Christmas Sewing Catch Up

I'm catching up on sharing my Christmas sewing and it's going to be easy since I only made one gift this year.  Can you believe it?  What kind of selfish sewer am I?  That said, I enjoyed making this flannel shirt for my husband because I was able to take my time...something that's hard to do with Christmas sewing.

I made McCall's 6044 for him once before (in a dreamy plaid) and he loved it so much I decided to make him another.  The thick gray flannel I used sewed up well and I made the shirt just like the pattern with the exception of the sleeve.  The pattern has a two-piece sleeve but I made it a one piece sleeve and added a placket.  It washed up nicely (it'd been washed three times by the time I took these photos) and feels like it's going to get better with time.

Men's shirts are fun because of all of the topstitching and I had the opportunity to put the collar, band and sleeve cuffs on using the heavily modified "burrito-ish" method I used on my Granville shirts. This is the handiest method ever and  I saved it on my "Sewing Tips" pinterest board so I would always have it.  Have you tried this yet?  I'll never go back to the old way.  Here's how I did the cuffs using this method:

I sewed the cuff and the cuff facing to the sleeve with the sleeve sandwiched between.

I folded the cuff back against the facing, right sides together, and pinned as far as I could keeping the sleeve free.

Here's what it looks like with the entire cuff pinned.  I sewed along the pins, flipped it right sides out and topstitched it closed.  It was easy and it looks clean.

There aren't very many photos for this post because someone is camera shy and very squirmy....cute, but squirmy!

Happy Sewing!

The Dover Car Coat

With the Creative Pattern Challenge well underway (did you enter the giveaway yet?), I decided to do my own modifications to a Blue Dot Pattern.  With inspiration from the bloggers in the challenge and Melissa's ideas for Dover, I set out to make a Dover for the cooler weather.

I've always been a fan of the car coats from the sixties, with their aline styling and 3/4 length sleeves, and Dover is the perfect starting point for a retro coat. I used a mystery boucle I found in NYC that was similar to a jacket I had pinned on my "I Wanna Make This" Pinterest board some time ago.

I modified the pattern by lengthening it 9", adding two single welt pockets and lining.  It pieced together rather quickly, so quickly in fact I hadn't yet purchased lining.  I dug around my stash and found this lightweight silk/cotton blend in a peachy pink (can you believe I forgot about this gorgeous stuff?) What girl doesn't need a coat with a pink lining?  I continued busting away at my stash by using a trim I've had for I don't know how long.  It was the perfect color.  

I made the welt pockets large enough to hold my iPhone and keys and added 1" covered buttons for a little more retro.

I showed the coat to my mom and she told me about a green coat she had received as a gift from her mom many years ago.  She said it was almost the same and she used to wear it with gloves.  I wish she had saved it!  It makes me wonder what I should save.  I, like so many other sewers, get attached to the pieces I work so hard on and the fabrics I use to make them.  For practicality sake, I can't save everything especially when I no longer wear them, but I have to admit it's silly how hard it is for me to place some things in the "giveaway" pile.

I'd love to know....what do you save?  Do you keep the things you worked the hardest on or the pieces you wore to shreds or the tiny garments you made for your little one?  

Fabricista Jacket - Boucle Baby

Happy New Year Friends!  I'm happy to get my Fabricmart Fabricista year (Thanks Fabricmart!)  off to a good start with a classic boucle jacket. It's a timeless style, classic fabric and beautiful color!

I started with New Look pattern 6028 view A and chose Fabricmart's soft green, black and white boucle suiting, similar to the type of fabric used in the pattern photo (the fabric also comes in this pretty pink, yum).  I used this Maggy London black satin for the lining.  So luxurious!

I didn't make any style changes or alterations to the pattern (don't you love when you get a pattern like that?)  but I changed the lining. The jacket shell pattern and the lining pattern are the same, meaning, when you sew the lining and jacket together, the lining fabric is right up to the outer edge of the jacket.  So if the jacket comes open or lifts up, you would see the lining right at the edge.  I wanted a more traditional lining that included a facing all the way around the neckline and a hem.  It's an easy remedy:

1) I added 1" to the hem of the jacket shell (there was only a 5/8" seam allowance).

