Tag Archives: 2015 makes

My sister, Vanessa, and her husband, Jeremy, celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary last month. A couple of weeks before that I was in Joann’s looking for some linen when I spotted this diamond print linen blend fabric. Do you know what the symbol of the 10th anniversary is… diamonds! So I picked up a few yards. The bolt was slightly short of what the pattern needed for 2 shirts, but I knew I could make it work!

I used McCall’s 6932 which is a Palmer/Pletsch unisex camp shirt pattern. I actually bought it for myself to make a 49er jacket, but I’ve made 3 shirts out of it and none were 49ers and none were for me! I got my mom to ask them for their chest measurements so I could figure out what sizes to make. Thanks Mom!

My sister is petite so I made the smallest size and took 3 inches out of the body and 2 inches out of the sleeve length and used the side vents. I made Jeremy’s shirt with no alterations.

These shirts went together very quick and easy. I was very particular about keeping the pieces separate for each shirt. That is until I swapped out the yoke linings. Eek! I didn’t notice this until after I sewed one in completely and trimmed the collar seam. I didn’t have enough fabric to cut new pieces, so I just had to make them work.

Making a camp shirt is definitely a bit different construction than a more classic shirt like Grainline Archer. There is no collar stand and it overall has a very relaxed look that definitely works with the linen fabric I used. However it still has a back pleat and lined yoke so that everything inside looks nice.

One of the interesting things about making this shirt was that I didn’t do any basting to gather in the sleeves. I used a ton of pins and eased it in. There were a couple of spots that I had to rip out and resew but overall it was neat not having to do gathers!

I didn’t get these shirts done until the day of their anniversary but I stuck them in the mail and they got them a couple of days later. I didn’t mention I was making anything so they were totally surprised! They are off to a cruise to the Bahamas with my parents next week so I know they will get to be dorky and dress alike on the ship! Good news that they fit perfectly.:)

Style Arc Barb Gets Pocketed

posted by lorene

on 07.29.2015

I’ve been trying to update my work wardrobe. I work in a casual environment but because of my level I try to dress a little nicer than just jeans…sometimes. What I’ve realized though is that I need comfy. Jeans are not always comfy so if I can find some slacks that look good and feel good to wear then I’ll be golden.

Last year Style Arc and Threads did a “limited time” promo for a free Style Arc Pants pattern – the Barb. They describe it as: Barb’s Stretch Pant is a new version of our famous Linda pant. Features a slimmer leg but not too slim, perfect for the office. Which actually sounded perfect!

So about that limited time business? Well you can still go get the pattern for free here: http://www.stylearc.com/threads-promo/

SIZING

I cut a size 20 which was closest to my waist measurement. Because these pants are made of a stretch fabric and have an elastic waist they are very forgiving. However, Style Arc does use 3/8″ seam allowances so you don’t have quite as much room for seam allowance adjustments if needed.

ADJUSTMENTS

I did a few flat pattern adjustments on these. The first was to add 3″ to the rise. With the wider elastic I wanted them to be up on my natural waist. I used 1.5″ elastic instead of 2″ elastic so I essentially only changed the rise 2.5″. I changed the crotch curve to match the pants I made in my Palmer/Pletsch pants fitting class.

The biggest adjustment was adding pockets. Especially for work, pants must have pockets! I need a place to keep my phone and clip my ID badge. I liked the pockets on the previous mentioned Palmer/Pletsch Class pants so I used those pattern pieces for these pants. I had to redraw the pants from to create the slash pocket. Then I reused the pocket bag, but I had drafted a pocket stay mean for a zip fly. Since these pants are pull ons, I had to redraw the pocket stay to be cut on the fold and match up with the pants front pieces.

Drafting pocket stays is one of the best things I learned in my pants fitting class. If you’ve ever tried NYDJ jeans or pants, they do this to provide their “slimming technology”. Basically it’s built in Spanx! For these pants I had to figure out what kind of fabric to use. The main fabric is a stretch woven, but it would be too bulk to use for the stay. I needed something that would stretch and be thin. I ended up digging through my scraps and finding a piece of black cotton jersey that worked perfectly. It’s a bonus that I don’t have to finish the edges! That makes it be even less visible.

Sorry for the crap photo! I had to play the contrast levels so you could see the black on black.

