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| This is me, attempting an Oona-esque shot. |
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| That's right, I'm dangerous. Watch out. |
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| Button is covering the joint. |
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| I'll leave you with my figurehead shot. I'm a ship! |
Showing posts with label sewing with knit fabric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing with knit fabric. Show all posts
color block
Quickie!!
3/19/14
I've got a couple of projects that I am excited to show you, but they are awaiting final finishing touches and photographs. In the meantime, here are a couple of curvy knit pencil skirts I've made up for clients recently. One was finished a couple of months ago and the other finished today. Please feel free to refer to my free tutorial on this design if you want one for yourself!
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| Brown double knit from Mood and printed ponte knit from GirlCharlee (out of stock) |
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| Rayon double knit and Croco Embossed Black Novelty woven fabric - both from GorgeousFabrics.com |
PoldaPop
STITCH Magazine, Spring 2014
1/30/14
Hey, I'm in a magazine!
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| Stitch Spring 2014 - see here |
Here I am!
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| Can you see the "Designed By Lisa Polderman"? |
Well, not ME - that's a model. But she's wearing my skirt!
The hardest part of this knit/jersey skirt was cutting and sewing the chevron fabric so that the chevrons matched up across the pleats (especially when the print wasn't quite on grain):
There's a number of lovely projects in this magazine. The one I'm most excited about making (apart from my own!) is this interesting chevron pencil skirt designed by Tina Lewis:
If you want to buy a copy, Stitch is available at Joann's Fabrics and some independent sewing stores (but not my local Hancock Fabrics, grr-blah) as well as online.
infinity scarf
A Snippy Day
12/3/13
I spend the last couple days at the cutting table (aka, the large self-healing mat that lays on my sewing room floor). This is probably why my jeans get so worn at the knees. I hate cutting, so I sometimes do a marathon session so that I won't have to do it for a while. Yesterday I spent about six hours cutting out fabric for scarves and today I cut out a client's skirt during naptime. So glad I get to sew tonight and all day tomorrow!
The scarf project took a long time because I had to eke out the scarf pieces from jersey scraps and old t-shirts, and then decide what went with what. Here's what I had at the end of the day:
These are going to become teacher gifts and, if I'm lucky, I'll have some leftover for my Etsy shop.
Whew. So glad that's over with . . .
The scarf project took a long time because I had to eke out the scarf pieces from jersey scraps and old t-shirts, and then decide what went with what. Here's what I had at the end of the day:
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| Twenty scarves! |
These are going to become teacher gifts and, if I'm lucky, I'll have some leftover for my Etsy shop.
Whew. So glad that's over with . . .
After the disappointment of the Elisalex dress, I wanted to sew something that would cheer me up. I'm going back to the Elisalex dress soon (I will not be vanquished by thee, Madam Elisalex!), but in the meantime, sewing with knit/jersey fabric is fast, easy to fit, and (usually) highly satisfying.
I love making variations on my TNT patterns. I consider the patterns in Sew U Home Stretch my knit block patterns, as they are simple, I know they fit, and they are easy to draft from for making variations. I'm working on a woven dress block so that I can draft variations there, too, but I'm still perfecting the muslin. But my knit block pattern was all I needed for this project.
So, please meet THE CURVY COLOR BLOCK KNIT PENCIL SKIRT!!
I based this design on my corsetted pencil skirt, which has been really popular with clients (I think I've now made this skirt for five different people).
And because I like y'all so much, I'm going to show you how to do it.
TUTORIAL
Supplies
Knit skirt block with waistband
2 or 3-inch elastic
Ballpoint/stretch sewing needle
Tracing/drafting paper (you need to see through it)
Medium to heavy weight knit fabric - I used two ponte knits from GorgeousFabrics.com
Lining fabric (optional - I used a knit tricot)
Seam gauge or measuring tape
Ruler
Draft Color Block Skirt
STEP 1: If you don't have this marked already, modify your skirt block to a pencil skirt. I have a mini-tutorial on this here.
