A Blue & White Hope

Last year I was on a real tear to purchase blue & white toile type prints. I ended up buying a blue & white print that was similar to a toile and an actual blue & white toile. I was really proud that I only bought two pieces! I'm even prouder that I'm using one for my next Hope.

Of course this is the Hope Dress using the extension pack and it's exactly the same as the funeral dress.  As with all remakes, I improve something with the next version.  For this one, I shortened the length of the elastic I used in the sleeve hems.  I also left the pockets off this one too.

Materials ~

The fabric is a 100% digital linen shirting from StyleMaker Fabrics purchased last year and it's still available to purchase.  

The four 3/4" white buttons are from my button collection purchased so long ago I have no idea where I bought them. 

I used 26" of 5/8" elastic for the sleeve hem casings.  The pattern recommends 1/4" but that would get lost on my body so I changed it.

That's it.  A nice, easy, relaxing sew where I just took the journey.

A Few Pictures ~

(feeling like a matron on an English cliffside with the wind blowing!)

I have fabric set aside for one more version of the Hope Dress using the bias bound, tie front bodice and the original sleeves.  That will be enough for awhile since I will have three different Hopes in my spring/summer wardrobe (not including the funeral dress).  If you don't have this pattern yet, I highly recommend it!

...as always more later!

My Sewing Spaces are Done

I've been dragging my feet for months, trying to avoid dealing with the boxes and stuff accumulated in the loft after moving my sewing machines downstairs. The Loft had become a storage space while I dithered on what to purchase, how to get it assembled (does NOTHING come premade anymore!), and then sorting through the boxes.

As each new item was purchased and assembled, the dream of the Resource Center became more apparent yet seemingly even further away! I made my last purchase Friday and spent the weekend, going through boxes, sorting things out and making a donate pile for clothing.  It seems as if it's taken forever to get to this finished point.

A Little Backstory ~

Once I dissembled my "Dream Sewing Room", moved the sewing machines and cutting table downstairs, I realized that ALL of the extras (patterns, fabric, notions) could be stored in the Loft. However, to get it to work, I needed to buy more stuff to organize the items in both the Loft and the Sewing Room.

I bought:

- a 5 shelf bookcase for the Sewing Room

- 2 9'x12" wire grids for the Sewing Room

- 3 filing cabinets to hold patterns in the Loft

- a bunch of totes in various sizes to hold miscellaneous things in both the Loft & Sewing Room

- a 30 lb garbage can on wheels to store scraps in (there were several boxes full of scraps that I had stored here)

The Resource Center Now ~

Patterns and more patterns are stored in and on top of the filing cabinets

as well as the grandkids games, coloring & sketch books and crayons

The table (things on top need to be disposed of) 

A photo with the curtains open so you can peep some of the fabric

There are still two bins of fabric upstairs on the far side of the table holding coating & fur fabric. I emptied nine bins of scraps and fabric that somehow got shoved onto the shelves. Whatever extra fabric space I had is gone now! Look at that tower of fabric on top of the shelf by the doors. Almost every new purchase has been added there. 

I still want to add some better lighting (I already own) just need to move it upstairs and buy some folding chairs. But I believe it works now. It's doing double duty as a spot for the grandkids to hang out, color, play games and watch TV when they visit for the weekend...and a place where I can pull fabrics, patterns and match notions to them.  Most importantly, I can move around and touch all the fabric. Doing a lot of pre-work in the Loft/Resource Center will allow me to bring it downstairs to just cut and sew.

The Sewing Room Now ~

Yes, I primarily work from home here 

Though sometimes I work from the sofa too...

The set up for my Janome 9450QCP which I primarily sew on

Cutting table and bookcase that I use to store pressing 

things, threads, patterns and extra fabric

Just need to add the Mixtiles I purchased last fall and some pictures from the Sewing Cave to the walls and I'm done.

I'm thrilled that the majority of the work is FINALLY completed...just 14 months after I moved in! *LOL* However, having everything in it's place has removed some of the stress I was holding on to. Isn't it amazing how having things out of sorts affects your creativity?  

Anyway, that and a new order of fabrics from StyleMaker Fabrics has reignited the sewjo. 

I bought 3 yards of Abstract Brushstroke Sweater Knit Blue/Chocolate to make a cardigan. This Cozy Wool Double Knit Solid Cranberry is what starting the buying spree and I bought 4 yards of it. No plans for this yet but a few ideas percolating. Four yards of Cozy Wool Blend Double Knit Espresso, I want a warm maxidress from this. Y'know for those cold wintery days in January, February and March when I'm working from home. The last one is a functional piece but you always need black in your wardrobe. At least I do! It's four yards of Soft Reversible Sweater Double Knit Solid Black again no plan but necessary for new sweater pieces this winter.

