Simplicity 8296 - Navy + White Off-The-Shoulder Blouse

Off-the-shoulder blouses are currently everywhere: in stores, magazines, and pattern catalogues. I don't always make the newest trend right away, probably because I like to see what other people make first or which patterns seem to work the best. This time, though, I happened upon the perfect fabric. This navy and white embroidered gingham is from Moodfabrics.com. It is the loveliest of weights for a blouse, and has a slight amount of stretch to it not included in the description. There's only a little bit left as of this post. I highly recommend you snap some up!

Simplicity 2187 - Red & white geometric print jumpsuit

I'm trying something different with my newest project - a jumpsuit. (I was calling it a romper but that sounds like something a toddler would wear.) This pattern has capri-length pant legs which I cut off to shorts before cutting into my fabric.

The fabric is viscose jersey from Mood fabrics and has been used by quite a few of my fellow MSN bloggers. I waited forever to purchase it and was only able to get a yard. There was also a black color way but unfortunately they've both sold out. This was my first time using viscose jersey and I really enjoyed working with it. I laundered it before cut out and it came out of the dryer looking exactly like it did when it went in the washer.

Others who've used this pattern have complained that there was too much fabric in the upper part of the shorts, resulting in a saggy rear end. I decided to cut my typical knit size of 10 as drafted, with the knowledge that I could always cut fabric off the top of the shorts if that was the case with mine. After basting the shorts and top together and trying it on, I could see that I didn't need to remove any fabric after all. I do have a long torso; someone with a normal length torso might find it too long.

The center fronts are suppose to be finished with facings and the back neckline with bias tape. It's been awhile since I worked with bias tape, though, and I guess I forgot how to do it effectively. In an effort to try to save the project from the trashcan I decided to try fold over elastic in a contrasting color. This is the first time I've worked with it and I wasn't sure what to expect. I had to play around with how much to stretch it and did end up restitching things a few times, but I love the effect!

The fronts don't exactly meet at a modest point, hence the camisole.

I used some black ponte from my stash to edge the belt with. I had to do a lot of stitching in the ditch by hand all along the black edges. The belt took just as long to make as the jumpsuit did but I love the way it turned out.

I used 3/4" elastic for the waist instead of the called for 1/4" and topstitched it down from the outside. The bottom of the shorts were hemmed with a wide twin needle.

I finished all the interior seams with the overlocking stitch on my sewing machine. Knits don't ravel but I like the finished look of it on the inside.

It remains to be seen how much wear I get out of this jumpsuit. I love the way it turned out and think it looks well made but it's just not the type of thing I see anyone else around here wearing. Maybe I'll save it for date night..

Note: This fabric was purchased with my Mood Fabrics monthly allowance, as part of my participation in the Mood Sewing Network.

Vogue 1200 - Black + white houndstooth jacket w/ black leather inserts

I am on an outerwear kick. There is a whole pile of these types of garments in my queue that always gets shoved to the side for pretty dresses or simpler patterns. No more! I love outerwear and can't currently make fitted things anyway. Might as well stitch them up. This particular pattern is an Anne Klein design that came out in 2010. I purchased it right when it was released, decided on the fabric, and placed them both in my "winter planned garments" bin. As far as I know nobody ever made the jacket and blogged or wrote a review about it, and the pattern went out of print. Which is really too bad because it is a great design with some lovely details.

The design details I liked include the over-sized collar, bias sleeve and hem bands, bias sides (although I ended up changing those), two-piece sleeves, snap closures and topstitching. I decided to change the sides and undersleeves to leather for an on-trend look. In the end I had barely enough houndstooth for what you see, so that decision saved me from wasting my fabric.

The fabric is a woven houndstooth of mystery content purchased locally, most likely from Hancock fabrics. It is really thick but has a loose weave, so that it shed like crazy and had some drape. It did iron well, though, so there must be some cotton or rayon in it. It does not feel like polyester. I am not sure how insulated from low temps I am going to be wearing this jacket. However, because I live in southern Texas, I still think it will get plenty of wear.

Cutting this jacket out was almost the death of me. There are 19 pattern pieces, most of which are cut twice. Then, because the jacket is almost fully interfaced, you cut them all again in interfacing. I matched the houndstooth print across the fronts and made sure each side mirrored the other. This all had to be done on a single layer of fabric, and I used my triangle to make sure everything was square before I cut into it. I spent 4 days cutting it all out and really sweated those last few pieces fearing I wouldn't have enough fabric.