STEP 2: Take pencil skirt front pattern piece and place marks 3 inches in from the side seam all the way down to the hip line. UPDATE: For larger sizes, I have found that it's best to measure in thirds. You want the color block inset to take up about two-third of the skirt. On your quarter-block, measure across the waist and hip lines. Divide these numbers into thirds. So if my quarter-waist measurement is 8, I would place a mark about 2.75 inches in from the side seam at the waist. If my quarter-hip measurement is 11, I would place a mark at 3.75 inches from the side seam at the hip.
STEP 2: Place a mark 5-6 inches in from the side seam at the hem (remember to mark in from the pencil skirt line if you have simply drawn that on top on your regular block). Using a ruler or other straight edge, draw a line between this mark and the 3-inch mark at the hip line.
STEP 3: Connect dots, smoothing out line at the hip. Feel free to play with the line to make it more curvy or straight. If you have a French curve or hip curve, use it!
STEP 4: Repeat with pencil skirt back. Your skirt blocks should now look like this:
STEP 5: Use tracing paper to trace your four new pattern pieces (center front, side front, center back, side back). Make sure to add a grainline on the side front and side back pieces. I do this simply by measuring over from the center front/back fold.
STEP 6: Add seam allowance to all your pieces. I usually use 1/4" or 3/8" on knit fabric when I have already tweaked the pattern for fit. Since I wanted a 3-inch elastic waistband and my skirt block only allows for a 2-inch waistband, I marked 1 inch lower on the waist to remind myself to cut there. Your four pattern pieces will look something like this:
Cut and Assemble Skirt
You probably already know how to do this because you've made this skirt before, but I'll walk through the steps in order to highlight how to sew this new shape.
STEP 1: Cut skirt and waistband pieces. If you aren't sure which side of a solid knit/jersey fabric is the "right" side, hold onto the selvedge sides and pull across the cut edge. The fabric will roll to the right side. If you are using 3" elastic, the size of the waistband will be (your waist + 3/4") x 7". For 2" elastic, the width will be 5". This allows for a 1/4 - 3/8" seam allowance plus a touch extra.
For my waistband, I wanted the color block design to carry through the waistband. I cut four pieces (center front, center back, two sides) and just measured the top of the skirt color block pieces to know how wide to make each section.
Note: Place a mark at the hip line on your center front/back, and side front/back pieces. This will make it easier to match up the skirt pieces in the next step.
STEP 2: Pin and sew front/back side pieces to front/back center pieces. This step might feel wrong when you are doing it, as you'll be matching a concave curve to a convex curve. Pin the hip mark first, then top and bottom, then the rest. Feel free to use a lot of pins on the curves (I did). You'll notice that the fabric won't lie flat - that's okay (see third photo). As long as the fabric is flat within your seam allowance (this is why having a small seam allowance is helpful), all will be well in the end.
If you have a walking foot, this is a good time to use it. I like to sew with a long stitch on my regular sewing machine then serge over the seam with my serger.
Press seams - this should take out any remaining ripples.
STEP 3: Pin and sew side seams. Place front section on back section, right sides together, matching hip marks. Pin and sew with long stretch stitch on sewing machine or with overlock stitch on the serger.
STEP 4: Sew waistband. Fold waistband right sides together, matching short sides. Pin and sew. Press seam open or to one side. Fold waistband in half along long side and press.
STEP 5: Attach waistband. Divide skirt into 8 equal sections and mark with pins. Divide waistband into 3 equal sections and mark with pins. Place waistband over skirt, right sides together matching pins. Pin in place. I like to have the waistband seam at center back. Sew around waistband leaving a 2-3 inch opening at center back to insert your elastic. You may need to stretch the waistband slightly as you sew to match the skirt.
If you have a color block waistband, then you'll simply need to match up the sections.
