The Baker's Dozen

13 garments in, um, about 18 weeks; some of these photos aren't great...like the one of the green Jalie 965 tank top; you can just barely see it under the black Simplicity wrap...but it's there!

It was an interesting challenge...I'm sorry that Ann had to go through what she did in order for me to get the idea to do it, but I'm very glad I did. My sewing for myself had been pushed down the priority list a bit...and even two of these were for my daughter...but it was the push I needed to get sewing again.

I'm hoping to maintain that momentum after I finish the Honors Dress and get back to making some things to put in the closet!

Gorgeous Fabrics, Garment 12

I think it's an amazing coincidence that I finally got back to the sewing machine to complete the last garment in the Gorgeous Fabrics Challenge on the same day that Ann finished her radiation treatments.

I didn't quite meet all my goals on that challenge; at the end of 12 weeks, I only had 10 garments made from my stash of Gorgeous Fabrics. I had some other sewing I had to do, so the GF project languished.

By the time I got to the 12th project, I relented on my 'use what I had when the challenge began' idea, too...I was in serious need of some short sleeved white summer T's, and I did get some white cotton interlock from Ann back in April for the purpose of making white short sleeved T's. The knit is very stable and doesn't have a lot of recovery, so I knew I couldn't use one of my T-shirt patterns that uses the stretch in the fabric for fitting. I pulled out patterns for a dart-fitted T (Today's Fit Vogue 8151 (I *will* get the photo link on that review fixed one of these days!) and a princess-seamed T (Vogue 8323 and cut them both out when I cut out the Flute Player's swimsuit (yes, the suit got finished but I have not gotten a photo of her in it yet...).

I decided that I'd squeeze the white tops in before I get focused on the Honors Dress. I finished the Today's Fit top last night and wore it to work today (sorry the photo is so fuzzy. New photographer...)

I altered the sleeve to a cap, added some ease to the body of the shirt to compensate for the stability of the knit, and added an inch of length above the bust dart, which dropped the bust AND made the top a much better length.

I added my black stretch sateen Burda vest #108 from the 5/2009 issue. I rotated about a 3/8" dart out of the front armsceye into the lower front dart and really helped the armhole gappage. That vest will see quite a bit of wear in its life, I betcha!


The Vogue 8323 top is done to the sleeves; I think I can finish it tonight. As soon as it's done, I'll do a collage post of all 13 garments.

Kudos to Ann for maintaining such a positive attitude through the whole process!! And may it all now be history, never to be repeated!!

And, because she was also part of my prayers as I sewed, a moment to reflect on Shannon Gifford and the amazing battle she fought with such incredible grace. She will continue to inspire my sewing for years to come...

Jalie Pants, Iteration 2

Well, I'm getting closer. I wish the photos had turned out better; the settings were off somehow, and the back view was totally unusable; apparently I pulled the back cattywampus when I tucked in the top and my Sweet Baboo did not instruct me to fix it before he took the photos; there are many ugly wrinkles that I have not seen in the mirror. I intend to have the pictures retaken sometime when I put the pants on in the morning, instead of at the tail end of a long day.




I ultimately cut off most of the hip shaping; I've decided these pants are drafted for a figure type that has pretty pronounced curves. That did eliminate the side wrinkling that I had on the first pair

I need to go back over my alterations, though; the front dips more than in the first pair. I think I miscalculated how much I needed to remove after graining up the front seam; it's rather loose in the front. A bit more altering there would help.

Looking at the side view, it looks like the knee shaping hits just a hair below my actual knee; I'll shorted above the knee and lengthen below to see if I can make it look a little better proportioned from the side.

The pockets feel pretty good on this pair; at least I think I have that right!

Also, the first pair is quite snug and needs the stretch to be wearable; I've added enough ease in this pair that I think I could make them from non-stretch fabric and they'd work. However, that makes them a bit less flattering, for all that I feel they fit better.

This is not really the holy grail of pants fitting yet, but I do think I'm getting close.

