Mary Knickers

Who knew sewing your own underpants would be such a self esteem journey? I didn't.

It first started with the name of the pattern, "The Mary Knickers" Now while MeasureTwice did a kind job with her description, no one wants to be Mary from Pride and Prejudice. But a knit undies pattern was what I was looking for and a boy short sounded appealing so I bought it regardless of it's name.

When I tried on my first test pair the front fit beautifully while the back only came 3/4 up my bum. This started a whirlwind of thought.
Is this how boy shorts are supposed to fit? Is my bum really poofy like my grandmother said? Could I make this work as is? If I alter it am I just recreating my granny panties? 

It was at this point that I stopped myself before the insecurities could get loose. It doesn't matter how the pattern was "designed" to fit. It doesn't matter if the pants I end up with could be classified as "granny panties" .  If any part of our sewing is about getting the fit we want PERSONALLY, it should be our underwear. This silenced my moaning and I went back and added a large wedge to the back of the pattern.

Look at the little ruffles

Pattern Notes:

• I added a wedge to CB to bring it up
• Tapered down CF
• Sewed down the short edges of crotch pieces. This puts a seam across the front and back of the undies but I think that's better than having some sort of weird pocket there.
• Marked back and front on the crotch piece. The back is the straight edge!
• Used underwear elastic for top instead of a casing.
• Used elastic thread for shirring in my bobbin to hem my legs. 

Thoughts:

• I got so excited to be using up my scraps, I cut up a shirt I've been saving for a couple years and it will probably get more wear now than it ever did! Because who can resist millefiori on their bum! 
• I'm finally getting to use up all those vintage elastics and I'm loving it!
• I've completed one of my goals for 2015! 

While this hasn't stash busted much in yardage it has decreased the clutter. I've got some sewing planned for today so you have the weekend to finish your projects and post to the Stashbusting Flickr group. I'll be back monday with my totals and a Roundup!

What are your thoughts on undergarments? And more interesting, what are they called where you live?

La La La Lola!

It seems 2014 is quickly coming to a close so I guess I better get my bum in gear and finish blogging about my makes! Here's one I whipped out and photographed right before the move. It's my first Lola by Victory Patterns.

Nananananana, Disco! Or maybe Ninja! 

Dog, how did you find me? 

Obligatory, all around view.

Thoughts

• So this is very bright and I'm not sure I'm brave enough to wear it around in public... but it makes a smashing around the house dress.
• I'm 5' 10" and I added 3 inches to lengthen the bodice pieces and skirt. I probably did something to the sleeves as well but I can't remember what.
• Between adding the length and the stretch of the pink fabric I'm feeling proportions are a bit off?
• The pink fabric is probably too light for this design as I can see it really stretched and bags a bit. 
• When I was researching this pattern a lot of people questioned the amount of pieces for a knit dress. Well it's superb for color blocking which gives you the look of a body con dress with the comfort of your favorite sweatshirt. (Don't believe me, wait till you see my second version.)
• Pattern went together super easily and really pretty quick for all those pieces. ;)
• These both came from the stash and I'm pretty sure this was one of my FESA makes!

I think that's about it... any questions please ask and I'll try to remember... 

Question for YOU! Would you wear something this bright out in public? Are you a solid or a print fan?

Stripy Fall Stashbusting

Yippee! I finally got to sew something fun! It fits into my FESA plans and it is Stashbusting! Win Win Win! Do you want to see it?

 There are those mornings when you drag yourself out of bed and don't want to fight with your clothes. I was spoiled with all my easy throw on summer dresses and wanted something for fall and winter. When I found this gorgeous teal and grey strip remnant at a thrift store I thought it would make a nice cropped sweatshirt or something. Then I got it home and realized it matched perfectly with a remnant of gorgeous cotton interlock in my stash!

Yes, I'm feeling full of sass in this!

I used Cake Pattern's Hummingbird Top for the bodice lengthening the sleeves as much as I could with the yardage I had. As you can see it wasn't much. I cut 2 inch wide strips for the bands for the neckline and sleeves. I really like the neckline on this top. 

For the skirt I kept it simple. I serged all the remaining fabric into a tube, quartered it and pleated the front and gathered the back. I just eyeballed the pleats and kind of like how the five little pleats turned out. Easy peasy.

I didn't hem the bottom and the sweatshirt fabric had enough body that I didn't need to reinforce the waist seam. I sewed it on just my serger and it took about an hour. I can't tell you how delighted I am with this color combo and comfort. I think this will see a lot of wear with my Espresso leggings and sweaters!
How's your fall sewing going? How often do you reuse your patterns? I find myself often reaching for this top or the Cabarita pattern when I'm wondering what to do with my knits.

