Easy Fall Jacket; Butterick 6065

I'm finally sewing for fall and this little jacket was such an easy sew.  Just a few seams and a hem.  It's got a cocoon shape, darts for the shoulder seam, and a front band.   I made it up in a sheer knit mesh from Fabric Mart and just love wearing it.  Casual and relaxed with a dressy vibe.

I made a size large with no alterations.  It's only two pieces;  the body and the front band.  In such a sheer fabric and such odd-shaped pieces, it would be easy to get lost in the puzzle, so I cut it out using additional notches where there were circles or dots.  This worked out great; it came together so easily.  

Since the fabric was so sheer, I opted not to serge it.  Instead I zig-zagged the seam allowances and then trimmed.  For the hem I just turned and stitched.  

This is such a great little jacket and such a quick sew, too.  I may have to make another.  Maybe one for my daughter--I have enough fabric leftover as Fabric Mart sent so much extra.  

Till later;  Happy sewing all!

Spring Wardrobe Continues

The work on the Pattern Review Spring Wardrobe Capsule continues.  I finally got a good photo-session in with Hubs so I'll be able to get a few entries in. 

First up, McCalls 7254 a really great little cardigan.  I love the shawl collar and how it folds and flares out into the peplum.  I used a dark taupey-brown ponte de roma knit from Fabric.com but can see this in a bulkier sweater knit as well. 

It stitched up so quick and easy; I wasn't expecting that.  It's the perfect thing for these cool spring days when you need to layer on and off.  I'm already getting a lot of use out of it and am looking forward to making another of these.

Next is Butterick 6065, the shaped shell top.  I never really noticed this pattern until I saw Faye's at Faye's Sewing Adventure  blog.  She's made several of these and they're all so cute.  She's so right, with only 3 pieces, what's not to love? I used an ITY knit from Fabric Mart and after reading about it on Pattern Review tried a Teflon foot to keep the knit under control.  Worked wonderfully!  I'll be using it all the time with knits now.   

I don't like the look of folded and hemmed necklines, so I made some binding for the neck and armholes.  Then, after reading about it on Pinterest, I decided to try Wash Away Wonder Tape.  I tried some of it and Steam-a-Seam 2 (¼ inch) on opposites ends of a scrap.  For this material, I preferred the Steam-a-Seam: it gave a smoother, lighter hem. 

The pants are an oldie but a goodie, Vogue 7301

I haven't made pants in years and now I'm all fluffy again so I guess I'm a little crazy for planning on 2 pairs for my wardrobe capsule.  I had made these years ago when I was a new sewer and fearless in my lack of knowledge and determination.  I had made a few changes to the pattern last time when I was about this size so thought it was a good launching point. 

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I raised the center front ½ inch, raised the center back ½ inch and did a full thigh adjustment of about ½ inch also.  I cut a size 18, serged the edges of the pattern pieces and pressed them open at the seams.  

The fly instructions were awesome--clear, well-illustrated, step-by-step.  Made it so easy.  Looking at the photos, it looks like I could do with some kind of wedge alteration at the crotch and a little more room in the backseat.   I seriously need to trace this pattern--it's so faded I can hardly see the print or marking on the pieces and its definitely a keeper! 

So there we have it--Pieces 2, 3, and 4 of the Spring Wardrobe with more to come!  Happy sewing!