well-crafted

Let the Rains Begin

Thank you, Oliver + S, for making me a better seamstress.

This coat was finished over the weekend, and just in time, too! It’s pouring outside and my muchkin is plenty cozy. And dry too, thanks to the water resistant canvas I used—which I ordered from here. It’s lined with a crossweave pima shirting and interlined with organic cotton fleece. I am always impressed every time I use an O+S pattern at how smart and simple the designs are and how flawless and thoughtful the construction and finishing techniques are.

The only challenge we are having (which could be considered a flaw in design) is that the button tabs are a little fiddly. Lauren had trouble buttoning them without getting them twisted and it took her a little too long to get them undone and the thing off. The first time she wore it was to a movie with a friend and she couldn't get it off in the dark and had to sit through the whole show baking. I guess she was too shy to ask for help. As soon as she got home she said she wasn’t going to wear it “ever again!” Determined to avoid having my hard work rejected once more, I put some velcro on those button tabs and have convinced her to give it another try. So far, so good…

A little more about the fabric. It’s beautiful and soft and not too stiff for a canvas. It has a nice drape to it and was really easy to work with. I’m not sure about the water-resistant feature though. It is apparently not permanent. I’m thinking it will work well for our quick trips to and from school or for running errands, but not for a long walk in the rain. We’ll see.

Couldn’t resist posting this last shot because I think it’s just so darn cute.

*****************************************************************************

Besides finishing Lauren’s coat over the weekend, I also had the great pleasure of attending the Little Winter market and enjoyed it so much. I bought a gorgeous necklace and earrings from Sulu Design, and a couple of really lovely gifts from My House Party. The highlight for me was meeting and chatting with Elly Fales, of Garment House who could not have been more kind and gracious. Some very nice photos of the event here and here.

SSRU: Day Four

My first knit top was made with Jalie 2805. I’m still not sure what I think of it. I actually made two of these in the same size—one was too small and this one was too big. The reason was the fabric: this 100% cotton interlock is stretchy but has no recovery, so it just kept getting bigger and bigger. I took it in about 2 inches on the sides and some through the armhole with the result being a “wearable failure” of a top that fits but who’s neck opening is much too wide. The second one I made didn’t have nearly enough stretch and landed in the scrap box. And, wow that V-neck was tough!

The third one I made with the same soft blue cotton—in the child’s size 6—and has been loved and worn often. A little mother/daughter matchy-matchy is fun! The best thing about Jalie patterns is the size range you get. I’ve got a few ideas for kid designs using this as a sloper.

SSRU: Day Three

The Ice Cream Dress is—not surprisingly—a delightful pattern. I used a Liberty lawn for the body, lined with a white voile, and used a dark brown voile for the contrasting pieces. Lauren wore it many, many times throughout the summer—especially on our vacation as a swim cover-up. Seems the perfect outfit for studying cicadas don’t you think?

And while we’re on the topic of Oliver and S patterns, I should tell you that I’ve got this in progress and am crazy for this new one. Exciting stuff!

SSRU: Day Two

This is vintage Butterick 6124 bought on Etsy last spring. When I first made it, it was really huge. Luckily, the pattern is simple enough that taking it in on the sides until it fit was a pretty easy and successful fix. I got lazy and finished the armholes by folding the edge under which looks funny, I think, but I still wear this a lot. Even with the weather getting cooler, it’s quite perfect under a cardigan, especially when the afternoons warm up as they have been.

Summer Sewing Round-up: Day One

This week I will catch up on posting about the rest of what I made this summer--mostly knits from the class I took in spring and a few other items.

Today I give you my tulip skirt which I enjoyed wearing all summer. Jenny Gordy is such a great designer and I’m so glad she wrote and shared this pattern. The instructions were easy to follow, although I messed up and got the placket on the wrong side, but love it anyway. I would like to make another to wear with tights and boots this winter. I’ll have to figure out how to line it, because I don’t like wearing slips and I know it will stick to tights.

The top is Lydia from Burda Style. I got a little over confident with my skills and made it with a silk jersey. You probably can’t see but the sleeve hems are rippled and I’m not sure I can steam that out. Lydia is a good basic pattern—the deep scoop neck is a very nice detail. I think I will need to alter the pattern for more room in the bust area and less in the shoulders and armholes.

Until tomorrow…

Summer Success

I finished this top in early summer and have been wearing it A LOT. It’s very comfy and fits well and is flattering. I used the same pattern as this top, which is turning out to be a great basic shell for me to work with. Instead of the button closure in the back, I made a small keyhole opening at the front neckline and bound it with skinny yellow bias binding left long as ties—although I always wear it open. The armholes are faced with this yellow binding as well. And I love the fabric! Even though quilt-weight cottons are not the best choice for apparel, I’ve got so much of it I figure it makes sense to use it while I’m still testing the waters sewing for myself. I’ve got another version of this cut out of Liberty which I must try my hardest to finish while the weather is still warm!

 

We are headed to do some camping at the beach for 5 days. Until then…

For days at the pool

Now that summer is finally and at long last here, this little number is getting quite a bit of use. Though admittedly we haven’t gone to the pool as much as I had expected (sooo crowded), it has seen lots of action in the backyard of the sprinkler variety and will see more on our upcoming vacation. 

Making a swimming suit was fun! The stretchy fabric is so forgiving—it just zings back into place, right where it should. I used Kwik Sew 2725 . Because this is a leotard pattern (the only proper swimsuit pattern my store had in stock had a racer back, which I don’t like) the straps are wider than they should be for swimming, but Lauren has not complained so far. And the leg openings are a tad high for my tastes. Other than those two small items, we have a winner!

