You Spilled Blueberries and Batwings All Over my Knit Tops!

February 21, 2013February 12, 201451 Comments

Still continuing on with the fun of sewing knits. I made the T-shirt pattern from the Craftsy Sewing With Knits course. It actually started out as stark white jersey fabric. Whiter than white can be white. And I thought, “it’s too white”. So, I decided to dye it. In the interest of environmental and health safety, I wanted to use something natural. I have dyed things with tea before, and they came out a lovely sepia tone. But wanted this one to be more colourful. Have you ever been to somebody’s house and everything is completely white? I mean, everything, furniture, pillows, curtains, rugs. Not only does being there make one REALLY nervous, but, what are the two things you pray they don’t serve you? Blueberry juice and red wine!! So, those were the winners for the dyeing process. I sewed up the T-Shirt first, then let it soak for about half an hour in the offending-to-white liquids. Et, voila!! It came out a subtle purple-grey tone. I made the XXS, as I did with the fleece hoodie, but this one was not as roomy. I would make the XS next time. For the next knit top, I drafted my own pattern with instructions from the book, Downtown DIY Sewing by Alice Chadwick. It included a body, cuffs, waistband and interfaced neck facing.I used gridded pattern paper. I could only find paper with the grid in inches and my rulers are in metric, but not a big problem. The grid makes it so much easier to measure and draft, and I highly recommend it! And this was the end result:It is a printed jersey and was my first time using a directional pattern, stripes and a geometric floral band, and it lined up out quite well. The pattern is a dolman / batwing sleeve style, remember those? I was having a twitter conversation with Charlotte from Seamripped and she was working on her own project and asked if the batwing look will come back in style. I said “yes!” and have since found a lot of sites with batwing / dolman sleeve fashions that look quite stylish. I like this shirt as it is a dressed up version of casual. A bit like a fancier, more interesting sweatshirt, with all the comfort maintained. Update: I have since worn this top and the neck facing would periodically turn toward the outside. So, I followed some advice to stitch along the shoulder seams, stitching in the ditch, and through the neck facing. I did this using a triple stretch stitch and it is really helping to hold the neck facing inside the top.

Fearless February Project: Burda Style 7441

February 12, 2013April 8, 201347 Comments

I am currently at work on my Fearless February Project. This sew-along was started by Victoria, and her blog, Ten Thousand Hours of Sewing, is based on the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

In the book, Gladwell expounds the value of the “10,000 Hour Rule”, where success and mastery of something can be achieved but requires 10,000 hours of practice. It makes me feel really motivated and positive about my sewing since as a beginner, I sometimes feel overwhelmed with all there is to learn. But, with this idea in mind, I believe that I can achieve success in sewing!

I’m a fan of Gladwell’s writing and if you have not checked him out, he has published several books and they all infuse a fresh twist into the subjects of modern psychology and philosophy.

Okay, with that in mind, here is the Fearless February Project: Burda Style Pants 7441. I began this project last year before ever having sewn a thing, and it was far too overwhelming. And, in retrospect, it was not a good choice for an absolute beginner for several reasons: 1) The pattern is a Burda and I have been told they can be notorious for not providing the most detailed or complete instructions. 2) It is rated as a 3 out of 4 on a difficulty level. 3) Tailored pants are more difficult to sew than a simple skirt or top. And, 4) These pants have a lot going on including, two different styles of pockets, darts, pleats, zipper.

However, with some experience under my belt, a slew of practice hours logged and a variety of projects completed, I felt ready to tackle these pants again.

All pattern pieces have been cut out, including lining and interfacing.

The very first task (after sewing the back darts) was to construct the back welt pockets. Wow, these were difficult to understand, the directions and pictures were not very explanatory and there seemed to be a few placement marks missing on the pattern pieces (i.e., sew lines for piping and pocket attachment). But, with the help of my sewing teacher, and a few tears, I have now completed the back welt pockets!! There was a definite learning curve, and, one pocket looks better from the outside while the other pocket worked out nicely from the inside. So, for the next pants, I should be able to construct a pocket that looks good from both the outside and inside. I am now on to the front of the pants. Wish me luck!

Stretchy Fleecy Hoody? Oh Goody.

February 4, 2013February 12, 201439 Comments

My first attempt at sewing with knits! This one is made from a stretch knit microfleece. I’m afraid I was completely unable to shake the joy of animal prints ingrained in me by Jungle January, so I lined the hood with blue leopard print fabric. Seemed the obvious choice. I may have an animal print addiction; therapy might be necessary.

I am currently taking the Sewing With Knits class through Craftsy and this is the first project. The pattern is from the class, except for the lining in the hood. I added the lining, by constructing another hood out of the leopard print fabric, a thin knit jersey, and sewing it to the hood.

Because I don’t have a serger / overlocker, I used the stretch stitch on my regular sewing machine (two stitches forward, one stitch back), it takes a long time and uses a lot of thread, but I think it looks better than a narrow zig-zag. I also used an overlock stitch on the exposed seams on the hood and lining and a twin needle for the sleeve and bottom hems.