Butterick 6142 - A Pleather and Wool Version

When the Butterick 6142 pattern was released, it reminded me of this top I'd pinned to one of my boards on Pinterest:



At the time I started working on the pants, I thought I would get both pieces finished prior to Christmas week, well that didn't happen!  As you can see since it's the middle of February! *LOL* When I finally cut the pattern pieces out I changed a few of my original ideas for this outfit. Some were design changes and some were added after the top was a little too tight.

• I omitted the lace because the stash didn't yield up anything that wouldn't make the outfit look like eveningwear.
• I changed the fabric from black ponte to a black poly/wool crepe suiting I purchased from Fabric Mart during one of the 50% off sales. Please note this probably added to some of my challenges since the pattern clearly states that you should use a knit fabric for the pieces.
• Pleather accents were added also to the top and the pants.
• A lining was also added to both the top and pants by underlining the fashion fabric.

Here's my finished garment:

Pattern Alterations  Design Changes:

The Shaped Hem Tunic ~
I made minimal changes to the pattern pieces. Again there is a little buggin' out going on here because I'm not use to NOT making huge changes to the pattern pieces. Here are the pattern alterations and design changes I made.

First - the back and front pattern pieces are single pieces.  Two large pieces that you lay on the fabric and cut out!  Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone and I put a center back seam in the top's back.  

I marked the center back, cut it from top to bottom and added 5/8" seam allowances to both pieces. I decided to go this way because I wanted to add sleeves to the top. This top with sleeves was just not slipping over my head without some assistance.  I took it even further and added a 9" black invisible zipper to the neckline also.

Since I used a woven, I added a little to the center front of the top to gently glide over my abdomen and hips by simply slicing up to the waistline marking and spreading the pattern pieces.

If I make this pattern again, I'm going to cut the front apart and add space that way. If...I...ever...make...this...pattern...again! *LOL*

The Sleeve ~
The sleeve pattern from the dress was used for the top...although I still needed to make changes to the biceps...cause I haven't managed to lose any weight there! Again I started with an older sleeve pattern to make the alterations.  And that's when this started to go south and head there so quickly. *sigh* I put those dayum sleeves in three times...and removed them three times. I just couldn't get them in without a multitude of wrinkles down the length of the sleeve or way too much fabric in the sleeve cap. Then I just got disgusted and threw them in the garbage. My top is sleeveless...I couldn't take any more.

Then I tried the top on and disaster...it was too tight. Peoples, annoyed was an understatement for how I felt at that point. But I put my thinking cap on and decided to add a pleather triangle on the other side of the top to match the one on the top front. BTW the pleather piece ended up on the front because I wasn't paying attention when sewing the front and back together. So I improvised ~ yet again. 

Miracles of miracles this last improvisation worked...except it made a funny wrinkle on the back. Now I really was done...seriously done...turned everything off and went upstairs and read a book.  Pick this up six weeks later, I've lost another five pounds, so I try on the top and mercy me, it fits. Well actually the triangle stuck out because the top was loose, so I altered where the fabric and pleather triangle met and wallah...top fits.

I know I've talked about slow sewing lately and using the best techniques BUT I just wanted this done!  So I turned under all the edges at the neckline, the armholes and the hemline, topstitched, pressed and it was finished. Thank you God ~ it's no longer a wadder! 

The Pants ~
I originally made the pants out of a jersey ponte during the blogging hiatus. Based upon that make, I altered the pants pattern for a better fit. To make this version I went with the currently altered pattern because I wanted to see how they'd wear in a woven fabric. Well that was wrong!  Those suckers were so tight they wouldn't go over my thighs. So I decided that sewing for my new shape wasn't working and I put the pants to the side.

But once the top fit, I was inspired to figure out how to make the pants work. I decided to add a 3" pleather strip to the side of each pants leg and use 1/2" seam allowances to attach them to the pants. Since there are pleather accents on the top, I thought this would work well with the pants.  This meant taking the pants apart but I was fine with that, as long as the pants became wearable.

The strip did work so I added the elastic to the waistline (more on it's application in a future post), ripped the inner leg seams and made them a little smaller, then hemmed the pants. Outfit complete.

Conclusion ~
This is not a work outfit. I've been going out a lot more after work and I would definitely wear this out and about in NYC.  Also, both the top and pants are a closer fitting silhouette than I've been accustomed to wearing. Honestly, this is taking some getting use to but baggy garments lately have just made me look like I'm wearing someone else's clothes...not a good look!

