Guess who is going to PR Weekend??

And I’m REALLY EXCITED!!!

Not only do I get to meet my favorite people (Emilie and Jeanne from Jalie), I’ll also get to meet Gillian Whitecombe and Beverly Johnson. Squuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeee . . .

This year it is in Stratford, Ontario. I’m going to make a little trip to Niagra Falls while I’m there. It should be FUN!!!

Ottobre 02-2018 #4 Knit Dress with V-Neck

So I told you I loved knit dresses, right? Well, here's the first one and I love it as much as I thought I would. This is the v-neck bodice with the flared skirt. I made the bodice first to get the fit right. I wanted to make sure that the waist seam would hit in the actual waist. The only change I made to the pattern was to add my normal inch in the bodice for my long torso. This is made out of a Liverpool knit I bought in National City at the Swap Meet.

I really like how it turned out. I made it out of a crazy print on purpose. I wanted something stable, but stretchy and I wanted the pattern to hide any imperfections. This would be SO FUN in a striped fabric. My little darlings love photo-time. 

I love the flair of the skirt and I love that you can wear it with a belt or not. 

When I first made it, it was a bit loose at the waist seam even though I had added clear elastic to the waist seam to suck it in a little. After I tried it on, I added 3/8" elastic to the rear waist seam to really pull it in. I think I overdid it and you can see some gathers in the pictures of the back. I won't do that next time. 

 

I used red thread to do all the hems. 

I really like it and I've already traced out the other skirt bottom. I'mm keep you posted! 

Ottobre Women's Magazine 02/2018

I see a lot of love for Burda and the Big 4 (5? 6? Multiverse?) with reviews of the Spring release or the newest magazines. I thought I would throw out my love for Ottobre. I don't see many people do reviews on the issues. I know that Ottobre puts out the pictures on FB, but I love the personalized reviews of other sewists. Maybe I'm just missing those other sewists and their reviews? I don't know but I would like to see more of them.

I just got this in the mail a few days ago and I've had a chance to go through it with a fine toothed comb (you KNOW you do it too, obsessively look at each view to see the seams, try to find a different angle to see that one detail . . .).

Here are all the patterns. I think there is a lot to love here!

And here are my favorites. You guys know I love me a good knit dress pattern. The first two use the same v-neck top for the bodice and then just change up the skirt portion. Right now, I have the shirt version on my cutting table so I can see how it fits AND where that pesky waist seam hits. That way, I can adjust that before I add a skirt to it. Then, I'll knock out a few of the dress versions. The knit dress on the right is super cute too with a vintage-y vibe. If you look closely at the magazine picture, you can see there is piping on the sleeves, belt, and CF. I'm not sure if the belt and bodice details are technically called "piping" since you are using a large piece of the contrast fabric and let that show on the front. The sleeves are definitely piping. Either way, it's cute and I can see myself wearing something like this quite a bit. 

For shirts, there are some cute variations too. This one on the left is the shirt portion of the knit dresses above. The middle is a pattern for a woven blouse. I love the cute shoulder ruching details. The knit top on the right is a little longer and would make a great top with leggings, I think. 

As far as the pants go, I'm not a huge fan. There are several high-waisted pants and I've never been a big fan of those. I feel like I'm being slowly suffocated if I wear anything that goes above my belly button. 

I do love their take on athletic wear though. I will wear this tank as a workout top and maybe I'll even add a compression bra to it. The combo leggings/skirt is cute too. My favorite pair of leggings is an Ottobre pattern so I'm sure these will fit well too. I'm kind of spoiled with athletic wear since I met Jalie. This is a cute skirt, but Jalie is still my favorite. These leggings so have a hidden leg pocket which is a great idea. I will probably make them one it gets a bit springier here. 

Alright, your turn, what do you think? Have you tackled Ottobre? Do you know of other people who sew Ottobre? Tell me who they are. I see a smattering of reviews on individual patterns but not many. And two more pictures to sway your opinion . . . aren't these so cute? I love that piping (or faux-piping???) on that knit dress. 

Ottobre Twist Top Dress - 02-2013 #19

I've made this before in the tunic length and I really like it and wear it often. I love it with my black Ottobre leggings. This time I made the dress version and I like it just as much. 

How fun is this fabric too? This is another one from the National City Swap Meet. It's a cotton/poly lycra blend. I love that it's so springy and bright. 

I also love that it has this twist front but it has fabulous coverage and there is no chance of wardrobe malfunction. 

The back has a faux belt that is gathered and put into the side seam. It meets up with the front ruched belt. I almost matched them perfectly. 

Overall, I love this new, bright dress! 

Are you guys getting spring fever yet? It's been in the 30's lately which feels SO WARM since it's been so cold lately. 

Ottobre 06-2015 #26 Sweatshirt with Placket

The Boy is approaching high school age. How is that possible? With that, comes intense growth (and stinky-stank). He is outgrowing everything so quickly right now. He wore a pair of running shoes for, I swear, less than a month. He's a cozy-sweatshirt/jeans kind of kid. His jeans are quickly becoming too short and his shirts, well, let's say I can see his wrists often. So, I've been making boy things. Some I can show you and some I can not. 

This time, I decided to make an Ottobre raglan-sleeved hoodie with a button-up placket. This is a pattern from a couple years ago. I've always wanted to make it, but I've never gotten to it. I figured this would be a good pattern for him. I made the size 152 with an added inch in the torso length and arm length. I think the fit is fabulous. 

I used the same red sweatshirt material as this Jalie top last week. It's a stable knit with little stretch across the width. It's another one from the National City Swap Meet. I used a thin cotton knit for the hood lining and a stretchy ponte for the sleeves and hem. I think the placket turned out really nice. I used a fishy quilting fabric I had from deep stash.

I love the top coverstitching that is on the Ottobre model so I tried to replicate that with my machine. I used the honeycomb stitch and this machine, I know I've said this before, kicks much ass. The topstitching is perfect! 

I have more to show you. I've been sewing up a storm!

Jalie + Jalie + Ottobre = Cozy Weekend.

Remember way back in December 2013 when I combined the top of Jalie 2911 and the bottom of the tunic-length Jalie 3245? Well, it's still one of my favorite tops and I wear it all the time with leggings. Well, I decided that I needed another one. This time, I chose a cozy gray/black sweater knit with the fold-down neckline. I kept the tunic length so I can wear it over leggings. I can tell you I freaking love it. LOVE IT.

 And how cute is this fold-dow collar?



Here it is with the leggings. These are my favorite basic leggings from Ottobre magazine. I made these first for my Capsule Wardrobe back in September 2017 and I wear them all the time. This time I made three pairs of leggings and NONE of them are black. 

 

I made three pairs of these this time. Two are double brushed polyester and one is a thicker sports lycra. All of this fabric is from the National City Swap Meet. (Remember what I said about the floral??? So much floral.)

When I made the teal pair, I had noticed that there was writing on it. I was going to make that the inside. Well, whoops, but that writing is on the outside. Ha! I don't think it will come off with washing since this fabric has already been through the washer once. Oh well, it's on the butt and I really wear leggings like this under tunics or dresses. 

What's your weekend "cozy recipe"? Mine is tunic + legging + warm socks.