Kadiddlehopper

Monthly Roundup: January 2012

2012-02-01T05:08:00.000-08:00

One month in to 2012, and how is everyone doing? I'm feeling pretty good about what came out of the sewing room this month.

1) McCalls 5696 skirt as a gift
2) Gap-Tastic cowl for me
3) Sewing For Boys Raw Edge Raglan tee x 2 for Logan and Duncan
4) Pink Waffle Knit sweater for Myra
5) Simplicity 2256 jacket for me
6) Ottobre 04/2004-14 shirt for Logan
7) Kwik Sew 3694 top for me
8) New Look 6082 pants for me
9) Made by Rae Toddler Backpack for Myra

The total yardage out is 11.5 yards. Yardage in was 25.42 yards, but in my defense, I did get a gift card to Hancock's, which I made very good use of. Still, the stash doesn't really need to grow, so I have plans to sew up much of that new fabric very soon. I spent a large part of my sewing time this month working on my coat and I do not regret a single minute. I love that coat so much and I learned a ton.

Upcoming in February, I am participating in Lori and Lynne's Wardrobe Basics Sew Along.

I'll post a bit about planning for that soon. I have some fun ideas. I also have some Pinterest inspiration that I want to follow through on.

I have been obsessed with red skinny pants recently. Although leather probably isn't compatible with my lifestyle, I do have some nice bottom weight stretch twill that will be perfect. I'll be pulling out Vogue 8330 again for these. I love the denim pair I made and wear them all the time.

Pink has also seriously been on my radar lately. I scored some pink stretch corduroy recently. I like the skinnies here, but I don't think I need them in both red and pink. I think I'll make some flare leg jeans. Maybe I'll haul out Jalie 2908, or perhaps Vogue 2907.

Of course, there is still the Sewing For Boy SAL over at Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy! This month the focus is pants. I think there may be a theme here... The two patterns we'll be doing are the "Mr. Two Face" pants and the "Kickin' Back" sweats. Since I have a boy in both size ranges, I get to make them both!! I'll have to brainstorm some fun embellishments. Be warned, Thomas the Train will probably be involved. That's how my boys roll.

New Look 6082

2012-01-30T05:47:00.000-08:00

My first item in the Wardrobe Basics SAL is black slim pants. The show that this SAL is based on called them ponte pants, and that sounded great to me.

The pattern is New Look 6082, which is a wardrobe pattern with several nice pieces. I made view D, which are ankle length (although there is no way to tell that from the drawing) slim pants with vents at the outer hem.

I was going for an Audrey sort of vibe. Except that I don't wear flats.

The fabric is a black ponte knit from Fabric Mart. I really have been impressed with the quality of Fabric Mart's ponte knit, particularly for the price. So often inexpensive ponte is plasticy and reminds me of my cheerleading costume from Junior High. This knit is soft and drapey, without the plastic feeling. I really like it.

Since the pattern envelope doesn't show the pants on a person, I was sort of at a loss as far as what to expect with regard to fit. I compared the pattern to my Vogue 8330 skinny jeans pattern. These were significantly wider, but I decided I could always lop off some width as I sewed them. I transferred the crotch alterations I generally make and went ahead and cut without a muslin. I basted them together to get a sense of the fit, and the legs were quite large. I cut off a total of 1 3/4 inches per leg below the hip to give them a slim shape. I also nipped in 1 1/2 inch in the back waist. The fit in the rear isn't perfect, but it is OK and comfortable.

Since the pattern is drafted for a woven, and I was using a knit, I was on the fence about the zipper, I did install an invisible zipper, but because I was being lazy, I didn't interface the zip area and it bubbled terribly at the end. Not a good look. Since I wasn't sure how I felt about that zipper from the beginning, I didn't firmly interface the yoke. Instead, I used a tricot interfacing and added a strip of wide elastic cut to the length of my waist which I attached to the facing at the waistline to stabilize it there. This way, when I took the zipper out, I could still pull the pants on since the waistline was able to stretch.

Although the pattern claims that these pants are supposed to fall 1 inch below the natural waistline, they hit right at my belly button, which is about 1/2 inch inch below my waist. I am very high waisted, so these pants may fall a bit higher on others.

When I first put these on, Mitch wasn't thrilled with them. He tried for subtle with. "Well, they're different than what you usually wear." I like them though and although he's right that my usual vibe is fit and flare or very fitted, I think these fill a wardrobe niche that I didn't have anything for before, and they will liberate a few orphans that I have collected.

Preschooler Backpack

2012-01-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

When Logan started preschool, I made him a backpack. He chose all the fabric and notions and he still loves that backpack. Although Myra hasn't started preschool yet, she insists on taking a bag whenever we take Logan to school. So, even she won't start until next school year, I made her backpack already.

I let her raid the stash for fabrics, and she chose these two pink and brown cotton prints. We hit the store for notions, but the pinks that were available didn't match, so we went with brown. And I love it. I also added a front pocket - coloring book sized - with her name appliqued in brown. I used the same pattern pieces as I had for Logan's, which I had enlarged to accommodate a folder or binder for school.

Here is the back, with straps and hanging loop. I love how professionally this pattern comes together. And I am so pleased that we were able to find nylon strapping that was a perfect match to both the piping and the accent fabric. So awesome!

For structure, I interfaced the bag out fabric with craft fuse, which is also what I used on Logan's backpack and it has really held up well. It is kind of stiff and papery at first, but softens nicely with wear. The bottom of the bag is quilted, and the accent fabric is a densely woven poplin, so it should be nice and sturdy.

In the years since I made Logan's, Rae has added instructions for lining the bag, which I did. It looks so nice on the inside, and I imagine it will wear even better than Logan's (which is holding up really well). She can take it to college. :)

I finished it in the morning before Myra got up, so of course, she had to try it out as soon as she got out of bed. Pardon the morning hair and PJs. She loves it.

And so does Duncan. Looks like I need to make a little one for my little guy. How cute is that kid??

Kwik Sew 3694 in stripes

2012-01-26T05:13:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, one of my gifts was a gift card to Hancock's fabrics, and when I saw a fabulous brown and metallic gold uneven striped knit there, I immediately thought of Kwik Sew 3694, which I have wanted to make in a stripe since I made it a few months ago (here). It was quite a thin knit, and I was concerned that I wouldn't like it, since my first version is a beefy rib knit and I love it. I even mentioned in my review on PR that I thought this top would be best rendered in a heavier knit.

I'm going to have to go back and edit my review. I love this in a thinner knit!! And the stripes are so fun. I love the way they wrap around and chevron at the seams.

Here is a close up of the sleeve and side seams. Matching the stripe on this top initially was a head scratcher for me, but I was really just overthinking it. All you have to do is be sure that your hemline (which is straight across the cross grain, and therefore parallel to a horizontally striped knit) is lined up at the same stripe in your pattern repeat, and the rest of the stripes will fall into place.

I'm not sure how many more of this style top I need in my wardrobe, but I love this pattern so much, I might have to make another. I'll definitely be trying out the cap sleeved version without the ties for summer.

Next up I am making a pair of black ponte knit pants as my first piece in Lori and Lynne's Wardrobe Basics Sew Along.

I definitely need some wardrobe basics! Hopefully this will help keep me from getting distracted by the next shiny fabric that comes my way...

Ottobre 04/2004-14

2012-01-24T05:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful comments on my jacket. I really love it and enjoyed making it. I'm glad I got to share a bit with all of you.

**********************************

As predicted, Logan has been wearing his Woody costume shirt to church since Halloween. While I am glad it is getting worn, and also that he is leaving the vest at home (Whew!) it was quite fitted when I made it and now it is just too small. I have been trying out other patterns for dress shirts for Logan, but this time I came back to an old favorite from the 04/2004 issue of Ottobre.

This is #14, the "shirt for little boys". I made it for Logan in 2009 and I just love all of the wonderful details it has. It really is pretty much the perfect little man shirt.

It has cool darted pockets. I left off the flap, since I matched the pocket stripes perfectly and I was afraid to mess with a good thing. I do think it looks more grown up without the flaps, but the corner darts leave plenty of room for trains and cars.

I love the sleeve plackets. I just adore how much these make a little man shirt. And this issue of the magazine has detailed instructions with diagrams for putting in the sleeve placket. I forget all the fiddly details since I don't do this all the time, so it is really great to have the reminder of all the steps. Also - how about that stripe matching across the placket, eh? Mad skills. And magic tape.

The shoulder yoke comes forward of the shoulder seam and is curved into the front. Pam mentioned recently on Facebook how much she likes this feature in a man's shirt, and I have to agree. I think that it gives it a much more high end look. It's the little touches, you know?

The back yoke also curves down, mirroring the front and there is a center back pleat, just like Daddy's shirts. I'm really glad that Ottobre drafted this shirt all the way up to size 170. I just love it.

ETA: I just enabled threaded comments on the blog (Thanks Amanda, for showing us how it's done!). Please let me know (email - katiedeshazer (at) gmail (dot) com) if you can't comment or the blog is acting funny for you. I think it would be great to respond to each other's comments, but not if there are problems with blog functionality. Thanks!

Finishing touches: Lining and Buttonholes

2012-01-22T06:03:00.000-08:00

Lining any garment makes it more luxurious to wear, easier to put on and lengthens it's life. Nowhere is this more important than in a jacket or coat, where the garment is pulled over clothing several times a day and often the wrong side is seen. A lining also covers up the inner evidence of your tailoring work, leaving a clean and beautiful inner finish. Lining a jacket isn't difficult, but it does require some pattern preparation as well as some additional sewing.

My lining was inserted using a modified hand technique, which you can find in Connie Long's Easy Guide to Sewing Linings. This book would make it on my Take to a Desert Island short list (right after the Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing). It covers lining techniques for nearly any garment you can imagine, starting with drafting you lining pattern and going all the way to finishing techniques. The Tailoring book I referenced yesterday also has a brief discussion of linings, but this is much more step-by-step. Essentially, the lining is assembled and attached to the facings by machine, then hand sewn at the hems. The finish is beautiful, and it is surprisingly easy to do.

Another beautiful finish you can add to your garment is bound buttonholes. They look very intimidating, but are also surprisingly easy to make, after a little practice! I made 3 sample buttonholes before I was ready to actually cut (gasp!) my fabric. Gertie's Bound Buttonhole tutorial was what I used to make my buttonholes. The only thing I would add to her tutorial would be my hint for getting your welt lips to be evenly positioned within your window.

After slipstitching the welts in place, I would still get a little bit of slipping, but by placing a single pin through the point of my clipped triangle and pinning between the lips, they stayed centered every time.

I hope this little series has helped you to be a little more comfortable with tailoring and coat making if you weren't before, or has added a little to the knowledge base that you have. I am so happy that I finally sewed my own coat. It is beautiful and fits me perfectly, which I know I would never have been able to find off the rack.

Structure and Shape

2012-01-21T05:46:00.000-08:00

Tailored clothing has been shaped by a variety of techniques involving everything from interfacing to hand sewing. I know as a new sewist, I was very intimidated by these techniques, but there are a lot of resources out there to help you learn them.

Here are some of the books that I used in tailoring my coat. All of these were useful to me in some ways, although if you only have Tailoring:The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket, you'll have what you need. This book takes you step-by-step through the process of making a beautifully tailored jacket using hand, machine and fusible tailoring techniques, which you can mix and match to meet your needs.

Here is the coat sans lining so that you can see the structural components that I included in the body of the coat. I used a combination of fusible interfacing to block fuse the bodice. I machine stitched on my hair canvas chest piece, but hand sewed the taping on the roll line (which in my case was also the neckline seam).

The undercollar (and the lapel facing, although that is not pictured here) were interfaced with hair canvas and padstitched by hand. Although there are machine and fusible methods for shaping the undercollar, I really think that you can't beat the shape you get by hand tailoring here. This was one of the things that really put me off of had tailoring a garment though. I was afraid of the padstitching! Once I saw it done in person, though I realized that it was easier than I was making it out to be. I wish I could come and padstitch with each of you, but since I can't, I made a video so that you could see what it looks like.

Once all the stitching is done, you can see the shape that it gives the undercollar.

See how much structure it has? That curved shape will allow it to lay close to the body and maintain its shape.

After your padstitching is done, you want to steam your undercollar into shape around your tailor's ham. You just pin it on, with the stand folded down along the roll line and blast it with your steam iron until it is damp. You will then want to let it completely dry, so set it aside and work on something else.

Another useful technique that I used on this coat was catchstitching the seam allowances by hand. In this bulky coating, it really helped control the loft of the fabric to give a really precise and flat seam.

Can you see the difference? These are the shoulder seams of the coat. Both seams have been sewn, pressed and steamed, but the seam on the left has also been catchstitched in place. See how much smoother and flatter it lies? It was a bit time consuming, but I think the results were worth the effort.

Obviously, one blog post won't teach you everything you need to know about tailoring, but if you are interested in learning more, I highly recommend the book I referenced above as well as a few blogs that I found useful:

Made By Hand - The Great Sartorial Debate - This is a wonderful blog, written by a professional tailor. He showcases his own amazing work as well as taking apart bespoke garments to examine. Fascinating!
Sherry's RTW Tailoring Sew Along - A collection of tutorials to help achieve a high-end RTW finish to your tailored garments. The focus is on industry secrets, many techniques are by machine rather than hand.
Gertie's Lady Grey Sew Along - Gretchen, of Gertie's New Blog For Better Sewing, takes us along as she hand tailors her Lady Grey coat. She has tons of tips, tricks and great tutorials.

Tomorrow I'll talk about a couple of finishing touches - lining your jacket and making bound buttonholes. Stay tuned!

Fitting Simplicity 2256

2012-01-20T05:47:00.000-08:00

The first step in any sewing project is to get a perfect fit. If you aren't happy with the fit of your garment, then you have wasted your own time, money and fabric! This is a lesson it took me a lot of time (and wasted fabric!) to learn, but I know that spending a little time getting the fit just right before you cut your fabric will save much pain and suffering later. I always start by tissue fitting my pattern on my dress form to see if I need to make any major changes.

I trace all my patterns onto tracing medium (Soil Separator paper is my personal favorite), then sew it together to see how it looks. You can just cut out your pattern tissue in your correct size and pin it together on the seamline as well. After making any major changes to the tissue pattern, I cut out a muslin. Now, I don't always muslin every pattern, although there are certainly sewists who do. For this project, since I knew I would be putting a lot of work into it, I wanted to get the fit absolutely perfect before I cut into my precious coating.

My first muslin wasn't too bad, particularly since I had already fixed the swayback in the tissue. In the heavier fabric I used for my muslin, it was clear that I needed a little more room in the bust,

As well as some additional ease across my broad back. After a 3/4 inch FBA and a 5/8 inch broad back adjustment, I made a quick bodice only muslin to check the darts and alignment. I also tried out gathers in place of the darts, which didn't work at all, so I'm glad I muslined it first. After finalizing the dart placement, I sewed muslin #3.

And it worked! I'm happy now with the dart placement and the amount of ease in the bodice.

In back, the adjustment there gives me enough ease to move, without being to large. You can see on the sleeveless side, I tried a shoulder dart, but didn't like the way it looked, so I ended up easing the back shoulder (which I had lengthened with my broad back adjustment) into the front. One thing to remember is that even if you don't think you'll need to adjust the sleeve, you need to set them in to make sure that the back of your garment fits well, as the sleeve effects the fit there.

So in the end, I only had to make a few adjustments to this pattern and they were all pretty standard adjustments for me. I did a small FBA, a broad back adjustment and a small swayback adjustment.

My favorite fit resources are:

Fit For Real People by Pati Palmer and Marta Alto - While the styles are dated, you can't beat the fit information.

The Perfect Fit: The Classic Guide to Altering Patterns - This book has great fit methods, but is often a little light on the explanations. I wouldn't use it as my primary fit resource, but I've learned a lot from it about alternate ways to fit a garment. It is particularly helpful in "non-standard" situations.

Fast Fit by Sandra Betzina - This book helps "diagnose" fit problems by focusing on how an ill fitting garment might appear and what the problem is. Her fit solutions are good, although they don't always apply to every situation.

Debbie Cook's FBA tutorials - Debbie taught me how to do an FBA! I cannot recommend her tutorial's highly enough. They are clearly written and easy to follow. She covers how to do and FBA for many different situations, such as on a dolman sleeve or a twist top.

Sigrid's Sewing Tutorials - Sigrid has collected many sewing tutorials from all over the web and collated them into one blog. Very helpful!

I hope this is helpful. Tomorrow I'll chat a little about tailoring. Stick around for that!

Simplicity 2256: The big reveal!

2012-01-19T06:37:00.000-08:00

It seems like this has been the season for the coat in blogland. Did you see Karen's? Wow. Or Kristine's? A-MAY-ZING! I've been thinking about sewing a coat for some time, but between fear of tailoring and living in Texas, it hasn't happened until now.

I'm really more of a jacket length kind of girl, so I decided on Simplicity 2256 as my pattern. I fell in love with this style as soon as I laid eyes on it. I love the curved, layered collar, the empire line and the simplicity of style. I think it has a nod to a vintage look, without actually feeling like it came from a particular era.

And look - pockets! I love these sneaky little in-seam pockets. The pattern was a pleasure to sew - beautifully drafted and well fit. The instructions were good and although I generally find that ProjectRunway patterns can be a little difficult to follow, as they can jump around alittle, this one wasn’t that way at all. I had no trouble following it. I didmark the instruction sheet to make it easier to follow the components that Iwas including. I'll talk more tomorrow about the few fit changes I made, but they were minor and typical for me. I only had 2 issues with the pattern. The first was that it is unlined. Truly, if you saw this jacket/coat in a shop and it wasn't lined, you'd never buy it.

I did draft a lining for it, of course. It would have been nice to have one included. My other complaint was the pocket bags. Then pattern only includes one size piece for the pocket bags, and it is miniscule. Admittedly, the size of the pocket is limited by the size of the lower front panel, but the included pattern piece was just silly small. I don't think you could even fit your keys in there, much less your entire hand. I enlarged the pattern piece to fit within the front panel, and it is just the right size for my keys on one side, phone on the other with just enough space to keep my hands toasty too.

The fabric is a heavy wool coating from Hancock's. I absolutely love it and have been ~~hoarding~~ saving it for about 2 years. The lining is a silver brocade that came from a Fabric Mart mystery bundle. It acts like polyester, but is fairly heavy, which was a good pairing with the heavy coating.

There is a lot more to say about this coat, and tailoring in general, so I'm going to spread it out over the next 3 days. Tomorrow we'll talk about fit, tissue fitting and muslin making, then I'll discuss structure and shaping with some tailoring techniques (and a video - don't miss it!), then I'll discuss a couple of finishing touches - bound buttonholes and lining.

