I Felt a Breeze....Fall Must Be On The Way

I'm pretty sure I felt a breeze this morning so fall must be on the way which makes me giddy since fall sewing is some of my favorite (except I say this about spring sewing too so I can't be trusted).  Either way, I'm looking ahead to the new season and with that trying to get a plan, even a loose one, underway, inspired by The Wardrobe Architect Series at Colette, of course.

Like all of us, I have limited time to sew so making pieces that work well together is the name of the game and color is a great place to start.  I started by looking at the Pantone Fall 2015 color chart which has lots of colors I like to wear (mostly jewel tones) but really my own sewing room was the place to go.  I pulled together some of the fabrics on my cutting table and a couple from my stash and found my fall wardrobe emerging from my sewing room.

Berry seems to be a favorite as with navy and I just finished making a blouse in the silk Liberty above from my Blue Dot Pattern that's next to be released (stay tuned, more on that later).  The solid fabric is a t-shirt I already have and the navy fabric is a lightweight wool that will likely turn into a Grainline Morris Blazer.

I'd like to keep black/gray as one of my neutrals since I have so much of it in my closet.  I'm setting aside the cream wool gauze with baby black sequins for a tunic and the gray toile crepe is cutout and ready to stitch.  It'll be my second sample for a BD dress pattern that's also soon to make it's debut.

The denims and chambrays will be pieces I wear the most and the tencel chambray will be perfect made up in Sewaholics Granville shirt (like the one I made here).  I'm not yet sure what the stripe and lace will turn into but almost certainly they will be inspired by Madewell. 

Sewing from my stash makes me really happy and now that I've made a list here,  I can see I'm further along in my fall sewing and planning than I thought.

What are your fall plans?

Summer Sewing with TNT Patterns - Fabricmart Fabricista

I'm happy to be back this month with a summer Fabricista project and some exciting news...

There's nothing more rewarding for a sewist than having a TNT (tried and true) pattern you love to make, is easy to wear and versatile enough that you can make it over and over with great results.  I decided to set out and do just that:  design a line of modern patterns with friendly fully illustrated instructions that sewers could use to build their sewing skills, fill their closets and add to their TNT pattern list.  So with that, I'm excited to announce Blue Dot Patterns, my new sewing patterns!

For my summer outfit, I used one of Blue Dot's first patterns, the Dover Jacket which comes with two views. View A is short sleeved with a single button closure and view B has a 3/4 length sleeve, gathered bodice and a three button closure.

I chose a lightweight stretch denim from Fabricmart (sadly it sold out) would be perfect for view A because it would look great with some decorative machine stitching.

The cotton/lycra fabric I used is light, has stretch and a soft brushed face but the jacket would also work in quilting cottons, like this polka dot, twills and ponte knits.

Dover is a loose fitting jacket with raglan sleeves that goes together quickly.  I bound the jacket facing with bias I made using a bias tape maker and fabric from my stash (I think it looks interesting when the jacket comes open) and added strips of interfacing to the bottom of the jacket to stabilize the hem.

My "Details" Pinterest board was the inspiration for the topstitching.  After testing several different stitches on my machine, I ended up using a "dot and stitch" design around the edge of the jacket.

I debated on adding topstitched pockets to the front but after seeking the opinions of those around the house, I opted not to this time but I will the next time around.  I used a Burberry button I had in my button tin (I have no idea where it came from) to finish everything off.  I love it with the skirt but I also like that it can dress up a simple t-shirt.

For the summer skirt I used a Colette pattern I had in my stash.  The Ginger skirt pattern became a TNT pattern for me a couple of years back but it's been a while since she's been pulled it out.  The high waist silhouette lends itself to this bold stretch shirting from Fabricmart.  This cotton/lycra fabric is crisp and bright with a slight sheen and best of all, it's easy to sew.

I lengthened the skirt about 2" and added a cotton batiste lining but didn't change anything else.  This pattern has great instructions and would be perfect for a beginning intermediate sewist.

Thank you for letting me share my Blue Dot news with you and for all my Fabricista friends, the patterns are 40% off through the end of July.

Happy Sewing,

Diane at Gatorbunnysews.

Fabricista 25th Anniversary Shirt

This month my Fabricmart Fabricista project is for my husband.  I'm happy to share it with you.

It was my 25th anniversary last week and every year I buy my husband at least one card for our anniversary and this year was no different.  I looked at typical anniversary cards, "I'm Sorry" cards (for all of those times I said something I shouldn't have, uh-hem), "I Love You" cards and "You're My Best Friend" cards.  I settled on an "I Love You" anniversary card but I knew I wanted to give him something more....it is our silver anniversary after all.

I decided to make him a shirt.  I realize it's a bit "Little House on the Prairie" for Ma to make Pa a shirt but he loved the last shirt I made him so much I knew it was the perfect gift.

I found a beautiful quality Japanese shirting from Fabricmart that he would like.  It's a 100% cotton blue/gray fabric with tiny red a cream colored stripes and a really soft face. He's an artist so he's usually in a crew neck t-shirt and Levi's (with a little bit of paint on them somewhere) so this crisp but not too crisp fabric is great for my casual dressing guy.

Already in my stash was the Negroni pattern from Colette but I had yet to make it.  My husband has these particular two shirts he likes from Patagonia, so I decided to steal one from the closet and use it for the basic fitting specs.  I measured it against Negroni and found the large was only a 1/2" different around the body so I went with it.

I made a few fit and design changes starting with shortening the sleeve.  I measured the shirt from the neck, across the shoulder seam and down the sleeve to get the length I wanted.

I then measured the yoke and sleeve pattern pieces, deducted the seam allowances and found my sleeve needed to be shortened a little more than an inch.

I copied the Patagonia shirt pocket because it had a lot more interest and used my 1/4" foot for the inner stitch and my ditch foot for the edge stitch when topstitching on the pocket, collar, yoke and sleeve.  Negroni calls for a shirttail hem but I changed it to a straight hem with a side vent.

The instructions were well written, the finish on the inner yoke and collar was really clean (take a look at the inside in the photo below) and overall it looked more like a ready to wear shirt than any other men's pattern I've used.

Since I gave it to him as a surprise I wasn't able to do fittings while making the shirt so I will make a couple of changes next time I make it.  I'll shorten the sleeve and shirt length by an inch each and make a sloping shoulder adjustment to eliminate the wrinkles at the back armhole.

My husband loved the shirt (and wants another one...I'm so happy!)  and after a some coaxing agreed to be photographed but insisted I leave his face out of it. I obliged because if I didn't I'd have to buy an "I'm Sorry" card at our next anniversary.

While making this shirt I was reminded of something. When a new niece or nephew is born in the family, my husband gets freshly showered and puts on a collared shirt before we first go meet the baby.  I've never asked him to do this and of course the baby doesn't know he's in his "Sunday Best" but I find it so endearing.  Now that he has this new collared number do you think we might be due for a new niece or nephew?

Thank you for sharing in my sewing adventures,
Diane at Gatorbunnysews