Sunday, June 19, 2011

Me Made June day 12 to 19

Me made June is half over and this has been a fun experiment to see just how many of my me made creations I wear. It has also brought to light some holes in my wardrobe and at least one wardrobe malfunction or hum I wonder if I did this moment. Starting at the upper left rotating clock wise this is what I wore for my casual summer school work week. Bare with me my lovely teenage photographers are having a hard time shoting more than one shot to choose from.

Day 12 Top: Lane Bryant, Pants: Lutterloh 272 #201.
Day 13 Top: BurdaStyle Magazine 7-2008-118, Pants: Lane Bryant dress pants.
Day 14 Top: Lane Bryant, Pants: Burda Plus Fashion 2-2009-410
Day 15 Top: Lane Bryant, Pants: Lutterloh Jean Project Jeans 1996 #137
Day 16 Cami: Lane Bryant, Hoddie: Macy's, Pants: Simplicity 4375 Khaliah Ali


Again starting at upper left going clockwise.
Day 17 Sweater: Willow Bay, Top: Lane Bryant, Pants: Lutterloh Jean Project Jeans 1996 #137
Day 18 Top: Burda Plus Fashion 02-2010-410, Skirt: BurdaStyle Magazine 03-2010-136 made up in orange double knit with no zipper. Instead I put a 11/2 inch wide elastic at waist.
Day 19 Preview of  dress made with Lutterloh Classic Collection 3 Special Edition No. 31 #6 top. A review to this is forthcoming.

Until next time Happy Sewing.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Tank dress or no tank dress?

With all the lovely Dress Challenge dresses popping up all over blog land I thought it would be a great idea to make a tank dress out of some lovely stripe fabric I had sitting in the stash. Tonight I had my son snap some shots well I was fitting the dress and now I can't decide if this dress is scream tank dress or um I'm just a summer top. So please take a look at my pictures and let me know if you like it as a dress with or with out the ribbon waist. Or if you think It would better of as a summer top. It not to late for me to change it. Thank you for your help.



Saturday, June 11, 2011

Day 11 and the Jean Adventure.

And after 3 weeks the jean making adventure has come to and end with the production on my wearable muslin. I will be making more pairs in the future but for know a few short gratification products are in store.

This adventure start back here when I announced I would be to take the Jeans Design Project offered by Lutterloh New Zealand. It's a wonderful class and I would recommended it to anyone. Sonja directions and helpful hints made it very enjoyable to try throwing around five pounds of denim on my sewing table as it was being molded into a pair of jeans.

After cutting out my denim and creating the front pockets it felt like half of the work was done. what a good feeling. The front stay and the zipper made the front look put together.

The yoke on the back of this denim is cut deep. It som how works very nice with the deeper crotch found in the Lutterloh fuller figured patterns.

once the yoke was created we sewed the inner leg seam. and the crotch. The order worked but make it ard when it was time to do the double top stitching on the outer leg. If you have any ideas to make this easier let me know. My double needle did not like the denim this thick and I ended up using my edger foot to do all my top stitching.
Once I basted the side seams I fit them on me again and again.  and again. until I felt that the looked ok. On problem I had was no matter how often I took in my waist band it seemed to keep growing. Also under the bottom I keep getting the line of fabric. Wondering if a flat but alteration would fix that.


After all this fitting was done it was a lot of fun deciding where oh where to place he back pockets and add all the finishing touches one it was all sewn up.

Over all I am happy with the final result and consider them a good working muslin.
Day 11 Lutterloh Jean Project jeans and Lutterloh Supplement 279 #203
 Pattern: 
The Pattern is the master provided by Lutterloh New Zealand’s Jeans Designing Project or Class. It is the full figured pattern #137 with a copyright of 1996

Pattern Description: 
This is a simple 5 pocket denim jean pattern made with a relaxed leg.

Pattern Sizing:
Lutterloh is based on your bust and hip measurement. Your pattern is drafted out using these two measurements. So ideally if your bust and hip are 50cm to 140cm the system should work for you. A side not the Fuller Figure provides extra depth in the crotch.   
         
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes but mine were longer and had a few changes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Lutterloh has no instructions. But Sonja from Lutterloh New Zealand’s direction from the Jean making course are excellent. Only found one area about attaching the waist band that is not clear. Her directions use words as well as diagrams to help you along. Also I used the zipper directions found at Threads.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like that I could make these pants the way that I wanted too. The crotch depth is nice to don’t feel like I’m getting a wedgy or caring a wad of extra fabric. Mostly the relaxed fit was a pleasant surprise compared to the second skin look that seems a must because of the spandex in the denim.
Dislikes that I made the waist too big and still need to do some minor tweaking on the pattern. The yoke on this pattern also sits kind of low. I don’t really minded it but may try a pair in the future with this adjusted.

Fabric Used:
This was a dark denim that I rescued from Goodwill a few months back. It has a slight stretch to it that I didn't notice until I started this project.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Adjusted the waist by 4.25 cm. Ended up taking most of that out of it by making 1 inch seems. Pants still could have had a smaller waist. I also had to cut a new waist band almost 10 cm bigger because I think through all the playing with the fabric it grew. Created my waist band to be thin by only cutting out one strip and folding it in half. Made my belt loops thick. Per Sonya directions created a front stay. The front stay would be a great way to create a tummy slimmer. I made my back pockets very plan. Left off the rivets on this pair.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
This was a good pattern. I will be sewing it again and again as I want to fine tune and do some design changes. If you take the class good for beginners otherwise you need some knowledge of sewing this is not a easy project and takes some time.

