Fall Wardrobe Plan -- The Real One

Okay, so I'm going to pretend that that other blog post doesn't exist. I may erase it and the last one now that I think I have this new editor figured out a bit. We'll see I guess.

I haven't been doing too much sewing lately. I have all this great fabric and it's just sitting forlorn on a shelf in my sewing room. I'm starting to feel bad for it. I chose a bunch of stuff that kind of goes together and decided that it's time to hop back on this horsey and get riding again. So, we have (r-l) white cotton shirting (hard to see in the lower right), light grey t-shirting, darker grey RPL, dusty rose baby jersey, hot pink baby jersey, rayon slub jersey, matte jersey, crazy purple/black cotton jersey, and wool sweater knit. I have some ideas for some of it but definitely need some basics.

Here are the ones I have sort of figured out. I don't want to restrict myself too much to a plan. I love these 02/2010 #102 pants. I think they'd be great in a dark pinstripe RPL.

The 09/2010 #121 turtleneck would be perfect for these two baby knits. These are part of my recent fabric haul. I love this fabric. I may buy more of it. I can't find the September photos of BurdaStyle magazine online. I can find August and October but September seems to have been eaten by the new Burda website. The bottom one is more of a dusty rose. It's hard to tell the color in this photo.

I absolutely adore this bubble skirt in the 08/2010 edition of Burda. It's for a woven but I'm sure it will be fine in a knit if I reinforce the yoke. I'll use this light grey heathered t-shirt knit.

I think these 04/2010 #119 pants would be great in this grey RPL. This is another fabric from my recent Fabric.com order.

These pants are cute too and I might make them in a thin denim. Haven't decided yet . . .












I also have all this fabric which is unspoken for. I want to use the slub rayon for another simplicity cardigan. I'm not sure about the other fabrics. I'm thinking knit dresses for the purple/black knit and the crazy purple/black/dot fabric. The bottom one is the Slub Rayon Jersey Knit . It's so soft and pretty!!!

Burda 09-2009 #130 Cropped Vest

Remember this little ditty from 09-2009 Burda? I love vests and I needed something different for my wardrobe topper. I have decided that I'm not a jacket kind of gal and maybe I should stop making jackets that I will never wear. Instead, I used the remaining wool twill from this recent jumper and made this vest. This, I will most certainly wear.

I went with the mother of pearl buttons that so many of you suggested. I really like how they are neutral but kind of dressy at the same time.

The back is my favorite part with that high slit.

The buttons were made with my Greist buttonholer on my Necchi BU Mira.

I finally conquered that Burda technique that they show with the wooden spoon. It's pretty easy when you actually follow their directions. You pull the vest right side out through a 6" slit in the CB lining. Later you hand-stitch that puppy back together.

Let's see, some details for ya'll. I took in the side seams about an inch on both sides. I made no other alterations except leaving off the topstitching, tubular braid, frog closures, and snaps. Brian, it took me almost no time to make this vest. It's only six pieces (three fashion fabric, three lining) with no challenging sewing. I think it probably took me four hours of solid time from tracing to buttonholes. Like everything, the pressing and finishing things like buttonholes and hand-stitching took the majority of time. Actual time at the machine might have been an hour but I doubt it. I highly recommend making vests because they don't require much fitting and they are simple and fast to put together.

Buttons -- Help!

Man these photos are horrible. I decided that I'm just not a jacket kind of girl. I am going to take the Chanel jacket out of my Wardrobe Contest plans and use this vest instead. It's a Burda pattern and I'll show it to you in detail once I figure out the buttons. What do you think readers? My favorite is #2. I did a close-up of the buttons at the very bottom because these pictures are so horrible. I may have to brave the weather and take a photo outside. It's about 8°F out there.

#1 is a lavender-y plastic button. I am debating the number of buttons too. I could do three or four.

#2 is a plastic button that is made to look like those leather buttons. There is a close-up below.

#3 is a black/mother-of-pearl button. You can't tell anything about it in this photo except for size.

I also put in two other potential buttons: black and gray. And, of course, I could go buy some but I'd rather use ones from stash.

Chanel Jacket Close to the End

Ninety percent of the jacket is done. I have to either stitch down the pockets or find some buttons that will work with all this color. I used sleeve heads but no shoulder pads to help the sleeves not collapse. I put in three hook and eyes along the CF to hold the jacket closed. I think a zipper would have been a better choice.

The bottom hem is a bit wonky. I'm not sure what to do there. I did not add a chain to the bottom but that might really help it hang better.

