blue – Seamstress Sophie

After having done it once, and seeing that the two pockets I’d made weren’t enough for the cards I was starting to need to carry (driver’s license, M & S card, oyster card, credit card, some cash and a few business cards), I decided to make a second version with more pockets. I’d especially liked the diagonal pocket, so I made two of them.

I cut out the pieces carefully, even though I didn’t bother measuring them.

I then pinned the edges of the pockets so I could get nice angles on them.

This side will have one full-length pocket in which I will hide the oyster. See it never needs to be removed to be used, it can work through the oyster card holder’s fabric, which means I can put it in the nearest-to-the-outside pocket, and hide it completely from view quite safely.

After stitching all around the flipped “innards” of the holder, I cut the edges closer to the seam with crimping scissors. This means that when I flip it inside-out, the edges will be less poofy. (what do you mean, “poofy” isn’t a technical term?)

Ta daaaa!

As I was making it, I decided to add a strap. I cut a length of fabric about 5cm wide in the diagonal of the fabric to make sure it will have some extra stretch, and stitched it inside-out along the long edge. This made for a tube, which I trimmed close to the seam and flipped inside-out to get a simple strap. I then anchored the strap between the “innards” (green pockets of the inside) and the blue rip-stop canvas outer, and made sure it stayed put when I stitched around the edge.

This is the oyster card holder v2.0 in use.

It took me a couple of months, BUT, I finally managed to take out the sewing machine and sit down to it and start piecing together the blue victorian jacket!!

And I keep thinking I either cut the pattern wrong, or it’s made wrong, because it has come out for a HUGE version of me. Not my size at _all_! I am reluctant to alter the main pieces, but I have begun alterations to the sides. See below putting through a second (inner) seam on the side, as the original one (although fairly deep to begin with) still yields a gigantic jacket on me.

Double side-seams

Not helping at all, is that the seams of wool + fleece x2 (4 thick layers) are quite huge.

4 thicknesses of fabric

But now that it’s been assembled and put on the doll, I can see it better.

Blue jacket (front)

The back flap _is_ a bit big… But it’ll make like a delicious apple-bottomy bustle. So that could be very cool. As long as I successfully make the waist to be my size and not some tube. Even now, on the doll, the waist is much too big. I’m thinking I’ll take it in on the back seam, so the princess seams down the back will be in a better position instead of being tugged to the sides.

Blue jacket (back)

It will need quite a bit of decorating (I’m thinking khaki ribbon and brass buttons in slight military style) and fiddling. But I can already see the shape of the jacket. I will need to adjust it more, make it much narrower and so on, but it’s a good start 🙂

Seamstress Sophie

Dressmaking and other sewing experiments

Tag: blue

oyster card holder v2.0 (more pocketses!)

Blue victorian jacket (assembly 1)