Almost Reversible Dress...My Design Process | Newlook 6482

Here is a simple project that took a little thought to finalize.  In my design process, most often I draw up a design before I sew it up, in order to help me visualize the look before I use my fabrics in the final design.  If I come across a pattern that has a basic design, it becomes my canvas for designing what I want.  But let's be clear, the design doesn't take shape until I've had time to doodle around the line drawing while giving my creative juices a chance to birth something wonderful.  When I sew with a print, the print speaks to me and directs my thoughts to a design.  In the case of a wonderful solid, I am free to do whatever, or maybe even embellish. In the case of this dress pattern...it was ripe for any design I could imagine.  And this is what I imagined....

Happy Birthday Son!!...Mail Order Men's Shirts | KwikSew 2777

This man here will always challenge my husband's position in my heart.   I made this shirt for his birthday in time to mail it to him as a surprise.  When he got it, he thought it was the pants to the suit I started 2 years ago.  No such luck buddy! Those pants will be finished soon, but with a different material for the waistband and the pockets.  You see, when I made the suit coat, I ran out of fabric to finish the pants.  Besides, I doubt seriously he will be able to fit the pants by now.

Different Age and Body! Same Pattern! Same Size: Newlook 6735

Okay, now I had to go and do this pattern for my daughter!  This pattern is producing some pretty decent garments.  I have made 2 knit tops, 4 pair of pants, and 2 cardigans thus far.  The pattern is a quick pair of elastic waist pants from newlook 6735, the wardrobe pattern I used, again, to make mine and my moms pants.

With this project, these pants, I have come to hate sewing with ITY!  It is so unstable and totally unpredictable.  It has over 150%-200% stretch!!! What fits me, fits you, what fits her, fits them.  A store, or clothing line's best kept secret so they don't need to worry about making clothes that fit.  All that needs to be done is to sew it in a range of sizes and sell to everybody and you got a total market covered.  So, why don't I like ITY?  I should be happy at how well they turned out for my child.  She, looks great, you say?  Why then, am I not happy?

Let's start out explaining the obvious--- construction details.  The hem was a perfect lattice edge finish.  Done on my serger, by way of suggestion from Carol of "G-CAS! Sew Excited!  when she taught a few things about finishing knits on periscope last month. I have seen this done on many garments, but never thought to use it as a hem on pants.  Needless to say, it works very well for this style palazzo pant.  The settings she gave me to get this look did not work for my machine.  So, it wouldn't help for me to give you all the details for my machine, except to say, I used the #7 stitch and followed the directions in my manual.  If you want to do the same, you will need to make sure you have a rolled hem stitch and possibly change the differential feed and stitch length.  Basically, play around with the stitch until you get this look by "Really" stretching the fabric as you sew.

For the waistline finish on these pants and all my knit palazzo versions, I use a multi-stitched elastic finish.  I sew the elastic in first, then fold over the elastic and topstitch as I stretch.  It takes some getting used to since its sewn in the round.  If you want a video tutorial, just let me know in the comments. I cut a size 16 for this pattern and increased the back rise to cover the rear to the waist.  For the inseam, I extended the crotch an inch inside the back leg at the curve.  The pants were completely sewn on the serger.

Excessive Stretch!!!....caused me to hate ITY knits.  These pants were to be mine!!!  ALL MINE!!!  Until, I had my child come and help out as a fit model for a Fit-Friday LIVE!™ Online class that I host every Friday night.    My students voted the pants should be hers after they saw how well they fit her compared to me.  Aaaaggh...?!!  What???,,..... why did I use her as a model.  I loved the colors of these pants, I cut the pants for myself.  The measurement were meant for my hips, 44", not her hips, 56" inches.   At this point I remembered that when something stretches that much....it also means the "ease" is there for any size above your base measurement multiplied by the percentage and added to the original measurement to tell you that those are the sizes the garment will "stretch" to fit.  i.e..  44x150%=66"  That means that these pants will stretch UP TO 66"inches.  So, if you are 44", 50", 55", 60", or 66", then these pants will fit you.  Cool right? Well, that's cool for my child, but not for me.

You can judge for yourself...but I lost the battle of the pants when my students saw her modeling them in our class.  They listened to me explain all the details of crotch fitting and length changes and then chimed in on who looks better in these pants.  She won!!  (the exclamation points express how I really feel.  LOL.)

