Sewing

Gosh, I know I say it all the time, but I can’t believe how quickly the days pass. How is your summer treating you so far? It’s hot and dry here — we could use some rain! The good part about no rain is that the grass doesn’t grow as fast which means less mowing for me.

Less mowing = More sewing! ;-D

I finally finished a top for me that I started last summer. That’s a bad habit — I start something and then it gets put aside if the week gets too busy. But — when I pick it up again it feels like a quick project!

I used an Anna Maria voile from a year or two ago. The print on the fabric is so busy that it’s hard to see the shirt style. It’s New Look 6781.

The pattern suggested rows of trim on the bodice but I thought that would be too much for this busy fabric. So, I played around with my machine and stitched along the zigzag lines of the print. You can’t really see the extra stitching unless you’re about to kiss me, but I like it anyway. “I” know it’s there and that’s what counts, right?

I love the fit and the softness of the fabric. It’s a really comfortable shirt and I know I’ll get lots of use out of it for a few years.

I’m home today while some painters do their thing in our family room. It’s such a luxury to be home and have some cleaning time in the middle of the week and I’m having a great time! Must get back at it!

XOXO,
Anna

Hmmm, I seem to be dragging my blogging feet around here, but I have a pretty good excuse. I’ve been slaving away on my applique border! When I get home from work I make dinner and then sew a little before bed, so, not much time for posts.

In addition to my applique, I managed to get my Amy Butler corduroy shirt finished.  Garment sewing is probably my first crafty love, so that makes me deliriously happy!   I chose Hot Patterns Plain and Simple Superfantastic Shirt pattern for my shirt. Have you heard of Hot Patterns? When I purchased my fabric at The French Seam, I asked if they had any good shirt patterns. She showed me the Hot Patterns section and let me browse.  After I chose my pattern, I asked the shop owner what she thought of them — were they pretty true to size?  She said that the directions weren’t the best, but the sizing seemed to be pretty accurate.  I don’t usually read the directions in patterns real closely anyway, so we both decided this pattern should work just fine.

And it did.  But when I first started sewing there were several little annoying things (like where most patterns say cut 2 she says cut a pair, and yardage requirements were for 60″ wide fabric — nothing for 45″ wide fabric) so I was pretty prepared to give it a very lackluster review.  The shop owner was correct, the directions are definitely lacking.  If you’re a beginning sewer, you will have to consult other sources for some of the steps.  For example, as you can see below, the sleeve has a few pleats in it.  The instructions simply said to put the cuff on the sleeve.  No instructions (or markings on the cuff) as to where to put those pleats or buttons.  The instructions were a little better for the button placket, but probably because it is a pretty unique way of doing the placket.  There is only one dot marking the end of the dart for all pattern sizes.  And since the shirt sizes range from 6 to 26, that’s a pretty big problem.  Since I’m on the lower end of that range, my darts are a little too deep.   Oh, and while I’m whining, the pattern is multiple sizes on heavy paper — which is good, except that I hate actually cutting into the paper.  With normal patterns, I can fold the pattern tissue here and there to cut the patterns.  For this pattern, I used a very thin fabric and drew out and cut the pattern pieces to my size.  Pretty time consuming.

Having whined said all that, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pattern!  Just as the shop owner said, the sizing is pretty accurate.  (Although, I have long arms and legs — I always have to add an inch or two to sleeve and pant lengths, but I didn’t have to with this pattern – Yipee!)  I also (just 10 minutes ago) checked out the Hot Patterns website and I wish I’d seen it before I made my shirt.  There are videos for some of the patterns (three for this particular shirt, which are very helpful).  The owner/designers of Hot Patterns are British, living in Florida, so that explains away the little differences in terminology.  The woman in the video even says that she’s pretty laid back about the instructions — she likes to let you do things your way.   I LOVE the way my new shirt fits and that soft corduroy makes it wear like a dream.  I also really love the way she constructed the placket — it’s very clean and quick and clever.

So, to sum up … if you’re a beginning sewer, you’ll probably need some help with these patterns. Otherwise, I think they’re wonderful and I give them two big thumbs up. I’m a big fan now and I’ll definitely be using them again — I can see many more versions of this shirt alone in my closet.

Happy Sewing!
XOXO,
Anna

Shoot!   I didn’t mean to be gone so long, but it’s been pretty boring around here.  It’s been a long dull week — back to work after three happy holiday weeks isn’t easy!  Plus, we’ve had something every night after work this week, so, just not much excitment — or sewing.

I did manage to finally line my laundry basket last weekend.  Mine isn’t nearly as cute as the version I did for MyDadLovesMeBestSister, but it matches the other accessories in my laundry room, so I’m happy.

I used every last scrap of fabric that I had from the laundry lady fabric.  I was even short a bit, so I pieced it.  The jury is still out as to whether I’ll put grommets in this liner.  I’m sort of wishing I’d done some sort of cute scallop along the bottom — I guess it’s never too late.  But you know.  Lots of other projects are waiting in the wings.

This seems to be the time of year when everyone starts new, exciting projects.  I’m dying to start some too, but I really want to dust off a few UFOs first, so I’ll try and exercise some willpower.  This laundry basket has been on the list for a year.  Done.  I’ve also been plugging away at my long time applique project, so I’m hoping to actually finish it before too much longer.

See? Laundry Basket already pressed into service. Now, I’m off to cut out that Amy Butler corduroy fabric — it’s a stormy snowy day so I’m going to hole-up in the dungeon. (If you peek at the Thimbleanna banner, you’ll see that the Thimbles are ecstatic that we’re finally getting a little snow!)

Have a good weekend!
XOXO,
Anna