Simplicity 2896 and Zelda Gets a Makeover

 This dress, Simplicity 2896, was just not meant to be.  I purchased the fabric, a poplin with lycra, I believe,  intending to make a skirt, but discovered that I didn't have enough fabric for a gathered skirt and I didn't want a pencil skirt from it.  Looking thru my pattern catalog, I found this little sundress and thought the fabric would work beautifully.  The dress only needed 2 yards for the size 22. 

 

It sewed up so nicely: the fabric behaved beautifully, the notches and markings all lined up correctly, the instructions were clear with good illustrations. It was adorable--but not on me.  This dress made me realize just how much weight I've put on recently.  I've lost my waist completely and I'm now an apple shape as opposed to being a fluffy hourglass that I once was.  I look like all belly in this dress and I don't have a jacket yet to wear over it.  

Change needs to occur.  First, food.  Watch what I eat and portion control.  And no more late night ice cream!  Second, I need to start walking again.  I've let myself become too sedentary.    Third, face the fact the body changed and sew for it.  Zelda, my dressmaker double, needs to reflect the current me:  Zelda needs a makeover.

So I took my measurements, put a good bra on her, got out the quilt batting and started padding her up 

 

Zelda now is a much closer facsimile of me.  Bust is notably larger as is waist and hip.  I also raised her back up to her proper height--she had slipped down several inches and was useless for hemming.  

I may not be happy about the changes, but I have to acknowledge the problem in order to deal with it.  Current sewing no longer features the waist, I've just finished 2 T-shirts I need to review and some chiffon kimonos, that skim the figure.   The only pie I'm eating these days is humble pie as I get used to Zelda's new look. 

A Top and Shorts: New Look 6604 and Butterick 6028

     Well, I'm sewing right along for my summer wardrobe.  This week, I made a cute little top and some shorts.  I'll start with the shorts since I finished them first.   The pattern is Butterick 6028  which is actually for pants.  I had made these pants once before, and they were a disaster.  So HUGE! I had to chuck them but they've always haunted me because I like the back leg seaming so much.  I needed  some shorts, and had a yard and a half of this twill leftover from another project.  I figured I make these up as shorts as a toile for a later pair of pants.  

Well, they fit great and were an easy sew just like the package says.  I made a size 20 extending the crotch curve 1/2 inch in front and 3/4 inch in back.  Next time I make these, I need to do a 22 back and 20 front for just a tad bit more room.  More on that in another post soon, 

All in all, the pattern went together nicely and according to directions except for the waistband notches.  They don't match up with the corresponding waist notches at all. I joined the two pieces by lining up their side seams and it fit perfectly in place.  

The top is  New Look 6604 which has 3 different tops all  featuring pintrucks.  I sewed view A which has pintucks on the front and on each short sleeve.  

You can't really see the pintucks very well with the striped fabric ( a cotton voile from Fabric Mart) but they're there, adding a nice shape to the bust and a fun little flair to the sleeve. This was such a fast and fun make!  I finished it from cut to hem in less than 6 hours!  Amazing to me, a slower sewist.  

The pintucks were actually very easy to execute as they aren't very narrow.  They just require care in marking the fabric accurately.  

The pattern called for lace at the hem, but I used some aqua pom-pom trim instead.  I think it's a fun little touch.  I really enjoyed sewing this pattern and would like to use it again and do up the sleeveless top.  Well, back to the sewing machine.  Happy sewing all!

  

New Wrap Top for Spring--New Look 6560

It's high time to do some Summer sewing.   Temperature wise, we're still having Spring but it will be Summer by the end of the week with temps in the 90s and the cicadas due out any day to begin their humming.  I had this wonderful, summery yellow floral chiffon just begging to be used.  (I got it from one of Fabric Marts recent sales.) I decided on New Look 6560.  I made view B, a cute little wrap top with a ruffled neckline, flutter sleeves and a tie belt. It's just such a feminine look.

The pattern comes in sizes 8-20; I made a size 20. I also made several changes to the pattern based on several reviews at Pattern Review.  It's short, so I added 1½ inches to the length so it would come to my hip.   I also interfaced the belt to give the chiffon a little more body and be a more effective tie.  The front yoke pieces are doubled, encasing the gathers and lending more support to shoulder area.  I didn't want facings showing thru the chiffon so I used bias binding on the neckline.  I omitted the button closure on the front, I didn't think the chiffon could support it and this way it can adjust to my weight fluctuations.  It's held in place by the tie belt quite well.  I also omitted the back darts as I wanted this to be a looser fitting top.

In the pictures, I'm wearing the top over a yellow cami and with my very wrinkled linen trousers, Simplicity 8138 from last summer.  

I'm finally out of my sling and working on improving range of motion and strength.  It's amazing how much strength and endurance I've lost these last few months.  So, I'm still off work, going to Physical Therapy and sewing like a crazy lady.  I could really get used to this stay at home stuff!  Happy sewing!

I'm Back! With New Look 6632

Goodness!  It been ever so long since  I've last written.  I have been so busy with work overtime, life in general and surgery.  Back in March, I fell and tore my rotator cuff in my right shoulder.  They did a surgical repair on it in April and I've been in a sling ever since. Hopefully, I'll be out of the sling soon.  I finally regained enough range of motion to start sewing again last month and have much to catch you up on.  It's amazing how much sewing one can do when you don't have to go to work!  

I made New Look 6632

This dress has an empire waist, princess seams in front and back, a jewel neck, and pockets in the front seams.  The pattern size ranges from 10-22; I made a size 22.  

