McCall's 3830

I bought this delightful blue wool Oscar de la Renta fabric from EOS - my first order from them, and probably the only on-line retailer I will consider in the future (too many times burned elsewhere, and their wonderfully accurate descriptions are well worth the price). Sadly I was the last one to get any, so I was left with a scant 2/3 yard of 50" fabric. There went my waist-band. I looked low and high for a simple pencil skirt with a vent back and a lining and no waistband - no such thing exists. I ended up with this one since I was at Joanne's during a McCall's sale. It is an adequate pencil skirt with a vent back, no lining. I cut a size 10. I graded in 1/2 inch on each side to the hem, since the skirt is more straight than pencil-like, despite the pattern drawings. I took an extra 1/4" in each dart on the back. I added a lining and used the quick lining method from Threads Magazine here. I attempted to use the vent lining tutorial here with some success.

I used the pattern a second time to make a skirt from some fabric I got in China - it was reported to be 100% wool, but according to my iron this is not true. Oh-well. It's still a fun fabric, and was pretty cheap regardless.

Vogue 8667

Fabric used: 100% wool with tiny houndstooth print, from the remnant bin at Stone Mountain and Daughter, Bremberg rayon lining

This was a great pattern. It required a little fitting to get the bodice right - fits great in front, still obviously needs some work on my back fitting. Luckily I wear a white coat at work, so no one can see it. I cut an 8 in the bodice grading to a 10 at the waist. Changes included an SBA and adding 1/2 inch in length to the bodice. The back neckline had too much fabric, so that was pinched out. Any suggestions for what I need to do differently to prevent the folds in the back would be much appreciated. I added a single welt pocket to make it a little more interesting - used this tutorial. I thought about doing matching ones, but since it was my first welt pocket I was afraid it would not end up symmetric!

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.