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!