My Christmas Dress, Burda 6988

For once, I made a dress for Christmas and even managed to finish it way ahead of time! Here it is.

It looks much better in person and I love it.

The fabric was suppose to be a charcoal slinky with gold sprays bought from Fashion Fabrics.com. Well, to me , this is nothing like slinky. It's thicker and much less drapey than any slinky I've ever worn. The pattern is formed by dull gold threads and not too blingy which works for me.

I used Burda 6988 because having made it twice this fall if I count the top I made as the muslin, I knew it was a quick sew and a good fit.

I want to emphasize how great the curved French Dart works on the this dress to give one waist definition. I highly recommend this pattern for that one detail.

 I cut a size 10 through the shoulders .but again made a narrow shoulder adjustment and I cut a size 14 from the chest down. As before ,I didn't need my usual FBA and I think using the dart for the size 14 made the difference. This time I lengthened ( as well as narrowed) the sleeves for a ruched look at the cuffs. I made this version more close fitting and I also pegged the skirt from hip to hem, probably about four inches on each side by the time I got to the hem. .

 I intend to do a whole post on this pattern to show how I altered it to fit me including a really cool neckline facing on Diana's Sewing Lessons if anyone is interested. One of my sisters bought this pattern and I want to help her out . So if this pattern is in your stash, that post might be of some interest.I'll post it in a day or two.

I wore my dress  to a gala my husband and I attended in Ottawa last week celebrating Hockey Canada's 100th anniversary. I even have an "action" shot of me wearing the dress. The nice man in the photo with Bob and me is Peter Mackay, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada..

I haven't been cruising your blogs in the last while partly because of our trip and also because our house was on the Christmas tour this year and a lot of work was put into decorating and getting it ready. The tour was last night and it was lots of fun! I'll leave you with a pic of the tree and living room, albeit from a previous year, but it still looks like this.

And one taken in the dining room .And there's a nice view of the lake in the distance!

Hope you are sewing great things for Christmas!

More later from

 

 

A Jean Jacket, V7610

 In the spring, I suggested to my  sewing  class , which consists of three great ladies who are so willing to take their sewing to a higher level, that they make a jean jacket for their next project. I reasoned that cotton or denim are both very easy to sew and a jean jacket really is my favorite thing to work on .I wasn't wrong and they have enjoyed the process very much.

We used this OOp pattern V7610 by Sandra Betzina.

I don't have pics of their completed jackets yet but I'll show you the one I made to illustrate each step along the way.

The fabric is a heavy weight denim which reverses from brown to dark blue. It was in a bin at Fabricville and there was only  a meager meter and it had a serious flaw running the width of the piece close to one end. I cut 3/8" seam allowances and somehow managed to avoid the flaw and to cut all the pieces except the facings.

because of the 3/8" seams , I couldn't Hong Kong finish my seams ,so I serged them using a decorative rayon serger thread. Looks great doesn't it!

I used a denim look print for the  facings.

I changed the shape of the pocket to make it easier for all of us. That rounded pocket with the center point is not easy to achieve and I wanted to avoid the aggravation I knew that would cause.As you see, I used navy top stitching thread  because some of the blue is visible through the brown  in this fabric and I love the look.

Don't you love the buttons I found at Fabricville? They are a coppery brass colour and just perfect!.

Oh dear. The back is wrinkled but you can tell I've already enjoyed wearing my jacket and I have to tell you , I felt pretty cool with it worn with dark blue denim skinny jeans and a navy Tshirt.

I love this thing and so do my ladies. I can promise that you'll be impressed with their results when I post them.

More later from

A Lovely Wearable Muslin McCall`s 6996

It`s probably silly to call this week`s garment a muslin but really, I`ve had this lightweight poly/ lycra bought at C&;M Textiles in Ottawa for at least three years and it was time for it to go. I want to make a nice warm cardigan out of a beautiful sweater knit I just bought at Fabricville  using M6996 but had to try it out first before I committed.

I made View B and I love the length .

Koo

 I actually really like the results and the way it hangs. I don't love the neckline and may modify that by adding a facing.

With this stripe fabric the back of View B works  

 but for my sweater knit version I may use the back of View A with the front of B.

I also made a top to wear with the cardi  V 8856 now OOP but available in the BMV website.

. I didn't have enough of the stripes so I used black and red poly lycra for contrast . I've made this one before and love the fit but I reduced the length by 1.5" as the other versions are too long for me. I also made the sleeves 3/4 length and made them tighter at the cuff.

A really good pattern this one.

Two of our grandchildren are coming to spend the night so I have to run.

Happy sewing  from

Just a Quickie...From Ugly to Wearable

I thought I'd show you how I changed a loser into an at least  wearable something. Remember this ugly thing? ( Oh my but it is ugly !!!)

I don't blame you if you don't.Well ,this is what it looks like now.
                                                     

I used the skirt from V 1247 as a starting point. I actually cut the top off at the under arms. I kept the bottom  as it was . I only reshaped the upper part above the pockets by adding darts. I omitted the waistband. Instead, I folded back  the waistline and added elastic and I was done.