STEP 6: Cut and insert elastic. Hold elastic around your waist to determine how long you want it. The elastic should be slightly stretched. Overlap by 1/4 - 3/8" for seam allowance. Attach a safety pin to each end. Use one safety pin to feed the elastic through the waistband and use the second safety pin to secure the other end to the skirt (so that you don't accidentally pull it all the way through - very annoying). This is harder to do with 3" elastic, but you'll get there. Once the elastic is all the way through, overlap the ends and pin. Sew ends together with a zig-zag stitch and trim off excess elastic.
STEP 7: Finish skirt. Pin opening on the waistband to the skirt and finish this seam. Try on the skirt and determine where you would like the hem. Fold and press hem allowance and stitch the hem. You can stitch the hem with a straight stitch, zig-zag stitch, blind stitch, or coverstitch (I used the coverstitch on my serger). Now put on the skirt and feel curvy!
And finally a word on the fabric I used. I bought this ponte knit over a year ago from GorgeousFabrics.com thinking it would make a fun pencil skirt. When it arrived, I liked it, but the thought of that bold, strong print swaddling my lower half was too much. It sat around in my stash and I'd look at it every now and again and think, "How do I tame you?" Finally this design idea came to me. It was a "duh" moment (no angels singing opera) since I've seen about a million color block options online and this silhouette has been in my arsenal for a while now. But I'll take "duh" for inspiration. The black fabric came from GorgeousFabrics.com and you can find it here. I lined the skirt with a black knit tricot that I also purchased from GorgeousFabrics.com (this isn't in stock but they have other knit linings). I thought long and hard about where I placed the print on for the front and back pieces - I did not want to shine a spotlight on certain anatomical features!
Let me know if you have any questions and I'll add more construction photos the next time I make this skirt - I'm already scheming to make another version with this fabric (ponte knit and yes, it was also purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics - you can tell where I do most of my online shopping!):
If you make your own version of the skirt, please send me a picture or a link to your blog - I'd love to feature it!
I love making variations on my TNT patterns. I consider the patterns in Sew U Home Stretch my knit block patterns, as they are simple, I know they fit, and they are easy to draft from for making variations. I'm working on a woven dress block so that I can draft variations there, too, but I'm still perfecting the muslin. But my knit block pattern was all I needed for this project.
So, please meet THE CURVY COLOR BLOCK KNIT PENCIL SKIRT!!
I based this design on my corsetted pencil skirt, which has been really popular with clients (I think I've now made this skirt for five different people).
And because I like y'all so much, I'm going to show you how to do it.
TUTORIAL
Supplies
Knit skirt block with waistband
2 or 3-inch elastic
Ballpoint/stretch sewing needle
Tracing/drafting paper (you need to see through it)
Medium to heavy weight knit fabric - I used two ponte knits from GorgeousFabrics.com
Lining fabric (optional - I used a knit tricot)
Seam gauge or measuring tape
Ruler
Draft Color Block Skirt
STEP 1: If you don't have this marked already, modify your skirt block to a pencil skirt. I have a mini-tutorial on this here.
STEP 2: Take pencil skirt front pattern piece and place marks 3 inches in from the side seam all the way down to the hip line. UPDATE: For larger sizes, I have found that it's best to measure in thirds. You want the color block inset to take up about two-third of the skirt. On your quarter-block, measure across the waist and hip lines. Divide these numbers into thirds. So if my quarter-waist measurement is 8, I would place a mark about 2.75 inches in from the side seam at the waist. If my quarter-hip measurement is 11, I would place a mark at 3.75 inches from the side seam at the hip.
STEP 2: Place a mark 5-6 inches in from the side seam at the hem (remember to mark in from the pencil skirt line if you have simply drawn that on top on your regular block). Using a ruler or other straight edge, draw a line between this mark and the 3-inch mark at the hip line.
STEP 3: Connect dots, smoothing out line at the hip. Feel free to play with the line to make it more curvy or straight. If you have a French curve or hip curve, use it!
STEP 4: Repeat with pencil skirt back. Your skirt blocks should now look like this:
STEP 5: Use tracing paper to trace your four new pattern pieces (center front, side front, center back, side back). Make sure to add a grainline on the side front and side back pieces. I do this simply by measuring over from the center front/back fold.
