Three Classics

I love navy blue ! Anyone who follows my blog probably has figured that out by now because most of what I make is navy blue. Plus, it's such a classic colour and I do love classic pieces. Today, I'm going to show you three.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Vancouver to help my grand-daughter, Jessica move her stuff home for the summer. She goes to Simon Fraser University there. I wanted to travel with only a carry on and of course planned my travel wardrobe around navy blue.

My outerwear piece for my trip was a cape I copied from one  my friend Ruth owns and it became one of the projects my Winter Sewing Group decided to tackle this year.. Here is my version

The fabric is a two sided coating fabric but I chose not to make it reversible. Here is a second way to wear it. This photo was taken before I added the buttons.

                                                   

                                The trim is a medium weight cotton knit that I used as a faux bias trim . I cut strips of fabric, sewed it to the edges, wrapped it it around and stitched in the ditch. I trimmed away excess fabric from the inside and voila,it looks like bias trim! My closures are a combination of wooden buttons and snaps.

Here is a look at the inside and how the trim looks. This treatment would not be for a perfectionist but for this project, I'm satisfied with how it looks.

All other edges of my cape were simply serged.

I only had 1.25 meters of this fabric and was unable to completely match the back plaid as you can see in this photo. It was the end of the bolt so .....

A peek at my Hong Kong finished seams. I used a rust plaid taffeta from my stash.

I managed to get a photo of one time I wore my cape but not in Vancouver, unfortunately.

For my trip, I made another sailor look boat neck top using Burda 6988. The fabric for this one is the same as for the dress I posted about a couple of weeks ago. I used the mini stripe side as you can see. 

To make it a little more special, I used the chain stitch on my cover stitch machine 

Then I made culottes using Butterick 4861, now OOP     and scuba knit fabric. I wanted pockets but instead of the inseam ones from the pattern, I decided on large patch pockets sewn across the side seams. I like this look very much. 

Although I hoped the cape would look well with these two pieces, in the end I realized they weren't meant to be together and I packed this sweater made last March . I provided extra warmth for the chilly weather we experienced in Vancouver.

The sun is finally shining here today and it's finally time for spring clothes! Si I'm going to put this sweater away but the culottes and top are just right for today's temperature soI'll leave them on.

I'm in tyhe process of making a cotton sateen wrap dress. I should have it ready by next week so

please come take a look.

Have a great week . 

Kacy's Wrap by Silhouette Patterns

First, today, I want to answer a question asked by Suzanne and  Dharma   about how I took away bulk from the front of last week's cardi. The pattern was Simplicity 2603. If you look here Ladies, it will take you to a picture on my Flicker Photo site. Read the comment below it and it will show you what I did. I hope it's clear, but if it isn't , please let me know.

I don't know if you know about Peggy Sagers' new video series called Let's Sew. She puts them out every Thursday night , They are free and so inspiring. I can't say enough about Peggy's generosity for making her webcasts every other Monday night and now these videos, ( 30 so far ), available free to the public. I know they've helped her grow her Silhouette Patterns business, but still, she gives out a lot of free information. I don't always agree with the way she dismisses other people's methods but I do appreciate her creativity in these videos/webcasts.

Her  Lets Sew video # 26 was about this pattern. #112

I don't own that pattern because I've stopped shopping online in the states because of the state of our Canadian dollar . It's just too expensive!  but I tried to interpret the style by using a Silhouette Pattern that I do own ...the Sweater Set  #195 and here is what I came up with.

My biggest challenge was that I didn't know how far to extend the front. I guesstimated and here is what I ended up with. I added 20" to center front but it's a little too much although I love how it turned out. I just can't do the other looks that Peggy talks about in her video.

You hang the lower part around your neck to form the shawl around your shoulders and this is what the back looks like.

Here is another way of wearing the top  which is quite lovely . The front extension looks like a scarf in this look.As you see in this pic. I made 3/4 sleeves for my version.

