Burda #7382 Leggings and Hot Patterns 1211 The Weekender Swingy Sweatshirt

This has been a fun sewing week for me because I’ve been experimenting with some new styles on me.   I like the look of the relaxed top with some leggings, so first up, I wanted to test out a legging pattern.  I know that Burda pants fit me relatively well, so I found their only woman’s legging pattern and picked it up…#7382.   I added on a couple inches to make them full length and I didn’t mess around with the gathering on the side.

I started with a 16, added an extra inch or so at the top of the center back.  For the first pair, I used  a jersey that I knew didn’t have enough spandex in it, but I really just wanted to check the fit.   I have found that my calves are larger than normal and are often too big and wind up pulling the pant down uncomfortably.   On these, I found that if I cut the calf on the the 16 line, then sewed with a slightly smaller seam allowance, they work!  It’s awesome.  This is a pattern where the leg is made from one piece, so they are super easy to put together.  I made a 2nd pair in a jersey with more spandex and I lowered the front waist a bit and they’re almost perfect.

 

I think the next time I make them, I’m going to cut the hips and waist at the 14…I think that will be perfect.    I’ve been debating whether I like these or the Sewaholic pacific legging better .  I blogged about the pacific here:  Pacific Leggings.  I really like those ones too. The Burda wins on speed, but I think I prefer the fit of the sewaholic…plus it has a gusset!  🙂 Anyway, time will tell on which is the winner…they’re both good and I’m thankful to have some choices.

Next up was the Hot Patterns Swingy Top.  I’ve loved the look of this since it came out!

Those wide cuffs!  The top stitching!  The pockets!  What’s not to love?  I wanted to use some fabric from the stash that I bought last year that I also used or the HP Artemis.  It’s just a gorgeous berry pink/purplish color, and the fabric has this diamond texture build in.  I love texturized fabrics.

I made a quick test last weekend out of some ancient cheap fleece.  I bought this fleece before I understood the difference between cheap and not cheap fleece, so I was glad to put it to use in a muslin.

 

This has my rounded back curve adjustment and the lowered and shortened bust dart already in it.  Those are two common adjustments for me, so I just made them first.  From the muslin, the neck was a little wider than I wanted, so I brought that in about an inch and I added 4 inches to the bottom  to make it long enough to wear over leggings.  Here’s the end result.

I look like an elf in that last one with my green pacific leggings!  You have to love the sewing room shots, and I am the first one to admit that I am not, nor do I have any desire to be, a fashion blogger!  I did yoga this morning, so I still had on my workout stuff.   When I wear this for real, I plan to have on brown leggings, and my new ankle boots.  I think it will be super cute and will try to remember to update with a  pic.   All in all, I love it and can’t wait to wear it.

I’m not sure what is next up on the sewing list….I have a couple of ideas floating around, but haven’t settled on one just yet.

Happy Sewing!

HotPatterns SuperFantastic Top, Cashmerette Appleton and a New Look 6415

It’s catch up time!!!

 

I made a Hot Patterns Superfantastic top for my mom!  It did turn out Superfantastically!  I used abalone buttons on it.  She lives in PA, so I mailed a muslin home to her so I could see the fit adjustments that needed to be made. She has a shindig coming up and she wanted something new.

Since I was mailing things home, I made my sis a Cashmerette Appleton.   It’s super cute!  I also made her a slip, but I forgot to get a pic of it before it was mailed!

Here is the dress on me.  This was made in the smallest size with the smallest cup, I think a 12C for a 40, 30, 32″ figure.   I”m about a 34 bust, 29 waist and 39 hip.  I think it fits me pretty well and I’d totally wear it if it was in my colors.  If I made it again, I’d probably figure out a way to extend the front flap over a little more.  It was ok, but I’d prefer a little more coverage when seated.

For me, I tried on this top in a local store a few weekends ago and loved it!

It was $30 though and that seemed to be a lot to me for a glorified T when I could make my own for much less.   What I didn’t realize is that there are no knit patterns out there for this style!  I found a woven pattern, but it’s all pieced and has no sleeves.

