Let’s Talk Fails

Not everything I make works out.  Sometimes it does not fit right, sometimes the sewing does not go right, sometimes the fabric fails me or the pattern.  Fails are a terrible part of sewing.  They happen, but nobody likes it when they do.  The only good part about a sewing fail is that I learn each time. I thought I would catch up my August sewing and share some of the fails I’ve had this month. 

Simplicity 1068


Remember when I made my awesome Cheetah ruffle skirt?  I love it to pieces and said I would try some of the other views of the same pattern.  So I did. And it was not love.  I decided to go with the circle skirt, view C, knee length.  Circle skirts are easy to sew, though they take up a ton of fabric, and this pattern is just a knit circle skirt with an encased elastic waistband.  I picked up 2 yards of black and 2 yards of gray fabric to give it a try.  I used size 16 waist to 18 hip.  This is my waist size, but 1 size less than my hips.

This is the gray skirt (my shirt is a Renfrew I made in March)

The pattern instructions are very easy to follow if you’ve never sewn a circle skirt.  I have sewn a few for Miss K so I did not need them.  I sewed both these up in no time. 



The fabric is a bit of a story.  I am on a ton of Facebook groups for fabric, patterns, sewing in general, etc. and many sewists were talking about how Walmart is now carrying knit fabric.  I popped into mine the end of July and sure enough they had a few bolts.  The gray is a super soft “Pontiroma,” a poly blend, lighter than Ponte, but a nice weight.  I purchased 2 yards for $10.88 total.  I love this fabric and will probably buy more.  It would make a great Lady Skater dress or knit pants. It is of medium weight and has decent stretch.  The black is Cotton Spandex Knit and is nice and thick compared to most Cotton/lycra (spandex) that I purchase online.  It has great stretch and recovery.  I purchased 2 yards for $11.96 total.  *On a side note, the lady had no idea how to cut knit fabric.  She gave me the most jagged crazy cut edge I’ve ever had on a piece of fabric.

And this is the Black Skirt

The gray skirt has more drape to it and thus turned out better looking than the black skirt.  I will keep the gray one but I don’t know how much use it will get.  The weight of the black one makes it feel frumpier to me.  I don’t know how to explain it but it does not hang right.  I don’t care for it at all and will chop it up into underwear as soon as I get time. 

My little helper wanted to be picked up constantly today (his kids, K &T, are gone so he is super needy)

I have decided that circle skirts just are not for me, at this length anyway. I would, however, recommend both of the Walmart knits (for appropriate projects of course). 

Next up is a Burda skirt that I had really high hopes for.   Burda 03/2013 #122


Every summer I go through a Maxi skirt obsession.  This skirt appealed to me but I did not have that issue so I had to buy the skirt via PDF version online for $5.90.  It comes with the skirt pieces for design #120, 121, 122, and 123.  The directions, however, are only for the number you purchase. 



This skirt is unique to sew because it has an invisible side zipper that is attached to the pocket bag.  It was challenging and frustrating.  I goggled and read up on how to attempt this feat.  It took 3 unpicking’s before I was satisfied with it.

See how the zipper comes down and it's attached to the pocket bag. . . crazy!

The skirt has a yoke and then the two lower rectangles, as well as pockets on the side seams.  I sewed the lower part with just one fabric, omitting the bottom “ruffle” layer.  I underlined with a very soft and light cotton muslin.  When I finally finished I tried it on and was sorely disappointed.  The pockets and gathering at the hip made me feel ginormous.  I ended up ripping out the zipper and omitting the pockets before closing it all up again.  I still feel 100 pounds heavier when I put it on, it is not a good look for me. 



My instincts told me that gathers by my hips are a big no-no for a pear shape like me; I should have listened to my gut. The pattern makes a really awesome skirt, it was just a style mistake for me (being so hippy).  Boo.



The instructions for this skirt are typical Burda – little bits and pieces but no real help.  I utilized my stash of sewing books and the internet to sew it up.  The inseam pocket/invisible zipper part was terrible. 



The fabric is amazing.  I’m sad I cut it up.  It is a Muted Navy/Beige/White Dappled Leaves Cotton Lawn from FabricMart.  I purchased this in May 2014, 3 yards for $16.17 total. I love it too much to part with it so I will salvage what I can from the lower half rectangle.  Expect to see it again sometime!





Continuing with my Back to School preparations, I made up a bunch of underwear the last few weeks, too.  Miss K will no longer wear store undies so I re-stocked her drawer with
Ottobre 06/2013 #33 Undies



I mass produced 6 pairs in 2 days.  The coverstitch binder attachment helped tremendously, though I will think ahead of time next time and use the same color bands on all pairs.  It was a pain to change thread colors so much!  My coverstitch is super picky and I have to re-thread from the beginning every time I need to change colors.  The fabrics are all scraps from previous makes.  Miss K was super happy to see some of her favorite fabrics. 



