Simplicity 3511

My friend has a 2 1/2 yr old daughter, and she gave me alot of her clothes to my 1yr old daughter.
As little girls can be, I guess she has her favorite clothes and doesn't wear others as much, most of the clothes were fairly new.
I thought about buying her a new clothes as thank you, but I thought it was easier for my friend to accept if I made one.
So I'll be using Simplicity 3511, which my sister-in-law bought for me when she wemt to the Joanns pattern sale in the mainland.

As for fabric...
A new Walmart opened up in the neighborhood, and they had such cute fabrics for cheap!
I went in there to get some buttons, and came out with 3 fabrics. :p

4/1/2012
I finished 2 tops out of this pattern.
Pink was for my friend's daughter. She's 2 1/2, but I read on the review that this pattern comes big, so I made her size 2.
I made my daughter a yellow top, and the review is right, this top is big.
She's a big 1yr-old. She's 15 months wearing 2T, but size 1 of this pattern was still a little big on her.
(which is fine, because I like her clothes a little loose on her)

Simplicity 5581

I missed few days in blogging...

My entire family was sick for the month of February and March one by one, round and around...
But that's not the reason.
It's because the kids are better, and they've been playing at the park for 2-3 hours everyday, and I'm running around with them.
So I've been passed out at 8pm when I put them to sleep.
I have time to sew here and there, but I didn't get to reach to blog.

Anyways, my current project is Simplicity 5581.
My husband actually asked me to make him and my son a matching aloha shirt.
Whoa, I was shocked.
You mean, I can sew YOU clothes?
You trust my sewing skill that much?
Well, my sister-in-law asked me to make a bridesmaids dress for her friend's wedding.
I guess she trusts my sewing as well.
Or is it that people are catching up to the fact that it's cheaper to let a sewaholic make them a clothes than buy RTW.
Especially my SIL, I don't blame her as her friends are spending $200-300 on RTW formal dresses.

Off the track again.
So far, I'm almost done with my son's shirt.
All I need to do is attach sleeves.

I just hate facings!!!
I know it makes a nice finish, but I can never get them right... Either not being able to turn the corner right,
or not being able to match the markings, etc.
Well I'm glad I worked on my son's shirt first.
As the men's pattern is the same, I'm getting a practice.
Afterall my hubby is the more picky one.

We have a birthday party to go to this weekend. I thought it would be cute to finish both by them and have them wear it at the party, but most likely not...
I thought the party was next weekend so I was taking my sweet time. :p

3/29/2012
Well I finished my son's, and I'm pretty proud of it!!



Funny thing is, I FINALLY learned that you have to "ease" the sleeves, thanks to Colette Sewing Handbook.
I don't think alot of pattern instructions don't mention it, so I was always wondering why the sleeves are longer than the armholes.
I always thought I traced it wrong, or the pattern was wrong... Now I know, and I love how this shirt came out "the right way"!!
I still have few negatives on my skills (buttons a littl crooked, serger seams raveling inside...
But I think it's really nice and my son loves it.
Off to make my hubby's!

Oh by the way, I got this fabric from Walmart.
It's a silk blend, and was $5/yd.
I thought it's a really nice fabric for the price.
It was total of $17.50 for both my son and husbands!
I think this is when sewing on your own pays off...
A normal cotton aloha shirt easily costs $20-30, so I can picture it can be $50-60 for a silk blend.
(only high end brands carry silk shirts anyways)

Alexander blouse

I was looking for a pattern to go with my first Liberty lawn, and thought this was perfect.
Alexander blouse from BurdaStyle downloadable.

http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/alexander-blouse?all_images=1#project-shot-all

Burdastyle calls their pattern shop "your kind of candy shop".
They are so right. I spent some time looking through the patterns, and it's so temping when the price is $3-4.
(when it's $5.60 it makes me think a bit... Burda magazine is about $10 with almost 60 patterns, but these are close to $6 for just one pattern?)

I couldn't resist this pattern this pattern though.
I didn't think you see these details in the patterns in the magazine.
I printed them, cut the frames off (they say to fold the frames but I prefer to cut them off), and i'll be tracing them and working with sewable tracing paper tonight.
As it looks like a fitted top, I might need to do some adjusting to make it perfect...
I also want the peplum a little longer.
Not so used to short tops...

2/8/2012
I just finished making the paper muslin yesterday.
Boy this was an interesting pattern.
I thought it was their print error when i saw the pattern layout diagram, and I noticed that gront and back pieces were together as one.
But it actually IS one pattern!

After tracing each pieces, you are supposed to attach each pattern at the sleeves.
Then there's a slit to make a gather on the shoulder.
It made me think how I'd serge it, but I guess I just have to do it after they are sewn.

I also traced 37 bust - 41 waist - 37 hip for the first time.
Normally I just trace straight 37 and deal with it if the waist is a little snug.
But this pattern seems to be a fitted design, I decided to try grading the waist.
Boy what a difference it made!! It was so comfortable to have something that's just perfect size for you.
I guess I'm so used to wearing something (RTW) that doesn't fit me and deal with it.
I traced all lines between 37-41, just in case I wanted to use lower sizes, but I guess I didn't need to.

I'm ready to cut my fabric... The LIberty!
I read on patternreview site that the grain is a little off once the front and bak are put together.
i'm glad I read it first... I probably wouldn't have noticed it, or even if I do i probably would've thought it's somehow my fault, not the patterns.

2/10/2012



Taaaada!

