August Burda Challenge - 08-2014 #103 Pieced Dress

Okay, I look short and really squatty compared to this model.

 

I couldn’t be serious when I took these pictures. This dress is a woven with several pieces in the front that you can make different colors or leave the same. I wish I had gone with maybe one more print to make it a bit zanier. I was torn, though, because I wanted something that would easily rotate into my wardrobe.

 

There are four pieces to the front bodice and five pieces for the front of the skirt. 

 

It fits really well. And just an FYI, I put no seam allowance on for the hem and I cut off four inches when I hemmed it. I’m 5’5”, so I’m not that short. This dress would have been at mid-calf!

 

Here’s the front flat.

 

I lightened the back and drew in the darts so you could actually see them.

 

The inside is lined with a JoAnn’s polyester of black flowers on a white background. I love fun linings.

 

I used the same invisible zipper installation that I always do.

 

Here’s the finish at the CB.

 

See? I should have added some more color. Although the second one looks kind of like a bib. You get the idea though.

 

Fun dress to sew though. I may wear it tomorrow. I love the color blocking, but I also love that it’s so neutral. Maybe a belt would spice it up a bit but still let it be neutral. 

Burda 07-2014 #118 with Jalie 3352

Shhhhhhhh, this is my July Burda Challenge! I actually did it in July, then didn’t have time to take pictures, and now it’s almost September. Yeesh. Oh well, I’ve been busy. I don’t feel that bad. My August Burda might actually be late though. I’ve been working on it, but there are many pieces. Dammit. Anyhoo, here’s this July Burda skirt and a Jalie top to go with it. I just love their dolman pattern. This time I made it with a cowl. 

Skirt first. Here’s the skirt. It’s very straight forward and easy because it’s a one-piece, elastic-waisted knit skirt. How hard is that? I’m making something challenging for my August Burda because I feel pretty lame about the difficulty level on my work lately. It’s been mostly easy-to-make knits. Although, I do live in those clothes, so I don’t feel that bad.

 

Here’s both pieces together. For the skirt, I used a remnant left over from this dress.

 

Here you can see the gathers and the ties. I worry with this fabric that it might be too suggestive of what may lie underneath, if you get my drift. However, I think it’s okay if you don’t stare at it too long. Stop looking. Really. Stop.

 

 

Here it is with the Jalie dolman top. I added the sleeves in black and a cowl neck to it for fall. I love the high-low hem.

 

A looooong cowl neck. Actually, that’s not the correct term is it? This is just a loooong turtleneck.

 

Really long. I’ve made this top multiple times and really like the fit.

 

I think this top works well for this skirt since the skirt is pretty snug. Anyway, love the slim line to the back of this dolman top. I love this outfit. Cute, easy, and comfortable for work. 

 

This is what I’m currently working on. My colors are more subdued, but not all the same either. I’m excited to get it done!

Jalie 3355 Sweatshirt + Merino Wool

I told you guys I’ve ben sewing! Apparently, I only sew kid stuff and Jalie patterns though. Work is about to start back up though, so I’ve really been thinking about work clothes again.

Anyway, here’s a merino wool sweatshirt made out of Jalie 3355. It’s cozy warm and she loves it. This is the size 8 and it seems to be about perfect. The sleeves are a tiny bit long, but that gives her room to grow.

 

She’s wearing these Nike Dri-Fit pants on the bottom, so she’s really warm head to toe.

 

I used a Cheer iron-on sparkly embellishment. She loves it. The only thing I can help you with on the Jalie pattern is the cuffs. If you are using a non-ribbing for the cuffs, make sure you cut them a little wider. These are about 1 cm wider because they don’t stretch as much as ribbing.

 

Here’s the inside. I always reinforce the underarm seams with both a serger stitch and a straight stitch, just to be sure.

I made view B. I need to make a couple for myself out of this fabric too.

 

This is the fabric. It’s Merino Wool Polartec and I just put some on Etsy for you people!

Jalie 3241 - Another Leotard for the Cousin

The girls have a cousin that’s in gymnastics. I’ve been making her leotards for a while now and she’s being growing out of them. This is the latest one. This is not her. This is my daughter (sorry if that wasn't clear before!). She is build much more like a gymnast in that she is muscular. The twins are more long and lanky. If I was making this for the twins, I would make it a size smaller and add a couple inches to the torso. It looks fine from the front, but the back pictures will show you why this is needed.


This one loves to model, can you tell?


This one doesn’t look so bad for the torso length, but that is because she is arching back a little. You can see that the bottom portion is already riding up a bit.


This x-back is my favorite part of this suit. Here you can see that it needs to be smaller around, but longer in length. The cousin loves these crazy patterns and helped pick out the fabric. A girl after my own heart!



