Summer Plaid Belcarra

Hello again! I'm so happy to be back. Things got preeetttyyy intense at work this spring, and after putting in long hours I didn't have any brain cells left over to figure out fitting problems and tricky instructions. After three wadders in a row I decided sewing just wasn't in the cards for a while and instead I read a lot of books and comics (Ms. Marvel is my JAM).

But now I'm back! And I made a plaid Sewaholic Belcarra top that I plan to wear 8574 times this summer. 

This is the perfect shirt to make in plaid, because you only really have to worry about plaid matching the side seams. I did a pretty bang up job too, if you'll allow me to brag for a moment:

I'm usually an 8 in the shoulders in Sewaholic, but the muslin came out big so I did an 6 in the shoulders and bust and then blended to a 4 in the hips. I took 2" off the length because I knew I'd never tuck it in. It's a little bit of a wriggle to get it on, but I wouldn't want it any looser. I think it strikes a nice balance of being breezy but not boxy.

My bra straps do have a tendency to peek out, and if I make it again I'll probably bring the neckline in just a tad. I do think the portrait neckline is very flattering though. I also took in the underarms by about an inch because the sleeves were a bit too billowy on me.

The fabric is some kind of linen voile that I found at a thrift store. Two yards for only $2! And I had to include the little pocket because they look so great on plaid shirts cut on the bias.

Construction was super straightforward. I had a little trouble understanding the pocket instructions, but a quick visit to the sewalong cleared that right up. This was the perfect quick project to get my sewjo back.

Well I'm off to make broccoli slaw for a potluck tonight. We're going to have a water balloon fight and make s'mores around a fire pit like overgrown children. But there will definitely be more sewing. I have plans for an exploding TARDIS skirt for DragonCon and a second Sewaholic Saltspring. Happy Summer!

Pattern repeats are awesome

Recently I made up new versions of two patterns I've used in the past, the Sewaholic Renfrew and Colette Beignet. It was a good reminder of just how much I like returning to old patterns. You're really free to enjoy the experience when you take the sizing guesswork out!

First up, I made this Renfrew out of an impulse addition to my Girl Charlee cart. It's completely ridiculous and makes me laugh every time I wear it. Best $6.50 ever spent.

I think I've got the Renfrew fit alllllmost perfect. This time I did a size 8 in the shoulders, a 6 in the bust and then blended to a 4 in the hips. I also did a 1/2" broad back adjustment using Sunny's method like I have in the past, but somehow it still felt really tight in the shoulders/armpits and I had to let it out. I saw a different method in the most recent issue of Threads magazine that I'm going to try next time around.

I also tried interfacing the hem with lightweight Stitch Witchery before I used my twin needle, and it came out so much better than the hem on my Lady Skater did with Wonder Tape. I'll be sticking with interfacing in the future, especially for lighter weight knits. 

I was inordinately proud that I was able to squeeze this out of a single yard of fabric without sacrificing pattern matching. I did a Breakfast Club-style air fist when I was left with my teeny tiny pile of scraps. I felt like such a cutting wizard! Or, maybe more appropriately, like a Boss Witch.

Secondly, I finished my Colette Beignet do-over! I was gutted last fall when my special birthday outfit turned out to be such a bust. Luckily I had enough corduroy left over to give it another go, and this time it came out much, much better!

The first version came out too big, and in attempt to make it fit better I cinched the waist and ended up with crooked buttons. This time I sewed up a straight size 4, and the fit is much improved. I worked really hard to get the buttons straight and even, but they're still not perfect and my eye starts to twitch if I look too closely. My machine has a 4 step buttonhole, and it's hard to be 100% consistent every time no matter how carefully you make your markings. Still, it's at least not in-your-face wonky like the first version, so I'm calling it a win.

I'm still not convinced that this is the most flattering silhoutte for my figure, but it's nice to know that I am capable of sewing this intermediate pattern. Sometimes I just need to prove to myself I CAN do a thing, so that I know in the future I'm choosing not to do it because I really don't want to, not because I'm afraid to fail.

It's funny looking back at how difficult I found this pattern to be a year ago. I really struggled with the lining and the waistband, and this time I didn't find it that challenging, just time consuming. It was a really gratifying, tangible example of how much my skills have grown in the past year, and it makes me even more excited to take on new projects and new challenges. Next up, Ginger Jeans in stretch corduroy!

