Vogue 9275 Kaftan Variation

I’m working my way through 9 yards of this fabric! More on that later – but this is a wonderful and easy variation of the tunic top included in V9275.

I stripped it down to essentials (no curved hem or collar cord), and added 40″ to the length, marked from the waistline. For reference, I’m 5’7″, and 57″ from shoulder to the floor. And I sewed the size XS – this is a very roomy top. But the sizing really extends its possibilities across many sizes and shapes.

It’s hard to see details on black fabric, so Emile is modeling the kaftan to show the inside:

I love the cowl – it’s just about perfect in this cotton/lycra jersey.

The sleeves are deep enough to be very comfortable, and long enough not to allow inside peeks.

This is one of my favorite projects this year!

 

The fabric. I mistakenly ordered two fabric kits from Fabric Mart, instead of one. For $8 each. The kit included 4.5 yards of jersey and the Christine Jonson #526 wrap dress. I’m actually glad I did it, this print is so appealing.

And it will show up again soon, in an Itch to Stitch Paro Cardigan!

And I’m off to work on the cardi. Bye for now – Coco

PJ play…

Girls just want to have fun 🙂

What could be better than warm jammies with big flowers? It’s in the 60’s today, heading down down all week. I know that doesn’t sound cold, but to someone accustomed to temps in the 80’s, it is!

As with my previous PJs (here), this set is a combo of Love Notions Sabrina Slims and a modified Wiksten tank top. The fabric is cotton/rayon/spandex jersey from Girl Charlee, and it included a small disappointment – a hole about 4″ from a selvedge edge. I was able to work around it, but it bugged me.

The challenge was avoiding a big flower on each of the girls, resolved by putting one front and center instead. No other print matching attempted!

I’m starting one more set today…

Parting shot, I love getting these notifications (fabric of course).

Wishing all a happy and joyful 2018! Coco

New PJs – essential sewing!

At last, cool weather has arrived. For those of us in south Florida, that means night temperatures in the fifties. Not cold! But what a difference. Our dry season has begun, with lower humidity and the beautiful temperate days that bring so many people to Florida for the winter. Best of all – open windows, fresh air, and no A/C!

I get the urge to sew new PJs in the fall and in the spring. I’m wearing these as I write, and I might not take them off until next year! It’s my only matching ‘winter’ PJ set – I admit that most of my PJs are collection of T-shirts and leggings that have been downgraded from the closet to the drawer 🙂 Terrible… and I plan to grit my teeth and do something about that! Soon.

The top is a modified Wiksten tank, and bottoms are Love Notions Sabrina Slims.

 

These are two great patterns that I’ve used over and over. The Wiksten top is designed for woven fabrics, and I’ve sewn some cute sleeveless versions in simple cottons, but it works beautifully with knits as well.

In a totally different direction, I just finished a nightgown that’s pretty enough to wear all day. I’m so in love with this rayon challis print from Cali Fabrics.

The gown is a mix of elements – I used a favorite bodice sloper, with a 1.5″ wide waistband (it’s faced on the inside), and a gathered skirt that’s simply a 50″w x 38″l rectangle.  

When I wear this, I match my house 🙂

I hope everyone has a nice weekend, spent doing favorite things.

Bye for now – Coco

Butterick 6296 – More PJ fun

I’m feeling pretty spiffy with my new PJs. I knew one set was not enough. Now that I’ve sewn another, I’m not sure that two are enough! These PJs are definitely fun to sew and wear.

This cute fabric is Michael Miller Color Me Black Fish Frenzy, printed on wonderful Cotton Couture broadcloth.  The design credits on the fabric selvedge sent me looking on the web. Surprise – the print is by Hayley Crouse of Mouse House Creations (designer of the Julia Cardigan and lots of children’s patterns). Michael Miller collaborated with Hayley on a ‘color me’ fabric concept in 2015.

Source: Michael Miller Fabrics

Originally the prints were deliberately ‘childish’ and targeted at children wielding fabric pens, but eventually the collection featured more sophisticated designs in black and white reverse prints (here’s a link to Hayley’s blog post about her fabric).

I love fish! and all sea creatures, in art, fabric, mixed media, however they come. In this case, on my PJs…

Something I forgot to mention on my first PJ post – I added a back facing to the top, instead of the suggested collar finish (turn and tack the edge of the upper collar). IMO, a facing is a much nicer finish, and it’s not difficult – it’s much easier than piping or edging details, banded hemlines, a collar… Bad on the pattern company for taking a shortcut.

