March Plans

So my sewing plans all center around black and SWAP. I'm hoping to finish my shirt before the start of March, so I can start with a fresh plate. I still need to finish the other sleeve and add the buttons so I'll be up tonight trying to get it done in time.

So for March I have:

• Black sateen skirt
• Denim skirt
• Black and white dress
• Black floral tunic
• Black cardigan

Until next time happy sewing...

Another Anthro Inspired Item

 So one of my March projects is a black and blue floral top inspired by this Anthroplogie top. I have had this picked saved in my inspiration files for awhile and when I walked into to fabric shop and saw this print it instantly reminded me of this top, so I got 3 meters.

I'm not sure yet if I'm going to use my TnT top pattern or my simplicity shirt pattern and just modify for the right look.

I have already washed my fabric and have it folded and waiting. Once I have decided which pattern, I'll need to add length to make it more tunic length and also I'm not sure if I want to do a self fabric belt. I still have a few more days before I'm finished my current top, so I have time to think about it.

My First Real TNT Pattern

My first real TNT pattern, my self drafted skirt pattern. I have it up a total of 5 times already if you include the muslin and I have may more plans for the future. As a matter of fact for March I have two more planned. In the ten years that I have been sewing I have never made a pattern up that many times, the only one to come close is Simplicity 2725 and is because of the contest and that was 4 times if you include the muslin. But they are not as successful as my skirt pattern because they don't flatter me so I don't wear them at all. But my skirts are my favorite. I drafted this pattern I think around Nov 2010 but I was not able to do much with it since I was pregnant. So I was only able to make the blue paisley cord and purple before I got too big and I was already pregnant when I made it. Also so far they are the only two that were made as a straight A-line skirt. Next up was my black and white anthro inspired skirt which I made this past fall and now my red four gore skirt.
Getting to this point has been a process for me. I had been looking for a maxi skirt pattern for awhile but most patterns just weren't the simple A-line pattern I wanted and when I did find one it just wasn't long enough or full enough for me. So before I came to my final draft I drafted this pattern at least three times before. Once I had a draft I was pleased with it still took me a while to use it since I had no directions to make it up, I just kept feeling like it was not right or something. But once I had made it up twice and had worked out the sewing order and construction, I love it. Once I wore the purple plaid and DH asked me if I had made it, it wasn't that it looked badly sewn, but he remarked at how well it fit me as if it was made for me. I didn't tell him that I had drafted the pattern myself.

So far the red sateen and blue paisley cord are my favorite versions of this pattern, but sadly some kind of way my blue paisley got a whole in it so I only wear it around the house. I'm hoping to make two more next month, but not sure how or if I'll change it up some more time will tell.

Sidenote: I drafted my pattern using Design it Yourself Clothes Patternmaking Simplified

Until next time happy sewing...

Reconnected

Well I was without internet connection for almost a week and so a little behind on posting but hope to catch up in a little. This month I have not been sewing as much as I would like, not that I don't have the time but my mojo just is not here right now. But I plan to keep pushing on without it slowly because I know when I don't have the time to sew I'm gonna wish I used the time that I did have. Anyway I did finish my red mini wardrobe other than my cowl top. I just did not feel like working with anymore knits on my machine so maybe after a few projects in woven fabric I'll come back to it. 

So here is another version of my self drafted A-line skirt which I turned into a four gore skirt, easy peasy just simply add seam allowances to the front and back fold line.

For the front seam  used a hong kong seam finish. I wasn't sure if I was doing right and I have mixed feelings about how it came it out so I just finished the rest of the seams using my serger, but I plan to practice this more in the future so I have some reading up to do on this technique to get a more polished look.

For the hem, I'm still using the same technique I learn from YCMI, I just really like how it looks so this one I'll be using for a while. I'm not sure if RTW uses this but I know I have seen it on handmade dresses years ago before I started sewing myself, and thought it made the dress look just as nice on the inside. I'm not able to buy anything that is labeled hem tape here so I have to find what I think can work in its place. From what I remember it is a thin tape with a little give. So that is what I look for in the notions stores here.

The front seam also has topstitching, which I saw on a denim of a former co-worker and have been wanting to try myself. I really like and I'm thinking about adding it my other planned skirt.

This is my second time sewing up the Jalie top and this time I tried to go with my bust size which meant tracing off a bigger size size W. Well I won't be using that size again, it is too big in the shoulders and neckline and also in the bicep. I will try to wear it as is but for my next top which is no time soon I'll be going back to my original size U.

