Summer Tanks! Ellie & Mac and Made for Mermaids

Pattern: Ellie & Mac – Curved Hem Tank (FREE!!!)

Made Previously: aqua floral in July 22 and teal deer in Oct 22

 

Measurements at this time:

• high bust 39 inches
• bust 42 inches
• waist 37 inches
• hip 48.5 inches

Size Sewn: L bust, XL waist, XXL hip  

Adjustments:

• I made 1/2-inch forward shoulder adjustment
• Lowered pocket by an inch
• Widened neck & strap bindings to 1.5” and sewed ½” seam allowance. They were too skinny on original pattern
• Pet Peeve: the Curved hem doesn’t have notches outward so it doesn’t meet the edges at the hem – remember to sew up the sides after hemming (it works better and keeps a cute sharp curve).

 

Date started: sometime in July Date finished: July 12th, 2023  

Fabric: 1 yard cotton lycra birds with ½ yard cranberry cotton lycra for the binding and pocket (I have been slacking on my database of fabrics so I don’t remember where, when, or how much I got these for. I need to do better).

 

Thoughts: I love the pattern, this is tank #3 I have made with it. I like how it covers my thyroid belly; it doesn't make me look huge, it's comfortable to wear. I wanted to try this one in a cotton lycra because my other ones have been DBP. you can tell that it's a little bit stiffer in the drape because of the cotton lycra but I do still like it and it's comfortable to wear. I wish I had made the hem bigger because the hem listed is a half inch and it likes to flip up and every time I wash it I have to iron it back down. I am definitely a very low maintenance person. I don’t want fuss. So this drives me crazy. I need to make that hem an inch or 3/4 inch. Other than that, I absolutely love the tank. It’s a bit wild with all the birds but it's nice to have something to where that's cotton and not polyester. This pattern is definitely one of my favorites and I’ll probably make many more, lol. 

Pattern: Made for Mermaids: Vivienne  

Measurements at the time: bust 39 waist 32 hip 46.S

   

Size sewn: bust indigo, waist green, hip yellow

I sewed the top length view

 

Date started: sometime in July of 2019 Date finished: I picked it back up and finished it February 10^th, 2024

   

Fabric: I used a burgundy wine double brushed Poly for the sides and a teal and pink floral double brush Poly for the main (I have been slacking on my database of fabrics so I don’t remember where, when, or how much I got these for. I need to do better).

Of course a photobomb by Mr. Bennie. “whatcha doin Mom, can I help?”

 

Thoughts: when I started sewing this back in 2019 at first I thought it would be cute but then I got half of it sewn up and I thought it looked terrible and made my hips look really big. I felt frumpy and so I didn't want to finish it ss off to the UFO pile it went and got buried. BUT then since 2019 my shape has changed and I grew this thyroid belly and I thought, hey, that shirt might work now because of the way the gathers are in the front. So I finished sewing it and I don't know. I'm still on the fence about it. I think it's OK but from the side I still feel large like a whale. I guess I have a lot of work to do still on my body image and acceptance, but anyway back to the pattern. This one also asks for 1/2 inch hem. I don't know what it is about 1/2 inch hem with designers. I don't like them, they flip up all the time. I need to make it a 1” hem or at least a ¾”. The shirt is growing on me, I like the panels on the sides, it makes for a different look. It's cute, but I don't know. I'm not 100% on it yet. Maybe in dress form or tunic I might like it better. But it's finished now and hanging in my closet, so I guess that's a win because it was just sitting in the UFO pile since 2019.  After staring at the pictures and pattern drawing I realize the issue now.  The pattern gathers and waist are at my fullest part.  I need an empire waist to minimize my belly.  So I need to move the waistline up on this to make it cute but not make me feel huge.

 

I even took the time to switch out my coverstitching to match the panels.

 

Here are the original pictures from 2019, with a much different body shape and I very much didn’t like the top then.

