Spring SWAP #1 & #2–Jalie Marie Claude and Sewaholic Renfrew

I whipped up two of my Spring Sewing-With-A-Plan makes. 

First up is the Jalie - Marie Claude 3667



I made one of these a few months back (Dec 2017) and loved the fit, didn’t like the fabric.  So I thought it would be perfect to make it again in this fun see-through sweater knit.  I must say I love this top!



Size: U for shoulders, bust, and waist and Y for hip
Alterations: none



Instructions: Jalie instructions are very good. I’ll be quite honest though, I only looked at them to see how much to hem the hem.  I made the scoop neck view this time and it’s a simple T-shirt sew.



Fabric: Black Hacci Slub Sweater Knit, 2 yards from Stylish Fabrics.  Ordered July 2017 for $4.50 per yard.  Total for top: $9.00.    It is very thin, soft, and sheer.  The picture below shows off the sheer-ness of the top.



Thoughts: I love everything about it.  It fits great; is soft and not too tight, not too loose. I love the sheer quality of the fabric.  The arms are really long on this pattern, I’m ok with that.  It is exactly what I wanted in a black tee.



Sewaholic - Renfrew 1201

This is the 8th Renfrew I have shamelessly made.  This is by far my most favorite pattern ever.  For a few years now I’ve wanted a short sleeve cowl one, so finally I made it!



Here are the other times I’ve made this top:
1. Elephants  2. Birds  3. Gray  4. Skater Mashup  5. Sweetheart Mashup 6. Navy Long sleeve 7. Aqua Feathers

Size: I have been losing weight again as my health has been crap, as normal it seems.  So I sized down to 8 in bust/shoulders/waist and then graded to a 10 at the hip.  This is 2 sizes down from my measurements.  I find the Renfrew to run a little big.



Alterations: 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment.  Did not do the cuffs on the sleeve – cuffs on short sleeves bother me and make me feel like my biceps are huge.  I just added the cuff length to the sleeve then turned them up 3/4” and hemmed.

Instructions: Pet peeve, no "front" mark on sleeves. Plus, #6.  "sew collar pieces wrong sides together" This means that the right side is facing up, but the diagram shows the wrong side facing up; the diagram is right, sew it Right sides together.



Fabric: 2 yards, Hacci Flux Triblend Stretch Jade Jersey Fabric with Two Tone Texture, ordered from Stylish Fabrics in July 2017 for $5.90 per yard.  Total for top: $11.80.   It is a 88% Polyester 8% Linen 4% Spandex blend and very soft, slightly sheer.

Thoughts: It’s a renfrew, what’s not to love!  I like it a lot and will most likely wear it often.


Here is my full Spring SWAP.

Lekala 4341 Hoodie

I finished this hoodie up on March 9th. I’m still not sure if I like it or not.  I like some parts, do not care for others. This is my first Lekala sew.  Their concept is interesting and they have tons of great looking patterns for good prices.  You enter your measurements into their website and they “customize” the pattern to fit you.   For the price, I thought I would try one (actually I have purchased 2, one was forever ago and it had issues from the start). 

The first time I ordered I paid extra for seam allowances to be added.  However, when I downloaded the pattern the SA part was all messed up and not the same measurement in any place.  So that top has been put away and forgotten about.  This time, I ordered the hoodie and chose no SA to be added, then I traced and added my own.

 
Size: to my measurements – finished it turned out a bit oversized.



Alterations: I read a PR review that talked about the enormous hood.  So I took those suggestions and reduced the hood by 3” in height.  I added pockets to the front because no hoodie should be without pockets!  To do this I just cut another front pouch section, top-stitched the sides down and sewed it like normal with the other piece.  Also, the bottom hem band was enormously tall.  I shortened the height by almost half. 



Instructions: Well, sadly these were worse than Burda – and that says A LOT.  The instructions are very sparse and do not make a ton of sense. I really struggled with the hood.  Also, the hood lining pieces do not say to cut them with the fabric wrong side up – lesson learned. I cut them like normal, fabric R side up, and they were reverse from what I needed, because the lining right side is opposite the hoodie right side fabric.   The hood is by far the weirdest construction of this hoodie.  I understand why they made it this way, because of that collar part, but it’s just weird.  My fat plastic jacket zipper made it difficult to finish the seam where it meets the stomach part too. 



Fabric: 2 yards Burgundy French terry, 4way stretch (about a 50% stretch both vertically and horizontally), $10 a yard, purchased from purpleseamstress in Sept 2017. Plus 1 yard  Charcoal cotton/lycra also from purpleseamstress, $6.50.  Total for hoodie: $26.50



Thoughts: I love the design look, on other people.  I just don’t like the collar part on me – which is funny because that is what drew me to it in the first place.  It feels awkward.  I can’t walk around with the hood up and the collar stands funny that way; when the hood is down I feel like the collar jagging off to the side is even more awkward.  It doesn't have the "coolness" factor the original photo has. The seam in the middle of the hood bothers me.  The lining creeps forward because they don’t have you top-stitch around the hood.  It just doesn’t “feel” good on me.  I won’t throw it out just yet, I’ll give it a try during Me-Made-May before I make a final decision.



Happy Sewing!
~Kristin~

Me-Made-May 2018

It’s that time again! 



I, Kristin of sunnysewing.blogspot.com   and @kristinsunnysewing  sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '18.

This is my 5th year doing MMM.  I have mostly me-made clothing now and very little RTW.  However, I have gaps in my wardrobe and pieces I don't like to wear because they are unflattering or have scratchy seams. 

So, this MeMadeMay I pledge to wear my me-mades, as always, but I will turn all my hangers around on May 1st and try to wear everything in my closet at least once.  I will try to:
1. identify the gaps in my wardrobe
2. figure out what makes I love but need improvement (better sewing, different fabric, less scratchy seams). 
3. Figure out what makes I'm just done with for one reason or another. 
4. On May 31st, I will look at which makes I didn't wear at all and figure out why. 
I will blog daily outfits on Instagram (@kristinsunnysewing); I will post weekly updates here on my blog.

I love when this challenge comes every year because it's so fun to see people wearing their makes and I learn so much about my own sewing!

How about you? are you participating in MMM18? 

You can find my past MMM posts here.

And you can find info about the MMM18 challenge on So Zo’s blog here.