The 64 Dollar Sweatshirt

Because sometimes, you just want a reeallly nice sweatshirt.  Right?

I'm laughing at some of  these are truly terrible pictures! 

Pattern: Papercut Patterns Undercover Hood
Fabric: Amazingly-luscious double-faced cotton knit, sweatshirt weight, and obviously knitted by angels or virgins, or virgin angels, a Christmas gift from my mom and purchased at Kaplan's Fabric, where upon I had a lovely conversation with Alan, the owner, about discounts, asking, and Mick Jagger's autograph.
Notions: None.  Well, scrap jersey for hood lining.
Time to complete: 2 evenings, including time spent petting fabric

Warning: inside photos at 9:30 at night with overhead only lighting.  Sorry.

Construction Notes:
Not much to say here; this is rated a 'rookie' pattern, and it was pretty simple and straightforward.  I didn't even read the instructions, because honestly, if you've sewn a t-shirt, you've got this down.  I've never sewn with these patterns before, and I do want to add that it is a pretty nice deal.  I took advantage of the sale at the beginning of the month, not really knowing quite what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised.  First off, shipping (from NZ) is included in the price of the pattern.  Second, these are printed on nice heavy kraft-paper-ish sheets, so no fussy faffing about with tissue.  I DID trace it off anyway, because at this point, I know how much it sucks to cut an $18 pattern to the wrong size. (Renfrew, I'm looking at you.)

I swear we tried every variation of flash, no flash, fill flash, full-frontal flash--wait, not that one.

I also made a muslin, because did I mention this fabric was spun at the fingertips of immortals? [Must.Not.Screw.Up.Angel.Fabric.]  I swear, I wish Google had a Feel-o-vision app or something. When I finally wear this out of the house, I'm afraid I'm going to demand that everyone feel my shirt.  That could be bad...

Anyway, muslin-fabric-akin-to-shards-of-glass aside, I traced and cut a size SMALL.  This seemed not quite right, as XS matched my bust measurement, but my waist and hips matched the next size up.  (Sizing runs XXS to L; I typically wear an M in RTW).  I did not grade for a closer fit, because honestly, a snug fitting sweatshirt does not sound like my kind of fun.  With the muslin, I did decide to add 1" to the lengths of the sleeves.  I've historically struggled with monkey-arm syndrome, and absolutely HATE sleeves that are a hair too short.  Plus, it's a sweatshirt, and you're supposed to be able to drag your hair into a ponytail without flashing wrist bones, right?  I also changed up some construction steps, and added some extra in, because I'm like that.  Here goes:

• I attached the pocket before attaching the sleeves to front.  (I'm a rebel--not really.)
• I bar-tacked those pocket corners; am I the only person whose pockets rip there?
• I encased the hood/neckline seam in binding, and stitched it flat to the shirt.  A $64.00 sweatshirt does not have a serged seam showing front and center.

Other than that, I used my serger for everything here, (3/8" seam allowances), except where I didn't.  I used the coverstitch machine for attaching the pocket and top-stitching the hood, and my plain-ole regular machine for the bar tacks on the pocket corners.

Accidental stripe matching is surely a side effect of magical fabric.

Sorry for the truly terrible pictures, I'm sure you get the idea that I may never actually take this off again.  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  We did, and I've been enjoying every minute of winter break. This is actually my second completed sewing project, my Alma blouse still needs photographing, so hopefully I will get that up sometime before the year ends. : )

Just in case I don't, have a wonderful New Year's, and I'll catch you on the other side!

Minoru, Minoru, Minoru

 

Can I tell you how many times I've wanted this finished already, either to wear, or to work on something else?  This is when the crazy happens, and I tend to take short cuts in order to be done that I don't end up appreciating in the long run.  Luckily, it was a busy month, and life itself kept me in check.  And, I got sick. Twice.

I actually started wearing this work on Wednesday, but couldn't get semi-decent pictures until today, as it is dark when I go to work, and dark again on my drive home.  These were taken at about 3:30, and you can see how long my shadow is already...plus, it was 17 degrees outside ( -8 C, if that's your thing) and we decided not to linger over these.

