M6036: My first tank! and Self Stitched September

Can you guys believe that I've been sewing for over a year and I just sewed my first top for me last night? I mean, that's kind of crazy, right? I think my reluctance to sew tops has been that I've never had a hard time finding things that fit in RTW, so I was more concerned with sewing those pieces that were difficult for me to find in stores - namely skirts and dresses. I tend to gravitate towards knit tops because they're comfortable and can be easily dressed up or down. Over the summer, I figured it was about time to sew a top or two and have several planned for fall.

In the meantime, I wanted a white tank to wear on our flights to Hawaii, but struck out when I tried to buy one this weekend. I remembered I had a little bit of off white rayon jersey left over from a wrap sweater I made for a friend's mom (oops, still need to blog that!), which I had specifically earmarked for a tank and never got around to sewing. I pulled it out and thought I'd try M6036, the scoopneck tank version. The "crafty" parts of this pattern are sooo not my style, but the basic tank looked good.

I traced the XS and added 1 inch in length. I also sewed it up with slightly larger seam allowances to make it smaller all over, but eventually needed to nip it in a bit more through the waist. I used a twin needle on the neckline, arm and bottom hems to make it look more RTW.

All told, this was easily the simplest and fastest project I've worked on yet - talk about instant gratification! And the best part - I absolutely LOVE the finished tank! It is exactly what I was hoping for and wound up being cheaper than buying one from the store. There isn't anything particularly exciting about the pattern, but it's very similar to my favorite RTW tank top and I'm thrilled to now be able to make my own. I am so pleased with it that I permanently adjusted the pattern pieces through the waist and then whipped up a navy blue version and have a coral one waiting in the wings. While this tank will be perfect for traveling, it's also a great work basic that will look good on its own or layered under a sweater. I feel like I can never have too many basic knit tops. :)

No pictures of it on me yet, though. Why? I'm sure many of you have heard about "Self-Stitched September" hosted by 'So Zo...'. Several sewing bloggers that I follow had talked about participating and I was intrigued by the challenge, but really didn't think I had enough pieces to make it through an entire month wearing at least one garment that I made each day. Instead, I thought I'd do a mini-version while we were on vacation, since my planned dinner outfits all included at least one thing that I've made. I skipped September 1st, but on the 2nd and 3rd wore a dress and skirt that I had made without even thinking about it. I started reconsidering the challenge, added up the pieces I had to work with and realized that I probably had enough to make it through the entire month. :) Franky, I was pretty shocked. Don't get me wrong, it's still going to be a challenge, even just commiting to wearing *one* piece a day. The one gaping hole was not having any tops to work into the rotation, which you can see I sort of solved yesterday.

I think what I'll do is post my outfits up to this point tomorrow, then do one big post recapping the Hawaii days and then group the rest every 5 days or so. That way, it shouldn't be too many outfit posts throughout the month. I'm really excited by the challenge and hope I'm able to make it all work!

KS2911 and M5740: Go Bruins!

Anyone who has tried to find cute and interesting baby/toddler boy patterns knows that it's damn near impossible. While you can find 275948759723 adorable little dress patterns, the boys typically get a basic t-shirt, collared shirt, shorts and pants. Okay, maybe there are a few others thrown in, but the pickings are slim. So shortly after T-dogg was born, I started scouring the pattern bins, looking for gift ideas for his 1st birthday. Yeah, it was early, but I wanted to make sure I came up with something good.

T-dogg's parents, MoP and Tre, are our travel and sports buddies. We share Lakers and UCLA tickets, we've traveled to Peru, Vegas, Hawaii and Palm Springs together and we really hope that our children (theirs real, ours theoretical) are good pals. Since we had already given T-dogg some Lakers gear, I thought it was time for him to start supporting our other favorite team - The Bruins.

I picked up some UCLA argyle fleece which I thought would be fun for a sporty zip up vest. In all honesty, this print is a tad big for a toddler garment, but I liked it and really, there are only so many years in your life that you can get away with wearing a bright blue and yellow argyle fleece vest. Heh. ;)

KS 2911 features 3 unisex fleece outerwear garments for toddlers that looks pretty much identical to things I've seen from North Face. Gotta love patterns that closely mimic RTW garments. This was my first time trying to match a large repeating pattern and after getting a few tips from my local sewing shop, I think it turned out pretty well. I made sure the UCLA was centered on the back and then again on the front upper right-hand side.

For the collar, I specifically cut the inner band so that "UCLA" was in the center - I thought it made for a nice touch.

This was such an easy vest to put together and the finished result looks like something you would find in a store - with a large price tag on it. To me, the swimwear binding is what really sells it and it was remarkably easy to attach.

