New Look 6816 & Butterick 5330 PJs

I know I'm supposed to be Easter sewing, and I have started, but my PJs were in such a sad state that I took a quick break to sew up a new set.

The top was New Look 6816, which is a pattern I've used many times.  I used a very light single jersey from FFC.  The pants are Butterick 5330, which isn't a PJ pattern.  I wanted a slightly slimmer leg, and PJ pants are always too voluminous.  The fabric for the pants is a rib knit that I think also came from FFC.
I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time on these, but I still wanted them to be nice.  I constructed both pieces on the serger.

Instead of a neckband, I used FOE on the neckline.

I lettuce edged all the hems, which turned out really cute and was a huge time saver.  I thought this was a good opportunity to practice this technique.  I used the serger, set for a narrow rolled hem, with the differential feed on 0.7 and stretched the fabric as I sewed.  You could also do it with a narrow zigzag, but I never felt I got as good a result that way.  My serger does it beautifully and quickly.
All told, it took about 20 minutes to cut these out, then just under an hour to sew up.  So, I don't feel to guilty about setting aside the Easter gear. I have gotten started!

Here are both boys' shirts and the contrast bib and collar for Myra's dress.  All those little pieces!  I was surprised at how little waste I had, considering how much was cut on the bias.  Now that they are all cut out, it's time to get sewing!

New Look 6816 silk pants

So, I finally did it.  I cut up 5 yards of expensive silk and made...

THE BEST PANTS EVER!!!

They are so soft and silky and wonderful that I never, ever, ever want to take them off.  The habotai lining is absolutely luxurious and makes me want to line everything with it.  The crepe flows like well, silk.  I love it!

The pattern is New Look 6816.  I won't bore you by talking about how much I love this pattern again.  Prior versions of these pants can be seen here in jersey and here in poly crepe suiting.

Since I wanted these pants to be pretty special, I did give them some fine finishing touches.  I sewed french seams throughout,

did my first hand-rolled hem (while watching the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice, which always makes me want to hand sew something),

and did the buttonhole elastic casing for maternity adjustment.

I did make a few changes on this iteration of the buttonhole elastic.  I used 1 inch elastic, which is just a bit more stable.  I was so pleased to find it in black at Fashion Sewing Supply!  Thanks, Pam!  She just launched her new e-store, so if you are looking for the best interfacing and notions around, you know where to go.  I also fully enclosed the interior of the casing by sewing together the waistline of both lining and fashion fabric prior to folding down the casing.  This way, the elastic can move freely in the casing when I need to adjust it.  Rather than leaving an opening in the side seam, I sewed two buttonholes to thread the elastic through.  This was possibly the most nerve wracking part of making these pants, as my buttonholer wasn't sewing consistently.  The end result lies much flatter and leaves the button outside the casing, making it easier to adjust so it was worth it in the end.

I'm so happy with these pants and I can't wait to sew more silk!  But first my big boy needs some pants, so stay tuned for a fun khaki refashion.

New Look 6816, just the pants...

These poor pants have been sitting for 3 days waiting for thread!  Can you believe that I didn't have navy thread around here??  Well, I finally got some, hemmed and stitched the casing, and these babies are ready to go!

This is New Look 6816 (again), which I have also made in brown jersey here.  This is my wearable muslin for the silk crepe and habotai that I got for my birthday.  This fabric is an inexpensive poly crepe suiting from Hancock, that I grabbed without looking at too closely.  I knew it was crepe and had a similar weight to my silk and that it was navy.  What I didn't notice was that the pinstripes are hot pink!  Bonus!!  They are a perfect match to this Jalie 2787 top I made in February.  Jalie markets this as appropriate for maternity as long as you use a fabric with sufficient 4 way stretch.  At 20 weeks, it's good to go!  I may need another...

