Vogue 1247 - Rachel Comey Top

I sewed something!  Yay!  

I've been lurking this Rachel Comey Vogue designer pattern for a while.  I looked it up on Pinterest and found several very nice versions of this top.

 So I decided to try my first one out of quilting cotton.  I know, I know, probably not the best choice, but I'm considering this more like a wearable muslin.  This cotton was in my quilting stash, and I had probably 4 metres of it.  So I still have a fair bit left.  I had to cut it in one layer, as the 45" width isn't wide enough for the kimono sleeves.  It helped me save fabric, but it did take quite a while to cut.

 I added 2" of length to the lengthen/shorten line, and I'm very happy with it.  I noticed that this top is quite short, and I'm 5'10", so I knew I wanted it longer.  

 I also added 1/2" to the neckline, all the way around, as it is quite a large, gaping neckline.  I initially added an inch, but after I got it partially sewn up and tried it on, I determined that 1/2" would be sufficient.  I'm happy with it.

When I first started sewing this top, I wasn't sure quite what to do with myself, because my serger is away for service, and I'm just now realizing that my Babylock Evolve is literally my right hand in my sewing room.  It has been my everything since I bought it in 2001, and it is my only serger.  As for sewing machines, I always have a few spares lying around.  So, I had to decide how to finish my seams.  The instructions have you finish everything in french seams, but I've read a couple of reviews, and french seams make for a very bulky join at the centre front where all the seams meet.  So, I dug out my pinking shears, which I have probably only used once, and pinked all my seams at about 1/4"-3/8" and pressed them open.  I'm very happy with the result.  Look at that join!

 I really liked the designer details in this pattern.  I loved the bias bound neckline.  And it was really easy because they have you bind the whole neckline and then join the centre front seam last, so it's really simple.

 I love all the design details like the cuffs, the bias bound v-neck, the kimono sleeves, the pleats, the centre front darts, the angled seams below the waist, and the shirttail hem.  But in reality, in this quilting cotton there is literally no drape, which I knew this pattern needed, and there's a lot of weird wrinkling and bagging happening all up in the chest area.

 Based on the finished garment measurements, I cut a size 16, which is probably a good two sizes smaller than my measurements suggest.  There are 4" of ease at the hips, which I think is just about perfect, and there's even more at the bust.  

 This top is meant to be ridiculously oversized and sewn in something very light and drapey.  I was considering making this in linen; I have some in coral, and some in white, but I think linen isn't going to be drapey enough.

 If I do make this again, which I'm not entirely sure I will, I will probably make it in a size 18, so that it's even more roomy, and make it in a very, very drapey fabric, like a lightweight rayon.  It would be fascinating to see how big of a difference fabric choice would make in a design like this.  I should do it just for the sake of science.

 I love all the details of this design, but in this application, it didn't quite pan out.

 That being said, my wardrobe has almost no nice clothes, so I will wear this.  But hopefully I will make some more new tops to wear very soon.  I still love the idea of boxy tops, especially kimono sleeves.  I wear unisex t-shirts all the time, so I know I can pull off the rectangle shape.  And bonus! Garments with no fitting are really quick and easy to sew!

This last shot shows off the colours a bit more accurately.  This colour choice is outside my comfort zone.  It's a beautiful print, but it's on a beigey background, and it's not my best colour.  Still, it's not that bad.  The funny thing is, when I tried out the selfie timer option on my camera, it took 10 frames of each photo.  I imagine that's so when you're taking a shot of a big group, you avoid the blinks.  So, when I downloaded the pictures to my computer, I didn't bother keeping all 10 frames of each shot and picking out the best one.  I just picked the first one of each pose and said to heck with it.  Ha ha, now I can see why you should keep the 10 shots and weed out the blinks.  Hee hee.

I'm glad to finally get something sewn, and I'm excited to dig into my stash and whip up some more.  Also, it's encouraging to see that sewing all those church quilts does sharpen my sewing skills.  :)

Random Sewing Updates

This is a random post done on my phone, so these are all new photos. I would love to show you some before and after pics of my sewing room, but since I'm not even halfway done revamping it, I'll save that for the big reveal. In the meantime, here's what I've been up to. 

I'm loving our church quilting bees. I have volunteered to take on more of the workload, so in addition to participating in the quilting bees at church, and taking home some of the quilts to bind the edges, I have offered to sew quilt tops. 

Jane cuts all the squares, and then she gives me a big box and then I make quilt tops out of them. 

I've been having a blast with how many options there are to play with when you have a giant pile of squares. 

This green one is my favourite so far. It looks so cool in real life!  I've been using graph paper to draw out my designs before I start sewing. Then I can simply sew one row at a time according to my drawing. 

And I've been trying to use up the fabrics that have tons of squares. Later on when I have only 2 or 3 of each one, that's when it'll get really creative. 

I love this one, too. I feel like it has a Dutch blue plate kinda vibe. Cute, right?

I wish you could see this one in person. It is so gorgeous!

After I finished enough quilts for this month's bee, I concentrated on diving into my sewing room revamp project. I bought a new shelf and desk at IKEA in January, and it feels great to finally put them to use. 

This is my old desk. I also had a smaller one beside it for my serger. While it looks really cool, it's not very practical. It's too big, just gets covered in clutter, and it's really hard to get at the shelf. So I took it out. 

This is my shelf. It will go on top of the existing shelf and give me way more storage. I will put my sewing books and binders in the top shelf, put do-dads and accessories and stuff in the second shelf, and the remaining 4 shelves will be filled with clear plastic bins. I have 4 full of patterns, and the other 12 contain most of my fabric stash. It's amazing how much fabric you can fit in a 12" box. 

Lucky is chilling out on the cardboard boxes. Lol. 

