June Wrap-Up & July Plans

It's so nice to have a "normal" wrap-up!! :-D  Woohoo!!

This month, I sewed 7 3/8 yards. 2 yards of that was "new" (newer than 3 mos) fabric.

• Burda 12/2009 tee - 1.25 yards
• blue and white striped burnout jersey
• snaps

• Burda 6659 shorts - 1 yard
• grey french terry
• elastic, twill tape

• New Look 6650 top - 1 5/8 yards
• lightweight chambray
• button, trim for ties

• Vogue 1501 skirt - 2 yards
• floral poly crepe
• invisible zipper, button

• Burda 6769 skirt - 1.5 yards
• lightweight denim
• zipper, tack button

I was so productive!! The Burda tee and NL top were new-to-me patterns. The others have all been sewn before. I am fine with sewing...cutting out patterns is still tough.

Favorite: The skirts. My Vogue skirt makes me HAPPY!!!! And the jean skirt is ev.ery.thing! I cannot wait to do the final finishing bits.

FAILS: Nothing really aside from being 'meh' on the NL top for now.

Accomplishments: The construction on that Burda tee is so awesome!! <3 Also, I made some style changes to the Burda denim skirt and it all worked out very well. Review to come soon!

This month I bought 4 yards of fabric (2 were used on the crepe skirt). My totals for the first half of the year are:

IN: 32.75
OUT: 35.25

YAY!

Patterns? Uhmm.....I bought 14 total in January and Feburary, before surgery. I'm up to 58 now. EEK!

July plans:

Deer & Doe Sirocco jumpsuit for my birthday dinner!

And then back to my summer plans...which I've made 5 of the patterns here already!

Already sewn: top 1, skirts 3 & 4, dress 2, shorts

Next up is either the cropped pants or the tie-neck blouse. It's suddenly SUPER HOT. Like, real hot, not just Minnesota hot. I am thinking I'll push M7251 (top 3) to fall. I'm considering replacing it with something I've made before that would be a straightforward sew like S2594 or a Burda because I wouldn't need a muslin. We will see!

And, oh yeah, THIS happened:

New hair, who dis?!

Absolutely ADORE the cut!

New Look 6560

Which, as mentioned previously, is a reissue of Simplicity 4125. Which I had in stash already before buying the NL pattern. Grrrr.

This pattern has been super popular since it was released about a year ago. I really wanted to make it in my kelly green silk charmeuse last fall but never got around to it. I chose this chambray (likely from FM) which is fairly soft but I still think it's a bit too stiff. I would definitely use something with more drape (like silk charmeuse!) the next time.

My normal Big4 top size is a 14. The finished bust is 41.5" and mine is 39.5". I did a 3/4" FBA for an extra 1.5". My waist in Big4 is a 16 so the extra I get from the FBA is needed. I also did a slash and spread on the back only to add extra hip room.

There were a lot of reviews saying the lengthened the top. The length is perfect for me!  I am 5'5" but I have a short torso. I tried it on with several skirts and pants and no high-waist bottoms are necessary for me.

The FBA was rotated into the gathers. I think the facing is a little wimpy. 

Immediately after cutting out the fronts, I used fusible stay tape and I had no stretching out and no neckline gaping. I added shorter ties than they mentioned to the inside. The stitching that's holding it in place is itchy :( and I don't like the tie anyway, it's awkward. I should have done a loop and button like I started to.

I read the instructions twice and *I* didn't see where they instructed you to make a buttonhole on the right front for view C. For some steps, they referred to the instructions for views A/B but this wasn't one.

I thought the sleeve band instructions were atrocious. I was so annoyed after doing the first one that I'm sure it was more than a day later before I sewed the second one. And really, while it isn't a difficult pattern, overall the instructions could be a lot better. It's been a long time since I was utterly confused by a set of instructions.

The ties are short!! Grr. I think I cut them at the largest size and can't really make a bow. 

I really like my chambray shirt but it took awhile to grow on me. I like the idea of this but I don't love it. I think it's the fabric. It's super cute with quite a few things in my wardrobe but so far it's just been sitting on Lily (my dressform). I'm hoping it grows on me a bit!

Burda 12/2009 #119

I bought this burnout jersey late last summer and decided I had to save it to make it a 'summer tee'. It's a white, burnout, cotton jersey with blue stripes. I had 1.5 yards and then I decided I wanted to use *this* pattern. I thought it would be a tight fit but this top pattern is SUPER LONG. I removed 3 inches and now it's the length of a normal tee :-p View 120 in the mag uses the same base with a hood and side slits. It's even longer. Eesh.

