Cold Shoulder Top!!

Here is my completed top using Butterick 6425,

This is a nice pattern and now with all my fitting adjustments I am ready to make a couple more and a dress!

The fabric is from Fabric Mart.

Front view

Side view

Shoulder

I like how the top fits.  I made a forward shoulder adjustment, swayback and a FBA adding a dart. The dart is not noticeable due to the print design.  The other adjustment I made was to the sleeve. After I attached the sleeve to the bodice. I tried it on and had a very large droop with the top of the sleeve; I adjusted this by cutting out a wedge in the back and the front of the sleeve.

I wore to work earlier this week and took this pictures before work.  The top met the wearability test!

I have enough of this fabric to make a camisole or tank top.  

My next project is to make a pull over top from a pattern in my stash.  Hope to get it complete to enter into the Pattern Stash contest.  Not sure why I am doing this, as I will only have the on entry; I feel like I should complete this as I seem to always sign up for these things and then other things get in the way.  I did come in second though in a previous contest about a year ago.

More updates to follow.

New Iron

I wanted to replace my current iron.  It was an okay iron and I have had it for three years.  I read a great article about irons on Sie Macht.  Then I came across this iron (affiliate link)


I was able to use this iron at the sewing session with Pamela Leggett.  The steam with this iron is great.  The best feature is the override of the auto shut off.  I hate that feature on my current iron.  Just as I am about to get up from the sewing machine or serger to press a seam or hem, the iron has shut off and waking it up is just annoying.

I found it on Nancy's Notions as well as Amazon.  The price was similar but shipping with Amazon Prime just can't be beat!  So my new iron arrived this past Tuesday and I have used it several times this week, most particularly today as I have spent lots of time in my sewing room.  I finished my cold shoulder pattern.  Review post soon!

Here is a close up of my new iron

Draped Cardigan and Bias skirt + Pamela's Patterns

Here is a glimpse of the Cardigan and Bias Skirt I made last weekend with Pamela Leggett sewing weekend.  This is not the best photos of the two garments.  She taught us a technique about hemming a bias skirt without having to let it hang for 24 hours.  It really worked.

I plan to wear the skirt one day next week.  I think the draped cardigan will be too long with the midi length skirt.  

I purchased several of her patterns at the event.  I like how her patterns are drafted and how you determine your best size.  

Bias Skirt and Draped Cardigan

Knit Column Skirt

New Versatile Twin Set

Shapewear

Pretty Peplum Top

Classic T-Shirt Dress

Busy week!

I so enjoyed last week with two PTO days on Thursday and Friday spent doing what I love, sewing!
And spending time with Pamela Leggett.  She is/was a great teacher/educator and I learned some cool sewing tips from her.

We had a lot of fun and dummy me took no photos.  However others in our guild did and I plan to post some this weekend as well as show my bias skirt and draped cardigan.

Of course I spent way to much money on patterns, but I am intrigued by her patterns and how she has built into them some design/ease elements that are for the more mature body!

Photos of the patterns to follow.

Work has been all consuming this week and so looking forward to Friday and the upcoming weekend!

More later.

Fabric Giveaway

So Sew Easy is sponsoring a fabric giveaway from fabric. com.  You have a chance to be one of four people to win $250 gift certificate.  You can enter daily (if you remember)  I forgot several days.  Here is a link you can use to enter and as a friend using this link I get an opportunity to be entered again.  I love giveaways and every so often I win something.

Pamela Leggett in town

Last night our ASG Chapter hosted Pamela Leggett for our program.  She is charming, witty and so at ease talking to the audience.  We got to see some of her lovely creations and of course spend money on some of her patterns and other supplies/notions.

The fun continues for today and tomorrow as we will create one of her cardigans and her bias skirt. I am loving to be on vacation and participating in this.  Got to pack up my sewing machine and fabric, etc. for today and tomorrow.

I should have taken pictures with my phone last night so I could post some of her beautiful garments. They are very inspirational.  Will try to do so today.

More updates to follow!

Butterick 6425

I started the process of pin fitting this pattern this morning.  Adjustments have been made and I will be cutting out the fabric shortly.  I thought about making the dress but I believe I will get more wear from this as a top.

The fabric I will use for this was purchased from Fabric Mart during one of their knit sales earlier this year.  I have cut back quite on bit on fabric purchases this year.  I did just order two knit fabrics from Girl Charlee during the July 4th holiday.  Anticipate those fabrics arriving next week.

I was drawn to this fabric because of the pastel color dots.  I want to sew a solid color top most likely in black. The fabric has been washed and is ready to be cut.

More updates later.

M7163

M7163 is complete. I do want to make one more tweak to the back pattern piece.  I decided to post pictures of the top even though the shorts I am wearing is not what I would plan to wear this top with and I did not have make up on or hair styled at the time.

Though the fabric description is labeled as lightweight, I think it is more mid weight which leads to bulkier look than the pattern actually calls for.

So without further ado--------

front view

Side view

Angel wings--year of the sleeve

Back View

The back is too full in the upper back area; I think you can see this in the side view more. I made my usual 5/8 swayback adjustment but did not make an upper small back adjustment.  I am going to undo the side seams in right under the arms and reduce the back width in that area and then restitch.  I need the fullness at the hip area so will then ease back into the hip area as it is now.

The neckline casing was a pain in the butt.  The instructions call for 1/2 inch elastic to be inserted into two parts of the casing.  Should I make this again I would perhaps just use 3/4 inch elastic and have only one section to insert the elastic.  

I started to shorten the length of the top and wish I had.  I cut the fabric on a single layer so I could flip the pattern piece over and match up the embroidered edge.

This pattern has a lot of ease in it and I actually cut out and sewed an XS.  Based on bust, waist and hip measurements, my usual medium would have had me way too much fabric.  

All in all I am OK with the pattern.  In reality I just don't wear this type of top much, I have been sewing and wearing knits for so long, that I forget how things may look in a woven.  I think after I take out some of the fullness in the back and style it with longer pants/jeans, I think I will like it.

Next project-back to cold shoulder knit top using this pattern.  I have seen several positive reviews for this pattern.  I hope I have the same results.

M7543 in Time Out

I have put M7543 in time out!  My fabric and the pattern are not working well together.  I need something with a little more heft.  Putting it aside for now, I am moving on to this pattern.  However I am using a chambray fabric that may prove to be too thick for this pattern.

The inspiration for this top is one from Talbot's

This was on the cover of one of the many catalogs that I receive.  The fabric I want to use is one I both several months ago from Fabric.com

Back to the sewing room for some holiday sewing.