M7262

I wore my new sweater jacket, McCall's 7262.  I had time to take a few photos before going to doctor and work.

This past the wearability test.  It is little on the heavy side but was perfect warmth for today.  By the time I left work, it was raining and I was still comfortable!  I can see another one in a boucle type knit. 

First project for 2016!

I started this on December 31 with pin fitting the pattern, making adjustments to it and then I cut out the fabric.  Yesterday I made considerable progress with this and worked on it some this morning.  I ended up with a small but fixable issue with attaching the front band.  I stopped there for a small break and will finish it hopefully today.

The issue is more of my doing than the pattern.  This pattern has lots of ease, the length is very long for my height and the width would be overwhelming also if I used a straight 14.  I used a 14 for the collar, changed to 12 for the shoulders, back to a 14 under the arm to right above the waist line and then tapered to a 12 then to 10 to hemline.  I cut the length off at the size 8 cutting line.  Thus when I cut the front band piece I cut that at the size 10 length not thinking about the collar at size 14.

Instead of stitching both ends of the band at 5/8 I stitched at 3/8 and will have to turn the collar down a tad more than the current fold line.  I think this will work okay as there is a lot of collar length and being short this will I hope also eliminate too much fullness at the back neckline.  Will see.

I am using fabric I acquired from Gorgeous Fabrics-September 2015.  It is a nice textured fabric that originally I was going to make a dress with it but it is beefy and best used for a coat/jacket.

Here is a glimpse of yesterday's progress

Even though I used a 12 for the shoulder width, I ended up shaving off about 3/8 of inch from the shoulder to right above the front and back notches of the bodice.  That was a good fix for me.  Before cutting out the pattern, I reduced the length by 2 inches even though I had cut it to its shortest length. I adjusted the sleeve length as usual by one inch.  There is a fairly deep hem for the sleeves which will allow for other adjustments if needed.

More updates to follow.

Presto Popover Top-take 2

I completed the Presto Popover top and had the opportunity to wear it yesterday.  DH took some photos of me wearing after having worn the top for several hours.

Back

Front

This is my second version of this top.  The first being a wadder; too many pattern adjustments made to the first to really mess up the fit.  With this one, I kept the shoulders as drafted for the medium upper chest and shoulder size.  I drafted a large for the remainder of the top.  I also did a 3/4 inch swayback adjustment.  There are still some fitting adjustments I need to make before I attempt this one again.

The reason for my hands being on my hips for the back photo view is because I really need for hip room in the back.  It rides up while wearing as there is not enough width at the hip area to sit well especially over jeans.  DH wanted me to hold the back piece down so the tell tale wrinkles did not show.  

The front needs a little more bust room.  I made a FBA and eliminated the resulting dart. I can see the wrinkles under the best pointing to the need for more room. I think I can do a vertical adjustment to correct this.

The collar was not as bothersome as I thought it might be. Once you turn the neckline into a shawl time collar it works well.  I still think I will pleat out some of the width on the next one.

The knit used was a sweater knit/rayon fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics.  It wears well but fiddly to sew.  The sleeves are still a little tight for my liking and will adjust those more next time.

Columbus Day sewing

I was able to do some sewing this weekend and completed my second Presto Popover top.  I posted about the first one which was more of a test than the actual planned top.  Interestingly I ended up using another rayon knit fabric in blue acquired from Gorgeous Fabrics in 2014.

This version turned out much better than the previous one.  I stuck with the pattern as is, meaning all adjustments I made previously with the shoulders, I did not do with this one allowing the yoke to fall in place as designed.

I still have a lot of fabric at the neckline and I had a ureka moment after I completed the top.  The next version, and there will be, I will pleat out some of the fullness on the pattern before cutting out the fabric.  The height of the collar in the back is just too much for my liking.

Sorry no photos of the finished top.  Once I completed it, I had several other things on my holiday list to do.

I did wash some knit fabrics that I recently posted about, getting them ready for my next projects.

Back to work tomorrow!  If you had the opportunity to have today as a holiday I hope it was a good one.

