Ottobre Woman 2-2012 Gilda - slip dress

Here is the most recent sewing project that I have done.  Please excuse the wonky stripes.  I was just in no mood to wrestle with this slippery, but beautiful fabric.  I think I like it with the bow at the top.  This is the slip pattern in the newest Ottobre Woman magazine.  It was super easy to sew.  The changes I made were:  I left off the stretch grosgrain around the cups on the inside.  I tried it on the muslin and it was not really necessary for my daughter.  I taped the panels of the skirt together so that I could have a front and back instead of the 6 panel pieces for the slip. I narrowed the dip up between the cups by 1/2 inch because my daughter is very small and it looked out of proportion on her. I also took the center back in 1 1/2 inches.   She is 16, 5'3" and 95 pounds.
The bodice pattern pieces are very forgiving with big changes.  Since it was a dress and not a slip, the bodice needed to be more form fitting. It is really cute on!

Daughter's Jalie blouse

Here is my DD modeling her Jalie 3130 blouse. I did add the sleeve carriers on this version,  Her bust dart was raised 1/2" also.  No other real changes from how I made mine.  This is a heavy fabric too, but I did not add the 1/8th inch to her side seams and it worked out fine.  This blouse seems to run true to measurements.  This is the smallest size on this pattern.  My daughter is 5'3" and 105 pounds and I am 5'3" and 125 pounds.  So, I can still leg wrestle her and win . :)

I think I can still tweak the fit on her shirt too.  The waist darts in front and back will be taken in a little.

 It has been forever since I have posted something that I have made.  The fall holidays were so busy with birthdays and a few unforeseen events.  Anyhoo, this is the new Jalie button down blouse.  I made it out of corduroy to have a layering top.  So when I cut it out per my measurements, I added 1/8th inch to the side seams and sleeves for the heavier fabric. I am not sure that was absolutely necessary. I have been reading David Coffin's book on shirt making  so I used his ideas about shaping the collar, not necessarily his steps yet. Basically, you pull the inner collar stand and the under collar (starting at the center) tighter as you sew, in order for those pieces to be longer than their counterparts. I was able to pull those pieces 1/8th inch farther, then I just trimmed the excess and continued to sew around the ends. The stretched piece pulled its' outer piece just a little inward giving it a nice shape.
The pattern changes that I did for this Jalie was moving the bust dart up 1/2 inch and I did not do the sleeve carriers.

 I think the back is a little baggy.  I may try to fit this better next time.


Here I am with my semi-naked man statue in the back yard.

I really like this pattern. I made my daughter the same top in a much smaller size.  I'll post those pics soon!

Take care,

Claire

Ottobre 5/2011 Violet Rose top

Well, this was suppose to be for me.  I had cut it all out when my daughter declared that the rock'n'roll print would be a problem on someone my age. :(  I think she just wanted it for herself...haha.  So instead of waiting to get the call from "What Not to Wear." I recut this down to a size 34 instead of the 38. I'll have to make that sequined mini skirt for myself and go pick her up from the homeschool coop.  : o )

The biggest change I made was cutting the sleeves into a cap sleeve silhouette. She suggested that we turn this into a dress by adding a 3-4 inch band at the bottom.  We toyed around with some scraps and I do believe it would make an adorable dress too. 

Some of the sewing changes I made: I gathered between the arrows by zigzagging over some dental floss.  I started to try it the Ottobre way with clear elastic but my machine kept eating it. Instead of persevering, I just did the old TNT way.  I interfaced the neckline front and back with Sew Keyes' knit fusible tape. The outer yoke is with a medium weight rib type knit. So, I used a thinner black jersey for the inside lining. I thought it would be too thick if I used the stripe on both sides.  I did not finish the bottom edge of the yoke with a serger because I figured it would grow too much. When I completed both sides of the yoke, the neckline wanted to bag out a little in the front and back.  I fixed this with a 1/4 inch top stitch around the neck.

That's about it!  It was pretty simple little top to make.

Onion pants 4022

This is a loose fitting pant similar to a groovy sweatpant but made with a woven. It comes in capri and ankle length. I made the ankle length for my daughter. There is also version on this pattern that has seams that run down the middle of the front and back. When I make this for myself, I think I will add the center seams because it looks slimming and I need all the help I can get!
Onion 4022 pants


I love the pockets and the knit waistband with a woven. I used a tencel fabric which is very unstable and harder to sew, but the sheen, softness and pressability is wonderful. Tencel really shows starch, so that was not a good option prior to cutting out. Just a note: I made the longest version and my daughter is just under 5'3". Tall girls/women may need to lengthen this pattern.