Baby Tee Refashion

Another top secret project I can finally reveal: a baby shower gift! When I first moved to Atlanta I had a hard time making friends and was getting pretty lonely until I stumbled on the Geek Girls of North Atlanta. It sounds a little junior high and cliquish, a grown-ass woman belonging to a club, but it's a really awesome group of ladies and open to anyone.

So anyway, last year we had tee shirts made for DragonCon and I ordered mine based on the bust size and it ended up being uncomfortably tight in the shoulders. You know, that awful, digging in  your armpits feeling? Ugh, it's my RTW bugaboo as a tall, small busted lady. I only wore it once and it languished in my closet until I heard my friend Lisa was having a little girl. Well, our newest (and tiniest) Geek Girl was going to need a shirt too, so I made her one!

I used this free pattern, only I left off the skirt portion and did a smaller hem with my twin needle. I followed the directions exactly and it was a pretty quick make, just a couple of hours. I struggle a bit with the arm bands because my jersey didn't have much stretch. In retrospect I probably should have just recut longer bands instead of fighting the fabric. You can see a little bit of puckering because this. I'm hoping the baby will be so squirmy and adorable no one will notice.

This is the original shirt:

This would have been plenty of fabric, except there was a flirty slogan on the back and it felt skeevy to sexualize an infant. Plus the font was way too big to fit on a baby-sized shirt.

However, in a bit of sewing serendipity I still can't get over, my husband went to an event at work and came home with a shirt by the same company using the same fabric in the same color. He couldn't resist my sky-high enthusiasm for this project (seriously, this has been so hard to keep a secret!), and let me cut up his new shirt.  This was fate, I explained, and one does not anger the sewing gods or they will smite you by breaking the upper looper thread in your serger.

The rest was cake. I traced the pattern onto the front to make sure the design was centered and the text was straight, and then sewed it all up in a jiffy.

I didn't finish the side or shoulder seams because I read somewhere that serger finishes can be rough on on a baby's delicate skin. It's so tiny and adorable I can hardly stand it.

As tiny as this is, somehow, impossibly, it won't fit until next spring or summer, but I had to go with a bigger size to fit the graphic. It's for the best though, because by then, our newest Geek Girl will be a little less hungry and sleepy and ready to take on some geeky adventures.

Winter Renfrew

Hello again! I kind of lost my sewing mojo after my hugely disappointing Beignet skirt, so I decided my next project should be safer bet to ease myself back in. I always meant to make more Renfrews after the success of my first one, so a second, winter version was clearly in order.

And I love it! I made View C, with the cowl neckline and three-quarter sleeves, with some modifications. I lengthened the sleeves by 1 inch (I just picked a spot in the middle to slash and spread) to accommodate my long arms. Although I love three-quarter sleeves, they are almost always too short in RTW, so I had a hunch that would be the case here, and I was right. I felt like Sherlock, with my amazing powers of observation (okay, okay, more like Watson).

I cut a straight size 6, but I probably should have gone up a size or two in the shoulders. I had to let out the sleeve seam by 1/4" so it wouldn't feel like such a straight jacket. It's still a little tight in the underarms, but much, much improved. I'm super annoyed with myself because I made a very similar observation about my first renfrew, and then I didn't even take my own advice! Ridiculous.

I also eliminated the hem band because I wanted to be able to tuck this into a pencil skirt and wear it to work. I lengthening the front and back pieces by 4" using the hem band pattern piece as a guide, which turned out to be way too much. I turned it up 2" and then cut off over an inch of extra fabric after I did the hem. Adding 2 1/2" would probably give plenty to work with for a hem.

Speaking of the hem, I could really use some advice on twin needles. I broke not one, but TWO ballpoint twin needles on this shirt. This is really frustrating because I had to special order them online and at almost $5 apiece they are not cheap. In the end, I seriously cheated by doing two lines of a narrow zig-zag topstitch. It's not nearly as stretchy as a twin needle hem would have been, but this is a very stable knit with hardly any stretch, so I think (hope?) it will be okay. I just wanted to be done so I could wear it already!

My favorite part of this is the cowl. I don't usually wear cowls, but this is so warm and cozy I'm a convert. It's like a built-in infinity scarf. Love!

This was also a trial run of sorts for a buffalo check shirtdress I have planned. A way to dip my toe into matching plaid, using a fabric whose busy print would be a little more forgiving. I cut in a single layer and took my time, and I think it came out pretty well. I'm feeling much more confident about working with plaids.