Not wanting Mr. T to feel left out I tried a new boxer pattern for him.  It is the Boxerwear pattern from Stitch Upon A Time.  *Also referred to as SUAT for short*  I used the XS size for him with the long length.  They fit him great, but the length is a bit long for his shorter body (It’s a men’s pattern).  Next time I will use the shorter length for him.  Fabric is also scraps from his other makes.  The seams on the inside of the “pouch” are enclosed (there is a lining and an outer fabric) so they are very soft inside. Mr. T did not want to take them off... 



Mr. SunnySewing also got to try some new boxers from the same pattern.  His are a size XL and fit great (below on the Left with the fly).  They also have a boxerwear pattern for Women, so of course I made myself some in a size M at the waist to L at the hip.  They are super comfy to wear.  I can’t wait to make more! 



I popped out a tiny pair in XXS for Miss K but they were too small for her.  She also declared she would never wear “man” underwear so I won’t attempt any more for her.  They are super cute though! The fabric is from scraps from her previous shirt.  



I also wanted to share this crazy picture. I was bit by an ant 2 weeks ago and I had to deal with this monstrosity for almost 2 weeks!! I almost gnawed my leg off it itched SO bad! I mean really, who reacts like this to a tiny ant!!  Actually, I itch again just looking at it. Sigh. It's better now, just a shadow of this.

Simplicity 1068 Skirt and some odds and ends

I received this really funky fabric in one of my Fabricmart mystery bundles. Miss K and I disagreed on who should get to use it. It is one of those crazy fabrics where I never would have bought it for myself but I love it in person. 

I wanted to use it for a Maxi skirt but was too lazy to draft one myself.  I picked up Simplicity 1068 a few weeks back and I like the other options the pattern has too.

Size: My measurements put me in a size 16 waist, 20 hip. Looking at the ease I decided to use a size 16 waist/18 hip. 

Seen here with my New Look 6470 Tank Top

Adjustments: I had to taper in 1” on each side of the bottom of the skirt for lack of fabric width. When I held the pattern up to my body I thought the side slit would be too revealing so I lowered it by 3” – not a good idea.   I forgot to add the waistband height when holding it up. The slit ends up only going to the knee and makes walking easier.  Now that I’ve lowered it, walking is doable, but not as easy as it could be, lol.  For future reference I’ll leave the slit where it is.

Instructions:  This is a super easy skirt to sew. I suggest serging each piece separately, then sewing them together, this makes the slit easy to sew. Anyway, you sew both sides, sew the slit, and add the waistband.  Very fast and easy.  The “one-hour pattern” lives up to it’s name.

Fabric: 1.75 yards of Cheetah knit with ruffles from Fabricmart bundle. Only $2.01!! Yay!  I underlined the skirt with some White Polyester Knit Lining purchased in May 2014 from Hobby Lobby, 1.5 yards for $5.24. Total for the skirt: $7.25.  I was not able to line up the ruffles because I used literally ever bit of fabric I had.  The pattern calls for 1 3/8 yards but extra fabric is needed to match designs, stripes, etc. Plus my fabric was not 60” wide, either.

Thoughts: I absolutely love this skirt.  It is super funky and fun to wear. I have to be extra careful to make sure the puppy doesn’t jump up on me though because this fabric, while with ruffles, has a mesh-like under layer – which snags easily.  I think I’ll try some of the other views with this pattern, too. 

I also made yet another tank from the New Look 6470 Pattern. 

I used View D but omitted the cross over.  This tank is the same as my Gray and White Burnout Tank. I made no changes from what I sewed for that one. You can see the shoulder gather much better in this solid tank though.

I used 1 yard of Bright Red Jersey Knit, cotton/lycra, from fashionfabricsclub. I just purchased it in June for $3.95.  It is pretty lightweight and soft.  I’m not really in love with this top like I am with the gray and white one.  I do wear it often though. 

 

And lastly, I thought I’d share a fail with you. This is a fabric fail, not a pattern fail.  I picked up 2 yards of this cute red apple rib knit fabric in February from Fabricstalkers on Facebook for $8. I wanted to test out McCall’s 7079 for Miss K. 

The pattern reminds me of a skater dress, for girls.  K does not like any cutouts on her back so I used View F.  I cut and sewed a size 10 for the bodice, 12 for the skirt. I used fold over elastic (but didn’t fold it over) in the waistline instead of clear or regular elastic.  I find this much softer on the skin.

