Jennifer Lauren Handmade Aisling Blouse - Pattern Tester Review

I was lucky enough to be a pattern tester for the Jennifer Lauren Handmade Aisling Blouse (ages ago!). I was provided the pattern to test and give feedback on. All opinions here are my own!

This is a brilliant pattern. I wasn't sure about the square neck line as I would never usually choose this style and puffy sleeves under cardis are not great but was very pleasantly surprised. I intended to make the version with no buttons as my test version but cut the wrong one so buttons it was!

I made it in a soft floaty viscose that I got from someones stash on ebay and the buttons were from my Granny's button tin. The 14 C cup fitted straight from the pattern with no tweaking, normally I would do a broad back adjustment but it was not needed.

During lockdown I have made another one, this version is the one I intended to make as a tester!

Again I used a soft floaty viscose, this time it was from The Fabric Guys, it sneaked into my basket when I was buying cotton for mask making (more in another post). 

I have had so many compliments about these blouses, more than anything else I have made. They will get a lot of wear when something other than casual clothes are required again!

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Colette Moneta

This is the second Colette Moneta I have made and I still love the pattern. I made the first one in 2016 as a wearable toile for a job I was doing and have been meaning to make it in better suited fabric since. The first was in a not very stretchy cotton jersey which didn't lie very well so this time I used a viscose jersey that is nice and thick but not so heavy it pulls the skirt squint. 

I made it at the start of February and it was the perfect dress to wear to my Granny's funeral, she was a flower lover! I have worn it once since and I am sure it will get lots more wear once life begins to look a bit more normal again. 

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Makeup brush sleeping bag and some embroidery.

Way back in January, seems like a lifetime ago, I decided to try my hand at embroidering over some hand lettering, it's a lot harder than it looks! 

It is a motto I firmly believe in and at the time my Granny was slowly deteriorating in her care home and I was having to spend more and more of my time there. This was a good thing to look at to remind me what really mattered. She died on the 21st February and the relief I felt for her was immense, she was 103 and really had had enough. I am glad she never lived to see the pandemic grow arms and legs, that would have been awful for her. 

Another non clothing related sewing project was my makeup brush sleeping bag! I rarely wear makeup and was fed up cleaning the dust off the brushes before I used them so this is the perfect solution. I sewed two rectangles together with a bit of ribbon sandwiched in one side , turned it right side out, folded the bottom up and sewed channels of varying width for my brushes, simple. You can roll it up and tie a bow to keep it together. Much neater than an jumbled mess of brushes at the bottom of the drawer...

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Hey June Halifax Hoodie v 2

At the beginning of the year I was planning on only sewing things I really really needed with fabric from my stash. Then Covid -19 happened and I started sewing from sanity which will explain the many sewing posts that will appear over the coming weeks! Since Mum died I haven't really felt the motivation to blog about everything I make so there are a lot of makes missing from this space but I figure now is a good time to re start the blog up and document some of this insane time we are living though. 

At the beginning of the year, before Covid,  I re-made the Halifax Hoodie by Hey June. I love this pattern and my previous version is now in the recycle pile as it is threadbare! 

I used a gorgeous fleece backed sweatshirt fabric from The Organic Textile Company (which in hindsight isn't really stretchy enough but works) and sewed it on my normal machine as the overlocker was hating the thickness of the fabric. 

It isn't perfect (bottom band doesn't line up over zip...) but it is regularly worn and a much needed addition to the wardrobe. I found it a lot easier to get a nice inside finish this time and the zip went in easily. Last time I remember battling with the bloody zip and unpicking numerous times. Oh what a difference 3 more years of sewing experience makes.

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Makes of 2019

Here is a roundup of all the things I  made in 2019, most are new here as my blogging skills were  lacking last year!

Tops:

Tilly and the Buttons Frankie tee stashbusting wee bits of jersey 

 Hemlock tee - secondhand fabric poly jersey from ebay . The only poly in my wardrobe and I love the fabric pattern but hate the feel.

Maria from Denmark Kirsten Kimono
another stashbuster using second hand fabric from ebay

Mia blouse - stash fabric inherited from Mum.

Renfrew from Sewaholic - Organic cotton jersey

Melrose top
African wax fabric that was a gift from my Dad

Drop Sleeve Top by The Avid Seamstress -
Stash fabric that was a gift from my Mum 6 years ago

Hemlock tee - Organic cotton from here

Drop Sleeve Top by The Avid Seamstress without sleeves! 

McCalls blouse

Tilly and the Buttons Indigo

Dresses:

Freya top and Cleo dress, both TatB
Top fabric from ebay, denim from deep stash

DVF wrap dress in organic cotton

TatB Joni dress in 2nd hand eBay fabric

Melrose Dress in Galaxy deep stash fabric

McCalls dress in gifted African Wax

Self drafted tunic dress in Plush Addict jersey I won.

Skirts:

Wrap Skirt using vintage pattern and inherited from Mum fabric.

This used to be a Darling Ranges that I forgot to lengthen the body on so it never fit properly. Now a skirt!

  Trousers:

Peppermint Magazine Wide Leg Trousers using second hand wool

Peppermint Magazine Wide Leg Trousers using second hand tencel from my friends Mum

TatB Stella joggers in Organic cotton from here

Simplicity joggers in second hand jersey from eBay

Coats:

Jaskia Blazer using Islay Tweed and lined with inherited silk

Saporro Coat made with secondhand wool

Butterick Lisette Patter in secondhand wool 

Jumpsuits:

Deer and Doe Sirocco in Organic Cotton

Sallie in eBay jersey

TatB Magnolia in ancient stash fabric

Can't remember the pattern, for my sister in second hand viscose from eBay

 Jumpers/ sweatshirts:

Icelandic jumper made with Icelandic wool

TatB Stella Hoodie in same Organic Cotton as joggers

 Other things!

Harry Potter bibs for a friends baby

Megan Nielsen Colsetto swimsuit in fabric from Funki Fabrics

35 items.

That's quite a lot...

At the start of the year I had a massive wardrobe clear out and sold  or donated loads of hardly worn / didn't fit anymore items so most of these makes fill the gaps in my wardrobe. I have tried my best to use second hand fabric or Organic Cotton fabrics with only a few exceptions.

I have already worn my Lisette coat, that I finished in mid December, 15 times. It fills a huge gap in my wardrobe that I had been putting off filling as I was worried I would make a coat and change shape and it wouldn't fit. I realise now that that is a ridiculous way to think. If it grow or shrink out of this coat I will alter in, and I get the pleasure of wearing something I really need now.

Expect more of me here in 2020, it won't all be sewing but hopefully there will be more than there was this year!

Thanks for reading and following along

Alison
x

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