November Wrap-Up

I'm just going to stop saying 'I won't sew much'.

This month I've sewn:

• In-House Belle blouse in printed voile - 1.5 yards
• S2061 sweatpants in black & grey - 1.5 yards
• M7046 top in blue/white printed jersey - 1 yard (wadder)
• BS7136 shirt in blue shirting - 1.5 yards
• V9032 pants in black/grey herringbone suiting - 2.25 yards
• S2054 sweatshirt dress in grey fleece for my daughter - 1.5 yards
• BS6919 dress in black ponte - 1.5 yards
• BS6990 turtleneck in charcoal ponte - 1.5 yards (Needs to be saved from wadder-ville)
• BS7136 shirt in plaid shirting - 2 yards
• V9032 pants in denim - 1.75 yards (wip)

Total yards sewn this month: 16

Fabric in this month - ZERO! ZILCH!! NADA!!!!! :-)

I'd have to call my V9032 herringbone pants my favorite this month. I've only had them for 2 weeks and can't tell you how often they are worn! Definitely a go-to pattern for me! I'm also smitten with my Belle bow blouse and feel like my life won't be complete until I sew it in challis! ;-)

*****

Burda 6990 was on my wish list for like, ever. And the last time they went on sale I snatched it up. At one point I tried it on and ended up sewing 3/8" seam allowance through the sleeve and bust and went back to a 5/8" SA below. Great! 

And then I sewed on the turtleneck.

And I *KNOW* I have a big head. Well...I have a big neck too, apparently!  I thought I was going to faint. My breathing was being cut off and I had to get it OFF! BUT I know that I can remove it and either change it to more of a cowl or just use a bigger piece. I'm sure it's because it's ponte (e.g., there's not much stretch. I should try it in a rayon jersey...)

*****

Simplicity 2054 for my DD. She wanted a sweatshirt dress (tunic) and though I knew a raglan would be perfect, I was being lazy and didn't want to cut a new pattern (was going to use NL 6298). I had her try on my black & white version and she liked the oversized fit. 

So I used the size 14, folding the neck/shoulders back to a 10. I am enamored with the deep hem!!! I think it's 2.5". It made it slightly tough to sew since the dress flares but it was worth it.

*****

In the thick of the Fabric Mart contest, I started a second B6104 (first one here) in brown wool. It has languished in it's blue bin, awaiting it's turn to be sewn!!!

I wanted to sew but didn't want to cut anything out and in my infinite wisdom... I'd labeled all the pieces and had them pinned together!

I COULD HAVE KISSED MYSELF!!!!!!!

At the last notions sale I picked up another box of pins because, where the heck did they all go?

My princess seams were pinned and waiting to be sewn! HA!

I assembled the shell and hemmed and hawed over lining colors and went with the light pink(again). I cut it all out last night.

This pattern has fake lapels. Faux? Pseudo? We'll see how it comes together.

The lining is about halfway assembled. I just need to sew the peplum to the bodice, set the sleeves, and I'll be ready to bag it.

Week THREE of MMM'14

Eek! 10 more days to go! It looks like I  will make my goal of zero weekend repeats. I still have loads of casual non-work garments that I can wear on the weekends!

Day 15: KS 3115 yoga pants (my only repeat so far)

Day 16: NL 6108 top and B5927 jacket

Day 17: S2054 tunic/mini dress

Day 18: PR Winter Street Dress

Day 19: Burda 6910 top

Day 20: M6519 top

Day 21: Sew Simple A1523 top

Hopefully I'll get my hair done soon :-D

Finished Item: Simplicity 2054

So as you know, it was a busy sewing weekend for me. Sunday morning I was up by 7 and the house was silent. I contemplated just hanging in bed but...nope. I contemplated working on my November garment of the month but...nope. :) I've been focused on a work wardrobe and hadn't sewn anything fun. I wanted to sew a few garments for my casual wardrobe.

I bought this knit fabric from SR Harris back in April. Almost all of their knits are $4.50/yd. A wool knit or designer knit for example, might be more. But I tend to buy at least one 2-yard cut of knit when I go just because that is a good price!

I've had a ton of ideas on what to use it for but never felt committed - you guys know what I'm talking about - there wasn't a project that I *knew* belonged to this fabric. And then I found it!
After extensive reviews on the pattern, I knew that this knit belonged to Simplicity 2054, a Cynthia Rowley pattern.

The pattern is very straight forward - front and back both cut on the fold plus the sleeves and neck binding. For once, the pattern envelope is pretty accurate on the finished product. There are no darts but there is a nice bit of shaping through the body. I think using a nice, stable double knit ups your mileage here.

I then hemmed and hawed over how to layout the pattern since there were stripes. Which stripes go over the bust? Which over the hip? Where should I put them?!?! In the end, I decided on a wide-to-narrow layout. 

Then it was, do I do the sleeve cut outs or not? What the heck...let's go for it!!

I LOVE IT!

 

Edited to add: "I get it from my mama"! My mom, at 56, has the shapeliest most golden brown toned legs ever. So I thank her!! 

Excerpted from my review on PR:

*I cut a 14. Finished measurements 37.5/37.5/45. My measurements are 39.5/34/43.

*Dislikes? There are two issues I have and both are very easily fixed.

1) there is a TON of ease at the waist. The Simplicity size 14 measurements are 36/28/38 so there is wearing and design ease of 1.5" at the bust and 7" at the hip and 9.5" (!!!) at the waist.

2) the upper part of the sleeve through the elbow is very fitted, then it just continues to the wrist as opposed to narrowing. I will have to take the wrist in a bit...there's 2" of extra fabric there.

Likes? This dress is pretty much perfect other than those 2 small things. I LOVE the fit. It flatters the figure just right and you can really change the feel of it quite easily.

*I added an inch above the elbow to the sleeve, I should've added at the end too. I have a 5/8" hem allowance and it's maybe bracelet length.

*There is a pattern piece for the binding at the neckline but I didn't cut it out...it's a rectangle that measures 2" x 21" (for the size 14). I just cut a rectangle from my fabric.

*I was nervous about the finished garment measurements compared to mine so I used 3/8" SA (5/8" at the shoulders) giving myself an extra inch. However, I didn't need this extra at the waistline. I ended up taking it in through the waist, removing an inch total.

*I fully intended to do a swayback adjustment but I forgot. I needed it too :/

*Another thing to note, I did not need to do a narrow shoulder adjustment on this one.

The photo on the left shows the full length before hemming. i didn't like it quite that long and then I decided to end at the white area because that's where the sleeves ended. When I pinned it up, I liked  the shorter version and decided to go that route. And then...I proceeded to chop off nearly the entire black part - leaving an inch behind. After turning up my hem, I had just taken 3" from the length. oops!! :) I like the mini though! A lot!

It also looks cute layered over leggings:

And I'm VERY proud of the binding. I attached it with the serger!!

I know this is an old pattern but (hopefully), I'm bringing it back. I can see lots of my fellow sewers turning out amazing versions of it!

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In knitting news...I finished the sock! My first time doing cables. It doesn't scare me now! :)