If you've come by from Simplicity's Facebook Fan Page - Welcome!! I'll be posting to the Fan Page with little tips throughout the next few days, as well as answering any questions. If you don't already "Like" Simplicity on Facebook, you are missing out on some serious fun, sew alongs and a great community! Click on over to their page now!

A word on sizing...

2012-01-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

I got my two boys to wear their new tees yesterday.

Aren't they sweet. Both tees worked out well, size-wise. For Logan, who is a pretty average sized 5 year old, I made the size 6/7 from the Sewing For Boys book. It is a very slim fit shirt, even though I made a size larger than I should have needed for him. The length is good, but Logan likes his shirts long. It comes down fairly low on his hips.

Duncan is 13 months old, but on the small side (he was 71 cm long at his 12 month checkup). He is wearing the size 74 and it is a perfect fit in the body, but the neckline was a bit snug over his giant (and I say that clinically - his head circumference is off the growth chart) melon. Further versions of this tee will use the snap placket in the raglan seam to get it over his big brains.

Of course, the important thing is that both boys like their shirts and are comfortable in them. Win.

And the coat? Come by tomorrow. I might have something exciting to show you...

Sewing For Boys: First project and review

2012-01-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

I haven't done a "What I got for Christmas" post because I thought it would be more fun to spin things out as I used them and tell you what I thought. One of my gifts from dh's parents was the book Sewing For Boys. By way of introducing the book, and as a part of the Sewalong over at Boy, Oh, Boy, Oh, Boy, I thought I'd show you my first project from the book.

This is the Raw-Edge Raglan, which is the first pattern from the book. In terms of the book itself, it is not typical of this type of project oriented book, in that there are no general sewing instruction. I think that is great!! I've never found that a project book does a great job at teaching sewing, and this way there is more room for the patterns. For this project, I found the pattern itself well drafted and the instructions were clear. You'll be seeing more from this book, I guarantee.

I liked the results so much, that I had to make one for my littlest guy, too! The pattern in the book is only graded down to a size 2-3 and Duncan is a 12-18 month size, so I used an Ottobre pattern (04/2010-1 if you're interested) for the basic pieces, and the assembly instructions from the book.

Overall, the book is easy to use (love a spiral binding!) and nicely arranged, with glossy pictures of all of the pieces, mixed and matched in various ways. The patterns are in a tidy envelope in the front of the book. The patterns are nested by size, but not overlapping like Burda or Ottobre, so tracing is a breeze. The instructions for each pattern are well written and illustrated with line drawings. As a bonus, they use very technical sewing terms, you know, like "wonky". I love that!

And here is why it is called the Raw-Edge Raglan! The seams are sewn wrong sides together, then topstitched down for a slightly deconstructed look. To mine, I added Logan's name, stenciled on with freezer paper. I was going for a sloppily spray painted on the side of a Hum Vee sort of look, so I didn't use a paintbrush. I just sort of smooshed the paint on there to give it some texture. I think it turned out pretty cool.

I did a similar stenciled embellishment on Duncan's tee, and also added cuffs. The Otto pattern I used included cuffs and I thought that would be cute, not to mention adding a bit of warmth. I applied the cuffs the same way that the neckband is applied, which is to stitch the band to the wrong side, flip it the the right side and topstitch. That left me with a TEENY little loop to try to topstitch down. Way too small for the free arm on my machine, so I basically sewed it blind. It turned out reasonably well, but I don't think I'll be doing that again...

As a cool side effect of the inside out seaming, the inside of the shirt is incredibly smooth. For Logan, who has some sensory integration issues and does not like anything itchy to touch his skin, this is an extra bonus.

And here is my inspiration for this shirt! This is my Dad, taken after he returned from some sort of overseas mission, the details of which were classified, but involved growing a beard.

This song ran through my head the entire time I was sewing. Makes me cry like a baby every time...

FO: Pink Waffle Knit Sweater

2012-01-15T05:20:00.000-08:00

Two knitted FO's in a week! This one has been on my needles for over a year, so its time really had come.

I'm just glad it still fits her! The pattern came from a ball band, so I can't link to it, although this one is very similar. Here are my Ravelry notes. It is a top down raglan knit in the round with curled edging at neckline and hems. The waffle pattern is a basic k2p2 rib with a row of purl stitches every fourth row.

Here is what it looks like up close. That acid pink yarn was so freaking hard to photograph! This is pretty close to what the color look like in real life. Naturally, Myra loves it. The yarn is KnitPicks Swish DK in Lotus. It was very nice to knit and the finished sweater is quite soft.

This sweater was knit on size 3 needles, so the fabric is quite dense and cozy. It should keep her nice and warm, just in time for a big snowfall on Monday.

FO: Gap-tastic cowl

2012-01-13T05:37:00.000-08:00

My first knitted FO of 2012 is done!

This is the Gap-tastic Cowl by Jen Geigley, which was inspired by a large seed stitch cowl she spotted at the Gap. It's been a popular pattern on Ravelry (), and I can see why. It's trendy and cute as well as an easy and quick knit.

I modified mine by knitting 130 stitches in moss stitch rather than seed stitch. My yarn (Wool of the Andes Bulky) isn't as thick as the Lion Brand Chunky used in the pattern, so in the specified gauge, my knit was a bit less firm. I like the way it drapes, but in order to get the chunky, sturdy look I thought moss stitch would be better. I do like the way it turned out.

It's a good thing I like it, since after a few rows, it bored me to tears to knit, which is probably why it took me nearly two weeks to finish it. Endless rounds of k2p2 needed to be interspersed with more interesting knitting. Per the pattern, it should have been 15 inches wide, but at 10 inches, I just couldn't knit it anymore, so I cast off. I'm glad I did, since it is just about the perfect width for me. Any wider and I think it would be too bulky around my neck.
In the sewing room, I'm still plugging away at the coat. It is completely amazing (if I do say so myself) and very close to being finished, but the hand work is starting to burn me out, and I've found myself thinking of taking shortcuts, which I don't want to do with this coat, so I may take a little break, whip up a quickie and then come back to my coat ready to don my thimble and sew away. Want a sneak peek?

Oh, I can't wait to show you the whole thing!!

McCalls 5696

2012-01-08T05:09:00.000-08:00

Myra went to a friend's birthday party yesterday. I am in the middle of sewing my coat, so I was not going to sew for this party. Of course, you all know what happened, don't you?

E loves Minnie Mouse, and I found this fun Minnie Mouse tee, but the pink is not your typical pink, and I just couldn't find anything that went with it, AND said "Minnie Mouse" to me. Until I got home, that is and perused the stash.

The denim was sitting on my to put away pile. It is the remnant from the Vogue 8330 jeans. Polka dots always make me think of Minnie Mouse, so this multicolored spotted cotton was a perfect match. I've made this skirt before for Myra, so I knew it could be pulled on without a zipper. I made this one with an elastic waistband too. Zippers and potty time just don't go together well with the preschool set.

I bound the pocket openings rather than hem them. It was cuter and easier. I also added some jeans-style topstitching. I love the way that my Singer purrs through denim.
Now back to my regularly scheduled programming! The coat is coming together. I've started assembling the shell, and it is so fun to see it finally coming together!!

2 step verification

2012-01-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

I had a question about enabling 2 step verification on your Google account, and I though it was important enough to warrant it's own post. The first step is to access your Google account settings. If you are logged into a google product (other than blogger) you should see your name and avatar (if you've assigned one) in the upper right corner.

The big red arrows are pointing to what I mean. When you click on either of those, a drop down menu will appear which includes "Account Settings" as one of the options. Click it and you'll come to the page you see above, only with your information. :) Circled in red, you can see the "2 step verification" option. On my page, it is "On". If yours already looks like that, you are set, but if it is not, then click the "Edit" link in order to enable. Follow the prompts to set up a secondary verification method (like a cell phone text) and you'll be set!

A few words to the wise

2012-01-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I had the scare of my virtual life. I clicked in my email and was redirected to a page saying that my account had been deactivated due to a Terms of Service violation. It wasn't just my email either; my entire Google account was gone. No warning, no explanation, just gone. Oh. My. Goodness. There was a "contact us" link on the page where I filled in some little boxes and was told that they would only contact me if there was any "change in status". What the crap does that mean?? You are obliterating my online presence and you don't even have the decency to have some sort of auto reply set up? WTF!!!

Anyway, as you are reading the blog now, I obviously got my access back, but several hours I spent agonizing made me realize that I was not prepared for this sort of thing to happen. You get no guarantees in cyberspace. So, I wanted to pass on a few little pieces of advice. The first, if you are a Google account user (ie, your blog is hosted by blogger/blogspot) be sure that you have enable 2 step verification. It adds a layer of protection against hackers, and also allows you to recover your account more easily. Secondly, even if you are not a Google blogger, be sure that your blog is backed up somewhere. There are several online services that provide blog backup as well as a couple of programs that allow you to back your blog up to your computer's hard drive. Another interesting option is the online Wayback Machine, which is a web archive that collects websites. If you direct it to your blog it will collect a "snapshot" of your blog at that time which will be saved in the archive. My blog had been archived in May of 2010, so much of my content was still there.

I would not wish the morning I had yesterday on anyone. Please protect your online presence! You never know when you'll need it.

In sewing news, I know it's been a little quiet around here. I am working on my coat, but there is a ton of handwork, so it is slow going.

Pretty, eh? This is just a practice buttonhole, but they are coming along nicely. I'm catchstitching down all my seam allowances, so that is slowing me down a little, but I think the end result will be worth it. I can't wait to share it with you!

2011 Year in Review

2012-01-01T05:57:00.000-08:00

Seriously, didn't I just write one of these??? This year flew by so dang fast. That may have had something to do with the insanity of having a new baby, moving across country, starting a fellowship (for the hubs) and basically completely rearranging my whole life. Or something.

Anyway - the sewing. So, 2011 was a pretty darn good year. When it began, I had a fresh newborn and wasn't sure how he was going to effect my sewing, so I didn't make any really firm goals. I think that was a good thing, since it let me feel like I could sew (and knit) as pleased me. As it went, I sewed 123 items and knit 10 items. That is less than last year, but there was a lot of upheaval, so I'm still pretty pleased. I don't feel like I tackled any particularly huge projects, but by letting myself "just sew" I feel like I learned a lot about the way that I sew and gave myself permission to enjoy the process. I also learned a lot about fitting, particularly pants.

I've noticed that this year a lot of bloggers have been posting their favorite sewn items from the year rather than a big 'ole list of stats. I love this, so I think I'm going to adopt it, in part. Since I sew both for myself and for my family, I'm going to break up my faves into categories.

My favorite sewn item for me was...
a tie:

my Vogue 1250 maxi dress was my go to dress all summer long. It is comfortable, flattering and easy to wear. I love it so much.

and my Vogue 8330 jeans. These have rapidly become my favorite jeans and I wear them pretty much daily.

My favorite baby item was...

Duncan's Simplicity 4711 romper. Seriously, does it get any cuter??

For Myra...

the New Look 6926/Style 2687 outfit. Cuteness factor is through the roof, but there is no pink and she still loves it. I also have to give an honorable mention to her Jalie gymnastics leotards. I was nervous about sewing what is essentially swimwear, but it went very well and she is definitely the best dressed little girl at the gym.

For Logan...
This is a tough one, since most of my Logan sewing is pretty utilitarian and he fortunately wears everything I make him, but from my perspective, I am most pleased with

his Thomas the train PJs. They are his favorite pajamas, but I'm quite proud of my frankenpatterning job to make them work.

And poor neglected Mitch...
I admit that the sewing that I have done for him has been only quasi successful. On the one hand, he loves the scrubs I've made and the athletic gear I have sewn, but in the dress shirts and slacks department I haven't made made much progress. So my favorite made item for Mitch has actually been a knitted one.

He has constantly worn the cowl I knitted him, so for Christmas, I made him a hat and cowl to match. They have not left his person since they came off the needles.

So, for next year, I do have a few goals...

1) Make a tailored coat and jacket. This one is actually already in progress. The coat is cut out and the tailoring has begun. For the jacket, I am planning to pull out one of my SISC projects and make Vogue 8601.

2) Complete (yes, complete!) my SISC projects. Believe it or not, I have actually already made 4 of them, but I seem to have stalled. The coat in progress will be SISC #5, and then I will get back on track with them.

3) Keep better track of my fabric ins and outs, with the goal of sewing more fabric than I buy. I have been keeping track of what I sew, but not of what is coming in. I'd like to actually sew up some of this beautiful fabric that is filling my sewing room!

4) Sew an LBD. This goal has been on the books for 3 years now. I think the time has come...

5) Knit socks. I have conquered sweaters, mittens, gloves, scarves, hats and cowls. It's time for socks.

Other than that, I really just want to work more on enjoying the process. To that end, I may spend more or less time on specific projects. If posting gets a little random, you can just assume I'm sewing up something fun.

Ottobre 06/2008-13 & 03/2011-20

2011-12-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

Because she needs new clothes...

Myra has recently developed a bit of an obsession with Hello Kitty, so when I saw this knit print at Cottonwood Fabrics, I snatched it up. It is a little on the thin side, and I think it looks a bit PJ-like all by itself. Myra picked out this hot pink panne velvet at Joann recently and when I got it home, I realized they were a perfect match.

Both patterns are from Ottobre. The top is the "Sweet 'n' Cosy" tunic from the 06/2008 issue. I've used it before to make fleece PJs and I like the way it fits.

This time I actually did the elastic at the cuffs. I think it helps make this look less like PJs. I used my binder on the neckline. Both fabrics were very curly and hard to work with, so I am really glad I had the serger and coverstitch to help tame them.

The bottoms are super cute. This is the "Funky Stripes" skirted leggings from the 03/2011 issue of Ottobre. The design is for capri length leggings, but I lengthened them to full length for winter. I love the look of a skirt with leggings. This way you only have the one waistband. And they match, which is not always the case when Myra picks out her clothes...

This was a quick and easy outfit to put together. I'll definitely be using these patterns again. In the meantime, I've also been hard at work on a coat. After 3 muslins, I'm finally ready to cut the fabric. It's going to be awesome.

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

I'm wearing my velvet top today, so I thought I'd show you all how it looks on.

I think I could have given myself a bit more room in the bust, but it is comfortable and I like it. Next time I'll do a real FBA. I also noticed that the facing doesn't quite come all the way under my bust and there is a barely visible line where it crosses the chest. I think I'll make it a little longer to eliminate that.

I hope that all who are celebrating are having a wonderful Christmas Eve full of joy, family and good food.

And something sweet under your tree.

Simplicity 3536

2011-12-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I am in the middle of a complicated project, I like to take a break and whip up something quick.

This is Simplicity 3536. It's so OOP that it isn't even on Simplicity's website anymore. This was actually one of the first patterns that I bought when I was coming back to fashion sewing. I'm not sure why it took me so long to make it up, but I sure am glad I finally did. I think this red stretch velvet (from Joann) is perfect for the holidays!

One of the features that I like about this pattern is the rouching, which you can see a bit better in the back view. There is elastic rouching at both side seams as well as the top and bottom of the sleeve at the hem. The directions instruct you to stitch on elastic while stretching, which I think is an excellent way to do it, but I decided to just shirr with elastic in the bobbin. It worked well, but I noticed that if I shirred through the seam allowance I lost a lot of elasticity, so my sleeve rouching is a little uneven.

Here is an inside view where you can see my favorite feature of this pattern - the facing for the cowl. Look at how deep it is! It comes all the way to the underbust line. It is cut on, so there is no seam.

It is secured into the armscye and side seams. That baby isn't going anywhere. It always makes me crazy when my cowl facing flips out. I love how secure this is. I think this is an adaptation I will do on future cowl neck tops.

The holidays are crazy, so I probably won't get a chance to post again until they have passed, but I hope that your holiday season is enjoyable and that you have plenty of stitching time!

Butterick 4910 - Christmas edition

2011-12-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

I saw this adorable dress on Crafts 4 Lily and decided to take a little break from my current WIP to make Myra her own Gingerbread Dress.

I'd forgotten how bizarrely long the sleeves on this pattern are. Do you like how she has styled her dress with her leopard print flats? Ever the fashionista, is my girl. She never leaves the house without a bit of animal print on her person.

The pattern I used is Butterick 4910, which is just your basic raglan sleeve tunic/top/dress. This is the long version, but shortened 5 inches to make it below knee length. I've used this pattern a couple of other times and I like it reasonably well, except for the weird sleeve length thing. Really, any raglan sleeve dress pattern you happen to have lying around would work for this dress. The fabric is a 21 wale corduroy that I purchased at Joann specifically for this project. I wanted a lighter, gingerbread brown. I think velour, velvet or velveteen would be equally cute.

For the trim, I stitched red rick rack to the sleeves (about 1 inch up from the hem) and at the seam between the skirt and ruffle. I found some cheerful green buttons in the stash and stitched three to the upper bodice with red thread and then tacked a bow at the left sleeve seam on the neckline. The arms are shirred with elastic thread.

Myra is pretty darn happy with her dress, and so am I. It is amazing what a little trim can do to spice (ha-ha) up an otherwise simple design. I need to do that more...

Boys!

2011-12-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

I had to derail some sewing plans thanks to a very active boy who managed to wear a hole in the knee of his only nice pair of pants. You know, the really nice, lined ones I made him a month ago. Seriously!! They only lasted a month!

So, I pulled out his TNT pant pattern (Ottobre 01/2009-23) and whipped up another pair.

This time, they have knee patches. I made these from a flannel backed twill that I've used for pants for him before. Those wore well, kept him warm and were comfortable. Plus, the flannel side of the fabric is cozy, so I didn't feel like they needed a lining, which made them quicker to sew.

The only embellishing I did was to quilt the patches in straight lines and topstitch the side and crotch seams with dark grey thread. For the patches, I just used the worn out pair to determine size and placement. I put a piece of thin batting under the patch for increased sturdiness. Let's hope these last longer than a month...

Kwik Sew 3167

2011-12-13T05:42:00.000-08:00

I have a big project that I will be starting soon. I can't reveal all yet, but I'm pretty sure you are going to love it. I know I'm really excited about it! Anyway, if blogging is a little light for a couple of weeks, you know why. Sort of.

In other news, I made panties!

Why haven't I done this before?? This was the easiest thing ever. Both pair took under a half hour and that includes tracing the pattern, making alterations, cutting and sewing. And they are awesome. The pattern I used is Kwik Sew 3167, which includes several different panty styles as well as a camisole, which could even double as a light bra for the young, perky and less endowed. I chose the simplest of the panties, which is sewn from wide stretch lace, so there are no edges to finish and no elastic to apply.