Instead of messing around with that, I decided to try New Look 6415 for a similar look.  Overall, I’m giving it a not quite.  I don’t have the bottom hemmed yet…but I’m not really in love with it.  I was considering just trimming the angle off and making it a normal T.    I need to try it on with some leggings first though.

 

Happy Sewing!!

Hotpatterns 1137, Riviera Summer Breeze Top

After the last two dresses were done, I didn’t have anything exactly lined up on the sewing agenda.  While browsing PR the other day, I saw someone’s review of the Summer Breeze top and it was gorgeous, so I decided to move it into next place.  I’ve had this pattern for a at least a couple of years and have always loved it, but just never got to it.  Here’s the pattern cover.  It’s a gorgeous pattern cover by the way!

I started by making a couple of muslins…here’s Muslin 1.

I had started with an 8 at the bust and a 10 at the hips. I made my normal hunchback adjustment, but I didn’t mess with my HP standard FBA b/c I would have had to make it on both sides of the pattern and I just didn’t want to bother.    I figured the extra drape would be okay.  I was a little too aggressive with my hunchie, and I had gape around the front neckline that I wanted to fix.  I decided that a 2nd muslin was in order.  Here’s number 2 (This is an old bedsheet by the way!).

It was better, so I declared it good enough and carried on.

I found a gorgeous teal poly woven in the fabric closet that had just a ton of drape.  I knew that it’d be a pain the neck to work with, but with this style, you NEED a drapey fabric.  I used fusible knit stay tape to try to stabilize the arm holes, neck and shoulder seams.  As I was working through this shirt, I decided to really use it as a practice shirt for slippery woven fabric.  Here’s the list of things that I did differently on this top then I may have otherwise:

• Used knit stay tape
• kept the pattern pieces attached until I was ready to apply the stay tape.
• trimmed the neckline and armholes down to an eighth inch rather than clipping in notches (this was on the recommendation of Trudy in her  Youtube Tutorial for this top)
• Used interfacing on the hem
• used lace as a hem tape
• hemmed with a hand blind hem stitch.

Here’s the finished result…

And on me!

I should have had my hubby take a pic of it on me from the front too, but I forgot about it, so unfortunately you have the sewing room selfie.

All in all, it’s GREAT!  There are still one or two things that could be tweaked further, but really, I’m not a perfectionist.   Despite my careful taping, the back of my left armhole still got  a little stretched out of shape… I didn’t realize anything wacky was going on until I tried it on. The right side fits great, so I don’t think it’s a pattern adjustment that’s needed, just more careful handling.   Here are photos of the insides just because they’re so nice.

I finished the seam coming down from the shoulder with a french seam and at that point I was considering doing the whole top in french seams, but then I couldn’t wrap my brain around how to handle the keyhole feature at the back neck (and I wanted that) and I wanted to leave my options open at the side seam in case I needed to let them out a smidge at the hip (I didn’t). So there’s on seam finished with a french seam, and the rest are serged.  I wanted to try the blind stitch with the lace because I’ve always just wanted to try that.  On the green burda dress that I just made, I was considering doing something like this but then didn’t want to take the time to figure it out. I think on a knit, I would be able to do this same sort of thing but with a stretch lace.   I tend to have a lot of laces lying around and I think this is a really pretty way to use them.

For the back button, I used a silver button that I painted with gold nail polish.  Here’s a close up of that.

I think it’s really pretty and I prefer the gold over silver…here are the two side by side:

The sliver was pretty, but I just thought that it was a little too blingy for me.  I like the gold better and it will work better with the rest of my wardrobe.

And here’s a detail short of the close trimming that I did.  All in all, this worked out very well and was easier than cutting a bunch of notches all over.  It turned more smoothly too.

And one other detail photo…I did stitch the top of the pleat down a couple of inches.  I thought that would help it fall nicely. I was trying to show that in the pic below.

All in all, I LOVE this top.  It’s gorgeous.  Mostly I’ll wear it to work, but I really need some sort of classy thing to wear it to because that’s what it deserves!

I’m not sure what is next on the sewing agenda…I may pick out a fabric and figure out what to make with it….

