My first Ottobre project

This week I sewed my very first item from the Ottobre magazine. My girlfriend and I bought a subscription between us and we're going to share them (we agreed beforehand that in the unlikely event of a separation - we'd split them 50/50 :))

I started simple, and made my 2 year old daughter the Cocos ruffle skirt from the 2011 Spring kids magazine.  I bought the fabric from Lincraft.

I tried really hard to follow the instructions - but I'm not entirely confident with 'sewing lingo' so I struggled somewhat with the minimal direction. And I have made a skirt before that is similar to the design of this one - so I ended up going off on my own and piecing it together. It worked out ok - but I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't get it perfect. I am going to ask the next experienced sewer who enters my house to please explain for me the instructions that I couldn't quite grasp.  And also - the smallest size in the pattern was a bigger than my daughters measurements - so the skirt is gathered a fair bit more than it would be on a bigger child (and I tell myself that's why it looks different to the picture in the magazine!). But I think the extra ruffles look really cute - and Lola does love to spin..

Sewing for myself: A+ Skirts from Make it Perfect

I knew there was a reason that so far in my sewing career, I'd only sewed things for kids.  There's very little measuring required, and therefore less room for error.

I had purchased this A+ Skirts pattern (by Make it Perfect) earlier this month (online from craftymamas).

Picture from Make it Perfect website (provided on cover of purchased pattern)

I thought the skirts looked cute (I had meant to google whether girls with big hips should wear A-line skirts, but never did and bought the pattern anyway..). I also thought that making my own skirts would save me a fortune, and would allow me to choose some cool fabrics for some original designs..

I made two skirts over the weekend. Not because I wanted to make two, but because the first size I made was too tight (even despite my attempt at taking my measurements so carefully).

I cut into my special Michael Miller fabric, and made the skirt from View A first. The pattern was simple to follow and I was quite impressed by my attention to detail.  Also my first attempt at sewing in a zip went quite well. But when I sewed it up - it was a bit firm. I am hoping that my 8-week-post-birth-tummy deflates a bit more in the coming weeks :)

Can you feel me holding in my breath here?

Because the skirt was a bit 'firm' around my midriff - I decided to make the next size up (the great thing about this pattern is the range of sizes you can make it in). But unfortunately for me, the next size up was a lot bigger and the skirt is massive.  But it did allow me to try making another style of the skirt (I went with View B) and I thought the pockets in contrasting fabric looked great.

So in summary, what did I learn from this sewing project?

- maybe get someone more experienced with sewing to help me measure myself
- don't measure myself 8 weeks post partum
- focus on progressing slowly and carefully through each step of the pattern instructions and things will work out ok
- don't make skirts in navy blue because they remind me of my high school uniform, or a police uniform.
- always get rid of clothes that are too big for you but hold onto clothes that are too small. Just in case the universe gets confused and can't remember which clothes you're trying to fit yourself into..