Year in Review: 2014

As the new year starts to roll in, I look back at what I've accomplished this past year.

Items:
96 items sewn up this year!
Miss K acquired the most with 51, Me at 22, poor Mr. T at 13, and crafts/gifts were only 10.

Fabrics:
Stash from 2013 and before sewn up this year: 50.5
Fabric Yards purchased in 2014: 200.75
Yards sewn/sold/gave-away in 2014: 218.25

Favorite makes for each of us:
Me:
December - Elephant Renfrew. It wears so nice and comfortable and I love how it looks. K tells me I need to stop wearing it so much... oops.

 December - Jalie Pants. Same as the renfrew, it is so comfy to wear these, but they pilled in one wash so I will have to remake. Fabric has already been purchased ;-)

Miss K: It is hard to pick only 2 for this girl. I really love some of her makes this year.
May/June - Jalie Swim top and shorts. This suit is the best fitting K has ever had and it has really held up to swimming all summer long.  We both love it. She is needing a bigger size now and I still have to make one for myself.

July - Red Sundress, McCall's M6948. I love the long maxi look of this dress and K is smitten with it as well.

Mr. T:
July - Vintage PJs, McCall's 3041. The look of these is awesome. Sewing them was fun. T likes them. I smile whenever he wears them.

August - unblogged Jalie 3242 Boxer Briefs.  They are just too cute!

Least favorite makes for each of us:
Me:
March - Kwik Sew 3342 Pajama set. The shorts never made it past the first day because they were really weird and the top was just uncomfortable. The elastic made me itch and it was short.

December - Darcy Boxer shorts. These were too big and poofy.  Not my style.

Miss K:
March - Oliver +S Hopscotch Skirt. K did not like this make at all.  It looks awkward on her and is poofy in all the wrong places. It is cute on the hanger though.

December - Ottobre Frozen top 1/2 knit, 1/2 cotton woven. K hated this top with the mixed fabrics and middle rolled hem.  I was able to change it up to all knit in the end but she claims this was her least favorite of all year.

Mr. T: none! He liked all of his makes this year :)

Resolution for 2015:

• Start using my pattern stash. 
• I will sew at least 1 new pattern each month.
• Start using up my magazine stash.
• I will sew at least 1 new Burda or Ottobre each month
• Use more fabric stash - don't buy as much new.
• I will use at least 1 fabric from stash each month.
• Sew more for me.
• I will sew at least 1 make for me each month.

There you have it,

1 new pattern, 

1 new Burda/Otto, 

1 fabric stash, and 

1 me make each month in 2015 

That is what I resolve to do. 

So, how did your year turn out?  What were your favorite makes? Did you sew as much as you planned on this year?  Do you plan any new resolutions for the new year?
Also,

I wanted to thank you for following me, viewing my makes, commenting on my posts.  It means so much to me and I love being part of this wonderful sewing community.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Recap Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec

I have failed on my end of the month recaps the last few months here so I wanted to include them before the end of the year.   I like these recaps because they help me to see that what I sew is worn, how well things are liked, what didn't work.  I like to see the whole month at a glance.

Sept/Oct I was very sick so not much was made.

November things started to pick up again. Yay for me sewing!

And I was really busy in December!

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Xmas Dress - The Mini Penny Pinafore, Ottobre tee and crafts

Mini Penny Pinafore
I wanted to make Miss K a Christmas dress out of these two fabrics but couldn't decide on a pattern. I went back and forth many times and decided to buy the Mini Penny Pinafore pattern by Kitschy Coo.
The pattern was almost $12 and K is at the top of the size range so I had trouble justifying the cost. I almost bought the women's pattern to use the smallest size for her but thought that it would be too long and awkward fitting on her rectangle body.  I crossed my fingers and hoped the kids would fit right.  Well it doesn't. It is too tight and very long.  I can easily modify it to fit right in the future though.

It is snug in the bodice and stomach area, long in the length.  K complained of the sleeves being tight too.  But she did wear it for 3 days straight.  I used size 9/10 everywhere but size 9 length.

I like the design of the dress. I just wish there was more flare for K because this way really shows her rectangle shape!  I will have to go and modify this if I use it again.  More room all over and more flare in the skirt.

The fabrics are both from Purpleseamstress and cotton lycra.  Pink Plaid was 1.5 yards at $10/yard. Kelly Green was 1/2 yard at $3.25.  So total of fabric, $18.25 and pattern, $12 = $30.25 ouch. The plaid faded quite a bit after the second wash too. Bummer because it is nice and thick fabric.

