Category: Clothing

Fall Sewing :: Sunday Everyday Sweater and Ginger Jeans with Stylemaker Fabrics

Fall is my very favorite garment-making time.  I love being able to sew comfy clothes to go along with my favorite autumn activities like having bonfires and heading out to the pumpkin patch. Stylemaker Fabrics is an amazing resource to make all of that sewing happen.  Michelle, the owner, does her trend research and sources beautiful garment substrates.  Most often, these are deadstock fabrics, which are leftover from other manufacturer’s products.  I love being able to use these types of fabric as a small step to keep them out of our landfills.

Stylemaker Fabrics new fall release includes over 150 new fabrics and it was SO hard to narrow down what I wanted to make with these lovelies.  I battled between something fun with a lot of personality, like a large print maxi dress.  But I know I’ll get the most wear out of my “mom uniform” — a loose-stretchy top with a pair of jeans.  It sounds boring, but I knew I could take it all up a notch with my fabrics!

ginger Jeans

If I’m forced out of athleisure clothing, I only wear blue or black jeans…with the occasional olive twill pants thrown in.  So, I thought a pair of statement pants would help me elevate my fall wardrobe with color alone.  I could have a pair of comfort-zone skinny jeans made of this Stretch Cotton Sateen in solid Cranberry for a pair of Ginger Jeans AND have an interesting garment to bring life into my wardrobe.  This deep saturated gem tone is a great color that is a lot of fun, but  dark enough to be everyday chic.

I’ve made a few pairs of pants before like these Chi-town Chinos and have altered quite a few ready-to-wear pants, so I know the modifications I have to generally make.  It sounds like a lot to do, but you will get the hang of it as you test and see what works with your body shape.

With the Ginger Jeans, I made the following adjustments to the pattern:

  • Shortened length by 3 3/8″
  • Graded from an 8 waist to a 10 hip and back to 8 legs
  • Removed additional 1/2″ out of back yoke
  • Deepened crotch curve by 1/2″ to remove bagginess below the seat
  • Extended crotch curve by 1/2″ to eliminate the wedgie look
  • Made a 1/4″ calf extension to remove bagginess around the knees

If you are looking for hardware, Stylemaker fabrics carries plenty of kits you can find here.  I mixed up the zipper from a kit along with some hardware I already had in my own stash.

I’ve been wearing these pants around town to truly get a feel for them, and I’m impressed with both the stretch AND recovery from this fabric.  There is great movement without it being too constricting.  The Stretch Cotton Sateen in solid Cranberry  also doesn’t leave deep wrinkles like with 100% cotton fabrics, so that’s a huge perk for this Uber-mom driver!

Sunday Everyday Sweater

With the 90s on trend and athleisure still full swing, sweatshirts are either oversized (which looks ridiculous on 5’3″ me) or cropped,  which doesn’t work with my modesty level at all…I’m keeping this belly under wraps!   But, I figured I could work the short, boxy sweatshirt look , but still be covered with the cropped version of the Sunday Everyday Sweater by Ensemble Patterns.  This pattern has a generous fit with dropped shoulders and dolman-esque sleeves, but provides a slight cocoon shape with a hem band to keep everything at bay 😉

I made the Basic version before, which you can find here, and knew I could size down and still get the oversized look and feel I was going for.  My modifications are as follows:

  • sized down based on measurements to a 6
  • shortened sleeves by 2″
  • narrowed cuffs by 1/2″
  • shortened hem band by 3″ to maintain the cropped length

This Cozy Stripe Sweatshirt Fleece is such a dream!  It was the perfect weight for this pattern and the fleece on the wrong side of the fabric is just so incredibly soft.  I think the heather gray stripes must make it extra cozy 😉  This sweatshirt will definitely  be a wardrobe staple in the car-pool line.  I already want to wear it everyday!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Stylemaker Fall Tour inspiration and links here!  Tomorrow, Beth with Sew DIY will reveal her make.  Below is the entire tour card if you would like to follow along via Instagram as well.

