Lovely Lillestoff: Ottobre 02/2007-6 Ottobre wrap top

A few weeks ago, a representative from Lillestoff contacted me to see if I would be interested in trying out some of their new women's fabrics to show you all. After I finished squealling with delight, I responded with a hearty "yes, please!".

The fabrics I selected arrived super quickly from Germany. I had already chosen a pattern, but new fabric requires careful selection! After perusing the pattern stash, I ended up back with my first choice.

The pattern is from the 02/2007 issue of Ottobre woman. I've had this issue for years, with intentions of making this top. This Lillestof fabric was pretty much designed for this pattern! For the main body of the fabric, I used the Aloha Flamingo Paradise print.

The pattern is fairly basic, but with an interesting twist. The front is tank with a wrap overlay. The ties wrap fully around the body, giving shaping at the waist and flattering the bust. It makes a basic tee into something not at all basic.

The back is all one piece, but the wrap ties prevent the top from looking like the back was forgotten. The sleeves are also trimmed with the binding fabric, which adds a cohesive touch.

The Lillestoff knit was absolutely perfect for this top. The fabric has enough stretch to shape to the body nicely, but great recovery so that it doesn't sag or droop. The wrap sections stay in place perfectly all day, no readjustment required.

For the binding fabric, I used a ring-striped jersey, in "rosa/himbeer". It is a perfect match for the pink flowers. The aweseme thing about the Lillestoff jerseys is that the stretch runs in both directions, so I could use the stripes in whichever direction and still have the stretch and recovery I needed in the binding.

This isn't the first Lillestoff fabric I've sewn with, and it won't be the last. If you haven't had the pleasure of sewing up some Lillestoff, I have an exciting giveaway for you! As part of my bundle, I also recieved some fabrics to share with you! I have two separate packages, so hopefully they'll be an option you are interested it.

The first selection of fabrics are Lara and Holland prints. Each piece is about 2 meters. They would be lovely together or in separate projects. Enter below in the Rafflecopter giveaway! US and Canada only please. a Rafflecopter giveaway

For the other selection, Lillestoff sent me this adorable Summer Forest print. I've added about 3/4 of a yard of red rib knit from my own stash to coordinate. Enter here in the Rafflecopter giveaway. You can enter for both if you wish! US and Canada only please. a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck! I'll announce the winner on the 11th! Be sure to check back then.

Grunge Revisited: Butterick 5924 and Ottobre 02/2007-3

When the Sewcialists started tweeting about the Grunge Sew Along last month, I knew there was no way I could miss that.

Grunge was my daily uniform all through high school and some of college. Of course, that means that I had to find a way to make the look work for me now. As a grown up.

I'm not sure I was fully successful, but I'm feeling pretty nostalgic, and I'm loving it!

Phase one (once I had my jeans) was a tee shirt. Back in the day, I wore a lot of oversized, man shaped concert and band tees, often layering several at a time.

As a nod to those layered tees, I decided to make a fitted tee with contrast sleeve and neckbands in a muted cornflower blue.

I added the iconic "Nevermind" from Nirvana's album. I thought it would be a recognizable, but not totally obvious logo.

The pattern I used is Ottobre 02/2007-3. I shortened the sleeve to cap length and added a hem band. I used a freezer paper stencil and fabric paint to make the logo. The fabric is a soft rayon jersey from FabricMart.

Of course, no proper grunge outfit was complete without a flannel shirt. Most of mine came from the thrift store back in the day. For my look, I wanted something with some shape, and maybe an interesting detail to set it apart from the lumberjack flannels I once wore.

I chose Butterick 5924 for the cool bias panels on the lower half of the shirt, and also for the bust dart, which adds a bit of shape. I love the chevron in back. The fabric is a cotton flannel from FabricMart.

I used brushed nickel snaps as the closure. I never buttoned up a flannel shirt, and I don't expect I will this one, so I like the flash of metal the snaps provide on both sides.

I think I managed recognizably grunge without the unfortunate two sizes two big look I sported as a teen. I am actually having a lot of fun wearing this today, and the flannel shirt is totally cozy as I watch more snow fall.

Sewaholic Renfrew tee and Ottobre 02/2007-1 tank

Whenever I want some quick and satisfying sewing, lately I have been turning to the Sewaholic Renfrew tee.

This is my fourth time making it, which is nearly a record for me. It helps that they are so quick to knock out. I love instant gratification sewing.

This time, I decided to make the V-neck with long sleeves, out of a snuggly sweater knit that I scored at Walmart for a dollar a yard. It's insanely soft stuff, but also seriously unstable and a royal PITA to sew.

The drapey, unstable nature of the knit is what makes this sweater so cozy though so I think it was worth the pain and agony. In terms of alterations, the only thing I did was my usual cheater FBA on the front bodice and sleeve. The back was already traced from my prior Renfrews, so that saved some time.

Peek a boo!! Unfortunately, the loose knit that makes it so soft and drapey, also makes it totally see through, so I needed an additional layer for underneath. Since the 02/2007 copy of Ottobre happened to be out, I traced off the Tank top (model #1) and sewed it up.

I had a long, skinny strip of slinky knit left over from this outfit, and it was exactly enough for this tank. Yay for stashbusting and for using my Ottobre Woman magazines! I did the same sort of cheater FBA on this, just grading out to the size 40 at the underarm, then back to the 38 at the waist. Slinky is really forgiving, so I didn't stress out too much about the fit.

The pattern calls for binding at the neckline and armhole, but there are very few things less appealing than trying to do a binding with slinky. I just made a plain band and topstitched the neckband down. It was much less fussy than messing around with a binding.

The neckline on the Ottobre tank is a bit higher than the Renfrew V neck, so it shows a bit, but I like the casual, layered look that results, so I'm pleased. I'm glad I finally tried out this Ottobre tee as well. It's the basis for several other styles in that issue, so it'll be fun to try out some of those!