How To Master The Cabarita Collar

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This is how I feel guys! Winter will end! I had a mini knit marathon and grabbed this iffy stripe from the stash. I LOVE how it worked up and is my new favorite summer top! The stripes even match one of my wardrobe staples! 

The worst thing about this top is deciding which way to wear it! 

 So I don't know about you but I struggled a bit with my Cabarita's collar and sewed it incorrectly on my first top. This time I got it right and it turned out SO PERFECT! I'd thought I'd share it with you.

1. Lay your shirt front right side up and lay collar right side up on top, matching those squares. Or to say it in a more confusing way lay wrong side of collar on right side of shirt front. :) I serged along the entire shirt neckline edge attaching collar to shirt front.

Here you can see the serging and the under stitching. 

 I used a zig zag stitch to under stitch the serged seam to the shirt. You can see the close ups below.

Top Left: Wrong side. Top Right: Right side
Bottom: Perfect roll collar

 Turns out it really was simple! Hope if you were confused it helped you out too! Cabaritas go forth and conquer Spring!
This is also my Vibrant April Stashbusting project! Whoo hoo for using up a piece out of the stash! A not liked piece to boot! To end this post full of sunshine and happiness, here's my cat who was just chilling out in the tree patch! Isn't he so pretty!

Top 5 Hits and Misses and Reflections of 2013

My Hits, those "favorite creations, most worn or most loved" seemed to match with my misses, those "sewing fails, UFOs, worn once or complete disasters".  So I decided to collage them together.

Hit: Maxi Red Velvet A neutral color allows it to be accessorized and it's simplicity means I can were it anywhere.
Miss: Maxi Tiramisu I only wore it a few times because it was big, heavy and too odd of a design.

Hits! I've got a basic straight leg trouser pattern that I love.
Five pairs of Espresso leggings that are seeing tons of wear.
 Lastly, an almost wearable muslin for a bootcut jean. I just have to make two alterations to the pattern for a perfect fit.
From there I can use it for some skinny jeans.

Misses: The green pants are very wearable as pajamas or lounge wear not the elegant trouser I was going for.
Pink was a vintage pattern that I played and played with. I think they'll be cut up into something else this year.
Half Miss: Navy cords were very wearable but I copped out of a fly front for a side zipper and it has given me nothing but trouble. Next time I'll knuckle down and insert my fly front and if I use that heavy of a corduroy, I'll narrow the leg width.

I'm going to interject here and say, "Nanner nanner, Mistress of the Jar! I tried one leggings and four different trouser patterns this year. One of which is now a TNT and another is two alterations from being perfect as well. No trousers were bought by me!"

Hit: the striped knitted sweater was finished the end of last year but I've worn it TONS and always get compliments. So far the wool has shown little sign of wear.
Miss: This sparkle knit sweater was never blogged. I experimented with a vintage pattern and I just feel like the results are messy. I wear it very infrequently.

Hits: Lots of fabulous tops this year! If I had to choose just five of them it would be these: Cabarita,  Beauty, Camo Fluff, Vibrant Tunic, and Nautical Stripe.  Two were made with my TNT knit top pattern and the other three were patterns made with my measurements.
Miss: My Sew Weekly Top started out as a vintage pattern was cut down and still didn't fit me correctly. I already passed this baby on.

Without any scientific study my top patterns for the year were:

• Cake's Hummingbird Top (I made 3 and am loving the camo print one now that the cold weather has come)
• Cake's Red Velvet Dress (I've made 4 dresses 2 for me and 2 for Mom, and one more is planned.)
• Cake's Espresso Leggings (I've made 7 pair and they're in constant rotation.)
• Built By Wendy Sew U Home Stretch knit top pattern (This is my TNT set in sleeve pattern and I've used it at least 6 times for myself and twice for others this year)
• Lastly There have been two children's patterns that I've used quite a bit and have many more plans for. The Parsley Pants and the Tumble Tee. Both simple, both gender neutral, both easy to customize and alter.