The fabric is something inherited from Grandma's stash. It may be some sort of wool/acrylic/poly-something blend?  I don't know.  I machine washed it, and it came out fine, if not slightly static-y.  The underside is coated with something that makes water bead up, and the top is slightly fuzzy like mohair. I used a double layer of silk organza as a press cloth, and my, but it does press nicely. 60" wide, and I had exactly what the pattern called for, and a little left over.  I can only assume she had planned to use this for a coat as well.  At this point, I realize I could attempt to do a burn test, but my excuse is that I currently have a child with a fear of house fires, and just don't want to send him into therapy. Yet.

mid-construction and hanging threads

Hanging loop and tag

The lining is flannel-backed Kasha satin from Vogue fabrics.  I ordered Ivory, as my fabric is ivory, but wasn't expecting to end up with two completely different shades of ivory.  I ordered ivory zippers as well, and they were the exact right shade.  Hmm.  Personally, I would call this more of a 'blush' color, but it works.  I additionally thought about adding Thinsulate, but decided it would be too bulky.

The zippers were a small problem.  I had to order them, and for the life of me couldn't find a matching pair in both a closed end and a separating zipper.  So I ordered two separating, and tacked the shorter one closed at the end.  Also, the pattern calls for an 18" zipper for the hood, but I'd read a couple people note that their opening was too big for the zipper, so I purchased a 20" zipper, and it worked just fine.

I totally used the sew-along pages when working on this. I even researched pockets for the front, and went back and forth on them.  I downloaded Karen's pockets, played with them, stitched the pleat flat, and gave up.  I actually like the way the plain front looks.  (Although it is tough to break a pocket habit)

On a completely unrelated note: Every time I pressed a seam, I wished I had already made a new ironing board cover.  I also wanted new pajama pants to sew in, but I stayed faithful and didn't commit project adultery.

Pattern: Sewaholic Minoru
Fabric: inherited wool/acrylic/poly? blend; Kasha lining (from Vogue Fabrics)
Notions: 20" and 28" separating zippers--I paid the dollar to have the 28" one shortened to the correct length, and tacked the shorter one shut; 2" wide elastic in cuffs and waist
Time to complete: longer than I'd have liked; I had a birthday in the middle of making this, but I don't think I overly aged in the process
Pattern changes: I lined the hood. And that's it.

This picture cracks me up, mostly because of the ninja window cling I'd forgotten 

was stuck on the edge of the mirror.

Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt

 Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt

Just in case anyone missed it (I can't be the only NPR junkie on the web), this is an interesting and informative piece about the garment industry.  Planet Money used a Kickstarter campaign to fund production of a t-shirt, in order to follow a typical garment from cotton seed through shipping.

GMO cotton seeds are grown in Mississippi, shipped to Indonesia to be spun into yarn and knitted, then to Bangladesh and Cambodia for production, and back to the US for sale.  (These are already sold, but you can buy more here.)

Best quote ever? "I imagine they are fat people, because the shirts that we make are immense."

Did you see this?  What do you think?

Randomness

Good Lord.  It's the end of November, and I've only managed to blog once this month.  I have been sewing, I swear, but this project is taking me forever.  I'd originally thought I'd wear my new coat for a trip to Christmas in the Park on the 14th with E's cub scout troop.  That didn't happen.  Then I thought I'd be able to wear it on vacation to Branson.  Um, that didn't happen either.  Then, I thought, ooh, maybe I'll be able to wear it on the 8th grade field trip to see A Christmas Carol at the Rep.  Nope.  Thanksgiving?  Nope.  So much for self-imposed deadlines and overly-optimistic time constructs.

I'm still plugging away, but getting ever closer.  In lieu of having a finished project to show--as it may yet be a while--here's a random list of good things over the past month.

• Light keeper Pro--it may actually involve magic.  I don't know how it works, but it does.  And you get to shoot your offending lights.

