Rescuing an orphan

My Rambo skirt is one of my favorite makes. It's fun. It fits well. It's easy to wear. It should be a favorite in my closet, but unfortunately it isn't. The body suit I made to wear with it is lovely and comfortable, but suffers from requiring specialty underwear, due to the low back. The color scheme of the skirt is unusual in my wardrobe, and I just didn't have another top that looks good with the skirt.

Fortunately, I did have a remnant of the ITY I used to make the original bodysuit. It was a smallish piece - long but skinny. And I didn't have enough for mess ups.

I decided to use Ottobre 02/2009-5, which I have made before here. I knew this pattern was a winner, and even if it wasn't perfect with the skirt, I would still wear it a lot.

Fortunately, it turned out to work well with the skirt, so it's a win all around!

I'm particularly pleased with the sleeve this time! The rayon jersey I used to make this top last time was quite limp, so while the sleeves are attractive, they don't really flutter. In this ITY, the sleeves are much more full and graceful. It's a winner!

Ottobre 02/2009-5: Vibrant Color stashbusting theme

The April theme for the Stashbusting Sewalong is Vibrant Color, and I got in right under the wire with this top!

I actually hadn't really planned to do the color theme this month, although I do love bright colors and I have plenty in my stash. I was just kinda sewing along, and I made a dress out of this fabric for Barbie. It was still sitting out on my cutting table and I decided to go for it, but for me! Barbie can't have all my fabric.

Choosing a pattern was more of a challenge than usual though. I could not decide what I wanted! I even had a Burda partly traced then changed my mind. In the end, I went with Ottobre 02/2009-5, the Waterfall blouse. I've been looking for a cowl neck top that wasn't super low cut, and I think I've found it!

This cowl drapes gracefully, but is high up enough that people in front of me don't get a view of my bellybutton when I bend over.

The feature that keeps the cowl in place is the shoulder seams, which are rotated slightly toward the back. That way the cowl is draping from behind the shoulder, rather than down from the neck. It really works well. The back neckline is finished with a facing, I topstitched it down. Rayon jersey tends to roll out.

I'm so glad I jumped on the Vibrant Color bandwagon! I really love this top. The fabric and pattern are both great, and I know I will wear it a ton, and definitely use this pattern again.

BWOF 02/2009-124 : Lady in Red

I'm such a sucker for a red dress...

This is BWOF 02/2009-124 again, this time made from a lipstick red ponte knit from Fabric Mart.  I wear this version all the time, but the wide stripes make it feel a bit casual, so I decided I wanted a dressier one for church and other occasions.  And in case you don't have my due date stenciled somewhere (and why don't you??), I am 21 weeks in these pictures.  More than halfway!!

This time to ramp up the dressy factor, I avoided any topstitching, so the neckline is finished with a self fabric band and the hems are hand blindstitched, which is soooo easy on a double knit.  I think it has a nice va-va-voom factor on it's own, but maybe a skinny black belt with a bow at the empire waist?  What say you?

I was also inspired by Amber's awesome knit dress, and I explored some of the other stretch stitches that my machine offers.  Usually when I sew knits I stick with the straight lightning stitch or the triple stitch, but check this out...

This awesome stitch combines the straight triple stitch, which has a ton of stretch, with a quick overcast every third stitch!  So it seams and finishes the edges in one step, while still retaining elasticity and giving a smooth seam on the outside!  I don't have a serger, so I am loving this!  I can't wait to try it out on some less stable knits and see how it performs.

BWOF 02/2009-124

I sewed something!!  I know, I'm as shocked as you are!  On Sunday when I wore my knit dress I had a minor epiphany.  I've been avoiding sewing, partly because I'm tired and the pregnancy is kicking my butt, but also because I don't want to sew what I have ready to sew.  Both of my current "In Progress" projects are detailed, woven things.  I don't feel like sewing fussy.  I'm in the mood for instant gratification.  And so...

I made an effortless knit dress!! Yay!