I'm making a list. Freeing up some weekends and planning to sew to my heart's content. That's what I've been up to the last couple of weeks. 

There is one more garment post from my previous sews and it's up next.

...as always more later!

Inspired by...

I love JJill, Chicos and Talbots garments. The silhouettes work for me, they're comfortable, and I like the way they use colors and patterns in their garments. So I get excited when a new collection drops online. What colors are they using?  What silhouettes are they remaking? What appeals to me and makes me want to reproduce it?

I'm an old school sewist. Design and fabric drive my makes. When I was in the corporate world I followed a lot of designers and incorporated their ideals into my work wardrobe. Now that my life is more casual, I tend to look to RTW vendors more. While I'm sewing casual, I'm still drawn to classic styling.

The early spring collection on JJill REALLY inspired me. We know I'm already sewing blue garments because of them. I saved a few images of tops that supercharged my sewjo. This is one of them...

...and here is my version.

I started with Vogue 9299 because it has all of the elements of my Inspiration Garment.

Supplies ~

Lightweight blue denim from Stylemaker Fabrics - this was recently purchased and is available here.

9 - 13/16" brass buttons from deep in the button collection

9" of 3/4" elastic for each sleeve hem

Pattern Alterations ~

I altered the body of the tunic to give me a little more room yet retain the close-fitting look. The finished hip measurement is 59.5" on the pattern and I'm more comfortable with 65" for sitting and standing ease. This alteration accomplished that.

To alter the front by I added space to the side seam so that it covered me and allowed the front .

Since the tunic has a yoke in the back. I altered the back bottom pattern piece by using the pivot and slide method. Simple yet effective changes that made the pattern pieces work for my body.

I also changed the sleeve pattern. While the different sleeve options are what makes this Vogue pattern I wanted a simple longer sleeve similar to my Inspiration Garment. Originally I was going to add the cuff but changed my mind as I was constructing the tunic.

To make the wider sleeve, I just slashed and spread the top sleeve piece. Then lengthened it and redrew the sleeve cap. After the changes I traced them onto a new piece of tracing paper to get a clean sleeve pattern.

If I make this again, I would flatten the sleeve cap a little. The elasticized hem is made from a 1" casing. It was topstitched on the top and bottom of the casing to give it a little more ummph. Simple steps that gave the tunic flare.

The Inspiration Garment has pockets. I'm not really a pocket woman. So I omitted them.

Construction ~

Sewing the pattern together was really easy. It's not a hard pattern to put together. The changes I made were:

- Add topstitching in a solid color

- Make the sleeves with an elasticized hem

- Add stay tape pieces to the side seams to strengthen them where they curve/end.

A Few Photos ~

I really like this tunic because it's perfect for working from home and for zoom meetings because of its' front. It will even be great for wearing outside! There's a little pulling at the bustline but that's due to it being dart-less. It's something I can live with and IF I make it again, I would address it.

This was also a pleasant sew. It didn't make me doubt my skills or want to throw it across the room. In these pandemic times, that's truly a win-win! LOL!

...as always more later!

A Pair of Border Print Wide Legged Pants

I've been seeing wide legged border print pants on line at some of the RTW sites I visit...and I lodged the look in the back of my mind. When I received this rayon border print from StyleMaker Fabrics, bought with no garment in mind just because it was pretty, these pants came to mind when I unpacked the fabric.

I made a pair of wide legged pants in 2017 using my TNT pants pattern.  At the time to get the wider legs I wanted I added the extra width by free handing it.  This time I decided I wanted to be more specific about adding the space so I used the pants legs from Simplicity 8389.  

After laying the two pieces together I realized that they would not give me the extra room I wanted so I ended up adding more to the sides by free handing anyway.

Those were the only changes I made to my TNT pattern construction. I know there are several patterns for sale now that you can purchase to make wide legged pants. I'm just hard pressed to refit a new pattern when I know mine works with a few changes.

A few pictures ~

Wearing this with my black Concord t-shirt which I wore with

my first pair of wide legged pants I made 

I plan to add a couple more pairs of wide leg pants to my wardrobe this summer. Because I want easy to wear, comfortable, looks that are age appropriate and simple to throw on in the mornings.

I'm headed to Sew Camp tomorrow so my next posts will be about Sew Camp and traveling to my fabric Disney World - FABRIC MART! I.Can't.Wait!!!

...as always more later!

Black Friday Fabric Purchases

I can honestly say that this was my last big fabric buy of 2018.  I bought way more fabric than I intended. The sales were really good and I found some fabric that just wanted to come and be neighbors with the present members of the collection. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! *LOL* 

Seriously though, I'm documenting this because I want to have it as a reference for future makes. At one time, I documented almost all of my fabric purchases. It was great when I finally used the fabric to figure out when I bought it and I could point back to it in the garment post. 

