Finished Items: Vogue 8679, McCall's 6844 and Sew Active Tank

November is going to be a really productive month! I already have three new garments sewn and it's only November 2nd! LOL!!

Okay...to be fair:

1. they are all things I've made before.
2. they are all knits (I love you Brother 1034D; serger of awesomeness!)

AS SOON as I finished the black version of the cardi, I was jones'in for number 2. I picked up a little over 2 yards of winter white ponte from the Hancock Spot the Bolt sale and cut the pattern. 

On the black version, I sewed 1/2" seams (instead of 5/8"), giving myself another 1/2". On the cream version, I intended to give myself an additional 1/2" and moved the back pattern piece 1/2" off the fold. Well, this gave me an extra inch. So, I sewed 5/8" seams to take it back "down" to the extra 1/2". 

Don't forget to add to the collar as well if you do this!!

I also added 1" to the sleeve length (only needed 1/2"). AND I sewed the collar on correctly! :) I did not interface the collar this time. We'll see how that works out over time.

When I saw how much fabric I had left, I got the brilliant idea to make a tank (using the Sew Active pattern), and turn this into a twin set! SCORE!!! However, the tank pattern is pretty long so I decided to chop it right after the waist, and then do a banded bottom. I cut a 5" band (that would be 4" after sewing to the top and hemming). Well, I went to try it on and...oops! I had cut the band on the cross grain! LOL!!!! Oh boy.

I took a swatch to JoAnn (where their knits were 50% off!) and got 1/8 yard for the low, low price of $0.62 - SCORE! Then I decided I "need" to do bands so I ended up with about a 3" band. If I did this again, it would be 5". It's *just* long enough.

My first version of the tank was in an active knit and this is of course, only 2 way stretch so I added 2 inches (at the fold) to front and back. It was perfect. Another bonus of this tank, unless your bra straps sit really wide, you may not need a racerback bra!

I need to stitch in the ditch because my serged edges want to flip up.

Next up, I made Vogue 8679, view B in a ITY knit. I am a little iffy on the print but I will wear it to decide if I like it or not. This pattern has raglan sleeves which are set flat. But, yours truly was just moving right along and serged the side seams...so I had to "set" raglan sleeves. DOH! 

The first time I made this pattern, I'd been sewing for about 6 weeks. I remember being so confused by the neck binding! :) it's nice to see that growth in myself. I constructed this completely on the serger, including the sleeves (yay me!). And who doesn't love a 1 yard top!?

In other news - I have a new sock! It only took me 10 days to make this one. I might not finish the other one until the end of November...I was chosen to test knit a pattern - yay me!!!

Seriously in love with this yarn. I'm not even sure I need to try an expensive sock yarn! 

Finally, I am (trying) to get a cat! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've not been a pet family because we have always had crazy busy schedules. We tried a bird twice, when the kids were younger. But we were really gone like 12 hours per day and both ended up dying. Poor birds. That is also the reason we've never gotten a dog, even though the kids have begged asked repeatedly. But now, we've slowed down a bit and everyone is okay with a cat (my husband said absolutely not to a dog because he would end up being the only person caring for the dog! lol!) 

We're going to try to visit these two little guys to see if we want to bring one or both home with us!

Sew busy! Finished Item: Vogue 8679

Ha, ha, ha. I'm so (sew?) clever! Whomp. Whomp!

I got a new iron! I've had my old iron since I don't know when...at least 5 years...and I totally only buy like $20-$30 irons. One time I bought a schnazzy iron and it leaked and died faster than any $25 iron I ever owned. Pfft. Bring on the WalMart special.

