Dolmans, Shorts, and a pair of Yoga pants

Hello! I know it’s been awhile!  I’ve been very sick still.  I did just find out that I have H. pylori.  Sadly, I’m hoping it is the reason for some/most of my problems.  I just finished a wicked course of meds and can’t say yet if I feel any better.  Time will tell.  I have been able to get back into the sewing room though!

Sweet Tee:

So, I am not a fan of Dolman sleeves.  I just don’t like how they look on me and they feel weird.  However, I love how fast of a sew they are.  Back in May 2016 I wore a P4P Sweet Tee I made out of cotton lycra.


I wasn’t sold on it and cut it up for underwear.  Then I from time to time I thought about that tee and how easy it was to throw on.  Fast forward to last week when I had some leftover fabric from a dress I’m making and I decided I would try the Sweet tee out again. 



This time I used Double brushed poly.  It feels heavenly.  I still don’t like how the Dolman sleeves feel on my arms.  I dislike the top seam.  But I love how this top looks.
Size: Large for bust/waist, sloped to XL at hip.  I also did a 1/2” forward shoulder adjustment. 



Small swayback is needed if I make this again. 
Fabric: 1 yard Double Brushed Denim Teal Amber Floral on Poly Spandex; $8.50 from Knitpop



My lovely camera was acting up and it was 90°F, in September!?!.  This is the best side picture I could get.



Jalie 3352 Dolman:

I decided to compare the P4P Sweet Tee Dolman with the Jalie 3352 Dolman.  I used charcoal cotton lycra for this one.  I used size W tapering out to size Z at the hip.  I did a 1/4” forward shoulder adjustment and straightened the bottom because I don’t care for a high/lo hem. 



After I made it and tried it on it was huge on me.  I ended up tapering in each side by 2”.  I still do not like it.  It’s too loose and baggy. I'll be chopping this one up.



I did however enjoy learning to do a reverse coverstitch and of course it turned out perfect because I won’t be wearing this top. 

Palazzo Pants:

Size L at the waist to XL hips down.  I also scooped out 1/2” from the back butt curve.
These feel amazing when wearing them, though they do ride up my thighs.  Now that I see these pictures I see all these wrinkles :(


Fabric: Peacock space dye fabric from Joann's. 1 yard. $10.19;  normally I would never pay that much for a yard of noncustom fabric but Miss K had to have it. And I’ll admit I do love how thick it is.  Of course now Joann doesn’t have anymore.



I made another pair I loved these first ones so much.



And once I saw these pictures I saw more riding up at the hip.  I guess I need to make this pattern an XL at the hip instead of a large.  This fabric has more recovery too and is a bit tighter than the brushed poly I used the first time.



Fabric: Black Space Dye Poly Spandex Performance Tech Knit Fabric, 1 yard from Stylish fabrics; $7.20;  This fabric was supposed to be made into pants for me however… Miss K decided she would steal it and tell me she needed gym pants the following day.  So I only had leftovers to work with. 

BurdaStyle 11/2007 #122



Gym Pants. Miss K needed them in one day.  She stole my fabric and even the pattern I was going to use it for!  In the end she was happy so it worked out.  This is Burdastyle 11/2007 #122 Yoga pants



Size: 42. Then I shortened the rise 1” and took 2” out of the length.  I tapered each leg in by 1” for a total of 4”!  Miss K still says they are too wide at the leg (she loves those skinny jeans).  The waistband is originally 10 inches which you fold in half to 5 inches and then fold over again for the yoga waist.  Miss K hated that so I chopped up the waistband to be 3” and put in 1.5” sport elastic, folded over.  She wears them for gym and likes them enough so that is a win in my book. 

Silhouette Excitement and Miss K Sewing

My mom (who is the best ever) gave me my Birthday present early.  A Silhouette Cameo!!!  Oh how I love this thing.  I was impatiently waiting on some vinyl to come so I could make my first design.  Well, it came and I just went for it.  I made my design, the machine cut it out, and the next thing I know I have the best sweatshirt ever!

This is the Jalie 3355 hoodie that I made in April 2015.  I was sort of “meh” about the sweatshirt but then I wore it a few times and it is amazingly comfortable to wear.  So I loved it but it was so plain.  Well, plain no more!! Here is my new favorite sweatshirt debuting my first ever vinyl creation!

