Ottobre 03/2012 #13 Hollywood Cerise Tunic

I was totally not able to get done with K's other dress I was working on.  I only have the knit bodice to sew and then attach to the skirt portion. It wasn't in the cards.

I have to backdate this post to August because this cute tunic was finished before September.
Ottobre 03/2012 #13 Hollywood Cerise has been on my list for awhile now.  K is growing fast and I had already traced and cut this out in a 134, even though her measurements now put her almost in a 146! I figured I better sew it fast before she grows more.
134 shoulders, 140 waist and hip, and 104 in height to make it a tunic and not a dress.

It went together fairly easy and reminds me a lot of the Oliver+S Ice Cream Dress.  I sewed this up without issue. The instructions are well written. I used the "shaped facing" pieces for the armholes as directed but they are more like shaped bias tape pieces.  I opted for using bias tape for the neckline, instead of the facing because K would not want that flapping around in front.

There were a ton of buttons to sew. I spaced the top two, two inches apart and then the rest 3 inches apart. There is a tiny bit of gaping when she sits down between the buttons but she wears a tank under it and it is no problem.

It turned out really cute and I'm really happy with it.  Somehow it matches these shorts of hers exactly!

The fabric is a light, breezy cotton that I picked up dirt cheap.  It was intended as muslin fabric but I like how it looks and really don't care to sew this up again so it will have to be the real deal. 1.25 yards of A day in the garden "Ava Vezite." Purchased in March 2014. I think it was like $1.20 a yard for the box I bought so this would have cost $1.50. Cheap!

August Totals:
(stash is anything purchased before this year)
Stash used: 5.5 yards
Fabric Out: 14.5 yards  
Fabric In: 13.25 yards

Totals for the year to date:
Stash sew this year: 40.5 yards
Fabric out in 2014: 141.75 yards
Fabric in 2014: 154.5 yards

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Would you like some Ice Cream?

Back in Summer 2012 I made Miss K two dresses that we both fell in love with.  They got a lot of wear and she finally outgrew them the beginning of this summer. Dress 1, Dress 2
Make more you say? Well I'd love too, but I had cut the pattern in size 7 and didn't want to deal with grading it up.  (I'm way too lazy for that business!).

I broke down and re-bought the pattern just so I could make K more, because she has been begging me.

Welcome back Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress - you will get tons of wear so be prepared!
Oh, and why stop at one when you can have 3!

Now there are some pros and cons to assembly line sewing.
Pros are the obvious:
you do 1 step 3 times so no stopping to re-read as much
you have 3 finished items at the end in less time
Cons:
you do 1 step 3 times, lol even if you don't like that step much
from start to finished item seems to take much longer as you have to do everything many times

front shirt

 back shirt 

cute little purple vintage button

I threw out my back almost 2 weeks ago now (just after I made my thurlows) and couldn't walk for like 4 days. at. all. It was misery and painful.  After finally dragging myself in to the doctor, they let me know I also have a kidney stone. Thanks.  I've been taking it easy  pushing it more than I should, but I move slowly right now.  So I broke these up into a few steps.
Day 1: trace, pre-wash, cut fabric
Day 2: sew all 3 yokes
Day 3: sew pocket to front, middle panels, and yokes to middles
Day 4: sew bottoms and hem (then beg child to take pictures-bribing with anything necessary)

look at that pocket matching!

It worked out well. I could sew about 1/2 to an hour and then had to break before coming back to it again each day too.  I thought I'd never have them done in time for school (which is creeping up Tuesday!).

 

insides

 

Size: 12 in width, 10 in height - K is 8 yrs old and a 10/12ish in RTW

Fabric:
Top/Shirt: $16.34
                    1 yard Acacia Raccoon Bluebell from fabric.com in March 2014 for $9.20
                    1/2 yard Acacia Pixel Dot Teal from fabric.com in March 2014 for $4.60
                    1/2 yard Cotton Voile Turquoise (lining) from fabric.com in June 2012 for $2.54
Blue Dress w/o pockets - rounded neck: $25.00
                    1/2 yard Picnic Pals Organic Small Floral Lavender from fabric.com in Oct 2012 for $4.99
                    1 yard Picnic Pals Organic Animals Blue from fabric.com in Oct 2012 for $9.98
                    3/4 yard Picnic Pals Organic Polka Dot Blue from fabric.com in Oct 2012 for $7.49
                    1/2 yard Cotton Voile Turquoise (lining) from fabric.com purchased for $2.54
Pink Dress with pockets: $13.06
                    3/4 yard Pink Linen from Hancock's in 2013 on clearance for $1.60
                    1 yard Wee Wander Summer Ride Seafoam from fabricworm.com in Feb 2014 for $9.46
                    3/4 yard White handkerchief cotton (lining) from Hancocks I don't know when but I'll guess $2

"Mom, I can't find the pockets?"