The dress would have been great, I think, but the fabric stretched all out and does not have good recovery.  It just hangs on her and isn’t very cute.  The fabric keeps growing. I did not even bother to hem it.  I should not have used a rib knit for this pattern.  So, this dress has been retired to the pajama pile. And I’ll try the pattern in a proper fabric, jersey, next time.

I made K a pair of undies with the scraps of this and she loves those. 

Ottobre 06/2013 #33 Undies

Size: 152 
Fit: the best! I used my cover stitch binder attachment to put on the leg bands

Of course I could not leave out Mr. T. So I whipped him up a pair of Jalie 3242 boxers from scrap fabric.

Size: Q (or EU 155, or US 13). They fit perfectly.

Happy Summer, it’s hot out there!

End of the month catch up; Jalie, Ottobre

April is winding down and I haven't had a chance to blog about these makes.
First up is a "meh" sweatshirt for me. I love this pattern dearly, but the fabric was not good.

Jalie 3355 

Ignore chalk mark in middle, I haven't washed this yet. 

Size: "U" for shoulders/bust/waist to "X" at the hip.  This is exactly to my measurements.

Fabric: I have a hard time finding good quality sweatshirt fleece.  If anyone knows of a good place, let me know please!  I picked up this purple from fashionfabricsclub "Regal Purple Sweatshirt Fleece" but it is a lot heavier and stretchier than I wanted. It is more like sweatpant material and less like a sweatshirt - if that makes sense.  $6.50 per yard and I used 1 1/8 yard.
The tie-dye fabric is an amazing rayon modal knit from purpleseamstress (flash sale at $4/yard).  I love it but it was not such a good idea to use it for the cuffs/hem band because it is too loose and flowy, not good recovery. Better for a maxi...yet to come ;-)

Fit: It is hard to tell with this cruddy fabric.  The arms are super long - which I do like in cold weather.  The fit is boxy- what you would expect in a sweatshirt.

Eh, you win some, you lose some. I might wear this, I might now, we shall see. :)

Ottobre 01/2011 #33 "Meet-up" T-shirt tunic
I picked up a cute green shirt for Miss K a bit ago for super cheap.  She didn't like the shoulders and arms because they were really tight but she loved the jewel part.  I lost the receipt so I couldn't take it back.  Then I figured I would just fix the shirt by hacking off the bottom and sewing up a new shoulder/sleeve/top bodice part.

Fabric: Scraps of Laguna Stretch Cotton Jersey Heathered Knit Pepper, Kaufman for the Gray. The green is from the old shirt ;-)

Size: 146

 New Shirt

old shirt

The pants are Ottobre 06/2008 #35 "Mimmi" corduroy pants
Size 140 Plus
Fabric: 1.5 yards of nice soft eggplant corduroy with a bit of stretch. I picked this up from Mill End Textiles in August 2013 for only $2.99 a yard.

I've made them twice before and this time I widened the waistband by 1"- it is perfect now
and I lowered the front rise by 1/2".  I think the rise is still a bit high so I might take another 1/2" if I make them again.  These are still a bit loose on K but just right height-wise so I will most likely add an inch to the hem next time.

These are a nice alternative to yoga pants and K doesn't seem to mind wearing them.

It is really hard to photograph these pants. They are a bit darker, eggplant

Added buttonhole elastic to make the waist adjustable. 

I have summer on my mind and so many shorts and tanks I want to get sewn up.
How about you? Have you moved on to summer sewing?

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Spring Outfit for K (Ottobre's and Jalie)

Usually I sew what comes to mind at any given time.  I get an image in my head and off I go.  Sometimes this results in clothing pieces that do not match anything....  This time I decided I would make a whole outfit for K for Spring.

K is getting a little fuller so I wanted to try a few plus size patterns.

I started with a Tee.
Ottobre 06/2008 #36 "Tania" T-shirt. 

Size: I sewed a 134 for the neck/shoulders and 140 elsewhere.
Alterations: I changed the pattern from long to short sleeves.
Fit: It is a bit big overall but she will grow into it. I could have made this a size smaller like 128/134.
Fabric: I used a beautiful pastel butterfly cotton knit I picked up from FabricStalkers on Facebook. 1 yard $4. Yes, only $4 (it was on sale for 1/2 price).  It is a great medium weight cotton jersey.  I purchased it Feb. this year.  For the neckband I used some "Light Pink" Cotton Lycra from Purpleseamstress.

Sewing/Instructions:  T-shirts only have a few quick ways to sew them together.  I didn't read the instructions.  I sewed one shoulder, then used my binder attachment on my coverstitch to attach the neck binding. Then I sewed the other shoulder, added the sleeves, and sewed up the sides.  The last thing to do was hem; which I did with my coverstitch.

