Kwik Sew 3807 Leggings

Here is my daughter wearing the Kwik Sew leggings. She wanted this legging pattern because of the cute zip on the leg.  The ones I made here are sans zip.  Yes, those are a magazine print in cotton lycra from Fabric Fairy. I thought, cool, when she is bored she can just read her legs.  You can tell I am almost 50 and she is almost 17. This is a a one pattern piece pattern.  It is super easy and absolutely no problems with any of the construction. She is wearing it with black shorts in the pic and a tunic top from Aritzia (her fav store), Modcloth jacket and her itsy bitsy Coach purse. She is 5 foot 2 inches and about 108 pounds.  I made the extra small for her.

If you need a legging pattern that is super easy and great fit, then this is a good choice.

Happy Sewing

Claire

Vogue 8565 and Simplicity 2181

This was my attempt to mesh two patterns together. I like the outcome, but I will be doing this differently on my next one.
The Vogue is out of print and I believe Style Arc has a similar tee. I can tell you how I think you can make this without those two patterns, because I am going to try this again without either of these patterns.  On this top, I used the sleeves from S2181 and traced the front portion of the armhole to the front pattern piece and the same for the back.  After I sewed this up, the shoulders were to wide. I fixed the cap by sewing it deeper into the body which gave medium results. This is the reason the next version will be with a TNT like Jalie, Kwik Sew or Ottobre's basic tee.  ( more on my hypothesis later)

Changes besides the sleeves,
 Lowered the neckline by 2 inches
Neckline with self fabric:  See my video on how to put on a knit neckline without measuring.
Lengthened top by 2 inches

What I will do next time, or if you do not have this OOP Vogue:

I will take a portion of my knit fabric designated for the top and sew down the pleats.  These pleats are marked 1 inch apart and 9 inches long. They are sewn down with 1/4 inch seams. The pattern has 12 pleats going to the center, mine are all going to the left and 11 pleats.  Then I will lay my front pattern on top of this and cut it out. That way the sleeves will match the pattern used.  I guess you could also spread your TNT top pattern 12 inches out for the pleats if you are using a one layer pattern front.

If anyone has done this similar to my above hypothesis, let me know if it worked out or should I do something different.

Happy Sewing!

Claire

Simplicity 2181

This is a great little tee pattern. I made a size 14 and straightened the side seam a little.  My waist is not too little anymore.  Anyhoo, my daughter said that it was slimming, therefore it is my new favorite top.  I am wearing it with some Jalie jeans that I made.  I won't show you the waist of these jeans because I had to put some elastic in them so they would stay up.  The tee has a large front facing that I accidentally omitted. Once I had the front twist done, I skipped the instructions. This pattern needs a facing for the neck so I just copied the back neckline and added 2 1/2 inches in width. I cut the front facing 2 1/2 inches wide and joined it to my back facing at the shoulders then attached it to the neck hole. I understitched the facing and then coverstitched it down about 1/2 inch from the edge.  The next one is going to have an inch in length added.  I am 5' 2" and it just seems short to me.  No other fitting adjustments were done.  I wish I had done a little more matching work on the stripes, but I'm not sure I am too bothered by that.  It was fun, easy and flattering!

Have a nice weekend!!

Claire

J Stern Jeans

I tried to over expose this dark pic....

Inner leg seam that was flat felled.  This is after one wash.

Husband said to suck it in! (ha)

Back of the jeans.

UPDATE:  I forgot some information that is handy.  Jennifer Stern recommends washing and drying your yardage 5 times before cutting out. This really made sure the jeans were going to fit later. Also, she mentioned AK fabrics for denim out of NY and even though this pair is not from there, I have bought 8 yards of denim and loved every one.  Their medium weight is heavier than what you might think.

I went to the ASG convention in Houston back in August.  I took Jennifer Stern's all day jeans fitting class. I have also been making some Jalie Jeans too. (total 6 pair)
Jalie fits me pretty good out of the envelop like most people. My thighs are a little large for Jalie and I added the J Stern fit issue to that pattern.

 So, here are my fit changes:

Regular rise adjustment: Added 1 inch to front and back pattern piece.
Crotch length adjustment: Cut the lengthen/shorten crotch length line all the way across and pulled the top of this pattern 1/2 inch to the back (or side seam).
Crooked side seam adjustment: My thighs are a bit thick, so we added 1/2 inch to the front side seam and it made the pulling of the side seam on my leg straighten (yay!)>
Yoke: We pleated out the fullness with tiny darts and adjusted that pattern piece.

