2017 Year End Round-Up

Due to family issues,  2017 started off slow sewing.  But about mid-year things settled down and I was able to get back in the sewing room.  I worked on several quilts;  made a set of throw pillows, an apron, and a handbag;  9 pair of flannel pj pants for the grands; and 11 garments.  Of the 11 garments, I gave away 5 of them as they just didn't work for me.

Here's what I kept for myself:

Maxi skirt -  black textured rayon blend;  Simplicity 4137

Shirt-waist dress - black/red floral cotton blend; McCall's 6891

2 knit pencil skirts - black and gray; no pattern

Button front skirt - brown corduroy; New Look 6625

T-shirt dress - gray Ponte knit; Simplicity 1622

Now that I'm back to sewing, maybe I'll get back to regular blogging too.

Monthly recap & plans

Monthly Recap

This month I sewed 5 garments and used 10 yards of fabric.  Overall, I'm pleased since these are all things I'll wear and there were no wadders. 

Lace Jacket
Pattern: Butterick 3532
Fabric: Gray cotton broadcloth and cream colored lace (2-1/2 yds)



























Knit Tankattern: Simplicity 4192 Fabric: Yellow textured knit (1 yd) 

 






















Knit Top
Pattern: McCall's 7286
Fabric: Turquoise print, turquoise solid, tan solid (2 yds)

Black knit midi tee-shirt dress
Pattern: Butterick 6330
Fabric: Black knit (2 yds)

Kimono Jacket
Pattern: Simplicity 8172
Fabric: Rayon challis, 2 prints (2-1/2 yds)

August Plans
I'm finished with summer sewing, but not ready to sew for fall/winter, so I'm kind of in limbo.
I'll start on my skirt draft in preparation for making pants for cool weather.
And work on Riley's quilt and hopefully finish it this month.
Also, look though the UFO basket and see if there's anything I want to work on.
And maybe work on some quilts.

Kimono Jacket

Simplicity 8172

I really like the back flounce on this jacket.

I used 2 different rayon challis prints I had in my stash.  They both came from Joann Fabrics.  I love the soft, flowing movement of the fabric.  And it's so cool on hot summer days.

I made a size large, with no alterations.  It's a little big on me.  If I make it again, I'll probably go down to a medium.

I added a small snap at the front seam line to hold it closed.

But I wear it open most of the time.

Knit Top for my Sister - Simplicity 1199

I was making this top for myself,  so I made a size medium at the shoulders curving out to a large at hips. This is my usual size, but it turned out too big.  Which made my sister happy as it's perfect for her.

I used this pattern -  view C.

The only change I made was to add a band at the bottom of the front so that it's the same length as the back.  This was made from different cotton knit fabrics that were small pieces left over from other projects.  The gray prints are a reversible fabric - stripes on one side and dots on the other.  

I love the sleeve and neckbands made from the dot fabric.

For the back, I used the solid gray and white fabrics.

This is a great pattern that's really cute and went together quickly and easily.  I plan to make another one in a smaller sizer for myself.

Plaid Skirt

I hoped to get a picture of me wearing it, but I don't guess that's going to happen, so I'm going to go ahead and post a hanger picture.

I used this Simplicity pattern:

This is the second time I've made this skirt.  The first time my fabric was too stiff and didn't drape well.  This time I used a flannel that I bought at Joann Fabrics and it hangs nicely.

The only thing I changed was to cut the center front and back on the fold so I wouldn't have to try to match up the plaid.

I wanted to fringe the hemline, but due to the way the fabric is cut, it wouldn't ravel nicely.  So, I found this perfect color blue trim in my sewing supplies and decided to use it.  I didn't measure it before I started sewing it on & had maybe 6 inches left over! That was luck!

Here's a close up of the trim:

Simplicity 7541

This is a sleeveless dress pattern designed for woven fabrics.  It's a simple pattern
that has a great fit.  The neckline is neither too low cut nor too wide for me -
which is unusual.  And even though there's no darts, it has a nice shape. 
Its my go-to pattern for any simple woven top or dress.

I used it as my starting point for this top:
























With these white pants, the outfit has a 60's vibe.

I love this cotton black and white print fabric, but didn't have enough of it to make anything.
So, I used solid black cotton and added a wide band to the bottom and a pleated center panel.
I also used the black to make bias binding for the neckline and armholes.






























 I lightened this up trying to show the pleats in the front.

New Outfit

For the pants, I used this Simplicity pattern.

This pattern is designed for stretch knits, and for the test pair, I used a medium weight poly-blend brown knit I had in my stash.  My measurements put me in a size 18, but I didn't want mine to be form fitting, so after looking at the finished garment measurements,  I decided to cut a 20.  This was a good decision.  Given that I made this pair without any modifications to the pattern, I'm truly amazed at how well they fit.  I do have my normal wrinkles in the back and some tightness in the back crotch curve, but they're pretty good.  I left out the front and back darts and zipper and added an elastic waistband.   I really like the shape of the legs and the hip curve.  Only dislike is how high the waist is, but that's easy to fix.  I'm hoping to refine the fit of this pattern and use it to make some summer pants and capri's.






























Even though it doesn't look much like it, I used this pattern for the top:

I started out making view E, but about half way into it, I realized it wasn't going to work.  So I made some changes. Instead of having the bodice cross over, I just stitched it up the center front.  And I changed the gathers on the lower section to pleats. Now that it's finished,  I like the top, but probably won't try this pattern again.

The only thing that's the same as the pattern are the flutter sleeves. 

I really like this fabric, and this is the second top I've made from it.

And finally, a picture of my lilac bush starting to bloom.  It smells so good.  I hope the frost doesn't get it.

Simplicity 1543 - Knit Tunic

   My first project for 2015

.....



I used this OOP pattern and made a size medium at the top, going out to large at the hips.  This pattern has a lot of ease and is very loose fitting.  I think I should have made a smaller size.

My daughter-in-law got me this pretty scarf for Christmas and it looks great with this top. 

It was nice that the weather was warm enough to take pictures outside.

Even though the pattern calls for a knit fabric, I don't see any reason it couldn't be make with a woven fabric.  My fabric came from zincksfabric.com/ in Berlin, OH.   It's a textured knit and I paid $3.00 yard for it. 

I added 4 inches to length of this top to turn it into a dress to wear with leggings or tights.

This is a cute top/dress that I think I'll like wearing, but most likely won't make it again. It does have some interesting details.  The sleeves have long "cuffs" that have drawstrings on them.  And the pockets are open on the side.  I like that the hem is a little longer on the sides than the center front.

Knit Tops

 

This was an experiment.  I wanted a top with cut-on sleeves, but not so loose as dolman type sleeves.  I started with my often-used altered version of Vogue 1261.  I like how it turned out except I got the end of the sleeves a little too tight.  For contrast,  I used a black knit for the neckband and sleeve bands.

TOP 2

For the 2nd top, out came another often-used pattern, Simplicity 2603.  As per my normal, I used the sleeveless top and added the sleeves from the cardigan.  I made a size medium; added width at the center front and center back to make it loose and drapey; lengthened it by 3 inches; added a pleat to center back; and added 1/4" to the width of the neckband.  I had only a very small piece of the brown and red print that I used for the front, so I used a solid brown knit for the back, sleeves and neckband.  Instead of hemming the sleeves, I added a 1" band.

I believe the fabrics for both of these tops came from WalMart several years ago when they were getting some decent knits.   I like both of my tops and I'm sure I'll wear these a lot.