To complete the outfit, I made the fleece pants from M5740 (now out of print).

I used a mid-weight polar fleece that I found at Michael Levine Loft. The fabric washed up well, but I wish I would have made the front pocket bags from a very light jersey instead of the fleece. As it was, when the waist was folded over to make the elastic casing, I was sewing through up to 6 layers of fleece in some areas. Ugh, not fun. Other than that, I really like the pattern and the resulting pants are basic, but with some fun details. I did leave off the side cargo pocket because I didn't think the fabric would lay well.

Paired with a long sleeve white t-shirt (thank you Baby Gap!) and some snazzy trainers, T-dogg is all set for evening football games this fall!

McCalls 3830 Revisited - Third time's the charm

I first tried this skirt pattern earlier this year to rip-roaring success. However, in the meantime, I started the Peak 10 program, got my butt in shape and went down 2 dress sizes. In the middle of the program, I finally got around to sewing what I thought would be another successful version of this skirt. Unfortunately, I didn't really take into account my shrinking body and my grey denim version fell flat. Too big and I wasn't excited enough about the fabric choice to take the time to make it smaller. It's now been packed away with the other boxes of clothing that are too big for me.

After that mess, I figured I'd drop down one size and things would perfect. Out came the lovely black stretch denim from Emma One Sock - a bit of a splurge - and I whipped up another skirt. While it was wearable, it still felt too big and stretched out around the booty after wearing it. It also didn't feel nearly as versatile as I was hoping it would be. For cripes sake! I've worn it a few times, but it's at the back of my closet now, waiting for fall and winter to make another appearance. And if I'm being honest, it probably even need a few alterations if I'm going to really love it. Le sigh.

This photo was taken about halfway through my weightloss, so while it looks okay here, it's quite a bit looser now.

At this point, I'd realized that my body had like, you know, really changed and all. I re-took my measurements and it was pretty clear that I needed to drop down one more size. I was sorely missing my original dark denim skirt - I had no idea how much of a wardrobe hole I had filled with that simple little skirt until it didn't fit any longer - so I opted to remake it in the same fabric. The only changes on this version was using an invisible zipper to give it an even cleaner look and dropping the hem by about a 1/2 inch.

Guess what folks - I hit the skirt jackpot again! :D (I'm even in love with the back view on this version.) I've worn this skirt at least once a week since I finished since it works equally well with tall boots, flat sandals or wedges. This is such a staple for me now, just as important in my weekly wardrobe as my favorite jeans and black work pants. I'm now quite sure how I lived without. Truly folks, I can't recommend this skirt enough! Especially in a nice dark stretch denim. Make one and just see how much you wear it - you can thank me later. ;)

Now that I have the sizing down, I have a few more versions I'd like to make. It's especially crucial this summer as I've decided to live in skirts and dresses since finding new pants to replace the 20+ pairs I've packed away is proving to be an impossible task. Thank goodness for living in Southern California, where pants just aren't necessary for summer and the vast majority of the fall.

McCall's 6069 - Easter dress for me!

It's been years since I had a new dress for Easter. I hadn't really planned on making a new dress for this weekend, but after the ball gown, I needed both a softball project and something that would count towards my summer wardrobe for the bazillion events I'll have to attend in conjunction with Jim's summer coordinator position. I really liked this McCall's dress that was recently released and scooped it up during the last pattern sale at Joann's. I'm a sucker for a cowl neck and any garment with an interesting back.

The fabric - a poly jersey - was purchased at Michael Levine Loft this winter. I liked the bright colors that are tempered a bit with the black and the floral design. The best part - I think the 3.5 yard piece was like $5. I originally had flagged this fabric for a wrap dress, but after seeing this pattern, it looked so much like the fabrics used in the cover drawings, I decided to change my plans a bit. I only needed about a 1.5 yards for this dress though, so maybe I can still eek out a wrap dress afterall.

I pretty much cut this out per the pattern with just a couple of changes. I cut a 6 for the bodice, but added a hip curve to the skirt pieces - the waist was cut at a 6 and extended to a 14 at the hips. I used the hip curve from M3830 as a template and it worked well.

I added the back strap, omitted the pockets for a smoother fit over the hips and thighs and added 2 inches of length to the skirt. Lastly, I folded to the bodice seam allowance down to form the casing for the waistband - the pattern instructions have you fold it up, but I needed the extra bit of length in the bodice.

This was a really simple dress to put together, which was exactly what I was hoping for after my last project. I cut it out on Friday night and sewed it up on Saturday with no snafus to speak of! Woohoo! The only tricky part was the narrow hem around the arm syce. Fluid poly jersey doesn't really like to do narrow hems, but with enough pins, it worked out.

