In the Works

So I did decide to buy one of the Jalie swimsuit patterns. This is the line drawing from Jalie 2446. I really like the top from view A and the bottom from view B.


But . . . I also liked the top from KS 2689. So, I kinda just ordered both. Thank you for being there PatternReview.com.



I snagged some fabric from eBay (seller is Lycra4sale). I heard good things from you guys so hopefully the fabric is shipped soon so I get it in time. I really think I need only a day or two to whip out a bathing suit but I want to have at least a week to work out any fitting issues. Really, how hard could it be? First I got this lovely print. I can go greens or pinks, whichever I prefer.


Then I saw this and really liked it. I love the oranges and blues.

I ordered notions from SewSassy.com like elastic, bra cups (don't need the support but I need something to, um, help), lining, hooks, etc. There is a lot of stuff that goes into a bathing suit.

I am currently working away on the BWOF 12-2008-119. I had to get more interfacing and now I'm letting it dry. I should have the lining in tonight. Hopefully finished tomorrow.

My husband rocks . . .

Remember way back when . . . when I said that if I won a free Jalie this would be the free pattern I chose? Well, I'm going to buy it anyway. Why the hell would I buy this when it is currently -10 degrees outside?


Well, my husband bought us tickets to Kauai, Hawaii. I guess he must be sick of the cold and dark too. We leave in February and are gone for five days. He's a picture of the hotel (I think) and it is 75 degrees there right now. I am so excited. So. Excited.

But, here's my question to you all. Where the heck do you find swimsuit lycra? I know about sewsassy.com but didn't find any prints. I wanna print. They do have great notions though. I know about spandex house but how (how!) do you know whether the lycra is heavyweight enough?

I am so making a swimsuit and a few knit tops and dresses for my trip.

Burda 11-2008-119 Muslin for Jacket

So, here's the muslin. I added some details to this first picture so you can see some of the design features. The collar and front flap are highlighted in solid red. The CF and waist is the dotted red line. The white lines are the cuffs and waistband that I didn't add. I was mostly checking the bodice/bust fit. This is the size 17 from the November BWOF. It's a petite pattern. The only adjustment I have done is the swayback adjustment of about 1cm. I usually do a shoulder to bust tuck of about 1/2" but I didn't feel like I needed to because of the petite sizing.


The waist marking is at my natural waist. The shoulders feel good. It is good range of movement for being a non-stretch woven.


I do have slight wrinkling at the bust. The waist can go in just a bit but I don't want it too fitted.


The back shoulder area looks pretty good. The bottom part is sticking to my t-shirt. This makes me wonder whether this top should really be unlined. This is supposed to be unlined with facings covering the seam allowances.

Front again. The pins are running through both CFs. I was very careful about how I pinned it.

Issues and Questions:

1. Should it really be unlined? I was planning on doing this with the left over purple melton wool from my coat. I'm not sure how to face the front flap along the edges. The zipper will be at the long edge but the top will have to be faced. If I line it, it will be with a thin decorative lining.
2. Do you think I need any other adjustments/alterations? I think it looks pretty good for being pretty unaltered. Although it is hard to tell with the sticky t-shirt under it.

Oh, and I have some exciting news to share!!! Those of you on Facebook already know . . . I have the best husband in the world. I'll let you in on the surprise once I get a bit more information. :)

Potty Training, Recycling, and Picnik-ing

First off, I recycle underwear. Yes. I do. These used to be my son's underwear. They are the absorbent kind so that when (not if) they have their accident on the floor it's not as bad as it could be. They used to have Bob the Builder appliques on them. My girls are very into animals so I thought that these motifs might be more appropriate for them. I found it at my local fabric boutique. The baboon is my favorite. I use fusible stay tape to hold down the small circles and then I use my three step zigzag to stitch around the outside of the motif. My girls love them. We are not going to try potty training right now because it's too cold and it is easier (I think) to potty train when they can run around half-nekkid.

Hee hee. LindseyT got me hooked on Picnik.com. I bought the "full" version to see what it's like. It has a lot of options so that you can modify pictures. He's me looking sinister with my beard.

Burda 11-2006-116 Wrap Top

Can I just say that I love this top?? I'll be making more of these. The full review is below. Melissa has made this too and she mentioned that it has also been released as an envelope pattern. So, lucky you if you want to try it and don't want to trace.

Pattern Description: This is a wrap top with empire seaming. It had been reviewed several times before this but I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring too. It's fantastic!