New fabrics

I recently gave in to the urge to buy some fabrics taking advantage of some sales. I purchased quite a few knit fabrics from Fabric Mart. Here are some photos:

Faux leather knit

deep royal blue ITY

Gray and beige floral print knit

nude rayon knit

red slub rayon knit

I also purchased some fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Beige textured knit

Jacket weight black knit

I already have plans for three of the new fabrics. I plan to sew the red slub rayon knit using the Presto top pattern from Savage Coco. I took advantage of the Pattern Anthology bundle sale as seen here.
I plan to sew the Denver dress if I have enough of this material which I think I do if not it will become the Denver top.

Let me end this post by saying thank you to all of those who responded to my previous post about Instagram. Hopefully by trying some of the suggestions that were given I have eliminated my following of other Instagram-ers that I had never selected to follow. I have also blocked some.

Back Up and Re-Design

I had a nice sewing weekend. I spent considerable time yesterday and today working on the Vogue dress.Yesterday I began cutting out the fabric after making fitting adjustments to the pattern. I had measured the geranium fabric and thought that I had enough to cut out the pattern. However in the process of cutting out the fabric I realize that I was going to run short.

My next thought was what other fabric do I have that I can use to make this dress. After pulling out two other double knit fabrics, I decided that neither one of those were what I wanted to use. Digging further through my stash I found I had enough black double knit to use with the geranium double knit.

The challenge was how best to use the two fabrics. Because I had already cut out several pieces from the original fabric and I determined I had enough black fabric to cut two back pieces, it was obvious what I had to do.  I had enough of the original fabric to cut out one back piece but not enough for two. I really did not want to have two different colors for the back.

I have completed the front unit and the back unit and you can see the results below. Both pieces have been pinned to Alma Marie.

Back piece pinned to Alma Marie

Front piece pinned to Alma Marie

I am hoping that when the back and front are stitched together that I will not see the gaping pockets as they are now. Updates to follow.

April Sewing

Not much going on in the way of sewing for the past week or so.  I have cut around pattern pieces for two projects I want to sew soon.  One is a Vogue dress pattern, V9022.  There are nice reviews of this pattern on Pattern Review.  I plan to use a double knit from Gorgeous Fabrics, called geranium.

I purchased this in 2012.  I pressed it this evening as I had washed it last weekend to prepare for sewing.

The other pattern I pulled out and cut around pattern pieces is a new purchase. Butterick 6175.  You can tell that this pattern is loose fitting. I may not make mine as loose.

I plan to use this fabric that I acquired from Schoolhouse Fabrics in Floyd, VA last year.  It is a Robert Kaufman polyester semi sheer fabric.

Both of these pieces make me feel like spring time!

I have so many sewing plans running through my head and need to get moving.

Mentoring event and V9024

As noted in my earlier post, I had an event to go to last night.  The perfect event for me to final wear Vogue 9024.  DH gave me high compliments on the dress and said "Alma would be impressed".  Alma was my grandmother who taught me to sew and from whom I got the sewing gene.

I was/am pleased with the fit of the dress with an exception of the back.  I posted a little about this during the sewing process with this dress.  It is apparent that there is still pooling in the back and I did not insert shoulder pads as I thought about doing.    Of late I have been doing almost an inch adjustment to back length on many patterns and when you viewing the back view in the picture I should have taken another 1/2 inch with this.  I can live with it as it is now.

So without further ado::::::

Front view-fabric Mood and Gorgeous Fabrics

Back view, with pooling

Left side view-princess seam

Right side view-waist and bust dart, peplum is attached at side seam

The temperatures last night were in the 20's so running from car to event center was not so bad with a lined mostly wool dress.

The event was a great success with over 100 individuals in attendance.  Staff did a great job of putting this together and was a honor to acknowledge mentors who give of their time and talents to support at-risk youth.

Decisions Decisions

I have had sewing on my mind most days this week trying to determine what I wanted to sew next.  I pulled several dress patterns last weekend trying to decide what to make.  The fabrics calling out for attention were two recent purchases, one from Mood and one from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Today my earlier decision about one of several dress patterns just went out the window.  I put all those patterns back in the Vogue dress pattern file box and pulled out this one.

The fabric on the left is a black/white Italian wool tweed from Mood.  The fabric on the right is lace look double knit from Gorgeous Fabrics.  I think the mix of fabric type will work together.

I have cut out the pattern pieces and began the pin fitting test to determine any adjustments besides my usual ones.

I am also trying to determine the main versus contrast fabric to use.  I have more of the double knit fabric compared to the other. I have enough of each to use either way.  The back is not color blocked. Updates later.