Nonetheless, I forgive them – this is an intriguing and versatile pattern. It would be easy to use the top for a camp shirt, the pants for shorts (great slant pockets), and I’ve already made a pair of out-and-about pants. Not to be overlooked, pajamas as street wear…

Source: Harpers Bazaar

I’m not sure I’m ready for the full monty, but I do like my fish version.

Parting shot: a lot of my own artwork features the ocean and its denizens, and often it reflects the vibe of a place that was special to me. I did this pen and ink when I was living on Key Biscayne in the 90’s. The shells were collected over many visits to Sanibel Island, a shelling paradise on the west coast of Florida.

Pic taken thru the frame/glass, no flash…

Ciao! Coco

Butterick 6296 Classic PJs – Jammin’

Sewist at work – a candid fit-photo in the sewing loft.

It’s time for summer PJs – I’m really really tired of leggings and tees!

 

I decided to start with a short-sleeved top and long-ish pants.

They’re sewn in Michael Miller ‘Meet Me in the Meadow Spring Bloomers’, a quilting-weight cotton I found on sale at Hancock’s of Paducah.

After my recent angst about Emile, my dress form, and my thoughts of replacing her, I found just I couldn’t do it. I apologized, and we’re still BFFs…

The pants are terrific, so I decided to make a Capri-length pair for street-wear.

I re-used the fabric from a tiered maxi dress that I made in 2015, and have never worn. It was just too much sea life – but I’ve always loved this Tonga Batik from Timeless Treasures Fabrics.

A few sewing notes – this pattern is really well-drafted, so my changes were really for style, not fit.

• I sewed the top in size 12, and the pants in size 14.
• I shortened the pink pants by 7 5/8″ inches, and the octopus pants by another 1 3/8″.
• And I added 1″ to the length of the sleeve.
• Going for comfort, I left off a couple things: the pockets on the top and the yoke on the back of the pants piece. That yoke is kind of a lost detail anyway, and it might be bunchy below the gathered waistband.
• The pattern has lots of piping detail, which I addressed by leaving off most of it, too. On the sleeve and pants bands, I used a contrast broadcloth edging instead. I cut 2″ wide bias strips, folded them in half, and attached them the same way the piping would have been sewn.

More PJs are underway –  this is fun, easy sewing.

Bye for now! Coco

McCalls 6613 – A summer shirt…

Just for kicks, I thought I’d open with a picture of my current house guest – Mr. Lizard.  Honestly, I wish the lizards would stay outside, because they don’t last long in the house. But – they will come in.

It’s a bit like having a puppy – I leave a shallow saucer of water for him under his favorite bookcase.  He hangs out there and in the house plant in the pic, which is very close to me in the living room.

Every once in a while he trots across the room in front of me. So funny! Apparently he’s pretty comfortable with me for company.

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I’m setting records for slow sewing and posting this spring. But I did spend the last week working on a birthday gift for Ashley. The fabric is a cotton print that she purchased in JoAnns a couple years ago, with a dress in mind. But as her seamstress, I decided that a swingy boyfriend shirt would be fun for summer jeans and capris. She has one, white cotton with little skulls all over it, that she loves to wear. So I measured it every way I could during our Christmas visit. And went looking for a pattern.

In March, I found McCalls 6613. It’s a unisex shirt, so it has very general sizing, but it also has traditional shirt features that I wanted to include: a pointed collar with a collar stand, pocket options, a back yoke, and an attached button placket. It also has a sleeve tab for rolling the cuff, a feature I know she likes in her other shirt.

Bonus: it has a two-part sleeve. That extra seam makes the cuff application so simple and also provides support for the button/button tab combo.

This one pattern really has so many combinations of collar, sleeve, pocket, and hem styles! Pretty nice.

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I went with a plain collar, one breast pocket (plain), a straight hem, and the sleeve tab. I know this print doesn’t show things very well, so I hope you’ll trust me, please 🙂

The collar turned out to be the prettiest collar I’ve ever sewn. Not my sewing of the collar, but the shape – it is almost elegant and lays back so nicely. Collars are not all alike!

A note on collar construction: My least favorite part of making a shirt is attaching the collar. It’s so easy to mess it up! Beginning sometime in 2013, I’ve been using a great construction approach from a tutorial by Andrea at Four Square Walls. It’s terrific, you might take a look if this is a bug-a-boo for you as well.

