Simplicity New Look 6429 and Japanese gardens

I cut this pattern out in size 10 mainly because my pattern didn't go smaller. Thank god I did!  It's true that big 4 size patterns aren't always true to the envelope, which puts me a size 12, but lately I'm in the habit of sizing way down because I've been making a lot of knits. That really doesn't turn out well with wovens. 

The fabric is from a little shop I found in Hilo, Hawaii.  I was in love with this shop, which had mainly Japanese prints, and I couldn't resist buying a few.  This dress was part of a dress project I started although I had to give up halfway down the list because I ran out of time before moving...(again.)

This pattern seems to have really good reviews. In order to test it to the max, I went with a version that had sleeves, view A.  It is so hard to fit my shoulders, and the idea of the dress project was to find some patterns that really had hope, that might need multiple muslins/attempts but that will end up being building blocks for the future.

The pattern is straightforward.  In this version, the yoke is interfaced, and the inside of the yoke seam allowance is ironed out of sight before topstitching.  It is easy to have a clean finish, and I could have done entirely french seams, although I didn't because I thought of it as a bit of a muslin.

 I hesitated after putting the yoke on the dress, thinking that the pattern placement was hideous, and overall I had to leave this dress as a UFO while I debated what to do.  At that point I could see that the fit was surprisingly good, and I thought maybe I needed a different fabric yoke.  However, it's hard to match quilting cotton with anything else, so eventually I gave up and decided the pattern placement, while not optimal, wasn't terrible.

My final estimation is that this dress fits me perfectly from the waist up.  And while inspecting it I realised that the bottom of the dress fits great too.  It's the middle 7 cm that I don't need.  So I realised that this in fact is a perfect dress for me to work on - by removing 7 cm from the middle, on a pattern that has no lengthen-shorten lines, and that has a french dart in the middle of the to-be-removed section.

I think this pattern would fit perfectly on someone who is long waisted.  And I am still pretty blown away at how well it fits me above the waist. I think the pictures don't quite show how much the middle is wrinked due to being totally extraneous.

I planned a second version right away and was really hoping to do it too!  But I had to box it up as it got close to moving time.  This pattern is one I'll return to. 

Onward with knits: trees and stars

Making one project often seems to beget other project ideas. Sometimes it's ways to use up the fabric scraps, other times it's to improve on the first version.  I think that it's a good idea to chase down these ideas because they are the things I get excited about even though they are kind of queue jumpers (and I am way too obsessed with crossing things off lists.)

That happened.

The Geneva tee was a way of using the end of the star fabric, which I love, and the original project was a fail. It was also a way of using my scraps of my totally amazing cashmere merino blend jersey.
Geneva: size 36.

I added cuffs to the sleeves, which helped to stabilise the super fine sleeve fabric.  My second thought on this very fine jersey is that in the future it might be nice to double it up.  I am scared that the leggings are fragile and will get easily worn out.

The Minttu was a way of quickly testing whether there was a way to salvage this pattern. I didn't want to commit too much to it, but I did think that whatever I made would be wearable.
Minttu: size 34, back to full length, no lining or bindings.
I used the end of this lovely star embossed fabric and some navy ribbing for the under arm portions.
I still think the shape is too billowy but at least it's not too short.  I would decrease the exaggerated width at the bottom on future versions.

The mission tank was actually an idea from my first op-shop trip in March. I fell in love with this fabric, even though the original item was a pretty tight dress and therefore not a lot of fabric to work with. I really wanted it to be a Renfrew but I could not make it happen. And as a Mission it has already had lots of wear!

Mission size 6.  Upcycled dress. 

i am Cassiopee dress in Orla Kiely stems

I'm in love with this fabric and for once found a great showcase for it.

The fabric is some Orla Kiely remnants, from the etsy shop Saved Fabrics, and the idea that I'm also saving this great fabric from the landfill is a nice perk.

The company i am patterns is new to me - I discovered them right before I left Arizona, and bought a bunch of their patterns to try.  I made the Cupidon (here) and found it to be very simple and consisent with what I expected.  They have a fun aesthetic and I'm excited to try more of their stuff too, eventually.  I really appreciate that they have English translations.

I cut a size 36.

I have a large length of stems and quite a bit of the yellow hatched fabric, which is slightly denser and with an almost water-resistant feel although I believe it's still 100% cotton.  For that reason I used it for the skirt, and also to keep the pattern less busy.

This was no. 1 of my dress project: goal is to find 2 dress patterns that I really like and want to keep mixing/matching/working on to finally attain a good fit. As you can imagine this pattern isn't in the running for that.  It is cute in this fabric but it's too simple to be really interesting and it's not a shape I'd like any more of.  However, it was so very fast to make and it's pretty foolproof for a variety of body shapes; as the pattern remarks you could also use any fabric - something thick and furry for winter might be nice, although I'd probably narrow the skirt so the gathers don't become overwhelming in a heavy fabric.

It's hard to have more to say.  I used french seams on the body, but didn't on the sleeves and I top stitched them down, and because of the gathers I didn't attempt french seams on the waist.  It was a super easy, fast sew and I know it's shapeless, but I think that the cool fabric makes up for that. Plus it's really nice for layering!

