I Need a Challenge

After a month and a half of sewing tops and creating samples for projects for my Sewing Group, I need a challenge! What that means is that I want to make something really great for my daughter,Tamara. Part of the challenge is to use fabric,patterns and notions from my stash  as much as possible.

I've already started on a boucle jacket  (S4374)  to which I'll add a couple of skirts.I've made that jacket twice before for myself so I should have some success with DD's jacket.I'm really enjoying this project!

Then I'm planning to make Tamara a new spring coat.I'm leaning towards New Look 6518   .It's the one I used for this jacket which I love. I'm planning on changing the collar a bit but we'll see,

Thought I'd show you what just arrived in the mail a couple of days ago. This,,,,,,,

http://store.threadsmagazine.com/2011-threads-magazine-archive-031029.html

and I absolutely love it. I've already spent many hours browsing the issues I don't own  I'm compiling a list of favorite articles for future use. I highly recommend this product. It is very user friendly.

Oh and I do have a couple of things to show you which I made from recycled denim skirts, yet another project for my Sewing Group.

This tote, trimmed in faux suede and eyelets will probably go to my GD .I merely cut the hem off the skirt,sewed across the bottom, sewed across the corners to form a flat bottom, covered a piece of cardboard with cotton print and velcroed it to the bottom.I used the cut off hem as the handles , also trimmed with the suede.

This wristlet, I'm using  for the notions I take with me to my sewing class.It was a pocket which I cut out ,added a back, a zipper, and a wrist handle. Pretty cute huh! And it couldn't have been easier to make.

I do hope you've found time to sew lately.

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Just One More Top

Well, I've had this one finished for a couple of weeks but am just getting around to blogging it now.

The pattern is Vogue 8323, View A, the sleeveless one to which I added the sleeves from the other two views.

The fabric is a polyester sweater knit.

The pattern is true to size. I made a size 12 and with my usual FBA, it fit well.

I added 2" to the length and I am satisfied with the change. I made this pattern before (here) and I knew I like a longer length in my tops.

The problem! The neckline is too high! I have to wear it folded down.In order to wear it like that I had to add a piece to the back facing.

 I'd like to make the sleeveless version for summer and will have to modify the neckline.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Moving on to another project, I made a second Wrap like the green one I previously posted about here..

This item was very popular in my Sewing  Group and will be our next group project.I wrote the directions here on Diana's Sewing Blog.

I had to add three little darts on the neckband and the ladies really liked that feature. The sweater knit I used had a great selvage which I cut off and sewed  all around the sides. I love the result.

That's all for now.

I hope you found time to sew this weekend

Vogue 1261, #2

This is  my own take on Vogue  1261.as well as my second version.Here is the result

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The fabric is a light polyester sweater knit .

The changes I made:

.......I lengthened the top by 3" so I could wear it with my jeggings and I do prefer long tunics for this.

......I lengthened the sleeves a lot and ruched them with clear elastic. ( I sewed three rows of ruching on each sleeve )

.....I added a 1"neckband.I rather think that I shouldn't have added  this. The wider neckline would have been better for the trim I sdded to it.

.....I sewed a 1" frill to the neckband .I used  the   picot edge finish on my serger for the frills.

.....I formed three flowers with the frilled strips on the left shoulder just below the neckband which I sewed on by hand.

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That's really all I have to say about this top. I love it. It doesn't photograph well though as it looks kind of ugly in the photos IMO.

I do hope you found time to sew this weekend.

 Happy sewing from

 

A Couple of Simple Projects

I.   was very busy this week preparing a couple of simple projects for my Sewing group. I did finish another top but no time for pics yet so it will have to wait.

The first project was this really cute wrap I found in Quick Stuff to Sew,winter 2010. (also in Threads,May 2009).

If you're interested, look here on Diana's Sewing Lessons.

The second  project is one I got inspired to make when I watched Peggy Sagers' web cast this past week.I made it to take to class on Thursday to inspire the ladies and it worked.This will be our next Project. I'll put a tutorial on Diana's Sewing  Lessons in a couple of days if you want to check it out.

