Revised Staycation Sewing Plans

I had it all planned out, I was going to sew and sew and SEW!! But my parents are coming!!!!

I only get to see them once a year -- maybe twice if I'm lucky -- and they will be here for 4 days over Christmas - YAY ME!!!! I'm not a 'mama's girl' or a 'daddy's girl', I'm just my parents BABY GIRL and I am so happy when they are near. Ahhhhh...

So I decided I need to get some things started sooner. I cut out all of the new-to-me patterns while catching up on Hell's Kitchen with my daughter, and on Friday, I muslined the Vogue top.

Well, this is what really happened:

Self #1: hmmm...do I REALLY need to muslin this?

Self #2: remember all those recent revelations about you and the tops you've sewn...

Self #1: yeah but look at how straightfoward this is...and the finished measurements look good.

Self #2: I don't know... it has that odd construction AND raglan sleeves...how will that work?

Self #1: Meh. It'll probably be fine.

Self #2: But you REALLY love that teal jersey...

Self #1: Ugh. FINE.

So into the knit scrap bin I went!

(sorry for the toilet)

Bleh. LOL!

I don't dislike it, but there isn't enough room, Something funky is happening at the front raglan sleeve (too tight across the bust?) and in the few minutes I had it on I must have adjusted that cowl like 13 times.

I think I would love it a size bigger, with a rayon type knit, and tunic length. So I might make it again.

PLUS, I did not like the idea of it with cardigans. And that made me rethink the tops I chose and how they would layer. Minnesota = layering. Period.

So I changed things up a little bit. And chose a different cardigan with a "collar" and another shell vs. a top with sleeves. I need more solid colored shells anyway.

Same color scheme because I really like it

M6996 in animal print

M6078 in mustard

B5493 in teal

S1945 in the black/gold sweater knit

Belle: Still in white challis

Sandra: Still in denim

V9032: still in black suiting

I am still quilting the quilt. It needs to be complete by Thursday morning. I did NOT quilt on Sunday and instead decided to start the "easy" knit projects.

Well, they went so fast! (YES L! THEY as in multiple! lol!!!!)

I was going to "sew the major seams" of M6996, M6078 and B5493.  And ended up finishing the cardigan and the mustard top. B5493 still needs finishing.

I WILL muslin the Sandras this weekend.

Sneaky peeks, reviews of patterns to come!

here the cardigan is unfinished

finished!

Failure...Well Not Completely

I am not a Stash Buster. I am a Stash Collector.

I do not like fabric fasting...much like I do not like dieting. All that restriction only makes me want, want, want!!

So yeah.

During an episode of packing, I realized I have a boatload of black, grey and black/grey, black/white, black/grey/white stuff. I haven't sewn nearly as many summer items as I planned and of the summer things I have sewn, several have been black, b/w, b/w/g, tan, denim. All good...but I need some color!

Then I asked my husband (he does the laundry), he said "everything you have is black and white". Sigh...

(today I am wearing a black cardigan, white shirt and b/g/w pants - SHEESH!)

I wore my V1395 dress yesterday and found a couple of pretty remnants for tops this weekend and that served to fuel the bug.

I have A LOT of sleeveless tops/shells because I am a lover of cardigans. But sometimes a cardigan is just too warm at work so I need more lightweight tops with sleeves (cap, 3/4, not long sleeved-yet).

I ventured to SR Harris (love that place!) and found some pretties. Pretty much everything in the store is 1/2 off the advertised price on the bolt and if you are knowledgeable about fabric you can really make out like a bandit! I spent $29 on ~ 8 yards of fabric. Not too bad.

I'm not great at identifying "the good stuff" so I mostly looked for things that were labeled.

 

100% Cotton shirting

 

(super soft!) cotton voile

 

Cotton bottom weight

 

Feels like an ITY

 

This one isn't as "slinky" as the blue and feels more like rayon (I should run infrared on it!)

Mini Wardrobe:

I'm out. I haven't touched my machine in a week and won't have much time to sew until next weekend. I don't want to rush and make *something* just to enter the contest. 

I want to get a couple last summer things sewn, sew some tops that can transition to the cooler weather that will be here in 6ish weeks and then start my fall sewing.

I need pants, pants, PANTS!

Finished garments:

I actually finished this dress awhile ago and have even worn it twice! But I planned on making one for my sister for her birthday so I was waiting to post. I'll get to hers; promise.

For now: DD and I both have "new" maxi dresses!

McCall's 6559 which was a PR pattern of the year in 2012; and with good reason. It's a GREAT pattern!

