This post is huge. Sorry not sorry! :-p
Because
life, I finally had a chance to exhale this past Monday and decided that I would spend Friday night and
all. day. Saturday sewing. I knew I'd have to come back to reality on Sunday :) but Friday after work through early Sunday morning would be mine.
First, a pic! Then,
lots of words about my process, then reviews.
WORDS
I made 5.5 things. Because people ask (all the time! LOL!), I will talk about the sew-a-palooza process :-p
1) Just me being...Me
You all
know I sew fast. There's no special sauce; it just...is. I am a Project Runway
fan. (I'm sure I've told this story before!) Kini Zamora was on season 13 of PR. It aired in 2014 and I'd been sewing about a year and a half. If you watched, you know that Kini would turn out his garments and be sitting back, chilling, while the rest of the designers were working. Kini sewed FAST. Now, whether or not you liked his aesthetic, you'd have to acknowledge that he did NOT sew 'throw away' designs. He sewed fast, with detail and tailoring and fit and no one knew how he did it. I started calling Kini my brother from another mother...and I stopped questioning my ability to sew fast. And stopped feeling weird over the constant comments that I must not sleep. I totally do. 8-10 hours every night. Because I am a giant toddler in so many ways! AND I don't even sew "constantly"! More on that later.
1a) By the time I start cutting something out, I have the entire construction process mapped out mentally. I know what I'm going to do, in the order I'm going to do it, and I try to be as efficient as possible. I see a lot of commentary about "rushing" whenever someone mentions fast sewing. I don't rush...I just do pretty much everything, in a direct manner. I'm not a 'faffer'...with anything.
2) Plan
This was a planned binge-sewing event. Two or three times a year (we have 2.5 seasons soooo), I make a big list of garments that I want. I do not sew exclusively from that list, nor do I necessarily finish the list...but it guides my sewing to a degree. I'd mentioned needing more summer tops, tees/knits in particular. I have a lot(!!!) of blue and black & white print tops and dresses. That's okay...those are my favorite...but I felt like I didn't have enough SUMMER! work wear and decided to focus on those things.
2a) A good plan
Knowing what my focus was for the weekend, I chose to
1) only make patterns I'd sewn before. They didn't need to be "quick to sew" patterns...but I didn't want to bother with cutting pattern tissue, fitting, etc. I wanted to
sew. By using patterns I'd sewn before, I was able to get right down to business!
2) focus on knits. I needed more knit tops but also, the fabrics I wanted to sew were primarily knits. So I rolled with it!
3) Organize
I decided to start with the simplest patterns (sewn as-is). I started with the Ottobre 2/2015 tee, then the McCall's 7465 dress, then the Burda 7107 wrap top, then the McCall's 6964 tee, then the McCall's 6612 dress (not actually more difficult than anything else but I wanted to play with a sleeve idea).
3a) I am not a sewer who cares much about serger threads matching. Sometimes I do...it depends on the garment and whether there's a chance it'll be seen. Otherwise I tend to come "close". I went with gray. I used it in all 5 garments.
4) Sew!
Friday I took my daughter to the airport (she's doing study abroad in Iceland and Denmark!), came home, got all of my fabric and patterns out, washed the orange jersey and lace and started sewing around 6:30.
so much words
Saturday I woke up and got started right away, a little before 7. The Ottobre tee and McCall's dress needed binding and hemming which, my machines are a bit loud (Brother serger and coverstitch) so I tend to wait until at least 9 a.m. to use them. My sewing room is in a bedroom now and the teenaged people are in the basement. I decided to work on the Burda wrap top during the 'quiet hours'.
Once, I was chatting with Carolyn and somehow mentioned that I don't sew continuously. I get restless...so I take frequent breaks. I sewed from around 7-9, stopped to eat and watch one of my DVRd shows that I'd missed during the week. I sewed from around 10-noon, then washed my hair and watched a hilariously awful Lifetime movie. At 2:30 I started again and this time I binged. I sewed until about 9:30 stopping at one point to order pizza (mmmmm!) and eat. And again to harass my son and his friends.
Sunday morning I cut out and sewed M6612. I was able to finish it last night at about 6:30. I'd taken all the other pics on a pit stop home around 2. While taking pics of the dress it was HILARIOUS seeing the sunlight in the room change as time moved. It was seriously like, different lighting 2 minutes after taking a pic.
My errands took me near the original SR Harris location so I decided why not! I found a rayon challis that I just loved. I was able to get another TNT, McCall's 6519 cut out and sewn (shoulder seams, side seams). I hope to finish it Monday or Tuesday.
EPIC sewing weekend for me! I think I'm ready to work on my Burda trench now! :)
REVIEWS
Ottobre Tee (previously reviewed here)
I realized that last time, I put the yoke in backwards! Doh! That explains why the neckline was
weird! I played around with doing a gathered overlay on the yoke but the fabric was too heavy/bouncy. I finished the top and my binding was HORRID. I ended up ripping out all of the binding Friday night and cutting/sewing new bindings on Saturday. I still don't like the sleeve bindings. IF I used this pattern again, I'd just hem the sleeves.
I added some flat piping because why not!?
Size &Adjustments: 44 with slightly widened sleeve openings (cause, biceps)
Fabric: rayon jersey in an icy blue-grey from SR Harris that is heavy enough and opaque enough that it could have been a dress.
Construction: fully constructed on the serger, hemmed with the coverstitch
I like this top and will wear it. It's the perfect blue-grey, it fits fine and is a nice length. And the shoulder yoke adds a little something extra. But I probably won't use this pattern again.
McCall's 7465 (previously reviewed here)
I LOVE the pink version and wear it but it's a little clingy! I usually wear my tricot slip with it. This Art Gallery knit was purchased FOR this pattern. I bought it right after I made the pink version which was last June! Then I hurt my hand, didn't sew for forever, and then it was almost fall and a bright floral dress didn't make sense. I've been waiting for this and it did not disappoint!
