Snakeskin Belcarra

I’d had it in mind to make a Belcarra some time ago, but I never bought the pattern and consequently never really gave it another thought, until I saw this fabric…

I was a-wandering back from work one day and thought I’d check out the button wall in Pete’s Emporium in Porirua. Well I kinda ended up looking at fabric too and found this fine polyester crepe stuff with a snakeskin pattern and tiny black velvet-y feeling dots. I just cried out to me and said Belcarra.

So I bought the PDF pattern that evening. It’s the first Sewaholic PDF I’ve bought. I’m not a fan of printing out and sticking together umpteen pages, but I decided I could cope with 26 pages.

It is such a quick make. I stuck the pattern together one evening, then on Good Friday while Mr N was out playing golf, I made it up. Yep, you heard me, made it up and finished it all in one day. Slowcoach me finished something in one day!

After finding that I’d cut out a lot of Sewaholic patterns a size too big I cut a size 12. I hoped this was going to work. I have this thing about pull-on tops and once they are made up whether they are big enough to put on (I obviously have such a big head!). I needn’t have panicked, it fits perfectly.

I love the shape of this top with the raglan sleeves. I finished all seams bar those around the cuffs with French seams. (This is also another reason why I’m surprised I finished it in one day – it’s all French seams!) The seam around the cuffs I finished using my overlocker.

It is a really easy quick pattern to make up. There’s no shaping in the form of darts, only basic shaping on the side seams, so the only seams are the raglan seams, the shoulder and side seams.

I thought the binding around the neck wasn’t going to work with this fabric, but the velvet polka dots helped to stabilise the fabric and I had no problems! It was actually a dream to sew up!

The details

Fabric: some non-descript polyester crepe from Pete’s Emporium, Porirua, bought March 2015, I think I used about 1.5m

Notions: Thread

Pattern: SewaholicBelcarra, view A, size 12

Changes made: None
First worn: To work in Sydney, last week! Worn here with my self-drafted pale green pencil skirt. Sorry for the non-smiling photos - the sun was actually quite bright!

Another one/Recommendations: Oh yeah, I really like this! Another pattern to add to my Sewaholic collection. I don’t really consider myself a pear shape, but Sewaholic patterns really do suit my figure and wardrobe needs.

I really recommend the pattern, it’s quick and easy and can be made up in any type of soft woven fabric to get a different look. I love this version made in a floaty crepe, but it will work perfectly well in a cotton voile or lawn.

And since my insides are so lovely, I reckon this counts towards The Monthly Stitch Inside Out month from March.

Well it's nearly autumn...

I made a thing - well a skirt to be precise. This linen fabric I got from a Fabric-a-Brac last year. I actually think it's fabric from a friend who was de-stashing at Fabric-a-Brac!

The colour isn't quite as bright as in these photos. I think it must be a combination of the bright sunny day we at when the photos were taken and the green bushes in the background.

The pattern is a RTW knock-off. I bought this grey wool skirt from Marks & Spencer in the UK probably about six years ago. It's always been a favourite skirt to wear and I thought this linen would be the perfect fabric to copy it.

I used the basque from an old Prima pattern and shortened it by a couple of inches. Then pleated the skirt pieces onto the basque. Yes I did everything the cack-handed way, so I attached the skirt to the basque before measuring the tucks at the bottom! I know it would have been easier to do the tucks first, but I didn't know how long I wanted the skirt to be and it seemed easier in my mind to do it this way around.

The hem was stitched on the machine as it actually has a long hem which extends up to the bottom tuck. I used a lapped zip for the side seam.

And... er that's about it! It takes a lot of patience and trial and error to work out those pleats around the top of the skirt.

The details...

Fabric:  An orange linen from Fabric-a-Brac, October 2014

Notions:  Thread and zip

Pattern:  The basque for the skirt is from a very old Prima pattern and the overall skirt design is a RTW knock-off, it's basically self-drafted from the RTW skirt.

First worn:  To afternoon tea with some of the local sewing bloggers at Sandra's house, where these photos were taken.

Worn with:  A Colette Sorbetto, made in 2011, blogged here.

Verdict:  Well I'm happy with it. The basque may be a wee bit big, as it doesn't sit on my waist, but I'm love this skirt. It's easy to wear and actually goes with quite a lot of things in my wardrobe. The only thing I wish I had done was to line it, since it's difficult to wear with a slip as sits on my hips. I might still add some lining and attach it to the bottom of the basque.

And this is the kind of photo that happens when a friend is taking your photos and you move while they're taking them! :-)