KwikSew 3760 Boobilicious . . .

I decided to make a muslin of the KwikSew dress. I am using a stretch twill. I used the reverse side for the neckband and will use that for the waistband too. So far, it's looking very busty. I should be able to get the rest of this sewn up tonight. I'm hoping that the fit is spot on and then I'll go back and really sew it up. I love this twill. I didn't realize that the bodice was so empire-y. It doesn't look like that on the model photos. Odd. Things do tend to look different when on the body though.

I should have known the bust might be an issue after looking at these pieces. See that really rockin' princess seam curve? Yea, I'm not so rockin'. But, we'll see what it looks like after the back and skirt are on.

KS 3740 - Cowl-neck Top - I *heart* you.

How much are you in love with this top?? I saw this thread on PatternReview.com gushing about this cowl neck top from KwikSew and just had to try it out. And she's right, this is a fantastic pattern. The cowl lays very nicely, the shoulders fit great, the neck/cowl seam can't be seen no matter what I'm doing, and it's a stripe! Okay, it doesn't have to be a stripe but I'm a sucker for knit stripes. I got this thin, thin (see my pink bra?) knit from our local fabric boutique, Seams Like Home. It barely has enough stretch compared to the stretch indicator on the back of the envelope but it works great I think. From reading the reviews, it seems to run large. In KwikSew patterns I usually make a S or XS. I made this one the XS with a little room in the hips and it's perfect.

 

 

My husband just bought a new camera and these photos have not been touched up at all. I usually bump up the contrast and saturation just a bit on my photos. Otherwise, they look so grey and bland. I didn't realize my lipstick was so pink. I made two changes to the pattern. The first was to make a 1/4" tuck above the bust. This shortens the length between shoulder and bust and also makes the armhole a little smaller. I also added ribknit cuffs. The length would have been just a titch on the short side and I love thick cuffs like this. The ribknit is from Seams Like Home too. Next time, I'll add an inch or so to the sleeve pattern piece.

 

 

I love how the cowl neck chevrons in the back. There is an upper and undercollar for this pattern. There is plenty of room for "turn of cloth" There is no way that under collar is peaking out.

 

 

Here it is "unfurled." If you look closely, you can see the seam of the upper and under collar meet.

 

 

I'll make lots of these. I know I told you that the KwikSew dress would be my next venture but I had to trace out the pattern and treat the suiting. While it was washing and drying, I had to do something sewing related. This knit top is a quicky. I forgot to mention that put the cowl neck on backwards (under collar up) twice. Yes people, twice. I have a lot of serger thread debris on my floor.

You guys had a great idea!

You guys have such good ideas. I hadn't thought about pairing the dress pattern and that silk suiting. I was thinking it would be nice with some black piping around the waist belt and the neck band. I sketched up a little mock-up with Paint.net. Granted the scale is off (the stripes would be much smaller) but I think this could be a fantastic dress. The fabric is only 45" wide but I have plenty to make this dress out of it.

This might need to be my next project!

Fun Fabrics!

Our local fabric boutique, Seams Like Home, is having a great sale. She's trying to clear out some of the older stuff to make way for the new stuff. I stopped by on my way to work and bought this stuff.

Silk suiting. It's so pretty. I bought 3 yards and I'm not sure what I'll make with it.

Here's a close-up of the weave. Too bad I don't like jackets because this one would be kick ass.

This is a cotton knit with a large scale print. It's grey, black, and red on a heathered grey. Maybe another Jalie Cardigan?

This is a wool/mohair knit. It's a very open weave. If you look closely, you can see my hand underneath. I'm not sure what to do with this one. Another Simplicity cardi??

I also bought some random buttons. They were 10 packs for a $1. I picked out several metal ones and some pink and yellow ones for my girls.

And, last but not least, I bought this KwikSew pattern. This dress is so me. I can see myself in the orange and green one.

