Heatwave Sewing Part 2

Quite a long time ago, like June of last year, I attempted a muslin of the blouse from V1440. It’s a gorgeous blouse, or at least the back is, and I wanted it for my very own. The muslin I made didn’t have near enough room in the chestal region, and after a fail I get bored and tend to move on instead of going back and working out what went wrong. Also, I really liked that fabric, so I was a bit upset with myself that I couldn’t make it work.

So a little over a year later, I decided to try again. I had found this super pretty voile(?) print at JoAnn’s, and since it was 100% cotton, I thought it would be the perfect thing for the heat we’ve been having. Being a bit smarter this time around, I made a test garment, added an FBA, and got to work. It’s still too snug to wear with a normal bra, but it works just fine with my racerback sports bra. And with the sports bra, there’s no straps showing, BONUS!

A few notes for next time (and the last couple of people who haven’t already sewn this up):

• It is designed for someone with a pretty extreme pear shape IMO (and the lovely Amy of almondrock concurred when I mentioned it on Twitter.)
• This means you can have your tummy and cover it too!
• I tried the Sewing Lawyer’s method for attaching the facings, and while it worked, it was fiddly. No fault of hers, I just was having one of those days (and outside super wide facings are just plain fiddly in general).
• I hate the collar. Unless it’s buttoned all the way up (so not my style) it’s just huge. HUGE. No.
• Also, never EVER try to sew a collar with 5/8″ seam allowances. I’ve made many collars, and this one about broke me. If this would have been my first try at one, I’d probably never have tried another collared shirt, deeming them too hard. And that would be sad.
• This isn’t meant to be a fitted blouse, and while I know that I could have done a bit better job on it, it’s intended for wearing during a hot summer, and I figure when we’re all sweaty and miserable, not many are going to notice the pooling in the back. Less sticking to my skin for the win!
• I skipped the hidden placket, they’re just too bulky in an area where I already have enough bulk, thankyouverymuch. Plus, I had the most perfect buttons and I didn’t want to hide them. Seriously, they are perfect, and they just happened to be in my stash!

The back view is so awesome, and have I mentioned that I love this fabric? Because I do. LOVE IT. 😉

My photographer couldn’t seem to get a non-blurry pic of the front, so you get it on the dressform instead. Sorry!

Tell me you don’t think these buttons were a perfect match! ❤

In spite of it’s flaws (and they are legion), I love this blouse, and am excited to wear it out!

What have you been sewing? I’ve been working on some shorts too, but they may yet be a fail. I’m still trying to work out how to have my pull on jean shorts and have them fit too. They’re almost done, so we’ll see.

Some quick Tee-NT’s

Ha, see what I did there?:-P Anyway, I recently went on a fabric binge at Needle Nook. Since I haven’t bought hardly any fabric in the last two years (>15 yards), I figured I was due.

*Most* of the fabric haul…

From top left:

• Rayon/cotton animal print
• Rayon polka dots (wasn’t impressed with this, see below)
• Hibiscus print ITY*
• Grey and black watercolor(?) ITY*
• Some sort of textured snakeskin jersey with little shiny “scales”

And, instead of stashing it, I went straight to making it up. <–This rarely happens, just sayin. I’ve been desperately in need of t-shirts for years, some of them are starting to look dated (literally, the one I’m wearing says 2004 on it), but for some reason I always feel like the stuff I make has to be for “good” at least until it starts to look like it should be relegated to the every day pile. I think this is because I get so few things done, that I don’t want to get them messed up right away. It’s probably along the lines of not being able to give up stuff we’ve made because we made it with our own two hands. This time I tossed that notion to the curb, and am so glad I did!

I used the two rayons to make up a couple of TNT patterns, so they were super fast to make.

Firstly, I made shirts:

Vogue 8670, for like the bazillionth time.

How amazing is this print?! And it’s so nice to wear! Would I be a total loser for getting it in the other colorways too?