The real objective is to get this pattern fitted well so I can just morph the changes onto the Jalie jeans pattern. ;)

BTW, this *was* garment 11 from the Gorgeous Fabrics Challenge. I'm kinda embarrassed that it took a month to get 'em done, but I did have to stop and make the graduation mantles for HMC...and I did have to take the back apart so I could remove some gappage from the back waist.

I've got one more item left to make in the challenge; I've got lots of plans but I think I'm going to pick a quick one. Life is squeezing out the sewing time right now....

You Don't Know Anyone Who Sews...

(Picture Obi-wan waving his hand and quoting the title...)

Carolyn's post made me chuckle today...and remember a conversation from last week.

My cell phone rang while I was checking out at Publix. I dug around in my purse, pulled it out, and had the following conversation with a friend, P.

P. Hi, Lisa, say, do you know (lady)?

Me. No, I haven't met her yet.

P. Her and her husband are the ones who have that (such-and-such a product).

Me. Nope. Don't know them.

P. Well, she wanted to know if I knew anyone who sews...

Me. P, you don't!!! You don't know anyone!!!

P. You were the only one I could think of...she needs someone to make a wedding dress.

Me. (trying to pay the grocery tab while stifling hysterical laughter) Absolutely you do not know anyone!!! I don't do that!

P. Well, Ok, I just thought I'd ask...


A wedding dress. I suppose I should be flattered, but...sigh.

I *might* make wedding dresses for my daughters. But unless I go into business doing it, that'd be IT.

On another note, my 12 weeks were up; Ann has already posted on Facebook about being Officially Done with chemo (Yay for Ann!!!). So, she got done w/chemo before I finished my 12 garments. I hit turbulence with the striped pants; the waistband is pinned on at the moment, so they are close to done. The 12th garment has been in the queue since the Great Stash-Busting Chop of 2007...the fuschia jersey Donna Karan Vogue wrap top.

But it's heading into graduation season, and I need to take a break from garment sewing to work on the mantles for the Masters' Commission students who will be graduating at the end of the month. They have to be cut out, interfaced, and partially sewn so I can hand them over to my embroidery queen friend, Miss A, to letter, and she needs them this weekend so she'll have time to get them embroidered and back to me to finish before the grad.

So, I got 10 garments made in 12 weeks...not too shabby...and I'll finish the others up in pretty short order.

When I'm done, I'll post a photo collage of the lot of them. ;)

Slipped again

Once upon a time, I decided I would declare one week out of every three months to be my 'home focus week' -- I'd stay off the internet, not schedule any appointments or volunteer activities and work on some project that needed attention at home.

Then I got a part-time job, and, while I still manage to stay off the internet, the 'stay home and accomplish things' part of the plan sort of went away.

And I did a BUNCH of running around town last week...I put about 110 miles on the car on Thursday and never left town.

And I didn't get much sewing done, either.

I've been working on a test garment of Jalie 2909 (the 'Classic Trousers') from a poly-lycra blend suiting I nabbed off the cheap table at Wal-mart. I got them to the point that all they needed was a trouser hook and the legs hemmed and determined that I needed to:

1) move the hip curve down about 2". The sideseam ripples a bit above the fullest part of my hips.

2) Add a pinch of ease to the whole garment. To my mind, in woven 'classic' pants, stretch in the fabric should be for ease of movement, not for fitting. These are pretty snug.

3) scoop the back crotch a bit

4) angle the back seam of the waistband in a bit and, after a bit of deliberation

5) put the center front seam on grain.

I'd also drafted pockets for the pants, but they were too deep and the opening was too long.

I pulled the pattern out and worked it over to accomplish those five things, plus I overhauled my pocket draft. Then I pulled out some black-and-white stripe printed cotton/lycra I got from Ann...last spring?...and cut out another pair (I still need pocket linings and interfacing).

