Do You Flannel?

So as part of the girls holiday boxes they all (Miss L, included) got flannel pants. The Princess' pants were made along the lines of the Amy Butler sheet pants from one of her books. I don't have the book, but I can figure out how to add a border at the bottom of the pants. By the time I got around to making the pants for The Musical One and Miss L it was the week we were leaving, I didn't have time to fuss with adding a border. I know it didn't add a ton of time, but . . . . What's left of Miss L's socks yesterday were photog'd on her pj pants.

The girls' pants are both from Favorite Things patterns. I don't see the pattern I used on their website and frankly I'm too lazy this morning to run downstairs and find the right pattern number. I think the pattern runs a bit large, but they are comfy and since they are flannel lounge pants and not made for public consumption (do you girls hear me?) they will be fine!

Enjoy and stay warm :)

Finished Friday

But yet to be tried on. And seriously - how hard is it to find white buttons? JB has started wearing bowling shirts ala Charlie in Two and a Half Men. I have had this dart themed fabric for quite awhile. When Debbie posted this shirt that she made for her son - I immediately purchased the pattern. With leftover Eagles fabric (but not wanted to be seen anywhere in public with JB dressed head to toe in homemade Eagles garb. I decided that Simplicity pattern was perfect to break up the novelty fabric. But then I couldn't find the pattern! I did find McCalls 4399 in the pattern stash (by the way, the Simplicity pattern? I had put it away!) So, I grabbed a similarly styled shirt from his closet and measured everything between the tissue and the shirt he wears. This should fit the same. I tried really hard to match the pattern on the pocket and make it invisible. But I messed up. I placed the pocked piece on the shirt front and traced the fabric onto the pocket. Then I lined up the traced lines and cut out the pocket. But once I had stitched and turned it -- it only matched up in one place. Anyone know what I did wrong? I have been working on gifts all weekend. Hopefully I'll have something to blog about before I go radio silent until the end of the year.

Second Skirt - Same as the First

Well only sorta. This is the same fabric as the S4787, just a different pattern. It's my favorite tried and true Kwik Sew Pattern - 3337. I have made this skirt several times - mostly from quilting cottons. While I was finishing up a cotton version at the Fall Retreat, one of the ladies there, challenged me to make the skirt using a drapy fabric. I'm not really sure why I bought so much of this fabric, but I had enough to make this skirt too. Thankfully the skirt works in a drapy fabric and looks good.

I'm finally learning that what I should be making for awhile is more tops. Some tees, but I really need blouses and button down shirts. And I really need to get rid of old clothing that is stretched beyond recognition, and maybe I should use the camera as a mirror everyday before leaving the house. The camera gives me a better reflection of whether I look like I got dressed in the dark - I think.

She Sews for People Too!

Today, I headed down into the Studio with about 3 hours to play. I didn't really want to start anything big and I didn't feel like finishing up the fleece that's still here. Although I will - as part of the effort of getting rid of stuff that will otherwise not be used. Anyway, I spotted this fun spotted fabric that came home with me from New York and shopping with Carolyn. It was a small piece and I knew all along that it wanted to be a t-shirt. I just didn't know which one. Originally, I thought it would become my old Kwik Sew Stand by - 3159 (which is now out of print). But intest it became Vogue 2925. This is a pattern the really highlights the skirt and jacket. Sharon made this top back in September and it was lovely. I have made this top once prior. It is quick and easy - literally. The longest part of making this top was pressing the bias strips around the neckline and armholes. I did lengthen this top 2". Now, I'm off to get ready for some fun family photos - including both daughters and the dogs :) Happy Sewing everyone.