Blogging has been so beneficial in helping keep a record of my projects; to helping me think through my choices and discover more about myself. After doing this round up my Top 5 Reflections are:

• When I start with an idea and follow it through I can come up with some beautiful things. My gut leads me well.
• I'm a real baby when it comes to putting in fly fronts........
• Making a list of projects helps me keep from getting overwhelmed by fabric and patterns and allows me to pick up something quickly when I find a few moments to sew.
• A warm turquoise is my magic color! 
• I need to let my time online inspire me and not let myself get sucked into Happiness and Creativity Killing Comparison. I also need to get off the computer and go create more.

Inspirations post here.

So what have you learned this year? Do you have a magic color? Do you ever get HCKC? I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and has a Merry Christmas!

Red Velvet Take Two

Hey Guys, I've finally recovered enough to feel coherent enough to write the next installment of my own personal Red Velvet Saga. This is the serious model edition with no bells or whistles.

Pattern: Sewing Cake's Red Velvet

Size: Mom
Mom's Measurements
High Bust: 34.5
Full Bust: 36
Bust Length: 13
Waist: 32
Her Shape: Short (5' 4") Mother of three in her fifties.

My pattern adjustments before cutting my fabric 

Bodice – According to her measurements I cut a 30 B Bodice front and back which I lengthened 1 inch to get the correct under bust fit.

Dress 1: the muslin 

Fabric: This was an upcycle from two brand new poly/spandex velvet dresses I had been given.

Large sad cowl neck dresses...

Construction
  Since I was up cycling I cut the bodice and midriff pieces out of the smaller dress. There wasn't enough fabric to cut the full skirt so I just cut the correct length from the body of the second skirt keeping the pre made hem. I folded some regular pleats in to ease the skirt onto the midriff. Not that you can see any of this since the dress is black.
Because the velvet was heavyweight I used a lighter weight fabric for the neck facing.
She didn't want any pockets.

Final Thoughts: Because of the spandex this dress is a tighter fit. We're waiting for Cocoa and Carmine to finish this outfit off because it definitely needs some color added.

Fabric: This is a Stretch Hatchi Knit in Purple from Fabric.com. It is also a soft medium weight poly/spandex blend. Otherwise known as the "Blood Clot Dress" "The Modern Take on Tie Dye Dress" or "The, I like this fabric Dress"

Construction
I used her same measurements as the first dress, just lengthened the sleeves to elbow length. I did the scissor pleat skirt. No pockets again.

Final Thoughts: She chose this fabric and I don't think she looks too bad in it! Contrary to what my Father, brother and Aunt think. The guys just think it's wild but my Aunt thinks "old" ladies should wear solids not prints.
What do you guys think? Is this not an age appropriate print? I think she looks pretty great for her age! And why can't she wear a "wild" print if she thinks it's pretty.

On a totally separate note, I got a Facebook page. You should come like me so we can giggle over all the cool stuff I find all over the interwebs. Hope you're all staying healthy and getting to spend lots of time with loved ones as we quickly approach Christmas......

The Hills Are Alive... With Red Velvet

The hills are alive, with the sound of ...

Sewing machines... or sergers (we're not picky)... 

With songs Cake, (wait, not this cake)

With THIS Cake that will last for a thousand years...
(and is also completely gluten free) 

This dress fills me up with warmth and beauty
and My heart wants to wear every scarf it sees.

So, um just in case you haven't figured it out yet, Sewing Cake's Red Velvet Sewalong just ended and since it was also a contest I was compelled to make as many items as I could. You are now warned! Lots of Cake is going to be happening around here. To simplify things a bit I'm doing separate posts on my dresses, my Mom's dresses and the leggings. To try to keep things coherent I stole some of my template from C Sews who made a fabulous chevron Red Velvet and some from The Quirky Peach.

Pattern: Sewing Cake's Red Velvet

Size: ME
My Measurements
High Bust 35
Full Bust 37
Waist 29 1/4
My Shape: Tall (5'10")

Fabric: bridesmaid dress fabric of medium/heavyweight. Lovely soft probably synthetic stuff that was easy to work with.


