Jalie 3245

Raglan tees have been very popular through out the blogsphere.  I have purchased quite a few patterns for this style with success and misses..  The first one I made was a Kwik Sew version in 2014. I like this one though a little snug. I used a heavier weight knit for this one and still wear it on occasion.

I made another one using McCall's.  The fit is good with this one, I just don't like the red velvety knit I used.  I do love the lace overlay.

I attempted a Burda and Angela Wolf versions; they were never completed as something went wrong during construction and I had no desire to fix the issues.

I have a few favorite raglan tops I have saved on Pinterest and I posted about here.

For this top I used Jalie 3245 and with some adjustments before and during sewing I created a top I really like.

Some adjustments made were  raising the front neckline by about 2 inches, making a 3/4 inch swayback adjustment, adding a 1/2 inch to hip area and making 1/2 inch FBA using pivot method on front only. I used Size Y for the upper chest and neckline and transitioned to AA from there.

During the fitting process I ended up taking 5/8 seam allowance at the front and back sleeves area where it attaches to the bodice.  I also ended up taking 1/2 inch seam from waist to bottom and 5/8 above waist through the sleeves.  The seam allowance called for with the pattern was 1/4.  Obviously I could have used Size Y and Z.  Yet I will keep my traced pattern as it is now and have noted to take deeper seams.  

I serged this throughout after basting the side seam for fitting.  I used my coverstitch machine for the hems on the sleeves, the bodice hem and neckline.

I see more use of this pattern in the future.  I do have a couple of other indie patterns to try also.

I wore this to work yesterday, another casual Friday look for me.  The wearability of this was perfect.

I was in a store and paying for my purchase.  The sales person asked where I got this top, I told her it was a "Danville Girl Design" and she said she had not heard of this line before. I then told her I made it.  She was impressed and said she had ordered a similar top from LuLaRoe.  

Next project waiting for completion is Maria Denmark Kimono Top.  I only need to hem the bodice and I am done.  I have a McCall's pattern cut out and ready to sew.  I have made this particular pattern twice.  This is becoming a TNT for me.

More later.

Love Notions-Kwik Sew-Muse

As I posted earlier, I completed Love Notions Sybil Illusion Swing Skirt.  I hemmed the skirt last night using my coverstitch machine.  I was still trying to decide what pattern I would use for the red pepper rayon knit fabric that I wanted to make to go with this skirt.

I viewed several long skirts with tops images on Google and determined that a shorter, more fitted top would look best with this skirt.  I thumbed through pictures of patterns and went through a box and drawer of top patterns.

I  found three KS patterns with top and cardigans, two I have never used.  I finally found the one I have made previously with good success and is a top/cardi that I still wear.  I decided I am going to use this pattern for the tank top.  I then decided I will use the Muse pattern to make the waist length cardi that I made previously with good success, with the exception of the length.  I added an inch and 1/4 to the length of the bodice.

I wanted to show you the control panel attached to the skirt.  I think this may be something I will try with other skirts when I need a little tummy control.  It is a power mesh knit from EmmaOneSock. Elastic is sewn to the seam allowance where the panel and skirt waistband is sewn.  It leaves a nice finish to the waist line.

Here is a closer look of the skirt waist and hip area from the outside.

I looked through my closet and found two RTW tops that will go well with this skirt also.  It's nice to have a skirt of so many colors.  It is also a style that I don't wear much, but  I like the look and swirl/swing of it.  Photos wearing coming soon.

Sewing Tidbits

Well it's back to work today. Yesterday I was able to basically finish the Kwik Sew top. I still need to hem the sleeves as I had to take deeper seams as they were still too large. I need to remove the previous stitching so the seam will lay flat at the hem.

I took some pictures of my recent fabric purchases.The top three photos are fabrics from Fabric Mart. Top photo is a Crimson red twill fabric; the second photo is a black diamond quilted double knit, this is from March swatch mailer. The third photo is a novelty weave Jacquard.The last photo is red and gray blouse weight crepe from Mood.

The final photos are of the Kwik Sew top.

Back

Front

Happy Easter!

I have had a long weekend, starting with Good Friday.  I am taking a PTO day tomorrow.
Friday, I spent time shopping, bought two pair of shoes at Macy's and got 30% off.  I ordered a pair online as they did not have my size in the store.  Photos to follow.

Saturday AM spent time at the Y on tread mill, came home and sewed some, then DH and I had to run errands and then a nice dinner out.  More sewing last night.

Did more sewing this morning and I am still working on the KS top!  I had ambitious plans for sewing for the long weekend; I always do.

Let me say that the KS top, is taking forever to sew.  The overlay is a nice design feature but there is a lot of hemming involved.  The knit I am using for the overlay is a little "fiddly" so turning and sewing the hem around the bottom edge required me to use stitch witchery to fuse the folded fabric together to give it some body to sew nicely.

