Fall Sewing Update

Last we "spoke" I was whining about my lost mojo. Well, you all have been with me long enough, you know I found it!

That day I cleaned up the sewing room and started fondling fabrics - guaranteed ways to jumpstart missing mojo btw - and refocused on my fall plans. Of course I want to sew all the things, but I've decided to break them out into mini wardrobes. I am completely and utterly bored with my closet. It is time to start switching over. I've done a mini cull of things that have to go (for various reasons) and have some holes to fill.

• I do not need ANYMORE sleeveless tops/shells.
• I need more transitional tops (able to be worn on their own now but can be layered in winter).
• I am currently obsessed with not-full-length sleeves 

"The Blues"

Blue is my favorite color and "neutral". I have to stop myself from buying more blue fabric!

Simplicity 2369 (which I've made as a top and dress before and LOVE) in navy jersey.

This is cut out, pinned together and ready to serge. I was waiting on blue serger thread which - Wawak rocks! 

Butterick 5678 in a soft but completely opaque and sturdy cotton shirting from SR Harris.

This is mostly done. I have loads of topstitching to do (cuffs, collar stand, button bands) and then I can sew the side seams, set the sleeves and finish

I love Wonder Tape for collar stands!!

I accidentally sewed my laps backwards. Again. They're wrong on EVERY ONE of these that I've made. I always check first and still manage to sew them backwards.

Lastly, Kwik Sew 3558 jacket and matching pants from a blue/white mini check suiting.

KS3558 is pinned and ready to have the hems sewn - I'll be doing it by hand. Here it was when I messaged L (You Sew Girl) to ask what the heck was up with Kwik Sew and the ridiculous shoulder length. I narrowed them 1/2" on the paper and still had to go back and trim off 3/8". WOW! 

For the pants, I planned on V9155 which I've made before but ended up making a muslin of the In House Ellen pant. Aside from needing to add like an inch and a half to the back rise(!) and removing a little length through the back leg, they fit great. 

"Needed Neutrals" 

I don't have much tan/beige/brown in my wardrobe despite being colors that I like, and especially in fall.

Simplicity 1063 top in this animal print jersey. 

I was browsing my top patterns and I actually liked this one on me but hated the facings and never finished it. I have a plan this time around.

New Look 6481 jacket in a suuuuper drapey ivory suiting.

I knew I would make another jacket from this pattern and a trip to SR Harris last month yielded perfect fabric for it.

Vogue 9032 pants in taupe-y suiting. 

This fabric is an RPL that I've been hanging on it. I really like the feel of it and figured I'd better go TNT for it.

Butterick 5760 skirt in camel flecked wool suiting

This fabric feels amazing. I can't remember where I got it (maybe Sawyer Brook?). It was expensive so I bought 1 yard for my TNT skirt. It will be fully lined.

"Funky Fun" 

Burda 9/2016 #113 in this printed ITY

I think the pattern has a retro flair and this fabric does too! I can't wait to sew this though I have a tiny bit more time before I can wear a turtleneck dress, even in the tundra.

Okay so, I just want to sew this plum crepe. I have no pattern in mind. LOL!

Vogue 1465 turtleneck top in moss green ponte

I've wanted to sew this one for awhile now. I may make a matching pair of slim pants with the remaining yardage. I love that color!!!

 "But Wait! There's More!" 

Swoon Scarf Neck Cardigan in black burnout jersey

Because it's burnout! So fun!! This is a quick project so I'm sure it'll sneak in somewhere sooner rather than later.

Ottobre 5/2016 sweater in textured double knit

I think the pattern is meant more for a jersey but no matter. I'm going to have a super cuddly sweater from it!

McCall's 7430 dress in grey ponte

Part of me wants to make the sleeveless version for ease of layering and part wants to make it sleeved. We shall see!!!

Burda 10/2016 raglan sweater in black/white double knit

I envision this as a layering piece over my button front shirts or long sleeved tees. I'll crop the sleeves (I told you!) to just below elbow length.

I am on a self-imposed spending hiatus --- I'm not even biting on 60% off wool knits at Fabric Mart...or Cashmerette's new pattern...I didn't even buy any Burda patterns at the JoAnn sale last weekend!!!! --- but the one RTW item I'm on the lookout for is a camel sweater. J. Crew has it's Tippi sweater for $79.50 plus 25% off but there are lots of complaints about the redesign. Turns out they narrowed the sleeves. I CANNOT afford narrower sleeves. I have large biceps compared to the rest of me. I may swing through TJ Maxx/Marshall's this month/next month to see what I can find.