These jeans run small and they are designed for non-stretch denim.  I went up 2 sizes from my measurements. The above jeans are stretch and I just took them in 1/2 inch on both sides.

What I really like about this pattern are the amazing instructions. It also has cute pocket flaps. She has 3 different seam allowances. 3/8th for things like the pockets. 1/2 inch seam allowances throughout most of the pattern.  This is super for making wider parallel top stitching. She uses 3/4 inch seam allowances at the yoke and the inner leg to accommodate the flat fell seam in those places.  I have added those design changes to my Jalie pattern. She also has a contoured waist band or straight if you prefer. She even tells you how long to make the stitch length for top stitching. Back pocket location instructions include how far from the yoke on the inner pocket corner and outer pocket corner for placement.  I wish all pattern makers would give inch information on placements and rectangular pieces (like Burda WOF).
My absolute favorite aspect of these jeans are the leg.  I have tried making a Jalie/J Stern frankenpatterns with what I like best of each.  I am still going with 2 separate pairs.

My timesaver: No double needle and I used regular thread.  I lengthened the stitch (topstitching) to 4.5 and I used a double stitch on my Viking.

There you have it!

Claire

The Corset Belt

The corset belt from an old Burda magazine.  I was going to teach my daughter how to sew and this is what she picked out.  I went ahead and finished it because her hands hurt to cut out anything, even paper. It was a quick and fun little project. I traced 3/8th inch seam allowances with my handy-dandy seam allowance ruler. I used bits and pieces from denim and upholstry fabrics. I sewed the fabrics of  various widths together. Then, I just put the pattern pieces on this pieced together fabric and cut them out. We did add some red piping between the two front pieces.  It needed some color. The outer fabric is interfaced with a medium woven fusible.  It is also lined with a Bemberg type lining. The 3 ribbons on each side are attached in the back and then just pulled to the front and tied in a bow. The only adjustment I made was to cut off  3/8ths of an inch from the lower edge.  It was just a wee bit too wide for her small frame. Plus, I told her it would look like a small apron if I did not do something about its size (ha).  We both think that it would look really cute with a simple dress. Next one, I will probably add some boning in the back where the ribbons attach or maybe some heavy interfacing at the ends.
I guess this is why I like sewing for my daughter. At 16, she always has an oddball project she dreams up  that somehow seems to look pretty cute on her.

Hugs and smooches from me to you!

Claire

Ottobre Woman 5-2012 Garden Shirt

I just finished the Ottobre Woman Gardener shirt.  I love this shirt.  It is not fitted through the waist like the Jalie shirt which I really like too, but this is definitely designed to go over another shirt. I love that this is a cut on placket.  There is no yoke, but at the back shoulders there is 2 small darts for shaping. I did leave off the front pockets. I just could not see pockets on this embroidered cotton that I bought at Super Textiles in Dallas.

Here is the Ottobre pic:


The seams are meant to be sewn, finished (serged) then top stitched. So, I added 5/8th seam allowances through out except for the collar pieces and the cuffs and where they attach. Those were a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  I made a size 38 and added a FBA of  one inch. I always add an inch FBA to my Ottobre patterns.  They must be drafted for a B cup and I am a C-D cup. The other changes I made were in the fabric selection area.  Instead of another print for the bottom section of the front, I just made the embroidery design go horizontal.  I added a Liberty of London print from Fabrique! to the sleeve vents, front inside placket, collar stand and piping at the front. I have just been petting the Liberty of London and decided I would add a little to this shirt. Liberty of London is soooo nice to work with and look at. I will be saving every scrap from my large piece destined for my daughter's wardrobe.
This is a great Ottobre magazine.  Hopefully, I will be sewing the other patterns in this issue real soon.

Take care,
Claire
For Shirley Ann:

I did the FBA similarly to Colette's Anise jacket FBA

Here is a link to her tutorial http://www.coletterie.com/sewalongs/anise-sew-along-full-bust-adjustment
I think Colette has a very good step by step FBA example. 

Good Luck!!
Hugs,
Claire

My newest employee!

Will at the Post Office in his Super Man shirt.

Will assisting me with bubble wrap.

Meet my son Will.  Will finished school in August and has been helping me mail the rulers and templates. He goes to the post office to flirt with the cute clerks.  We gotta keep the postal employees amused.  He also helps me with bubble wrapping the rulers.  He gets a little side tracked because he loves to squeeeeeze those bubbles.  For the curious minded, Will has cerebral palsy from being born really premature and he is 22 years old.  I pay Will for helping me with large cokes.Caffeine will get the job done!

Have a great weekend!

Hugs and smooches,

Claire