Here’s the pattern again. I need to make the other version too, but I like the longer bottoms that look like shorts. I cold easily add some length to them the middle pattern. I think it would look cute with the vertical stripe going down the leg.

Yummy Merino Wool! Again!

I found more of this fabric. Many of you guys wanted the brown color and I got some more!!!! I have the same two colors as last time so I’m using the same post and pictures. You’ll probably remember it from earlier this year in January. This stuff sold out in less than 24 hours. You fabric-hoarders, you.

 

This is from the January post:

I put that fabric on Etsy. I have that Merino Wool (from the Jalie tunic) in two colors. I love the dark brown and the soft green colors.

This is Wool Plaited Polartec Powderdry. It’s a two-faced fabric (do I need to make the joke again?). One face is 100% merino wool and the back face is 100% hi-wick antimicrobial polyester. This fabric is designed to be used in athletic, sports, and outdoor wear. It is 60" wide. There is no visible shrinkage when washed in warm water and dried in a warm dryer. There is 40% stretch across the grain and 30% stretch lengthwise.

I am selling it on Etsy in 2-yard increments. If you want more or less, I can do that too. :) Isn’t it lush?

Heathered Brown

 

Heathered Soft Green on Etsy

Jalie 3350 - Another Swimsuit

Remember this swimsuit from earlier in the summer? It’s the Jalie 3350 pattern with two variations of swimsuits.  (I feel like I’ve sewn from ALL Jalie this whole summer – they are NOT A SPONSOR).

 

Well, here’s the other variation. Twin #2 loves her version just as much as Twin #1 loved her version. I love that it’s pretty and sort of grown up without being too showy. I like that the legs are low and don’t show too much. They are skinny minnie’s so they are wearing a size 8 with 2” added for their loooooong torsos. Often, I can find swimsuits that fit in the length, but are too baggy around the body. Or, they fit around the body, but are too short in the torso and end up being really uncomfortable and the girls are constantly pulling them down. How cute is that cross front?

 

I made the straps close together on the back so that they were less likely to slip off her shoulders. I reinforced the CB and crotch with serger and zig-zag thread just so there are no oopsies.

 

I feel like this is closer to the real color. I love the lobsters on the suit. She loves it too.

 

The inside is fully lined just like the other one.

 

The crosses cover the topstitching that keep the seams down. Next time, I will attach the crosses to the body a little below where they are now. Sometimes, you can see a peek of the topstitching under the crosses. I think moving them down about a 1/2” will fix that.

 

See? I told you I’ve been sewing! Just not blogging!

Summer Round Up

We did our annual summer commercial fishing/camping trip this summer. How pretty is this place? I’m so bone-weary over all the fun we’ve had this summer, I haven’t really been up to blogging so much. I have several things to show you guys. I have been sewing things here and there, just not posting. Be prepared to see several posts in the next few days!



People are always asking me where the fishing is located. This is a close-up of Cook Inlet. We live in Anchorage (on the right). The fishing site is just above Tyonek to the North in the Beluga coal region. We there by boating or flying.


It’s a kid haven with streams, creeks, sand, mud, and fun. I swear the kids don’t wear shoes for the whole two weeks. There’s no water and no electricity (there is if you start the generator), so it’s pretty rustic. Bonfires, picnics, kites, kid heaven, I tell you.


The Jalie jackets and rain pants (I used Jalie 3243 to make rain pants for the kids) came in handy while we were out there. It never rained during the day, but it was often windy and chilly. The kids wore them pretty much constantly.


There is a creek right next to the cabin, so the kids spent days re-routing the creek and building marinas, docks, and tributaries.


They built their own cottonwood bark boats and some of them included dinghies with princesses (the girls) and pirates (the boy).



There was a lot of Gut Diving and dissections going on when we were processing fish. It was a great year for fish and we caught a ton. We found lots of parasites in the guts too. Nothing like wriggly worms spilling out of a salmon’s stomach to amp the nastiness up to a high level.


I bought my son a Kindle for Christmas. There is the best gift I’ve ever given him. He has read so many books on that thing. Like hundreds. We rent them from the public library. This post is totally random, I realize that. I feel like my brain is fried from too much go-go-go!

This area has a ton of coal and agates. We bring the coal back to the campsite.


We spend hours searching for agates on the beach. Agate Hunting! We bring the agates back in to town and polish them. We have jars of them around the house.


Books, headlamps, mosquito nets? Yup, just another night at camp.


If you want to read more about all this, read this post from 2013 or this one from 2012. I didn’t do a very good job of explaining what’s going on here. For those of you who read my blog regularly, you already know. For anyone that’s new, check out the old posts for more details.

Whew . . . . so . . . . tired . . .