Ruched Sleeve Turtleneck(s)

I like ruched sleeves and turtlenecks, so I thought, “How about a ruched Turtleneck?” I was not sure how I wanted to do the ruching until I saw it in a RTW garment. The store had it only in black and the price was great considering the quality, so I bought it with the clear idea to copy it in other colors (which I did - in white and gray). BTW, the original top is by Miss Me, a line that delivers as-of-the-moment fashions at an affordable price.

Fabric: The RTW top is made from tissue-weight jersey (the black in the middle), whereas both mine are made from lightweight jersey – white and cobalt gray – from http://www.gorgeousfabrics.com/

Copying: For the purpose of copying RTW I like to use Glad Press’n Seal Multipurpose (indeed!) Sealing Wrap. It clings to the fabric and I just mark the lines with a marker, and then transfer to paper. The sleeve, of course, I could not copy this way. I basically redrafted it using the width and height of the sleeve cap. Finally I did a test garment and the sleeve needed very minor adjustments only.

Construction-wise, the interesting part about this top is that instead of bottom hem, the bottom edge is finished with a 3.5” wide band. Also, the front neckline is fairly low, more like it would be on a crewneck tee.

Personally, I love this style – a basic bodice and a different enough sleeve!

Below is something I found while browsing - it is a 3.1 Philip Lim Rosebud SleeveTurtleneck:

Fairly similar, right!

The Striped Dress

So, while working on something tailored for myself, I have been having fun making outfits for DD. This one I drafted myself, starting from a tee and a pair of leggings she has and adapting them.

The fabric is a double faced double knit from http://www.textileophile.com/. Loooove that store... As you can see I've used both sides of the fabric. The trim and buttons are from Joann.

0.25" elastic is sewn at the top of the dark brown inset to keep it from stretching. The insert itself is two layers and the elastic is sandwitched between them.

I also added a tiny bow with a button at the hem of the leggings to corespond to the bow and button at the empire waist.

BTW, the boots she is wearing are not Ugg. They are, however, the Target version (knock-off) of the famous UGG. So far, I have been very impressed with them, the looks, the color variety(they come in chestnut, brown and pink), the craftsmanship, how comfy they are, the low price compared to the original. Besides, they have a side zipper, so DD puts them on by herself! So, yes, if you are looking for boots for your kid, these are great! Oh, other than I shop at Target sometimes, I am in way connected to them:)

The Village Frock

This is a pattern offered by the ladies behind the Sugar City Journal (http://sugarcityjournal.blogspot.com/).
You can see the pattern here:

I cut size 2 for my DD.

Fabric: Denim

The pattern: It is very well drafted. The only alteration I made was to lengthen the dress with about 3”. The dress has details but is easy to make. The authors of the pattern also offer you EXTENSIVE instructions (they actually come in a booklet) and options of how to make various looks from the same pattern pieces.

I love the dress and I will be making it more for spring/summer as it renders itself to lighter-weight fabrics.

LhBD - Little Heather Black Dress And an Award!

Well, to start off, Lisa from http://sewrandom.blogspot.com/ has awarded me with the Brillian weblog award! Thank you, Lisa! It does mean a lot to me when fellow sewers notice what I do because it is more than a hobby at this point and somewhere between a passion and obsession:) Secondly, I finally finished the jumper and here is the review:

Pattern: Burda WOF : 09-2007-121

So, it took me awhile to get this jumper done. After finishing the muslin I was not sure if I liked it. With it, for me, everything was about the right choice of fabric. First, I decided to make it from a striped jersey but was not sold on it. Then, I found great heather black wool knit and I just knew that was it!

Fabric: Wool knit and satin lining from Textile-o-philes (a local independent fabric store: http://www.textileophile.com/Home_Page.html) Btw, if you are ever in the Denver/Colorado Springs area - this store is a MUST VISIT! It has an assortment of fabrics comparable to Emma One Sock and better (think silk jersey, angora, camel hair, cashmere, wool knits, designer print silks, designer cottons, etc.)!

Construction details:

- The skirt of the dress is interlined and lined at the same time with medium-weight stretch lining that has a nice tonal satin stripe.
- The hem is finished with lace.
- The lower edge of the bodice band is reinforced with a strip of the lining cut on a bias.
- The fronts are cut not on a fold but as two separate pieces and the front neckline is stabilized and understitched.

So, that is about it. I wrote about my fit and design alteration when I posted my muslin entry, so I won’t repeat myself here. If anyone is interested, pls refer to that older post or to my review on PR.

Having started with immense hesitation, I actually live how the dress turned out! I was afraid it would look dowdy on me but, to my pleasant surprise, it actually looks modern.