The fabric has to be drapey and preferably a knit. Mine is a fairly lightweight poly/lycra that fits the bill very nicely. Don't you love the colours in this print ?

Don't I look like a butterfly ?

This is the scarf look version.

I couldn't resist showing this one and BTW, it would be better if your fabric wasn't white on the wrong side like mine because if you move too much the wrong side shows.

This was a lot of fun to make and I'm working on a summer version now..I've had many comlpiments on this one and I hope I've inspired you to check out Peggy's videos and to try one of these.

I hope you had time to sew this weekend. Please stop by again to see what I come up with.

A sewing friend,

A Two Sided \knit Duo

  When I go to a fabric store , I have a really hard time to resist a two sided fabric. Then I can never decide what to make . I always feel that I must use both sides or make a reversible garment.

This past fall Fabricville had this lovely two sided knit . It came in red or black and each was backed by a mini black and white stripe. I bought both colour ways knowing I would make a boat neck top with the striped side and a waterfall cardi in either the red or black. I also wanted to use some of my fabric to make Four Way wraps for my sale. The dilemma this time was which to use for the cardi, red or black ??

Here's what I decided in the end.

For the cardi, I used S2603 , now OOP.

However, I cut I cut away about 6" from the collar and front to minimize the amount and length of the "fall". I love the result and it's not as cumbersome as others I've made in the past. 

Here's the top

I'll wear that top to death because it's my favorite style of all times. I used what I consider to be my Burda  sloper, 6988. I pretty well get a perfect fit with this pattern. This time I scooped the neckline ever so slightly in both the front and back so the boat neck is not quite as severe as in other things I've made in the past .

I decided to make a wrap for myself to wear with the top out of the red. I'll use the rest of the yardage for a future fund raiser. By the time I posted this, someone had persuaded me to sell her the above wrap so no photo of me wearing it !

I finally made myself  get pics taken today . It's so hard to decide to do this so I took pics of several outfits including last week's post.

The reason for this pose was my hubby , making fun of me because I was taking theses pics myself and I said I was doing a photo shoot. .

Well that's the end of winter stuff for sure. I have some really fun things to show you next time so be sure to come back for a visit.

Thanks to all who left comments last week . They were really appreciated.

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Vogue 9240 in Navy and White stripes

Happy Sunday Everyone ! I'm so happy you stopped by because I have such a fun dress to show you

I've had this beautiful two sided cotton knit , which I bought at Mood Fabrics.com a couple of years ago when our Canadian dollar was more at par with the American dollar. It would never tell me what it wanted to be until now. As soon as I saw this pattern, V9240 , I heard my special Mood fabric calling " This is it ! This is it !!! "

The pattern...

...and the dress on Antoinette.

Details:  ( I made a mock up in a summer fabric and made an FBA  and added a bust dart to the side piece . I felt the sleeves were a little snug so I dealt with that )

The fabric is a double knit, double sided  cotton in dark navy and white.

The pattern description stated that the silhouette of this dress was fitted, so I cut a size larger and that worked for me. I don't really think this is a very fitted style however .
I used my knit sleeve for my SFD sloper and I'm a little sorry because I feel they are too loose. I first used the mini stripe for the sleeves but I didn't like the result so I took them out , turned them the other way and I like that's much better. 

This is a straight style as you can see and is not shaped at the waist. I was tempted to add back waist darts and still may .

The only changes I made was to do my usual fitting alterations and I decided to make the back all one piece . I didn't think I'd like the back as it is in the pattern. That also omitted the need to match the stripes at center back .

Here's a  closer look at the neckline.

 This is really a very simple dress to make. The mock up I made is a summer version which I'll show you when I finish it . I can think of all kinds of fabrics to use and turn it into tops too. Oh what fun ! I love sewing, don't you ? Lol.

Please let me know what you think. I'd love to see other people's version of this pattern too so if you make it , please let me know.

I have a couple of really cool things to show you another time so come back next week, won't you !

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