Speaking of RTW...I always get my Burda magazine and Redbook on the same day.

THIS SKIRT!!!!! I love everything about it. I have a similar fabric, though it maybe has a bit of metallic thread running through it, and I hope to copy this this fall/winter.

Similarly, I loved these J.Crew pants and though I absolutely cannot bite at $135, I decided I'd watch them for a sale. Well, the largest size they come in is too small for me. Booooooo! 

Other Stuff:

• I still need to post my chambray New Look dress.
• I hope to finish my Butterick jacket before it gets too cold (it's ready for the lining to be bagged and I bought snaps for it - Wawak! Yay!)
• Had some "life" happen last weekend and completely forgot about OWOP so I didn't participate this year.
• SewPhotoHop is still going strong! I think I only missed a day.
• Carolyn's pattern giveaway closes tonight! Head over there if you haven't yet!
• The first challenge is up on the Fabric Mart blog. I want that sweater knit. Those ladies did some awesome stuff with it! Be sure to vote!
• Week 2 of the Pattern Review Sewing Bee is up - they have to make bias cut garments. OY!

Until Later!

Failed Skirt-a-Palooza: Butterick 6060 but a WINNER in New Look 6301

After my top-a-palooza, I planned on making 2-3 skirts with a more summery flair. When B6060 first came out, I snatched it up, liking both the straight view with the little peplum and the pleated view.

I was so excited to get going on this and decided on classic but summer-fun navy and white colorblocking. I had a cotton twill in navy and a rayon suiting in white (with white poly pongee lining). The weights weren't compatible but the upper skirt is meant to be lined and I thought that would equalize things (newsflash: it didn't).

Also, I didn't think the upper portion looked THAT deep in the tech drawing but the photo is fairly accurate.

I didn't consider how this style would work with my fairly rectangular (when viewed front-on) figure (newsflash: it doesn't). This skirt took a long time to make. Well, to make well.

6 seams on the upper skirt plus the zipper
6 seams on the lining
Pleating the skirt...

I used tailor tacks to mark the pleat points as I knew it was imperative that they be properly marked so that the lower skirt would fit correctly to the upper. I even hand-basted the pleats in place.

Did a great job on my invisible zipper:

Hand sewed the lining to the zipper tape:

There is no facing or waistband. I used strips of interfacing in addition to stay-stitching. If I were to do it again I would add some twill tape or other support at the waist. The skirt pulls down when worn.

Because the twill appears slightly textured, I went ahead and topstitched the hem - it looks fine. 

Hard to photograph the white+navy

I finished it and was SO excited and...MEH.

My daughter told me to "take it off please".

I didn't understand how it went so wrong! LOL!!!

After trying it on a BUNCH more times, I decided it could work if it sat closer to my natural waist. But I'm holding like 4" of fabric in back! It sits way low on my hip which makes me wonder if I didn't manage to stretch out the waist despite being careful - or if the size 16/18 was just too big. (I always do a 16 front and 18 back in skirts).

I like the pleated bottom and thought MAYBE if I removed 2-3" from the height/depth of the top it could work in the future. But...sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And there are WAY more "patterns in the sea".

In the meantime, I have my Ann Taylor Loft white eyelet/lace skirt and I ended up getting the colorful A-line skirt online. YAY! It came today and I absolutely adore it. I think I shall wear it tomorrow! :)

(size 14)

I also really appreciate the details. This is grosgrain used as a facing and zipper shield but it's SUPER soft and pliable. A quick Google search shows that cotton/rayon grosgrain ribbon is a thing! I like the way it's used in this skirt. I can see this becoming a wardrobe fave; even though it's bright and colorful.

I finished the Butterick  skirt on the 3rd and on the 4th of July found myself home alone in the morning while both kids were working. "Oh well, guess I'll sew a dress...", I said.

1) Knit - duh. Easy. Peasy.

