A New Summer Dress!

I finished my halter dress and am fairly pleased with it. Pics maybe today or tomorrow. I cannot find my one-and-only halter bra and am cranky about it so that puts me in a little pickle. Can't wear the dress without that bra so I will need to go on a hunting expedition today.

My only issue is that it turned out to not be as long as I wanted it to be. In fact, I left this ITY type of knit unhemmed and the edge was cut with my rotary cutter so it's not going to matter. IF I had my new serger, I would have just done a rolled hem on the edge, but a clean-cut, unfinished edge is similar to some RTW hems I've seen as of late.

Today highs are in the low 90's. I think I'll get out my bathing suit UFO from last year. Of course, I'd like to make an LBD and enter it into this year's local fair. Maybe enter both? We'll see. My lingerie set is a fine piece of work, and I'd like to enter that too, but it might be a little "racy" for the judges? I don't know. We'll see...

Pics are coming in a couple of days...

Marriage of Pattern and Fabric

Yesterday I posted about my lack of sewing due to not knowing what to make with the fabric in my stash. But with these horribly hot temps in the NE, I have decided I need a halter dress! I'm going to take my already-altered Amy Butler Cabo Halter top and convert into a dress. The fabric I've chosen is the purple/cream/brown paisley print knit purchased a few years ago from Metro Textiles during a PR NYC Weekend.



Yes, the halter is for a woven, but I altered this pattern to work with both fabrics. The dress will be long, but not maxi length, and lean with a side slit. At least that was my original thought. It is possible to go with an A-line, but still leaning toward the long, lean look with this. Most halter dress styles I see have fuller skirts, however, my brain is geared toward a different look with the halter style.

Any input would be appreciated!

The Perfect Pair of Pants

I'm on my quest for it.

I made up the pajama pants 3 days ago for DD#2. I used my serger and sewed them in (a very surprising way for the slow sewer that I am) super speedy. My only issue: They don't fit her! However, they do fit me very nicely. I thought I used the 5/8" SA's on the pattern last time but mustn't have. She needs fine tuning at the side seams and I must have forgotten that. There's no room to let out for extra room with my serged seams either. Last time I do believe I pinfitted the pants on her first. Subsequently, they are too snug around the pants in the crotch area, 3" above and below. The good thing is, *I* now have a very nice-fitting pair of pajama pants. I'll take pics later.

The past two days I've been working diligently on drafting a nice-fitting pair of pants. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I'm working on a pattern I've used before and rather like. Just working on tweaks, redesigning the crotch curve to match my own, etc.

I think there my still be some vertical fullness right below the crotch line. According the FFRP, it says to pinch out the excess to determine the amount, then take a tuck from waist to hem. Unfortunately, the excess is only in a 6 inch area. Above and below, the width of my pattern is fine. So what to do? I'll make these pants up again with all my alterations except for the tuck. Then decide if a tuck is warranted, but then I'll have to add width to the side seam above the crotchline and mid-thigh down to the hem. This will make for a VERY weird looking back piece on my pants.

The other option was to remove it from the back inseam at the top, tapering to 6" down. The only problem there is if I do that, I'll get wrinkles pointing to the inseam to let it back out. Solving one problem creates another. Really a catch 22.

Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and do a vertical seamline from waist to hem on the pants as a design detail. This will also help me tweak the area to reduce the fullness. So many options, don't know which route to take at this point.

But anyway, I'm going to finish my first pair of capris on the pattern and then move on to my cream-colored linen ones.

That's a plan :) !

New Projects

This morning DD#2 asked when I was going to make her second pair of pajama pants with the fabric we bought back in March. I told her, "Maybe today." So today I cut out her pair in the flannel-backed satin I bought from JoAnn's with a Simplicity pajama pants pattern--same one as before.

Also, I cut out a pair of capris with the computer-generated pants pattern from (maybe?) the Wild Ginger website from about 3 years ago. In a sudden brainiac (or maybe brainless) moment, I decided to pull out the Hot Patterns Jeanious Jean pattern that I haven't whipped up yet. What I did was copy the crotch curve from the HP pattern onto my computer-generated pattern. I tried the pattern on in tissue and am hoping for the best. The backside looked pretty good when I turned around in the mirror.

