Muslins. Who? ME?!?

I have been in sewing limbo. The desire to sew but midlevel mojo and NO TIME.

The kids had a very busy schedule this past week and I am still a bit under the weather, so I have not spent a ton of time in the cave.

I went down to repair the laundry bag (a few stitches came out) and ended up cutting another Deer & Doe Plantain tee in some of my white knit fabric that I scored for dirt cheap! :) It's thin which is good to know. It's hard to get a true feel for the weight of it before it's sewn up. So now I know that I'll need to allow for a cami underneath the tops I make or make lined things with it (or things with a deep enough self facing like NewLook 6108).

I still consider this a wearable muslin. And now I don't know if this pattern is worth me putting a whole lot more energy into. I like the scoop neck but I have to adjust the shoulder, lengthen the sleeve and reduce the flare a bit. I don't love it. I feel like there's gotta be another knit tee that will work better for me. In the photo the bottom is just serged. I'm going to hem it though I was playing around with leaving it as is.

I have a Lekala pattern that I'm going to try before I attempt another one of these.

Also, I muslined a hat!

This newsboy cap is a freebie by Waffle Patterns (HERE). It was just what I was looking for as I plan to make a hat for my little brother (he's totally turning 29!) for his birthday later this month. I was nervous as I know that standard one-size-fits-all hats do.not.work. But the designer said it came up "big" so I was hopeful.

Nope. It's 21" circumference. My head is 23"! And my brother, based on the hat size he wears is around 23-23.5" as well. 

I used the same fabric and lining as my B5927 jacket

It's too small! :)

I'll have to do better next time as I have that little point in the back that's wrong.

I have been trying to figure out how to enlarge it 2 whole inches. Part of me wants to try to just enlarge the pdf pattern when I print it (giving more depth and width). Part of me wants to lengthen the two pattern pieces 1" (increasing the side piece 2" total and the top would be an inch longer/deeper.) It takes SUCH little fabric so I can give it a try with some quilting cotton or leftover suiting til I get it right.

Or...I can spend $5 and buy Vogue 8869 which comes in sizes S-XL.

So...we will see! :)

My daughter decided she needed a scarf - mom to the rescue! Cotton Flannel was $2.99 on sale at JoAnn (plus my 10% off for being a PR member) and she has a new scarf for $2.70!

I cut the fabric in half so that I'd have one piece 72" x 22" (approximating 44" material). Then I made a tube and turned it. I then sewed the opening shut leaving a space to turn and hand stitched the opening closed. 20 minutes. Done and done.

She said she wore it ALL DAY on Friday and "This scarf is AWESOME!" was the text I received! :-)

Finished Item: Deer & Doe Plantain and FREE fabric!

Yes. Free. :)

One of my coworkers does a bit of sewing and was going to make maternity pants for her daughter. Well, daughter quickly got labeled as high risk and went on bed rest and so no (work) maternity pants were needed. So there are 2 suiting fabrics from Fabric.com and a knit.

Yay me!

When the Plantain tee was released I was meh about it but who will pass up the release of a free pattern? Not I. I did print it and tape it immediately...and then never traced it off.

Well, there are like 3,071.5 renditions on the web already and I wanted in.

Last week at some point I traced off the pattern. I could have sworn I did flat pattern measurements and decided to cut the 40 neck with 42 from the arm pit down. I also decided I needed a 42 sleeve.

Well I can't fit it.

I want to say it's because of my fabric. It does not have much stretch (maybe 15%). My daughter kept calling it her shirt and it just might be!

But I will make it again because the fit is awesome. Yes, yes, I know mine is too tight...but it does a nice job of fitting the bust and then very gracefully grazing across the waist and hip. Always a good thing. And there's an elbow patch!!!  I saw some reviews that the neckline was too low but I don't think it is (if you do, well of course that's okay!). I judge "too low" by whether or not my tattoo shows. If I can wear a top without flashing my tattoo, I don't consider it too low!

Great drafting, the pattern tapes together well and I think the sizing is good. I just need stretchier fabric or a bigger size in not too stretchy fabric.

This is some of my 59 cents/yard fabric so the shirt cost me barely nothing. The red knit was scraps on hand and of course I had red thread. I constructed it entirely on the serger and haven't hemmed it yet. If my daughter decides she wants it it'll have to become a 3/4 sleeve anyway because the sleeves just barely fit me properly.

 

CUTE!

 

It hits at the right spot too!

 

Yes my stripes match even though my sleeves are strangling my arm.