from these unfinished jeans is hopefully going to become a jeans type jacket, possibly with some amendments. I had a shirt/jacket thing when I interrailed Europe in '85 that was like a cross between a candy striped button down and a jeans jacket. I can just about remember the collar and definitely the side/back adjustment features from the thing and it makes me think I'd like to try to copy it in this material. But so far i don't really remember the full design. I'm also thinking about a short jacket that the Regal used to sell which came in a striped material but can't really remember exactly what it looked like but would like to attempt in this material.

I have worn a jeans jacket which I tie dyed and tie bleached for the last few years and fancy making a jeans jacket anyway. Also thinking of trying to run off a dummy in a curtain material since I've been buying up some of the stuff.

I have some yards of African material that I found cheap on ebay from a shop called African Diamond. I've made one Ukrainian cossack type shirt though the collar has been miscut since the pattern had the cutting line in the wrong place, looks ok though. I want to make others more successfully, preferably with a taller collar.

Also wanting to try to copy a bike jacket in something. Wish that was more original than fashion over the last few years has shown. I tend to wear a bike jacket through most of the winter which I bought in the early noughties . Think at least attempting to make one should hopefully teach me some stuff about making clothing. I'm on a learning curve which I really would have loved to be on 20 or 30 years ago, but glad to be on it. Just hoping I can remain on it, but that relies on having a sewing machine
Think I need to learn how to repair the things , hope I can get some practise in, anybody got any sewing machines they don't use lying around?