Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Simplicity 1467

This has most definitely been my most time consuming make so far. Not necessarily difficult, but a lot of steps. And a lot of interfacing. Very slow going for me. But I finished and have another top I can wear to the office. Yay me!

This is the Simplicity 1467 pattern, view A. I used the size 12 pattern, my standard pattern size for tops.

Did I mention interfacing? I went through quite a bit. All the top pieces and the arm holes all have interfacing. It calls for lightweight, I used featherweight because it was what I had. Doesn't seem to have made a difference. Don't skip the understitching, everything will constantly want to pop out.


This pattern also had the tiny loop you had to make for the buttons. Which of course, consists of sewing a teeny tiny piece of fabric then having to flip it right side out. I used a small safety pin I got from one of my RTW outfits when they give an extra button. It worked great for this small loop. I also didn't follow the directions, it said to sew at 1/4", but that would have put it halfway across, so instead I did it at approximately 1/8" so that I would have a larger hole to pull the fabric through.


And the final result...


A top that is a little too small at the hips. Haha. I'm slightly pear shaped. I really need to keep an eye on the finished measurements so my tops fit better at the waist. Looking at the model I should have realized this was closer fitting than the other tops I made. And this material is not stretchy. At All.

Sorry, I'm also squinting in the sun. You either get a dark picture, or me squinting.

I'm thinking of maybe adding a solid color dart on the side to expand the waist some. Because of all my cardigans it is not often someone will see the side anyway. It's wearable as is, but I think this would make it more comfortable. And it will lay better in the front and back.



My first time doing anything with buttons. I like them. I'm shocked I really didn't have any issues there.


This top also called for gathering in the front. My first time with this as well. Basically you use a long machine stitch, then pull the strings, even it out best you can, then it is sewn in place. Gives it a nice look.




This is a cheaper fabric. I cannot remember where I got it or what it is. I know it either came from Joann's or Hancock Fabrics. On all future purchases I will track this!

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Knit t-shirts, gotta love them.

A good old fashioned t-shirt. Who doesn't love them? Comfy and cozy. Good for cold, warm, and hot weather. You can wear them out, you can wear them in. You get my point.

Taking the same McCalls 6964 pattern I used on my long sleeve knit t-shirt I made this short sleeve one. I actually intended to make another long sleeve but I didn't have enough fabric to pull it off.

I found this fabric at Joann's yesterday in the clearance section. And on top of that they had 50% off all of their red dot clearance. I think this ended up costing me $4/yard. No too shabby.


It took some work to keep the stripes together when sewing. This side is better than my other side. But I'm still proud.


And as I mentioned before, I need a new sewing machine! Mine is a simple one. Almost like a featherweight machine. It has no stretch stitch options and a twin needle doesn't work. All I have is the zig zag to work with. I put my machine on the smallest one and just hope it works and my clothes don't fall apart on me. Because I do like wearing these knits! But I'm stuck with this being visible. It just screams homemade... I'll survive.


Time for a cardigan!

My job requires me to wear a lot of cardigans. A LOT of cardigans. During the winter it isn't such a big deal. It's cold, cardigans are comfy. But during the summer... forget about it!

After being so incredibly jealous of my co-workers who have sleeveless, or short sleeve cardigans I finally decided to just make my own. This is the first, and biggest, reason I decided to re-learn how to sew.

So here I am. After making some fun beginner projects I finally made my first cardigan.

I decided to attempt McCalls Pattern 6084.
It's considered easy. And the package says sew time is only one hour! A beginner like me should do just fine right??

Well, not really. This cardigan gave me one night of complete frustration until I quit. I don't know what it is about these instructions but I was just soooo confused. I'm sure you would laugh thinking I was confused by something so simple.

The next day I went back at it. I pretty much just made up some steps to get by. I think it turned out all right though. I think I probably spent 8 hours sewing this 1 hour pattern...



