Butterick 5559

This is a delightfully easy - if somewhat detail oriented - pattern. I used a wonderful thick wool double knit from Stone Mountain and Daughter in Berkeley. It was my first time using a double knit because I don't like poly, and it is hard to find wool double knit, especially at a reasonable price. I had 1.5 yards, and it shrunk like the dickens. I barely had enough to cut it out. The pattern was easy to follow. I cut a 10 on top and 12 on bottom, but still ended up using 6/8" seams on the top and 3/8" seams at the hips. The other change was adding 1" to the hem as others said it was too short (all I could eke out from my fabric). I ended up doing a 2" hem, so only added 1/2" to the pattern length - it hits an inch or two above the knees. I finally broke down and used an orange thread to make tailors tacks to mark the fold lines - easy but time consuming. For the tucks I used my 1/4" quilting hem foot and a stretch stitch so the fabric has a little give. On the plus side, the seams met up pretty well on the side, without having to pick anything out. Despite my hatred of facings, I followed the pattern instructions on this one. I just had to tack it down in the front and back - it works fine, and I like not having any top stitching at the neck. For the hem I did a hand catch stitch. Fit is pretty good with the above changes. I didn't do an SBA due to the complicated and assymetric folds - luckily none needed after all. A little swayback adjustment would have been useful - again, not sure how to do that. All in all, a great pattern - highly recommended!

Here are the pics:

Boat Neck Top

Everyone has been posting (probably a year ago now) their version of the Burda boat neck top, so I had to make my own, minus the Burda part. I took the back and sleeves from the Jalie tunic top, and approximated a front from the top part of the Jalie pattern attached to another shirt front that I knew fit well. I used a thin wool jersey that I bought a year or so ago from Vogue Fabrics in Evanston. I think it was $7 a yard - all I wonder is why on earth I didn't buy more of it! I had some scraps of Echino fabric lying around, so I decided to applique a little bit onto the front so I could tell the back from the front. I used instructions found here. Next time I will make the stitch width a little wider - the Echino fabric is a double gauze, so the threads are sneaking out in parts of it. I probably should have stabilized the neckline, but didn't (I just folded it over once an stitched). Here it is:

The Lion A-Line

This is my second skirt using the Twinkle A-line A-plus skirt from BurdaStyle. I've gotten a lot of use out of that pattern! I also used the yoke pattern as the basis for a wool straight skirt with a waistband. This used 1 1/2 yards of Echino Lion double gauze fabric. It was a delight to work with - behaves well as cotton does, but so soft! It was worth every penny. I did line it - I suppose you don't with double gauze, but I hate dealing with facings. I didn't really make any changes from last time. I realized I did change where the pleats were in the last skirt - just moved them both out from center about an inch, so I did the same thing here. I couldn't get the machine blind stitch to be terribly blind on this fabric, so I catch stitched them hem in place using the Sewing Divas instructions available here.

BurdaStyle Cowl Top

This was a quick and dirty cowl neck top from the free pattern on BurdaStyle available here. I graded up to about a 38 on the waist and hips, and obviously could stand to use a bit more! It's an easy pattern. I did finish the sleeves by serging, then folding over once and stitching at 1/4 inch. For the back neck I used Amanda's excellent tutorial for finishing with bias tape available here. It gives a lovely finished and professional look, that will not stretch out. The only thing I would add is that I had to use my walking foot, as the regular one pulled the thin rayon too much. It probably wouldn't be necessary with a more stable knit. And I finally figured out out to do an adequate twin needle stich for the hem without the threads twisting and breaking!

Vogue 1183 - Kay Unger Dress

The plan was to make a wool tweed dress that was professional enough for work, but not too dull - the Kay Unger dress was perfect for this. It is rated as an easy pattern, but with 12+12 pieces, there is no instant gratification! It is certainly doable by beginners, it just takes some time and patience to line up all of the pieces and do all of the top stitching. It is well worth the effort in the end! I used a silk/wool tweed from gorgeous fabrics. It was my first gorgeous fabrics order, and I think I'm addicted!

