Stashing for Spring!

I've heard myself say many times that I don't stash fabrics, that I buy fabric for a project and then sew it right away. Well I am a big fat liar, or in denial. I am out of space in my craft closet and must face facts, I have a lot of stashed fabric and I want to use it. 

Some of it I bought online with other things, made the other things and stashed the rest of the fabric ( I can't just order one thing because I HATE paying for shipping). Some are from the clearance rack of my local fabric store, sometimes they have things that are so cheap I buy way too much yardage of. And some are from the garment district, and I thought I HAD to have them and now they sit in my closet. So I pulled out the fabrics that are suitable for spring/summer and am going to sew with a plan. 

I really only have plans for the bow print, which is a Marc Jacobs remnant. I think it would look cute as Colette Patterns Hazel. The line of bows would work nicely with the v-shaped bodice in the Hazel. 

The second fabric, is a also a Marc Jacobs cotton print, I only have 1.5 yards of. The print is so over-sized  that I'm not sure how it will look as a blouse.  I haven't seen what this fabric was originally used as, it would make a super cute sundress, but I don't think I have enough!

The third fabric, is a vacation print cotton, I bought at my local fabric store for $3.50 a yard and I got a little carried away and bought 5 yards of it. This will make a really cute sundress, I just have to find the right vintage pattern. I also might try to bleach it to tone down the colors a bit. 

The cherry print Anna Sui I have used before, and the lovely Gail of Today's Agenda, found some more of it near her and was nice enough to send me 3 yards of it. I think she has some too, but I have no idea what to do with it. It is a lightweight silk, very drapey, need some help deciding what it would be good for! 

The last fabric is also a silk fruit print, which was meant to be a lining in last years coat, but I thought it was too pretty just to be lining. So now I have 2.5 yards of silk and don't know what to do with it!

I'm sure some of you can relate, do you have plans for all of your fabric? Does some of it sit around forever just waiting for the perfect project? Any suggestions of what to do with the silks? 

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Finished Project: Abbey Coat

It's finally finished, and I love my coat! Yesterday my husband and I traveled north to visit his parents and stumbled upon this horse farm in the snow. Turns out the be the perfect setting for some pictures of my coat!

The Abbey coat, a Jamie Christina pattern, is the perfect girly winter coat. I used a gorgeous blue wool from Mood in NYC, white sunback lining, and my favorite thing covered buttons from Pat's custom buttons and belts. I made some changes to the pattern, made the sleeves 2 inches longer and added pockets. After all what is a coat without pockets? I added them to the princess seams in the front, they may be a little bulky, but it would drive me crazy without them. 

I love the flounce,  which I did not interface, I was afraid that it might look like a tutu! I used all of my regular tailoring techniques: bound buttonholes, padstitching the collar, hand pickstitching, and topstitching. Making a coat is a lot of work but it is so worth it when you get it right. The coats in the department store seem like blankets compared to the weight and structure a tailored coat has.  I just love the results, it feels really special, and I can't wait to wear it all winter.

See the rest of my coat posts here, here and here

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Gratuitous Coat Post

I've been toiling away on my abbey coat, and am nearing the end. Hopefully, I will finish it this coming week but in the meantime wanted to share some shots of the inside. 

Padstitching the collar

I added pockets on the princess seam!
Also you can see the bound buttonholes here

Set in sleeve using a bias strip

Lining

Sunback lining

So close to done!
Off to go sew some more 

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On My Needles

If you follow me on Instagram (ErikaMadeIt) you may have gotten a sneak peek of my latest knitting project. This sweet fairisle cardigan is from the classic knitting book Vintage Knits by Sarah Dallas. I've been lusting after this cardigan for almost ten years now (eeek!) and finally gotten around to making it. 

Once again I am using my favorite yarn, Blue Sky Alpaca's sport weight melange. The blue is a lovely cornflower color. This is a bigger yarn than the pattern calls for, a discontinued Rowan fingering yarn (why does Rowan discontinue so much?). But I had a lot of colors in my stash and I wanted to make it work. I knit up a gauge swatch and determined that 2 sizes smaller than the smallest size would work. It's easy to work out the amount of stitches in this pattern, the S,M or L sizes are all 7 stitches apart.  

I really like the way this is turning out, and I am trying to get back into knitting. I just have to remember to knit every night. Does anyone else have this book? How do you stay motivated to finish knitting projects?


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Abbey Coat Muslin

I'm slowly crawling out of the black hole of flu that's been going around. I haven't done anything constructive for 5 days,but today I finally felt up to finishing my coat muslin. 

Most of the pieces I cut from some green felt fabric I had to simulate the weight of wool, and the rest in just muslin fabric when I ran out of felt. I think the fit is good, but not great. The upper sleeve is too tight, and I'm not really sure how I feel about the sleeve length for winter. I may lengthen them. It seems to be bunching a little bit around the upper  breast, I supposed a full bust adjustment would fix that. Or maybe it's just a result of the too tight sleeve.  It felt good on, but now looking at these photos it looks kind of blah. Maybe it's just because I'm feeling blah. 

Any fitting suggestions? Anyone else just feeling blah today?

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I'm Coat Crazy!

I'm starting another coat! I've always had a serious addiction to coats, and now I'm addicted to tailoring and the two combined is impossible to resist. The pattern is the Abbey Coat from Jamie Christina, who I never knew about before I spotted this coat pattern. The pattern comes in a neat little booklet, and has extensive instructions. I will be adding the tailoring techniques I have learned so far: bound buttonholes and padstitching the collar. The full length version, is perfect for winter, with the addition of longer sleeve. 

The gorgeous blue wool is from Mood, thanks to a gift certificate from my In-laws. For the lining I chose an off white sunback satin material, a suggestion from Gertie's latest coat sew-along. One side is satin, the other is some kind of flannel for warmth, no need to interline! I also got some off white faux fur for some accents. The buttons are from Pat's Custom Buttons and Belts, in Lodi Ca.  I love getting custom buttons from her, they always look perfect, such a speedy delivery even though it's across the USA, and they really make projects look more professional. These buttons only cost me about $13.  I LOVE buttons! Anyone else feel the same?

The wool is going in the dryer to shrink, but I'm not sure how to pre-wash the satin, any suggestions? It's cold outside today, I've got to get started on my muslin!

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Vintage Robe for Mom: Butterick 9214

Hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday! It's been very busy around these parts, but I did manage to make my Mom a Christmas present; this glamorous robe! The pattern is Butterick 9214 from 1959. I have been searching for this pattern of a little while, I love the elegance of it. I especially like how the ties are attached at the side seams.

The fabric is an off white velour from JoAnn's, which worked out well and has a nice drape for the robe. This project came together rather quickly, it was very easy to follow. My fabric was too thick to gather it at the waist as instructed, so I made pleats instead.  I also had to draft a pattern piece for the back facing, and I still finished it just in time for Christmas Eve!

I used bias trim for the seam finishing, in a contrasting red color. It makes for a very festive interior! Obviously my Mom loves it, she feels very chic in it. Its very important to be glamorous while lounging on the couch.  We had fun taking pictures with my marabou feather slippers and her crystal champagne glass, this robe requires a cocktail. 

All the best in the New Year!

Happy 2013 Everyone!

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