Simplicity 8890

When I got my July Burda I was smitten with this tent dress

But I didn't have enough of any fabric - it takes 3.5 m so pretty close to 4 yards. I decided that S8890 was similar (it is not) and that it would be a good test on if I liked this style on me. Low risk!

I cut a size 14 which is my normal size for neck/shoulders. I didn't size or grade up for my hips because there's a lot of volume.


I've mentioned this with other patterns, both Big4 and Indie, but in an attempt to make stuff "easier", you often ends up with a cumbersome task.  The front neckline finish is a bias cut piece. The straps are bias cut pieces. And the ties are bias cut pieces. For the straps you're supposed to press up a 3/8" hem on one side which is laborious! After getting annoyed with the first go-round, I folded the strap in half, lightly pressed then folded each end to the center fold. MUCH easier! It would have been even nicer if it were sized to go through a bias tape maker but...whatever!

I like the adjustable straps (it uses rings and sliders and I had some clear ones in stash) but otherwise? Meh. Oh, and I had these cord stops in stash (Milly from Fabric Mart) and I like them! LOL!

The back doesn't stay cinched. There's SO much fabric that I think the ties are expected to do too much work. And the problem with this is, if it loosens, the back is so low that you risk some exposure!

Biggest dislike is the balance (or lack thereof!). This is the back side seam vs. front side seam. The back is very close to being a rectangle; the side seam is almost straight -- out of view is the CB which is cut on the fold -- so you can see the side seam on the back is *slightly* angled. But the front side seam is SHARPLY angled. If you scroll back up a bit, you'll see the result of this in my side view pic. 

I hate it.

The side seams DO match in length...but that weird swingy bit that results in the front? MEHHHHH.

So this is what you get when it's on the body. There is way more fabric in back so it's moreso tilting this way:

Which makes me want to pull it down in front and then you have this:

The paper reflects what it does on the body and it makes it annoying and fiddly to wear. I do not do fiddly clothes!! 

So while it is very swingy and light and summery (and cute layered with a tee!), it likely won't survive in the wardrobe. There is nothing worse for me than needing to constantly adjust my clothes.

AND, I don't even want to sew the Burda now. While it is more balanced, both front and back are essentially rectangles that are then pleated (and it has a CB seam to absorb some of that heaviness), it is way too much fabric in back. There are a handful of reviews on the Russian Burda site that made me change my mind.

July Wrap-Up and I Can't Believe It's August Already!

Totally forgot to post this on the 1st and am now fully blahhhhh. Avoiding the news and social media and I just need a breather. I have scheduled posts for the remainder of my PR Endless Combinations contest. Hopefully I'll snap out of it soon.

This year has been incredible. People generally use that word in a positive sense...but the year has truly been beyond belief, impossible to believe. 

But, sometime around 6 weeks from now, I'm going to have A BABY! I mean, a grandbaby...whatever.... :-D We are definitely watching things closely because I am NOT for getting on a plane right now and we may end up road tripping it. We'll see. 

This month I sewed 17.25 yards. I sewed:

• McCall's 7925 dress - 4 yards (WIP)
• rayon/cotton blend voile (stash)
• buttons
• McCall's 7061 top - 1.75 yards
• sweatshirt fabric (stash)
• eyelets/cording
• Simplicity 8890 dress - 2.25 yards
• rayon challis (stash)
• cord stops
• bra slider/rings
• Simplicity 8389 shorts - 1.25 yards
• crepe
• elastic
• cording
• Burda 7/2019 top - 1 yard
• jersey (stash)

For my daughter:

• McCall's 6654 skirt - 1.25 yard 
• ponte (stash)
• elastic
• Burda 11/2015 top (from a dress pattern) - 0.5 yard (wadder)
• ponte and mesh (stash)
• Jalie Clara leggings x3 - 5.25 yards total
• black cotton knit, red & blue athletic knit (stash)
• elastic

I was so excited to finally make M7925 and started cutting it out and for some reason, I started with the rectangles for the ruffles. I needed to cut the sleeves, one piece of the front skirt, and the button band and OUCH! I do not have enough fabric. Well, turns out Ginny's still had it in stock and I was able to have a yard sent to me. YAY! So I will get back to that, soon. 

Favorite: The hoodie was like...perfect and love and swooooooon...then I made the shorts! :) The fabric is pretty amazing and the shorts fit great. I'm going to follow them up with a linen pair.

FAIL: I was so close with my daughter's top but I made a critical error with order of sewing and didn't have enough time to correct course. 

