At this time, I think I am going to take a break and make a dress.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Losing my mind.
No, really...I think I might be losing it! I have been struggling to fit a pair of pants on myself with VERY little success. I know that pants are tough, but, really?!!? Take a look at this picture. Note the wrinkles under the seat. I have sewn, ripped and resewn these damn things too many times. Those wrinkles are still there! I've been fighting with Picasa, so there is text in exactly the wrong place. Grrr....The first picture is the unaltered pattern. Sigh. Oh, this is Burda 7746.
At this time, I think I am going to take a break and make a dress.
At this time, I think I am going to take a break and make a dress.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Banana Republic Envy
I got an ad from BR the other day in my email box. I fell in love with this sweater and decided to try copying it. With some help and suggestions from the PR group, I used McCalls pattern 5978.
This pattern has a V-neck instead of a rounded neckline, so that changes the look of my copy, but I didn't mind that. I also chose to use only one ruffle.
The cardi body and cami are made out of cotton rib knit. The ruffle is made from cheapo JetSet from Joanns. I chose it because it draped nicely and was the right color. I may regret that since I feel like the material might fall apart when I wash it. We shall see how it hold up.
I drafted a circular ruffle from scratch. I made the circumference of the inner donut shape the same as the neckline. It was super easy. Take a look at this Burda Style tutorial: here. I made a few changes to the pattern, but probably wouldn't make it again. It has the same old above the bust wrinkles that a non-darted, not well fitting t-shirt has. Pooh. It's wearable, so I'll try not to complain too much. I got 5 new patterns from Simplicity at Joanns...their $1 sales really get me going...hopefully I'll have another post soon!
This pattern has a V-neck instead of a rounded neckline, so that changes the look of my copy, but I didn't mind that. I also chose to use only one ruffle.
The cardi body and cami are made out of cotton rib knit. The ruffle is made from cheapo JetSet from Joanns. I chose it because it draped nicely and was the right color. I may regret that since I feel like the material might fall apart when I wash it. We shall see how it hold up.
I drafted a circular ruffle from scratch. I made the circumference of the inner donut shape the same as the neckline. It was super easy. Take a look at this Burda Style tutorial: here. I made a few changes to the pattern, but probably wouldn't make it again. It has the same old above the bust wrinkles that a non-darted, not well fitting t-shirt has. Pooh. It's wearable, so I'll try not to complain too much. I got 5 new patterns from Simplicity at Joanns...their $1 sales really get me going...hopefully I'll have another post soon!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Simplicity 2758
I made this skirt before I made the leggings from the last post. I have no skirts in my closet...this is my attempt to fem-ify my wardrobe a bit.
Here is a full view of the skirt. It's quite full, well, a half circle in fact. It is easy, but there are several factors that made it more time consuming for me. There was much ripping, picking and resewing.
1. My fabric was heavier than the pattern suggested. It is a fairly solid denim. I applied the pockets along the pattern lines, but the skirt did not hang properly. I had to place them higher and more to the side of the skirt. I prefer the pattern placement of the pockets instead of my placement, but what can you do?
2. Plus, the blankety blank fabric had a white line on the fold that I didn't notice until I cut out the skirt. I tried appliqueing a strip of denim over the white line. No good. I simply sliced out the white line and made seams in CF and CB where there were none.
3. I haven't made anything for my bottom half in a long time! First, the muslin skirt was too small. Then, the fashion fabric skirt was too big. I took it in, but at the final fitting, it was still too big. I tend to lose and gain inches every month, probably water due to my normal cycle. My solution was to add tabs and buttons to the back. These took enough fabric in for a comfortable fit. I can add another set of buttons if I need to take it out.
Here are the tabs:
Up next, a cardi set...the cami that I'm wearing with this skirt is part of that set.
Here is a full view of the skirt. It's quite full, well, a half circle in fact. It is easy, but there are several factors that made it more time consuming for me. There was much ripping, picking and resewing.
1. My fabric was heavier than the pattern suggested. It is a fairly solid denim. I applied the pockets along the pattern lines, but the skirt did not hang properly. I had to place them higher and more to the side of the skirt. I prefer the pattern placement of the pockets instead of my placement, but what can you do?
2. Plus, the blankety blank fabric had a white line on the fold that I didn't notice until I cut out the skirt. I tried appliqueing a strip of denim over the white line. No good. I simply sliced out the white line and made seams in CF and CB where there were none.
3. I haven't made anything for my bottom half in a long time! First, the muslin skirt was too small. Then, the fashion fabric skirt was too big. I took it in, but at the final fitting, it was still too big. I tend to lose and gain inches every month, probably water due to my normal cycle. My solution was to add tabs and buttons to the back. These took enough fabric in for a comfortable fit. I can add another set of buttons if I need to take it out.
Here are the tabs:
Up next, a cardi set...the cami that I'm wearing with this skirt is part of that set.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Kwik Sew 3636 -- Leggings
Let me start out by qualifying this post...these are not the most flattering pictures of my body. I'm mostly sticking them out in cyberspace because I love the pattern! It's simple and easy. I made the leggings in an HOUR. They're made out of fleece and are super warm. That makes them great underneath ski pants for snow shoveling.
I'm planning on making more of these out of 4 way stretch fabrics (the fleece is only 2 way) for spring. These would be great under dresses...of course, I imagine that by then leggings will be out of style. I'm slow to take to trends.
After seeing the pics, it makes me more motivated to get out and do some exercising! When we're done with all of this snow, I know I'll get out more often. Until then, now I know that skinny jeans are not suited to my pear-shape!
I'm planning on making more of these out of 4 way stretch fabrics (the fleece is only 2 way) for spring. These would be great under dresses...of course, I imagine that by then leggings will be out of style. I'm slow to take to trends.
After seeing the pics, it makes me more motivated to get out and do some exercising! When we're done with all of this snow, I know I'll get out more often. Until then, now I know that skinny jeans are not suited to my pear-shape!
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