Thread-y To Sew Again!

So my last two posts here were on October 3, 2016 and January 2, 2016?  It is about time to return to the "machine".


To fill in the juncture from January to October 2016: 
 

June 2016: my husband, daughter and myself during a little walking tour in Högsby, Sweden (population: 1,881) where my in-laws reside.  Hmmm, traffic, what traffic, except the three of us!  Click, for a caption containing more information of our neighborhood hike.

 
  

I realized that in all the photos here (except for the top left that contains 4 photos put together of my daughter and my husband and the photo after a piece of paper), I wore what I had sewn:
                                                                                                                       
 
Photo recap of 2016:
I am clueless as to what algorithm "The Book of Face" uses to generate this collage of memories of 2016.  I wish that it included more photos from family outings.  I occasionally upload photos of adventures during our vacations, trips to the amusement parts, annual car shows, concerts, and educational venues.  Also there are family milestones, Jude Law fan pics, YouTube song flashbacks, and silly math puns.  You may send a friend request if you like and you don't have to worry about me "cluttering" your news feeds since I post sparingly. 



****Now, back to being SEW-spicious! *****

From last month, the merry month of May: 

This pattern has been my stash for some time now.  The only changes I made were lengthening the sleeves, my usual 3/4" petite adjustment at the waist.  I have been using what I now call the "stitch-the-strip-from-the-inside-and-turn-to-the-outside-and-top-stitch" method to bind the neckline, thanks to a fellow sewist (I don't think she has been on Pattern Review for years).  This method (plethora are available on-line) always works like a charm for me. 

 

I wore it the next day at work and received some sweet compliments from the students.

Summer Sewing Plan 2017:This bunch purchased from sales at the Butterick-McCall's-Vogue website (except for the Pamela top) with the BMV member discount.  The money saved is offset by the shipping charges. :-(

 

 Style inspiration: Daisy Fuentes wearing her top for HSN, $59.90.  The "cold-shoulder" or what I refer to as the "bare-upper-arm" style is TOTALLY trending (again). 

 

My first pattern from my summer plan, Simplicity 8337, in particular, view "B", with the cut-out sleeves. This pattern appears to have a myriad of possibilities!

I have sewn sleeves with "split" openings along the arms, but this is the first time to sew a "bare-the-upper-arm-look" ("cold-shoulder").  It only took one evening, despite my ineptitude with binding the sleeves. 

 

 

Modifications/Adjustments: 

•  "Rounded" the neckline ( "v" to a "U")
•   Eliminated the center seam so as not to "break" the print
•   My usual 3/4" petite adjustment at the waistline
•   Inadvertently "relaxed" the lower edge of the upper arm keyhole openings (upper edge of the attached sleeve). Somehow, silly me missed making the cuts at the "pivot" points at the sleeve/armhole junctions before attaching the binding strips cut from the same fabric. 
• Since the top seemed voluminous, I went down a size and took in an additional 3/8" at the sides (I could have simply used a "S" at the sides and a "M" at the shoulders).   The body measurements can give you a better idea of what size to use as a base.

 

If time permits to revisit this pattern, I would try the sleeveless, front-flounced top, view "A" . The style options are endless.  This is a simple pattern that could be customized with trim, varying sleeve lengths, neck depths, dress lengths, and more.  Nevertheless, this is a simple pattern.  However, I find that a "split-style" flatters me more than the drop-style of the sleeves of Simplicity 8337. 

A flashback from July 2012, a draped front top Butterick 5645, in which I closed the split-sleeve with a little seam at the lower edge, to create a "cut-out" shoulder style.

 


I like this bell-sleeved top from Vince Camuto, also available on HSN, for $89.00.