Sleeveless Top - New Look 6160

I've had this pattern forever, and lately I've had quite a hankering to make some t-shirts and tank tops.  I've always loved the pink and yellow version on the front of the pattern envelope.  I now have some pink stretch in my stash, and I'm sure I have some yellow spandex buried somewhere.  That'll be my next version.

The fabric I used for this was some white/heather gray t-shirt knit that I bought at Davey Fabrics from the discount bin.  I'm not a big fan of wearing plain white, but for some reason, I just love this colour.  I decided to use the funky stripe spandex from my latest kimono sleeve top to use for the shoulders and neck binding.  

I measured my favorite fitted t-shirt, and I made the following alterations to my pattern:  I added 2 1/2" of length at the waist.  I cut an 18 at the bust/shoulders, and a 16 at the waist and hips.  The torso is perfect.  

Before

I ended up with some gaping at the armhole, but I decided to go ahead and stitch down my armholes and see if it made a difference.  It didn't.  I had to make a bust dart at the armhole.  On the pattern, I will be transferring this to a 
side seam bust dart.  I don't mind having darts in a t-shirt, if it means it'll fit as good as this!

After

Another minor adjustment I did was to hem the armhole 3/4" at the shoulder, instead of the recommended 3/8".  Next time, I will also do a 1" swayback adjustment, and add the same length to the hem at center back.

It feels slightly odd to have a t-shirt that feels, well, tailored!  I like it!  I'm going to tackle the other shirt from this pattern, and make the same changes.  I don't have a lot of t-shirts, and I need all kinds: long-sleeved, short-sleeved, sleeveless, racer-back, etc.  I'm excited to get started on the next one!

I topstitched everything with orange thread and the coverstitch on my serger.  I like how it looks.

I'm beginning to see a trend here.  When I have a pattern or fabric that I really like, I will make it at least twice.  I've made 2 kimono sleeve tops (with at least one more to go!), and I've used this funky pink fabric twice, and there's lots more where that came from!  Also, remember the fucshia/purple/orange flame fleece I made my onesie out of?  I have enough left to make a Jalie hoodie!  I'm so excited to dig into more of these projects.  Plus, working with knits is quick and satisfying.  

Yay! sportswear!

Kimono Sleeve Top; Round 2 - Burda 7866

I whipped this up on Friday night after supper.  I thought it would only take me an hour.  Apparently, I'm slow.  It took me an hour and 55 minutes, which is only a 10-minute improvement from the last one.  And I only sewed my seams once, not twice.  Hmm...  Call me a slowpoke.

I wanted the stripes to all be going sideways, but the main pattern piece looks the same no matter which way you turn it, so I accidentally cut the stripes vertically instead of horizontally.  I didn't even notice until I sewed the waist seam and saw that the stripes were perpendicular.  Oh well.  It still looks good this way.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with this top.  It's bright and funky, and very comfortable.

Batman Onesie for Ken - McCall's 6251

Ken's Batman Oncsie is done and mailed!  I did slightly better for time on this one.  It took me about 3 hours and 40 minutes.  

Ken is 6'2".  Based on his measurements, I cut a size XL with the following alterations:


I added 1" at the chest and 1/2" at the hip on the side seams (4" ease at chest, 6" ease at hips), essentially making an XXL.  
I added 3 1/2" of length to the sleeves.
I added 5" of length to the body: 2" at the torso, 2" mid-leg, and 1" at the hem.


I did a little better with the neckline ribbing this time.  How it curves down at centre front is good.  I sewed the neck seam with 1/4" seam allowances.

Here's my label.

I told him to send me pictures as soon as he gets it.  Until then, I'll just have to trust my instincts that it will fit him.

I bought these boxes so I could send pants back and forth to my brother.  They're the perfect size for onesies!  

What a fun project!  I hope I can make many more of these!

Onesie!!! - McCall's 6251

This is my Christmas gift to myself.  Almost 2 months late.  That's how I roll!

Anyways, back in November, McCall's came out with some new patterns, and I almost freaked when I saw this one!  Finally, a onesie for grown ups!  

McCall's 6251

I bought the pattern with the L and XL, so I chose the Large and made some changes to it.  Based on one of my favorite t-shirts, I decided 4" of ease at the chest and hips would be sufficient.

These are my alterations:
Took in side seams by 1" on each pattern piece = 4" total
Lengthened sleeves by 1" and legs by 1 1/2"


For a first try, it's pretty good!  The crotch is a little long, and the hips are too snug to move around comfortably.  Otherwise, everything is great!

Next time I will:
Cut the Medium, altering for 4" ease at chest and 6" ease at hips
Shorten torso by 2"
Alter the length of sleeves and pantlegs

I was inspired by Sue Sylvester from Glee and her Adidas track suit.  It has a ribbed neckline that tapers to nothing at the zipper, which I thought would be perfect for this.  I cut some ribbing 2/3 smaller than my neckline, and just winged it.  It worked!  I topstitched my seams down so it would stay nice and flat.  The only thing I would do differently next time is take only a 1/4" seam allowance at the neck.  The neckline is huge!  The ribbing helps to fill it in a little.

The ribbing for the sleeves is a smidge smaller than what they called for, because I was using scraps and needed to be stingy.  I like them like this.  I think I would do the ankle ribbing almost as tight, because it's kinda baggy and doesn't really do anything.

I wanted to make sure my zipper didn't go all wonky on me, so I was careful not to let anything stretch out.  I basted the seam together, pressed it without pulling, and immediately slid one of my big rulers underneath it and pinned my zipper in place so it wouldn't stretch out when I sewed it.  Turned out perfect!  

And, of course, I had to put in my funky label.

This onesie only took me 4 hours to make.  So much fun!  


I'm making a batman one for a customer tomorrow, so I'll be sure to share pictures when I'm done!  I can't wait to make more!  I have 2 sewing friends who are going to make some, and I hope I've inspired some of you seamstresses to make some too!  Wouldn't a red one with a back flap be so cute?

Dr Seuss quilt in progress

Back in October, I decided to pop into our local quilting store, as I hadn't gone in there for a few years.  That very week, they had just got in a new shipment of Cat in the Hat/Dr Seuss fabrics!  It was love at first sight!  I didn't have time to buy any that day, as I was on my way to an appointment, but I snapped a quick picture and stewed over it for a week so I could decide what I wanted to make and how much fabric to get.

The next week, I went in and bought enough to make a lap quilt using a very basic patchwork pattern called Yellow Brick Road.  My mom made a small quilt from this pattern, and I loved how big the squares were and thought it would be perfect to show off the bright colours of the Dr Seuss fabrics. 

Yellow Brick Road

I've been excited about working on this quilt for months, and in January, I finally dug in.  In approximately 4 hours, I cut and sewed 40 blocks.  I love quilting!  It's so fast, and talk about fun!  Woo hoo!

These are the fabrics that are in the blocks.

This will be the border.  

This will be the back.  The idea is to make it reversible.

When I bought my fabric, the sales lady asked me, "Do you have kids?" I said, "Not yet, but this is my kinda fabric anyways!"  I love bright primary colours, and have always loved Dr Seuss books.  I'm going to enjoy this quilt so much, and when the time comes that I have a little one, it will be the perfect size for a toddler bed.  


I can't wait to lay all my squares out on my bed and get them all put together!

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!