Today we had our quilting bee. It was fun, as usual. There were only 6 of us, and we still managed to get 8 quilts done!

It was really cool to work on quilts that I had made. 

We put royal blue yarn on this one, to bring out the lonely blue stripes. It looks so cool!  I just love it. 

We used peach yarn on this one. 

I always have so much fun at our quilting bees. It's great to contribute our talents to such a great cause.  These blankets go to Mexico through Canadian Lutheran World Relief. 

Today I built my new sewing desk. So streamlined!  I love it!

When I finish my revamp, this will go right in front of the window. I can't wait!  

I'm excited to keep digging through all my piles of crap and come out the other side with a whole new sewing room. Nothing gets the mojo going like rearranging a room, amirite?!

New Jammy Pants for Me!!!

One of the pairs of jammy pants in my "almost finished" pile was a pair for me.  All I had to do was coverstitch the elastic waistband and the hem, and sew a label to the back.  I already had the right thread colour loaded on my serger, so I just had to sit down and do it.  Easy peasy!

Here are my two old ones.  I could go back and see how old these are, but I'm too lazy.  My guess is that they are at least 4 or 5 years old, and they are both quite thin and threadbare.  But I still wear them constantly, and I still love them.  :)

 The chickens and eggs fabric faded much worse than the penguins.  The penguins are my favourite.  Aren't' they cute?

 If you look really closely at the elastic waists on both of these, you will see how threadbare they are.

 So, it's time for new ones!  I don't remember if I bought this fabric last year, or the year before, but they've been floating around in that big pile of jammy pants that I've been trying to finish for about 3 years.  I think this print looks like a Christmas sweater. :)

 And here they are!  I've started making everyone's jammy pants about 2" too long, because as the months and years go by, that's how much they shrink.  :)

 I love them.  I made them slightly bigger than my old ones simply by sewing my side seams at 1/4" instead of 5/8".  Easy way to gain an inch and a half all the way around.

 I love my labels!  And I even had white thread in my industrial, so I didn't have to fiddle with anything!  It was all ready to go.

 And a big shout out to Elisha, who gave me her Grandma's old iron, which is basically still brand spankin' new!  I desperately needed a new iron, and this one does not disappoint!  It steams like a champ, and it's heavier than my old one, and presses like a dream.  Totally retro, hey?  Thanks, Elisha!  I love it!  :D

Simplicity 2690 Wearable Muslin

This project has been on my wish list for a very long time.  A handful of years, I think.  I don't remember what came first, the fabric or the pattern, but they are a match made in heaven.

I immediately fell in love with view A.  The printed fabric is sheer and drapey, so my plan is to underline the tunic in brown rayon and leave the sleeves sheer.  And I will use the white ribbon as accents just like their version.  Cute, huh?

 So a couple weekends ago, I dug out this pattern and decided to make a muslin.  After I cut out all the pattern pieces and pressed them, I was humming and hawing because I wasn't sure if it was going to fit.  So I googled the pattern and perused a handful of blog posts, and everyone seemed to have good luck with it.   I decided to try it in a knit first, and chose view C.  Today I dug in and sewed the whole thing from start to finish. 

I used a soft cotton knit that my mother-in-law gave me a couple years ago.  I'm not a big fan of the print; it's a bit pale and too flowery for my tastes, but it's decent enough that if it turns out, I will be happy to wear it to church.

 I cut out a size 18 and sewed it together with no alterations.  I read in someone's blog that the front bodice was a bit short, but I wanted to see what the original fit like before I made any changes.

Overall, it's really good, and I'm loving this pattern.  The front bodice does need to be at least an inch longer under the bust, especially when I make this in a woven.  And the modesty panel needs to be an inch higher, and I will bring in the neckline at the shoulders about an inch.  

The underarms are a bit low, but they don't really bother me.  I like loose armholes, so I will likely wear a beige bra and leave it at that.

Knowing that the front bodice was short, I didn't make my elastic very snug.  I had a top similar to this a few years ago, and the elastic was way too tight and it just looked like "BOOBS!".  So I left it fairly loose, and I'm happy with how it sits on this version.  It's snug at the back and sits comfortably at the front.  

I serged the waist seam at the full 5/8" and encased the elastic as I sewed.  I don't like feeding elastic through casing, so this was easier.  I just had to scrunch it up periodically so I had enough length to sew flat.

 Here are my Front, Side, and Back shots.  My camera doesn't focus very well anymore, so I had to use the text setting to get some clear shots.  The lighting on the rest of the pictures is better, but some of them are blurry.  Even these ones aren't that clear.  Oh well.  I guess it's time for a new camera!

 I really like the fit and style of this top, but this fabric definitely doesn't suit me.  I'm a winter, not a summer.  Speaking of winter, do you like my penguin PJ pants?  LOL

 In addition to my long-sleeved tunic that I've been dreaming of, I already dug out some knit leftovers from my stash in a print that is definitely more my style.  Funky and modern.  :)

And let's give some props to my hair today!  I'm a couple weeks overdue for a haircut because I have to streak it myself and I'm lazy.  So it's long and shaggy (for me).  When I woke up this morning, it was 3 times crazier than this.  It's actually kinda cute!  I don't mind leaving it a bit longer.

 I am so happy that I finally sewed a garment for myself!  I believe March 2012 was the last time I made an actual garment for myself.  It feels so good!

Update: July 2016

I've worn this top only a handful of times, but this past weekend, I fell in love with it.  Previously, I felt comfortable, but I wasn't feeling particularly flattered.  That is, until I saw this impromptu photo taken by a random second cousin at my family's summer BBQ.  I didn't realize how flattering it is, not only the style, but the colours!  I am even more excited now to make another one in a funky modern knit.  :)