A Festive Union and a Fairy Lit Octopus

Sneaking in just before Christmas with a little festive cheer and sparkle in the form of some party wear!

First up is good ol' M6044 which is the absolute nuts of the men's shirt world in my opinion. I have made this many times!

This was completely inspired by the fabric. This wonderful octopus fabric, with added fairy lights, is from Like So Amazing. It's my husband's favourite print - now with a festive twist! It's a Sarah Watts design which was in a collection called 'Mystery Food by Cotton + Steel' but has now cropped up as Ruby Star Society 'Jolly Darlings' collection.

This shirt comes together so quickly. There is no yoke and the cuff plackets are formed from a 2 piece sleeve so no fiddly bits to contend with there either. A seriously good beginner pattern if you haven't made a shirt before.

Mr Crafty Clyde wanted to wear cuff links and I realized I'd done the button holes in the wrong direction. These have been sewn up and re-done so it just looks like a blue cross. Plus, the cuff link covers the stitching anyway.

It's been a while since I've made this shirt and let's say, it could have done with another inch of breathing room this time. I must re-trace the pattern as it's such a great one for showing off a fantastic print.

As this little number was made for a work Christmas party, I popped an appropriate label in (from Sew Anonymous). Oh yeah - and I hand stitched the cuffs and collar - wooooo!

As for me - I WAS going to make a Gala Gown by Patterns for Pirates. About 5 minutes away from cutting it out I changed my mind, as it was snowing and the idea of a dress and no tights felt a bit chilly considering we're in minus figures outside now. 

So instead I genuinely just 'winged it'. Out came the velvet sparkly leggings - maximum comfort and jazz factor combined. I then figured it needed some kind of tunic top - with a difference.

I used my TNT Union St. Tee pattern as a base and cut it at the waist. The greatest thing about this pattern is that there's a shaped back option that fits amazingly on a sway back. (It's for the Sheridan Sweater but works on all their patterns :)

 

The peplum is made from a circle skirt shape - with wiggles in. That's the only way I can describe it!! Diagram alert:

 Attach the skirt to the t-shirt and BOOM - super comfy party outfit. In need of a press here!

 This fabric is really sparkly in real life - but incredibly difficult to photograph! It's from Pound Fabrics and AMAZING! The quality is lovely - it's a viscose jersey but has good weight to it and sews up really well. I actually ordered another piece for the stash as it's so good. Would recommend - think it's on sale right now too!

So off to the 'ball' we go in our handmade outfits! (And a quick selfie was all I had for you...)

Wishing you all a happy holiday period whatever you may be doing. 💖 From me and all the creatures!

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