Cashmere BHL Charlotte Skirt

Another By Hand London Charlotte skirt. This time in some beautiful cashmere Price of Wales check (that I made my Sew Over It Francine jacket out of) and lined with the same emerald green as the jacket. Worn together it looks like a suit.

The other addition I made to the skirt was to create a hem band and hand stitched the lining to it. I am particularly pleased with my invisible zip and plaid matching skills. Another great bonus is these fabrics have been languishing in my stash box since 2014 after finishing the France jacket. What do you think?

I hand-stitched a black triangle to strengthen the top of the split 

Lined and hand-finished on the waistband and press studs

Added a hem band in the outer fabric 

What invisible zip?

I pledged to take part in the One Week One Pattern this week hosted by Sewisfaction so be prepared to see more By Hand London Charlotte skirts around these parts!

Have you signed up to OWOP17?
If not what would your go to pattern be?

Sew Over It Francine Jacket

In October I booked a place on the Sew Over it Francine Jacket course with some fellow sewing friends, Caroline F, Kate and Valentina who I have met on previous SOI courses. I have been quite busy with work and other fun stuff and only just got around to blogging the journey of the Francine.
She is quite a complex lady with lots of interesting details to keep a more advanced sewer on their toes. You complete the jacket over three evening sessions with quite a chunk of homework in-between (in particular after week one). I was very happy to be taught by the lovely Julie Johnston again - this is one super talented teacher!

What new things did I learn? Quite a few things........

• My first major plaid matching - wow, it takes a looooong time!
• Full lining of a jacket using a technique that requires only hand-stitching a small section around the base of the inside
• Interesting sleeve head & shoulder pad insertion
• Great rolled collar technique
• Self-covered buttons

The journey in pictures; from the fabric selection to the final jacket. Enjoy!

Glad you are still here!
This has been my most complex make to date.
I found it fun, challenging and stressful in equal measure. I am really pleased with my final jacket but definitely need a few quick sews after this intensive project.

The fabric came entirely from my stash which I am pretty darn happy about. The outer is a Cashmere and wool mix fabric that I picked up on a whim last summer from Shakut in Kensington for £24. I had just enough for this jacket. The lining was left over from my SOI Tulip skirts (as can be seen in this post).

After hours of cutting single layers of jacket pieces I was really fed up with plaid matching and was inspired to cut the collar from a beautiful 1/4 metre piece of 100% charcoal cashmere that my Dad gave me about 20 years ago (it was from his work where they used to weave beautiful scarves for companies like Burberry). The piece was just big enough for this collar and I am really pleased with the finish. Due to the nap of the cashmere I had to change the pattern piece and cut it in two sections so I could keep the nap even on each side of the collar.

All in all a very satisfying project.

What have you been up to in the lead up to Christmas?