I Love Stripes!!!

I do so love stripes and this rayon lycra fabric caught my attention the minute I spied it at Fabricville. Not only that but it spoke loud and clear and this is exactly what it insisted on being.

My inspiration was this outfit from Garnet Hill .com

The pattern is from Burda Style from the November issue of 2008, # 118. It has a  raglan sleeve with a curve which I really like.

                                   The skirt is a simple tube with elasticized waistline.

I considered inserting  a casing with elastic at the waist of the top  but I changed my mind and decided to just leave it straight and wear it with a belt.

This outfit is perfect for my casual lifestyle but it`s casual with a little extra something, IMO! Except for the extra time it took while pinning to make sure the stripes matched in all the important places, this was an easy sew! I`m going to love wearing this together ....

or with various other bottoms like these yoga pants.

I also have a second Sandra Betzina jacket  V1385 made but will wait until the dress I'm making to coordinate with it is finished before I show it. so please come back next week!

i hope you had time to sew this weekend!

A Plaid Linen Trench

For years, I've wanted to make a trench coat out of this lovely grey plaid linen which has silver threads running through it at intervals.

It took buying this purse in the hotel boutique at the Delta ,while on an overnight get together with my sisters , to get the ball rolling. ( shown here with my matching flats which I've had along time).

I decided on 3/4 length version of S4084 ,an OOP pattern in the single breasted style.

I haven't worked a lot with plaid and I was determined to take a lot of care in matching so although I had three meters of fabric I ended up with very little to spare because I had to cut several pieces twice even
 though I cut every single piece on a single layer of fabric and used each to cut the opposite side.

I blame that on block interfacing. I used a lite interfacing from Silhouette patterns to stabilize all my yardage before I started to cut. I've done that before to linen and  decided it would save time in the long run.
Needless to say,it didn't save time and took hours and hours! It's a good thing I'm a very patient person!!
I think there were distortions in the plaid thanks to this  and thus my matching challenges. The up side is that the interfacing gave the fabric a little body and it doesn't wrinkle very much which is a good thing.

here is my coat and I love it. I've worn it several times already and it is very comfortable, which to me indicates a good fit.

  Would you believe I finished putting in the lining, the buttons ,and doing all the hand sewing only to realize  I had  forgotten to add the belt loops?

I decided to open the lining a little at the back and to add just one carrier there. Because I like the jacket without the belt as well ,I was careful to match it so it would blend in when the belt is not being worn.

The angle from which I took the photo makes it look like it doesn't match but in reality it does!

I wanted to give my Janome machine a lot of credit for being the first machine I've ever had to make beautiful buttonholes every time! And, it even will agree to let me double each one without any problem at all. Look at these beauties!

 Not a very good pic. A photographer, I am not!

Oh, but I should say that I always use use a  #7 sharp needle and stabilise the area  with water soluble  stabilizer in order to get these results.

A peek at the lining.

Here in the Maritimes, we continue to have yucky weather. We literally have had no hot days yet this spring so this jacket is being worn regularly and I'm happy my purse talked me into making it!

I have lots more things to show you so I'll be back soon.

H

appy Sewing from

A Dress and a Shirt

I'm really late jumping on the V1250 by DKNY bandwagon!

Truth is, I just didn't think it would suit my figure but I decided to try it anyway and I really like it and so did DH. This was to be my muslin. I thought this print would be way too busy for my liking and was intending to make the revised version in plain navy blue poly/lycra for a function we were attending . After finishing this mock up and showing it to DH, he thought it looked really good and why would I make another one?? That settled it.

I made size 14 which is a size up from what I usually make but it did say close fitting. I didn't do an FBA because to tell the truth I wasn't sure how to do that for this style.  It fit really well except the cowl neckline is a little too low and so are the armholes. I'll be wearing a camisole underneath to solve those problems.

 I highly recommend this pattern ! Love it!

This is how I wore it Saturday night.

And without the cardi, I need shoulder pads!

My new favorite pattern is B5786. I LOVE this shirt style. I've worn the first one a lot with skinny jeans and it looks great. This second version (and there will be more!) is View C with a collar and I used cotton /lycra knit ,which is quite weighty, for this one. I made size 10 with my usual FBA and Narrow Shoulders alteration because of the knit and it fits really well. Isn't it cute?

The knit is a little heavy and the top sort of sticks out but I think after a couple more washings ,it should soften and drape better.

Again, I added 2 " to the front and after lengthening the back side seam to match the front, I took about 3" from the dip in the back so it's  a little better this time .

I have a couple of other things made , including a a plaid linen trench jacket, and will show those another time.

I hope you've had as much fun sewing lately as I have!

More later from

A Sandra Betzina Jacket

Have you ever bought fabric or a pattern and wanted to just go home and make it up right away?That happened when I shopped the last BMV sale . When my patterns arrived , I just had to try this one right away, V1385 by Sandra Betzina

I  knew I had to make a muslin before I cut into this pretty cotton sateen   from Vogue Fabrics.

I found just one meter of fabric left over from this coat, made years ago

and I managed to squeeze the shorter version out of it  but had to shorten the sleeves, unfortunately. In any case , it did the trick and I really like this little jacket. I'll be making the sateen version as soon as I get the chance.

The neckline on this jacket is precious I think and not at all hard to achieve if you mark the pleats carefully.

This is  Home Dec fabric, has  no drape and is almost stiff. It worked really well for this pattern. I didn't line it and I'm OK with that.

I made size C with no FBA . It was too big and I had to let it in a lot. Next time I'll try size B with an FBA. I think that should be just right.

I'll wear it with the matching print skirt made to go with the above mentioned coat.

I think it looks wonderful with my taupe palazzo pants made last fall,which is how I wore it to church last Sunday.

I started a new session of sewing classes this week and my students suggested they all make this jacket. They all loved it and it looks good on all their different body types.

I've been sewing every day in my new sewing room this week and have lots to show you when the photos have been taken. Thanks for stopping by.

An Easter Dress

Wow! I haven't posted in a whole month!

I've been doing a lot of house cleaning  Plus , I've been to Ottawa and back for a very nice visit with my children and little Munchkins, but I've also been  sewing.....a coat for Tamara, a Sandra Betzina jacket and I even managed a new dress for Easter ,albeit a very simple one.

 I 'll show you  my new version of Silhouette Patterns Swing Dress first. I think you'll agree it is far different than the envelope cover photo. I covered that story in this post.

The fabric is rayon/lycra and the pretty purple print  matches my amethyst jewellery given to me by  my husband  for various occasions. I keep trying to find fabric to match my pieces because Bob really likes it when I wear my amethyst ring and bracelet.

I added about 7 inches to my last version because this pattern, as is,  is practically a mini dress!

This dress is very basic, but one of those garments that is bound to be worn a lot because of its simplicity and comfort .

I decided on a longer length and I really like it this way What do you think?.

I'll show you the Sandra Betzina jacket , which is realy a wearable muslin for V1385 , in a few days when I've had a chance to take some pics.

Hope spring has found you in your little corner of the world!!

More later from