Knocking out the Knits

Gosh, June is more than half over already. Where does the time go? As you probably know, June is Knits Month on the Stashbusting Sewalong. I've recently taken a brief break to do some woven sewing, but now I'm back in the depths of the knit stash and more eager than ever.

This is a Santa Monica Tee, made from the second yard of that three yard bundle I snagged at the Tilton booth in Pullayup.

Tilton knit bundle - designed for color blocking but it appears I'm too timid

Chesneykat, who blogs at Room for Sewing, has just posted a plethora of cap-sleeve versions of this tee. I've made the pattern a couple of times before, but never the cap-sleeve view. Inspired, I hauled out my pattern and my fabric and got to cutting.

In my enthusiasm, I forgot one of the basic tenents of sewing:

Stripes + Garment = Pattern Matching, and

Pattern Matching + Raglan Sleeves = Heartache and Sorrow

I almost tossed in the towel at a couple of points. And, as is often the case when staring failure in the eyes, my technique got pretty darn sloppy. By stretching things a bit more than required for easing, I got the shoulder stripes to kind of match in the front. The back is another story.

But, since I can't see that side anyway, I'm sure the pain will fade with time.

I like the pattern quite a bit. It's well-known that I'm a sucker for a square neck, and this neckline is a bit squared off. The top has a nice shape, and the shoulder darts give a better fit than is sometimes the case with raglan sleeves. They're hell for stripe matching though.

The one thing I'm not wild about is the neckline finish. The pattern has you just turn and stitch. Each time I make this top, I plan to come up with a cleaner solution, and then I get rushed, or tweaked by pattern matching, and I just follow the instructions to be done with it. Next time for sure!

My review of this pattern is at PatternReview.com here.

My other recent F.O. is another version of the knit pencil skirt from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual.

The first time I made this pattern I was fantasizing about a version in a scuba knit print. I have to say, I'm not 100% clear on what the heck a scuba knit is but I'm going to go ahead and believe that this fabric is one. It feels like a ponte, but maybe a bit smoother. It's the most expensive piece of fabric I've ever owned. I got it at Britex, with this skirt in mind.

The good news is, this skirt takes less than a yard. It's like the cashmere scarf of sewing in that it makes a little bit of expensive material go a long way. I kind of fell in love with the print. It includes most of the colors I like to wear.

The elastic at the waist is applied in a very cool way. You zig-zag it to the top of the skirt, turn the band over and then tack it at the side seams. You don't get any of the gathering that you do with some elastic waistbands. I usually wear my tops untucked, but wearing your top tucked in or with a narrow belt are both good options with this waistband.

I'm planning to pop out another tee or two before the end of Knits Month. Possibly a pair of knit shorts too. I was working in the hot sun over the weekend and wished I had some knock-around short pants to wear.

And! On Thursday I'm signed up to take Beginning Underwear Sewing at Hart's. I've made a few practice undies on my own and they came out pretty good. I want to have someone walk me through the whole Fold Over Elastic thing though. I have some in stash, but my previous attempts have been very, very sad.

Easiest Skirt Ever

This skirt has one pattern piece - you can't get any easier than that. The skirt front and back are identical and the waist band is cut on. Two seams and you're done.

I'm wearing it with another version of The Easiest Tee Yet, top #108 from the September, 2011 issue of Burdstyle. It also has only a front and a back, though they're cut from two slightly different pattern pieces. By the way, this tee is my project for the April Stashbusting Challenge theme - Vibrant Color. Honest, it was cut out in April, even though I didn't actually sew those four seams until May 2.

From the front, belted and shirt tucked in

The skirt is the Knit Pencil Skirt from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual, made up in a dark brown ponte. A yard was plenty for me, making this a pretty economical garment.

Back view

I really like the way the pattern has you put in the elastic at the waist. You make your loop of elastic and then sew it to the top of the skirt on the inside, then flip the top edge down and stitch in the ditch at the side seams to keep things in place. The elastic is covered, but you don't have any seam showing on the outside. I've made a pants pattern by Loes Hines that does the same thing. It gives a pretty smooth line for an elastic waist.

This is the 4th garment I've made from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual; 2 dresses (here and here), this skirt and a tee which is yet to be blogged. For me, that's a pretty good track record for a sewing book.

Un-belted view

I've gone from someone with no pencil skirts to someone with two pencil skirts in just a few months. They're easier to wear than I would have imagined. This knit one is really comfortable and versatile. I took it along on a recent weekend getaway and it worked well in the evening with heels and a silky top and also during the day with sandals and a loose tee.

So, two more hunks of knit carved out of the stash closet. Go, me!

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

First FO for the New Year

This was almost my last FO for 2014, but there were errands to run for New Year's Eve. And then my photographer was laid low by a nasty flu, poor Man.

Front view

We've been having a cold snap here on the Central Coast, so this is not seasonal sewing. I've planned a flannel Archer and a red cowl-neck Renfrew, but this dress somehow jumped the line.

