Off the Clock

Simplicity 3956 View A I am so pleased with this top - probably more pleased than any normal person should be.  That's because there's a backstory to this. For whatever reason I happened to be at the fabric store with my mother probably 8 or 10 years ago.  This was in the middle of a very long sewing drought, and even back when I did sew I had much more ambition and enthusiasm than actual knowledge or talent.  I saw some denim coloured printed crinkled cotton that I fell in love with, and thought it would make a perfect S3956 .  My measurements fell between two sizes so to be safe I went with the larger - an 18.  To put that into perspective, I have since learned that I wear a 14 in Big 4 patterns (I have a whole rant about Big 4 sizing but I'll save that for another time).  I can remember sewing this at my kitchen table, really challenged by this top and putting a lot of effort into it.  I vaguely remember having problems keeping the crinkle co...

Mallory helping with sorting the pattern pieces  I haven't been much of a skirt or dress girl for many years.  I work six days a week in a strictly jeans environment, even though I occasionally go all out with a pair of cargo pants.  Then I generally tend to continue the jeans theme or even jammies on my day off.  So I have to say that I was really glad to see skirts and dresses coming back into style, and have been determined to wear them more this year - even if it is just to the grocery store. Mallory holding things down in case of a sudden strong wind I really like the maxi trend and was very happy to see it being worn locally.   McCalls 6966 seemed to fit the bill for a casual maxi with some interest.  It is a pretty basic skirt to put together. I bought a basic polyester striped knit, cheap and cheerful.  The problem for me is that the pattern pieces are so big that I initially laid it out on the floor.  My arthritis soon put...

I know I made a dedicated post for New Look 6735 , but I just had to show off this fabric.  It's one of the fabrics I bought with my coupon from Fabricland.  It is a medium weight knit synthetic of some sort with a bit of lycra.  It feels beautiful to the touch and is a nice weight for a fall/winter top, but what I love most is that colour!  I would call it a burnt orange, but it is absolutely delicious. I took the time to trace the grainline because (a) I really like this fabric and didn't want to screw it up and (b) because I thought it would be obvious if it is off grain because of the microscopic striping in the knit.  Having said that the striping made it very easy to trace the grainline (actually the cross-grain line) with the use of my lighted magnifying glass. The other change I made was to shorten the pattern.  Now that I have a coverstitch machine I find I only use a 3/4" hem turned once rather than the 1 1/2" hem allowance on knit patte...

I'm not very happy with two recent tops I've made. Both of them have bust details and both of them look a little... frumpy. When comparing them to my standard tee they definitely left something to be desired. If I can't feel good wearing them I won't wear them. So I pulled out my pattern for NL6735 and started hacking away. First I decided to have at New Look 6940 .  I began by taking in the sides to match 6735 which meant taking it in by more than an inch each side for a total of 4".  This really helped keep the empire seam where it is supposed to be instead of it riding up.  Then I shortened it by about 4".  I probably should have only chopped off 3" but it's done now and I can live with it.  I think it is much better proportioned. Then, feeling inspired, I decided to take New Look 6977 in an inch each side, again for a total of 4".  And again, the bust gathers seem to sit better without riding up so much.  Not to mention that...

Alternative post title: "I Should Learn to Listen to My Mother" Not the most flattering top I've made I've made New Look 6940 before although I didn't blog it. Previously I made version B ( shown here under the cardigan ) which is quite flattering, but wanted to give view C a try with its horizontal and vertical gathers at the bust. Mom thought it looked frumpy. I thought it was a cute little summer top. What could go wrong? I guess the first problem is a fitting problem. It seems that tops with a detail focus at the bustline generally are too short on me. This is a perfect example; if I'm not constantly pulling it down the top rides up over my bust as it's starting to here. The second problem is that the soft draping on the front that I thought would be good to hide my tummy ended up just looking - oh, I don't know, frumpy? About the only redeeming quality of this top is the centre seam in the back that gives a nice shape in spite of the l...

Any Monte Python fans out there?  Anyway, I was prewashing a couple of lengths of my new fabric when I suddenly heard a whole lot of banging and bouncing and general wreckage coming from my laundry room last night.  I RAN down there and found this... Everything from the top of the machine had been thrown on the floor and the rubber door seal was all twisted.  Now I've played this game before.  My last front loading washer died when my son overloaded it with about 20 pairs of jeans and tried to run it regardless.  It didn't end well. The first thing I did was look up the warranty information.  I had purchased the five year extended warranty - yay!  But it expires... last January.  Boo! I was going to bite the bullet and call in a serviceperson but thought I've got nothing to lose and it is probably a loose spring (from previous experience).  A google search quickly gave me the info I needed to break into this bad boy, usually the most...

Yes, that's a new name at the top of the blog.  I've never been very enthusiastic about the old name, it was just a space filler.  I tried to think of something more appropriate to what my blog is about.  Yes, it's about sewing.  But it's also about knitting, my garden, my pets, vacations, or anything else that has nothing to do with work.  And that's the key - it's about my time away from work: off the clock. Now with that out of the way, let's talk about New Look 6107.  I stopped in at the fabric store yesterday to get some swimsuit elastic and a button for  the beige cardigan .  This stretch denim was calling my name and a meter ended up coming home with me.  I've been wanting a casual summer skirt and I figured this fabric would fit the bill. I am quite happy with all of the New Look patterns I have tried, and this one was no exception.  The instructions were easy to follow and my size fit right out of the envelope.  I ...