Yes, I know, but I don’t care. I went with a round neckline this time, and they have already been worn several times. The only complaint I had is with the polka dot fabric. It came out of the prewash load already starting to pill, had some small holes, and holy cow it’s a bit sheer–which takes some doing on a black knit! I would say it’s almost tissue weight, and I’m going to do my absolute best to never buy another one like this. The recovery is also terrible, so even though I stabilized the neckline it stretched out and shows my bra straps, and it’s a lot longer (think mini dress length) because it just keeps growing longer and longer. The hot pink though….LOOOOOOVE. So pretty, so comfy, and I’m thinking about going back for the other colorways before they’re gone (if they aren’t already!)

So with the scraps I also decided to go on a knicker-binge with my trusty KS2908!

Scrapbusting at it’s best–and most practical! 😉

The last time I went on a binge, I had run out of elastic, so this time when I went in to get elastic for the bottom three pairs, I got some to finish up the top three pairs too. Since the top three were already assembled, it went even faster than normal. I will say that the black fabric didn’t even make good undies because it grows so much, so I basically wasted my time on making them because they’ll be shot in a couple of washes. Oh, well. Also, I hate the wide lace elastic–I mean, it’s pretty and all, but it’s not fun to work with. Someday I’ll get the hang of elastic–people who get perfectly tensioned elastic (especially FOE!) must be magicians, because I’ve made lots of undies, and I still can’t seem to put it on smoothly–there’s always a bit at the end where I panic and pull the shit out of it to get it to fit.

Next up? The shiny scales. 😉 Stay tuned!

Vogue 8670 and forgetfulness…

I feel like I’m on a bit of a blogging roll! 3 posts this week has to be a record for me! *pats back*

I made yet another Vogue 8670. I really do think it’s my TNT t-shirt pattern. I never make the version with the cool turtleneck thing, but I do love the rest of the shirt.

Since I’ve made it several times (and I’m sure I’ve blogged about it enough), I’ll keep it short and sweet. The only real problems I had were:

• I had forgotten that I had cut down the 5/8″ seam allowances to 1/4″ seam allowances, so this version is a bit too snug.
• I had a minor panic when I thought I had a directional print. Because it looked as though I had cut the leaves upside down–turns out the leaves go every which way, so I wasn’t in any danger.
• I really need to write on the pieces how long the neckband should be for the v-neck that I’ve added. I still don’t know, and this one was a little snug (it’s a wrinkled mess lying flat, but fits smoothly when worn–probably unless I lose some weight and it’s less snug.)
• And this time, instead of sewing the darts, I just eased them in–LOVE!! Will definitely be doing that again!

Anyone else ever forget stuff when working on TNT’s? Most of the time I’ve got so many notes on my pattern pieces they look like I cut them from a handwritten newspaper, but apparently I don’t have quite enough notes on this one. 😉

Whoa! It *almost* looks like I have a waist!

Or maybe not.

Whatcha think? Isn’t that fabric pretty? I even had enough to cut out 3(!!) pairs of knickers! Speaking of knickers, my sewing table now has 8 pairs cut out and ready to assemble, so my lingerie drawer is about to get a serious overhaul. Woo-hoo! 🙂

Inspired

I’ve been making a Pinterest board for all my casual shirt inspiration, and surprise! It looks like I should be able to make a few of them with patterns I already have with a few minor tweaks. Here’s a few of my picks for the near future (hopefully, they’ll be quick and easy!).

I’m not going for exact replicas, but I think I can get close enough with these to be pretty happy. And since I live in t-shirts, they should fit right in to my wardrobe. Add in a couple of my trusty V8670’s, and I should have a really good start. 🙂

And while I know that many of you are WAYYYY better at this image editing thing than I am, can I just say that I’m super pumped that I managed to make these little collages? They took a freakin’ age, but they’re so useful, no?

Now I need to round up my patterns, inspiration is kind of messy. 😉

Meet V1260 The Shapeless Wonder

Yesterday I took some time and decided to make up a quick-n-dirty muslin of Vogue 1260. I used some horrible polyester something-or-other that I had made hubby some slacks for work in (note: contrary to previous beliefs, life in plastic? Not fantastic.) Since he didn’t think he’d want another pair in that horrid stuff, I decided to use it as muslin even though it was less than ideal. And so, I present to you….

