Sneak Peek: Peplum Top

Even though this is another summer top, I was really determined to finish it this year, as opposed to make it a UFO for another year.

 

I'm hoping to have a chance to take modeled photos soon, but in the meantime. here's a sneak peek...

I also finished a knitted sweater and am now working on a skirt that will incorporate leather, as well as a knitted cardigan for B. So many projects!

Boxy Sweater

There was a time where I only wore tight fitting shirts. They would look great at first but then I would wash them and they would shrink in the wash, leaving me with an exposed mid-riff and pulling on my sleeves to reach my wrists...and then I realized that wearing a loose top didn't have to look like I was wearing a sack, and some looser shape could actually work for me.  It didn't hurt that trends switched to looser tops and tigher bottoms, which I've definitely embraced, as the below pictures will demonstrate.

This is somewhat of a stash busting project, although the fabric hadn't been in my stash for very long (but stash-busting makes it sound so guilt-free). The pattern is #117 from Burda magazine October 2013. I liked the boxy shape and the clean lines, quite in trend right now.
The fabric is a medium/heavy weight forest green knit with a nice body to it, purchased from Gala fabric.

This was a fast project in that I didn't bother making  muslin. I did however make adjustments right off the bat. I compared it with another burda magazine loose-fitting pattern, my now TNT button-down shirt, and made the same ajustements as I had made to fit that one:
Small but adjustment, and I also pined out a 2cm horizontal tuck in the back (i'm not sure what "body flaw" this adjustement corrects but it seems to get rid of some extra fabric that otherwise gathers in the back). The pattern is a 'tall size' so I didn't touch the length.

First I machine-basted all the pieces together to check the fit, then took them apart to make some additional changes: I took 1cm off the sides and sleeves on both front and back, and took an additional 3 cm off the sleeve width at the cuff.

 

This pattern would be great for color blocking and different fabric textures, or to mix leather and jersey, etc... I only had the one fabric, so I tried adding some extra details to make it a bit more interesting. I considered using the wrong side of the fabric for contrast on the side panels (the color was a more wash-ed out version of the right side), but it didn't look right. I added an exposed zipper in the back and top-stitched the side panels quilt-style. I used two layers of fabric on the sides so that the "quilting " would be a bit more pronounced (even though you can't really see it very well).

 

 
I really enjoyed working on this project, which presented no big challenge but allowed me to try my hands at some new techniques: the exposed zipper (a lot more tricky than the invisible one if you ask me), the quilting (mostly time-consumng and also jersey tends to stretch as you're topstitching so I had to recut the pieces once all the top-stitching was done) and the front slit with facing.

I really like the final product. It's a pretty casual top, but it's super comfortable and has a bit of a modern edge to it I think. I could see making this again with leather accents or in a fancier, stiffer fabric for a more "luxe" look ...

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.

Finished Project: My Ugly Shirt

I actually kind of love this shirt. So why ugly?

Well, when B. saw the fabric, and later when I started putting the shirt together, he said he didn't like it, it looked like it was faded by the sun or that grease had been poured over it and who knows what else...

Well, ok, I can understand that not everybody would like the colors...But personnaly, I'm in love with this shirt... I think it has to do with the fact that once again, I mastered a great fit after a few muslins.

When I found the fabric, I thought it would be perfect for a button-down shirt. I had another pattern in mind but not enough fabric for it so I settled on Burda 114 from April 2010.

The piping idea came from here and here. For once I actually found exactly what I wanted at Dressew. The brown piping is cotton but it has a wax-y aspect, with a bit of shine so it could be leather...

Alterations I made to the pattern:
- sba (my first ever, it worked like a charm to get rid of some under-the-bust wrinkles)
- sway back adjustment
- narrow back adjustment (lower back only)
- lengthened bust above the waist
- lengthened sleeves by 5 cm (2") and made them narrower as well - I would love for Burda to add an elbow mark and lengthen/shorten line on their patterns for easier adjustments.

I also had to modify the button placket slightly to incorporate the piping.

The last thing i had to do on the shirt was trim the armhole allowance and do an overlock stitch... As I'm trimming, I start thinking: better be careful, this is how one makes a hole in a garment...Well, sure enough, fabric from the sleeve got in the way and before I noticed,  I cut right through it...Wish i could just do Ctrl+Z on life sometimes...

I freaked out at first - no fabric left to recut a sleeve. But the hole was actually more of a slit and I managed to paste the two edges back together with fabric glue and with a tiny fabric scrap on the wrong side. I also added a square of fusible interfacing on the inside to make the patch stronger...

I was so upset at first, for being so careless. Thankfully the fabric is forgiving and it's hardly noticeable now. B. says if you're close enough to see it then you're too close...:)

 

Aside from that, and  a minor collar mishap, the shirt itself came together really easily.

And I am really truly happy with the final fit.

 

Buttons are horn, and as always, from Button Button. at $1 a piece, I liked them better than some plain plastic ones at $.12 just because of the uneven tones. I can never go cheap on buttons...