My “I’m so flipping excited” face

And my smug “I’m going to make tons of these” face

I’m going to have loads of fun with this thing. This is the Siser Easy Weed Stretch Heat Transfer Vinyl.  I wanted to make sure it wouldn't crack when my fabric stretched.

Anyway, on to the sewing. 
Miss K picked out some fleece (oh how I dislike fleece) at the store and asked for nightgowns.  I dug up a vintage Kwik Sew from the 70s it is #628 and is a simple nightgown with short, medium, or long length and bonus panties!  I sewed up the medium length in a size 12 for Miss K grading out to a 14 in the waist and hip, per her measurements. 



I made the elephant one first and Miss K approved.  She asked me to make the Inside Out fleece out of the same pattern.  So the bonus is that I had it already traced off.  These sew up really fast too.  It's a pretty shapeless nightgown which is downright perfect for a 9 year old.

I had to beg her to take pictures and she wanted to use the remote by herself.





Fabric for elephants: 1.5 yards “Elephant Party Gray and Blue Microfleece” purchased in September from Hancocks for $5.93 on sale.



Fabric for Inside out: I carefully squeezed this out of 1 yard of “Disney Inside Out Emotions Packed Fleece” also purchased in September at Hancocks for $6.72 on sale.



I also made Miss K up another Jalie Dolman ~ 3352
I sized down with this one to a “N” for the shoulders/bust and a “Q” at the waist/hip.  Unfortunately K thinks this one is too tight in the sleeves and shoulders.  I’m not sure if she will even wear it.  She prefers the ITY fabric like the one I made her in October.



I may just take the Navy sleeves off and hem it to be short sleeves.  She seems to have a problem/irritation where the seam on the sleeves meet. The fabric is Rayon Jersey.  The elephants are scraps from my shirt the other day, the Navy is also scraps from that shirt. I would say the Navy was 1/4 yard for $1.31 and 1/2 yard of the elephants for $3.75 for a total of $5.06

October makes for K ~ Ottobre and Jalie, etc.

Before October exits and November begins I wanted to document my makes for Miss K this month.  I refer back to my blog posts often when I am making things so it is handy to have all my info here. 

Ottobre 04/2007 #31 ~ “Tunic Top”



Size: I used a size 146 for height and 152 for width. I knew K would not like the belt on this tunic so I left that off.

Construction: I had trouble gathering the waist because of my drapey, thin fabric so I ended up getting few gathers and just shaved the sides off by 1.25 inches each so the bottom of the tunic wasn’t so huge. 



Outcome: I used really expensive custom knit fabric that K “had to have and loved” for the bodice.  After I made this top up she informed me that she hated the sleeve cuffs.  So I sat and unpicked both sleeves, cut new ones, sewed them on, and just hemmed them.  After all this work she tells me the top is too babyish and will not wear it.

Fabric: The custom fabric is normally $25 per yard but I bought and sold some to make my Fat Half $9.79, it is called “Bunny Tea” and was ran by Sweet N’ Charmed; I purchased it in July 2014.  The solid pink is a soft rayon type jersey knit with a heathered look; I purchased it from Fashionfabricsclub in Jan 2015.  I used 1/2 yard, $1.98.  The yellow is ribbing material. We’ll say that small bit cost $0.25.  Total for the now pajama shirt: $12.02

Jalie 3461 ~ Eleanore

Size: Before my troubles with the Eleanore pattern I had already traced and cut out a pair for K.  This girl only wears yoga pants and hates jeans.  I thought I’d give this pattern a try on her.  I used a size “Q” for her but shortened it by 2 inches.  The size falls in her exact measurements.



Construction:  I sewed these after my failure with the pattern and hoped that they would fit.  I sewed them with 1/4” seam as directed, but this left no room for adjustments.  These sew up fast and great.  I loved the instructions.  I had no difficulty with them.  Then I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.