The edges of the stretch lace become the waist and leg openings, which is pretty as well as easy. These panties fit like boy shorts, with a low cut leg opening in front and a sassy rear view. I won't be modeling them for you, as this isn't that sort of blog, but I assure you, the hubby is pleased. And so am I! These things are so smooth under clothing, without binding or pinching anywhere! VPL is a thing of the past. Based on my measurements, I made a size M, then altered the crotch curve, scooping it out just the way I would a pair of close fitting pants. The fit is amazing. I am never buying panties again. Did I mention that I got my lace from Sew Sassy (love that site!) for 2.49 a yard, and it takes 1 1/2 yards to make a pair of panties. That brings my cost to about 3.50 per pair, since I used scrap knit for the crotch lining. Seriously, comparable panties at VS are 12.50!! Sewing is awesome.

Ottobre 06/2011-34 & 01/2009-23

2011-12-11T05:19:00.000-08:00

Both of these patterns are reruns, but I ran into some trouble I thought I'd share.

I made this outfit for Logan as a Christmas gift. The top is Ottobre 06/2011-34, which I made here, and the pants are Ottobre 01/2009-23, which I have made 10 times in various sizes. Needless to say, we like this pattern. For this iteration, I used a poly velour from Fabric Mart for the shirt as well as to line the pants. He has a velour raglan top made for him by his Oma that he wears all the time, but which is showing it's age. I used sueded cotton twill from Fabric.com for the pants outer.

Oma's version has a cool zombie embroidered on it, but since I don't have an embroidery machine, I picked up two Cars patches from Joann and stitched them on. Cute, huh? This was not where I had trouble though. The trouble came when I attached the neckband. This velour has less stretch than the rib knit I used the last time I made this top, so I made the neckband a smidge longer to compensate. It would have been fine, except that this velour curled like no jersey I have ever seen, and when I tried to stretch it to stitch it to the neckline, it curled away from the serger and out of range of the needles. Add to that that my serger has been misbehaving lately and you have a recipe for disaster. Three different neckbands, four broken needles, some basting and a bit of swearing later, it actually looks pretty good. What I learned was that if you have a jersey that curls like a mad fiend, basting the edges together with a zigzag stitch before you serge will tame the curlies. Word to the wise. The cuffs look much better. I basted them.

The pants have some decorative twill tape at the back pocket openings. Mom brought this home from Expo a couple of years ago and I have been awaiting the "perfect" project. I'm not sure this is perfect, but it was about to become To Good To Use, and we can't have that. I think it's a cute touch and it coordinates nicely with the top.

Simplicity 2520

2011-12-09T05:01:00.000-08:00

I'm still in a bit of a knit top mode. I mentioned in my last post that I had this thin jersey that I had originally pegged for the Kwik Sew top. Idecided it was too thin for that, but I think it's perfect for this.

This pattern is Simplicity 2520. When I originally purchased this pattern, it was for this knit top. It has interesting lines, and I'm a sucker for an interesting knit top pattern. Somehow, I just never found the perfect fabric for it until now, although I did make the gored skirt from the pattern. But the top - I love the design. It is a mock turtleneck which forms a yoke into which the upper bodice is pleated.

Here are the pleats. You can see the fabric a little better in this shot as well. It is a very thin poly/cotton jersey with a soft gold finish. I think it's perfect for the holidays! Anyway, you can also see that this is quite a snug neckline. The pattern calls for a zipper at center back through the yoke section only. In a firmer, sturdier knit, I think this would be necessary to get the top over your head, but this fabric has about 110% stretch and is very light. A zipper would have weighed down the back and caused ripples, so it is fortunate that I can (just!) get it over my head without it.

As is typical for the Big 4, this pattern has plenty of ease! I cut a straight size 10, although my upper bust puts me in a 12, and my full bust is a 14. Based on the finished pattern measurements printed on the tissue, I went ahead an skipped the FBA, thinking I would prefer the top to have a bit of negative ease. It doesn't, although I do fill out the pleats.

I also really like the sleeve on this top. It is a raglan style, gathered into elastic at the hem, which hits me just past elbow length. The elastic gives my fine jersey a bit of weight, which helps the sleeve hang well. Over all, I am quite pleased with this top, and I'm glad that I chose to use it for this fabric. I definitely think this pattern benefits from a very stretchy, lightweight knit.

Kwik Sew 3694

2011-12-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

In the interest of sparking a little sewing mojo, I went hunting for a quick and easy knit top pattern. The last time Kwik Sew went on sale, I picked up 3694 on a whim.

You can't get much more quick and easy than this - 3 pattern pieces and only a couple of seams. The only tricky part was the layout. Since the pieces are asymmetrical, you have to lay them out in a single layer on 60 inch wide fabric. You do need the width, too. This pattern is a serious fabric hog!

The front and back pattern pieces differ only in the neckline, so all the seams are the same - no easing, just sew. I chose to make the small size, even though the pattern measurements put me squarely in the medium size range. I was going for a somewhat closer fit than the envelope models.

The casing on the side is formed with the seam allowances of the side seam, which are stitched down on either side and a self fabric spaghetti strap is laced through the casings and drawn up to gather the side. I bound the neckline with my coverstitch machine, so I didn't use the facing strip included in the pattern.

The fabric is used is a rib knit from fabric.com. It was originally a creme color, but I accidentally washed it with some bright red yardage, so now it is a pinkish tie dye. Oops. I used it as a wearable muslin of sorts, since I wasn't sure about the style. I really like it, but now I'm not sure that I want to use the fabric I had initially paired it with. It is a very fine jersey with a soft gold finish. It's very drapey, which is so different from this firm rib knit. I'm not sure I'll like it as well, but I do have a couple of interlocks I think would be awesome.

Twirly, sparkly and pink

2011-12-05T05:35:00.000-08:00

I'm still feeling a little scattered sewing-wise. I've pulled dozens of patterns and pieces of fabric, only to put them all back because I just can't seem to make a decision. Nothing seemed just right, until I spotted this remnant of embroidered batiste that my Mom sent me.

Isn't it fabulous?? Mom used it to make this skirt, and then sent me what was left.

There were only a few small rectangles of fabric, but it was just enough for a twirly skirt for Myra.

For some OTT girliness, I added a ruffled underskirt. Pink of course, made from some hot pink voile I got in a mystery bundle from Fabric Mart.

I didn't use a pattern - it's just rectangles sewn together and gathered a bit, but this tutorial will give you a similar effect.

Happy Twirling!

Ottobre 06/2011-34

2011-12-03T05:34:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid that I am notorious for neglecting necessary (but boring) sewing. Poor Logan falls into that category all too often. It's particularly pronounced in the pajama department. He has exactly enough sets of PJs (that he likes) to get him from one wash day to the next, so when he tore a hole in one of his PJ tops, it was a bit of an emergency. Naturally, the hole was front and center in the middle of the fabric - not repairable. The top was really too short anyway, but the pants still fit great, so instead of attempting a sad looking repair, I used the remains of the old top to applique a new one.

He was more interesting in playing with it than getting a good picture.

The pattern is from the most recent issue of Ottobre, 06/2011. It is #34, which is a raglan sleeved PJ top with a fun bulldog applique. I went a little simpler and made a large number 5 on the front of the shirt and a little soccerball snipped out of the print on the right sleeve.

The fabric is a super soft cotton rib knit. I really wish I remembered where it came from. I want some more!! Before I got my serger, I really struggled sewing rib knits. It seemed like no matter what I did, the seams would ripple. Now, I just crank the differential feed up to 2 and stitch away! This tee really did whip up quickly. As is typical for Ottobre, it is beautifully drafted. The neckband seemed way to small when I was first attaching it, but it turned out just right. I did lengthen the shirt and sleeves to the next size up, as it looked short in the magazine. On Logan, the fit is nicely slim and the length is good. There is a little room to grow, but not so much that he's swimming in it.

This was supposed to be a PJ top, but when Logan saw it, he told me that it is to wear to preschool. So, you may be seeing some more boy PJs here soon... And a few more of these. It's a good basic, and he could use more long sleeve shirts. It gets cold out there!

Monthly Roundup: November 2011

2011-12-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

Can you believe I still haven't cut that houndstooth??? I was so disappointed in the muslin for Simplicity 2764 that I am scissor shy now. I toyed around with the idea of a cape, and while I think that would have been amazing, I only have enough yardage for a cropped one, which I don't think I'd be as fond of. So, the houndstooth wool has been returned to the stash for the moment. I still managed to sew and knit a few things this month.

1) Ottobre 03/2009-19 cardigan for Myra

2) Nosewarmer cowl for Mitch

3) Ottobre 01/2009-23 pants for Logan

4) Simplicity 8170 PJ top and bottom for Myra

5) McCalls 3830 skirt X3 for me

6) Not Quite A Baby mitts and hat for Duncan

7) DanDoh scarf for me

8) New Look 6926 pinafore for Myra

9) Style 2867 blouse for Myra

10) New Look 6926 purse for Myra

11) Christmas Tree for all the kids

12)Vogue 8330 jeans for me
13)Ottobre 06/2011-34 tee shirt for Logan - not yet blogged

That ends up being 12 finished sewn garments and 4 knitted items. And a cut and glue crafty Christmas tree. :) I sewed 17.5 yards of fabric and 15.5 was from the stash!! Woo-hoo!! The only non-stash sewing I did this month was two of the knit pencil skirts, which actually never made it into the stash. I'm not sure what my favorite garment this month is. Everything is getting good use, although Duncan prefers to eat his mittens and hat, rather than wear them.

What to do for December?? Well, I still have coats, jackets and jeans on the brain. I ordered some Faux Mink from Fabric Mart to make a jacket and I really still want that houndstooth in my closet. I love my new skinny jeans, but I also want to make some wide legs. Myra could really use some jeans, too and she's big enough for Jalie 2908 now. I think the low rise would be perfect for her *ahem* figure. Between her low front waist and ghetto booty, RTW doesn't fit her at all. I'm feeling a bit of sewing ADD right now actually. There are a ton of things I want to do, but I can't get my brain to settle on one. Maybe I'll go make a knit top. That always settles me down!

Vogue 8330

2011-11-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

The heavy duty snap was hammered and these babies are done!

I love them!! When I first started seeing skinny jeans, I was horrified. Could anything be more unflattering?? What would Stacy and Clinton say??? But the more I saw them, the more I liked them. Still, I couldn't convince myself to put in the effort to sew a pair when I wasn't sure that I liked the style. So, I did the unthinkable and actually bought a pair of jeans. I know. After some judicious back waist darts, the RTW pair fit OK, and I found myself wearing them all the time, even though the fit was only OK. It was obviously time to sew myself a pair that actually fit.

The pattern I used was Vogue 8330, which I found at the thrift store. I was thrilled to see very favorable reviews on PR. Erica B even made these! The only thing I didn't like about the pattern was the low rise, so I raised it to just below my natural waist. That took 3 inches in front, tapering down to 2 inches at center back.

I added 2 of the three inches above where the pocket sits, to enlarge the pocket opening, but I should have lowered the coin pocket. It looks a little strangely tall. The topstitching was done with C&C "jeans" thread on my Janome. The jeans were constructed on the serger as well as my vintage Singer. She purrs through denim like butter.

I used Dritz rivets, although I have some nicer ones coming soon from Hot Patterns. I couldn't wait, so they'll go on my next pair of jeans. For the closure, I used a heavy duty snap, also from Dritz. It was much easier than fighting Janome to make a buttonhole with jeans thread. I will have to explore other color options though. Hancock's only has black and old gold, which doesn't match the silver rivets they carry. Hello.

Inside, I used a striped cotton for the waistband facing and pockets. I extended the pocket bag across the front all the way to center front. I first saw this done on Beangirl's blog, but have since seen that some of my Burda pants pattern have that feature as well. It is really great for keeping those pocket bags tucked in, but also provides a little tummy control for those of us who perhaps don't have the tummy tone of yesteryear.

Changes I made for fit are mostly detailed here and here. I think these are my best fitting pants to date, so I am pleased. Despite the fact that I get front wrinkles if I move, I am still pleased to have figured out the front crotch curve as having a good fit there makes these pants quite comfortable. Nothing pulls, binds or rides up. I'm not sure I am thrilled with the fit of the waistband, since it tends to roll down on the sides. It is a contoured waistband, and I wonder if it doesn't curve too sharply for how high the waistline is on these pants.

Here are the pockets, now actually stitched on. I waited to sew them on until I had sewn and topstitched the center back seam, so that I could balance the pockets an equal distance from the topstitching. In looking at the pictures, I think they might have been a bit more flattering if I had placed them slightly closer in. I'll remember that for next time!

I'm pretty darn thrilled with my jeans. They are comfortable and despite the dogma about pant legs falling straight from the hips, I find these pretty flattering. It was fun to sew along with the ladies at It's a Jeans Thing as well. Thanks for letting me play!! I may try to squeeze another pair in before the 15th of December!

Christmas Spirit

2011-11-28T10:42:00.001-08:00

I finally joined the Pinterest crowd a few weeks ago. That site can be a serious time sucker, but I have also found some fun ideas there. This is my first attempt at using one of my "pins".

The idea for the tree comes from this blog. She includes a pdf tutorial with patterns for the decorations. Very nice! Of course, I've never been very good at following directions. I cut the felt tree from a 1 yard piece of 72" wide felt. I only used half of the width, so I'm thinking about making another for their bedroom. For the ornaments, I used a roll of duct tape to make the circles and let the kids pick bits of trim to decorate, then I used the hot glue gun to affix their decorations. The "garland" is just mohair yarn. Nice and sticky with the felt. Since felt sticks to itself, no velcro is needed. We all had a pretty fun time putting it together, and it was really quick - maybe 45 minutes total.

Here's Myra, rearranging the ornaments to best effect. She says it needs some presents, and I don't think she means felt ones...

In other news, my jeans are ALMOST done. All that is left is hammering on the snap. Seriously, that is all. Hopefully I can get that done today and get some pictures. I'm pretty excited about them. I can't wait to show you all!!

Back Pockets

2011-11-26T05:54:00.000-08:00

Whenever I make a new pair of jeans, the first thing I stitch is the back pockets. Having the pockets done gives me a little mojo burst, which I need at the beginning of an involved project.

I don't have an embroidery machine, so I have to work a little harder to get my pockets symmetrical. Over the course of my last several pair of jeans, I've worked out a system that works for me. I thought I'd share it.

The first thing I do is trace the pocket pattern piece I'm using, then draw in the hem and seam allowances (if it has them). I copy this several times (on a regular copy machine/printer) to give me something to sketch on so that I can try out different design ideas in the space I'll actually have on the pocket. Once I've settled on a design, I flip it over and trace it backwards so that the two pockets are symmetrical. I used regular computer paper today, but the next step is easier if you trace it onto tissue paper.

Cut out your tracing on the cutting line and glue it onto your fabric with a glue stick. Just dab a little glue in the upper and lower allowances. You don't want it glued permanently, but you don't want it to shift around when you stitch. Wonder Tape would work too, but glue sticks are cheaper. Pins are acceptable, but may distort your design as you stitch.

Now stitch your design through the paper. Go slowly and sew accurately along the lines you drew.

That big fat jeans needle you should be using does a nice job of perforating the paper, so it is easy to remove from your design! Just pull gently, starting with the big pieces of paper. When you get to the little ones, tug on your pocket a little. Even non stretch denim will stretch a little on the bias, and this will help detach the paper from your stitching.

Now all that is left is to press down your hem allowance on top and topstitch it in place, then press under the allowances on the other sides and bottom of the pocket. Since you already traced out the pocket shape, you have a template you can use for pressing. Handy!

Any other tips? Please share!

Whisker relief!

2011-11-23T12:05:00.001-08:00

A big thank you to Tanit-Isis and Anonymous! I think I fixed that pesky front crotch curve.

Better, yes? Here is how it looked before.

So, Tanit-Isis got me thinking about the shape of the curve, but I wasn't sure what to do about it. Anonymous (who are you? You are a genius!) pointed me it the direction of the Savvy Sewer Salon over at Sawyer Brook Fabrics. Jennifer Stern had hosted a couple of sew alongs and addressed several fit issues, including this one (You'll find that thread here.). When the wee one went down for a nap, I decided to give it a try. It worked! And it only took about a 1/8 inch change to totally change the fit of these pants.

The original stitching line is in red, with the new stitching line in tan. You wouldn't think that teeny change would make any difference at all, but it did and I am thrilled!!

Thank you both for commenting and getting my mind working!!

Pant's fitting woes

2011-11-23T07:31:00.001-08:00

I've started in on my new jeans. I'm using Vogue 8330, which is an OOP pattern from 2006 or so.

It has several positive reviews on PR and I like the shape of it. I've been wanting to make a pair of "skinny" jeans for a while as I wear the RTW pair I bought often, even though it isn't all that great a fit. Anyway, I started out with some flat pattern alterations. This pattern is quite low rise, which isn't a great look for me, so I added some height to the rise and made my now usual crotch alterations (scoop out and lower the back, lengthen front hook slightly). Then I whacked a muslin out of some crazy orange stretch sateen, which has a similar weight and stretch to my denim.

This is back version 2.0, after I took 2 1/2 inches off the CB waistband and darted the yoke by the same amount. I'm pretty darn pleased with the fit back there, actually. There are a few under the seat wrinkles, but without them I can't sit down. Wearing ease is a must.

In front, I'm not so pleased. Those darn crotch wrinkles - what is that about?? I looked them up in The Perfect Fit, which said that this was a full thigh problem. I can buy that, so I tried releasing the side seams, but that actually made it worse! Sandra Betzina's Fast Fit says I need more space in the inseam, and I was about to try that alteration when the small people woke up and I had to stop ~~playing~~ sewing.

So ladies, what do you think?? I know there has been a lot of discussion about these particular wrinkles out there in the blogosphere lately. I always see them in RTW. Do I just live with them, or is there something I can do to fix this??? This is why I sew! I'm off to check out Sunni and Sarai's pant fit tutorial's. If y'all have any suggestions, I am all ears!

New Look 6926 & Style 2687

2011-11-21T05:18:00.000-08:00

I was sorting through patterns the other day, attempting to impose some order on my sewing space, and I came across this pattern that I purchased intending to make Myra an outfit from the scraps of this skirt. She's about to outgrow this pattern, and since I am a bit obsessed with houndstooth right now, I decided its time had come.

I'm happy to say that we are both thrilled with the result!