My pattern adjustments before cutting my fabric 

Bodice – According to my measurements I cut a 35 C Bodice front and back which I lengthened 3 inches to get the correct under bust look. My second bodice I took the recommended amount out of the front side seam which I think helped with the wrinkles but I'm not sure cause I went crazy and drafted neckline pleats in...

Skirt- 3 inches added at the lengthen line so it would hit me right below the knee hemmed normally. For the maxi skirt I measured from the bottom of the midriff band to the floor (about 42 inches). I placed the pattern on the fabric and cut the top and side seam about 3/4 of the way down. I then measured down the center fold to the length I wanted and pulled the pattern down until the hem rested there and cut the curved hemline. I laid this cut piece out on the fabric to cut my second skirt. It made a nice full skirt without a bunch of billowy fabric everywhere.

Construction
Navy Bodice- Besides completely hacking the bodice so it would have neckline pleats, I sewed the pleats before I basted and stitched the neck facing. I stitched the facing down in the shoulder seams but it kept flipping out from the weight of the dress so I tacked it down in front under the pleats.

Lace Bodice- I marked chalk lines measured off the center front and zigzag stitched the lace down before attaching the facing. I stitched the facing down in the shoulder seams and sewed the buttons on front when dress was completed.

Pockets- No pockets in Lace dress. Tiramisu pockets in Navy Maxi Dress.

Otherwise I followed the directions as written! Now that we've gotten all that out of the way, MORE PHOTOS!!

Details and action shots!

So I'm not sure about the pleats, I probably shouldn't
have rushed them and I'm not sure even properly
drafted them... but I love the dress and since I don't stare
at my chest all the time it doesn't bother me.

Second dress for me out of some ugly fabric I dyed a prettier color. It was a nice cotton blend from the deep stash.

Quick photo before I went back to sewing.
Once spring arrives I'm looking forward to wearing
this little gem.

The more I played with this pattern the more I liked it. I wore my Navy dress non stop over the Thanksgiving holidays and even on the plane ride home. I've been trying to make a comfy, nice winter maxi dress and in this case the 4th time's the charm.

When I first began sewing with knits I bought Built By Wendy's book because it had the basic pattern blocks for most knit designs. I feel like Steph is giving us the knit technique building blocks with her patterns as well as giving us an arsenal of pattern pieces we can custom size and mix and match. I had never interfaced knits before and thanks to her tips it turned out beautifully. I can't wait to sew some more cake! How about you?

Testing Testing, Read All About It! Expresso Customized Leggings Take The Cake!

Whoo Hoo! The Christmas Elves are happy tonight! They're sorting through the stash to find lots of legging fabrics to keep them warm as the work!

Fabric: 4 way stretch swimwear fabric that I'm pretty sure is almost 100% spandex bought many years ago when I first started sewing with knits. I didn’t know much about them and this was in the dollar bin. It’s the piece of fabric that just keeps on giving. It has so much stretch and recovery I didn’t even have to put elastic in the waist band. They also stretched out super long so I can use them as footies if I want.  This fabric has always been cool to the touch and when I wrap my legs in it I’m actually colder wearing them than I am bare legged. Which defeats my primary purpose in wearing leggings: to keep me WARM.

Pattern Details: Using Cake's measuring tutorial and template I was able to easily draft my specific size leggings even even when my measurements fell in between some of the numbers. I'm 5' 10" and was interested in seeing how these would do in length. It was very easy for me to add an inch at the bottom to make sure these cover ALL of my legs.

Using the stripe/stretch line meant these stripes practically matched themselves, much to my delight.

There's not much more I can say about them. If you're like me, quit dreading and putting off the measuring. Draft those buggers and get to sewing! I see a new addiction coming on!

As you can see, I feel like a happy elf in them. These will be put in costume rotation because they make me too happy to get rid of. Anyone know of any elf parties happening?