FABRIC & FINISHES

The fabric is a Sew Classic Bengaline suiting from Joann. It’s normally $10/yd but I’m sure I used a 40 or 50% off coupon. The content is 81% polyester, 15% rayon and 4% spandex. It’s not the fancy bengaline Style Arc recommends (and sells), but I am very happy with it for the price I paid. It’s a perfect weight for these pants.

I used 1.5″ Knit Elastic for my waistband and finished all my seams on the serger.

STYLE

These are so versatile! I can go casual with a t-shirt or tank and my chucks. For work I wear them with a blouse or sweater and my ballet flats. I have yet to wear these out but they would look great with a slinky top and some wedges.

WHAT I LOVE

The price (FREE!)
Quick & easy to sew
Slim legs

WHAT I DON’T LOVE

Style Arc patterns are single sized, so if you print the wrong size you have to start all over again

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN?

I totally love these pants! The high waist and pocket stay are very slimming and the leg width really is perfect. I like my pants to be slim fitting without being skin tight. These whip up so quickly that I need to make some more!

Seamwork Nantucket Shorts

posted by lorene

on 07.22.2015

It’s been crazy hot in Portland lately, so I a pair of comfy shorts is right up my alIley. My friends over at Colette Patterns, also in Portland, must have been feeling the same thing because they released the Nantucket Shorts pattern in the July Issue of Seamwork Mag. This has just 3 pattern pieces and sews up quick.

These are very loose and comfy. Perfect for a summer day, but they are also super baggy on me. Not sure I will ever wear them out of the house, but I do love changing into them when I get home from work!

I didn’t do any intentional pattern matching, but it worked out pretty well!

SIZING

Like most Colette/Seamwork patterns this is available in sizes 0-26. My waist measurement was between sizes so I went with my hip measurement, which led me to cut a size 20 instead of an 18. I wish I had cut the 18 because maybe these wouldn’t be so tent-like. However my reason for choosing the 20 over the 18 was the finished width of the 18 was my actual hip size and I thought these needed more ease.

In general, though, you should go with your hip measurement since the waist is cinched in by the drawstring making it very forgiving.

ADJUSTMENTS

I made 2 adjustments to these shorts. The first was to add 1″ to the rise. I am high waisted and pretty much every pair of shorts/pants I make needs to have a higher rise so this is standard for me. The second adjustment was the add 3/4″ to the length of the shorts. I like shorts that hit more at mid-thigh than upper thigh. I compared the inseam to another pair of shorts I recently made, and realized I would prefer these to be a bit longer.

FABRIC & FINISHES

Then pattern calls for lightweight wovens like chambray and I love me some chambray. Especially the Kaufman Chambray line! It’s lovely! Since I already have a Hollyburn skirt made of the Chambray dots fabric, I decided on the Kaufman Chambray Dobbies Grid in Denim. This pattern only needs 1 yard of fabric so the cost was just $9!

The pattern calls for 1/4″ cotton cord for the drawstring but I just used the fabric selvedge. These chambray prints always have really neat striped selvedges! Luckily it’s the same on both sides so I carefully cut each one off. I stitched them together – giving me a 2yd drawstring. Then I folded the fabric under twice and stitched for a neat looking drawstring. I even love the fuzzy edge on it!

After I competed the shorts I realized I didn’t really like the way the drawstring ruffled the waistband. It added bulk in an area that I really didn’t need it! So I opened up my waistband seam and threaded a piece of elastic through just the back of the waistband. This allows the fabric to gather into softer folds, which I think looks better. If made these again I might just omit the drawstring and put all elastic or do a true elastic/drawstring combo and just have the drawstrings come out at the front.

STYLE

These are definitely casual/cool shorts. I wear them with a ribbed tank of a fitted t-shirt to balance out the bagginess. Mostly I wear them around the house, but these would be great for the beach and with flip flops.

WHAT I LOVE:

Comfy shorts
Quick and easy to make
Only uses 1 yard of fabric

WHAT I DON’T LOVE:

Too baggy
Tightening drawstring creates bulky folds

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN?

I could see making a few pairs of lounging around or as sleep shorts. I will probably size down next time i make them or see if I can figure out how to make the legs a little slimmer.