The dress is made with New Look 6926. I used view C, which is an unlined jumper with front and back bodice cut on the bias and bias cut patch pockets on the (straight grain) skirt. Per the pattern, the neckline and armholes are finished with bias tape, but I elected to fully line my version. The main fabric is a wool blend from Hancock's and the lining is a poly/acetate lining, also from Hancock's. As mentioned, they are both left over from this skirt.

I used an invisible zipper in back, and I'm so pleased with how well in came out. This is attempt #2, as the first time I managed to twist the zipper. I hate when I do that!! Since the bodice was on the bias, I stabilized the center back seam allowance with fusible tricot interfacing, cut on grain with no stretch in the vertical direction.

Here is the lining, from the back. I also stabilized the armholes and neckline with interfacing, and inserted the lining completely by machine following Trena's amazing tutorial. It looks completely amazing, if I do say so myself. You must try her technique. It was easy and looks great. The little tag comes from Izzy & Ivy. They have the cutest size and care tags.

The blouse is from OOP Style 2687. It is a basic blouse with a Peter Pan collar and puffed sleeves gathered into a narrow binding. The neckline is finished with bias tape. I used a zebra print as Myra refuses to leave the house if there isn't some animal print on her person. It's a good basic pattern, and I'm sure I'll use it again, as it goes up to size 8. The fabric is a heavyweight polyester satin from Fabric Mart. I have miles of this stuff as I ordered some, then got a large length in a mystery bundle.

Myra's favorite part of the ensemble is the little purse. It is also from New Look 6926. I made it out of the same satin as the blouse. The bag body is interfaced with craft bond interfacing and the pocket and bag itself are lined with the satin as well. The pattern calls for a ribbon closure, but Myra can't tie a ribbon, so I found a cute silver flower button in my stash and made a loop out of black yarn to button it.

Myra loves her purse, and immediately filled it with the trappings of toddlerhood.

Linked up!...

Next up, I need a pair (or 2) of jeans. I joined up with Lynn to sew up some jeans in her sew-a-long.

Come and join us, or just follow along! There has already been some great info shared.

Vintage pattern love

2011-11-19T07:47:00.001-08:00

Hey ladies,

This is a totally shameless plug for my Etsy shop. I just listed some darn awesome 70s patterns. Hop on over and take a look! Here are a couple of my favorites.

Classic shift dress in 3 lengths. How great is that keyhole neckline?!

70s wedding? Yes, please!

And many more!! Click here.

FO: Not-Quite-A-Baby hat and mittens

2011-11-18T05:07:00.000-08:00

My little mannie was well equipped for the winter chill last year. My sister and I knit him many hats and mittens, but as this year started to get colder, I found myself unprepared. All of last year's gear was too small, but knitting patterns seem to be sized for newborns or toddlers, and Duncan is in between. So, I hitched up my big girl pants, and adapted a pattern for mittens. Then I got crazy and wrote one for a hat. So, lest there be other wee one year olds in need of headgear, I'd like to share my pattern with you.

The Not-Quite-A-Baby Hat

Yarn: Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Washable Ewe

Needles: US size 6 and 7 circular, 40 inch for Magic Loop or dpns

Gauge: 5 1/2 sts/inch & 8 rows/inch in stockinette stitch on size 7 needles.

Size: Intended for Duncan's 17 inch noggin

CO 104 stitches onto your size 6 needle and divide in half for Magic Loop or arrange evenly over your dpns. Join to knit in the round.

Knit k2 p2 ribbing for 9 rounds.

Switch to size 7 needles and knit even in stockinette stitch (knit all rounds) for 2 1/2 inches. If you want to extend the wear of your hat, knit for 3 3/4 inches and fold up the ribbed section. Then as not-quite-baby grows, you can fold down the ribbed section for more length.

For the decreases:

1) *k11, k2tog, rep from * to end (96 sts.)

2&3) knit

4) *k10, k2tog, rep from * to end (88sts)

5) knit

6) *k9, k2tog, rep from * to end (80 sts)

7) knit

8) *k8, k2tog, rep from * to end (72 sts)

9) knit

10) *k7, k2tog, rep from * to end (64 sts)

11) knit

12) *k6, k2tog, rep from * to end (56 sts)

13) *k5, k2tog, rep from * to end (48 sts)

14) *k4, k2tog, rep from * to end (40 sts)

15) *k3, k2tog, rep from * to end (32 sts)

16) *k2, k2tog, rep from * to end (24 sts)

17) *k1, k2tog, rep from * to end (16 sts)

18) *k2tog, rep from * to end

Break yarn, leaving a 6-8 inch tail. Thread your tail through remaining 8 sts and pull them tightly together. Weave in ends and lightly block.

For Duncan's little mittens, I adapted the excellent Baby Mitts pattern by Susan B. Anderson. I love this pattern because it is easy to knit, cute and very useful. I knitted a few pairs of these for Duncan for his first winter and they really came in handy. This year, they were all too small, so I sized up the pattern. Here is what I did.

Not-Quite-A-Baby Mitts

Same yarn and needles as the hat

Size: Fits my 1 year old as well as my 3 year old.

CO 32 sts onto your size 6 needle and join to work in the round.

Knit k2p2 ribbing for 9 rows.

Switch to size 7 needles and work even in stockinette stitch for 2 1/2 inches.

For the decreases:

1) *k2tog, k15, rep from * to end

2) *k4, k2tog, rep from * to end

3) knit

4) *k3, k2tog, rep from * to end

5) *k2, k2tog, rep from * to end

6) *k1, k2tog, rep from * to end

7) *k2tog, rep from * to end

Break yarn, leaving a 6-8 inch tail. Thread your tail through remaining 8 sts and pull them tightly together. Weave in ends and lightly block.

I hope this keeps your little Not-Quite-A-Baby warm and cozy!

Here is the Ravelry button -

Tutorial: Comfy knit pencil skirt

2011-11-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad y'all are as excited as I am about this skirt. I don't think I've ever made three of the same thing in a row before, but I just love this so much!

It works tucked it, too!

So, to make your own...

You'll need:

A basic, darted skirt pattern that fits you well. This really would work with any shape skirt, not necessarily just a straight skirt, but in order to get it over your hips, it must be a style with darts rather than one shaped with gores, panels or a yoke.

Enough elastic to go around your waist. For comfort, I suggest at least 1 inch wide. Mine is 1 1/4 inch.

Knit fabric with at least 30% crosswise stretch. For a below knee pencil skirt, just one yard of 60 inch wide fabric should be plenty. Be sure your knit isn't too thin. You want it to skim your curves, not cling. I suggest ponte knit, some sweater knits, interlock or a heavier jersey.

The first thing to do is to prepare your pattern to use with a knit. This is crazy easy, so I only have one picture for you.

The original pattern is the whiter one to the left. If you are happy with the shape of the skirt you are using, you can just use the pattern pieces as they are to cut your fabric. Just ignore the dart at the waistline and any notches there - you won't use them. In order to peg my skirt, I took one inch off of each seam at the hem line and tapered back to the original seam line at the hip. That is a total of 8 inches, ladies. ETA: snowflakes asked how that added up to 8 inches. Good question! I also removed an inch from both center front and back, angling the fold line up to the original waist seamline. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. I also decided to cut my back panel on the fold, so I eliminated the center back seam allowance.

I left both lines there, so should I need a center back seam for some reason, I can put one in.

Once you have your pieces cut, you can assemble your skirt. If you eliminated the center back seam, that means just stitch up the side seams. If you are concerned that your knit doesn't have enough stretch, be sure to baste the seams closed and try it on first. If you can get it on without trouble, you're home free. Once your skirt is together, you're ready to apply the elastic waistband.

First, a note on applied elastic bands. Since you will be stitching through the elastic, you will lose a little recovery. This will vary depending on the type of elastic you are using. Softer elastic can be more comfortable, but has less recovery and is more prone to wardrobe malfunction. I chose a firmer, non-roll elastic. It is still quite comfortable, but I know I can count on it to keep my skirt up.

To measure your elastic, wrap it around your body wherever you want the top of your skirt to sit. You want it snug but not tight. Now subtract an inch (more if your elastic is quite soft) and cut your elastic to that length. For example, I like my skirts to sit slightly below my natural waist, where I measure 30 inches around. I cut my elastic to 29 inches.

Abut the ends of your elastic (don't overlap, you'll get an unsightly and difficult to sew over lump) and stitch them together with a zig zag stitch. I like a wide three step, as I think it is a little more secure.

Here is what your elastic should look like. I'm stretching mine just a little so you can see the two cut edges, but ideally you don't want a gap between them. You can stop here and move on to attaching the elastic, but I like to cover the stitching with a little scrap of fabric. I think it adds a little strength and looks nice.

No tricks here, just wrap a little scrap around the elastic and zig zag stitch the two cut edges onto the elastic. I use a much narrower stitch here. On Janome, the width setting is 2.

Now you need to quarter your elastic and the waistline of your skirt. First, mark center front and back, then match them up to determine your quarter points. They may or may not be your side seams! I like my elastic join to be at center back, where the fabric tab helps me to tell front from back, so I start quartering there.

I mark my quarter points with pins, then just match up the pins.

Here is where it gets a little different, so bear with me. You need to line up the WRONG side of your elastic with the RIGHT side of your skirt, overlapping the elastic onto the skirt by the width of the seam allowance. Basically, you are lining up the edge of the elastic with the seamline. It may help to mark or baste along the seamline so that you have something to line up the elastic.

Here is how it looks from the right side. The left edge of the elastic is aligned with the seamline, so under the elastic is the seam allowance. At this point you are ready to stitch, but since you'll be stitching along the edge of the elastic and unable to see the allowance underneath, feel free to pin it in place in a couple more spots. If you were smart and marked your seamline, you are in good shape.

Ready to sew! While stretching the elastic to fit, stitch the elastic onto your skirt using a narrow zig zag stitch. On the first skirt, I used a lightning stitch and just tried to stay close to the elastic edge, but I found that I had some visible elastic at the top of the skirt when I did it that way, so I switched to a narrow zig zag, with the left swing of the stitch right at the edge of the elastic. This way, when you fold under the elastic, it is completely covered.

Here is what the wrong side should look like when you are finished. You can see how the elastic pulls in the fabric of the seam allowance and ruffles it a little.

Here is the right side. Sorry it's a little blurry, but hopefully you get the idea. The elastic is stitched to the right side of the skirt with that narrow zig zag.

Now, you flip the elastic inside the skirt and hit it with a warm iron and a few puffs of steam.

I also like to stitch in the ditch on the side seams to secure the elastic down, although it will stay down when you wear it even if you skip this step.

Here is my line of stitching along the side seam.

Now all you have left is the hem! I thought I'd throw in a little bonus tip for you here. Have I mentioned that I love fusible thread when hemming, particularly knits? Here is how that works.

First, mark your hem and trim the hem allowance to an even width, whatever you like. I like 1 1/4 inches. If you want to finish the raw edge, do that now. With fusible thread in the bobbin, stitch a line of basting stitched along the hemline (where you'll fold).

The fusible thread is thick and white. You can use whatever color thread you want in the needle, as once you fuse the hem, the top thread easily pulls away. A contrasting color is easy to see.

Here is another little trick, if you've finished your seams together and want to avoid that lump you can get with all of the seam allowances in one spot, just snip the allowance at the hemline and fold the two in different directions. It makes for a much smoother hem and no skipping stitches if you happen to be coverstitching.

Now, fold up your hem on the stitching line and press it with steam. Steam really helps the thread to fuse, even at lower temperatures. Once your hem is fused, use whatever hem treatment you like. For my three skirts, I did three different things.

For the first, more dressy skirt, I catchstitched the hem by hand, which is a great way to invisibly hem knits, since a catchstitch has plenty of stretch.

For my second skirt - a boucle sweater knit - I just used a narrow zig zag stitch, since the stitches disappeared into the texture of the fabric.

For my final skirt (the one in the pictures here), I used the coverstitch machine (a twin needle would work as well). You could also leave the hem edge raw for a more deconstructed look, or use a decorative stretch stitch.

Now pull on your skirt and marvel!! You look great!!

I hope this tutorial was helpful. If you have any questions or something is unclear, please leave me a comment or send me an email at katiedeshazer (at) gmail (dot) com. If you make a skirt with this tutorial, I'd love to hear about it! Send me a picture or two!

McCalls 3830

2011-11-12T05:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks everyone for the feedback on my jacket muslin. It is currently taking a rest in the closet. I'm thinking I may scrap the pattern altogether, and use the houndstooth wool to make a cape, but I'm not going to cut in haste. Still, I needed something quick and fun to resurrect the flagging mojo...

I was chatting with a friend at church the other day, and she mentioned that she wanted to sew a knit pencil skirt. Was that hard? No, I thought, but it got me to thinking...

and sewing. I hunted through my pattern stash for a knit pencil skirt pattern, and they all were unshaped, which I didn't want. So, I decided to try my TNT pencil skirt pattern (McCalls 3830) and used a waistband treatment I had seen on a favorite RTW skirt. I also slimmed the hemline, a vintage style trick I learned from one of Gertie's classes at Sewing Summit.

Here is what the waistline looks like on the outside. Note that there is no zipper or darts - this is a pull on skirt.

Inside the waistband is elastic. Nice, eh! This fabric is a fairly stretchy ponte knit from Hancock. It feels almost sweater-y, and has about a 30% stretch.

The side view isn't bad. You can't see it, but the seam is straight. The hemline looks wonky, but it is actually fine IRL. I must be standing funny.

I'm loving the rear view. Smooth and makes my butt look perky, which it really isn't particularly, as evidenced by the saggy butt alteration I always have to do on my pants.

And wearing it while chasing 3 kids, I still love it. The stretch allows me total freedom of movement (even while literally running after a very fast 5 year old) despite the narrow hemline and lack of a back vent. The waistband is comfortable, and would probably even accommodate a Thanksgiving turkey belly. I've already started on a second and cut out a third. So, my question to you, dear readers - is a tutorial in order? I'd be happy to put one together, if there is some interest.

Simplicity 2764 muslin

2011-11-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

So, I slapped together a muslin for this jacket, after tissue fitting and adding a 2 inch FBA and and inch across the hips, and y'all, I'm kind of unexcited about this jacket now.

The initial FBA was a bit much, so I pinned some of the fullness out, so the fit isn't bad, but I'm not sure this shape is doing me any favors. My shoulders are already fairly broad, and the sleeves are definitely maximizing that feature. This is without shoulder pads...

From the side, (sorry so blurry!) it's even worse. I think part of the problem is that when I pinned out the fullness from the FBA, it lowered the bust point, but there is some weirdness at the waist I'm also not happy with. I like the pleats though.

I think the back is my best view. The shoulder width isn't as obvious and the fit through the back is good.

My other concern is that this pattern won't play well with the large scale houndstooth wool I want to use.

Here is the seam at the upper bust. I used a home dec weight faille as my muslin fabric so that I could easily see what the "stripe" of the fabric would be doing in the final jacket. Here the ribs are at right angles to each other, which does not bode well for matching the houndstooth. Like at all.

So, I'm not sure what I want to do next. Fix the FBA and try again? Table this and take a breather, see what a week or two in the Magic Closet does for it? Or is this pattern just not good for me? Friends, what do y'all think?

Simplicity 8170

2011-11-07T05:22:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to clean up a few UFOs before I start in on my jacket. I cut out these PJs for Myra last month, but then I got going on Halloween costumes and so they sat, just waiting to be sewn up.

The pattern is Simplicity 8170, published in 1977. I hesitate to call it vintage, since I was "published" in 1977, but there it is. Anyway the pattern includes a robe, long sleeved nightgown, short sleeved PJ top and one seam PJ pants. I made the PJ set, but with the long sleeves from the nightgown.

The ~~crazy~~ interesting print was chosen by Myra. It has all of her favorite things - pink, cats, flowers, hearts. She loves it. It is cotton flannel from Nuttall's Sewing Center.

The pattern has some really nice detail, as you might expect from a pattern of that era. The neckline is bias finished, and the yoke seam on both views features a decorative element. I chose to insert embroidered eyelet lace into the seam. I thought it was interesting that the pattern only instructs you to add lace or ric rac to the front, and omits anything on the back. Do you think this was for economical purposes or for comfort in sleeping? Myra is a belly sleeper, so she got lace on the back.

The closures are a pretty touch; two buttons with thread loops. Myra chose these satin buttons from my stash, and I actually made the thread loops. I know, handwork. They seem really flimsy, but they held up to Myra yanking on them getting dressed and undressed. We'll see.

I did make one major oopsie on the pants. The pattern calls for an elastic casing, but I never do that. I prefer to apply elastic in the round with my serger, then flip it under and stitch it down. I wasn't paying attention when I serged on the elastic, and I put it on the right side, so when I flipped it in, the elastic was exposed. I hate unpicking serged elastic, so it stayed. Myra doesn't care, so neither do I.
I got these fuzzy jammies done, just in time, since this is what our house looked like in the morning.

Our first real Utah snow!! It's a good thing I've been been busily sewing fleece.

Snowballs are cold, but quite tasty, I'm told.

Ottobre 01/2009-23

2011-11-05T05:01:00.000-07:00

Hey look! Logan really does wear stuff I make him!

It seems like my Logan clothes posts are always unmodeled, but I caught him this time at the park , after thoroughly bribing him with Sonic. And this was still the best picture I got of the pants...

This is yet another version of the elastic waist pants from the 01/2009 issue of Ottobre. I have actually lost count of the number of times I've made these for Logan, but I've traced three different sizes. This pair replaces his last pair of nice-enough-for-chuch pants that he *sigh* blew a hole in the knee of earlier this week. I skipped all of the patches and pockets on the front, since I wanted them to be church-y.

On the back, I used the pocket from pant #23, the "Tarhuri" pant. Logan loves the double pocket and I have yet to meet a boy who doesn't like to play with velcro. Double win, there. I stuck a little bias tape tab into the edgestitching of the pocket, just for fun.

The coolest part of these pants is on the inside. I decided to line them with some soft cotton jersey. The outer fabric is a thinnish twill, and it is getting pretty cold. This monkey fabric is fun, but a little too juvenile for Logan. This way only he knows it's there, but it will help keep him cozy on the playground.

Ottobre 03/2009-19

2011-11-03T05:10:00.000-07:00

When I ordered the pink matte jersey I used for my Vogue 1020 cardi, I thought I'd use it to make a dress, so I got 3 yards. When it came, I realized that it was too thin to make an unlined dress, so I put it aside until inspiration struck. Since I had so much yardage, I thought Myra might like a cardigan, too. I had already traced out this pattern for a friend, so I had it on hand and just cut out our cardigans together.

