Katniss Everdeen – Oooooh yea.

When my twinny said that she wanted to be Katniss Everdeen for Halloween, I was thinking we were just talking about a black body suit. Well, I was mistaken. This twin wanted the whole works. She wanted the white sleeves, the white piping, the round inserts, everything.

That’s right. Move over Katniss Everdeen. There’s a new badass in town.

 

The Set-Up

I used Jalie 3135, the skinsuit, to create this look. I had to slice and dice this baby up to match the Katniss jumpsuit. It was pretty easy actually. I just eyeballed the style lines and sliced up the pattern. I highlighted all the edges to remind myself to add seam allowances. This pattern isn’t a raglan sleeve so I made a faux-raglan sleeve.

I found this matching fabric at JoAnn’s. It was part of the Yaya Han Cosplay collection and it’s PERFECT for this costume.

For the “piping,” I just freehanded the lines and then zigzagged over the lines. Then, little Katniss herself ran elastic through the zigzag until it created a piping effect.

The Result

A very happy little camper. She even made herself a little bow and arrow.

She wore it all day so I think it’s pretty much a win.

Whew, now something for me!

Wardrobe DONE!

And I love this one more than the last one!!!

I used all Ottobre and Jalie patterns for this wardrobe. This was my plan and I mostly stuck with it. The only deviation I made was with the bomber jacket. I had planned to use a busy white/black Liverpool knit and instead used a woven, non-stretch wool fabric on the front. The woven was white/black/gray but a much more subdued print. Also, for the dress, I didn’t have a thin denim so I shopped my stash.

To make it a “real” capsule wardrobe, I tried to keep the number of shoes to four. This is only a few of the combinations that I could have put on. Since the black leggings and the black Eleonore jeans look similar on the camera, I didn’t do all the combinations. When I do this again, I’ll remember to make the bottoms neutral but not so similar. The leggings and the jeans are almost the same garment. But, how much do you guys love this???? I love all the combinations here.

Ottobre 05/2015 – Long Cardigan
I made this long cardigan out of a wool knit. I used a decorative stitch on my machine to make the cream lines. You can see from above that it’s about knee length. I like it and it’s super cozy, but I worry that it looks sloppy. What do you guys think? Out of everything, this is my least favorite garment. I do love it, but maybe it’s too big? Long? Brown?

Ottobre 05/2016 Knit Tunic
I made this tunic before and wear it all the time. I knew I’d wear this one too.

Jalie Charlie Bomber Jacket
I’ve made this a couple of times already. This is a fabulous pattern. This time, I made the front out of a non-stretch woven that I found at Value Village. Yes, I found this thick, plush knit at Value Village. The back and sleeves are a wool knit.

Jalie Eleonore Jeans
These are black, but are all washed out in this picture. These fit well and are super comfortable. This black denim is really stretchy so hopefully they don’t bag out after a few hours. I kept the pockets plain on these. I’ve made this pattern so many times!

Ottobre 05/2017 – Elastic-backed Trousers
These pants are so interesting. The front is constructed like a normal pair of trousers. The back is totally NOT constructed like anything I’ve seen before. The back is folded down over thick elastic. So they are elastic-waisted pants, but don’t look like it. On top of that, the fabric is stretchy so they are, like, the MOST COMFORTABLE pants ever.

Here’s where the front waistband and back waistband attach. The back waistband isn’t attached completely, but just topstitched on the darts and the CB. It’s really interesting construction and it makes for really comfortable pants.

Ottobre 02/2017 Shirt Dress
This is my favorite piece in my whole capsule. It goes with everything and I can wear it alone if I’m feeling racy. This fabric was also found at Value Village. I’m pretty sure it’s a silk blend. It has that silk smell when you iron it. Can you believe that I found this at Value Village? I’m going to start looking for fabric there more often.

Definitely too short for work!

This dress looks good with everything!

Jalie Marie-Claude Knit Top
I love this knit top. This is my sixth time making this top and I really love it. (Kid version 1 & 2, adult version 3 & 4)  I love that you can tuck it in or out. This is a cotton Knit from Girl Charlee. This is the slouchy turtleneck with sleeve cuffs. 

Ottobre 05/2016
These are just regular ol’ black leggings because they go with EVERYTHING. This is a matte-finish black Nike Fit fabric. This is all washed out so you can see that there are no crotch wrinkles. This is a great fitting pair of leggings. 