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And the cuff is pretty, too – it’s a very balanced width, with one pleat, a simple placket formed from the seam allowance, and one button.

Just a few sewing notes – Ashley is 5’9″, so I started with size Large:

• Added ‘swing’ by redrafting the side seam with a bit of flare, drawing it from an L at the armscye to XXL at the hem. 

• Removed 2″ from the yoke, collar, and collar stand at center back – it was really wide in the back, and the collar was super long.

• Narrowed the shoulder by 1/2″ at the armscye edge. 

• Kept the original width in the lower back, but I used light gathers instead of a center pleat, when I attached it to the yoke.

• Added an inch to the width of the sleeve in the upper arm, using the slash method. This pic is from a nice tutorial on The Curvy Sewing Collective. I like this approach because it doesn’t really impact the armscye, other than a tweak at the outside corners.

• And I added 1″ to the hem, to bring it to a finished back length of  33.5″, same length as her original. Adding the flare at the sides, plus a little trim on the front, also gave the finished hem a bit of a hi-lo look, which I think is really cute.

She just called me – her package arrived, she loves it 🙂

I’ve been thinking about this pattern while sewing her shirt. This post really isn’t a pattern review, because I used M6613 with the intention of modifying it a lot. However – while it’s described as unisex, it doesn’t strike me as a pattern I’d use for a man’s shirt. Those two-part sleeves, the casual/non-placket cuff with only one pleat – not typical for un homme…

So, parting shot:

Having spring-cleaned my closet recently, I also took a look at my pajamas. I was tired of them, and they were tired of me. And I’ve been longing for crisp white cotton bottoms to wear with the slew of striped Wiksten tops I made in March (I have 5 now). I discovered 10 yards of  white Michael Miller Cotton Couture in my stash. Amazing. I bought it to muslin Ashley’s bridal dress back in January 2015. In the end, David’s Bridal made that dress, not I! and I forgot about this fabric, which is perfect for PJs. Fresh off the sewing table, using my TNT Vogue 8584 – they feel wonderful…

Bye for now – Coco

Simplicity 5314 – my TNT robe…

Oh gosh, it’s been a little chilly here in Florida! I know a lot of you are laughing now – but 40 degrees F. is on the cool side for the sub-tropics. Time for a new robe, one of my favorite sewing projects. In the last four years, I’ve made 3 for my daughter, one for my grandson, one for Mom, and 4 for my greedy self.

I keep several kimono-style robes on a hook in the bathroom, a hooded purple fleece robe from Long Tall Sally in the bedroom (my splurge robe), and a long black one, made in 2013, near the front door.

The black one, which I fashioned after the iconic Calvin Klein knit robe, is for answering the door, getting the mail, putting out the trash bins. I want my neighbors to think I dress like this all the time, instead of in mismatched pj’s and knee socks.

A note: I collect knee socks. All kinds of patterns and stripes. I find them irresistible.

Back to the robe: My TNT kimono pattern is Simplicity 5314, a unisex collection of PJ bottoms and robes. These are great basic patterns and include sizes S through the rare XXXL. At 5’7″ and size 10-12 in Big 4 patterns, I wear the Small.

The one thing I always change on the robe is the pockets. I use great big patch pockets instead of the smaller inseam variety in the pattern.

Fabric – Calla Green Cozy Flannel, JoAnns

I start the pocket with a 10″ x 9″ rectangle, and end up with something around 8″ square. And I attach the outside edge of the pocket in the side seam, about 3.5″ below the belt loop.

Basted and ready to be topstitched.

If I attach the pocket with a single line of topstitching, I run a notch of reinforcement stitches in the upper corner.

Which reminds me of a question asked often on PR – should hidden seam allowances be finished? My vote: yes. For instance, flannel is very loosely woven and ravels in an instant with handling. If left unfinished, the insides of these pockets wouldn’t hold up well with use and laundering. So I serged all the inside edges of the pockets before I sewed them. Takes about 5 seconds.

The big reveal – yes, I have legs, but they’re not often seen given my penchant for maxi’s and pants 🙂

I had just enough left-over fabric to make a pair of PJ shorts, also in size Small. I love them! The fit is great, and they’re super easy and fast to make.

Parting shot: I’m still knitting socks (soon to be blogged). A peek at the only two matching socks so far. Tube socks of course!

Ciao! Coco