Polka Dot Granville

Pattern: Sewaholic Granville

Fabric: cotton batiste

Notions: fusible interfacing.  (I did not go the shirtmaking way.) 9 1/2" buttons.

Notes:
For this version, I cut size 10 through the chest and waist, and an 8 in the hips--my new usual.  And I straightened out the side seam shaping a bit.
 For the sleeves, since I already knew they'd need some help, I used my altered sleeve from the Oakridge blouse, and blended the two pattern pieces together. For what it's worth, the cap and bicep looked pretty similar to the size 12 in height and width. The sleeve cap curve was curvier, though.

It's worth (I guess) noting that I didn't use the sleeve placket included in the pattern. Instead I used the Threads placket, which I already rock at.  It took a bit to get figured out, but I own those suckers now. Honestly, I could put sleeve plackets on everything.

Unfortunately, it made the sleeve a little too long for the cuff, which called for a last minute teeny tiny pleat right before the underlap.  Which I steadfastly refused to take pictures of.  So there.
Swap out the placket at your own risk.

I flat felled all the seams, (except the armscyes), so the insides really do look nice.
Unfortunately, on the back panel, I trimmed the wrong seam allowance, and ended up having to press the seams toward the sides instead of the center back.

And that is just between you and me and anyone else lucky enough to notice.
(I'm betting we'll be a small, select group.)



Getting real life pictures proved difficult.  The "best" pictures turned out without using the flash.
I am including this only because I literally laughed out loud when I saw it.  I think this was right in the middle of a conversation about the flash settings, but it honestly may have been about anything.  Including whose turn it was to scoop poop in the back yard.

Also, it's been too hot to wear a long-sleeved shirt.  And by the time everyone is settled in the evening (after dinner, after playing, after BMX), the sun is setting, and I think, 'oh well, maybe tomorrow...", and then a week goes by.

These pictures were after we got home from an evening out, and I threw on the shirt for pictures.  Please know that I do not usually wear long-sleeved button-down shirts with shorts.

And this is what we got with the flash.  This picture was taken within 5 minutes of the one above, and we all know the sun doesn't set that fast.

In anycase, I like this shirt.
 I like the fabric, I like the pattern, I like all the little finicky parts of sewing a button-down shirt.  There are a couple of things I might want to tweak for the next-time, and there are a couple of wobbly sewing bits, but overall, this is a good shirt.

That'll do.

Out-of-Season Sewing

As far as I'm concerned, the only downside to sewing out of season is pictures. 

 I, for one, am perfectly fine catch-stitching warm layers while sitting in sweet, air-conditioned loveliness.  I'm fine steaming wool hems safe in my basement while tornado sirens whine outside.  I'm even fine ditching sewing projects to go swim or ride bikes, or road-trip for a couple weeks, because Lord knows, I'm not in a rush to finish.

But venturing outside in the hot, muggy, Missouri July in long layers is not something I'd rush to volunteer for.

Even the camera fogged up after two pictures outside.  True story.

Pattern: Butterick 6169

Fabric:  Theory High Risk Red wool coating,  acrylic lining from inherited stash

Notions: Atom red 18" separating zipper, medium weight weft interfacing, 1/4" shoulder pads and sleeve heads, each trimmed to thin a little more.

This was not my first rodeo with this pattern; the first version was in chambray, which I loved in theory, but in reality just felt a little limp.  So when I saw this sweet, soft wool online, I knew they would work well together.  

Again, I used the sewalong to add sleeve heads and bag the lining.

And you know, not being in a hurry, I went full force.  I block fused all the pieces, and when the shell was complete, catch-stitched all the seam allowances to the interfacing. That's a lot of seams.  

The lining is this funky stuff I inherited from my grandmother's stash.  I'd originally passed it up when we first started going through everything, but my mom spotted it and set it aside. It's a little creepy/charming, but it grows on you.   There were about 4 yards of it, and while originally I'd planned to use it with some green wool I have, I kind of like it here.  I don't know where it came from, but it's not without its faults--there were a couple misprints where the red wasn't aligned right, and double printed on one stripe and completely missed further down. Perhaps it was a factory second?  