 

I cut a 14 neck/shoulders/armhole and graded to a 16 for the rest. Somehow, the front and back were different lengths (maybe in all the seaming I got off) so I lost a much needed 2" of length, making mine "mostly maxi".

Cutting this one out was a bear but once cut, construction was smooth sailing. Wait...I think it took me longer to ensure I had the front pieces arranged properly than it did for me to sew them together! :) I used the serger for everything and used the 'turn twice and stitch' method for the neck and arms. It's been washed and worn again and that didn't come out poorly at all so...

I did NOT attempt to stripe match but it can certainly be done. But since I only had 2 yards of this, I don't think it would've been worth the headache to try to make it happen.

 

So then Dougie decided she NEEDED one too - of course!

I cut a straight size 8. She has broad shoulders and I knew she didn't need it narrower at the top. I did the other view, a simple front and back (yes, I matched the stripes!) so this was insanely fast to make.

Neither dress was hemmed. The stripes helped to ensure a nice straight cut on the bottom.

Next up:

 

Simplicity Sew Simple A1636 in rayon challis

Mini Wardrobe: V1395

First things first...

THIS DRESS TOOK SO DAMN LONG!!!!!!!!

I seriously thought I would finish up my projects this weekend but holy cow! Yes, we had a sort of busy one and I didn't sew at all Friday night but good grief! Between the binding and the french seams and the narrow hems...ACK!

But I finished it and I LOVE it!!!

My husband doesn't like it. But he doesn't like anything I make that is loose/flowy so I wasn't surprised. But then he said, "It makes you look wide." I happen to disagree. I think he dislikes the fullness from the elasticized waist but I am digging it so...I just won't wear it on date nights! :-p

Specifics:

*Time to complete: Forever

*Fabric: A lot of rayon challis and a little cotton voile 

I was going to get the bemberg but I didn't feel like going to JoAnn so I dug through the stash and found this pinkish-purplish cotton voile

*Thread: I went with red since it was the dominant color; it works.

*Size: Straight 16

I need to get it through my thick skull that I need an FBA. This has plenty of circumference but not enough length. It slightly rides up in front. Next time I'd cut a 14 and do an FBA. I'd also lengthen the bodice about an inch for some blousing.

Wide??

Construction wasn't difficult EXCEPT for the stupid shoulder sleeve! Will someone please read that and interpret what Vogue is trying to communicate!?!? Please!!!!

I hate this casing method. Hate. Hate. Hate.

I french seamed it all...time consuming but worth it. There are bias bindings applied to the neckline and armholes and it's done flat. THIS IS GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

The lining was just serged (hey...no one will see it!). I serged the hem and turned up and stitched. For the fashion fabric I did a narrow hem.

Oh and if you're a tall person; this will be a mini dress...may want to lengthen it.

Hmmm....what else...the armholes area  bit low, even with the overlay. And the overlay makes it almost impossible to lift your arms up. I mean, how much arm lifting are you doing in a dress?? But still...

A very pretty dress that takes awhile but is worth the effort!

Mini Wardrobe Update

I whined and moaned and groaned and decided to move forward with my sewing and whaddya know...I have a new mini-wardrobe plan!

One thing I've wanted to sew this summer is the Rebecca Taylor Vogue 1395

It's a simple but cute dress and has been made up successfully by several bloggers!

 

Morgan of Crab and Bee

 

Niema of Wearable Muslin 

 

Jamie on the Denver Sewing Collective blog

So I spent a whopping $5 on the pattern and put it in queue. Well my lime-sorbet-twill-disaster moved this dress right on up to the top of the list!

I only have the front of the bodice done; but it's a little bit of work; cut, apply bias bands to the neckline, top stitch, sew the CF seam, topstitch...Hopefully tonight I can get the rest of the construction done and hem it this weekend.

Can I line rayon challis with (poly) pongee? Or should I go for some lightweight cotton fabric? 

When I was still in my 'woe is me' state; I cut out M6754 in this mint(?) green ponte

I realized that with only a tweak or two; I am still well into having a 5 piece mini wardrobe completed!

Dress Progress:

With blazer:

 

So now my mini wardrobe will be:

B5926 kelly green blazer

V1395 dress 

M6841 white drape top

M6754 mint peplum top

NL6130 dark stretch denim pants

Mini Wardrobe: Butterick 5926

Last year when I made this jacket, things went okay...but not well

 

 The collar gave me fits and the shoulders were WAY too wide.

 

When I decided to use this pattern again I was all "BUT THE COLLAR!?!?" The instructions are NOT good enough to get you a well-done collar. Not. At. All.

