Fall Palette Fabrics and Patterns

Well, a few hours later I rumaged through unused patterns purchased over the past few years of .99 cent sales and bargain bin fabrics. I have arranged a colour palette that I quite like and I find remicent of the early days of autumn. Many of the pieces will work into winter, spring and summer as well. I like to create pieces that can be used for more than one season, when I can. I heavily rely on greys and purples with some browns, blues and a nice rust colour thrown into the mix. I have so many patterns I'd LOVE to sew that my line up is VERY ambitious. I will, I dare say, NOT finish this undertaking before the challenge is "officially" over, but I won't worry about that. The main thing is that I get some wonderful new items that I love, AND use some of my stash. I have even thrown a (non colour pallette) Halloween costume into the mix for myself! Drum roll please! The patterns are:

Simplicity 2305 Cynthia Rowley - View B dress, View D skirt

Simplicity 4044 Retro - View A jacket, View C skirt, View D trousers

Simplicity 3673 Retro - View B jumper

Simplicity 3688 Retro - View A blouse

Simplicity 2848 Project Runway - "Pleated jumper"

Simplicity 2263 Threads - View A blouse, View B skirt

Simplicity 2211 Lisette - View A skirt, View B skirt, View E top

Simplicity 3921 - View I capelet

Simplicity 2813 Disney Princess - View A "Snow White"

New Look 6000 - View C dress

New Look 6909 - View C dress, View E dress

McCall's M5759 - View A jacket

Vogue V8740 - View A apron 

The fabrics:

I have heavily used wool in various weights. There are also a few linen look fabrics as well as a lace, silky floral print and a cotton chino. 

Costume fabrics:

Inspiration board, to help me remember what I was going to do:

IF I manage to finish this task I will end up with: 4 dresses, 2 jumpers, 5 skirts, 3 tops, 2 jackets, 1 capelet, 1 pair trousers, 1 apron, and 1 costume. That wouldn't be too shabby!

Now, to get cutting!

Happy sewing!

Fall Palette Challenge

By now, anyone who reads any sewing blogs or news has probably already come across this challenge. There is no winner and it's really just for your own personal benefit. The goal is to think about color and pieces that work together. You then spend your time sewing a unified wardrobe with pieces that will work together.

Being that this challenge is almost more of a suggestion than a real challenge I have decided to work through this challenge for the remaining 10 days of it (a 10 week long challenge) and finish up any time after that when I see fit.

Also, being short on income I have decided to use only patterns and fabrics and as many notions as possible from my stash. This will help me make useful items and clear out some of my fabric bins. I will attempt to find colours that work together in a way that I like, but my main goal will be to sew, sew, sew!

I like dresses and jackets. I love skirts. Tops are a nice touch. I do not usually sew pants, but fabric and notions allowing, I will attempt to add a pair into this mix to help round it out. I prefer to wear dresses and skirts, however. There will likely be a distinctive "retro" or "vintage" vibe to the collection as I love to stock up on as many "vintage" pattern reprints as my pattern housing will allow.

Also, seeing as it is fall, I might throw a Halloween costume into the mix while I'm at it. Who knows?

Happy sewing!

Hedgehog Hoodie

Several weeks ago I woke up at the middle of the night with this idea. I guess you could say it came to me in a dream. I love hedgehogs (and have been spending a lot of time with our Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome girl, Tumbleweed) and decided I needed a "hedgehog hoodie."

It was clearly visible in my mind. It would have ears and a face on the hood and the body would be some sort of brown fabric to mimic the spikes that cover hedgehogs. It was cute, cuddly and warm. With that in mind I did a scrounge of Joanns and came across a "soft and cuddly" fabric that had little nubs. I decided on a brown with white dots cotton for the lining. I purchased fleece in cream and dark brown for the face and ears. A tan zipper (for contrast) and some cute tan with white whip stitched edges cord round out my supplies. Oh! And two black buttons for eyes.

I really like the cord for the hood. Here's a better picture of it. You can also see the nubs on the fabric a bit better.

I set about cutting out my pieces. I sew enough to know the general idea without really using a pattern or anything. I just sort of cut out the pieces without really measuring or thinking about it. The hoodie would be fully lined and have a kangaroo style front pocket. I ended up with 7 pieces for the hoodie, 7 pieces for the lining, 4 pieces for the ears, 1 face piece and 1 nose piece. The hoodie and lining consisted of: Back, front right, front left, right pocket, left pocket, right sleeve, left sleeve, right hood, left hood. A pretty straightforward design.


To begin I assembled the front and back together (lining as well) and then I moved onto the hoodie. Here you can see the completed hood, lined and with face and cord ready to go. I decided to put the body outer and lining together and then attach the hood by the outer and leave the lining free and hand stitch it down later.

Many hours later I happily finished my "hedgehog hoodie." I am happy with the result. I really like the lining and the contrasting cord and zipper. The hoodie is quite warm and cuddly. It might be better suited to a child, but truthfully, I can't wait to go pick apples this fall and wear it!

 I have decided to affectionately call this model "tumbleweed" once I get it in my etsy store.

Happy sewing!