Eat My Cake and Sew it Too

July 28, 2013February 3, 2014117 Comments

The lovely and beautiful Wellington Sewing Bloggers Network have officially declared today, July 28, 2013, Let Us Sew Cake Day. This group is a wonderful and talented bunch of sewists that I have met through the blogosphere and they constantly have such great sewalongs, ideas and meet-ups.So, in honour of this prestigious day, I have sewn Cake Patterns Cabarita Knit Top as well as eaten the better part of an entire sugar flower covered cake! Wisely, I coordinated my cake with my Cabarita Top, because to not have done so, would have been rather gauche. I love the collar piece as well as the v-neck back of this knit top. It really elevates a T-shirt into dressed up wear, so simply and easily. The back is also drafted to be cut on the bias and Steph recommends to keep it that way so that it hugs the curves of your back. My fabric was on the thicker side and quite crisp, so I did not interface the cabarita front collar piece, but would have if I had used a softer and flowy fabric.

The only alteration I made was to narrow both the front and back sleeve by removing 5/8″ (1.5cm) from the bottom of each sleeve. I had to then shorten the sleeve binding accordingly. This way, the sleeve hugged my arm perfectly. It’s easy to figure out a custom measurement for you, simply by measuring your bicep, around where the sleeve ends.

The only thing I would do differently next time, is to attach the sleeve binding after I had sewn the side seams. The patterns calls for you to attach it first, but I find it more difficult to line up the cuff at the seams that way and also, any seam finishing you do, may be more visible since it extends down to the bottom of your cuff.

I like how the front rolled collar and V-neck back really bring the emphasis up to your face and upper half. If you used contrasting sleeve and neck bindings and collar piece or reversed the stripes in a striped fabric, this would play it up even more. The next one I make, I’d like to try contrasting pieces.
The V-neck back is very streamlining and I really enjoy the surprise of it and the symmetry it provides my back.

One of the unique aspects of this pattern is that you ‘draft’ your own size based on your bust, waist and hip measurement. I chose to make mine with zero ease and using my exact measurements, but you can also choose to give it more ease by selecting a larger measurement for each area.

And, you’ve seen him lurking around in the background of the above pics, but it’s likely no surprise that Kitty also enjoys Cake.I highly recommend to eat your cake and sew it too!!

I was also recently interviewed by Mel at A Curious Kiwi for Indie Pattern Month. Check out her post, here. Thanks Mel!

If Jerry Garcia Were A Surgeon…

May 11, 2013October 11, 201441 Comments

I needed to create my final top project for my Garment Construction class, so decided to make Simplicity 8133. It is not the most flattering of patterns, but my mum got it free up north at a tag sale somewhere AND it fit all the criteria for the assignment, so I decided to make version E, without the ties. I selected fabric I already had in my stash, a brushed cotton in a lime/olive green and orange with a floral/camouflage pattern.

When I sewed up the top, it looked EXACTLY like a medical scrubs top. Only one that a totally tripped out doctor from the late 60s/early 70s would wear. There was no way around it. I set about attempting to remedy the situation.

My good friend, Chris Lucas pointed me in the direction of the Pavlova skirt she made and the fabulous Seashell Pocket on it. I downloaded this pocket pattern from Stephanie at Cake Patterns and added two of them to the front of the tunic. I love these pockets, they are adorable, actually look like seashells AND are functional, to boot. This is not the last you’ll see of them in my Made By Me wardrobe. I then added fabric covered buttons to the pockets as well as buttons to the tunic where a “placket” would be. The colours were still a little too, in your face Deadhead, so I dyed the whole thing (including pockets and fabric covered buttons) with a dark brown dye to tone it down. And, to top it off, I wore it with a scarf, chain metal belt.

“My Nurse Hat is Too Big…”

So, after all these embellishments, does it still look like a medical scrubs top??? Yes, yes it does. 🙂 And, I will be seeing YOU, for your upcoming surgical needs at the 1970 – Grateful Dead, Keep On Truckin’ – Memorial Hospital. Ask for me.

Truckin’ by the Grateful Dead.

“What a long strange trip it’s been.”

Sewing Dare Done: Ikea Fabric + Butterick 5285

April 26, 2013February 3, 2014101 Comments

I was recently charged with a sewing dare by Jagoda from FitNottoFit to sew something for myself to wear out of this Ikea Fabric. You can see the post here.

I decided to make a skirt from Butterick B5285. I made View B, which has two box pleats in the front and back, a back zipper and side seam pockets.

It was quite easy to make, (save for my brand new (to me) vintage overlocker eating my first skirt, both front and back pieces. I had to start all over again. And, the second skirt, the waistband was too big, so I had to make a new one.)The only real difficulty I found was with the box pleats. It took so much time, measuring and ironing them, then lining up the next pleat so that it did not overlap the first one, making sure the pleats were the same size, etc. This actually took longer than constructing the skirt. It was much more challenging to get these box pleats even and flat from top to bottom than it was for knife pleats, like those found in versions C and D. Is there a trick / secret to making box pleats? If you know of one, please share!I do really like the way the box pleats layer the fabric and allow the large floral print on it to peek through and make all kinds of abstract and colourful designs on the skirt. I think it really utilized the fabric to its full potential, adds an extra element of design and creates an interesting composition. I am quite pleased with that aspect. And, of course, POCKETS!!!! ‘Nuff said. I submitted it for my skirt project in sewing class and received 20 out of 20 (100%). 🙂And, I have seen so many photos of you lovely garment makers twirling in your skirts, so here goes: