Retro Rucksack #2

My fabrics were once again from the always wonderful Fabworks. They have a great selection of showerproof and outdoors-y style fabrics that would be good for a a parka or a mac, and they work great for bags like this. I picked a more muted, classic palette this time with my friend in mind:

• Khaki wax cotton for the bottom and the straps - it's slightly heavier in weight than the wax cotton I used for version 1. I actually used it wrong side up as I preferred the finish of the non-waxed side (which is darker in colour and marks quite easily).

Worn as a backpack on the model

• Thin stripe fabric for main bag - this is a remnant of soft furnishing/curtain fabric. It's a really decent weight, so I skipped the interfacing on that bit, as it has enough body to hold the shape of the bag alone.

I looked really funny balancing and holding a lamp up while I tried to take these photos! I'd be no good at product shots!

• Acetate/poly mix for the lining - this is the same design as I used the first time round, but in different colours. I avoided ironing it where possibly after last time's melting incident.

Zip opening

A little peak at the lining and inside pocket

I made my own straps once again, which is a truly satisfying process. I added a few inches to the shoulder strap - as much as my fabric permitted - so there's a bit more room for maneuver when adjusting the straps.

A lovely, neat view of the back

I love the Retro Rucksack pattern, and particularly enjoyed sewing this version up now I'm feeling a bit more confident about bag making. As I was making it with my friend in mind I thought I'd feel totally fine about parting company with it, but I ended up really wanting to keep it haha! I like how smart and professional the two outer fabrics look together - I put my all into that topstitching too!

Side view

My mum saw this one and has already put in a request for the next, so it definitely won't be the last time I'll use this pattern! My friend is planning to take hers on a trip to New York - we thought it would be a really secure bag to travel with because of all the fastenings - so I requested a picture as proof that my sewing went international! Until then, here's a picture of the bag in use, in a not so exotic, but quite sunny, Bradford - I feel all warm and fuzzy inside seeing someone else wearing something I've made!

New bag gifted to it's new owner

I've been doing a lot of sewing in the last couple of weeks, but I'm not quite up to speed with getting pictures of everything so they can be blogged. I have a few posts lined up, and a very exciting project in the works that I'll be sharing more about soon (it involves sparkles!)

And if anyone has any bag pattern recommendations, I would love to hear them! I think I've caught the bug!

My fifth Kielo Wrap Dress!

It's a viscose/crepe feel fabric with beautiful drape that I picked up for a complete bargain from the Manchester Abakhan. I've been wondering... when it says Prada, does that mean it's real Prada, as in deadstock/leftovers from the high end fashion brand? That's what I assumed in the shop anyway, with a great level of excitement. Either way I think it's lovely, but if anything it's most like the Prada 2012 collections, which all featured similar retro, geometric designs.

Prada A/W 2012

Close up of the lovely design on the fabric, worn with new Docs

The only thing I'm disappointed in is that I wasn't able to properly pattern match at the back seam. I had absolutely planned to do it, but the fabric was much narrower than I realised, so it was a real squeeze to even get the dress out of it at all. Instead, I made sure that the horizontal lines of pattern were as lined up as possible, which is a good second best I guess.

Not quite pattern matched back

I made it a couple of inches shorter than my other Kielos, so probably around 9 inches shorter than the actual pattern in all. Other than that, it was all the same as normal - I wrote lots more about the pattern itself in this post.

Making use of time while waiting for a train

I have little else to say that I haven't said before about this pattern, but this version might just be my new favourite. My original version, made in a similar weight fabric, has been worn so much that it might be on it's way out, so the perfect fabric came along at just the right time!

My friend Erin took the pictures while we were waiting for the train back after a trip to the wonderful Fabworks. We've had a really busy March at work, running a science festival, so I'm excited to have 10 days off around Easter, which will mainly be used for sewing!

Turia dungaree dress!

I like the Marilla Walker Roberts Collection but wanted something a bit closer fitting, so when I saw that Pauline had posted a hack tutorial on how to make a dress variation of the Turia Dungarees, I was totally sold! You just make some slight and very simple adjustments to the shorts front and back pattern pieces, add a bit of length, and then you have a skirt - I'd definitely recommend trying it!

Dress variation hack - see here for full instructions

I made mine in this great mid-weight blue denim from Fabworks. It's not often I wear or work with denim, but I loved the cross hatch pattern woven into it, and the weight was ideal for this project too. Another bonus: it was only £6 per metre!

Bright blue denim in the sun light!

I cut the bottom pieces in a size 40, and the top in a 42 (I  didn't really need to size up, but I thought I'd go for a bit more fabric to accommodate my bust) and the sizing was pretty much spot on. Construction-wise, the instructions are clear and easy to follow. There's a fair bit of precision required for the pocket making and top-stitching, but I really enjoyed paying attention to the fine details. I wasn't brave enough to use a contrast colour thread for my top-stitching, but I think that can be excused, as the pattern of my fabric is already quite bold.

Precise pocket pattern matching

What I am particularly proud of is the great effort I went to with pattern matching. To be honest, it was a bit of a fluke that I got the skirt pockets so well lined up, but the bodice was a whole other story... I had to re-cut all of the top pieces - bodice, top pocket and top pocket welt - because the cross hatch pattern was so skewed. Luckily I had enough fabric and my post-make satisfaction levels suggest it was well worth the extra effort!

Loving the front pockets on the skirt!

Windswept side shot

A proper dungaree back!

I love the shape of the back! One of my straps is a little squiffy but I can live with it. I'd be tempted to sew the straps in at a slight angle next time, positioned the way they sit during wear - maybe this would remedy the squiffiness (technical term). I'd also move the back pockets a little further down.

The Nita Wrap Skirt - with a flash of my underskirt!

And an up-close look at View B

I knew exactly the fabric for the such a special project. I've had this Minerva polka dot crepe for a while now - I bought 4 metres for a project that never saw the light of day - and I was so excited to finally use (some of) it. It's medium weight, with a lovely drape and it's very easy to work with. As you can probably see from my pictures, I made no attempt at pattern matching - I'm just going with the excuse that I was concentrating on the sew! - but I quite like the random placement of the polka dots.

Left: all sizes, Right: selected layers

Now onto the pattern...The PDF is a layered pattern which scores extra points from me! It allows you to view and print only the sizes you want - pretty handy when a pattern can be made up in a range of sizes (the Nita Skirt sizing ranges from 00-22). I've only come across this once before on a Named pattern, but I think it's definitely the way forward for print at home patterns!

Three lengths and three closures

Out of the three views, I chose to make View B, which was both my favourite length, and had the D ring fastening, which I love - I had loads of D rings left over from my Retro Rucksack and my various adventures with leather anyway.

Choosing my hardware

After much debate, I decided not to line my skirt (although the pattern does provide instructions for how to) and in this case, it was the right decision, as my the fabric hangs nicely as a single layer. As I skipped the lining stage, I took some extra care with the side seams by doing a turned under seam finish, which worked out quite nicely.

Repeat makes: the Rise Turtleneck and A-Line skirt