Tropical Buchanan Dressing Gown

For those regular readers of CJ Made, I suspect you may be thinking - 'What! You still have some of that tropical fabric left?'. Thankfully (for ALL of us) this is the very last of the tropical cotton tablecloth that I got in the H&M sales in the summer of 2017!

When you see the vast array of garments I have managed to make out of those dandy tablecloths it looks like something out of the Sound of Music!

Image source

The first make was a Deer and Doe Melilot shirt:

Then the New Look jumpsuit 6446:

Next, I used it for the lining for the Nina Lee Richmond Blazer:

And finally, a Gather Buchanan Dressing Gown and matching bag for my sister-in-law!

I have made a number of Buchanan's before. One for myself (the Paul Frank version) and two other gowns as gifts (cherry blossom & panda). It is such a great pattern to sew with lovely details which creates a professional finish on a kimono-style gown.

I added a band of contrasting blue cotton on the bottom as it was a little short which I think looks pretty cool. With the very last section of tropical fabric, I made a little tote bag to present the gown for gifting. Nothing new to report in terms of construction with this make. I was pretty speedy sewing it together, although, I did cut it out in July 2018, so not so fast in the longer term!

Do you have any items that are partly finished or have abandoned for reasons you have completely forgotten about now?

Me Made May 2019 Week One

This is the fifth year I have taken part in Me-Made-May. During the first week of MMM I wore the following outfits:

Wednesday 1st May

Top: Merchant and Mills Camber Set Top  Fabric: HM Samuels ikat print viscose. Made: 2016 

Trousers: Oliver Bonas

Watch: Clear G Shock

Socks: Gap

Shoes: Paul Smith Burgundy Loafers

I love this top and you can read in my previous post how I have prolonged its life since the shoulder seams burst open at the end of the day!

Thursday 2nd May

Dress: So Over It Alex Shirt Dress. Fabric: Stoff and Stil. Made: 2017 

Watch: White G Shock

Shoes: Paul Smith Burgundy Loafers

This dress has had a lot of wear since I made it in 2017. I have another cut out ready to sew up in a black leaf-print viscose that was gifted to me last year. I just need to get around to sewing it up!

Friday 3rd May

Dress: Christine Haynes Emery Dress. Fabric: Viscose, Chapel Street Market. Made: 2017

Watch: White G Shock

Cardigan: Next via Oxfam, Highgate

Bangle: Oxfam, Putney

Trainers: Nike

A relaxed vibe with my Emery dress on Friday. I suspect the looser fit of this dress is mainly down to me cutting out a larger size although it has shrunk a little in the two years I have been wearing it. I ripped the side seam at lunchtime and spent a little time mending it this weekend.

Saturday 4th May
Top: Eva sweatshirt. Fabric: Tilly and the Buttons sweatshirt fleece. Made: 2019
Pants: Peak Performance jogging pants

I recently blogged about this sweatshirt and wasn't quite happy with the sleeves. The solution? I chopped them off to just above elbow length and I have worn it so much more now!

Sunday 5th May

Dressing Gown: Buchanan Fabric: Paul Frank. Made: 2017

I spent the majority of the day pottering around the house cleaning, sorting and chilling with my dressing gown on! That's what Bank Holiday weekends are for, right? This is my most worn make since sewing it two years ago. I have a second cut out ready to sew together so I can rotate between washes.

How is your Me-Made-May coming along?
Have you discovered any new items of clothing from following other peoples social media and blogs that you would like to make?

Japanese inspired Buchanans!

After making my Paul Frank dressing gown using Gather's Buchanan Dressing Gown pattern I have had a few requests from friends to make them one of their very own.

First up is for a friend I am visiting in San Francisco next week. She bought me this beautiful double sided Japanese cotton from Tokyo with instructions to make something nice out of it.

The fabric is a mid-weight cotton which is printed with pretty red cherry blossoms on one side then a geometric sashiko-style print on the reverse. Mel now has a lovely dressing gown to remember her fab Tokyo trip!

Due to fabric restrictions I had to slightly shorten the length of the dressing gown but as she is a good couple of inches shorter then me I think it will be perfect for her. 

My next make is for my boyfriend's sister, Karen. She absolutely LOVES pandas and when I saw this fabric I knew it had to be a Buchanan dressing gown for her too! In 2005 Mel, Karen, Chris (my bf) and myself visited Tokyo and saw pandas in Ueno zoo. Karen was in her element!

