Ready to be cut

is Burda 10/2008 # 116A. The fabric is a ponti di Roma knit which is the recommended fabric. This pattern has been reviewed favorably and I think it will make a great transtion jacket.

I love this issue of Burda I made a knit top years ago from it and now I have around 10 designs on my list to make.












Besides the flowers popping out in my yard, another sign of spring,
Clio patrolling her yard. While she loves her yard year round, as soon as it gets warmer she spends most of her days out rediscovering all the wonderful smells and sights.

My Image magazine Winter Tunic 1010

I loved many of the designs of this magazine's first issue and after making this dress, I'm glad I went ahead and bought the spring issue.



I lengthened the pattern so that I could wear it as a dress, and as always used multiple sizes (38-42) to get the right fit. I also lengthened the bodice after measuring the pattern. The instructions,I read to look at order of construction but this was an easy dress to put together, all the pieces fitted well together. There are many seams (princess on the back, and the skirt has 6 panels) so lots of opportunity for nice fitting.



Because the fabric I used, cotton knit from Michael's fabrics, is very drapey my collar wont stand up to fill in the length of the tabs. I cut them to fit over the folded collar. As you can see in the above picture the shoulder seam is falling off my shoulder a bit; I don't know if this is due to the weight of the fabric pulling or if the 38 in these patterns has a wider shoulder than Burda. It doesn't bother me enough to pull out stitches and re-sew though =0

I'm very happy with the dress, I'm glad I got to wear it before the temperatures go up.

Hot Patterns Wrapture Jacket

If you like this out-of-print pattern, Hot Patterns has a couple for sale at their etsy shop.

Simplicity visits Kashi

I was looking at the interview of the Simplicity Project Runway Contest winner, and there was Kashi of Metro Textiles. It really made me want to head over there, his place is like a treasure hunt, you always find more than what you were looking for, and because I rarely visit I allow myself quite a bit.

Not to be mean, but don't you think the designer's pink dress neckline is poorly constructed and fitted?. I'm all for being creative, but I think to design one must have construction skills perfected.

Pictures soon of My Image dress!

Manequim Magazine - A review

My first impression was that it was a "Lucky type" magazine with patterns thrown in. There was no page which included all line drawings like the other pattern magazines.


Click on pictures to see it better!

In the picture above you can see how they replicate an outfit from what I believe is some celebrity and they include a garment from one of their patterns in the look.



Like Lucky magazine does they have a fashion spread for different occasions, work, weekend. In the pages above they summarized all the pieces they used and identified the patterns included in the magazine. They also tell you what body type works better for each emsemble.



There was an interview, the lady in the picture who is a broadcaster, and she modeled several patterns, including the cover. I found it refreshing that she looks a normal size and that they didn't find it necessary to photoshop her birthmark/mole out. I really like the top pattern here.

There is a lot of beauty advice and even a recipe section. They also had a pattern for a crochet dress and some crochet accessories.

The pattern sheet is no worse than the new Burda sheets but patterns come in only one size. I took a quick look at the measurements and they seem comparable to Patrones. This issue has summer designs and there are quite a few that I liked. The grey dress (mod 109) with the zipper over the shoulder reminded me of McCalls 6243 but in a wowen.

I do not know Portuguese but there are a lot of words that are very similar or the same as Spanish (pear - Spanish pera - Portuguese pera) so I can get the main idea.

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I'm hoping to finish my My image dress this weekend!

I was weak

I went to Joann's yesterday to buy thread and buttons for the My Image dress I'm ready to sew. I was happy that I found buttons I liked and then I decided to check on the patterns and saw that the Simplicity patterns were on sale. I bought a couple of the Lisette patterns and then saw what I think are perfect coordinating fabrics to use with Simplicity 2211, I want to make the longer skirt and short sleeve blouse. I really loved the color of the teal twill and finally settled on the irregular polka dot lightweight cotton for the top.


A while ago I asked my best friend from college, who is Brazilian and living in NYC, if she had heard of the pattern magazine Manequim. She told me she remembered her mother using it and would see if she saw it in the city. Two days ago the magazine came in the mail. I haven't looked through it yet, I've been trying to find some quiet time with no luck the past few days, but I can't wait!


More soon!

Made by me, on my birthday

Made by me: Kwik Sew 2759 tank top, Interweave Knits crochet skirt


Today I start a new decade. I'm sorry but I have no words of wisdom. I am grateful for my life and my family. I am also thrilled that I still feel, except for a few aches and pains, very much like I did two decades ago, and there's something to be said for that!

I'm off to enjoy my day (no work today yay!). Next time I'll have something new to show.

On with more cold weather sewing

I thought you might like to see the nun habit I just finished. I made two complete outfits but the robe is not worth showing, it is a shapeless tunic and in black which is impossible to photograph well. I will be delivering the costumes tomorrow in time for their costume parade, part of the festivities before the show starts.