I am almost finished; I have no energy to finish this evening.  Maybe I will get a second wind.  Just finished dinner and the clean up and really feel like just sitting and reading.

I hope your Easter was a pleasant one!

Kwik Sew 4085 With overlay in place

Linda LaMona @danvillegirl Kwik Sew 4085 in ...Instagram photo | Websta (Webstagram)

Another link to photo of KS top with the overlay attached.  This is an interesting pattern and with Kwik Sew patterns, normally the instructions and drawings are most helpful.  I have found one error with attaching the overlay to the front and back.  It tells you clearly to place the overlay wrong sides to right side of the right front and back.  However it never tells you to baste or pin for before turning inside out to sew shoulder seams together.

The drawing shows basting stitches of the overlay to the front and back of the top.  I knew to do that but for a beginning this could be an issue.

I made one mistake (so far) in that I did not adjust the length of the overlay front and back pattern pieces.  I shortened the front and back top pieces by one inch between waist and hip.  Never thought to do that with the overlay.  It will be an easy fix to trim off the bottom of overlay (at least I hope so). I made all other adjustments to those overlay pieces for the shoulder.  Will definitely make this adjustment to the pattern pieces before putting it away.

I really like the construction of this pattern and will make more in the future.

KS Progress

Linda LaMona @danvillegirl Front under overl...Instagram photo | Websta (Webstagram)

The link above will take you to photo of the front pattern piece that is under the overlay.  Not the best colors to show the actual fabric.

I have made some good progress on the top since Friday, when I finally had/took time to actually do some sewing.

March Garment of the Month

I am finding my way back into the sewing room.  With warmer weather slowly arriving in my neck of  the woods, I feel like sewing more again.   My Make a Garment a Month for March is a new Kwik Sew pattern.

I am going to make the top on the left.  I purchased a digital knit fabric from EOS last year and some brown to go with it.  The brown is a hybrid fabric that has some stretch but more of woven stretch and not enough for this fabric.  I purchased some brown knit fabric recently from Fabric Mart to go with the digital knit.

This is great design-silhouettes, trees, buildings, bridges.  This photo does not begin to show all the detail nor all the colors.

I have begun the pattern adjustment process using a combination of flat pattern measures and pin fitting.  Not only does the main front and back pieces have to be adjusted so does the overlay!  Time consuming but necessary and I hope worth it.

More later.

Catching Up

I have been missing in action of late. It is always fun to have a holiday and have only 4 workdays. By Friday, I realized I had crammed 5 days of work into 4.

I have made a few tweaks to the McCall's dress and will finish it soon. The knit for this dress functions different than the scuba knit for the first dress. All in all I do like this dress and perhaps I am being somewhat OCD about the fit.

I finally took pictures of the Kwik Sew top. These were taken late in the day yesterday after grocery shopping and doing some other around the town errands.

The knit used for this top was in my stash and it is a cotton blend, very much like a sweatshirt fabric. Best worn for cooler weather.

More updates later.

Labor Day Holiday Sewing Update

Though I did not complete everything that I wanted to I did make good progress. The Kwik Sew raglan tee top is complete and fits well. My next version I will shorten about an inch.

The black garment next to the coral top is the almost completed McCall's dress. I made quite a few fitting adjustments as the ponte knit did not quite draped as the scuba knit did in my 1st version. I added a center back seam which gave me some additional fitting options; I still included back darts as well.

There were a few other fitting adjustments I made. I reduced the length of the bust dart, I changed the 5/8 sleeve seam to 1/2 inch as they were a little snug. I used bias binding for the neckline as my attempt to add a neckband did not produce the results I wanted.

I made a really stupid error in cutting out the pattern. I cut the front bodice longer than the back requiring shortening the front. I need to purchase hem tape so that I can turn up a modest hem.

I also cleaned up the sewing room, particularly the long table on which my coverstitch and serger machines sit. I also have a standalone Janome embroidery machine on this table which I cannot use easily without moving the other machines around. I am trying to figure how to rearrange the sewing room so that I could put another small table in the room and put the embroidery machine on it.

I hope you had a nice Labor Day holiday for those living in the USA.  Back to work tomorrow.

Raglan Sleeve Top Progress

Today I tackled the Kwik Sew pattern for a raglan sleeve, high scooped neckline. Interestingly this is now an out of print pattern and I would say it's probably a replica of an older version of this top.

"from the Kwik Sew website"

I made View A accept I change the hemline and used View B's hemline. As usual  Kwik Sew pattern was fairly true to size, perhaps I should say true to my expectations of size using KS patterns. I made my usual adjustments: sway back, 3/8 inch horizontal tuck in upper front and back bodice, shortened sleeve length by 2 inches and it was still too long so while cutting it out I reduced it another inch.

