Ottobre 01-2014 #25 Knit Dress

I told you I’ve been sewing! I had all this nervous mojo energy from the Sewing Bee and had to do something with it. A while back, I realized I didn’t really have any kid patterns and for some weird reason, I had this urge to sew for my kids. I almost never sew for them, and when I do, it’s pajamas. Well, anyway, I got this urge you see. I realized that all my kids are skinny like rails and that pants may have to be made by me. They are long and lean. To get something to fit their height, I have to buy their normal size. To get something that fits their width, um, well, they are skinny-minnies. I have to buy something that is 2-3 times smaller. Anyway, I have a ton of Jalie patterns, but I’m so bad at embellishing things and making things that look kid-ish. Anyway, I saw this Ottobre magazine somehow and decided that I needed it. I’ve already sew about four things from it (only two patterns) and I love it so far. Here is the first thing I sewed out of this magazine. (For those who are unfamiliar, Ottobre is a Finnish magazine like Burda. They sell a kid version and an adult version. You trace the patterns off of sheets with many, many lines. You add seam allowances, but not hem allowances. Here are all the tech drawing for this month’s magazine.)

 

This pattern is knit on the bodice section and can be a knit or woven down below. I chose to use a beefy cotton knit on the top and a thin ITY on the bottom. It would be fun with a bright woven on the bottom too. I made the width a size 116 (girls size 6) and the length a size 122 (girls size 7-8). This is very loose on her, but that is how the pattern is drafted too. I maybe should have made it even smaller for width.

 

 

Here it is flat. I love the two prints together.

 

And here is Princess. It is supposed to be a drop shoulder and I think it’s fitting her correctly although that neck looks wide doesn’t it?. I think I love how she has this styled. And she picked out those glasses as her “accessory.”

 

You can see here how big it is in the torso.

 

She wanted to do all these modeling poses, the little diva.

 

Do you love it? Is it too sloppy? I love it. Absolutely. Love. It. I can’t tell if I love it because of the fabrics, because she loves it, or if I just like this new silhouette. What do you think? The bodice is larger at the waist then at the chest. It is meant to be wide like this, I swear.

 

 

I use my coverstitcher to do the sleeve hems and the neck edge. I also used it to topstitch the seam that connects the skirt to the bodice. I bought this cotton knit at JoAnn’s and I really like it. I would buy more if I found it.

 

I also like it with the belt. The only thing that bothers me a smidge is that the sleeves seem to be a bit wide where they end at her wrists. Like the sleeves need to be two inches shorter, an inch longer, or narrower at the wrists.

 

Overall, I really like it. She’s in love so it’s a win!

The Great Pattern Review Sewing Bee - Round #1

I told you guys a while ago that I would be joining the Great Pattern Review Sewing Bee. The first challenge was to create an a-line skirt. There was much debate about what exactly made an a-line skirt and whether a waistband and yoke were the same thing. I opted to just make a classic a-line skirt, because I felt there would be no doubt that mine was really an a-line skirt. I'm a rule follower if nothing else. I decided on Burda 10-2011 because I loved the topstitching and pockets.

My name is Dawn, and I have the Crazy Eye. Yes, this is my skirt. I made it from a woven wool in my stash. It had a similar drape as wool crepe. I'm not sure what kind of weave it is. I really like how it turned out even though I was on the fence about making an a-line skirt. I usually wear more pencil skirts.

Yes, we still have snow. Yes, these are wool tights.

Yes, I still love these boots.







Duck lips cuz I'm, sexy like that.

Here is the lining. I used a silky fabric from JoAnn's. I like how it's calm and subtle on the outside and par-tay on the inside. 

I also used a sparkle knit fabric to finish the raw edge of the waistband facing.




Here is a close-up of the topstitching. I used a thick Gutterman topstitching thread in dark purple. You can see that I chnaged the pockets. I didn't like how angular the pockets were on the original, so I changed them to be a curved pocket. I think it goes better with the shape of the a-line silhouette.

























I'm curious baout how the contest committe is going to "cull the herd" as it were. It sounds like a percentage of the participants will move on and some will move forward to the next challenge. It will be interesting to see how this contest evolves. This is the first time PatternReview.com has done something like this. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will be moving to the next round! Until they tell us, I have this nervous energy so I have been sewing, just not for me. I'll take pictures this weekend so you guys can see!