STEP 6: Add seam allowance to all your pieces. I usually use 1/4" or 3/8" on knit fabric when I have already tweaked the pattern for fit. Since I wanted a 3-inch elastic waistband and my skirt block only allows for a 2-inch waistband, I marked 1 inch lower on the waist to remind myself to cut there. Your four pattern pieces will look something like this:
 |
| Hello, Toes! |
Cut and Assemble Skirt
You probably already know how to do this because you've made this skirt before, but I'll walk through the steps in order to highlight how to sew this new shape.
STEP 1: Cut skirt and waistband pieces. If you aren't sure which side of a solid knit/jersey fabric is the "right" side, hold onto the selvedge sides and pull across the cut edge. The fabric will roll to the right side. If you are using 3" elastic, the size of the waistband will be (your waist + 3/4") x 7". For 2" elastic, the width will be 5". This allows for a 1/4 - 3/8" seam allowance plus a touch extra.
For my waistband, I wanted the color block design to carry through the waistband. I cut four pieces (center front, center back, two sides) and just measured the top of the skirt color block pieces to know how wide to make each section.
Note: Place a mark at the hip line on your center front/back, and side front/back pieces. This will make it easier to match up the skirt pieces in the next step.
STEP 2: Pin and sew front/back side pieces to front/back center pieces. This step might feel wrong when you are doing it, as you'll be matching a concave curve to a convex curve. Pin the hip mark first, then top and bottom, then the rest. Feel free to use a lot of pins on the curves (I did). You'll notice that the fabric won't lie flat - that's okay (see third photo). As long as the fabric is flat within your seam allowance (this is why having a small seam allowance is helpful), all will be well in the end.
If you have a walking foot, this is a good time to use it. I like to sew with a long stitch on my regular sewing machine then serge over the seam with my serger.
Press seams - this should take out any remaining ripples.
STEP 3: Pin and sew side seams. Place front section on back section, right sides together, matching hip marks. Pin and sew with long stretch stitch on sewing machine or with overlock stitch on the serger.
STEP 4: Sew waistband. Fold waistband right sides together, matching short sides. Pin and sew. Press seam open or to one side. Fold waistband in half along long side and press.
STEP 5: Attach waistband. Divide skirt into 8 equal sections and mark with pins. Divide waistband into 3 equal sections and mark with pins. Place waistband over skirt, right sides together matching pins. Pin in place. I like to have the waistband seam at center back. Sew around waistband leaving a 2-3 inch opening at center back to insert your elastic. You may need to stretch the waistband slightly as you sew to match the skirt.
If you have a color block waistband, then you'll simply need to match up the sections.
STEP 6: Cut and insert elastic. Hold elastic around your waist to determine how long you want it. The elastic should be slightly stretched. Overlap by 1/4 - 3/8" for seam allowance. Attach a safety pin to each end. Use one safety pin to feed the elastic through the waistband and use the second safety pin to secure the other end to the skirt (so that you don't accidentally pull it all the way through - very annoying). This is harder to do with 3" elastic, but you'll get there. Once the elastic is all the way through, overlap the ends and pin. Sew ends together with a zig-zag stitch and trim off excess elastic.
STEP 7: Finish skirt. Pin opening on the waistband to the skirt and finish this seam. Try on the skirt and determine where you would like the hem. Fold and press hem allowance and stitch the hem. You can stitch the hem with a straight stitch, zig-zag stitch, blind stitch, or coverstitch (I used the coverstitch on my serger). Now put on the skirt and feel curvy!
 |
| I don't know why I am looking up, unless I'm worried about bird poop - that tree behind me is full of birds. |
 |
| My attempt at looking curvy. |
And finally a word on the fabric I used. I bought this ponte knit over a year ago from GorgeousFabrics.com thinking it would make a fun pencil skirt. When it arrived, I liked it, but the thought of that bold, strong print swaddling my lower half was too much. It sat around in my stash and I'd look at it every now and again and think, "How do I tame you?" Finally this design idea came to me. It was a "duh" moment (no angels singing opera) since I've seen about a million color block options online and this silhouette has been in my arsenal for a while now. But I'll take "duh" for inspiration. The black fabric came from GorgeousFabrics.com and you can find it here. I lined the skirt with a black knit tricot that I also purchased from GorgeousFabrics.com (this isn't in stock but they have other knit linings). I thought long and hard about where I placed the print on for the front and back pieces - I did not want to shine a spotlight on certain anatomical features!
