Summer White Pieces With a Little Bit of Black ( M6844, V8793, V8952, & V8004 )

I have bad allergies that are particularly troublesome and debilitating this summer .I've been pretty well house bound for all of July and believe it or not but my sewing room ,which is in our basement, seems the only room in the house where my symptoms are much less harsh!!!Needless to say, I've been sewing every day.

I've become very committed to sewing up my stash and I decided to concentrate on the shelf of whites which have been sitting there for years!

My first garment was the fluted neck silk dupioni top blogged here

Then I made the Marcy Tilton cotton jacquard top shown here.

Next came this M6844  cardigan  which I made when I realized it was never going to get hot this summer and I've gotten a lot of wear out of it , let me tell you!
The fabric is a  cotton knit bought at Fabricville last year.
I lengthened the pattern by 5" and added to the width below the waist of both front and back.

Well that was only the beginning.My next piece was this cotton crochet Katherine Tilton top which got rave reviews from the girls at Fabricville when I dropped in for some interfacing the other day.

My DGD loved it too.

The pattern is V8793. 

The fabric is a cotton crochet with some stretch

I cut the whole thing to utilize the selvedge  for all hems , including the outer edge of the outer collar.

I omitted the zipper trim on the collar but I did underline both collar layers with silk organza. I also omitted the cuffs on the sleeves.

When my serger refused to run this fabric through, I decided to finish all seams with french seams and then top stitched them. It was a bit challenging but not impossible as you can see.

And I love the end result!

Next I made View C of V8952.

The fabric is rayon lycra.

I added 2" to the length and cut the back hem the same as the front because I prefer that silhouette.

This was a really quick sew and  is a great at home piece to lounge in.

My next piece was this one.

The pattern is V8004 , which I've wanted to make for a long time. I did my usual FBA and rounded upper back adjustment ( Can I say that this simple little adjustment makes such a difference in the comfort of a garment!!)   but didn't change anything else.

The fabric is a medium weight slubbed cotton knit.

I would lengthen it by at least an inch another time  but I think it's the perfect companion piece for my Black and white  Rachel Comey skirt.

 I have  a great culottes outfit to show you next time . So please come back for a look.

Happy Sewing from

A Top With a Difference

Thank you to all who visted my last post and who left a comment. It was greatly appreciated!

Last fall, I made this dress by combining the sleeves, armhole  and neckline of Today's Fit V1109       and the body of Burda 5522 , both OOP.

 I've gotten compliments every time I've worn it and I thought I'd use the same concept and make a  tunic length top.

 I cut the band using lengthwise stripes for contrast.

The contrast is totally lost on the sleeves and in retrospect, a plain white band would have made a bolder statement but I do so  love these sleeves with their pleats on either side of the band.

BTW, the fabric is cotton lycra and very drapey. 

I had the top on my dress form when my DGD, Jessica came to visit and she really liked it. I had her try it on with the intention of making her one but when I saw her in it, I just had to let her have it because it looked so great on her. I ended up giving her my white ankle jeans to wear with it too.

Jessie also went home with the yellow Sandra Betzina top from this outfit because it was too tight to be attractive on me and looked amazing on her but I forgot to snap a pic.

Pretty cool when a Nana and a Grand-daughter can share clothes, don't you think!

I have lots more to show you so please come visit me again and Happy Sewing from

V1452 . a Sandra Betzina Outfit

Today's Fit V1452. As soon as I saw this pattern, I had to have it.

I didn't dare use a print fabric for the whole outfit however. I had a beautiful yellow cotton knit and the striped poly/lycra piece in my stash and I think they are perfect together.

Now I have to tell the truth. The pants from the pattern were extremely wide at the hemline and I chickened out of using them. Instead I used My Silhouette Yoga pants pattern and made them wider as I showed in this post a couple of years ago. I really like those palazzo pants .I added side seam pockets but removed them because they wouldn't behave.

Now about the top. It sewed up beautifully. As usual, Sandra's instructions were very clear. BUT , I forgot to remember that this was a close fitting top and didn't add extra at the side seams . I did cut a size C rather than the B I usually use but it is tight.  For that reason, this will be an " at home outfit " ,

but then as most of my living happens at home , it's OK

It looks really good with this  about 10 year old skirt which I still love and the shrug from a previous post.

Summer has finally come with a vengeance here in the Maritimes and I put my outfit to good use relaxing on our deck on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Have a great week everyone. I hope that even if it's summertime, you found a little time to sew this weekend.

A Marci Tilton Outfit

I'm in the process of trying to sew up my stash. I've had a whole shelf of white fabrics for years and have decided that of course summer time is the perfect time for white!

My first white piece (the others will follow in another post) , is this top made with Marci Tiltons's V8497
(OOP)

The fabric is a loosely woven linen/cotton  jacquard which was not fun to sew with because it easily went off grain while I was cutting my garment. I had to cut one of the front pieces a second time because of that.

I made an FBA and added a bust dart as well as a rounded upper back adjustment which I now do to all my top and dress patterns.

I changed the back, as you can see , which is suppose to look like the front and added an inch extra length because I wanted more of a high-low effect..

I used the selvedge of my fabric for the trim at the front and the sleeve cuff.

I added a neck facing because a neckband would not have worked on this woven fabric.

This top is a great summer piece which goes really well with several things in my wardrobe including my Marcii Tilton skirt which I love.

The companion piece I had in mind though was these pants, also by Marci Tilton...V8499

                         

I have to say that my pants didn't look much like the above photos, the second being from Vogue Patterns magazine. Mine had a funny curved side like the beige ones on the pattern envelope but much wider at the hem. I had to do some extensive "taking in" to get them to the point that I'll wear them at home (but only when my husband isn't home) and certainly not in public. See!

Oh, so not a good look on me! And my DH agrees!

I needed a success so I made this V1247 skirt which is so popular amongst sewers, and I like it very much with the top!

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been sewing. Next week I'll show you this outfit.

Happy summertime everyone!