That's pretty much it for today. I wore my blue knit top with the black band with crystals out today. One of my friends gave me a compliment on my top too. That made me happy. The unhappy thing is finding the right bra where the bra straps just won't peek out. I was at Walmart yesterday and was looking at the stick-on bra cups. Only problem was virtually every box was open--they were all picked over! I'll have to look online for them. Any suggestions as to where?

Either that or make my own special type of bra. Someone reviewed a good bra book at Patternreview the other day and I'm hoping I remembered to save it to favorites. Bras are so darn expensive anyway, although the idea of making my own bra for the heck of it doesn't do anything for me. Just need one or two special ones with special straps that go a specific way with certain styles.

That's all for now. I'm beat and have to get to bed.

My Favorite Jean

No, I'm not talking about pants either. I'm talking about Jean. As in Jean Haas. Several days ago I got an email from one of my favorite bloggers who was thinking about taking Jean's Darting Below the Beltline class over at Patternreview. I took that class (gosh, was it really 3 years ago???) and absolutely loved it! Jean uses technology for her on-line class instruction that I had never seen before taking her class. It is really awesome. Truly, you get out of her class what you put into it. Several class members who took her class with me and were really involved will concur as per the comments in my class review at Patternreview.

So, that leads to me to one of my projects I worked on today. I decided to make the cream-colored linen capri pants to go with my tie-dye Threads top. Hmm...which pattern to use??? I decided on a pants pattern that I downloaded from maybe PMB? All I remember is that it was some website that was trying to sell their pattern software which had two free downloads, and one was pants to the custom measurements that were input into the program. I made a pair of jeans, which later turned into capris (forgot about progressive shrinkage with my denim) from them and really liked the fit. Yeah, the back had the butt bags and the darts were a little off, but overall the crotch length was really nice.

So I pull out that pattern, dusted off my Sandra Betzina fitting book, and worked on the baggy butt alteration of creating a horizontal wedge just below the crotch line and removing a 1/2" of excess. We'll see how that helps out the fit. It *will* help, I just don't know to what degree.

Then I checked out my darts. This is where Jean comes in. When I first made these pants, I didn't know where, nor how long, my darts should be on the front and back pattern pieces. But since that time, I have much more fitting knowledge. I pulled out my duct tape pattern from the Darting Below the Beltline class and remarked my darts as per duct tape pattern.

Below are pics of the front and back. The "old" darts that were generated from the pattern are green. The "new" darts are marked in purple. Quite a difference in length, width, and placement, huh? That makes a huge difference in fit. After taking Jean's class, I also realized that a dart of improper width, length, and placement can also make one look heavier, rather than more shapely. A "misguided" dart has the unfortunate ability to add bulk, maybe poof is a more appropriate word, to places where we don't want to look bigger.

For example, on my front pants pattern piece, the original dart was too close the the CF. It was also WAY too long and far too wide. I'm fairly flat in the front, necessitating only a dart that is a total of a 1/4" width. The dart has to be placed where the bulge is, which is right at my hip bone. So I redrew the dart where it was supposed to be along with the length and width.


How did I know to do this? Here is my Darting Below the Beltline waist-to-hipline pattern pieces. I line up my CF and mark the dart adjustments.

Here is my back pattern piece. Notice the difference between the pattern's original dart (green), and my new darts (purple). That is quite a difference. I actually need two darts for a better fit of varying widths and lengths. And whew! Again, the length of the dart is way too long.

Here is duct tape pattern superimposed over the original pattern. Align the CB and the proper dart placement, length, and width is evident. The change has been made.

This is actually very simplistic, but it's an brief, yet accurate, overview of how I use my knowledge from the DBB class and apply it to commercial patterns. I deal with asymetry and for the most accurate fit have to use separate left and right fronts and backs for a the best fit possible.

