Jalie 2805 - T-shirt (boring, but necessary)

I have quite a few long, loose, tunic-length tops to wear with skinny jeans/leggings and boots. I realized the other day that the hole in my closet is long-sleeved t-shirts to wear with jeans. So, I have a few cut out right now. I sewed this one today and I love it. Of course, it’s a Jalie. 

 

I made the basic 3/4 length jewel-neck t-shirt. Easy, right?

 

I used my *new* Bernina serger (squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!) to do all the construction plus I added some decorative 2-thread flatlocking to the shoulders. I probably should have done it in a color that matched the cuffs, but I chose black. I used Woolly Nylon in the left needle and black serger thread to the lower looper. I changed the stitch length to be really close together. In hind sight, I should have made the stitches a tiny bit more apart. Right now, if you look closely, you can see that it is stitches, but it also kind of looks like piping or something solid.

 

I really like the fit. This is my typical R size, but with length added. I think I added about two inches. I have kind of a long torso, and I hate shirts popping up in the back when you sit.

 

Yes, I could do a sway back adjustment. I didn’t. I won’t.

 

Yes, our tree is still up.

 

I love this knit ribbing. The black thread kind of looks random, but I’m okay with that. I still love this shirt. The fit is fab and the fabric is cozy. That’s enough for me! I have another t-shirt (same pattern) that I should have done in the next couple of days. I’m adding reverse applique to it. I’m hoping it looks cute!

Kwik Sew 3234 Pajamas

There is a thread on the forums at PatternReview.com that talks about your most-used patterns. This KwikSew pattern is, by far, the pattern I have used the most. Sorry to say, it’s long OOP. I can estimate that I’ve used it about 30 times. I haven’t put all the versions on this blog, because there are just too many. I’ve made it in all sizes from XS to L (there is also an XL). My son is in the L size right now and the 8 year-old gals are in the M size range. I made another seven pajama outfits over Christmas break. I’m only photographing two of them, because it is hard to make kids stay still.

 

I seem to always make the long-sleeved, long-legged pairs. What can I say, it’s cold here!!

 

Here’s The Cousin (the one that wears all the leotards!) and my youngest. The pajamas are both made out of a super snuggly fleece fabric. The girls picked it out in San Diego last time we were there.

 

And no, I didn’t put the pony fabric upside down, it just seems like all the ponies you can see in these pictures are upside-down. Arg!

 

The photo shoot ended when the photo-bombing started (notice The Twin is wearing an older version of the KwikSew pajama pants on the bottom?).

 

I thought since she was here, you could see what the leotards look like on The cousin. I also wanted her to try them on so I can see where I need to lengthen, straighten, etc. I love this Jalie binding technique with the pink contrast fabric. This is Jalie 3354.

 

Here’s the other one I made for her. And yes, she has a sticker on her head.

 

And more photo-bombing.

 

And more photo-bombing. Oh, and you can see yet another old pair of this KwikSew pattern on this twin.

 

Then this just turned into dance party chaos. Sigh.

Up next? Something for me!!

Bernina 800DL - I got her! I got her!

Here I am picking her up! For those of you who haven’t been keeping track of my life (what!), I entered the PatternReview.com Sewing Bee and WON! I won a brand-spanking-new Bernina 800DL serger. Let me give you a little background. I currently use a Huskylock 936 (combo serger and coverstitch machine) for coverstitching and a Pfaff 4872 (another combo serger and coverstitch machine) for serging (I talk about the comparison of them here). Both of these machines are big, because they are built for both functions. They both do a good job with both serging and coverstitching. I would not say they do an amazing job, but they are fine. I have been thinking of moving to a separate serger and coverstitching machine for a while. When I won the Sewing Bee, I saw this as fate that it was time to start down that path and acquire those two new machines and sell my two larger machines to people who will really use the serger/coverstitching capabilities on them.

 

Sqqquuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

This is what it looks like out of the box (Bernina’s picture, not mine). I thought I’d give you guys a little review of sorts.

