Burda Challenge February 02-2014 #124

Ewwww, right? When I first say the model photo of this dress, I was like, not flattering. But then I was glancing through my magazine and saw the line drawing. I love the back gathers and the side drawstrings seemed kind of interesting too. I decided that instead of a boring beige poplin, I was use a stable knit for my version. I need some easy, cute dresses for a cruise. This seemed like it would be great for throwing in a bag at the beach.

 

 

I really like how it came out. I’ll probably mostly be wearing it with my purple Keen sandals. Isn’t it cute? It’s loose and relaxed but still pulled together. I can totally see this on the beach or just wandering around. I’m wearing it here with a cami peeking out. For the cruise, I’m hoping I have bikini straps hanging out!

 

I can make it a bit shorter and add heels for a dinner date too. I think I could also make it a bit shorter and wear it now with boots and an undershirt. More of a tunic-y kind of look.

 

The most fun part of this dress is the fun shoulders which is totally obliterated by my crazy fabric.

 

Here’s a close-up of the gathered shoulders with and without notations. The gathers make it really comfortable and give it some interest.

 

CB detail.

 

Instead of make self-fabric sewn ties, I cut long strips and pulled the crazy out of my strips. This knit curls like crazy and they end up looking like this.

 

What’s next? I’m still thinking about that. Happy February, everybody!

Jalie 3245 Again and Again and Again and Again . . .

 

These tops are made from almost all little remnants. The pink/gray stripe is from this recent top, the yellow knit is from a pair of pajamas I made the twins, the purple top is the remainder of this purple Jalie cardigan. Our theme here was solid main shirts and sheer sleeves. I used the next size up for all three of the girls. You can tell they are just a tiny bit too big. They are all slightly different lengths too, depending on how much fabric I had left over.

 

The girls love them. I let them pick the main color and the sheer sleeve.

 

I love this purple mesh.

 

I also made one for me. Of course. Mine is the remnants of this animal print (yes, I know I have an animal print problem). I used it before to make a sweatshirt.

 

I love this white knit I used on my sleeves too.

 

This is a great little pattern if you are looking for a great-fitting basic raglan tee. Jalie is the new KwikSew (like the REAL KwikSew, not the crap-tastic-craft-tastic “KwikSew” they sell now).  I probably sew more basics than anything else for my kids and I almost always use my Jalie patterns. For anyone who hasn’t tried them, TRY THEM! They aren’t a sponsor, btw . . . . just a favorite of mine.

KwikSew 3234 - Long Underwear

I have used this pattern so many times. Like so many. I’m thinking I’ve used it at least 20 times since I bought it. I’m sad that the “old” KwikSew went away. What they lacked in cover photos and fabric choice, they more than made up for in clear directions, and fantastic patterns. I have a few that I really covet and this is one of them. I’ve used every size now from the XS to the L. I bumped the kids all up one size and you can tell they are too big. I’m hoping to get a winter and summer’s worth of wear out of them. These people are growing like weeds, I tell you.

 

I made four pairs of long underwear for the kidlets. They have cross-country ski practice and it’s usually cold out. They wear these under their regular ski pants to keep warm. However, this winter is giving us a run for our money. There is no snow out there right now. It’s JANUARY, people. Like January. We have a 40-year average of 14.9 degrees Fahrenheit. Today it was 56 degrees when I was driving home. Fifty-FLIPPING-six. Needless, to day, the kids aren’t needing warm long underwear. They don’t really need any winter gear. Skiing’s been cancelled because there is no snow. Hhhhmmmmph.

 

They love them. I didn’t put cuffs on the shirt or pants because I didn’t want something bulky to go under some other article of clothing. Instead, I just increased the length of the sleeve and pant leg an inch or two to make up for the cuff. They want to wear them to school and to bed so you know it’s a winner.

 

I serged on the elastic, flipped it to the inside and coverstitched from the RS. I added tags to the CB of these.

 

For the girls, I used a Polartec Powerstretch in Electric Blue. It’s 53% polyester, 38% nylon, and 9% spandex. The stretch and recovery is nice. I have a few yards of it and I’m debating putting some up on Etsy. I may want to keep it all though.

 

For the boy, I used a Wool Ponte Doubleknit. It’s fantastic. There is a wool layer that goes against his skin and a nylon face. It’s a grayish-green. I have several yards of this too. I am debating keeping it all too. Mwaaaa ha ha. I’ll let you know if I put any up on Etsy.

 

Here you can see the inside and the outside. He is always cold so this is the perfect fabric for him.

 

Next up for me? I think a cute dress for a cruise!