I was a little fearful this big collar would obliterate the shape of my shoulders, but it sort of curves up at the edges. I'm not sure if this is by intention on the part of the pattern designer or is caused by using a really thick fabric, but I really love the playfulness of it. Besides changing the sides to leather, the only two other deviations I made were to leave off the interfacing on the undercollar and omit the shoulderpads. With a collar covering a good bit of the shoulders, I didn't feel them necessary.

The lining is black Ambiance bought from JoAnne's. A nice thing about this pattern is the facing and lining to not meet up over a bust apex. Lots of big 4 patterns do and you end up with a seam right over the bust, which isn't too flattering. I also appreciate having a back facing.

You may notice something a bit different going on at the bottom of the lining. It is actually finished with a piece of grosgrain ribbon as per the instructions. This was my first time doing anything like this, and it really gave it a nice finish without the need to handstitch the bottom lining to the jacket.

I used large brass snaps from my stash for the closures. These use to come in black as well, but I thought the brass a nice change from all the black and white already present on the jacket. I went to replenish these the other day and they were no longer carried at Hancock fabrics. Hopefully JoAnne's still has them or I will have to find an online source instead. Sewing on these snaps really takes some time since I like to make sure all the snap holes are consistently the same along the entire edge.

The leather I used was purchased years ago from Fabricmartfabrics.com. They use to carry leather skins every fall and have a half off sale around Thanksgiving each year. I have a nice collection of colors and weights now that I'm slowly working my way through. I did interface the leather on the body to give it the same weight as the houndstooth body fabric. The sleeves were left un-interfaced, also per the instructions, so that they can bend easily and not look stiff.

Topstitching through two layers of thick fabric and two layers of interfacing was a bear. I had to stuff everything under my machine foot and the thread broke over any seams. I also broke at least 4 needles before wising up and using a more substantial leather needle.

Dressform pictures:

This project took at least 2 weeks to complete because of all the steps involved, but I had a lot of fun making it. The fabric behaved itself nicely and once I saw how flippy the collar was I got really excited. I'm extremely happy with the fit. I did not muslin since this jacket is suppose to be somewhat loose fitting, and I love how it skims the body without being overly boxy.

McCall's 6992 - Black + white fashion sweatshirt in quilted cotton knit

These fashion sweatshirts have been popular for the last few years, and I have finally gotten around to stitching one up. I enjoy making garments that are interesting and different from what I find in department stores, and none of the thicker knits I was seeing really caught my eye. That is until I saw this awesome quilted cotton knit at Mood fabrics. (It has just recently sold out but they have other interesting quilted fabric, though currently none with stretch.) I loved the subtle city buildings at night print and the texture, and only needed to order a yard.

 For the sleeves I used black ponte from my stash and some fun black rib knit for the neck and sleeve bands. Rib knits are hard to find locally around here, y'all. I kind of thought those types of fabrics were store staples.

 I used McCall’s 6992 for the pattern, which I chose because the sleeves and bodice looked somewhat fitted. This design has a slight high-low hem to it. The darts on the top of the sleeves enable a close and flattering fit. I cut one size down from my normal big 4 pattern size, a typical choice when sewing knits, and the fit is spot on. This pattern has great variety to it, and I can see myself making at least one more, maybe with some fancier sequin fabric.

Taking pictures of black garments is always so difficult! Here are some close ups so you can see some of the details better. I really adore the mix of textures that make up this top.

Although the quilted fabric is a knit, it was very prone to unraveling. I finished the side seams using the overlocking stitch on my machine, but the edges really stretched out and I had to aggressively press them into submission. The rest of the garment was finished with hand whip-stitching. I actually really like how neat the inside turned out, as most of the time when I'm working with knit fabrics it doesn't look so nice.

This was a fun project for me because the knits I worked with were somewhat thick and stable. I have the hardest time with the thinner variety! In fact, I have given myself permission to buy any good quality knit garment that I like and not try to tell myself I can just go make it instead.

Peter pan collar blouse in taupe stretch silk charmeuse

Can y'all stand another silk blouse?

I made this one using Mood Fabric's stone stretch silk charmeuse. Originally I picked this fabric to use for a nightgown with some other pretty brown lace. This must have been before I wised to the practice of ordering swatches because the browns didn't match. I thought it would make a great neutral blouse for my wardrobe and it really does go with a number of other garments.