Accomplishment: I was pretty proud of myself for the way that outfit was coming along for her for the shower! And the fit on my shorts are really fantastic! Also, except for the black crepe (purchased in March), everything sewn this month was from stash fabrics! 

But I did buy fabric. It started with the print challis on Fabric Mart and I got 6 yards of it. Plus two other things for a total of 9 yards. I then shopped the Mood sale (20% off the entire site, plus I had a coupon), and I got 2 yards of the cotton voile version of this fabric. I also ordered a few heavier jersey knits for a total of 11 yards. 

For the year, I'm at 88 yards in and 78 yards out (39 from stash!)

I've been spending all my money on machine knitting :-p What do you know...machine knitting supplies proliferate just like sewing supplies! With machine knitting, there's a gadget for EVERYTHING!

I'm almost done with my first completed garment! I have everything blocked and just need to seam it all (not my favorite part).

I tried to attach the sleeve to the armhole on the machine and THAT was a disaster! 

I ended up binding off the stitches and will just mattress stitch it. I was so traumatized :-p

Also, I finally got back to the baby sweater! I went with all one color and didn't add any tuck stitches to keep it simple. This sweater is knit all in one for the body. On the one hand, it's nice to have less to stitch up but on the other hand, the stakes are higher if something goes wrong! I dropped some stitches, spent a RIDICULOUS amount of time getting them picked back up (messily!). WHEW. After stitching it up I'll still need to knit the neckband so I'm not done yet.

I found some super affordable cone yarn from KnitKnack Shop and thankfully, I like all of them!

Plan to use #2, the light yellow, for a blanket.

The others, I can easily see as garments for myself. Score!

And lest we think it's all smooth sailing with the knitting machine, I got myself in a pickle trying to sample something I saw online!

Err, that's not how it's supposed to be! LOL!

August plans...I dunno. Fall is my absolute favorite season including my favorite to sew for. I can't see that I need to sew a bunch of stuff :(  I usually start my fall sewing in August. Like, the low today in Minneapolis was 57 degrees F. Summer isn't done, it'll get hot again, but cooler days will be here SOON. 

I can't believe my Vogue blazer is still sitting and waiting since September! I have made a pledge to finish it in August. And, as much as I love a hand sewn lining, I'm going to have to just bag them because it's so much hand sewing for my sad little hands that I don't know that a lining in future jackets will get done otherwise. I really want to make the Burda 2/2020 blazer and a corduroy blazer for my husband. 

With plans to be away for awhile for the baby, perhaps August and September will be focused primarily on knitting with plans for those jackets. And I NEED a black dress. 

Until later!

Simplicity 8389 Shorts; Contest Sewing

I was going to review the Simplicity dress next but the shorts were finished and I am seriously loving them and so they jumped the review queue!

I did not realize this pattern was 2 years old! I can't believe I've been saying "I'm going to make those" all this time! Eek!

I used my normal size 18 -- don't be tempted to size down because of the ease!! You don't want your pleats pulling and straining. I adjusted the pattern with my fishbowl the same as I did with the SA Clare muslin here. 

My butt just needs more room!! When I laid the front and back inseam together, the space in between was SO narrow! I wish I'd taken a before pic! 

Back piece:

Minor quibble, the markings for the pocket and front pattern piece don't line up. I did slash and overlap to reduce front length but that didn't affect the placement of the notch. 

Aside from the crotch length adjustment, I didn't make any other changes. Well...I did not have 1 1/4" elastic in stash. I topstitched at 3/8" from the top and used 3/4" elastic. It makes it gather a little differently and next time, I'll be sure to have the right elastic on hand.

I can't believe I waited so long to make this pattern! I actually bought this fabric to sew the other view, the tapered leg. And luckily, I gambled on the fabric being awesome and ordered 4.5 yards. YAY! So I should be able to make the pants and stash the rest for a skirt.

Do you see this blind hem? DO YOU SEE IT!?!? Woot woot!

Paired with my TNT shirt, Burda 7136 in chambray. 

Listen, I LOVE THEM. 

Posting this zoomed in pic to show the fit. The pleats hang so nicely!! And while the protrusion of my butt (hahaha) is still a tad too much compared to the pattern but otherwise, they fall so nicely, no hanging up on the butt, in the inner thigh, none of that!

I have a navy brussels washer linen that I picked up in Nashville from Craft South that I may use for the next version. 

These shorts were my "C" garment for the PR Endless Combinations contest as was the hoodie reviewed here. I also sewed a dress and a top so I have pics ready for my next couple blog posts! Woohoo!

Vogue 1507 Frilly Top

I was so excited to sew up some new summer tops for the challenge and then life got turned upside down.