Finally, I'm a huge fan of the mixed materials look in garments. I love mixing pleather with wools and pontes. I have a few ideas for a couple more garments using pleather - don't know if they will make it out of my sewing machine before spring comes - but as long as the trend continues I will be making more versions of it.

Throwback Thursday - A Dress from 2009

I've been pulling garments out of my closet trying to find pieces that aren't loose wearing on me.  I touched this one a couple of weeks ago. I made it in 2009 but just didn't want to donate it because of the amount of work that went into making it.  So it sat in the closet.

After trying it on, I decided it needed to be added back into rotation.  Here I am wearing it now:

 ...and here it is from 2009.

I think it fits looser now than when I made it. *sigh*  At least it will get a wearing this winter and may just hit the donation bag during the spring. I'm starting to think that it's time to stop holding onto things and let them go. Realizing that I'm going to have to sew a whole new wardrobe!

All the construction details are in these posts on the blog. A few more pics of the dress on me now...

Finally a picture of the shoes - these are by AK Ann Klein and are three years old.  I bought them in beige, black and this raspberry color. The beige and black pairs are too large now because I stretched them out wearing them with my heavier feet. Isn't that a nicer way to say fat!?! *LOL* I never wore this pair so another new pair of shoes! Yes!

Next up is Butterick 6142 - a shaped tunic and pants outfit!

Vogue 8995 - It's All About Refitting and more Refitting

I've made Vogue 8995 before.  It made my top five of 2014 garments. It should be an easy sew because the pattern alterations have already been made - BUT - and there always seems to be a but! My weight loss means that nothing fits like it use to.

So I started with the pattern alterations I made for the spring linen version. I've had to make several more alterations to make the dress fit me now. Thank goodness for a lot of seams because it made the alterations easy. As an aside, I'm now wondering if the original dress will fit come spring. *sigh*

Anyway, I've taken the back waist seams in an additional half inch on either side to give the back a closer fit. I'm sure that many would say that I could take it in even more but to be honest, I'm just not that comfortable with such a close fit yet. I also keep thinking what if I gain some weight back...what will I wear then? I'm straddling a fine line here and one step to either the left or right could end me up in the soup - so I'm straddling it and being cautious.

On the front I've pegged the center piece so that it looks more like the original pattern and not my hybrid above. I probably could peg the side seams a little to give it a bit more defined fit but more of that line straddling - y'know!

Okay how about some stats:

Fabric ~
2.5 yards of light pink worsted wool crepe purchased from Fabric Mart eons ago.

Notions ~
22" pink invisible zipper
1" lace that was tea dyed and left over from this dress
2.5 yards pink bemberg rayon lining purchased from Elegance Fabrics in NYC
Silk organza used to underline all of the pieces
Pink rayon seam binding

A few construction pics and info:

As stated in my previous post about this dress, I underlined each piece of the wool crepe with silk organza. I went back and forth about adding piping to the neckline and sleeve hems and finally decided not to. The bemberg rayon lining was added to the dress.  Some of the construction details are shown in the collage below...

The other interesting part of my construction is the sleeve bindings. I bought Vogue 1435, the new Tom and Linda Platt dress and jacket (it's in the queue, btw) and I was reading the instructions.  For the jacket they have you bind the edges of the sleeve openings. I really liked the technique and thought I should add it to the construction of my dresses especially since I prefer unlined sleeves.

So I used the rayon seam binding that I normally use for hems to bind the sleeves. First, I serged the seams close to the stitching line. Then I folded the seam binding in half over the seam and machine stitched it on. However, after pressing I didn't like the way it covered the seam. So for the second armhole, I hand stitched it down. I liked that coverage better. Now I really should take the first one out but honestly it's not bad enough to take out. Though I will be hand stitching the binding down in the future.

Otherwise, I have nothing new to say about the construction of the dress. Any other pertinent information is contained in the original posts. 

The theme of this dress is fit, fit and more fit. I did a lot of trying the dress on and then ripping out seams and resewing them. I think this is going to be a reoccurring theme throughout my sewing this year especially if I lose any more weight. 

Here are the pics of me wearing the dress:

Jacket made in 2010 - Simplicity 2958

Conclusion ~
This dress fits looser than my original version which was a little tight on me. I will probably end up taking in the side and front seams next fall if I continue to lose more weight but it works for right now.

BTW, my shoes are by Tahari.  I bought them two years ago and wore them once in real life and once on the blog...my feet were just too fat to wear them comfortably...and I paid too much for them to give them away.  Fast forward two years and they now fit comfortably again. They're a little higher than what I've been wearing but I will add some comfort pads to them. Okay this benefit of losing weight I can get with cause I have some amazing shoes sitting in boxes waiting to be worn!

