10th Day of Christmas - SWAP 2016

Ah yes, it is SWAP (sewing with a plan) time again over on Artisan's Square.  You may remember that I took part last year with my 'Out of Alberta' Lagenlook Collection and came in with a very respectable third place.

The rules vary slightly year on year, and for 2016 they are:

1 "3 pack' of Colour(s) A (3 garments)
1 "3 pack' of Colour(s) B (3 garments)
1 "Combo Pack" of Colours A & B (2 garments)
1 "3 Pack" of Wild Cards

All for a total of 11 garments.

So, what to make?  As much as I love my Lagenlook/TG garments, I have made LOADS more (a quick count in my wardrobe reveals 48 LL/TG garments.  Gosh.)  Conversely, my PJ situation is rather dire - scruffy old PJ bottoms and tatty mismatched tops, so my plan is to make lots of new jammies and dressing gowns.  A little unconventional - but it is what my wardrobe needs!  Here is the plan so far:

A) 2 tops, 1 bottom
B) 2 tops 1 bottom
Combo Pack: 2 dressing gowns
Wild Cards: 2 bottoms, 1 top

I plan on having some winter jammies (brushed cotton), short and long sleeved regular jammie tops, a couple (at least) of cotton jersey tops,  long and (possibly) cropped bottoms, finishing off with a fleece dressing gown and a floaty cotton/linen or silk Summer version.

I aim to do some funky fabric blocking on the bottoms and using lots of lovely patterned fabrics.  I will only be using about three patterns and may well have some fabric in stash, otherwise I will be watching the sales at my local fabric stores!

How about you?  Are you taking part in the SWAP or do you implement this kind of sewing organisation?

Accessorise, Accessorise, Accessorise

I have to say that after finishing my garments for the SWAP, I felt a little lost . . . . . what to make next?  After much humming and hawing, I decided to make some accessories.  There were a couple of things that inspired me, firstly a posting by Communing with Fabric that spoke about a Koos Loop Infinity Scarf.   That led me to a 'how to' posting by Dragon Threads and some comments to that post then took me to this Nancy Zieman video.  And I made a couple of the smaller mobius scarves:

The first is a mystery jersey that was $12.99 with 40% discount.  I think that it is a rayon/poly mix.  It is very soft and feels lovely!  I bought 1m and the scarf above is 24" x 36" so I have some leftover for another project.  As you can see, it works well with both a white summer slip from my SWAP and also new grey cardi that I made with cotton sweatshirt jersey and Simplicity 2154.  This grey jersey is the reason why I made these scarves, as I read a post on the Vivienne Files about integrating a red handbag.  The author recommends wearing a grey 'column' (trousers, vest top, cardi/jacket) and bringing in the red with a scarf, shoes, bag etc.  Having just finished the cardi, a red scarf was a no brainer!

And if you love one red scarf . . . . why not try another?

This time I used a red and black rayon batik.  I actually bought this about 8 years ago at a sewing show in Toronto from a company called Batik Butik.  The plan was to make a regular scarf and fray the edges, but I am glad that I held off as the fabric drapes beautifully and looks a lot more polished this way.

I am really pleased with these two quick and easy projects - maybe not ideal for the upcoming warmer months, but I find that they keep the chill off my neck when sitting in the office at work.  Have completed these, I have also gone a little crazy with some necklaces and started on a 6PAC - 6 co-ordinating items (yep, and challenge on Artisan's Square) and I plan on making some cardi's/long sleeved tops to work with my SWAP.  More details to follow!

Do you make your accessories?  What are your favourite makes?

TG - 1, 2, 3

So far, so good - I've made three pieces for my Lagenlook/Tina Givens SWAP.  And I am really please with how the pieces have turned out so far.  Unfortunately I've not had chance to model the pieces myself - so 'hangar shots' will have to suffice.