 

Life/Health/Home:

On the Homefront:  I am SLOWLY getting over my shingles. Oh!  I don’t think I even mentioned it in my blog!!  The DAY AFTER my 8 week checkup from the hysterectomy (when I was finally feeling more human) I came down with Shingles!!!! What THE HELL!!! I am only 45! Isn’t Shingles for old people? like 90 year olds! It has been a horrific battle, especially since I had just had the hysterectomy recovery for 8 weeks. These Shingles took me DOWN! I was extremely nauseous and vomiting and I could eat nothing.  I was with fever and omg the itching  and burning and shooting pain. It has been 6 long weeks of agony here. The shingles are on my scalp, forehead, and into my left eye (my good eye of course). The meds are disgusting and ginormous and I am miserable and cranky. I haven’t eaten and I’ve lost 17lbs. I am starting to turn the corner finally I think, just this last week here. But man, what a trip.  I can’t believe how many times I’ve been kicked down this last decade of my life.  I just want to be left alone to sew and embroider and enjoy my life.  I thought about sewing this last week but my weight changed again and I don’t want to sew until I know where it will settle at.  I did start some embroidery and finished this Spring Things project from Sweet Pea Embroidery.

The doctor asked me if I was under a lot of stress. OMG STRESS? NO.  Just like everything is blowing up right now around here.

My Grandpa is on Hospice. My MIL and FIL are not well.  My grandma is not well.  Tayden broke his ankle at work and workman's comp is jerking him around and he can’t pay rent or get food and his girlfriend is pregnant so I’m about to be a grandma! And I’m too young for that!!! That happens to old people! My husband had four interviews for a promotion that he wanted so so bad.  It would have us move and so I had the stress of ohh my gosh are we moving again. this time it would be two hours from here. at the last minute he was one of the last two candidates and they adjusted directors and so the new director chose his friend instead of Troy, which I think is complete crap. so all of that stress. and now Troy is absolutely devastated but ohh they have another position coming open in the next six months or so all the way across the state and up north. I live in Wisconsin. I am five to six hours from Canada. up north means up north. lots of pine trees, bears, moose, elk, Wolverines, wolves,  lots of animals, lots of trees, lots of insanity, on the border of Canada. I don't want to move up north. I am just fine here in the driftless region where we have beautiful Bluffs and changing fall colors and the Mississippi. I don't want to live by Michigan, I'm sorry for any Michigan people here reading, but I just don't want to go over that way. I go to Rochester for my brain tumor stuff frequently, I don't want to have to travel all across the state just to go to my appointments. so there's that stress and then Mr. T's truck broke down and it's the radiator, and the power steering, and the wheel bearings. lots of money for a 20 year old vehicle. so we weren't sure if we were going to get him a new vehicle, but our vehicle lease ends in six months, so we've been looking for vehicles, and if we got him the loan would that affect our lease vehicle. so that's stress. plus the political stress, the market stress, everybody's broke, everybody's stressed, and my baby Kiela starts college in a week now and she's stressed about it which makes me stressed. ohh yeah and our dog had to go in, Cheeto, to get a sedated X-ray and they over sedated him and that was a whole mess of stress. and both dogs have been having gut issues. so things are just absolutely at the Max stress level right now, so when the doctor tells me not to be stressed I just laughed at him. I just laughed. I said all around me is stress, not even beginning with my health stress, or the fact that I can't eat food for the last 12 years and no doctor gives a damn. so yes I have a ton of stress. and he tells me well that's probably why the shingles reared their head and now you have to be careful and I'm like dude this stress ain’t going away. oh thank you for letting me vent that out and now you know.

Happy Sewing Kristin

Pattern Tracing Paper ~ What works best?

I wanted to bring this post over from my old blog because 1. the info is still very relevant and important. and 2. one never knows what Google is up to and when they will suddenly delete something.

This is a repost from a blog post I made Wednesday, April 10, 2013. I have updated slightly to bring it to 2024.   Unless you are a rebel when it comes to sewing (cutting those patterns out, gasp!), most likely you have used some sort of material to trace your sewing patterns.  If you are like me, you want to find one that works well and is economical to boot.  So which pattern tracing paper works best? Continue reading for a list of pros and cons of the top 3 tracing paper types most sewists use.

 

From Left to Right: Freezer Paper, Swedish Tracing Paper, Medical Exam Table Paper   Let's weigh out the pros and cons. Here is a lineup of all three in a completed traced and cut pattern.

