One More

Just the top. The skirt I made a couple of months ago.

I wanted another top to wear with this skirt that only involved one layer. While I love the top I originally made to wear with this skirt, I do have to wear a cami with it and that gets a little warm in our summer temps.

However … I don't love this new top. Well, more precisely, I don't love the aqua fabric. It's too thin and clingy, I think. But I'll see if it grows on me over the next few days. If not, it will be a PJ top or it will go into the donate pile, and I'll be on the lookout again for another fabric for a plain aqua tee.

I topstitched all over with brown thread in my coverstitch machine and I trimmed the neckline and sleeves with a brown knit. I "borrowed" these sleeves from the 02/2007 Ottobre Woman pattern magazine, and I do like them with this Burda top.

Lingerie Elastic

Taly, this is for you. :-)

(I've put this info into my Tips pages — link at top right — if anyone needs to quickly find it again.)

I use 1/4" and 3/8" plush-back picot elastic. The sample 3/8" elastic is not plush-back but it will work for this series of photos.

1. Pre-stretch the elastic a few times and then align the straight, non-picot edge of the elastic with the raw edge of the fabric.



2. Attach the elastic to the fabric, sewing next to the picot edge of the elastic with a narrow zig-zag stitch. (The elastic may stretch out during this step but steam or a trip through the laundry will pop it back into shape.)




3. Turn to the back and trim close to the zigzag stitching. I use my duckbill scissors for this. It doesn't have to be especially neat as this edge will not show on the finished item.



4. Fold the elastic to the wrong side so the picot edge peeks out from the right side. Stitch on the right side using a 3-step zigzag stitch. (The brown layer of fabric is here only so you can see the picot edge.)




5. This is what the 3-step zigzag stitch looks like on my machine.



6. This is the wrong side of the last stitching. If your thread matches your elastic, it's nearly invisible. The 3-step zigzag stitching can be anywhere between the 2 edges of the elastic. Ideally, mine would be overlapping the straight edge of the elastic to hold it down in a more finished-looking manner (which means I needed to sew more to the left in Step 4), but I was making a fast sample and wasn't paying close enough attention. ;-) I'll try to remember to update this photo when I have a better sample.



I've used other methods to attach the elastic, including trying out my serger's elasticator foot and also my coverstitch machine. (See photos here). In my opinion, the method above using only the sewing machine is the best for durability and comfort in the normal course of lingerie wear. The other methods work fine initially, but the extra thread and stitches cause elastic fatigue and result in more popped stitches. The panties I sewed that way just didn't hold up as long as those sewn from the same fabric but using only the sewing machine.

By the way, I sew leg and waist elastic on in the round. I overlap the cut edges of the elastic as shown below. I think it creates less bulk than a RS-together seam with the allowances pressed back. The overlap goes at the outside of the leg and the back waist.

First New Outfit Done

Another nice summer outfit. Easy to wear, comfortable, and nicer than a plain tee and jeans. The skirt fabric is a stretch poplin from Fabric.com last year (or maybe the year before). The skirt is just pinned onto the dressform so it's hanging a little funky. The fabric for the twist top is also a Fabric.com purchase from last summer. It's got a puckered rib texture which you can see better in the photo below.



I made another of this same top from the same fabric in a different color last year. The fabric was labeled as polyester but I think it's more nylon than poly. It's very comfortable to wear, even on our hottest and most humid days. I still wear this one a lot, so I knew I'd wear another one in a different color. I left the rosette off this lavendar version, but I made another tie which can be tied on as seen or left off. The top is not too low-cut for me to wear with only my bra underneath because after I made the turquoise version, I adjusted the pattern for a higher neckline.



This makes #3 for both patterns. I love those TNTs for instant gratification. I'm not sewing as fast as I was cutting yesterday so it's not quite "instant," but I am making progress. The jury is still out on the second skirt. I did make a muslin last night of the Simplicity pattern. It fits and I like it, but my fabric isn't wide enough for the bias skirt panels. Oops.

The Rotary Cutter Is Smokin'!

I was feeling overwhelmed and couldn't decide what to make next. Too many fabrics. Too many patterns. Too many choices. Yeah, life is tough, I know. ;-) But after 3 or 4 days of paralysis, I'm finally back at the cutting table. Usually, I cut one project and then sew one project. Today, I'm a cutting fool.

After poring over tons of patterns and magazines and coming up with no definitive plan, I decided to just go with TNT (tried and true) patterns and Get 'er Done. I have all those pretty fabrics and they're not doing me any good by gathering dust. And besides, the fabric closet is ready to explode … because as many of you know, when I don't sew, I buy. ;-)

I've had the Live Earth concert playing on the Bravo channel all day and so far, I've actually made some decisions and have cut out 4 tops and 1 skirt, with one more skirt to cut before the end of the evening. My goal for the next two weeks is to get enough additional pieces cut and sewn so that everything still unsewn fits on the closet shelves. It's a good thing it's summer and I live in tee shirts, skirts, and capris because the sewing should be fast and easy.

I've stopped between skirts right now to write this while I'm deciding whether to use another TNT or to try an as-yet untested pattern. I'm leaning toward the new pattern because it will be simple enough to tissue-fit and tell whether it will work (or not). Ahem. Famous Last Words.

What I've cut so far:

Kwik Sew 3378 (tee)
Kwik Sew 3287 (skirt)
Burda WOF 06/2005 #111 (tee, with sleeves from Ottobre 02/2007)
Ottobre 02/2007 #5 (tee, with different sleeves this time)
Self-drafted (tee, with Diana Mode sleeves—my favorite tee so far this summer)

The 2 skirts I'm debating between:
Kwik Sew 3231 (skirt, TNT)
Simplicity 4276 (skirt, untested)

Of course, I could just do both, right?

I'm hoping to start sewing tonight, but if not, the machines will be humming tomorrow.

Practical Yet Cute

Dani has sharp puppy needle teeth and claws so when she and Chili wrestle (which is at least 378 times a day), she's scratching him unintentionally. One of his "armpits" is starting to look bad so it was time for some sewing intervention. Kwik Sew 3076 to the rescue as a cover up and protection. I made this little shirt in less than an hour tonight, including tracing the pattern. It fits him great (size small) so I can make him a few more to wear while his battle scars heal.

Try as we could, we couldn't get Chili to pose very well …





… until we bribed him with some peanuts. Then he went immediately into "begging cuteness position." It's funny to have 3 black and white dogs tonight.



The last time I made this shirt was for Pepper (in a bigger size) as my first project after I bought my coverstitch machine, over 3 years ago. Whew — time sure flies! And she doesn't have even one gray hair in this photo.



Speaking of cuteness … here's the three pooches during a group nap on the sofa the other day. A Kodak Moment if ever there was one. ;-)



Oh, and the undies? Yes, I FINALLY finished them! Eight new pairs, neatly put away in the dresser. Well, 7, since I'm wearing one pair now. ;-) My favorites are the orange-ish pair in front and the 3 pink florals because I haven't used these fabrics for panties before.


I think I'm going to pull out one of those Ottobre 02/2007 tee patterns for some instant gratification tomorrow.