Vogue 8330 skinny jeans

On Saturday, my sweet hubby took the kids for the day so that I could sew. I have a ton of stuff I need to sew for the family, but a free sewing day means selfish sewing to me!

This pattern is my fourth version of Vogue 8330. I think it's time to put this one away, even though I do love it. My sewing ADHD demands a new pattern...

But these jeans are not about the pattern. These are all about this fan-freakin-tabulous fabric.

I know, right?!? This is a printed stretch denim from Mood. As of this post, they still have some. You can get it here. You know you want it...

Since I usually sew my jeans piecemeal - an hour here, 30 minutes there - I actually have no idea how long it takes me to crank out a pair. These were made in one sitting, start to finish and took 6 hours. Now, the topstitching is minimal, and in a matching color, so I didn't have to change thread or switch machines, and the pattern was already fit, so it was just cut and go. More complex jeans or a new pattern would require more time.

I'm wearing my new jeans with my Vogue 8747 blouse and vintage Vogue 2657 vest. Styling these jeans is a little bit challenging, as they are pretty striking by themselves. I think the great white shirt and basic vest work well, but I can also see them paired with a floaty chiffon blouse in a jewel tone or a chambray shirt.

Butterick 4222 nightgown

A few weeks ago, Myra asked me to make her a nightgown. It was pretty random, as she's always worn PJs, but hey, I've got zebra print flannel... Let's Jungle on.

The pattern is Butterick 4222, which I have made in the boy version quite a few times for Logan. The long gown is quite a frilly affair, with a round yoke, which in the pattern is decorated with lace pretty much anywhere lace can be applied.

This fabric (cotton flannel from Joann) is already making quite a statement, so I elected to use black piping at the neckline and yoke, and omit the lace trim at the sleeves at hem. As you can see, the gown itself is quite voluminous, and is gathered into the yoke all around, giving the sleeves a nice puff and creating a nice swirly skirt. The size 4 is a little big (Myra was 4 in August.), but not so large that it is unwearable, just enough for growth room. The only dislike she has is that it is a bit difficult to get over her head when her hair is in ponytails, but she has a very large head and it's fine if her hair is down.

She loves it. I think she may be a nightgown convert...

Tweet, Tweet

I finally jumped on the bandwagon. I know, I'm like the last person on the planet.

Tweets by @katie_kid_md

So, if you are Twitter-pated too, I'd love to follow you! Tweet me!

Jalie 2794 FBA and double band finish quick and easy tutorial

I promised I show y'all how I did my "cheater" FBA on the Jalie 2794 Sweetheart top, and also how I did the double band neckline finish. Well, let's make it happen!

Let's start with the FBA. For knit tops, I find the easiest way to do an FBA is to blend the sizes of the front pattern piece at the underarm, and then just ease the excess side seam length into the back. It's easy and it works well. Here is how I usually do it. With the Sweetheart Top, the bodice front is in two pieces, right at the underarm, so I had to modify the FBA a little bit.

Starting with the main front pattern piece, the change looks about the same. For reference, my upper bust measurement corresponds to the size S, while my full bust is a U, so those are the two sizes I'm using. Use the sizes that are correct for you.

Here it is a little closer up. You can see that I used the size S line (in yellow) for the majority of the pattern piece, and only blended out to the U in the underarm/side seam area. Since the size S works for my waist measurement, I blended back to the size S at the area of the waist notch (Thank you Jalie for putting a notch there! So useful!!). The red line is the pattern changes I made.

For the curved "fauxlero" piece I couldn't just grade out a size at the side seam because of the way the pattern piece is nested. Instead, I measured the amount of the change in the underarm area of the front pattern piece (the distance between the red and yellow lines in the above pic) and added that amount to the side seam. In the pic, the original pattern piece is yellow, and my addition is black. Making the change this way ensures that all of your notches will still match up, which is really critical in the construction of this top.

Of course, with all of these changes at the underarm, you've changed the shape of the armhole slightly, and need to alter the sleeve to compensate.

This part is super easy, and just involves grading out the front part of the sleeve to your full bust size. In the pic, the original pattern is yellow and the alteration is red. As you can see, you don't alter the sleeve cap shape, you just extend the length of the cap in the front only to the larger size. Remember, you didn't alter the back at all, so don't mess with the back part of the sleeve.

