Pattern Pyramid Pick Progess (De-80s-fying). And a Sewing Dare!

March 4, 2013March 5, 201342 Comments

So, to refresh your memories, I had selected the Very Easy Very Vogue 9647 from the winning Pattern Pyramid. There were two main reasons for this; one, it was in my size, two, it was touted as “very easy”.

Now, not sure if you can see from the picture or not, but this pattern is definitely very ’80s. Especially, the incredibly expansive shoulder pads. They are actually large enough to land a plane on! Seriously! And for those of you afraid to fly, picture a Kitty perched on each shoulder and walking around all day like that.

I wanted to try my best to De-80s-fy the pattern (yes, I coined that phrase, please feel free to use it and share).

This is what I came up with to bring it into this century while lancing the shoulder pad design detail: I opted to make the top half of the dress in B (the short sleeves) and the bottom half of the dress in A (the full skirt), while also shortening the dress to about knee-length. I’m using a periwinkle blue cotton voile that has a flower design embossed on it, and is almost sheer where the flowers are embossed. I thought it would be delicate and flowy and deter from that ‘boxy’ look. I then decided to sew an Obi Style belt out of the cotton floral fabric to cinch it at the waist while still keeping that light and airy look (as opposed to using a heavy leather / plastic belt).

So, these are my plans to de-80’s fy, what do you think? In my mind, it looks fabulous! 🙂 In reality, we’ll have to wait and see.

And, I have been charged with a Sewing Dare by Jagoda from FitNottoFit:

“Catja, I don’t know what your plans are for March, but I CHALLENGE you to make something from Ikea fabric. Hopefully something wearable, for yourself, not for the kitties. Do you accept?”

Yes, I accept! Although Kitty is a tad disgruntled. Here is my plan:I love Ikea fabric, but it can be a challenge to sew clothing with it, as it is mainly designed for home sewing projects. I am going to make Butterick B5285 in Version B and use this Ikea fabric pictured. The fabric design is: Malin Akerblom, 2010. The floral print is quite large and I’m hoping that with the addition of the pleats on the skirt, it will look like an abstract floral pattern.

Karen, from Did You Make That? made the same version (B) of the Butterick skirt in a fabulous fabric, check it out here. It looks terrific, so if mine comes out half this well, I will be stoked!

I Want to be Ensconced in Velvet

January 18, 2013February 12, 201419 Comments

I finished a grey velvet skirt with darker grey stretch knit panels in the sides. Not so sure if George Costanza would wear it, but I can see the joy of being ensconced in velvet, it’s soooo soft.

Velvet Skirt with Stretch Knit Side Panels and Foldover Elastic Waistband

The skirt has a black fold over elastic waistband, and I placed the shiny side out, so it adds a hint of bling to the skirt. It’s quite easy to make, A-Line with slightly rounded edges on the hemline. The stretch panels allow you to make it more fitted to your body while still not having to insert a zipper. Yay!

Velvet A-Line Skirt with Side Stretch Panels

You draft it by using your waistband measurement, than measuring down from the centre point to the length you want, and add some width to both sides of the hem to make an A-line flare. Cut out panels, approximately 4cm (2″) out of stretch knit fabric and sew to both back and front pieces of skirt. Important: before you cut out the stretch knit panels, make sure that the stretch is going horizontally across your body and not vertically, up and down your body. After the panels were sewn to the skirt front and back, I added a decorative topstitch to both sides of the stretch panels. Then, add the fold over elastic by stretching it in sections as you sew it on to the waistband. For more information on how to attach fold over elastic, click here. Hem the skirt by double folding and top stitching. Done! And velvety. Mmmmmm.

Trim Hem With Curved Corners Using Fashion Designers Curve Ruler

Trim Hem With Curved Corners Using Designers Curve Ruler

Cut Skirt Out – Waistband Measurement and Added Width to the Hem for Flare

Cut Out 2 Stretch Knit Panels with Stretch Going Horizontally (i.e., across the short side)

Attach Stretch Knit Panels to Front and Back Pieces of Skirt and Sew Together

Attach Foldover Elastic at Waist, Stretching as You Sew

Attach Foldover Elastic at Waist, Stretching Elastic as You Sew

Double Fold Skirt Hem and Topstitch (note the decorative topstitching on both sides of the stretch panel)

DRAPE YOURSELF IN VELVET!!

Easy A-Line Skirt

December 29, 2012January 25, 201311 Comments

I completed this A-Line skirt in the same way as the two rectangle skirt, only instead of rectangles, these quadrilateral shapes are actually isosceles trapezoids (to be precise). Yes, that’s the math/science nerd in me leaking out. It’s really one of the reasons why I love sewing and pattern making. The geometry involved delights me to no end. 🙂

But, now that you’ve finished rolling your eyes and being embarrassed for me, here is some information about the A-Line skirt.

I used fabric with a one way pattern on it, so I actually had to cut it across the grain instead of with the length grain (following along the selvage) so that the pattern would go vertically up and down the skirt. I’m not sure how much this affects the integrity of the skirt, but how else do you use these directional prints? If you cut along the length of the grain, the pattern would be lost.

A Line Skirt Flare

With respect to the A-Line, you can add as much flare at the bottom as you wish. Basically, after you’ve made a rectangle, add another two triangles on either side of it to create a wider, flared bottom.

I also added a belt in the same fabric to disguise the elastic waistband casing. To learn more about how to sew a fabric belt with buckle, click here. I sewed on belt loops, also in the same fabric to hold the belt in the right place.

Fabric Belt and Belt Loops

And, I bought a self cover belt buckle, where you cover the buckle with fabric of your choice. I think it’s a good investment (and very inexpensive) as it really ties the belt in with the skirt. With such a busy pattern, I didn’t really want the belt and buckle to stand out more than the skirt.