Not a bad start for 2014! The weather here is gorgeous (60 degrees! In January!) so I'm off to enjoy the sunshine. Hope you are enjoying MLK day too, or at least having an easy Monday.

Dolman Sleeve Top

Recently, I did the impossible: I sewed something in a single day. One. Single. Day.

I am a very slow sewer and it usually takes at least two weeks, if not several, to finish anything.
But the Dolman Sleeve Top by Cation Designs is a fun, quick pattern. Thanks Cindy! I wasn't sure how the silhoutte would look on me, but I figured with a free pattern, and free fabric I had nothing to lose. And I really like it!

Yes, the fabric was free too. My mom works a community theatre, and she sent me a whole box of remnants - it was like Christmas had come early! It was all left over from shows, or was donated in pieces too small to turn into costumes. But remnants are kind of my jam. I love the challenge of squeezing something useful out of leftovers. Also, I've clearly been watching way too much Project Runway and feel like everything needs an extra twist pulled from the velvet button bag that is my brain.

I juuusst barely eeked this out of 7/8 of a yard, but it meant I had to shorten the sleeves. I like how the elbow-length came out though. I cut a size Small for the arms and neckline, and then widened out at the hips using my Sewaholic Renfrew as a guide. I also made the arm and sleeve bands a little narrower and cut the underarm/dolman sleeve area a little higher.

Lest you get the wrong idea and think that one day I just woke up a sewing wizard, let me let you in one a little secret: I glued down the neck band. I was having some trouble because it was so narrow, and I didn't have enough fabric to cut a wider one. Plus, the brown thread I was using didn't match all that well, so the topstitching looked funny. So I sewed right sides together, flipped the band over, and glued it down using iron-on adhesive tape. Not my finest moment, but you can't tell from the outside.

Not too shabby, especially considering my whole goal was to practice more with knits and try a new silhouette. I'm putting this one in the win column.

P.S. Check out my new blog design! I couldn't have done it without helpful tutorials from Portia of Miss P on creating an archive page, and Sew Many Ways on how to make a header.

Striped Sorbetto

Hello again! Today I have a Sorbetto top to share. After seeing just about every sewist in the blogosphere make a gorgeous version of this pattern, I had to give at go too. Colette has some super cute patterns, but I've been a bit scared of them because they are drafted for a C cup, and I'm, um, significantly smaller. But between the free pattern and and 50¢ remnants from Fabric World in my stash, this seemed like the perfect project to experiment with a small bust adjustment.

And it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be! I used this excellent tutorial by Megan Nielson and it dramatically improved the fit. Before this I tended to deal with my small bust by cheating and using the smallest sized dart. This did help, but the bust was usually still a bit too big. I really should have tried an SBA sooner. Sometimes I'm stubborn.

I also made some other adjustments that are pretty typical for me: I lowered the armholes by 3/4",  added in more waist shaping, and added length. I just cut the longest size instead of properly lengthening, and think I would add another 1/2" to 1" to if I made it again.

It was also my first time sewing stripes, and that wasn't as fiddly as I thought it would be. The front came out pretty well, but the sides are slightly off because I didn't account for the dart. Oops. Lesson learned.
 

I'm still learning my fabrics, but I think it's a voile. It's pretty lightweight and just a tiny bit sheer. I had two remnants from my trip to Fabric World last year. I experimented with a bunch of different layouts, but try as I might, I didn't have quite enough fabric. My solution? Piece it together, not on the back center fold or anything conventional. Nope.

Instead, I pieced it together on upper back, across my shoulder blades. Seriously. And it worked! I painstakingly made sure the seam was at the edge of a stripe, so it's practically invisible.

The bias binding is store-bought, but matches remarkably well. I think next time I might try making my own bias tape.

Overall, it's not too shabby for under $5 and a couple weekends. I had a lot of trouble with the pleat in the center, but that was totally my fault. It helps to stop, take a breath, and actually read the directions, you know? Oh, and then after you do that, make sure everything is lined up properly. Third time's a charm. Sigh.

I also would have had this finished sooner except after I finished I decided the armholes were still too high. I had to rip out and redo the bias binding but it was totally worth it. High armholes digging into my skin is one of my biggest problems with RTW and I'm not going to stand for it in items I make myself!

