Sew Over It City Capsule Collection - The Molly Dress

Hey Everybody!! How are you? I hope the season is treating you well. I feel like I have so many things to show you and tell you about, but not a lot of time. (Isn't that always the way?) A week or so ago, I took a whole bunch of photos, but haven't really found the time to write. Anyway, I'll try and make this short and sweet!

This is the Molly Dress from Sew Over It's City Break Capsule Collection. I actually love this entire collection but the Molly has to be my favourite! It's so easy to wear, and super quick to make too. So far, I've made 3 dresses and 2 tops. I'll save the tops for another post, but here are the dresses.

The first dress is made from a ponte I picked up at Fabricville in Montreal. I love the colours and the weight, but I'm not sure how it's going to hold up with multiple washings. Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers that it will be okay, and if not, I can always make another one. Ha!

My second Molly dress, is made from this gorgeous ponte de roma from La Finch Fabrics. It's so incredibly soft, and probably my favourite of the three. I love the colours and the floral, and it's just so snuggly to wear.

My third Molly dress is made from this really cool textured sweater knit that I picked up at Blackbird Fabrics. It's super soft, but I found it "grew" a little while I was working with it. My striped matching is fairly non-existent and the hem looks a little wonky, but it certainly doesn't stop me from wearing it. ;)

I wish you could reach through the screen and feel this knit, it's so cool!

I guess I should also mention the details. I made a size 12, but I graded to a size 14 at the bust. I also shortened it by 2 inches. The Sew Over It patterns I've made so far, don't seem to have lengthen/shorten lines, so I just kind of eyeballed where I thought it should go.  The pdf went together quite smoothly, and it overlaps which makes for quick assembly (no trimming off edges). I think the only thing that I don't love about this pattern is that the seam allowance is 5/8". This is probably great if you are sewing this up on your regular machine, but if you're like me, and you like to whip up knits on your serger, a 5/8" seam allowance makes it a little tricky.  So other than that one little complaint, I love this pattern! I can see myself whipping up many more of these!

I hope you all are having a lovely holiday season, no matter what you celebrate! 

A New Linden for Fall

Oh my goodness!! Once again, I'm super behind in blogging. Wowsers!! Time is just flying by, I mean it's almost Christmas!  John actually took these photos of me over a month ago when we were still at the cabin. Whoa! Have we really been home a month already?

Anyway, I'm back with another Linden Sweatshirt. This is definitely a TNT pattern for me, and I love it! It's a super quick sew, and it's super comfy! 

This is my usual size 8, with no fit changes, except that I shortened the sleeves by 2.5". It's so nice to just take out a pattern, pin it to your fabric and immediately cut it out and sew.

I used this super cool and funky, french terry from Blackbird Fabrics. I wish you could feel it. It's squishy and it has an almost brushed texture, so it's super soft!

I wasn't entirely sure what to do with the print placement, so I just kind of winged it and I'm really happy with how it turned out. The bands aren't perfect, but I still think it looks cool.

Needless to say, I have been wearing this a ton. It's the perfect thing for when you want to feel snuggly, which I have been feeling a lot, as it's been so cold in Calgary. Anyway, I have a bunch of projects photographed, and waiting to be blogged, so expect to hear more from me soon.

I hope you all are having a great December so far, and that the stress of the holidays isn't getting you down. 😉

Hey June Santa Fe Tops

Hey guys! How are you all doing? I'm back with some Hey June Patterns Santa Fe tops. I got kind of obsessed with this pattern over the summer, and the once I started making it, it was hard to stop.  I just loved all the variations and those cool sleeve details just kept drawing me in. 

I actually made 6 Santa Fe tops, but the first one was a bit too big so I gave it to my Mom. This top is meant to be loose and swingy, so I chose a size Large based on my measurements, but that ended up making the top way too big in the shoulders for me (and really every where else, so that was the one that went to my Mom). For all the following versions in the photos below, I made a size small, which is much better.

This navy and white striped version is a size small, and it's view C, but I just cut it on the fold and eliminated the centre front seam. I used a nice and flowy rayon knit from Fabric.com, and then I used a plain navy from my stash for the cuffs and neck binding. This shirt is a bit different from other t-shirt patterns I've made in that the neckline is bound versus just finished with a flat band. I really love how it turned out.

This one is View F, so it's the same as View C, but with the cool raglan sleeve seams. I really love that detail. It looks really cool but also allows for a lot of scrap busting too! The striped fabric is a rayon(?) knit that came from Fabricville in Montreal, and the navy is a modal knit from Blackbird Fabrics.

These two sleeveless versions are both View E. I love the colour blocking opportunities this pattern presents. The navy one is made with that same modal knit from Blackbird, and the patterned inserts are from Girl Charlee - I had a little bit of fabric leftover from a Linden I made for my Stepmom and I think it worked out perfectly.

The grey knit is a bamboo and the fuschia is another modal knit both from Blackbird again. Both knits are super soft and so nice to wear. 