Next up is a "Throw Back Thursday" outfit. As I was checking the closet for wearable garments, I tried on this dress and couldn't believe it fit again. So I will be sharing it next. Again...thank goodness I couldn't give it away!

...Miss Sammy was visiting for the day and her Mom took some amazing pictures of her.  Here is just one...

There was a little sewing while I was away!

I think I'm going with just pictures and not a lot of words for these pictures. These are a few of the pieces I made while I was away.

Butterick 6142 Pants & Wool Sweatery Vest ~

The slim fitting pants are Butterick 6142 (more about them in a future post) and a vest cut-out that I bought from Fabric Mart back in the fall. I've worn this out with friends and to work on Friday when the dress code is a little more relaxed.

Vogue 8840 sweater jacket plus straight skirt ~
I added a quick elastic waist straight skirt to the Vogue 8840 ponte jacket to make it an outfit instead of just a single piece. Let me state upfront that I hate my shoe choice in this picture. I wore my gray suede shoes with it when I wore it to work.

Vogue 8666 - An Altered Dress ~
I made this dress four years ago when I was working on the Birthday Gala Dress. I was auditioning dress styles...made this one but didn't like the way it fit me.  However, I hung it in the back of the closet and there it stayed until I needed a dress for a holiday party last December. It was a little loose but it took only 10 minutes to alter the fit and this is how I wore it to the party.

I want to make this again in a ponte for spring!

Pebbled Pleather Skirt ~
I had a dinner out with friends & family during Christmas. I wanted a funky casual look instead of my normal jeans & sweater/cardigan or skirt & twinset look. I'd ordered a yard and a half of a pebbled pleather from Fabric Mart before Thanksgiving to use for accents on garments.  But when it showed up it said that it really wanted to be a quick, elastic waist straight skirt. So I made this skirt to go with the vest pictured above.

So that's the round up of pieces made during my blogging hiatus. I didn't sew a lot while I was away. My mojo disappeared and I really just took a break from everything.

Next up the pink wool crepe Vogue 8995 dress.

A Bitterly Cold and Snowy Saturday

It's cold outside here in my corner of the world.  Bitterly cold and snowing so I've pumped my little space heater up high to keep the chill out of the sewing cave. My Vogue Dress is almost done, as well as another outfit.  My daughter and the grandkids will be by on Monday (President's Day in the US - so a holiday) to take pictures.

My sewing mojo has finally come home and I have loads of ideas of things I want to sew again. It's been missing so long this time, I was wondering if it knew it's way back home ~ *sigh*

Although, there will be a lot more fit going on around here instead of just sewing since I've managed to lose 40 lbs since November 2013. I had a few stops and starts at the beginning but lately I've been losing weight pretty steadily by just changing my diet.  I eat ALOT of green vegetables, protein via chicken, some fish and I've eliminated almost all junk food from my diet. That's not to say that I don't have an occasional potato chip, or a mini snickers bar but I don't consume no where as much as I use to. I'm still inbibing my beloved Mountain Dew but instead of drinking almost 2 liters a day, I now have 20 ounces.

So not only is almost everything too large...some things I can still pull off wearing but most will need to be donated. I've had to purchase new bras & underwear and no longer need the support garments that I use to wear. Things jiggle now in a most unflattering way so I guess I'm going to have to figure out some type of exercise to tighten things back up...something I'm not looking forward to because I'm so not an exercise girl.

Now, I haven't lost so much weight that I'm no longer plus sized. Let's just say I'm a whole lot closer to 200 lbs than 300 lbs now. I've managed to lose all of the menopause weight plus a little more. The dr. is very pleased with my weight loss and I do feel better than I'd been feeling.

The thing that is really disheartening and I haven't had the nerve to face is the fact that so much of my wardrobe that I've sewn, no longer fits. Some is just obviously too big and I will have to make a decision about. Some things can be worn but are obviously loose and a few things I've altered to fit the smaller me.

All of the dresses pictured above will definitely be given away - maybe not the center navy blue one - still trying to decide if I will alter that one or not. But the rest were loose-fitting to start and now they just hang on me. I think I'm most sad about losing this one though...

It was an amazing make and I know I only wore it 4 or 5 times... My main problem is that I HATE to alter. H-A-T-E to alter but if I don't want to walk the streets nekkid, I will have to alter a few things. 