Looks to me like she has the expression on her face that says::::  "I WoN!!!"  Please tell me you don't love yourself some ITY knit?  Tell me I'm not alone in my contempt for that fabric, please.

DIY Striped Cardigan and Pant Ensemble | Newlook 6735

Well I finally got a good picture wearing my new cardigan with the matching pants and original wrap top I made last year.  Admittedly, this is the second time wearing this ensemble since I finished the cardigan two weeks ago.   I first wore it to the movies and then again to a volunteer working meeting at the community center. It turned out to be very appropriate for each occasion, considering I actually thought it was too casual for the volunteer meeting and way to dressy for the movies.  Not to mention, I thought it would be too hot each time.  I wore it with the sleeves drawn up for the indoor activity, and for the movies it actually kept me warm.  Of course, when I got back outside, I had to remove the cardigan all together.  Turns out it handled pretty well since the fabric didn't wrinkle like I thought it would.

The cardigan is part of a wardrobe pattern ensemble that I worked on during a recent wardrobe challenge with my online and IRL sewing groups.  I don't know why I took so long to make the right topper for this outfit.  I knew I wanted to use this strip as compliment for these pants, I just couldn't figure the right look.  I originally sketched up a look and sewed up a top that went south really fast....a sheer DUD!!!  PLEASE...LAUGH your head off.  I'm good with that, it looks good on the skinny super tall model.  Another reason to understand how your body relates to different looks.

I am totally in love now.  Now I need to work on the fit of the cardigan just a tad bit more.  

I started with my basic alterations:  (The tissue fitting video is here.)

• 3/4" Swayback
• 1.5" FBA using the pivot and slide on the front and also on the side seam.
• 1.5" large bicep for the sleeve using the pivot and slide method again.  (I just love some pivot and sliding.)

• For the hip if increased in the center back as well as the sides and front.  I also lengthened the entire thing to balance. 
• The shoulders were lowered by 1/4" at the shoulder point and the sleeve cap ease was shimmied off about 3/8".  I like the roomy sleeves and the fact there is not to much cap.

A note on the back folks.... After seeing the back and noticing that I am now "Curving" a little more than I used to...I went back and gave myself an "untested" change for the shoulder blades.  I will keep you posted on this new change.  I also changed to give it a center back seam, and thus, added a grain line based on the upper section of the back pattern piece so that my HBL (horizontal balance line) will hang correctly.  

Construction points:

I chose not to make the tie belt. Initially, I was going to add a third button, since that is what was called for in the pattern.  Instead, I settled for two buttons, because when I went to find another pack at Joanns, I couldn't find a match.  The seaming was done using my Bernina 1300mdc serger set for the combination overlock and chainstitch.  The thread used was the Bulky nylon from Guttermann in both the serger loopers. 

The shoulders and side seams were done with the chainstitch and overlock combined in order to limit any over stretching for those seams.  Also, on the shoulders and sleeves I used the process that I demonstrate on my video here:

Youtube Video Tutorial:  How to sew in knit sleeves.

After my last cardigan, which I haven't worn much since I made it, except on a cruise...I felt I would consider this length and see if it was something I would wear before making anymore.  The jury is in!!!  I WILL definitely be making more cardigans.  Will it be this version, I'm not really sure.  Although, I do like this style, I am more interested in having one with pockets.  I may redesign this one to add some of the details I would like.  That makes sense, especially after making all these adjustments.  What say you to other ideas for designing cardigans or "toppers?'  

Mommy and Me outfits..NewLook 6735 and Newlook 6648

When I first heard the comment you are twinsies or that making the same garment or maybe using the same fabric made bloggers refer to each other as twinsies, I had no clue how making this little outfit for myself would lead to the adult version of the mommy and me ensemble.

I try and make something for mom as often as I can. She is always thinking about sewing and I am always sewing. Shucks, truth be told everybody in my family is always thinking about what I could make them. If I just had it in me, I would be sewing a new item for every one of my loved ones daily. I would be pushing out a couple new items each week. I wish I had the time and the inclination to do that. It's just how much I love sewing for my family. However, since I don't have that kind of time, I must limit what and for whom I sew. You already know, Moms are the wind beneath our wings. The breath that helps us rise to greater heights.

