McCalls 4769 ~ The Sew Weekly Reunion Challenge

I've been meaning to sew this dress since January 2013.  I don't know why I was so intimidated.  I guess I didn't want to ruin great fabric with the wrong fit.  

I came across The Sew Weekly Reunion while blog surfing and thought it was an amazing challenge; I jumped at the chance to participate.  It motivated me enough to make the dress so it is a win!  I don't take enough time to sew for myself, mostly sewing for the kids.  I'm happy this is pushing me to move toward making myself things too!

The Facts: 

I cut and sewed a straight size 12.  I wanted to do a 10 for the bodice but the pattern I had started at a 12.   I really stressed out that the bodice would be too big, but I trudged forward.  

 I followed the directions pretty much most the way through.  Step #34 I was wondering why the skirt back even had a center back seam.  This can be eliminated and cut on the fold.  After Step #35 I under-stitched all pocket seams where they join to the skirt and then after #36 I pinked all the pocket seams as shown below. 

Now when I got to the collar I thought I was prepared.  I've read many reviews on patternreview.com saying how the collar is a pain.  I followed the advice of a few and read through these instructions by Pleasant View Schoolhouse.  I also read through the pattern instructions a few times. You think I would get it and be good to go? No, I still messed up!  See picture below and continue reading...

Where the green arrows are you need to make sure those get sewn under the front facing.  This happens in Step #49 and is really awkward in how it lays with the dress and facing. This was the only part I messed up on after reading all the instructions and checking out that website.  

It was easy going after that.  I did sew the top button about 1.5 inches higher than the pattern called for. I had to add an extra button on the bottom to accommodate this shift upward. 
The bodice fits me but it is a bit big.  I ended up taking in 1/2 inch on each side of the bodice under the armpit and tapering out to the waist - this helped but it's still baggy.  The bust darts don't really line up correctly with my apexes but the patterned fabric helps mask that. I really needed to sew the bodice in a size 10.  

Also, the whole time I was sewing I was actually thinking it was going to be too small for me.  Then about halfway through it occurred to me that the button placket things attach to the facing - as in, the facing goes down the whole dress front on both sides.  I thought at first the button plackets folded in half.  The dress fit me better that way so when I added the facings it was too big. I hope that made sense!

Even though it is a tad big I will still wear it.  I put 10.5 hours into this dress and I don't care that the bust is big!  :-)

I also eliminated the armhole facings and used bias tape for those.  It didn't quite go smoothly but it worked in the end.  Next time I would stick with the facings. 

Fabric: M'Liss Kimono II Fan ~ quilting cotton from Hancocks. My mom gave me her Hancock Bonus Bucks at Christmas Time last year and I used one to pick up the materials for this dress.  3.5 yards for $24.66 (-$20 bonus buck coupon)= $4.66.  Dress calls for only 2.75 but I used almost all of the 3.5 yards?  I see Hancocks still has it in stock and on sale for $5.99/yard. They describe it as M'Liss Butterflies and Fans on Teal Cotton.  100% cotton, 44" wide

Notions: Thread - Dark Jade $0.42 on sale, Interfacing 1.5 yards- had in the stash est. $3.00, Buttons - Slimline Red $0.70 each x 3.  

Pantone Challenge colors: I guess I'm fashionable for once? My Pantone Fall 2013 colors used are Emerald, Samba - there may be a close resemblance to Linden Green as well.  This was all totally unintentional.  I really liked the fabric and my complexion makes me a jewel tone wearer so I went with it!

Pattern: McCall's 4769

 

Year: Now OOP - but they still offer it for sale on the website.  I picked it up Jan 2013. However, it is ©2005 on the actual pattern

Time to complete: I would say it took me 2 hours to trace, cut, and interface the dress.  Then it took me 6 hours the first day of sewing and 2.5 hours today to finish it up.  Total: 10.5 hours

First worn: I've only worn this for the photos today but I plan to wear it Friday when I take the kids fabric shopping with me all day and out of town. (wish me luck on that trip!)

