Caped Cru-SEW-ders

I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas day.

A few days before Christmas, I was on the quest for a pattern that is suitable for fleece.  I found these nearly forgotten patterns in my stash. 

 

I thought it would be fun to sew a "Charger" football fan jacket for my daughter's godmother in printed fleece.   She, her husband, and her children are ardent fans of the team. I sewed Simplicity 4029's short or bolero looking jacket.  I hope that the size 8 will fit Heather's godmother nicely whose petite frame seems to qualify for junior sizes less than a "5".  After cutting and interfacing the front and back facings, I decided to topstitch a narrow hem along the front and neck edges which was somewhat more tricky than what I anticipated.  Attaching the facings would have seemed easier, but I did not want my recipient to have to fuss with them.  

 

I used Simplicity 4026's hat pattern and a long rectangle for the scarf, that was sewed into a tube and turned inside out via a small aperture. Heather assisted me enthusiastically in this project.

With the remaining fabric, I sewed Heather (she pleaded to make her one after seeing my cape) and myself matching Charger capelets using Simplicity 4026. It took only 2 pattern pieces (I omitted the flounces).  For my cape,  I  added approximately 6" to the lower edge.   For Heather's cape, I kept the same length.   I lined the capelets with cheetah lining fabric that I used recently for a Vogue ruffled blouse. To secure the neckline, I sewed a large snap at the top corners.   

It is a very easy piece to make in which each front piece is sewn to the back piece along the shoulders and upper arms.  So this is an ideal project for beginners, especially those lining a garment for the first time.

With one flick of our blue cloaks, we transformed from "Charger" to "Cheetah", like magic!

I know this is irrelevant or just bizarre, but HOWL-Y Batman or Catman, this is definitely one "caped blunder"! This is not cute at all.  Goodbye, Kitty to this one!

Heather gave me this card on Chrsitmas morning.  Gifts from the heart are ones I treasure the most.  

Christmas Wishes

One more day before the birthday of our Savior.

Heather's official first sewing project (with a little help from me). Poor kitty...

Voila, Heather's completed scarf. She and I were very proud.

Christmas 2003.  Heather at 9 months. Her first picture with Santa.  We kept this tradition for five years. 

Heather, getting ready for this year's holiday ballet recital.

The ballerinas just before the performance.

Heather and a snowman decked out in football fan attire on October.   Christmas decorations or simply "going commercial" just before Halloween?  The message is clear: buy, buy, buy.... 

(If is any consolation, we did not buy the hat and the snowman at our local K-Mart.  We found the opportunity for a "Kodak" moment).


We hope that you have more time in the upcoming year to be SEW happy. 

The best gift is that from the heart: love....

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Maligayang Pasko, Joyeux Noel, God Jul. 

The message of love, peace, and joy is universal in any language.

Tangerine Seams

Two weeks ago...

Pattern Description: "Girl's jumpsuit in two lengths, dress and shrug.  I was set to make a jumper/shorts dress for Heather that she kindly asked me to make.  However,  I made first a shrug or bolero, view "D"  to complement Heather's dress that she would wear at an upcoming yearly church event.

Fabric:

Milly eyelet from EmmaOneSock.com  for the outer portion and a stretch charmeuse from fabric.com as lining.

I traced a size "8" of the front and back of the shrug/bolero onto gift-wrap tissue paper, extending the fronts to bypass the use of a front band.  I also created a matching ponytail hair accessory of the same fabric and three flowers. 

I omitted the center seam for the back in order to not interrupt the petals.



Here's the bolero with the RTW dress. I attached a transaparent "flower" button at the center front.

Showing the lining:

Heather wearing her dress at a yearly church event on a Saturday afternoon (with the odd makeup she had on during a  little ballet performance).  She could not wait to get into her sweater and jeans after the festivities. 

Heather and me (in my Butterick 5454 wrap dress). She looks taller than me!

I started working on Heather's jumpsuit (view B in Liberty of London fabric) the next day. I was able to complete the entire bodice.  In the picture below, I had completed sewing the bias finish/shoulder ties onto one of the armholes. 

The INC Spots

While shopping at our local Macys,  I "spotted" a dress with a familiar looking fabric.  The first thing that I said aloud to myself was " Hey, I have that fabric! " I had purchased the same fabric from Gorgeousfabrics.com and immediately made Heather another Jalie twist top and myself a Vogue 8451 top and a New Look 6940 top.  Next to the mannequin is Heather, being silly with her "dozed" expression.