Now assemble your top per the instructions! When you get to the side seams, you may not even notice that the front is slightly longer than the back. Just stretch the back slightly as you go to match the front.

Now, how about that double band?

The first time I came across this technique was in the Singer Sewing Reference Library Sewing for Children book. This whole series is wonderful, although most of the pictures are quite dated, and you have to really look past the bright 80s colors and styles to get to the meat. It's well worth the effort though.

Here is all the book had to say about this technique. This method has the two bands applied in the round, which doesn't work for the Jalie top, so I'm going to show you how to do it flat, step-by-step.

What you'll need
Your garment - In my mockup, we'll pretend the pink piece is my garment
Two bands, cut to the length specified by your pattern, with one band the width your pattern specifies, and the other 1/4 to 1/2 inch more narrow. The more width you take off, the narrower your inner band will be and the more of your outer band will show. In the sample, the stripe is about 1/4 inch more narrow than the solid blue.

First, prepare your bands. Fold them in half lengthwise and press them wrong sides together. You want the right sides to show when you are finished. Give them a nice firm press, so that they are curling or shifting.

Stack the bands on top of each other, matching all the cut edges. The wider band should peek out above the narrower one, just as it will on the finished garment.

This step is optional, but I find that basting the two bands together helps prevent them from slipping and keeps them an even width. I like to use a narrow zigzag stitch to do this, as it holds down the curling cut edges, while still allowing you to stretch the band when you apply it to your garment.

Here is how it looks once basted. See how well that tamed the curling of the stripe fabric? It's much easier to get a good result this way.

Now, pin your band into your garment, with the narrow band facing the right side of the garment. It is hidden between the wider band and the garment as you stitch.

Sew the band on as your typically would. I like to serge it on, with the serger blade trimming off my basting. Be sure to stretch the band as you sew to fit your garment.

Here's how it looks stitched on. The narrower band is still tucked away between the other layers. You can see how the shorter band is curving my garment nicely into shape.

Give the band a press from the wrong side, with the seam allowance toward the garment.

Flip it over and voila, you have two bands! If you like, you can topstitch the bands down at this point to control the seam allowance. Edgestitching the narrow band also gives an interesting look.

The curved underarm section of the "fauxlero" is topstitched here, so you can see how it flattens the band and keeps it in place nicely.

I think this technique has a lot of potential, and not just in children's wear. I hope it has given you something to think about. Now, get those machines humming!

Jalie 2794 Sweetheart Tops

Rawr! I'm so ready to jump in to Jungle January!!

As soon as prttynpnk announced that she was hosting this little online get together, I ran to my stash and pulled out a few favorite animal prints. Hmmm, I may need an extension...

Myra shares my love of all things furry, so I knew I'd be sewing up some jungle-y goodness for her as well.

We decided to get rolling with a few quick Jalie Sweetheart tops, Mommy-daughter style.

Myra's is a size 104, with the sleeves lengthened to her wrist, rather than 3/4. I've made this tee for her before (already traced! Woo-hoo!), and I knew it was a little low cut, so I raised the neckline about 1/2 inch. She insisted that there be some pink, so I made the bands in hot pink to match her favorite leggings.

Mine is a size S, with a cheater FBA out to size U and an inch added to the neckline. As drafted, it shows bra, so I wasn't taking any chances. Due to the construction of the front, the FBA was a little tricky. I'll show you how I did it in a separate post.
ETA: I added a tutorial for the FBA and the double band neckline. You can find it here.

I'm really thrilled with the neckline finish on this one. I was debating what fabric to use for the bands, so I posted the question to my sewing sisters on Instagram and Facebook. There was a pretty even split between using the metallic vs. self fabric. Then Karla suggested using both, and yeah. I had to do it, and I LOVE it. The method is surprisingly easy. I'll post a little mini-tutorial along with the FBA discussion. (See link above.)

Our photo shoot was pretty fun. Myra insisted that we be silly, so she pulled some funny faces.

But we both really love our new tops!

Myra insisted I show you this one. I'm not sure what we're supposed to be here, but it's definitely silly!

Linked up!