The pattern is from the 03/2009 issue of Ottobre. It's a bit of a sleeper though, as there is only one photo of it and it is on a page with several other designs; easily missed!

That's too bad, because it really is quite a nice pattern! I love the ruched yoke and the bound neckline, and so does Myra! It is otherwise a very simple waist length cardigan.

Here is a closer view of the neckline (and the cute elephant buttons). The yoke section is gathered into the body and then into the binding strip. Since I wanted to use the binding attachment on my coverstitch machine, I gathered the upper yoke onto a strip of fusible interfacing, which I fused onto the gathers to stabilize them, then ran it through the binder. It worked, but I think the interfacing made the neckline a little too stiff, particularly since the gathering already adds a lot of bulk there. Speaking of fusing, I did use fusible thread on the hems (both this and the Vogue cardi), and I LOVE the result! The fusible thread tames the tendency that thin knits have to shift, so the hem doesn't end up twisted, which used to make me crazy. It also makes the hem allowance easy to keep even, since you stitch along the hem edge. This is great for coverstitching/twin needling especially, since you need a nice even hem allowance.

The front edges are finished with cotton bias strips. I used Wright's quilt binding, cut to the appropriate width. How great is that color match? Anyway, I like the way this stabilizes the buttonholes and the front edge, but still is quite flexible. I'm not usually a fan of a bias finish for knits, but it really works here. I can also see the potential for some fun color and print combinations. I think the ruched yoke section would work well in a lightweight cotton (like a voile or lawn) and then the bias bands could coordinate. How cute would that be?

A note on the sizing - Myra is a 92 at the moment, but I heard from some other sewists that this pattern ran a bit small. I sewed her the 98, and I'm really glad I did! the sleeves are just a smidge long, but I really like the fit in the body. So if you're planning to make this cardigan (and you should!) I'd go up a size from what you typically sew and just check the sleeve length.

Monthly Roundup: October 2011

2011-11-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone who celebrated had a fabulous Halloween! We're all on sugar overload over here, but it sure was fun!

My happy trick or treaters

Are you wondering about the glowing Magic Hair?

I know, right? How cool is that?? Mitch reports that she was the hit of the neighborhood. And she didn't even have to sing.

Anyway, I've been a busy bee this month! Halloween sort of took over my sewing room for most of it, but I managed a few other things as well. The sewing highlight of the month was Sewing Summit! I had a wonderful time, learned quite a few new tricks and met some beautiful, talented women. It was awesome!

This month, I have made:
1) New Look 66793 dress as a baby gift

2) Ottobre 06-2009-3 tee as a baby gift

3) Jalie 2105 leotard for Myra

4) Jalie 2921 top for me

5) Ottobre 06/2009-7 vest for Logan

6) Garter Stripe Scarf for Myra

7) Norobi Obi for me

8) Simplicity 2065 dress for Myra

9) Ottobre 03/2009-23 shirt for Logan

10) Simplicity 2506 jumpsuit and accessories for Duncan

11) Simplicity 2065 headdress for Myra

12) Ottobre 01/2009-23 pants x2 for Logan

13) Kwik Sew 3570 pullover for Mitch

14) Vogue 1020 cardigan for me

That rounds out to 12 sewn items and 2 knitted. I'm particularly excited to have my first knitting FOs in months. Yardage wise, I sewed 20 1/2 yards, only 10 of which were from stash. All those Halloween costumes are mostly at fault here. Surprised I didn't have 8 yards of sparkle satin in my stash? The Rapunzel dress was definitely the most labor intensive project this month, and I did learn some good techniques from it, most notably I learned to gather by zigzag stitching over dental floss (Thank you, Tanis-Isis for that tip!)

Next month I have much winter sewing planned. Remember this fabric?

I bought it nearly 2 years ago, and it's time has come. It will be a new jacket before the month is out. I am determined. I could also use a new pair of jeans, as I've been culling the herd recently. There is also this piece of metallic suedecloth calling my name... Hmm, maybe I'll just play it by ear. :)

Open

2011-10-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

I had a few inquiries about wearing the Vogue 1020 cardigan, so I thought I'd show y'all how it looks today.

I'm wearing it with the 09/2010 Burdastyle turtleneck and the 04/2009 Burdastyle pants. Here I have it fastened, and I like how it elevates what is otherwise a very simple outfit.

Here it is unfastened with the same outfit. Definitely a more casual look, but still nice and very wearable. Lose the pearls and put on jeans and it is perfect for hanging out. I thought the ties would bother me (you can see one of them hanging out in the picture.) but they mostly are hidden in the folds of the collar.

Vogue 1020

2011-10-30T05:19:00.000-07:00

Finally, some selfish sewing!!

This is the cardigan from Vogue 1020, an OOP wardrobe pattern. I originally purchased this pattern for the ruched top and dress, but all of the pieces are actually quite lovely, and while I have several knit tops in my wardrobe, with the change in weather, I've been wanting more jackets and cardigans to layer. The fabric is a matte jersey from fabric.com. It's somewhat thin, but good for layering. The pattern is a nice one, simple but with an interesting shawl collar, and shapely while not form fitting. It has enough ease that I skipped my usual FBA and in fact, made no pattern alterations at all. Whee! The pattern instructions were basically good. They even included stabilizing the shoulder seams. The only part I thought was unnecessarily fussy was the collar construction.

Here is the inside of my jacket, showing the collar. It is interesting. It's basically a big rectangle, that is folded into a tube, but only sewn down along the back neckline, so that the fronts can drape freely. Simple and effective, I thought.

Here are the Vogue instructions. (Click on the picture to enlarge.) All that stabilizing, pressing, slipstitching seemed like a lot of nonsense to me. Instead, I hemmed the outer edge the entire way across with my coverstitch machine - narrow hems on knits are crazy talk - and then just stitched the hem to the neckline seam allowance along the back neckline only, matching shoulder markings and center back. As you can see from the above picture, it worked well and looks good from the inside.

The other bit of the instructions I debated was the button loop. Vogue has you stitch a button and loop to the inside of the jacket, in the same spot as the ties are stitched to the outside. (I used a hair elastic for my loop.) I thought this sounded superfluous. I mean, that's what the ties are for, right? Previous reviewers on PR had gone both ways. I decided to just put it in. I could always remove it after the fact.

Here is how it looks with the button in place and buttoned. I like the shape and the way that the collar nips in at the waist. It's visually slimming and sleek.

Unbuttoned, it's still a cute cardigan, but it loses the sleekness and I think it even makes Sandra Dee look a little dumpy. Amazing what a difference a little button makes!

Baby, it's cold outside!

2011-10-29T05:26:00.000-07:00

After all of the Halloween sewing, I was so ready to do some selfish, easy sewing! I pulled out some pink jersey and an easy, but new to me cardigan pattern and had it (and a cardi for Myra) all cut out, when Logan blew the knee out of his favorite pair of pants. Y'all, I'm not gonna lie, I've been turning a blind eye to the desperate need that sweet boy has for new pants. He wears shorts as much as possible, but it really is getting cold, and his pants are veering dangerously close to the "high waters" territory. Naturally, he refuses to wear all RTW pants. So I traced out the next size of our favorite Ottobre pants from the 01/2009 issue.

I made them out of fleece. Logan loves fleece pants, and who can blame him? They're warm, soft and comfy. This pattern is basic, although Ottobre includes a ton of fun pockets and patches so that you can dress them up. For these two pairs, I only added a cargo pocket to one pair, inspired by a pair I saw in the mini Boden catalog.

I oversaturated the image so hopefully it would show the pocket. I used the coverstitch to hem and attach the pocket and left the edges raw. Hopefully, this makes them look less like PJ pants and more like daywear.

While I was cutting out the grey pair, Mitch wandered in to the sewing room. He petted the fleece and commented that it was quite nice, then in a subtle for him move, mentioned that his very favorite thing that I've sewed him is his fleece Kwik Sew pullover (which he was actually wearing at the time). Mitch doesn't ask for much, and I had plenty of that grey fleece, which was quite nice indeed.

I've made this pullover (Kwik Sew 3570) quite a few times as well, twice for Mitch and twice as gifts. I have to say that it is one of my favorite patterns, too. It is quite easy to sew, looks nice and fits Mitch's athletic figure well. If you sew for men or teenage boys, you really ought to have this pattern in your arsenal. It works just as well in jersey or interlock for a casual top as it does in fleece for a snug pullover.
This time around, I tried something new with the neckband that I really liked.

I know this picture isn't that helpful. Here's the skinny. The instructions have you sew the neckband on right sides together to the neckline, insert the zipper, then fold over the upper half of the neckline (basically a fold over facing) and stitch in the ditch around the neckline to secure it. Now this is fine, since the zipper eliminates any need for the neckline to stretch, but I always thought it looked sloppy on the inside. This time, instead of stitching in the ditch, I simply stitched the two seam allowances together using an overedge stretch stitch on my sewing machine. What the picture is trying to show you is the black serged seam (which was the first neckline to neckband seam) and on top, the overedge stitch to secure the facing. It's a bit hard to see since the thread from the second pass matches the fabric so it sort of disappears. Anyway, I really like the way this turned out - no floppy seam allowances around the neck - so I'll be doing it this way going forward.

Now, back to my pink cardigans!

Magic Hair! Simplicity 2065

2011-10-26T04:52:00.000-07:00

The final piece of the Rapunzel ensemble is ready, so Halloween can commence. The pattern (Simplicity 2065) also included instructions for a yarn "hair" piece, which Myra has been calling her Magic Hair.

While I really thought the pattern had generally good instructions for the dress, those for the hairpiece left much to be desired. I actually wish I had taken pictures of the process so I could do a little tutorial, because anyone attempting this thing will want to pull their own hair out.

Here is the finished hairpiece. It is basically a braided loop that has been attached to a long braid. It sounds simple, and really it is, but Simplicity's directions are terse at best and inaccurate at worst. You start the process by cutting lengths of yarn to their specifications. There is only one set of measurements, despite the fact that the pattern includes sizes 3-8. The first set you are instructed to cut is for the braid that hangs down. You are to cut 60 36 inch pieces for each braid segment, then braid them all together and tie off both ends. I found it nearly impossible to braid the segments without tangling the yarn, so I tied off each segment individually, then braided them and tied off the braid. Using scrap yarn to tie off blends nicely. The second segment, which forms the crown part, is to be 18 inch long segments. Seriously, that has to be a typo. Even for a 3 year old that is woefully inadequate, and Myra (and in fact all of my children) have HUGE heads. Instead, I used the long braid that I already had made (which was the 36 inch pieces braided) and wrapped it around her head to approximate how much yarn I would need. It overlapped by about 4 inches, so I went with 34 inch pieces of yarn, which I thought would be a bit too long, but ended up being just right. I only trimmed about an inch of tails off. Crazy. So, measure, then overestimate. Trimming is MUCH easier than redoing the whole thing.
The other complete inadequacy in these instructions is the attachment. All Simplicity has to say is "Hand sew or glue the crown portion into a circle, them attach the braid, covering the intersection with a large flower." Hand sew a bunch of yarn tails together??? I really had no idea how to go about doing that, so I didn't.

Instead, I took some scraps of jersey and overlapping the ends of the crown, tied them together with the jersey strips. I used jersey partly because I had just cut out a cardigan and it was lying around, but also because the stretch allowed me to get the ties really tight. I then laid the braid over the intersection of the crown and lashed it on with more strips of jersey. I'm really glad I paid attention at camp when I was a teen. Who knew I'd use all those knots one day?
After the braids were secured, I hot glued some of the sequin trim I used on the skirt to the bottom of the braid, then hot glued the flowers in place.

I'm glad I struggled through putting this together, because it totally makes the costume, but I hope my notes make it a little easier on some of you. I think as a finishing touch I'm going to crack open a yellow glow stick so the hair actually glows on Halloween night. Was I the only one who used to paint themselves with glow sticks as a kid? Everyone I've said that to IRL looks at me like I'm crazy, but won't it be cool if Rapunzel's hair actually glows?

Simplicity 2506

2011-10-24T05:18:00.000-07:00

The finish line is near... This is the last costume for this year, although I still have to put together Myra's "hair", it feels like quite an accomplishment to be so close to finished!

But seriously, have you ever seen a cuter dinosaur?? That baby is ridiculously photogenic. Anyway, the pattern is Simplicity 2506. It is basically a jumpsuit, hood and booties. The pattern includes variations to make a dinosaur, angel, mouse, 2 bears and a devil, but it could be easily modified to be almost anything. I did make a few modifications, with the biggest being I made the suit out of fleece rather than felt. Really, who wants to wear felt?? I also skipped the fins along the hood and tail. They're really cute, but Duncan is supposed to be Rex from Toy Story and he doesn't have fins.

Instead of velcro as the back closure, I used a zipper. In retrospect (after wrestling Duncan into this for the pictures), I really wish I had made a snap placket across the inseam for diaper changes. It would have been really easy to do.

I also modified to hood closure. The dinosaur hood is supposed to close with a tie, but that is a strangulation hazard, so I went with velcro here, so that it just pops off it it gets pulled on. Initially, I just stitched velcro to the corners of the hood, but it isn't quite long enough to close that way, so I attached velcro to either side of a strip of bias tape to connect the two. It isn't as pretty, but it does work. If I were making this costume again, I'd have used the hood pattern for one of the other views as all the others close with velcro.

I didn't have any of that cool gripper fabric that you find on RTW sleepers, so instead I used some dimensional fabric paint to paint some dino feet on the bottom of the slippers. Since the paint has a rubber texture, it provides some grip, and since Duncan is pulling up and cruising, I didn't want him slipping around.

The pattern calls for ribbing for the wrist bands. Since the recommended fabrics are all non stretch, I thought I'd just use the fleece, but it just didn't have enough stretch when I tried. I ended up using some black sweater knit, which looks kinda cool and should help keep the cold out. The tail is stuffed with fiberfil, but if you're making this, be careful not to stuff it too full. It exits the jumpsuit right at the seat, so if it's too full, baby won't be able to sit down. Overall, this is a cute and versatile pattern that isn't particularly challenging to sew. Definitely a winner as far as I'm concerned!

Ottobre 06/2009-7 & 03/2010-23

2011-10-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

After the sewing of the Rapunzel dress, I was really looking forward to putting together this little man shirt made from easy to tame cotton.

This is Logan's Woody costume. He'll wear this with RTW jeans and a purchased cowboy hat. The vest is from the 06/2009 issue of Ottobre. It's actually a baby pattern and not graded up to Logan's size, but I just added a couple of inches to the length and an inch to the width at center back, and it is perfect. I actually traced, altered, cut and sewed the entire vest at Sewing Summit in the BabyLock sewing room. It was so fun!

The outer fabric is quilting cotton and I lined the vest with flannel for warmth, and bound the front edges with bias strips. In the cartoon, it looks like Woody's vest has a rope-like trim, but I thought this striped fabric on the bias would approximate that look well and give me a nice clean and easy finish.
The shirt is from the 03/2010 issue of Ottobre. I've made it before here.This time I chose a flannel back homespun purchased at Cottonwood Fabrics in Sandy. (Thanks to Sewing Geek for recommending them!) The reason I chose this particular shirt pattern was two fold. I really like the slim fit that it has, particularly for wear under a vest. I also appreciate that it is a seriously simplified version of a man shirt.

The collar does not have a separate stand, rather is shaped to approximate one, and the button bands are cut on and folded over. Even though this is a costume, I used Pam's shirt crisp interfacing for the collar and cuffs. It is so wonderful to work with, and particularly with this one piece collar, I needed the flexible stability it gives.

The cuffs are one piece fold-over, and the placket is a continuous lap. I did cut the lap binding on the bias, which the pattern didn't call for. I always like a little give in my continuous lap binding. I think it make for easier sewing.
So, true confessions time. When I cut out this shirt, I THOUGHT I had carefully aligned the dominant stripe in the plaid so that I could match it.

But I didn't. And it threw the whole shirt off grain. See how it looks like the back is sloping upwards? Yeah, off grain. So, one side seam is perfectly matched and the other is totally off. I'm so glad this is a subtle plaid, or I would be remaking this shirt. As it is, I'm just going to be unhappy with it. And naturally, he'll decide this is his favorite shirt and wear it every day. Sigh. Just a costume, right? At least the vest covers the back.

Simplicity 2065 finally!

2011-10-19T05:31:00.000-07:00

~~Myra~~ Her Majesty's ~~costume~~ royal gown is finished, and in plenty of time for ~~Halloween~~ the ball.

I wish I had posted a few "in progress" posts, as I have a lot to say about construction. Feel free to skip to the cute pictures and ignore the words. :)

The pattern I used I Simplicity 2065, which is a licensed Disney Tangled pattern for Rapunzel's dress. As with the last Disney Princess pattern I've made, I found this one to be quite low cut, overly long and large in the shoulders and upper chest. At least they are consistent. I did a bit of a cheater fix. Rather than re-draft the neckline and do a narrow shoulder alteration, I just pinched out an inch from the shoulder seams. This raised the neckline and tightened up the shoulders nicely. If only fitting patterns for me was so easy...

Here is the neckline closer up. In retrospect, I think I should have lowered the placement of the eyelets a little. There is a gap between the bottom of the eyelets and the waist, but the top eyelet is hidden under the lace trim. You can also see the glitter finish on the satin in this picture. I let Myra choose the fabric and trim for the dress. The purple and pink satin (both from Joann's "Special Occasion" line) have a glitter finish. I wasn't sure how this would survive in the wash, so I didn't prewash the satin. At least it will still be there for Halloween. I steered Myra toward the heavier weights of satin rather than the "costume" satin. I hate sewing that thin slippery stuff, and the special occasion fabrics have more heft.

The dress is fully lined. I used stash fabrics here, so it's a bit of a mish mash. The bodice is lilac satin left over from this dress, and the skirt is a rayon lining that I had hanging around. There is a 7 yard long strip of tulle stitched to the lining to give the skirt body, since three layers of gathered skirt weren't enough. The neckline is faced, which I went back and forth about. It probably wasn't necessary, since the trim is topstitched to the neckline, which provided stability and prevents the lining from rolling out.

Here is the back view. I debated about how to close this. The pattern calls for a lapped zipper, which I think is reasonable, although I find it a bit more difficult to install with the overskirt in the way. I considered velcro, but velcro in the wash with organza and tulle is a recipe for disaster.

In the end, I went with my standby, the invisible zip. Naturally, I had a pink one in stash. It went in perfectly on the first attempt, and I love that I can attach the lining to the zipper by machine, so it looks good on the inside and encloses all the zipper seam allowances nicely.

Construction-wise I thought this pattern was fairly good. The instructions were logical and complete, and went in an order that made reasonable sense, with the exception of just a few things.