Would recommend it to anyone with two caveats:

1. muslin is a must because fixing the fit of the bodice during construction may be a nightmare (due to the way the dress is constructed and sewn), and

2. I had to rethink the placement of the back pleats to flatter my deriere.

Draped Scarf/Hood

I am not sure why this style is called “snood,” but it is…
My version is derived from a Michael Kors style that was made from ribbed sweater knit.
The purpose of a snood, in my understanding, is to be used both as a collar/scarf and as a hood/hat. I have a HUGE head (although you may notice it by just looking at me) and hats VERY rarely fit me, therefore, the idea of alternative head-covering methods appeals to me. I remember my grandmother knitted a snood for me in the mid-80s but then back where I grew up it was referred to with the less sophisticated “sock-hat!”

Initially, I thought of knitting the snood, but then I fond these cool and soft knits at Textile-o-philes (a local independent fabric store with delicious variety of fabrics) and decided to use them instead, for now at least.
The pattern is a basic rectangle that is sewn into a tube and then folded in half, the same way you would construct a turtleneck. My version is less structured than the original M. Kors snood, however, it drapes beautifully. I may attempt knitting an exact version of the original, or better yet, bribe my MIL to knit one for me!

Slouchy Plaid Pants

Pattern: Vogue 2981, View B

Inspiration:
For these pants I had no particular inspiration other than lusting over plaid pants and pants with a menswear slouchy flair to them for two years.

Size:
My size according to pattern envelop is between 8 and 10 for hips and 12 for waist. I cut size 10 throughout. My overall fit-size conclusion: as opposed to other Alice & Olivia pants, I did not find this one running big. I suggest you go with your true hip and waist size, leave bigger SAs at the CB, and adjust as you muslin the pattern. Due to the shape of the WB, I find that it is almost necessary to make a muslin, if only with very short legs – to check for the overall hip and waist fit.

Alterations for fit:
Took about a total of 1.5” away from the side seams at the waist and blended at the hips
Shortened the pattern with 0.5” at the shortening line just above the hipline
Straightened the hip curve to an almost straight line (I do that with all patterns)
Lowered the back at the CB with 3/8” and blended at the back waist notch
Made a 0.5” deep back dart
Took 0.5” from the WB at the sides
Moved very slightly the front pleat towards the side seam
Had to take more from the CB seam (the pant part) to match the shape of my body (this is inevitable with any pattern though).
These might seem like a lot of alterations but it was really tweaking to achieve a better fit. The front and back crotch I found to be drafted nicely.

Design Changes:
Front pockets changed to iseam pockets.

Fabric:
Subtle plaid on gray background. As far as content, there is more polyester in the fabric than I would have liked but I was not sure how I would like neither the style, nor wearing plaid for bottoms, hence, decided to go with a minimal investment.

Construction:
Pant legs are lined to just below the knee.
I changed the front pockets from slant to inseam, seemed like it went better with the plaid fabric.
I have my own way of making front fly zippers (reversely engineered from some high-end RTW pants) that I always used instead of the pattern instruction. When making these pants I took photos of each step of making the closure, so hopefully some time soon will post the tutorial, if anyone is interested.

I also changed slightly the belt loop design. I stitched each belt loop 1” from the top edge to allow for inserting a skinny belt. This is actually a very minor design change but for me it made a lot of difference.

My Sweater, Your Sweater, It’s All in the Family! And it is Fall!

I have not made anything for DD in 2 years and thought it was time.
For this fall-winter season I decided to again make some of her clothes and started with some sweater dresses.

The scarf to the left is made from an open-knit sweater knit fabric and I used the selvages to simulate short fringe.

Dress #1:

A long sleeve, A-line dress, with a turtle neck, fully lines with soft jersey.
Fabric: the jersey is from denverfabrics.com and the sweater knit is actually a former sweater of mine, hence the title for this post.
How it is made:
- Traced (roughly) the pattern from an Old Navy sweater dress my DD wore last winter.
- Made some adjustments at the armhole and for length to accommodate her growth
- Applied the pattern to my sweater and used my sweater’s neckline and shoulder seams.
- Cut out the sleeves from the sleeves of the sweater
- Used the hem of the sweater as the hem of the dress
- Cut out lining, constructed it and attached it to: the neckline (fully) and partially to the armhole, sleeve hems and bottom hem.
- A heart-shaped button appliqué on the front

Dress #2

This dress has a straight cut, turtleneck, and ribbed banding at hem and sleeves. This dress is made from a sweater of mine as well. The dress has corduroy epaulettes at the shoulders and an attached corduroy belt. With the exception of the epaulettes and the belt, the dress is made pretty much the same way as dress #1. This knit is super soft though, which allowed me to avoid applying lining. On the photo the dress is worn with babylegs (babylegs.net). I cannot begin to tell you how much I like those!

Dress # 3

A close copy of dress #2, this dress has a piece-sign button appliqué on the front.

Garment #4: Knitted hooded poncho. This poncho was my design , so I have no pattern for it, but it is esseantially nade of two rectangles + a hood and buttons under the arms to form sleeves.

Note: All pictures are courtesy of my husband. Thank you, Sig!