I bought the Black & Decker classic

What makes it special? It's pretty heavy. That should come in handy with my sucky, weak wrist. It has an 'off' switch! woohoo! But still has an auto shut-off feature. The soleplate is brushed aluminum...now, I know that everyone has been conditioned to believe that stainless steel is the absolute best material for everything, but really, there's no magical powers encased in your 300 series, nickel/chrome stainless steel material. I ironed half a tshirt and boy does it press. I can't wait to hit my seams with this bad boy! :)

I also remembered that I entered the semi/fitted shirt contest on PR. Errr. Submissions need to be in by March 31. I originally intended to enter 2 shirts. I spaced and realized yesterday that New Look 6104 (view C) isn't going to qualify; it doesn't have a collar. It just has a neck band. Oy! But Butterick 5678 (view A with the collar) will work just fine. I cut it to tonight. On the New Look pattern, I really wanted to make the view with the ruffle but I'm not sure, especially in pink. I don't want it to be too frilly.

I sewed Vogue 8679, view B, the top. Again, just 4 pattern pieces and 5 pieces to sew: front, back, sleeves, neckband. I used a tshirt knit that I got in my Fabric Mart mystery bundle. So it was basically $1 to make plus the $1.08 I spent for matching thread. Everything was fine until I got ready to apply the binding. Something went wrong and the neck got all stretched out of shape. I've read about this phenomenon before, I 'll have to do some research to see if I can fix it. I like the color of the fabric a lot though.

My left shoulder is SO much lower than my right! What did I do to myself?!? See how wonky the neck is?? Oh and I didn't do the narrow sleeve hem yet. I need to first see if I can fix the neck before I take on such a non-fun task :)

Thanks Dougie for telling me the shirt was hung up on my bum! Sheesh!

I still need to hit up Home Depot to get some giant washers to use as weights. I've gotten to the point where I use barely any pins (mostly on corners or round areas and on woven fabrics). It saves SO much time. I think the weights will help me a ton.

Finished Item - Vogue 8679 Dress, View C

I love it!!

On my fabric excursion, I came across a teal knit fabric at Hancock's for something like $3.95/yd. I bought two yards of it, figuring 2 yards would be good for some pattern that I have in my stash. I was going to make a knit shirt, but of course that wouldn't need nearly 2 full yards, and then I came across Vogue 8679

I decided the dress would be the perfect use for my fabric! I especially felt that way after seeing that the dress had just 4 pattern pieces: Front, Back, Sleeve, Neck binding. SCORE!

The front and back were both cut on the fold - easy peasy. Sleeves - check. Neck binding...bleh. Kind of hard to cut this strip of fabric and to keep it from rolling on itself! Grrr. It was giving me the flux and I ended up sewing it to the neck, then using fusible tape to secure it in place.

It went together REALLY quickly. I start sewing around 6:30 while simultaneously cooking dinner. I was done before 8:30.

I had the perfect brown belt and boots to pair with it and hit my fashion jewelry stash for a necklace and ring to accent. And then we went out for dinner and drinks!

This pic shows the true color of the fabric better (slightly overexposed)

This pic shows off the overall styling. 

My husband and I are both satisfied with this little number! :)

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Pattern Description: 
Fitted, lined, above hip jacket A has notched collar, front darts, back princess seams, godet and long sleeves. Close-fitting, pullover top B or mid-knee length straight dress C has front gathered into neck binding, stitched hemline and short sleeves. Flared skirt D, lower calf length, has waistband and side zipper. Semi-fitted, flared leg pants E have contour waist, darts and back zipper.

Pattern Sizing:
14-20, I cut a straigth1 4

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Pretty much

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yep!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

No dislikes. I love that it was just a few pieces. Front, back, sleeves, neck binding. It was all very self explanatory to put together. I'm new to sewing and barely looked at the instructions.

Fabric Used:

Double knit from Hancock "Value fabrics" section

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

Hemmed 2" instead of 1 1/4", took 7/8" side seams instead of 5/8"

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I WILL sew it again! I hope to find a burnt orange or red knit. And of course I'd love it in black.

Conclusion: 
I sewed this up in just a couple of hours yesterday to wear out on date night with my husband. He loved it too