Pattern Emporium Sweet Cheeks Sweater

Time for a new pattern! Yes, this is way out of season, but I was very eager to give this a go. And I love it.

I do feel uneasy about the name – Sweet Cheeks. But I’ll overlook it – I just hope no one asks me its name.

Sewing notes:

• My fabric is a brushed French terry from Fabric.com. It’s a light sweatshirt knit, and it’s very easy to sew.
• I sewed size 10, and I drafted my tissue with 1/2″ seam allowances, instead of the included 1/4″. I just cannot imagine sewing most knits with such a scant SA.
• My version is the high neckline and cropped length, with an additional 2″ in length. The pattern is generous with its length choices, mine falls between the cropped and hip lines.
• I added 1 5/8″ to the length of the sleeve – it’s pretty short, plus I like my sleeves to cover my wrist bone.
• I cut my front and back bottom band to the width of the back band, and I opted not to slit the band at the sides.
• I found the neckband to be too narrow for a nice finish. It was also too long and had a ‘stand up’ look to it. I removed my first neckband, aargh, and cut a new one that is 3″ wide and 1″ shorter than the pattern. To compare:

Original neckband

New neckband

A nod and thank you to Katie Kennedy, @kak513, who has sewn a bunch of these sweaters and was so helpful in discussing the neckband and length options with me. You can check out her beautiful tops on Minerva and Instagram.

IMHO this pattern is a winner, a fun pullover for cool weather! Perfect over pants and leggings. It’s easy to sew and has meticulous directions. I didn’t print the instructions because it is a volume and has billions of examples sewn by an apparent legion of testers. Go for it!

Bye for now – Coco

Pattern Emporium Heartlight Skirt

Recreating a favorite skirt – I had a similar Calvin Klein skirt back in the 80’s!

I came across the pattern by chance while cruising knit skirts on Pinterest. I purchased it right away, ordered a couple lengths of cotton lycra knit fabric from Girl Charlee, and set about making a muslin. If you look at the multitude of examples on the Pattern Emporium site, you will see that it has been sewn and worn in many ways.

My muslin (only 16″ long) is a straight size 10 based on my measurements. I even played with a pocket on one side.

The muslin was soooo helpful. In the end I used the size 14 waistband and blended the 10/12/14 for the skirt.

I love the way this sits on the hips…

Style Arc Elsie blouse

Sewing notes:

• I drafted the ‘tall’ maxi and removed 2″ at the hemline once the skirt was constructed. The ‘medium’ maxi would have been just a little short for me (5′ 7.5″).
• Before hemming, the front got an additional trim. It dipped a bit, the result of how it sits on me, not at all due to the pattern drafting.
• My lower skirt has a little less volume than the original – I folded in the side rather than sew in a ‘hem adjustment’ piece, as suggested in the pattern. That sounds weird, kind of like a gusset in a strange place. The skirt is so wide at the hem that losing a few inches is nothing.

• I used my walking foot to sew all my seams and finished them with serging. Yes, one could serge the entire skirt for a one hour wonder 🙂 IMO, however, the weight of the bias would cause sagging if only a serger is used.

• The hem can be challenging on a nearly-circular skirt!. I ran a line of long stitches 3/4″ from the edge, serged it, and used the line as a guide for turning the fold. Two lines of topstitching make a nice finish.

This was fun, and as you can see in the photos, I tend to make a mess when I’m into a project. Somehow my dining room has become a natural extension of the sewing room since I’m the only person allowed in the house 🙂

I hope you are well and feeling loved, bye for now, Coco

Hot hot hot and harem pants

It’s so hot outside, 93 degrees for a couple days. I don’t really mind, but I also don’t feel like wearing a bunch of fabric, such as a maxi dress. Truth is, I need to replace my entire AC system, air handler (16 years old) and compressor (10 years old). I knew this when I bought the house, and I’m ready now that we are into summer weather. The system struggles, runs all day, to maintain 79 degrees in the house (I have lots of fans). Only the lockdown has kept me from doing it – come June and these boogies are getting replaced!!

Enter my new challis Pattern Emporium Harem pants, always a favorite. I’m also wearing a lightweight True Bias Ogden cami, a button variation. As an aside, I just don’t feel like hiding anything, so my skin is here in all its scarred and scleroderma ‘patterned’ and irregular glory 🙂 It’s kind of cathartic to do this, and my buddy alligator has my back. It has been 10 long years…

Sewing notes:

• I am still sewing the size 12 in the pants, but I’ve taken quite a bit out of the sides. I suppose I could size down, but now my tissue works, so I won’t bother 🙂
• My cami is size 4. I drafted the button variation early on, but I think that Kelli has a tutorial on how to do this.
• Fabric: Rifle Co. Wonderland Blue Magic Forest. The cami is simple broadcloth.

• As a note, I’m 5’7″, measurements 33.5″/29″/39″. I hope this helpful. I myself get so frustrated when I research reviews and pics of a pattern and have no idea of how it really fits – few sewists include the info.

Play time:

I am thinking of all my blog friends, every one, and hope you are finding grace and faith, these are such unfamiliar times. For now, Coco