Now I can go back to my My Image dress; it will be in the forties again tomorrow, I think I will still have a chance to wear this dress...

Sewing with a deadline

My son this year joined the Stage Crew group at his high school; he is also taking Drama (Theater Arts) and he is really enjoying it from "behind the curtain". When his teacher asked for help from any seamstresses in the parent community how could I say no? So...My Image dress, (I'm making M1010)is waiting while I work on two nun costumes, Simplicity 2518.

They need to be done by March 5, so excuse me for now, I got to run!

Burda 01-2011 Number 126

I have been wanting to make this coat for a while and I remembered that I had this double sided wool/blend knit and that it would be perfect for this pattern. Of course finding the fabric took a while, I can identify with Carolyn who just wrote about being able to find fabric in your stash.



I stabilized the neckline at the back and the armholes at front and back with bias fusible tape.

I used my serger, yay!, to finish seams. Since this is a very simple pattern I wanted to show one interesting construction detail. There is a vertical dart that starts at the shoulder, close the front opening that ends a little above the bust point. I was looking at the directions thinking that they had forgotten to tell us to sew the dart, but they didn't. When attaching the collar to the back neckline you start at the center and keep sewing towards the dart and sew it in one swoop. You then do the other side the same way.





I could have used either side of this fabric and I considered using binding in the gray on the sleeves and hem. I decided that the long lines of this design would be better shown off without and I love the way it looks this way. Besides the gray peeks through all the time on the collar and when walking.



I love this coat and I highly recommend it, it is perfect for warmer days when you still feel a bit of chill.

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Next up a dress from the winter My image magazine.

Addressing comments on V8663

the slapdash sewist asked me to share any tips on handling the facing at the neckline for Vogue 8663 and whether I had modified the skirt to give it more swing.

I did not use facings on this pattern as you can see in the photos below. The pattern instructed us to use pre-packaged bias seam binding to finish the neckline. I did not think this treatment would work well for my fabric so I just turned the allowance to the inside, top stitched and then trimmed close to the stitching.



I did not modify the skirt, this pattern has a swingy skirt.

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Gail suggested that if I had a purple cardigan/jacket it would work very well with this dress.

Gail I actually tried on my purple cardigan on first and liked it, but I was in a monotone mood that day and went for the black. Great minds and all...

Did you know

Image from Simplicity.com

that Simplicity has named a pattern collection after me? Well not after me, but it has my name. Check out the Lisette Collection it's got some cute styles, a bit young, but we all know we can usually make any pattern work for us with the right alterations, fabric selection and accessories.

How could I not try a pattern from this beautifully named collection? ;-)

Vogue 8663

Edited-to-add: Audrey asked about the fabric print which I neglected to address. Yes, Audrey, I too fell in love with animal prints this year. I loved that the color was unusual for a leopard print. I bought it at Joann's at the beginning of the fall season.

There isn't much to say about this dress. It was a very easy knit dress with the so popular now pleated neckline. The pleats gave me the usual trouble, always have to play with them before settling on a look I like. I eliminated the zipper, the neckline was wide enough and although my knit was pretty stable it had enough stretch to allow putting on this dress without a problem.



As you can see my sleeves end above the elbow, I really had to squeeze this pattern on the fabric I had. Even though I eliminated the zipper I had to keep the seam on the back skirt to fit it in.

I'm wearing this dress as I type, so comfortable! I came home in between interpreting assignments to take some quick pictures (excuse the flash photography!)

Learning the serger

The Vogue dress is done but I haven't had a chance for pictures; I'll review it then just know that it was very easy to put together.

In the meantime I cut Burda 01/2011 Mod 126 out of a knit I bought at Metro Textiles, NY a while ago.



Since I wanted to use the serger to finish the edges, I threaded it with grey (the only color I have so far), and started experimenting. I'm quite proud of myself for overcoming my trepidations and making myself stop reading more books on sergers. I figure I can make small steps and now I can at least finish seams, construction with the serger is another thing...



Here is my fabric sample, the fabric is rust with a gray wrong side. I guess it could be considered double sided, the wrong side has a less noticeable rib pattern.

A knit dress

Vogue 8663, image from Vogue Patterns site

Last week was extremely busy for me so I just did a lot of thinking about sewing. I got this cute pattern out and now is ready to be cut, I hope to have some time this weekend.

Many of you have been watching Downton Abbey and the gorgeous fashions of the time. I am obsessing about a maxi skirt and I might have found a pattern I like in my collection. I still have to find fabric in my stash so I'll post more about that later.