New Fabrics

I purchased a few new fabrics taking advantage of sales.  Of course there are more sales today and I am tempted.   Here is a view of recent purchases.

The top four fabrics are most recent purchases from Gorgeous Fabrics. The bottom three are from FabricMart.

The large hounds-tooth black and cream fabric is a nice sweater knit that will not stay in the stash long.  I have already begun the pattern adjustments to this pattern.

Fabric has been washed and dried, and is now ready to be cut.  More updates later.

V9026 Progress

I am so happy to report that I have made great progress on the Vogue top pattern using the remnants from the "Reunion" dress.  I am liking how the back piece wraps around toward the front.  I am just about through with this and was going to take a few photos; battery needs recharging :-(

I know that I will make another one from this pattern and will probably try the one with the cowl neck also.  I have so many top patterns that I want to sew.  I am on a top kick on this time as I really need to replace several that have been worn a lot!

I promised photos of the fabric from Fabric Mart.  Once battery is charged I will take those photos.  I was not overwhelmed with the scuba knit fabric, the two pieces are real shiny and that was not what I anticipated.  The fabric is quite different from my first scuba knit purchase.  The black and beige over sized hounds tooth print is really nice; I thought the wrong side would be the same as the right or very close.  It is not so the pattern I had in mind I will not be using as the wrong side shows and I don't like the look of the wrong side of this sweater knit.

I took advantage of a sale from Gorgeous Fabrics earlier in the week and hope that the fabric may arrive before Thanksgiving.

I will share more soon.

Burda Style top pattern

I decided I wanted to test this pattern on another knit before cutting into the originally planned fabric.  If there are any fitting issues I can adjust after making this one.  This is a knit fabric I used recently to make another top.  It is knit from Gorgeous Fabrics acquired a couple of years ago and strangely I have no photo of it or a recent top I made (or that I can find).

It has a diagonal ombre type coloring in a light rust to brown coloring.  It never became a skirt I had planned to make.  It still could become a skirt as I bought enough fabric that I got one top made and this one to be made and still have enough to make a simple skirt, perhaps a Magic Skirt.

I made a FBA and kept the dart.  Testing this will allow me to decide whether to redraft the front and eliminate dart on the next version.  In tissue fitting this, with some difficulty, I don't think the top will be too low.  Burda tops and I do not always match up.

I also recently ordered some new fabrics which arrived earlier this week.  I am going on a fabric diet now as I am running out of bins to store more fabric. (Sure I can buy more bins, but enough for now and for patterns also)  Will share photos of the new fabric soon.  They are for transitioning to spring which can't get here fast enough.

Holiday sewing and new fabric

I had plan to post my sewing outcomes for the past holiday/vaca week and did not get around to doing so.  Returning to work on Monday was the usual "where did all this mail/stuff come from" and I was off and running into a busy workweek.

I had highly ambitious goals for my sewing plans that got interrupted from time to time.  I did finish the final touches to the blue Vogue skirt while off.  I did complete one top which was the Vogue cowl neck blouse that I just love the drape of the neckline and you have already seen enough photos of that.  I also worked on the Alma Blouse pattern with not so good results due to operator error not the pattern.  I think the fabric was the wrong choice along with the fabric being truly off grain and that in itself can create issues.

I did make two test garments using Pamela's Pattern #104 with #107 various necklines.  I did accomplish getting the right fit with the boatneck template, once I got the alignment for the shoulders correct.  I have the fabric cut for that top using a knit I purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics several years ago.  I have a crepe fabric that this will go with and plan to make a skirt from that fabric.  I also found in my stash a plaid fabric that I think the top will work with.  I need to review that again.

Meanwhile I got new fabric from EmmaOneSock that arrived on Monday.  One piece is a black, white, gray floral print knit and the other is a beautiful rust color double knit.  I am expecting some fabric from Vogue Fabrics this week also.  It is interesting to see how shipping speed is with one fabric source to another.  The Vogue Fabric was ordered a day or two before the order with EOS and EOS fabric has already arrived.  I recognize that one is located further from me than another.  Nonetheless, I have new fabrics in hand or in transit.

More updates later.

Pamela's Pattern perfected!

I thoroughly reviewed the fitting issues with the tested boatneck top.  I realized that I needed to align what becomes the shoulder seam with the shoulder point at the top of the arm on the base pattern and not what I had done previously.  In doing that the armholes lined up correctly and this allowed for the forward shoulder adjustments made on the base pattern.