From my four waist-to-hip quadrants, I have developed a self-drafted pattern of a straight skirt. I have also created a second duct tape waist-to-hip mold specifically for contoured waistband skirt and pant styles. You could even create one for pants with a back yoke like a pair of jeans. So many possibilities really, all with a personal, customized fit.

This class is coming up at Patternreview, and I highly recommend it. (NAYY) Jean is one of my favorite instructors and you get out of the class what you put into it.


Right now I'm going to get going on my capris. The pattern is a pretty good fit, just need to work on little things here and there. I was really surprised at how good the initial fit was from the downloaded from the sample website program. I'm hoping these will enventually be TNT with a little bit of tweaking.

Two Finished Tops

First off, I would like to thank Nan (Nan, I can't link to your page since you're anonymous) for her tube tip. I'm going to try it as it sounds like an excellent solution to my problem.

She wrote:

"Try this...it should work with even really skinny tubes. First, on your serger with no fabric, run a chain of thread as long plus a few inches extra as the tube you want.Do not cut the chain from the serger. I know its a bit of waste of thread but...then place the tube of fabric you want to be serged under the serger foot (right sides togther) and lay the chain of thread inside the tube as you are serging it. You do not want to cut off the chain or serge into the chain so serge slowly and make adjustments as needed until you get the hang of it. Once you reach the end of the fabric you can remove everything from the serger and you should have a tail hanging out and the chain is enclosed in the tube. Gently pull on the tail of the chain and the tube of fabric will slowly work its way inside out and you should have a nicely turned tube.Hope this helps! I got this tip from Sewing with Nancy ages ago and it works like a charm.

Nan"

I'm going to try that method when I get the chance!

For those two finished tops (well, almost because I ran out of hot-fix crystals), the back neckband on the black/blue one is almost done with embellishing, and I thought it could get done with one pack. So, it will have to wait until the end of this week when I get more crystals. I hate when little things hold me up like this.

Here are several pics of the "almost finished" embellished one:

Here you can see a closeup of the crystals. They look so much better in sunlight though.

I'll include the full scoop of the top in a review soon including alterations.

Now, here's a pic of the top from the July 2008 issue of Threads on p. 57. I really like it and am going to make matching capris in the cream-colored linen as in the front band. When I do the review, I'll include a pic of the back. I forgot to have my daughter that pic.

Here's a closeup of the front:

And also a pic of how swing-ey the front is:

Oh, my tale of woe! The tops I've been making are NOT bra friendly. I might have to try those stick-on ones.

Details will be in my reviews.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post...The bloggers who broke me down!

It's Easy and It's Not.

Thanks Rhonda, Robin, and Kasey for letting me know my serger issues are not just me. Rhonda asked what serger I have/would like. I have a Pfaff Hobbylock 786 purchased in 1992. It DOES have differential feed LOL. It's not *that* ancient, just tempermental as of late. It really does need a tuneup and cleaning though. It's been 3 or 4 years since it was last serviced so I'm sure that is a major part of my problems.

Of course, I'll go into my sewing dealer, see the Babylocks, the staff will see me looking longingly, and start me touching and feeling the darn thing :) . Unfortunately, the price tag is not in my budget right now so the Pfaff will have to do.

Anyway, both my serger and sewing machine have not taken kindly to the fabric I'm using for my Threads magazine top. The serger was very finicky, my sewing machine was not liking the fabric at first. I changed to my stretch needle and things greatly improved. The fabric for the edge finishing kept getting caught in my regular foot so I switched to the clear satin-stitch foot. That made things a whole lot easier.

One thing about the top, I didn't see seam allowances noted in the article, guess I'll have to read it closely tomorrow. I used about a 1/2" all over. It's about half done. My ties have to be redone because I'm just not liking the serger finishing. I think my knife needs to be replaced. It's just not cutting the material very nicely before the serge stitching. My rolled hem samples probably would have turned out much better with a cleaner cut, but I chose not to use that finish because of my serger's "issues".