I used a size 40, my normal Burda size. I did a cheater FBA. I could have added a bit more but...it's a tee. It's fine. Kristin reviewed this awhile back and she mentioned how wide the sleeves where around the wrist. I removed TWO INCHES at the wrist, tapering to nothing above the elbow.

I mentioned in a previous post that I did not understand Burda's instructions for the placket and ended up not following them. I used this YouTube tutorial and it worked a treat! The tutorial shows a polo-style shirt so I did manage to use Burda's instructions for the neck binding.

I knew I wanted to use snaps but thought I'd use the white ones. Unfortunately the fabric appeared too gray next to the bright white snaps. 

(this was before top stitching)

I am pretty happy with the fit. It wasn't a quick sew...but it was a nice simple project. I did well matching the stripes everywhere except the back sleeve! The sleeve, the placket and the side seams are all matched. Woohoo!

One silly pic:

And one outtake - IDK why I look shocked. LOL!

 My New Look 6560 top is done too! I am excited about it. The chambray is nice and lightweight but I do want to make it with one of my cuts of silk; maybe for fall.

Summer Sewing Plans (and miscellany)

I have concrete sewing plans for summer!

As I've mentioned before, I never do "RTW fasts" because I know I will find some cute thing I want or get in a rut of needing things and knowing I don't have time to sew it all. I found some fantastic tops at LOFT last week so I've tweaked my list. It's still SUPER large (haha!) but I've tried to make it a nice mix of things I've made before but still adding things I want in the wardrobe.

some RTW inspiration I'd collected

This weekend, I cut out NL6560 and cutting out paper patterns is exhausting!! I decided (assume) that the reason is, I am accustomed to cutting fabric out in session but usually cut patterns in one go. It took me over 45 minutes to cut out this pattern with 6 pieces! (I didn't even cut the belt!) Eesh.

Tops: Since I bought a few new items, I need fewer tops than I originally had on the list. 

1. NL6560 (which, WAH!!! is a reissue of Simplicity 4125 that I already own) top in chambray
2. M7601 in a soft black & white diagonal striped georgette
3. M7251 in a coral challis

Skirts: (I have a ton of skirts...I can not fit them. Some I wear anyway, they just hang a bit lower, but most of my B5760 skirts are too large now. Booooo. Some of them will get altered though. As that became my TNT, I have made some really beautiful versions!

1. NL6326 (first 2 skirts) in pale grey crepe and a BRIGHT! pink crepe
2. Burda 6769 lengthened a few inches with 'matching' front and back walking slits
3. V1501 (I cut off the bodice :) LOL!) I have made this dress AND have made it twice as a skirt. I have a floral poly crepe from Mood for this one. (oh yeah, I broke fast and purchased 4 yards of fabric last week!)
4. Burda 4/2019 in a kelly green twill (have you seen Beth's version!?)

Dresses:

1. Burda 4/2019 sans sleeve ruffles in a floral challis
2. B6621 in a bright floral knit
3. B6640 shirtdress in a pale blue and white thinly striped shirting

Other:
This is V9032 (my TNT pants pattern), but I really want a flat-front, wide leg crop. I was trying to stay with as many made-before patterns as I could but I wasn't going to be completely happy with them so why sew them!? I am going with Burda 5/2017 in a crepe suiting that was called "Coral gold" from Mood. It looked more brown online but is definitely more pinkish.

This image is of Burda 6938 but I will actually be using 6659 which I've made before. But their short version is longer than I'll make them and has bands on the hem. 6938 is more likely what I'm going for. I'll be using a grey French terry.

I've made Nl6326 (2nd view), Burda 6769, V1501, B6621 and Burda 6659 before. That's only 5 of 13. Oops. We'll see how much I get done!

Lastly, for my birthday, I want to make the Deer & Doe Sicorro jumpsuit using this (super awesome!) knit fabric I bought ages ago.

I finally(!) audited my pattern collection. I do this ever so often but have been meaning to do it for over a year now. Finally!

I started out showing 808 patterns. I cleared out everything that has been removed from my stash (I did a big purge awhile ago and knew I didn't fully clean up the stash after that). That took me down to 739. Then, I added the patterns I own that were never added to my catalog. Boooo! LOL! That put me at 766.  Whew!

I found THREE copies of B5526. Eesh. And there were 38 patterns that I had duplicates of-2 each. Some of those (but probably no more than 12-15) are from buying the smaller size range for my daughter. And maybe 5 or so are patterns that I intentionally duplicated (e.g., B6621). Goodness gracious.

I finally organized my lining stash on the cardboard pieces I ordered. They are 9x12 inches and work well for the lining. I think they are too flimsy to store actual fabric on.

