Kwik Sew 2694 & New Look 6843

Kwik Sew 2694, Misses Wrap Tops - Version A - Knit fabric

New Look 6843, Misses Skirts Five Skirt Variations - Version D - 100% cotton.

I can't get enough of the wrap tops and A-line skirts. They are great wardrobe builders. The sleeves and bottom of the top were not hem, after snoop shopping at the Loft and seeing several tops with the unfinished sleeves and bottoms, I thought this would work well for this top. The reversible belt was inspired by the Loft also, retailing for $19.90.

Click Here for Detailed Review

B-Day Remnants

Thank You to Everyone for the Beautiful Birthday Wishes.

My weekend was absolutely awesome, in that my family celebrated it for 4 days!!! Before I could get out of my PJs, I could hear them pulling into the driveway, singing Happy Birthday, loaded with gifts, food and spirits. I was like ohhh no they didn't and the partying started as early as 9:00am.. at some point I was reminded that I still had on my PJs... lol. Yes 4 days of just eating, drinking & having fun. Can I say Citroma was my friend at the end....lol.

Of course, I was against it, but they said this year they would not let me hide in my room...lol. However, I did sneak away for an hour or so each day and worked on something... They thought I was cat napping after my tango with a few drinks....haha!

I was able to start working on a dress for my dd who will be attending an all white function on Saturday. She mentioned that she couldn't find a dress, so here I go thinking I'm a Sewing Diva and said I could make one. Briefly, during the B-Day celebration we took a quick ride to the fabric store to pick out pattern & fabric.

She selected Simplicity 2884. It consists of 2 versions of a Halter dress, and I'm working the shorter version, which has a button neck band. While at the fabric store I removed the instruction sheet and noticed that it required boning, and tried to talk dd into selecting something else, but she was persistent and I figured I could skip it. Ok, can I say I don't know what the heck I'm doing, but definitely swinging it.... lol. Here is the underside.

I need to shorten it considerably, finish the bodice straps, neck band, buttons and tweak the zipper. I think I have enough for a wrap, but I'll see.

If you hear a throat wrenching scream its my dd...lol.

New Look 6779

Finally finished my B-Day Dress and totally Luv It.

Click here for the review

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL DAY!

Waking Up

to an intense headache, sniffles and rainy & dark weather calls for this...

Its the middle of May and its freaking 55 degrees and I can't take it anymooooore!!!! On top of that I spent the better part of my weekend working on a dress for my approaching b-day, and seriously wondering if it will get warm enough to wear it.

On another note, I would like to Thank Everyone for their advice on fixing my dress. I was able to make adjustments to the dress by doing a center back seam that eliminated the gaposis in the back, recut the yoke for a more centered look. Also, instead of using the back & front neck facing, I cut bias strips from the fashion fabric and baste stitched it to the neck opening.

Remaining are the sleeves, shorten the dress and add the contrasting fabric at the hem. I'm now concerned about shortening the dress, in that I want to make sure I do it right and not end up with an uneven dress.

What techniques do you use to shorten your dress or skirt?

Shifting to the 1960s

are should I say a flash from the past. That's that what I'm seeing in the stores this year. The stores are bringing sexy back in a mature, working girl, dinner party type of way with the Shift dress.

It's said that one of the easiest silhouettes to wear is the shift dress, which is easy to wear and go from office, after-hours to weekend by just pairing it with the right accessories. We also know that Lily Pulitzer came on the scene and showed everyone what really made the shift dress stand out in a crowd by incorporating bold and colorful eye-catching prints.

Quick look at a few styles:

Yves Saint Laurent Shift Dress

Embroidered Eyelet Shift Dress

Leslie Hornby aka Twiggy

DVF Shift Shirt Dress

Jackie Kennedy

Lily Pulitzer

Since my b-day is approaching, I wanted to make a classic shift dress for my special day and pegged New Look 6779 for it. I'd purchased the burgundy cotton sateen some time ago and knew I wanted it for this project , but held off cutting it b/c I wanted a contrasting yoke and finally came across this lovely bold floral fabric.

Right now its in baste stitch mode, and need to tweak it. For starters, I need to recut the yoke, I wanted the print more centered. Secondly, I have gaposis at the upper back and thinking it may be due to cutting the back on the fold. So I need to figure out how to tweak it to get rid of the gaposis in the back and at the same time keep fullness from the hip down. The dress has darts and wondering, could I tweak them to help with the back. Lastly, contemplating carrying the contrasting fabric at the hem of the dress, which will be shortened to just at the knee.