But I was determined to get a nice lapel so I didn't allow myself to freak out about it. I thought to myself, I thought, "Self; 1) you are a much more experienced sewer than you were in October and 2) get help before you start."

I was pointed towards this great tutorial by Sherry of Pattern, Scissors, Cloth: HERE. The only thing is she uses black fabric which we all know is a bear to photograph. So I missed some of the details and ended up unpicking stitches and checking and sewing a few stitches and checking and sewing a few stitches and...yeah. It went like that.

I think the ultimate takeaway is: 

1. Mind your seam allowances!
2. Trim/grade your seams!!(!!)
3. Clip your curves!!!

And for all my hardwork...I got a nice notched collar!

 

I stabilized the hem with fusible knit tape

 

Back shoulder darts (need a better pressing - oops!)

 

IMO this pattern has a great sleevecap that barely needs to be eased in at all. They went in flawlessly on the grey version and this one too!

 

I'm a sucker for a little contrasting serger thread! I know it can be taboo for some but I like it! I'd bought extra spools of green thread (bless you 1034D and your ability to use regular spools) but after making some tests I decided I preferred the white.

 

(Facings will be catchstitched...)

I remembered to move the pockets forward a bit; but only like 1/2 an inch. They were just a tad too far back on the first version.

 

The center back seam that helps with the lovely swayback

I remembered to narrow the shoulder (by 3/4"!)...but didn't realize I needed a vertical FBA so I have some draglines again.

 

(I think I need to shorten the sleeves a little bit.)

It doesn't look so wrinkly in real life...And it's all soft and cuddly! It looks reallllly cute with my other mini wardrobe items too!! :-)

I was going to make 3/4 sleeves but duh. I live in the tundra. It will only be short-sleeved weather for about 8 more weeks. And then the 28 weeks of cold and then... :)

I think I'll take the sleeves up a little and give all those darts another good press. I need to do the buttonholes (even though I never even cut them open on the grey one!).

Oh! And I'm thinking about this button:

I think it works well with the color!

Other thoughts...

Beth of 110 Creations mentioned here, in her trials with this jacket about something strange happening when the facings are attached. I completely agree.

Something goes a bit wonky in the area where collar/shoulder seam/facing all meet. I don't have enough experience to say WHAT's wrong just know that it is a little off. And I don't think it's the bulk...when I made B5927, it's not weird in that area at all and that was with a denim-type suiting fabric. This is a not-quite midweight knit. But again, I can't say for sure.

This pattern was actually pretty fast.
7/5: I cut it out (~30 min)
7/6: sewed all 6 darts, sewed CB seam (~30 min)
7/7: sewed patch pockets, sewed fronts to back (~1 hour)
7/8 a.m.: interfaced collar (~15 minutes)
7/8 p.m.: sewed collar to jacket, interfaced facings (~30 min)
7/9 a.m.: sewed one side of collar/lapel/facing (~45 min - there was MUCH stitch unpicking!)
7/9 p.m.: finished collar/lapel/facing, set sleeves, hemmed (~2.5 hours)

The only "marathon" sewing was last night...I am a firm believer in squeezing in a few minutes of time where you can. I'll sew the buttonholes tonight, handsew the buttons and catchstitch the facings. Done and done.

We have a busy weekend of softball so I will probably start my cropped pants. Pants work very well being done in tiny increments. If I'm lucky I'll get them done over the course of the weekend and get my shirt done over the first half of next week. I have NO free weekends again until August 8th!

A Happy Birthday

Grateful and blessed to see another year! We celebrated my birthday on the lake yesterday, went shopping with my birthday loot, and came home and had cake.


mmmmmmm. cake. :)

 

The boy was a tiny bit cranky...

 

The lake was GORGEOUS and the weather perfect

 

 Son was at the front of the canoe, in control, as he likes to be

 

 

Daughter and husband 

 

Mmmmmm...Tin Fish

 

Husband and I 

 

Quite possibly my favorite pic <3

 

Birthday gifts!

  

Part Duex! (why did no one tell me I needed a thread rack!?)

Aaaaaand, I got a gift certificate to FABRIC MART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The day was perfect, I was happy, all was right in the world!

**************************

My 3rd mini-wardrobe item is cut and in progress. This morning I sewed all the darts (6 total: bust darts, back darts, elbow darts on sleeve) and sewed the center back seam). 30 minutes of sewing goes a long way!

 

The plan is to have this done before the weekend; sew my pants over the weekend, and my top during the week early next week. I should be all done by the 17th. I have a bit more sewing to do for July!!!