• Girl, Stolen--my students encouraged me to read this, so I'm doing our assigned project over it. Yes, I read young-adult fiction.  Yes, I actually do the projects I assign, too.  Is that weird? 

• The Way Way Back--my  husband picked this up from the Redbox last night, and it was freakin' hilarious.  Cringe-worthy, relatable, and laugh-out-loud funny.

• These patterns, which I picked up for 50 cents each.  Don't know when/if I'll actually get around to making them.  Maybe if I ever finish this coat, and about 50 other projects.  That wrap dress is sheer perversity.

• This post, I Want to Be What She's Wearing, from author Jenny Crusie, on characters and clothing. Yes, that's from Call the Midwife. I really wanted a picture from the final scene of season 2, episode 8, where Jenny climbs on the back of the scooter in a great blue skirt, but gave up looking for it.

So, that's been November.  I'm thankful for so many things, not the least of which includes family and friends, and the ability to do so much, and I know December is going to pass equally fast.  Hope everyone else is enjoying the season as much as we will.  : )

The Everyday Skirt that Lives up to its Name

The Details: 

Pattern: Liesl + Co Everyday Skirt

Fabric: single weave wool, inherited from Grandma's stash

Notions: interfacing, 1/2" elastic, top-stitching thread

This was, quite possibly, the easiest skirt I've ever made. If I cursed once, it was a top-stitching thread curse, not at all related to the pattern.  Even piecing together the downloaded pattern was easy...unlike Burda patterns that get taped together in one gigantic 5 sheet by 6 sheet poster, these are taped together just into individual pattern pieces, AND they're printed with 1" grid lines so they're easy to line up.  I did have a slight head scratching moment though, before I realized I needed to cut one of my printed pieces in half in order to align the two slivers to the main piece.  Love.  Easy-peasey, and paper-saving, too.

 

The only downside I can come up with is the sizing; which really isn't a downside.  I originally cut a medium, as that's where I fit on the size chart, but went with a small in this one.  I am never a small in anything, seriously.  Ever.  In any case, if you're at the upper ranges on the size chart, you might be okay; there is ease built in, and you don't actually fit it to yourself until you insert the elastic in the back waistband. Going with a smaller size also cut down on the poofiness of the skirt around my butt, which can only be considered a good thing.

Gathered front with waistband

It was really hard to get good photos of the color of this fabric--the top picture is probably the closest to the actual color; it's kind of a green-gold, not really mustard, but more of an 'antique gold' color.  I'll be honest, I've struggled with this fabric since I first brought it home from my grandma's house--it's not chartruese, which I would have liked, and it's not khaki, which would be easy...and I'm still not sure I particularly like it, but it is growing on me.

In any case.  I had no hope of matching thread to it, so I went with gold topstitching thread, and just tried to make it look like an intentional 'design feature'.

Also, regular thread just got lost in the weave.

Side view of pocket + elastic back waistband

I also wasn't 100% sure I liked the idea of a elastic-waisted skirt.  I KNOW how I feel about elastic-waist pants, but I did that vehemence transfer to skirts?  I don't know.  In any case, this is okay.  I left my sweater untucked so it didn't show, but I could also wear this with a cardi and be covered just as well.

closer view of waistband

How I will most likely wear this

This really is an every-day skirt.  It was dead comfortable today, and I went through a whole day of teaching essay format, reviewing verbals, and ending with a curriculum meeting without a hitch. 

The elastic was comfy, but those pockets were divine.

Have you ever gotten home, and realized how much stuff you actually had in your pockets that you'd completely forgotten about?

At some point, I realized that in addition to my car keys, I had a jumbo pencil, pink pearl eraser, my name badge, and a dry-erase marker in one pocket, and my phone (and full disclosure: a candy wrapper) in the other.  

Clearly, I need more of these.

Cowabunga!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action!

 Have you ever realized that you really had no idea what was going on when you were kid?

I learned way more google-ing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles than I ever actually knew the from the first time I watched them.  Was I the only one that didn't know that Raphael was the 'bad/angry/rebellious' one?