 

From Left to Right: Freezer Paper, Medical Exam Table Paper, Swedish Tracing Paper  

First up: Freezer Paper

Pros:

• Mid expensive $27.99 for the box which is 100 yards x 18 inches wide or about $0.28 a yard
• Can write on it easily
• Pencil erases on it
• Thicker paper - not likely to tear easy
• Can iron it on to slippery fabric to cut it out easier as it sticks right on; once cut you can just peel it off the fabric or even sew with it still attached and remove after.
• Great for Quilting and Applique because of the above stick and cut

Cons:

• Can not iron out the fold lines from storage - ironing will melt it to whatever it touches
• It's thicker fabric so it may dull scissors
• It is harder to see through to trace patterns as shown below (there is a pattern under there).

Next up: Swedish Tracing Paper Pros:

• Can write on it fairly easy with a dull # 2 pencil.  A sharp one tears at the paper
• Can iron out the creases from storage
• Doesn't wrinkle easy
• Very quiet as it is more like fabric than paper
• Thin like interfacing - not likely to tear easy
• Holds nicely to fabrics when you are trying to cut them out 
• Since it is more fabric-y you can baste the pattern together to use as a mock-up or muslin before cutting your fabric (Thanks Gail for this tip!)
• Easy to see through to trace patterns (see below)

 

Cons:

• Mid Expensive $25.99 for the roll which is 10 yards x 29 inches wide or about $0.26 a yard
• Pencil does NOT erase on it
• Bulky to store, not as easy to fold.

 

Adding to the Swedish Tracing Paper is a Pellon Interfacing much like it.

Pellon 45" Easy 830 Pattern Non Woven Tracing Material

I will sometimes use this for tried and true patterns that I use a lot.

Why? Because I like that it is thicker than the medical table paper, it sticks sort of to the fabric when you lay it on top (it doesn’t shift).

You can get it at JoAnns for $$45.50 for 25 yds making it $1.82 yd. (yes this is very expensive and that is why I only use it rarely on those patterns I bring out time and time again.

You can also hit it up on sale sometimes making it half price.

I feel this is an option I must mention because its easy to get and behaves the same as the Swedish Tracing paper

 

Lastly: Medical Exam Paper

Medline Exam Table Paper 12 rolls

Therapist's Choice Exam Table Paper, 1 Roll

Pros:

• Very Inexpensive - Box of 12 rolls totals 900 yards of 21" wide for $49.09 or less than $0.05/yard!

• If you only want one roll it can be found for 75 yards of 18” wide for $18.99 or $0.25/yard (link above)

• Can write on easily

• Pencil erases easy

• Can iron out the creases from storage (low setting)

• Easy to pin to fabric when cutting out

• very easy to store. not bulky at all.

• I will generally pin together these traced pattern pieces to test the fit of a pattern before cutting fabric. It works, but not as smooth as the Swedish Tracing paper.

• Easy to see through to trace patterns (see below)

Cons:

• Wrinkles very easy – but also irons out easy

• Noisy (it is just like the stuff you sit on at the doctor's office) crinkle, crinkle

• Very thin, both a pro and a con - possible to tear easier however I have not had issue with this yet

And there you have it!  For me the clear winner is  

Medline Exam Table Paper 

Why?

• Because you CANNOT beat that price!  5c/yard? come on!! That is amazing.

• Plus it is perfectly see-through and works well for my needs.  I no longer struggle to see those awful pink lines on Burda patterns!

• I have a box of 12 rolls/900 yards that will probably last me a lifetime! 

• They fold and store away super easy.

• The wrinkles iron out super fast

• I can do all my alterations and changes and not worry about wasting paper and money because its only 5c/yard!

I just cannot justify the cost of always using Swedish Tracing Paper anymore.  Plus, I won't run out now in the middle of a project! The medical table paper is slightly more thick than the Big 4 pattern tissue paper to give you an idea of what it is like.

*note: it is so easy to trace Burda and Ottobre patterns onto the medical paper.  It is nice and easy to see the colored pattern lines through the paper.

