A Tunic and 2 Dresses ~ Sinclair Dakota & Joanne & a mashup

(health update at the bottom of the post)

Pattern: Sinclair Dakota Tunic

Date started: 11/19/20

Date finished: 01/16/21

My measurements at the time: 39 Bust/ 32 Waist/ 45.5 Hip

Size Sewn: 12 B/W and 16 Hip

I used Tunic, short sleeve, crew neck, placket, and standard waist

Alterations: 1/4” square shoulder (I usually do 1/2” but the shoulder on this looked high enough)

Cut on the 16 Height line for peplum; 16 width for sleeves which made the sleeves 1/2” bigger on each side so I added 1/4” to the bodices at the armpits to account for this – it gave me the perfect width for my larger biceps

Fabric: Double brushed poly Butterflies, 1.5 yards used, Purchased this on Aug 9th, 2019 in a Knitpop fabric auction for $5/yard. So $7.50 total to make the top.  Thoughts: I LOVE this top!  It makes all my 90s teenager dreams come true. It fits great. I love the length with leggings. I love everything about it. I have no complaints.  Sinclair instructions are awesome. I had zero issues sewing this and the placket went together easily too.  I want like 10 of them.   Pattern: Sinclair Joanne Dress

Date started: 12/14/20

Date finished: 01/23/21

My measurements at the time: bust 40, waist 32, hips 47

Size Sewn: 12 Bust/Waist and 16 Hip

surprise belt matching to the dress!

Alterations: 1/2” forward shoulder adjustment – normal for me. and 1/4” bicep adjustment to sleeves (I cheated here and just added 1/4” to each side and they fit in place just fine).

Fabric: Double Brushed Knit Prints Floral Navy Blue/Red/Pink/Orange/White, purchased 06/17/20 from fabric.com for $5.38/yard so $13.45 total for the dress.

Thoughts: Awesome dress. I love it lots.  I feel like the belt is WAY too skinny but everything else is awesome. No complaints! Easy sew, no issues with instructions. I can throw it on quick and it looks nice without any effort.

Pattern: Renfrew/ Lady Skater Mashup Dress - for Miss K

Date started: 02/28/20

Date finished: 02/28/20

Size Sewn: 4

Alterations: added 1.5” to skirt hem – K wanted it longer

added 1” to sleeve hem length and no cuffs per K

removed 1” from modified bodice so it met the skirt as it should.

removed 2” from bodice height so it would hit K at the right spot on the waist.

took in 1/2” at shoulder by neck to 0” at shoulder point for K’s sloping shoulders.

(It needs a shorter neckband now by 1/2” due to the sloping shoulder adjustment).

Fabric: a charcoal poly blend knit jersey. I think I grabbed it from the Walmart mystery fabric bin.  I used 2 yards.

Thoughts:  K asked for this dress to be made last minute for my Aunt's unexpected funeral Feb 2020 and she doesn’t ask for much anymore so I made it that day on the spot. She looked great in it but she will not allow any photos of her in it to be posted.  I am double the size of K so its a bit stretched out here on my dress form. She doesn’t wear ANY dresses anymore so this was a special dress to make for her and I’m glad I did it right!

Now for the health update.  I wish I had better news, and I’m going to keep this very real.  Brain tumors and craniotomies are no fun.  Recover has been viciously hard.  I have been dealing with a completely locked up stomach for almost 4 months.  I can’t eat any solids without excruciating pain.  I only get about 900-1100 calories a day from nutrition shakes and bananas. I’ve lost 35 lbs these 3.5 months and GI doesn't think there is a reason why.  The GI says its from the brain surgery and the Neuro says no way.  So I’m stuck in a medical crack and struggling.  Gobs and gobs of my hair fall out all day long and it makes me so depressed.

My seizure meds damaged my liver so I am now unmedicated and dealing with weird episodes.  My kidneys decided to act up.  My heart too.  I’m being told again I possibly have Lupus.  I can’t look down without fluid dripping out my nose but the Neuro swears I have no cranial leak.  On top of all this I had my 3 mo MRI and it shows FIFTY percent of the tumor is still there! It's wrapped up in my midline and around my carotid artery.  I will need LOTS of radiation and they don’t really know how my body will survive that since I can’t even eat and I don’t tolerate meds.   I meet with them beginning of Oct to re-MRI and set up the plan. They are trying to figure out my episodes – if they are seizures or not seizures and how to medicate me when my stomach won’t tolerate any meds.  I want to bury my head in the sand like an ostrich and forget all this crud.

Honestly I’m completely broken as a human being.  I’m massively depressed and angry and not coping well. I lay around a lot and I cry a lot and I miss my old life.  I’m having tons of PTSD and trauma issues both from the surgery and things in my past - apparently major life surgery can bring up past demons.

I miss my sewing room. I miss my old life – even with the chronic health stuff.  I miss living.  I don’t feel much like I’m living right now.

