Fuchsia Trousers!

Hello!👋

Hope you have been keeping well!

The bags I made the girls have gone down a treat!

My eldest daughter and her best friend are taking them to school in place of their backpacks!

They are looking so grown up as they carry the bags over their shoulders. 😂

Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo to show you this but here are both bags finished.

I did something slightly different from my daughters’ bags to the friends' bag. I added some snaps to the outside pockets because my daughter mentioned some of her things might fall out. 😬

I had already finished the friend's bag when she mentioned it, so I wasn’t going to unpick it all just to add them to hers at that point. But I  was on time for the other 2.

I  am actually thinking of making another bag with my self-drafted measurements for one of my friends now.

She is having her baby shower next week and the bag is quite quick to whip up.

This one was gifted to us by my sister in law and it came in really handy for both my children.

The only thing I felt was missing was handles. 🙃

There were some situations where I needed to use both hands and there was nowhere clean to put the pouch down. 😬

Hanging it somewhere, even just over my arm would have helped a lot.

I want to adapt the front pocket to have the opening for the wipes and then the rest can remain the same.

I have compared my nappy pouch to the bag and they are the same width, so I will probably not make any changes there. 🤔

I mentioned last week that I wanted to sew something for myself and I have! 🤩

Well, I have started it. 😂

Remember the pink suiting fabric I bought a few months ago from Leon’s Fabrics? 👀

On Thursday, I had finished with all the bags and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to sew.

The pink fabric was just calling on me, so I pulled it out and immediately my mind was set on making the Lander Pants from True Bias! 🤗

I have made this pattern twice before, a pair of shorts and some trousers.

I made the shorts first last year and they were slightly too big, so I made the trousers a size smaller and I really liked the fit.

I didn’t need to make any adjustments really, except for height, but that was it! 😎

This time round, I haven’t measured myself and am just going to make the same size, the smaller one, and hope that it fits.

For the pockets, I have cut out a contrast cotton poplin as the suiting was a little too heavy to be the lining.

I still have quite a bit to do on them: 

The crotch, the side seams, button band and buttons, waistband and finally, the hem.

Really, all I managed to do this week was to sew the front and back pockets on and  the inseam.

I have also had the dreaded conversation with my partner about his jacket. 🤣

It has sucked the life out of me! 😫

We have jointly decided that it is ok for me to abandon ship and try something else. 😅

Those instructions are just too hard for me to decipher and I don’t want to continue working on something that gives me headaches.

I did a quick google search for men’s parka jackets and quite a few came up, none that he liked though. 😒

Eventually , I came across the Jacques Raincoat from I AM Patterns!

He said it looked similar to the other one I was making, so when I am ready to get back to jacket making, I will probably get my hands on this one and get to work! 😀

I AM Patterns even do a women’s and kids version of this jacket, so we could be matchy matchy!  🤭

Anyway, even though I have never made an I AM Pattern before, I feel much better now knowing that I will probably be able to understand these instructions better. 😀

Let’s see if I make this one in time for this winter.

I have made good progress on my Jasmine Sweater this week, not as much as I had hoped, but little is better than none. 🦾

I still need to finish the front bodice as I ran into a little hiccup at the shoulders.😏

I had joined one of the shoulders already without realising that I was missing a bubble formation on either side, so I had to unpick it.

I removed a few rows on one side and finished the last bubble formation on the other because, somehow, one panel had more bubbles than the other and it was going to be skew. 😂

As usual, we went for a drive this weekend and I didn’t want to deal with this unpicking in the car, so I took something else with me.

I took this Yarnsmiths Pebble Haze Aran that was gifted to me by Wool Warehouse so that I could start a gauge swatch for my next project! 🤗

I don’t usually start one project with another on the go, because I feel like I may never get back to the first one (like my partner’s jacket 😬).

Anyway, I made 2 gauge swatches for the pattern I had in mind with different needles and I still didn’t reach the gauge needed for it, but I was close enough and think it will be ok.

On the drive back home, I managed to cast on for this pattern and I decided that it would be the Bi-Colour Snuggle Sweater from Anxious Girl Knits.

I tested this pattern for her a while back and never got back to it, so thought now was a good time. 🙂

We were coming back from taking the girls to a new park in Manchester City Centre, the Mayfield Park.

I quite enjoyed the park myself and went on all the slides with my girls. 🤭

This was Saturday. Then today, Sunday, we decided to take the girls to the cinema to see Gracie and Pedro.

As they sat through the film the first time we took them to the cinema a few weeks ago, I decided to take my knitting with me this time. 🙃

As the cinema room goes dark when the movie starts, I knew I needed a project that I could knit without looking at the stitches.