So what are your thoughts?  What do you use to trace your patterns?

  Happy Sewing! Kristin

Jalie 4451– Claudette Shirt and Shirtdress

  Jalie 4451– Claudette Shirt and Shirtdress Pattern As you know, Jalie just released their new pattern collection. This is the last pattern I tested from the collection. Quick Disclosure:   I am so lucky and blessed to be a pattern tester for them. Even though I am a tester, I share only my honest opinion.  And you all know that I am very opinionated.   If I like something I love it, if I don’t like something I’m not afraid to tell you. (photos here were taken before my recent surgery and after! in the aqua). My Measurements at the time: Upper Bust 38.5, Bust 42, smallest Waist 34, low belly 39, Hip 49 Size Used: AA for bust, grading to a BB for the low belly and CC for the hip.  Alterations: none except grading. I made the long sleeve dress version of the pattern Fabric Used: I used a sheet I save for testing and muslins. It is listed as 60% cotton and 40% Polyester. I would call it a normal weight woven. Not thin, not thick. It is lighter than a quilter’s cotton but heavier than a challis.  The fabric is 58” wide Yardage used - The pattern says to use 3.25 to 4 yards for my size. I measured the sheet and I used about 3.5 yards of 58” wide. So I would say that yes, the pattern requirements are correct. Instructions: I thought the instructions were great , as usual with Jalie. I really look at the pictures more than the wording but it is helpful in some parts to have the wording instruction. These instructions had to be great with all those buttons, collar, pockets, yokes, and sleeve plackets. Overall fit, Thoughts, and issues:  This one really challenged me for 2 reasons. #1 it is a looooong sew. I had to break it up into many days. #2 I have never sewn a shirt sleeve placket before.  I have sewn just a handful of other woven “proper” collars, one on my Jalie Rose 3881 (love that top) another on a McCalls 4769 Shirtdress back in 2013, and a few others. So this sew pushed me out of my comfort zone a bit.  You all know I like the fast sew, instant gratification knits.  I need to branch out and sew more woven fabric in the future here.  If I were to change anything it would be to add a little more room for my hips and rear.  I feel it is a tad snug there. I like it more without the belt. It is loose and comfortable.  I disliked things on my stomach before this surgery (having 2 other stomach surgeries in my past) but after this surgery, I really do not like things touching my stomach. So my sheet I used to test this pattern was this "lovely" dull gray color.  Not good for my skin tone, but I like to use sheets to test woven patterns in case they need tweaking before the final, good fabric is used.  This shirtdress looked great, but the color made me feel like Inspector Gadget. So I knew I needed to change it. I decided to try using Rit Dye More for synthetics to change the color to more me.  I dyed cotton in the past, in a bucket in the backyard, easy peasy just soaking, Miss K’s Corduroy Pants, which I guess I never shared, but they turned out well. However, dying synthetics is a whole other ballgame.  You have to use the stove, a boiling pot, and lots of constant heat forever.  1. my arm about fell off with the amount of stirring time.  2. it takes a long long freaking time in that pot. 3. it stinks. 4. it splashes everywhere.  BUT I am happy with the outcome and I was so surprised to see the brown buttons dyed a beautiful blue too!  I just don’t know if I would want to put in that work again. For Reference, here is Inspector Gadget. (In exciting news, I get a new serger tomorrow!!!! I’m jumping out of my skin with excitement!!! I have been on a serger hunt since my beloved 1034d crapped out on me, oh about ….. 5 or 6 or so years ago. I had it a decade and it just worked so great and I treated it poorly but it serged a ton of things for me.  Then I tried a million other sergers like a bernina, a new home, the babylock celebrate, the babylock victory, the new brother 3000 airflow.  And I just wasn’t happy with any of them!  Plus the lights now affect my epilepsy so its hard to find a serger that doesn't.  When the light is behind the foot, the foot going up and down so fast - makes a flashing type light and I can't deal with it  However, I am super stoked for the new one coming. No teasers from me on what it is, until I test it out. Cross your fingers for me because my husband is getting a little tired of all the machines flying thru, lol). Happy Sewing! Kristin