Garments in the Wild

So here's the short plaid skirt with the green twinset and brown tights. I wore the outfit on Wednesday. Details can be found here. Other than the fact that my tights were too long and I felt like a "L'eggs" commercial from the '80s (hey look, mommy has elephant ankles!), it was comfortable and easy to wear. JB thought the skirt looked weird because it has a facing rather than a waistband. Most surprising to me was that I was uncomfortable with the length. I thought I would be - it felt short but was fine. The turtleneck could still stand to be longer. It wasn't quite long enough to fold over, but the fabric was too stiff to leave unfolded. The cardi felt too big. But it doesn't look like it in the photo. I think I might try to move the armholes up in the next version - but I will continue to work with this pattern as I like it.

Bonus Day Off

I know that November 11th is more than just a bonus day off - but working in the legal field, our policy is if the Courthouse is closed so is the office. So, it was also a bonus day off. I spent it by going grocery shopping and then hopping on the treadmill. I know - not very exciting. After that - I headed down in to the Studio and plugged in 27 Dresses. I am a sucker for a sappy romantic comedy and this one didn't fail. While watching the movie, I made JB's cotton PJ pants from the Eagles fabric that was finally delivered. I also go the second fleece jacket/shirt made up. This one used the left-over Eagles fleece as accent and black for the body. I added the length back to the body but took 3" out of the sleeves. I still had enough length to hem the sleeves 1", but JB didn't want the body hemmed at all. I put the pockets on the outside and fussy cut an Eagle out of the fabric and stitched it on the center back. This time I inserted a chunky white zipper. It was originally a separating zipper and was way to long for the application, but I shortened it and covered the cut end. JB really seemed to like it. He tried the jacket on when he got home, but he hasn't tried the pants on yet. In fact, when Corey (my trainer) got there last night, I was still sewing. I showed him the jacket and he asked if I could make a Raiders version.

Weekend Recap

One fabric - 2 skirts finished. The first one is an OOP Simplicity. It was introduced here. This skirt went together easily and it's a cute flirty shape. The tights I ordered have come in already so, as soon as I get the tops sewn it will be good to go.

The second skirt is from one of my all time favorite Kwik Sew patterns - it's 3337. I have never made this skirt from anything but a cotton or heavier fabric. While I was at retreat, some one challenged me to make it in fabric with more drape - so here you have it. This photo is unhemmed and you can see how uneven it was. That was in attempt to keep the plaid matched at the seams.

I also hemmed a top that came home from retreat without a hem. Not to shabby since I really one had 1 day to sew for me.

Seven!

from the time JB was 34 he has told everyone that he was 4. You know because dogs age 7 years for every calendar year, so he was going to count in dog years and then he doesn't have to act like an adult. So, this year he turned 7 - finally! On Friday night we had dinner with friends. Her favorite holiday is Halloween so she decided showing up in costume would be big fun. The only costume JB has is an elephant - so that's what he went as. He even took their dogs for an after dinner walk wearing his costume! As an aside - if you're a lover of all things pumpkin - you have to try this. Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage. It was served for dinner on Friday and it was fabulous. I'll be making it again this week for Halloween. Since Saturday was his birthday. Last week (nothing like a little procrastination) I ordered 5 yards of Eagles logo cotton and 3 yards of Eagles logo fleece. The package was delivered on Friday and contained the fleece, but the cotton that was sent was Raiders! So, no cotton pj pants, but I did manage to whip up McCalls 5538, I made view A, shortening it by 3" in the body and omitting the zipper and pockets. It's meant to be a cozy around the house shirt. I could have shortened the sleeves by 3" too! Oh well, I have enough of the logo fleece left to use it as contrast on another. This time I will use black fleece for the main body, putting the pocket on the sleeve in contrast, appliqueing part of the logo on the other sleeve and putting the pockets on the outside, again in the contrast.

Skirt #2

So, this is the second skirt that I made during the retreat. It's the same ol' same ol' Simplicity Skirt that I make all the time. This thing just fits and I like the gentle "A" line. The pattern is Simplicity 5914, which got dubbed as the Carolyn skirt many, many years ago. And that's how I still think about it. The fabric is a cotton with a slight stretch. It was purchased at Stitches in Seattle. This little piece of fabric was purchased to make a fun skirt for The Musical One - but she didn't love it. I however do and it was it's time. Start to finish - this skirt takes about an hour to sew. I made 3 versions of it at the Spring Retreat, the brown corduroy skirt is a variation on the theme and now this one.