2) Something I've made before - duh again! Ain't nobody got time for new patterns + adjustments

3) Easy to handle fabric - See #1

I was somehow drawn to NL6301, even though I said I probably wouldn't make it again. But luckily, I am smart sometimes. I thought about WHY I didn't enjoy the make as much (though I like the dress)...Ponte was not a good fabric to use with this one. It just created too much bulk in areas with pleats and ties and...bleh.

So I reached deep into the stash and came out with this lovely, thick springy poly jersey that I purchased from SR Harris way back in 2013 when I first started sewing. The colors are fun and vibrant and say SUMMER! but can easily transition into early fall. My kinda fabric!

This time, I chose the view with the full skirt. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I did have to cut the skirt out. But that was easy, just a front and back, size 16 for both.

I ALMOST ran out of fabric! I had cut my sleeves early on when I found a good spot for them between the bodice pieces.

But when I went to move them - uh oh! This fabric has a crazy wide selvedge and it's uneven on top of that! So like 1/3 of one of my sleeves was this cream selvedge. I dug around through my scraps and WHEW! Found a piece that could fit the sleeve.

In an effort to fit all the pieces on the fabric on-hand, I ended up turning my neck binding piece on the cross grain. This meant I didn't have the stretch to snug it up against the neckline so it's a little loose. But still - I LOVE THIS DRESS!!

I ended up wearing it on my birthday <3

We were moving non-stop that day so all I got was  a selfie and a cat and boy photobombed pic at the end of the day :)

The sleeves and skirt both got 5/8" double turned hems. I did not need to top-stitch the neck binding. Love. Love. Love.

June Wrap-Up and Midyear Check-in

Err. This is an epic post of epicness...Don't say I didn't I warn you.


This month I sewed 10 1/4 yards:

• Style Arc Cara top in floral cotton (lawn?): 1 yard
• Burda 05/2016 #113 dress-as-nightshirt in floral knit and striped/patterned knit: 3 yards total
• Burda 6/2016 #105 dress in animal print cotton stretch twill: 2.5 yards (pattern calls for 2 or 2 1/8; I'm not sure about that. Could just be me and how I cut?? I used all 2.5 yards)
• Style Arc Cara top in white cotton eyelet: 1.5 yards (narrower fabric and wanted to use the scalloped edge)
• Vogue 9056 top in black/white striped ponte - 1 yard (WIP)
• M6886 dress in pale blue textured knit - 1 1/4 (WIP)

Favorite: I am head over heels with my Burda birthday dress! It's one of my favorite makes ever.

FAIL: An overall good month! If I had to list a fail, it would be procrastinating on the Burda. I knew it wouldn't be difficult, just a little time consuming, so I didn't push myself to get started, and I almost missed my deadline not ordering notions in time. 

Accomplishment:  I sewed all the things in my "planning" list from my May! Woohoo! 

Mid Year Goals Check

Where has the year gone?!?! This is bananas!

At the start of the year, I had some goals:

Patterns:

Goal was to use more of the Style Arc patterns I've purchased and to use ANY of the Jalie patterns.

No and almost yes (ha!). I've sewn some SA patterns but they've been new patterns that I had to have and then sewed up right away. I have a decent stash of SA patterns and need to use them. I have sewn my first Jalie (Scarf collar top) and LOVE it!

Here is the muslin:

I remember buying this fabric thinking DD would love it; but she did not. So it's been awaiting it's turn to become something. I think I actually like it for this top! I wasn't paying attention and cut the back with the faces right side up but the front they're upside down. Plus I didn't want to waste fabric for the ties in case this didn't work out so I ended them where the fabric ended for the other pattern pieces. So this particular version won't be finished.

I've made a 5/8" swayback adjustment, small 1/4" armhole dart + cheater FBA. DO NOT be surprised if my next post has like 4 of these. Seriously. I'm in love with the fit through the shoulders and upper back and the length is perfect. I'm off work until Tuesday so sewing WILL happen :) just not today or tomorrow. One more trip to the college with my daughter until move-in day!

My other WIPs:

M6866 in this lovely blue-grey textured knit that is too thin for a dress. I'm going to copy a cami and lengthen it to a slip (from tricot). I love the fit too much to give it up or chop it to a top!

V9056 in black/white ponte.

I was sad-mad when I realized this view has no seam allowance at the neckline or armholes. It's to be left raw. No. No. NO! I made a binding that works. I was debating if I should hem it but I don't mind it un-hemmed...but those other raw edges would not work for me. Photos to come soon.