My final Santa Fe top is View C again, in a poly, tie dye knit from Blackbird. It's one of my favourites, because I love the colour and it drapes so nicely.

I'm not 100% sure if this is the most flattering silhouette on me, but it sure it comfy. And sometimes you just want to be comfy. This pattern went together really well, and sewed together really quickly. I love when pdfs include charts so that you can select to print only the pages you need to for the version you want to make. 

So what do you think? Are you jumping on the Santa Fe bandwagon?

Plaid Fen Dress for the Cali Fabrics Blog

Hey Everybody! How's your weekend been? Are you all set for Halloween? I just thought I'd let you know that I have another post up on the Cali Fabrics blog. It's a Fancy Tiger Crafts Fen Dress, and it's not at all styled seasonally appropriately. Ha ha! Anyway, here are some pics, and there are more details if you want to click over. No pressure though. ;)

Happy Sewing!

The White Jeans Experiment - Another pair of Morgans

Ola people! How are you? I'm coming at you with some more Morgan jeans! I actually took these photos quite a while ago, but then never got around to actually writing the words to go with them.

 I don't have much new to say about this pattern, as I've made it a couple of times before (see here and here), so I'll keep this fairly short and sweet. This is the size 12 again, and this time I used a denim with more stretch in it. This denim is beautiful, but probably more suited to the Ginger pattern stretch wise, but I've never let that stop me before. Ha! After basting them together I ended up taking them in a little at the side seams, but not much as I really wanted to retain the relaxed fit.

My only regret fit wise, is that I wish I would have scooped the back crotch curve out a little more. It's so hard fitting the back of your jeans by yourself. Since I made this pair, I've discovered the best way to check out the back of your jeans on your own is to take videos with your cell phone. It helps so much and is a bit easier than trying to get a still photo. Plus, you can see how they look as you move around a little. Check out my instagram video here (yes, I videotaped my butt and put in on the internet. Ha ha! But it's for the benefit of sewing!).

See the fit isn't too bad. Perhaps I'm just right on trend.

Okay, so let's talk a little about the denim. This is actually a "natural" coloured denim that I ordered from Threadbare Fabrics, and bleached to a nice bright white. I really liked the natural colour, but I had it in  my head that I needed white Morgan jeans. This denim is a 10.5 oz Cone Mills denim which is really the perfect jeans weight, in my opinion. I have some more that I plan on dying but I haven't quite decided on what colour yet. And to be honest, I'm a little intimidated by actually dying something. I'm sure I'll make a huge mess so I'll probably wait till we're back in Calgary this winter because everything in our Calgary kitchen is much darker. LOL

Anyway, first of all, I washed the denim, ironed it, and then I cut out all my pieces. Then I tossed the cut out pieces in a bucket with bleach. I used 8 litres of water, with 8 cups of bleach (I was careful to measure so that I can do this again if I want to). I left the pieces in for about 10 minutes, rinsed them with tap water, and then hung them to dry. I'm really happy with the colour - it's a nice bright white.

Sorry, I know it's a bit hard to see because of the lighting in my photos, but the denim turned a beautiful bright white.

I used a white topstitching thread which looks really good, but was super hard to work with. Only because it was sooo hard to see.  When I do my topstitching, I usually use my first line as a guide for stitching the second line, and that's hard to do when you can't see the first line.  But I went really slowly, and in the end it worked out.

I also decided to spice things up a little and make my bartacks using a deep red thread. I really love how the contrast worked out. I'm thinking it was a bit inspired by the Olympics as I was watching a lot of the Summer games while I was making these. I actually really loved the American Team's Opening Ceremony outfits (more than the Canadian Team's - don't tell anyone I said that though).

Anyway, I wore these a lot this summer, and I loved pairing them with my striped boat neck Lark Tee for a nautical look. I'm not sure how much I'll wear them in the colder months, as they just feel summery. 

Phew, it feels really good to have this post written and out of my drafts.  Have you made, or worn white jeans? Would you dare to wear them past labour day? 😜

The Chi-town Chinos

Hey guys! How are you? I'm doing alright. I'm starting to feel like my energy is back up to a more normal level, so I'm pretty happy about that. Currently, we are having an absolutely beautiful Fall day. It's sunny, the lake is quiet, and people are burning stuff in their burn barrels, so we have this gorgeous, wood burning campfire smell wafting in through the open windows. Our summer this year was down right sucky, it just rained and rained, but maybe it will have been worth it, if we have a nice fall.

