New Fabric Pretties -- Cotton+Steel

So when I'm doing the Sewing Bee, I find that I have all this extra energy while I'm waiting for the judges to announce who is moving on to the next round. I clean my sewing room (not the house, as if), I trace patterns, pet fabric, buy fabric, etc. This probably goes into the category of fabric I don't need, but it was so cute and perfect for my little people. It's quilting cotton, but I think it will be perfect for adding ruffles, making shirts, and making frilly little skirts.

These are all Cotton + Steel fabrics from Fabric.com. I think they are so cute! I love citron with pink and purple.

I love how the Mochi balls have little faces on them.

What will I make with these new pretties? No idea. My twins girls always fight over this dress/tunic thing so that must meet it's a win. Maybe I'll make a couple of these. I'm thinking pink or purple Merino wool for the top and one of these cottons as the skirt. What do you think??

My Sewing Bee Entry #1

What a busy week!!! The Sewing Bee at Pattern Review started and, of course, I was out of town for the three out of the seven days. When I got back to town, I had four days to sew up my shorts. The challenge was to make a pair of capris or shorts. The full details and rules are here. 

I chose to make shorts and I chose the Burda Style July 2013 pattern #105. These are called "short shorts" and understandable so. They are frickity-frackin' short. I was originally thinking these would be cute for work, but no. Just no. I really love them but they are going out shorts, not work shorts. They looked longer in the model photos.

I used a pink wool boucle I had in stash and love the way they turned out. Love them!!  Granted, they are short bootie shorts made in wool. It amuses me and I will still wear them. 

I couldn't even find tights that had designs that went that high up my leg. You can see in this picture. Oops. Slutty-McSluttertin, anyone?

 

I did make a muslin out of a non-stretch woven. The fit was okay, but I've been finding that adding a little length in the CB of pants is really a good thing for me. Sometimes they get a, um, little high. High in a bad place if you know what I mean . . . Here is the adjustment I did on these shorts. 

Eep! Here you can see how short they really are. This is a really cute pattern though. I can totally see me making these a few more times once I add a couple of inches to the length. The fit is great, the pleats are cute and there are big pockets. 

I lined the inside because they are wool and I plan to wear them with tights. Of course, I couldn't resist zebra print. Hellz yes. 

The waistband is just a rectangle folded in half for the facing. Usually I need something a bit more shaped, but this one fits well as is. I used a black narrow bias tape for trimming the bottom of the waistband facing. 

Pockets are also lined with the zebra print. 

How cute are the pleats? That is my favorite part. Overall, I really like how they turned out. I'm hoping they get me into Round #2. There are so many great submissions to this first round. I'm a little intimidated by the competition! I'm terrified of the "creative" round. That is NOT one of my strong points! 

Pattern Review's Sewing Bee

I'm in this year! Wish me luck! Here are the rules for the first challenge. I emphasized some of the more salient points.

Dates: September 1 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time through September 7 at midnight. All times are per the Pattern Review website.

Rules:
1. Sew a pair of shorts or capri pants. (Not allowed in this contest: full length pants, ankle length pants, 7/8 pants, overalls, rompers, jumpsuits/onesies, pull-on/elastic waist pants or leggings.) By definition, capri pants are meant to be calf-length.
2. The shorts or capris may be made from any woven fabric. Knit fabrics are not allowed in this round. Stretch wovens are allowed.
3. The shorts/capris must have a closure. They may include elastic as part of the waistband, but there MUST also be some sort of closure- button, zipper, snaps etc. Ties are not considered a closure. So Wrap Style Shorts are not allowed.
4. The entry must be intended for any adult: man or a woman it can be for yourself, members of your family, friends, acquaintances or charity - basically, anyone! As always, items intended for sale are disallowed in this contest.
5. One entry per person.
6. Write a complete review including photos. The review must be self-contained; no links to blogs or affiliates allowed.
7. You must include a minimum of 3 photos in your review. Front view, photo of the closure and a photo shown worn on a live model.
8. Self-drafted or commercial patterns are allowed. Combinations of multiple patterns or self-drafted and commercial patterns are allowed.
9. You may NOT make any changes to your review after the Round 1 deadline.
10. Failure to adhere to these rules will result in disqualification.

I am choosing to make shorts because I think capris can be tricky. The sewing of them is not tricky, but the fitting of them and the length are tricky. Here are some options from Burda that I’m mulling about in my brain. I like them all. I am thinking of doing a wool coating type of “business” shorts that could be worn with tights and still look work professional. Maybe. Also maybe not. At this point, the challenge came out this morning and I’m thinking of all possible shorts that I like. I won the first ever Sewing Bee and I chose patterns I had already muslined and used at least once before. I haven’t used any of these patterns before. Here are some inspiration pictures from Pinterest that caught my eye.