Cover shot. There are a couple more patterns in here I'm itching to try

The pattern is from Gretchen Hirsch's book, "Gertie Sews Vintage Casual."

Side view

I've been wanting to add an every-day wrap dress to my closet as part of my plan to work dresses into my daily wardrobe. Gertie describes the pattern as a wrap dress with retro features - a shawl-like collar, a slightly full skirt and gathers at the front shoulder. Also included are in-seam pockets.

Back view

I made the pattern up just like Gertie said, except I did pleats rather than gathers at the front shoulder and waist. As a brick, I'm always trying to reduce fluff around my middle.

I'm in between Gertie's size 4 (34" bust) and size 6 (36" bust). I decided to do a straight size 4, figuring the wrapping would give me some leeway and better the bust be a bit on the snug side to avoid any potential gaping. The wrap doesn't gape at all, and I bet it wouldn't have even if I'd gone up a size. I really like how the neckline sits. I'll feel totally comfortable wearing this dress to work.

Side view with pocket

Sophie-Lee, who blogs over at Two Random Words, made this dress up in a floral lawn.  It really flows nicely in a light, drapey fabric.

I used a fairly substantial cotton - maybe a bit too substantial, but I fell in love with the colors. The pleats at the waist and the weight of the fabric make the skirt stand out a bit, which I think I kind of like.

I like my skirts to hit below the knee. This skirt ended up just right, but I took the smallest hem I could get away with. If you give this one a try and you are taller than 5'2", you might want to add a bit of length when cutting out.

I'm going to be taking part in the 2015 Stashbusting Sewalong, hosted by EmSewCrazy, so I diligently pawed through the stash to see if I had a piece of woven fabric that I could use for this project. Turns out my woven stash is all in lengths of 2 yards or less (darn my penny-pinching fabric buying ways). So I admit that for this project I headed to Harts and burned through my holiday gift certificate from my son (thank you Evan!).

Now, when it comes to knit stash, it's a different story. Knits, I'm drowning in.

Another front view, with fish

My pattern review is over at PatternReview.com here.

Vintage Casual, Gertie-style

I just finished my first go at one of the patterns in Gretchen Hirsch's new book, Gertie Sews Vintage Casual. This is the Zip-Front Dress.

I'm going to take a quick detour to talk about this book, which I've been really enjoying. It includes a bunch of patterns that I'm looking forward to trying. Vintage casual seems to be just the ticket for my dog-walking, retired-person lifestyle.

The book is organized a lot like Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing, with a beginning section talking about her inspiration for the designs and discussing the kinds of tools, materials and skills you'll be learning (including a section on sewing with knits).

In the second section she has patterns for the following pieces, along with instructions for some very cute variations:

• a 40's style blouse with tucks, which you can turn into darts if you want a sleeker look
• a flared woven skirt
• a knit top with neckline and sleeve variations
• cigarette pants, with variations including 40's style wide-leg trousers
• a knit pencil skirt that you can flare, or gore for even more drama
• a pin-up sweater, with instructions for tweaking to a very cute, basic cardigan. I'll be trying that one for sure. 
• a shift dress
• a wrap dress designed for woven fabric. I'll be giving this one a whirl too.
• a halter top (if I were 30 years younger...)
• and the zip front dress you see above

Gertie says she sizes her patterns pretty close to RTW, but with a curvier bent (a bigger waist to hip ratio).  My bust is a Gertie size 4, my waist is a size 6 and my hips are a size 2. What can I say? I'm a brick. For this dress I decided to start with a straight-up size 6 (36-28-40). I thought a little looseness would be comfortable in the top, the waist might be more or less right and with a skirt this full, why stress about fit in the hips?

I toyed with the idea of doing some flat pattern measurements to double-check for size, but take a look a the shape of this bodice piece:

The bodice back and front are cut as one piece, with the kimono sleeve shaped with a pleat in the shoulder. Looking at it all traced out I had no idea how to measure, let alone how to sew, but Gertie's instructions are clear and the size worked out pretty much just as I'd hoped.

I used a chunk of cotton I got at IKEA because I thought the beetles were cute.

The fabric is really navy and white, as it looks here. Not the brighter blue in the outdoor photos.

When my sewing buddy Jessica saw it she asked if I knew any entomologigists. The fabric is really more a home dec weight, but I was so enchanted with the print that I dove in despite some misgivings.

Gertie advises you to secure 3 yards of 60 inch wide fabric. I had probably 2 1/2. I got the end of the bolt. It required two minds and about 30 minutes to squeeze on all my pattern pieces. Turns out this is a directional print, but no way I could take that into account, so my beetles are climbing up my dress on the front and down my dress on the back.

There are some cute design details that are lost in this print, like patch pockets with little pleats. The collar would be really fun to do in a contrasting fabric. Gertie gives instructions for adding piping to the sleeves and pockets, which I bypassed for this version but will totally try out on my next.

Hand in patch pocket

I really enjoyed sewing this dress! It was a trip to see how the bodice came together. It's very comfortable to wear and I love the zip front. I have plans to make another in an actual garment fabric. 

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.