When I first got this Liberty fabric I wasn't too impressed, probably because I had a very high expectation.
But now I finished this blouse, I love it!!
It feels so nice on the skin. I can't believe it's a cotton!

The pattern doesn't really tell you where to place the buttons.
I assumed that you match the center seams together, and place the buttons where the loops are.
I was a little worried that you might be able to see underneath between the buttons.
But because the buttons are placed fairly close together, you can barely see anything.

I like this pattern, but few negatives (my preference).
I don't really like how the sleeves flare out. I think it depends on the drape of the fabric, and how the shoulders are gathered.
I can never get the gathering right. :(

Another thing is, it might be hard to coordinate with my bottoms.
I have alot of low rise pants, and this top will show my belly through the center below the waist. :(
I can avoid this if I wear a cami underneath, but I was so happy that I finally made a top that I don't need to wear anything underneath. :(
I think this would look great with something like a pencil skirt, which I don't own. :(

BurdaStyle Handbook Coat

I've been working on a jacket from BurdaStyle Handbook.
I've been working on it in between other projects, because I wasn't too crazy with the fabric choice.
I used Cotton poplin, which is fine, but I just don't like the color...
It's a light grey, which might be good for pants (which I'll probably use it later on) but as a jacket, it looks like a work uniform.

But as I progress the jacket, it doesn't look too bad, thanks to the nice style.
I got excited and started to hurry the process...
And got stuck again, because the puff sleeves just look horribly unnatural.
It's probably because of the fabric. It looks cute in the picture with their wool fabric.
I'll have to take off the sleeves, and take off the puff part, following the instruction from their variation.
Once again, I'm a little unmotivated...
I'll probably end up making something else...
I wanted to finish this jacket while the weather is a littlle chilly...

Liberty of London

One more post today...

One of the fabric from today's shipment was cotton lawn from Liberty of London.
Yes! I finally got my hands on it
It was on sale (i think $26/yd or something?), plus I used 15%off coupon so it was about $22/yd...
I only got a yard of it.
Ok, it's still expensive, but it was my Valentine's gift. ... That my husband doesn't know about. Haha

Anyways...
I finally got to feel the infamous Liberty Lawn, and my thought was...
"what? This is it?"
I'm sorry for all the Liberty fans, but I didn't think it was "that" great.
Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a nice fabric.
I just didn't think it should cost $35 for their regular price!
It mus be the brand thing.
Well, nonethless I like their prints anyways.
With all my blabbing, I'll probably still buy some if I ever get another chance. :p

2/28/2012
I want to make a top with this Liberty fabric, mostly because I only have 1 yd. :p
I want to make a blose with bow tie at the neck, so I searched the net and found this.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_007E1158000P?prdNo=6&sid=IAx20080731x000006&aff=Y
I love this... Floaty, with comfortable 3/4 slightly puffed sleeves.
Funny thing is, it was sold for about $23 in Sears. It's probably cheaper than buying a yd of Liberty fabric! Haha

Vogue 1236

I just got a new shipment from www.fabric.com, and one of them was flower (twig?) print from linen/rayon blend, and it looks perfect for Vogue 1236.
So now I'm sewing up the sewable tracing paper muslin for it.
I just made size 12, according to Vogue sizing and it was too big, so I made size 10 and it was better.
It seems to be happening more, actually with all the Vogue patterns I've tried.
Maybe I'm actually size 10 in Vogue.



Here's the review...


Pattern Description: Loose fitting dress

Pattern Sizing:8-24. I made 10.
I at first used sewable tracing paper to make a rough muslin in size 12 according to Vogue size chart, But it was too big. After making few Vogue patterns in 12 and always have to scale it down to 10, I'm starting to think I'm size 10 in Vogue.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It is very comfortable! I like that it's a pullover dress without any zipper. No dislikes.

Fabric Used: linen/rayon blend from wwwfabric.com


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: i raised the neckline by 3cm. I made the facing accordingly, but probably because of how I made it, it didn't match the length of the bodice neckline so I had to make another pleat... Which isn't too noticeable.
It probably defeats the purpose, but after sewing the shoulder seams together I just topstitched around the armholes instead of slipstitching. I didn't trust my hand sewing. Lol.
I didn't add lingerie straps. I thought about adding the belt loops but the belt sits well without it.
Because of fabric limitation (i only used 1 1/2 yd!) i only made one pocket. Nobody will know, plus I never use two pockets anyways!
I didn't modify, but the armholes are a little too big for me. You barely can't see the bra, but it's just my preference. I'll probably modify it next time.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would probably sew it again. It looks like it's something my mom would like, so I can picture her asking me to make her one once she sees it.

Conclusion: it's an easy pattern to sew, that produces very comfortable, stylish dress. I love how I can say "I'm wearing a DKNY dress!".

Multiple project

I went to the gym yesterday and worked out for about 11/2hr yesterday.
I changed my work out every 10 min, and finished off with taking 20min of Zumba class.
It was a nice work out, and realized that I get bored easily.
I used to take Zumba for 1hr, and although it's really fun, I get bored half way in, and keep looking at the clock to see when it'll be done.
I had a good workout because I kept changing my routine.

Anyways, long enough intro...
Just like my work out, I'm working on different projects.
I just finished the halter top from Oliver + S today while I was fitting my coat (jacket) from BurdaStyle Handbook.
And since I got my new fabric shipment from www.fabric.com today,
So now I'm working on Vogue 1236 because one of the fabric might just be perfect for it.
Each will be blogged separately...