Carolyn's One Hour Skirt

I was looking for a simple pattern to sew for an event. When I saw Carolyn's maxi skirt, I decided to try it. After all, it looked terrific and seemed to be quick and easy. I had the perfect fabric that I purchased from Gorgeous Fabric a while ago. The fabric was easy to sew and worked well for this simple sew. After all, I just had to cut the fabric to length, sew one side seam, add a walking slit, and put elastic at the waist. One hour later, the skirt was finished. I loved it! The top is Silhouette 195 that I made this Spring. I got lots of compliments when I wore this outfit...many more than I ever remember. Then, I saw the pictures. OMG, I look huge. Maybe, I looked thinner when I was in motion. (I rarely stay still.) Maybe, I looked really bad in the past. (I hope not.) Actually, I debated about even posting the pictures. After two weeks of thought, I decided I would. First of all, I want a record of my sewing joys and mishaps. Secondly, we are all learning. That learning only occurs if everyone shares without restricting posts to those wonderfully photographed garments.

This fabric is 60" wide and is just too big for me. There are too many gathers. I may spend another hour and remove some of the width or maybe not. I'll see. The back view was a big surprise to me. It looks like I need a major sway back adjustment. This pattern is a TNT. I never had a problem before so I think those skirt gathers are pushing the top up. After trying the top on without the skirt, I will add a small sway back adjustment. It never showed in the other tops and dresses that I made from this pattern but it does in this light weight jersey.

I have a few other garments to photograph and post. I like them all - sure hope the pictures don't show any surprises! Mainly, I'm trying to step up my sewing skills. After all, it is National Sewing Month. After sewing simple for a while, I'm having fun trying new approaches. Happy Sewing!!

Silhouette 150 - Top #2

I managed to finish 2 tops for Faye's Essential Top Sew-A-Long! I'm proud of myself since I was sewing as I was finishing tax returns. If anyone reading this blog hasn't seen the sew-a-long tops, you can hop over to Faye's blog and see some amazing eye candy!! Here's my second top:

This is Silhouette 150 sleeveless version. Years ago I made this top and had horrible gapping problems in the front. I made the long sleeve version this winter and had no problems. I made a size 3 tampered to size 4. The only adjustment was raising the armhole half an inch for the sleeveless version.  It's a great 1 to 2 hour top. This is a close up of the front yoke.

I forgot to take a picture of the back. It has a slightly curved back yoke.

I'd love to continue making tops, but there are lots of other garments on my sewing list. Right now, the anniversary dress lace is on my cutting table. My anniversary isn't until the end of June so I doubt that I will start sewing it. That dress will be a long process. Why should I make it too far ahead of time? I'll probably make a simple dress or the shirt for DH that already is cut out. We'll see what mood strikes me!

The First Essential Top: Silhouette 425

Here's my first top for Faye's 2013 Essential Top Sew-A-Long.

Silhouette 425

In the Fall, I made this pattern in a cotton with long sleeves/cuffs. This version is made in a silk that originally was purchased for a sleeveless top. There wasn't enough fabric for long sleeves so I just made short sleeves with serged rolled edges. When I cut out the top last week, the temperature was dropping in to the high 30's at night. I was not happy about the fabric shortage. Now, I'm glad because the temperature is in the 80s. I like this pattern and this top. I used a size 3 and tapered to a size 4 in the hips. It is easy to sew and only takes a little more time than a knit top. I do prefer it in cotton as this silk droops a bit at the front gathers. I'll still wear it a lot. It fits to my liking (loose with some shape) and is soooo comfortable. Actually, I could sleep in it! I cut out a white cotton version, but want to sew something else now. Although I'll make this top several times again, I need variety with my sewing.

I'm off to finish a couple of tax returns and work on my next top coming soon - hopefully before Sunday, the end of the Sew-A-Long.

A Cool Summer Top

I've wanted to make this S2570 for a while and, finally, got to it. For summer, I usually prefer a brighter color than this pale purple fabric. Also, the fabric is very lightweight so I wasn't sure how it would work. In the beginning, I expected this top to be a muslin.

I am pleased with the result. The pattern is easy is to sew. I increased the seam at the shoulder by 1/2". Next time I'll do a 1/2" petite adjustment which should make the armscye smoother. I should have done a full bust adjustment but didn't. I had to let out the seam around the bust area. The fabric does wrinkle easily which is my only real problem with the blouse. I started taking pictures outside which did not work because of the glare and the humidity. The result of fiddling around with pictures is a crumbled blouse. At the same time, I fit in with the crowd. With a heat index over a hundred, everyone is a bit crumbled. I do like this pattern and definitely will make the blouse again. I also like the jacket which probably go on my sewing list for next Spring. I've got to think ahead! Right now, I'm developing a rather long list for Fall and trying to find time to finish my summer projects.

NL6163: Kindergarten Lessons

Although I finished this top over a week ago, I debated about doing this post. I've decided that I need to record my experience with this shell for myself anyway. I doubt it, but I may just warn somebody else. Here's the top:

Here's the back view:

I think that this is an o.k top. Certainly the fit needs some tweeks. I could have had a fabulous blouse. Here I thought that I was ready for the 3rd grade in my sewing education and I forgot some basics from kindergarten.