Since I get to start new in 2019, I'm going to try to document all new fabric purchases. Hopefully that will make me more conscious of what I purchase especially if I'm sharing it with all of you! Famous last words I know. Anyway here is what I bought...

Sewing Studio:
I bought a black stretch corduroy and a floral chambray to make a vest and shirt combo. Honestly I haven't purchased from them since they changed owners and I wanted to try the new site out.  The sale was good - 25% off your order.  The website was easy to navigate and the shipping was FAST! If you haven't looked at their site or purchased from them lately, I highly recommend this site!

How the fabric arrives

What I purchased...

Stylemaker Fabrics:
I love Michelle's selection. I'm constantly checking it because she's set her website up so that I can check fabric by color or by type. Many times, I just click the color type I'm interested in and ramble through until I find what I need. That's how I found this latest piece. 

Its called Metropolis Cotton Lawn Navy. I bought it to go with a blue faux suede that I'd purchased from the craft store in August when I visited the Lancaster one with Gaylen. I want to make another vest/shirt combo with these. However, if you're interested in the same color/fabric combo, Michelle has a blue suede on her site too.


Fabric Mart Fabrics:
Fabric Mart always has wonderful sales so I usually skip them during Black Friday. But this year they pulled out all the stops ~ 60% off everything, 1/2 price shipping and a free gift. Then each day there was one extra discount - one day it was 30% off patterns. Thankfully, I bought fabric on Thanksgiving Day without the extra enticements! *LOL*

Entire FM haul with the free gift - about a dozen zippers

A cotton jacquard border print

Floral Cotton Sateen

Black & White Polyester Floral Crepe 

I bought the most fabric here.  A black & white polyester floral crepe, a walnut cotton oxford shirting, a cotton/jacquard floral print and a floral watercolor sateen print. These will be held for spring sewing. I know, I know but I loved all of them so much and you know nothing lasts at Fabric Mart long. I can't even link to them because they're no longer on the site.


Blackbird Fabrics:
I purchased two pieces from Blackbird Fabrics. The thing you should know about ordering from Blackbird Fabrics during a sale is that it takes a minute to get your fabric and that is clearly stated on their website. So if you're looking for a quick fix, think about it. This fabric arrived Saturday, December 8th when I ordered it on November 23rd. I'm sure crossing from one country to another is also a factor.

Lousy photo of the black denim but decent photo of the navy viscose linen noil

Black denim (out of stock)

This color is sold out but there are more viscose/linen noils on the site

I own a lot of denim but no mediumweight black denim. So I bought that and a viscose/linen noil. I purchased the viscose linen noil fabric because I was intrigued by the fabric combo. I know I don't own anything like it in the collection. It's an interesting piece that I will use once the weather warms up.

Honestly I get caught up in Blackbird's IG account. The way they showcase fabrics on social media really entices me and is why I keep going back for more! 

fabrics.com:
This purchase was a couple of days after Black Friday. Fabric.com had a bunch of Liverpool knits on sale for $6.99 a yard. Seriously $6.99 per yard. I bought three very unique prints.

Liverpool Double Knit Tropical Floral Stripe Pink/Black

Liverpool Double Knit Plaid Navy/Ivory Fabric - is no longer available

Liverpool Double Knit Plaid Roses Black/Red

I know exactly what I want to make with these. One is destined to be used during my Winter Break, the other two have been shelved to wait their turn. I know fabric.com has taken a beating on the internet recently and I ordered from them holding my breathe. Thankfully, not only was my order correct but it came quickly. I actually was surprised at how fast it shipped. I guess that means give them a chance if you really want something!

Conclusion ~
37.5 yards of fabric have shown up in the last three weeks. Honestly, most of it is still laying on the cutting table waiting to be put away. That definitely was my last buy of the year...and hopefully I won't be purchasing anything before I head to Sew Camp too. At least that's my goal! *LOL* 

If you are interested in any of the fabrics, I've provided links to them. I can vouch that all of them are amazing.  Except, someone contacted me on Instagram regarding the floral cotton sateen from Fabric Mart. She had issues with the dyes running when she prewashed the fabric. Fabric Mart did graciously refund her money. However, I googled it and I'm going to try to set the dyes before I prewash the fabric. I will follow up here and let you know how it works out.

The last two shirts in The Border Print Series will be up shortly. I've been slowly working on them so they will be photographed on me next weekend.


...as always more later!






  

The Border Print Shirt Series

Shirts are my jam. I REALLY love sewing and wearing them. They've become my new "dress" and since I run a pattern into the ground...you know I'm sewing shirts with my TNT shirt pattern.