I'm currently working on my first shirt for the year which I plan to make 12 total this year, so I am  behind by one month. I'm also going to try for DAM  (dress a month), TAM (top a month) and SkAM (skirt a month). I don't think I'll be able to do 12 dresses since I mostly wear separates, but would love to wear more. I'm still working on SWAP at the same time. For March I really need to get cranking if I want to make it in time for the deadline. Hope to keep everyone posted.

Until next time happy sewing...

Slowly working on...

 So remember this grouping a fabric a few weeks ago? Well I have been slowly sewing it up into a mini wardrobe. I can't sew too slow if I want to make the deadline for the SWAP over at Stitcher's Guild.

 Here is my sweetheart tee with the self drafted 4 gore skirt. the tee still needs the bottom and sleeves hemmed. I have to wait until either I get another machine or wait until my current machine is fixed.

Here is my retro top using my TnT top pattern along with the skirt. The skirt needs to be hemmed and hook and eyes added but all of that is hand sewing so hopefully it will be done soon.

 The skirt is from my self drafted a-line skirt pattern. I just simply added a front seam to make it 4 gore and also added a waistband. I could not do facings since I barely got the skirt out of the length that I had. For the waistband I just simply used scraps of salvage fabric that were big enough and sewed them together it only took two pieces of what I had to make it long enough. If you look closely enough you can see the lace I used for hem tape, going to the notions shop and trying to get them to understand hem tape is not happening so I just use a matching thin lace in place. I'm not sure if that is correct to do but so far it has worked for the two times I have done it.

 And here is Simplcity 2345 sitting still in pieces. Not sure when I'll be to complete this top but I hope soon as it is one of my favorite tops. I use this fabric as trim for the sweetheart top.

Here is the skirt with Simplicity 2345, the first one I made, to give you an idea how they look together. The skirt is a-line but for some reason once on my dressform (no name yet) it looks straight.

A Gift

 Its only been 26 days since I last posted :-) , hopefully it won't be that long again for a while, it just that sometimes life can throw some mean curve balls. Anyway speaking for curves, look what I got last week from a really good and close friend here, a arm curve and pant curve. To say that it made my day, week, month,  me feel a lot better is an understatement. I was grinning from ear to ear all day long.

 In the background you can see that I started on my skirt sloper from Building Patterns and I hope to play around with these rulers soon. I already had a ruler similar but they are not the same so they will be really useful for me. One can never have too many drafting rulers.

 I have started back sewing a little, my machines still aren't fixed but I was able to get my sewing working well enough to work on wovens I can no longer do anything with knits I think the problem is down in the bobbin area but it really needs to be fixed. I'm trying not to cause more damage. My serger I don't know what that is its just making a funny noise when ever I use it almost like the skidding of a car. I plan to buy a back up sewing  machine soon but not sure if I can get a back up serger, it was so harding finding one here and then just asking questions about it is out of the question.I won't be able to take my machines in to get fixed until the beginning of March at the soonest. So I plan to contine to sew but it will have to bee at a much slower pace. So I guess more time for drafting.

 So I'll have some pics to show of what I have been slowly working on soon.

Until next time happy sewing...

My Latest top and Now No Machines

I'm so all over the place its just insane sometimes but this time I really had to go with my gut feeling. I was suppose to be working on my shirt pattern for the Shirt-A-Month sew along but I just was not feeling this fabric as a shirt, so then I decided to make it into a basic top and try drafting the pattern myself. But I really wanted the top to workout I knew needed sleeves and they are something I'm still working on. So I decided to go back to my blouse pattern and add a collar.

 I used the collar from New Look 6808 and just morphed the New Look neckline with my blouse neckline and made the changes I needed to the collar and facing pieces. All worked out as you can see and I really like my new top and can't wait to sew up the skirt so I can have a new outfit to wear.

Because I was using the New Look collar for this pattern I needed the instructions for making and attaching the collar with bow, lets just say they were so confusing it was ridiculous. I just went with what I thought was right and everything turned out just fine. Even after I figured everything out I went back to reread to see if they made more sense and they didn't. I have not read any reviews on this pattern so I don't know if it was just me or did others have a problem also. Also I wish I knew more about matching prints as I think I could have done with this one a little but I'm still learning so I won't kill myself over that one.