Next I moved on to sewing some pants.
Ottobre 06/2008 #35 "Mimmi" Corduroy Pants.
This is the second time I've made these.  I had an unpleasant go at it back in August 2013 where they looked cute but the fit was crazy weird. I told myself I'd never sew them again but here I am. LOL.

Size: I sewed a straight size 140 plus.
Alterations: I eliminated the pockets with flaps on the front - it created too much bulk in that area.  I drafted normal pants pockets with pocket bags.  I added buttonhole elastic into the waistband to make these have an adjustable waist.  I didn't add the belt loops because K doesn't wear a belt but she was pulling these up a lot so I might go back and add them.

Fit: Gosh they actually fit pretty darn good!  There is a bit of front crotch sagging but K likes to pull her pants waistline waaaaaaay down. She hates things near her belly button.  I will try this pattern again perhaps but reduce the crotch curve length.

Fabric: Dusty Pink Corduroy. It is lightweight and has great stretch.  I had 2.25 yards in my stash from August 2013. I bought it at Mill End for $2.99/yard.  I used 1.25 yards.  Total of $3.74. Ha! I used scraps from this failed dress  in May 2012 for the front pocket bags, it is called Jungle Gym.  The back pocket flaps were made with scraps from this cute dress in April 2013. It is called Dress up days bikes yellow.  Not thinking I put it in upside down.  Oh well. I love using scraps from previous makes because it get's K all happy.

Sewing/Instructions: Ok, I totally didn't re-read all my issues the first time and here they happened again.  The waistband is NOT drafted long enough to fit these darn pants.  I added 2" and I barely fit them on with much swearing.  The waistband is too skinny, It needs to be at least 1/2" wider.  I had forgotten how much time a zipper and pockets add to sewing; I had to split it up into a few days.  I also forgot to sew the back darts BEFORE doing the back pockets because those pockets go right up to that dart point (and slightly over).

(windy day)

(pants in action)

Other than that things were smooth.  I have sewn a good share of flies now but it has been awhile so I used the instructions for Jalie 2908.

Wisconsin Spring is unpredictable so I made K another Sweatshirt.
Jalie 3355

Size: Height of M and width of P.
Alterations: Added 1" to the hemband as it was super hard to stretch to meet the bodice fabric last time.

Fit: fabulous! I love this pattern.  I need to make myself one next

Fabric: I purchased 1 yard of this PacMan French Terry off a facebook group in July 2014 for $8.  I didn't realize until I started cutting that there were streaks from roller marks in the fabric :(  I could only squeeze the bodice front and back and hood lining out of that.  I was freaking out but then saw that the Lilac Cotton Lycra from Purple Seamstress matched almost dead on.  So I used that for the arms, cuffs, and hood.  I'd say that was another yard at $6.50. Total: $14.50

Sewing/Instructions:  I remembered to put the Kangaroo pocket on first this time.  All sewing went smoothly and I followed the instructions.  The extra inch on the hemband made all the difference.  However, the cuffs were so super small and I wasn't sure they would stretch enough to make it all around the arm.  I need to add an inch here as well next time.

And to finish off the whole outfit I made a pair of maching undies!  K will not wear store bought ones anymore so I thought this would be perfect.
Ottobre 06/2013 #33 Undies

Size: 152
Alterations: None.
Fit: the best!
Fabric: Leftovers from the t-shirt. a beautiful pastel butterfly cotton knit.  For the band and crotch lining I used some "Light Pink" Cotton Lycra from Purpleseamstress.
Sewing/Instructions: Super fast to put together. I used my coverstitch binder attachment to put on the leg bands.

Here is our new naughty puppy Link.  His personality is very opposite of our other dog Nala.  He bites, chews, sheds, and is very vocal. He will literally talk back to you when you are scolding him. He is wild.  Nala is none of those so it's been an extreme adjustment. An exhausting one too.  We are putting in this fence so he can run without being tied up; he is super fast and loves to run but we live on a decently busy highway.  The gate hasn't been attached yet for these pictures so he is tied.  He really wants to get at Nala all the time. . .

But she is smart enough to stay on the other side of the fence!

He is a rescue pup. They say he is a cross between a wiener dog and a Jack Russell Terrier. Anywhichway, he is a bundle of naughty cuteness.  He likes to give kisses and snuggle a lot too so it's not all bad!

Two weeks ago we had a really bad scare with Nala. She always has reactions to her rabies vaccines and this year was the worst.  I thought we were going to lose her.  She is only 5 and our princess.  Puppy hospital is expensive.  I never knew.  Anyway she got lots of shots and medicine and had the worst miserable week of her life.  She pulled through like a good girl and is back to her old antics.

Exciting things going on around here all the time it seems.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~