It was kind of like watching Grease for the first time again as an adult.

Totally did not get what was going on there either.

In any case, I don't think B knows that either; he just likes the red one.

The Details:

Pattern: McCall's 6417

Fabric: kelly green and tea green Kona cotton, 

khaki twill scraps, red cotton flannel scraps, and dark green sateen scraps, all from stash

Notions: 14" zipper, 3/4" elastic for waistband, cardboard circle and quilt batting scraps for shell

Notes: 

On this version, I put the entire side fronts together and inserted the zipper flat, rather than wait and follow the instructions as written.  Those belly shell panels overlap the waist seam, so there really wasn't a way to do that as written.  Inserting the elastic after the fact really wasn't hard, so I think I would go this route again should I need another zippered jumpsuit anytime soon.  (?)  

The shell IS currently attached with safety pins, and I know that's not very classy, but for practical purposes, we really need a removable shell, especially for Ninja Turtles who ride in carseats.  Honestly, I struggle with getting puffy coats buckled in there, let alone an additional endoskeleton.   I did try to take the cheater route with stick on velcro, but that didn't really work for very long, and a ninja turtle really can't be spending every 10 minutes reattaching his shell.  Cuts down on crime fighting, you know.

We're ready to fight crime and take candy, too.

So, our pumpkin is carved, our costumes are ready, and all systems are go for a night of spooky haunts and all manners of tricks and treats.

Happy Halloween!

Fernando Alonso

So, Fernando Alonso is kind of a big deal in our house.  

A) He's a racecar driver, B) he drives a Ferrari, and c) uh, we like Ferraris.  

Naturally.

So when E outgrew last year's Tony Kanaan costume, and he told me he wanted to be Fernando Alonso this year for Halloween, what's a mom to do other than make that happen?  Should I mention here that his first grade teacher and I had a whole discussion about his plans to be a Formula 1 race car driver when he grows up?  I blame his father.

Earlier this summer at a Rolex race with Dad.

I will pose for exactly one picture, and that's it, Mom. I mean it.

Every driver needs to acknowledge their sponsors.

 Fine, you can take a picture of the back.  But then I'm going in.

The Details:

Pattern: McCall's 6417

Fabric: Red Kona Cotton for suit; leftover white cotton scraps for sleeve stripes and sponsor patches

Notions: 18" zipper from stash, 3/4" wide elastic, iron-on transfer paper

Notes:

First of all, McCall's has this pattern listed as 'easy'.  How do they choose difficulty levels? The cape included in the pattern was probably easy, but this pattern envelope includes a hat, 4 different variations of a zippered jump-suit, a vest, and boot covers. While I didn't find this hard, I definitely wouldn't give it to a beginner, which I find odd, because wouldn't beginner sewers (sewists?) think a costume could be easy?  The way the directions instruct you to put this together, you're putting the zipper in LAST, after sewing everything else together...not easy.  For my second version, I put the front zipper in flat, which was much easier and looked much nicer.

Second, on the sponsor patches, I just googled Fernando's sponsors, and copied and pasted the logos into Microsoft Paint.  I know that's not particularly savvy, but I needed something easy that would invert the picture horizontally.  The writing needs to be mirrored so it will transfer correctly when its ironed on.  I then then ironed it onto scraps, which were then appliqued onto the flat pattern pieces.

  

Waiting for our hot chocolate after the parade.

Finally, heartbreak city: we wore our costumes already to E's school's Haunt the Halls, and again to our town parade on Saturday morning.  After enjoying hot chocolate, I threw everything in the washing machine.  FORESHADOWING ALERT:

The red on the sponsor patches bled.

.

.

.

(whispered expletives deleted)

  

photo source: mingle.kansascity.com

So, although I considered myself finished, I spent last night picking off the worst of the patches, re-printed them on my remaining transfer paper, and reattached new patches in the same spot.  Let me say, it was much easier done when all the pieces were flat.

But he's worth it.  

