Hello! just a few quick items for today… I’ve actually been sewing a few things for other people! Scary stuff, huh. I mean, it’s one thing that I can see all my own flaws in things I make for myself, and on a daily basis! but that’s kinda the rough with the smooth, you accept that because it’s all your own doing, all your own fault and you can tell yourself you’re “learning” and going to do better next time haha…. but to subject another person to those flaws … well that’s really exposing yourself. ok, you know what I mean…
Anyway, you just do it; and only partly because you have more than enough clothes for yourself yet still have the desire to MAKE. Ok, then, mostly because of that 
Fortunately, everyone in my life is kind and sweet and appreciative, and usually only murmur kind, sweet and appreciative things about the clothing I force bestow upon them. I’m so lucky to have such polite people in my life!
Anyway, item number one above; a skirt for Cassie. Pattern is Butterick 5488, a pattern she’s used for herself several times already. It’s a great little pattern, with nine variations. Yep, NINE. 
Sure, they’re all near identical, but still. What’s not to love about that.
Fabric; the small portion of leftover paisley jacquard leftover from my paisley shoes, here; I only had a teeny amount left, so I paired it with some rather nice, black pleather that has a realistically distressed texture and a nice dull sheen to it. Also an exposed jeans zip, this is also a leftover of sorts, when buying the zips for my recent khaki army jacket I bought one too many. So ta da! and it feels good for it to find a home so quickly and harmoniously blending in so nicely with the deluxe and somewhat opulent feel of the fabrics together. I love I love how it all comes together in this skirt! heavy-duty brass, the richness of paisley, the edginess of leather.
This is the first time I’ve put an exposed zip in a skirt with lining, and wasn’t totally sure how to do it; I put the zip in similarly to how you’d do a welt pocket, and then hand-stitched the lining to the zip tape on the inside. I cut the bottom edge of the pleather clean and straight with my rotary cutter and left it unhemmed; and hemmed the paisley portions in a deep 4cm hem by hand. The skirt is fully lined with raspberry polyacetate, itself a leftover from my toasty autumn dress here. So this skirt is nearly all from scraps and leftovers! yay!!
When lining a skirt that doesn’t come with lining pattern pieces, I usually use the shell pattern pieces; splicing them together and cutting them a bit oversized for some ease in there. I omit stitching darts, instead folding the excess in a pleat as pictured here. Also nearly always zooming the side seams up on the machine at a million miles an hour like a rabid bat out of hell… whoops, of course I meant to say; slowly and sedately and ever so carefully #NOT *blush*
Item number two; a hoodie for my son’s girlfriend. I had made this striped hoodie for Tim last Christmas; and intended for Kelly’s hoodie to sorta match his; there were some leftovers and I bought some co-ordinating striped fabric to go with the small amount I had leftover from his hoodie.
I was very pleased with how it turned out, and almost wanted to keep it! hehe just kidding… of course I made it for her, she looks great in the navy blue, and the stripes; and I think it suits her beautifully. Also, don’t they look really nice together?
awwwwww
Pattern is KwikSew 3667. This really is a lovely pattern; I’ve used the hood pattern multiple times to add a hood to things that didn’t have a hood, and wanted one. And I also had my own once upon a time; my Hoodie McCloud that I really loved wearing for a long time. Cassie borrowed it once and… yeah, so pretty much it’s been hers ever since. You know, when your daughter wears something of yours, and of course she looks a thousand times better in it than you? So of course you just give it to her… *sigh* I really should make myself a replacement…
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