Butterick 4080 and what I'm knitting

I hope this is the last apron I show you for a while! =). This apron had the big ruffles on the shoulder straps that the Peter Pan director (drama teacher) had requested. I changed the pockets to make them practical, since Nana (the nanny/dog) carries stuff around and she needed a place to put it. The pocket tops are finished with purchased bias binding.

The fabric I used for the ruffles and ties was lightweight so I doubled the ruffles and I used a stiff netting sandwiched between the layers to make the ruffles to "perk up".

how shoulder straps attach to waistband

 

 

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I have a number of knitting projects all on the finishing stage. Since I can't have some knitting when watching tv and I am bored with the Missoni scarf currently in progress, I started a new project. It is a dress from Phildar in a yummy merino wool yarn.

The Victorian Apron

Butterick 5509

Yesterday I delivered the apron and the two caps for the play. They were very happy with them.

The eyelet fabric and ruffle were in my stash, I bought a bit of bleached muslin to use as lining and interfacing since I did not want to use fuseable interfacing on the eyelet. I also used muslin for the collar because I ran out of eyelet.

I used the border as the hem.

This is a good pattern if you need a Victorian era apron =)

The caps are from Butterick 3071

I spent yesterday afternoon going around with one of the assistant directors looking for props for the show. We were amazed at the generosity of our local businesses!, where we didn't get a discount it was because the items we needed were donated or given on loan. I have my van packed with stuff that I will deliver this morning to the school where once again we are gathering to put the set together.

Have a wonderful weekend and as always happy sewing!

Aprons and caps, oh boy!

So I have managed to cut and interface all the pieces for these two patterns.

I am making the one in the middle and it will be worn by the maid in Peter Pan.

The teacher/director wanted an apron with ruffles on the shoulders for Nana (the nanny/dog)so I'm making a large size and I hope it will fit around the dog outfit the student will be wearing.

I dug into my stash of white fabrics and I also purchased some bleached muslin. I made the caps which are from Butterick 3071 which I made a few years ago.

I have Paco's maxi skirt cut and waiting to be sewn but it has to wait =( . After I'm done with the aprons I will tackle the Peter Pan tunic, and by then I will be helping with the fabric to cover the stage props.

I'm trying to keep up with the blog reading, forgive me if I'm not leaving as many comments as I usually do!

Burda Style 5/2010 Knit dress 105

This dress has been reviewed many times, it is a very easy to make pattern and very easy to wear. Since my fabric, a rayon knit is lightweight I added a lining to the skirt.

As you can see this is a very large print and I tried to space out the flower centers as well as I could, considering that I had very little fabric to play around with (note to self, when buying large prints always get a little more!)

I wanted to show you this dress when I had some time to take pictures, so this was a quick session (no accessories and flip flops =0 !) I will not be sewing for me in the next couple of weeks since I'm rather involved making costumes for my oldest son theater production of Peter Pan. He is playing one of the Lost Boys and he is super excited to be on stage for the first time since his involvement before had been as part of the tech crew. So far it has been lots of fun! I will share what I end up making with you.

A baby quilt

Today I mailed the package with this quilt which is going to good friends' baby girl born the weekend of Irene (so glad she didn't get named after the storm!). Like I said before I thought it would have gone faster but I got a little fancy with the quilting, really it was more that you had to maneuver the quilt all around the needle to make the rectangles inside the blocks. I love how it turned out and I hope they enjoy the bright cheery colors I picked for them!

I have been wanting to make a modern backing and I thought this design went well with the quilt top, just pieced left overs from the top and used a pretty Kona solid. The binding is a Kaffe Fassett print that I found at a local shop.

Here is the tutorial I used for the quilt top.

Next up the Burda dress. I'm feeling much better and I am ready to sew again!

Where did September go?

So much for September being (at least in the US) Sewing Month! Things have been slow around here, as far as sewing.

On Friday I managed to cut the Burda dress above. The temperatures around my area have gone up again so I decided to go ahead and make a sleeveless dress.

I have been trying to finish a quilt which is a gift for a newborn baby. I decided to quilt inside the rectangles and while I like how it is turning out it is taking longer to finish than I thought. Of course it doesn't help that I have been having a flare up with the back/leg pain; it's time to have some diagnostics tests done.

