Jalie 3024 - Twice!

I’ve made this modified Jalie 3024 a couple of times before and I’ve worn them quite a bit. They are dressy enough to wear with heels and jewelry for a casual dinner but comfortable enough for me to wear them to work. I made two this week and I really like them. Well, I love one of them and I’m kind of meh on the other one. First off, I love this one. Love it. I did the same things as this dress here so one side is a v-neck and the other side is the boatneck. What I love about it is that you can reverse it and get two different looks from it. I think it looks good either way. Here’s version one with the v-neck in the front.

 

And here is version two with the v-neck in the back.

 

I often wear these dresses with a light jacket. I often wear this expression too while I’m at school and the boys are wielding lit Bunsen burners and alcohol. Actually, my daughter was trying to scare me so I was looking scared. Scared. People. Work with me here.

 

Here’s the dress flat so you can see it.

 

I used wash away stabilizer for the coverstitched hem. The fabric was too “grabby” and kept getting stuck under the foot. This really helps the foot glide over the fabric. Then, I trimmed the stabilizer and dipped it in some hot water to get rid of the rest.

 

Here’s the second one. I used up the remainder of this fabric (from the man-nipple shirt). I had very little so I had to piece the back. You can see in the right picture how the zigs go up and then back down over my chest. That’s because there is a seam there. It’s the best I could do. I didn’t have enough fabric to match the design between the bodice and the skirt. I think that would have made a huge difference. I think it still looks okay under the Jalie cardigan and under my jean jacket. I don’t really like the v-neck in front at all. This may become just a skirt and I’ll hack off the top.

 

I used a purple picot elastic to finish the edges on the neck. I like the binding but it’s not enough to save the dress. This is wrong side.

 

This is right side.

 

What do you guys think about the purple version??

Jalie Cardigan - Real Pictures

First off, Jalie patterns are a bit different than before. Now there are alternating colored lines. I used size R which happened to be orange. I think of all the colors this one would have been the most hard to see because of the shade but I had no problems. It was much easier to trace. 

 

How fun is this cardigan? There are only three pattern pieces and the fit is, as always Jalie-perfect. I made my standard size and I’m very happy with it. I added some shoulder bling because, well, everyone needs a little shoulder sparkly. (Do you see sunglasses on my head? That’s because there is finally some damn, freaking light. Screw you dark, cold Alaskan winters!)

 

Up close and personal with the shoulder oooh-la-la.

 

I used a purple heather (Swap Meet fabric) for the main part of the body and a gray knit with Lurex (also Swap Meet) for a little added sparkle for the contrast fabric.

 

This pattern uses quite a bit of fabric. It’s longer plus there is that extra section that is extra wide because that is what gets folded back over to create the pocket. You can see there is a very clean finish on the inside.

 

If this was a Burda pattern with Burda directions tell me how to do this, I would have never understood how to construct the pocket. Instead, Jalie has very clear pictures on how to sew the pocket together.

 

I love this pattern. It’s a great cozy-up casual cardigan. I really like that you can add contrast fabric or not. This is definitely a pattern for more drapey knits. A knit with more body may become pretty bulky at the pocket areas. I like how the pockets drape.

 

I have two other things to show you too. Too tired tonight to stay up and post pictures though. You people will just have to wait.

Jalie 3248 - Drop Pocket Cardigan

Proper review and photos tomorrow but I thought I’d show you the cardigan I just made. I really think it’s cute. I added some gray with Lurex as my contrast fabric. This is a crappy iPhone photo but I’ll take some real ones tomorrow. I may have to add some more shoulder bling.

I made my normal size R. More photos tomorrow!

Burda 04-2011 #122 Cap Sleeve Knit Top (April Burda Challenge!)

I am still debating whether to join the Pantone Color Contest. I have some ideas but I’m still thinking . . .

This knit has been sitting in my stash for a few years so I decided to made a knit top out of it. I think it’s cute but I’m not sold on it. It is two pieces (it used to be four pieces but more on that in a minute) and very easy to make. The collar is a funnel collar and the sleeves are cut-on cap sleeves with binding. It’s very red and I’m not sure it’s my red. I usually go with reds that are more in the blue range. This is very strongly in the orange-y red camp. What do you ladies think? Is it okay with my complexion?

The original had a zipper but I omitted it after reading Miss Celie’s blog about this shirt.

 

Usually I got for shirts that are more fitted. I kind of like this boxy, longer silhouette. Here you can see the cap sleeves and the loose front.

 

Here’s the shirt next to my Pantone deck so you can see it matches the Poppy Red color from Pantone. You can also see the basic shape of the top. It’s pretty straight on the sides.

 

Here’s the inside. The pattern originally calls for two separate facing pieces (front and back). When I traced it, I moved my shirt front piece over and just added the facings to the front and back that way. Now, the pattern is only two pieces. I did not finish the edges because that usually just adds bulk.

