First Pair of Shorts in Decade

 Over the first week of July I completed my first pair of shorts for myself in well over a decade.  I'm not sure why for the last ten years I felt my body type could not wear shorts. So using my limited space and supplies well staying at my son's I decided I needed a project to help break out of my comfort zone.
Using a planning sheet from mybodymodel's Project Planner it was time to re-sketch my pattern of choices mimicking the print in the fabric. 

The Details

Pattern: Lutterloh supplement 273-34-2009. These are a mid-rise knee length short. I'm 5'3" so they might not be knee length on you.
Size: Hip measurement of 128cm. Altered to make them me sized.
Supplies: Fabric, Thread, 4 buttons
Fabric Requirements: I used about 3 yards of African Wax Print. I used this much fabric due to the print. 

Fabric: The Fabric was purchased from Affordable African Prints, which is a group on Facebook. This is a 100% Cotton Ankara Fabric in a green, pink and black print. I would consider it a boarder print as well because the pattern near the bottom selvage was much more condensed than by the top selvage.

Alterations: Need to enlarge the waist by 26cm plus ease. Using the slide and pivot method I added 7.2cm per side. 

Need to also enlarge the hip by 2cm plus ease. Using the same slide and Pivot method I added 1.8cm per side

Modifications: This pattern calls for a zipper fly. I instead decided to make a covered button fly.  

Only one problem with this was I did not have my button hole foot with me to allow my machine to make one step button holes. So did them using zig zag stitch and tacking. 

Thank you to the following tutorials for helping with this process. I did make slight adjustments to their methods but these were very helpful in figuring it out.

Buttonhole: HOW TO SEW BUTTONHOLES WITHOUT AN AUTOMATIC FUNCTION

Button Fly: How to sew: a button fly for jeans 

Changes for Next Time
This pattern went together very easily and created a well fitted pattern. I plan to make these shorts again since they have been a very nice way too beat the hit this summer. In the next pair I will be scooping out the back crotch just slightly and raising the center back maybe  a little. When I first wore them I felt like the mid-rise of these shorts was to low and exposed my under garments in the back a little. What I really think is going on is the crotch might be slightly to short causing some tightness on the bum. Over all I really love these shorts and they could fast become a nice new staple to the summer wardrobe.

Until next time

Live You

Live Now

Live Bold

Start of July Sewing

Starting Fresh

Today is the day to start blogging again. The sewing adventure never stopped. So lets fast forward to summer 2019 and continue the story.

 Currently I am working on a pair of shorts when done they will be made out of  a wonderful Ankara fabric purchased back in 2018 from the Facebook group Affordable African Fabrics. Like every good tale I started with a plan. Let take a quick look at mine.

Before deciding on any patterns this summer I wanted to make sure they would look fabulous on my body type. Using my custom 
mybodymodel 
croquis, and circled by my Lutterloh pattern stash I sat down for days making quick fun sketches in my project planner. In no way are they professional fashion drawing. These simple quick drawings became my fashion idea color book that provided a wonderful chance to try styles I would not normally choose straight away. I drew for days and at the end I had 4 pages of project start points.

One of the best parts of using  mybodymodel as your croquis is that each model is made with your body measurements. This helps you get a truer idea of how something might look in it finished form. Granted a 2D image is never going to be the exact duplicate as your body.







Not sure what a croquis is... Its a French word for sketch. Most often it is a quick sketch of a model done in a few minutes time. The model might change poses several times enabling an artist to have several sketches. In the fashion world it can be used as a quick drawing to see how a style might look. Often these fashion illustrations are not connected to a real persons body measurements.

The pattern I've chosen to use is from my original Lutterloh kit from 2011, pattern number 34 or if you don't have that kit it would be Lutterloh supplement 273-34-2009. 

Lutterloh 273-34-2009

Not sure what Lutterloh is... Lutterloh is a system that uses miniature patterns and a special tape measure to draft up your patterns. You can learn more about the Lutterloh system here.














Lets hope these shorts turn out the way as envisioned. Until next time.