Jalie 2919 - Pleated Cardigan

Can you tell I'm feeling better? I cut this out last night and sewed it up this evening. It's a super easy pattern and easy to whip out quickly. I used the
Sophia Stretch Double Knit Black* rom Fabric.com that I've been stashing for a while. It is black and therefore impossible to photograph well. I paired it with my pencil skirt from this post and my red leather obi belt from this post. Personally, I think everyone needs a red leather obi belt (Karen, I am talking to you). They kick ass. Back to the cardigan. I can see this being a great winter staple here in Alaska. I love the shoulder pleating (that you can't see) and the large pseudo-lapels (that you can't see *cough, cough*). I will probably wear it with a belt. This might force me to make a few more leather belts. Oh, and I'm wearing this Burda wool tank underneath.

I'll wear it unbelted too.

The back and sides are straight cut and skim the hips nicely. Of course you can't see that in this photo because of the obi belt but squint your eyes, cock your head, and pretend.

Here's a lightened shot of the shoulder/bust pleats.

Here it is on the floor. You can see the pleating and the double-layer lapel. It makes a very nice thick edge to your cardigan.

Let's see; other tidbits. I made my normal Jalie size which is a Q. That corresponds to a size 34 in BWOF. The sleeves/shoulder on this are snug. I will wear this with a very thin knit top or a tank underneath. My Sophia doubleknit barely passes the "does this have enough stretch" test so that is probably part of it. But, even if it were stretchier, it would be snug. I will not go up a size because I like how it fits but you have been warned.

Hmmmm, what next? I don't know either. I'm thinking of some jeans or trousers. But, a wool coat has also been calling me. Decisions, decisions . . .

*Remember they are my sponsor!!

Jalie 2921 - Scarf Collar Top - Finally!

I've been meaning to make this top for a couple of weeks now. I was waiting to buy it locally but it seems that our local boutique wasn't going to put in an order for quite a while. So, I ended up buying at PatternReview.com. Then I was in Hawaii (photos coming soon!). I got back Monday at 6:30am, hopped off the plane, took a shower, and headed to work. Needless to say that Monday was grueling. Tuesday I woke up with double pink-eye (yea!) and headed to school again. I would have stayed home but I had already missed a week of school and I had a herd of administrators in my room for some observation-thing. They weren't observing me, per se, they were watching a hands-on science class, or whatever. I was volunteered by my principal ("You'd love to do it, right Dawn?") so I kinda had to be there.

 

Any-whooz-its, I finally made it up and it's another winner. Here's the pattern cover for the fifteen of you who don't already own the pattern.

 

 

 

Here's the "I have pink-eye and feel like shit" picture. Have you guys noticed that my shoulders seem wider or something lately? Remember this dress? It seems just a bit narrow for me too. It may be that I just have it pulled funny but it's odd to have this same thing happen twice like this. I'm pretty sure that my shoulders have not widened by an inch in the last month. I'm not lifting right now and have been running quite a bit. That makes me thinner not thicker. Weird. Anyway, it's another Jalie winner. This is left-over fabric from this other Jalie top.

 

 

 

 

Here's a close-up of the buckle I used. This is actually a plastic backpacking buckle. Funny, eh? I quite like it though. I'll make more of these. I like the buckle version. I need to make it in a solid next.

 

Next up? I have the Jalie cardigan all traced off and I have the perfect fabric. I may try to cut it out tonight and sew it up tomorrow.

Hawaii Fabric

I ended up going to Fabric Mart a couple of days ago. What fun! I've never been to a nice big *garment* fabric store. I've been to lots of large fabric stores but most of them sold quilt fabrics. This place had lots of everything. I ended up buying some very Hawaiin fabrics for kid pillowcases. I also bought some knit prints for kid jammies and a fun purple/gold georgette for me. More later. We are still in Hawaii but fly back to the frigid north tomorrow night. I'm posting via my iPhone so the formatting will be all wonky. I'll fix it when I get back to town but I just wanted to check in with y'all. :)