One thing that is not terribly obvious from the pattern is that the back has MUCH more drape than the front. It looks pretty, but at first I thought I had cut something wrong. If you look really closely at the line drawing, you can see a few extra lines drawn in the back, but I didn't notice it until after sewing it all up.

{Close up on the front}


{Close up one the back}

I wore this dress today for Easter lunch with the big 'ol extended family and it was a hit. I was comfy and felt cute and got several compliments from the aunts and cousins. I think this is a great day to night dress as it's very work appropriate topped with a black cardigan, but when it's removed, the back makes it much more of an evening dress. I think this will be great for dinners and events this summer.

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For those of you that aren't into the sewing stuff, here are a couple of pics of the homemade pie I baked for Jim's birthday this weekend. It was so freaking good! There is no way we can finish it before it goes bad, so my CWs are getting a fun treat tomorrow at lunch. :)

McCall's 3830- aka The Straight Skirt Holy Grail!

I get all sorts of catalogues at the house for various clothing companies. I typically thumb through the ones from Nordstrom's and J. Crew, sometimes Talbots for shoes and the rest usually end up in the recycling bin without ever being opened. For some reason, this summer, I actually flipped through the Boden USA cataloge and all sorts of fun stuff caught my eye. But, the one thing that really stuck out was this denim pencil skirt.

I loved the color and the simple style, but knew that buying it was out of the question for several reasons: a) pencil skirts typically hate me, b) even if they didn't, I have no idea what their sizing is like and don't really care to investigate since it's all mail-order and c) it was $78 for a simple skirt. Thank God this caught my eye over the summer and not the spring because instead of being bummed, I decided to just make my own, using the Boden skirt as a handy inspiration piece.

After having good luck with McCall's basic a-line skirt pattern, I thought I'd try their straight skirt pattern (3830)that is so beloved on Pattern Review.

For the fabric, I had a dark lightweight stretch denim in the stash from making baby dresses this summer and had thankfully bought 2 yards because I liked it so much. Let me stop for a moment and expouse on how much I love this fabric. It's a really lovely dark navy with no distress marks, a nice stretch and I'm guessing some poly blended in, as well. Why? Well, I washed it 4 times to make sure all the excess dye was off of it and the sucker didn't fade in the least. At $4/yard, it feels like such a bargain. Love it! I'm going back to the shop to restock later this week.

I knew I wasn't going to line this skirt, but I still wanted the inside to be pretty. I was originally going to use a navy cotton for the facing and all navy notions, but when my local Joann's was out of navy bias tape, I completely switched gears. I keep walking by this vaguely psychedelic butterfly/flower print in the quilting cotton secion of Joann's and I'm drawn to it every time. There is no way it would work for a garment, at least for me, but as a facing, it was perfect. To tie it together, I used purple bias tape to finish off the back seams and navy hem tape at the bottom. The sides were sewn with french seams.

After all was said and done, I LOVE THIS SKIRT!! LOVE IT! Yes, I realize I'm ridiculously excited about a very simple garment, but I can't help it. I had a feeling that this was going to be a rousing success from the start and it's really nice to have it turn out even better than I had expected. With the exception of the shorter hemline and no belt loops, I think it's a good replica of the Boden skirt. And it fits me like a glove, straight out of the envelope! I love that it pairs equally well with tall boots and flats, sweaters and tank tops, for the office and for play. Such a simple piece, but one that I pretty much want to live in year-round.

The inside makes me as giddy as the outside. I know that no one will be able to see the fun print or that there is not a single raw edge to be found on this skirt, but that doesn't make me any less thrilled about it.

I'm planning several more versions of this skirt - I'm thinking one in black denim, one in a lightweight khaki cotton and maybe a few prints for summer? I've totally found my holy grail straight skirt pattern. :)

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ETA: I forgot to post the cost for this skirt. Here's the breakdown:
Pattern - $2
Fabrics - $7
Notions - $6

Total cost - less than $20. :)

In all honesty though, I'm not really sewing to necessarily save money. It's great when things turn out to be so cost effective, but I have a few upcoming projects that aren't going to be inexpensive. However, this is a hobby for me. I love learning how to sew and being able to make things that actually fit my body, instead of trying to squeeze my body into something the manufacturers deem a "normal" size. Sometimes those garments are going to be simple basics made up with inexpensive fabrics and other times, it's going to be fun dresses and such in finer fabrics like wool wovens, jerseys and sweater knits. Those fabrics aren't cheap, but man are they gorgeous. :)