Completed: Lemon Shirt and a National Cheerleading Competition

Lemons on my shirt and my first National Cheerleader competition. On a recent visit to Chicago, I had the chance to watch my Mini-Me compete in a National Cheerleading Competition.  I am in awe and sad at the same time to see her grow up so fast.  The makeup they use for cheerleading didn't help either.  But, I must admit, she looks amazing!!!  What does Third Place in Nationals look like?

The team was incredibly excited to have won city, state and now have the privilege to participate in the national completion for their level.  The performance was exceptional, with ZERO deductions on their overall performance.  I couldn't believe the things they could do.  My Mini-Me is on the support level, and of course the smaller girls get the top tier.  OMG...the things all these teams can do, especially the older girls.

Cheer squad doing their hardest stunt

Fountain fun

I packed quite lightly for the trip because I needed to wear the team colors during the completion.  But, of course I had to take my Lemon shirt. As rainy as the weather was, we still ended up having quite a bit of fun checking out the sights.

chillin in the LURIE GARDEN

Bridge where part of Transformers movie was shot 

CROWN FOUNTAIN

Train rides in Chi_Town was an experience

Chinatown shenanigans

my new favorite summer button down  

Chicago Theatre

Let's talk about my Lemon Shirt.

Fabric Facts:
I found this short cut of fabric buried behind several bolts of stretch woven at JoAnns, with no end tag to distinguish its origins. This 1.5 yards of very lightweight cotton that seemingly handles like lawn could quite possibly be considered a mystery fabric at this point. I didn’t do a burn test and really did not care one bit. I just wanted a Lemon printed shirt. Just know it is extremely comfortable.

Pattern Details: 
This is a perfect “shirt block” or shall I say TNT.  After my original fit alterations and testing, this one has become my darted block.  This base pattern is Vogue  8772 which is a great darted basic that can really be used to create any manner of designs based off this pattern.

With this iteration I decided to make view C with the short sleeves and extend the back hem three inches for a more pronounced “shirt-tale” hem.  I do not plan to wear it tucked because I really love the hang of the hem.

Navy Pier

The best part of this trip, was that I finally got a chance to visit Navy Pier, because this is where the entire three day competition was held.

Completed: Mom Goes to an "All White Party"

Now you all know I am a sucker for last minute projects, especially when the request comes from my Mom.  So, this is how it went last week (Wednesday) on a visit to her house.  She informed me that she couldn't find anything to wear to an "All White" party, that's in two days.  Yep!!! Two days. I would only have Wednesday night and all day Thursday to complete the challenge.  At this particular point she knew there would be no way I'd let her look anything but FABULOUS!!!

We decided to peruse the internet in search of something she might like.   Considering, she loves the 70s style and she definitely wanted a jumpsuit, that was already confirmed.  All we had to do at this point is find a jumpsuit that was her style and also fabulous.  We did find quite a few ideas online,  more than we could count, but we just didn’t have time to order one. Mom always gets what she wants!  After determining the design, I looked for a pattern comparable to her desired design in order to save valuable time.

Fabric Details:
I called Roz, with Sew Much Fabric, with the hopes she would accommodate me and allow me to pickup some 11oz Rayon Knit , which I had used before, for my pattern, the Misty Top.

YAYYY... Roz agreed, and you know I was quickly on the road to pickup the fabric at almost 9pm, which was an hour away from my home.  I was desperate.  THANK YOU ROZ!!

The fabric was extremely handled very well.  But of course, I did take the time to test several stitches in order to create the optimum seam finishes for this project.

• I used my walking foot, and a 75/11 Stretch needle by schmetz, 
• a stitch length of 2.8-3.5 was used for construction and hemming
• Wooly Nylon stretch thread was used in the bobbin, I use this one because of its strength.
• I finished the seams with the overlocker.  The setting will be different for your machine. 

For the pants I had to consider the strength and drape of the fabric.  Although, the pattern description suggested both a woven/non stretch fabric as well as a knit jersey, I felt like this 11 oz jersey handled like a champ, even with a zipper sewn into the center back seam of the pants.

Pattern Details:
McCalls M7716: view C top and view D pants:  I wouldn't say this pattern was actually meant for knit as listed on the envelope...I just don't believe and I know a pattern cannot be used for both without some major pattern redrafting or manipulation for it to work for a knit of any stretch ratio.  This one point seems to me to be very misleading, especially for a new sewer.  Just cutting a smaller size doesn't compute well in "My World"

Pattern Manipulation & Fitting Details:  
First of all I had to determine the ratio of the fabrics stretch before deciding how I would proceed with my changes. These are the changes I made:

1. Raised the section of the armseye 2" where the cutaway sleeve attached.
2. Raised the upper chest at the armseye by half an inch
3. Removed 4" from the flair of the pants.... they were just too wide for a knit this beefy.
4. For the tucks, I added a dart inside of the front tucks to make them appear smaller and give the top a closer fit as requested.  Without these darts, it made the bodice look droopy under the bust. 

(Here is a Full Video that Explains All pattern details)

Construction Details: 

1. A Waist Stay using "petersham" was added as additional support of the lower section of the jumpsuit.  I wanted to give her the feeling of having a built-in belt type support.
2. For the zipper you can see that considering it is an 11oz rayon jersey which is a nice beefy jersey. I think this fabric weight helped me to be able to insert an invisible zipper in the back.  Especially the part that tends to grow with the curve and weight of the knit.  Another reason I took some flair out of the pants pattern.
3. Of course I made sure that I supported the crotch area using a seam tape made from strips of knit interfacing.
4. I fully lined the jumpsuit with a tricot knit from Sew Much Fabric.  The pant lining stopped about 3 inches above the hem.

The hems on the sleeves and the pant, were topstitched.  I made sure to hand stitch the necklines and bindings.  As well as add a button over the back hook and eye.

Wouldn't you agree that Mom looks Stunning!!  She was very happy, wouldn't you agree?  Isn't it obvious on her face?

I am very happy with how the jumpsuit tuned out.  I’m happy with how the pants draped so gracefully. I especially am happy with my hand sewing, since I avoid it like the plague. Oh, and that zipper in the pants!

Love you Mom!!! It is always my pleasure see a smile like that on your face, showing how proud you are to wear my custom work!

Completed: Asymetric Top- Pacific Blues

Abstract prints and detailed design elements have always been and still are totally my style.  Most any print has always had a place in my heart, but abstract and geometric fabric designs take first place in my heart.

Island Florals and Fancy Palazzos: V9319 & M7692

Hello All, what a long time its been since the last time I did a "photoshoot" and a blog post.   I didn't know what to write first in this post.  So, let's start with how beautiful this summer has been.  You see, my summers always start with the fabric,...if you don't know much about me, here's a hint, I love to lay around in my fabrics or have them hanging over dressforms and chairs before I decide what each shall become.  It is my creative process.

What you are looking at here is a culmination of several totally separate patterns and one wonderful fabric working in tandem to bring my inspiration outfit together.  First the fabric, since I am a diehard fan of all things Sew Much Fabric is the Rayon Poplin in a Teal Green Tropical Print, 100% Viscose.  It seems every fabric she sources, just has to end up on my cutting table!!

Pattern making pants and rendering the pattern from the muslin

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