 Isn't it cute? And it's warm and cozy too. The fabric is a wool acrylic knit and came from my stash. I could  never  decide what to do with it before because the colour isn't really me. But I love this piece and have already warn  it  a couple of times.



That's all for now. Hope you had time to sew this week.

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DDD  ( ha, ha! Fooled you!)

Katherine Tilton's V8691

I wasn't all that productive this week but I did manage to finish my version of V8691. 

This is one of those patterns that really intrigue me and I had to try . This is what I came up with.I made View D.

I had planned on adding the flounce using the plain brown knit I used for the neckband but after basting a part of the flounce to the hem and trying it on ,I realized that look wasn't for me.

 I only had one meter of the animal print ponti knit and I wanted to use three colours so I found this cotton crochet look lace in my stash for the sleeves  which I lined with skin tone mesh knit left over from a skating costume for my GD.

Now about this pattern!

I found it to run rather large and that caused a few problems and naturally I didn't make a muslin.

First, I made my regular one inch FBA and that was too much for this pattern. I used Peggy Sagers" draping lessons on her webcasts to figure out how to get rid of the excess. Please watch these to learn all kinds of things about fitting and draping.

Next, the shoulders were at least an inch too wide and I was able to take in the front shoulder width because the princess seam ran up to the shoulders. In the back I was able to add a shoulder dart.

But the worst part of this pattern is the excessive fabric  in this area.

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It also occurs in the front. You can see in this photo.

And I don't know how to fix that. If anyone can help with this alteration please let me know. I've encountered this problem before on a princess seamed coat.

This top is comfortable to wear and I do like it. I want to try another version in the spring but I'll have to iron out the glitches first.Also I'll make it longer to make up for not using the length in the flounces.

Happy Sewing from

My Month of Tops Continues

This has been a busy week in my sewing room. I've finished the set I'll show you today and have cut out three other tops, one of which is almost done.And most of the fabrics have come from my stash!

The first part of the set is this simple turtle neck made from Butterick 3344, one of my all-time favorite patterns

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The fabric was a piece of stable sweater knit  leftover  from something else and is a really good match for this cardigan.The belt was a recent find at our local second hand store. It's gorgeous and I paid  $2.00.

The second piece is a cardigan.The pattern is B5394       to which I added patch pockets and a self belt.I also added three inches to the length, just because.

The fabric for the cardi is a wool sweater knit which has metallic threads running through it. It's very warm and cozy. I like it but it may look a little like a robe so I forgive you if you think so..But it's just the type of garment I'll reach for often on a cold day like today.

Special steps I took to make this unstable knit workable are as follows.

The knit was quite unstable and a little see through in spots so I knew I had to stabilize the seams. I used clear elastic at the neckline and a sheer  bias stay tape that has memory.( I no longer have the packaging so I can''t tell what kind). I had to trim the tape close to the stitching lines because it tended to show through in spots. Here's a pic.

As for the pockets, I hand stitched them to the sweater. It seemed the only way to make them as subtle as possible.

I didn't interface any part of the cardi. I wanted to keep the integrity of the knit and I'm satisfied with the result.

Here's another look.

It's very cold here in Eastern Canada today and I'm very comfy in my new sweater set.

More pics here.

Hope you had time to sew this weekend.

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Making Time to Sew

I love getting comments on my posts and I thank all who stop by and take the time to write something.


Nan left this nice comment.


"This is a really pretty top. You accomplish so much. You are obviously a very high energy person. Do you have any hints about how to organize one's sewing to accomplish the way you do?I love your choices. I have become a real fan. I hope to get started sewing again but I don't much time. Thanks for what you share. It is appreciated"

Thank you Nan. First I must say that I'm retired so I have plenty of time to sew and I do sew often. Having said that, I think it's important to schedule time to sew. Add a specific amount of time to your schedule even if it's only half an hour  a few times a week.

