M5881 Has hit the .....

Well it's official I have tossed my daughters Spree dance dress. M5881. It was not a difficult project just not very motivating. Daughter didn't even take the time to try on the dress well I was working on it. Tonight, the day before the big dance, I finished it up and she tried it on. To say it was a little disappointing and didn't quite fit correctly would fit the bill. Promised Daughter we will try the dress again hopefully for prom of this year. On to the next project. Not sure what it is yet.

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.

Homecoming 2009 and SWAP update

It's been some time since my last post. My sewing has just about come to a stand still. Seems to be my curse every time I start a SWAP the sewing muse leaves me. lol Any way SWAP update I have finished BWOF 4-2009-134 and S2948. The pants and cami turned out well. Once I have one whole outfit done I will post pictures. The Butterick 4985 blouse became a wadder. I've decided for now I'll stick to knit and non-button front tops for a bit. My mom being the great mom she is decided to try to jump start my sewing again. She purchasing me some fall clothes. Thank you mom. Nothing like a few new RTW outfit to remind me why I like to sew.

Once again my oldest daughter asked for a just right dress for Homecoming. Months ago when my burnt orange satin knit arrived from fabric.com my daughter asked if she could have it. I told her not a chance. Little did I know that one of the many great sewers on PR would recommend B5383 to someone for s special Officers Ball. I saw the pattern and showed it to my daughter who remembered the orange fabric. B5383 had just enough youth mixed with the classy look my daughter was hoping and looking for. My daughter does not wear a lot of color so the fact that she wanted an orange dress to begin with was daring for her. The complements she got I'm hopping encourage her to wear some more color. We have 2 or 3 more formals this year.


Pattern Description:
This is a Maggy London Dress. This is a close-fitting tapered dress with side zipper and side front gathers. It has above or below the knee options. The bodice stay is lined.
Pattern Sizing:
AA (6-8-10-12) EE (14-16-18-20) we used an 18

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes except my version you cannot see the side gathers.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes the directions where easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
This dress is very versatile. It can be dolled up in many ways because of it’s a classy cut. Worked perfect for my high school but would be perfect for someone of an older and wise age as well.
The one feature that I most want to show was the side gathers. They did not show in our fabric at all. Next time I will correct that.

Fabric Used:
Burnt orange satin knit from fabric.com

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
We shortened it about 3 inches, and omitted the zipper.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes already have a winter formal version rolling around in the brain. Yes I would recommend it.

Conclusion:
This was a great dress. Great for an advanced beginner or intermediate sewer. For my daughter it turned out to be a positive way to try a new color.

Up Next:

On my cutting table is Simplicity S2948, part of the Khaliah Ali Collection. I will be making the jacket and a cami.

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.

Fall SWAP

OK so in past I mentioned that on
PR there is going to to be a wardrobe SWAP contest coming up from September 1 to November 30. I'm so excited for this contest. The last SWAP I entered I didn't finish and I'm hoping this one will give me the motivation I need to do all 3 stages of the SWAP mentioned in this
article.
My goals are to create clothing that is fun and playful, able to work at both my job, and at relaxing times with my kids. Although I know not all the pieces will be able to do everything I'm excited to see what they can do.

SWAP Goals 5 tops, 4 bottoms and a topper. All tops must go with all bottoms and topper must go with all outfits created.

Today when I started my day this is what my storyboard looked like.

Items for my tops are Easy Sewing the Kwik Sew Way long sleeve t-shirt, BWOF 01-2009-131, BWOF 06-2009-135, BPF F/W 2009 403, Simplicity 3699, McCall's 5630. Yes I have an extra top here you never no when something doesn't go as planned. The bottoms are BWOF 01-2009-132, BWOF 04-2009-134, BPF S/S 2009 411 (I'll be lengthening these to be pants) and Simplicity 4503. I've chosen two toppers at the moment because I can't decide. They are McCall's 5860 and BPF F/W 2009 424.

But.......

Today I worked on a second wearable muslin of BPF F/W 403. The first one my dd is wearing in the picture below. This one is ok at best. I'll post a review and pictures once I have a camera man. My basic problem with this top is that with my rectangular (H) body shape I can not make it look like I have any shape. I feel like I'm wearing a pillow case or some thing. Please tell me your thoughts once I write the review but for now it is off the SWAP storyboard. I hope to find a replacement.

Another current goal is to to create some TNT patterns that fit me very well. I've noticed that many of my favorite bloggers seem to have a file cabinet full of their tried and true (TNT) patterns.

Have fun sewing .......

Burda Plus Fashon F/W 403

Today I spent all day making
BPF 8-2009-403. I had intended it to be a nice top to add to my mini wardrobe. But some things happened first of the top really needs and FBA and to be shortened to fit me correctly. I had an extremely hard time attaching the standing collar of the cowl neck to the back edge. The directions Burda wrote still perplex me. Any way I know the method I did was not correct it created these two little pleats. My dd heard me during the last fitting of the top came out looked at it and said hey mom let me see that. A few minutes she came out wearing the top. This dd does not wear alot of color at all but wow the smile one her face I knew this version was meant for her. We will be getting some black leggings so it is school appropriate. What do you think?