Kelly Anorak in Rifle Paper Canvas

Oh Hello new favorite jacket. I finished this last week and haven't really taken it off since. The pattern is the Kelly Anorak from Closet Case Patterns. Which is a little sporty for my style, but combined with the super girly and totally perfect canvas from the Cotton + Steel Rifle paper collaboration is true love. 

The pattern is very well written, which makes tackling something tricky so much less intimidating. This is probably the most tools I have used for a sewing project ever! The snaps and shortening my zipper had be running to my husbands tool box and making me feel like a bamf. 

 Oh yeah and another thing I've been working on lately.... a baby bump! This jacket still has some room to grow for the spring, and I added the double sided zipper so I could unzip and let the bump breathe.  Baby boy is due in August, so I've been sewing a lot of Maternity clothes as well . 

 Ok, the biggest change I made to the pattern was to sew the flat felled seams differently. I found, with the wise advice of my sewing guru, Nancy, that if you start with the seam WRONG sided together, then press trim and fold under and topstitch, the seams comes out much more professionally. They double line of stitching shows on the outside, more like a ready made garment. 

The only change I needed to make to the pattern was to make the sleeves bigger, which I always have to do with every sleeve. Since this is a two piece sleeve I only altered the top sleeve, which is the method that works for me. 

 The seams are all enclosed with either the flat felled seams or pink bias tape, making the inside just as pretty as the outside! I am so proud of how this came out, having sewing superpowers is the best ever, am I right?!

Pin It Now!

Halloween Bomber Jacket

I never even knew I like bomber jackets and now I'm obsessed. I'm always looking for new classes to teach, and when McCall's 7100 came out I thought it would be a good class. Something a little bit different, simple to put together and would be cute on a lot of different people and ages. My classes are usually filled with everyone from tiny 12 year olds to adults making their first big project. I didn't really consider this jacket to be for me but as soon as I made it up I was hooked. I felt instantly cool. BOMBER JACKETS FOR EVERYONE!

The greatest thing about this pattern is that it can be made out of all the fabrics. This is my second version, a Halloweenish Cotton and Steel from the Boo collection. The black sleeves and the bands are both a knit ponte. I was careful to make sure all the stripes matched up when I was cutting out.

 Since this pattern is cute in literally any fabric the possibilities are practically endless. I can have one for every holiday. It's cute over dresses too!  Tomorrow is Halloween so I will wear my spiderweb dress and this jacket and be double the me made holiday cuteness.  My class isn't until Decemeber so I am sure I will make some more before then.

Pin It Now!

Colette Rue

One of the benefits of working for a fabric store, is that I've known about Rue for WEEKS. I kept a secret, that never happens! A super cute secret too! We ordered copies of the pattern right away, but I printed out a pdf so I could get started on the store sample. 

I know some people love pdfs but I am not one of them. I taped together 70 pages. It took all morning. And then there is no good way to fold and store them! So when the real copies came I made used one of them, so much better!

This is version 1, the short sleeve with the pleated skirt. The other version has long sleeves with a more fitted skirt. The dress comes fully lined, with separate pattern pieces for the lining! Love that. 

The fabric I used is a Cotton and Steel halloween-ish print which I think is cute all year long. If you look closely the bottles say things like eye-of-newt, but if you are not looking closely they look like perfume bottles and flowers. I also used piping on the neckline instead of the bust piece, it would  have been weird for me with a fuller bust. 

I had a couple issues with the pattern, but nothing too major. The bodice meeting at a "V" was a problem. If you just pin the pieces together and sew the "V" ends up below the seam line. I had to fudge it so it would land on the 5/8"s. 

I made a size 14, and a bodice muslin, so when I attached the skirt and the bodice and the waist was too big, I was not so happy. I had to take it in an inch on each side to fit. I also took off quite a few inches off the skirt before I cut it out, which I rarely do. I think it might have been 3"! So beware of that.

I also need to tinker with the bodice fit a little more. I think if  I lengthen the "v" shaped bodice so the tucks sit a little lower it would be better. I had to get this project done in time for the release and I was too excited to spend the time to tinker!

I also chose to only line the bodice. Way less fabric, and easier to iron, when it's a finished product. I used a green cotton, that is so fine it's almost like a cotton-silk blend. It's so divine, I want to line everything in this.

All the supplies for the dress are from Fabricland, (the NJ one, Canada). My dress will be on display there untill November, when we are having a class for Rue! I am teaching it, so it will be super fun!

Pin It Now!

Gertie's Butterick 6322

I've made a lot of dresses this summer and blogged only a few. Mostly because I've been taking pictures and then they don't look as good as I thought they should. So I'm just gonna show this dress even though the pictures aren't top notch. 

This dress is Butterick 6322, another dress from Gertie's pattern line. I really like the corset detail and the waist and the peasant style bust. 