Live you

Live now

Live bold

How Do you Best Learn



The Sewing Library

 How do you best learn? Every year about this time I decide it's time in invest in something new to increase my knowledge of my craft of sewing. My mind starts race should I purchase a new book or DVD. How about a class. Living in the area I do class are pretty much limited to those online at sites like PR or Lutterloh NZ.

Having recently saved 10 yards of denim form my local Goodwill store I've been obsessed with the idea of making a pair of jeans. But were does one begin? Today in the inbox of my email I received ad for Jeans for Real People.  The video is 3 hours long and promises a start to finsh look at making a great pair of jeans. Hmm now it's got me thinking just how much info about jean making is too much. Should I buy this video as well as the project on jean making from Lutterloh NZ? Will this video be a one time watch or a great resource to add to the sewing shelf?

So tell me whats your favorite way to learn and grow into a better sewist? Do you have a favorite resource or class?

The story of a TNT top.

Once upon a time there was a fashionista who long to find clothes that fit. She searched high and she searched low but RTW often lacked quality and really lacked styles that she was comfortable in.

She relized very quickly that covering her spare tire and lovely twins was hard work. This or that friend offered advice or suggest this store or that. But still a huge struggle of a a possitive self image seemed to follow each shopping trip.

So as a young teen our fashionista began to learn to sew and tailor. The classes at school were good. She finally had some clothes that fit and that she loved. She dreamed of someday moving to NYC and being a famous designer. But art school did not happen insted 5 little happy peas decided to pop out of their pods and jump around like happy little hot peppers. So our fashionista traded in her fashion for motherhood and happily sewed little baby rompers and kids clothes.

Anyone who loves fashion knows that if the feel of the fabric or the smell of a new garment are left dormant too long the frump frump land can appear often in young mothers. And so it did.

Fashion blood runs deep and soon our young mother found herself working at a shop. A shop that required she dress nice in current season and colors. The fit issues with the RTW started again. But not to be fooled and not to be satisfied our now single mother put on the smock of a sewist.  Armed with fitting books, sewing books and tapes,  patterns and piles of fabric stash and good sewing friends on PR and blogs she set out to find a TNT.  

A TNT she did find in McCalls 5977. The first picture of our sewist is view A. Our second picture is view A played with. Folowing the directions found in Make Your Own Dress Patterns the darts have been rotated to the neckline and the pleated bib left off. The third picture was an experiment of more pattern manipulation following some great ideas in Make Your Own Patterns. All three pieces are part of the pink lipstick collect.

The smile on her face is one of gratitude. She is "sew" happy to have found great inspiration in fellow sewist and ametur designers. To have found out the power of a TNT and pattern manipulation, and the grace of God not to let her give up.

Until next time she is busy working on Burda Style 6-2010-122 for her daughter who really wanted a eyelet dress.

 

How Do You Plan

Well mini wardrobe competition is done on PR. Like usual I ran out of time. Good thing I got two items complete and did not lose my sewing mojo. My completed items are Burda Plus Fashion spring/summer 2010- 410, which is a tunic, and Burda Style 3-10-136, a pencil skirt. I love both pieces and will photo and review them soon.

Today's temperature is not going to be above 60. I was perplexed at how hard it is to figure out what to wear for days like this. I'm sick of sweater, pants and many other RTW clothing hanging in my closet. I realized the majority of the clothes I have made are for summer and I have very few items that are for spring. So out came two of my favorite pieces (see picture). They are my favorite Khaliah Ali drawstring pants, S5074 and my favorite t-shirt B5398. Some how the two worked for my casual look of the day and I'm content and comfortable with my choice.

Back to the question how do you plan your wardrobe, SWAP or mini wardrobe? With two jobs at what seems like opposite ends of the trend pool answering this question can be difficult for me. With a degree in fashion merchandising and many years of retail behind me I'm ashamed to admit every year I buy new books on wardrobe planning. Currently on my shelf I have Nothing to Wear, Instyles Secrets of Style and Fashion for Dummies just to name a few. But it seems some how I still lack the skills needed to build a wardrobe that is functional and comfortable all year around. So I've decide that my sewing and fabric buying needs to take a more planned approach. Instead of just plopping out individual items I will be creating mini collections of 4 to 6 pieces that all relate and work together. Instead of trying to make all the items fit both jobs I will try to center each collection on one job. A few pieces might be able to cross over and that's great. Most of all I'm not going to get mad because I have to add a few RTW pieces. I know I don't have the time to create everything. Instead of worrying if I'm in trend or on point with the outfit I'm going to work on comfort and fit. Not sure if I'll every break the addiction to new fabric but hopefully holding onto some type of plan will help.

