My Garment of the Month

I just made it! I finished my first Garment of the Month last night! Here it is.

The pattern? Vogue 8605, again!

The fabric? A chunky , two side ,sweater knit bought at Fabricville. It looks like a jacket but is really an unlined ,long cardi.

Style changes? Yes, quite a few.

Here are my other versions of V8605,a pattern with which I've had a long term relationship.

Special features of this version include:

A single layer collar using the "wrong" side of my knit and different from the  shawl collar shown on the pattern envelope..

(the under side of the collar)

A new version of the the pocket from the one included in the pattern . For these I simply changed the shape but followed the same application technique I blogged about here.

Buttonholes missing the back facing piece shown in the pattern guide. I simply turned under the lips of the buttonholes. (I forgot to get a pic)

Other minor changes . I lengthened the sleeves and I used four buttons instead of one shown on the pattern.

I used no facings. The large buttons are supported underneath by smaller buttons.

I'm very pleased with the way this turned out. My topper is cozy and fashionable (I think) and the colour is a real change for me as I don't have any other green garments in my winter wardrobe . I see it as mostly casual  ( I am now working on a pair of dark green , stretch denim jeans as part of a three piece combo ),  but I could probably wear this over a dress or skirt .

I can't wait to wear this one. It really fits into my  lifestyle as a retired woman!

What do you think?

More later from

A Success and a Failure

Thank you all for the lovely comments you left about my last garment. I love it too.

This week, I wanted to try out two new patterns for tops. I find that in January, I usually want to try those  intriguing new patterns that I can't resist but that I know might not turn out to be right for me..

The first pattern I tried was V8952 and it was  a success . I love this one .

I made it with a polyester knit from Fabricville. I love stripes and love the contrast of two widths in one garment like I used in this one.

 Instead of making it with a cowl collar, I made a separate infinity scarf using the two different stripes. Isn't it cool?

For this garment, I made a full bust adjustment, and a narrow back adjustment using methods borrowed from Louise Cutting. Here is a link to the narrow back adjustment but I got the full bust adj. at Threads Insider . It's on the Industry Insider Techniques series Volume 4 and is called Full Bust Adjustment for Knits. For this adjustment you don't add a bust dart . It works really well for me and is easier than adding a dart.

I really like this top.My version is View B. The pattern describes this as being close fitting through the bust and it is. Then it swings out but there is still a little waist definition . It's not really a shapeless top as is the next one I'm showing tonight. I want to make the other views as well as this type of garment fits in well with my casual lifestyle.

Now for  Vogue 8962

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I think this is so cute and I gave it my all....pattern alterations and muslin (thank goodness) included but it just didn't work out for me. On Antoinette, not too bad except for the ugly fabric bought especially for a muslin.

The back is OK though.

On me, no way Hosay! It's even too awful to wear around the house or to give away. There is just no shape and no indication on the pattern as to how it's suppose to fit. Enough said. I do want to try the skirt and the pants another time though.

 Next up, I'm making a cardigan using View B of M6844 with this gorgeous knit fabric bought in Montreal.

I hope you are happily creating something wonderful on your sewing machines !
More later from

Joining Make a Garment a Month and Butterick 5954

I'm kinda late getting in on it but I'm joining Make a Garment a Month. I haven't decided what I'm going to make especially for it yet

Today I'm showing you B5954

Now this is one of those patterns I knew I shouldn't try. I knew before I started that it would only be suitable (IMO) for a tall, thin woman and not be  a good look for me and that it would take a lot of  trial  to get it to work for me. I had read Shams' post  and was prepared to do a lot of draping and shaping to my body. And guess what! All that was true!

   Having said all that, I think I did it! I think I made it work and I quite like my results! Here it is.

 Isn't the fabric TDF? It's  a double sided poly/rayon with a moderate amount of stretch that really wanted to be a dress but I really don't have a lot of need for dresses in the winter so it was destined to become a top and if it had to be a top, it insisted on being this one!

First I did an FBA using the Craftsy class Adjust the Bust with Kathleen Cheetham. I highly recommend this class. She is so precice and clear in her instructions. I love her teaching method.
Then I adjusted for narrow, sloping shoulders following Custom Fitting the Back,Neck and Shoulders again with Kathleen Cheetham and another great class.

I sewed the front and back together and I tried it on and pinned and cut away some of the swing FOUR times!!! Each time I used my French curve and was careful to shape the waist area.I also reduced the amount of swing from the back a couple of times. Finally I was satisfied with how it looked while realizing at the same time that I'm far from tall and thin. In the end I realized that if I sewed the overlap down  it wouldn't pull apart even if it was just slightly and I would look slimmer at the waist. That's what I did.

I really like the side view and how it dips in the back.

Here's how it looks  worn with  tan denim slim jeans copied from a pair by Santana which fit me well and I just finished yesterday.

And worn with my cream ponte skirt made last winter.This is how I wore it to church this morning.

Next up, I plan to try out a couple of other tops patterns bought last time there was a sale at BMV, V8952

and V8962.

more later from

The 24 Hour Christmas Present

Today , I want to show you what took me 24 hours to make . It's this little girl's coat for Nicole my sister's 10 year old grand-daughter.

I think the reason it became so overwhelming was that since it was to be a surprise, I couldn't try it on her and I agonized over every step in fear it wouldn't fit her in spite of having taken careful measurements of Nicole, one day.. That's a lesson for me. Never again will I make anything for anybody if I can't have a fitting or two along the way.

The fabric is a very expensive wool Melton. I spent $105 for fabric, lining. etc.That was another source of anguish for me. What if it wouldn`t fit!

The only suitable pattern I could find anywhere was 

one from Burda Style, the Dec. 2009 issue.As you see below I changed the pockets from patch to welt.I love that look.

Also I made bound buttonholes because none of my machines like heavy fabrics for buttonholes.

I used a silver Kasha lining, interfaced with Fusiknit and used shank buttons. All materials were bought at Fabricville.

I was promised a pic of Nicole wearing her coat which fit her by the way but probably won`t fit next year!!!!
As the photo wasn`t forthcoming I`ll show you Riley in the nightie I made for her.I also made Poppy one but she got it dirty before the picture could be taken.

Like probably most of you, I`m glad that Christmas is over and things are back to normal.
I`ve been sewing. I finished a UFO! and a top which I`ll keep for later in the week.
I`ve been visiting your blogs. I`m sorry if I haven`t left comments. I needed a break from the computer.
My husband and I have been glued to Netflix, a gift from Tamara, instead!

Happy New Year and Happy Sewing from

Sewn Christmas Gifts, Part 1

I said I'd show the Christmas presents I sewed and that one of them took 24 hours . Well I'm not going to show you that one yet. I'm showing you Tamara's outfit first. 

This is a three piece outfit....one top and two matching skirts. 

The skirt is S3634 and is OOP. The top is V8856. All fabrics are polyester lycra. The patterned one is textured. Below is my plan which I love to do.

Here is Tamara on Christmas Day. Please ignore her footwear.

In this photo, Tam is wearing the black skirt with last year's made by me Christmas present blogged here. and I think she looks so pretty.

This wasn't a challenging outfit to make and my DD seemed to really like it.
I can't wait to try this top again (for me). . It's a really great pattern and I highly recommend it

Check in with me in a couple of days and I'll show you the 24 hour garment I made for my sister to give to her grand-daughter.