What are you making this fall???

Happy Sewing Friends!

Cristy

 

 

Fabric was provided by Stylemaker Fabrics for this post.  All opinions are genuinely my own. 

 

Birch Fabric + Straightgrain Patterns Blog Tour

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It is certainly a match-made in heaven when you combine beautiful organic cotton fabrics with fresh and modern clothing patterns for kids.  So when Birch Fabrics and Straightgrain Patterns teamed up for this blog tour, I was in!  The new Whistle collection by Jenny Ronen is such a sweet and whimsical collection that inspired me to make a Nova dress….probably my favorite of An’s dress patterns.

Out of the Whistle fabric collection, I chose to use Birch’s organic quilt poplin.   However, there are so many great jersey knits available too.  I had such a hard time deciding which patterns I wanted to use.  But then I remembered how much my SIL loved the Nova Dress I made for a niece and I wanted to make one for her daughter.  I chose a simpler small scale print like this Tiny Steps in Blush which would help show off the smocking and then chose Treehouse for a fun surprise lining.

What I love about Straightgrain Patterns are the number of options with each of her patterns.  This Nova Dress, alone has 140 different combinations!  They make for such an incredible value and I love how I can make a unique dress for all of my nieces.  Now that it is officially fall, I made this version of the Nova dress with long sleeves so it can be worn with bare legs right now, but can go into the winter with some thick cable knit stockings and boots later.

This pattern has 4 different types of pleating and the honeycomb smocking is my favorite.  I tell everyone to learn dress-making techniques on little girl versions and I completely learned to do this following An’s thorough instructions.  I just love all of the texture and visual impact.

The smocking does take extra time and there is hand sewing involved to tack the pleats together.  But it is all worth it!  I like using contrasting thread to highlight the design and to complement the fabric.

For the blog tour, I inserted an invisible zipper versus the ribbon tie I used on this version. Considering the seasons, a fully covered back was more appropriate and I love the ease of a zipper for dressing.  I happened to just buy an invisible zipper foot for my machine and of course, don’t know why I waited so long!  With the right foot, you can hardly tell there is a zipper at all!

Another special feature I added to this dress are the buttons.  I had an old kit for making covered buttons stashed away and knew these little birdies would be perfect for them.  I used light interfacing to help stabilize the fabric and cut them to size.  It was so easy that I know there will be many more covered buttons in my future.

Birch Organic fabric handled and washed very well.  It has the same weight as other designer quilt fabrics, but that GOTS certification gives you so much peace of mind.  I’m so happy to send this dress off to my niece and know its all organic 🙂

To follow along on the rest of the Birch Fabric x Straightgrain Patterns Blog Tour, check out of the blog links below:

Birch – Knee Socks and Goldilocks – Petrol & Mint – The Crafty Kitty – Christinaa – Just Add Fabric
Love You Sew (you are here) – My Petite Sophie – While She Was Sleeping – StraightGrain – Made By Sara

 

Project Details:

 

Happy Sewing Friends!

 

Cristy

 

Fabric and patterns were provided by Birch Organics and Straightgrain Patterns for this post.  As always, all opinions are my own.  I’ve bought products from both companies before this post and definitely will following it.

Amalfi Dress with Indiesew

My family and I traveled quite a bit this summer.  With two boys and a pop-up camper, we have been driving all over the midwest (with another adventure planned later this fall!)  We just got back from camping along Lake Ontario (close to Niagara Falls) and every sunset reminded me of this Retro Striped Cotton Linen fabric from Indiesew.  It has such a gorgeous soft palette with a 70s vibe which made it a perfect pairing with the relaxed fit of the Amalfi Dress designed by Hey June Handmade.

Linen is perfect for these dog days of summer with its breathability and soft feel.  This blend with cotton gives it a bit more structure so it doesn’t wrinkle as easily as 100% linen does. The best part of linen is how it gets even softer with each wear and washing, not to mention it’s an easier woven to sew versus a rayon challis or crepe.