Then I finished up the first pair. I'd give the fit about a C+ on that pair, given the items mentioned above. I like the color combo on the fabric, though, so I think I'll just make sure I pair 'em up with a top that's long enough to cover the too-high-hip-curve ripples and wear 'em for a while. With a longer top on, they really don't look *too* bad.

I'll do a full review w/photos when I get the second pair made.

So, while I didn't *finish* a Gorgeous Things garment, I made some progress on one.

Oh, and I decided I'd use the rest of the black and white stripe to make another McCall's 5191 jacket.

But I won't wear the pants and the jacket together. Just so you know. ;)

Caught Up

12 Weeks of Gorgeous Fabrics - garment #10

Squeezed a Jalie 965 top for The Flute Player out of the remnants...literally! I pieced the neckband and somehow the back is off grain...didn't notice that until I was matching the stripes on the side seams. I don't think I could've fit it on at all if I had actually folded it square (I thought I did...dunno what I goofed on) it JUST BARELY fit; I had to trim the back armholes out a bit to get past the notched place on one side. But, as the only place the offgrain is really noticeable is at the back hem, and this is intended to be a knock-around-the-house summer top, it'll be ok.

For that reason I'm not going to take the white armhole band off and flip it, either...didn't notice *that* until I looked at the photo. I meant to put the orange side out on both bands....:rolleyes:...

And I just looked at the calendar and realized that this is the 3rd week of April, which is *supposed* to be my quarterly Internet break. So I'll be off the rest of the week...hopefully I'll have Garment 11 done by Sunday... ;)

Gorgeous Fabrics Week 10

Since the Flute Player has outgrown a number of tops this this spring, I figured I'd better get a few things made for her if I could. I pulled out the last of several orange-based pieces of fabric that I ordered from Ann about a year ago specifically for her, as orange is her favorite color, and looked for a pattern to use.

I decided to try something a little different, and traced off the boat-neck version of Jalie 2005, in a size S this time (I think the last tracing I had for her was a 'P'...she's really shot up in the past year), and I used the cap sleeve from Jalie 965.

I had to take a sharpie and write 'BACK' on the turned under portion of the back neckline...*I* had trouble telling the front from the back, and I knew which way I'd flipped the shoulder seams!

She's happy.

I had a fair sized chunk of fabric left...I'd only gotten a yard of this, but it was 70" wide. So I scraped and pieced a Jalie 965 tank top for her out of it; that may be my 'catch up' garment early next week! ;)

Gorgeous Fabrics Week...9...

Yeah, I missed week 8, so I'm a garment behind.
But, since the spring play has completely fallen through, I may be able to catch up next week. We'll see. ;)





Anyway, this pitiful hanger shot is Burda 05-2009-108, from black cotton/lycra sateen. The vest really looks a lot more polished in real life; the only real problem is that it is a lint magnet!!! Must keep lint roller handy...

I don't know when I'll manage to get a photo of it actually on me; I don't have any tops to wear with it for choir this month, although it'll probably get worn quite a bit in future months. Maybe I'll wear it to work this week and get a photo then.

Choir Saturday?

Well, in order to accommodate all the folks we anticipate coming to church this weekend, we added a Saturday night service just like the services on Sunday. So the choir sang and we were in black/gray/yellow. This is 2/3 of my new Double twinset...the Jalie cardi and Christine Jonson's Basewear Two turtleneck shell, made from yummy rayon/lycra jersey knit from Gorgeous Fabrics. And, since it's Easter Weekend, we're wearing black pants (or skirts!) instead of jeans. I have my old reliable Vogue 7881 pants from black cotton twill, one of my best Wal-Mart dollar table finds ever.

The yellow plastic jewelry is my nod to the color; I just *couldn't* do Easter weekend in black and gray. I snagged a scarf at Wal-Mart that I may wear tomorrow...haven't decided yet. Yellow and I generally are not on speaking terms. ;)

And I have a confession...I am not going to get my 8th Gorgeous Fabrics garment done before midnight. It's all cut out, and the interfacing is on, but, well, I knew it'd be dicey once we started cranking on Macbeth. Incidentally, we started cranking, then one of the gears stripped out, so I'm rather on hold on that at the moment. But I did get all the kids measured; I should know by Monday what direction we'll be heading.

