Sewing for others ~ Jalie and Swoon

This year I wanted to make something special for my Mom for her Birthday.
She liked my Jalie scarf neck top so I made her one for  herself.  I also made her a Swoon Cardigan.

Jalie 2921



I won’t divulge my mom’s measurements on her but I will say that she is short-waisted.  This alteration was different for me because I’m rather long waisted. 



You probably recognize the fabric from my Burda shirt the other day.  When I pulled it out my daughter said “That looks like something grandma would like.”  Luckily I had enough to make both her shirt and mine.  I did sew hers first just to be safe. 



I’ve made this pattern for myself 3 times now.  I love it.  Sewing it up is a breeze. 

Swoon Cardigan



I picked this cardigan because I loved the princess seaming.  I’ve never sewn it before. I didn’t like the front with the asymmetrical peaks – so I made it straight across in front.



I didn’t like this pattern, the instructions, any of it  Piecing the pattern together was weird how there one long part of the main body that is cut off and on a different part – I don’t know. I didn’t like it and thought it was weird.  The sewing part was ok but I didn’t enjoy it.  The collar part is single fabric, I wish it was double to hide the seam.  The two seams joining at the bottom are not a good feature.  The corners at the front have to be mitered to look right.  Ugh. not my favorite.  It looks nice, and I like how it turned out. But I’ll not be sewing this again.



Fabric: initially I had this pegged to be my Jalie drop pocket cardigan for my swap. However, it looked so nice with this fabric and it is colors my mom would like.  2 yards Teal Blue Jersey Knit, 95% Rayon 5% Lycra.  It is soft and drapes well.  I purchased it in August 2016 from fashion fabrics club.

I sure hope my Mom enjoyed receiving these as her present. 

Happy Sewing!
Kristin

Sewing With a Plan ~ Burda and Jalie

Sewing TNT’s really gives you a boost of confidence in your sewing.  

Burda 10/2014 #103

I’ve made this top 5 times now; It’s one of my favorites.



1. Color-Blocked 2. Aqua Tank 3. Rib Floral 4. Gray Contrast

Size: straight 42



Alterations:

• no hem added, it’s long enough. 
• sloped 1” out of back neck and tapered to nothing at back hem. 
• Added 1.25” to back at hip level.
• Lowered sleeve cap by 1/2” and added 1/4” to each side of sleeve.

Fabric: 1 yard Jewel Print ITY Knit from Maggy London; 95% polyester, 5% lycra; purchased in Nov 2015 from FabricMart with my Fabricista Challenge winnings. It was free for me but listed at $5/yard.

In January we added this little guy to our family. It’s so fun to watch a puppy learn things.

Jalie 3248 Drop Pocket Cardigan

Size: W graded to an AA at the hip.





Alterations: none



Fabric: 2 yards Black French Terry (506-BLACK) purchased in Aug 2016 for $12.90 from Stylish Fabrics.  It’s very soft, not too thick and not too thin.



I love this drop pocket design, plus there are double front pieces so they act as a full facing.  There aren’t many seams visible on this cardigan either – just the sides and sleeves.



I've made this cardi 2 other times. Once in a soft, thin Gray knit for me; and another time in a teal knit for Miss K (unblogged at this time).  The more times I sew it the easier the instructions become.

If you are following my Sewing with a Plan from Jan to April, these two makes are shown below in my plan.  I've now completed 4 of the 9 makes.

And here are more puppy pics, because… puppies!:




Happy Sewing!
Kristin

Sewing with a Plan ~ Renfrew and Jalie Yoga Pants

Sewaholic Renfrew 1201



I’ve made the renfrew many times, and I love almost all of them.  This one is no exception. This would be my sixth Renfrew to date (not counting the mini one I made for Miss K).

1. Elephants  2. birds  3. Gray  4. Skater Mashup  5. Sweetheart Mashup



Size and adjustments:   8 for shoulders and bust, 10 for waist, 12 for hips. This is 2 sizes smaller than my measurements for the shoulders/bust and one size smaller for the waist hips.  I find the renfrew to fit very well but the pattern runs just 1 or 2 sizes big.
1/2" square shoulder adjustment.  1/2" forward shoulder adjustment.



Fabric: 2 yards brushed sweater knit in Navy blue, purchased in an auction box from Knitpop in October 2016. $11.40 total after shipping. This fabric is super soft and feels so good to wear.
Thoughts: I love this top!  It’s soft, blue, and has a cowl – 3 of my favorite things!



Jalie 3022 Yoga Pants



Size:   waist “X” and my hip “BB” – these are each 2 sizes above my real measurements as Jalie runs slim. I added an inch to the length because all my other ones seem to shrink up in the dryer and are eventually an inch too short.  This would be my 7th pair of these pants!

1. Black plain  2. Hunter Green 3. Green Shorts 4. Teal Pants 5. Black and White  6. Black for Miss K



Fabric: 2 yards 10oz Navy Cotton Lycra Knit from Stylish fabrics. Purchased September 2016 for $13.80 specifically for these pants.