Size & Adjustments: 14 neckline/shoulder, 16 through the rest. Based on the fit of the other one, ahem, I added 5/8" to the back skirt at the side seam. Next time I'll only add that from waist through thigh.
Fabric: Art Gallery cotton lycra knit from Fabric.com. I'd purchased 1.5 yards, because it's like $18 and I knew I didn't need 2 yards...but then I had to hunt for a scrap to make binding from! LOL! And I couldn't make 'traditional' binding from those scraps so I cut a strip 1.25", sewed it to the neckline, trimmed/graded seams, then turned it to the inside and top stitched.
Construction: Constructed on the serger except for the elastic waist casing and neckline finishing, hemmed with the coverstitch.
I LOVE THIS DRESS. I love every single thing about it. Fabric? Love. Fit? Love. Length? Love. Every single bit of it! I think this pattern elevates to TNT, no? I may try one of the other views someday. You know my "I love this face"...you see it? Right?! :)
I even managed to (mostly) match the striped with my miniscule amount of fabric!
Burda 7107 (previously reviewed here)
I wear that green top all.the.time. All the time. I love it so much. I will definitely end up with a black version at some point.
Size & Adjustments: 42 with 1" bicep adjustment and sleeves shortened based on fabric constraints. Side seams sewn at 1/4", waist seam sewn at 1/2"
Fabric: Oatmeal colored rayon jersey from Fashion Fabrics Club.
Construction: Primarily constructed on the sewing machine. Only the side seams and sleeves were done on the serger. I left the center back seam unserged since the fabric is slightly sheer. The ties were partially hemmed on the machine, the rest (bottom all the way around) on the coverstitch.
Swoon. I love this one just as much as the green one! I see myself wearing this a ton. And I love the fabric color and it feels great on...but tissue knits are of the devil. They are right there with stretch cotton poplin and solid rayon challis. EVIL!
Exhibit A of "clearly I am feeling myself in this top"!
McCall's 6964 (previously sewn in 2015 and reviewed on the old blog)
I talked about wanting a couple 'fancy' tees here. And when I found that orange lace at The Sewing Lounge, I could not wait for this to happen!!
Size & Adjustments: 14 neckline, 16 for the rest. 1" Full bicep adjustment.
Fabric: Wool jersey from Fabric Mart, lace from The Sewing Lounge in St. Paul.
Construction: I tried on one of my other versions of this and decided where the front lace 'yoke' should be. I marked it on the pattern and cut out full fronts and backs and partial yokes (extending about 1" below the line I wanted). I attached the lace to the right side with a zig-zag and then cut away the main fabric. I used my duckbill Ginghers (best purchase ever!) to trim the lace. The binding was also done by machine.
If you mind your markings...
...and sew slowly, things should work out!!
(my neckline looked better (here) before I chose to coverstitch it...but it kept wanting to flip up!)
I think I was most excited about this tee. Maybe more than the Art Gallery print dress. I know that orange (and coral! and yellow!) really, really work for my skin tone so I could not wait. I love it, I adore it, it's awesome, none of that seems to actually sum it up! Perfect wardrobe addition.
I was watching Girlfriends while taking pics and that is a real, geniuine laugh there! LOL
McCall's 6612 (previously sewn here)
I really like both prior versions and wanted a new dress, in a print, for summer. Now, I know this print doesn't read "summer" as it's a little dark...but I thought the colors were nice and different from other things in my wardrobe currently. I saw this dress online and decided to copy the open sleeves with ties at end. SUMMER! LOL!
I realize now that the sleeves really work here because they're loose and blousy
and the bodice is loose and blousy.
No, I did not purposely match the darker 'stripes' on body/sleeves.
It's pretty close though. WIN!
Size & Adjustments: 14 neck/shoulders, 16 bust/waist, 18 hip. Lengthened 2", 1" bicep adjustment, sleeves shortened to 3/4 length and slit with tie closure.
I traced a new sleeve, slit it down the center, slightly curved it through the middle of the sleeve, and added back the seam allowance. I sewed the first 6" of the sleeve and hemmed it the rest of the way. I cut 3" strips of fabric so the bands and ties finished at about 1 1/4".
Fabric: Fabric Mart precut. I'd passed on this one before; I didn't like the striping/chevron much until I saw a dress made from it on Pattern Review. The next time precuts went on sale, I bought it!
Construction: Back neckline is hemmed and shoulder seam sewn on the sewing machine. Side seams and sleeve side seam serged. Slit and tie bands constructed on sewing machine. Sleeve serged to dress...hemmed on the coverstitch.
I was very torn when I had the body constructed. I was going to leave it sleeveless. But then decided it would be limited by the print. I would likely on pair it with black or denim toppers. I pinned the sleeve in place and liked it on the dress form so I decided to move forward. When I first finished it I was torn again! I toyed around with lots of other options for the sleeve (adding another tie just above the elbow, closing it up more, closing it all the way but just leave the tie at the end).
In an effort to ensure it wasn't gaping open (too snug), I actually made the sleeve too big. So it's a bit too loose at the cuff to close the rest of the sleeve (I pinned it and it would look odd) and there was NO WAY I was going to undo all the stitching from adding the lower band/tie to take in the sleeve seam. I do not dislike it! I'm just not sure it works as well as I hoped it would.
I've decided I have to wear it to really assess how I feel about the sleeve.
You're STILL here?! Either you love sewing talk as much as I do or you're just a gluton for punishment! :-p
Now of course, I've sewn these summer things and we're supposed to have rain and cloudy weather this whole week! Good grief!
Until later...
