It's Not Easy Being Green

This green top just couldn't get itself together properly. First, the KS3617 pattern does not fit around the neck and the sleeves. At least, it doesn't fit the way that I want it to fit. The neckline needs to be higher and closer to my neck and the armscycle is too big for my skinny arms. The fabric is 97% rayon and 3% lycra. I expected it to hang nicely (of course!) but it bubbles around the sleeves and the hem. They are shaped perfectly on my cutting board so I think that it's the pattern rather than the fabric, but maybe a bit of both. It couldn't possibly be the seamstress!! (lol) Here's what it looks like:

The back really shows the bubbling:

I won't be making this pattern again. Next time I get the urge to add a band to a t-shirt, I'll just draft it on my TNT t-shirt pattern. That would be a lot easier than trying to fix this pattern and much more likely to fit first time around.

I'll admit that part of the problem may be my few minutes of sewing here and there on this top. This December was exceptionally busy in a good way. I spent a lot of time with family and friends. My Chef Hubbie was cooking like a mad man which meant I had extended KP duty. Man, I'm not accustomed to keeping my house so clean, but that is part of the holidays for me. Along with spending family time, the high point of the month was the performance of Christmas music by Mannheim Steamroller. Finally this year, we went to visit Mount Dora to see the city's extraordinary lights and decorations. This is a small city about an hour's drive from us. It's just one of those things that we never got around to doing before.

I'm excited about my daughter's visit later this week. She decided to avoid traveling at Christmas and come later. She lives in PA so I'm not sure she could have made it through the weather. I can hardly wait to see her!! Then, next week it's back to sewing!

Jalie Jeans

I finally decided to tackle the rivets for my Jalie jeans. I was sure that they would take a day or two to figure out. Well, it took me about 30 minutes to read the rivet tool instructions and attach the rivets. That was a nice surprise! The not-so-nice surprise was the jeans are too tight to wear comfortably. I know they have lycra and should stretch with wear. At the same time, I don't want to wear them in public yet. Of course, most of the teenage girls that I know would consider them perfect. I'm just a bit beyond that stage in my life. There definitely is a problem with making a snug jean muslin before Thanksgiving and expecting a comfortable fit after all the good food. I think that I'll add a tad to the seams before I make the next pair. I enjoyed making this pair so I know I'll make many more. Jeans are another addiction that I can add to my list! In the pictures of the full jeans it looks like I skipped stitches. I'm not sure what was going on with my picture-taking. I added a ticket pocket since the Jalie pattern didn't have one

I made the back pockets a little smaller than the pattern and like the results for me.

Tomorrow is a play day for me. I'm spending the day at my local Bernina Centre. Nancy Bednar from Bernina is doing a workshop on the My Label Fitting Software and couture techniques. It should be fun!

November Review: The Jeans Month

I had a lot of fun this month with the Pattern Review "Build a Better Jean" course. I love my jeans and learned a a lot of great techniques that I'm sure will apply to other sewing. I used the Jalie jean pattern which is wonderful for my skinny legs. They fit pretty tight but there is lycra in the denim so they should stretch with wear. I'll just have to see. Otherwise, there will be some serious dieting before I wear them very often. That's just a manner of comfort as they fit great IMHO. I'll get pictures sometime this week. Before I started the course, I did finish the S2603 DNKY Cozy. That one was a fast and easy project.

Yep, you got it. I had another month of 2 garments completed. Actually, I still want to put rivets on the jeans, but they are finished and wearable. Does a ton of company count? I realized today that I felt good about sewing until I thought about writing this monthly review. I started feeling pretty bad about my dismal results. Frankly, I don't want to continue doing something that makes me feel bad. I'm not even thinking much about speed sewing for slow sewers. I'm thinking about new challenges and improving the quality of my sewing. Those two things certainly do not mean speedy sewing. I've decided not to continue doing the monthly reviews. After all, I'm not an advanced sewer (yet) who churns out a lot of projects. I like to watch the birds in the feeder, enjoy the sunset rising, give my kitty a good petting, etc., etc. I love sewing and blogging, but I've realized I don't enjoy the counting part of it.