Conclusion: 
Great little jean pattern that can become a tnt after a little more fine tuning.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Me Made June days 4,5,6,7,8,9,and 10

I'm going to get right down to the knitty gritty. There will not be a whole lot of commentary in this post but it will contain at least one picture for each day. I have spent the last seven days working hard on my Lutterloh jean making adventure through the Jeans designing project, which is a class offered by Lutterloh New Zealand. More on the Jean adventure later.

Day 4
Day 4 was one of our first really nice days. Perfect day to crayfish or just splash in the stream. I wore Simplicity 4632 top in a doted teal, silver and aqua and Burda Plus Fashion spring/summer 2009 411 pants in white denim.
Day 5  was just as warm but everyone wants to look there best on Sunday. Ok every day. So on day 5 I wore black short sleeve sweater thrifted, black and white doted cami from Lane Bryant and skirt Burda Style Magazine 3-2010-136.
Day 5
Day 6
Day 6 Another wonderfully scorching hot day. Were does a girl find some shade? Day 6's outfit Pants are  Khaliah Ali Collection Simplicity 4375 that I made as crops back in July of 2008 and the teal top is a one hour pattern Butterick 5100 that dates at least that far back too.

Woo half way there.

Day 7



Day 7 My kiddos are getting tired snapping my picture everyday. Any one have a good way to bribe them? Just kidding.
On Day 7 it felt like summer was in full swing. Hot hot and more hot. I wore a gray pair of  Burda Plus Fashion spring/summer 2009 411 in gray satin cotton. They are so soft. The aqua top is a Khaliah Ali Collection Simplicity 2948.

Day 8 
Day 8 Still very warm for the first day of summer school. Want the dress comfortable but still professional for the environment. Top is Lane Bryant and pants are a  Khaliah Ali Collection Simplicity 5074.  


Day 9



Day 9 The temperature took a huge dive. How wants to put back on winter or early spring clothes? Not I. Coral Sweater is Lane Bryant and pants are Burda Plus spring/summer issue (E895) 410.

Just one more day this time around.

Day 10

Day 10 is my newest version of Lutterloh supplement 279 # 203. For this version I tried to make a ribbing neckline using the directions in Singer The Complete Photo Guide To Sewing.. I used the self fabric as my ribbing. It did not work quite the way I thought but I still love and ear this top that was made from a thrift store find.

Not sure whats up next on the cutting table. I'm guessing some instant gratification since the Jean project was time consuming. Until next time happy sewing. 

Friday, June 3, 2011

Me Made June day 2 and 3

Day 2 of Me Made June was an exciting one filled with many graduations, and all the busy end of the school year stuff. Wanted to feel cool yet business casual. Out of the closet came a Burda Plus Fashion sleeveless top plus a short sleeve knit jacket I picked up thrifting. This top I finished in early May and I've worn it quiet a bit since.


 Pattern: 
This is my rendition of Burda Plus Fashion spring/summer 2011 421
Pattern Description: 
Burda Magazine has described this top as simple, figure hugging and sleeveless. TO me it is a dress alternative to your basic tank top.
Pattern Sizing:
Burda sizes 44-46-48-50-52-54
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes and no mine end up with little wings at my hipline.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
These are your typical Burda Magazine instructions. They are complete but at some points you wonder were they are going. What I learned was that the are accurate as long as you follow step by step.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Love that this top can be dressed up our down depending on what type of knit you use. It has nice thic straps so no bra peaking out.
Don’t really like how tight the underarms are. It not bad because you have no bra showing but next one I will make just a little looser in the underarm.
Fabric Used:
This was some poly knit I rescued at the Thrift Shoppe
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Using Pattern Fitting with Confidence I did a slide and pivot FBA of 15cm and need to add 26cm to the waist.  This might have been over done since I end up with some wings at my hipline. Over all the top fit well.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes I plan to make this again as it is very comfortable to wear and dress up nicely. Yes I do recommend it to others. Beginners make sure you follow the directions step by step.
Conclusion:
This is a fun and simple alternative to you normal basic summer tank.

Today which is Me Made Day 3 was a busy hot and stick last day of school. Wanted to stay cool standing out in the heat at the end of year carnival.  So out came McCall's 5663. I originally made this now oop pattern back in the summer of 2008. Still love the flowiness of this thin knit top.

Time to get back to my jean design project. Happy sewing.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Me Made June Day 1

Welcome to the first day of June. Today was a casual day at work and all I could think was the need for comfort in our unair-conditioned building. So today I wore my Burda crops originally made back in May 2009.


These pants come from the Burda Plus spring/summer issue (E895). I made them out of some lovely denim. You can read more about my rendition of Burda 410 on my pattern review of them. I matched them up with a simple tee that was a project that some of my local high school students have under taken. To learn more about their project and the t-shirt please visit their website.

Here is a close up of the shirt.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Me Made June Challenge

After much anticipation and thought I have decided to take on Zoe's Me Made June Challenge. The idea of the challenge is to wear more of your own creations for one months. I believe this will help them get into the rotation of of ones wardrobe so I really love these types of challenges. This is my first time I will be going at it. So I'll be trying to keep it simple. I can't promise I will post daily but I will be posting what I wear. Hope you"ll join in the fun.

I, Jen of http://jtscloset-jen.blogspot.com/, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-June '11. I endeavour to wear
at least 3 of my self made garments each week for the duration of June 2011'