I spent most of the time on this dress plaid matching. The fabric is a very light-weight almost seersucker cotton. It matches up on all the sideseams, the entire center back and the corset part is cut on the bias, and the plaids match there too.

I added 2.5" to raise the bust, otherwise it would have been quite indecent. It does fall off my shoulders a little bit so I would gather the neck a little more and make the bias tape a little shorter to compensate. I also had to hem it twice, the first time it was way too long and unflattering. 

Adding the grommets to the corset was easy, except that I felt they were a little loose and went back and hammered them on a hard surface and half the paint fell off. Then it was hard to get the ribbon I originally picked out to fit. I used an 1/8th inch ribbon in hot pink. 

I sewed this dress in under 24 hours in the beginning of the summer so I guess it was quite easy.  I've been wearing it once a week all summer, so its been a successful make.

Pin It Now!

TWO Sallie Rompers

Summertime is made for rompers. Throw it on, super comfy, in a no ironing knit fabric.  This is the Sallie jumpsuit hack into a romper from Closet Case Files. It's so fabulous that this is my second version.

The fabric was love at first sight. Flamingos are my favorite and I love the look of Charley Harper art. The fabric is an organic knit from Birch fabrics. Its very soft, and almost like a sweatshirt material. 

this is me post cartwheel

For this version I followed Heather's directions and made a knit binding for the v-neck. I love the trick at the end for making the v-neck pointy instead of a curve.  I hemmed the sleeves and the shorts using my trusty double knit needle.

I also made sure all my flamingo stripes matched up. I bought two yards of this fabric at Rock Paper Scissors in Montclair NJ, and used up every inch of it. 

This version was actually my first, and I used my precious knit fabric I bought in Italy one year ago, (ahh take me back). It's like a tropical jungle cotton knit, perfect for dog walks down the street.  Rockford is being super cooperative on our walk/photoshoot here. 

I made this version like the original sallie jumpsuit, the bodice is self lined, no knit binding. I liked doing the knit binding but I think this version gaps less. 

Are you guys feeling rompers this summer?  Do you sew things in multiples?

Pin It Now!

Beach Dress and Coat : Simplicity 8139

Happy Summer sewists! It's my favorite sewing season, there are so many fun things to sew, like this new BEACH DRESS! I'm straight out of Beach Blanket Bingo right now and loving it. You will find me frolicking along the Jersey Shore in this all summer long. 

The pattern is a vintage re-release from Simplicity, 8139. The bathing dress and beach coat pattern is from the 1950's. I love that I get to recreate this vintage look, because it's something I'd never be able to find in my size normally. 

The dress is made with seersucker and has a full knit romper lining underneath, I had to make a few adjustments to get it to fit. I had to add two inches of length to the bra cups to cover everything up there. And then I had to add another inch to the bodice length because of my long torso. After I made it I had to take off some shoulder length to keep the back from gaping. 

The bust portion is made to be gathered. Kind of like the Sweetheart Sundress from Gertie's first book. I hand sewed some stitches to either side of the center front seam and pulled to gather them. Then the bow is tied around the bust. There is a whole left under the bust to slide the sash though. 

I finished the hem with rick rack, because everything is better with rick rack. I love having the knit romper under the short skirt, I am free to frolic without worrying about wind and such. 

I made a beach coat to match too! It's perfect for going from early morning "chill" to later when its hotter on the beach. I made it with a terrycloth outer and the seersucker lining. It has a button closure, over-sized pockets, with more rick rack, and sleeves that you roll up to have cuffs. 

This is so comfortable, and I have already worn it a lot, lounging on the deck, riding my bike around and at the bay beach. I want to add rompers under all my clothes now. What do you guys sew in the summer?

Pin It Now!

Yarn Dress, another McCall's 6887

It's finally spring! Time for sundresses everyday. I made another version of McCall's 6887, my third version. The other dresses are Halloween and fall appropriate. M6887 is just a simple scoop neck princess seam bodice with a paneled full-ish skirt. Sometimes it's just time to whip up something you know will fit and be cute. 

The fabric is from the Cotton + Steel Cat Lady collection. It has dancing yarn balls on it! This is basically what my house looks like. Just yarn in every corner. So obviously I had to incorporate yarn into this dress somehow!  I took a Madelinetosh Unicorn tail in the color Pop Rocks, and knitted a 4 stitch I-cord. I knitted almost the entire skein, cast off and then did another cord for the bow. 

I then gave the I-cord a really good steaming, hopefully that shrunk it up, making it ok to wash. The cord was pinned and machine stitched into place after the front bodice was assembled. (I promise that is not a pucker in the princess seam, just an unfortunate wrinkle after wearing it all day). 

The neckline is finished with bias tape, mine is navy polka dot of course. Just a cute surprise you can see when it's hanging on the hanger. I love this dress because it combines two craft universes. I might have to knit trim for every dress now! 

Pin It Now!