Detail shots of both dressing gowns:

I added ribbon into the seam on the panda version so you can tie the dressing gown closed to prevent the inner front from slipping down. I only thought of this modification after completing the red cherry blossom version. It's a nice idea that I will use for future Buchanan's.

I am really happy with how these dressing gowns turned out. The construction was so much easier having made one before and I used French Seams again throughout for a neater finish. It is the perfect pattern for a gift and I already have ideas for my sister-in-law for her Christmas present. If I start now maybe it will be finished in time for December!

Do you have a go-to sewing pattern for gifts?

Paul Frank Buchanan Dressing Gown

The Buchanan dressing gown has been a long time in the making. I was gifted the Gather Buchanan pattern for Christmas 2015 by my sewing enabling friend, Sophie!

The Paul Frank fabric I bought in 2011 and it has been sat in my stash patiently waiting for me to get my act together to make PJ's and a dressing gown!

I cut the whole thing out last July and it has been in my UFO pile for almost a year. I got busy this weekend and enjoyed the process in three bursts of productivity.

This is an excellent pattern. Good quality paper and very clear illustrated instructions, it was a pleasure to make! The order of making has you sew all the fiddly bits like the pockets, belt, belt-loops and hanging-loop before the major construction.

Alterations I made to the instructions was to use French Seams throughout for a neater finish and add 6cm to the length. The only thing that boggled my mind a bit was the belt-loops - how could I add them with a French Seam?

I added the belt-loop with a 0.5cm seam allowance and then continued with the second seam on the inside using a 1cm seam. It worked out perfectly!

Hand-finishing the loose end on the hem-band.

Overall, I am really impressed with this pattern and I can see myself making some of these as presents for friends and family. Hopefully it won't take me as long to make another one!

Check out lots of other cool crafty blogs at #handmademonday organised by Julia of Sum of their Stories.

Out of Control

Help! My WIP (work-in-progress) or UFO (unfinished object) pile has got a little out of hand. As is the case with many sewing enthusiasts, we optimistically cut out projects thinking that we will find an hour here or there to sew them together. This summer I got waylaid with my house renovation. Instead of sewing my WIP's I was re-painting the garage floor or sanding and painting balcony railings... the list of DIY jobs I had was endless (and I still need to finish a few before Christmas).

The mad thing is that I now have a huge pile of seasonally inappropriate garments cut out.

First up is my 'summer' dressing gown...

The Buchanan pattern was gifted to me by my friend Sophie. I imported the blue Paul Frank fabric from Hong Kong a couple of years ago and the red cotton contrast collar and cuff also comes from my stash. I don't think it will take too long to sew up, but I won't really wear it until the spring.

Next up is a summer dress. The Dixie DIY Bonnell dress was enthusiastically cut out in July. I had high hopes of sauntering around London in this lovely red viscose beauty but alas it didn't happen. The fabric was a bargain £2.00 a metre from a stall on Chapel Street Market in Islington.

Onto a fun summery seperate, the Liesl & Co Everyday Skirt. This is my second version and I am really looking forward to wearing this black and white one (whenever that will be!). The viscose fabric was from the spring sale at John Lewis at £7 per metre.

This next garment is about 90% completed. It is the Colette Laurel shift dress. Despite the beautiful Liberty Tana Lawn fabric called Kinetic, I lost my sew-jo with the back fastening and the neckline. I am sure I could finish this in about half an hour but as its a lightweight cotton dress, it won't really be worn until the spring!

My last WIP is something that I could wear this season. I cut it out at the end of the summer after rediscovering this awesome vintage fabric I've had for about ten years. I strongly suspect it was probably some curtains in its previous life but with just over a metre I was limited to what garment I could make with this crazy print.

The added complication of the missing corner restricted the choice of garment even more. As luck would have it the Ready Ruthie Dolores Pocket Skirt fitted quite well!

Not enough fabric for perfect pattern matching. Instead I chose selection of the main motifs found on the skirt to balance out the pattern. What pockets? 

Some organic cotton from my stash worked perfectly for the pocket linings and hem facing. I didn't stop there. The darker autumnal colours matched perfectly with a metre of olive green silk I have had in my stash since my Textiles Degree (over 20 years ago) so I splashed out and cut the lining in silk!

That makes five part completed works in progress. I hope to get some of these sewn up soon, especially the vintage fabric Dolores Pocket Skirt as I can see myself wearing this for work.

Have you got any WIP's or UFO's that are hanging around too long?