Personally. I schedule Wednesday as a full, guilt free  sewing day. I try to start by 10:00 and sew all day until I'm too tired to sew anymore

When I was still working ( I was a high school teacher for many years ), I used to sew every other Saturday. I had to be very organized to pull this off but my sewing Saturdays helped relieve the stress of a very stressful job.

In addition,I like spending Sunday afternoon after church in my sewing room. I usually do some cutting out or planning for specific projects .Other than this, I make a conscious effort to sew for an hour here or there , rather than sitting in front of the TV or computer in the evenings at least a couple of times a week.

I also mentor a sewing group on Thursday afternoons twice a month. I love sharing my enthusiasm for my craft with others!

As for being a high energy person, ( I'm 63 ) ,it's more that I find it really hard to sit and do nothing.I like to have hand sewing or pattern cutting to do when watching TV. But  when watching a movie wth my DH, I don't do that. He doesn't like me to and I think it would be disrespectful  to do so.

Of course.it helps  to absolutely LOVE sewing. The older I get, the more I live and breathe it.

Nan, I don't know if this will help you in any way,but remember this. If you love sewing, just sew whenever you can. It can be a life-long rewarding passtime and you can continue to learn more and more as time goes on. I 've always loved to sew but at this time in my life it's my passion.

Happy Sewing!

Oh goodness! I can't publish a post without one single photo! So Here's my little cutie Riley on Christmas Eve. She was so happy with her red dress and shoes. She said " I'm a princess"

My Month of TopsJ

  January is always sew for me  month.I have several tops patterns that I've been wanting to try for a while now so this is going to be my month of tops.The first I'll show you is  Vogue 1261.

I made View B.

I didn't do anything special with it except to add 1 1/2" to the length and to use my own method for the   cowl collar. Since the opening for the collar was wider these are the measurements I used instead of the ones in tutorial.

The neckline of this top is really wide.Now I knew this before cutting it out but I decided to just go for it anyway.The result is that the collar isn't great but it will do.

Here Is my finished top. It looks orange but is really a very pretty red.

I like it like this.

              
                     

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The fabric is a polyester/acrylic (and that means it will pill I know) sweater knit
I. used a twin needle for the hem which I secured first with Steam-a-Seam. The points at the sides had to be mitered before hemming.

This top isn't what I'd call slimming but it is a fun, cute ,and comfortable piece which will be cozy to wear on a Sunday afternoon after changing out of my "church" clothes.

I'm happy with it and recommend it gladly.

Next time I'll be talking about Butterick 5394 and the cardigan I'm working on using View  E.

I hope you had time to sew this weekend dear fellow sewists!

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My Christmas Outfit (V1275)

I was very organized this year and had all the usual tasks finished ahead of schedule so I actually had time to make a special top for Christmas.I used Vogue 1275, Sandra Betzina's newest pattern with a little help from Peggy Saeger's webcasts..

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Here is my top

The fabric is a beautiful glitzy slinky type polyester in shades of burgundy,black.gold and cream.

I mentioned Peggy Saeger's Webcasts,. I've been watching and learning quite a lot about draping . I think it's incredibly generous of Peggy to make these little gems free of charge.

What I did was to baste all seams except the sleeves. I tried it on and fitted the top to my body at both the side seams and the seams joining the shirred center front to the side front pieces. I also redistributed the shirring and ended about three inches above the hemline.because I felt there was too much at the bust and that wasn't flattering at all.

I must say that this garment   fits me very well. By fitting it on me, I got the waistline just right as well as the hips.

AS i was fitting, I felt as though the neckline would slide right off my shoulders so I stabilized it with clear elastic before sewing on the facing. The end result was a very flattering neckline which I finished off with the selvage of my fabric which I  first applied with Steam-a-Seam followed by top stitching.

I love every thing about this new top...the fit, the neckline, the shirring at the bottom of the sleeves which is very cute

I wore it Christmas Day with a black velour skirt which has probably seen its last days.

Did you get the chance to sew something special for Christmas?

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