Anyway, onto the subject at hand, the Chi-town Chinos! Well the Chi-town Chinos expansion pack No. 2. Are you confused? Let me explain. The Chi-town Chinos is this great shorts pattern designed by Alina Design & Sewing Co. And not only does the pattern come with a cute shorts pattern, it also has a very wearable skirt version as well.  All spring and summer, I watched these great photos of the Chi-town Chino shorts pop up around the blogosphere and on Instagram, and I just loved design. Every pair I saw looked like something I would buy in the store. So, being the pattern addict and magpie that I am, I snatched up the pattern right away. It was in my queue, but I hadn't had the chance to make it yet, when I saw that Alina had put a call out for testers of her soon to be released expansion packs (how did I find this out you might ask? Because I signed up for her newsletter).  Anyway, I signed up to test, thinking that I would be on a long list of people and not get picked, but much to my surprise, I was selected. So I tested Expansion Pack No. 2 which makes the Chi-town Chinos into trousers; Expansion Pack No. 1 is for a slim fitting, bermuda length short, which to be honest I was skeptical about, but all the versions I've seen so far are amazing!

Okay, now that we've cleared that all up, let's get on with my makes.

 I muslined up a size 12, and honestly, the fit wasn't too bad. They were of course a bit too long, and the back needed a bit of work around my bum and thighs, but that's not new for me. Pretty much every pair of pants/jeans/shorts that I've made has needed adjustments in those areas. The cool thing about pattern testing with Alina, is that she set up a private Facebook group for the testers, and we all posted photos of our muslins there (and later our final garments). That was insanely helpful to me, because Alina gave me some fitting advice (in pretty much real time, I might add), but so did the other testers, and it was so helpful to see what other people were doing to make their pants fit their unique bodies. I learned so much!

So I ended up scooping out the back crotch curve quite a bit, and then I did a thin thigh adjustment. When Alina suggested this adjustment, I was like, "umm what? Have you seen my thighs lady? They are not thin." LOL. But she assured me it would work, and it did!!!  It was a huge revelation for me, because it made the fit sooooooo much better. And once I thought about it a bit, it made so much sense to me. It's all about proportion. Because I have a bit of a thick waist/belly, and I have a bum, my thighs are thin in proportion to the size of the pattern. Does that make sense? Anyway, I should mention, that for the final version of this pattern, Alina ended up thinning the thigh because it was baggy for almost all the testers, and she lengthened the crotch curve slightly too, so bear that in mind if you decide to make your own pair. 

So this pair is made out of a grey cotton twill that was in my stash, but originally came from Hart's Fabric. It's a nice weight, but it looks a bit fast food uniform-ish, or even janitor-ish to me. Ha Ha! I'm sure that's mostly in my head, and it won't stop me from wearing them. I think the grey will go with lots of tops in my closet, and be great for Fall/Winter.

I should also mention that the instructions for this pattern are awesome! If you've never made pants/shorts before, the instructions are super detailed and have great diagrams. I had only made welt pockets twice before this, once on a pair of unblogged Thurlow Trousers, and once on my Rigel Bomber, and these ones turned out awesome!! The instructions made them really easy, and Alina now has a little sewalong on her blog too. So don't let welts scare you off. Once you've made one, you'll be addicted! 

Of course once I finished my grey pair, I was in love, so I had to make another pair right away! (And actually I've made a third pair already, which you can check out here.)

Also worth  mentioning: I am having a love affair with funky glasses lately. I've ordered a bunch of cheap pairs from Firmoo (I think the most expensive pair I bought was $39), and while some of them are better than others, I have been having lots of fun playing with glasses as an accessory. Anyway, in the next set of photos I'm wearing a pair that I really like, but I cheaped out on getting the anti-reflective coating (present-Heather is kicking past-Heather for not shelling out the extra $4.99), so they make my eyes look kind of weird in photos. Also, although I have seen Firmoo mentioned on a number of blogs, they did not send me free glasses for a mention. I did watch this video recently though, and it confirmed my suspicions that there is a massive mark up on glasses. Of course something that you cannot go without is severely overpriced. But let's not get me started on that. Back to sewing!

This pair of chinos is made of a mystery fabric that came from deep within the clearance department at my local Fabricland in Calgary. It doesn't look too bad, but it also doesn't have the nice J.Crew chino feel that I was hoping for. Again, still very wearable, and I love the colour, but I'm still on the hunt for the perfect twill. If you have any suggestions for me, I'm all ears.

I thought you might like to see a couple of photos with them uncuffed too (for reference I ended up shortening the legs by 2 inches). I am pretty much the queen of cuffs. I cuff everything. Last winter, I pretty much wore my gingers cuffed with short boots all winter. The only time you'll find me without cuffs is if I have my skinnies tucked into tall boots. I don't know what it is, I guess I like ankle cleavage. 

I didn't have the perfect matching thread, so I went with a light grey. I think it worked out pretty well. Years ago I took a beginner quilting class, and I remember the teacher said that if your quilt is kind of crazy or has a ton of colours, the best thing to do is to pick a neutral thread, like grey or brown, to quilt it with and then the thread will just kind of blend in. I didn't think brown would work in this case so I went with grey. The only place it really shows up in on the bar tacks. Quilting tricks for the win!

I cannot believe how much I had to say about these! When I sat down to write this post, I intended it to be a pretty quick, show you the pictures post, but it turned into a bit of a novel. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

What do you think are you ready to sew some pants?