Burda 01-2014 #122 Gathered Raglan Tee (January Burda Challenge)

 

Here’s my Burda Challenge garment for January. I decided on the knit raglan top. It’s weird, but I feel like this top looks so much better in person than it does on a photograph. Although, photos don’t lie do they? I love it in person, but these photos don’t look all that great. The light right now isn’t all that easy to photograph in either. It’s been in the high 30s and 40s here so it’s a mess outside. Wet, wet, wet. There is really not much snow left. I want some of the snow you people are getting in the Lower 48.

 

Anyway, details. It’s a basic raglan tee with a few gathers. One is at the bust on one side, and the other is the front and back hip on the opposing side. The sleeves are long and the length of the shirt is tunic length. I had a really hard time matching stripes because my fabric was off grain. It’s National City Swap Meet fabric and was like a buck.

 

I love how the top of the back is on the bias. Makes it really fun with a stripe.

 

I used my coverstitcher for the sleeves, bottom hem, and the self-fabric neck facing.

 

This shows you the areas with the gathers. And I’m fuzzy.

 

I have been sewing up a storm so I’ll need to show you people all of that stuff. I’m going on another cruise soon so I need to make some easy dresses and swimsuits to take with me. Really excited about that!!!!!

Jalie 3241 - X-back Gymnastics Leotard

I used view C, the one with the little legs.

 

I’m sorry but how freaking cute is this??? Some little person is starting gymnastics and needs gymnastics leotards. Where, oh where can we find one?? Ssssssqqqqueeeeeeeeeeee. Shiny, sparkly, flashy, oh ME, ME, pick ME! Needless to say, Little Person is happy.

 

This one is fitting perfectly but I’m going to make her one in the next size soon. It’s a little snug but there is actually room since it’s so stretchy. I love, love, love the x-back. This would make fantastic swimsuits too. Well, with the regular leg openings. It was, I know I’m repeating myself here, so nice to have a machine for overlocking and a machine for coverstitch! See that little coverstitched CB opening? You have to do that (they recommend zigzagging) before you put on the straps.

 

Practicing our moves.

 

For the CB and side seams, I did a 4-thread overlock stitch and a zigzag stitch because I know how hard little kids pull on their swimsuits. The swimsuit seams seem to bust right at CB about mid-back because they pull up the swimsuits by the top and step on the CB and yank. Hopefully this will reinforce it a little bit.

 

This pattern comes with the lining panel.

 

Faux sequin, silver, shiny fabric? Check. I used my coverstitch machine for the shiny knit and I was pleasantly surprised it did a good job. A lot of time the shiny stuff seems to “stick” to the bottom of the foot.

 

I have a ton of these tongue-out-of-mouth photos. Goofball.

 

 

She wouldn’t take it off all night and then she wanted to sleep in it. Not happening.

 

Next up? I think long underwear for four kids. Ski season is upon us. Although, right now it’s in the high 30s and snow is melting like crazy.

Do These Pants Make my Butt Look Loud? (Fehr Trade running pants)

I was so excited when Melissa (of Fehr Trade) asked me to test out her two workout patterns. If you’ve glanced at my blog, you know I’m an avid exerciser. What runner doesn’t love hideously bright running tights? It goes like this when you are running long distances:

Me (in my head): Oh, my gawd, this is so hard. Why do I sign up for these stupid races? Maybe I’ll walk after that water station? Maybe that’ll be okay? Oh gawd, this is hard. Maybe I’ll walk. It’ll be okay, right? Holy crap! Look at my pants! Those are funny! Har, har, har. I’m like a hideously bright fish in this race. Fish don’t WALK! Hee hee. Funny pants . . . .

I swear these types of conversations go through my brain when I’m racing and hitting a low point. Maybe I’m the only one.

But really, is this not a great pattern? Now I can make 100 bright tights.



These have a contrast “swoop” that goes from the back and circles the leg to the front. Perfect to add something bright. The main fabric is from San Diego.



Brrrrr.



I’m smaller than the XS but not by too much (Melissa added an XXS!!! AWESOME!). That just means I cut a little extra off the side seams. But, duh Dawn, that makes the swoops hard to match. Next time, I’ll pull the extra out of CB. Oh, and there is a hidden pocket I didn’t photograph. It’s as CB, and you can the topstitching lines on the rear picture in the middle. It’s large enough to hold an iPhone and some yummy Gu (Melissa likes Peanut Butter which I consider the Abomination of Gu).



I used mostly a 4-thread overlock for these pants. Can I tell you how much I LOVE having an overlocker and coverstitcher set up. I don’t have to switch over the machine each time. It’s nice. I used the 3-thread flatlock stitch for the CF, CB, and inside leg seams. This is the CF. I meant to have the ladder side of the stitch on the inside but did RST like normal. I used variegated thread because it blends into the tights so well.



I forgot you have to WST to get it to look like this. This CB.




Here’s the inside where the seams meet. This is probably TMI, but I hate the seams on running pants in this area. I’m hoping that these flat seams will be less annoying to me. I’ll keep you updated on how the stitches hold up and all that.



