There has been a lot of talk recently Chez Stitches about the outstanding curtains that need making.  Unfortunately the amount of sewing hasn’t remotely matched the amount of talking.

When I did get round to sewing the curtains for Button’s room (she’s had a blind since she arrived but the curtains hadn’t quite made it to the sewing table) I managed to make a complete and total mess of the pleating.

After much cursing and even more deft handiwork with a seam ripper, they are now finished and hanging, although they still need to be properly “dressed” to set the pleats, but its far to cold to not use them at the moment so that will have to wait.

These are just a simple lined curtain with a hand pleated buckram heading.  No interlining.

The next pair is on the table already.  All cut and ready to sew.  They are the duck egg silk curtains with a beaded edge for our bedroom.  They will be interlined so will take a little time to make as they are completely hand sewn. But I think they’ll be worth it.

Still basking in the glow of renewed enthusiasm for the much loved and much neglected (in this house at least) art of dressmaking, and housebound because of the high winds and torrential rain battering the house, I decided to spend a happy hour cutting out jeans for Little Stitch and the black and white gingham blouse for myself.

Ahhhh, the best laid plans of mice and sewers.

The jeans that Ma S-I-L had donated to the cause are far too tiny to be cut for Little Stitch.  I’m going to have to filch an old pair from get Mr Stitch to find an old pair of his, and try those, or, sadly, I will just have to go fabric shopping next week. Tragic!

So I pinned the pattern to the board for later and laid the fabric and pattern pieces for the blouse on the table ready to press, pin and cut:

Hmmm. At first glance this looks like it’s going to work, but what you can’t see is that the fabric has a flaw.  A yellow line running down each edge of the fabric, intermittently, about 5 or 6 centimetres in from the selvedge.  On both selvedges. As the fabric has been washed and I don’t have a receipt, there is little I can do about this.

So, as I have to cut around the flaw, there simply isn’t enough fabric.

At this point I suggest you insert your own expletive.

Thankfully, there’s enough fabric to cut a shell top, with a short sleeve, if I cut carefully.  It won’t shouldn’t take me long to draft that, but at this point I’m doing the wise thing.

I’ve packed the pattern away for another day (before I put a match to it), ditto the fabric.  I’m pouring myself a glass of something therapeutic and curling up with my man, Ugly Betty and my knitting.

I’m making a start on this for Mr Stitch:

From Classic Knits for Men

It’s official title is “Snowflake Jacket” but Chez Stitches its “The Starsky and Hutch Cardigan”.  I’m not doing it in the proscribed yarn as Rowan yarns and I simply don’t get on, but in Patons Jet, which I bought for the princely sum of 79p a ball!

I shall, of course, be starting off with a swatch!

Try saying that after a couple of glasses of vino!

However, today, whilst Little Stitch held a very in-depth conversation with Benjy the Bear, non of which I understood, I finally quickly stitched up the third toile:

The sewing is shocking (for which I take full “credit”) and the pictures are pretty grim, but Mr S was working at the time, so very kindly quickly snapped me before going back to some hideously dull, but hugely important document.

Now, I know the gathers need some work, and this toile doesn’t have the back darts in that will give it more shape, but overall, I think it’s good to go.  I know I need to add a little length because if I turn up a hem it will be too short. And don’t forget there’s a tiny stand collar to add as well.  But I think any remaining faults are with my figure rather than the blouse.

I have to admit to being more than a little relieved.  I’m beyond bored of fitting this blouse, and had this toile not been as near as this one is to being usable, the pattern would have been shredded and the fabric turned into picnic napkins!

I suspect anyone who has read recent posts is now thinking “Wow…she’s really lost the plot this time”.

But no.  You may recall me posting about this skirt I made for Ma Stitches-in-Law for her Christmas gift.  Well, I’d also promised Ma a skirt for her Christmas gift, but with everything that’s been going on, we’d not had the opportunity to choose her fabric.

This was rectified during her recent visit and I’ve been slowly pootling through it a few stitches at a time. It really shouldn’t have taken as long to do as it has, but, voila:

its finally done.

This is just a simple self drafted A line skirt.  The fabric is a cotton batik print from John Lewis, lined with cotton lawn. It’s been a nice change from fiddling with the now dreaded wrap blouse and I’m pleased with the finished result.

So, Ma, Merry Christmas!

(Mr Stitches will deliver the skirt and the pattern for you with the other bag of goodies on his next trip to London.)