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.