There has been some progress in the gray skies – I can now walk fully without a walker or cane. I can spend some time looking at a screen.  I embroidered a little bit at my machines last week.  I’m slowly trying to emerge from this cocoon of hell. I can do a few household things again like laundry and dishwasher.  I didn’t grasp how slowly healing would be after this kind of an operation.  I have a short window of energy and time before I need to lay down again.  I just feel bad. All the time. I’m not ok.  Maybe someday I will be. It seems so long from now though. So I figured I might as well try to catch up on as many older makes as possible since I can’t sew just yet.  I have a ton of things I never got posted to the blog.  Some pics will be pre-surgery and some will be now. I can’t do my makeup as the entire right side of my face feels weird and hurts from the brain surgery. I have 2 very large dents on my right temple and you can see (and I can feel) one of the plate screws there. They had to cut my facial nerves on that side and said it will take time to feel “normal”. Whatever that means anymore   So my pics will have to be what I can muster up right now.

Thanks for reading and being with me on my crazy journey!  Look for a slew of new blog posts in the next coming weeks!  I miss you all!!

Kristin

Spring SWAP #1 & #2–Jalie Marie Claude and Sewaholic Renfrew

I whipped up two of my Spring Sewing-With-A-Plan makes. 

First up is the Jalie - Marie Claude 3667



I made one of these a few months back (Dec 2017) and loved the fit, didn’t like the fabric.  So I thought it would be perfect to make it again in this fun see-through sweater knit.  I must say I love this top!



Size: U for shoulders, bust, and waist and Y for hip
Alterations: none



Instructions: Jalie instructions are very good. I’ll be quite honest though, I only looked at them to see how much to hem the hem.  I made the scoop neck view this time and it’s a simple T-shirt sew.



Fabric: Black Hacci Slub Sweater Knit, 2 yards from Stylish Fabrics.  Ordered July 2017 for $4.50 per yard.  Total for top: $9.00.    It is very thin, soft, and sheer.  The picture below shows off the sheer-ness of the top.



Thoughts: I love everything about it.  It fits great; is soft and not too tight, not too loose. I love the sheer quality of the fabric.  The arms are really long on this pattern, I’m ok with that.  It is exactly what I wanted in a black tee.



Sewaholic - Renfrew 1201

This is the 8th Renfrew I have shamelessly made.  This is by far my most favorite pattern ever.  For a few years now I’ve wanted a short sleeve cowl one, so finally I made it!



Here are the other times I’ve made this top:
1. Elephants  2. Birds  3. Gray  4. Skater Mashup  5. Sweetheart Mashup 6. Navy Long sleeve 7. Aqua Feathers

Size: I have been losing weight again as my health has been crap, as normal it seems.  So I sized down to 8 in bust/shoulders/waist and then graded to a 10 at the hip.  This is 2 sizes down from my measurements.  I find the Renfrew to run a little big.



Alterations: 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment.  Did not do the cuffs on the sleeve – cuffs on short sleeves bother me and make me feel like my biceps are huge.  I just added the cuff length to the sleeve then turned them up 3/4” and hemmed.

Instructions: Pet peeve, no "front" mark on sleeves. Plus, #6.  "sew collar pieces wrong sides together" This means that the right side is facing up, but the diagram shows the wrong side facing up; the diagram is right, sew it Right sides together.



Fabric: 2 yards, Hacci Flux Triblend Stretch Jade Jersey Fabric with Two Tone Texture, ordered from Stylish Fabrics in July 2017 for $5.90 per yard.  Total for top: $11.80.   It is a 88% Polyester 8% Linen 4% Spandex blend and very soft, slightly sheer.

Thoughts: It’s a renfrew, what’s not to love!  I like it a lot and will most likely wear it often.


Here is my full Spring SWAP.

TNT Renfrew and Love Notions Rhapsody Blouse

These are the first makes of the year!  Well, kind of.  These are the first two I can show you, because I’ve been doing a bit of pattern testing.  Plus the Love Notions blouse has been finished a long time now I just never got pictures. Let’s start with the Renfrew.

Sewaholic ~ Renfrew 1201



This is the 7th one I have made.  It is now a TNT (tried and true) pattern for me.  I have my alterations and fit worked out so it is a fast and usually successful sew. I felt like starting the year with something I knew would turn out well;  A confidence boost of sorts.



Here are the other times I’ve made this top:
1. Elephants  2. birds  3. Gray  4. Skater Mashup  5. Sweetheart Mashup 6. Navy Long sleeve
Size: 8 for shoulders and bust, 10 for waist, 12 for hips. This is 2 sizes smaller than my measurements for the shoulders/bust and one size smaller for the waist hips.  I find the Renfrew to fit very well but the pattern runs just 1 or 2 sizes big.   1/2" forward shoulder adjustment



Fabric: 1 yard Aqua floral feathered arrows - Poly Rayon Spandex French Terry -$8.99; purchased in Oct 2017.  I picked this up from So Sew English.  It came snagged, cut weird, and dirty.  The fabric is so pretty, so I was sad.  But I used it anyway.  By the way, this is the third French terry in that order and they were all snagged on both side as well as off grain, super thin, and dirty.  No more ordering from them for me. 