I know this is definitely a pattern I will be reusing, I already have a variation with gathers at the yoke that I want to make...more dart rotating action coming up, hopefully more successfully than that time.

This shirt is going to be perfect for fall, with skinny jeans and boots...For once I've finished something in time for the coming season...More Happy Dance action...

Finished Project: Thrifted-Shirt-Made-Sorbetto Blouse

I got back from San francisco last Saturday, and after a quiet Sunday spent in my friends's backyard, I went back to a pretty intense week of work - with no time to sew or write my blog.

So, finally here are some shots of my Thrifted-Shirt-Made-Sorbetto blouse "in action" - even more so as the wind on the marina of San Francisco was quite strong. It turned out to be a bit tricky to keep the collar down (Hence my hand in the close-up shots). Sorry for the wrinkles and weird shapes, the wind only shows how soft and drapy the fabric actually is. I didn't take a before picture but this used to be a "Made in Canada" shirt found at Value Village for a few bucks.

I wore the blouse in SF with a denim mini skirt that I've had for a few years. The navy jersey blazer (H&M) and midnight blue leggings (American Apparel) were "on-the-fly" purchases after, like many first-timers in San Francisco, we realized August was not a warm month.

This look actually feels like a different me - it's my first ever pair of leggings, and this refashioned blouse is actually quite the opposite of what I usually wear: It's loose and blousy, it's got a girly collar, it's sleeveless. But still, I love it. It's light and airy, the fit is great and makes it super comfortable, it's long enough to be tucked in if I want too, and I love that I have no other shirt in my wardrobe with this type of collar.

This is another example of how sewing, along with infinite inspiration from the sewing/syle blogosphere, is allowing me to explore new outfit ideas and change up my style. I used to be so much of a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl but since I started sewing, I long for pretty tops with more details, effortless dresses that I can just put on without thinking about it, flowy skirts and tailored pants....

I have another thrifted shirt in my stash and I already know how I want to refashion it. It will probably my next project.

Sneak Peek: Sorbetto

I finished my first version of the Sorbetto top, which will certainly not be the last as it is soooo easy to put together, and such a great base for many alterations!

I used a thrifted man’s shirt purchased a while back, and that I had already started to deconstruct. I was trying to reproduce an Anthro top but it wasn’t turning out quite the way I wanted, so it had landed on the UFO pile for a while. But recently, while going through my blog roll I cam across a bunch of Sorbetto versions and all of a sudden, like a lightbulb over my head, I knew what to do with the discarded shirt.

I made a few adjustments:
I cut a size 0, but used the length of size 18. I managed to position the pieces so that I could keep the shirt’s bottom hem as it was.
I recut the armholes along the size 6 line as 0 was a bit tight and I also shortened the darts by about 1 inch (I probably could have used lower darts too).

I did make one mistake when cutting the pattern, as I lined up the pattern’s center front (without the pleat) with the edge of the shirt's button plaquette, when in fact it should have been lined up with the center of the plaquette (total rookie mistake!). This made me lose about ¾ of an inch all around, so I took it out at the side seam.

When I first tried it on, I was pretty happy with the overall fit, but I found the fabric to be underwhelming at best, so I decided to add a couple details: a Peter Pan collar, self-drafted and attached with the help of Gertie’s and Laurie’s tutorials, and a cute little pocket on the left chest. I basically used the pocket piece from the shirt, cut it to a ¼ of its original size and reproduced the edging at the top.

I thought about lining the top with white broadcloth, so that the fabric print would pop a bit more (very thin horizontal and vertical lines, alsmost like a tiny plaid), but that’s more work than I wanted to put into this “quick and easy” project.

I used baby blue bias tape to finish the armholes and neckline, and sewed French seams for the sides and shoulders.

Overall I’m very happy with the result. Like I said the fabric isn’t all that exciting, but in the end I think it makes for a cute summer top and it was a great opportunity to learn new techniques. I will refrain from wearing it with pigtails and white shorts though…

I'm flying out tomorrow morning for a week of vacation in San Francisco(!), and this top is coming with me so the final "in action" photos of it will be taken there!

Finished Project: Colorful Pendrell Blouse

Finally the sun has come out this week-end, so we grabbed the camera and went outside for some shots of my new Pendrell blouse.

I'm very happy with how it turned out, even after having to tweak the sleeves a bit. Maybe this print was too busy for the view A of the pattern, which might have made the original sleeves look so overwhelming on me, so I might try it again in a plain color...

It is very comfortable to wear, and I like the length of it. I think this one is going to get a lot of wear when it gets warmer.

I've pretty much said everything about this blouse in my previous post, so I'll just digress from it for a second to talk about the jeans I'm wearing. Obviously I didn't make them, the brand name is "Paige", which I didn't know before, but I looked it up and the average price for a pair of jeans is $180!...Well turns out I found these one on the clearance rack at my local consignment store for $11.90! They have no sign of wear, and fit really well, what a score ! I actually paid more for the (extra long) leather belt I wear on the picture, found on the same day.

