Grainline Lark Tee: Christmas/Valentine's Day

I made this version of the Grainline Lark Tee before Christmas. I'm just posting now in time for Valentine's Day. Opps! I've been busy but not THAT busy. So, what happened? The delay in posting occurred because I decided to do indoor pictures with some serious editing. It's pretty sad when I read through Photoshop Elements for Dummies and still couldn't get it. Then, I started a  Adobe Lightroom 30 day trial. I opened Photoshop once and haven't been able to open it since. I cleaned my computer  C drive- that didn't help. Adobe technical support just sends me download information. I did the update for the program- that didn't help. So many people love lightroom despite the $8.99 a month charge. I'm not paying for something when I can't even open one of the programs. Talk about technical/editing challenged!!  After tax season, I'll give may editing skills another chance. I will get it even if I have to ask my grandson for help.  Of course, that remote wire has to go since editing it out probably is impossible. I do have a new camera that uses a lens and wireless remote. That will help with the need for editing (I hope!!). Meanwhile, I have a backlog of posts to do. You can see my poor editing attempts and unedited photos.

Now, let's look at my Lark Tee, V necked version.

I wore this top a lot during the Christmas holiday season.  I probably will wear it for Valentine's Day unless a dress makes more sense for what we do.

At the same time, there are some fitting issues for future Larks. I'll get out my tape measure and consider using a smaller size at the top. If I keep the same size, I'll raise the shoulder 1/2" and reduce the side seam a bit just under the armhole. The armscye is too big! Definite changes are 1" sway back adjustment and 1" shorter in length. The long sleeve needs to shortened 2 and a half inches. When I have red thread on my machine, I'll make the adjustments that I can on this version. Meanwhile, I just enjoy wearing it! It's such a comfortable top.

The tee shirt is a simple make. I continue to look for a pattern that fits like I want. I definitely will give the Lark another try. I need a TNT Tee pattern. I wear tee shirts a lot. They are a quick make. Once I get the fit, I'll make a bunch of them.

Happy Sewing!

Top 5 Sewing Hits

1. V8805 Red Knit Dress

Normally, I don't wear dresses. Perhaps, I just didn't like the dresses I had. I wore this dress  a lot and always received compliments.  

2. Papercut Rigel Bomber

This jacket is my favorite make of the year. Since I live in Florida, I didn't wear it as often as other lighter weight jackets. The weather did permit me to wear it often last winter. Usually, I wear it opened which looks better. I do like it closed because it shows my favorite feature, the zipper.

3. Grainline Morris Blazer

I love this blazer and wore it a lot.  On a whim, I entered it in the Girl Charlee July 4 contest and won  a $75 fabric prize. The fabric is so  comfortable and goes with many other garments in my wardrobe. The pattern is great with clear instructions. There will be another Morris Blazer soon!

4. Blue Prints Saltbox top and Sew It Over Ultimate trousers

This outfit ranks as the most often worn, particularly the pants. Yes, I did hem those pants after looking at the pictures. The pants are starting to show wear now so I definitely will be making another pair.

5. Cashmerette Appleton Dress

I have another dress in the top 5 which surprised me. After trying numerous unsuccessful wrap dress patterns, this one went together like a dream with only a SBA as an alteration. The fabric from Mood sewed easily and is soft and comfy.

I pleased with my successes this year. Next up, I'll show my misses.

Bumble Bee or Jail Bird?

My fabric choice didn't work well for the Grainline Studio Hemlock Tee. The Tee is a great pattern. It's free from I Grainline Studio!  I had no idea that the fabric would look so ridiculous.

Hubbie says that I look like a jailbird. I agree with his opinion, but it is an incredibly comfortable top. I will wear it around the house, but not out in public! Actually, I did wear it to the dentist. I hate going to the dentist although he is super nice - He still plays around with my teeth. The dentist office feels like jail to me. I do have to be careful if I wear it to work in the yard. The police copter flies over my house often. I would hate to mistaken for an escaped convict.

The last picture shows the yellow stripe a bit clearer. In real life the yellow is brighter.  I tried to straighten the pictures in Photoshop, but couldn't make it work. That's going to be a project for another day. Otherwise, this post would be a long time coming!! Hubbie was taking the pictures. I was goofing off (most fun I've had in a photo shoot) and told him to just keep snapping pictures.

I did all the sewing by serger except for the hems. That's a first for me although I sew with knits quite often. The only problem I had was serging the neck binding. I will be serging knits a lot more now. The top was an easy sew and only took about two hours. An hour of that was spent playing with the neckline.

I'll do a few more knits before a tackle a coat. That scares me so a pair of jeans may happen before that starts. I still have a few months before it's cold enough for a coat in Central Florida/

Morris Blazer and Girl Charlee Fabric: Love at First Sight

After seeing so many wonderful versions of  Grainline's Morris Blazer  on the blogs, I wanted to make one for myself. The pattern sat in my stash until Jen started a Sew-a Long. My fabric was ready waiting for the next day of instructions. Then, I saw The Red, White, and Blue Sewing Contest at Girl Charlee's Fabrics. That would not have tempted me except I saw a gorgeous Blue Red Ikat on White Ponte De Roma Knit. It was screaming at me to use it for a Morris Blazer. Apparently, fabric can speak to me through the computer. I quickly ordered it along with a royal blue solid cotton jersey knit to make a top to go with it. O.K., I'll confess. A couple of other knits jumped into my cart, but those are a story for another day. I do love Girl Charlee knits and the prices are reasonable.

I was not disappointed with the two fabrics that I used for the contest. Both the blazer and top fabrics were easy to sew. They are so soft and comfortable! The Morris Blazer and the Briar top went together quickly with no hair pulling!

The instructions in the Sew-A-Long were clear and made sewing this blazer a breeze. The only problem that I had was the area in the front where the facing met the hem. I serged my facing so that it was a 1/2" too big at the joining point. As a result, it looked sloppy on the inside and bulky on the outside. The picture above showed how I fixed it. I turned the facing in 1/2" so that it fit perfectly. It sure would have been easier if I had done that first! Next time I'll either take the 1/2" off with serging or turn it under.

I made a size 4 in the shoulders and a size 10 for the side seams. I cut the back on the fold because of the print. I think that fit fine and no adjustments were needed. The pattern adjustments were: 1.5" full bust adjustment, added 2" to the length of the body and added 1 and 1/2" to the sleeve length. That's it. I'm pleased with the fit.

The Briar top deserves a separate post. It's a good top pattern, but I will make some changes in the future. I'm so looking forward to making another Morris Blazer and sewing my other new fabrics.

Happy Sewing!