Thoughts: I love this pattern.  This is my go-to for pants. I can wear them around the house in comfort and also out to run quick errands, pick up the kids, go to doctor appts, etc.  They fit so nicely.

 
Sewing Plan updat
Below is my sewing plan for Jan-April.  The renfrew and yoga pants are finished.  On to something else!



Happy Sewing!
Kristin

P4P Sweetheart Dresses

Both these dresses were made quite awhile ago.  The blue/gray stripe was made in Septemberish? The green in November.

Both are made from the Patterns For Pirates Sweetheart Dress pattern. 

Stripes




Size: Straight size Large



Fabric: 2 yards Heather Gray and Navy Ponte Knit purchased December 2014 from Hancocks for $10.78


Thoughts: Love love love.  I really love this dress. It is one of my favorite makes to date.

I also made some PegLegs in size 1x (one size up from my measurements because I wanted them to be a little looser for the material).  I used 1 yard of rose Double brushed Poly.  they are heavenly soft on the legs – like wearing a cloud!  The leggings cost about $7 to make.

Green Cowl:



 This is a mash up using the P4P circle skirt and Renfrew on top.

 
Size: Straight size Large for the P4P, size 8 for the renfrew on top (I made sure to blend the patterns together at the waist)


Fabric: 2 yards super soft Brushed Hunter Green Sweater Knit purchased from Knitpop in October. It was in an auction box so both yards cost $11.40 after shipping.



Thoughts: It’s ok. I like it. I feel a little matronly in it though.  I made it to go with some green/black leggings but then the greens didn’t look right together. I'm not sure what I'll wear underneath. Winter in Wisconsin is brutal so no naked legs!

I was able to get some pictures taken of most of my makes so expect a few posts upcoming.

Happy Sewing!
Kristin

A little catch up– Man sewing, gloves, and a plushie

As I was cleaning my sewing room yesterday I noticed I had a lot of makes I never posted to my blog.  I like posting my makes even if they are fails because I look back often before I make something to see what worked and didn’t. Also, it helps me remember what adjustments I’ve made. Plus, it inspires me on days I feel like giving up sewing! So here are a few of the un-posted makes.

Jalie 2328 – Tank Top for Men
Waaaaay back in the summer (2016) I decided to make my husband and son a tank top.  Mr. T got a size Q in the shoulders and S everywhere else.  Mr. Sunny got a straight size Z with an inch added to the length because he is tall.


Mr. Sunny’s looked great on him fit wise. But He informed me he doesn’t like any sort of shirt without sleeves.

Mr. T loved his – for bed – but fit wise it ended up really long on him.  As you can see in the picture his is long whereas Mr. Sunny’s is proportionately correct (even though I added an inch to his).  T still wears his for bed and Mr. Sunny’s went to the scrap pile to be remade into something else.  (I used it to make this P4P raglan for me – way down on the page with the Viking helmet)

Fabric: Mr. Sunny’s: 1 yard Kaufman Laguna Stretch Jersey Knit Royal, purchased from Fabric.com in May 2016 $6.97.  Mr. T’s is Peacock blue Jersey knit, cotton lycra, from Fashionfabricsclub in June 2015, I think this used a fat half so $1.98

Patterns for Pirates – Papa Bear Joggers
I was so excited to make Mr. Sunny a pair of joggers when this pattern came out in Nov 2016.  I even traced and sewed them up the day they released.  I made a size 1X which matched his measurements. 
Fabric: almost 2 yards of Heather Grey Velour (80%cotton 20%poly) from fashionfabricsclub purchased August 2016 for $7.43. 



These sewed together well – the instructions were great.  However, they were hilariously short on my husband.  He still wears them from time to time but they look so funny on him.  I think he needs a good 4” or more added to the length and even though he is tall, his legs are normal sized. 

Green Pepper – Glov-Itts
Miss K asked for some fingerless gloves in January.  So I picked up this Green Pepper pattern and tried to make her some.  Well, some things are better of being purchased at a store.  This pattern was super hard to put together – super hard.  It took a lot of time and little details, not enjoyable by any means. 
 
The gloves turned out too small for her, the fingers are way too tight…….She did like them though.
Fabric: Scraps of Zelda fleece from Joann fabrics. 

Burda 12/2016 #134 Whale Plush
When my December Burda came in November, Miss K fell in love with the whale plushie.  So I made it for her for Xmas and when she woke up Xmas morning it was under the tree.
This was an easy sew, the directions were easy to follow.  I had a bit of trouble with sewing the fins.  They have you stuff them first and then sew 3 lines down the fins.  My machine did not enjoy this so for the other fin I tried to sew it and then stuff it… not a good idea. Stuff first, then sew.  It turned out cute, and HUGE.  K loves it.



Fabric: 1/2 yard anti-pill royal fleece fabric purchased form Hancock's in Sept 2015 for $1.66 and 1/2 yard of White short pile Fur that I purchased in 2012 from fabric.com.  I was so excited to use this up as it’s been in my stash forever. 

I'll try to get some good photos of my makes that I'm behind on posting.

Happy Sewing!
Kristin