Sewing for Spring

I have been collecting fabric. Don't we all? It is starting to flow out of my closet, so I thought that making up a plan would be a help. I tried to follow the sewing with a plan, or SWAP program. You pick out a few colors, add some neutrals, then find your fabrics and patterns. I am the kind of person who really likes organization, but hates actually doing it. I decide what we are going to eat for dinner around 3:00...I am not good at planning ahead.


But, since I was having a terrible time with pants, I decided to try planning some matching garments. I have been leaning towards bluey purpley colors lately, so that was my start. Doing the planning helped pull me out of the pants fitting funk. I made one of the dresses! It is the Simplicity dress that was voted Best Pattern of 2009. I used the flowery knit and it turned out really well. I'll post photos of that later...

Starting from the top left, a purple stripe dress with kimono sleeves. Next, a Burda short sleeve belted jacket out of bright blue cotton. Next, the dress I just made, and then an orange top of some kind...probably not out of this pattern. I don't think it is the right weight. Bottom row, grey knit...maybe a skirt and a pair of leggings. Next, a loose skirt out of lightweight stretch twill. I just cut out the skirt since I already have light colored thread in all of the machines.

When I feel positive enough, I'm going to try these Jalie trousers out of denim. I'm going to do a grey shirt and a white shirt, hopefully out of this Jalie pattern. I am thinking of doing that wrappy Simplicity cardi to go with the skirts and dresses, but I'm not sure yet. If I find a better pattern for a cardi, I'll go with that.


And that's the plan...but you can't hold me to it!

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.

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!

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.

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!

Annoying T-shirts...Fitting Fiascos

I've been sewing lots and lots of shirts. I started out with Kwik Sew 3338.


It's a perfectly fine pattern, but I had a tough time with the back. I've got a 10 inch difference between my waist and my hips. Without a CB seam, I don't think I'm going to get rid of the back wrinkles. I'm ok with that. I have a Vogue pattern to try that has princess seams...perhaps it will work for my back wrinkle problem. I was so focused on the back that I ignored the front above bust wrinkles.



I did get out my embroidery machine for this final Kwik Sew effort. I digitized an applique sketch and managed to make it work for this knit shirt!

Close up of the embroidery:

If anyone has a burning desire to stitch this out themselves, I'd be happy to share the file. It's an ART, so if you can use it, I'll give it to you! Email me.

Next I tried Vogue t-shirt pattern 8536.


After my first muslin, that was way stretchier than my fashion fabric, I figured everything was hunky dory. Before I launch into the fitting issues, I'd like to say that the cute little notched hem was a breeze to make and flatters a "hippy" figure like mine. I love that feature and will use it in the future.


The fashion fabric produced above the bust wrinkles, due to it's more robust stretch. The pattern is so busy that I can live with the wrinkles, but I'm reaching for a (maybe) unattainable perfect fit. I'd also like to say that this knit from Fabric.com is AWESOME! I'd wear it every day for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.


The back:


I can live with a few little wrinkles, but just for the heck of it, I cut out a different shirt. I moved the bust point 1/2" lower, and came up with a slightly better fit. The weird sleeves are due to a shortage of fabric, not my desire to start a pink-sleeve-trend.



Hmmm...I shall check my bust points in the future. I would like to announce that t-shirts are incredibly goofy to fit. The variety and stretch of knits (and lack of pattern definition) makes for a challenging fit. For now, the shirts are slightly better than RTW. I also learned that V-necks are tricky...I made at least 4 practice necklines before I felt OK about it. I have SOOOOO much to learn.

Next up...a half circle skirt....Simplicity 2758.



I am attempting to start dressing in a more feminine way. I tend towards the jeans and tees every single day and am challenging myself to try some new things. This thinking also makes me wonder about fashion in general...and how people come up with their own personal fashion philosophies. If you have a strong opinion about how you dress, or a person who has been instrumental in your fashion sense, let me know! I'd love to hear.

More of the Bamboo Cotton Knit...

I got started on McCall's 4261 this Christmas holiday. My husband was kind enough to watch our son while I obsessed over it. I chose it because it's a utilitarian garment and I would have many opportunities to test out my new Babylock Coverstitch Machine.


I added 4 inches to the body of the garment, 2 above the waist and 2 below. I added 1.75 inches to the hip side seams. I think I would add another 2 inches to the body, I'd prefer that it was longer. I added 4 inches to the arms, and I think I could take out an inch or two. I keep getting my sleeves wet while I'm washing dishes. Hee hee.


I like the fit, it went together well. I'm going to go into more detail here.