Take 2

While the patterns (Butterick 5429 and Simp 2185) were still out, I went ahead and made another 2-piece "dress." This time I added the flounces to the skirt. I figured they would be mostly lost in the print in case I hated them but would still add swish and movement. I do like them. Per the pattern, they are single-layer and raw-edged but hang in such a way that the wrong side of the fabric barely shows. In other words, a quick/easy addition to the skirt. Can't beat that.

This skirt has definitely moved into my top 3 knit skirt patterns so I should probably leave the pattern out a little while longer. I like how it fits closely at the hips even though it has an elastic waist (I changed it from a casing to a serge/turn) and then flows into a swishy bottom. Treena had commented on the first skirt that (paraphrasing) she wouldn't want to sew all those curved seams in the panels. Don't be afraid ... in a knit, it's a breeze. You barely know you're sewing a curve. And the pattern notches are spot on if you want a little more guidance.

I was stupid when cutting out the top, though. I have the pattern marked to add an inch to the bottom when cutting but for some reason I completely spaced. I decided to add a hem band to make up the needed length and to create a blouson effect so this top wouldn't be *exactly* like the last one. It's hard to see on Zillie through the print, but it hangs differently on my body/hips. Once I get pics of me in the new outfit, you'll see.

In my last post, I mentioned the pattern keeper ziplock bags I use for my patterns. I used to buy them from Nancy's Notions, about 50 at time. But they've discontinued them. Boo. I knew Clotilde used to sell the same bags but with their logo instead of NNs. I had received one or two as a sample on a past order, so I wasn't imagining it. Well, the Clotilde company has been bought out by Annie's and the Clotilde website redirects to Annie's. I found this out when needing to order more bags. Since NN didn't have them, I decided to give the Annie's bags a try thinking they'd be the same. They are functional but they are definitely not the same and are of much lesser quality. I found other possibilities after a Google search and might try something else when I'm ready for more. In the meantime, here's the link to Annie's. http://www.anniescatalog.com/detail.html?prod_id=93028&cat_id=1520 I'm not affiliated and theirs are definitely NOT the same as the Clotilde pic you'll see at the Annie's link. Kind of misleading. 

Can you see the pocket outside the bag?

Finally, for Meredith ... here's the link to the PR discussion that inspired my last post:

http://sewing.patternreview.com/SewingDiscussions/topic/80323

ETA: I've been checking out new blog posts and it's amusing (in a good way!) to see that my questions post inspired your own posts.

Questions

Mine, not yours. Hah. :-)

There's a message board thread on PR at the moment which is discussing the "right" way to place a pattern and cut fabric. So I thought I'd ask ...

1. Do you cut with your fabric RS out or WS out? 

Me, RS out ... always. I want to see motif placement most of all. I do use me a lot of prints after all. It's just The Way I Do It. Always have. But I think what's most important is consistency. Since I also have the tissue next to the RS, it's easy for me to know what the RS is (or what I've chosen as the RS) after everything is cut and the tissue may have slipped.

2. How do you make your pattern markings?

Me, water soluble pen the most for interior marks, chalkoliner next. Notches and fold/center markings by snipping into the seam allowance. Sometimes I'll use a sticker if a mark isn't going to show with a pen/chalk.

3. Do you follow the cutting layout in patterns?

Me, never. I don't even look at them. Even as a newbie sewer, I didn't bother with them. But I think that's because I have really good spatial skills and can just look at something to know how/where it fits best. I was always the one who packed the luggage in the car for family trips too. :-)

4. Are you obsessed with re-folding your pattern tissue on or very close to the original fold lines?

Hahaha, I am. Call it OCD. And I don't even store patterns inside their original envelopes so it's not like they have to fit back inside. Everything goes into a bigger ziplock with a pocket on the outside where I put the envelope and instructions.

5. I thought of one more ... Do you make all the markings? 

Me, no. I don't mark notches that indicate general match-ups, like sideseams, shoulder seams, etc. ... unless it's an usually shaped pattern piece.

That's all. Heading into the sewing room now ...

WIWT

I finally wore my new outfit today and just snapped a pic after work. I *love* this!! The skirt is swishy, the top flatters, the fabric is my colors, and I received many unsolicitations in the office. What more could a girl ask for?

I made my billable time goal again for last week so I'll be getting an early start on the weekend at 2:30 tomorrow. Love that perk! We have a big trial coming up next month so I'm guessing I'll be putting in some extra hours throughout the rest of the next few weeks, but I think it will actually be fun ... in a work sort of way. There's lots of camaraderie and team effort in this place and it feels good. No BS, no drama. It's great not to have to worry about that stuff and just do my job.

I'm thinking about making another pair of shorts this weekend in some denim this time since the trial pair went so well. I'd also like to make another top like the one in the pic above, but from a different fabric of course. It's a great little shell with a literal twist, which will fit into an office wardrobe quite nicely. Or even a casual one.

I'm glad my sewing mojo is back.

But right now, I'm READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL! :-) Sorry Project Runway ... you are relegated to the DVR tonight.