But, throw that AND Easter weekend preparation/extra services in my week and I just flat ran outta time. But I did manage a garment a week for 7 straight weeks; that wasn't too bad! I *will* finish all 12 garments...it's just going to take a fuzz longer than 12 weeks now.

Gettin' busy...

I've got all but one of the kids measured for the Macbeth cast (or should I say, 'the Scottish play? No, we're performing it...I'm good... ;) ). I'm going to drive up to Sirs on Friday to see if I can buy a large quantity of lightweight black fabric, with a substantial quantity of grey fabric to go along with it. We've got 11 witches in the cast, plus Hecate, who are all going to be in shredded Bible costumes of layered black and grey.

Planning to cut on Monday.

Meantime, I have my next Gorgeous Fabrics project on the cutting board...a Burda Magazine vest from some black cotton/lycra sateen. I've been needing a black vest for ages; and I made this pattern up once before in denim, so I'm pretty confident it will work. I did pinch 1/2" out of the front armsceye and rotate it into the front dart to see if I could reduce the gapishness of the armhole; we'll see if it worked. That'll be the first time I actually put that principle into practice.

But it's a busy, busy week; I'm really going to have to push hard to get that project done...

12 Weeks of Gorgeous Fabrics: Week 7

Ann tends to cut fabric generously; after I cut The vintagey tie-neck blouse from the green silk jacquard, I found I had a generous yard-and-a-quarter left over. Plenty for another top, so long as it was on the simple side.

I decided to try one of my Burda magazine patterns. I picked a little shell top from the August '09 issue that's gotten several favorable reviews, looks pretty cute and requires 1 1/4 yards of fabric.



I didn't have anyone around to do a photo; I'll get one in the next day or two and post a review.

However, I had some issues with the blouse that no one else mentioned. I think part of the problem is that the 42 that I traced is simply Too Big in the shoulders/upper chest, the neckline is way wider on me than other reviewers. So it kind of shifts around, which makes me feel like the flounce is lopsided.

I used the rolled hem foot on my sewing machine to hem the flounces and I'm not terribly adept at it... I think I inadvertently stretched the edges. And, since the rolled edge foot requires sewing down one flounce and up the other, the stretching is not symmetrical; one side curls under, the other curls out, which also adds to the lopsided feeling.

I changed one element; instead of using a button-and-loop on the neckline, I made bias tubes for a tie closure; I like that. I may put beads on the bottom of the ties...haven't decided yet.

This one may sit in the closet for a while before I decide if I like it or not. If I make it again, I will definitely use a smaller size above the bust.

Later that same day... I did a check and found that the left side of the flounce *did* come farther up the neckline than the right side. So I did some unpicking and refolding and now they do, technically, match. Why didn't I think to do that before I put the facing on??? *smacks head* That didn't help the asymetric draping, but at least I know the thing's even. I'm still not sure about this style; the double-folded armhole hems wing up a bit. Don't think there's anything to be done about that... I'll put details on the review, when I get it written.

12 Weeks of Gorgeous Fabrics: Week 6

I barely finished this one...sewed on the last button at 11:30 PM.

I'm planning to wear it to church tomorrow; I'll get a real photo then.

G'night. ;)

Tryin' to keep up!

View A is the next Gorgeous Fabrics project...I cut it out of the green silk jacquard I got in December (I think Ann still has some on her site) today and made the collar/tie and got the slit in the back faced. I also covered 4 buttons (Hancock's had NOTHING that would work) and made a skinny bias strap for button loops...the pattern calls for thread loops, but those are awfully hard to button behind your head. The button loops were a little tricky to put in; I was really working blind and had to do one of them three times. Still not terribly happy with it, but as the silk is delicate I'm not going to pick it out again. Movin' on to the tucks in the front.