In other news…I got some of these!  They make me ridiculously happy!

Aren’t they awesome?!  I discovered a couple of months ago that I’m lactose intolerant so I’ve cut WAY back on the dairy…that means….NO ICE CREAM.  😦  It’s been horrible.  But…with these little whizbang things, I can try all sorts of nondairy concoctions with minimal work.  I made a fudgesicle this morning and they turned out great.  It was just coconut milk, cocoa, honey and a bit of salt.  Easy and FAST…my type of food!  Our peach tree is producing peaches right now,  so I think a peaches and creamsicle will be next up.

Happy Sewing!

 

Burda 7082 – An awesome work dress (or two!)

Normally when I decide what to sew, I start with a pattern.  Well, in recent times, my fabric stash has grown out of control!  I currently have fabric sitting on the floor b/c my closet is too stuffed to put it away.  So…rather than starting with a pattern, getting my heart set on it and realizing that I didn’t have the perfect fabric, I decided to start with the fabric first.  I chose this chevron fabric that I bought from Needle Nook Fabrics. 

Yeah, I thought it was pretty gorgeous too!    After I had the fabric picked out, I went on a pattern hunt. Ultimately, I decided on Burda 7062, but here’s some that were in the running.

To narrow the choices down, I went to Pattern Review and looked at how the dresses made up.  Ultimately I wanted one that was 1.  Work appropriate and 2.  Flattering. Burda 7082 won on both counts.  Here’s a pic of the pattern.

I really liked that this pattern had a pencil skirt and an A-line option in it.  I like an A-line…but for work I just think a pencil skirt is more professional.   For sizing, I used a 12, 14, 16 which matched my pear shape measurements.  I decided to trace off the pattern because I like to preserve them in case I want to make them for someone else. While tracing it off, I noticed that my  front straight skirt pattern piece didn’t have the dot marked on it for the gathers.  I was bummed..I mean, I could fake it but I really like to follow the pattern when I can.  Finally, I thought to look on the A line skirt piece and there it was! Yay!   My world went back on it’s axis.  🙂

Rather than making up the chevron version first, I decided to make one in a green ITY to test out the pattern as a sort of wearable muslin. I did go ahead and make a forward shoulder adjustment and a swayback.   As it was, it was pretty much perfect. After I sewed it up, I did need to remove some of the curve from the upper hip, and that’s completely common for me.  Here are the finished dresses.

I like the green dress, but I really LOVE the chevron dress.  The green one is very elegant, and there’s no doubting that it looks nice, but I just really feel like me in the Chevrons.  I’m going to keep my eye out for more awesome prints and then I think I’ll make one more (I need to shop my stash first though).

All in all, this is a FANTASTIC dress.   I feel like a million bucks wearing it (both versions).

Happy Sewing!

 

More Lekala Testing, some undies and a little Jalie

So I am love the theory behind the Lekala patterns.  You put in your measurements….it gives you a pattern.  I’ve done a few tests.  All in all, I love it.  The bust tends to fit me dead on and I do need to do some small tweaks at the hips.  Here is last night’s test…  This is 4582, what I consider to be a woven work dress:

I decided to test this particular one because it had sleeves.   Previously I had tested some tank style dresses, but I knew I’d need to test a sleeve to get an accurate assessment of the back fit.

Here’s my test:

All in all, I can’t believe how well this fit. I did learn that I need to bump up my waist and hip inches by an inch, but the bust and the shoulders are PERFECT. It’s amazing.  The length on the skirt turned out a little too short for my liking, but that’s also an easy thing to fix.  I think these patterns are brilliant and can’t wait to make up more.

In between all that, I also made 11 pairs of undies from my favorite Kwik Sew 2908 pattern.

Here are the 5 I kept for me..the other 6 went to my sister and I forgot to take a picture before they left!