It looks Ok, don't you think? The trim you see at the pocket edges and the hem is the seivedge of the fabric which I applied using Steam-a-Seam.

 The fabric is a medium textured knit just right for a nice comfy skirt.
Paired with this jacket, I think it will be a nice outfit to go shopping in!

That's all I've got for now but I've posted An Upper Rounded Back Adjustment Lesson at Diana's Sewing Lessons if you're interested. This is an adjustment helpful if your garments are wanting to slide toward the back at the neckline. It's easy to do and makes such a difference on comfort and fit!

I'll have more for you Sunday night!

Blog Hopping and A Boat Neck Dress...Burda 6988

First, I want to thank all of who  left me such kind good wishes concerning my recent illness. I feel almost 100% again and am happily sewing fleece hats and mittens to donate to our local Christmas Telethon . I have 8 sets made so far and am aiming for a dozen.

Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic  nominated me for Blog Hopping . Thank you Carolyn. You know I'm always thrilled to be mentioned on your blog!

I'm not sure when this "hopping" started  but  I've read about it on many blogs and I'll do my best to answer the four questions.

1. Why do I write?

I started my blog in the summer of 2008 and I guess it was to reach out to other sewists who were as enthusiastic about sewing as I am. I hadn't known anyone before who shared my passion for sewing and this process opened up  a whole new world for me. I so appreciate the friendships developed by writing this blog!

2. How does my writing process work?

I almost always publish on Sundays but I now tend to write my posts whenever the mood strikes during the week. I get photos taken on Sunday afternoons. I don't enjoy this part of the process so I tend to procrastinate.
I try to write brief and precise posts in short paragraphs because when I read a blog that has very long descriptions of things , I tend to skip to the photos. Sorry about that but with so many blogs to visit and so little time left over after sewing,I just want the facts so that's what I try to do.
 Being a teacher , I do like to write tutorials but I reserve those for my other blog, Diana's Sewing Lessons.

3.What am I working on now?

I have so many projects in my head right now but I'm trying to concentrate on a twin set consisting of M6996     and V8856.The fabric is a poly/lycra in black and red stripes from my stash with a little bit of plain red and black thrown in. I love to mix up fabrics in garments these days

4. Who do I nominate?

My first thought is to pic my friend and sewing student Donna of  Learning With Donna.She is an up and coming sewist who wants to learn new sewing techniques to become better at her craft and she certainly is doing that. Just look here at her version of the jean jacket we are all working on!

My second pic is Sharon of Petite and Sewing who always impresses me with her wardrobe building skills and her wonderful colour combinations.

   ****************************************************************************

Now on to my project of the week actually sewn in early September. This boat neck dress has been a welcome addition to my overly stuffed closet because it is a classic and a basic piece.

I used Burda 6988. View C but shortened it to below the knee.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this pattern and I knew it would be perfect for the medium weight black cotton knit piece I scored at Fabricville for $4.00 . There was enough to make a muslin first and I made a top. This showed me the neck was too wide and that I didn't need an FBA.
I fixed the neck/shouder problem bybusing this technique.

I cut a size 10 though the shoulders and a 14 along the sides. This resulted in a fairly loose fitting dress which I prefer to a body hugging one. I had envisioned a calf length dress but discovered it was not flattering on my body so I shortened it to below the knee.

I really like the curved French dart on this pattern, It resulted in cinching in the waist a bit to give a little definition.

All in all, I like this dress because it is versatile and I can add accessories to change it up. Always a plus.

The dress form pics I took were horrible so all I have to show you are these.

Don't you love it when a garment fulfills your expectations?

I hope you found time to sew this weekend, dear fellow sewists!
More later from

A Little Something For Fun

A bad case of bronchitis has kept me from sewing or blogging but I did have a couple of things made before it hit me.

I had quite a big length of fabric left over from my sister's coat so I'll show you what I came up with. I had a lot of fun with this one. I used this  OOP Marci Tilton Vogue pattern View A which I've never made and have always wanted to try out.

Actually, my version is the same colour as the pattern envelope.

 I just decided to wrap the edges including the neckline with strips of fabric which being a knit was quite doable without cutting them on the bias.I stitched,then simply trimmed close to the stitching line and I was done.

I like the way the edges "ruffled "a bit.

                                                               

And the way the raw edges show up. Very mod, don't you think!

My cute top needed something more so I found these great buttons and thought they were just the right finishing touch.

What do you think...with or without the buttons???

Here it is by itself as worn now.

Or with a turtle neck for winter.

I made the back plain  without the zig zag effect.

I love this thing. It is so cozy to wear. And DH said it's cute, always a plus.
I would have thought the fabric  too heavy for indoor wear but not so. I also bought the white version  (but again at Fabricville) and it will probably become a cardigan.

What do you think? I want to try this pattern once again in View B which I guess I have  made before  here.

I have a couple more things to show you but they  will have to wait till later. That's all the energy I have for now!

Happy sewing from