However I didn't shorten the skirt.  So if you are average height or above and you don't want a tunic dress, you might take that into consideration. I'm 5'4"!

Anima and Virginia pants: a scuba experiment.

I had a length of some scuba fabric from Spotlight and was planning to make a dress with it. But then after kayaking I got to thinking it would be nice to have some scuba kayaking pants.

So I decided to make both the Anima pants and some Virginia leggings and see how they would come out.  I suspected that the Virginia leggings would be too tight, because the scuba fabric tends to have a lot less give compared to other types of fabric. 

I was right. I used the same sizes I have been using lately: XXS in the Anima pants, and XS in the Virginia leggings, with the high waistband and the petite sizing.

Above: are all Anima pants.  Below: are all Virginia leggings.  The leggings honestly I can barely pull them on.  They were a direct to op-shop kind of sew.

But the Anima pants are great, and will definitely be my kayaking pants for the rest of this winter!

You can see the waist of this is loose on the hanger.

Virginia pants are very tight on the hanger!

Named Mai jacket in leather and wool

This is one of the projects I've had in my head since moving to NZ.  I had a lot of ideas of which pattern would match these fabrics, and the Mai Jacket seemed to have it all.

The pattern: Mai Jacked, by Named patterns

Description from the website:

• Short, lined jacket  with a zipper closure
• Zipper details at the bottoms of the sleeves
• In-seam pockets at the sides
• Short stand-up collar
• Contrast panels around the zipper, and yokes at the shoulders
• Loose-fitting style with elastic hemline

What I needed: simple pockets, lining, and that little collar.
What I ditched: the sleeve zips.
Size: 34 based on the finished measurements.  I wanted this to be quite fitted and I knew that all of my fabrics have some stretch so I could size down.  That worked out great, it's just a tiny bit short but is otherwise well fitting and as I expected.

My fabrics:
-purple wool from The Fabric Store, which I have hoarded for ages.  It's heavy and almost looks felted but with quite a bit of stretch.  I have been waiting really carefully for the right project for this stuff
-suede, two skins, from Copenhagen.  I think they were in a remnant bin and I found two in the same colour.
-lining is a solid black cotton jersey from The Fabric Store, which I got recently. It has a great shine and is not too stretchy.

I used a 90 sharp needle most of the time and that was enough although the needles did go blunt and start to skip at times.  I was able to get through 4 layers of the leather, on the collar for instance, without trouble.

I spent ages preparing for this, ages planning and a week or so sewing it.  First, I wanted to use a cotton lawn for the facing and pockets, but then the fabric I had chosen arrived and I didn't like it.  So I just used interfaced jersey.  Partly because I couldn't decide if I wanted to line the sleeves and I held everything up while I was indecisive.  In retrospect it might have been nice to use leather for more stability.

I obviously pinned basically never, except when it was jersey layers together.  My IDT was good for all this.

I basted the collar on prior to putting the facings, though, because there was no way I could hold together that many layers without clips or pins.

Finally I decided that the inside of suede is not great feeling and I did need the lining.  Then I put the lining sleeves together inside out and couldn't be bothered to undo.

Final thoughts: it's just like written.
That's great except for the pockets.  It ends up that I hate the pocket location. I need princess seams, or any seam to bring these pockets away from the sides.   There is a blousing effect due to the elastic at the hem and the blousing really is all around these stupid side seam pockets. 

I do not really like the way the hem is finished.  You are told to secure the elastic on each side of the zip, then you sew the jacket together and bag it, and THEN you feel through all the hem layers and stitch in the ditch without stitching the elastic, in order to create a clean hem. This of course makes a mess on the inside.

I have still not found a jacket pattern that guarantees a nice hem finish.  I was left with little bits around the zipper sticking out, but being leather, I could cut and just sew them down.

Named Minttu swing top & some stars

Initially, and for quite awhile, I've been really excited about this pattern- the facings and the shape made it seem like a substantial, interesting tank top that could be done in a variety of fabrics.  There are not very many review out there but the few I found (here and here) were inspiring.  

Fabric: Spotlight.  Exciting sparkly stuff again, because my brain suddenly wants shiny.  It is a rayon jersey with a nice drape.

I cut this out in a size 36,  (I am 33-27-37) and being all smart I removed 3 inches from the length.  I did so in the middle and I believe there were no shorten lines, I just picked a spot and made sure to keep things horizontal.  By doing this instead of shortening at the bottom, I could keep the same amount of swing in the top.

I do vary in Named pattern sizing and have cut everything from 34-38 in Named patterns, but in 36 this top was too small.  The fact of having interfaced facings means the top part of it is not very stretchy. The neck hole is tiny - uncomfortably so.

The facings I hate hate hate hate.  They pull every which way.  I have to admit once the top is on, it's not visible. But I already dislike facings and ones that refuse to sit flat just don't make me happy.

And of course I shortened it too much!  I could have kept all of those three inches.  By shortening in the middle instead of the bottom I overdid the 'swing' effect, in my opinion.

As it is, it's like a top for a 12-year old.
The shape, however, I like.
What I plan to do is make this as a super simple, single layer, no binding tank top (once I have figured out how to lengthen it without printing the pattern again, hisss.)  Then I think you get the benefit of the cool shape without all the mess of those bindings and I will be able to adjust the size of the neck hole too!