After constructing the bodice shell (for which the instructions were great), you construct the overskirt, narrow hem the front edges, do a 1 inch hem on the lower edge, then apply the trim. Once all that is done, you gather the overskirt onto the bodice and baste it in place. For the construction seams, Simplicity (in the "General Instructions" part of the pattern instructions) suggests that you either double stitch and trim closely or serge finish the seams. I'm not sure how well the double stitch and trim would work with this ravelly organza. Typically for sheer fabrics, I would do a french seam. For this, I serged with a narrow 3 thread stitch. For the front edges, rather than a narrow hem, I elected to serge finish, then apply the trim to cover the serged sedge.

Here is how it looks on the underside. I actually think this is a nicer finish than a hem, which would have added bulk and weight. This way, the overskirt is very light and floaty. I did not finish the lower edge at this time, as I wanted to check the final length of all the layers on Myra prior to hemming. Once I had finished the dress and was ready to hem, I serged off the hem allowance (I ended up taking off only 1/2 inch, so I'm glad I waited!), then applied the trim in the same way as the front edges, mitering the corners at the front.

Isn't that lovely trim? I think is is Myra's favorite part of the dress.

For the underskirt hem, Simplicity allowed 2 inches, which they wanted you to double fold and hand sew. I've never had good luck invisibly sewing satin - it shows every teeny stitch. Instead, after measuring my hem on Myra, I lightly pressed it. Then I used the pressed edge to sew a line of fusible thread at the hemline. I serged off all but a 1/2 inch hem allowance, then fused the fusible thread to give a sharp crease. I then fused the hem down with steam-a-seam lite, rather than sewing it.

And here is the finished hem. It looks nice and crisp and the Steam-a-seam is quite sturdy. If she does manage to pull it out, repair is quite easy.

Logan wanted to get into the action with his Woody vest. I'll tell you about that once I make his shirt!

My only other piece of advice to those who are making this dress is this - Baste, baste, baste! I am typically not a baster. I like to just sew and let the seams fall where they may, but all these layers of slippery fabrics will bite you if you do not baste. Other than that, I really think that despite the many yards of annoying to sew fabrics, this is not a difficult pattern, but it does turn out a phenomenal princess dress. I suspect I'll be using it again, although perhaps with less fullness for dress up. It's perfect for a Halloween costume, but perhaps a bit too tulle-normous for everyday dress-up. (Credit to Ginnie for coining the word "tulle-normous" - Love it!)

Sparkles and twirls! What else could a little princess ask for?

FO: Norobi

2011-10-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

Myra's not the only one knitting around here! I finally finished a project that I cast on before Duncan (who is now 10 months old) was born.

And it wasn't even a very complicated or large project either. This is Norobi, a knitted Obi style belt. I alternate between thinking that this is a really fun and funky idea and thinking that it is just odd. Since I wasn't sure how I felt about it, I used some leftover RHSS, so if I hate it, at least the yarn wasn't dear.

The main reason I decided to knit this was the way the edges and ties are constructed. The edges are finished with an applied I-cord and the ties are stand alone I-cord. I wanted to learn this technique, and this seemed like a good way. As you can see if you compare the top (uneven and loose) edge to the bottom (tighter and more polished looking), it was a learning process for sure. It didn't help that I put this project away for months while in the middle of the applied I-cord and when I picked it back up, I had totally forgotten how to do it!

Here it is from the back. It looks quite sleek and cute on Sandra Dee, but then everything looks good on her. I'm not even sure how I will wear this. What do you think? How would you go about styling a knitted obi? Or would you??

In the sewing world, Rapunzel is coming together. We had a final fitting this morning and measured the hem.

I still need to set in the sleeves (that one is pinned in place), hem the underskirt and overskirt and apply the trim to the overskirt hem. Myra loves it and I had to fight her to get it off. At least this one looks like a win! It better be! It wasn't difficult to construct, per se. It was just tedious. And I hate sewing polyester organza.

More Pink...

2011-10-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

Ladies (Sorry if there are any men following along - this one is for the girls), it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I just came across this fabulous and fun way to remember the importance of doing a self exam.

If you're in looking at this in a Reader, pop over to see the video!

Click here to download the app. It will be available on the Android platform in a few days.

Please ladies, don't forget to give your boobies a little TLC, and get your annual mammogram when the time comes.

Jalie 2921

2011-10-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to be sewing up Halloween costumes, as you know, but I was distracted again by something shiny.

Or rather, something pink. I'd been thinking it would be a good idea to make something new to wear to Sewing Summit. It's totally irresistible to know you'll be surrounded by sewists all weekend and NOT make something new! Of course, I had my Simplicity 2403 dress, so I wasn't really stressing over it, but then I saw that PR is having a Think Pink contest in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. What a fabulous idea!! I joined immediately, then surfed over to Eugenia's blog, where I saw a pink version of this pattern, and I knew I had to have one. Like immediately.

Here is how I wore it on Saturday. The cardigan is RTW (from Target) and the pants are New Look 6816, made of silk crepe and lined with silk habotai. They are the most luxurious and comfortable pants I own.

Since I've made this top before, I won't bore you with the fit details. If you are interested, I gave a complete review of my first version here. The only change I made was to use the 3/4 length sleeve and use poly ITY knit rather than cotton lycra. I'm quite pleased with this make as it fits well, is quite comfortable and rescues this skirt from orphan-hood. Win! OK, now I really am going to make that Rapunzel dress. Scout's honor!

Best. Weekend. Ever!

2011-10-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

Sewing Summit was so much fun!! I was having such a great time that my camera was nearly forgotten, but I did get a few pictures to share with you all. The summit officially started Friday night with a reception and several fun events, but Mitch was working so I had to miss that bit. Saturday morning I was really ready to party! We had breakfast, where I met a bunch of lovely sewing ladies, then we headed to our classes.

Recognize my instructor? Yes, it IS Gretchen from Gertie's New Blog For Better Sewing! She taught pretty much all of the non-basic garment sewing classes, so I spent all day with her. It was so FUN!! We fondled beautiful fabrics, handsewed our hearts out, padstitched lapels and broke down the perfect wiggle dress. I learned a ton and had a total blast. Gretchen in amazingly sweet and absolutely as adorable as you would think. Maybe more adorable.

She brought some garments for us to admire, so I had fun pawing over her dresses and suits, all of which were beautifully made. She brought her bombshell dress to show us, which you can learn to make in her craftsy course.

One of her students was at the summit as well and wore her bombshell dress! How fun is that? It was so amazing being around all of the talent represented at the Summit. So cool.

Speaking of amazing talent, I also got to meet Sunni from A Fashionable Stitch. She's from here in Salt Lake and it was so fun to meet her in person. We're also belt twins! Although her belt is so much more amazing than mine. Check out that hand embroidery. And it closes with snaps! How fun is that?!

After all the classes and chatting and mingling were done, we all got to hang out and sew in the Baby Lock sewing room. An entire ballroom filled with sewing machines!!! Is this heaven???

I had such an amazing weekend. I learned a ton of great new techniques; I'm not afraid of padstitching anymore, and I got some great photography and networking ideas, but the best part was that I got to spend a weekend with amazing women who didn't think I was crazy. Well, not for my fabric addiction anyway...

Jalie 2105

2011-10-08T05:39:00.000-07:00

Also entitled, "How I avoided sewing a Rapunzel costume and instead sewed Spandex". No, really Myra did need a new leotard for gymnastics. Her class is early enough in the morning that it is still quite chilly and her thin Texas blood needed more coverage.

This pattern is Jalie 2105, which is actually for a ballet leotard. I love that it has long legs and 3/4 sleeves, which gives Myra lots more coverage, both for the morning chill and for the inevitable bumps and bruises.

The fabric is from SpandexWorld. Myra likes the sparkle of the hologram spandex, but it is a little itchy. the lilac sleeves are a heavier weight milliskin, which is very nice and was quite pleasant to sew, for spandex.

Her gym is pretty dark, but the flash did weird things to the fabric, so this is the best picture I managed (out of 160) that shows the proportions of the leotard. The sleeves are right at elbow length on Myra, and the legs are just below the knee. Size-wise, she is an F based on her measurements, but her length is in the G, so I lengthened the body to accommodate her long torso. Jalie provides a girth measurement that is really helpful in determining the length to use.

The biggest challenge I had with the last leotard was the neckline. I really appreciated everyone who chimed in with advice and help. I managed to get my hands on several Stretch & Sew patterns (Thanks to Mom and Debbie!!) and got some swim elastic in place of the knitted elastic I used last time.

I also decided to try out the coverstitch, since I coverstitched the hems. Boy, did it look like a hot mess when it came off the machine!

Fortunately, it lies nice and flat on Myra. Pardon the grumpy face. I think she was a little tired of the camera at this point. I really am happy with this neckline, but I sort of wish I hadn't changed two things at once, since now I'm not sure if it is the swim elastic, coverstitch or both that made it lay so nice and flat. I really do like the softness of the swim elastic though, and I think that was probably the major contributor. The coverstitch actually feels a little flimsy as compared to the triple zigzag. I guess we'll see how this wears.

I'm really glad that I'm taking the plunge into activewear. Although we're heading into our first real winter ever, I'm sort of excited for summer swimwear! Fortunately, gymnastics is year round and Myra is a clotheshorse. She's already requested a pink sparkly one.

So, today is the first day of Sewing Summit!! I am beyond excited!! I can't wait to hang out with all the awesome sewists. I even made a new top to wear. Hopefully i can get some fun pictures at the Summit!

Simplicity 2403 (finally!)

2011-10-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

Between Mitch's crazy schedule and Salt Lakes' crazy weather (It SNOWED yesterday!) I'm afraid my pictures are indoor with flash, but it was that or nothing, and I really wanted y'all to see this dress.

The pattern is Simplicity 2403, which is a Project Runway shirtdress with several sleeve and neckline options. Unfortunately it is now OOP, which is really too bad, as it is a pretty darn awesome pattern. I'll definitely be using it again. There is this silk twill in my stash... But I digress.

The changes I made were primarily for fit. I did an 1 3/4 inch FBA (The details of that are here.), 1/4 inch broad back adjustment and added 1/2 inch to the back waist width. I also raised the waistline in back 1/2 inch. I think this is the most work I've ever done in altering a pattern. I even made 2 muslins! And I'm pretty happy with the fit, although the pictures are showing me a few places that I need to refine.

There is a teeny bit of pooling above the back waist, so I think I need to take off a little from the top of the skirt. I do like the way the back bodice lies. Sorry my hair is covering all the action back there! You can see a dress form picture here.

The other changes I made to the pattern were to line the skirt, change the back gathers to pleats and move the fullness to the sides. I used an invisible zipper, rather than a lapped zip in the side seam. I also hemmed it a little longer than the pattern called for. I was going for a below the knee length, which I think fits a bit better with the Med Men sort of aesthetic. The pattern calls for interfacing in the collar, stand, bands and waistband. I used Pam's new Shirt Crisp for the collar and stand. I totally love it. It seems very stiff while working with it, but it sews beautifully without bulk, gives a perfect amount of body while still remaining flexible. For the bands, I considered not interfacing them at all, but the bodice fabric is quite thin and I was worried that two layers wouldn't support the buttonholes well. I ended up using Pro-Sheer Elegance there and I like the teeny bit of structure it adds without making it stiff. For the waistband, I wanted more stability. I was really happy with the way the two layers of Pro-Weft worked in Mitch's pants, but for this dress, I simply interfaced both the waistband and the facing with Pro-Weft. I think it's perfect.

Here is the skirt lining. It is a rayon satin from the stash that is just yummy. The dress fabrics are cotton, calico broadcloth for the bodice and lightweight sateen for the skirt. Both are from Fabric Mart. The skirt fabric was part of a mystery bundle that I ordered when I ordered the calico. I couldn't believe how perfectly they matched. I really think the folks at Fabric Mart tailor the mystery bundle that they send to the fabrics you've purchased. This isn't the first time that my bundle has contained fabrics that coordinate with my order.

Here is the side zipper from the inside. I really wasn't sure how to attach the lining to it without handsewing, so I just slipstitched it down. It sure looks nice from the inside.

From the outside, it also looks darn nice. It also took four tries. It really just didn't want to line up, then when I actually got it aligned I had twisted the zipper. Yes, I said a swear word.

And for the finishing touch, I made a belt! How fun is that?! I used a belt making kit from A Fashionable Stitch, and Sunni's wonderful tutorials. It was super fun and not at all difficult. I think it's the perfect addition to this dress and I will definitely be making more.

New Look 6793 & Ottobre 06/2009-3

2011-10-05T05:02:00.000-07:00

Baby showers are such a great excuse to sew up something quick and fun. This was a nice palate cleanser after my dress.

These are two of my baby favorites, New Look 6793 and Ottobre 06/2009-3. All the fabrics are from my stash, and all but the polka dot cotton are left over from other projects.

Isn't the big button fun!? After I finished it, I thought it needed something. I considered making a fabric flower out of the interlock, but then I found this great vintage button in the stash. It's nice and big (therefore not a choking hazard) and it's actually a perfect color match for the tee IRL. Love it.

As I was putting on the band, I thought the contrast between the polka dots and the stripes was a little too stark. I hit up my trim box, thinking I would try to match the top, but I found this black jumbo rick rack and I knew it had to be. I'm usually not very good at that sort of extemporaneous embellishment, but all the stars aligned this time. I hope the new Mommy likes it. I don't really know her well, but there wasn't a shred of pink on either of her registries, so I thought this color scheme would be better. And I'll be honest - I love babies in black.

Monthly Roundup: September 2011

2011-10-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

September has been kind of a slow month sewing-wise. Duncan's sleep has been seriously erratic (growth spurt + learning to crawl = nursing all night long), so my sewing time has been pretty minimal.

I sewed:
1) Vogue 8719 pants for Mitch

2) McCall's 5696 skirt for Myra

3) Simplicity 2738 PJ top for Logan

4) Simplicity 2290 PJ pants for Logan

5) Simplicity 2065 dress for Myra
6) Simplicity 2403 dress for me (promise, pictures coming soon!)

I also appliqued a bag for Logan to take to school. Total yardage: 12 1/2. 9 1/2 of that was from stash. The only non-stash garments were the PJs for Logan. I'm getting much better at shopping the stash! I'm not sure which garment was the most successful this month. Myra wears her skirt and dress constantly. Logan loves his PJs. Mitch's pants are wearable, although there is still some work to go before I can call them an unequivocal success.

For October, I have a baby gift that I need to knock out for a shower on the 4th, then it will be all costumes, all the time.

Myra is going to be Rapunzel. I've worked out the fit tweaks to the neckline and so real sewing can commence. Logan is planning to be Woody from Toy Story. I'm thinking I'll use the "Beethoven" shirt from Ottobre, as it has a nice slim fit. For his vest, I actually think I'll use his PJ pattern top, shortened and sleeveless. I'm planning to bind the edges as that is what it looks like was done to Woody's vest. I'm lining it with flannel for warmth and the shirt is a flannel backed homespun. Duncan is going to be Rex from Toy Story. I'm using Simplicity 2506, the dragon view but without the spikes. He'll be warm and snuggly in fleece. Logan insists that Mitch is going to be The Evil Doctor Porkchop and I am to be Lot's-O Huggin' Bear. We'll see about that...

Simplicity 2403 preview

2011-09-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

I'm so close to finishing this dress, I can taste it!!

Here is how it looked this morning. It still needs a hem, and that's it! Hopefully my kids will sleep a little and I'll get a chance to finish it. I cannot believe how long I've been working on this thing. I don't usually have that much stamina for a project.

I snapped a quick (read - blurry and poorly composed, sorry!) picture while I was measuring the hem. I'm so happy with how the fit turned out. I'm so bad about skipping the muslin stage and just blasting forward, but I'm glad I put in the effort this time.

I'll post a better review and a summary of my alterations as soon as I'm done and can get a few good pictures. I'm also planning to make a belt out of the tangerine sateen to go with it. How fun is that?! I purchased a beltmaking kit from Sunni at A Fashionable Stitch. I think it will be a nice vintage-y touch.

Some knitting and more Simplicity 2403

2011-09-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Now that Duncan is a little better at playing on his own, I've picked up my knitting needles again. I have a few projects in the works, and I was knitting away at a scarf for Myra the other night when she asked if she could help. I asked her if she knew how to knit, and she said, "Can you show me?" Yes, please!!

She's determined!! I think these needles are too big for her though, since she quickly gave up on actually making stitches and started just wrapping the yarn around the needles.

It's still fun though! We've started a little nightly tradition of knitting together. She picked some Barbie pink yarn and I got her some smaller needles. She sits in my lap and holds the needles while I maneuver them for her and she wraps the yarn. Not bad for a three year old!

I've also started work on the Simplicity 2403 dress from my last post. Thanks to everyone for the input!! I tried out a few things with the muslin, and found that I did need the wearing ease provided in the upper back. I loved the idea of moving the ease to the sides. Mitch has several RTW shirts that are pleated that way, so that was what I did.

Here is how it looks! Nice and flat without any pouf at all. I love it!!

Here is the front. I have some gold half ball buttons to put there, and the skirt (which is a tangerine sateen to match the flowers in the print) and lining to attach. I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to insert the side zip around the waistband and lining. I'm hoping for a flash of insight as I construct.

Simplicity 2403 muslin

2011-09-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

I've been working on fitting Simplicity 2403.

I'm making the view on the model on the right, but with the shorter sleeves. This dress is very fitted in the bodice, with a back yoke and a menswear style collar with stand and front button placket. To fit the bodice, I started with a tissue fit on my dressform, which demonstrated a desperate need for an FBA. As you may know, the traditional method for doing an FBA also adds width to the waist, which I don't need, particularly in this fitted dress. In the book The Perfect Fit there is a princess FBA method that doesn't add width, so I decided to give it a try.

Click the picture if you'd like to see it larger

Here is my initial alteration. The purple pictures above describe it. I deviated from the instructions in that they only had a 1/4 inch addition for each cup size above a B, which for me would have only been a 1/2 inch addition. Laugh with me. I added 2 inches, then shaved off about 1/4 inch just at the bust point to correct a bit of a "bullet" look.

Here is the first muslin on Sandra Dee. As you can probably see, she's got a bit too much fabric around the bust, particularly at the bust point.
In back, I did a 1/4 inch broad back adjustment.

Here is how the back looked on me. I'm so not liking the wrinkles all over the waist, which were saying to me both "too tight" and "too long" at the same time. I'm also not a fan of the pouf created by the gathers at the upper back.