Backstory ~
I've been on a fabric buying binge. I've been using fabric to self medicate against the cares of the world. To slow down my fabric buying tendencies, I'd set myself monthly yardage limitages. Well in the last couple of weeks, I've purchased my fabric limit for October and November. The only good thing is that the purchases have totally inspired my makes for the next couple of weeks.

It started with this Rifle & Co. border print from Stylemaker Fabrics ~

...which I'm sorry to say is no longer on the website. However, this seems to be a pretty popular print so I'm sure if you google it, you can find it on another site.

Then I bought these cotton border prints from Fabric Mart ~

...as of now two of the fabrics are still on the site here and here. The other two are sold out.

With these border prints in hand, I realized I could make some really interesting shirts by manipulating the border prints. Since I own four prints a series was born. I mean the challenge of using the border prints creatively just made me salivate.  I spent a couple of days during the weekend working on cutting out these prints. 

So why this post? It will probably be a couple of weeks before these shirts make it to the blog. By then the last of the cotton border prints will be sold out, just wanted to give you an opportunity to purchase some of these fabrics yourself. Also, to let you know what I'm sewing next.

Next completed garment up on the blog is the Simplicity 8700 jacket. I've been working on it for a couple of weeks and I think it's ready for prime time now.

...as always more later!

Vogue 9980 - A Cardigan from the 90s

I pulled this pattern out of the stash a couple of months ago. It's a Koko Beall pattern. I collected a lot of these when they were in the pattern books back in the 1990s. 

At the time I wanted to make a lightweight summer throw on type jacket - you know something that will keep you warm against the artic chill of office air conditioning. 

As with all good intentions, I didn't get to it this summer.  However, it was still sitting out when this sweater knit arrived from StyleMaker Fabrics, and it caught my eye.

Last weekend the East Coast experienced our first snowfall and the bitter cold also swooped in. Even though I was in the midst of making dresses for my daughter, I took some time out to make a quick sweater coat for myself. I was looking for a little warmth against the cold.

First a little about the fabric ~
It's a heavier and more stable fabric than I thought it would be when I ordered it. So I knew the light cardigan I was thinking of wouldn't work. I've been wanting more sweater coats to go over jeans and tops, especially since Chicos & JJill have some amazing ones in their assortment. Upon touching the fabric I knew it would work for this kind of sweater coat.

Construction ~
Since this is a 90s pattern, the shoulder seam was quite long. I did alter the shoulder seam to my standard length so that it would fit better.

Then I had to complicate the construction by adding some black piping to the neckline and sleeve hems. But the pattern on the fabric would have been overwhelming without some stopping or resting point for the eyes.

After I stitched the side sleeves and tried the sweatercoat on, the sleeve openings seemed really wide. Since I'd cut the hemline off before adding the piping, I had a 1.5" hem after adding it back to the sleeve. It made the perfect casing for adding elastic to the sleeve hem. I love how the piped and ruffled hemline gives an artistic touch to the sleeve.   

Also the pattern calls for one buttonhole at the neckline. Since the fabric is a little thick and patterned, I thought a regular buttonhole would get lost.  So my first choice was to add a "Spanish Snap Buttonhole" using black ponte/pleather. That was my intent. In reality, I wanted to wear the sweater coat to my company Holiday Luncheon and used a pin instead because I ran out of time.

BTW, the pin is old. Back from my corporate days...glad to find a use for it now. Hopefully I will be able to repurpose some of my other pins too.  After wearing the sweater coat, I liked it so much that I decided to leave the buttonhole off. 

The facings were cut from a black ponte scrap from the collection. I wanted the facings to be smooth and flat so I didn't use the sweater fabric for them. I also turned the edges under 1/2" inch and stitched them flat because I wanted a cleaner finish on the inside fronts.

The sweater coat hem is machine stitched. Because the fabric is pattern, after stitching it in and giving it a good press, the stitching disappeared into the fabric.

Otherwise this pattern was easy to construct. The instruction sheet has great pictures and to me the construction process made sense, especially since they had you insert the sleeves using the flat method. Sleeves that btw, I didn't need to make any pattern alterations too. 

A few pictures ~

This is what happens when you take your own pictures

The sweater is caught on my butt - but it was too cold to retake!

...and a pic of me wearing it with a black RTW mockneck and black skinny jeans at the Holiday Luncheon.

Conclusion ~
I really liked how easy this piece was to sew and I will be making it again. However, I will add the buttons and buttonholes to the jacket in future renditions. I'm sure that some of the heavier sweater fabrics I own will match up perfectly with this pattern (and clear some shelf space in the cave)...so this pattern will be showing up again during 2018.

If you're interested in owning a copy, there were a few of these patterns available on Etsy and even Amazon when I googled the pattern. This is part of my plan for 2018 to sew from my pattern stash and fabric collection, so I'm ending 2017 on a high sewing note.

...as always more later!