I did however want to add heavy white top stitching down the seam lines - but I grabbed pearl cotton which is really for making heavy rolled hems with a serger. I couldn't get it to play nice with the sewing machine - even with a huge top stitching needle. So, it got stitched with the construction thread. The skirt was comfortable to wear and I just paired it with a white tee.

Of course the big dogs had to be in the photo shoot - that's Beau sitting and Lucy standing in the top photo. Beau got bored and left before the second photo and Lucy sat down.

Recap

3 skirts, 3 pairs of flannel pants, 1 dress, and 2 tops. That's what was sewn in 2.5 days. Part of the reason is that one of the skirts was last weeks brown corduroy that was mostly finished last weekend. It fits now and is flirty and fun, but not what I was looking for. I will attempt it again. The other 2 skirts were cut out ahead of time and put into ziplock baggies along with their thread and zippers. Same with the flannel pants. I actually had the skirts and 2 pairs of the pants finished when I finally said good night on Friday. Saturday morning, I finished the 3 pair of flannel pants before breakfast. Then I asked what I should do. I really wanted to work on a muslin of Vogue 2864 (which is now OOP) - because I think the sheath dress would be perfect for the stretch poplin border print from New York. The consensus of the group was to make the cute brown print dress. So, I worked on that the rest of Saturday and finished it before bed. This morning, I made 2 tops from the leftovers from this dress. Then I cut a new skirt pattern out of muslin. JB got home while I was unpacking the car. Everything is now unpacked and put away. I'm thinking that since I have 3 days off every week, I should just spend the evenings prepping and the weekends sewing. I'll be giving up all cooking and housework shortly. I'll let you know how that works out for me :)

Seriously, How Hard Is It?

So, the other day my co-worker was wearing the cutest skirt. Tons of sass and a great flippy hem. Well it was fabulous! I kept looking at her skirt, until she finally said, I'll bring it in tomorrow and you can figure it out. I said, I think I've got it. So, Friday I took the "Carolyn Skirt" and altered it. I cut the side panels in two, adding seam allowances and half a godet. I measured out 1.75" from the side seam and up 8" and connected the dots. I also added the same godet on the back piece, but not the front. It didn't take me long to put it together. But when I tried it on, too big! Seriously! What is wrong with me? I can pinch 2" out of the side seam, which really equals 4" too big. I've got 9 seams to take 4" out of because I'm not taking out the beautiful invisible zipper that I put in. I would like to have this done before I head off to retreat. UGH! Plans for retreat include flannel pajama pants, skirts, hopefully a knit dress or two.

Look What I Did

Finally! I took the skirt portion of the dress that I couldn't get right. I love the fabric (which totally didn't photograph well today). I had taken my favorite full skirt pattern - KS 3337 - and attached it to the dress' bodice. Well, last weekend, I unattached the skirt from the bodice. Because I had cut the back piece on the fold to make it work as a dress, I ripped the side back seam. I inserted an invisible zipper in to that seam. Salvaged some fabric from the bodice for a waistband, interfaced it, stitched, turn and done! Much better - and now it's actually wearable. Next weekend is the ASG Fall Sewing Retreat and I'll be gone for 3 days - sewing, chatting, knitting, eating, drinking and generally having fun. Now I need to spend the rest of the weekend and next week getting stuff cut and ready. (For the record, I still have 2 pink tops that I cut to sew at the Spring Retreat that aren't finished. Guess they'll get packed first.)

and the Winner is . . .

