Filed under sewing …

Mar 23 2010
1 Comment
sewing

New blue polka dot skirt.


So, after two days of sewing, I managed to finish my first skirt of the year.

I used McCalls pattern M5631, which called for 3.5 yards of fabric. Before I opened up the instructions, I really couldn’t wrap my head around how a skirt could call for the same amount of yardage as a dress pattern I had bought. And then I started sewing. Having both pleats and gathers, this skirt is really full. And very likely to flip up in the wind (which totally happened when I wore it out on Monday.)

I let the Mister pick the version of the skirt to go with, and I really like the fake layers at the bottom. They’re harder to see in the polka dot, but they are a nice little detail. I like how I followed directions exactly and the skirt hits at exactly the right spot on my knee.

This is absolutely my favorite, and am pretty sure I can wear nearly any color top with it; it’s all a matter of finding the right shade. One really good thing about making my own skirts is that I can take a swatch of fabric with me when I go shopping for tops to be sure that the colors will match.

Pattern Notes:

  • I made the size 20. For serious. Had I made my waist size, the skirt would be sitting about five inches higher. I am ridiculously high-waisted. As it is, it sits about an inch below my belly button, which is exactly where I like skirts of this type to sit.
  • The pattern was really straight forward. Sizing comes completely from the waistband, the pleats and the gathers. All the sizes (14-20 in my pattern envelope) used the exact same skirt piece at the same dimentions; the smaller the size, the larger the pleats and the more the gathers. Will make it really easy to pull apart and downsize if I lose the weight I’m trying to.
  • Did the “C” view, but omitted the waist sash because I don’t really need to emphasize that.
  • Ended up inserting a regular zipper; tried to do an invisible one and failed horribly, so I went back to what I know I’m good at. I’ll try again on the next skirt.
  • The hem and fake tiers were really easy to do, as the skirt body is actually square. Thus I didn’t have to try to ease in anything on a curve.
  • I am most definitely planning on making this skirt again, as soon as I can afford some more fabric.
  • I used a light-weight cotton (no idea what, bought it at Hancock’s); but can see this in a voile with a lining, a linen, or any other light-weight fabric.
Tagged , , , ,
Feb 25 2010
Leave a comment
sewing, thoughts

Dreaming about a new dress.

Oh, how I dream about this dress.

I picked up this pattern last week when I ran into JoAnn’s to pick up some elastic for the bloomers I was making, though I didn’t really need to bring a new pattern home. I just couldn’t help myself into looking through the pattern books, and fell in love with this one.

I am thinking about styles A and B in particular. I think this dress has just the right amount of playfullness for me, while still being grown-up enough to wear to work, and not feel like I’m over dressed. I have no fabric yet, just an idea.  Things that need to be decided:

  • Sleeves or no sleeves? (I already know I’m going with the shorter skirt.)
  • What type of fabric? (cotton, linen, something else entirely?)
  • Solid or patterned?

I’m sure there are many other things that I’ll need to figure out, but while I sew little projects with my fabric stash, this is the one that will be on the back of my mind, keeping my eye out for the perfect fabric, and the right time to get it done.

Tagged ,
Feb 22 2010
1 Comment
sewing

Sweet little underthings.

I love to sew…when the machine doesn’t hate me, when I have fabric, when a pattern calls to me. Luckily, this past weekend saw the convergence of the three, and I sewed myself a delightful little pair of underthings.

Bloomers

About a week ago, Sarai over at Collete Patterns posted a free sewing pattern for her “Madeline Mini Bloomers.” It was of course posted in time for Valentine’s Day, but of course I left myself no time to sew them. Added to the mix was the sad fact that I didn’t have any type of fabric she calls for in the pattern, which left me contemplating the pattern all week.

On Friday, after pulling up the pattern every day, I thought I might as well try the pattern out of cotton, to make sure that I really did like the way it worked up before I went and bought some fabric especially for it. It helped that this pattern needed only a yard of fabric, which so happens to be the length of fabric I most commonly buy.

Bloomers, front view.

And, oh baby, do I like it.

I used some fabric that has been kicking around my stash for the better part of five years. I adore penguins; it’s still winter. What could possibly be better for lounging around?

Bloomers, inside out.

I deviated from the pattern slightly, in that where it calls for regular seams, I chose to do flat felled seams (the same kind of seams found on your jeans), which left the inside very clean-looking. I am super thrilled with how they turned out, since it’s the first time I’ve ever done them. Also, in place of ribbon at the leg to be used as a drawstring, I opted to put in elastic there as well, with a ribbon tied around where it showed in between the buttonholes.

Pattern Notes:

  • I chose to do the XL size, as my waist-to-hip ratio landed me right in the middle of the large/extra large sizing. I always choose to go bigger.
  • When I printed it out on my printer, the 4×4 inch test box only printed out at 3.75×3.75 inches. Since the 3/8″ buttonhole markings were still the correct length, I thought what the heck. I figured it didn’t matter too much, since I was in between sizes.
  • When sewing up the crotch seam, the back side didn’t quite match up with the front. As Britt over at Scrapyard also noted, the “back piece  is drafted so that a very angular piece extends beyond the opposite half.” The quick fix to this was to trim off the angle once the seam was sewn, so that the leg opening had a continuous edge.
  • I had to unpick a casing line because I hadn’t marked it correctly on my machine (it was so far over that I couldn’t see the guides and had to use painter’s tape to mark it); it was rather obvious that the 1/4″ elastic wouldn’t fit through.
  • Doing the flat felled seams really helped when it came time to thread the elastic through, as there was nothing for the safety pin I was using to get caught on. It’s the first time I haven’t cursed my seam allowances.

Over all, I really like this pattern. The cotton makes these bloomers perfect for sitting around the house in; they’re short but provide full coverage. I probably wouldn’t wear these under any clothing under than dresses and skirts, and only provided that it wasn’t a slim cut so that the extra fabric that the gathers give you won’t show.

I am most definitely going to make this pattern again, in a nicer, lighter-weight fabric.

Tagged , ,
Newer posts →
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 80 other followers