Jennifer Lauren Handmade Emmie Tee

I always like to find interesting ways to use leftover fabric, so it didn't take me long to click 'Add to cart' when Jennifer Lauren Handmade released the Emmie Tee pattern recently. Luckily, I had the perfect combination of leftovers sitting in my stash to make myself a fun new t-shirt.

The Emmie tee is a relaxed fit t-shirt with grown-on short or long sleeves. The thing that really caught my eye about the pattern is the slashed and pieced bodice front of view 1 - it's perfect for using up leftover pieces of fabric. If that's not your bag though, view 2 is a regular, single-fabric top. The tee also has regular and full lengths.

Between the original and curve size ranges, the pattern covers A/B, C/D and E/F bust sizes and bust measurements from 29.5" to 61.5".

The instructions for the Emmie tee are really good, with very clear illustrations. It has to be said that I've made a fair few t-shirts by this point so I was familiar with all of the steps other than piecing together the front. The way the front pieces are sewn together is very straightforward and I found it easy. 

I deviated from the instructions slightly by sewing the side seams and then sewing the sleeve cuffs in the round, rather than sewing the cuffs flat and then sewing the side seams. There's nothing wrong with what the instructions tell you to do, but personally I prefer the finish you get when you sew the cuffs after the side seams.

I used the C/D cup pattern pieces and made a 14 at the bust blending to a 16 at the hips. The difference between my upper/full bust measurements falls just below the C cup range but definitely above the B cup and I decided it would be better to have too much space than not enough. The 14/16 blend is what's recommended for my current measurements. I think the fit is fairly good and I didn't make any adjustments. 

I used the long-line hem length and that's good for me. I'm about 5'9" and I think the regular length might not have been quite long enough for my liking.

The fabrics that I used were all left over from other projects. They're all cotton jerseys of roughly the same weight so happily they played nicely together while I was sewing up the tee!

I really enjoyed sewing my Emmie tee, I love the fact that the fabric was kind of free (and that it's taken fabric out of my stash), and I think I'll wear it a lot. It probably won't surprise you that I've dug through my leftovers again and come up with a little collection for a second version of the tee!

Forget-Me-Not Patterns Helmi Blouse

With the abundance of bank holiday Mondays that we have to enjoy with in the UK this May, I decided to spend one of them sewing and had an enjoyable day making the recently released Forget-Me-Not Patterns Helmi Blouse pattern.

The Helmi is a semi-fitted, pull-on blouse designed for lightweight fabrics. It has bishop sleeves that can be made either three-quarter or full length and gather into a binding. The blouse also has either a Peter Pan or stand collar, with the neckline being fastened at the front using either ties or a button and loop. There are also optional ruffles for the neckline and shoulders. 

I used the full-length sleeves, stand collar, tie neck and neckline ruffle.

The pattern comes with separate pattern pieces for small, medium and large bust fits, which between them cover bust measurements from 27.5" to 58.5".

I thought the instructions for the Helmi blouse were excellent. They're very detailed without being too wordy, and they're accompanied by extremely clear diagrams. You do have to pay attention to the instructions because they use different seam allowances at different points in the pattern, but the seam allowance is always stated clearly for each section. I found the combination of the instructions and diagrams very easy to follow and didn't have any trouble sewing my blouse. 

The pattern is rated for intermediate sewers, which I would say is fair. The collar and the gathering of the sleeve into the binding mean that this is a slightly more involved project with quite a few steps to complete. For me, it was the perfect project to gradually work through over the course of a day. It would also be quite a good project to work on slowly in stages if you're fitting sewing into limited time.

In terms of sizing, I used the medium bust pieces and blended out from a size 38 at the bust to a 40 at the waist. That's what's recommended for my current measurements and I think the sizing is just right. It's semi-fitted as intended and feels good to wear. I didn't make any alterations to the fit and I'm happy with how it turned out.

The fabric I used is a cotton lawn. I bought mine on a recent trip to Yandles - I can't see it on their website, but the same print is currently available at Jenny Stitches (a shop which I've ordered from a few times and would very happily recommend). It's a great quality fabric - it was a pleasure to sew, and I think it's perfect for the Helmi blouse.

One point I would mention about fabric is that I found the fabric requirements quite generous. For sizes 28 to 40, the pattern calls for 2.2 metres of 140 cm fabric, but I managed to cut my blouse out from just over 1.5 metres. 

All in all, I'm really pleased with my Helmi blouse. It was a really enjoyable project to sew and it's lovely to wear. The neckline makes it slightly different from other garments in my wardrobe which is nice - it's always good to try something new, isn't it?!

Simplicity 9376 trousers

My wardrobe is well (some would say too well!) stocked with dresses and skirts, but I don't have many pairs of trousers so there are a couple of trouser patterns in my sewing plans for the year. The first of those patterns that I've got round to making is Simplicity 9376. Here's my version...

Simplicity 9376 is a pattern for pull-on trousers with a flat front waist and elasticated back waist. There are options for waist ties or belt loops, and the hems either use a clean finish, cuffs or elastic. The fronts of the trousers feature either pleats or pin tucks. All of the versions have side front pockets.

The pattern covers hip sizes from 32.5" to 48".

I essentially made view D of the pattern (pleated fronts, cuffed legs and otherwise plain), but I omitted the cuffs and just hemmed the legs. I had thought about using the cuffs, but they're formed by folding back the leg and I think that would have left the trousers a bit short on me (for reference I'm 5'9").

Making the trousers was a fairly straightforward process. As is normal for commercial sewing patterns, the instructions were probably not as detailed as they would be from an indie company, but personally I found them perfectly clear and easy to follow. I didn't have any trouble sewing this pattern, although it has to be said that I was already familiar with all of the processes used to make the trousers.

I made a straight size 18, which is the size recommended for my current measurements. The only alteration I made was to widen the waistband pieces so I could use 4cm elastic instead of the 3.2cm called for in the pattern. I chose to do that because I was struggling to get any 3.2cm elastic, and I had 4cm elastic already so it seemed sensible to use that. Even though the change was a practical decision, I think the slightly wider waistband is actually quite nice and for me the slight added height at the waist is good.

I feel like the fit is fairly good around my waist and hips. The legs possibly turned out slightly baggier on me than they look on the pattern pictures, but I think they're OK and at the moment at least I don't feel the need to go back and alter them.

The fabric I used is a gorgeous needlecord that I bought from Croft Mill. It's such a pretty colour and it feels lovely. It shed pinky purple fluff all over the place as I was sewing, but thankfully that's stopped now that I've got the trousers sewn and all the seams are finished. 

I would say that I probably wouldn't want to use fabric any heavier than this for these trousers, and if I make the pattern again in a similar weight of fabric then I'd use a lighter fabric for the pocket lining and the waistband facing.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with how my Simplicity 9376 trousers turned out. They were no trouble to sew and they're extremely comfortable to wear. They're also a really pretty colour for spring, and will go with quite a few of my tops so I think I'll be wearing them a lot!