Here's the top thus far. Very bohemian, art deco, new age look. Raised the eyebrows of my girls too. I guarantee you, it does look better on me than Phat Chick. It swings nicely and lays better IMO.


I'm still liking it at this point. I have some extra cream-colored linen and was thinking about skinny crop pants to go with the top just like the ones shown on the model in the magazine. It could be a mini dress too. But the problem with that is I'd need some cute strappy sandals. Don't have those, and now we're headed into cooler weather soon so forget that option for now.

So overall, this is a VERY easy top to whip up--patternless too. But it hasn't been easy sewing the knit print fabric. And that really stinks because it should be easy if my machines were cooperating (and, uh, properly maintained--*user* issues there too).

Tomorrow I'll try to finish up. Unfortunately and fortunately, fall sports have begun. I'm in and out virtually every two hours dropping off or picking up all day. Makes it difficult, but not impossible.

Almost Done and Starting Another

The top below is almost done. This is the one where I widened the neckline. Originally I planned on making it a solid color, but I ran out of fabric so I couldn't cut two front/back neckline pieces. What was I thinking when I ordered this knit from EOS (over a year ago)? It is the rayon knit, I think, the one that is "Linda's Favorite". For some reason I only ordered about 1 1/4 yards, and my original intention was to make the Christine Jonson princess-seamed wrap top. Must not have been paying attention that day! Then I thought the black stretch moleskin in my stash would look nice and used that, allowing a bit of blue to be seen along the top edge. Not really piping, of course, but more of an accent of the blue.


As I was cutting out this top, I realized that this fabric might not have been the best choice for the pattern. It is a bit thicker than the lovely Metro Textile print I used for the same pattern two weeks ago and doesn't drape as nicely. On the other hand, it's more of a beefy knit and feels like a quality top, not the kind one would find from a mass merchandiser. Overall, I'm still pleased. I think the color will work well in my summer wardrobe.

Here's a closeup of the neckline. I still have to remove a bit of gathering stitches, and I started embellishing with size 16 black swarovski crystals from Sue's Sparklers . Of course, there were only about 15 left in my pack so they got used up and more are on order. Until they arrive in the mail, the top will stay on my dressform. The crystals will be randomly placed on the front and back of the neckband.





That's it for now. Tomorrow I hope to cut out all the pieces for my patternless top from a recent issue of Threads.

Things are cookin'!

My next summer top is almost done. Hopefully it will be finished tomorrow. Then I'll work on that Threads top. Lots of things cookin' on the sewing table at this time. However, nothing on the kitchen table though. Our family picnic went well yesterday, but my poor tummy is feeling it today :( ! It is quite mad at me. It reminds me of why I like to watch what I eat during the week. It's the garbage in garbage out principal--you are what you eat.

kasizzle asked if I was wearing my new dress to the family picnic. No, no skinny/slim dresses there, for sure. By the end of the day I'll be busting out of it LOL. Can't wait until tomorrow. Back in my normal eating and exercise groove.

My Jessica Simpson Dress

Every once and a while, I see Jessica Simpson wearing some type of cute, summer dress. I like to take note of it because she is a slim but fuller-busted gal and I like to see the kind of summer dress styles on her. Granted, some are cheesey (like that really matters to me LOL), but some are just so cute. When I made up this dress, I thought of some of her cute summer dresses; therefore, I dubbed this dress my Jessica Simpson dress. Not that she would wear something like this, I just thought it was a cute style for hot summer days.


It was made out of that "old lady fabric" DH comments about. But when he saw the dress on me today, his comment was anything but "old lady-ish" ;) ! In fact, I do believe the word he used was hot. So I had to rib him about that one. I wore my dress out today to run some errands. My black sandals looked awful with it, so I resorted to my dress flats. By the end of the day, I was walking across the school fields in my bare feet because of an ankle blister. Guess I'm just not used to wearing dressy shoes like I used to be when I worked. (Yes, at one time I DID work--just to remind DH :) .)