I *hope* to finish it tomorrow night, so I'm still on schedule with a garment a week. But this has been a busy week and I've had to really push to get this much done. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

12 Weeks of Gorgeous Fabrics - Week 5

Yeah, it's wrinkled and it's on a hanger, but it's done! I'll take a better photo when I wear it (and it really is darker than it looks in this pic!).

I probably should've gone with cap sleeves instead of just short sleeves (borrowed from Jalie 2005, btw). It'd probably have looked a teensy bit more uptown. But, well, I just grabbed what was handy. Actually, I think I like this top best sleeveless, but I work in an office in which sleeveless tops are discouraged...and we have great fluctuation in temperature; for some reason my office is one that experiences the extremes. Other parts of the building will be ok, but mine will either be a refrigerator or an oven; I wanted to be able to pull my jacket off if we went into oven mode... ;)

Now I've pretty much sewn all the quick knit tops; heading into the wovens. And MacBeth costumes (lunch meeting on Wednesday of next week to get the direction).

Taking a deep breath....

12 Weeks of Gorgeous Fabrics - Week 4

ANOTHER Jalie 965 tank top! These things are such great bottom layers; I may very well wear this one tomorrow. It's from my most recent GF purchase; I'm fortunate to have some knits so I can crank out quick projects whilst I'm working on other things. I actually got two tops from this piece of fabric; the second is close to being finished. I've got one more piece of green fabric to get through this month; but I don't think I'll need to do any choir sewing for April, so I can focus on other projects.

Probaby MacBeth costumes, actually, but we'll see...

The Double Twinset

As promised: the cardi and the tank and the sleeveless turtleneck on a person and not a hanger! I bet I wear these a lot. Good basics.

12 Weeks of Gorgeous Fabrics: Week 3

The third piece of the double twinset: the Jalie 2566 cardigan. I had problems w/the buttonholes; the clutch in my sewing machine is slipping or something and I had to unpick the first buttonhole twice before I got it to work properly. Time to see the Sewing Machine Doctor, I think!

I'll try to get photos of these three pieces on me instead of on the hanger in the next couple of days.

Meantime, I've cut out two garments from the green knit I got from Ann at the end of December...a Jalie 965 tank (again!) and the Jalie 2682 (the v-neck empire waist top), with short sleeves from the classic Jalie 2005 t-shirt pattern.

I hope I have some green thread... ;)

12 Weeks of Gorgeous Fabrics: Week 2

This is the second piece of the 'double-twin set'...and I'll take a photo of all three pieces actually on me when I finish the cardi (which only needs buttons and buttonholes at this moment). Anyway, this is the Jalie 965 tank top once again. I *love* this pattern...it's so perfect, having a scoop that's not too low, shoulders that are wide enough to cover straps, and a band on the armhole that snugs it up to keep it from gaping. Perfect as a bottom layer, or even a cool summer top on its own. Unfortunately, I believe it's now OOP...but I *think* PatternReview still has a few in stock. It's a gem!

To the best of my recollection, I've got this top in 8 colors: cream,black,light blue,orange,red,purple,brown and now grey, plus I'm planning to make one in the next few weeks from a green knit I got from Ann in December.

I really should line 'em all up and take a photo of the whole set, 'specially since I need to update the photo link on the review.

Oh...My Sweet Baboo and I have some other duties at church that will keep us out of choir tomorrow, so there will be no Choir Sunday post.

And I broke my promise to myself Thursday; I didn't expect my day to turn into a day at work (I thought I was just going to run in for a little bit). So. Hoping to get the tracing paper out today...

Twelve Weeks of Gorgeous Fabrics: Wk 1

So, the first garment from Gorgeous Fabrics is a Christine Jonson Basewear 2 sleeveless t-neck, from some of Ann's aMAYzing designer rayon/lycra jersey, in charcoal gray. I'm sorry for the hanger pic, but, believe me, a photo of me in my 'I stayed home in my sweats and didn't even wash my hair today' state would surely be tragic. I'll get a photo of it actually on when I don't look quite so Phyllis-Dillerish.