Fun!




For right now, I’ll be wearing these with warm pants underneath. Come summer though, watch out world! Oh, and I have the workout top too. I need to show you guys that one!

Viking Huskylock 936 v. Pfaff Coverlock 4872 and Flatlocking v. 4-Thread Overlocking

So I’ve some time to play around with the two machines. I thought I would give you guys a little comparison between the two. Remember that the Pfaff is new to me and the Viking has been mine for several years. Is it sad I only use about 4 stitches on my serger? I have used the others, just not often. When I did this little experiment, I tried to make the stitches as close to each other as possible.

I should backup for a minute and tell you about these machines. These are both combo machines meaning they can do numerous serging stitches (3-thread overlock, 4-thread overlock, rolled hem, 3-thread flatlock, etc.) and also coverstitches. These both do narrow, wide, and triple coverstitches. The only downside of these machines, in my opinion, is switching them over between the the two different functions. It really doesn’t take that long and it’s not that hard.

	Huskylock 936	Pfaff Coverlock 4872	Click to enlarge!
Stitches
Wide Coverstitch on heavy fabric	Worked well with no adjustments. (Great job, Dawn, making the sample black thread on dark fabric!)	Worked well but had to tighten right needle thread.
Wide Coverstitch on thin fabric	Left thread broke about 2” after starting (I know from experience this stitch is not great for anything other than thick fabrics).	Worked with no adjustments. No broken threads. Some tunneling and a couple skipped stitches. Machine is too fast to be accurate.
Narrow Coverstitch	Worked well on all fabrics.	Worked well on all fabrics.	Oops, no picture!
3-Thread Flatlock	Makes a sturdy flatlock. Adjusted needle tension to zero.	Makes a nice flatlock stitch. Tension at zero was looser than the Viking which makes a flatter flatlock stitch.
4-thread Overlock	About the same.	About the same although I couldn’t seem to tighten up the stitches on the needle thread.

 

Options	Huskylock	Pfaff
Differential feed	Digital, easy to adjust, pretty accurate once you tell it what kind of fabric you are using.	Manual knob on the side. Works fine, but I forget to change it sometimes.
Stitch Length	Digital, easy to adjust.	Manual knob on the side. The panel tells you what it should be and you manually adjust it.
Thread Tension	Manual knobs you turn to adjust. Easy to use.	Automatically set by machine and then you push buttons to adjust tension. Easy to use. Worried they might break, stop functioning.
Random Thoughts
	Seems more difficult to thread even thought I’ve had it longer.	Super fast and I can’t seem to slow it down! Makes it hard to coverstitch accurately. (big honking annoyance!) There is a speed control on the right side, but it’s slowest speed is my Huskylock’s fastest speed.
	You have to scroll through all stitch options if you accidently pass by the one you want. (minor annoyance)	You have to lift up on the carrying handle every time you want to thread it. (minor annoyance)
	Free-arm, although I think I’ve only used it a few times.	Brighter light for the sewing bed area.
	More color-coding inside the machine to help you match threads to holes.
	More room under the foot. Easier to slide in bulky seams when coverstitching.
	Tension on thread is released every time you lift the presser foot.	Tension on threads is released with a button.

Overall, the differences are minimal. Mostly, I forget to change the differential feed and stitch length because my Huskylock does it for me. I think I will set up the Huskylock for coverstitching right now, and set up the Pfaff for the other stuff. It’s going to so nice to have a full-time overlocker and coverstitcher! I’m all squeeeeeeeeeeeeee about it.

 

Flatlocking V. 4-Thread Overlock

I love the look of flatlocking, but have always heard that the stitch isn’t that strong. I did a few little tests to see if that was all true. I’m a sucker for data collection. Turns out the flatlock did much better in tests than I had imagined. I used the same fabrics, the same thread, and I tried to keep everything controlled.

Test 1) Pull the two pieces apart widthwise as hard as you can (very scientific). Neither one of them popped seams, shredded seam allowances, or pulled apart. I was trying to see if the flatlock stitch would change inside the stitch itself, but no banana.

Test 2) Pull the pieces lengthwise. The 4-thread overlock stretched from 7” to 14” before the threads popped. The 3-thread flatlock never did break. It went from 7” to 17” and the fabric wouldn’t go any further.  

I’m going to make a few garments with the flatlock stitch and we’ll see how it does in real life. It seems to be holding up fine so far.

 

Both of the machines made nice looking flatlock stitches. The Pfaff was a little looser in the needle thread which makes the stitch a little flatter. I did this flatlock using the knife so the edges where even. My directions for my Huskylock say not to use the knife and to have the stitched go over the side of the fabric, which give it some extra wiggle room. My Pfaff book says you can do it either way.