The Pistachio coloured Jasmine Sweater involves some counting and the silver thread is sometimes a little tricky to see and catch, so I decided to take the new cast on with instead.

The ribbing had already been done the previous evening, so the next step was to continue in stockinette stitch which is simple enough. 😃

As I forgot my phone at home, I didn’t take a photo of my knitting in action there but I managed to do quite a bit.

I am going to set this one aside this week to continue with the Jasmine Sweater, I should definitely be able to start one sleeve and get most of it done. 🤞

😎Confidence Corner:

“Look for balance but always be willing to fall.” - Anna Greenberg

Finding balance in life is important, whether it’s balancing work and personal life, or managing our emotions, but that balance doesn’t mean we’ll never stumble. It’s okay to lose our footing sometimes.

When we try new things or challenge ourselves, we’re bound to fall sometimes. But these falls aren’t failures, they’re chances to learn and grow. Every time we get back up, we’re a little stronger and wiser than before.

So yes, strive for balance, but don’t be afraid of falling. It’s part of the journey, and it helps us become our best selves - stronger, wiser and more resilient! 🦾

🧵Today's Sewing Tip:

How To Sew a Scrunchie

I am going to show you my favourite way of making a scrunchie!

Ever since I did this method, I have not done it in any other way, I feel it gives the neatest finish with the least visible stitching.

First, you need to decide how big you want your scrunchie to be.

You need to cut out a rectangle of fabric. ( I have used both woven and stretch fabric.)

• The longer your rectangle, the more scrunch you will get.
• The wider your rectangle, the larger it will be.

For the length, I never cut below 25 inches.

For the width, I never cut below 4 inches.

This is just my personal preference.

The piece I am using today is 34 inches by 5 inches.

Next, cut a length of elastic.

I prefer to only use ½ wide elastic as it holds the hair better than a thinner elastic.

I cut mine between 7-9 inches long, this allows me to loop it twice around my ponytail.

Let's get sewing.

Sew together the short edges, right sides facing. I tend to use a ½ seam allowance.

Place the seam allowance you just created facing down on your table, the wrong side of your fabric and the table are touching.

Fold the top layer of fabric so it is in the middle like this:

Match the seams, right sides together, making sure that the folded fabric remains in the middle.

You can choose to place a few pins/clips to hold your fabric together so you can get to your sewing machine.

On your sewing machine, make sure that you don’t catch the inner fabric under your needle. Don’t forget to back stitch at the beginning and end. 

As you sew, you will need to pull the inner fabric out, as well as, checking and adjusting the inner fabric to make sure it doesn’t get caught under the needle.

Sew until you are about 2 inches away from the start of your stitches. This is to leave a gap for turning the scrunchie right side out.

Grab your elastic. On one end, I like to place a safety pin and on the other, I like to place 2 clips so that I don’t loose the end of the elastic inside my scrunchie.

Without turning the scrunchie ride side out, thread the elastic through the middle of the tube.

Sew the two ends of the elastic together. I use either a straight stitch or a zigzag stitch, it depends on my mood. 😂

This time I used a three step zigzag stitch. 

Now reach into the opening we left in the side seam and start pulling out the inner fabric.

Once you have turned the scrunchie ride side out, all that is left to do is sew the opening closed.

I normally reduce my stitch length to 1.0 to make the stitches more invisible.

You can also topstitch around the seam for an interesting touch.

For a completely invisible stitch line, you can choose to hand stitch the opening closed. (I am too lazy for this one, especially on a scrunchie. 😂)

Finally this scrunchie is done!

I had been meaning to get it done since I made my Safiya Trousers weeks ago! 😅 😂

If you would prefer to follow along with a video, please check out my first ever Youtube video I made by clicking on this link:

⭐My Favourite Things This Week:

• Seeing my daughter’s enjoying their new bags I made them. 🥰
• Making progress on my Jasmine Sweater.
• Starting a second knit project - the Bi-Colour Snuggle Sweater.
• Starting a new pair of trousers - a bright pink pair of Lander Pants! 😎

🗓️Upcoming Plans

• Continue working on the Jasmine Sweater knit.
• Finish up the Lander Pants.
• Make a nappy pouch/bag for my friend’s baby shower.
• My partner’s jacket - we have finally decided on a new pattern, so this will start sometime soon. 🤞

🎉Upcoming Events

21st of September 2024 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 11:45h - 17:15h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND09
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond09/

26th of October 2024 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 10:15h - 15:45h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND010
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond010/

Question of the Week:

What’s your favorite sewing tool that you can’t live without?

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Thank you so much for reading it! And if you enjoyed it, please tell a friend about it to allow me to reach more people. 🥰

Bye for now,
B! xx