Mom's Vest - Vogue 2450

I managed to finish all the PJ pants before Christmas, but I didn't get my Mom's vest done until January 21.  Oh well.  Better late than never!

I made this vest for myself a few years ago.  The pattern is Vogue 2450, and I made view C, which is on the far right side.  It's a little tight, as it's a 14 tapered to a 12 at the hips.  But I can still wear it comfortably.  The only thing I don't like about it is the collar.  I didn't interface it, and the inside layer is mesh, so it doesn't stand up at all.  Other than that, I absolutely love this vest, and I still wear it.  I'd like to make a new one a size bigger, but I want to find some outerwear nylon in a funky colour, and they don't have any nice colours here.  

My mom asked me if I could make one for her for Christmas.  I went to Davey Fabrics and bought some black Commander Nylon, and a chunky coil zipper.  In my stash, I had 2 short coil zippers for the pockets, black mesh for the lining, and interfacing.

The zippers I had for the pockets were exactly as chunky as the main zipper, and to my astonishment, they were exactly the right length!  I used what I had, and it turned out okay, but I would definitely recommend using a regular small coil zipper for the pockets, because they're easier to sew in, and they lay flatter.

The pockets are the trickiest part to sew, and once they were done, the rest of the vest went together very easily.  The zipper didn't even give me any trouble.  But I should have given myself an extra 1/8 of an inch beside the zipper, because it has a tendency to catch on the mesh on the way up or down.  It's one of those zippers that you have to stick your tongue out just right to get it to work properly.  It wasn't big enough of an issue for me to take out and redo, though.

This vest took me 7 hours to complete, and it went together smoothly.  I'm very happy with it.  Merry belated Christmas, Mom!

Christmas Choir Photo

One of the ladies in our choir emailed me a group photo we had taken before the first service on the day of the Christmas cantata.  Thanks, Arlene!

9 Pairs of Christmas PJ Pants

I didn't start sewing these until December 16th, which is right around the time I started my 13 pairs last year.  Two big differences.  I had 4 less pairs to sew this year, and I didn't have a chiffon wedding dress alteration to do at the same time.  As a result, this year I finished them all by Christmas Eve; I didn't have to drag them out until New Year's like I did last year, or February *cough* like I did the year before.  I'm getting better!


I had to make one pair early for a gift exchange the weekend before Christmas.

Here are the other 8 pairs.  I love the gray camoflauge!  I found that months ago and immediately bought 10 meters.  That's 2.5 meters per pair, for 4 pairs.  And since all those guys are over 6 feet tall (including my brother, who's 6'8"), I had mere inches left over.  

During my last 2 days of sewing, I entertained myself by listening to a book on CD.  I tried this before during wedding season, and I discovered that you can't do anything that requires thinking, or the book will distract you, and you'll make mistakes (ask me how I know).  Thus, PJ pants are perfect.  I didn't have to think about it; it was all repetitive assembly line sewing.  I was impressed that the book kept me enthralled and I sewed for 3 1/2 hours straight the night before Christmas Eve, and I actually had to peel myself away and go to bed.  I'm going to keep that in mind for all my easy sewing jobs!


We had a wonderful Christmas weekend.  I haven't been this relaxed all year.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and is about to have a Happy New Year!

Black Pencil Skirt for the Christmas Choir - Vogue 8518

 I took my mom's advice and tried a pencil skirt.  Of course, I couldn't just do an easy straight skirt that I could whip up in under 2 hours.  I had to pick Vogue 8518, which Vogue labelled as "easy".  Ha!  I would only wish this pattern upon a beginner if I wanted them to suffer.  I am intermediate/advanced, and I even struggled with a few things.  From start to finish, this skirt took me 9 hours.  It was a labour of love.  Once I saw that it fit really well and was starting to look quite nice, I decided to spend some time making it as nice as I could. 

Vogue 8518

My pattern came in 6-12, and I needed a 16. I checked at Fabricland while the Vogue sale was still on, but apparently this pattern is now out of print. So, I decided to add 4" to the width on just the side seams and approximate the 16. It worked! I'm very impressed with the fit of this skirt.  I made a muslin of the hip yoke, and it was perfect!  The waist is a little tight, but I left it as is and decided to omit the interfacing (you're supposed to interface the entire hip yoke. ugh.).  I wanted it to have a bit of give.  My denim skirt has no give at the waist, and it's a bit uncomfortable.  I guess that's why they make RTW clothing with stretch nowadays.  It's just more comfy.