6 fabrics were stash and some from 2012! It was bittersweet using these up, lol.

I had forgotten how much work sewing these really is.  The lining is separate for the yoke and bottom panel.  It is sort of a pain to have to sew it up.  In the future I'd opt for a full lining instead of a segmented one because I think it would save tons of time!

I love the simple style of these dresses and now shirt.  Apart from all the flipping and sewing and whatnot, the instructions are extremely well written.  I enjoy the many illustrations that help you out along the way.  The pieces all match up too.  I'm sure these will be in Miss K's rotation quite heavily.

I also have a top done and a partially finished dress but those are for another day. I always take inventory of what is needed for back to school but then it seems to fly up on me and Boom! "Mom, I have none of X to wear!"  sigh. I still need to work on leggings and probably bottoms for K, T is good - for now.  And Mom really wants some me-sewing-time!

August Totals:
(stash is anything purchased before this year)
Stash used: 5.5 yards
Fabric Out: 13 yards  
Fabric In: 13.25 yards

Totals for the year to date:
Stash sew this year: 40.5 yards
Fabric out in 2014: 140.25 yards
Fabric in 2014: 154.5 yards

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Deer & Doe and Sewaholic

I have a whole outfit to show you today!  Now that my class has finished, some stress is gone and I was able to get some sewing in.

I tried out the Deer & Doe Plantain tee and I took another crack at the Sewaholic Thurlows.

Let's talk about the Plantain first:
I traced a size 38 for the shoulders, 40 for the bust, and 44 for the hips

Adjustments:
1/2" square shoulder (normal for me)
Raised neckline by an inch

I placed these pieces over my favorite tee pattern (Ottobre 05/2013 #1) and the back looked like a great fit, the front looked a bit wider than my other one but I wanted to test it in it's true form before messing with it, so I left it as is.

I must say that the fit is awesome for only doing those 2 little alterations!  The back fits excellent and there is no neck gaping (for once!)  The hips fit great in the back and there isn't an issue with the swayback because there is enough ease to go over my rear.  The front is a bit large and drapey for what I"m used to, but that is the design of the tee. This fabric is very light and the stripes waving in the drapey front drive my ocd nuts! I think I'd be in love with it if it was a solid ;-)

I sewed the shirt with my serger and used my cover stitch for the hems.

Fabric: Designer Yarn Dye Rayon Jersey Knit Stripe Blue; 85% Rayon, 10% Polyester, 5% Lycra. It is very soft and a tad thin.  I purchased it from fabric.com in May 2014 for $3.98/yard.  The top used about 1.5 yards so the top only cost me $5.97

Verdict: I really like this top!  I will most likely make the front piece a tiny bit more narrow next time but otherwise it's great! (and it's free so win-win). I can't wait to try it in long sleeve with those cute patches!!!

Ok. Now for the Sewaholic Thurlows. . .
There are so many nice things to say about these so I'll get the one bad thing out of the way - they don't fit. They are just a tiny smidge to tight.  OMG. I can't win! lol.  My first pair was too big and this pair too small.  Over-fitting, that's all.  The crotch feels a bit snug and I have whiskers in the front.

On to the good:
I still love the all the details in these.  This time the steps took a tiny bit less than 6 hours and it was easier going.  I followed Lladybird's sew a long again for these.
I love how these fit and look.  I know they are too tight but man they look so RTW!  I also love how they fit my rear and I only have a tiny, tiny bit of gaping in the back.

Alterations:
I took 1/4" out of each side in the back, but then only sewed with 1/4" SA so it was a wash there.
Because of the bagginess in the front last time, I took out a 1" dart at the top, tapering to 0 at the bottom of the shorts - from each side, so 2" total out of the front. I adjusted the waistband to fit this as well so 2" out.

I sewed these up mostly with my vintage Kenmore that I got from goodwill. OMG I am falling more and more in love with this machine.  This is the first project I've sewn on it.  The flexibility to start, stop, and reverse at my whim was awesome.  The machine sewed over many thick seams without one flinch.  I got to use the buttonhole attachment - that really blew my mind and was so fun.  Ah! I love it.

Fabric: It came labeled as Jade Green Floral Twill but the selvage tells me it is "Valori Wells Sole' Home Dec Fabric, Agapantha in Aqua." It was cheap so I don't mind and it sewed beautifully. I picked it up from FashionFabricsClub.com in May 2014 for $5.45/yard.  We will say I used 2 yards, only because I don't remember and that is what the pattern calls for.  So $10.90 total.