This was my first time using silk charmeuse with stretch and I love the ease of movement. I used the matte side for the body of the blouse because I thought the shiny side might be too fancy for my lifestyle. The shiny side can be seen when I roll the sleeves up slightly and also on the peter pan collar. At the back I used a button and thread loop for closure.

The pattern is Butterick 5817, which I made only a few months ago in a silk crepe de chine. This time around I used the peter pan collar applique. These types of collars are really in style, but I find most of them to be too prim and buttoned up for my taste. This one I liked because it still has a relatively normal rounded neckline. I don't like to feel choked!

I deviated from the instructions by slip-stitching the collar applique to the blouse instead of top-stitching it down. It looks more like a real collar this way. When it came time to stitch the neckbinding down to the blouse on the inside, I only used the machine at the center front and on the back. The rest was slip-stitched down as well. You can see the slight puckering resulting from my hand stitches on the close-ups.

I used french seams throughout except at the center back. After using french seams at the armholes of my white and black polka dotted blouse last month, I decided to try them out again. The sleeves went in without issue, and this will be my go-to method for attaching sleeves in silk blouses from now on.

Here's the blouse with the sleeve hem and bottom hem visible. On my previous blouse from this pattern I noted that the sleeve length was perfect without the need of attaching the cuffs. I didn't even cut them out this time around.



Whew! It's been an extremely frustrating month of sewing for me. I'm so happy to end on a positive note with such a pretty new blouse. You will probably see this pattern made up again a third time. Even though the example blouse on the pattern envelope is kind of ugly IMO, I still think that big bow applique could be really cute in the right fabric.

Vogue 1323 - Ivory + black polka dotted silk blouse

I'm in love with silk blouses. Seriously. I wish I had a closet full. The only other one currently in my wardrobe is constantly on repeat. When I saw this beautiful ivory and black embroidered dotty crepe de chine at MoodFabrics.com, I knew just what I'd make with it.

I picked Vogue 1323, a Rachel Comey design. I love this pattern so much for the interesting neckline and and front pockets. Any extra volume I can add to the front of my tops is a welcome addition for this small-busted gal. I also wanted to try my hand at a placket which I'd never done before. I chose to use a contrasting black for that part, picking another silk crepe de chine so that the fabric weights would match.

Sewing with crepe de chine isn't difficult, it just takes a little bit of finesse. You've got to go slow and treat it with loving kindness. I had to take lots of breaks while doing the miles of topstitching on the pockets and pocket flaps. The weight of this fabric was perfect for a blouse and isn't see-through with the proper skin-colored undergarments.

I cut a 10 through the shoulders and tapered out to a 12 through the hips - my normal Vogue sizing. Then I added 2.5 inches to the bottom to make it more of a tunic and 5/8" to each side to accommodate the longer length over my hips. I eliminated the hemline slits and curved the sides up a bit. To the back I added darts to give it a little shape and spaced out the gathers along the yoke.

The neckline of this blouse was a complete bear to sew. When I first began this blouse 3 months ago, I mistakenly used a heavier wool sateen for the placket. It looked AWFUL! The bottom of the placket was so bulky that the silk under it was pulling and puckering. Of course I did not notice this until it was completely sewn to the blouse including the slip-stitching on the inside. I considered trashing it in frustration and had to put it aside for awhile. After a week or two I decided to unpick the neckline and ordered another silk crepe de chine in black to remake that area. I interfaced the outer placket and collar and they behaved, but the inside placket facing gave me so much trouble. Silk cut on a curve does not like to behave and seems to grow. Anyway, I persevered, and I'm glad I did.

I haven't made vented cuffs in a really long time and these were kind of fun. For some reason I chose all four-holed buttons so I had to use thread shanks in order to prevent the silk from puckering.

For those areas that I didn't want an embroidered dot I used my seam ripper and carefully removed it. I had to do this whenever the dots were in a seamline, under the cuffs or on the yoke facing. There is a bit of interfacing sewn under each dot, which makes it a little raised off the fabric.

All the insides were sewn with french seams, including the armhole seam. I wouldn't have attempted french seams while setting in a sleeve except that the pattern instructions called for them. What a beautiful finish for a nice blouse! I'll definitely be doing that from now on.

Dressform pictures:

I'm so happy to have this project finally completed and could not be more pleased with the end result.