I joined the Pattern Stash contest on PR to help me use up some of the patterns that I’ve put in the ‘gunnawundae’ bucket. I have no desire to win, just to challenge myself to use the patterns I have. Many tie in with my winter sewing plans, so that is a big bonus. Pattern hacking was ruled out ( a blessing in disguise) so I started looking at some of my lingerie and accessory patterns. Here is the short list…

First up was the Kwik Sew 3926 to make the ugg boots. I’ve used an old pair of thongs to make a new pattern piece for the soles, and then glued them on when the boot was finished. The fabric was left over from my Lekala coat ( see previous post). *** Full review on PR ***

Then I started n the Booby Traps Balconette Bra pattern ( bottom left in pattern picture). There weren’t any notches to line up the pattern pieces so I tried adding them when I traced the pattern out. It was then that I found that the seam lengths didn’t match – on more than one seam. So this pattern is for ‘the round file’. Merckwaerdigh has just released a bra mini course, which covers fitting and design modifications of a basic bra. So I’m planning to use the course to draft my own version of this pattern.

Next was Make Bra DL01, a foam cup bra. I really love the finished look of this bra and the fitting on the bridge and underwire. The cups were at least two sizes to big, even though the size chart gave me the same size that I use for Merckwaerdigh. *** Full Review on PR ***

The three gloves challenge…

About 12 years ago I bought a fantastic yet very complicated pattern for shell gloves – Controlled Exposure #75 (see pattern stash picture: bottom row, centre). The instructions are excellent, and I’ve had good success with other CE patterns, in particular, the Mountain Pants. As much as I’d been wanting to make these, I’ve been really intimidated by it.

Also in my stash are two other glove patterns. Both are for glittens ( glove-mittens) – one is lightweight, the other for thicker fabrics. So the plan was to start with them, get a feel for glove making and then start the shell gloves.

The warm-up : McCalls 6810 – glittens & ubertube

These looked like the easier pattern of the two. Designed for swearer knits and jersey, I’ve used a brushed back nylon. Same fabric as I use for thermal nix. They were quicker to sew than I expected, but I took a short cut when stitching the fingers. Instead of cutting between the fingers and then stitching the seams, I’ve pinned them together along the cutting lines, sewed the seam, and then cut them apart. The hardest part was sewing in the thumb.

The sizing was a puzzle. The other two patterns are sized by the length of the hand, with a S being around 6 1/2″, and a XL at 8 1/2″. This pattern has a small at 8″ and XL is 9 1/2″. I can only assume that the measurement is the circumference of the hand, rather than length. I’ve made the S, and had to shorten it a lot – at the cuff, finger tips and mitten. The width was good.

The button closure is fiddly to use and I’ve already snagged the loop on something. Velro would be so much easier.

I’m also finding that I’d like the thumb tip to be free as I’m not able to grip things as well. My fabric is smooth-faced so that is part of the problem, so the thumb tip may get cut off.

Having said that, I love these gloves. The are a nice weight and I’ve been wearing them in the office in the mornings to keep my hands warm. I’d like to make a second pair just as fingerless gloves, without the mitten. *** Full review on PR ***

The envelope also has a couple of hat patterns. I’ve used view C to do a knock of the Outdoor Research Ubertube. A fancy name for an long tube of fabric, but I liked the different ways of being able to wear it. It will come in handy for skiing and hiking. View C is about the right length. I haven’t gathered the end, but left it open. The wrong side of the fabric will show at the gathers.

Getting warmer: Green Pepper 529 – Finger Free Gloves

Another glitten pattern – this time with a palm protector, thumb slit and velcro tab. These are very similar to a pair that I had lost. They were really great to take hiking, especially doing a bit of photography as I could just flip the lid on the fingers and thumb and work the camera controls. I’ve used a thicker fleece for these – a double faced Polartec wind block.

The construction was probably a bit easier on these than the McCalls. The seams were 3mm and I did have problems with the bottom fabric slipping out and not getting caught in the seam occasionally. I’ve stitched the finger seams with a short stitch length so I didn’t need to back stitch. Plus, I can trim the finger length if I need to without compromising the stitching.

These are quite bit big on me. They fit DH. But I’ve shortened the mitten and thumb length to fit, and I extra width isn’t that much of a problem. I’ve worn these on my morning walk and are nice an warm. *** Full review on PR ***