Fixing The RTW Cardigan Problem Cocoa Shrug Review

When Steph released the Red Velvet collection I was most excited about Espresso and the shrug patterns so I went ahead and bought the whole collection. There’s been a big discussion in the MMM forums about how cardigans are one of the biggest gaps in all our wardrobes and I was especially wanting some fitted ones that hit at my natural waistline. Cocoa and Carmine seemed to fit the bill. 

I was a little worried starting out with the lack of reviews on it but the rest of Cake patterns I’ve tried worked out well so I decided to attack this fear head on and not let it hang over me all summer. Besides I needed a nice sweater. 

My fears were unfounded. While following step by step this pattern came together quickly and well. I chose the size based on my measurements and since I wanted it to hit at my natural waist I measured from shoulder to waist and ended up adding about two inches to the body of the pattern. I also cut the waistband at 4 1/2 inches because I wanted a thicker band. I also lengthened the sleeves because I want this sucker for warmth. 

Thankfully my gut led me correctly and it turned out the proper length. My head messed up when it came to the seam allowance and I sewed half the seams with too big of an allowance. Thanks to the power of knits it still fits. I am getting some odd wrinkles in the sleeve but I’m not sure if that’s because I lengthened it or because it is a bit too small.

A round of over exposed photos so you can see the wrinkles that appear sometimes.

It fits like a dream over my Red Velvet dress and I like it over regular tops too. It will definitely see a lot of wear this summer. It looks really nice hanging open as well as when it is closed. 

The front treatment gives you a great crisp opening line too. I always learn some new technique for knits when I use her patterns. I look forward to making some more up in the fall. 

Well that’s it for May! How did your stash busting go? I finished up two bottoms and three tops this month but I was also gifted a big box of fabric so…. How did you do? What do you think of my Cocoa and the pattern in general?

Tank Top Hack Or When I Actually Sewed On Theme

Well hello there bloggy friends! I'm feeling a bit crazy right now because I'm leaving a week earlier than planned! Cue the crazy pre-trip sewing! I know I'm not the only one who does it....

One of the things I've been wanting to make is a shelf bra tank top for pajamas. It turned out to be super simple. I used my TNT knit top pattern and cut the front and back twice. The second set I just cut to my measurements from shoulder to under bust plus seam allowance. I made a casing and inserted elastic that was snug around my ribcage. I tested it for a week and it works great! Its also made from thrifted jersey bedsheets so it's soft and cozy.

That's it for today guys! Crazy Sewing Lady, Over and Out!

Knit Pattern and Sewing Advice Wanted: Rambles Included

Hello Lovelies,
Nothing new to show although I guess that's not totally true, you can see I've got two sets of back pockets done and I'm hung up on the fly fronts. It's more of a mental hurdle than anything... I chose my vintage zippers from the stash, yesterday. They are apple green and Copenhagen blue to semi coordinate with the pockets. Most importantly they are metal.

I think I'm going to win the consistently terrible photos award for MMM this year. I keep telling myself I'm keeping it real and the important thing is I am getting my outfit photographed every day. On the flip side, if the photo is so grainy, blurry and cluttered that no one can see my outfit what is the point?

MMM has also shown me I like every single version of the Wiksten Tova that I have ever seen. Coming in at a close second are all the Lolas I've been seeing pop up...
Speak of Lola, have any of you sewn her up? What have you sewn and loved in knits? With all the craziness going on I failed to get us a knit interview for this month so I thought I'd interview you all! Leave me your answers and I'll do my best to gather them up in another post.

What is your favorite knit pattern?
What is your biggest struggle/fear with knits?
What has been your greatest help/resource in learning to sew with knits?
Even though we're supposed to be stash busting... where is your favorite place to get good knits?

Stashbusting May Knits!

Hello Stashbusters! 

It's another new month with another new theme! Remember the themes are always optional and only there for our fun and enjoyment. May is all about sewing with those knit fabrics! We love wearing them and it's time to add more to our closets! 

There is no Curating Challenge for this month so use this time to catch up or relax because next month we'll be back with a doozy! 

I don't know about you but it's looking like this is going to be a pretty busy month so I'll catch you later!

My Free Japanese Spring Top Tale

Confession: This is a half stash bust and half preventative stash busting. But how's a girl to resist when she sees a cozy set of jersey sheets at the thrift store for a pittance? It was perfect for testing the pattern out!