Wear again? It fits well and looks good so I plan on wearing this lots!  I plan on wearing this with a black cardigan when the weather turns but I will probably make another one with long sleeves, too.  

Total Cost: $10.18 - Awesome!

A successful me-made item always puts a smile on my face. 

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Sneak Peek

I've been hard at work the last few days and I wanted to show you a sneak peek of what I've been up to.

Friday I traced my pattern
Saturday I cut the pieces - but ran out of interfacing for the last 2....
Sunday I picked up the interfacing
Monday I sewed for about 6 hours

Here we are today and all I have left to do are the buttons and bottom hem! I'm so excited.
The problem is that I don't have any buttons to match and Wal-Mart disappointed.  Hancocks is an hour and a half round trip and it is 105 with the heat index today.  Not going to happen :(

So sad because I am this close!

Back view

Close up of fabric

Stay tuned for the reveal, and review!

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

To-Do List updated

I started working on a shirt dress today for myself and realized I haven't updated my to-do list in a long time (since spring! yikes).

I just updated the to-do list fully with fun pictures and lots of great things to come.
Check it out!

What do you have lined up to sew?

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Perfectly Pink Shorts ~ Jalie 3243

Hooray Hooray! Miss K has finally taken to a shorts/pants pattern!  I ordered Jalie 3243 hoping it would be a success.  K doesn't want zippers/buttons on her pants in this current phase she is in.  Well it was a giant success and I couldn't be happier.  This gives me a lot of pants options for her for in the fall/winter since she is so hard to fit into RTW pants.

front

There are two options for these shorts/pants, you can choose to have exposed facings or hidden ~ I chose hidden for this go around or View B.  There are a total of 6 pattern pieces.  I chose a size N (146cm or 10 US) for Miss K as she is in a 10 RTW and her hip measurements fit right with an N. (she is a 76cm in hip and 63cm in waist).

pocket top-stitching and hem

back

I had this fabulous solid linen in pink coral that I picked up from Hancock's sale Monday. It was $17.99 a yard but on sale for only $3.20/yd!!!  I picked up 1 yard at 60" wide for this project; the pattern calls for 1/2 yard.  I used only 1/2 yard.  The weight of the linen is perfect - a nice medium weight.  I did cut my pocket facings and waist facings out of some cotton scraps from Miss K's dress.

top front - showing facing

a peek at the pocket facing

Jalie directions are wonderful however I did make a few changes.
I double stitched the crotch seams in step 1 and 2.  I like to do this for added strength.  After step 5, the pocket, I under-stitched the facing to the seams and trimmed.  I then continued to step 7 to top-stitch the pocket facing edge. For step 8 I suggest serging or finishing the raw edges before folding them under - plus this helped to get a nice even fold line to press.  After step 10 I basted the pocket top edge and side edge to the shorts.

inside back 

inside front

Again, for step 12 I double stitched the crotch.  I switched and did step 16 before 15 because I don't enjoy serging in the round, it was much faster to do it while the facings were flat.  However, make sure to mark which facings are the back!  I also under-stitched the waistband facing after attaching it in step 17 - this really keeps the facing on the back side where it is supposed to lay and it doesn't peek out. I trimmed seams where pockets are to reduce some bulk.

For the elastic I went on my own way.  I like to sew the elastic into a loop and mark it into fourths.  I then mark the pants waist into fourths as well (these were already marked with their facing seams). This is sewn with the waist facing up away from the pants.  I sew in the elastic stretching between each fourth.  I like to position the elastic 1/4" from the bottom edge when I sew it in with a zigzag stitch.  Once all the way around I flip the waist facing down inside fold that 1/4" edge up and then again sew all around while stretching the elastic.  This keeps it snug in place with no shifting or flipping.

(unfortunately I didn't sew the elastic far enough away from the bottom edge so I couldn't fold it under - good thing I serged it before hand in step 16 lol)

Likes:
K approves and will actually wear them
The fit is good - perhaps a tiny bit long in the front crotch (due to K not pulling them up correctly)
Easy to sew
Uses very little material
A wardrobe staple
Nice not to have to fiddle with a zip fly!