1. Listen to the fabric. I originally planned this fabric for another blouse. As hard I tried, I couldn't fit the pattern pieces on this piece of fabric. So, What did I say: Fabric, there's not enough of you for this blouse. I'll have to make this blouse out of this other fabric. You'll have to be this shell. The fabric said it didn't want to be that shell and, without thinking, I said "yes, you will". Now, I never would have talked to my children that way. I would hope that lightening would strike me if I ever said another child can have what one child wants, but he(she) can't. I would have tried to redirect the child's attention or talk about possible alternatives - just wouldn't have said "no way". How could I treat my beloved fabric this way? No wonder this fabric misbehaved. If you think that I am nuts, you are right. At the same time, I've never met (or read sewing blog or book) a sewer who I respected who didn't talk about what the fabric wants or, at least, the feel of a fabric for a particular pattern. As I was hemming this shell, I remembered that I had some orange fabric that would work beautifully for the sleeves. I could have added some trim or binding to tie in the color. There are always alternatives - I just didn't pay attention to what the fabric was saying. No wonder it misbehaved!!!

2. After making a pattern, write the corrections for next time on the instruction sheet - at the top and in red. The best thing to do is make the corrections before filing the pattern away, but that doesn't happen often for me. I made this pattern before. It fit nicely in a drapey rayon. I did have trouble with the facing fitting. I usually have to redraft the shoulders and armscye which means drawing new facing patterns. Last time I made it the facing didn't quite fit. I was able to deal with it all right because that fabric eased well. My medium weight cotton didn't ease at all - it just pulled and puckered. I found my note on a piece of paper that got stuck in one of the pattern pieces. (A lot of good that did!)

3. Never ASSUME that pattern pieces will fit together after making alterations (true for new patterns that aren't altered, too). Check them. If I had taken 5 minutes to check those facing pieces, I would have known that I had to redraft them.

4. When something is a mess, don't panic. Think of alternative solutions and how they will look on the garment. Sooo, what did I do about those pulling, puckering facings? They were drafted in one piece with the neckline and armscye in one piece. I simply cut them apart and had little, tiny facing. They were a struggle to get pressed and sewed down - even with topstitching. Certainly, the look is not very polished and professional. It would have taken less time to rip the facing off and sew binding at the neckline and armholes. I didn't have enough fabric to cut new facing but I did have enough to do binding which would have worked better on this top. Another alternative would have been to cut facings from another fabric. This blouse should have had binding from the beginning. I just didn't think. I was to busy fighting with the fabric (see #1).

Actually, the fabric is happier now that it met the orange pants. They are quite happy together. At least I learned a lot from this experience. I actually believe I will remember these lesson that I relearned the hard way.

Dressing Up: Florida Beach Style

I live in Central Florida, 30 minutes from Daytona Beach and 45 minutes from Orlando. DeLand is a small (but growing) college town where the most commonly seen shoes are flip flops. The standard summer dress for women, apparently, is cutoff shorts and tops that resemble t-shirts. That attire is often seen in nice restaurants on the beach side. I can understand that many tourists just want to relax here and "dressing up" is not on their agenda. That's fine as it certainly helps our local economy! I still have my Virginia (where I was born) dress code and can't seem to let that go. Sooo, I wear flip flops but only at the beach. Since we are going on a beach vacation, I wanted to make something to wear for an evening out for dinner. Of course, most on the time will be spent playing in the waves and strolling the beach. Here's my "dress up" top, V8151, made from 100% cotton knit from Wazoodle. Funny, my Florida top is made with fabric from a Canadian internet source!

The sleeves fit better on me than on Dolly here. I made Dolly's arms a little too fat at the top. I made a pair of white twill pullon pants to wear with it. I'm set for "date night".

I'm continuing my quest for the perfect t-shirt. This Sandra Betzina pattern has darts on the side which help the fit at the top. It looks a bit more formal to me. I guess I'm just not accustomed to tops that fit! I still like my TNT Kwik Sew pattern so I'll be making both patterns in the future I'm sure!

Well, my outfit is made, the suitcase located, and new paperbacks purchased. I think it's time to pull out the bathing suit and, maybe, clean up the house a bit :)

The First BWOF Garment

I finished my first BWOF garment and I know it will the first of many. This one is BWOF, 02/09, #108B. I made a size 40 with no pattern adjustments just to see how it fit. Actually, the fit is pretty good. Next time I make it I'll add a tad to the side seams for more ease, add 1/2" to the shoulder to bring it closer to the neck (bra straps tend to peek out), and include a sway back adjustment which is obvious in the picture of the back. I usually do a sway back adjustment but sometimes can get away without it in a knit. This fabric was purchased from GorgeousFabric and was a joy to sew. It is a polyester mesh with tiny sequins. You can see the fushia sequins if you look closely. Once I cut out the top I honestly questioned my sanity. Here I am with a new pattern from a source I had never used, sewing on mesh for the first time, and sewing on fabric with sequins that I expected to give me a fit. Two hours later, I had a big smile on my face! Sewing on a good quality mesh is not hard at all. Surprisely, the sequins did not cause much of a problem. I only had to remove a couple to turn the hem evenly. I love when a sewing project actually works well!

Next up is a floral knit top and white pants to wear during our beach vacation. Hopefullly, I'll have a post about these later in the week.

Copy Cat T Shirt

I love reading about sewing ideas that make garments look more professional and make sewing easier. I sew and make a lot of t-shirts - some plain and some a little fancier. When I read Karen's blog post about attaching the neckband I had to try it. Yes, I heard about it before but I never read it explained so clearly. It's so easy to get caught up in pattern instructions without realizing there is a better way. I sometimes have gapping in the neckband, particularly in the back. All she did was sew use the pattern neckband, folded it in half right side out, pressed it flat, sewed one shoulder seam, pinned the band stretching it slightly around the neck, and was left with quite a bit of band at the end. Then, she sewed the neckband on and, then, the other shoulder. When I tried this method, I had my band pinned on and checked her post to see if I was following the method. Well, it looked so much like hers that I had to take a picture. Hey, anything I sew that looks like an advanced sewer, I dance a jig and take a picture. Here are the pictures which look similar to Karen's. This technique definitely is going into my bag of tricks!