I used a textured double knit from Fabric Mart.  The only change I made to the pattern was to apply self-fabric binding at the neckline instead of the bias binding the pattern called for.  This was a super easy sew.  The pattern pieces came together perfectly, the instruction were easy to follow, adnd the fabric behaved beautifully while being sewn.  

I also finished a quilt for Christmas. Unfortunately, I didn't finish it in time for Christmas, but it's ready for Christmas this year.  

"Charming Christmas" was a free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop.  It uses 1 charm pack (5" squares) and was so easy to put together.  I'm really happy with how it turned out; my Free Motion Quilting is improving with practice.  

Hopefully. I can come out of the sling soon and take some pictures of some of my other makes.  See ya soon and happy sewing!

The Jolly Bar Book Sew Along Quilt

 It's been such an awful long time since I've posted.    I've been busy with my mother-in-law for about 2 weeks in October.  She had surgery and needed help; so I went down.  When I left, she had a full freezer and was doing remarkably well.  Her progress, according to her reports, continues and she feels surgery was a success.  Although I got no sewing done at all during that time, I did get caught up on a cross-stitch project I'm working on. More on that at another time though.  I found my sewing mojo suffering since last I wrote.  Covid has really affected the moods of many sewers out there.  Luckily, I had a deadline for this quilt. 

I've been working on this quilt since June.  It's part of one of  Pat Sloan's Sew Along quilts.  This one was sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop and featured The Jolly Bar Book, Vol. 2 available here.

The quilt features blocks from the book, following instructions from the Quilt Along for number of blocks to be sewn and placement.  I really enjoyed this sew along.  The blocks were all so fun.  

I used a plaid in charcoal gray and white.  I couldn't match the plaid confidently for the back, so I pieced a line of blocks using leftover squares from the jolly bar.  By the way, in case you're not familiar  with a jolly bar, it's a Fat Quarter shop exclusive that measures 5 in. x 10 in. and includes 20 cuts.  Obviously you could just use ½ of a layer cake instead.  I found this a fun size to work with.

I really like how nicely the back came out.  Since the quilt is a gift, for my boss--it's her first baby, I included a pre-printed label and added the date as shown.  I got the labels from an Etsy shop but don't have the info any longer.  I really hope she likes the quilt.

I really enjoy the piecing part of quilting.  I find I rather dread the quilting part, because I'm still learning to free motion quilt.  But that's getting better with practice and the acquisition of the Janome 6300P.  It's made for quilting:  an accurate ¼ inch seam foot and a larger harp space than my Brother machine. 

Simplicity 8545 in Pink Lace

This little top started with the fabric; a pink corded lace with no stretch and a lovely scalloped border from Fabric Mart.  I knew I wanted to do a simple top with and wear a cami underneath for modesty.  Luckily, I already had Simplicity 8545 in the pattern stash.  The simple shell top was perfect for what I had in mind.  

This should have been a quick and easy sew, but the lace did complicate things.  I didn't have serger thread the right color and I didn't think it would give enough support to the seams.  Some places in the lace had so much netting that I didn't think French seams would do, either.    So I used an overlock stitch on my sewing machine set to a short length and wide width and stitched 1/4  inch from the regular running stitches and trimmed the excess.  This worked nicely and didn't create too much bulk.  

The neckline called for bias binding but I couldn't find anything that matched well enough.  So I made binding from the lace itself.  It came out rather neatly I think.  

Thanks to the border, at least the bottom and sleeves didn't need hems.  At least that part was easy!  

The center back seam forms a keyhole closure.  I used a bit of ribbon and found a pretty little button in the button collection.  I've enjoyed wearing this top but always wear my pink cami underneath.  Far from being an orphan, it goes with my navy slacks, khaki slacks, dark wash jeans and denim skirt.  I have a gray skirt with pleats for a dressier occasion and black wide leg dress pants, as well.  

Hope you're having a great sewing day.

Birthday Party in Simplicity 8138 and Vogue 8926

It's been a minute or two since I've blogged or sewn.  July was such a busy month with a trip to Texas and couple of camping trips taking most of my sewing time.  A family birthday and the Endless Combinations contest urged me into the Sewing Room.  The result being this outfit:

The pants are Simplicity 8138 and are so comfortable!  I've made this pattern before in an oatmeal colored linen.  They're one of my favorite things to wear in the summer.  They have an elasticized waist band and pockets, so you know they're uber comfy but still practical.  

The fabric is a soft linen from Fabric Mart.  The pattern itself is clear and well-written; no problems there.  I had to make some adjustments to get it to fit though since I'm so short waisted and have a very rounded derriere.  First I folded out 1" at the front crotch; then I lowered the center front 1½ inches tapering to nothing at the sides.  Then for the back, I raised the center back ¾ inch and added ½ inch to the back inseam at the crotch to extend the seat a little.  The weave on this linen is looser than the other slacks, so I might have been able to make it in a size smaller.  Something to consider next pair.    Yes, I love  this pattern so much there will be another pair someday. 

The top is Very Easy Vogue 8926 and it lived up to its claim.  It was very easy to assemble.  There are many markings and dots to keep track of but as long as you do, the top goes together quite easily.  It's made from a poplin shirting also from Fabric Mart.  I seldom sew with cotton and I always wonder why once I do because it's such a pleasure to sew with. 

I noticed when wearing it that day, and in the pictures here, that there's quite a bit of gaping at the underarm area.  I had to take that in by about 2 inches to make it fit nicer.  It's perfect for the hot, humid summer we have here.