Ottobre 02-2016 #2 Loose T-shirt

Behold, a loose, casual t-shirt. I know, I know, nothing exciting and not really even exciting enough to blog about, but I wanted all you people to know that I'm alive and well. Just buuuusssssyyy. Sooooo busy.


I made two of them in size 34, which is my normal Ottobre size. I did forget to add my inch to the bodice and I'll show you why I do it below. This makes it super obvious where my extra torso length comes from. The white one is a barely-stretchy burn-out knit. The striped one is a rayon-lycra.

You can see that it's just a very simple loose t-shirt. It's has a tiny bit of a high-low hem and it's slightly flared at the hem. 

I tried to be creative with the pocket and cut the top edge on the fold and left the edges of the pocket raw. You can't really tell on the busy print.

Here's the wrong side of the fabric where you can really see the "burn-out" of the burn-out knit.

See the pocket? If I had added an inch above the bodice, it would have lowered the pocket and everything below it. I didn't (because I forgot and I'm a dumbass) and now the pocket is awkwardly up high. I could have also just moved the pocket down but them the waist point and hip point would still be too high. On a pattern like this, it's certainly not a big deal, but on a more fitted pattern, it's very noticeable. 

Again, with the creativity. I put the pocket on the cross grain. WHAT?!?!

Matching stripes like a boss.

Overall, two simple t-shirts that fill a void in my wardrobe. I have lots of fitted tops and lots of long-sleeves longer tunic but nothing quite like this. I think these would also be really cute with a vest. Do people even wear those anymore? They should, because they are cute! 

And an update on my new purse, I freaking love the thing. The pockets are easily accessible and perfect for my stuff. The cross-body straps are awesome too. I'll definitely be making another one when this wears out or just to have one in a different color.  

Hot Patterns Niarobi Leather Purse

So you guys know that I've been trying to find a great pattern for a leather purse. I tried Hot Patterns Red Hot Mama Tote here and, while it is large enough, there are some issues that I don't love about it. There's nothing wrong with the pattern if you can figure out the directions. The pattern just doesn't work for me. Namely, the giant pouch in the middle of the bag is too big and sloppy. Yes, that's a thing. By making that purse, I also learned that there is such a thing as too many pockets. I can never find anything in it. I also don't love the handles and where they are. That's an easy thing to change and modify so that's not really a big deal. I went looking through my purse patterns and went back to the Niarobi bag which I've made before. I know that I like it a lot and wore it until the teal suede got all scratched up and the handle got all stretched out. Having more experience, I would have changed some things when I made it the first time. But, this time, I love it. It is THE bag and I added a bunch of well-placed, thought-out pockets for my stuff. I bought this leather remnant at Tandy Leather (which I just discovered and have since been back about 9 times) for, wait for it, $24.99. There is enough left over to make another whole bag!! While I was there, I actually bought three skins. One is a dark brown and one is an embossed leather with a cool pattern on it.

The only modifications I made to the pattern was to make the straps long and add a buckle so it is adjustable and I can wear it as a cross-body bag. That's my preferred way to carry a bag. 

Look! Blue skies!!! I love the neutral color of this bag too. 

Here's what you want to see. The close-ups. 

See the vertical-ish lines on my facing? It's because I stitched in the ditch from the front to make the facing behave. This baby was NOT staying down until I did this. And yes, I used a rubber mallet on the seams. When I make this next time, I will move the pocket placement down 3/4" or so.

I used Antique Gold for the metal hardware except for the magnetic closure. I could only find that in bright silver. 

Here is how it compares to the Red Hot Mama Tote.  They are both pretty large bags. The Niarobi bag is just simpler and looks sleeker. 

And this is my true test of whether the bag will work for me. Can it fit these two things?

A few other details:

• I used a 100 and 110 leather needle and a Teflon foot. Midway through construction, I felt like my needle was having a harder time going through the leather so I switched to a new needle. 
• I used a quilting cotton for the inside lining. 
• The magnetic closure was bought at JoAnn's and the other hardware was bought at Tandy Leather. 
• I used Eco-Flo EdgeFlex in Neutral for the raw edges of the leather on the straps and the loops that attach to the bag. 

Ottobre 02-2018 #18 Workout Tank

I've been working out a lot lately and needed a good tank for when I'm at Orange Therapy. I used some Nike wicking waffle knit and an athletic knit I picked up in Las Vegas. I chose to use this newest Ottobre for the athletic tank. I'm really happy with the fit. This is my normal size 34. The only thing I will change next time is to lower the neckline by an inch or so. I wore it today to Orange Theory so the spots on the front are sweat. Just keepin' it real for you guys . . .

I really like the princess seams on this top. I did do my normal 1" addition for the torso. You could also add a circle skirt instead of the bottom panel and have a cute summer dress. See how high the neckline is?

I used my coverstitch attachment on my Janome with the Nike fabric and it worked really well. And I think I've successfully tackled tacking on my new machine!

I have more things to show you but I just need time to photograph them! And I'm working on a leather purse. More on that later!

Jalie 2563 - Running Shorts (done right this time!)

Remember last week when I made these shorts but I did it wrong? Well, I did it again, but this time, I actually did it the right way! Yay me! What's funny is that there is not much difference in fit between when I made them wrong and when I made them right. Once main difference I did notice is that the waist was a bit snug last time and this time the waist is perfect. Also, last time the legs would creep up my thighs when I was doing squats. On this pair, I don't seem to have that problem. But really, that makes sense. The tighter legs on the correct pair would stop them from creeping up AND it would have been tighter on my waist on the incorrect pair. I used the same black Nike Dri-Fit for the main part of the shirts.

After the second go-around, I am convinced these are the best, no-frills, easy shorts ever. I've worked out in both pairs and they are my favorite me-made active wear shorts!