Ottobre 04/2013 #30 Leggings
I also made the leggings K is wearing.  They are an Ottobre pattern we love in a size larger than usual.  152 width, 146 height.  The fabric was not what I expected when I got it but it worked out ok.  1.5 yards at $9.50/yard = $14.25.  The fabric is super soft but pilled horrible after the second wash.

here is a close up of the stripes in the legging material

they match the plaid so nicely :)

Ottobre 04/2013 #33
I had 1/2 yard of the Kelly Green fabric left over so I made an Ottobre raglan tee for K in a 146.  It is a bit big on the neckline but she can grow into it.  The deer fabric was purchased in March 2014 from a Facebook group for $8 for the yard.  It is a nice thick cotton knit, most likely an interlock from the looks of it.  Total for shirt: $11.25

Simplicity 4786
In other random Christmas sewing, I made K a bunch of doll clothes for her 18" dolls. These are special because they are made from some of K's old clothes she loved (except the snow leopard, that is to match her dress I made her here, and the black/pink top matches her tee here).  

Most of these went together just fine.  The snow leopard, jumper, I didn't care for the instructions.  The bodice is lined but they don't have you understitch so it wants to pop out. Also, they have you sew the shoulders after attaching the linings which doesn't look as nice as when you sew the shoulders and then attach the lining.  K doesn't mind though.  The boots were so cute I had to make them.  The instructions as you to sew the bottoms with the seam on the outside? What? no thanks.  I sewed them just fine with the seam to the inside. Otherwise it's a great pattern with lots of options for doll clothes.



Totoro
I rushed a stuffed Totoro plushie.  It didn't turn out half as good as I would have liked because I had no time to do it correctly, but he is cute nonetheless. Materials cost about $1.50! I used the tutorial and pattern from Cheek and Stitch.

K loves the movie My Neighbor Totoro so it was a big surprise for her.
Here is a pic from the movie


I hope you are all enjoying your holidays with friends and family!  I'm working on a new Burda top and dress for myself in between festivities plus a wrap up post for the year as well as some resolutions for the new year.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Jalie 3022 and another Renfrew+

What a whirlwind the last week and a half has been for me!  Mr. T had a band xmas concert, it was lovely. K tested positive for influenza A yesterday, not lovely. I had a follow up mammo that came back clear, lovely. It is my finals week for school and I have a very sick kid, not lovely.  Our furnace started making noise, our water pump thing has been loud, and we had an outlet blow in the bathroom. Is there a full moon or something???  The last 24 hours have been the worst though. Poor K had a fever of 103.5 and no amount of meds was bringing it down :(  My mothering heart was so sad and nervous! Thankfully this morning she woke and the fever had broken. Whew.

However, I did get a bunch of sewing done in the week preceding this one, lol.  Let me show you!

Jalie 3022 has been on my mind ever since I saw the pattern, and then saw Jess of The Sometimes Sewist make a fabulous pair.  I ordered the pattern and then it sat, and sat, and sat, like most patterns in my stash. Last week I had a spur of the moment decision to just sew them up already.

My measurements put me in a Size X (11) hip and T (7) waist but Jalie is always snug so I bumped up to a Size Z (13) waist V (9).  These pants have a ton of topstitching and my coverstitch was being temperamental.  The back pants panel is split into two and creates a super nice curve that hugs the rear end.  Despite the topstitching these go together relatively fast.  There is also elastic in the waistband which I prefer more than just a cotton/lycra band.


 I love these pants!  They are comfy to wear. Nothing is shown when I bend over. The seaming on the back makes a butt look amazing!!

Now the bad: After I had them almost all sewn I found a freaking flaw in the fabric, thanks JoAnn's.  It lands just at the knee and looks like I scuffed them.  Also, it takes a bit to get used to fabric being so close to my crotch. My jeans don't come that close and I feel a tad self-conscious as if camel toe may happen - It doesn't - but I'm conscious of it. And there is a bit of poofy excess fabric at the front top near my hip bones. I have large thighs and then a dip before my hip bone. I will have to take some fabric out here next time.

Fabric: The pattern calls for 2.25 yards but I was able to get by with 2.  Sew Classic Knits Solid Interlock in Black, from JoAnn's in Oct. 2013, at $4.99/yard = $9.98.  This fabric is a nice interlock, beefier and not see through but only 1 way stretch.  It happens to be a 60% cotton and 40% polyester blend so I hope it wrinkles less than the other pair I made.

What? Another pair? Yes, a pair for Miss K.  Sizewise she would be an O (11). But I made her a  P (12) with the height of 146 (N) even though she is only 134.  They turned out super cute and her little butt looks cute in them too.  I used an old pair of yoga pants that are huge on me for hers and a scrap of Lillestoff Sweet Days for the lower band.  K hates the band and wants it all one color. Otherwise she loves them.  They are a tad long on her.  Sorry no pics of her in them, she is couch-bound until she is better. Excuse the wrinkles, they were worn before pics.  The fabric is a super stretchy spandex blend and thinner but not see thorough.