OK, here we go!  First of all we have Jaqueline, and this is the photo from the website:

Source

All these garments are from woven fabric, and I have made a pair of the trousers and two of the slips.  The first was in a white rayon and drapes beautifully.  Gosh, my photos look rather drab in comparison - I will need to learn to photograph like she does!

As you can see - pretty plain, nothing really to report.  I used my serger to complete a rolled hem and bound the neckline and armholes.  Those armholes are HUGE!  It is a good job that I will be layering this top as it verges on the indecent as far as the armholes are concerned!  I had to add two little darts to take in some of the excess fabric around the armhole - you can probably just see one in the photo above.

I sewed a small linen bias square on the centre back which will fray when washed - a little bit of whimsy!  And if I don't like it . . . . I'll just unpick it!

I then made another slip - after all, when I have been known to make just one iteration of a pattern?!  This time I used a gorgeous coral coloured linen.  I made a number of changes to the armhole and neckline (no armhole darts this time!) - I actually used my Sorbetto pattern which I had fitted many moons ago.  I did not include the bust dart or the centre pleat, and the fit is fabulous.  Really!

I have quite sloped shoulders, and as all the best sewing/fitting teachers will tell you - get the shoulders right and everything else will fall in place.  Well mostly.  But you get my drift!

And lastly - some trousers.  Ms. Givens appears to favour dropped crotch trousers, and I am not quite ready to embrace that as yet, so I used my TNT trousers pattern.  That dealt with the waist/crotch and I used the Jaqueline leg pattern for the pleats, binding etc.  I did shorten them a few inches so that they sit mid calf, rather than the designer ankle length, but will probably make a longer pair next time.  I used some tan ramie for these, and I am pleased with these as well.

I know, I know, hanger shots are not that inspiring, but I wanted to have a complete 'outfit' before taking 'person' shots, but also wanted to record my progress!  Next up with be the cropped top which is likely going to be based upon the jersey cardis that I have been making recently - Simplicity 2154.  I will shorten the top and then add a frill/peplum to get the 'feel' of the TG pattern.

I have to say that I am loving these garments.  They are pretty quick and easy to make, they fit well (when I sandwich them with my TNT's for shoulders, crotch curves etc) and the fabrics are gorgeous.

The next pattern on my list is the Phoebe:

Source

Closely followed by the Peplone:

 Source

And the Briare, which incidentally is a freebee pattern!

Source

I am having to be very careful with fabrics - I don't want to look like someone from Little House on the Prairie, so I have a lot of plain fabrics planned so far, and have swapped out a couple of the patterned fabrics I had as I think that they will look a bit too cutesy . . . . but that means I can use some of my more brighter and bolder fabrics.  Watch this space!

A word or two on these patterns, there is not much in the way of line art.  if you are interested, it is worth downloading the instructions (from the website, and free of charge) to get an idea of pattern pieces and style lines.  I think that they are are great starting point if you have some TNT's that will assist you with fit, like I have done.

Finally, I was pleased to see that Beverly Johnson, the Fairy Bra Mother, has a new Craftsy class - Sewing Bras Designer Techniques.  I managed to pick up my class for half price, and will be making some designer bras over the next few weeks.  Details to follow!

I think that I am getting a handle on my Spring sewing, and the SWAP - are you sewing into the new season?

K.I.S.S. - part 3

The white top story . . .

I am really pleased with how my black top has turned out for my SWAP, but I know that I can improve upon it.  And as I do not have enough of my white jersey, I have had to do some serious thinking and this is what I came up with:

This is the original Kwik Sew pattern - long sleeved version:

photo from www.simplicity.com

And this is a less 'fabric hungry' top that caught my attention (the pink version).  The reason I like these two tops are that they have hop bands.  As I am essentially a 'V' shape - wider shoulders than hips, I find that tops that fit my shoulders, bust etc are swimming with fabric around my hips, these band help pull the fabric in and give me some definition.  And being plus-sized, I need all the definition I can get!!

 photo from www.simplicity.com

As the neckline on the Kwik Sew pattern had such a fantastic neckline and width, I kept that, but used the sleeves, length, and band off the Simplicity pattern.  Oh, how I love it!  I had 1.5yds of 60" fabric, I had to put in a centre back seam to be able to fit all the pattern pieces on, but it worked.  I could had still decreased a couple of inches more from the hip band, but I have a feeling that this may end up being my 'go to' top.  It is perfect for work, will work with skirts and trousers and will be comfy under jackets.