Once I did that, I tested a second top from a lighter weight knit fabric that I had purchased from Fabric.com several years ago.
I never liked the color or the look of the fabric once I got it. It is has been in stash waiting for the right moment and it was just enough to make the front and back test garment.   It worked well for the test garment and after making the correct shoulder alignment, I have found a perfect boatneck top for me!!!







I cut out another top this AM using fabric acquired from Gorgeous Fabrics several years ago. (Sorry no photo of the fabric at this time.)  It is an unusual looking knit with a someone ombre look to it yet all the color shading is on the diagonal.  It goes well with a recent crepe fabric purchase that will become a skirt.  I have enough of this knit fabric to make several more tops, or a skirt, or perhaps dress.  The back of this knit could be used as the right side as well.

I had planned to use another fabric but decided that the boatneck was not the right style for this fabric.  It will become a top eventually.  Perhaps better as a cowl neck.

I also have another pattern waiting to be cut out and pin fitted to make another knit top, more of sweater knit.  This knit has been around for over 12 years; it is now aged enough to make a casual knit top using this Butterick pattern. I purchased the pattern to make the one the model is wearing; my fabric is a lot like the color of the cowl neck tunic and somewhat thicker.   The tunic pattern is very long and would need to be shorter for me.  The short version is not long enough.  I am a long waisted, short/petite person.  The length from waist to hip on me is very short.  So the shorter version I would have to lengthen by at least 1-2 inches for it to fall just below my waistline.  I am not sure that the boxy look is right for me and will have to see what  works best after pin fitting the pattern.

More updates later.

Stripes and what should it be

First let me say that V8805 is complete.  I finished all the handwork that needed to be done this AM--hand sewing the hem and sewing the hook and eye to the neckline opening.  I had reduced the waist to hip area by 2 inches before cutting out the pattern; this is somewhat standard for me and added back an inch to the bottom piece.  I added only one inch as normally patterns are still long on me after reducing the waist to hip area or they are just the right length after hemming.

With this dress, the length ended up being pretty much where I wanted it BEFORE HEMMING.  I sewed a pale lavender lace to the bottom edge using a 1/4 inch seam allowance and then turned the hem up 5/8 inches.  The lace was about 1.5 to 2 inches thus giving me ample hem to hand stitch.

I will take photos later.  I am not sure that I will make this dress again.  If I do it will not be color blocked and if it needs lining I will sew a lining instead of underlining as I did with this dress.

Next up is a dress, not sure what dress yet.  I purchased this lovely striped stretch woven fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics earlier this year.  Though the photo may imply that the stripes run vertical they actually run horizontal.  I think when I purchased this fabric I was going to make a skirt; that is still an option.  Then I thought about making a dress with princess seams and having the front piece with horizontal stripes and sides vertical.  Then I thought about having just a simple sheath style dress with front darts and let the horizontal stripes just be.  Next I thought about making a peplum top with bodice horizontal, peplum stripes running vertical and having a skirt with horizontal stripes.  I really cannot decide.

Here are some of the patterns I thought about using, this one from McCall's.  Thinking about using the red dress.



Using the peplum model is wearing and the skirt.


The yellow dress.

I tried adding a poll to the sidebar but Blogger is not playing well with me this AM.  I would appreciate your feedback as to one of these or if you have another suggestion, I would like that as well.  Later.

A girl can change her mind, can’t she?

I have decided to go a different direction with the tangerine fabric.  With the weather pretty much warmer these days, attempting a jacket seems like a waste of time.  I just don’t wear jackets that much during the late spring and into summer.

So the fabric is going to become a dress.  This is fabric acquired earlier this year from Gorgeous Fabrics.

This is the pattern I will be using:

I am going to take the design of using contrasting neck band and welt pockets shown on the black and white dress, and use this on the pink style.  I am not a fan of v-necks on me so not using that look.  Here is the contrasting fabric:

I fell in love with this color combo because of a pair of shoes I found on the web; and because that color is found in the dress I just completed.

I spent most of the afternoon in the sewing room making fitting adjustments to the Butterick pattern.  Here you can see the FBA that I completed. 

I still need to make swayback adjustment and FSA.  With my ongoing neck/shoulder pain, I have to do this in spells.  It is very frustrating.  More updates later.