I finished my Burda 12/2009 henley tee! Woohoo! Review to come. In the meantime, behold my awesome matching across the placket :-p

 Lastly, I have never purchased a minimizer bra. They are never pretty :( But I'd read great reviews on this Bali bra and happened to be in Kohl's and tried it on.

Minimizer on top; my regular bra on bottom. Reviews suggested to size down. I am wearing a 34DD in the minimizer and 34DDD/E in my normal bra.

In the below pic, I am obviously turned a little more to the front in the minimizer, but I can totally see the difference in projection! The same style was cheaper at Macy's and with additional discount, I scored one for $20. We'll see how it works with "real clothes" when it comes. 

What are your summer must-haves? Do you snoop-shop RTW??

New Look 6314

& May Wrap Up! :-p

This month I sewed NL6314! LOL!!!! I sewed 1 yard of fabric. I purchased NO NEW FABRIC and 3 new patterns.

YTD Total yards IN: 28.75
YTD Total yards OUT: 24

New Look 6314 was made once before. Again, I had 1 yard of a well-liked piece of fabric and figured this pattern would be a great fit for this fabric and our mild early summer weather.

These ASOS jeans are about a half size too big. If there was a size 33, that would have been a better fit...but I love the style SO MUCH that I don't care. The next time I have something to take to the tailor (because alterations? No thank you), I will bring them to see what she thinks about taking them in.

The only change I made from last time was to sew the bands with a smaller seam allowance. They were quite wimpy for the full sleeves. I used a 1/4" seam allowance which gave a bit of length on the sleeve too...but I like the wider bands.

The fabric is a distressed french terry from Fabric Mart and twill tape from SR Harris. The smaller location has a nice range of trims available and I almost always buy 5 yards of twill tape when I'm there :) It's usually $0.40-50 per yard so it's worth it to keep some basic colors on hand. This was a straight serger/coverstitch project aside from the buttonholes for the ties. I still had to cut it out over the course of 2 days. But I'm looking forward to getting in the sewing room a bit more now that I have the surgeon's blessing.

I think I'll get a TON of wear out of this right on through fall!

Another Me Made May in the books!

Sunday I was on the road from Memphis to Chicago so no handmades that day.

In reverse order...again...

Monday: I was on road from Chicago to home. I had on my S2061 lounge pants and a tee. Baby cat was so happy to see me :)

Tuesday: Back to work and in one of my favorite handmade garments ever - Vogue 1323.

Wednesday: An oldie but goodie; the dress from now OOP wardrobe pattern M5890. 

Thursday: RTW top (that I love and fixed once with a needle and embroidery thread!) and M7392 denim skirt

Friday: TNT tee M6964 with thrifted jeans

This year, I didn't make any specific MMM pledge. I just got dressed for the day (hence so many random pics or last minute selfies). But it is still a fun challenge for me each year! 

In non-sewing news, I've picked up a new hobby (skill)! :) I have wanted to learn to make bread for forever. We bbq'd the other day and I decided TODAY IS THE DAY! Because that's how I roll. 

Well...I was clueless about the whole 'dough rising for forever and ever' thing :) So it was pretty late Thursday when I finished and they did not turn out well. They smelled very 'yeasty' and were super dense. I did a bunch of reading/research and decided I would try again Friday (because that's how I roll!).  It worked!

Left: attempt #1

Right: attempt #2

Things I learned in between batch #1 and batch #2:

The 1st recipe was fine but did not give any of the tips, hints and potential pitfalls that a beginner would be unaware of. Also, it was suggested to turn the oven on for a minute, turn it back off, and let the dough rise in the oven. Yeah, no. Maybe if your house is super cold, but that was too warm.

That first batch of dough was wrong. LOL! I used the paddle on my KitchenAid when I should have used the dough hook. And slightly sticky is okay but this was sticking to everything. 

We don't drink milk but it didn't need much so I figured no big deal. I think I forgot the sugar too. I don't remember.

It's hilarious to me, with cooking and baking, how a little bit of time makes a huge difference. With batch #2, I kneaded the dough for the specified amount of time but it didn't seem right so I did it for about 90 more seconds - perfect! 

I bought milk! I bought a thermometer! (the water is supposed to be a set temp). I bought a scale! Several sources said the flour should be weighed. Now, I do bake cookies, cakes, etc so I know not to scoop the flour with the intended measuring cup as it can be compacted. But weighing it worked well.  Also, the scale ensured equal sized buns. 

I was SO excited about how they turned out and we had burgers on Saturday! 

(This is the recipe I used.)