Jalie 2788–Twist Top

I know that the twist top has more than come and gone and that people are so over this pattern and design. But, can I just say, I really like it. Yes. Still. I’ve made this pattern a couple of times before (here’s the pattern at Jalie) and the only change I made was to make the back a little lower. I love the front.
 

 

And I did like the back until I saw it in these pictures. It’s actually just the bra that makes it bad. It looks like a have two, giant, widely-spaced, man nipples on my back. Can you say, eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww? I think it’ll look a lot better with a different bra. Kind of funny.

 

Here’s a close-up of the front twist part. Typical Jalie, it fits really well.

 

 

Next, I need to make a kid swimsuit and some summer jammies for my kids. It’s been a really warm summer and my kids mostly just have long-sleeved warm stuff. I’m still working on changing up my photos to my photo library so you can’t see my other versions of this top.

Burda 02-2011 #107 Skirt

Here’s the newest project finally finished.  It took forever but not because it was difficult. On the contrary, this skirt was incredibly easy and the fit is fantastic with no modifications. I made a 34 with no changes to the sizing. I may add belt loops but then again, I might not. The only reason I would add them is to make the belt in back the same distance down the skirt. If you add belt loops though, it looks funny if you don’t have a belt on. I used the leftovers from this dress. It’s a silk/wool blend suiting.

 

 

The inside is lined with a stretch silk from ThaiSilks.com I bought a while ago. There is no slit but it’s pretty easy to walk in.

 

 

I used the Threads tip about adding elastic to the waistband to make sure it stays snug against the body. This elastic adds quite a bit of bulk but I love the idea especially in something this high. Usually these high-waisted things kill me by lunch but this is nice because it has some give. The only problem is that the elastic wants to flip to the outside. I fixed this by tacking it from the inside to the fashion fabric (going through the lining). It does create a dimple from the RS but only when it’s not on the body.
 

 

 

You can see from the outside, off the body, that it looks like it’s puckered and not ironed. On the body though, it looks nice and the top edge stays against me but isn’t tight. I’ll definitely use this technique again even though it’s not the prettiest finish on the inside. I may try to sandwich the elastic between the lining and fashion fabric next time. 

BurdaStyle 02-2011-107A – High Waisted Skirt

I’ve loved this skirt in the February BurdaStyle since I first saw it. I have a little of this silk/wool woven (from one of my favorite dresses ever!) and this used up almost all of it. The only thing left is small scraps of fabric.

 

Here’s the pattern.

 

 

Here’s the inside and outside. I haven’t pressed my darts yet because I want to make sure they are where they are supposed to be. I used Whisper Weft on the back of this woven because it likes to stretch out on the bias quite a bit. The pattern calls for using a self-fabric facing but I’m going to skip that and just line it from the top. This is also thick fabric and I don’t want that extra bulk.
 

 

Here’s a bad picture of it on me. I like where it hits on the navel. This is with my running gear on. I came back from my run this morning and headed to the sewing room.
  

 

I’m a little concerned about the top of this skirt stretching over time. I’m going to use this Threads trick to reinforce the waistband and make it more comfortable. Basically, I’m adding a strip of elastic inside the skirt to make it tight around the top. I’ll let you know how it goes. I should be able to put the zipper in tomorrow or Thursday and the elastic band after that.

 

ETA: Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I just figured out that there is no one hosting my photos anymore. Awesome. My ex-husband must have never forwarded me my subscription notice to renew (I know, not his problem, I should have remembered to renew on my own). So you can’t see my pretty dress but I’ll start trying to fix that slowly and surely. Drat. That’s gonna be a lot of work. I need to migrate those photos to another photo album and then link all the photos again. Anyone know of an easy way to do that for three year’s worth of photos????

Cool New (Old) Books

I love it when people are cleaning out their houses and I get their old sewing stuff. Sometimes it’s a treasure trove and sometimes it’s just random stuff I donate. This time, it’s the former.

 

First up is this Simplicity Sewing Book. It’s circa 1968 so it’s got great ads in it. It also has a lot of great illustrations. I have several older books like this and they are all fun to look at. It’s got your standard sewing techniques but what I really love are the ads.
 

Come on, who doesn’t need these pants and this fur leopard jumper thingy??
 

 

And don’t we all need Electric Satin clothes????????? Take a closer look. Really. It’s awesome. Even if you guys don’t think you need it, you do.
 

 

 

 

Then I received this book. It’s what you would expect. If you have a wrinkle here, tuck this; if you have a fold here, slice here. It’s kinda cool but not as exciting as electric satin. Seriously, what is??
  

 

 

 

This is a book by Kerstin Martensson, the founder of Kwik Sew. It’s got a lot of information about knits from when people didn’t know much about knits. So it talks a lot about the different types. It’s an interesting read. And who doesn’t love the hairdos of the 60s and 70s?

 

 

I hope to actually do some sewing this coming week but things have been busy, busy. There is only 9 more days of school!!! Thank Gawd! It has been a long, grueling year for me.

CAbi – Spring 2011

I went to another CAbi party this weekend. There are some really cute knit tops I thought I’d share with you. I also took some super secret photos of some of the embellishments. I say super secret because I feel bad for never buying anything and then taking their ideas. I think that’s how they make so much money. People feel like they need to buy things because they go into another person’s home, eat good food, maybe drink good drinks (mmmmmmmmmmm, lemon drops), and then you get The Speech about quality clothes. I never buy and always feel guilty.
Here is the first knit tank I really like. It’s called the Grecian tank and it’s got ruching all over it. It’s super cute and comes in several colors. I think I could easily make this out of the Jalie Cross Over Empire Top. It even includes ruching.
    

Next up is this cute draped knit top with a cute cowl neck. It’s a typical t-shirt but it’s got extra fabric in the CF that is actually sewed together to create the draped effect. Anyone know of a pattern like this?? Excuse my really bad pictures but they were taken with my iPhone. I put arrows in to emphasize where the little stitches are that hold the drape together.


This tank is just like the Grecian Tank except it has a square neckline. I like this one quite a bit too. That’s my white camisole you can see. They had the tank in another color as well.



I also really liked this asymmetrical tank. Although pictures on me aren’t all that flattering. I think part of that is that it’s pretty big and stretchy. I think I’m a size 0 in CAbi (thank you vanity sizing!) and this tank I tried on was a 2 or 4.
 



I liked this Chanel style jacket. I took some close-ups of the embellishments.



I didn’t really like the cut of this top but I did think the embellishments were cute and very easy. They are just unfinished knit circles, folded in quarters, sewn down on the top. Cute and simple. 



I disliked almost everything about this outfit. Yellow is not an olive-skinned girl’s best friend. But, the embellishments are similar to the gray and white top. They are unfinished organza circles folded in quarters. The center of the “flower” was a button. I also liked how they used matching grosgrain ribbon as support for the decor and as added decoration.




I also liked these tweed slacks. They are a honey brown color and so pretty. I love the button placement on them too. I never got to see the fit because the smallest size was a size 4. I love these yummy Fabric.com suitings although they might not be the best match for this pattern. They are pretty inexpensive too because that whole category is on sale right now.