Vintage Simplicity 9788 ~ Under the Sea

Can you believe I found more flannel in my stash. Urg. I thought I had gotten rid of it all, but alas more has creeped out.  I found 6 yards of this Ariel print.  I think I originally wanted to make a blanket for K out of it?  It was purchased 3ish years ago.

I wanted to try out a vintage ©1980 Simplicity pattern (which reminds me of Punky Brewster so much). K had picked it out at Goodwill one day.
The pattern has a 2 piece raglan sleeves a button closure in back, and a "U" shaped hem.

I followed the directions for the most part. I also tried out a narrow hem foot; on flannel. LOL. Let's just say it didn't work well because the fabric was too thick and it also didn't like the curves on the hem.

The neck bias cut of fabric was never going to fit the neckline so I had to add a good 4 inches to it.  It is a size 10 so a bit big on K right now - she will grow.  I added cute Ariel bows to the front that we have had for-ev-er in the stash. I made a fabric loop in the back instead of a hand-stitched thread loop. "bling button"

here is the 2 piece raglan sleeve

All in all it went ok but I don't think I'd use this pattern again.  It worked well for the wild print but is really such a plain pattern.  K loves it. She wore it straight after school today and even asked to take pictures.

 (side note: I love this banana couch. It was my great-grandparents!)

My beautiful peanut also turned 8 on Friday :-(   *stop growing*

She received her first sewing machine :D

Stash fabric used: 2 yards.

Total stash used in 2014: 10.5 yards

I also updated my "upcoming" page with lots of goodies I hope to tackle. The list will keep me on track and help when I have those days where I'm not sure what to sew.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

January Recap

In keeping up with last year's tradition. Here is my recap of January.

We will keep the number tally simple this year.

Makes: 5
Yards used: 8.5 (all from stash)
Total Yards in: 21
Total yards out: 11


~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Lady Skater

Hello from the Siberian Tundra!  Will this cold ever end? ever?
We have no school today and it's about -35° F with the windchills. Last night we enjoyed a blizzard warning with 60 mph winds. I seriously though the house was going to blow over!  We enjoyed it by watching the Grammy's and playing Uno as a family. It was a good time.
Tonight and tomorrow it is supposed to hit -50° F with the wind. YUK! I just got the message that school is closed again tomorrow.  It is nice to stay inside but the kiddos are getting bored! lol.

So, to escape some madness I retreated to my sewing room.  I had the lady skater cut out for the last two days now.  I only made one alteration for the first run. I adjusted for the square shoulder as I normally do.
I used a nice soft cotton jersey/spandex-y blend of fabric.  I didn't measure but we'll call it about 2 yards from the stash.

For the trial run it went well.  The instructions are super easy to follow.  The dress sews up pretty fast - I mean I started at 11am and was finished by 1pm.  I stitched each seam with my regular machine first, then serged.  My high bust is a 36" so I was between a size 4 and 5.  I traced a size 4 everywhere except the bust area - graded to a 5, and the hips on down where a size 5.

Here are the results:

Loose in the sleeves and bust. VERY loose/wide in the neck both front and back. 

Next time I will do my usual slope of 1/2" out of the necks

*note* I didn't finish the hem or sleeves - because of fit this won't leave the house*

As you can see, I need to do a swayback adj. in the next version. 

Overall I like the pattern I just need to tweak some fitting issues.  You will most likely see more versions at a later time.

Stay warm! And smile often. Here is your laugh for the day:

(oh, and yes, I do)

Stash used for this: 2 yards

Stash used in 2014: 8.5

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~