One of the benefits to using the European patterns besides fabulous designs and drafting is customizing the seam allowances.  You can add wider sa's to the side seams for fitting issues and narrower sa's for tricky areas like a collar. You can also cut out templates and interfacing without seam allowances. I also find less problems with fit than many of the American patterns.


 

A note on pockets:  I did not gather the curved corners of the pockets per their instructions, instead I made templates out of comic cardboard and pressed around them. Comic cardboard is stiffer than manila folders but still thin. I use it to wrap fabric around like a mini-bolt too. To make the template, I use a needle tracer and just traced the pockets sans seam allowances, cut out and voila! a template.

Thanks for looking and sewing hugs to you!

Onion Jacket 1040 with my Burda Style top. I made the longer version. One of the views hits at the waist

On the Onion site I saw their version of this pattern and I had to have it.  The link is the Onion jacket that was my inspiration.
http://www.shoponion.com/showpic.asp?file=/images/items/1040_2.jpg
To no avail, I could not find a similar fabric.  I decided this fabric would do because its reverse side is very cute.
What I really like about this pattern is not only is it very well drafted but it lends itself to some very interesting variations.  The contrast was accomplished by applying the facings to the outside.  There was a notched out section of the front facing that I trimmed flush with the rest of it. To accomplish the facing to the outside trick, all you have to do is put the seam allowances at the neck to the outside instead of the inside.  When you attach the facing to the front, it will enclose those seam allowances.

                                          Stanzy, my kitten helper.

 Here is the notched out part of the facing that I trimmed in order to have a smooth line. That does not sound right.  This is the facing with the notch. After I cut out the fabric, I trimmed that portion away.
This is the front piece that wraps around the neck and the front side piece. I do not make princess seam anythings very often, so here is a tip because I seem to forget it and have to rip out and redo.  When joining the above pieces be sure the top tip of the side piece extends by the length of its seam allowance when you pin it.  Then it is perfectly matched when you open it up to press.  With 3/8ths seam allowances and relatively loosely woven fabric and good pressing, I did not need to clip the curves.  This just makes it prettier on the inside..

Just a picture of what I am talking about above.

This was a very simple pattern. It is unlined and unstructured. I was fairly certain about the sizing so I made my typical 38 with 3/8ths seam allowance. They recommend 1 cm which is approximately the same as 3/8ths. The princess seams and the center back could be made with a wider seam allowances for lots of adjusting opportunities.

Thanks for looking!

Lisette Pants...Simplicity 0450

I like how well these fit without any fit adjustments at all....weird. Burda is usually the only pattern company that I do not do many fit changes.From the photos, I can see where I could tweak, but I am really pretty OK with them right now. The instructions for the lapped zipper needs some improvement. Next time, I will do an invisible zipper or pull out my handy Reader's Digest sewing manual and just follow their instructions for a lapped zipper. Overall, this is a great little pant pattern.

This is the template that I made for the tabs.I just copied the tab pattern less the 3/8ths seam allowance onto a thin piece of cardboard that I got from a Comic store. Then I shoved it into my sewn tab, straightened it up a bit and ironed away.

If you do not have a button attaching foot, you must run out now and get one.  It is one of my all time favorite sewing feet!!! I used the edge joining foot to do my top stitching.  I use it to line up and then I off set my needle. Most of the construction is done with the straight stitch foot. 

Top: Seam roll for pant legs (I love this thing). Next is the flame that I burn the top of my zipper tape to seal the edges.  The little plier things help me squeeze the zipper stops on to the zipper. I just had a roll of zipper tape hanging around. Besides the feet, the rest of the notions  are Steam a Seam, 5/8ths SA Curve to remove the seam allowance on the curved waist facing, measuring gauge, double sided tape, etc..etc...

Measuring the 5/8ths seam allowance before it was cut off.

I have this thing about bulk in the seams.  I just have to remove what makes sense.  Here the center seam is angled back for bulk reducing operations.

Waist facing steam a seamed on the inside of the pants before I did the top stitching.

Thanks for looking!