Jalie Helene
This is my first time making this cardigan. Of course, since it’s a Jalie, it does not disappoint. I love the cozy pockets!

Ottobre 05/2008
Whoops, I didn’t take an individual picture of this one. I’ve made this before also. Last time I made it in a size 36, and it was too big. This top is the one that is super bright and has the cowl neck.

My favorites are pretty much anything with the dress and anything with the gray trousers. What about you guys? What are your favorites??

Whew! Wardrobe Update . . .

I swear I've been working away on my fall wardrobe. I can't believe that it's been so long between blog posts though. Wow. Things this fall have been busy and more complicated than usual. Nothing I can't handle, but complicated for sure. 

On my wardrobe, I've gotten most of my pieces done. I just have to do the Charlie bomber, the Eleonore black jeans, and the Ottobre dress. I'm making progress, it's just sloooow progress. I love making wardrobes like this. I love executing a plan from beginning to end. I hope I'm done soon because I told myself I can't wear any of the pieces until I'm completely done with all of them! 

Hope everyone is sewing up a storm. I saw that the new Sewing Bee started on PatternReview.com, FUN!! 

Fall Capsule Wardrobe

After my success with my last wardrobe, I decided to try out another one. I really wear a lot of items from my last wardrobe so it was well worth the time invested in it. Of the items I made, I never really wore the capri length Eleonore pants much, I think it was the color and the length. I also don't wear the blue cardigan much. I think the main issue is with the fabric. It is kind of flowy and slippery and seems to just float up and off my shoulders when I am walking. If I were a movie star or a model, it would be fantastic. Instead, it just makes me look like my clothes are sloppy and falling off as I walk down a hallway. I wear everything else pretty consistently and my favorites are the orange cardigan, the dark blue eleonores, and the orange/gray striped shirt. For this capsule wardrobe, I again used the system at Putting Me Together. Her "system" is 4 tops, 3 bottoms, and 3 "completer pieces" like cardigans, blazers, shawl, etc. I'm deviating slightly because one of my tops is actually going to be a long tunic/short dress.

Most of the patterns are Ottobre with a few Jalies in there. I love me some bomber jacket so I had to make another one.

Here are all the fabrics I plan to use. Well, except for the thin denim for the Ottobre dress. From left to right: Liverpool knit for the bomber jacket, a thicker wool knit for the loooong Ottobre cardigan, black Nike Dri-Fit for the leggings, a gray stretch wool, a red/purple knit for the Jalie Marie-Claude turtleneck, a zebra-ish knit for the Ottobre tunic, a black stretch denim, a crazy tribal-ish knit for the Ottobre turtleneck, and a thick gray sweatshirt fabric for the Jalie Helene cardigan. I'm wanting a warm, cozy wardrobe.  

Here's a close-up of the knit tops. I like the tops to be crazy and wild and the bottoms to be neutral. That way it's easier to mix things together. The two on the ends are from Girl Charlee and the middle one is from the National City Swap Meet.

These are the fabrics for the "completer pieces". They should be nice and warm. I'm all about cozy warm in the winter. 

And our beast is settling in well. Her favorite is warm laundry. If I were her, I'd do the same thing. 

Do you guys have fun fall sewing plans??

Jalie 3130– Shirt Dress

I know the first time put on the Jalie button down shirt, I knew I would be making a shirt dress. I used the same fabric as I used for my Vanessa pants. It’s a rayon-linen woven and I really love it. I went to JoAnn’s and also bought the teal and dark red color too. For this dress, I extended it about nine inches and kept the same curved hem. Isn’t it fun? I was going to make a self-fabric belt but I ran out of fabric. Boo. I might still go back and get some fabric for a belt because I think that would be the perfect finishing touch.

I could have made it more fitted in the hips but I like it loose and swingy like this.

I made all the topstitching green and added green buttons.

I love, love, love my new machine. It has the best stitches and makes the nicest buttonholes. Seriously. I did all 14 buttonholes in, like, eight minutes. And they are perfect. Perfect. I have this automatic buttonhole attachment and it’s totally automatic. You just push your foot down and it goes around and stops when it is done.

Oops, I did all the topstitching in green, except this. I could have just put green thread in the bobbin, but I didn’t. Why? Who knows.

Look at this beautiful stitching.

Next up? An easy Ottobre dress.