You can see the gathers a little better here, although they don't pouf quite as much on Sandra Dee. She's longer in the waist than I am. Lucky girl.
For muslin #2, I shortened the back waist by 1/2 inch, tapering to nothing at the side seams (basically a sway back alteration), and I added 1/2 inch of width at center back, both in the bodice, as well as the waistband and skirt. Then I added back the 1/2 inch I took out of the bodice to the top of the skirt. Instead of gathers at the upper bodice, I did an inverted pleat.

Here is how that looks on me. I didn't re-muslin the skirt, since the alterations were minor. I think the fit is better, but there is still a little pouf. So, gentle readers I put the question to you. Pleat? Gathers? Get rid of the whole bit? Do you think the fit needs more tweaking? Tell me what to do!

Quilting

2011-09-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend my ward at church participated in a day of service. There were a ton of different projects to choose from, including weeding, painting, cleaning, even roofing! I know you'll all be shocked to hear I chose the one I could do with my sewing machine.

Here we are, working on our quilts! The ladies in the middle are tying and quilting, and at the lower right, Magali is making the "sandwich" from a completed quilt top. On the lower left is the squares for the quilt top that I worked on, which we actually got finished!

Our women's group actually meets weekly to make quilts to donate to a local Hopi Indian reservation as well as to Primary Children's Hospital. I recently donated a bag full of fabric, and Magali had brought the quilt top she had incorporated some of "my" fabrics into. It is the green one she's sandwiching!

Here it is a little closer up. Isn't it beautiful! She is an amazing quilter. It was fun to see some fabrics that I recognized. The green print in the border is this blouse and this dress. The larger tan and cream squares are left over from this skirt and if you look closely at the smallest squares, you'll see this batik print!

In other news, I'm working on a dress from Simplicity 2403. Yes, Her Selfishness is working on this as well, although hers is silk and mine is cotton, which may be a bit of an analogy for our different lives. Friday night my good friend Beth came to visit and helped me fit my muslin. It was so awesome to have her help!

Here's a preview of how the muslin looks on Sandra Dee. I've still got some work to do, but I tried a new FBA method for the princess seams that I really think I like. I'll tell y'all more about it once I get the details nailed down.

Are you?

2011-09-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Come play with us!! You still have a few more weeks to register.

Simplicity 2065 "muslin"

2011-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned that Myra has requested a Rapunzel costume for Halloween, and Simplicity was kind enough to provide an excellent pattern, but the last Simplicity/Disney Princess pattern I made for Myra had some major fit issues, so I knew I'd need a muslin. Have you ever tried to get a 3 year old to sit still long enough for a fitting? I don't recommend it. Myra is a sucker for a new dress however.

It's a bit more Bavarian bar wench than I envisioned, but she LOVES it. It would make a great Ren Fest costume...

The pattern is Simplicity 2065, the licensed Disney Tangled costume pattern. Since this was a trial garment, I didn't go to all the trouble of lining it, skipped the overskirt and the long lower sleeves. I used some remnant cotton coordinates from Hobby Lobby, so I shortened the skirt based on what my fabric would allow. I ended up having to add the bottom ruffle to make it a wearable length, but I think it's cute.

Since it really is mostly a fit muslin, I considered just using the lining pattern piece as the bodice front, rather than going to the trouble of assembling the lacings, but I wanted to make sure the construction wasn't weird, (it wasn't) and I wanted to try stitching the eyelets rather than using metal ones. My vintage buttonholer makes a very pretty eyelet, and particularly in this dress, where the eyelets bear no real stress, I thought that would be nicer than those dreadful metal ones that I can never seem to get in without destroying something.

I didn't have an invisible zipper in the right color, so I put in a centered one. It's like riding a bike... I've actually been contemplating closures for the final, costume dress. My friend, Lynn, who also has a wee princess and is making this dress, suggested velcro for ease of dress up play. Myra needs help getting in and out of this much dress anyway, so I'm on the fence. I already have a pink invisible zip and velcro in the stash. What do y'all think?

After stitching it all up, it looked pretty short, so I tried it on Myra, and it was even too short for a bar wench, so back to Hobby Lobby for more polka dots we went. 160 inches of gathering later (whew!) it is wearable. Even without the extra ruffle, this pattern has a LOT of gathering, with the sleeves, skirt, overskirt, lining and net petticoat on the lining. I think I'm going to learn to use my ruffler.

All that gathering does result is a very full skirt. It curtsies well.

And it is seriously twirl-tastic!!

But I'm definitely going to have to raise the neckline. I noticed that with my last Disney pattern - the neckline was quite low and it was large in the shoulders, which is what I'm seeing so far here. I'm going to watch her wearing it a few times before I decide what all needs to be changed, then we'll be cutting a ridiculous amount of satin and organza.

Simplicity 2738 + Butterick 4222 = comfy PJs

2011-09-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

My MIL came to visit a few weeks ago, and brought the kids some I spy bags she had made. Logan's was the coolest Thomas the Train flannel, and I asked here where she got it. She couldn't remember, but before she headed back to Florida, found some at Hobby Lobby for us. Logan was thrilled! My kids love fabric presents. They're well trained. He was even more excited when I unveiled the finished product!

I used the neckline from Simplicity 2738 with the width, length, sleeve and armscye of Butterick 4222. The bottoms are Simplicity 2290. I'm much happier with the fit and he says they are comfortable, so I think we have a winner, at least until he grows again.

He really likes the buttons.

McCalls 5696

2011-09-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm such a tightwad that even though I absolutely hated sewing that cheap polyester I made Mitch's pants out of, I couldn't throw away the half yard I had left.

So, Myra got a new skirt.

The pattern is McCalls 5696. I don't sew many envelope patterns for the kids, but this one had so many cute skirt options that I picked it up anyway. I even matched the color scheme on the envelope. The pattern is for a yoked skirt with a zipper and waistband. Two views have pockets, one is a circular skirt, one pleated and the view I made included contrast godets.

Before I put in the zipper, I tried it on Myra. She doesn't have much waist definition, so it went over her hips without a problem. I decided to convert it to an elastic waist both for ease of sewing and for ease of potty breaks. I also bound the pockets in bias strips of my contrast fabric rather than hem them. I like the little pop of color and the finish inside is nicer.

I cut the godets on the bias, although the pattern has them on the straight grain. Mostly, I did it because I like the look of gingham on the bias, but it does make them drape nicely. The godet insertion in the pattern instructions was unnecessarily complex, I thought. Since the tips of the godets are caught in the yoke seam, there isn't really any point in carefully sewing to the tip and making sure it is nice a smooth there. I just stitched them onto one side, and then stitched the second side up to the tip.

For the hem, I tried a new (to me) technique that I've read about in several of Sandra Betzina's books. The navy poly suiting wouldn't take a press for anything, so in order to get a smooth crease at the hem edge, I stitched a staystitching line at the fold of the hem with fusible thread in my bobbin. Then when I turned and pressed my hem, the thread fused the fold of the hem, resulting in a nice sharp crease.

I think this one is a winner! It weathered a trip to Joann's, several hours on the playground and a trip to Ikea (where it was doused in milk) and she's still wearing it. And it still looks good!

It's good for jumping. I think she looks like a little cheerleader in this one.

She likes the pockets. Perfect for stashing the caramels she spent all day eating.

Vogue 8719

2011-09-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love that Vogue has released some new men's patterns with the last couple of pattern releases. I picked up Vogue 8719 in the hopes that it would inspire me to sew for my poor neglected hubby. My track record with regard to sewing for him has been pretty erratic. He loves his scrubs, running shorts and running shirts, but the couple of shirts and slacks I've made have been a big fat flop.

But these are at least wearable. Comments on the pattern itself: I like it in general. It is designed to be a casual pant, with sporty topstitching (much of which I skipped since this fabric puckered if you waved a needle in it's direction) and patch pockets in the rear. There are some dressier elements however, like the inseam pockets, dart rather than a yoke for back shaping and a hand sewn hem. The waistband is contoured, which I like, but since the pants are meant to sit on the natural waistline, may not be necessary if your man actually wears his pants at the natural waistline. Mine doesn't, so a shaped waistband is essential for a good fit.

Fit-wise, I'm happy with the front, although those darn inseam pockets are gaping, of course. Do they lie flat on anyone?? From the side, you can see how the pockets gape, but otherwise the side seams are pretty straight, if puckery. This fabric really sucked. It was a cheap poly suiting from fabric.com. Mitch loves it. Argh.

But the backside, alas. Wrinkles everywhere. I have to say, I think this is mostly the fault of the fabric stretching out of shape. The muslin fit like it was made for him, but when he put on these so I could measure the hem, the waist had stretched out in crazy ways. I had to take out 2 inches at the center back waist, which affected how the seat fell otherwise. Note to self: Staystitch.

The major fitting challenge for Mitch is actually more about the way he wears his pants, and I suspect this might not be unique to him, so I thought I'd talk about it a little. Basically, he likes his pants to ride at the level of his hip bones in front, but in back, they are about an inch below his waist. So, his "waist" is tilted forward. I've also seen men with a bit of a Santa belly wear their pants this way in order to accommodate the fluff.

Here is what the pants look like lying flat. As you can see, the back waist is significantly higher than the front. In order to fit this, I made a muslin. I know, not something I generally do, but for an alteration this significant, I feel like it is needed. You could probably do this in tissue though, if you prefer. Anyway, with the muslin on Mitch, I drew a line with a Sharpie where he wanted the top of the waistband to be.

Here is his muslin of the right front pant. The top green line is where I want the top of the waistband to be. As you can see, it doesn't make a smooth curve. This is because the pants dip down significantly in front. So, to draft pattern pieces, I just measured down from the top green line (where I want to top of the pants to be) the width of the finished waistband. On the muslin, you can see my second green line, indicating the waistband.

Here is the finished pattern piece overlaying the muslin. As you can see, I added my 5/8 seam allowances to either side of the waistband. Since this particular pattern has the waistband in 2 pieces, with a seam at center back, I actually pinned together the front and back pieces at the waistband and pinned out the back dart to draft the back side of the waistband.

Here is what that looks like. The waistband pattern piece is overlaying the muslin in this photo. After you've lowered the waistband, you may also have to change the placement of some design elements. For example, I had to move the back pockets down 1 1/4 inches and shift the placement of the belt loops slightly, since the waist circumference changed slightly. If you are moving anything major, I'd try it out in muslin first.

Overall, these pants are wearable, and I'm happy with the fit changes we made, particularly the waist. RTW pants on Mitch are ridiculous. He still wears them low on his hips, so he ends up with the crotch at his knees and tons of extra fabric billowing around his backside. Not an appealing look. With this waist alteration, everything falls where it should.

With all this talk about the waistband, I must mention interfacing. In the last few pair of pants I've made, I've used Pro-Weft, which I love for most things, but my waistbands have been wimpy. I asked Pam what she recommended and she suggested simply using two layers of Pro-Weft. It worked like a charm! The waistband is nice and stable, but still pliable and comfortable to wear. Thank you so much, Pam! I'll be doing this for all my waistbands from here on out. If you haven't tried Pam's interfacings, now is the time. Head over to Fashion Sewing Supply. She's having a sale through September 8th!! I stocked up on all my favorites.

Logan

2011-09-04T05:30:00.000-07:00

My big boy is heading off to preschool on Wednesday, and his school provided a tote bag to all the kids. They had an orientation last week, and while the parents talked, the kids were supposed to be decorating their bags. Logan is never one to follow the crowd, so his bag was undecorated.

I thought his at least needed his name on it. I used fabrics from his last two Easter shirts. You can see the Thomas shirt here and the gingham here. The satin stitching for the applique edges was done on my vintage Singer Touch and Sew, which really has a far superior stitch for this sort of application. She makes a nice dense zig zag while still being very maneuverable around the curves.

Next up - pants! They are done, I just have to get pictures. I'm not thrilled with them, but Mitch likes them pretty well, and that is what matters.

Monthly Roundup: August 2011

2011-09-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

Well, September totally snuck up on me! I usually write this post the night before, and set it to post in the morning, but I totally forgot. We've had a bit of a crazy time around here lately, with lots of birthdays, getting ready for school to start and still settling in to a new town and a new routine. The time just seems to be flying by. August wasn't my most productive month, but I got a few things done.

1) Colette Sorbetto muslin for me

2) Vogue 8724 dress for me

3) Simplicity 2377 dress for Myra

4) Baby doll dresses for Myra's babies

5) Simplicity 2738 PJ top for Logan

6) Simplicity 2290 PJ pants for Logan

7) Simplicity 4711 romper for Duncan

8) Vogue 1250 dress for me

9) Ottobre 06/2008-16 skirt for Myra

That ended up being a total of 11 items, with 12 1/4 yards used. All of the yardage was from stash! Woo-hoo!! My favorite item for me this month was the Vogue 1250 maxi dress. It's comfortable and easy to wear, but still looks great no matter what.

At the moment I'm still plugging away at the pants for Mitch. It isn't that they are complicated, just that my sewing time has been pretty limited these last two weeks. So, I've bit sewing in bits and dabs - pocket here, zipper there. I'll get there. After that I've got a lineup planned to make most efficient use of the thread on the serger. There's even a dress for me in there. We'll see how it goes... I've really got to start thinking about fall and winter sewing. We're actually going to have a real winter this year! I need to get ready.

PR featured!

2011-08-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hey, did you know that Pattern Review publishes an e-newsletter that comes out monthly? It is called Tracings and if you are a PR member (even a free member) you can subscribe to it! Just go to your account at PR and edit your profile. Check "yes" to the Newsletter and there you are. So, it generally is full of sewing tips, as well as news about new pattern releases and sales. This month the featured pattern was Vogue 1250, and guess who's maxi version was showcased?

How fun is that?? The links in the picture don't work, but here they are if you are interested.

Have you heard about

Vogue 1250?

At 40 reviews and counting, it's a contender for

Best Pattern of the Year !

Members have been discussing it on the Message Board.

kidmd turned it into a maxi dress. Read her review.

If you aren't a PR member, the links may not all work for you, but signing up is easy, free and spamless. PR is an amazing resource, so if you sew, you'll get a lot out of membership.

And hey, did you see Carolyn's 1250 maxi? Awesome!! Erin has made 2! Here and here. LOVE that paisley version.

Housekeeping

2011-08-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

On the blog that is. I try to avoid any of that IRL. How would I get any sewing done? And all appearances to the contrary, I have not lost my sewing machine. Life has been a little crazy this last week, with a sick wee one, an overworked hubby and too much to do, so sewing has been a bit on the back burner. I have had a few comments regarding slowness here on the blog and difficulty getting things to load. I thought I'd make a few minor changes before attempting a more major overhaul. I simplified the format a little, got rid of a few widgets and have made my pictures smaller. If you would please, let me know how it's looking and loading for you, particularly as compared to past performance. I'd really appreciate it!!

And should you wonder what I am currently stitching up, here it is!

For his birthday, I gave Mitch a pant muslin. Sexy, huh? We tweaked the fit this weekend, and I let him choose his fabric from a selection of appropriate suitings and bottom weights. I've gotten the pattern altered (completely had to redraft the waistband for his tilted waist!), and the fabric cut. I'm doing some serge finishing and marking, so I may actually start sewing some time.
We're also starting to gear up for Halloween.

Myra was over the moon when I showed her Simplicity's new Rapunzel costume pattern. We're still collecting trims, and I want to make a "wearable muslin" before we cut up all the satin. The last Disney costume I made for her (which she has worn completely out) had quite a few weird fit issues, and I want this one to actually be wearable.
So, let me know if the blog changes seem to help for you, and hopefully I'll have a few fun things to show you soon. Once the wee one starts sleeping again so I can sew...

Ottobre 06/2008-16

2011-08-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

I've made this skirt before, so this'll be quick.

This is the Tammy skirt from the 06/2008 issue of Ottobre. This time I made it out of black twill. She needed a neutral skirt to wear with all of the pink tops she has. Pants are out of the question, of course.

You can see the details a little better here. For this version, I topstitched the yoke with pink hand quilting thread. I like the thickness the hand quilting thread has. It isn't quite as heavy as topstitching or upholstery thread, but it still packs a punch. I also left the pleats more unpressed to give it a little more body.

It twirls nicely.

My favorite part is the lining. It's cute polka dot satin. I hate hemming polyester satin, so I just did a serger rolled hem. I think it's pretty fun, and Myra's a wild child so the lining shows quite often.

It's long enough to carry us through at least a season or two. I hope. The blouse she's wearing is Ottobre 01/2010-15, which I blogged about here.

Betcha can't make just one.

2011-08-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

I've noticed an interesting phenomenon regarding this dress. No one seems to make just one! Nearly every sewing blogger who has stitched up Vogue 1250 has made it at least twice, often several times. I'm not generally one to reuse a pattern. I just like variety in sewing, life and my wardrobe, but since I made my first one in May, I've been itching to make another.

I've also really been wearing my Vogue 8724 a lot, so I decided to try it out in a maxi length. I wasn't sure the proportions would work, so I searched around to see if anyone else had done it. I could swear I saw a maxi version on PR, but I couldn't find it! Anyway, I decided to just go for it. I can always chop it short if I hate it.

But I love it!! I actually think it looks better on me than on Sandra Dee, which never happens. She always looks better in my clothes. Anyway, to make it a maxi all I did was lengthen the skirt portion of that wacky front bodice/skirt front and back pattern piece by a total of 22 inches. The side seams are straight, so the skirt ends up a column. It is the perfect length to sweep the floor when wearing 5 inch heels. I may shorten it an inch though, so that I can wear it with sandals for a more casual look. I will say, if you are thinking of doing this, make sure that your bottom hem is VERY stretchy. I coverstitched mine, and it is holding together, but I think a twin needle hem would pop right out the first time you took a long step. Alternately, leave the CB seam open below the knees and hem the edges for a sexy slit back there. Hmm, I may have to do that next time...

The only other alteration I made was to take a small wedge out of the back bodice. I folded out about 1/2 inch at the foldline around the waist level and tapered it out to nothing at the side seams. That took care of the puddling I got above my hips in the last version. I'm totally in love with my new maxi! It is comfortable, fits well and looks good. Seriously, have you made this pattern yet? It's amazing!

And thanks for all the sweet comments about my little guy and his romper. I'm glad he made so many of you smile. He makes me smile every day, and I'm so glad I was able to share him a little.

Simplicity 4711

2011-08-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

Now, I realize that I speak with a maternal bias, but seriously,

Is that not the CUTEST BABY EVER!!! Yes, half that genetic material and the romper were provided by me. Grandma crocheted his sweet little blanket.