New Mid Year Goal: The illustrious Carolyn at Diary of a Sewing Fanatic has challenged me! She knows I lament on my pattern collection and then I buy more patterns. And then I have dozens of patterns strewn about all over...Sigh. So she has challenged me to No New Patterns! til the end of the year. No envelope patterns, no PDF patterns, no FREE PDF patterns. No. New. Patterns. The exception is Burda because obvs, I subscribe.

I accept the challenge!

Fabric:

I was starting to feel overwhelmed by the stash. I don't know how many yards I've added but I've only placed 6 (!!) Fabric Mart orders this year and 2 Fashion Fabrics Club orders. I visited the new SR Harris and bought 3 yards of denim and I purchased a couple of cuts from Hancock before the closure. In contrast, in 2015 I placed 15 Fabric Mart orders in the first half of the year--Plus who only knows how many visits to Hancock and SR Harris (a lot).

We'll call that progress!

Budget:

I never set a specific number but I know that I've spent less on sewing this year than any other. A large part of that is due to moving, my daughter's graduation and party, etc.

Skills:

I listed 6 skills in my 2016 post:

1) Floaty fabrics: Nope. All the nopes. I have yet to fully attempt to tame the floaty fabric beast.

2) Sew a blazer: Not yet. I want to, I really do. It'll probably be a Burda. And probably in August!

3) Sew at least 6 (for the year) Burda patterns: Done! This year, IMO, has been phenomenal for Burda. I've sewn something from each issue so far this year. And I'm planning to go the distance. Sewing at least one thing, for myself, from each issue of the magazine.

Jan-Feb-Mar-Apr-May-June

4) Sew a prom dress: DID THAT! It was challenging and I had to get creative at times and stretch myself. It was a fantastic experience.

5) Sew pajamas: I sewed 2 nightgowns! :) I still need pj shorts and pants. So this is still a goal.

6) Sew a summer wardrobe: Quasi completed. I made some dresses and tops. I think I don't really know what I want in a summer wardrobe! And one may think; well it's only July...but usually by August I'm moving on to fall sewing. Because September is hit or miss. And by October it can be winter. LOL! Ok, not winter, winter, but cold enough for tights and boots and coats...like how we have 55 degree mornings and it's the end of June!

I think I'm off to a good start for the first half of 2016!

On a personal note; with my birthday being in early July, it's always a reflective time. Halfway through another year...another year older. It always makes me take a step back and examine where I am in my life. So, I'll be turning 37 in a few days. I'll be getting divorced in a few months. I'll be sending my first kid off to college in 7 weeks. I moved this year and L-O-V-E my new house. June made a year at my job. I'm in a good place. I like it!

Okay fine...I just sneaked that in there. :-p It's been an uphill battle for awhile (as in  >50% of the marriage) with blended family issues.  Add in some other stuff and the best decision for everyone is to go our separate ways.

July Plans

Guess what I have NOT done? 

Worked on DDs quilt since like February. I'm a horrible mom. I don't know if it'll be completed before school starts. Maybe she won't notice. Maybe I can send it for her birthday - which is like 2.5 weeks after school starts.

Oy. 

So...

-Quilt top
-Burda Challenge for July

-Dress for a bridal shower 

-Fabric Mart post  (I need new skirts so perhaps I'll try to go in that direction)

When I drafted this post I was set on making like 30 million skirts (or 2-4, same thing). Well, I was bored and it was a beautiful day so to escape the chill of the office I went to the mall and found cute skirts at Ann Taylor Loft!

I was just combing through my patterns for a skirt pattern for a cut of white rayon twill and found this for $10.

It looks REALLY cute on me! I'll model it with my new Jalie tops :)

And I found this one but not in my size. I found it online and debated ordering it (I hate their $8.95 shipping and feel like cardholders should get a better deal). Well today they were having a free shipping special on all orders. Score! So for $25, I got this one too:

We'll have to wait for it to come to tell if it's love. The white skirt is a 14 and in-store they had this one in a 10. Hahaha! I put it "on my body" and decided it could be cute if it were, you know, my size.

Randomness

I've started my first sewing project in April! Yay!