Just in case you missed my continuous blabbing on twitter, this is the Athena pattern from Tamanegi-kobo I found this company from Yoshimi. They are updating their website and making it more internationally (english!) friendly and put a bunch of their fabulous patterns up for free! As soon as I saw pleats I was sold! 

This purple top was made from a jersey sheet and I stretched the neckline out. I was a good girl and tacked the front facing down but when I washed it it crinkled up... I could iron it but who irons your knit tops! Pfhhhttt, not me!

I think it will make a cozy lounging top and it's not something I'd be totally ashamed to be seen in. It was a great way to work out the kinks before I cut my special fabric. 

My second top, I made from the last bit of my stashed navy polka dot. It is lightweight and draped fabulously. I did alter the back to take the drape out of the shoulder seams. I didn't want another drapey back, nor did I have enough fabric. I ended up piecing the back sleeve but you can't tell.

I also carefully handled the front neckline so it wouldn't stretch but had trouble with the Understitched facing seam rolling to the front. Thanks to the sewcialists on twitter I added some weights and that seemed to help. Next time I think I'll try that super lightweight interfacing and see if that helps.

 If you like pleats and drapey tops then this is the pattern for you! The way this top is cut/drafted is a bit of fabulousness that can only be appreciated when you put it on.
I'm a 37 bust and cut the largest size. I didn't add seam allowance and you can see it fits fine. The pleats allow plenty of room for girls bigger than mine.

I'm very pleased with it and look forward to trying some more of their patterns. I'm linking up to The Sew Japanese Sew-Along and Made By Rae's Spring Top Sewalong! Fun Fun Fun! Have you been participating in any fun sewalongs lately? I'm leaving you with my best impression of a fabulous linebacker!

TTFN, TaTa For Now! 

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!

February Stashbusting Link Party

Hello Scintillating Stashbusters,
  I don't know about you but I don't know where the month of February went. I've felt quite overwhelmed and have been trying to crawl out from under the pile most of the time. I found out I got a summer job, started teaching sewing lessons one day a week, kept up with my Korean lessons and dealt with all the drama that life likes to throw at you. :)
How much sewing did I get accomplished?

I managed to finish up three knit tops, two which fit the February theme. I made my Mom two simple tops to wear with her new skirt or whatever she wants. I love how versatile knit tops are. You can have such fun with prints. I made myself a basic navy tee that's gloriously long and will fill a huge gap in my wardrobe; however boring it may appear in photos.

So with my cat apron and Tiny World Tutorial that gives me 4 garments for February and my totals for the year up to 9 of 35 garments and 5 miscellaneous projects not counting two pants muslins made from stash.

Now it's your turn, how did February go for you? Leave me a comment and link to your sewing in February so we can all see what you've been up to. Before I leave you I just want to say I've so enjoyed Sew Grateful week and I am very thankful for all of you who read my blog and participate in the Stashbusting. You are an encouragement to me!

Last of the Christmas Gifts

I managed to recover from all the hacking and coughing, shivers and aches in time to finish up the last few Christmas gifts...

I took a photograph which I traced for this special little embroidery for a
friend who started our local sewing group, Tubs Anonymous (cause we all have
tubs of fabric at home and the local quilting guild had already taken the name,
Prairie Strippers).  I glued it into the frame on Christmas Eve and covered the
mess with some ribbon glued to the back.

My brother hates hugs and touching of any kind so of course
I had to make him this fabulous design from Sublime Stitching.

I love all the felt birds designed by Susan of Downeast Thunder Farm
 and was very happy to get my
Grandma's favorite bird made up for her tree.

The not nieces and nephew have started playing imaginary games like "King"
so I thought I'd make some dress up clothes! I hacked the Tumble Tee pattern for
the make the princess dresses. I used this tutorial for the gathered skirts and cut the front of the Pink
Princess's skirt in thirds to add the lace panel while leaving the back in one piece. I just sewed some
costume necklaces right on so they wouldn't loose them.
The knight/king/warrior costume came from the dollar store and a large piece of purple velvet I cut
into a cape shape and sewed onto the shoulders of the breastplate.

Welp that's about all I've gotten done for the rest of 2013... Stay tuned this week for the wrap up of the Stashbusting Sewalong 2013. We actually have some neat little prizes for those who have participated.... And hopefully we'll have all our ducks in a row and we'll be announcing the details for STASHBUSTING 2014!! Watch out fabric we are coming for you!!

PS. The Fabric Elf chose a winner for my Christmas fabric giveaway! Thanks to all those that participated. The Fabric Elf and I loved hearing your special Christmas memories!

Congrats Sandra! Your package will be in the mail soon.

Hope you all have a great time celebrating and I'll see you in the New Year!

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?