Dislikes:
I wish the waistband was separate from the pants, next time I may alter this so that the waistband is not attached to the pants but that I attach it while sewing.  I like it when the pockets are below the waistband and not sewn into the band.
This is just a personal preference.

Conclusion:
Excellent pattern.  K will see many uses out of this one for sure!  I plan on making myself some linen pants too and maybe some cotton shorts when summer rolls around again next year.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Ottobre 03/2013 #39 Beisbol Raglan T-shirt

I promised Mr. T I would make him this shirt and it sat for 2 weeks on my table. I have no excuse really.  I wanted to sew it but yet I just didn't feel like it too.  T never asks for me to sew him anything, yet he is so excited when I make him things.  He is a funny kid.

He actually picked out this fabric from the $3.95/yd table a few weeks back.  It is 60 wide and I still have enough left for either a tee for me or leggings for Miss K.

Anyway, this is Ottobre 03/2013 #39 Beisbol Raglan T-shirt in size 146

Mr. T wears a size 10 in RTW but he is skinny; most RTW is very baggy on him width-wise.  So for this shirt I actually had T try on his sister's rainbow shirt (lol, poor kid) and it fit well, but was a bit short.  I traced and cut a 146 for him but added an inch to the length.

I added only 1/4" seam allowances because I knew I would use my serger for all the seam construction.  I did stitch over the serger seams on the armpits for added strength.

I top-stitched the sleeve cuffs and neck.  I used my stretch double needle with wonder tape for the bottom hem.

bottom hem

my new labels! yay!

This tee went together fast and without much issue.  The only snag I ran into was when I came to the neckline binding.  It looked so small, like a cuff.  I went and re-cut the pattern piece on the fold, thinking I forgot to do that, but then it was way too big.  So I measured the neck opening (17in) and multiplied it by my usual 0.75 for neck binding to come up with 12.75; add 0.5 seam allowance total (1/4  for each side) and I cut my binding at 13.25.  I measured this up against the original pattern piece and it was only about an inch longer. Shrug.  I sewed it on thinking it would be too small for T's head to fit through but it turned out just fine.

I tried my very best to line up the stripes.

Likes:
fits T perfectly
fast to sew
doesn't take much yardage - I'd say 1/2 yard of 60" wide
looks cute

Dislikes:
none!

                                                     T is over the moon happy with it

This is a great pattern.  It also has a variation of a polo tee.  I'm sure we will keep this in the "it works" pile for awhile.

front

back

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Upcoming projects and fabric haul

Sometimes I get in a slump and I don't know what to make, and then it seems that all of a sudden I get a lot of inspiration and I have tons I want to sew up.

Monday's mail was a success

Hancock also had a great sale Monday on their spot on the bolt clearance. 

($3.20/yd for most of these plus $15 off my total!)

So here is what I plan to do in the next 7 days:

First: Mr. T's raglan Tee from Ottobre 03/2013 #39

Second: Miss K needs shorts and pants for school. she requested no zippers so I'm testing out Jalie 3243 with this fabulous pink linen I picked up at Hancocks.

Third: Something for me! A cute nightie out of this cherry print from Fabric.com Charmeuse Satin.  Trying my first Burda pattern! Burda 05/2013 #114

And here is a breakdown of what I got from Hancocks

From left to right: 2 yards cotton print for a dress; 1 yard cotton print for a skirt for K; 2 yards light knit for Pjs for me; and K had to have 1 yard of the flannel for pjs for her

1 yard blue linen + 3 yards blue linen -pants for me and shorts for K; 1 yard pink linen -shorts for K

 K picked this pink ITY for a dress, 2 yards; 1 yard striped knit for a tee for me; and K picked 1/2 yard of this crazy soft see through stuff for who knows what. I think a flowy tank.

And lastly 3 yards of each for shirt dresses for me. :-D

I needed the fabric and patterns for inspiration because I was starting to feel in a slump.  Yay for inspiration!

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~