I finally made a hat for myself that I think I like. I used the
New Look Pattern 6024 that I used for a
top last week. I copied the size and shape of the brim from my Tilley hat though, didn't want to end up with something too glam
again.
And here's one of the clothing items that I sewed for myself in the past week, still need to get around to photographing the rest. This is 'J' from
Happy Homemade, a Japanese pattern book that I bought for myself and that arrived last week.
Here is someone else's version. It was a cooler day yesterday and my new jacket was the perfect thing to throw on over a T-shirt.
I made this from a crinkle cotton - why didn't anyone ever tell me to stay away from crinkle cotton!? I didn't realize at all how difficult it would be to sew with till I was ready to start. Going through the sewing machine across the crease lines stretches them out. So I had to sew almost the whole thing with the fabric sandwiched between 2 layers of tissue paper. And if that wasn't hard enough, it turned out to be very difficult to get rid of the little bits of tissue paper stuck under the stitches when I was done. I think if I had pulled the tissue paper out very carefully to begin with it would have helped but I just ripped it out thinking I'd clean it up later. Moving on, the pattern was very easy to follow even though I couldn't read the directions, only look at the very clear diagrams.
And here are some pictures from Henry's busy day yesterday.
Playing at the big playground at Victoria Park in Kitchener where we met up with some new friends.
A quick stop at the library, we would have stayed longer if Henry hadn't kept putting the pieces in his mouth while staring at me with a naughty look on his face after I told him not to put them in his mouth. I guess it was more fun to test Mom than to play with the puzzle.
Chillaxing in his stroller.
Playing at another playground.
Here he is saying "caw caw caw caw caw caw caw"
This is 'D' from Happy Homemade. I have worn it a couple times already. It also looks nice over a long sleeved T so this is the winter version as well.
This one is a bit of a mix of several of the patterns. They all have the same base size/shape so you know the sleeves of one will fit onto the body of another. So I just made a simple T-shirt because that was all the material that I had. I love this striped gauzey material that I found at the thrift store. This one really fits in with my casual wardrobe too. It is a bit restricting in the back so I added about an inch to the width of the back in subsequent tops.
These shorts are from the other book that I think I remember was called in English 'One Day Dresses and Tunics' but I can't seem to find it online right now. This is all I've made from this book so far but there is more on my list to make. These are made from a table cloth. It was fun to decide where to place the pattern on the shorts. And I added seam pockets.
These shorts are T from Happy Homemade, I just made them a bit longer, added the pockets, and made them flat fronted instead of having the elastic all the way around. 
This is E from Happy Homemade, the yellow one here. I am learning more and more about fabric choice. This was a really nice fabric so it made a really nice top - lovely and drapey. I wasn't sure about the sleeve ruffles but I am glad I did them. I am finding it difficult to do a nice even hem on these wide tops - must work on that. 