 

The two combo machines I have right now both have electronic displays that tell you what to set when. It was really helpful when I was new to this whole serger gig. Now, it’s more annoying because I have to push all the buttons every time I turn it on and sometimes it doesn’t want to do what I want to do. This Bernina machine is manual and I love it. When I turn it off, the settings stay where they are. I have spent enough time behind the wheel of serger to automatically know when I need to use the differential feed, change the stitch length, tighten a looper, etc.

 

Here’s my absolute favorite part of the new Bernina. The knife cuts from above! I know that sounds like boring-sauce, but it’s so much better at cutting thick material like fleece.

 

Here’s the Pfaff (ack! The picture says Janome!) for comparison. This is as high as it goes. When you have a couple layers of thick material, it can sometimes go over the knife and then it messes up the stitching after that.

 

Sometimes it’s not a big deal, but sometimes, a big ball of fabric will get over the knife and head into the overlocking part of the machine where it often gets stuck on something and knotted up. Thread breaks, Dawn cusses, and rethreading is inevitable. (Ack! Stab my eyes out! Pfaff! Not Janome!)

 

The stitching quality is way better than either of my combo machines. It just is.

 

I was playing around with different types of stitches the other day and the flatlock stitch is really nice as well.

 

I copied off the page that shows the setting for each type of stitch and I’ve already started writing my little notes on it. I’m a note-keeping fanatic.

 

Overall, I’m very (VERY!) pleased with the serger. I have always known that my two combo machines were kind of like “Jack of all trades, master of none” kind of machines, but this Bernina really shows me that this is a very true statement. Not that the combo machines do a bad job. They don’t. But this baby just purrs like a dream.

 

Thanks Bernina and PatternReview!!!!!

Jalie 2804–Cross Top

I just had to use my new serger! I got it last night and made this top up in an hour. This is already traced out and the know the pattern, but still! Jalie’s are my go-to pattern when I want something fast that will fit well. Here is a link to the Jalie website for this pattern. It says Sold Out, so you may be out of luck! I used this Maggy London Scuba Knit for the knit band. The only thing I changed here is to make it 3/4 sleeve (included with the pattern) and add cuffs. Oh, I guess I made the contrast band a bit wider too. I also bought the ITY pink knit print from Fabric Mart, but they must have sold out.

 

I have a really hard time being serious in front of the camera.

 

Fits really well!

 

The kids haven’t noticed yet, but they are all Rudolph! Shhhh!

 

And happy holidays to all of ya’ll! Hope it was merry and bright. Ours was filled with food, family, and chaos. Just the way we like it!

End of the Year Wrap-Up

I enjoy graphs (I’m a nerd like that). I made 78 garments this year and used a variety of pattern companies. No surprise to me is that I used Jalie and Burda magazine more than any other company. I used zero McButtKwikOgues and instead tried a few new (to me) companies. I did branch out this year and make a lot more kid’s clothing. I tallied up 11 Jalie leotards. Eleven. That’s a lot of leotards. I have several stand out garments that I love and a few that I don’t. Overall, I think it’s been a good sewing year. Some highlights: I won the Pattern Review Sewing Bee contest (sqqqquuueeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!), I successfully completed my Burda Challenge, I made a lot more clothes for my runner-girls, and I have come a long way in construction (in my opinion). Good sewing year indeed.  

Burda Challenge (each picture is linked to the blog post about the garment):

Overall, I’m really happy with my garments this year. I plan to continue on with the Burda Challenge and make at least one thing out of the current Burda magazine.

Another Winter Street Dress - I know!

I had to make one more. (More husband photos, so bad posing, and weird smiles!) I had this FabricMart houndstooth sweater knit and this black ponte knit. They needed to be together. I added one more inch to the front bodice. I think it’s perfect now. That’s a total of 4.5 inches of length added to this bodice, so keep that in mind if you are long-waisted.

 

You already know all about this dress, so I’m not going to give you any details. I added a loose turtleneck to it (again) and it’s cozy warm.

 

Here are the other two dresses I have made from this pattern. I may be addicted.