But I like it! It's a summery, cheerful dress. Exactly what I hoped it would be. I did my usual alterations including darting/transferring my front edge neck gape. It worked out perfectly and is shown below. I'll do a review in the next few days which will include the one little alteration I forgot to do. Can you pick it up?


Tomorrow is no sewing. It's our annual family picnic. We've made the cookies, fried chicken, fudge brownies, deviled eggs and will finish the prep tomorrow. The boys were a tremendous help this year. It's really nice they're all older and can really help out with things.


More later.

Summer's Second Wind

I'm getting my second wind right now. The summer projects are moving right along at an incredibly quick pace for me (being the slow sewer that I am it's kind of amazing).


My current projects, a summer top and a summer dress, are all cut out, interfacing is on the appropriate pieces for each project, the dress is partially underlined with Palmer/Pletsch Sheer Interfacing, and my darts are pinned for the dress and ready to be stitched. Both projects will be worked on at the same time.


Here's a pic of the dress front and back pieces partially underlined with interfacing. I would have pinked the bottom edge of the interfacing if it mattered, but it's not going to matter with this fabric. I underlined this area because I want it to be "crisp and fresh" all day, without the major wrinkled look. Seat belts, sitting in the car--that will make the dress look a little messy if I don't.

Also, I went to my local brick and mortar store today. There was this fabric that Ursula, the owner, showed me a couple of weeks ago. It is a fabulous knit print, but at the time I didn't know what I would do with it. Then I saw the patternless top featured in the July 2008 issue of Threads and knew exactly what the fabric would be perfect for. It just needed contrasting fabric, so Ursula picked out a cream-colored linen for the contrast band. She mentioned brown, but that's not my color. Cream will look better against my skin to match the print.

Here's a pic of the fabric and top:

The print fabric is like an EOS buttermilk and the creamy one is linen. I'm really excited about this top and so is Ursula. She said she had to see it when it was done. Now I'm off to work on things so I can get back to sewing.

Moving right along.

Last night I worked on my dress. I moved the vertical fisheye dart over toward my bust apex. Traced off the back, pinned my darts and pinned the tissue on Phat Chick. Everything is looking pretty good.


At this point, I'm going to do a 1/2" petite adjustment above the waist and a 1/4" swayback tuck above the waist in the back. Also need to redraw the dart bump out at the top edge of the front dress bodice. I'll add 2" of length to the dress and those alterations should do it for me.


I'll go right to the muslin and see how everything is working. Maybe I'll even cut out another summer top today. Last night I was checking embellishments at Sue's Sparklers. The crystals that I was planning on using are simply way too expensive for a trendy summer top, but maybe the nailheads will work. Still mulling over the options for my summer top neckband at this point.


It's early in the day, have lots to do, but I think there's enough time for at least finishing alterations and cutting a muslin. Anything else is just a bonus at this point.

Alterations, alterations, and more alterations!

Last night I had a block of time and had the patterns from the last two tops I made sitting on my ironing board. Before putting them away, I tweaked the patterns with alterations here and there and then put them away. This way, I can just pull them out, cut, and sew--the way it was meant to be ;) ! The knit top with gathers and circular neckline will be made again in a week or two so that has to be ready.

In the meantime, I'm working on Butterick 4183, the green dress version:

I've made this dress before. This dress, along with several strapless dress I've made over the years has high bust gape. Everything fits just about perfect in a 14 (full bust/waist/hip), but the high bust area is way too big. On my first version of this dress, I could pinch out an inch (1/2" dart) on both front/sides.


My sister (who can sews/pattern design/drape) said to remove the excess from the princess seams in the front. I tried that. Just doesn't work. It gives that "Madonna look" and makes my boobs look cone-shaped and comin'-at-ya kind of look. Taking in the side seams does NOT work. I don't need anything removed from the back. Doing this gives me lots of pulls on the back side seam, a little on the front too, with a nice poofy area where I'm changing the seamline on the side seam. So...that method doesn't work well either.


What does work well is if I pinch out the excess, right at the side front on the top edge. A few years ago, my sister said, "Just transfer the excess to a horizontal bust dart." At the time, that boggled my mind. It doesn't boggle it anymore though, since I've gotten much better at alterations.