With the Amalfi dress, I decided on the flutter sleeves with the throwback feel of this stripe print.  I debated for awhile whether to make the midi or short skirt length and since I’m short with wide calves, midi lengths cut me at my widest point and make legs looks larger than they are.  So I opted for the short length and hemmed it a full 1″ to get it to the right spot above my knees.

With the fabric being described as “semi-opaque,” I wasn’t sure how that would translate for  dress.  But sure enough, It’s fine!  After washing, the fibers contract closely together and only the cream parts have the slightest bit of transparency.  I made sure to have the darker parts of the striping across my rear, just in case.  With nude colored undergarments, you can’t see a thing!

Any dress pattern with pockets gets and extra star in my book.  I LOVE these deep in-seam pockets!  With the fullness of the skirt, you don’t have to worry about odd bulges when you are made to carry your kid’s actions figures and Pokemon cards.

You know I made sure to match my stripes 😉  It takes more time, so much more patience and lots of extra pins, but this is the beauty of home sewing.  I love how the skirt looks and you can hardly tell there are pockets at all.  When matching the bodice, I did match the stripes at the armscye.  But with the bust dart, it throws off the pattern just a little bit…but that’s what your arms cover!

Since I am petite, V-necks tend to lay low on me and I was very happy to see I didn’t have to make any adjustments to this neckline.  It’s the perfect depth to fit over your head while still being modest and keeping the “ladies” hidden.  I like the neck facing to keep these lines nice and crisp.

The elastic waist is such a great feature.  I love the shaping and this dress will move with weight fluctuations.  I happen to be a bit heavier right now (thanks to all of those campfire hotdogs and s’mores,) so I’ve been making garments with a bit more ease or have elastic.  Thank goodness for  stretch!

I received so many compliments with this Amalfi dress already.  My husband even said it was such a pretty print!  I hope you enjoy making this dress or just pick up some of your own Retro Striped fabric!

Project Summary:

 

Happy Sewing!

Cristy

 

Fabric was provided by Indiesew for this blog post.  All thoughts and opinions are always my own.

Highlands Wrap Dress

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Yay!!!  I knocked off one of my 2018 “Make Nine” goals with this Highlands Wrap Dress by Allie Olson.  I haven’t blogged about all my completed projects, but I’ve sewn 6 out of the 9 patterns I selected the beginning of the year.  With just under five months left, I think I’ll be able to make everything on my list!  You can read all about my 2018 garment goals here.

I made the Highlands dress earlier in the spring, but just haven’t had a chance to blog about it until now (blame it on my kids and other sewing commitments!)  This dress has been worn on so many occasions already and has lived up to my expectations for sure.  The slim column silhouette makes my 5’3″ frame look so tall and the length adds to the sophistication.  I love how the Highlands dress covers the body, but still has a bit of sass with the high slit skirt and deep v-neck.

For the fabric, I chose this Telio stretch chambray with a crazy cute pineapple (!!!) print from Fabric.com.  You can see this dress, plus read up about this substrate on the original Fabric.com blog post I wrote for them here.  After a few months of wear, I can say the fabric still feels great and still has nice stretch and recovery.  However, I did have to wash it twice to get all of the extra dye out of it.

My wardrobe doesn’t have many short-sleeved dresses.  They are mainly long or sleeveless altogether.  So, I wanted to make the sleeved version so I don’t necessarily have to bring a cardigan with me everywhere!

I’m heavy in the calve area and I don’t like dress hems to hit me at one of the widest parts of my legs, so I’m not a “midi” length lady.  That’s why I also chose the maxi length.  After following a few people on IG who made this dress, it was safe to say I would need to shorten it by 5″.  But beware – There are two shorten/lengthen points on the skirt (one for the rise and one for the leg length.)  Make sure to shorten at the lower of the two lines or you end up raising the slit like I did. (Doh!)  That was one mistake I made which I didn’t realize until I had a slit high up my thigh!  Since I already sewed on the facings, I had to hand-stitch the slits together a few inches.  That was a hard lesson learned!

