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

A Fall Coat for my Sister...Burda

Thanks to all who visited or left comments about my last post. I wanted to answer Susan's            question about fitting for the tummy area. If you send me an email, Susan,I would be glad to address that fairly easy to do alteration.

My sister had a milestone birthday last month and my gift to her was a jacket similar to this one of mine that she absolutely loved.

I found this fabric at Marci Tilton .com

and was about to order it but I was so excited to find it at Fabricville albeit at a much steeper price. It happened that there was a 50% off sale at Fabricville for two days and so I snapped it up. It has the same properties as my (above)jacket which is what my sister admired  most about it.As you can tell by the photo, it is a "quilted", fairly hefty textile that feels and looks  like a very soft cotton.

I had told my sis that I wasn't going to make her an identical jacket so I chose Burda  7072 View A.
I made a muslin , perfected the fit and I was on my way.

 It took me a week to achieve the end result and my sister loves it ( I think ).

 I had

planned to use the faux leather trim along the princess seam lines but these are placed so far to almost  the under arms that after trying that , I realized it was not a good look.I ended up, as you can see, trimming  the neckline ,center fronts and sleeves.

The bound buttonholes were made out of the faux.leather as well and  I added  leather buttons to complete the look.

Oh, but no! That's not all! I also added  a bit more leather trim on my self  my own self designed pockets.

My own jacket is unlined so I decided to do the same for this coat.Normally, I would add Hong Kong finishes to the inside seams of an unlined garment but there were so many seams in this coat that I decided to use a decorative ,variegated rayon  thread instead, Isn't it cool?

Notice the construction of the sleeves and under arms. They were not easy to achieve. Mine are not perfect but I think they are acceptable.

                                                                                       

To add the faux leather trim, I cut bias strips which I sewed   to the outside , then wrapped around to the inside, pinned and then from the right side, I stitched in the ditch. Lastly, I trimmed close to the stitching line. This is not difficult to achieve .

So what do you think. Are the pockets "too much" ?

Helena really seems to love her coat. It ended up quite similar to mine, but  WHATEVER !

So now on to something easy before I start my Christmas sewing.
I hope you found time to sew this week and Happy Weekend Sewing!

Denim Jacket, V1234 by Sandra Betzina

I seem to be on a Today's Fit by Sandra Betzina roll. I've made yet another piece, this time using  V1418

                                         
                                           

which I loved the moment I saw it. This jacket was a test for the fit of the pattern so I made the simpler View B because it had much fewer details  than the more complicated View A which I want to make in navy linen in the soring.

This jacket is a stretch cotton denim. I made View B with a moderate FBA (I added 1/2" using the cut and spread method) , a Narrow Shoulder Adjustment, and a High Back Adjustment just below the neckline. ( sorry, I haven't covered that topic yet at Diana's Sewing Lessons ).

I didn't line my jacket but I spent a lot of time carefully finishing every seam with a Hong Kong Finish and I love the results. I used a cotton shirting for this step.

                              

I kept top stitching to a minimum resisting  doing every seam in sight, in favor of simplicity.

This jacket has a lovely oriental flair,and  is slightly boxy  (in a nice way) rather than fitted as the pattern envelope suggests.

I love the length of this jacket  and the closure tab. I made machine buttonholes and they turned out perfectly! See!

The only criticism I have for the pattern is that the back darts do not extend high enough  ( I remedied that)and the mid back  area is excessively roomy, if that makes sense. I'll need to make an adjustment next time. But my final conclusion is that this is a very wearable jacket and for once it was a piece I really needed to go with several other things in my wardrobe. Never mind, I couldn't find a hanger to hang it on and will have to hang it on a hook in the spare room because there is just no more room in any of my closets. And yes, I am ashamed to admit that!

What did you sew this week? Do you like Today's Fit patterns in general?

Have a great week!