You will probably start to see less dresses here and more separates since they are easier and quicker to make especially if you use elastic in the waistlines. I'm also on the fence about trying some new styles now that I'm getting a waistline again...so we'll see.

Just wanted to give an update prior to posting the new pics...there will be quite a few posts from Monday on...so I guess I'm back! 

Vogue 8995 - Take Two

I've wanted a pink wool crepe dress for fall/winter for several seasons...and of course the pink wool crepe lived in "The Fabric Collection."  I knew that I didn't want to use my TNT dress for the dress but that's the only thing I did know.  I definitely was suffering a case of "fraid to cut" the fabric...not something I'm acquainted with as a sewist. See I've been pretty fearless with fabric and taking chances with it but I've had a few wadders lately and I was worried.

So worried that I went on the wide webs looking for a similar weight and color of pink wool crepe to purchase as a back-up. Yeah those wadders really shook my confidence. After deciding to just go for it...I decided to use a pattern that I'd used before so that I could eliminate the not fitting/working aspect of this puzzle.

Here is the combination I'm working with...

I've gotten the fabric cut out and I've started to assemble the dress. However, in the process of working on the dress, I read Leisa's blog posts on handsewing a Grainline Archer shirt. Yes, you read that right, she's hand stitching the blouse together and it got me to thinking. Why am I rushing through the process? Didn't my sewing hero, Cynthia Guffey tell me to slow down and enjoy the process?

With those thoughts in mind, I decided to sew the best dress I could make. So each piece of this dress is underlined with silk organza. Yes, the silk organza was basted to each dress piece and then the two pieces are serged together.  Not couture I know but I've previously admitted my serger addiction so let's just flow with that okay? *smile* Plus I didn't promise couture - I just said I would slow down!

I'm working on the lining now so sooner rather than later I will have a new dress to share with you.

BTW, thanks everyone for all of the emails, facebook messages and posts left here.  I truly appreciate each and every one of them...and they are the reason that I decided to start posting sooner than I'd anticipated. I don't know if I will be posting at the rate I was before but posts will be more frequent than they have been for the last two months.

...as always more later!

Questions of the Day

At the beginning of this year I decided to write at least one "Question of the Day" post every month.  The point of these posts was to start a conversation amongst my fellow sewists.  Some of the posts generated quite a few comments and conversation, some were a little controversial - even though that wasn't my intent, and some were just fun!

So for the end of year, I thought I would do a recap of the Question of the Day posts.  These are the conversations that were shared this year:

January ~ "Are you a sewing technician or a creative fiber artist?"

February ~ "Are you the sewist you want to be?"

March ~ "Are you a thread changer?"

April ~ "Sewing Machine Maintenance - Do you or don't you?"

May ~ "Is your garment free?"

June ~ "An Inside Shot?"

July ~ "Do you Google?"

August ~ "Linings"

September ~ "Tell me about your tools?"

October ~ "Can we talk about our pattern collections?"

November ~ "Can we talk about sewing for our lifestyles?"

I really enjoyed these posts and hope that you did too.  The conversations were interesting and I learned quite a few things. I haven't posted a question for December and I'm not sure that when I return to blogging that I will feature this again.

In the meantime, I will be in the sewing cave, spending quality time with my fabric and sewing machines, sewing for my pleasure...hopefully we'll share sewing stories again soon.

2014 Misses

...or the garments of 2014 that just didn't turn out as I imagined they would or that wore horribly even though they photographed well.

Now with that as a sub-title, let's just get to it. I don't have five misses only three so here they are ~

First up is The Optical Illusion Dress ~

A comment left on this post about the fit at the back of my dresses made me look for an alternate solution to this problem. Ultimately ending up in me using the four back piece method for future dresses but that's not the reason that this dress is making the miss list. I've worn the dress twice and the bias pieces on the side are starting to bag out...even though I tried to protect this from happening...it happened anyway.  This one is going in the donation bag - not worth altering - not worth keeping.

The Side to Side Border Print Dress ~

I've made it a policy to share the good, the bad and the ugly in my sewing here on the blog. I shared this dress and even it wore it out in public because there were some details about the dress that I really liked. However, the execution didn't work out exactly as I planned it...specifically carrying the border print all the way around the dress. My first thought was to see if there was some way to save the dress for next season. However, with the weight loss, I need to move on. Although I will use the exposed zipper on the front for a future garment - it was a really cool element - this one will also hit the donation bag.