View C of Kwik Sew 2908

The best undie pattern ever

In the middle of the undie sewing, I started to have the worst time with my machine.  The fabric just wasn’t feeding correctly. Finally i realized that it was likely my walking foot, so I went to Joanns and bought another one.  It was branded as a Singer walking foot and it just did not work at all.  Based on some advice from the smart people at Pattern Review, I bought one from Sears for a Kenmore machine.   I have a Kenmore (which is really a Janome in disguise.)  This walking foot is AMAZING!    I’m glad it’s not my machine because I didn’t want to not have it while it was in for servicing! I’ll kick the can on that one a little while longer! 🙂

Next up was a quick Jalie top for my sister.  I’ve never made this pattern before so the ladies on the Jalie Facebook page helped me out with sizing.  My sister said she loves it!  This fabric is soooo gorgeous….it came from Needle Nook Fabric in Wichita.

The top sewed up perfectly.  I love Jalie patterns.  I’m on the lookout for some fabric for me to make this up in.

And that catches us up to now!  Next up is a quick bikini for my sis.  It’s another surprise gift in a cute Navy with red polka dots.

Happy Sewing!

 

Testing Lekala 5202

Bust fits pretty well. Hip curve starts a little too high and it’s too tight at my lower hip.

Not bad…I did a small sway back, but looks like I need to increase it just a smidge. I need a small dart at the outside arm.

There’s excess at the tummy and you can see the hip curve isn’t right, plus the need for the dart at the back arm.

 

The Hotpatterns Love Continues – Two T-shirts and a Marrakesh in progress

You all are going to think that all I ever sew is Hot Patterns, but really…what’s not to love?!!!  Now that I have my basic fit alterations mostly down, and my sewing level has progressed that I can now deal with most issues that crop up, I’ve been enjoying the hot patterns stash that I’ve accumulated over the years.

For review here first is the Once, Twice, Three Times a T-shirt.  I wanted to make the patched version b/c I think it’s awesomely fun.  🙂

 

For the first version, I re-purposed a t shirt that my hubby got on our honeymoon, 9 years ago in June!  I tweaked the neckline to a shallow v, and  I LOVE how it turned out.

After that success, I quickly made on in a a rust red…and this one I made to be reversible!

I love both of these tops so much.  I know they’re going to be staples in my play wardrobe throughout the summer.

Right now, I’m working on a pair of Marrakesh pants in this gorgeous linen that a friend gave me!  I hope to have them finished today!

 

I have a vacation to Maine with my mom, sister, and friend from college coming up, so I’m kind of focused on fun play clothes!

 

Happy Sewing!

HotPatterns Cote D’Azur #4 and the HotPatterns Denim Diva Trouser Jean

You’d think I’d be done with this pattern!!!

Just to recap…. Here’s 1, 2 and 3.   These are in weekly or almost weekly work rotation.

I had this awesome fabric from Needle Nook, in a gorgeous colors.  I cut out another version just like the last three, but then while working on I decided to leave the sleeves off for the cap sleeve version.  I LOVE it!!!!  I thought I’d be done with this version after this one, but I think there will be more!

A week or two ago, Hot Patterns had a Sew Something Saturday event on their facebook page.  I enjoy the camaraderie on the page and wanted to participate.  I really needed a pair of smart pants for work on Fridays. I live in Wichita, KS, and seriously, my jean options are cowgirl pocket bling…or skinny jeans.  I’m not a fan of either.  I looked through my patterns and decided that the denim divas were perfect.  It’s an old school HP and I made two pairs ages ago. My skills have vastly improved since then, so I decided to try it.  The only change I’ll make to the next pair is to add another inch on center back.  I think I have about three inches added already.  My favorite things about these jeans is the front pockets….they’re easy to do, and I much prefer them to the slant style.  I stole a contoured waistband from a Kwik Sew pattern because it just came with a straight one as packaged.  I know that a contoured one works much better for my curves.   Here’s the pattern and finished product.

The HotPatterns love continues.  I think a version of this one is up next!

Happy Sewing!