I learned my lesson from my last skirt and I made sure to try on my skirt at every possible stage.  At this point, I have the skirt and lining sewn to the hip yoke.  Seams aren't pressed or trimmed, and hip yoke lining isn't in yet.  So far, so good!

I didn't have a lot of black lining, and I wanted the hip yoke to have some give, so I decided to have some fun with it and I used a lime green leopard print satin that was very drapey and slinky.  I think it looks sexy and cute.  

And I remembered to attach my label at the right stage.  It's so easy to forget, cuz it's not in the instructions!  I did a really good job here and hand sewed the lining to the zipper, and all the way around the bottom edge of the hip yoke.  I'm really happy with how it looks on the inside.  Almost makes me want to wear it inside out!

Here is how it fit when the skirt was completely finished, except for the hem.  I hadn't opened up the pleat in the front yet either.

Here you can see my crazy swayback.  I had a couple little wrinkles, and it was a bit tight at the waist at the center back, but I didn't bother making any adjustments.  It's pretty darn good for a first try.  If I make this skirt again, I might tweak a few things on the muslin and see what happens.

I like how it sits nice and high at the back.  I love the design of this skirt!

Here it is after the hem has been sewn. 

And a close up of my label.

And, finally, completely finished full-length shot!  I love how this skirt is knee length, but it doesn't look like a granny skirt because of the style and the fit.  This skirt will live happily in my wardrobe for the rest of my life.  I love it!

And we mustn't forget why I had to hurry and make this in the first place. I needed a black skirt and a white shirt for the Christmas Choir. Black skirt, check. White shirt, meh. I don't like this one (it's RTW from when I had to wear business casual for work), but it didn't bother me too much. Next year, I'll make a funky white shirt.

Did I mention I finished it on Saturday night around 9:45?  Hee hee.  Oh well.  I had fun with this one.  I wasn't expecting it to take me 9 hours, but I'm glad I did such a good job on it.  My mom took pictures at church on Sunday, and she had me model it for her.

Can you tell I'm getting excited?  It's almost showtime!

And finally, my big debut as a choral singer.  It was the most fantastic experience!  I'm going to go through withdrawal until Choir practice starts up in January.  And this picture doesn't quite capture how many people are in the choir.  There are 2 full rows behind me, and I believe there are over 30 of us total.  So much fun!!!

Tree Skirt Finished!

 I finished this last Friday, but we finally got our tree decorations done last night, so here it is!

 For the binding, I used the green batik, as it is my favorite.  I think it adds quite a bit of pizzazz.  I called my mom for some tips on sewing my binding.  She advised me to baste the binding on, but I decided to just pin it, and it worked fine.

 Here is what it looks like under our finally fully decorated tree.  P.S. That angel on top is plastic canvas. My mom made it a looooong time ago.  When I moved out, I begged her to let me have it, cuz I love it so much.  Thanks Mom!

Now that the tree skirt is done, it's on to the next task!  Today I'm making my black skirt for the Christmas choir on Sunday.  Hopefully I'll get it all done today.


Yay for Christmas sewing!

Happy December! Christmas sewing has begun.

I don't know how I managed to do it, but I deflected all my alterations and other sewing jobs, and I have the entire month of December to myself!  Woo hoo!  I'll still be doing upholstery Monday-Wednesday, as per usual, but my Thursdays and Fridays (and subsequent weekends) are free!  

This was taken last year, and if you'll notice, I'm working on a wedding dress.  It was my first bridal alteration of my new sewing business.  I've done several more since then, but I don't have any this month!

 This was my mountain of PJ pants from last year.  I made 13 pairs!  This year, I'm making 9.  I wish I could show you the flannel for all of them, but I have to keep it a secret!

I've always wanted to make my own tree skirt, and last week I found this super easy quilting pattern and some excellent Christmas batiks at Fabricland.

I wasn't sure how long it would take me, as this is my first patchwork project, but I was pleasantly surprised that it went really fast.  It helps that the pieces are huge, too.

 Here you can see the 4 fabrics I chose.  Aren't they cute?  

 Lots and lots of triangles!  I have to say, I'm loving patchwork quilting.  My mom is a hardcore quilter, so I've been thinking about it for a while.  Last year I attempted a couple Christmas quilts, but they were applique.  I like this better!