Here it is in its baste stitched state.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What feels like silk, has a satin sheen and can’t go wrong…?

Aww heck, I was trying to do a riddle for my intro post, but I give up…lol.

Well for the last few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a particular yarn. I visited a quaint yarn shop called Garden City Stitches, fell in love with the shop with its various displays of knitted garments and large display of lovely fibers. After working with Elann’s cotton blend yarn esprit, I was anxious to do another project with it and ventured over to the lys. Well in the mist of checking out their wares, the young lady working there was knitting up a tank in the most gorgeous yarn. I briefly mentioned that it was lovely and continued looking for yarn. Failing to find a color that I wanted, I ended up at the table where her project laid in all its splendor. I then asked her what yarn she was using and she informed me that it was Trendsetter’s Brighton yarn, since I’d never heard of the yarn, I picked up the project and instantly fell in love with the three shades of color and knew I wanted it. I purchased the last 6 hanks in rose blush and was on my merry way. Of course, I didn't have a project in mind, but was just happy to have some luscious yarn.

The yarn is a ribbon yarn, which is a small hank yielding 115 yards. It’s made up of 30% Cotton/28% Polyamid/24%Viscose/18% Nylon. I like the way the different fibers change at random lengths adding interest. Especially of interest is the way it changes from a flat matte to shiny which gives the project visual and textural pop.

I selected a lace and garter tank pattern from Knit 'n Style June 2008 issue. Also, I'm using my Knit Picks' Option Harmony Needles for the first time and its total ecstasy....lol I will, say that it snags easily, being mindful of that I was able to avoid snagging. I’m nearing the finishing line on the back, which I did in stockinette (you know me molly the modifier). I figured I do the lace in the front, but noticed that I may not have enough. The nearly completed back took 3 hanks and I still need to do the front, and I only have 3 hanks left. Hopefully, I will stop by the shop tomorrow and check to see if they restocked. Ok, enough jibber jabber take a looksy… just purrty wouldn’t you say.

Lets look at a bigger pic.

Now, after all that jibbering, I'm wondering if I should forego the lace and continue the front in stockinette, b/c I'm so loving the stripping effect. What do you think?

StoryBoard for June Capsule Contest

Here is my capsule collection storyboard - Playin' it Neutral


I have 2 jackets and 2 dresses posted, because I'm unsure which one I will eventually sew. So for now, I figured I'd put them up and let them marinate....lol


Wrap Top: beige knit (Kwik Sew 2694)

Skirt: Beige/white seersucker (New Look 6843)

Dress: watercolor beige - Polyester (Simplicity 2938 or Simplicity 2975)

Jacket: Taupe Cotton Twill (Kwik Sew 3427 or Simplicity 2975)

Slacks: Yellow/white stripe on dk taupe - Stretch Cotton (Simplicity 2938 )

Belt: not sure if I will make one or buy one.
Alternate Color: Red or Yellow / Knits (Top or Dress)




Close-up of the Fabrics

Happy Mother's Day

Free Comments & Graphics

June Capsule Contest

Carolyn posted about the June Capsule Contest and I thought it would be interesting to take part in.

So, I will be participating in the Contest over at Stitcher's Guild and orchestrated by Elizabeth. Its a mini-collection, which I think would be a good challenge for me, since I was thinking about doing a lil collection for spring/summer anyway. Of course, since its my first time trying my hand at doing several garments within a time frame, I'm nervous as all get-out...lol.

On the other hand, this would be a great way to do some fabric destashing, and was able to pull out several fabrics that I think would work, since the garments must coordinate. However, in looking at my color scheme, I'm thinking that I made need to add a bold color so the garments are not too bland.... ummm maybe I could knit a tank top....lol

Fabrics:
1. Polyester
2. Stretch knit
3. Cotton/Spandex
4. Cotton Twill
5. Seersucker



So far, the tentative plan is to do a top, skirt, dress, pants and make a belt.