Besides the fact that apparently I accidentally cut one pattern piece in the length for view B instead of view A and that this fabric doesn’t press….at all, there’s a lot of things that don’t really work. So, I’m going to try and snug up the back a bit to follow the contours of my back instead of just hanging straight from my shoulders. Hopefully I can do this without goofing up the midsection of the front which is probably the best fitting part of the whole thing. I may also try putting the side front curves back in. I took them out because that’s what I normally do to make stuff fit my more rectangular shape, but I may not have needed to on this particular blouse. I don’t want skintight, but I would like the blouse to look like it has some sort of feminine shape, and right now it doesn’t seem to have that. I may also take out my 3/4″ FBA–it made the front too wide I think, since the seams don’t run where they’re supposed to, they are too close to my armpits. After that, we’ll have to see what fabric I want to make the “real” version in…or if I want to make it at all.

What would you do? Scrap it and make something I’ve made before? Or work out the kinks and get it right? (Remember, this is for my SWAP which ends in April.)

Lazy Sunday

First off, I wanted to apologize. My rant the other day was not directed specifically at Bernina (though my husband told me that’s how it sounded). I was lamenting the cost of new machines in general, and it was easy to pick on Bernina since they’re easily the most expensive (and a well-known) brand. If it makes you feel better, my Pfaff was overpriced too, and I’ll admit that I paid too much. Well, some days I think them paying me to take it would have been too much. 🙄 😉 I’ve had suggestions of getting a vintage machine, and I have one, maybe I just need to start using it more. After I pony up to get the timing fixed.

I should have my jeans that I started in December(?) finished today and be able to start on my next project. I’m getting to be in dire need of shirt-like garments again. I tried on one of my KS 3593 blouses yesterday and hubby and I both realized that it’s too big. I think my next blouse though will be Vogue 1260 (instead of the Burda JJ for my SWAP):

This was probably one of the first ever patterns where I looked at the line drawing after seeing the uninspiring pattern photo and still said “self, I think you should do this one”. It has two of my favorite features. Princess seams and raglan sleeves. I don’t care for the gathering, but it looks like it should be easy enough to eliminate, so it sounds like a winner to me! Now if I could just figure out what size to make…….

Can I eat my words?

A long time ago, I said that I didn’t think that I would ever wear a cape–not because I don’t think they are incredibly awesome and sexy–but because they aren’t practical, they don’t blend in with local fashion, blah, blah. And, all those things are still true. But now I have to eat my words, because I found this:

I lurve the pink one, and could see myself strutting (because in a cape like this a strut is mandatory, don’tcha know) around in it with a cute dress for a couple of December weddings (which are coming up soon!) and the Christmas party for my husband’s work. And my obsession overcomes the concern about fitting in and my brain’s call for practicality. Besides, Vogue patterns are currently on sale on the website–it must be destiny. Or something. 😉

P.S. Update on the jeans is coming tomorrow. Today went by so fast I didn’t have time to work on them!! 😯

Vogue 8670 again

Today I made another version of Vogue 8670, this time in a purple-y animal print. I really love this fabric, and after wearing my grey version the other day, I thought I’d really like to have another version of this particular shirt. I did the neckline exactly the same way, because I liked it so much on the first one, though now that it’s finished I kind of wish on this one I’d have used a bigger collar instead. Oh well. And for the record? I’m still not sure why this pattern gets no respect. I think it is probably on it’s way to TNT status for me.

Are you grumbling about a lack of picture? Well, no worries, I’m already on top of that. 😉

I don’t actually know what’s up next. I’m thinking I’d like to make up some lingerie for myself, but there’s also this pesky gift-exchanging holiday coming up where you have to give stuff to other people, and I suppose I’ll probably make a couple of things for that as well. Not too many though, since I’ve discovered that I’m a bit thin-skinned about how people accept the stuff I put a lot of work into. 😳 I thought I had an idea for my SIL (a nightie, since she lives in the dorms), but my MIL suggests that perhaps Burda’s 11/2009 #134 may not be modest enough. So, I’m not sure what to do on that front.