Verdict: I really had a blast sewing these shorts up and I was able to practice some pretty hard techniques in the process (I'm looking at you double welts!).  I'm sad they are too tight - I mean, I can't even sit down in them! lol. However, this fabric has ZERO stretch so I'll take that into account. Anyway I'll have at the pattern again sometime after I've had a break from it.
Next time I will need to address my large front thighs and look at a large rear adjustment.  the shorts are pulling toward the front right now at the side seams (because of the thighs). Eh, it was worth all the effort as I enjoyed myself.

August Totals:
(stash is anything purchased before this year)
Stash used: 7/8 yards
Fabric Out: 5 5/8 yards
Fabric In: 0 yards

Totals for the year to date:
Stash sew this year: 35.75 yards
Fabric out in 2014: 133 yards
Fabric in 2014: 141.25 yards

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Baby Sewing ~ Ottobre 03/2014 #2 & #3 and randomness

No, no babies on the horizon in this household.  My nephew is turning 1 on Friday and my DD wanted to take him an outfit.  I've never sewn a little one's outfit.  I settled on the Baboon jersey pants from the 03/2014 Ottobre and a matching "Spot Fish" T-shirt.  How cute are they?

Little clothing doesn't take much yardage but the pieces are much smaller to work with!  I didn't like the way I first attached the neck binding on the tee so I picked it off and then attached it the way I usually do.

Tee:
View A - size 86cm - 1/2 yard stash
Nothing new or exciting to report on the Tee - I think I can sew them in my sleep now.  The instructions were good, I read through them after I finished sewing it up. I used my cover stitch for the hems and to top stitch the bindings on the neck and sleeves.  I also added Fusible stay tape to the shoulders.

Pants:
View A - size 86 - 1/2 yard total between the blue and contrast fabrics
The pants were fun to sew (insert sarcasm). OMG. Attaching the butt circles was a pain because you are putting one concave curve into one convex curve - like sleeves but more severe.  I top stitched the circle seams down.  I didn't know what - and didn't care to read slowly - the instructions were asking for the leg cuffs.  I simply folded them in half wrong sides together and sewed them R sides together to the legs - like I do for bindings. Then I cover stitched the seams down.  I did this before sewing the legs together.
I omitted the drawstring because an active 1 yr old boy may get into trouble with it.  I serged the elastic onto the waist, in the round, then flipped it over to the inside and top stitched with the cover stitch.

They turned out really cute, but look big.  I hope he enjoys them. (he is a large 1 yr old so that is why I went for the 86cm size).

back

front

Fabric:
Blue: Laguna Stretch Cotton Jersey Knit Royal, by Kaufman. I picked it up from Fabric.com in Feb 2014; 1/2 yard was $3.49
White: Fast Food Cotton Knit bought from Fabricfairy.com Feb 2013; 1/2 yard was $4.50
Total for the outfit: $7.99

In other randomness, I have been making a back to school sewing list and one of the priorities is Underwear for K.  She now only wears the Jalie 3242 ones I sew.  I cut out 12 pairs and managed to get 6 sewn so far.  I took to putting the elastic on top of the waist part and cover stitching them down, like I've seen in RTW ones before. This was much faster and wears all the same.

 The green floral is from an outgrown tank top, The pink is from an outgrown tee, and the blue are from scraps from K's maxi dress.

The oranges are scraps from K's T-shirt dress, the birds are from her PJ shirt - now too small, and the wild black and white are scraps from her T-shirt.   I estimate about 3/8 yard for each 2 pairs. (1 pair needs 11" high by 24" long) So, 1 1/8 yards were used for these 6.  (3/8 from stash, 3/8 from new fabric, and 3/8 from old clothes)

Mesewing:
I have another pair of Thurlows altered, cut out, and ready to be sewn up and I'm going to be working on a Plantain too.

I'm in my "finals" week of class here so who knows when I'll get to them.  I've been very stressed and it has aggravated my chronic health issues, which in turn zaps all my energy to do anything. I'm sure I just need to get through this class (1.5 more weeks!) and the 12 page paper this week..... and I'll be less stressed and feeling better.
Nala thinks so anyway

August Totals:
(stash is anything purchased before this year)
Stash used: 7/8 yards
Fabric Out: 2 1/8 yards
Fabric In: 0 yards

Totals for the year to date:
Stash sew this year: 35.75 yards
Fabric out in 2014: 129.5 yards
Fabric in 2014: 141.25 yards

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~