Can you see the line of double printing?  Both misprints are in the sleeves.

When Kansas City had a garment district, you could go down to the factories and buy overstock yardage, remnants and trims, and I know that was something she liked to do.  This has kind of a nubbly texture, but is light-weight, like rayon, and holds a press nicely. I did do a burn test just for fun, and it melted, making a hard, black, irregular bead.  Some burn charts further classify acrylics, but I think we can just agree it's synthetic and call it a day, right?

In any case, I'm saving this coat for another day.  My youngest is looking forward to sweatpants and hot cocoa, and we'll just park this over there for awhile.  Maybe I'll work on a scarf to go with it.

Maritime Tee

It's summer, but it's honestly been the grayest, rainiest summer I can remember.

But it's also Missouri, so while it was rainy and cold one week, it was hot and humid and sticky the next week.  I can't think of too many places where it can honestly be too cold to go the pool one week, and too hot to go the next.

So let's just chalk up bad hair to the weather and move on.

Pattern: Liesl + Co Maritime tee

Fabric: "designer" cotton jersey from Girl Charlee

Notions: Emma Sew Keys knit stay tape for shoulders, knit interfacing for neckline facing

This is a great t-shirt pattern, and it reminds me of a similar shirt I bought at Gap earlier this year: wide boat neck, dropped shoulder seams, and split hems. 

All of which add up to super-comfortable.

Rear view with hair escaping from terrible pony tail

For the topstitching along the facing, I used contrasting thread with a single needle chain stitch on the coverstitch machine.

Um, yeah.  I've worn and washed this enough times since making it that the tag faded. (!)

I've recently started coating the lables with a little layer of Fray Check to see if that helps, but I clearly didn't do that here.

Close up of split hem detail--used the coverstitch here, too, since it was already set up...

This fabric, it should be noted, doesn't really stretch at all. 

Which I think actually may work better for this pattern than stretchy jersey.

I made a second version in bright green, and it's still sitting unfinished on the dressform, mostly because of the neckline.  I interfaced the facing, but not the top, which means one was stretchy for the top-stitching, while the other was not.  I'll let you think through how great that worked out for me.

It just needs  the sleeves and hem finished. 

And for me to decide if' I'm happy with the neckline. 

Other than that?  Definite love on the pattern.

The End of a Blue Period

Ballet Dancers in Blue

Edgar Degas

Don't get me wrong, I love blue.  And green.

But after all that blue and green for the wardrobe contest, it was really nice to sew something

in nice, happy, sunshiny yellow.

Pattern: Papercut Patterns Undercover Hood

Fabric: Theory rayon-blend ponte

Notions: knit interfacing for pocket

Construction notes:

I have  made this once before, and decided I wanted a summery sweatshirt for vacation plans we have coming up.  Because you know, summer sweatshirts.  

Last time I added 1" to the sleeve length, which I kept, but may not have been as necessary here.  This fabric has quite a bit more drape and stretch to it than my last version, which honestly, still gets pretty regular wear.

Can I just say this is the softest ponte ever?  I had originally purchased this with plans for a summer dress, but after sitting on it for a year, I ultimately decided I'd get more wear from it this way.

I am also pretty surprised it is still available.  The yellow is a pretty, soft, buttery yellow, which helps make it more wearable (at least on me...)

On this version, I used tricot interfacing to stabilize the pocket (in order to help match those stripes), and opted NOT to line the hood.  I thought it would weigh down the hood too much in this fabric, and to be honest, I liked the stripes.  

For construction, I used a serger on all seams, and a double needle on the coverstitch machine to hem the hood edge and attach the pocket.  I switched to a single-needle chain stitch along the neck edge to help the collar edge lay flat.

Also, I guess it's worth noting that I have an older version of this pattern, which has since been updated to include a couple more options.  I don't know if sizing has changed, but I made a small.

And while it looks kind of oversized and sloppy, it still fits pretty neatly under a light jacket.

And as for why I'm wearing a sweatshirt in the middle of May in Missouri, I have no freakin' idea. 

We've been having the coolest, wettest month; which is great for the garden,

but not if you're ready to go swimming.