It looks extremely cropped but isn't really. My natural waist is at the bottom pocket line. However, these are my low-ish rise Jalie jeans and make my torso look very loooong. Hmmm, the jury is still out on the jacket. Do you know, readers, that I don't wear any of the jackets I have made? I feel like I would like jackets if I could ever get one to fit. I have never worn this one, this one, or this one. I thought that my couture jacket class would help out with fitting issues but I got so bogged down in the construction aspect, that I didn't do much fitting. Or maybe it's just that I'm just not a jacket kind of gal. I don't know. I just know I have several jackets that I have spent a lot of time on, that I never wear. Not even one time. The most I have worn them is to take pictures for you guys. I guess we'll see if it is the same with this one. I think it would look much better with pants that are at the waist. I'll finish up with buttons and then take a few more pictures for my final review.

Burda 09-2009 #109 Pleated Trousers

This is item #9 of my wardrobe contest entry. The only thing left is my Chanel jacket. It's been sitting on my duct tape double. I'm not quite ready to tackle it yet so I think I'll do a bit more kid sewing first. I was unsure if these would be flattering when I started making these trousers last weekend. They are finished and I really like them. They are pleated at the hip without being huge, they have roomy pockets, they fit well, and I love the color. And who says I can't mix stripes and stripes and more stripes? If it looks stupid, just don't tell me. :) Oh, and the belt, that's Burda #151 from a few months back.

The nitty gritty. These trousers have side seams pockets, back shaping darts, and a single pleat in the front. They are made from RPL I found at Joann's. This fabric is on sale right now for, like, $3.49/yard. It washes well and it comes in good bottom colors. I sized down the pattern to a 36, my standard Burda size on bottom.

You can see the side seam pockets mostly stay shut at the sides when not in use. I am standing funny because I realized that all my other back photos had the belt above the waistband and looked funny. In this one, I realized it at the last second and tugged the belt down a bit.

Here's a front photo without the hands in the pockets. Can you tell it is windy? It's been really warm for October; but very windy the last few days. It hasn't snowed yet and it's currently 43 degrees out.

I used a dark gray RPL for the facing and pockets because I didn't have enough of the pinstripe fabric.

Here's the side seam pockets.

I know, I know. You aren't supposed to use a catchstich to hold down the facing but I like the catchstitch and it's effective.

The inside of the side seam pockets. I didn't read the Burda directions here so I don't know if I did it their way but it looks nice.

The cuffs. I never realized I was so short compared to the Burda models. I actually tried to use their markings for the cuffs. I had pants that were waaaay too long with 3" heels. I think I cut off about 3" and made the cuff a little bit larger.

Here's the inside of the cuff.

Next up?? I think kid sewing. My kids need mittens and I know a woman who can sew.

Burda 08-2009 #121 Pencil Skirt with Pockets

I did get my hair chopped last week. The back is much shorter. Not as short as the reverse mullet but short enough to give it quite a bit of body. Here's item #8 of my Wardrobe Contest entry. This is a cute pencil skirt with pockets and fun seaming. I had some issues with the hip area but I got that straightened out after the photo shoot. Of course, it's a black skirt so you can't see too many details.

Here it is off the body. I could either use the flash and fade out all the details or be in focus. I settled for the slightly out of focus pictures because you can see the seam details.

After I took the photos I saw these tugs around the butt. I fixed that by letting out the side and CB seam just a little bit. The back section is straight so I made a "pocket" for the ol' derriere. Part of the bump on the right side is the invisible zipper.

When I cut this I only had enough material to cut the yoke in two separate pieces. So, there should not be a seam in the waistband or the CB yoke.

The bottom back has a small open slit for walking ease.

Review coming at PatternReview.com later tonight.

Burda 06-2008-105 Cap Sleeve Blouse

Not a lot of sewing going on here. I finished this blouse a few days ago but with work, moose, and children, I haven't gotten to post it. This is item #7 for the Wardrobe Contest. I have made this top before. I liked it so much I made it again. I wear it a lot as a layering piece. I will often wear it over a turtleneck, long-sleeves t-shirt, or dress. This is a silk-cotton blend from the fabric coop.

Here's some topstitching detail . . .

I used my fantastic Necchi buttonholer attachment.

I hope to finish some kid jammies this weekend but it may not happen. On top of moose butchering/processing, my mom is here. The guest bedroom is the sewing domain. The sewing domain is pretty small to begin with so extra suitcases and things don't make it easy.

Chanel Jacket 4 - Trim

I am slowly working on my Chanel-style jacket. I have it cut out and partially put together. I want to add the trim before I sew the sleeves together. I think want something black like this because the fabric itself is so loud. There are two problems, maybe. One, how in the heck am I going to get nice sharp corners for the edges of this faux-sleeve vent and pocket flaps. Two, does this ribbon look cheap? I think it's polyester.

Here you can see that I've pressed it down. I would then hand-stitch the trim to the sleeve vents, pocket flaps, and around the jacket.

Here's a close-up. It's going to be very difficult to make sure these are perfectly symmetrical.

I plan to go to Seams Like Home, the local fabric boutique this weekend and check out what they have. I'm just concerned that it's going to be very hard to make corners with anything more substantial than ribbon.