So, I'll get those rivets on and make the tank that goes with the DNKY Cozy. Pictures are coming soon.

Wrapping Up Jeans

My jeans are coming! The entire process was so much easier than I expected. Why did I wait so long? I guess I just needed the encouragement of Shannon's Gifford's course on Pattern Review. I wouldn't call jeans quick and easy, but I found that taking it step by step works well. The most time consuming part of the project was finding my embroidery equipment and remembering how to embroider on my machine. I used to embroider a lot, but haven't for about two years. It's like riding a bicycle. The process comes back even though it's been a while. I have a house full of company coming for Thanksgiving so there's been a lot to get ready. Mostly, I keep the house pretty orderly (closets don't count), but I don't do the "shine and polish" thing unless company is coming. Sometimes, I don't even do it then but, after all, the holidays are coming fast. Most the time, I'd much rather stay in my sewing room, look out the window, and sew. I'm still hoping to get these jeans done to wear on Thanksgiving. It may even happen pending the number of dailey mini crises that occur. Here are pictures of the jeans so far:

Before the class started, I finished The S2603 DKNY Cozy Knockoff. I saw Heidi Klum wearing a wrap blouse in a fabric similar to the one I used. That makes this a DKNY Cozy Klum Knockoff. I will make the tank in coordinating fabric to wear with it. I bought both fabrics last year, had lots of ideas of using it, but nothing that I got excited about. The only thing I don't like about the wrap is the blank wrong side of the fabric. It doesn't show if I wear it as shown in my picture, but all the other options for wearing the wrap look goofy. I will definitely make it again in the future with more reversible fabric.

You can see that the windows are cracked in my sewing room. It's finally cool enough to turn off the air conditioner and open windows. Yea! The temperature is a wonderful, sunny 75 degrees as I write this post.

I'm not sure now how this wrap will look with my jeans. We'll see. I do have my eye on a nice black and white knit in my stash. That will go well with the jeans and is screaming to be made. I have a RTW pair of black pants that will go great with the wrap - just have to finish the top. Meanwhile, I have some purple denim from Gorgeous Fabric in the washer right now. There will be another pair of jeans in the near future. First I gotta finish the black jeans. That may happen after Thanksgiving but it will happen soon!

October Review: Muslin Month

Yikes! November is well underway. I think that it is about time to finish with October. I had another two garment month. I've already worn both tops numerous times though. I completed KS 3338 knit top (definitely a TNT). The other top was S2922. This one was planned as a wearable muslin for some nice fabric sewing in the future.

If I included muslins in my totals I would have had a very productive October. Actually, I did a lot of focused sewing. I made 4 versions of the pencil skirt muslin before I got one that fit well enough for me. Yippee!! I finally can make a pencil skirt!!! The strange thing is I love making skirts and can fit most styles with a bit of tweaking. Now I have a poster board sloper which makes pattern adjusting for any skirt go so much faster. Well, at least it was faster with the one skirt pattern I've used so far. (Actually, I'm trying not to think a lot about that skirt because I have several projects that I want to finish first. I'm actually showing a bit of discipline!) I made a muslin of the J Stern Tee which will be wearable with some finishing touches. I need purple thread to do topstitching and hemming. Of course, I thought I had some but apparently not. I'm pretty good at keeping thread organized. I must have 200 spools of thread but not a one that's purple! I also made a muslin of the Jalie Jeans. With the waist and hips fitted with the skirt sloper, I only had to do some minor tweaking for my skinny legs. I made the muslin with denim that was cheap because it had some flaws. Fortunately, I was able to cut around the flaws. I love it when that happens!!! The denim looks great and the muslin had large seam allowances. That muslin will be taken apart and made into a wearable pair of jeans in the near future. Let's see. Counting the muslins, I have 8 garments for the month. I have been working!

I have been thinking of things that help my turtle sewing pace pick up a bit. These are some things that I'm finding helpful for me. They may not be new or particularly helpful for everyone.