 I kept the same sleeves as before but instead of adding the cuff I just made a casing and inserted elastic. At first I thought I had 1/4 inch wide elastic but after I sewed the casing I realized I had 1/2 inch elastic. I was so happy that I had made the casing a little wider as it was just enough to squeeze in the elastic. I was only able to do sleeve casing and elastic before my sewing machine decided it did not want to work anymore.

So all that is left is to finish the other sleeve and hem the bottom and I am done but now I have to wait until I get my machines to a shop and back before I can do anything else. Also my serger decided it wanted to start making some funny sound, it still works but I am concerned enough to not use it anymore until it is seen and fixed.

 So there will be no more sewing for me for only a little while I hope but now I have time to work on the exercises in Building Patterns which I can share with everyone and also work on tissue fitting my shirt and pants patterns for now.

I'm going to do a new review on this pattern over at Patternreview since it so much different than the original pattern and just link each new review to the one before it. So new review coming soon and

Until next time happy sewing everyone...

Itching to Draft

So I have had off sewing all weekend, not that I wanted to but I didn't have much of choice, but it has given me time to think about my next sewing project. I was debating trying to trace and  fit jeans for the up coming jeans contest on Patternreview, work on fitting and sewing up my first shirt for the Shirt-A-Month sew along over at Stitcher's Guild which I want to do but also I want a skirt right now also and I'm also want to work more on my patternmaking.drafting skills and have a few things I have been wanting to start off with. So make the decision easy for myself, I just asked myself what do I WANT to do right now, what will make me happy right now, forget about contest or what others are doing, that made my decision so much easier. So what do I want to do right now? I want to draft my own top and skirt set. I won't give any hints just yet as to the design other than to say it is very retro inspired. 

Until next time happy sewing...

First Blouse done

 So I am finish my first top/blouse of the year/challenge and I am pleased with it. It went together pretty quickly which is something I like, quick gratification.





I already have my next variation planned but before than I have a few other things I want to make. Now the review.

Pattern Description: Misses tops with B,C,or D cup with different trims.

Pattern Sizing: I made a size 12 with D cup

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? nope see below

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes they are very easy. There really is nothing complicated about this pattern.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? There is nothing I really disliked other than not having sleeves

Fabric Used: I used a cotton satin, which I think is the same as cotton sateen but its lighter than the sateen I'm use to this is more of a blouse weight not a bottom weight.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: The only thing I did was add sleeves to make it more of a blouse than a woven Tee. I also widen the upper back by 1/2 inch and lowered the bust dart by 1 inch.
Also I tried the facing technique found in High Fashion Sewing Secrets from the World's Best Designers


Conclusion: Nice easy pattern to help build your wardrobe as you can see by the 60+ reviews and best pattern of 2010 award.

The facing

Finishing this blouse took a little longer than expected due to a bad stomach virus that had me in bed all day yesterday and then today my 3 year old son and 2 year daughter decided to take a hot chili pepper and rub it in their eyes, lets just say I don't think they even want to see another chili pepper again. No amount of water was making them feel better. It took about an hour before the crying stopped.

This is a sneak peak at my next 4 items, a mini wardrobe that with some of it mixed in my SWAP.  The two on the left are cotton knits, the next is a cotton sateen and the last is a regular cotton. The Sateen is going to be the challenge as it is only 2 yards and I want to make a maxi skirt out of it.

Until next time happy sewing

First Item of My Challenge

 So I have started on my personal challenge and also SWAP with Simplicity 2599. Even though it is not a size14 it still fits me pretty good. I now know I need a swayback adjustment, I just need to know how to do it. Before I make another blouse from this pattern I plan on making the adjustment the best I can.

 For my first blouse I'm using a red and white cotton satin that I got here in Saudi Arabia. So far it washed well and pressed like a dream. I was able to get all of my pieces on two meters. I'm still getting use the meter thing here, I always have to remind myself not to say yards when I'm ordering something. Anyway I'm still debating if I want to put the ruffles on the front of this one. When I did in the muslin it just did not look right to me. I don't know if it was the bib look or something else. But when I look at them on the ones that others have done it looks so nice. Maybe its just me, I'm not use to wearing a style like that. So my pieces are cut I'm hoping this will take me no more than two sessions to get it done at the same time I am NOT going to rush it.

Until next time happy sewing...