Ever since I started sewing for myself, I find it hard to pay a lot of money for something of poor quality, or made in China, so I look for quality stuff at cheap prices in second-hand or thrift stores, and on clearance racks. I love finding these kinds of deal - who doesn't (also scored a Banana Republic jacket, good as new, for $12.50 at Value Village a few months back). It actually makes shopping feel less like pure consumerism, and more like an adventure, a treasure quest (that's what I tell myself anyway) :P

Anyway, I really like this look, it feels very..."me"...

Sneak Peek: Pendrell Blouse

I finished my Pendrell blouse last week. I was hoping to take pictures of me wearing it but the weather hasn't been very cooperative, and I've run out of ideas for indoor pictures in our little one-bedroom...

So here's my version of the very popular Pendrell - or a sneak peek of it inside-out. It's actually kind of exciting to be sewing "local" as this pattern's designer, Tasia, also lives in Vancouver.

The pattern is super easy to put together, and it's a great project if you're a beginner, with still a nice original design.

I made french seams all around for a neat finish on the inside. The instructions were very easy to follow, although I would just do one thing differently: for the armhole binding, I would saw the biais strip's ends together, the same way as for the neck binding, and then attach it to the armhole after sewing the side seams together. That way the side seams are enclosed in the binding at the armhole and not sticking out...

I first cut a size 6, based on my bust size, but I should probably have cut a 4. This blouse is meant to be loose-fitting, so I was careful not to overfit it, but I have a rather skinny, even "bonny" figure - I'm not what you would call voluptuous - and on me loose might sometimes look like I'm wearing a sac. Fortunately, I had no problem tweaking the fit a bit to make it more flattering without overfitting it. I took 1" in at the armholes, tapering at the waist, I also took 1" at the princess seam on the shoulder, tapering at the bust apex in the front and the shoulder blade in the back. The princess seams made it really easy to adjust the fit, and in the end I'm very happy with how it turned out.

*Update*: As I'm writing my review on Pattern Review, I realized I actually traced a size 6 at the bust, a 4 at the waist and a 0 at the hips. This is meant for a pear-shaped figure, and I'm more of an hour-glass so I cut a smaller size at the hips.

The other change I made was to the sleeves. I was going to make view A, with draped pleated sleeves. But once put together the sleeves looked huge on me. I have very skinny arms, and it just didn't look right. I tried cutting size 0 of these sleeves, but i stil wasn't happy with the look. So I decided to cut view B instead. I recut the sleeve flounce in the same piece as the view A sleeve.

It looked a bit better, but I still wasn't 100% satisfied so I tweaked them a bit. In the end, I made them into little pleated cap sleeves, which I'm happy with.

It made me a bit sad that this sleeve design wasn't right for my figure, as I had seen so many lovely version of this blouse on the web. But in the end, it's still a very good pattern to have and the princess seam allow for many variations, so I am sure to use it again for other projects...

Finished Project: Burda Vest 01-2009-124

I finished the vest yesterday, yeah !

I would have been done sooner if I hadn't somehow lost one of the buttons, and had to go back to the store to get another one (because of course I'd only bought 4 the first time), only to find out Button Button was closed for a few days. But that's it, it's finished now, and I am quite pleased with it (although you couldn't tell from my face in the picture below...)

It's a simple garment, but a vest is always a nice addition to a wardrobe. It works with many different outfits, over a dress shirt or a simple white tee. I have a few RTW vest in my closet but I figured one more wouldn't hurt :)

I bought this woven wool/silk blend a little while ago from Gala Fabrics. It was an roll end and on sale.
I used a boldly colored polyesther fabric for the lining. As I mentionned before I was planning on making a dress with it, but after consideration I'm not sure this fabric would be comfortable to wear over bare skin, and I might just save the rest for more linings. I do love the color palette and could also use it in accent in bias tape form (though it would be a total pain to make) or for small yoke pieces and such. We'll see.

The vest was pretty straight forward, no major difficulties. I cut a size 36 and didn't even have to make in fitting adjustment. I could have lengthened it a tad bit, but in the end I think it's fine.
I topstitched all the edges except for the armholes. I did the first one and ended up with some major puckering, it didn't look good at all so I decided to leave those out. I don't think it's really noticeable, and it doesn't bother me anyway...I also ended up cutting the pieces on the crosswise grain as I realized on the lengthwise grain the pin stripes would be horizontal...I haven't notice any problem with the way it hangs...


The pattern only calls for 2 buttonholes, and one button on the inside, but I did 4 functionnal buttonholes instead. I really love the buttons, I think they're a nice original detail on the vest which could otherwise be pretty blend. The buckle on the back is from Dressew.

This was a nice project that didn't take me much time and I enjoyed working on the details.
I'm not sure what my next project will be now, a jacket or a skirt probably....

and this is what happens when I get bored of posing "seriously"...