Here is the romper without the distractingly adorable child. The pattern is Simplicity 4711, alas now OOP. This copy was a generous gift from Amber. Thank you so much!! It is a lovely pattern and I really enjoyed sewing it up. For my average sized 8 month old, I sewed a size small, which is pretty much perfect. (Simplicity seems to think this is a 3-6 month size, but Duncan wears a 12 month in RTW. Be warned.) I did use a 3/8 seam allowance at the waistline seam to give me an extra 1/2 inch of length. I think it would have fit fine without, but the extra wiggle room is nice.

Here is the back view. As you can see, the closures are in the back, and extend down into the shorts with a continuous lap placket inserted into the CB seam. If you've never done a continuous lap before, this is a great way to start. It's much easier putting it into the seam than it is slashing an opening. I used teeny little 3/8 buttons, which are are really adorable, but as a 3 time mommy, I should have known better. Getting those things buttoned onto a wiggly 8 month old was not easy!! Next time - snaps.

There are snaps in the crotch for diaper change purposes. Simplicity calls for snap tape here, but I have never liked using that stuff. I used a couple of interfaced bias strips, which I applied like a binding on the underlap and a facing on the overlap, then applied the snaps after the fact. I also sewed these with 3/8 seam allowances rather than 5/8 so that the snaps would end up centered on the seam line.

The main fabric is a cotton seersucker from Joann (I think) and the collar and tie are cotton broadcloth from FabricMart. I used 1/4 inch twill tape for the trim rather than ribbon. I think it has a nice texture with more "boy" appeal than shiny ribbon. It also bends around the curved hems nicely. I also topstitched the collar, which the pattern doesn't call for. It isn't obvious, but I rather like the effect.

The collar application was interesting. The neckline is finished with bias tape, and only the back half of the collar in enclosed within the tape. The front half comes down into the two points, which are simply tacked to the front bodice. The little tie is a separate piece, also tacked down. If you make this for a little one, be sure to tack that sucker down securely. Duncan has been chewing on it all day.

Dress your School Boy!

2011-08-16T05:48:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's pretty quiet over here today...

That's because Andrea of The Train to Crazy graciously allowed me to be a part of her super cool party!

If you haven't been over there yet, this week is dedicated to dressing your school age boy, and today I get to add in my two cents. So click on over there! The picture above will take you to the entire series, and if you want to see my post (it's about fabric - that's all I'm sayin'), just click here.

Stay tuned next week as well for the girl version!

Simplicity 2738

2011-08-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Logan is nearing the upper size limit for his usual PJ pattern, so I thought I'd try out something new for him. The only thing I don't love about the Butterick pattern I always use is that the facings tend to fold up over the buttonholes. It's a minor annoyance, but after making Myra's PJ's with the stitched down facing, I thought it might be a nice thing to try for Logan, too.

And so we have Simplicity 2738, with a faced V neckline. The pants are still Simplicity 2290. They are perfect, so why mess with a good thing. There are a couple of things I like about this pattern. Since I was looking for this neckline style, I am happy with that. The facings are nice and deep, so even without topstitching them down, they'd have probably stayed in place. The fit overall is quite slim. This is a size 5, which is the same size I used for his last pair of PJs, but these are much smaller over all. I suspect this is due to the "unisex" nature of the pattern. They always seem to be drafted more for girls.

You can see a little better here the details off the boy. The top is also quite short. Combined with the snug fit elsewhere, he won't be wearing these for long. I also noticed that the sleeve cap is quite high. Like girlie high, and difficult to ease into the armscye. The sleeve length is good though, so I'm not sure going up a size would solve my difficulties.

On the plus side, I really do like this neckline. The Simplicity directions call for topstitching 1/4 inch from the edge of the neckline and omit understitching, I prefer the look of a facing when it is understitched, even if I am topstitching as well, so I did that. I placed my topstitching so that the line would be continuous with the pocket edgestitching. This was 1 1/4 inch from the neckline edge. I really like the way it looks and the facing is very secure.

Aren't the buttonholes pretty? My Singer has a 5/8 keyhole buttonhole template, so I decided to get fancy. That machine makes the nicest buttonholes. Since it was threaded for the buttonholes, I did most of the topstitching on the singer as well. Now that she lives in the same room as the rest of my machines, I'm really going to get to sew with her more.

Overall, I think this is a reasonably decent pattern. For Logan, I prefer the fit of the Butterick. He has his daddy's broad shoulders. I also think that for any child it should be lengthened. Logan is pretty average height and it lands right at his waist. I really do like the neckline though, so I may morph this neckline onto our Butterick TNT.

Birthday dresses

2011-08-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

Myra loves her birthday dress, but as an added incentive I made her baby doll a matching dress as well.

Of course, you can't really see any of the dresses, since Myra is clutching Baby, Aurora and Jessie to her chest.

Here is the prototype, modeled by Myra's baby. It is a basic peasant style top with elastic shirring at the sleeves and cased elastic at the neckline, just like Myra's. For the final version, I added a 2 inch ruffle at the hem and a big purple bow at the neckline.

I couldn't find any free patterns that I liked for a 12 inch baby dress, and Simplicity patterns weren't on sale, so I decided to just draft it myself. I used the peasant top tutorial from indietutes. Her tute starts at a size 2 and is intended for a human, so I did have to scale it down a bit.

These are my pattern pieces. For the basic square shapes, the bodice (the upper piece in the photo) measures 7 3/4 inches tall and 5 1/4 inches wide. The sleeve measures 4 3/4 by 3 3/4. 3/8 inch seam allowances and 1/2 inch casing and hem allowances are included. For the armhole and neckline shaping, I just freehanded a curve . You do want the same curve on your bodice and armhole, so I drew the curve on one piece and then traced it onto the other. Vegbee's tutorial goes through the assembly so I'm not going to recreate the wheel here, but should you need a peasant top or dress for a 12 inch baby doll, there you have it! This makes a knee length dress on my 12 inch tall baby, with the ruffle it goes to her ankles. I imagine this pattern would also work for an 18 inch doll, with appropriate length modifications.

Belated Winner

2011-08-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! I totally forgot to pick a winner for my 200 Followers giveaway!!

Via the highly scientific Eenie Meenie Miney Moe method, I have chosen.... Marjie!! Congrats, Marjie! Shoot me an email with your mailing address to katiedeshazer (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll get that in the mail to you this week.

Simplicity 2377

2011-08-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

August is a crazy birthday month around here. Myra is on the 10th, then Mitch on the 14th, Rina (my sister) on the 26th and Logan caps the month on the 30th. Although I sew for the kids all the time, so they pretty much take for granted that they have hand sewn clothing, I still like to have something special made for their birthdays. This year we are aided and abetted by Oma, who got them both some adorable fabrics when we were visiting her last.

Myra has outgrown her the pattern I have used for peasant dresses of this style, so this time I used Simplicity 2377. It is a basic raglan sleeve bodice with elastic at the neckline and sleeve openings. There are 2 skirt options, one a gathered dirndl and the other is tiered. There is also a second sleeve option - a small ruffled sleeve - that is pretty darn cute. I really like this pattern, as it comes together quickly and the end result is a comfortable, easy to wear dress that is really adorable.

Even with a busy fabric, I always find the bodice a bit plain. To this one I added a big organza ribbon bow and two ball buttons. The pattern includes quite a few cute embellishment suggestions as well. I've made this style dress enough times that I didn't even take the instructions out of the envelope. I realized later that this pattern also includes ties at the waist. I don't think I'd have used them if I'd realized they were there, but perhaps for an older child they'd be cute. Myra doesn't really have any waist definition yet. The only other change I made was to use elastic shirring for the sleeve opening rather than a fold over casing. I like the little ruffled edge it creates. The pattern includes up to size 8 in the envelope, so I'll get to use it for a few years yet!

And Logan finally wore his helicopter shirt!! It's been nearly 2 weeks - I was starting to worry. He says he really likes it though, and so do I.

Vogue 8724

2011-08-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

I've seen some great versions of this dress out in blogland, and I LOVE me a pattern with cup sizes, particularly a knit pattern. For some reason, I have more trouble doing an FBA in a knit than a woven.

I pulled out this piece of ITY that I have had forever. It was from my very first ever FabricMart order. I love it, but those big dots made me nervous and so I could never settle on a good pattern for it. I thought it would work well for this, since the skirt is such a large piece, which allows the print to remain intact. But since I hadn't used it in all these years, I knew I wouldn't cry too hard if it wasn't wearable. Still, I'm thrilled that it is!

The pattern is Vogue 8724, which is a Very Easy pattern with cup sizes. It really was very easy. I did a quicky tissue fit, and then fit as I go. I ended up making no alterations, and I can wear it, but a cami is necessary. You can't really tell on Sandra Dee, but the neckline is LOW. As in bra baring, and I wear demi cup bras. I thought it was going to be fine as I was stitching it. I tried it on before I attached the skirt and it covered all the business. The skirt is heavy though, and pulls the bodice down, which is something I'd only have discovered by making this "muslin".

The armhole is also a little low and overly scooped out for my taste. Again, the weight of the skirt worsens this problem, so it might not be as obvious in a firmer knit or in the shorter version.The cami covers up the gap under there, but the next version I'll raise and fill in the armhole a little.

Another thing I'm not in love with is the bust darts. I like the smoothness of the line that the dart creates, but in the D cup pattern, it is just to wide to sew without forming a dimple at the point. Several other reviewers on PR noted this as well, and converted the dart to gathers. It's a different look, so I'll have to contemplate it.

The back is completely fabulous though. I love the princess seaming that gives it such a beautiful shape. I didn't do a great job placing the print back there, but I think another sewist would probably be the only one to notice. Overall, I really love this pattern. I wore it all day running errands and chasing kids and felt totally great. The cami is definitely essential though, as Duncan seems to like pulling the bodice to one side. It's absolutely nursing friendly! It is a great shape and style, economical of fabric (the long version takes less than 2 yards) and an easy sew. With a few alterations to the neckline and armholes, I think it'll be great! I have this amazing border print that I'm planning for the next version...

Linked up...

Colette Sorbetto muslin

2011-08-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

When Colette Patterns first released this pattern (You can download it for FREE here on their site.), I thought it was cute, but between the lack of sleeves and the somewhat boxy shape, I really didn't think it would work for me. But then it started appearing on women of every size, shape and age all over blogland. I decided that I would give it a shot.

I'm so glad I didn't use nice fabric. It's a tent. Since it is designed to go over the head without closures, shaping at the waist is minimal, and it drapes straight down from my bust, which is not my most flattering look.

It isn't altogether horrible from the side. The bust dart does provide some nice shaping in that area, although mine is a little too high at the side seam and a lot too long.

The blue tape indicates the tip of the dart. It actually points in the right direction, but it ends right at the bust point. I prefer a dart at least an inch, but as much as 2 inches away, otherwise it just looks odd.

I actually think it might be cute belted or tucked in, so I'm not giving up on it forever, but I'm going to shelve it for a while and let it cook in my brain a bit before I try again. In the meantime, I thought I'd share with you all the alterations I made.

This is the front pattern piece. I started out with a size 8, which corresponds to my waist and hip, but is 2 inches smaller than I am in the bust. I did a 2 inch FBA using the Y-dart technique (found on page 146 of the second edition of FFRP) to minimize the width of the bust dart. As you can hopefully see in the picture, you split the upper leg of the alteration in half, so rather than adding all the extra to the armhole area, you add some into the shoulder as well. Since I have rather narrow shoulders in front, this method isn't always ideal for me, but it works when the sleeve is cut on. I also added 4 inches to the length, as I like my tops long and this one barely comes past the high hip as drafted.

From the back it is a little easier to see how I added the sleeve. I just extended the shoulder line far enough to cover my shoulders, then added the 5/8 SA/HA and connected the end of the line with the underarm on the pattern. Easy peasy.

200!!

2011-08-02T05:54:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog, it was with the intention of chronicling the sewing I was doing. I never would have imagined that 200 of you would want to follow along with me! I'm amazed and honored that so many are interested enough in what I do to follow. So, as a big Thank You, I thought a little giveaway would be fun. ETA: Jo pointed out that my Google Readership is actually 368! Wow, even more reason to celebrate!

Up for grabs is an early 80's Vogue Designer Pattern by Renata. It is a size 8 and all of the pattern pieces are intact. I am in love with the top view with all of the tucks across the bodice - fabulous!

Of course with your lovely new pattern, you'll need some fabric. I'm offering a generous 3 yards of poly/lycra crepe in a lovely creamy beige. It has a lovely soft hand and would be stunning made up into any of the views in this pattern.

To go with your fabric, you will also receive 5 yards of lace in a shade slightly lighter than your fabric. Although the pattern is unembellished, a little lace never hurt anyone. I'm sure it will make a lovely addition to any project.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. Be sure that you leave a way to contact you if your profile does not link to your email address. Anyone may enter - I am happy to ship internationally. You don't have to be a follower, but hey, it would be cool. I'll close the giveaway at 8PM (Mountain Standard Time) on August 5th and announce the winner on the 6th. - This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to those who participated.

Monthly Roundup: July 2011

2011-08-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

July has been an interesting month in many ways. I was very productive, and also very busy. As I mentioned last month, I've been a little down and stressed out. I wanted to try to find a little more balance in the things that I do, and to seek out ways to help other, starting at home. At first, I thought I'd take a month or so off of sewing for myself. You, my dear friends, pointed out to me that perhaps I was swinging the pendulum to far the other way, and I think y'all were right! If I had forbidden myself from sewing "selfishly" then I would have been resentful of the sewing that I was doing, and it would have had the opposite effect, pulling me down even more. But you know, as I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my family and friends, I found I was really excited about the projects that I had planned. I ended the month having sewn not a single stitch for myself, and you know, I'm really happy about it!

So, for the month of July, I sewed;
1) Ottobre 01/2010-15 blouse for Myra

2) Ottobre 01/2010-13 PJ pants for Myra

3) Ottobre 01/2010-19 PJ top for Myra

4) Jalie 2792 leotard for Myra

5) Stroller seat for Myra

6) Simplicity 2290 PJ pants for Logan

7) Butterick 4222 PJ top for Logan

8) Ottobre 01/2010-18 leggings for Myra

9) Ottobre 06/2008-13 top for Myra

10) 11 one piece aprons for the Hopi Indian Reservation

11) Ottobre 03/04-8 tee as a gift

12) Ottobre 06/08-2 leggings as a gift

13) Ottobre 03/04-7 pinafore as a gift

14) Kwik Sew 3299 tee for Mitch

15) Ottobre 03/2011-21 shirt for Logan

Not counting the aprons, that is 14 individual items, which is pretty good, especially considering that I've also been trying to unpack my house. Boy, it's been a relief having all of our things, but I really hate unpacking!! Since there were a lot of small things, I didn't use a ton of yardage - only 10.25 yards, of which 7.25 came from stash.

I'm so glad that I took this break from just sewing for me. I had forgotten how much I enjoy fulfilling a real need and sewing for others. I'm going to try to keep that in mind as I go forward. Believe it or not, the kids still l need more PJs.

At the moment, I do have a few projects for myself planned. On the cutting table at the moment is the Colette Sorbetto that everyone has been making. It's still in the muslin stage, as I don't wear sleeveless tops, so I'm playing around with some sleeve options. After that I have pulled some ITY to make Vogue 8724. I really love the way Shannon's wearable muslin of this one turned out and can't wait to make my own. After that, I really need to turn my attention to Fall and Winter sewing. I heard somewhere that it gets cold here in Utah. It'll be interesting to see what that's like...

Ottobre 03/2011-21

2011-07-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

When I was in labor with Duncan, I bought this awesome piece of Echino helicopter fabric for Logan. Isn't technology amazing? Between my iPhone and my epidural, I was fabric shopping between contractions. I only got a yard, since it is a bit pricey and was planning a sport shirt out of it, but when the summer issue of Ottobre came, I knew it needed to be the "Art Camp" shirt.

How awesome is that?! It is design #21 from the 03/2011 issue of Ottobre. It is very economical of fabric, since you don't have any facings and only a short placket at the neckline. I think it is a great design to showcase a fun, large scale print like this one, since the front is not broken up. For further fabric conservation, and to place the print to best effect, I cut this out in a single layer, rather than on the fold. I also cut the plackets and pocket flap on grain rather than on the bias. I didn't want my helicopters flying in different directions.

Here is a closer view of the pocket and front placket. The pocket is pleated on the sides to give a bellows effect. Plenty of room for "stuff" in there. The buttonholes are worked at an angle, although it is a bit hard to tell. I matched the thread to the helicopters so the buttonholes blend in.

Here is a better look at the placket and inside the neckline. This was actually a really easy placket to do, much simpler than a sleeve placket. There is also a very helpful photo of the placket construction here in the Ottobre Flickr pool. The neckline is finished on the inside with a bias strip. I used a piece of linen the same color as the wrong side of the fabric. I also added a little piece of the fabric selvage as a tag. For some reason the word "helicopter" on the selvage tickled me and I had to put it in there.

The pattern also includes a hip vent and has a back yoke. I only did a single layer yoke for this one, which is what the pattern called for, as I had limited fabric, but would generally do an enclosed double layer yoke. I really like this pattern and how well it went together. Logan was excited about it throughout the process. Of course, now that it is done, he won't try it on for me. He says it is a Sunday shirt, so I guess I'll just have to let you know how it fits after church.

Kwik Sew 3299

2011-07-28T06:01:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on copying the seam finish on Mitch's fancy running shirts. I made him another, this one with an entirely new technique.

This time, the seam is serged in the typical fashion (right sides together) so that the seam allowance is on the inside of the garment, then the seam allowance is coverstitched down from the wrong side, allowing the loopers to show on the garment right side. The needle stitching flattens the serged seam on the inside without adding too much bulk. I used matching red thread in the serger and coverstitch needles, and black thread in the coverstitch looper. Mitch likes a decorative stitch on the outside, and that seems to be the way most RTW running shirts are done.

I also hemmed with the coverstitch loopers on the right side. I'm not sure I love that. This fabric is a wicking polyester jersey from Seattle Fabrics. It's nice and light and feels very breathable, but it was the devil to sew. It was slippery and strtechy and generally did not want to behave.

My coverstitch machine particularly disliked it. The feed dogs had a hard time gripping the fabric, so the stitch length was all over the place. She also skipped stitches every time a seam crossed, which you can see at the sleeve/shoulder intersection above. I'm not sure how well this will hold up over time. So far, it is the closest appearing approximation to the RTW shirt, but I'm not sure it will end up being as sturdy, since I had so much trouble getting even stitches. I think I'll take a little break before sewing more of these, to see which finish Mitch likes best over time. In a few months, he'll probably be needing something with long sleeves. That'll be novel!