The previous post was tops all made before June. This was to be my first top for the challenge. I'd eyed it for awhile, Erica Bunker made it and it was just SO cute.

I mean, isn't it SO CUTE?!?! LOL!!

I do wish I had something slightly lighter like a voile. This cotton (weave unknown - picked it up at SR Harris) is about the weight of a lightweight sateen. You definitely want something stable because there's a gazillion yards of narrow hemming. It needs to be able to take a press too. Bonus if the wrong side isn't super discernible from the right side as the wrong side will possibly show in back on the tie, and on the sleeve. 

I've tried it without a bra and it's fine. I happened to be wearing a bralette today that has a very narrow band and straps set kind of far apart. Good to know that this works with the top!

I cut a size 14 with a 16 back yoke and 16 armholes (could have cut a 14 all over). It is loose fitting and I'm glad I didn't size up the body at all. The front/back pattern piece is huge and oddly shaped. Then there is an overlay on top of that. But the way the top is made/styled if it's a little too big, it's still going to be okay. I personally did not have any issues with it staying up on my shoulders when worn and as someone else mentioned, you can tie it and then pull it on over your head quite easily. 

I used 3 yards of fabric because I somewhat fussy cut. It took a lot for me to decide on a front band!

This is the same as above but flipped upside down!

too much "large blue flower next to each other"

I ended up choosing the very first one I cut out because OF COURSE I did!

I did not follow the instructions to stitch at 1/2", press up, trim and turn and stitch again. That's just too much for my hands. I removed my left needle from the serger, lengthened the stitch a bit so it wasn't so condensed, and serged the ends, then turned twice. It's a little wider than intended and a little bulkier in this fabric (so my hems stand away more), but it doesn't take away IMO.

The instructions are otherwise excellent and all pattern markings were there. OH! The only other adjustment I'd make is adding the front band on the overlay. It is wide enough to 'burrito' so that's how I sewed it. Especially if your fabric is lighter weight. 

I started this on a Monday (June 1 actually!) And finished it on a Saturday. And I worked on it a little bit every day. It was labor intensive but it produces a really beautifully finished top. 

beautiful interior finishing

this is so pleasing to look at!

The CF band is fully enclosed, the underlay is sewn with a french seam, the back yoke is finished with french binding (yum), the yoke-to-top seam and armhole is finished with double fold binding. I used Hug Snug.

WHY. DID. NO ONE. TELL. ME. ABOUT. HUG. SNUG?!?!

It is tedious to sew it but it's so beautiful!! I almost went online and bought a bunch more colors til I realized I have a 100yd roll here and it would take me forever to use that. This soft grey is a nice neutral and will work for many things since I'm probably going to be using this all.the.time!

I have a pair of teal pants (a bit more green than these) that looked perfect. Then I scored these during a LOFT clearance sale and they are perfect!. I think it'll look good with white, gray, or dark blue bottoms. 

I absolutely LOVE IT! I love the construction, I love the look, I love everything about it!

Baby Shower DIYs and...a little sewing

My next garment for the Endless Combinations contest is a dress from Simplicity 8890. I finished it but isn't my favorite thing. Will review as soon as the sun resurfaces and I can take pics.

Also, I was all set to cut out S8389 for my black shorts and I have the 6-14 size range. FOR PANTS! Eek! I am an 18 on bottom so yeah...no. I'm going to sew an oldie but goodie; Simplicity 1887.

I am thinking of finishing up with a tee, possibly McCalls 6839. An old pattern that I made back in 2015 but I loved the shape and am pretty much considering recreating it (using a b & w stripe again).

oh. my. goodness. Speaking of patterns...

Have you seen that IG Design Group is rebranding the Big4 as "Something Delightful"?

Not cool. At all. What on earth does this name mean? What does it have to do with sewing patterns?!? What does it have to do with the iconic names Butterick, McCall's, Vogue? Ugh.

ANYWAY...I will call the shower a success! Now, because things just have a way of happening...

I woke up that morning, early. I ran to Target to buy some pants (a rayon/linen blend) because it was going to be a SCORCHER; there was a heat advisory in place. I love a dress during the summer but as a member of the Thick Thigh Club, when it's really hot? I don't want any skin-on-skin action happening. Then, I went to Trader Joe's to buy flowers, came home and arranged them quickly, as my husband loaded up the car. 

indirectly related facts:

I am super independent. It's woven into my DNA. My husband is a caregiver. It's just a part of him.

Yes, this is huge spot of give and take for us.

Park that.