 

Here you can see the little nip I put in the CF facing. This way I’ll know which way is the front and the back. I’ve had issues with another Burda top like this and I could never figure out which way was which.

 

Here’s a close-up of the sleeve binding. The bindings are quite a bit smaller than the sleeve so it gives a nice gathering look on the sleeves.

 

Here’s the sleeve from the outside.

 

I’m still trying to figure out what to do for the other piece of this contest. I had the blue and linen-colored gauze fabric but I didn’t really know what to do with it. We’ll see.

Mailman, how could you!

I never received my April BurdaStyle in the mail. What I did receive, however, was the single white piece of paper that is usually in the plastic bag with my Burda. I waited a couple of weeks to see if it was just a whoospie. But no, my Burda magazine had been swallowed up by the Lost Mail Monster (closely related to the Where the Hell Did My Other Sock Go Pixie and the I Know My Earbuds Were Here Yesterday Gremlin).  I called GLP and they “were very sorry but they were out of that issue.” Dammit! They said to call back in a few weeks to see if they had extras once the stores send back the magazine. Well, they did and so now a new, shiny, crisp April Burda is winging its way to me across the United States. It’s weird how many times I’ve thought about something so small over the last few weeks but I love my Burdas.

 

I love a few things in this issue too. I love this simple sleeveless sheath with the high bodice. I love this diagonally ruched knit dress. The woven tops that tie at the waist are cute too.

 

I really like my pale blue cropped pants and I’m getting a lot of wear out of them. Well, let’s see, I’ve worn them once since I made them but I think I will get a lot of wear out of them. I might like this pair of cropped pants as well.

I’m still pondering what to do with my Pantone Challenge fabrics. I think I have a couple good ideas but they are not quite trace-pattern-cut-fabric-go-and-be-bold ideas yet. Yet. We’ll see what happens this weekend.

Pantone Colors Contest–PatternReview.com

I am thinking of entering the Pantone Colors Contest over at PatternReview.com. You have to make two coordinating garments that include the Pantone colors for Spring. Looking through my stash, I have realized 1) I have a ton of purple and 2) I have a ton of gray and black. This is making me dig deep and find things that have been in my stash for several years. Years. Eep.

 

Here are the colors for Spring. I also realized I have almost no pastel type colors in my stash either.

 

I thought I had an emerald color but my emerald is much darker than their Emerald. I sticky tabbed all the colors in my Pantone deck to compare them. Good thing too because they look so different on the monitor. Their “emerald” is a much bluer, light green.

 

I did find this crinkle gauze fabric. Not only does it have the Monaco Blue in it, it also had the Linen color. Score!

 

Then I found this tomato red knit that matches the Poppy Red color. What do you think about these two fabrics together? I think it could go either way. I don’t want to look too “Rah, rah, USA” either. Not that I don’t love my country and all that.

 

I have several reds but not many of them matched The Red that is Poppy Red. It’s an orange-y red. I have a red woven that would also work for Poppy Red. It’s a red burnout rayon. I used it here to make this skirt.

 

If I use the gauze, it’s very sheer and I’ll have to line it.

So if I use the gauze-y stuff and the red will they look okay together? I’m thinking the gauze-y stuff can be a top? With volume? And the red woven or knit could be a bottom? I don’t even know if those two look good together. I’m thinking it will be fun to force myself to not use purple and gray. Maybe I’m in a rut. Any ideas? Maybe red dress with loose cardigan/jacket over it? Maxi dress made out of gauze with bright red jacket? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Burda Challenge March - 03-2012 #126 Cropped Trousers

Whew, March almost slipped past. With our cruise, work, and kids, I almost didn’t make my March Burda Challenge! But, I managed to whip this pair of pants out in the past two days. I like them because they are springy and I need a little of that right now. It snowed a foot or two in the last week.

I made mine a cropped version of the original in a light robin’s egg blue color. I should have topstitched all the seams because the fun seaming details kind of get lost in the pants.

 

Here are the front seams. There are no side seams and one more seam down the CB legs. I like how the “lower waistband” is sewn into the darts in the front.

 

Here you can kind of see the details. You can also see I’m still tan from the tropics.

 

I did the single welt pockets on the back. I should have checked the placement because they are very far off to the side of my butt. I think it looks weird. Can you see the back seaming details? Barely, I know. The “lower waistband” stops before hitting CB and disappears in the side leg panel.

 

Here’s a better shot of the front. I used a sew-in snap for the front of the trousers. I wanted something that wouldn’t take attention from the seams in the front.

 

Here you can see some of the back detailing. Isn’t the placement far out??

 

My welt pockets didn’t turn out that badly for not having done these in a long, long, time.

 

I’m not sure what my next plan is. I’m thinking some cleaning out and organizing of the sewing room would be nice. I’m in that spring cleaning mode!