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 ~

Ottobre 06/2011 # 36 Bathrobe ~ Coolest Thing I've Sewn to Date!

Brace yourselves. This is probably going to be a long post.

I set out to make the Ottobre 06/2011 Bathrobe.  It is # 36 and called "Ju-do-ka-ko."  I wanted to make it for Mr. T because he has no robe at the moment and because he loves martial arts.

We are a household of techies and video game freaks.  All four of us from my husband down to Miss K love any form of electronic or video game.  When I saw this "Geeks gone wild" pac-man fabric I knew I had to make something epic and awesome out of it.

Let's fast forward to the end product. Don't you love it!

 fully lined with soft flannel

 Eek! I love the chevron's!

Ok, now let me take you through the process.

TRACING: In the magazine there are a total of 10 pieces you want to trace out.  There is a 1a front and 1a back as well as a 1b front and 1b back.  The a's and b's attach.  This was time consuming.  It took me an hour and a half to trace and seam allowance it all.  I traced a size 152 for T even though I knew he was a 146 because I didn't want it to be too small too fast.  This robe pretty much fit me! (and I'm a small on top and a 10 on bottom). As I was tracing I pre-washed all my fabric.

FABRIC/CUTTING: Next comes the fabric.  This project is a fabric HOG.  The instructions call for 2 yards of the black shell, 2 yards of the blue flannel lining, and a little over a 1/2 yard of the red chevron.  The black shell and red chevron are to be 58"-60" wide; the blue flannel 44" wide.  I wanted the black fabric and it was only 44" wide so I ordered 3 yards to be sure.  The red chevron was also 44" wide so I ordered a yard to be sure.  The blue flannel I ordered 3 yards as well and it was 44" wide.  **** THIS WAS TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT ****  I sweated, prayed, and begged the pattern to fit the fabric.  Luckily the black is a 4 way print and I was able to literally eek out exactly what I needed.  The flannel also was just enough.  It was super stressful to cut this out.  The red chevron was the hardest.  The pattern piece #4 and #7 NEED the 60" wide.  I had to piece this all together instead of having a whole piece.  I also had ONE inch!!!! of this fabric left.  Please, if you want to make this, order 60" wide fabric and save yourself the headache!  Cutting took me at least 2 hours.

SEWING: After two days I finally sat down to sew.  I traced one day, cut the next, and came to sew the third day.  The first step is the pocket, this was a breeze.  I did use 2 of the chevron for the pocket and not 1 of chevron, 1 of black shell like they called for.  Next was the front band of red chevron you see all around the robe.  There was no difficulty here but I had to piece together 4 pieces instead of the two because of the fabric issue above.  Top stitching was utterly boring and thread gobbling but I got through it. The sleeve bands were also constructed the same way as the front band and was easy to do.  Next you join the shell together - this was the fastest, easiest, and most rewarding part.  No issues here.  The same was to be said for the lining.  Joining the shell and lining was where trouble began.  First you place them right sides together and sew all around the front but keep the red band in between.  This was easy and I had no issue.  However, then the pattern states "Bring sleeve edges of shell and lining end to end, line up edges and pin them together, right sides facing and with sleeve bands in between, and stitch.  Note that sleeve and lining are not within one another."  WHAT?? HUH?  I did not get this at all.  A picture would have been a million times better.  I could not envision this so I made do with my own way.  I pressed the lining hem under, slipped it into the arm hole the way it should go (wrong sides together) and then top stitched around the outside on the very edge of the red band.  I know it isn't right but T won't care and inside is where it looks goofy. (If anyone knows what they meant please, let me know).

see how the lining is folded and sewn to the band, this is the inside view

 From the outside view below the stitching looks like it is part of the band's top-stitching

The next problem came when I had to attach the lining to the shell on the bottom. I didn't know exactly what the directions meant but at this point I didn't care to read them in depth either.  I was too anxious to finish this project.  I folded under the lining at the hem and from the shell side I top-stitched with my twin needle, catching in the lining hem on the reverse side.  The belt was last.  This was simple but contained more boring top-stitching.  After all the work on the robe the belt is attached to the back through all layers. I assume this is for strength but I was not happy I ruined the inside look of the lining.  See below. Sewing time was probably close to 4 or 5 hours.  I spread it out over 2-3 days.

View from inside where belt is attached

View from outside where belt is attached

CONCLUSION:
If you want to make your child a special robe - go for it!  This project was LONG but worth it to see how happy T was when I gave it to him.  This is a very time consuming project.  It is also fabric consuming.  Total cost of fabric was $45.  Despite the challenges and time, I'm glad I made this robe.  Would I do it again? I'm not so sure!  Thanks for sticking with me on this long post!

Interested in the fabric?
  Geeks Gone Wild Pac-Man Black 100% cotton

 Urban Flannel Stripe Blue 100% cotton

  Remix Zig Zags Red 100% cotton

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~