A write in candidate suggested originally by Rachelle! I used larger (1.25") self-covered buttons. I used half-ball buttons and covered them with left over dress fabric and a very thin layer of batting. The poor dogs didn't know where to hide - I was pounding the buttons and JB was building deck. I did manage to finish the dress. Lou is wearing it right now (I promise Marji I'll get it back before the week is over). It fits me much better than it fits Lou (as she's a little bit skinnier than I am still). I have a pair of pumps that are darn close to the same color as the background of this dress. They also happen to be linen. So, that's how I'll be wearing it. Pictures to follow.

Now I Know Why People Quilt!

Remember this skirt? It's the Up Hill Climb skirt and then I showed you how I'd wear it. Well it's been sitting in my closet since I finished it. I decided that while I loved the lime top, I didn't like it with the skirt. The bright top drew too much attention to my hips - and I don't know anyone who needs that. So, I have been patiently waiting for weather cold enough to wear the skirt with a white turtleneck. Yesterday was the day. I put on nylons and a white turtleneck. Then I slipped the skirt on. It was way too big! Now, I tried it on while I was making it and it wasn't this much too big. I could pinch 2" out of both sides! UGH! Apparently all that weight training and cardio is really working. I think what I plan to do is take the extra fabric out of the center front and back. Mostly because I don't want to take out the zipper. I had to piece the fabric to get enough width for the pattern pieces so there is a seam hidden in those pleats anyway. And since there are 7 pleats across the front and back if I end up losing one - no harm no foul since there will still be balance. So you ask - why do people make quilts - they don't have to fit anyone!!!

Asian Inspired Linen Dress

Okay - so now it's done but for the buttons, buttonholes & hemming. With luck and a little bit of time, it will be finished this week.

The dress is M5672. It's a very different style than what I'm usually drawn to or inclined to make. I have had the fabric which is a painted linen for quite some time.

I'm thinking of using the red tonal cotton print that I lined the sleeves and the neckband with to make large covered buttons. The pattern calls for 8 buttons on the knee length dress. Opinions? I have set the red on the dress in the second photo there.

I know it won't get finished tonight because we are off in a few to go see Maroon 5, Counting Crows, and Augustana. The girls bought the tickets for our birthdays (next month). Should be fun - chat with you all tomorrow.

and this is how I'll wear it

The skirt is last week's "Up Hill Climb" skirt. Otherwise known as Butterick 4686. I can't tell you exactly what changes I made, because since I started blogging, I've all but neglected my sewing journal which sits on my cutting table to remind me of what I was doing when I left off a project. I know that I added 2"at the waist, cut this about an 1" longer and sewed the pleats down 10" top stitching them. I put in a lapped zipper and then added a tab thanks to Summerset via Carolyn. Before shutting down the studio last weekend. I went looking in the cupboard for lime green knits. I don't know why I have them, but I have two pieces. This one was the best match to the lime flowers that you can no longer see in the skirt. The pattern is NewLook 6753. This was super easy to construct. I cut it out yesterday, applying fusible bias to the front and back necklines straight away. I used fusible bias in the hem, which appears to have a little ripple, which I'm hoping is an optical illusion or will wash away. I plan on throwing a black cardigan over the whole lot, wearing black sandals and in the winter changing sandals for tights and boots. I'm pretty happy.

Somethin's Still Not Right

It's not a great photo, but you can see the wrinkling at the center back. Above the seam. The back seam is easily .75" higher than the front seam. When I wore the dress, JB pulled the shoulders up and out - following the angle of the back - approximately 1" and the back laid flat. So, I unpicked the seam and the serged finish and had JB pull the back down until it laid flat - again following the angle of the back.

Thankfully, this time I basted it. I tried it on this morning - braless (oh the shame) and the front fits fine but the back has issues. I'm tempted to just sew the original seam back in, and let the back drape like a cowl. Using it as a design element.

I love this fabric and would hate to have to wad it up and toss it.

On a different note - this is what I wore to work today. It's a version of the Carolyn skirt with a yellow KS tee. The knit fabric was a little thin, so I double the fabric in the top. This is easy to wear and feels springy and fresh.