Also, sorry these pictures are pretty terrible. It's been raining every day for weeks now. While the rest of the country is in a heat wave, we have had maybe 1-2 sunny days since June, so I finally gave up and took the pictures indoors. My husband was more interested in getting back to the news from Comic Con than being my photographer. Not that I blame him - the Veronica Mars trailer from Comic Con is out and looks amazing!

A Tale of Two T-Shirts

Hello again! Yesterday I finished my first Renfrew, just in time for spring.

I know a million other bloggers have already covered how completely awesome this pattern is, but let me show you why am so in love with it personally. I present Exhibit A, since we are all friends here:

This was my first attempt at a t-shirt last fall, and quite possibly the worst t-shirt ever made. Completely, utterly, hilariously bad. I used one of my 25¢ remnants from Fabric World and the pattern from my Sew U Home Stretch book. While that book contains lots of great information and tips for sewing with knits, the patterns are pretty boxy and not as idiot-proof as the Renfrew. I mean, look at this collar band!

This is actually an improvement over the original. It was twice as wide and looked like a weird mock cowl, and I tried to save it by folding it over and stitching it down. Um, no. It was doomed.

The sleeves are probably the best/worst part because the hem won't stay down: 

One good thing to come out of this project is I learned I have a bad habit of holding the fabric taut as I feed it into the machine. Not such a big deal with wovens, but a terrible habit for knits. I definitely stretched out the sleeves as I was hemming them.

Fast forward six months, a better machine, and a fabulous pattern:

I got this tissue knit (how else?) on clearance at Joann's, completely forgetting that the pattern calls for a stable knit. However, in the Sewaholic blog entry on choosing fabric, one of the commenters helpfully recommended doubling up thin knits to make them work better for this pattern. It worked like a dream. It's a little too heavy for summer, but it'll be a nice transition piece for spring and fall.

I did have some trouble with the collar band, but I think that was just inexperience. In my first attempt I tried to use a single layer, but the fabric was so stretchy it grew four inches as I sewed it in. The third time was a charm, and the twin needle was totally worth the wait.
 

I cut a straight size six and am pretty happy with the fit. Next time I might go up a size in the shoulders, but it was really nice to work with a size chart specifically geared towards my pear-shaped figure. I also loved that the pattern had 5/8" seam allowances. The first shirt had 3/8" and every time I went to finish a seam, I felt like I was walking along a narrow cliff and I worried I would accidentally serge over the seam. I will definitely be making up several more Renfrews!

Lisette Market Top

Hello again! I recently decided that I needed to get over my fear of sleeves, unless I wanted to make nothing but sundresses forever more. My first attempt at setting in sleeves was disastrous, and I was reluctant to give it another go. That is, until I stumbled upon this "cheater's guide" to setting in sleeves flat by A Fashionable Stitch. Trying to fit a tube into a slightly smaller tube is just crazymaking, but this, this I could get behind.

I love, love, love the Lisette pattern line, so I picked the market top (Simplicity 2211) as my test case. It's view E, the one the model is wearing on the pattern envelope. I loved the puffy sleeves, and this type of casual top is a big hole in my closet right now. I have t-shirts and work clothes, but not a lot in between.

I have to say, I'm thrilled with how it came out!

I'm still learning fabrics, so I'm not exactly sure what this is. It's some kind of midweight cotton I got on clearance at Joann's, but it's not quilting cotton, promise!

I did break down and make a muslin on this. I'm not a huge fan of muslins (the extra fabric seems wasteful and it adds a lot of time to the process), but I originally I cut out a straight 12 an it was HUGE. Like muumuu territory. I ended up with a 10 in the shoulders and sleeves, and a 6 in the sides. The only alteration was adding 3 inches in length because the pattern is quite short.

 It's still a little wider than I would like it to be, but I couldn't take it in any more and still get it over my head and shoulders (no stretch or side zipper). If I made this again, I might go up to a 12 in the shoulders because it's a little tight when I cross my arms.

Look at those sleeves! Setting them in flat worked like a charm.

One sleeve cap came out puffier than the other and I had to redistribute the ease to match, but that was a pretty easy fix. As other reviewers have noted, the sleeve bands are on the small side.

Also, can we talk about this edge stitching? My new Viking came with a special edge stitching foot, and it has really helped take this from homemade to handmade.

It's a little boxy, so you may need to take in the side seams if you're like me and like your clothing more on the fitted side. The instructions are crystal clear and the collar is constructed so that you don't have any annoying facings.

I definitely recommend this pattern, especially for fellow beginners.