What I love about this wrap dress pattern are the two button tabs (one inside and one right under the ties) to keep the bodice secured.  If you have ever worn a RTW dress that just uses ties, you know that they will end up untying at the most inconvenient…er..most embarrassing times…even when you double-tie.  I know I’m not alone here, right?  With the two tabs AND the tie, this wrap dress feels VERY secure.

Project Details:

  • Pattern:  Highlands Wrap Dress by Allie Olson
  • Fabric:  Telio stretch chambray
  • Sizing: I measured 6 in the bust and 8 in the waist/hip, but made a straight 6 so there wouldn’t be as much bunching around the back elastic.  I also used a 10% stretch fabric.
  • Alterations:  Shortened skirt by 5″
  • Thread: Gutermann Polyester
  • Machine: Juki TL-2010Q

 

Happy Sewing!

Cristy

This post may contain affiliate links.  If you make a purchase, I could receive a small commission which helps to keep this website going.

Summer Day Top Review

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I can’t believe the “unofficial” end of summer is near!  My kids are starting school in less than a month and all of a sudden I’m thinking about all things fall.  But I’m trying to hold onto the warm temps, lazy mornings with my boys, and days at the pool for as long as possible.  The Summer Day Top by Dana Willard is helping me do that.  I can wear “Summer” all year now!

First off, I want to mention how well written and thorough the instructions are in this pattern.  If you are a beginning sewist and new to garments, Dana walks you through the whole sewing process – from printing the pattern to selecting the right fabric to explaining all the technical terms.  I was very impressed!  The graphics are clean and simple to understand, but there is also a good bit of further explanation into adjustments and why the construction is the way it is.

The Summer Day Top was drafted for both woven and knit fabrics (bonus!)  I decided to use this Observer quilt cotton by April Rhodes for Art Gallery Fabrics for my make.  I’ve been sitting on this fabric for such a long time and knew it could be a striking garment.  But, I had to find the right pattern with it being a stiffer substrate.  Plus, I didn’t want a pattern with gathers that would distort the shibori’s composition.  I really wanted the fabric’s design to really shine through.

Quilt cotton is a wonderful substrate for a beginner.  The non-stretch nature makes it easy to sew and iron.  However, it holds more body which I love around the torso, but didn’t want in the sleeves.  Granted, I could have selected a fabric with more drape like a rayon or gauze, but I was pretty keen on sewing what I had. (Cheers for sewing my stash!)

You can see (on the right) how the sleeve holds shape with the quilt cotton.  My arms make me a bit self-conscious so I don’t like them highlighted (unless it’s to cover them up!)  So I tried to change the shape of the sleeve as if it were a more drapey fabric, as seen on the left.

What did I do?  I just added a few 1/4″ pleats centered at the shoulder seam. I played around with the number and width of the pleats until I was pleased with the shape, but still allowed the same movement around my arm as before.  I’m so pleased with the look of drapey sleeves, the body around my torso (more forgiveness after dessert!) and the ease of sewing quilt cotton.  You can’t beat that!

The Summer Day Top is a quick sew as well.  The neckline is finished with bias tape, which I made out of the same fabric, but you could buy pre-made tape from your local quilt shop to save even more time.  I chose the short-sleeve version, so everything else was finished with a hem.

Are you ready to make your Summer Day Top?  I’m already getting lots of use out of this top and love how I look put together…even in my ripped up jeans!

Project Details:

Happy Sewing Friends!

Cristy

The pattern was gifted but blog post was not required. I thought this pattern deserved a review though 🙂 All opinions, modifications and fabric are my own.  Please also note, there maybe affiliate links in this post, which helps to keep this website going.