I made a few modifications - you can see the pattern alterations below.
1) SBA - I trimmed the curve on piece #2, as well as shaved off about 3/8 inch from the bottom of the side bodice piece as well (see red arrow). Then I had to pinch an equal amount out of the midriff so everything would line up.
2) The neck line initially gaped, so I also pinched out almost 1/2 inch from the neck line ending near the bust point (see fold on piece #1).
3) I also took out 1/2 inch on each side of the zipper tapering to mid-back.
4) I pinched 1/4 inch from the side seams so the arm hole didn't gape. It sounds like I was gaping everywhere!
5) Shorten hem by 1 inch to bring above the knee.
6) Add interfacing to the midriff.

I think that is it. After all of the cropping, maybe I could have started with a smaller size! I started with a size 10 for the bodice, and transitioned to a 12 in the midriff. For some reason my muslin ended up being a little small in the hips, so I initially added a little fabric in there, but ended up taking it out in the end.

Overall I am quite happy with it - the muslin was an absolutely essential step in the process. I'm jealous of people who fit straight sizes! My only major issue is the large front skirt darts - I would be happier if this part was flat, but I was too lazy to change this as well. I could probably have tapered to a size 12 a little lower down than I did too - I have a little too much ease in the belly. Luckily I mostly wear it with a white coat over it so no one will notice! The instructions were fine - I was a bit perplexed by the skirt flap in the back, but just made something up as I had never done this before.

Vogue 1027 Dress - X2

The first is definitely an approximation of Vogue 1027 - I made it more of an empire waist, dropped the tie, and didn't do a circle skirt. I used a lightweight cotton knit from the $3/yard table that I picked up in SF. I should have bought more! I made an SBA on the front pattern pieces by pinching out one of the darts, and taking about 1/3 inch folded off vertically in the center of the front bodice piece. I constructed the back with a CB seam, and used another knit dress pattern that had a swayback adjustment. I used the lightweight steam a seam at the neck line to ensure I didn't get any stretching. A bit of elastic would probably be nice, but I didn't have any. I constructed the sleeves as instructed, which isn't beautiful on the inside, but looks fine on the outside. For the hem I just turned it up 1/4 inch and folded twice, because I didn't want to make it any shorter than this, and I ran out of fabric!

(will post picture soon!)

The second is the real thing. I used a silky rayon jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics, which has a weight and feel closer to silk jersey than your average rayon knit. It also has a little bit of sheen which makes it a little dressier. I like the feel of it, but it's much harder to work with than normal rayon jersey! If you cut your skirt on the grain, it only takes 2 yards to complete it. I cut a size 8 and ended up having to take the side seams in some. The only major change I used from the pattern is that I self lined the upper bodice. This gave a little more substantial bodice to hang the circle skirt off of - important because the fabric has some weight to it! It also meant that I didn't have to hem the neck and sleeves . I did end up top stitching them though. I took 4 inches off of the skirt when I cut it, and it still hits below the knee. I used Assorted Notions recommendations for the tie. I also ended up hand stitching the rest of it to the bodice, because otherwise the knot would slip down and show the seam which looked kind of odd. If your fabric wasn't so slinky, it would probably just stay in place with a knot. Here is a pic (sorry, I obviously can't be bothered to iron for ya'll!):

Jalie 2911 - take 2

I've clearly been on a Jalie kick - maybe I'll get the courage up to make the jeans soon, that's the only one I haven't tried yet. I finally found a use for that oh-so-thick and non-stretchy Vera Wang Lavendar Collection grey wool jersey from Fabric.com - another on-line semi-bust! It worked out well for this. I made the Jalie top with the hood. My first version was a thick wool jersey with the collar, and looks terrible, so we won't discuss it here! Because it was so thick, I decided to do a contrast for the inside of the hood, and chose a Denverfabrics very lightweight red wool jersey. This was the only alteration I made to the pattern - you have to just add a 1/4" seam allowance to the hood piece, and cut 4 of them. I sewed the two contrasting pieces together, then proceeded with the instructions as given. Now if only I had remembered to pre-wash the fabric first! Will hem after throwing it through a cold wash, and see how much damage is done. I'm enjoying it until then....