We were lucky last week and the worst we got was ice, no more snow came my way. Of course temperatures are still in the 20s(F) and although I'm liking a lot of the spring patterns I'm still in the mood for winter sewing. I have been wearing the coat I made last year and I've been toasty warm as well as stylish ;-)

Stay safe!

My Paco original design jacket

First I wanted to thank you all for your well wishes after my "incident" at the dentist. The stitches came out Thursday when I braved the roads after the storm on Wednesday that left me without power for 3 days and nights (we hit a low of 41 F/5 C by Saturday in the house when our power was restored around 1:00pm). I was warned by the surgeon that I can't laugh too hard or open my mouth too wide; in 6 weeks he'll show me how to massage the scarring (which I can hardly see yay!).




Anyways my jacket is done! I used a totally different fabric from the two jackets Paco has made and what Tany used, which gives my jacket a different look.



I had reinforced the fronts of the jacket with hair canvas but because the collar wasn't laying down nice, I removed it from the collar area. I still can't get the collar to lay down perfectly, I think it is a function of the quilted fabric doubled up on the collar.

I followed Tany's construction steps so I'm skipping the details. I also used Paco's tutorial for inserting the lining. I love the way the facing at the hem comes out!



For the in-seam pocket I followed Paco's tutorial. The pocket pattern includes a facing and is inserted after the seam is done (the pocket opening is sewn with basting stitches.



The button was in my stash and I thought it looked well with this jacket.



I can't say enough about how nicely this jacket went together. All the markings are perfectly placed to insure precise construction. Like Tany I placed both Paco's and my label on the jacket.



I will make this jacket again with a lighter fabric next time.

So a woman walks into the dentist

to replace a crown, little does she know that she will walk out with the tooth untouched but instead with a split lip.

The punch line "I'm fine" but I am now sporting 4 stitches on my lip. The dentist lost grip of my mouth/lip which hit the unbelievably fast spinning tool he was going to use on my tooth. I won't go into details because I don't want to think about it myself. It really doesn't look too bad, in 5 days the stitches will come out.

Of course I still need the work done but I'm allowing myself not to think about that right now.

I'm heading to the sewing room, I think I deserve some me time.

Butterick 5523 - A review

Today I got to wear my new dress and the color gave me a lift. As you can see everyhting looks pretty gray in my part of the world! The fabric is a double knit (Cache) from Fabric Mart. I think it really suited this design, it has a beefy weight perfect for winter dresses and I love the color.

The only thing I changed, I did not add elastic at the bodice seam.





There was a sewing thread somewhere (don't remember exactly where) where someone was asking advise on how to sew seams in a double knit. For my dress I sewed the seams with a narrow zig zag (2.5 - 3 length and .5 width) and after pressing each side of the seam to set stitches I opened the seam and pressed again. This reduces the bulk that you would see with a serged together seam. This fabric does not fray so seams allowances can be left alone.

I chose to edgestitch the hem and then topstitch at the hem depth again.


This pattern is a winner, with the right fabric you'll get a stylish, comfortable and warm dress!

Chaqueta de Paco - Construction

I have all the pieces cut out for the jacket (lining and hair canvas for hems also!) so I started construction about two days ago.

In the picture you can see the facing sewn to the bodice.

The fabric some of you might recognize it was sold at Joann's two years ago maybe? and it was featured in the Vogue Patterns magazine as a jacket. The lining I'm using is a rayon I bought from Michael's Fabrics a while ago. I'm using hair canvas for the hems because I did not want to fuse interfacings since the two quilted fabrics are synthetic and I believe the batting is polyester.

I'm following the steps of construction that Tany blogged about and so far all is going well.

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In my area last night we had snow followed by a layer of ice. After helping my husband outside (really he did almost all!) I went back to take some pictures, it was "popsicle land" out there!

New knitting projects

A few months ago I placed an order for knitting books from Phildar. They came from France at a wonderful price, I think they are probably from a few seasons ago but I loved their designs. This dress was picked first because I have had this yarn for many years; it was a closeout at a local yarn shop and I bought every one they had left. I love the pattern, I'm not loving working with the yarn, it is a boucle and the humps get stuck so you have to be careful not to create holes in your fabric. I do like how it looks and this is a dress I can see wearing often.



Inspiration scarf $565 at net-at-porter.com

For this sock weight yarn I'm using the pattern the Selfish Seamstress posted for her Envy, Missoni inspired scarf. I'm not sure I like how this yarn looks with this pattern, I like the soft color changes of the Selfish Seamstress scarf better, so I'll let it sit for a while and keep working on the Phildar dress.

P.S; I saw the above scarf and I'm liking my scarf again

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My youngest shared his cold with me and I haven't slept well in a few days. I have decided to wait on cutting Paco's pattern, since I have to cut single layer to mind the fabric pattern; don't want to do that with anything less than a clear head.