1. Using a clapper more often on seams, not just the bulky ones. In other words, I press less and clap more. It seems like garments are going together more easily.

2. Checking the fit as I go along. This is one of the things that takes time to save time. Even with a TNT pattern, the fabrics seem to fit a little differently. If I do something wrong, the sooner that I find the mistake, the less time it takes overall.

3. I sew at my most productive time which is early morning. I can seldom just sew all day (love it when I can!!!). I've been in the habit of doing the stuff I have to do first to get them out of the way (errands, laundry, dishes, basically any chore that is not sewing). I just have to force myself to stop sewing and do the adult responsible things.

4. When cutting, I need to remember to check the second layer of fabric to be sure that I clipped the notches. I had a tendancy to not cut the bottom layer and it's a pain to have to go back and check for notches later.

5. I now measure the geometric pieces like straight waistbands and belt loops and cut them with a ruler and rotary cutter. (tip from Shannon Gifford). Burda usually does this anyway in their patterns. For some unknown reason, the big 4 even give a pattern for elastic rather than giving measurements. I don't know why I never thought about this big time saver.

Well, I'm off the audition pocket sizes for my jeans! They are beginning to look like actual jeans. I can hardly wait to finish them.

S2922 Tunic

It's time for an update. I finished the S2922 tunic a while ago and wanted to take pictures of me wearing it. The fit is better on me than on Dolly (Her arms are too fat so I have to put her on a diet before long.) Anyway, I think the top turned out pretty well for a wearable muslin. I definitely will make it again in good fabric. The pattern is an "inspired by project runway" one and has lots of options for different tops and dresses. I think that pattern purchase will get lots of use!

I made the front and sleeves straight from the pattern. Well, almost straight from the pattern. I did use one size smaller for the neck, shoulders, armscye and sleeves. I tapered the side seams to the hip line which fits my straight body and still gives it some shape. I can pretend, right?

In the back, I eliminated the gathering and adjusted the yoke to fit. The gathering made me look more like a hunchback than I am. The fit is wearable but I will check the back with photos of me in the blouse. It may need a bit of tweaking.

Most of the month I have been working on a pencil skirt muslin with multiple tries. DH was starting to get irritated taking the photos. I usually am reasonably patient about pictures, but I wanted those photos right away so I could post them on the class board. Now I am started to think seriously about going the timer and tripod route. That means a new camera and, naturally, I want a good one. Hey, Christmas is coming! Maybe DH will be tired enough of the "Mr Deville, I'm ready for the closeup".

While waiting for the skirt feedback, I've been working on a hopefully wearable muslin for the J Stern Tee. I like the style a lot but would never wear it as tight as she does. I've just about got it (I think). The skirt muslin is done but still needs marking, sewing up the areas that are pinned, and a final check fitting. Of course, the jeans class starts Monday. I need to do a jeans muslin in the next few days. Jeans are too much work to have something I can't wear because of the fit. Naturally, there are a number of garments in the November Burda that I'm itching to make. Oh my, there's so much to do and so little time.

Is it just a t-shirt?

Well, yes it is just my TNT t-shirt which usually would not be much of a post. This poly lycra jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics makes it a special one. I just love it!! The fabric is so wild that I wasn't sure about it but I am now.

I have finished the yellow and blue blouse - just have to take pictures and will do a post. About the only other thing that I have done is work on a pencil skirt muslin. Every Fall I seem to get an itch to improve fitting. I now believe that I don't have the body to wear a fitted pencil skirt which is the reason I never could get one to fit well. I did sign up for Shannon Gifford's muslin skirt on Pattern Review and, currently, I am working on Muslin Try Four. I'll work on it for a bit more with hopes of having a skirt sloper. I'm sure that it will help with the fit in the the waist and hips for other skirts and pants. This "fitting gig" requires a lot of work and patience. That's the reason I made the t-shirt while I was waiting for feedback from Shannon. I'm waiting for Shannon's comments on my last attempt. Believe me, I'm ready to move on to more exciting projects!