Let me know if you have any questions and I'll add more construction photos the next time I make this skirt - I'm already scheming to make another version with this fabric (ponte knit and yes, it was also purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics - you can tell where I do most of my online shopping!):
If you make your own version of the skirt, please send me a picture or a link to your blog - I'd love to feature it!
3-inch elastic
School Projects
6/6/13
Belly, my oldest daughter, finished her first year of school last week. Kindergarten - check, onto First Grade! I wanted to make gifts for her teachers but when you include aids and specials and that meant eight gifts. I left this 'till the final week to do, so this meant something pretty quick.
Belly's contribution:
My contribution:
To save time, I interfaced the pouch fabric with a fabric-like fusible interfacing (Pellon SF101 shape-flex woven interfacing) instead of lining them. I sewed the pouches up on my fancy serger using a piping foot to attach the zippers, and each one only took about 15 minutes from cutting to fusing to sewing.
I also just hit my one year milestone with teaching sewing. I teach primarily at The Little Bits Workshop in River Forest (if you're local and you want to take a class, go here) and I really liked the skirt project I led on Monday night. I've found that while students dream about sewing their own clothes, I have trouble filling those classes with students opting instead for simple home dec project classes. I had a group of students from my last beginner sewing session who were a bit more gung-ho, so I put together a one-night class to teach them to make a simple jersey skirt.
My inspiration was this skirt, which I found on Pinterest, but I changed the drafting formula and the waistband:
I made a couple sample skirts (I'm wearing the stripey one as I type), one with pleats and one without:
Keep in mind that my students have only been sewing for about a month and not all of them even have a sewing machine at home. Here's what they made in three hours, from drafting to cutting to sewing jersey fabric for the first time:
My mantra through the class was, "Your first skirt won't be your best skirt," but they turned out really well. I can't wait to see what their second and third skirts look like!
Belly's contribution:
My contribution:
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| Zippered pouches for aids and specials |
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| Book totes from apple corduroy for her main teachers |
I figured her two male teachers wouldn't want a pretty little zippered pouch so they got Chipotle gift certificates instead. The only simple male sewing project I could think of was boxer shorts and that didn't seem appropriate!
To save time, I interfaced the pouch fabric with a fabric-like fusible interfacing (Pellon SF101 shape-flex woven interfacing) instead of lining them. I sewed the pouches up on my fancy serger using a piping foot to attach the zippers, and each one only took about 15 minutes from cutting to fusing to sewing.
I also just hit my one year milestone with teaching sewing. I teach primarily at The Little Bits Workshop in River Forest (if you're local and you want to take a class, go here) and I really liked the skirt project I led on Monday night. I've found that while students dream about sewing their own clothes, I have trouble filling those classes with students opting instead for simple home dec project classes. I had a group of students from my last beginner sewing session who were a bit more gung-ho, so I put together a one-night class to teach them to make a simple jersey skirt.
My inspiration was this skirt, which I found on Pinterest, but I changed the drafting formula and the waistband:
 |
| Elle Apparel Socialite Skirt - tutorial |
I made a couple sample skirts (I'm wearing the stripey one as I type), one with pleats and one without:
Keep in mind that my students have only been sewing for about a month and not all of them even have a sewing machine at home. Here's what they made in three hours, from drafting to cutting to sewing jersey fabric for the first time:
 |
| You can't see it in this photo, but Nora did a fantastic job matching stripes! |
dress
Vogue 8787 Stripiness
4/2/13
Please be warned that there are many stipes in this post. If stripes tend to make your eyes go all wonky, you might want to look away, or pause to make an eclipse box:
Ta-da! I finished off my striped version of Vogue 8787!