Besides work on the prom dress, I haven't sewn anything since finishing the skirt (from my last post) which was March 19th. Whew.

I'm working on McCall's 7246 in a ponte for my Fabric Mart post. Watch for that on April 23rd!

I plan to have the prom dress finished by 4/24, and then hopefully I can get my Burda dress sewn that week. I think sewing 2 things in a month will be some kind of crazy record for me.

Good thing my fabric shopping has slowed down too! 

I have made a purchase or 2 (really 2 max) outside of Fabric Mart, but looking at my order history there, I placed orders on:

March 18

February 22

December 19

September 8

August 11

WOW! 

Looking a little further back, I placed orders on:

July 21

July 10

July 1

June 5

May 31

May 27

May 13

Hahahahahahaha! 5 orders in 7 months vs. 7 orders in 10 weeks. 

I'm reformed!!!  ;)

I've been buying some RTW lately - spring tops - and have remembered how much I like Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft!

I ordered this drop shoulder sweater in coral, in a size Medium, and LOVE it:

I also ordered this tee but it doesn't work. I'm too short-waisted for the design feature. It's a really snug fit too (size L)

 Me standing up nice and straight:

Me standing how I normally stand:

Hahahaha! So this one is going back.

And I picked up 3 (YES! haha!) of these sleeveless shells. The front is a rayon crepe-type fabric and the back is rayon knit. So comfy and so cute! I got a teal with navy polka-dots, black and this stone blue. I wore the blue with my Lekala skirt and got tons of compliments!

I had to skip out on the Wardrobe and Bargainista Fashionista contests, unsure I'll do the Endless Combinations (which I really wanted to do), and now the pants contest is starting up and I'm not sure I'll have time to do that one. WAH!!!! I like the PR contests so much! 

Guess I'll just be looking forward to Me Made May! Are you doing MMM this year? I enjoy it and more importantly I enjoy following the hashtag on Instagram! I do wear handmade almost everyday, so from that perspective, it's no longer a challenge for me. I don't even know if the 'no repeat' thing is really a challenge for me! I won't say I won't repeat for the entire month because...there are just things that I love too much and are wardrobe staples for me...but I will be looking at it from a style perspective. Mixing handmades in new ways (e.g. vs always wearing top A with pant B, etc) and mixing my handmades in with RTW.

Wagon Tumblin'

I've been very, very good about not purchasing fabric but I am itching for warmer weather and warm weather sewing.

When I started the PR contest I was determined to sew from stash. But we all know the temptation of NEW fabrics, right?! :)

I had a free shipping offer (for premium members) from Fabric Mart. I have been looking for *this* green gingham cotton shirting for AGES! Not lime green. Not hunter green. Just a nice spring green. This FM offering was made better by the fact that it's seersucker. Perfect for a casual top!

And then I looked at my other favorite categories - sateen, crepe, challis, ponte, double knit, jerseys and ITY knits. I know I probably missed out on some good knits since that sale just ended but probably all the better for my wallet.

peach crepe, green gingham shirting, 'papaya' jersey knit 

berry sateen, grey geometric double knit and army green crepe

M7167 jumpsuit, S2255 shirt, M7350 dress

V9032 pants, B6244 jacket, Burda 4/2015 dress

My spring/summer sewing doesn't appear very cohesive, I know, but I am filling gaps. I have things to go with these things -- and the items I've sewn for the wardrobe contest) -- plus I've filled a few holes with some RTW purchases. And a little splurging too.

J.Crew has never, ever been on my radar because OMG the pricing! But I saw this gingham jacket and just about keeled over from swooning so hard. It was steep, for sure, but I signed up for a credit card (don't worry - I'll pay it off asap! LOL!) for the 15% discount.

It's really, really, lovely!

It's a linen/cotton blend with lots of fun details. The jacket is unlined but the sleeves are faced AND lined. It has an optional drawstring across the back. I thas the fun pop of color in the bias tape and it fits very nicely (save for my bionic biceps).

I have a few things I already envision pairing it with so hopefully it'll be featured as part of some cute outfits soon!

On the cutting table is my TNT skirt, B5760 in this yummmmmmy denim look boucle from Fabric Mart:

Front and back of both shell and lining are constructed. Have to sew side seams on both, sew them together, and hem.

Now, if only spring would come back to the tundra...