Burda 10-2014 #105 Cowl-neck Dress

 

I made this dress again and love it! This time it fits great. The last time it was made out of a merino wool knit and there was not enough stretch. This is an ITY knit and there is plenty of stretch. I made zero fit adjustments.

 

See? No obvious bra lines. How much do you love this print? It’s like a sunset. I bought this in San Diego.

 

I didn’t even attempt to match the side seams. I don’t even think you could do it with this fabric.

 

I love the drape of the cowl in this fabric.

 

Obviously, we’ve had a sighting of “the white stuff”. This might be here to stay!

 

Next up? I’m going to try to knock out my November Burda so that I can be ready for the Pattern Review contest!!!

New PatternReview.com Contest - I'm IN!

PatternReview.com just introduced a new contest. It's like the British Sewing Bee. I copied the timelines from PatternReview's site:

Here is a timeline of the contest that the Contest Committee has developed.

Saturday, November 1 - First Challenge opens
Friday, November 7 - First Challenge closes- reviews due
Saturday-Sunday, November 8-9 - Voting / Judging
Sunday, November 9 - Winner(s) / Eliminations announced

Monday, November 10 - Second challenge opens
Sunday, November 16 - Second challenge closes -reviews due
Monday-Tuesday, November 17-18 - Voting / Judging
Tuesday - November 18 - Winner(s) / Eliminations announced

Wednesday, November 19 - Third Challenge opens
Tuesday, November 25 - Third Challenge closes - reviews due
Wednesday-Thursday, November 26-27 US Thanksgiving
Friday - Saturday, November 28-29 - Voting / Judging
Saturday, November 29 - Winner(s) / Eliminations announced

Sunday, November 30 - Fourth / Final Challenge opens
Saturday, December 6 - Fourth / Final Challenge closes- reviews due
Sunday-Monday, December 7-8 - Voting Judging
Tuesday, December 9 - Grand Prize Winner Announced

I'm IN! What about you? I'm a little nervous about random challenges (what if it's something I don't want to do???) and the elimination (ack!)

Burda Challenge - Burda 10-2014 #105 Cowl-Neck Dress

I knew I would make this dress from the very first time I saw it in the Burda magazine. I love simple easy dresses like this. Put on some tights and boots and you are ready to go. This dress is just three pieces and super simple to make. Before I put all the pieces away, I plan on making another one out of stretchier fabric (and crazy print).

This fabric is wicking merino wool. It’s super cozy and warm. However, it does not have quite enough stretch for this particular pattern. Well, when you see the back you’ll know what I’m talking about. Doesn’t it look cozy and warm? It’s only 38 degrees out when I was taking these pictures. Brrrrrrrrrrr. No snow yet. Well we did get some, but it melted. That doesn’t count.

 

Here’s the line drawing from Burda. See? Simple cowl-neck dress. The back piece extends onto the front to make these interesting panels on the front.

 

You can see in particular that the arms are very tight. You can also see a drapier fabric would have been better here. The cowl-neck doesn’t want to drape beautifully. It wants to stick up. I may tack it down with a stitch or two. You can barely see that this fabric has a subtle herringbone pattern (there is still more of this fabric up on Etsy).

 

Here you can really see that it’s snug. I’ll still wear it certainly. I really like it, in fact. I think a stretchier fabric will be perfect. I also should add a CB seam and fix the swayback. But I won’t. I’m lazy like that.

 

Next up: a killer shirt. Get it? Killer? Yea, my students never think I’m funny either. This is a blood-splatter lace from JoAnn’s. It has very little stretch also. I used my Jalie 2805 t-shirt pattern to make a basic long-sleeved t-shirt out of the fabric. I made it one size larger than my normal t-shirt size.

 

I should have made the shirt about two inches longer. Other than that, it’s a win. My students, especially in my forensics class, will love this. I have to wear a tank or t-shirt under this as the lace is very see through. Halloween is my favorite season. Yes, season, not holiday.

 

Next up: I think another Burda dress. Oh, and my hand-made Halloween costumes for the children that must dress up like book characters.