Take Two

This is the second version of Butterick 5028. This time I used my favorite full skirt - Kwik Sew 3337. I graded the top down so the armholes were a size 14, I shortened the shoulder length and cut front piece with the edge 3/8" off the fold. I also lengthened the bodice by 1". It's still not perfect. I wore a cardigan over it all evening and it was perfect. But the front gapes and man do I have cleavage in this dress! Which is amazing because I normally don't have cleavage. Feels rather uncomfortable if you're not used to it. Although the camera doesn't lie - I feel skinny wearing this dress. Other than the issues with the bodice it is very comfortable to wear. I still need to find some new strappy heels. I don't like the look of the flip flops with the dress - but we were headed out and I knew we would be walking once we got downtown. These shoes were the best option other than wearing my Danskos.

Anyone have ideas on how to fix the back? I don't know what to do. I really like this dress and may attempt one more version. It's pretty distinctive so I can't have too many of the same style in the closet, but I would like to work out the back issues. I think it looks so much better with this skirt, rather than a full rectangle skirt. I love the look of a dress with a full skirt. Claire has been telling me to try a slimmer skirt. While I'm not sure I want to go pencil skirt slim, I do like the way this skirt looks and will attempt more pattern frankensteining.

This Weekend Was All About Knitting

But, I took a vacation day on Monday and finished the Take 2 Dress. It looks horrible on Lou - hopefully, it will look better on me.

First, photos I promised VeeDogKnitter- the one on the left shows how I lay the front pattern piece on the fold to take out some of the flare from the center front. The top of the pattern piece is 5/8" (seam allowance) from the fold and then I just layed it "straight."

Because the bodice I was using this skirt for didn't have a center back seam - I also placed the back pattern piece on the fold. This time just placing the seam 5/8" from the fold all the way down the length of the piece.

Let me say - adding Kwik Sew 3337 as the skirt to the Butterick dress wasn't really well thought out. This skirt doesn't have side seams - the side panels wrap around your hip. The dress calls for a side zipper. The skirt uses a center back zipper, the dress has a deep V that overlaps in the back. It went together okay, but I could have made better choices. I'm actually going to take the original dress apart and use Simplicity 5914 as the skirt portion.

Anyway - here is the Take Two dress on Lou. It's no wonder I can't sew for the body I live in - Lou is padded out to fit a body that is about 15# less than I am currently. The dress looks horrible on Lou - hopefully it will look better on me. There will be no photos of me wearing the dress anytime soon as we are headed into a couple days of rain. But I promise to make JB take a photo or two as soon as the weather cooperates. And now I've done it - I've taken elements of one pattern that I love and added them to another that I know fits. It worked and wasn't really that hard.

Don't Tell Me

The dress is too big! I don't know what my problem is lately - I either sew for my really old body - the one that was 90+# heavier; or the slightly older body - the one that was 20+# slimmer; but I can't manage to sew for the body I'm currently living in. Looking at these photos - especially that side view - I really need to start standing up straight! I need to get some better foundation garments. I need to start working my arms out! However, I've said it before and I'll say it again - for 44 I don't look horrible! This was a super simple dress to make and while I'm not sure the style is particularly flattering on my - I might actually make it again. In another fun summer cotton print. Both of the bust darts need to be lowered. The front is too wide, but I believe I could keep the back the size it is and just overlap the back sections more. That would make the need for a specialty bra unnecessary. Some people spend a lot of time on photo shoots. I'm obviously not one of them. I had just finished the dress and ran upstairs to try it on. It was about 8:00 p.m. and JB had just got home from work. he was going to take the photo on the back deck with the coolers in the frame. At the end I was looking at something and he snapped a photo. I don't have a photographer who keeps snapping until he gets a flattering photo - he takes one shot - either use it or don't! The dress is Butterick 5028 and the original post can be found here. And from Sommerset, how about a parting shot? I love daisies! I think they are such fun, innocent, friendly flowers. We have a bunch in the yard - and I thought one might like to be shown with my daisy :) Yep - it's really a tattoo on my foot!