Here is a sneak peak of the neckline with the centre back seam:

Here you can see the sleeve and hip band.  I serged the sleeve edges then used Stitch Witchery to hold up the hems.  I love the professional finish that it gives - no puckering or risk of wobbly stitching.  I am happy to continue this way until Santa buys me a cover-stitch machine!!

 

And that is where I am right now.  Three pieces completed, as well as working on my black skirt and camel colored jacket.  I cannot believe how well this is going so far, but as I have visitors from the UK arriving this weekend, for the next 10 days so I am glad that I have a 'jump' on my collection!

K.I.S.S. - part 2

Woo hoo!  I have something to show for my sewing.  One of the best things about using 'easy' patterns' is the instant gratification that you get.  I like to use my serger/overlocker as often as possible - I really like tidy, neat seams, and this makes sewing even quicker!

And so, I have now completed my patterned skirt and black top :-)  But boy, aren't 'flat' clothes hard to photograph?  I will get hubby to photograph a 'shoot at the end of the sewing, and until then I plan to post little 'taster' photos - well to be honest they are the photos that came out the best!!

Here is a little peek at my patterned skirt with the white lining and lace trim.

 And an even closer, close up!!

Just to recap, I used Simplicity 4221 view E size 24 for my skirt and Kwik Sew 3752 View A size 2X for the top.  The skirt I love - I will need to get some better pictures as it looks waaaay better than these photos show.  Noting much to comment about with regard to the skirt, so let's take a look at the black top.

Well, I like some aspects of it, but others I would change.  Next time round I will shorten the top by 4" and decrease the width of the hip band by 2".  But the good points are the cuffs are really neat - they fit like a dream and look lovely.  Also, the neckline worked out to be much better than I could have imagined.  It is a thin strip of fabric, sewn into a band and attached to the neck.  Simple right?  Well actually, yes it is!!  I serged the neckband on and it looks absolutely fabulous.  This was the only part of this garment that I was concerned about - I thought that I might have to put in a facing and did not fancy it at all.  I managed to get a good close up - but the color it is not quite true - I had to play around with light saturation to show the details.  In reality it is a lovely rich black.

Both of these items are so quick - for the skirt I serged the panel seams of the skirt and the lining (press), serged the lining and skirt together at the waist, serged the bottom of the lining and the bottom of the lining (press), turned up the hem on the skirt and sewed one row of stitching, sewed the channel for the elastic, threaded through the elastic and added the lace.  PRESS!!

For the top I serged the hip bands, cuffs and the neck band into tubes, sewed the shoulder and side seams (press), attach the hip band, cuffs and neckband.  PRESS!  And that was it. Done.

Wow :-)

So, what's next??!

K.I.S.S. - part 1

I am a lazy sewer, I baulk from changing threads and like to sew as many seams with the same thread before going to the ironing board.  As my serger was threaded with white thread, that is where I must begin.  But first, the cutting out . . . . and my first lesson - check the length of fabric before committing to certain patterns . . . . sigh!  The patterned skirt, black top and key piece jacket were fine.  No problems there.  I have cut out a white lining for this skirt and it will have a band of white lace around the bottom,  This fabric is rather lovely and appears to be quite crease resistant.

I am hoping that the vertical striping won't have any issues with the panels and I rather like the animal print, subtle effective!

Turns out that I did not have as much lining as I thought, so I had to run out to get more . . . . oh well, I am now good to go and managed to get a great match with the camel colored fabric for my key piece jacket.