Forgottonly convenient?

Well, whatever it should be called, I conveniently discovered a sweater that had been banished to the floor of shame in my sewing room for some unknown reason. You might (or maybe not) remember it from this post. It was missing a neckband, and alas I couldn’t find any scraps of the fabric from the rest of the sweater (maybe that’s why it was banished?), but HA! HA! I just happened to have some grey knit in a very similar color to use as a facing for the neckline. Or at least I think it would be a facing? Or maybe it would just be like using bias tape (except not)? Well, whatever. The point is, I now have a perfectly fitting sweater that took me like an extra 15 minutes to finish and will be perfect for my meeting tomorrow. I’ve got it in the wash right now so that it’s ready to rock first thing in the morning.

In other sewing news, I’m on the prowl for a replacement machine. The Pfaff and I are having some “irreconcilable differences”. I’m open to suggestions, especially if you know of the perfect machine that meets these requirements:

• Adjustable presser foot pressure.
• Beautiful trouble-free buttonholes.
• Can realistically handle sewing jeans.
• Costs less than $1000 USD.
• Bonus if it is capable of small embroidery projects.

I know, I ask too much. 😳 😦

T-shirts, blouses, and jackets

Last weekend, I whipped up KS2900, which is basically a t-shirt with a couple of neckline variations. I made the v-neck (of course), and while it’s not the most earth-shattering project ever, I really like the end result. Well, except for the fact that the sleeves are kind of baggy–and coming from me with the extra large biceps–that’s quite a feat. I left it alone on this one, but plan to slim those up on the next versions. And I just wanted to point out that this one is NOT made with any variation of blue or green fabric. Hopefully, mom will be proud. 😉

I really love this fabric, which is a poly/rayon blend from Fabric.com. It doesn’t really have enough stretch, but I was determined, so I made it work. I even have enough left over for a couple of bras/panties, yay! Hubby loves it, but then, I suspect that as long as it didn’t have holes or bleached spots (like some of my other t-shirts do), he’d be OK with me wearing a burlap bag. 😛

Currently, I’m working on View D of Vogue 8251. We’ll see how I like it once it’s finished. It should work OK for wearing under jackets and such, which brings me to my next bit of news.

I’m going to be joining the gainfully employed very soon. As a bookkeeper. This is a type of job that I’ve never held before, as my employment experience has been limited to waitressing and manual labor type jobs before becoming a stay at home wife/mom. My degree is in accounting though, so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch. It’s only temporary for now, with the option to stay on if I like it. I’m kind of excited, because while most of it can be done from home, there will be some meeting with people, and so I need a couple of suits. I’ve been looking around for patterns (since I don’t have but a couple of appropriate suit jackets and I’m not sure about either of them.) There are a lot of options out there that I like, which makes it all that much harder. However, I’m leaning towards making a Kwik Sew jacket or two at first because I’ve never made one before and want something that won’t overwhelm me or take an eternity to make.

These are some that I thought might be good choices.

Kwik Sew:

I really like this one too, but don’t know that it’s exactly what I should make up for this type of situation. I might bring it home though, because the cropped jacket looks too cute.

Vogue:

I adore this ensemble, but since I’m not nearly as flat chested as the model I’m concerned that mine would end up looking a little less professional and a bit more like the opening scene of a dirty movie….*sultry voice* “Hey big boy, I think I could use some help in the copy room…”

This one isn’t a jacket, but still very nice, especially with a pretty cami or something underneath. It’s sort of like a mullet-dress. 😉

Ugh, ignore the hideous pants in this one and pretend that you only see the jacket, which I think is kind of nice.

So yeah, I don’t know, Vogue tends to make their patterns have more pieces/sewing steps than is truly necessary, so I suspect that I’d probably wait until I was a bit more skilled before attempting any of those. And the KS options look like they would be just fine for what I need. The hard part is choosing which one (or two) to purchase. 😯