Excuse my fuzzy camera pics from my "time-to-update-my-camera" phone.

Here is another view of the cheetah spotted shirt dress.  I like the ruched front and the  button tabs at the sleeves.

From Macys.com, the INC shirt dress with an original price of $79.99.

The Whole Nine Yards

I found the opportunity during my Thanksgiving week holiday from work to sew patterns that I have been "meaning to sew".  

New Look 6009 (1.5 yards):

Material: mystery woven for $1.5/yd from le Wal Marche.

*I sewed the view with the keyhole and hooped front.

* I like the distinctive neckline. The front center seam is sewn from the top to a marked circle. A few inches below the top circle is another circle from which the rest of the center seam is sewn. Voila, an instant aperture is formed between the two circles and is finished with small topstitched hems at its sides.

However...

*when I sewed the neckline facing, I discovered that it was inadequate to encircle the neckline. I thought that maybe I cut the pieces incorrectly. So I gathered slightly the neckline to get the facing to fit. Later when I compared the neckline pattern piece to that of the front facing pattern piece, I noticed that it seemed to be two sizes smaller than what it should be. I am not certain if there is an error in drafting or simply I am missing something.

*Since the back and sides flared out strangely, I added the elastic at the waist and because that did not work for me, had to remove it.

* The elasticized waist just did not suit me, so I removed the elastic and replaced it with two angled front darts from bust to the hem.


*The directions asked to handstitch or slipstitch the hoop closed after inserting it through the long slit below the neckline. To secure it closed, I sewed a 1/4" hoop seam (facing inwards) and topstitched it instead.

* I am not sure whether or not I will use this pattern again.  It is an easy pattern, but I unexpectedly spent some time with the neckline and the issue and the fit at my waist and hips.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

New Look 6940 (1.5 yards):

Material: poly knit from Gorgeous Fabrics

*The top had extra ease at the waist, hips, and front. 

*The gathering below the central bust area was not flattering on me.  I should easily "expect" somebody who saw me in this to ask me "the question" that at this point I was "not expecting" to be asked at this time.

*I took in an additional 3/8" at the side seams

*The neckline came much lower than suggested on the model and illustrations.

* This top has a lot of potential especially after modifying the top to raise the neckline and eliminate the gathers below the bust. I will give this pattern another chance.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Vogue 8451, already out-of-print (1.5 yards):

Material: same fabric from New Look 6940
This is the 5th top from this pattern (two I borrowed for the puffed banded sleeves using front and back pieces from other patterns), so I did not make additional changes.  Current rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Time to get a new cell phone that takes better pictures! 

Simplicity 2756 from the Project Runway-inspired series (1.5 yards)

Material: polyester/satin charmeuse from fabric.com

* I sewed the top with the elasticized neckline and flounced sleeves.

* I thought the flounced cuff was wide so I halved the width.

* I was disappointed that the top I had no shaping.  After taking in an additional 3/8" at the side seams, it was still a sack.  I decided that it will be a belted top.  Wait, make that a lounge-around-at-home top.

* I prefer New Look 6892's version. 

I probably will not use this pattern again.
Rating 2.5 out of 5 stars

Vogue 8194 (3 yards):

Material:
   Visible part: same poly/satin charmeuse from fabric.com
    Inner part: leopard lining fabric from GF.

* I liked that the front and back are lined.

* I should have used the back darts for more shaping.

* I wish that I had faced the collar (as recommended from a fellow PR-er in her review) to hide some awkward hems.

* I should have followed my original instinct to go for the long sleeves.  The flounced sleeves both did not hang the same way.

* I used my usual upper back and petite adjustment at the waist.

* With a few more tweaks, this blouse has a  potential to be a TNT for me.

* I hope to try this pattern again but with a more stable fabric.

I raised the neckline 1" from the center front.

Front with dart to be created by seam that closes the slit.       

Sleeve and "c"ollar pieces
















Loops, lining, and neck ruffled collar

Lining and the outer material

I don't like how the shine on the charmeuse is emphasized by the camera flash, also "bringing to light" what I am trying to hide. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars                                                  

Next on the agenda:

* Find "larger" buttons accommodated by the loopholes to replace the current "temporary" buttons.

* Re-align button placement to straighten the front edge.

* Gentle iron pressing to relieve the "waves".  

Have a nice day of giving thanks no matter where you are in the world, or simply "Happy Thanksgiving".