No Labor Day

Happy Labor Day from here at Chez Debbie ... where absolutely NO labor is happening at all. We're hanging out on the back porch (lanai), dipping toes into the pool, surfing the 'net, and waiting for when it's time to fire up the grill.

Linen Bermudas ... it doesn't get much more comfortable than this. And a rayon knit top only helps. (Speaking of which, the front of this top is double-layer, so be warned if you have your own personal heater moments! ) I will probably be living in these shorts for the rest of the summer, on weekends and after work. Or at least until they're too big, because I was serious yesterday about the gym. I know my weight gain is due to the emotional rollercoaster of the last few months and hopefully I'm now off that ride, but I am more than ready to drop those lbs.that creeped back onto my butt. And, arrghh the reappearance of back fat makes me mad. Thankfully, this is one thing that IS in my power to control.

So, a few fabric and construction details. First, hopefully this shot below helps you understand how the border print was used. I really like how the border forms the cowl and looks almost separate from the rest of the tee but still matching the other print area. Kind of a necklace without wearing jewelry.

Here's the tuck in the shoulder that I mentioned as my solution to fix the too-wide front shoulder. I've revisited the pattern tissue and conclude that I just didnt' fold the cowl facing far enough inward. It helps to look at pattern markings from time to time. Oops.

Hard to see in this low-contrast pic, but here are the pockets on the front of the shorts. I love me some pockets so I'm happy with these and they don't gape at all. But instead of using a bias binding facing on the open edge and turning under the outside edge, I just cut two pocket pieces for each, sewed them RS together, flipped them RS out, and pressed before topstitching/attaching. SO MUCH easier to get a smooth curve that way and the linen isn't too bulky that the extra layer is even noticeable. If anything, since linen "gives," it's probably better to have a bit more stability.

This is the back of the shorts. No pockets here, but you can (hopefully?) see where I used the sideseams from the old Marrakesh pants as a design feature seam for these shorts. I wish I could say this was the plan from the beginning, but I soon learned that I didn't have much choice about where my shorts pattern pieces would fit on the old pants.

More Labor Day Weekend Miscellaneous ... here's Alex mixing up his custom marinade for the steaks we'll be grilling in a couple of hours. I don't know what it is about men and steaks and grills, but I'm all for anything that gets me out of the dinner chore. Go Alex!

I haven't been the only one "creating" this weekend. These are Alex's shorts. Shorts that I JUST BOUGHT a week ago. He wore them once and then managed to dribble liquid pool chlorine on them (the really white spots). We were both a little more than irritated. Me, since I just spent the money. Him, since he really liked the shorts. Yesterday, while at the grocery store, I bought some gel bleach with a pointy tip. I handed it over to Alex and told him to have at it. The pic here doesn't do the shorts/bleach design justice. They look really cool and he'll definitely be wearing them. I would too if they fit me. ;-) I know the fabric will be weakened now but at least the shorts won't go directly into the trash bin yet.

Alex had so much fun with the bleach on his shorts that he went looking for more clothing to transform. He came up with this plain red tee. It looks like he tie-dyed it, but it's really just the gel bleach squirted randomly all over. Good job!

Loving Simplicity 3768 So Far

It's looking like this will be one of those patterns that sat untouched in the drawer for too long. Two cut-and-sew successes.

Here's the top, nearly finished. I still have to hem it and will do that tomorrow after I try it on again to mark the length.

And the shorts, also nearly finished. They still need to be hemmed, which will also happen tomorrow. It's late and as much as I want to get these done so I can wear them tomorrow, I know I'm tired enough that stupid mistakes are likely.

I haven't sewn anything in the pants category in YEARS. Yes, me, who used to sew pants and pants and more pants. I've been making do with some RTW jeans and capris because I really wasn't looking forward to re-fitting pants. But another one of my wild hairs struck and I decided to just go for these without stressing.

No muslin. No pattern alterations. No fitting as I sewed. No good fabric. Well, actually, this used to be good fabric but it was already made into a pair of pants ... HP Marrakesh to be exact (review here if you want to see them from then). Yep, I unstitched them while watching TV last night and today cut the shorts from the pieces. I loved this fabric (oatmeal colored linen) and held on to the too-big pants with the thought I could reuse the fabric somehow.

I sewed everything together today, adding the sewn-on pockets, and even topstitching quite bit. All the while kind of dreading finishing because that would mean trying them on and likely tossing them into a wadder pile. I mean, who did I think I was NOT doing any fitting on PANTS??

Well, a pig is flying around somewhere because these shorts fit pretty close to perfectly. How often does THAT happen? Answer: NEVER! ;-)

Hopefully, I'll get some better pics tomorrow when everything is hemmed, pressed, etc. I want to be wearing both of these while we hang out around the BBQ.

And now that my sciatica troubles are finally receding after TWO MONTHS (OMG getting old sucks!), I will be signing up for the gym in my office building. That butt view above is definitely not pleasing me even if the pants do fit.