The pattern is a quick pair of elastic waist pants and the tops are two different view from the same newlook pattern. I started the pants the day before for myself and quickly realized that I needed a matching top.  I purchased this nylon/spandex sale fabric at JoAnns.

My neckline finish is from the view D cowl neck.

Newlook 6648- View A with C sleeves

The pants are both the wardrobe builders pattern newlook 6735.  The tops are newlook 6648, which is out of print, however, I'm sure you will find it if you want.  Mine is view D and moms is view A with view C butterfly sleeves.  I did a quick tutorial on how to make the "french bound" armhole and neckline treatment while I was sewing my top.  That video tutorial will be up later in another post and on my channel.  To be notified, just make sure you are also subscribed to my youtube channel.

More to come.....

The Cardigan- Tissue Fitting for Knits: Video Tutorial

Hello there, this video is an in-depth explanation of how I tissue fitted a Knit Cardigan using Newlook 6735 as part of the wardrobe builders challenge I participated in with my sewing groups online and off.  As well as an extension of our Sewing Fashionistas Group for our Wardrobe Fit-Along: The Knit Top.

I thought this might be helpful for you all to work to fit any sweater that you may sew this fall as well. I have made two of these already and have a couple more on the table to cut and sew within the next couple months. I am working still to pull together all the content I filmed in making the alterations for this cardigan and my t-shirt. So please stay tuned and subscribed so you can get the updates on the actual tissue alterations when I upload the videos.

Thanks for joining in the process to sew and fit your perfect wardrobe.  Don't forget to like and subscribe to my channel if you haven't already.

http://youtu.be/S6xKOd-MHqQ

Passion Fruit t-shirt Knit Dress- that 70s Vibe!!

No actual fruit here. Just that flavor, the color of Koolaid and watermelon on a summer day. Cool indeed because it is a rayon knit that feels cool in any weather.   I just wanted to make this dress because I had a feeling for something wild and fun.  The colors of the fabric spoke to me and I just went with the design.  This t-shirt dress look was made back in February, but I just hadn't remembered to blog about it until now that I am doing another "Wardrobe Fit-Along" The Knit Tee-Shirt.  I added the fun flirty "bell" sleeves as another way to show off the double sided qualities that got me to fall in love with this fabric in the first place.

I couldn't decide which side of the fabric to use since it's a reversible double sided rayon/lycra. It was a dream to sew and even more so a dream to wear. It's not hot nor heavy.  I bought it from "Sew Much Fabric, sold out, but here are a few others that are in cue for me to sew during my Sew-To-Fit Along that I am participating in with my "IRL" and Online sewing groups.

The pattern was a Bootstrap pattern basic....a jersey dress sloper.  I changed the hem and the sleeves to get the bottom flounce and the bell sleeves.  Such a fun look.  The neckline wasn't included in the pattern layout since it was just a sloper.  I cut the neckline to my desired size and shape based on my own measurements, and finished it off with a 5/8" neckband.  For the hems, I just folded the fabric over twice and stitched in place.  Since it is a two-sided fabric, that created the bias bound contrast I wanted.

So, in the case only, being two-faced is a good thing.  Have you ever sewn with two sided fabric, how did you maximize its beauty?

How to Sew- The CatchStitch Hem Video Tutorial

How to hand sew using the "CatchStitch", The catchstitch hem covers the hem edge and is more elastic than the regular blandstitched hem. You can learn more on how to sew this stitch.


http://youtu.be/2sHOG5ea6Z8

This is what I do...A quick Thank You.

To me this picture doesn't seem like much. But when I take stock, I realize that each of these came with several videos I have produced and associated tutorials and periscope broadcast and live lessons taught to others via private sessions, social media linkups and various other formats. This here, I now realize is quite a sum of activity coming from my sewing room to share in so many ways and freely from my heart to help those who want to learn the art of sewing and fitting patterns. Funny thing is, the photo is only half of what I had to show over the last three months. Some I have even forgotten about and never even shared to social media. I barrel through so much and want to teach so much that my brain is always in mega overdrive! #teacherslife never ends. If you don't follow all my social media channels, you are really missing out!! Because I just don't have the time to post on every platform available and truly don't want to try to keep up with it all.  I will just have to leave that to you.

Thanks so very much for supporting @sewtofit here on Blogger, Gumroad, YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Tumbler, Instagram, and for scheduling my services via Acuity Scheduler.