The fit of this pattern was much better than my recent attempts using Burda, New Look, Kitschy Coo and Textile Studio. I probably should have just used this right off but it's nice to try other pattern sources; sometimes they work and sometimes they don't!

Here is a photo shot of the top in progress:

 

I have pinned in the 3/8 inch hem. After completing the bodice hem I need to hem the sleeves and I'm ready to go. There was still some pooling in the back so I have now adjusted the pattern taking out another half inch above the waistline.

I have not used Kwik Sew patterns recently as much as I have in the past. Since Kwik Sew was purchased by McCall's the patterns have changed some; they are still printed on white paper though thinner paper. With this particular pattern there were no finished bust, waist or hip measurements. Let me correct that statement; there was a measurement on the back pattern piece that said bust and hip measurements were XX  and noted per size.  Really posting this information on the back pattern piece and stating that the bust and the hip are the same size, interesting! The sleeve was extremely long; some of the older patterns had varying length lines for the sleeve. This one did not. I had to take measurements both for width as well as length. Some changes are good, some are not.

The really good thing is that this top fits me the best and a few small tweaks will make it perfect!

Catching up

Last week I was out of town for a few days for business travel.  The rest of the week was a work week for h***.  The ending of the week was good as not only was my birthday coming up; it was a long weekend as I had today off as well!

So having some extra time this weekend, I completed my garment of the month which was the Kwik Sew top #4028 using a knit fabric from Fabric Mart. I am not all that happy about the top.  First it is too low at the neckline and I have to keep playing with the drape to get it to lay like I want.  I even raised the neckline 1.5 inches and still too low.  I have another drape neck pattern from KS that the neckline is too low as well.  I cut a medium in upper chest and shoulders switching to large at bust to bottom.  It was also way too long; I should have caught that during the fitting process.  After cutting off an 1inch and 1/2, I ended up hemming it another 1.25 inches and it called for 5/8 hem allowance.  Sleeves are cut on which were okay. 

I cropped photo as I did not have on much make up and I looked really wiped out with out it.  Here is a view of the back.

Even with sway back adjustment I needed to take out additional length in the back.  If I make this again and I doubt it, I will make that adjustment.

Sorry about the jeans and shoes in the photo above.  I was in a hurry to get some pictures taken.  Here is the top with black/camel skirt that I just don't like at all.  I have pressed and pressed this skirt and it still looks wrinkled.  I just can't get the fit right.

I know I sound "whiny" but I am just not loving my recent garment makes.

The other garment that I had not photographed is the McCall's 6844 oatmeal colored boucle knit.

I have a love-hate going on with this jacket.  I should have cut off more from the shoulder.  The boucle knit is rather bulky and I ended up stitching the lapels from hemline to waistline as they would not stay folded back and that definitely added bulk to me!  Not the look I was going for.

By stitching down the lapels it hangs better in the front.

I wish I had trimmed off some of the length of peplum in the back.  I feel it is too long.  I realized also that when I took this photo I had not removed some pins where I had pinned a deeper seam at the back peplum thinking that was a solution to the back length; I am still thinking on that one.  Thus the right side is hanging somewhat "wonky".

I decided to sew something with more color today.  It is a knit fabric I acquired from EOSin 2013.  This picture does not do it justice.

I am making the Renfrew cowl neck top from Sewaholic Patterns.  I made this one previously with good success and so far so good with this one. 

So back to work tomorrow.  And possibly snow in our future.  Later.

Progress on KS 4028

I almost finished the top this afternoon.  Work and life in general got in the way and now my energy is gone. 

Let me say at first I thought this top was going to be huge.  I cut a medium through the neck, shoulder and upper chest area, grading to large from bust to hemline. I raised the center front neck area on this top as I thought, rightfully so, that it would end up being too low for my liking and aging neck/chest area. 

When I held the front piece up before sewing, I thought wow this is still going to be low and huge.  I stay stitched the front and back necklines to keep any extra stretch from occurring.  I stitched the shoulders and then basted the side seams. After stitching the center back seam of the collar,  I then basted this to the neck area.  Once I tried it own, I was pleasantly pleased with the fit except for the length of the top, it looked like a tunic  and came to right below my thighs, much longer than a top that was to end at the hip line.

I cut off 1.5 inches from the bottom of the top then stitched the side seams and collar.  I also found some labels that I had misplaced and sewed one to the neckline.  I need to find a new label source.  These I bought from a seller on Etsy, who seems to not have a shop open at this time.

I only have to thread the coverstitch machine and hem the sleeves and top.  I have to travel for work again tomorrow so this will have to wait until I return.

I will leave you with a look at the work in progress laying on cutting table.

Off to pack and take some down time.

Next project

My January garment of the month will be what I hope is a super easy Kwik Sew top. 