Thoughts: Love it!  I love the fabric print, despite the issues in quality.  It is soft, wears and washes well.  The fit is spot on for me.  I used a lovely wide cover stitch to topstitch the neck and also for the sleeve hems and hem.  I chose not to do cuffs on the sleeves because they bug me and make my arms look chunkier.  I did leave the band on the bottom because I like that part.  It is a bit thicker with the double fabric on the hem band and my shirt stays in place better.  I’m sure I’ll make more of these in the future.





Love Notions ~ Rhapsody Blouse

When I saw this pattern come out I just had to have it. 



Size: Straight size Medium with 1/2” forward shoulder adjustment. My High bust and waist fit into a M. my hips into a L but since this top is flowy I figured there would be room enough for my hips.  
There are lots of different sleeve options for this top.  I chose to do the sleeveless view. The only “hard” part about sewing this was attaching that bias tape to the V-neck part on the front.  It went alright, but was a bit tricky.



Fabric: Awesome Aqua Blue Fish print from FabricMart.  It is 100% rayon and so soft with excellent drape.  I grabbed 4 yards of it when it was on sale for $4.80/yard.  This top uses 1 yard (yay for 1 yard wonders!), but also some for the self made bias tape.  I would guess 1.5 yards? 



Thoughts:  I like this top.  I like the pattern.  I usually don’t wear wovens but I can see this being a great top in summer.  When it’s cold I can just throw on a cardi over it and it works great.  What I am not sure about is the armscye.  It is just a bit tight;.  Not all around, but just in the front here where I’m grabbing. Also, there is a bit too much flare in the hip – it shoots out sort of awkwardly where the bottom arrows are. Perhaps next time I will straighten out that flare and make a more casual shift to the hips.  Overall I am very happy with this top and will most likely make another.



The pattern is written well.  The instructions are excellent.  Everything is very put together and professional.  There are finished measurements included.   I would highly recommend this pattern. The best part is the no trim pages and layers on the PDF. 

back

front

Happy Sewing!

Sewing with a Plan ~ Renfrew and Jalie Yoga Pants

Sewaholic Renfrew 1201



I’ve made the renfrew many times, and I love almost all of them.  This one is no exception. This would be my sixth Renfrew to date (not counting the mini one I made for Miss K).

1. Elephants  2. birds  3. Gray  4. Skater Mashup  5. Sweetheart Mashup



Size and adjustments:   8 for shoulders and bust, 10 for waist, 12 for hips. This is 2 sizes smaller than my measurements for the shoulders/bust and one size smaller for the waist hips.  I find the renfrew to fit very well but the pattern runs just 1 or 2 sizes big.
1/2" square shoulder adjustment.  1/2" forward shoulder adjustment.



Fabric: 2 yards brushed sweater knit in Navy blue, purchased in an auction box from Knitpop in October 2016. $11.40 total after shipping. This fabric is super soft and feels so good to wear.
Thoughts: I love this top!  It’s soft, blue, and has a cowl – 3 of my favorite things!



Jalie 3022 Yoga Pants



Size:   waist “X” and my hip “BB” – these are each 2 sizes above my real measurements as Jalie runs slim. I added an inch to the length because all my other ones seem to shrink up in the dryer and are eventually an inch too short.  This would be my 7th pair of these pants!

1. Black plain  2. Hunter Green 3. Green Shorts 4. Teal Pants 5. Black and White  6. Black for Miss K



Fabric: 2 yards 10oz Navy Cotton Lycra Knit from Stylish fabrics. Purchased September 2016 for $13.80 specifically for these pants.



Thoughts: I love this pattern.  This is my go-to for pants. I can wear them around the house in comfort and also out to run quick errands, pick up the kids, go to doctor appts, etc.  They fit so nicely.

 
Sewing Plan updat
Below is my sewing plan for Jan-April.  The renfrew and yoga pants are finished.  On to something else!



Happy Sewing!
Kristin

Renfrew love

I'm here! I promise. I have quite a bit of sewing to share.  I am just finishing up my last class so I've been busy.  I'm also just getting over a respiratory infection so, ugh. We also had a funeral, 2 spring concerts, and both kids are sick.  It has been crazy around here!

To do some stress-free sewing I whipped up another renfrew, because who doesn't love this pattern! Since spring is on its way I went with short sleeve.

I had just 1 yard of 44" Charley Harper Organic knit (Bank Swallow Blue).  It worked out perfectly - just enough.  I was saving this fabric for a special tee for me. At $16.50 per yard, there was no room for error.  Man I love those little birds :)  I picked up the fabric last year February.  The solid fabric is from Purpleseamstress (teal).  It matched pretty much perfectly.

I used the same size as my others.  I've added a few pounds back on since my uber sickness in August last year.  And I'm ok with this. I feel a bit healthier.  The top fits great. Shoulders/bust 6, waist 8, hip 12. 1/2" square shoulder adjustment.  I keep forgetting to add 1/2" to the back piece at the sides to accommodate my large rear.  The shirt sort of pulls a bit there.

That's it for today, I'll share some more when I bribe have a chance to get Miss K to put things on to take pictures. 

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~