From the back you can see how very wide the legs are.  I love them!!  For this pair, I lengthened the legs 1 1/2 inch to wear with heels, and I again did the buttonhole elastic waist treatment.  I really like the way that is working out.  Buttonhole elastic is quite soft, so it is really comfortable, even when tight enough to keep the pants up.  Awesome for maternity!!  I think I am pretty much ready to cut into my silk.

New Look 6816, head to toe and maternity friendly

What is that sound you hear?  Perhaps the tiny footsteps of my mojo coming home??  I hope so!!  In view of how happy my knit dress made me, I decided to keep with the theme and sew some quick knitwear.  New Look 6816 has been a favorite top for some time.  I've sewn it here and here. These continue to be favorite tops that I wear constantly, so I decided to give it another go, and to add the pants from the same pattern to the mix.  I love me a wide legged pant!

While sewing this I had no end of (self-inflicted) trouble!!  My twin needle needed replacing, and I bought cheap Walmart C&C thread, so it kept snapping, all while my twin needle kept skipping stitches.  It took longer to hem the top than it did to cut it out and sew it together.  For the pants, I was wise enough to go get a new needle, so the hems went well, but I didn't listen to Elaine, and although it was one of those mystery fabrics, I'm pretty sure that this was supposed to be lining.  This stuff is thin and painful to sew.  My feed dogs actually kept snagging it if I wasn't careful to hand feed it.  Ewww.  It's a good thing I don't tuck in tops.  The waistband is a mess.

Aside from my sewing woes, I'm really happy with the end result.  This outfit is crazy comfortable.  Check out that perfect line in back!  The fit is really great.  The picture fairly effectively illustrates the thin-ness of this fabric though.  Need something not white to go under there...

I did make a few changes to make this more maternity friendly.  I lengthened the top by an inch to give me a bit more bump coverage, and rather than a traditional cased elastic waistline,

I used buttonhole elastic (which also happens to be very soft and stretchy), and left an opening at the side where I can adjust the waistband as I get bigger, and then pull it back to still fit after baby comes.  I think this will be great for that transitional period before I get my real body back as well.  I am really happy with this pant pattern and am thinking that I will use it for the black silk I got for my birthday.  I'd like to try it out first in an actual woven fabric though, before I start cutting up sixty dollars worth of silk...

New Look 6816, Valentine version

Before I plough into my next project I want to thank everyone for the feedback about Myra's skirt!!  You all gave me some great ideas, and I think I'm ready to proceed...  I'll show you all the final result when it's done.

I was planning to make a simple raglan tee as my next project, but at my sewing group last night, the ladies convinced me that I needed to make this.

I'm so glad they did!!  I LOVE it!  It is the same pattern as this sweater, but rendered in a poly spandex that I got to fulfill the 20 dollar minimum order at Spandex World.  It is covered with pink and white abstract swirls, some of which form heart shapes.  It's perfect for a Valentine outfit for me!!  Of course, now I need a black pencil skirt - can you believe I don't own one??

New Look 6816

This is some serious instant gratification sewing!  I actually think that this top took longer to trace and cut out than to actually sew.  Love it!

It looks awesome with my Jalie jeans, and I also think that may be the best picture of me ever taken.

Here is one where you can actually see the top.  It is incredibly simple with kimono sleeves and only 3 seams.

There is a center back seam.  I almost omitted it, but it actually provides some of the waistline shaping that would otherwise be impossible in a top this simple.  I think that the fabric made all of the difference.  I used an unbelievably soft sweater knit from FabricMart.  It drapes around me in lovely ways.  I love it.  It wasn't the easiest fabric in the world to sew, but it wasn't as bad as I feared.  I stabilized the shoulder seams with French Fuse, but left the others alone. I didn't want to stiffen it.

The neckline is just a band, which I did flat, rather than by quadranting and sewing it on as a circle.  This went very smoothly and the neckline lies very flat, which doesn't always happen with the usual method.  The only downside is that you end up with a seam in your neckband.  Mine is at CB.

Oh, more quick and easy knit tops to sew!  It's going to be very hard to go back to sewing for other people when things for me turn out this well!!