I used a size large for the pattern. I usually use a medium. But dumb me, I bought patterns before I actually started sewing and didn't realize each package didn't have all the sizes. Oops. Won't make that mistake again. So, I made the smallest size in the package. I am definitely going to make the sleeves smaller. They are huge. The rest I can deal with wearing.

I used just some simple black knit fabric I found at Joann's. It's slightly heavier than ideal for summer, but very comfortable.

Boy do my bangs need trimmed! :)

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

So instead of posting the few things I did when I first started sewing in 2015 I have decided to just put them here. After this I can start fresh with all my 2016 garments and can keep better track :)

In December I was dreaming about Summer. Maybe because I booked a cruise. So I decided to plan for he heat and make this tank top using the Simplicity 1372 pattern.


I opted to use some cute linen fabric I found at Joann's. For the straps I used silky fabric (I have no idea what it really is - Joann's had it under "silky types")

Here is the finished product:

---------------------
Then, my next attempt was my first knit project. I quickly learned I do not have the machine for the job. I can't use twin needles, I have no stretch stitch of any sort, I only have the small zig zag you turn until it's a big zig zag (I'm sure there is a name for it). So, I put it on the smallest it would let me and went with that. Hopefully I don't break the seams...

I used McCall's 6964 pattern, only the long sleeve version rather than this short sleeve one below.


And this is how it turned out:

One thing I learned from this one, other than I need a better machine, is be careful when pulling out threads! It is a lot harder with knit. I accidentally made a hole in my shirt! I had to pull it up slightly on the left to hide it behind the neckline. So sad!

I had one more shirt for 2015 but I don't have pictures so I'll just let it go. For my future projects I hope to get better pictures of me actually wearing the items so they wont seem so baggy on my tiny dress form.

Monday, January 18, 2016

My first blouse

This is the first blouse I made after all of those pajamas. I'm actually quite impressed with myself!

This is the pattern I chose to use. Simplicity 1280.


You know what is amazing? I actually found the exact same fabric for view B (the one on the model)! I got the fabric at Joann's. I'm starting my sewing journey with cheaper fabric before I move to those wonderful fabrics I am finding online.

Sorry, I do not have any step by steps. I wasn't planning a blog when I started. But here is my finished product. No so bad for a newbie huh?


The only thing I changed was extending the length of the sleeves. I'm not a fan of 3/4 sleeves. Everything else was exactly to the pattern. Pattern size 12.

Now I just need to find a photographer so I can get pictures of me wearing it! My dress form doesn't do it justice. Considering it is like a size 2, and I am not.

The main thing I learned from this project. Always write down or take a picture of the care instructions and fabric type! I have no idea what this fabric is or how to wash it.

An entire wardrobe, all handmade

Can it be done?

Can someone make their entire wardrobe themselves? Does anyone have the time? The money?

I'm hoping one day to find out. But I know it isn't something that will happen quickly.

Years ago I had a blog. I didn't really know what to post about, so slowly I stopped posting. It had no theme, no direction. It's still out there. I actually wanted to use it, delete the old stuff, and go from there. But sadly I have long forgotten the password and no longer can access the email address used to create it.

So here I am new blog. But this time, with a purpose. Seeing so many other sewing blogs has inspired me.

I have rekindled my love for sewing. After taking a sewing class in high school I was interested. My mom bought me my very first sewing machine. I remember using it to make simple things. But something happened where I became stumped and I gave up.

I'm back now. And with internet being as awesome as it is, the information I probably needed back then is right here. No more getting stumped and stopping. Answers are easy to find and things can be fixed.

I began my new sewing journey before Christmas. Re-teaching myself the basics on the sewing machine. Started off simple with pajamas. Made lots of pajamas. LOTS of pajamas. Kids, adults, everyone was getting pajamas. That helped me understand my machine again and how it worked.

I have since moved on from pajamas to see what I can create. Spending time learning about garment assembly, fabric types, thread types, and all that goes along with it. So this is my new journey into sewing. And I'm hooked!