 When I sew, I'm slow because I'm so picky.  Quilting is perfect!  I got to be totally anal with every seam, and it was pure heaven.  Sigh.  

 Don't tell my mom that I used pins for every seam!  Well, she'll know now.  (Hi, Mom!)  Hee hee.  I found that pinning everything allowed me to sew faster without fiddling with the edges of the fabric.  I know you're supposed to pin big pieces, but I did the little ones too.  

 This is the top.  Next up, I'll be layering it with batting, and binding the edges.  It will also have a hole in the middle.  I have to finish it quick so we can put up our Christmas tree!  


In addition to the pile of PJ pants, my other projects include a black skirt for the Christmas choir on Dec 12, a vest for my mom (don't worry, she already knows about it!), and a fleece PJ jumpsuit (onesie) for myself *excited!*.  I'm not going to set myself any more goals as of yet.  We'll see how week one goes.  I'm hoping that since I get to do all fun sewing, I'll put in lots of hours, get everything done early, and have time to make myself some new clothes!  But I know how it usually goes, so I'll just stick with my essentials for now.  


I hope everyone has some fun projects planned for Christmas!  Happy December! 

Denim A-line skirt - McCall's 3341

I recently joined a new church, and I quickly realized that I have nothing to wear!  I used to have a whole bunch of A-line skirts made from this pattern, but since I left my careers that required me to wear business casual, I gave away everything I didn't love.  I have 2 skirts left, and they are a size too small, and a few inches too short.  Apparently I was younger a few years ago, and the short length bothers me now.  My old skirts look on me exactly how view E looks on the pattern envelope (the short black one).  And being 5'10" with really long legs, they make me look more like a giraffe than I would like.  I decided to make a new denim skirt using view C, which is the 3rd length.

McCall's 3341

 My old tracing lines indicate that I used to make the size 14.  I can still get my old skirts on in that size, but they ride higher up on my waist.  I decided to cut an 18.  To test the fit, I cut out the facing pieces first, pinned them together, and wrapped them around my waist.  I thought they were okay, so I proceeded with the 18.  I was overconfident in my size choice, and decided against checking the fit part way through.  I think I checked the facing/lining layer, but it was so drapey, it looked fine.  I should point out that the denim I used is quite heavy.  This stuff is thicker than what most of my RTW (ready to wear) jeans are.  Anyways, I should have tried on the denim layer before I put it all together.  I was sure it was going to be fine.  I sewed the waist seam, trimmed it, and topstitched it, and then I finally tried it on.  Waw waw waaaawwww...  It was like a big cardboard tent.  Oops!  It was a full size too big.  

 I had to do a pain in the arse alteration and take in my side seams a full 2".  Why, oh why was I so overconfident?  2 sizes is a big leap.  I should know that by now.  Sigh.  I fixed it up, the subsequent 16 was fine and dandy (still hung like cardboard, though, but at least it kind of fit).  I hemmed it up just above my knee, because I was afraid of making it too short like my old ones.  

 I sewed in my fancy schmancy label.  Isn't it cute?

 I finished the inside nicely by hand-stitching the lining to the zipper.  I knew this skirt was a piece of cardboard by this point, so I just used some orange thread I already had on a needle.  You can't see it anyways!

 The first day I wore it, I discovered that it was a little long.  It kept getting caught up around my knees when I tried getting in and out of vehicles.

 I used to think that making an A-line skirt would give me some much-needed shape in the hips, but it almost hangs more like a rectangle than a straight skirt does.  I consulted my mom and asked her if she thought I should try wearing a semi-circle skirt to give me some shape, but she suggested that I try a pencil skirt first.  I need a black skirt to wear for the Christmas choir in December, so I think I'll make that next.  Hopefully the shape will be more flattering.  

 The second time I wore it, I paired it with my kimono sleeve top, and I decided to hem it up 2" more.  I did this quick and dirty, but it works.  It's much more comfortable at this length, and I intend on wearing it with opaque tights most of the time.  It's still a smidge longer than my old ones, so I'm happy with it.

This is garment #3 for 2010.  It's a much-needed wardrobe staple.  I'll probably get a lot of wear out of this until such time that I make another denim skirt that doesn't hang like cardboard.  I'll take what I can get right now!