That was the good news.  Turns out I was rather short on the black fabric, but managed to get over that by making the skirt about 5" shorter, taking the length from the waistband.  I am intrigued to know how this will look as it is rather short for me - I prefer the longer look, just showing a peek of ankle!!  I also realised that I did not have any black lace.  Really?  I must be slipping!

And the white top.  I had forgotten that I cut out a couple of vests from the fabric a few months ago (and never completed them) leaving me really short - I am not sure what I am going to do now as Fabricland (my nearest fabric outlet) only had cheap looking but expensive (@ $20/m) white jersey.  Hmmmm.  I will need to think this over but in the meantime, white-thread-sewing, here I come!!

A SWAP called K.I.S.S

I have decided to take part in a sewing competition on Pattern Review - it is a SWAP (Sewing With A Plan) for a mini wardrobe and the instructions are as follows:

Mini-Wardrobe Contest - Expand Your Wardrobe

This is a contest to create a 5-piece wardrobe in 4 weeks. Four of these pieces must be sewn during the contest period.

**The 5th piece, known as the KEY item, can be something you already own, something you purchase, something you have made in the past or something you make during the contest. The KEY item must work with all the other pieces. It needs to co-ordinate with the other four ITEMS, but need not be included in every OUTFIT.**

These 5 items must combine to make a minimum of 6 different outfits.

I am so excited to take part, I have got my 'sew' back and I want to use it!  I plan to make up some basics using classic, basic colors that I can then build upon.  I am also going to use some patterns that I have not used before.

So here are my fabric choices:

On the left is a camel colored suiting that is super soft and has some stretch to it.  It is most likely a poly/lycra mix.  It washed really well and has a fabulous drape to it.  I have 10yds so will be able to make some more matching items. 

The middle two fabrics are off white and black cotton/lycra jersey.  They are both very soft mmmmmm!

Finally, on the right is a fabulous patterned rayon(?) that I bought a couple of years ago when my friend ran a fabric shop.  How I wish I had bought more fabric from her (I have a feeling that all these fabrics may have come from her shop).  She used to stock good quality fabrics - not a huge selection of dress fabrics as she mainly sold quilting fabric - but nonetheless, lovely fabrics.

There is a fifth fabric, a black poly/lycra suiting that is also very soft but thicker than the camel suiting

So, what will I make?  I plan to make two tops (using the jersey) from Kwik Sew 3752 view A.  The pattern description states 'loose fitting pull-over batwing style tops have a scoop neckline with neckband, and a wide close fitting waistband.  View A has sleeves have wide cuffs.  So far it has not been reviewed on Pattern Review . . . I guess I will be the first!

I will use Simplicity 4221 for the skirts.  I LOVE this pattern.  I have used it before to make some summer skirts with pretty cotton prints and a cotton lining.  These two skirts will have nylon linings so that I can wear them during the winter with stockings.  I will, of course, add lace to the linings (I think that it adds the personal touch and feels most luxurious).  The skirts are made up of four panels and rather than have CF, CB and side seams, I offset the seams so that they fall to the right and left on the front and also on the back.  They have elasticated waists and will be fun, quick 'sews'! 

And last, but not least, my 'key' piece - a long jacket using McCalls 2912 - a vintage pattern (hey, the 80's are vintage, c'mon!!) that I recently bought off Etsy.  The description reads: Easy fitting unlined jacket has front bands, extended shoulders and contrast variations.  I will be spicing it up a little by fully lining the jacket.

I nearly forgot to mention - how many outfits will this all make?  Well, the answer is 8:

Top 1 + Skirt 1
Top 2 + Skirt 1
Top 2 + Skirt 2 
Top 2 + Skirt 2

And the jacket with each outfit makes 8.

As all the patterns are all easy ones, I am calling this collection the K.I.S.S. Project - (Keep It Simple Stupid!).

Let the games being :-)