Here it is sans bump.  It is a BWOF from Feb 2009, style 124, sewn for an cotton/lycra interlock knit that I purchased at Fabric Mart.  The pattern is drafted for a woven, but as you can see, works fine in a knit.  I did have to grade it down to a 36, and I moved all of the darts to the side seams.  (Click here for a little tutorial on how I did that.)  I hate darts in a knit, especially with stripes.  I also didn't use the facing pieces, just created a "facing" out of a band cut on the greatest stretch.

What really attracted me to this style was the back.  I love the vee!  I was afraid it would be a little low, but decided to throw caution to the wind and sew it without a muslin, and it is perfect.  Totally covers all the underthings.  I also really like the little cut on sleeves.  They provide good coverage for modesty and you can't get easier to sew!

I actually had a second reason for wanting to sew this dress.  I bought a pair of maternity leggings the other day.  I haven't owned leggings since the 80s, when I was in junior high, but I know that the 80's are supposed to be back, so I decided to go for it.  Once I got them on I realized that I HAD to have a knit dress to layer over them.

I'm still not sure.  I'm very much of the opinion that if you lived through a trend the first time, you are probably too old for it the second time.  I'm right on the edge for this one...

BWOF 02/2009-117

It's funny, I got this BWOF issue for the boat neck top, but I haven't even traced it yet...  I FINALLY finished the capris that have been on the machine for over a week.  Things have been moving really slowly around here lately.

I've been wanting a pair of jeans style capris this length for some time, but I haven't been sold on the shapes I've seen until I ran across style 117 in this BWOF.  They're far too long, (easy enough to fix!) but they had the close fitting shape I was after and I like the cool not-quite-welt pockets.

Here is a slightly overexposed shot so you can actually see the pocket.  Interesting, eh?  They are in exactly the right spot for my hands to naturally fit in them and the opening is wide enough to actually be useful.  And they look cool.  I'm not sure they are the most flattering though.  The top bit hits me right where my hips are widest and may not be doing much for me there.

Speaking of unflattering...  Wow, look at how high the waist is!!!  Mitch laughed at me when he took this picture and said it looked like I was wearing Rocky Mountain jeans.   I guess I know what I'll be wearing to rodeo next year...  Kidding actually, I'm pretty sure I will NEVER be tucking anything in to these.  The fit also isn't great, but to be honest, I did absolutely nothing to make that happen, so fair enough.  I did give myself a tiny bit of extra space on the side seams by sewing a 1/2 inch SA instead of the 5/8 I had marked.

I really enjoyed having two sewing machines for this project.  I set up the Singer to do the construction (and she whizzed through the 10 layers of denim at the side seam like it was no big deal) and Janome did the topstitching.  It was really nice not to have to change the thread every time I needed to topstitch!

BWOF 02/2009-125

I've been on a bit of a blouse kick lately.  After all of the easy fit knit tops of earlier this month, I've felt more up to the fitting challenge of an actual woven top.  This one is from BWOF, from the famous 02/2009 issue, which I only recently was able to get my hands on.  You'll be seeing more from this issue.  It's awesome!  This  will be my fifth entry for Spring Top week.  I know I haven't a prayer of winning, but it sure has been fun to see all of the creative and beautiful tops coming in.  Check them out here.

I chose this blouse because of all the unique style details.  It isn't often that you see a raglan sleeve with a collar/stand.  I also really like the pleated sleeve with the buttoned band.  It's a nice variation from the usual puff.  The fabric was an impulse purchase from FFC.  It is cotton lawn with a nice soft hand.  I wasn't sure about the print when it arrived, but I think it is perfect for this blouse.

You can see the sleeve better in this view.  As was noted by several reviewers on PR, the bands are snug.  I find them to be just perfect for me, but I wanted them to be fitted.  You can also see that I probably should have done a full FBA instead of just adding a smidge at the side seams.  There is zero ease at the bust. 

Yes, I definitely need to start doing a sway back adjustment!  Otherwise I love the fit in the back.  The contour darts are very nice.

Well, for a first attempt at a fitted blouse from BWOF I am very happy.  I'll be making more, although maybe not this exact one.  The fit is pretty good even with minimal adjustments, which is pretty nice and I love the styling.