So what is your plan? How do you decide what to sew or buy?

B5398 Has Me Purring

Butterick 5398 has me as happy and content as a purring cat. This top is the second piece in my Persian Leopard Collection. Thinking this may become a TNT top that I will make over and over again. It not as playful as my dress in this collection is, but I'm excited about it.

Pattern Description:
Misses' jacket, top, dresses, skirt, pants and scarf. This is a knit lifestyle wardrobe.
I made view B a close fitting top.

Pattern Sizing:
XS-XXL. I made a mix of the L and XL

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes simple enough. I did not really find any fault with them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Can you say bust darts with me? I was so happy to find a top that could be used as a t-shirt or a tunic top that had the bust darts.

I have not found something I really didn't like yet with this pattern.

Fabric Used:
I used leopard printed jersey from Hancock.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
In my attempt to cheat having to make a FBA I instead used a L at the shoulders, XL at the bust and waist and back to a L at the hips. This seems to work well with my rectangle body. So no FBA on this one.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes I think I may have found a TNT T-shirt top. Yes I think this is a good pattern for others.

Conclusion:
I love this new knit top that I left at a tunic length. This will be my new TNT t-shirt top. It is also the second piece to my Persian Leopard collection.

Next up
M5881. My daughter is in need of a dress for her Spree dance coming up in Febuary.

Sew It Begins

So the birth of a new collection begins. I was unable to finish my PR SWAP and instead took a short break from sewing. I am back. What you see here is the beginning of a new collection called the Persian Leopard Collection. This will be a mini wardrobe that will reflect the fun playful walk on the wild side of me.
This great dress is Butterick 5415.

Pattern Description:
Close-fitting dress with front darts and back zipper. This dress offers 3/4 sleeves variations of necklines and contrasting bands.

Pattern Sizing:
XS-XXL I used a combination or L and XL
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes with exception of changes I made.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes. This is a very easy pattern great of a beginner or advanced beginner.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
What I liked is that it was a simple style that tends to look very good on the rectangular body type. The style is a classic and can be found often it RTW. What I didn't like why a zipper in a knit?
Fabric Used:
Cotton Jersey from Hancock.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I made view C. Well let’s see I traced my pattern shoulders, arm holes and bust in a size L and waist and hips in a sixe XL. I ended up not needing all the room in waist area and took it in 2 inches. I decided I did not like the contrasting bands so instead add gray and black ribbon to the neckline. I also shortened the length about 5 inches.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes I'm hoping to turn this into TNT. Yes I think it a great pattern.
Conclusion:
Ok this is the beginning of my Persian Leopard Collection. My hopes are this mini wardrobe will be fun and a little bit of a walk on the wild side of me.

Next up is B5398 Top B

This week my local Goodwill had some great finds. I was able to purchase a copy of The Vogue Sewing Book Copyright 1975. Has a lot of grat info about line, color, proportion and styles that work. I was also able to score a copy of The Stretch and Sew Guide to Sewing On Knits. Book review will come soon.