And with that, I'm done.

Sewing for Others

I've been silent lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been sewing.

I will be the first to say that I don't often sew for others.  Sometimes, though, it's a lot of fun.  Especially when you get new tools to try out.

After the initial top I made for my mom, she asked for another one, in black, for an upcoming trip.  She liked the cowl neckline, but asked for a couple of changes--namely, the armscye needed to be raised.  

Honestly, no one wants to flash bra band in the armhole.

So why isn't this shirt black, you're asking?  2 reasons: 

1.  Black is boring classic, but it doesn't photograph well.  

Read: I forgot to take a picture of it.  

2.  I talked her into this fabulous raspberry color, too.  

And, I added short sleeves to this one.

And the new tools?

Well, I bought myself a coverstitch machine.

It's AMAZING.

The hemming of the sleeves and body was lickety-split quick, and the neckline is just incredible.  My double needle never looked so nice, even with all the additional time spent adjusting the tension on the bobbin case.

After reading Andrea's review of her's, here, and Sunny's post about her's here, I hemmed and hawed, and hemmed and hawed, and talked myself into.  I justified it in every possible way, and it is a luxury purchase, but I'm really happy I finally did.  If you need justification, too, let me know, and I'll get you going, too.

Long story short, my husband said yes, my local sewing store worked with me, and I decided to go with the Janome Coverpro 1000cpx.  It has 3 needles vs the 900cpx, which has 2. 

But, before you think me too selfless, I did actually run-through the sleeve changes on this one first:

Details:

Pattern: Maria Denmark Day-to-Night Drape top + Renfrew sleeves (minus bands)

Fabric: black (not pictured) and raspberry modal; polka dot bamboo knit; 1 yard each, all from Hart's Fabric

Notions: clear elastic to stabilize the back neckline

Time to complete: an evening for each, a month to blog about it

And because I like the coverstitch so much, I've got a stack of knits waiting to be made into t-shirts.

Especially now that my Halloween sewing is done.  

(I may have a slight turqouise problem.)

Exit Signs Shirt

My youngest son has already christened this the "Exit Signs Shirt".  He was playing in the button box while I was sewing this morning, and asked whose exit sign shirt I was making.  I guess the design looks like exit signs.  I'm down with that; I like exit signs.

I've been overthinking this shirt all week, and on Thursday, I got tired of thinking about it, and just jumped in. The body is from Simplicity 2060, but the sleeves are stolen straight from 2211, minus the sleeve band.  I've made a couple of shirts from the Itinerary dress pattern, and I don't like those sleeves.  For some reason, they just bug me--either I've set them in wrong each time, or they needed some alteration--they're fine when my arms are hanging loose, but any sort of movement and the whole yoke slides up.  And this was even after sewing the seam with a narrow allowance for a little more ease. ( I'm open to suggestions here if you've got 'em.)  Rather than dinking with bicep alteration, I just pirated the sleeves from the Market blouse, again minus the sleeve bands because they are ridiculously narrow.  My biceps lift children and cast-iron cookware; I don't know whose arms these are drafted for.  I would like to be able to say I took careful consideration to compare the cap heights and seam lines, but no, I just gathered the top as needed to fit the hole.  And we have functional arm-movement!  Hooray!

The armscye still may need to be dropped a smidge, but this works for now.

The buttons are from my inherited stash--they are Sears brand, and there were only 3 of the 4 remaining on the card.  They're 5/8" vs the 1/2" listed on the pattern, but really, what's an 1/8 of an inch between friends? Also, I would've sworn these buttons were red on the card, but they look like a pretty dead-on match for the fuschia/magenta/dark pinky-purple of the blouse.

Let's all just agree to not notice the first button hole is stitched twice, and the other two, not so much.

The fabic is Tina Givens voile, and it is soft and light.  I also bought this in a pale turquoise colorway, so I could actually have this exact shirt in two different colors...although that may be too much, even for me.

Anyway, easy sewing, easy shirt, short weekend, and I'm already plotting out the next 4 projects. : )