 

All of these shorts are kind of the same with minor differences. They all have some sort of pleat or tuck in the front. they are all pretty short, and I think they might be perfect for inspiration photos.

 

These are not like the others, but I like the tie detail.

 

I really like the seaming on these but they are very different than the others too.

 

Hmmmmmmm . . . I’ll muslin something together in the next couple of days and then I’ll make my shorts. I’m thinking of a pink wool coating. Too much? It might be. It might also be just enough. :)

Ottobre 05-2016 #16 Slouchy Dress

Okay, it kind of looks like a sack in the line drawing but I was really drawn to this silhouette.

 

I think it’s pretty cute on the bod! I used the size 34 and I took out about an inch from the CF and back pieces. Ottobre seems to run a little wide on me. I used a purple doubleknit on the body and a black knit on the arms.

 

It has big, deep pockets which is nice. I think this would be super cute with boots, tights, and a chunky scarf.

 

I forgot to add my 1” above the bust. You can see that here. The waist and hips are higher up than they should be. I think when I add that extra length, everything will settle down to where it should be. It has a center back seam and I did a small swayback adjustment.

 

The front is made of two pieces. First you attach the CF part (I reinforced this with clear elastic), then you sew the pocket facing to the pockets.

 

On the edges of the pocket, you make tiny bartacks to reinforce the pocket seams. 

 

I think this is a great pattern for fall! I absolutely love cozy knit dresses that you can dress up and down. You could even make this a short-sleeved dress and where a long-sleeved turtleneck underneath everything. Then it would be extra, extra cozy.

 

I have another pattern from this issue all traced out and ready to go! Just wait for it!!

Finally, a Jalie Bella Dress for ME!

I’ve made this dress so many times this summer. It fits so well, it’s such a fun dress, and it goes together very easily. I have made (not even kidding here) six other Bella dresses this summer for all the little girls in my life. That’s how much of a winner it is. For my version, I used another Liverpool knit and just did my regular size. I made the sleeves 3/4 length.

 

It’s kind of a crazy print, isn’t it? I love it. It looks kind of washed out in the pictures but I think that’s because it is so bright in the background and that makes the foreground dark.

 

I love the dip at the back neckline.

 

This double knit has an interesting texture and I love it. It is very bright and fun. I promise I’m moving on and making something else. Really!!! Have you made one of these yet? I have three in my closet I wear often.

Ottobre 05-2016 #8 Knit Tunic

Phew, I kow it’s been a while. I’ve actually been sewing up a storm, I just haven’t had a chance to sit and photograph it all, edit the pictures, and blog them.

I got the Women’s Ottobre the other day and there are several things I like in it. The one calling me the loudest was this slouchy, cowl-neck tunic. I love this thing. I generally find that Ottobre’s size 34 is a little wide one on me but that is their smallest size. For this, I added my inch between neck and bust (leaving armholes alone) and then pinched out an inch in each panel. Now I can tell that was a little excessive in the bust. I realized after I made this that that would be four inches total in girth!  (Hello, sewing while drinking wine)What’s funny is that it’s about right for the girth. I could use a bit more in the bust, but overall, it’s exactly how I would want a slouchy shirt like this to fit. What really drew me to this pattern was the exposed seam in the front. They have you use a narrow rolled hem as the CF and CB seam. I really like how it turned out. I’ve never thought of doing something like that before. I wasn’t sure it would be strong enough to really hold the shirt together but it works great.

 

I used a yellow-orange (yorange? or-ello?) thread for the rolled seam. I used the same stitch on the hem and cowl edge. It came out more lettuce-y because of the stretch of the fabric.

 

It still seems a bit wide in the shoulders.

 

Here’s a close-up of the CF seam. Kind of cool, eh?

 

This is the wrong side of the CF for reference.

I’m really happy with this top and I’ll probably make another one. There are also several other patterns in this magazine I want to try.

 

 

 

Who can resist a wrap dress?

 

I just love simple knit dresses.

 

This skirt is cute and I love the diagonal seam.

 

This one I kind of adore. I have it on my cutting table right now. I love the giant pockets and the cut-on sleeves.

 

 

And I’m always looking for the perfect casual tights. Believe it, or not, but I don’t own the Jalie version of these! What? I know! And speaking of Jalie, when are they releasing patterns?

 

I have a few more things to show you guys, but be patient. My job just started again and coaching starts next week. And I have a big race this weekend. Phew!