The Pieced Four Gore Skirt ~

Why did I think I would wear two totally different patterns together? Seriously? This skirt is not something that I would wear to work, so why did I sew it? I think I really just didn't want the polka dot linen to hit the scrap basket and reside there for forever. Since separates are my friends now, I'm not adding it to the donation pile. I think I'm just going to remove the printed layer on the bottom and add a black layer which will make it work wearable.

I think because I sewed a lot of basics at the beginning of the year, I have fewer misses.  Also sewing less...adds to that too. I won't have too many more posts between now and the end of the year...and to be honest, I will probably be taking a blogging break from DSF starting at the end of the year. So enjoy the last couple of posts...and I'll see you when I see you!

Top Five of 2014

Well we're rolling up on the end of the year and the look backs are starting.  I will be on vacation at the end of the year and will be looking forward and not back so I decided to do my reviews early this year.  Last year I did a Top 5 Hits of 2013 but not a Top 5 Misses...however, this year I will do both.

This post contains the Top 5 Hits...but first a little back story.  I started this year sewing a lot of basics. I've sewn so many pieces and felt that the basics were underrepresented in my closet, so January and February's sewing was all about "The Basics."

I also sewed less this year than in years past. I'm sure for a variety of reasons but mostly because I already own so much. With all of the backstory now told, let me present my Top 5 Hits for 2014 in chronological order.

Number One ~ The Painted Wool Herringbone Dress

This one made the list for two reasons - it's made from my TNT dress pattern and from a treasured piece of fabric that I've had for years. I also really like the leather strips on the side. I will be altering this one for the smaller me because it was really warm and comfortable to wear last winter.

Number Two ~ The Vogue 8995 Dress

Making this dress was a labor of love and such a fulfilling sew. I had a vision of what I wanted the dress to look like and I brought it to fruition. Miles and miles of white piping gave this dress the definition that makes it so distinctive. I'm hoping that since it was a snug fit last spring that it will still be wearable next.  We shall see.

Number Three ~ #fatquarterchallengedress

I thought that this challenge would break me. I really wasn't sure that I would be able to make the fat quarters given to me work. Especially since I added the bit about the dress had to be able to be worn to work - pressure anyone? So, the fact that the dress was finished, able to be worn, and complimented on when I wore it was a definite win...making it worthy to be on this list!

Number Four ~ is a tie! Butterick 5821 - the Summer Version 

I love linen and the combination of solid white linen and black polka dot linen made it perfect for work. It was also one of the first dresses that I used the new four piece back pieces on so the back fit was on point. I love how it gently fell over my curves and removed the "ill-fitting" pool of fabric in the back. Y'all know that I was neither here nor there on that but popular opinion is that it should be gone. I'm really thinking about a winter version of this dress but I have to see if I have time to get to it.

The Tri-Color Ponte Dress ~

This is one of my new, closer-fitting dresses because of my weight loss. This "interpretation" is based upon a St. John dress that I found online and loved. I chose a bright color as the basis of my interpretation because I own way too many black pieces of clothing and I wanted something vibrant and fresh. I've lost a few more pounds since this picture was taken but I'm sure it will work next spring.

The final piece is not a dress but McCalls 6844 - The Cardigan.

This is the first of many cardigans from this pattern. Initially I was wary that since there isn't a closure on the front that it would be difficult to wear but this sailed through my workday...so definitely will be making more. I already have an idea for a dress and jacket combo using the peplum version...now to get it out of my head and into my closet.

This is my list. Mostly dresses but hey that's mostly what I sew. To review any of my other makes from 2014 - you can see them all in the tab marked "2014 Projects" at the top of the blog.  Can't wait to see what others put on their lists...

...as always more later!

Pledge? What Pledge?

Fabric Mart is the devil I tell you!  The devil!  Not only did I get a boatload of suitings when they were 50% off, but I went back again and bought two more pieces when the entire website was 50% for the Friday after Thanksgiving sales.

So do you wanna see what I got?!

Another 32 yards of fabric to add to the already overflowing fabric collection in the sewing cave! But oh the joys of opening those packages!

Seriously though I'm in awe of the fact that a lot of my fabric has been arriving looking like the above.  No more worries about the rain. I did, however, end up cutting a piece of the fabric getting this open. So we'll see how that goes when I finally get around to sewing it.

On another note, Christmas sewing has begun here and will be the thing for awhile. I bought my granddaughter an American Girl Bitty Baby so there is a wardrobe to be sewn using McCalls 7066:

I'm going through the scrap collection, pulling things out and planning an amazing wardrobe for the baby doll and my precious granddaughter. Just an update on what's happening around here...

...as always more later!