Simplicity 3794 - Navy & white skirt w/ elelet hem detail

Yes, I know I wrote I would be MIA for a month or so making Christmas pageant costumes, but I am having sewer's withdrawal so am working on a few items. I'm trying to keep it simple and easy for now. Check out this skirt:


It's high-waisted with a cute heart cut-in at the band. (Hard to see here. Scroll down for detailed shot.) This skirt has six princess seams creating a custom fit and lovely flare at the hem. The waist band is cut on the bias making it very comfortable to wear. I used an invisible zipper at the left side.

My favorite part is the eyelet trim peeking out from the bottom hem. It is sewn onto the lining. Boy, do these pantyhose make my legs look pasty or what?! I tell you, you never really know what you look like in something until you've seen a picture of yourself wearing it.

Here's the close-up of the waistband. This picture also shows you the navy lining.

Underskirt detail:

Here's the pattern envelope picture. I made view C, minus the front topstitching and belt loops.

I love this skirt so much, I've already bought fabric to make another one for spring/summer. It's this sweet pink taffeta with black embroidered polka dots. I'm planning to use a black tulle trim for the hem.

I'm currently working on a shirt from Burda WOF. I have picked out fabrics for many of the patterns from that magazine, but this is my first time tracing one out. Wish me luck!

New Simplicity Patterns!

There's a small batch of new patterns over at Simplicity.com, and I found a couple that I like and want to share.

This first one is 2724, and I really, really love the pink dress on the left. Some of the other styles are nice as well, and I like the way it looks like separates, but is really a dress.

This next one is 2730, and the little jacket with roses around the collar is my pick. I don't especially like the bottom of it - seems to just be hanging there without much shape. I thought I might cut it off to make a short jacket. We'll see.

That's it for now. You can expect me to be MIA for any new sewing projects for the next month. I am making the costumes for my church's Christmas musical and won't bore you with biblical robes and such.

Vogue 8536 - Red, black & white mock-wrap top

I'm in desperate need of long sleeve tops for winter, so you can expect to see quite a few in the next few months. Here is my latest:

I love the fabric, but it made for one busy top. I'm also really glad one of those big red dots did not end up in a bad location, as I didn't even think about that while I was cutting this out.

This was suppose to be fast and easy, but of course nothing is ever fast and easy for me. For starters, my machine kept skipping the stitches here or there. Then I decided to slip-stitch the facings and hems down, which took a lot of time. Here's a close-up of the neckline:

It's a bit hard to see the criss-cross neckline with this busy fabric. I should have done a solid color, but I am so bored with all the solid color tops I currently have in my closet. Notice the hem on the bodice bottom and at the sleeves. I got the idea for that here, when I accidentally cut a top too short. But then I realized it eliminated the need for machine top-stitching, which looks really uneven on knits on my machine. Of course that took more time .

My only issue with this design is what happens to the neckline if you fold your arms or sit at a desk with your elbows resting on it: the front overlay of the neckline droops forward. If I make this again, I'll have to modify the pattern to address this problem.

Here's some pictures of the insides:

Here's the neckline with the facing slip-stitched in place and then given a good pressing.

This is at the shoulder. I used french seams for those and the side seams, and covered the arm seams with bias tape.

This is of the underarm where the sleeve meets the bodice. I ironed the seams in different directions to cut down on bulk, but the actual seam line still meets exactly on the outside.

Here's the inside of the hem. I think the slits on both sides are super cute and unlike anything else I've got.

This is the inside of the sleeve facing. Are you bored with the interior yet?

So here's the pattern envelope. I made the green shirt but with long sleeves. There are gathers at the bust side seams but they don't show on my top. I really like the fit, and will be definitely be making some of the other views.

I'm making a jacket next, Vogue 8480, which I would link you to but Vogue's website isn't pulling up for me. Last week we had some unseasonably cold weather for south Texas, and I was almost forced to wear my super ugly brown coat that I've had since high school. (I decided to suffer the cold instead of ruin my outfit with the ugly coat.)