Burdastyle Summer Jacket

I must be on a kimono sleeve kick. Or maybe these are really batwing sleeves, because they get narrower at the cuff? Anyway, there have been several patterns in my last few Burdastyle magazines that I mean to try, and this is the one I chose to do first. Burda describes it as a sweatshirt fabric jacket and that's just what it is.

I think it came out pretty well, though if we were having a "who wore it best" contest, the Burdastyle model would beat me by a furlong.

Here's the line drawing. It's pattern #119 in the the August, 2018 issue

This is one of the quickest, easiest patterns I've ever had the pleasure to sew. It's a 3-seams-and-you're-done kind of pattern. The edges are all finished by turning and stitching. Burda suggested a twin needle, but I used one of the decorative stitches on my machine. My Babylock has a billion decorative stitches that I almost never use, so when I see a chance to play around with them, I like to take it.

Side view

There are pleats in front and in back, which moves the shoulders close to Gloria Swanson territory. They give it a little more swagger than your garden variety sweatshirt.

Back view

You can see how batwing-ed those sleeves are from this back view. I have a small collection of light layers to pull on when I'm chilly in the house of an evening. OK, maybe it's a fairly large collection, but many of them have snugger sleeves. This baby is loose enough to fit pretty much anything as an underlayer, so I think it will have it's place in my winter evening wardrobe.

I used a cotton sweatshirt fabric with a snuggly inside layer. It feels light but toasty and I hope it will stand up to spaghetti sauce and frequent washing. If not, I won't feel too bad because I can zip up another one in no time flat. This is truly a quick and easy sew.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

Best Cardigan Ever

In my last minute sewing frenzy before leaving on our road trip, I made up Jalie 3248, the Drop Pocket Cardigan.

I'm not sure what "Drop Pocket" really means. The pockets are made by kind of folding back the bottom front of the cardigan into the side seam, like so:

Can you see the construction at all from this shot?

There is a knitting pattern that's been very popular on Ravelry, called Goodale, which has pockets made this way. I always liked that cardigan, but Wow! is it ever faster to sew a cardigan than it is to knit one!

I used a poly-cotton knit that I found at Hart's. It's a marled gray and sort of mid-weight. Once I pre-washed it it snugged up into a very skooshy, comfy sweatshirt sort of weight. I think this might be it; very reasonably priced too.

I rushed to finish this cardigan before we left on our trip, and I'm glad I did. It was the perfect light layer. I could throw it in the backseat and it didn't wrinkle. The pockets were just the right size to hold my car keys or a claim check or a chile relleno.

The cardigan is a pretty slim in fit, but the below-hip length gives it a nice, slouchy, boyfriend vibe. The sleeves are cut fairly narrow; Jalie says they expect you'll wear this over sleeveless tops or dresses. They're just long enough to drape a bit over my hands, and the cuffs are snug, so that I can pull them up and they stay put while I do dishes or brush the dog.

I never needed to wear this puppy outside while we were traveling. Temps were pretty warm, even in the evening. It sure came in handy when I was spending time in those air conditioned rooms though.

The front of the cardigan is two layers, which makes the finish is nice and clean. The instructions, which include very helpful illustrations, were good. I did have to scratch my head a few times though. There's a certain amount of inside-out and backwards fabric manipulation involved. Even so, it only took me a couple of hours to sew the thing together and I only had to unpick one seam. That's pretty much a record for me.

I like the pattern a lot, and I could see myself making a few more. There are some cute sweater knits around these days that would probably just suit!

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

Stashbusting Challenge 2015

Announcing the June theme for the 2015 Stashbusting Sewalong:

Knits!

Click here to read all about the Sewalong

Yes, June is all about knits. You know you love them. Even if you don't sew with them very often (or perhaps at all?), I bet you wear them all the time. Tee shirts, yoga pants, underwear - nothing beats a knit when you want that second-skin comfort. And when that hot, summer weather hits, a knit dress or top in a nice, natural fiber is just what the doctor ordered.

The knit stash - smaller than it used to be!

Why did I volunteer to be the host for knits month? I can tell you that it's not because I am a skillful or experienced knit seamstress - I'm still a newcomer.  What I am, though, is an enthusiastic and accomplished stasher of knits. Knits were probably about 75% of my stash when I began the Stashbusting Sewalong in January. I've been diligently chipping away at the knit shelves over the past 5 months, so I'd say the proportions are now more like 50-50.

Oh, what the heck. I'll just come right out and admit it; I've bought some knits over the past few months too. I just can't say "no" to a good knit, especially if it's a great color or print.

Got these at the Tilton booth in Puyallup. The devil made me do it.

If you're comfortable working with knits, jump on the bandwagon and dive into your knit stash! You'll be glad you did. Especially when you throw on that new tee or maxi skirt and head on out to the beach. Or, if you're a Southern Hemisphere sewist, when you cuddle into that soft, warm cowl-neck Renfrew...

If you are a bit of a knit newby, here are  couple of knit myth busters that might encourage you to give sewing with these fabulous fabrics a try:

Don't you need a serger to sew with knits? No, you do not! I don't have a serger and I can sew up most any garment I want, right on my Babylock Craftmaster. My seams might not look quite so pretty on the inside, but knits mostly don't fray. Practically speaking, you don't need to finish those seams at all. And as far as hems, I often don't hem my knits at all. Remember, those edges don't fray, and no hem means less bulk if you're going to tuck in that top.  If you do want a hem, your regular sewing machine can handle the job just fine, especially if you throw in some stabilizing hem tape.

But you do need a special stretch stitch, right? Again, no! My friend Martha has recently been sucked into sewing. She's been turning out super cute tee shirts on her grandmother's Singer Featherweight.

I recently took the Craftsy class on the Ultimate Tee, taught by the Tilton sisters. I learned that, unless you're sewing something with negative ease (like a swimsuit), you can just go ahead and use your straight stitch. My machine does have a stretch stitch (a.k.a. lightening bolt stitch) but I rarely use it these days. The straight stitch is quicker, uses less thread and is much easier to pick out (not that I ever need to do that).

So, toss that stash and pull out your bits of knits! And remember to share the inspiration on facebook and flicker!