Finished Project: Grey Renfrew top

I wipped this top up in just a few hours this week-end. I have so many projects ready to go, it was hard to decide which one to start with, so I decided to just go for it and try my hand at knit sewing.

For one thing, tt was refreshing not to have to make a muslin.

I cut a size 6 in the shoulder, bust and waist and tapered to a size zero a the hips. I cut the length of the size 6 too. The sleeves are also size 6 in the shoulder and length but I cut a size 4 in width.

The longest part was probably the cutting, because I meticulously followed Tasia's instructions on how to cut knit fabric to avoid twisting seams...Hopefully it did it right.

For the rest, I pretty much followed Tasia's advice on sewing knits without a serger:

I sewed all the pieces with a jersey needle and a zigzag stitch. I also finished all the seams with a wider and narrower zig-zag stitch to get that "serger finish" look. I topstitched the neckline, cuffs and waistband with the same zigzag stitch I used on seams. I stabilized the shoulder seams with Stay tape.

The fabric I used is a medium weight cotton knit from Gala Fabric, it's very cozy and comfortable.

Overall, this pattern was really easy to make, and the fit is really good right out of the envelope.

There is a little bit of extra fabric at the bust, I might try to remove it on my next go, maybe raise the armhole also just a bit and if I were to do the same view again, I would probably raise the neckline a smidge in the shoulder area. Next time around though, I'll probably try view C with the cowl neckline.

 How do you make a photo of a grey shirt on a grey rainy day look interesting?
You add pops of colorful yarn - and a real WIP knitting project...

I actually wear a lot of this kind of shirts in the winter, they are great for layering under a cardigan or a sweater, so I'm definitely considering making more of those. It's a great instant gratification project when you want to be able to start and finish something in the same day.

Dump post: Miscellanious sewing and planning

Although I haven't been reporting much, I have been sewing quite a bit lately. I was on vacation for ten days in October and visited my family in Montreal. I made a shirt and a skirt for my step-brother's girlfriend. It was my first time sewing for somebody else, and I very much enjoyed it - so much easier to check the fit and figure out proper alterations!

I added one of Adrienne's lovely label to really finish off the shirt.

The shirt pattern is the same one I used for my ugly shirt, and the skirt is from the Burda October issue of this year. I made muslins for both. The shirt is what took me the most time, although by now I'm quite familiar with the step by step and how to put it together. I don't think that I used the seam ripper more than once this time! The skirt was really easy to sew. As a matter of fact I put it all together (except for the hem) in a few hours on my last day there. I actually really like this pattern, it's simple (no waistband) but very stylish and requires very little fabric (less then a meter). A perfect pattern for one of those end-of roll pieces that hang on the sales rack at Gala Farbics....

I don't have a picture of the finished garment, but it pretty much looked the same as rhis, in a dark green wool fabric

Speaking of fabric, the one for the shirt is from a store called Effiloché, on rue St Hubert in Montreal. It's a very cute yarn and fabric store, which also offers classes for both knitting and sewing. They only carry quilting fabrics, but they have a great selection of them and this one was perfect for this shirt. They also have a selection of gorgeous Liberty of London prints including this one, which was made up into a Sorbetto top on one of their dress-forms (drool...)

The skirt fabric is from C&M Textiles, another store on rue St Hubert, which carries a lot of quality fabric at reasonable prices. The wool was 17.00 a meter. We were helped by two older italian ladies who evidentally knew what they were talking about and gave us great service. If you are in Montreal or ever visiting the area, I would really recommend these two stores for fabric shopping...

Since I've been back, I have had quite a few projects lined up, and I am trying to figure out waht to start next:
Another, modified version of my ugly shirt pattern is in the midst of being put together. It has gathers at the shoulder yoke, and a hidden button placket.

I also want to make my first array into knit-fabric land, with a simple Renfrew top in a grey jersey...

