Jenna & Veronika

Hot on the heels of me saying last week that I needed more pink in my wardrobe, here is more pink! Albeit partially combined with various shades of blue and green, but that's no bad thing. This combination is a Muse Patterns Jenna cardi and Megan Nielsen Veronika skirt.

I've made the Jenna cardigan twice before (once for me, once as a Christmas present for my Mum), but I didn't ever get around to blogging about it - partly because it was in the run up to Christmas and I was pretty busy, and partly because they're both plain navy blue so aren't that easy (or interesting) to photograph. I've worn mine loads though, so I knew it wouldn't be long before I'd be sewing another version.

This is the waist-length version of the Jenna cardi with long sleeves, and omitting the optional yoke detailing. I made a size 38, with a couple of adjustments to the sleeve. In my first version the sleeves worked nicely, but that was using a sweatshirting, and the lighter jersey I used here (which is from Fabworks - although I can't find the exact one on their site now) produced a very different fit and the sleeves were too big and too long. I took 5cm off the length of the sleeves, and slimmed down the sleeves by about 3cm at the cuff, tapering up to join the original seam line at the underarm.

I'm pretty happy with it, although if I make it again I'd probably add a little bit of length. I've mainly been wearing my first version with dresses, and then the length seems fine, but wearing this version with a skirt makes me think that it might be better just a touch longer so that I don't end up with that little gap around my waist. It's only a small niggle though, and definitely won't stop me wearing it!

The skirt is my fifth version of the Veronika skirt (other versions here, here, here & unblogged). Yes, Veronika is just a circle skirt and I could draft my own - but if someone is going to be nice enough to do the drafting for me and give it to me for free then I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I don't think I strictly needed this skirt, but when I saw the fabric on Fabric Godmother's Instagram feed I just had to have it. The large-scale print seemed like it would be well suited to a circle skirt so I ordered enough for a Veronika. I wasn't disappointed when it arrived - it's a really nice stretch cotton, and the colours are gorgeous.

All in all, I'm really pleased with both of these, and especially with how nicely they work together. I think the cardi will be getting more wear than the skirt because it'll go with quite a few of my dresses/skirts, but if I'm honest the skirt is the more exciting part of this outfit - you can't beat a twirly skirt in a pretty print, can you?!

Butterick 6217 Blouse & Veronika Skirt

Today you get the second (and final) installment of blog-photos-that-I-took-on-holiday, which sees me twirling around the picturesque surroundings of Alnwick Garden showing off a Butterick 6217 blouse and a denim Veronika skirt.

I got some funny looks when we were taking these photos - you could see people wondering why we were focussing on me instead of all the pretty plants and landscaping - but I've got to the point now where I don't mind as long as the onlookers aren't the kind of people who are going to start shouting comments at me. The average garden visitor tends towards the more decorous end of the scale so I was safe here!

Anyway, back to the sewing itself...

Butterick 6217 is one of the Patterns by Gertie line, and it instantly appealed to me when it was released because I liked the shape of the neckline. I then realised it needs very little fabric, especially if you make view C as I did here, so it seemed like it would be a good way to use up some of the larger remnants I have from other projects. Regular readers may recognise the fabric I've used here as the leftovers from the Vintage Shirt Dress that I made earlier this year.

I made this a couple of weeks ago now, so some of the details of sewing it are a little hazy in my mind, but I know it was a quick project and I didn't make any notes in the notebook I keep by my machine so I assume it was all relatively straightforward and pain-free!

I really like the shape of the blouse, although it's worth noting that to get the fit shown on the pattern envelope you'd definitely need to size down. My measurements put me ever-so-slightly above a 16, but when I made a toile of the 16 it was bordering on tent-like. I sized down to a 14, which fits nicely but I still feel like my version has more ease than shown on the envelope.

The photo above is meant to show the nice shape created by the darts in the back before I tucked the blouse in for the day, but in reality I just think it makes my back look odd!

Now, on to the skirt! This is my second version of Megan Nielsen's free Veronika pattern (version 1 here), and I can tell already that this one is going to get worn a LOT! I don't wear trousers really so denim skirts do the job for me that jeans do for most people, but this one will be a particular favourite because it has the practical goes-with-everything side, but at the same time is also beautifully twirly and fun!

The fabric is a lightweight denim that I got a couple of months ago from The Splendid Stitch. It doesn't seem to be in stock anymore, which is a shame because it's the perfect denim for this kind of skirt. I'd definitely recommend ordering from The Splendid Stitch though - Amy has put together a gorgeous range of fabrics, and dispatched both my samples and fabric order really quickly.