Stay well and happy sewing!

How visible are you?

I recently discovered a new (to me) blog Not Dead Yet Style, catchy name no? I have enjoyed reading it so I decided to participate in Visible Monday.

The dress above I made last summer and I love it. I have always loved red (and orange as well) and while I feel very visible in this color, I also feel very me when wearing it. How many things stay constant through the years? not many.

My first thought when I started to write this post is that as sewers, knitters/crocheters of garments we want to be noticed, but always in a good way! We are proud of producing one of a kind and well fitted garments. I enjoyed the creative process and everything in between that leads to a garment I can be proud to wear and say "I made it!" if complemented on it.

How do you feel visible?

Verena Knitting Summer 2009 #6 Apricot A line tank

Here it is this very simple to knit tank top with a swingy hem which you get with uniformly adding stitches. One thing I love about Verena Knitting magazine patterns is the finishing details, in this case you are instructed to finish the armholes and neckline with crochet, it makes all the difference in my opinion to a well constructed knitted garment.

This picture taken before blocking

The magazine shows this top being worn over a breezy blouse; I plan to extend the wearability by also using it as a layering piece once it gets cooler.

I used a linen yarn, more details at Ravelry.

This morning I had a very early appointment and it put me in a neutral color mood, I also wore a light tan cardigan for the cooler temperatures earlier.

A quick turn around

My son had been asking me to make him a cloak to wear to the Renaissance Festival for a while and I had procastinated, so when the time came I had to hustle. The fabric, 6 yards of a wool/poly blend crepe from Fabric Mart Fabrics arrived on Friday at 3:00. It went into the dryer to pretreat as I prepared the pattern and readied the floor for cutting since my table was not big enough for cutting this full length cloak. The cloak was done Saturday afternoon in time for my son and his friends to attend the festival on Sunday morning.

I used McCalls 5957 and cut a men's medium, my son is 13 years old and 5'11". The shoulder pad was added as per his design; I have used this pad shape many times before out of this Simplicity pattern reduced in size for his smaller shoulders. He made the pattern for the hand appliqued to the pad. The closure I found of all places at Michael's craft store. Except for hems all construction was done on the serger for speed.

It gives me great joy to be able to render my son's vision for his costume. Every year he has a new idea which becomes a wonderful collaboration to bring the project to its ta-dah! moment.

Vogue 1179

This dress has been made many times by many sewists but mine is super special because the fabric was given to me by my friend Andrea =)

I knew right away that this was the pattern for this rayon blend knit. The fabric feels great, very "buttery" and the colors were so summery I hurried up and used it so I could wear it this summer.

The pattern is simple to make, comfy to wear and stylish (I think!). I was having trouble with the side seams puckering and not hanging right, so I stabilized them as I was sewing them with Seams Great(as were the shoulder seams). The hem I stabilized with a strip of fusible tricot interfacing.

One thing to note is that the armscye in this pattern is very high, which is very different for Big Four patterns.

I have one more summery garment to show you (knitted top) and then I will start on cooler weather projects. First I have to make a baby quilt for a gift and quickly (hopefully!) make up a cloak for my youngest who with his friends is attending the Maryland Renaissance Festival in costume.

Happy Sewing!

Burda 4/2011 123 Maxi skirt

So I finally got to make the linen maxi I wanted at the end of the summer, oh well. I used the linen from this other Burda dress. I still have fabric left.

The grain runs straight through the center of the side panels, front and back which gives this pattern a lovely drape. Because I needed a bit taken at the waist I did stay-stitch plus at the waistline and secured it with cotton stay tape, then I attached the waistband.

The invisible zipper goes in the seam of the right side back panel which made fitting this skirt a breeze, especially since I ended up taking in the side seams.

I did not line the skirt, I believe one of the versions is lined, also I eliminated the pockets. The linen was very drapey and shifted quite easily when cutting and sewing so I did not want to complicate things; I also like the close fit around the hips I was able to get without pockets.

This skirt was finished before the hurricane and I already wore it. I loved the feeling of the airy cool linen around my legs when moving and I love the ways it looks. This pattern would be great in wool crepe, and I think I see it in my future for fall and winter.