Next up-jacket and dress

I fell in like with Vogue 8799 when new spring patterns were introduced.  As any good Club BMV member would do, I waited for a sale and purchased this pattern.  I have not made a jacket since the faux sherpa jacket this past winter. Thus making this jacket will be a new adventure.  I also plan to make the dress as well; this too will be an interesting journey as well

After arriving home this evening and having some free time, I visited the sewing room to look at knit fabrics and patterns thinking I would make one more top for the Starting at the Top sew along.  I just was not feeling the love for any of my knit fabrics that I have in the sewing room.

I was feeling the love for several woven fabrics and decided that I was going to start to work on making some other items.  This pattern was laying on the top of a stack of patterns and that led me to finding the recent "tangerine" cotton herringbone fabric I recently purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics.  This will be the jacket.

This is fabric I purchased in 2011 from Sawyer Brook and the orange is close match to the jacket fabric.  This is a woven cotton with a raised pattern.  This will be the dress.

The back of the pattern envelope states this is an unlined jacket nor does it reference that the dress, top, pants or skirt are lined.  However the pattern pieces clearly states how many pieces to cut of fabric and lining.  This was unexpected so I will be going through my lining fabric to see if I have the appropriate lining or do I need to purchase tomorrow.

I have cut around the pattern pieces, but have not begun the pattern fitting and measuring yet.  I have worked up an appetite so decided it was time to fix a small dinner for me.  More updates later.

Gorgeous Fabrics 2-2012

Gorgeous Fabrics 2-2012, a photo by Danvillegirl on Flickr.

This is my recent purchase from Gorgeous Fabrics. Purchased during their 5 year anniversary. All are woven fabrics, some with some stretch. The bottom left is a double knit.

I am really liking the bright colors for spring/summer. Tangerine will become a jacket. For others current plan is skirts or dresses, except top right will be a blouse/top.

Click on photo to get more specifics about the fabric.

Updates at Casa Danvillegirl

I have not been very active in the sewing room since completing the color blocked dress.  To fill in the non-sewing time I have been catching up on blogs and reading pattern reviews.  I also have been "window shopping" on several fabric sites and made a huge purchase of fabrics from Gorgeous Fabrics during their 5 year anniversary.  Purchased  some pretty bright fabrics for spring/summer sewing.

I am so loving the "tangerine" color for spring/summer.  I love orange shades and fortunately for me they go well with my warm coloring.  I began taking some photos of fabric last night with iPad and will transfer and upload those for all to see soon.

Last night I did spend time in the sewing room fitting Butterick 5672.  I had to make 2.5 inch FBA.  My challenge is the that the pattern has one bust dart in the dress bodice with pleats on that same side.  The lining bodice pattern has waist and side bust dart.  I made the FBA on lining pattern first and then the dress bodice.  In making the FBA on the dress bodice I added a dart on the opposite side.  I am trying to work through if I want to eliminate that dart to keep "true" to the pattern design.  And if I do how bust to transfer that dart.  I may just keep the new dart.  The pattern is the template and I am the editor.

While also buying new fabric, I purchased a few new patterns from a recent Club BMV sale and those arrived yesterday.  I will make a point to take photos and post all new things this weekend.

I am off to sewing room now.  More later.

Day after Christmas

Not much to report in the way of sewing.  Most of the day was spent running around with DH.  We even had late lunch of pizza and salad at Ragazzis.  Time for a change from turkey, dressing, and other Christmas dinner leftovers.  We even ventured to the mall; surprisingly it was not as bad as we thought it might be. 

Returning home, I spent time in the sewing room making the last tweaks to the Vogue pattern and then I was able to cut out the top.  I decided that I wanted to start preparing the fit of another Vogue knit pattern top, a Sandra Betzina pattern.  I am using another Gorgeous Fabrics knit in a green/black animal print.  I had originally planned to make a dress from this fabric but it is telling me a top would be better.  Once this pattern is adjusted and fabric cut out I will then sew these two tops.

I have to start thinking about my 2012 SWAP project.  I have decided to participate in this sewing challenge.  I normally talk myself out of it; I think this will help me focus a little on developing a spring wardrobe and to use up some of the patterns/fabric I have on hand.

More later;  sipping on coffee and taking a moment to read blogs to see what everyone is up to.