The patterns I will be using are:

Kwik Sew 2694 (top)

New Look 6843 (skirt)

Simplicity 2938 (dress & pants)

Kwik Sew 3427 (jacket)


The contest will run June 1 - June 30.
Rules:
1. The capsule will consist of four garments and one accessory (purse, belt, headband, jewellery, etc).
One of the garments must be a top, one must be a bottom, all the tops must co-ordinate with all the bottoms and the accessory must co-ordinate with them all.
2. One of the items can be purchased and one can be made before June.
3. All the other items must be sewn, knitted, crafted etc during June.
4. Twist: no black items.

This weekend I'm hoping to get started on my storyboard to get a better idea of which fabrics to pair with the patterns.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

New Look 6785

My daughter is a happy camper, for a moment I believed she didn't think I would finish it, since I slipped in another sewing project when I should've been working on her dress.

Pattern Description: New Look 6785 Misses Dress or Top and Pants (Did Version B)

Pattern Sizes: A 6-16

Were the instructions easy to follow? For the most part the instructions were easy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? My daughter selected this pattern and she liked the style and especially the gathered sleeves. We were not in favor of the patch pockets.

I did experience problems with the yoke and sleeve and had to read that section several times before I baste stitched. There was quite a bit of fumbling with the gathers on the sleeves and yoke center front. Also, I had to reduce the seam allowance because there was not enough ease for her to raise her arms, so I removed the baste stitching along the armcye and restitched doing a 1/4" seam allowance.

Fabric Used: 100% lt. blue cotton

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Initially, I cut for a size 10 and had to go down to a size 8. Also, we decided to omit the pockets and lengthen it for a dress. Instead of using interfacing for the yoke I used a cotton paisley fashion fabric instead and made a belt using the paisley fabric. I felt I should've put in a lining, but she decided she will wear a full slip.

Would you sew it again? My daughter already has an order for another one and would like it done in a jersey fabric.

Conclusion: She likes it a lot and although she wouldn't let me take a pic, b/c of hair issues, the dress look really nice on her with her 4" heels...lol

Save & Sew

In an attempt to cut back on spending so much money on rtw, I'm challenging myself to sew my garments. I actually started last year with a few skirts and during the fall, made a jacket, blouses and have moved on to a dress. Oh what a fabulous feelin' it was to wear my personally-made garments.

After reading Thread's latest issue (No. 137), which featured an article on Sew With Your Serger, I worked up this duo last weekend in between working on my dd's dress. The surprising part, I serged all the seams... *snapping fingers*.

Top Pattern: New Look 6729 - Version E/Fabric: rayon/knit, which reminds me I need to take stock of what I've made, I made the same top a week or 2 ago in a royal blue cotton sateen...lol

Can't recall, but I read a few blogs that mentioned using a clear elastic for the neck opening to prevent warping. I couldn't find any and purchased polyester 3/8" elastic and pinned it along the neck opening and pulled the elastic just a tad bit, then folded the remainder of the fabric to the inside of the neck opening and sewed. I also added it to the sleeve hem and the hem of the blouse and it didn't add bulk. It worked perfect.

Skirt Pattern: New Look 6843 - Version E/ Fabric 100% cotton paisley print, which was inspired by a skirt I saw at the Loft. I serged the seams and hand stitched the side zipper. For the hem of the skirt, instead of folding the fabric under, I just serged the hem of the skirt.

Also, I finally realized why the thread on the lower looper kept breaking, once I did some acrobatic moves, the machine purred for the remainder of my sewing...lol

I'm a number one fan of the Loft. I shopped at the Loft back in the day when it was known only as Ann Taylor, but over the years I stopped shopping there. Maybe due to body changes, the style of clothes did not work for me, but in the last year, they have made an indelible impression. They came out with various styles of pants and the Ann version works best, it sits slightly below the waist and having a short-torso the Ann style gives the illusion of having a longer torso. They have an assortment off figure flattering wrap tops and lovely dresses and figured since I'm on a sewing triathlon, why not try my hand at making garments that inspire me.

Here are a few garments, that I like at the Loft (a/k/a inspiration list):
Cap Sleeve Jacket

Silver Sharkskin Three-Button Jacket

One-Button Jacket

Sheath Dress

Beaded Scoop Neck Dress

Shorts

Wrap Top

and here are patterns that I think fit my inspiration list:

Simplicity 2938

Kwik Sew 3427 Simplicity 3744

Kwik Sew 3614

Kwik Sew 2694

Simplicity 4273

Kwik Sew 3558

Simplicity 2975

New Look 6149

If my dd saw this post, she would know why I haven't finished her dress...lol.