Delphine Skirt and Bronte Top for Autumn

Now that the weather is getting colder in the UK, I have the strong urge to start sewing warmer clothes. Especially after I realised that I have hardly made any clothes for colder weather. Because we are moving, I had to pack all my staff and when going through the garments I thought "Where are my me-made winter garments" - there were none. That brings me to the problem, what fabric and patterns should I use to make winter garments? If you have any suggestions, please let me know :)

But as a start I think a denim Delphine Skirt and a long-sleeved Bronte Top are a good idea. So let's talk about the skirt first.

Pattern: Delphine Skirt by Tilly and the Buttons.

Fabric: Grey denim bought from Clothes House in Soho, London (so pricey fabric). I had bought this denim when I started sewing (so about 4 years ago) and I made a pair of trousers from it. Although you can't actually say they were finished trousers, because I realised they were massive on me and never hemmed them.

I think 1.5 me would have fit in there, haha.

For the last 4 years they lived hidden under my bed (as many other items that I made before knowing about fitting and muslins). A few weeks ago I remembered them and thought I might be able to refashion them into a skirt. So I unpicked all these pesky seams, cut out the zipper, gave the fabric a wash and waited for the right skirt pattern to come along. And the Delphine came along and I decided to muslin the pattern with the denim (you can see my second version here).

Cutting: Can you imagine that one half of the trouser leg was bigger than one quarter of the skirt? I managed to cut each skirt panel from one trouser leg. To be sure to be on grain, I pulled one thread from the denim to get a straight edge and used this to align the skirt panels. The front panel of the skirt is cut on the fold. But I didn't have a piece big enough to cut on the fold. So, I just added a 5/8" seam allowance to the center fold and cut two front panels that I sewed together.

Fitting: As said in my last post, there was a lot of fabric bunching in the back due to my sway back. So, I just kept shifting the waistband down at the center back until the bunching was gone = instant sway back adjustment.

Embellishment: I couldn't resist to add a pink piping that I made with some bias tape from my stash. Don't you think pink and grey are a match made in heaven? And yes I know that the pink piping will limit the versatility of the skirt. But never mind, I love it. I added even more pink on the inside where I used a lovely pink quilting cotton with mannequins on it as a facing. The fabric was a leftover from one of my first quilts.

Almost perfect invisible zip if it wasn't for the bulk added by the piping.

Now before the post gets to long, let's talk about the Bronte Top.

Pattern: Bronte Top by Jennifer Lauren Vintage.

Fabric: I'm not 100% sure what kind of fabric it is. It looks knitted on the front and has little loops on the back. And it is super soft :) I could be a French Terry Knit. However, I somehow doubt it because I bought the fabric in Walthemstow Market. I can't remember the price, but it will have been under £3.

Alterations: I made the same alterations as for my first Bronte and this time just sewed the long-sleeved version. For the sleeve, I traced the sleeve in size 10 and the sleeve cap (between front and back notches) in size 12 to get a slightly higher sleeve cap. I love the fit of the Bronte top. Usually sleeves are twisting on me because of my forward shoulders. The Bronte, however, fits perfectly! The sleeves are a bit long, which I actually like because that means I can cover my hands with them :)

Some closing thoughts:

I love both the skirt and the top, although I have to admit that I'm not really sure that they fit both perfectly together. The styles go well together, but I'm a bit unsure about the colors (me kicking myself for adding pink piping). Actually when getting dressed for the photos, I kept changing my tights and top until I came up with this outfit. I think because of the pink the skirt doesn't look as wintery as the top. But when paired with a summer top and my woolen tights (yes I'm that cold already - that's why I have issues sewing winter clothes) the top looked out of place. Maybe the tights are the problem, haha.

On other news, I have moved to Cambridge and started a new job :) I'm not having internet yet. Other than on the bus to work (and it might stay like this for another two weeks, thanks internet provider) hence my absence from the blogging world. This post was actually half written before my move and I had luckily added most pictures. I'm saying most here, because there are a few missing such as a pic of the facing. But hopefully everything will settle in the next two weeks and than you can see a few more makes that I have already finished :)

A Purple Bronte Top

As soon as I saw the Bronte top from Jennifer Lauren, I knew I had to make it because I had utterly fallen in love with it and I still am. As I'm in strong need of jersey tops to go with all my skirts, the Bronte top is the perfect choice. Because of it's shrug-like shoulder detail it is much more than a basic top. And I like it :)

Excuse these back wrinkles, but the skirt was rotating around and so was the shirt!

Fabric: I used some purple light-weight jersey I bought in Walthamstow market. It was only £1.50/meter. Nonetheless it feels super soft and nice to the skin. I always have a hard time choosing plain fabrics, but this fabric has a pattern knitted into it and I like it so much.

Size: For the bust I cut a size 8 and for the waist/hip a size 10.

Worn together with my Burda flower skirt.

Alterations: I had made a muslin from an old jersey first and that showed me two fitting issues: I needed a swayback adjustment of almost 2" and a square shoulder adjustment. For the swayback adjustment I just took out 2" at the center back tapering to nothing towards the side seam. The shoulder adjustment was a bit more difficult and I ended up tracing the armholes (starting above the notches) and shoulders at a size 10. I then blended from size 10 to size 8 from the shoulders to the neckline. I hope this makes sense. I cut the neckband in size 10.

Construction: Thanks to Jennifers instructions and her sew-along a breeze :) I sewed the whole top on my overlocker and topstitched the hem with a twin needle. It took me only 6 hours from cutting to finishing Bronte. Which is fast for me :)

Embellishments: I used some buttons from my stash. These buttons actually come from Ukraine, where I found them in an old shed. So I gave them a good soak and scrub and now they are like new. But I like the idea that they came from somebody else clothes and have their own history. I might call them vintage buttons, haha.

Buttons from Ukraine.

Have I worn it yet? Once to take the photos on a super hot day. I suppose the fabric is completely made from polyester, because it wasn't breathable at all. But I don't mind in autumn to be a bit more warm! So I like it a lot! I have made already a second one which you will see soon :)

On another note, I'm going to move to Cambridge (UK) in August. So the next time will be stressy and it might become more quit on this blog. I'm even not sure if I can take my sewing machine with me for the first couple of month as I might be living in a flat-share, buh.

Are any of you readers from Cambridge? Can you give me any tips about places to live, fabric shops, sewing communities and want to meet up? I would be happy to hear from you :)