... and this will be the perfect practice for another knit project, a dress made out of rayon fabric found at Gala Fabric in Victoria, BC

I'm actually hesitating between 2 patterns:

The first one is dress 101 from June 2009, to which I photoshoped long sleeves, and the second one is from February 2008, both from Burda Magazine...I might make muslins for both and decide after...I'm really longing for winter dresses, something comfortable and easy to wear but not too casual looking so I may end up making both.
Other projects in the cue are a faux-fur vest (the one I didn't get around to making last year) - I'm thinking a removable collar would make it more versatile.

I'd also like to make Sewaholic's Alma Blouse in a winter version with a light wool-type fabric.

Oh, and I almost forgot. A friend of mine is having a MadMen-themed cocktail party for her b-day on December 15th. As soon as she mentioned it, this dress popped into my head.

1950's inspired cocktail dress, BWOF 107-11-2007

It's not quite the right decade (more 50's than 60's) but it has a retro feel, while still feeling modern, and I could easily wear it on other occasions like office christmas party and such. I've already made a muslin for the bodice and it doesn't look too bad. I just have to find the right fabric for it. I'd love to be able to sew-up a little jacket in a matching fabric. I found this one in a thrift store recently and thought it would be the perfect shape. I might try to copy it...

That's it for now, my sewing list for fall/winter...

WIP: Dress variations

I'm working on the famous BWOF 101 from february 2011. This pattern has been super popular with sewists around the blogosphere and I definitely wanted to give it a try.

I'm not a big fan of the gathered skirt though, I think it adds bulk at the waist which isn't the most flattering... So I've been thinking of alternatives and a little photoshopping helped me visualize other options:

Version 1:

This is the skirt part from the Sewaholic's Lonsdale Dress. It's an A-line skirt with pocket.

Version 2:

The pleated version. Here I've attached skirt 124 from BWOF December 2011. I could probably recreate this just by making pleats instead of gathers with the rectangle of fabric, but this is helpful to visualize the result. Check out this similar version in black.

  

Version3:

This is the skirt part from Pattern Runway's Sundress pattern. 

This is actually my favorite version. It's gathered but not too "pooffy",  it has pockets, a waistband and the shape works well with the bodice. I have visions of piping and maybe buttons but I haven't decided yet.

In all cases I included a waistband because I find it more flattering and it makes it easier to wear any size belt. I could have tried many other options but these three were the ones I was considering in the first place.

In the meantime, I have finally reached a satisying muslin for the bodice (only the 4th one!!!). Fingers crossed that when I cut the actual fabric it still works out - you never know...

In other sewing progress news, my shirt is still sitting on my dress form, waiting only for it's buttonholes, and I just received this pattern, which I am sooo excited about because it is pretty much exactly what I was looking for to make my copy of this blouse in a flowery fabric...

So many projects, and now the sun is finally out and we have family visiting from now until the end of August...

Meet the Designer

Tonight I attended the Meet the Designer event at Fabricana, a local fabric store in Richmond BC. The designer was none other than Tasia of Sewaholic.
Tasia talked about her adventure in starting her own pattern business and gave us some insight on what it's like to be your own boss, to see your blog go from 50 followers to 1000, to launch your first pattern, hoping it will be well received...

We kind of knew each other from having commented on each other's blog, so it was awesome to meet her face to face.
I was accompanied by Katy of Ms. Modiste, who I just happened to meet at random a couple months back at a First Aid course our employers had both sent us too (I kow, what are the odds). So when we arrived it was funny to see Tasia go, "Hi guys, welcome... Wait, I know you... you're so and so".

She's just as cute in real life as she is online, and so enthusiastic and energetic! I very much enjoyed listening to her. Plus she brought all the samples of her patterns that you can see on her blog, so we got to look at them and get a real sense of the material and their making...Pretty cool!

She was wearing this version of her recent Cambie dress, which looks really good in real life (and my favorite version of this dress). And she gave us some insider info about her next pattern that's coming out really soon!

All in all it was a great excuse to geek out about sewing and blogging for a little over an hour and it was really fun to meet Tasia after following her blog for now almost 2 years...

It really makes me want to do more of these "blogger meet-ups", again  to geek out and talk about all these weird concepts ( Coletterie, sewalongs, MMM, interfacing...) that most people around me don't understand or know much about...