When plans come together and quickly fall apart

Delacorte Musical Clock, Central Park

I was thrilled that I had managed to plan succesfully a meeting with two dear high school friends which I hadn't seen in 20+ years, a shopping day in NYC with sewing friends and plenty of time to spend with my fun 2 year old nephew.

Even though Irene was coming up the east coast I left on Thursday to NY. I had a nice lunch with my brother in the city and then headed to NJ where I spent time with my nephew and then went on to what turned to be a fun-tastic reunion with my friends. We strolled Hoboken and reminisced about my college years there.

Sat here for a breather, plaza on 50th

On Friday, because now I was thinking I would probably be leaving on Saturday, since the word was Sunday was looking bad for travel, I went into the city and went fabric/notions shopping (more details on the next post), I met my brother and his family for lunch, a visit to the Frick Museum and strolling in Central Park. It was a glorious day!

Enjoying an ice cream in Central Park

That night I exchanged my tickets to leave Saturday morning and I did to make it home before Irene went over MD. We just got back power this morning. My house phone is not working and even though the internet is working my cell phone communication is terrible, all my calls get cut off.

While I'm disappointed that our PR shopping day was cancelled, I feel I made the most of my short time and I'm so very glad I went.

Hope you are all safe!

Hortensias en mi mesa

I cut these hydrangeas from my Annabelle shrub yesterday. They start out pure white and as they get older they turned this beautiful bright green, lovely no?

Notice my tablecloth? It is vinyl, of the wipe to clean variety, I loved the gingham print with the daisies. Before I had children I swore I would never have a vinyl tablecloth on my table, of course that changed after I decided I did not want to change tablecloths every day. Right now there is a flannel pad with protective vinyl finished underneath the cute gingham. One day I hope to be able to completely clear my table in between meals and show off the beautiful table I careful chose years ago.

Have you seen these beautiful oilcloths? They surely elevate the homely vinyl to a new level

McCalls 6725

As I shared with you before, this pattern is from the 90s and therefore out of print. I was looking for a shirtdress with a circle skirt and this was perfect. It has been a while since I wore such a swingy skirt, and can I tell you it feels very girlish and fun. The fabric is a cotton shirting from Michael's Fabrics/A Fabric Place and I have enough for a fall dress; it was a joy to work with!

The bodice has a collar with no stand and no back facing so I followed Connie Long's instructions in Easy Guide to Sewing Blouses and I had no problems. There is no shaping on this bodice, no darts and the side seams are straight (mine ended up with some shaping to allow for a larger waist/hip). As you can see the bodice is a bit poofy in places but it doesn't bother me, this is the way it's drafted. The pattern instructs you to use facings for the armholes, instead I used the Burda method and made bias strips to finish them.

The skirt has pockets. I used the version with the longer skirt and shortened it to my knees.

One word of general warning. When marking my buttonholes I used the red wax/chalk that I bought in many colors in NYC and which disappears when it is pressed. Well, this color did not disappear

I washed the dress many times and most of it came out, you can see it if you are looking for it. I know many of us have bought this marking tool so beware!

These photo sessions are exhausting! ;-)

A series of previews

This is McCall's 7625, hanging nicely, completely finished and waiting for me to wear it, and photograph.

The Verena tank top waiting to be blocked.

Vogue 1179 in progress.

But first my husband's shirts need to be ironed while I supervise the boys building bird houses.

McCalls 6165

I have been seeing this style of top all over so I decided to give it a try. Being that I am a pear I was always hesitant to wear this much fabric around my hips. I fell in love with Connie's top, she looked so chic wearing hers. So what do I think? I think I will like it better styled for fall/winter with a long sleeve top underneath and leggings and boots.

This was very simple to make, I made all construction in my serger (yay!) except for the topstitching for the hems. The fabric is a cotton knit left over from pjs for my son; because there is no lycra in the fabric I did not want to use any pattern that was fitted and needed a knit with good recovery, so this pattern was perfect.

Isn't it great that we can be brave and try a style we are curious about without spending a lot of money?

Flower on one of my datura plants

The view from the side