Last night I altered the front of the pattern, cutting off the dress front below the waist (temporarily) so it is easier to maneuver/alter. I removed the excess (1" which will be 2" total across the entire front edge) and transferred it to horizontal bust dart shown below:

I did notice something that I don't understand. I'm not a fitting guru, but I do know that bust darts aren't supposed to be more than 1" outside the bust circle. The pattern's bust apex is marked with a circled cross. My apex is farther over to the left marked with a dot. You can see where my darts end up/my bust apex, and it's farther away from the pattern's apex.


So here's my question. Why are the pattern darts (the one at the top edge continuing into a long fisheye) so far away from the pattern's bust apex? It appears to be almost 2"!!! My brain is having a hard time trying to comprehend this pattern issue.


However, I'm not coming unglued about this. It is what is. I'll make it up and it should fit fine. No worries really, just comprehension issues for me.

Getting that off my back, now I'm ready to start my day.

A Pattern's Redesign

Here's the pattern photo with the original style. Robin asked what pattern it was so here it is:


Here's my current version/interpretation of this pattern--look Ma, no neck gape :) !



Here is how I wore it out today. DD#1 said absolutely nothing about the top. Do you know what that means??? She approves! She even commented, "Mom, you need different shoes with that top. Some pretty sandals..." I agree. Shoes, like coordinating fabric, is not my strength.

I've made this top three times before, alterating and redesigning as I go, but my current version shown below is has been more of a major redesign of the pattern. My previous pattern reviews of this pattern include my alterations, but this one has minor tweaks. I did an addition 1/4" (1/2" total) broad back alteration on the upper back piece and back midriff band.

The first version I made from this was in silk dupioni. It was a tad snug in the back but still wearable. My second and third versions didn't matter because I used a stretch knit. My current version is made from a non-stretch woven so I wanted a smidge more back room on the midriff and upper back pieces.

My major redesign was to remove the CF seam on the upper front pieces, make a deep scoop neck instead of a V, remove about 3/8" of possible front neck gape using Method 1 from my Tutorial for Removing Neck Gape from yesterday's post, change the shoulder darts to princess seams on the upper back piece, make the midriff band even more narrow than the previous three versions (I'm short waisted and don't think I can handle the super thick midriff band that the pattern shows), and add front gathers on the front and back skirt portions of the bodice. Only gathers from the bust apex inward to the CF on the skirt portion with no gathering on the sides. Keeping the gathers in a specific area allows for a more stream-lined profile from the front and back without adding extra width at the sides IMO.

Here's the redesigned front and midriff band. I ended up scooping out more on the neck, maybe a bit too much LOL. It didn't look too low on my dressform but the scoop is now more on the daring side ;) . I think I forgot about seam allowances when I marked the neckline. The horizontal line on the front midriff is where I took out even more additional width than the previous tops made from this pattern. The front was cut on the fold for this top, too, unlike the v-neck pattern front.

Here are the back pieces. I added a 1/4" Broad Back Adjustment, then made princess seams. Actually the princess seam below the shoulder dart is simply a style line.

Here are the front and back skirt pieces of the bodice. I slashed and spread the upper portion in three places to add gathering. I also added some length at the bottom to play around with my hemline length. It was unnecessary and removed anyway.

That completes summer top no. 3. The bodice and midriff band was interfaced and underlined with self fabric. I didn't line it as per the pattern because if side seam tweaking was necesarry with this fabric, it would have been a seamripping nightmare. In retrospect, no side seam adjusting was needed.

The armhole and neckband was finished with a self fabric bias binding folded over to the inside. One little, relatively minor issue arose while making this top that I'll include in my review, which will be done in the next few days.

On to my fourth summer project--that Butterick dress. The old noodle will be a hummin' with a necessary alteration for it tonight. Maybe I'll post about that tomorrow.

Current Garment WIP

Here's my latest WIP. I started working on it yesterday and worked a little on it today.