We are off to spend two weeks in the land of Lincoln and the Ozarks with Kirk’s family. I may pop in with some photos during that time but if not, I’ll be back here toward the end of the month. Until then, have a great July!

More thoughts on knits and fits

So where were we? Oh yes, Built by Wendy 3692. Behold my second version of this pattern—this time as a dress and made in a size 10. I was pretty zealous in my last post about the fact that this is four sizes smaller than what the pattern measurements indicate should fit me. A little over zealous perhaps, because while it feels comfortable and fits more or less fine, when I looked at these photos I started to wonder if the 12 would fit better. Primarily because the shoulder seams look a little high to me. And perhaps it’s a wee bit snug through the bust. Also, my measurements are between the 16 and 18, so if I rounded down and it turns out the 12 fits better, I’d have to revise my earlier recommendation that you size down by four sizes. At this point, I’d say more like two or three sizes.

Moving on…

I still like it a lot the way it is. I’ll just continue to test and tweak. And report.

Oh, and I’m in love with this fabric. It’s a soy/bamboo blend with a tiny bit of lycra which I got at Mill End. The color is so gorgeous.

What I’d love advice on is the dress part. It’s pretty shapeless—almost like a night gown. I thought I might sew in some elastic at the waistline to give it more shape but then I took it to the Friday night Sew-cial at MD and the good gals there suggested I simply do a few rows of shirring in the back. Sounds great, right? And it looks okay from the front—but is seriously unflattering from the side!

So what do you think? Should I do elastic all the way around the waist—or should I just cut it off, hem it and call it good as a top? I’m leaning toward the latter.

On a side note: I think I need to hire Lauren to be my photo stylist, so things like the twisted necklace don’t happen again. And speaking of helpers, we also had a post-shower streaker run right through our shoot. Good times!

Built by Wendy 3692 and some stuff I’ve learned

So this may be somewhat out of order but I am posting about this top first although it was not my first adventure with knits. I tackled this project after twice failing with a basic Jalie T-shirt. (One of those is wearable and I'll talk about it another time). But right now I have a lot to say about this pattern. I agree with Melissa’s assessment—it is a good one. But here’s what you have to do: first compare your measurements to those on the back of the pattern and find the corresponding size for those measurements. Now…are you paying attention? Cut out the pattern three or four sizes smaller than that [I have revised my stance on this. See here.] and you’ll end up with a super cute and well-fitting top. Seriously. My bust measurement is 39/40, putting me between a size 16 and 18 according to the pattern envelope. At the suggestion of my teacher, I cut out the 14 and it was huge. I took it in at the sides a good two inches (so four inches total!) and that seemed to do the trick for fitting through the body. Of course the neckline is still too big as you can see by the way it bunches up there. Ultimately I needed the size 10 (see, this is 4 sizes smaller than what the pattern indicates) Crazy!! But I like the top anyway and consider it a success. It’s super comfortable and pretty cute even though it doesn’t lay flat at the neckline. Oh, and it really fits a bit more loosely through the bust than it looks in these photos. Reaching your hand out in an awkward sideways position to take a photo of yourself in the mirror tends to make things pull a bit… you know.

I also think the construction technique for securing the facing to the body is really whacked. The instructions have you attach the yoke to the body first (both front and back). Then the facing to the yoke. The weird part is that now you’ve got a yoke facing flapping around inside and you’re supposed to secure it by top stitching blind on the right side where the yoke attaches to the body. Then they want you to trim away any excess fabric along that stitch line. This is not easy and really doesn’t make sense. It works much better to sew the yoke and facing together first and then attach to the body as one piece. An added bonus here is that you don’t have to top stitch, unless you want to. I hope this makes sense. Let me know if you need clarification.

Finally: don’t be afraid of a little lycra in your fabric. I have always thought it sounded kind of gross, but just a touch—2 or 3 percent—gives your fabric good recovery which will be your friend while sewing—and wearing. I have learned a lot about choosing knit fabrics, mainly that the amount of stretch and recovery in your fabric greatly affects the fit and wearability of your garment. Duh.

Alright, I’m done. Except to say that I have made this pattern in a size 10 and will be back to share that project ‘cause I need a little advice…

Learning

I am taking a class on working with knits! It’s awesome.

Fear of commitment

I often suffer from severe indecisiveness when planning a sewing project. I talked a bit about this before. It’s ridiculous. I wasted precious sewing time vacillating between fabrics for this dress, before finally settling on the one from Sevenberry (so hard to find on line!) purchased a while back at bolt. I used the same pattern last year but this version has a cap sleeve rather than the flutter sleeve. I think I made the right choice! Next up is how best to use the voile I just bought…

Fit for Spring

An outfit has been made. Lauren loves saying it. “My outfit.” She’s really into the concept of two pieces meant to go together. This top took me quite a while, working on it in tiny bits here and there over the last two months. Last Friday I started the pants at Modern Domestic (yeah!!) and by Sunday evening, the whole thing was finished. My little lass helped with the button selection and yelped and squealed and showed off to her brother and father and modeled enthusiastically for the camera when the last one was sewn on. I like the colors of these pieces for Spring, ‘cause that’s more what it looks like around here this time of year: browns, grays, a little bit of dark red and green in the new growth of trees and bark. These colors feel more spring-like to me than the pastels we usually see. (Although I have always loved a beautiful soft lavender dress for Easter. Maybe this is the year for that).

Patterns are both from this book and I would make them again. Cute and easy. The rise on the pants needs to be shortened a bit though, if you make them—views W & U—consider taking out around an inch. And I added the pocket to the front of the top. Lauren has found it to be the perfect place for hair clips.