Friday, July 30, 2010

New Look 6816, head to toe and maternity friendly

What is that sound you hear?  Perhaps the tiny footsteps of my mojo coming home??  I hope so!!  In view of how happy my knit dress made me, I decided to keep with the theme and sew some quick knitwear.  New Look 6816 has been a favorite top for some time.  I've sewn it here and here. These continue to be favorite tops that I wear constantly, so I decided to give it another go, and to add the pants from the same pattern to the mix.  I love me a wide legged pant!
While sewing this I had no end of (self-inflicted) trouble!!  My twin needle needed replacing, and I bought cheap Walmart C&C thread, so it kept snapping, all while my twin needle kept skipping stitches.  It took longer to hem the top than it did to cut it out and sew it together.  For the pants, I was wise enough to go get a new needle, so the hems went well, but I didn't listen to Elaine, and although it was one of those mystery fabrics, I'm pretty sure that this was supposed to be lining.  This stuff is thin and painful to sew.  My feed dogs actually kept snagging it if I wasn't careful to hand feed it.  Ewww.  It's a good thing I don't tuck in tops.  The waistband is a mess.
Aside from my sewing woes, I'm really happy with the end result.  This outfit is crazy comfortable.  Check out that perfect line in back!  The fit is really great.  The picture fairly effectively illustrates the thin-ness of this fabric though.  Need something not white to go under there...
I did make a few changes to make this more maternity friendly.  I lengthened the top by an inch to give me a bit more bump coverage, and rather than a traditional cased elastic waistline,
I used buttonhole elastic (which also happens to be very soft and stretchy), and left an opening at the side where I can adjust the waistband as I get bigger, and then pull it back to still fit after baby comes.  I think this will be great for that transitional period before I get my real body back as well.  I am really happy with this pant pattern and am thinking that I will use it for the black silk I got for my birthday.  I'd like to try it out first in an actual woven fabric though, before I start cutting up sixty dollars worth of silk...

18 comments:

Eugenia said...

Great maternity outfit - comfortable but very elegant looking!

Karin van D. said...

What a wonderful outfit. The pants look great on you!

Myra said...

Very nice, Katie. I have used Joanns version of really thin knit that was probably knit lining material, it was so hard to work with. I used the remainder for a muslin and have a bit left for contrast knit binding. I do love the print of the top.

Heather said...

I love you new outfit! I really like wide leg pants too.

Beth said...

Cute!
You got a haircut, too! Looks great.
I like the buttonhole elastic. I would like to experiment with it.

Ann Made Studio said...

Very nice outfit...you look great!

Victoria said...

That's a great top!!! And I love the adjustments you made so you can get maximum wear out of it during your pregnancy!!!

knitmachinequeen (KMQ) said...

So cute and not maternity looking at all!

Ruth said...

Love the baby bump...you're so cute. Great outfit, nice sewing!

Mary Nanna said...

Well it seems you are well and truly back in the sewing saddle - lovely outfit and I can't wait to see what $60 worth of silk looks like!

Angela said...

Cute! Totally not maternity looking at all!!

gwensews said...

That's just cute as can be! Your using the button elastic is a great idea.

Digs said...

Beautiful outfit, and you look fabulous (in the striped dress too!). Best wishes!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous outfit! You look great. :)

Kathi said...

What a great looking outfit! Buttonhole elastic was a great invention!

Grouch, MD said...

Ah, ya'll just don't know. She looks even better in person than on these silly old photos.

Dr. Fun (AKA Sister) said...

You look so good! That outfit is beautiful and hooray for the mojo! Plus you're so smart with the adjustable waist.

amber said...

Nice changes to the pants to make them maternity-friendly. Such a pretty outfit and perfect for the bump!