Burda 7494 Dress

posted by lorene

on 07.14.2015

I’ve had Burda 7494 in my stash for years. I’ve always loved this pattern with the slight cap sleeve and the peter pan collar. The problem was that it only went up to a Size 20 and I was sewing a larger size at the time. Then I took the Palmer/Pletsch Fitting class at Fabric Depot and I learned that I was a Size 18 (with an FBA). Rejoice!

When my friend Alexis asked me to be the godmother to her daughter, I volunteered to sew a baptism gown (post on that soon!). So of course I also needed to make myself a new dress! I was so excited to finally use this pattern.

SIZING

This pattern is offered in sizes 8-20. I used size 18.

ADJUSTMENTS

The primary adjustment I did was a 2.5″ FBA to the princess seams in the front. I also did a 3/4″ broad back adjustment. I also added width to the skirt to match the width of the adjusted bodice. I also followed Julia Bobbines’ advice and swapped out the pleated skirt back pieces for the darted skirt lining.

I had purchased some luscious bemberg lining but since the dress fabric was stretch and the lining was not, I chose to omit it. I also chose not to use the peter pan collar. When I tried the dress on with the collar, it just looked a little too sweet for me.

FABRIC & FINISHES

I had a difficult time finding the right fabric for this dress, since I was looking for a stretch floral print. I ended up picking up this floral stretch twill from Fabric Depot. Up close the dark blue almost looks like denim. I liked using a heavier fabric because it allowed me to omit the skirt lining. I also like that it helps smooth out some lumps and bumps that you get when wearing such a fitted style.

I used bias tape to bind the neck and armholes. All seams were finished with the serger.

STYLE

I think this dress is pretty versatile thanks to the fabric. With heels and jewelry it looks pretty fancy. Not quite cocktail dress but I’d definitely wear it to a daytime wedding. However with a cardigan and flats it’s also suitable for work or more casual wear. For the baptism I mixed it up a bit and wore a cardigan and heels. 🙂

WHAT I LOVE:

The bodice is very flattering
The slight cap sleeves
The tapered skirt

WHAT I DON’T LOVE:

The pleating in the front is not the most flattering. It accentuates my tummy.
The pleating also sticks out a little which makes it look like there should be pockets there. This would actually be okay with me if there were pockets, because I love pockets!

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN?

Yes. I think this dress is super cute and I kind of want one just like the pattern photo! It’s a black dress with small white polka dots and I adore polka dots!!

Seamwork Aurora Top

posted by lorene

on 06.10.2015

The June issue of Seamwork Mag is all about knits. I love knits! There are two cute patterns in this issue – Mesa a simple shift and Aurora – a swingy tank. With the hot weather I need more sleeveless tops, so I went scrounging for some fabric in my stash.

I had a bit of black and white polka dot jersey left from my Coco top. It was just enough to cut out the front and back pieces. I didn’t have enough to cut the yoke, but I think that would have looked weird anyway. I didn’t have any white knit but I did have a promotional IcelandAir t-shirt! Cheap t-shirts are cut so off grain thatI had to do some fussing but I managed to get my pieces cut out of the white shirt. Recycling for the win!

I cut the 1X size and made no modifications to the pattern. I was a little concerned that the straps were going to be too narrow based on the model photo, but this is well drafted to be proportional to the overall size. I’m glad I didn’t have to redraft that to make it cover my bra straps!

This is a very quick and easy top that is cleverly constructed. The yoke is doubled to be self lined and the armholes and neckline of the main piece are hemmed before attaching to the yoke. I did end up using my sewing machine, serger and coverstitch machine, but thankfully they were almost all threaded with the right color thread to begin with!

The pattern instructs you to top stitch the yoke after attaching the main pieces. I’ve held off on this for now. I’m not sure what color thread I want to use or if I want to do it at all. I might end up doing it on my coverstitch machine so it matches up with my armhole and neckline hemming.

The one issue I had with this pattern is the bar tacking. After attaching the yoke to the body you are supposed to bar tack the seam allowance down. I understand that this strengthens your seams, which is needed because of the serging and keeps them from poking out, but it also stretched out my fabric and distorted my armscyes. This is more obvious on the back of the shirt. I think on future versions I will do this by hand.

I’m not sure this is the most flattering top I’ve ever made, but it sure is comfortable. I like that the yoke is wide enough to cover my bra straps and that the fit and flare silhouette skims over my problem area. I could see making another one in a solid color.

I made those shorts too, but that’s for a future update.