I must say that I'm quite pleased with how this turned out. The fabric (still available) is one of the pieces that I received in the great birthday haul from GorgeousFabrics.com. It's a ponte knit and is so deliciously soft and cozy. I lined the dress in a knit tricot lining (also purchased form GorgeousFabrics.com).
It was a little fiddly to work with but I am happy for the extra warmth as this will make a nice transition dress for spring/fall.
Alterations made to the pattern: I made a narrow back alteration and a sloped shoulder alteration after seeing how the muslin turned out (you can read about the process here and here). There's still a little gap in the back neck area and I think this is due to an upper back slope - next time I'll increased the back darts more and extend the shoulder so that it still matches with the front at the shoulder seam. I took in the side seams in the skirt by 3/8" on each side (for a total of 1.5") to account for my nonexistant hips. I took about 2" off the length.
I did away with the cap sleeves since they don't suit my shape. And I thought long and hard about stripe placement . . . and then entirely forgot to match the stripes above and below the midriff band in the back. Jeez.
I made one ridiculous mistake when I put in the zipper. The first part went in nicely and after carefully matching up the midriff seams across the zipper and putting in the second side, I realized one of my shoulders was twisted and I had to take out the zipper and put it in again (after going to bed as this was a sure sign that I had sewn past competence).
I got to wear it out on Saturday when I met up with a group of Chicago sewing bloggers (pictures to come). Now I think I need a nice black ponte knit cardigan to go with it as a kind of spring jacket. Maybe McCall's 6408 . . .
Next up? I'm working on some peplum tops for myself and a chambray skirt for a client. Then it's on to Elisalex which arrived in the mail last week - I am so excited for this dress!!
 |
| Source: http://mail.colonial.net/~hkaiter/sunearthmoon.html |
Ta-da! I finished off my striped version of Vogue 8787!
I must say that I'm quite pleased with how this turned out. The fabric (still available) is one of the pieces that I received in the great birthday haul from GorgeousFabrics.com. It's a ponte knit and is so deliciously soft and cozy. I lined the dress in a knit tricot lining (also purchased form GorgeousFabrics.com).
It was a little fiddly to work with but I am happy for the extra warmth as this will make a nice transition dress for spring/fall.
Alterations made to the pattern: I made a narrow back alteration and a sloped shoulder alteration after seeing how the muslin turned out (you can read about the process here and here). There's still a little gap in the back neck area and I think this is due to an upper back slope - next time I'll increased the back darts more and extend the shoulder so that it still matches with the front at the shoulder seam. I took in the side seams in the skirt by 3/8" on each side (for a total of 1.5") to account for my nonexistant hips. I took about 2" off the length.
I did away with the cap sleeves since they don't suit my shape. And I thought long and hard about stripe placement . . . and then entirely forgot to match the stripes above and below the midriff band in the back. Jeez.
I made one ridiculous mistake when I put in the zipper. The first part went in nicely and after carefully matching up the midriff seams across the zipper and putting in the second side, I realized one of my shoulders was twisted and I had to take out the zipper and put it in again (after going to bed as this was a sure sign that I had sewn past competence).
I got to wear it out on Saturday when I met up with a group of Chicago sewing bloggers (pictures to come). Now I think I need a nice black ponte knit cardigan to go with it as a kind of spring jacket. Maybe McCall's 6408 . . .
Next up? I'm working on some peplum tops for myself and a chambray skirt for a client. Then it's on to Elisalex which arrived in the mail last week - I am so excited for this dress!!
In my efforts to complete client projects for the holidays, I broke my rule of sewing for myself on the weekends for the last six weeks or so of the year. Now that I'm getting back on track, I decided it was time to re-institute that rule. I love this rule!