Another Jalie 3354 Leotard

I’ve made this leotard before for my daughter. But, I have made other leotards for The Cousin. The Cousin says she needs MORE. She wants them blingy, fun, and bright. That, my friends, is something I can do. Fo’ sho’.

 

(This is my daughter modeling The Cousin’s newest leotard – it is too big for her). Here you can see that it is leopard, pink glitter metallic, and black metallic. I think it fits all of her requirements nicely. I changed the legs to be boyshorts by looking at my other Jalie pattern. I feel like it’s a little more modest for a girl of eight. It probably doesn’t matter when you are in gymnastics.

 

I like that the back is a little lower while still covering everything up and not moving around. There is no chance of this slipping off a shoulder or anything.

 

I love the black trim/elastic pieces. It makes it very structurally stable and it also really highlights the accent fabric you use on the shoulder.

 

Front

 

Back. Here you can see it’s a bit lower. I hope she loves it. I’ll be mailing it in the next day or two.

 

On a totally different note: My wonderful husband bought me a new camera lens. I think it takes delightful pictures. I’m thinking this year of doing our own holiday portrait. Do I dare? I’ll keep you posted on how that works out. I may just be setting myself up for frustration and irritation. We’ll see. We were at the park the other day. I can’t believe how big they are getting. I even got a great picture of The Boy, and I never get good pictures of him!

 

Up Next? I have my Burda Challenge for October all sewn up. I just need to hem it. I also made a killer t-shirt. Get it? Killer? You don’t get it right now, but you will when I show it to you!!!!

Papercut Patterns - Ooh La Leggings

I really needed a quick knit project after two topstitching-intensive wool projects. Also, it’s getting chilly-willy outside. The mornings when I run are in the low 30s right now. Brrrrrrr . . . . I have this wool/nylon doubleknit that is warm, cozy, thick, and stretchy. I figured it would make great running pants. I have not taken them for a test drive yet. I ran about eight miles this morning with some lady friends, but that was before these were done. I’ll run with them tomorrow and let you know. So far though, I’m loving them. I’m wishing I would have added some black piping to the front and back seam to show off the fun seaming details. Has anyone used this type of reflective piping? Do you like it? Or, does anyone know where you can buy reflective knit fabric? I’m on the hunt.

 

Here’s the line drawing again. Obviously this time I made the full-length version. My other version is the 3/4 length.

 

I added reflective trim to these and, apparently, I’m very excited about it. Some of these pictures are taken with a flash to emphasize the reflective trim and because it’s a cold, dark day outside.

 

Here’s the back. I didn’t change anything on the pattern this time around. Last time I made them, they could have been a little tighter. The double knit doesn’t have quite as much stretch as the nylon I used last time. I left the pattern the same and it seems to fit better. I didn’t topstitch everything like last time, but maybe that would have helped emphasize the seaming.

 

Oh wait, I did change one thing. I used 1” elastic this time instead of 3/4”. Also I lowered the CF a half inch and it’s perfect now. I guess I didn’t take a picture of the front with my top up. Oops. I like the back high like this. There is nothing I hate more than my shirt puffing out and cold air getting on my lower back.

 

I angled the reflective trim because a) I like the look of it, and b) it is non-stretch and I figured I didn’t want it to be completely vertical since it would stop the stretch in that area. 

 

Here they are flat. The green/gray is the wool/nylon double knit and the black is the Nike fabric from last year. This Nike fabric has an almost-terry cloth finish on the inside.

 

Here are my reflective stripes. I’m almost always running the dark, so these will be helpful.

 

I did add small pockets the back. I basically just sewed a rectangle (with a straight stitch) with a stretchy top (zig-zag stitch) and attached it at two points. I attach it like this so the pocket can still stretch around my body. That helps keep the top closed.

 

It’s big enough for my iPhone in one pocket and two Gus in the other pocket. And a shout out to Salted Caramel, the best flavor of Gu out there.

 

I used the thinnest ribbon that is on the bottom. I ironed it on and then also stitched the two edges with black thread. These babies aren’t going anywhere.

 

I really and truly am searching for some reflective fabric. I’m loving all the ones on this page, but I can’t figure out if they sell to individuals or large companies. I can’t find any fabric stores that sell it either. Here is another company that sells some cool reflective fabric. However, I think they only sell it by really, really large quantities.