Outcome: K put them on and actually loved them.  They were a tad snug in the rear but overall fit well, if not a little long.  She wore them to school the next day and was happy.  Then I washed them and noticed the seam in the rear had split open.  There is no way I can unpick the top stitching in this corduroy and not ruin the fabric.  So the pants were worn one time and have now met their sad demise.  I will try this pattern again once I pick up some more stretch corduroy; However, I’ll go up one size for her width wise and double stitch the crotch seams.  I will also scoop out the back a bit to make room for her rear.



Fabric: 1 yard of Stretch Corduroy in Dark Teal.  This had great stretch of at least 30%.  I picked this up in August 2013 from Mill End Textiles before they closed shop. It was only $2.99 for the yard. 




Jalie 3352 ~ Dolman Tee

Size: Last week Miss K told me at 5pm that she needed to wear orange the next day to school.  She has no orange shirts.  I went and looked in my stash and wanted to choose the fastest, simplest pattern I could.  I settled on the Jalie Dolman Tee.  I normally go up 2 sizes in Jalie because the fit is snug so I debated and cut an “O” for the shoulders/bust to a “Q” at the waist/hip.  Well, this pattern runs normal sized so I didn’t need to size up. 



Construction:  This went together fast.  There are 3 pieces for my version: the front, the back, and the lower sleeve part. I used my coverstitch for the hems.  K didn’t want the high/low hem going on so I took the low part off the back and used the length of the front all over.  Well, it is short.  It hits her at the just acceptable mark.  I will make this for her again because she loves the style, but will lengthen it by 1-2 inches. 



Outcome: Miss K loved this top. She liked the style and the fabric.  All her friends loved it at school the next day and requested one for themselves.  The next one I make will be smaller in the shoulders though.



Fabric: The main body is a Fat Half of “Paintstrokes” ITY.  I picked it up from FabricMart in July 2015.  The fat half would be $2.25.  The black is also an ITY I picked up from Hancock's in Sept 2015.  I used 1/4 yard we shall say, $1.60. Total for the shirt: $3.85



Jalie 3355 ~ Sweatpants

Size: I’ve had tons of success with this pattern using the sweatshirt and so I assumed the sweatpants would be great too.  I used Miss K’s measurements and settled on size “Q” after measuring the pattern, too.  I shortened the rise by 1” and the height by 2”. 

Sorry, I have terrible light to take pictures this morning

Construction:  I love the pockets on these pants, they are so cute!  These sew together fairly fast. too.


Outcome: They are huge. Absolutely huge on her, all over.  The width and length and rise overwhelm her.  Miss K and I decided to put them away for next year instead of trying to alter them.



Fabric: 1.5 yards of Berry Pink French Terry, purchased from Fashionfabricsclub July 2015 for $5.93

Bonny Leggings – Made for Mermaids

Size: 12 height, 14 width. 



Construction: These go together super fast.  I taped the pattern and cut it out, cut out my fabric AND had it sewn in 45 minutes. 

Outcome: K doesn’t like them. She thinks they are “weird” looking and tells me they are too tight.  This fabric stretches 70% widthwise and 50% lengthwise though.

Fabric: Neon Orange Active wear I just purchased form Fashionfabricsclub. These used almost a yard so we will say they cost $3.95

Brazi Bra – Stitch Upon A Time

Size: XS with a size 2 band



Construction: This is pretty simple to make.  Through trial and error I found that Miss K likes the 3” fold over bottom band instead of the 5”.  I also have to shorten the straps by 1.5”

Outcome: She still doesn’t like this fabric and tells me it is sort of tight.  However she did wear it all day to school. 

Fabric: Neon Orange Active wear I just purchased form Fashionfabricsclub. This used a small bit of my yard so we will say it cost $1.00.  It is fully lined with the same fabric.

Midnight Slippers ~ Stitch Upon A Time

Oh, I almost forgot.  I started to make Mr. T these awesome slippers.  I will not finish the other one laying there however because they are too small for him *cry*  They fit Miss K but she won’t wear them because... zombies.
 


I printed the pattern at 90% and used the biggest size (per his measurements).  I even placed the zombie face right where he looks in the slipper!  The bottoms have slipper grip.  I was too excited to give them to him.  He can’t even squish his little foot in them, lol.  And this was the very last of the walking dead fabric I had.




And there you have it.  Many fails for K and only 1 success and 1 partial success, lol.  She is such a fickle child.

Bring on November!