I've had Vogue 8593 in my queue for a while now. I bought the fabric and zipper at The Economy Shop for $1.75, and the thread, hook and eye were from my stash, leftover from other projects. I think the top took me 4-5 hours to sew, but if I did it again (using my altered pattern) I bet I could do it in about 2.5 hours.
And I'll likely do it again. I had to choose between longer length or sleeves due to the amount of fabric I had on hand. I choose long sleeves because it's getting cold here in the Chicago area and as much as I love dresses, I won't really be wearing them on a regular basis until April. The competition at Pattern Review this month is One Pattern, Many Looks and I'm thinking about doing a couple more versions of this top and putting myself in the mix. Gotta up the ante when you can!
In reading reviews for this pattern, I found that the only problem was with the facings - with all those pleats at the center front, the facings wouldn't lay flat. Ann at GorgeousFabrics.com solved this problem with binding at the neck, and all I had to do was to copy her excellent instructions. I cut a size 12 (one size down from what my measurements dictated) and thought I might have to take it in based on the garment measurements, but the opposite was true - I had to let the side seams out all the way to a 1/4" seam allowance because this knit has almost NO stretch. I added an inch to the arm length (and I'll add another inch the next time I make this) and slanted the shoulder slope from a size 12 to a size 10 (I don't know why this adjustment works or what it's called, but if I don't do it, I end up with extra fabric at the bust) and shaved a bit off the sleeve cap.
I decided to try an exposed zipper on this one, using the tutorial that Threads ran in Issue No, 162. I didn't like this look at first, but after seeing some cool versions of it online, I decided to give it a go. Not that big of a risk when you remember that the materials for this top came to less than $2! I think I like it.
I serged the sleeve and top hems and then left them as is partly because I needed the length, and partly because I thought it looked right with the exposed zipper.
I've had Vogue 8593 in my queue for a while now. I bought the fabric and zipper at The Economy Shop for $1.75, and the thread, hook and eye were from my stash, leftover from other projects. I think the top took me 4-5 hours to sew, but if I did it again (using my altered pattern) I bet I could do it in about 2.5 hours.
 |
| Vogue 8593 |
And I'll likely do it again. I had to choose between longer length or sleeves due to the amount of fabric I had on hand. I choose long sleeves because it's getting cold here in the Chicago area and as much as I love dresses, I won't really be wearing them on a regular basis until April. The competition at Pattern Review this month is One Pattern, Many Looks and I'm thinking about doing a couple more versions of this top and putting myself in the mix. Gotta up the ante when you can!
In reading reviews for this pattern, I found that the only problem was with the facings - with all those pleats at the center front, the facings wouldn't lay flat. Ann at GorgeousFabrics.com solved this problem with binding at the neck, and all I had to do was to copy her excellent instructions. I cut a size 12 (one size down from what my measurements dictated) and thought I might have to take it in based on the garment measurements, but the opposite was true - I had to let the side seams out all the way to a 1/4" seam allowance because this knit has almost NO stretch. I added an inch to the arm length (and I'll add another inch the next time I make this) and slanted the shoulder slope from a size 12 to a size 10 (I don't know why this adjustment works or what it's called, but if I don't do it, I end up with extra fabric at the bust) and shaved a bit off the sleeve cap.
I decided to try an exposed zipper on this one, using the tutorial that Threads ran in Issue No, 162. I didn't like this look at first, but after seeing some cool versions of it online, I decided to give it a go. Not that big of a risk when you remember that the materials for this top came to less than $2! I think I like it.
I serged the sleeve and top hems and then left them as is partly because I needed the length, and partly because I thought it looked right with the exposed zipper.
 |
| Please ignore the threads I forgot to clean up - oops! |
I've got a question for my fellow bloggers: What do you do when you fill up your blogger photo account? I just hit my limit and I couldn't upload photos for this post. I tried copying from my flickr stream and that didn't work, so I ended up pinning these photos to a pinterest board and then copying them from there - too many damn steps. I'd appreciate any solutions you have!
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