Pages

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

New Look 6139 PJ bottoms

Just a super duper quick post today!  Another pair of PJ bottoms using New Look 6139.  These are from a lightweight cotton print I had in the stash.  I only had one yard of this fabric so it was perfect for these pj's.


I used a trim with little birds on it for the waistline treatment.  As mentioned in my previous post on these bottoms, I really like this waistline feature.

Stashbustin quest info -
Total yardage for these pj bottoms = 1 yard
Total YTD = 73.41 yards!

Happy sewing everyone!
Star


Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Vogue 8793 - a Katherine Tilton blouse

Another completed project!  Yeah!  This is Vogue 8793 - a Katherine Tilton blouse.  Not sure I like the look with leggings - jeans would be better.


I added a pocket to the front of the blouse because - well - who doesn't like a pocket!

The fabric is a doubleknit that I purchased at this year's Sewing Garage Sale.  It's polka dot on one side and stripe on the other.

I really like the neckline on this blouse.  It uses a double collar that is edged with a zipper!

Close-up of the zipper tape used as an edging.  

Cutting out this blouse took a bit of thought to make sure I had the dots on the correct side and the stripes on the other side.  I did find the arms to be a bit snug from the elbow to the wrist.  If I make this again, I will widen the sleeves just a bit.

I decided to edge the pocket with the zipper tape too.  Kinda cute!

Sorry this post has random thoughts here and there, but it was a random kinda day!

Here are the stashbustin' stats:

2 yards of sewing garage sale fabric for $5.00

Total YTD = 72.41 yards!

Happy sewing everyone!
Star



Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Simplicity 2181 and my Hawaiian Skirt

You may remember this skirt - or not - it has been awhile.  It started out as a long XXL skirt that I bought at a garage sale.    It was part of my 2016 goal of completing all remaining UFO projects.


After taking in one of the panels to make it more my size, and changing the elastic, I still wasn't happy with it.  I tried it on a few times, hemmed and hawed in the mirror, and put it back on the hanger on the UFO wall.  Until one day when I was trying it on I thought, hey, how about making it shorter?  I quickly grabbed some elastic and tied it around my waist and starting pulling up the skirt to more of a knee length version and finally - success!  I even decided to go with a hi/lo hemline and I think it works.  Here is the final product along with Simplicity 2181 - made from a matching teal knit I had in the stash.


But I know, you are thinking "Hey, the skirt was just a plain batik one to start with". Of course the batik looked a little plain for me so I grabbed some coordinating striped fabric I had in the stash and started making some bias tape.  I had seen at some point in time a raw edge bias tape treatment and wanted to give that a try - so instead of folding the tape so it had two folded edges, I folded it in half and left one raw edge - that way when it's washed, the raw edge will fray a little bit causing an interesting effect.  Here's a close-up of the effect: 


Here you can see the bias tape as I was pinning it and experimenting. And, bonus, a little bag of matching yo-yo's that I had recently purchased at a quilt show.  The little yo-yo's matched perfectly and I ended up using all but two of them.  

Here you can see the hi/lo skirt action:

And another look at the bias tape treatment.  I used a triple zig-zag stitch to sew it on and I considered it a "bobbin waster" project, as I emptied about 10 bobbins with minimal thread on them in various colors stitching on the bias trim.

Stashbustin statistics:

Blouse - 1.5 yards
Bias trim - 1 yard

Total YTD = 70.41yards

Another UFO finished - PRICELESS!

Happy sewing everyone~!~
Star

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

McCall's 7468 - a Nicole Miller blouse

Here is my newest blouse - McCall's 7468 - a Nicole Miller top.  I am very behind with the cold shoulder trend this year and I'm not really sure it's my style anyways.  I thought I would snap some pics outside and catch some of the fall color starting to happen.....but I didn't realize until I uploaded the pictures, just how wrong of a background this was.


With all of the colors going on in this blouse - my hair blends in with the Japanese Maple tree and the blouse blends in with the tree in the background....

Here's an example of a disappearing arm.... 

Ok, maybe you can see a little bit better here....

Here we go - some pics on the dress form so I can describe the top.  As I mentioned, this is a Nicole Miller design.  The main fabric, which is a knit of some sort, was purchased at this year's Sewing Garage Sale.  The black fabric for the contrasting pieces is a cotton that was in my stash. 



Here you can see the cold shoulder style better.

The front waistband is flat but the back waistband has two rows of elastic.  The closure on the upper back consists of two yellow buttons with black thread loops.


Here's a close-up of the back waistband.

I did have some major issues cutting out this blouse and trying to match up the prints.  I only had 2 yards of the print to deal with!  I ended up narrowing the sleeves by about 3 inches on each side and hemming it somewhere between View A and View B.  I did not have enough fabric to cut the contrasting pieces out of the same fabric so I opted to use the black instead.  I think it kinda works?!?!?  Maybe??!?

Here are the stashbustin' stats for this blouse:

2 yards of print from sewing garage sale = $6.00
.5 yard of black from stash = free!
Total yardage for this blouse = 2.5 yards

Total YTD =67.91 yards

Happy sewing everyone!

Star