I don't think you'd want to make a circle skirt in any old denim. I know I've worked with some which would be far too stiff and heavy, but this one really is a different kettle of fish. I did cut the inner waistband and pocket linings from a thinner cotton just to keep down bulk, but for the rest the denim has great drape and the finished skirt is gloriously swishy as I walk in it. The only problem is it makes me want to twirl about excessively, which is probably annoying to those around me!

For this version of Veronika, I stuck with the narrow waistband but also added on the scalloped pockets too - they're lovely deep pockets and have proven quite useful when trying to hold down the skirt on breezy days! I also added my own simple belt loops on the waistband, because I knew I'd want to wear belts quite a bit with this skirt.

In case it's not already obvious, I'm really pleased with how these both turned out! I'll definitely make more versions of B6217 as I identify suitable candidates in my stash, and I know this version of the Veronika skirt will become a bit of a wardrobe workhorse. In fact Veronika may fast be becoming a TNT and at some point in the not-too-distant future I'd really like to try a knit version. Have you discovered any TNTs recently?

Aurora & Veronika

Do you ever find that when you're working on a project serendipity comes along and makes the result far better than you imagined? That definitely happened here - I was making a skirt, and pondering whether I actually had anything in my wardrobe to wear with it, when it dawned on me that I had a good fabric and pattern already in my stash to create a solution to that problem. Enter my versions of the Megan Nielsen Veronika skirt and Seamwork Aurora top...

One of my problems when it comes to separates is that nothing ever seems to go together, but hopefully in this case that won't be an issue because I know that these two were made for each other. I'll probably still keep an eye out for top-appropriate fabric that matches the other colours in the skirt though, after all it's always nice to have options, isn't it?

So, on to the individual patterns themselves....

As soon as Megan Nielsen generously released the free Veronika skirt pattern, I knew that I'd be making one. I'd been meaning to draft my own circle skirt pattern for a while, but had never quite got round to tackling the maths. The Veronika pattern means that I don't have to do that anymore! It's a basic circle skirt with two waistband widths and the option for cute scalloped pockets.

For this version, I used the narrower waistband and left off the pockets (which seemed sensible with this large-scale print), but they'll definitely be added to a future Veronika which is sitting in my mind waiting to become a reality.

As you'd expect for a circle skirt, this was a nice easy project and only took a couple of hours to do most of the sewing. As is always the case, the worst part was giving the nearly-finished skirt enough time to hang before hemming. So frustrating when you want to wear your new creation!

The fabric is from the Riley Blake Floribella collection, and I managed to pick it up for a bargain price from the Village Haberdashery sale section (as I'm writing this, they only seem to have a bolt end left - unsurprising given how much of a bargain it was!). When it arrived, I was slightly surprised by the scale of the print as I'd just imagined it would be smaller than this for some reason, but I actually love how it looks in this skirt.

The top is the Aurora pattern from June's issue of Seamwork. It's a simple vest top with added pretty details of gathering at the front and a pleat at the back (which I now reaslise I failed to get any close-ups of) where the separate yoke meets the main sections of the top. I really liked the pattern when it was released and added it to my mental list (which is rather long!) of things I want to sew.

Then when I was sewing the skirt, I realised that the fabric I had left over from making my tea-cup print Astoria was actually a pretty perfect colour match for this skirt and I had more than enough to get an Aurora out of it. As I said when I was talking about my Astoria, the fabric isn't the best quality in the world but it's worked out OK here.

As you'd expect with any Colette/Seamwork pattern, the instructions are thorough and really clear. The top comes together really quickly - I'd say their 2 hour estimate is about right and I'm not particularly speedy.

When I was sewing the top, I wasn't entirely won over by the finish it produces. Basically, you start by hemming the front neckline and the armhole sections of the front and back, then make the yoke (which is self lined), and then attach the yoke to the front and back. That means that the seams are right at the edge of the garment, whereas I'm more used to sewing the seams first and then enclosing them with the hem, and I think that looks neater. It didn't bother me at all when I was wearing it though and, let's face it, how many people are really going to study the inside of my top?! So it might not be my favourite finish, but it wouldn't stop me making another Aurora.

I really like my versions of the Aurora and Veronika together. And considering that Veronika is a free pattern, Seamwork patterns are fairly cheap, the floral fabric was a bargain and the jersey was left over from another project, I think this is a fairly thrifty outfit! I'll definitely be making both again - I already have some lovely drapey denim for a Veronika, and Aurora is a great basic-but-not-boring top so will always come in useful. And on that note, I'll leave you with a twirling shot, because surely all blog posts involving circle skirts have to feature twirling somewhere, don't they?!