I am going to make the red version.  The sleeves are cut on.  I am hoping that this will work out well for me.
I decided to go simple for this garment of the month and plan to sew up several tops this month.  I wear a lot of skirts and pants for work.  Most of the tops I have been wearing have gotten a year or more of constant wear and time to replace.

I am using a golden brown knit that I recently purchased from Fabric Mart last month.  The other top I want to sew is this KS pattern.

I actually like both tops but plan to make the one on the left but make sleeves longer.

Got to run, have to get ready to go to work. Yesterday fabric arrived from EOS, pictures to follow soon.

New Kwik Sew patterns

I took advantage of the recent BMV sale and purchased more patterns (like I really needed them).  I actually purchased a few Kwik Sew patterns that I have not purchased since taken over by McCall's.  They have not been as appealing to me as they were previously.  There were a few new ones that caught my attention.  I also purchased one-a vest pattern-that has been in their line up for a number of years.

I liked the look of the red jacket.  The pieced jacket looks fairly nice as well; I would use color blocking for this one.

I liked the look of the top on the left and was the reason for the purchase.

 The view of the top on the left side caught my attention.  The top is a cut on sleeve with an attached cowl neck.  The one on the right has a cut on draped cowl neck.  Long sleeves are sewn to the cut on sleeve.

This patten has been around for a few years.  I made another KS vest pattern with the faux sherling fabric as seen here but I was not happy with the results. So I decided to try this one.  I have enough left over fabric to make this one.








One change made with KS patterns is the pattern paper.  Previously it was heavier paper.  I found that it stood up well to multiple tracings.  The paper now is still white but less heavy.

KS 3127

Here is the completed vest on Alma Marie.  It is still shedding and hopefully this will end soon.  I used lint remover wand and wiped all over the inside of the vest which removed quite of bit of loose fibers.  I had hoped that washing the fabric would have eliminated most of this.

Vest back

Vest front

KS 3127 is finished

I completed the vest pattern-Kwik Sew 3127.  I don't have photos of the completed vest yet.  These will give you an idea of how this will look:

Front yoke and front/side front

Back yoke, center back and side back pieces stitched together

KS 3827

I finally found the time to take photos of the completed KS jacket

Back view

Side view

Front view

Hands in pocket view

Preparing fabric for sewing

I decided to wash this fabric this evening.  DH is working late and I have time on my hand to do some sewing related things.  I cut a small square of this fabric yesterday and hand washed it and let it dry.  It did really well with no shrinkage.  I think the washing will get rid of all the loose fuzzy material.  They were all over me when I pulled out this fabric to plan the layout of the fabric.  

I really need to use of some of my fabric stash and this will get some wear during the cool February and March days, possibly into April.

KS 3172

I have had this pattern for several years and finally decided to make it.  I ordered faux shearling fabric from Nancy's Notions sometime last year.  It is washable in cool/cold water and can be dried using low temperature.  It sheds a lot right now and hoping after washing/drying that will be eliminated.

I made my usual adjustments to the pattern after pin fitting using medium in the upper body area tapering to large from bust down.  I did not have to make a FBA enough pattern ease with the large size.  I plan to make View B which in the sidebar photo is the brown colored vest.

More later.

Perfect button, imperfect buttonhole

After a busy day grocery shopping and running all over the place trying to find other household goods, I was excited to get to sewing again.  I have the perfect covered button and only needed to make the perfect buttonhole on thick faux suede fabric.

I used a Teflon foot for the sewing of this jacket; worked great.  Then I changed to my sensor buttonhole foot and found in testing the right buttonhole that this was going to drag on the fabric and could not get a decent buttonhole.  I tried using the Teflon foot and though gliding over the fabric when attempting to sew the other side of the buttonhole, it got hung up every time after sewing the top bar tack part of the buttonhole.

I remembered that my machine had come with "self-adhesive" glide tape--Teflon tape.  It was perfectly cut to use on buttonhole foot.  Unfortunately the self-adhesive material was only working on one side not the other side.  Trying temporary spray to affix that one piece did not work well.  I test drove this and found it would not sew the buttonhole well as the piece just would not stay.

Another issue was the need to change the needle.  I then tried the Teflon foot again; no go.  So I turned to sewing sources and Google and found a product called Foot Magic.  To make a long story short, I ordered two packets at $5.00 a piece on Amazon and hopefully will arrive the latter part of next week.

So the jacket is almost complete.  I am now moving on to my next project, using some faux Sherpa fabric.  Normally I would move on to a quick project but why not continue on a roll of working with challenging fabric.  I am going to make a vest using Kwik Sew 3172.  I have traced the pattern pieces and plan to pin fit this afternoon and cut it out before stopping to watch the Super Bowl.  Neither team is "my" special team but I am pulling for the Ravens!!!