Still trying to decide if I should use a zip in the back. The pattern calls for one because it is actually close fitting, but my design changes w/gathering added a little room. The neckline needs to be lower by at least an inch and my one side seam is just pinned at this point.


I'm going to use self-fabric bias strips to finish the armhole and neckline--there is a reason for this. More details in the construction are forthcoming

What I'm wearing today.

I've seen a few blogs lately where people have posted what they've worn/made for a week. That got me to thinking when I get dressed in the morning if I've been wearing things I've made, and the answer is yes! Most days I AM wearing something I've made.

Today I'm wearing my blue top that I finished two days ago. Thank you everyone for the very kind comments--very much appreciated! I think when I get home from my afternoon activity I'm going to remove the hem and make it a 1/2"-3/4" longer. It's merely a hem length preference. This top hasn't made it into my review list yet, although it's not that much difference from my previous review. Just a tweak here and there and a heavily redrafted cap sleeve.

An answer to Keely: Yes, Keely, I did indeed remove 4" of width at the side seams right at the area near the horizontal seam near the bust! I didn't do that on my first top made from this pattern, but this is a very good quality knit with nice stretch. Don't think I could get away with that in a lesser quality type of knit fabric.

Here's my new top, sorry for the VERY sleepy morning face. We are so tired lately from running around. Hopefully tomorrow we can sleep in.

Front:

Closeup:

And now I'm off to my second activity for the day. Hope everyone has a great weekend. BTW, if you have a chance, check out Karen's blog to see her new Patrones dress. It reminds me of the Obama dress that's creating quite the buzz.

Just had to get it done.

Finished my shirt a few minutes ago and took a pic. I'll review it some time in the next few days. I went with the cap sleeves after reading a comment by Mary of Sew Fast Embroidery She said she made the version with cap sleeves. DD#1 liked the sleeves, DD#2 didn't, I didn't either initially, but after Mary said she went with the cap-sleeve version, that's what I did. Don't you just love the Internet for opinions? :)


Here's the top (personally I think it looks better on me than the Phat Chick who is simply a kind of fat version of me). My overstuffed DTD looks like she's 4 months pregnant and I'm DEFINITELY not!




DD#1 had me nip in the sides near the horizontal seam below the bust. Said it was too tentish and she said nipping it in there would be more flattering. I guess she's right (how did that happen???). I removed about 4" total width from the side seam allowance in that area tapering to the original seamline at the underarm and about 4" below the horizontal seam. I'll take pics of it on me before doing my review.

Kept thinking about Robin's new coverstitch while working with my top. Oh...what I would give to have a coverstitch machine. But I need a new serger first! And who said we sew to save money? I don't think it quite works that way, does it!

Maybe a little more sewing over this long weekend that will feel like it's a total of 5 minutes long. Happy 4th of July to my fellow American sewing buddies!

ETA--what is it with husbands? DH made that comment again, "Why are you always sewing shirts like that?" I'm not LOL. It's only the second time I've made a top from this pattern. The first one was the long-sleeved version. I think it's a reference to a loose-flowing style which echoes maternity wear. Although it's pretty obvious I'm not pregnant. Some day I'm going to ask him what top he likes from my pattern stash. However, I think I already know the answer. It's going to be, "None of them!"

Couldn't help myself!

Some people eat with stress and aggravation, but I don't. It was a stressful day with cranky kids and I was cleaning house a bit this evening while they were out with dad. I went downstairs to put a book away and passed by one of my tables filled with EOS and Patternreview Weekend fabrics.

Like an addict, I couldn't help myself. It's like the fabric had a voice and was calling out to me. I pulled out a PR Weekend fabric, a TNT top pattern, and went to work. I cut out the bodice and redrafted the short sleeve piece since it's summer time. Purses and wall hangings are peachy, but nothing like garment sewing. I just had to get my fix and am much happier now.

The top is all cut, and I almost cut out the redrafted, short sleeves but stopped short of doing that. I think I'll cut a muslin sleeve and baste it to the bodice to be sure of the fit/draft.

I'm SO ready for a new summer top!