August Review and New Look At SWAP 2009

August was a sad sewing month for me. It was a month of trying Several muslin and ending up with more wadders than I would like. The below composition picture are the few that are wearable only at home.
So a quick recap.
BPF 8-2009-493: This was round 2 with this top. My dd happily inherited round one. This version I did my usual FBA, shortened the shoulder length, shortened the sleeve length and shortened the body length (petite). What I like about this pattern is that it has a cozy fit. Will be great during the long winters. What I did not like is that on my rectangle (H shape) body it looked really boxy and gave me new appearance of a shape. Fabric recycle from Goodwill cost of project $2.50
Simplicity3699: This was a test garment for the SWAP on PR. I decided it would make the perfect PJ top. I did my usual FBA and shortened the top from the hem. It was nice not to have to do to many alterations. A little more tweaking and I should have a TNT knit top. What I like The fit is really close to correct for my shape. What I need to work on working with binding and neck lines that have binding. Found out I need to work on this.
Easy Sewing The Kwik Sew Way: I made the t-shirt and the knit pants from this pattern. The T- shirt surprised me. This was my 5th try at this simple garment and my last. Not sure why but I am not impressed with t-shirt pattern. I ended up starting with a M even though my measurement would indicate I need a x-large. I'm still not satisfied that the sleeves and shoulders are correct. I did my normal FBA and shortened this pattern. I'm starting to see trend that I need to shorten my patterns. The pants Went together quickly. Alterations on this one included crotch depth shortened and length shortened.
Simplicity 3699, and the two Kwik Sew pieces made a nice set of PJ's (lounge wear) for this fall. The jersey from this project came from Goodwill and the cost for all 3 pieces $5.00
Simplicity 4503: Oh my cheetah skirt. I was so excited the day this cheetah print fabric arrived from fabric.com. I was not so excited once I finished Simplicity 4503. The a-line skirt fit just fine but did nothing for me. Instead of make the rectangular (H shape) look like it had curves it hung straight from the waist and looked frumpy. In attempted to save the skirt I tuned it into a pencil skirt by taking it in 5 inches on each side at hem. Like that the skirt is so light weight. Dislike even with alteration skirt did not make it to the yes I can wear this to work stage. Project cost: $9.00
BWOF 1-2009-131: Practice, practice and more practice was called for on this top. I pulled out the bonded neck 4 times and still it is not correct. I love this top and will make it again to practice the binding. Since this was also a muslin I tried to use fabric scraps. It was made with the left over Cheetah Charmeuse from fabric.com and some poly interlock for Hancock. Cost of project $9.00
BWOF 6-2009-137: These pants were actually a June/July project. I haven't reviewed them yet so I thought I would add them here. This pattern is another one of those patterns not good with my rectangle body. The pattern has these great in the seam cut out pockets. On fortunately on me they stick out. The good thing about this pattern for the rectangular sewist is that it has a faced waist instead of a waist band. The waist also sits nice and high so you feel covered. Project Polyester stretch twill from Fabric.com cost of project $9.00


September is going to be a better sewing month for me. It's the begining of PR 3 month long SWAP. I was not excited by my original SWAP plan so I created a new one. Below is the new story board. Well it's time to get sewing.

Dresses For My Girls

Ah!!! My first blog post.

Well I finally got done with my dd dresses. It been a long month of sew mainly for my girls. They were invited to a fairly formal wedding so the adventure for the perfect dress started.

My younger girl is very influenced by the styles of the 50's (Grease), the 80's (early Madonna and Cindy Lopper) and a current fashion culture in Japan called Gothic Lolita. The smart girl that she is went shopping in my fabric stash and found the perfect pieces to create her calm look for this wedding out of Burda 9576 . She had to have matching knee length leggings and a petticoat. If she could of totally had her way the petticoat would have had several , more layers of net.

My oldest dd look from

McCalls 5850 is another one of her famous bubble or balloon skirt dress. She tells me the next dress will be a long formal. All though I feel the skirt could have been a size smaller she is very happy with her dress which will also be worn to one of her many school dances.

Like always I try to use as much recycled fabric as I can. When I say recycled what I mean is the fabric was bought at a thrift or Goodwill store. So in this case white bridal satin, and the blue jersey came from a local Goodwill, the eggplant satin from Hancock fabric and the Punchy Pique Dot Azure from fabric.com. Both dress cost me a fraction of the cost in RTW. Really all that matters to me is that the girls are happy.

Next up is sewing for me. I've been working on a TNT T-shirt pattern. I'm also planning a fall SWAP wardrobe. SWAP = sewing with a plan. You can learn more about what that is from this
article. I'll let you know more about my plan at the next blog.