Tons of topstitching

Moving on to the Renfrew. Ever since I made my first one just a bit ago I've been scheming to get more fabric for another (and maybe another, lol).  They sure are addicting!

Changes made: added 1/4" to each side of the sleeves because they were a tad tight. Added 1/4" broad back adjustment - I noticed a bit of pulling on my last one because I have super prominent shoulder blades.  Now I can't tell if these changes helped or not because this fabric is very loose and drapey.  It fits different than the cotton/lycra.

I made View C with long sleeves again because I love that cowl.  I wanted to make the bottom band black like the cuffs but didn't have enough matching black of this kind.  Shrug.

Fabric is an amazing lightweight 4way, rayon modal knit that I picked up from Purpleseamstress.  I had to have it when I saw it and she had it on sale $5/yard. This was 2 yards so $10. I just got it December 3rd and couldn't wait to sew it up. I'm sure you will see more Renfrews in the future.
When asked if it was too busy my husband commented "Looks nice, people will think you like elephants" LMAO. oooook.

Onward - I tried a new free pattern called the Darcy Boxer Shorts. And I love some comfy boxers in the summer for PJ use.  Miss K also has been asking for a pair of her own.

 Results are less than stellar for me.  Way too poofy. Seems really big on me.  Slight tightness in the rear but super big everywhere else.

 I thought I'd share my fail with you ;-)

This fabric has seen it's fair share of use!
I used it for a pattern testing muslin (never shown). K got a cute tunic out of it here. And now these boxers.  The fabric is a light, breezy cotton that I picked up dirt cheap.  It is called A day in the garden "Ava Vezite." Purchased in March 2014. I think it was like $1.20 a yard so no hard feelings on this fail.

I also made Miss K a pair using the smallest size XXS.  They fit her ok and are less poofy - though slightly still.  Her fabric (below) was leftovers from my cute tank top  back in April 2013. It was from Hancocks, a Turquoise cotton lawn at $3.95/yard.

And Finally, I just could let go of that failed frozen top. So I chopped off the offending bottom fabric and sewed on a knit bottom. This bottom is actually from my discarded first Ottobre color block tee. I got rid of the pilling top and K's shirt needed a bottom so I had this brilliant idea!  It took only minutes to cut the bottom off and reattach the new bottom - it was already hemmed so it was super awesome. The verdict? K loves it now. And it looks like my fav color-blocked tee. The frozen fabric will be used for something else. This is Ottobre 01/2011 #33

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If you are still with me, Thanks!!  I hope you have a lovely Christmas with your friends and families.  I hope to get K's Xmas dress finished here this week but who knows.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Frozen Denied ~ Ottobre 01/2011 #33

Like almost every kid in America, K has taken to the "Frozen" movie. She looooves Elsa. She asked for this fabric one day when browsing over my shoulder. The fabric came, and it was so scratchy - not well made.  The print is off in spots causing the faces to distort. Ick. I didn't want to deal with returning it and this top has been on my mind.

Ottobre 01/2011 #33 "Meet-up T-shirt tunic"
Size 146 - omitted the front placket because I don't have time for those things ;-)
Instructions: are great. They are typical Ottobre - short and to the point
Fit-wise it fit just like it was supposed too. It is a tunic so it hits at the hip

(excuse the sun spot - it's that time of day)

Fabric: Top- Kaufman Laguna Stretch Jersey Knit Hot Pink that I got on sale for $2.99/yard at fabric.com. I don't remember how much I used but we will say 3/4 yard because of the sleeves. and Frozen 100% cotton woven. 1/2 yard? I think. $4.10.  Total for the top: $6.34

It took me 2.5 hours to sew because I had to switch out thread colors, change up my serger to do the rolled hem, and I used 4 of my machines in different spots on here. K hates it. Like really hates it. She picked it apart for all of 10 minutes and I know she won't wear it.  The "ruffly" part is gross (the rolled hem), the material is scratchy, it's too long (like a  tunic), I don't want it.

Can I pull my hair out now? Then she and I get into the talk of how I don't want to sew her things anymore because she complains so much about them.  To this she cries and says she still wants things from me. But I'm at my "fed up" point.  So Black Friday comes along. I buy some clothes for K - cheap crap that is poorly made but name brand nonetheless. She hates them. Too tight, not long enough, too long. Then she realizes I sew for her because things FIT her. Store clothes don't FIT her!! All is well in the world again.  LOL.

This top, however, is going to the boneyard, never to be loved by K. (aka. goodwill).

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~