Sew Over It–Heather Dress

Jeez, excuse my face here. I look pained but I’m not. I still need to find a good spot at my new house for photos. This is the new Heather Dress by Sew Over It. When Deepika posted on PR about how many people love it, I decided I needed it too. (Because I’m not a follower or anything.) I made the size 8 which is the smallest size. I used a brown Merino wool with not much stretch (like zilch!). Overall, I really like the pattern lines and the directions are great. You get a great looking pocket that is inserted in the seam.


You can see on me, that there is a bit of pooling over the butt, but that is my lovely swayback. I also did my typical 1” above the bust addition (it doesn’t disturb the armholes). Next time, I will sew the bust area seam lines with a narrower SA because that is where it is too tight. Although, I think in a stretchier fabric, this would be fine. This Merino wool has almost no stretch to it. The lower arms were particularly tight. Deepika did mention this in her review but I was like, "I have thin arms! It'll be fine!" Well, with my no-stretch wool and the too small lower arms, I could get my hands into it, but it was not comfortable at all. So, believe Deepika, the arms are too tight!!! 


I will probably wear it with a bright scarf like this.


Here you can see a bit of the pooling above the butt and you can see how tight it is over the upper back. I’m wearing this as I type and I can tell you it’s not uncomfortable at all. I do wish overall it was slightly larger in the bust and slightly smaller in the waist. Those are both very easy alterations. I would have ripped out the stitches and done a smaller SA, but it was impossible with the matching thread and the weave of this fabric.  Today I’m wearing it with dark tights, my gray booties, and a chunky scarf and I think it looks better than this picture.


On this dress, I used my new Viking machine for the entire dress. Even the hem is using a stretchy decorative honeycomb stitch. In this case, I think it looks kind of like a top coverstitch machine. I will be writing a review on that Viking because it’s a great machine!!!


In other news, our house is getting put together. I told each kid they could have an accent wall and they are all done now. My son chose orange to go with his rug. We just got his bed and furniture up this weekend. There is a small amount of trim work that needs to be done but the end is in sight!!

Newest Ottobre 01-2017

My newest Ottobre just came last night. In the last year or two, I’ve been sewing a lot more for my beanpole children so I’ve been really loving Ottobre the last year or two. The smallest child is in 122-128 size range, the twins are in the 140 and the boy is in a 170? I think? Anyway, I love a bunch of these patterns.

Every one of the girls will get the shorts with the petal hems. Because, petal hems. They will also probably get the kitty leggings. I love the kitty detailing. One of my girls wants me to change it to a dog face. Hmmmmmm . . .

 

These are the larger clothes and I really love these patterns too. More of the leggings which my kids LIVE in. I also love the raglan on the right that has all the stitching details and color blocking. I know one gripe with Ottobre is that there are lots of repeats and I have to agree. But, I find that there is so much more in the way of fun details and good, solid basics that I overlook the repeats. Also, there is a super cute bomber jacket and I love the jumpers.

Not too much sewing going on these days but I have been painting rooms! I told each child they could have an accent wall so they all have a crazy wall in their room. I’m done painting their rooms and my bedroom is the last one that needs to be done!!

Ottobre 01/2015 #29 Leggings

Okay, you guys have seen me struggle fitting little Miss Thang and her leggings. I have struggled because she has a totally different body shape than the twins and me. This time I measured her and compared her to the Ottobre sizing chart again. I decided that I would try these leggings. They are made to fit “a child whose measurements are 4-5cm larger than the measurements on the chart.” So, husky sized? I hate that term. However, it does seem to be her size range. She is measuring only 118cm on the height chart but larger on the hip measurement than 116 or 122. I decided to make a size 128 in an abundance of caution. I should have made the size 122 because these are too big. That’s better than too small right?

 

I also used a fabric that was pretty thick. I should have used thinner fabric. However, I think this is a better starting point than the other pattern. It’s hard to see here, but the front rise is still too long.

 

See? Way too big. You can see there is lots more room in the rear though and that’s nice.

 

I used the Omnimotion stitches on my new Viking to make some fun stitching down the side. This thing can make stitches side to side that are 40cm wide!! How is that possible? Crazy! See? Too big!

 

The stitch quality on this thing is amazing. But, I digress . . .

So, notes for me for next time:
-- make the size 122 (save the 128 for later!)
-- use a more appropriate fabric choice.
-- take 2-3cm out of the front rise.

Any other advice from you ladies? I’ll make another set in a week or so and she can try them on and we can go from there. I would really like to get a perfect legging pattern for her because that is what she wears 95% of the time. Once I have the alterations perfected, I can just make the same adjustments to the next size as she grows!

Ottobre 06-2016 #29 Knit Top For Girls

This is the line drawing for this pattern. It’s from the last issue of 2016 of Ottobre. I knew right away I wanted to make it. It’s perfect for sassy girls. The back has a cute, bound cut-out. I made the size 140. My girls are about 138 cm tall, but very thin. I didn’t modify anything on this because I figured it being loose wouldn’t hurt anything.

 

I made mine out of Merino wool. It’s cold here and we are up to our ears in Merino wool knit fabrics. I really need to put some more on my Etsy shop. I really like how it turned out. I used a Cotton + Steel fabric for the ruffle on the bottom and some random rib knit for the little keyhole back. I used glitter black felt with Wonder Under (I think?). I ironed it in place and then topstitched.

 

I just finished it with a serged overlock stitch.

 

I’m totally getting the hang of my coverstitching binder!

 

And my new Viking 965Q? Well, she’s amazing. I never realized how hard it was to topstitch something when you don’t have that automatic needle down option. That makes it SO NICE to do things like this!!!! I’m glad I didn’t start sewing on something nice like this and then move to my vintage machine. Don’t get me wrong, I love them (and sewing on my new machine feels like cheating!!!!), but they all have their purpose. The purpose of the 965Q is precision sewing and making my life easy. I still have my doubts that it will sew through thick things like my Necchi. Time will tell.

BEST HUSBAND EVER, really this time . . .

While on our Christmas travels, we found this beauty at a Goodwill for $30 (because, duh, it’s blue!). It has all the original bobbins, feet, and the manual. I oiled it, and it works great. It has the cams for decorative stitches and everything. I was especially excited because none of my machines has a blind hem and that’s a stitch I really actually need. This little blue baby DOES have the blind hem so I was excited. And this blue color, *swoon*. The cord is even the same teal color. My husband was really interested in it and was asking lots of questions. He was trying to figure out what exact stitches I wanted, needed, and what I hoped for. I sure thought he was asking a lot of questions, but I’ll talk machines with you ANY DAY. ANY FREAKING DAY. So, anyway, I probably talked his ear off. I don’t remember. I probably blacked out because I was so excited someone wanted me to fill them with information. I think I literally went into what each stitch does and he sat there and listened. I probably had wine. Isn’t she pretty???

 

THEN, when we got home (at 4am after missing a flight), he pulled me into the sewing room and there was a box sitting there. A large box. A new and shiny box. He bought me a BRAND NEW VIKING 965Q. He knew that I loved Vikings and this is like the Cadillac of Viking sewing machines. This baby does EVERYTHING!! I’m still getting used to it and it’s AMAZING! Blind hem? You bet your ass. And over 300 more!! I haven’t done much with it, but I already LOVE the needle down position and the automatic cutter. This is fully automatic and it’s buttonholes are lovely. I’ve been going back and forth the past couple of years about getting a nice all mechanical machine versus a nice computerized machine. I guess my husband has been listening when I talk. Is he amazing or WHAT??!?

I want to spend all my time with her and cuddle her.