2) I cut the jacket front facing out of the shell fabric.

3) I cut a back neck facing out of the shell fabric and attached it to lining.

This boucle is great to work with because it has some natural give which makes sewing curves and easing in sleeves a breeze.  I added a sleeve head to the sleeve to give the jacket additional structure.  Here's how I made them (it's so easy you don't need to buy them):

Trace the sleeve head onto lightweight fleece, from dot to dot.

Draw a line from dot to dot.

Fold along the line and cut out the curve.

Sew the sleeve head onto the seam allowance of the sleeve, matching raw edges of fleece and sleeve.  Stitch just inside stitching line (4/8").  Press all seams toward the sleeve.

The sleeve on the left has a sleeve head and the one on the right doesn't.  You can see what a big difference this tiny piece of fleece makes.  The one on the left looks much better, it even makes the side of the jacket hang more smoothly.  And this is all before shoulder pads!

And now for the fun part....the trim!  The outer trim on the jacket is simply bias strips of fabric gathered down the center.  I used the gathering foot on my machine, set the tension to the tightest, used the longest stitch length and stitched until everything was gathered.  I put the trim on with a straight stitch right over the gathering line.  Super easy....and pretty!

I had some leftover strips I sewed into a continuous circle, put a button on top of the raw edges and made a flower.  I'm feeling pretty tricky right now! 

I think now it's time to make this jacket in pink!

What's next for you?

Check out the blog post for this jacket and lots more at Fabricmart's blog.

Here's my Patternreview.com review.

Diane

My First FabricMart Post - Shetalnd Wool "Boden" Skirt

Here is my first blog post as a Fabricista for FabricMart fabrics.  I feel so fortunate to be among all of the other amazing bloggers.  Here it is:

My Pinterest boards, like many of yours, are full of all sorts of “wanna wears” and “wanna makes”.  If you were to look at my boards you might say “This girl likes Boden clothing". Their clothes are classic but fun and their fabrics are never boring, something that speaks to the sewist in me.

Although it’s been unseasonably hot for a while where I live, I’ve been wanting to make something for winter and what better project than a Boden inspired skirt.  And I love this one!  It’s cute, classic, easy to wear and it gives me the opportunity to use wool, one of my favorite fabrics to sew with.

A small plaid Shetland wool from Fabricmart in muted violets and purples won out as my fabric choice but I would’ve been happy with this one  or this one too (always the problem...choosing just one).  Shetland is a medium weight springy wool, that’s soft and easy to sew.  It doesn’t fray and when you pin and sew, the fabric pieces want to stay together.

I chose Butterick 4686 View C skirt and made just a few changes.  I shortened the pattern 4” and lined it. I changed the order of construction by attaching yokes to the skirts on both the front and the back, putting the zipper in the back and  finally sewing up the side seams.  That way, I was allowed to make last minute fitting adjustments along the side seams without pulling the yokes apart. 

When working with a medium weight fabric, it's important to reduce bulk wherever possible.  I cut away the seam allowances on the fusible woven yoke interfacing and graded all seams.  Instead of using the outer for the facing (as the pattern called for) I used lining fabric.  It made for a smoother and less bulky yoke.  And any way I can make my middle section “less bulky”, I’ll do it (especially if it doesn’t involve giving up Reese’s peanut butter cups).

There are a hundred tutorials on how to put an invisible zipper in so I don’t need to cover that here, but for this pattern it was important to line up not only the skirt top but also the yoke. 

I sewed one leg of the zipper in, then closed the zipper.  I made a small chalk mark at the yoke seam (see above).  I then pinned the other leg of the zipper, making sure to match the chalk mark to the opposite yoke seam, then I basted it in.  

I checked to make sure everything matched, then sewed it in.  Can’t beat that for matched up seams.

So, my new favorite “Boden” skirt (for a fraction of the price!) is the first winter piece I made this season.  Great way to break the ice, don't you think...so to speak?

Here is my review on PatternReview.com.