The gathers at the armholes are to close the gaping that that shirt tends to have on me. After I made it, I remembered that, while I like this for a regular t-neck (with sleeves), the sleeveless version is not so great on me. Hence the clear elastic sewn into the turned-and-stitched edge finish on the front of the armholes.

I knew that; I just forgot. But this is typically a bottom layer...under a jacket or a cardi...so it's not that big a deal. And the gathers are much less noticeable on an actual body.

Weather permitting, I have a road trip tomorrow up to Sir's Fabrics tomorrow. The Flute Player is once again in need of a dress for the annual Kid's Ministries Awards dinner, and, although Last year's dress still fits fairly well (I think...? Mayhap I should have her try it on, just to make sure...), she wants a purple dress for this year. I've already checked the two Hancock's in town...while I was looking for Wash Away Basting Tape (the other store was out, too. Someone doing a school production must've cleaned everybody out)...and they don't really have what I'm looking for. Sir's does have a fairly large selection of fancy fabrics, so she and I are going to head up in the morning, see what I can find, have lunch and head back home. (It's about a 45 minute drive)

I'm hoping I can get in and out without another stash-swamping 50 yard purchase...Sir's is a daaangerous place....

12 Weeks of Gorgeous Fabrics: The Plan

I realize that if I'm going to manage to make one garment a week for 12 weeks, I'm going to have to do some planning. And some of those garments will be very quick to make, so I can kinda double up and do some more involved projects (looks like I'm going to be switching thread in the machines a lot! ;) )

Anyway, here's what I'm planning:

I've cut out a test run of the Jalie 2909 "classic trousers" from some poly/lycra suiting off the Wal-Mart cheap table. I cut the size recommended by my measurements, but the farther I get the more skeptical I am...it looks *small*. But I'm plodding along, because I have two pieces of woven cotton/lycra from Ann that I want to use for pants...one is a black sateen, the other is a twill w/a printed white stitch stripe. I'm hoping this pattern works, or is at least close enough that a little tweaking will let me cut into those two fabrics.

I've also finally muslined the jacket pattern from Burde December '08, with the intention of using that same printed stripe to make the first real jacket.

I probably won't wear the jacket and the pants together. ;-)

I've got some dark grey 'designer' rayon/lycra jersey on the cutting table now; I'm pretty sure I can get three 'real quick' items out of it...I'm planning a double twinset; the Jalie 2566 Cardigan, with the Jalie 965 tank top and Christine Jonson's Basewear Two mock t-neck shell. So I can wear the cardi with either top.

I've got one project that's been in the queue for ever that I'm going to finish up...the Vogue 2064 DK wrap tunic from some fuschia rayon/lycra jersey. I'll be glad to get the push to finish that one!

I've got some green rayon/lycra jersey that came from Ann right at the end of December; I haven't decided for sure which tops I'll use but I know that will be at least two quick knit tops. Green is the color for choir next month, so it will get sewn.

Likewise, I have some marvelous jacquard green silk charmeuse that I've pegged for an OOP McCall's pattern. It just needs its pre-treatment and I'll be cutting that one.

Then there is a sturdy piece of white cotton/lycra satin that I'm planning to turn into long blouse. I'm waffling on which pattern to use for it; I don't want it to end up looking like a lab coat!

Finally, I've got another piece of the brown heathered 'designer' rayon/lycra jersey in the stash that I'm planning to use as a tunic. I've got two different ideas in my head for it; both of which are modifications to patterns I've used before. Just not sure which one will win out in the end.

So that's my 'plan' for one garment a week for the next twelve weeks! Barring the onset of costuming, it is do-able, if I pace the cutting/tracing/muslin process with the simple tops.

And I've found out another sewing friend has been fighting a battle similar to Ann's; sewing these things will be a good point of contact to pray for both of them.

So, for the ladies who are planning to sew along with this...what's your plan?