Tops Are a Staple in This Retired Woman's Wardrobe

I hesitate to show you yet more tops because I make so many of them. I thought I'd at least group these together. I have three to show you.

The first one is a cotton knit stripe bought from Fabricmart   trimmed with navy rayon knit from Fabricville.. I combined two patterns as I did for this dress. V1109 for the sleeves and B 5522   for the body .

                            Whoops! This one is hazy but you get the picture. I love this one a lot.The sleeves                                are wonderfully comfortable and the fit is relaxed.

The next one is Geogio's top by Silhouette Patterns and one of my favorite styles to wear. I still wear the first one I made to death. For this one I cut above- the-elbow sleeves and lengthened it by 3 ". The graphic print fabric feels like rayon but I think it's polyester from Fabricville.

Whoops! Now those shoes don't match !

Now you see them, now you don't ! That's better.

The last top was made using my Surefit Designs sloper. . I love this casual and fun piece. I copied the idea from a friends top which I loved.It's so comfy and just the thing for lunch with the girls or hosting a get-together of family  or friends. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

The fabric is the Milano rayon knit from Fabricville, I talked about last week.

                        

That's it for now. I've got a jumpsuit, a dress and an outfit to show you in the next weeks so please come back for a look and thanks for stopping by.

My Love Affair with Burda 6988 and Fabricville

I wanted to say thank you for the great feedback on my Sandra Betzina coat. I appreciate each and every comment you leave me. Some asked for a tutorial on the pockets so if you're interested , go here to Diana's Sewing Lessons.



I think we all have patterns that are Tried and True  (TNT) that we use to death. Such is the case for me with Burda 6988.

I've always loved a boat neck and this pattern has the perfect one.
Another thing that made me fall in love with it is that I didn't have to make a Full Bust Adjustment (FBA). When I muslined it I cut size 10 above the bust and size 14 from the  underarm down and sewed the size 14 French dart. I  made  Narrow Shoulder,  Sway Back  and  Rounded Upper Back adjustments and I got a perfect fit.

Here is a composite of things I've made with my favorite pattern.

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I'm far from finished because I've made it three more times in the past month.

The black one is so versatile and can be casual or dressy. I love it with white jeans!

Who doesn't love/need a navy boat neck top? The skirt is 10 years old and Sandra Betzina sewed the side seams on it to demonstrate  how to make a bias garment at her workshop I attended.

 The green is the perfect match for last summer's culottes.

                                                           


This one is part of a set. The shrug was made using McCall's 6559, another favorite pattern of mine.

The fabric I used for each of these tops is the beautiful Milano collection of rayon jersey from Fabricville. This is the most luscious and luxurious  rayon I`ve ever found. It has a silky hand and has a great weight, heavy enough for the  culottes shown here, and is completely opaque. So Canadian Ladies, if you have access to Fabricville or Fabricland, you've got to get some of this one. The regular price is $19.99 but at the moment is 50% off that price and it's worth every penny.

I have quite a few more things to show you including a dress, a jumpsuit and an outfit but it will depend on getting the photos taken . Hopefully by next weekend ,that will have taken place.

It's a beautiful day here in New Brunswick, Canada and I'm going to sit on my deck and read. I hope your weather is pleasant too.

My Sandra Betzina Coat ( V1494 ) at Last

Well, I started this coat the first week in May and it's taken me this long to get it to the wearing stage.

I think the coat genie is trying to tell me I have enough already because my last three jacket/ coats have been real challenges. I have to admit I was tempted to give up on this one . The flared out from above the waist silhouettte isn't flattering my shape, but I wore it today to a luncheon and got raves about it so that gives me the confidence to keep it.

The pattern is V1494  and the fabric is a denim look heavy  drapery linen from my stash.

                                               

Here's the coat but the photography and the colour leave a lot to be desired. The top stitching is actually in taupe not white as the pic would suggest.

The collar looks terrible closed up like that. I think the lining is pulling but I don't have it in me to go in there and fix it. I'll be wearing it like this in any case. Isn't it pretty this way?

First about the collar problem. This is what the original collar looked like. Yes it really looked like that!!!

This is what I did to fix it. Plus I took a 1.5 " wedge at center back which ended at nothing at the neckline.

It still looked like this however

but I decided to trust in Sandra and it ended up fine in the end.

For my coat,I changed the pockets because I don't like inseam ones. If you want to know how to make these pockets,
please let me know and I'll post a tutorial on Diana's Sewing Lessons.

The lining is a poly slippery fabric that I thought would look cool and the yellow bias trim is too

A look at the back which is the part I don't find particularly flattering on me.

I do love colour and it feels wonderful on so I will wear my coat

And that's all I have to say about that.

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I'm Back With Little People Dresses

I've been away from my blog for a while even though I've been sewing lots. Again, it's the lack of  photos that got in the way.

The Sandra Betzina coat is almost finished. I think it's quite pretty but not really my style. I'll show it soon.

I've been making tops out of a beautiful rayon knit from Fabricville and that will be a post after the coat.

Today ,I want to to show you matching  dresses I made for Riley and Poppy. I just got back from Ottawa  to be with Poppy for her 4th birthday. As usual, I enjoyed every minute I spent with my two little cuties and I felt a little bereft on the plane ride home, knowing I won't see them again for two months.

For the dresses, I used a piece of poplin  and a red cotton knit that were a perfect match  from my stash. I designed the dresses myself.

For the patterns for each  , I used an old  , multi -size, child's pattern   from which I copied the  shoulder and armscye. From there ,I drafted an A-line silhouette.  Using this "master pattern", I then added the design lines. I flared out the dresses from the neckline to hem and from the curve (pockets areas) to hem. The back of the dresses are the original A-line. I added pocket bags to the side pieces and facings the shape of the pockets to form the pockets.

To sew, I gathered the neckline and curved pocket areas to conform to the front of the master pattern.
I added neck and sarmhole bidings to finish them off.                                
                                                   

                                     On our way to get pizza and yes they are the best of friends!

                                                               At the Birthday Party

                          

The little girls loved their dresses which  were a hit everywhere they went. I'm planning more dresses in the near future because Riley and Poppy wore them three of the five days I was with them. Now that's what I call appreciation.

I hope you're having lovely weather where you are and are sewing up a fun summer wardrobe1

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