Pattern Sizing: 36-44. I graded down to a size 34 but left it a 36 at the hips.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it looks like the line drawing and the model photos.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were very easy to understand. I'm glad I've made a top like this before though or I would have been confused with the back neckband directions. Everything else is very straight forward.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the high neck and double layer over the bust. It is super cozy and warm. This is my first addition to my new SWAP. I am doing it on my own and it's called The F-ing Cold SWAP. Alaska's temperatures have plummeted in the past weeks and I am going to focus on warm things. Back on topic, I dislike nothing about this top.

Fabric Used: This is a great polyester/lycra stretch velvet (velour?) for the FabricsAndNotions Yahoo group. This is not very warm because of the polyester but I wear a thin wool top under it and then it turns into toasty heaven.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I did my usual 1/2" shoulder to bust tuck and flared out the hip area a bit. The sleeve seems to have a lot of ease in it so I may make a slightly larger tuck in the arm when I make it again.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? YES!! I love this top. I have some great rayon knit that is trying to get together with the pattern pieces right now. I have it locked in a drawer but it keeps plotting against me.

Conclusion: If you have this magazine you need to make this top!

F-ing Cold SWAP

In the spirit of Murphy's Law (and SWAP), I will be concentrating all my efforts on making warm clothing until our temperatures reach normal "highs". I'm hoping that as I make each warm garment, the temperature will go up a bit. I completed the first in the series tonight. It's an oldy but goody. It's from the 11-2006 BWOF. I will be reviewing it tomorrow. The others are from the December and January BWOF magazines. I will be working on the second jacket next but I want to do it right so I'm going to {{shudder}} make a muslin and work out the shoulder problems before I make it in the fashion fabric. Notice that there are no dresses on this list. I am saying NO! to dresses until it gets a bit warmer. I'm a bit worried because February is usually our coldest month. Yikes.


Wish me luck!!

Burda 12-2008 #121 Dress with Bias Bodice

Well, it's been long in the making. My sewing room has been in the 50s because of the cold weather outside. When it gets -20F outside nothing keeps my basement sanctuary warm. Right now it's -20F at the Airport and we are always 5 to 10 degrees colder than that. Brrrr. So the cold temperatures in my sewing room have kept me from spending long amounts of time in there. I can't sew with gloves on, I tried.

So, here she is . . . details follow each picture. Sorry the pictures are so big. Blogger used to change the picture size and then the picture would be the normal size when you clicked on it. Now it's not doing that anymore. Now they just show up the size that I save them. And, yes, I realize I could make them smaller but they you couldn't see the details.



Here it is with no belt. It has the same hip pleating that I liked on my LBD dress. It has a bodice cut on the bias and is fully lined. The cuffs are also cut on the bias.


With a belt (ends tucked in). I will probably wear this with the belt. I like the (new!) boots with it but probably not with the cranberry tights.


I like it with the ties out but am afraid it takes away from the hip tucks. A girl only needs so much there if you know what I mean.

Sleeves on the bias.

I think that from now on I have two alterations. Cidell talked about how she used the BWOF way of doing the alteration. I asked her about it and she directed me to the BurdaEnglish Yahoo group. I was already a member but I didn't know about all the files.

I love the fold-over flaps. They tend to flare up a bit so I'll probably invisibly stitch them down.

Isn't this dress better than this retro dress in the back? I totally need the swayback adjustment!

This was the only wonky thing I found about the dress. Well, okay, the second wonky thing I found. The inside of the bodice is lined with self-facing and lining fabric. Then you overlap the two pieces and sew that CF topstitching. How do you attach the inner lining and out fashion fabric while making everything look nice inside and out? I attached the skirt lining to the bodice lining as far as I could to the CF. The topstitching and overlap made it impossible sew it all the way across. The same goes for the outside fashion fabric. So, I have two little holes that I need to hand sew. I read BWOF directions and couldn't figure out what they did to make it look nice on the inside. Another option would be to treat the bodice lining and fashion fabric as one and sew it to the skirt portion (lining and fashion fabric) but I didn't want the seam to look like that inside.

I am excited that my seams mostly match. This glencheck is not a perfect square patter so there was really no way of matching the bodice unless I used the wrong side of the fabric and I wasn't going to do that.

Inside with lining showing. I used remnants for the lining and I didn't have enough of either color to do the whole thing. I rather like the effect though.

The "hole" created on the outside of the dress.