While arranging the flowers I was feeling "off". I couldn't put my finger on it but something was off. At one point, I said to him, "I don't know what made me think I could pull this off..." And carried on. I decided I was sad(?) that it was going to be HOT AS HELL and that would 1) affect the guest list and 2) result in a bunch of wasted food (because people really do not eat as much when it's hot).

We arrived at the park shelter (which is amazing and I will reserve it again for something else in the future!) and right away, I see tables with tablecloths on them. Deciding that someone had decided to hang out there on this warm summer day, I marched right up there and (nicely, I swear!) informed them that we had a reservation. But THEY had a reservation. WHAT?

After searching my email I realized, I RESERVED THE SHELTER FOR THE WRONG DAY!

I was gutted. And my brain felt fuzzy. And by then, my brother and sil had arrived (they were going to help with set up while my husband, Mike ran around picking up the food and ice). I started crying and he started freaking out. LOL! No one sees me cry. Like ever. Childbirth? no. Proposal? no. Wedding? no. But get me frustrated enough and the tears will flow.

I had to call my daughter and tell her. Apparently, she cried too! And Mike sprung into action!

The shower was scheduled to start at noon. At 11:15 we arrived at the new site. By 12:03, when the first guests arrived, everything was in place except for the baby pics of the mom and dad. His mom was one of the first to arrive so she took over hanging pics while I ran home to shower. By 12:30 I was back and my brother was back with the food.

You know what? It all worked out! Holding it at the Ice Arena (at the private school where Mike works), meant a place to cool off in the extremely hot weather (the interior of the arena is 50 degrees F!) and a better place to house the food (the vestibule was much closer to room temperature). He got to do what he does. I got to lean on ~everyone~ around me because we were all necessary in making it happen.

Never too old to learn new tricks? :-p

I bought a huge roll of the burlap pennant and used the Cricut to pretty them up. There was one each that said "baby", "eat", and "gifts". I made menu cards for the food and the cupcakes. I made an instruction card for the pin game and measure mommy's belly game, and finally, a little hanging sign welcoming baby Bert. (that's their name regardless of gender!).

We'd visited a local guy for the lovely wood rounds and scored a case of Mason jars cheap. Using burlap ribbon + satin ribbon + twinkle lights, and plenty of flowers, we created the centerpieces. I spent under $50 on flowers (I love TJ!) and collected vases and other glassware from my own stash at home :)

This trio of what is technically tealight holders on the wood round was my favorite!

Lastly, my daughter wanted a skirt with a 2-tiered flounce but not with a maternity panel. Sigh. (tbf I never wore maternity clothes with either pregnancy. YOUTH!) The ad she saw, the woman had just pulled the skirt over her belly so I said FINE. I used the still popular McCall's 6654 knit skirt pattern, in her normal size 12,  at the shortest length, and added a 4" tier and a 6" tier.

I measured the hem and cut out a rectangle. I slashed every inch and spread the shorter layer about 5/8" at each cut and the longer one at 7/8".  After taping it down I traced off the shape, keeping the center on the fold, and added seam allowance to the top. Because my daughter is as fickle with handmades as RTW items, I do enough but don't put too much energy into projects. I cut the flounces with my rotary cutter and left the ponte unhemmed.

I pinned them together and before I knew it, I'd sewn them each to the front and back of the skirt. DOH! I wanted to sew them in the round! So I had to do some unpicking (not fun in ponte with perfectly matched thread!!) but it was fine in the end :)

3 days before the shower, she asked me to make this top for her and I found a bodice in Burda 11/2015 that was a perfect match. She wanted tulle sleeves but there was no time to acquire fabric AND sew the top so I hit the stash. I had this mesh that was a perfect pairing with the ivory ponte. This bodice is meant to be a dress so I lengthened and straightened out the side seam. It was also meant to be lined. The sleeve attaches to the bodice from just above the notch in front to about the same in back. The rest of the sleeve is just hemmed. I did not take into account new finishing without the lining (and the mesh!) and it was Friday afternoon and I just didn't see finishing it if I had to undo a bunch of topstitching (and in places that had already been trimmed back). So, we hit up Forever 21 because of course, her 7 month belly can still fit into a medium top at the juniors store! Oh, to be young! :)

I probably won't be finishing this but the bodice is NICE

 andI plan to make myself a dress from this pattern!

We had a blast, the food was good, the games were fun and they got a ridiculous amount of gifts including ALL of the big things (car seat, stroller, breast pump, crib (they actually got 2 cribs and have to return one!). And an actual ton of Target gift cards which will come in handy. Baby Bert is set!

my top is M6519

I keep telling them that if we know nothing else, we know Bert is going to have a super curly mane :-D Don't let them fool you in their pink shirts; gender is unknown and I'm betting it's a boy!