Jalie 2005, Hot Patterns La Strada

First up is Jalie 2005.   This is an out of print pattern, but I think it was hugely popular back in the day.  I tried the boatneck and really, I don’t like boatnecks that much, so the shirts were seldom worn.   But this time, I wanted to give the V neck a try.  All in all, it needs some tweaking, but the fit is great.  Seriously, I love how i can basically sew a Jalie with minimal adjustments.  In fact, in this one, the only thing I think I did was add about 3 inches in length.  On the next one, I could use a smidgen more at the hips, and i need to add a little ease to the biceps.  This is a lovely, super stretchy knit from Needle Nook Fabrics.  She calls it a Milano knit.  All I know is that it’s buttery soft.   And I have it in a few more colors too! 🙂

Sorry for the chopped off head, but I took this picture first thing this morning and I looked half asleep.

With the leftovers, I tried out the Hot Pattern La Strada T that has been nicely aging in my pattern pile for a little bit.  It’s not quite done yet in these pics, but its almost there.

 

And on me!

    

It’s not quite done yet because once I put it on, I realized it was clinging at the hips.  I think that’s partly due to the fabric, and partly because I did a small bust adjustment and removed some of the width at the hips and forgot to re add it to the sides.  I posted for help on the Hot Patterns facebook page and got several suggestions, from steam blocking, to adding a side slit, to a godet and several said to just leave it alone.  I think tomorrow I’m going to try to insert a little godet in there.  I went through the scraps today and I do have a chunk big enough so I’m going to try it.  I had time to to do it today, but I was just done and needed a sewing break.  When I go back to it tomorrow, I’ll be nice and fresh.

Last weekend, I also made a muslin of the wrap top in the Hot Patterns Triple Torque Knit tops pattern.  I forgot to snap a pic of the pattern cover, but it has three styles of knit tops in it, one is a faux wrap, on has a big drape from the one shoulder  and one has draping at the tummy.  I liked the way the faux wrap looked, so I tested it. This is some seriously crazy fabric.  All in all, it’s a good start.  I didn’t do a small bust adjustment in that muslin, so I added it later. I also need to raise the armholes and tighten up the neck band a little bit.  I think it’s a good top, I just got side tracked.  Maybe this week I’ll get back to it.  I REALLY like how the neck band is graduated in size.  I think that looks very snazzy.  🙂

That’s all for now…work has been keeping me pretty busy so my sewing is mostly limited to the weekends right now.  Hopefully things will let up soon!

Happy Sewing!

 

 

 

 

Hot Patterns Cote D’Azur Knit Top

Oh Hot Patterns Cote D’Azur knit top….let me count the ways in which you are spectacular!

1 .  Now that fitting is done, I can sew one up in a couple of hours (probably less time if I really rushed.)

2.  The V Neck is high enough that I don’t have to worry about any overexposure in the office.

3.  The bust gathers are flattering.  My husband even noticed that they were “enhancing.”

4.  It’s comfortable as all get out!  It has something to do with the dropped cap sleeves…heck, I’d even call it cozy…and it’s just an ITY top!

5. The length is perfect (To be fair, I added 1.5″ on for my long torso).  But it’s long enough to tuck into skirts and not have it pop out!

6.  There’s a choice of cap sleeves, a little longer than elbow length sleeves, plus a top, tunic or skirt, so tons of versatility.

7.  The V neck is EASY to sew…although it can take a few tries to get right.  Baste first, check, then stitch with regular stitches when you’re happy.

8.  The neckline lays nicely flat and perfect…with minimal effort!

Enough…here’s the pics of the two I’ve made so far.  There’s at least one or two more in my immediate future!

 

And on me:

For adjustments, I made what I’m quickly considering to be my norm, at least for Hot Patterns.

1/2 ” forward head

3/8″ hunchback

1/2″ tuck in front neckline

1.5″ added waist length

1/2″ swayback

.5″ SBA.

I think I have this one about spot on…these tops are fantastically comfortable.  I think this one is going to have to get stored in that special spot with my top favorite patterns!  Probably once spring rolls around I’ll make a dress version or two.  I’ve already decided that I’m going to use the short sleeve version on a could of yards I have in the the fabric collection.  Occasionally, if I see a print that I like, I’ll just buy a yard with plans to make it into a T shirt some day. I think this pattern will work phenomenally for that.

Happy Sewing!