Geez, the month of May is over. Not sure how I've let the last week slip away unblogged, heehee, but there ya go. Not sure if it was Me Made May fatigue, the kitchen project (updated pictures here), or the fact that we went to Tennessee for the Memorial Day weekend.
On the plus side, I did wear something I made every single day in May. This past week, when the house was crawling with workers, I just wasn't up for picture taking. OK, I did take a picture on Tuesday:
My Jasmine (Colette Patterns) top. This has to be the most complimented thing I've made. I think every time I wear it someone comments on it. I took the picture mostly to see how it looked (and how I look) in these somewhat trendy-ish skinny jean capris. Not too bad from this angle.
Also, I think I pledged to make 4 new things, so let's see. Changed my Crepe dress into a crepe skirt. The Cambie dress (not officially made in May). A vintage ponte knit dress that is actually still kind of unfinished (oops). A pair of shorts that have not yet been blogged about, and I'm really excited about. Can I just say perfect fit?!! (They have been worn, just not pictured yet.) Oh, and a cover for my iPad (still unblogged, and it is SO cute)! Not actually 4 complete things, but I'm still happy with the end result of my May "production".
OK, enough words. Let's have some photos. After my photo "sessions", I often do some silly pictures. I use the self timer, so when the little red light starts flashing fast, the jumping and silliness begins. Wait. That's more words. Here come the outtakes...
Let the June fun begin!!
Thanks for indulging in a little craziness!! I have Juanita Weasel on the "lock screen" on my phone and everytime I turn it back on, she makes me jump just a little, but I love her anyway!
But, back to the sewing... I made my second Colette Patterns Jasmine top last week, and gave it the debut wear today after enduring a little cold snap the last few days.
I made a few changes this time around. The sleeves are the most obvious. I used the cap sleeve pattern piece from Butterick 5328, and instead of just easing it in, I made a little inverted pleat at the shoulder seam.
The fabric is a print design from Anna Maria Horner, a voile, that I think I bought at fabric.com, and I didn't want the center seam. The floral print is in a line at a 30 degree angle from vertical, and after cutting it on the bias it's now at a kind of unfortunate angle that looks like I just didn't cut it straight, but, well, it doesn't bother me. Anyway, I cut it on the fold, and added vertical darts in the front and the back to give it a better fit.
I just wanted to show you that the center of the flowers match this skirt perfectly, and I'm not really color blind or anything.
I made the collar just a teeny bit wider, and the neckline just a bit lower.
I like it with the bow untied, too. So, the next time (and there WILL be a next time), I need to make it just a bit snugger around the waist. You obviously can't see in the pictures, but it kind of does this weird flip out thing at the hem. I'd also make the collar even wider in the back and around the shoulders, tapering back to the current width for the tie. Or I'll just leave the collar off. I'm thinking boat neck. Maybe sleeveless.
I'm working on a vintage Vogue right now, and I'm too lazy to go check to see which one. You'll just have to be surprised! :D
Boy, have I been a blogging slacker! I can't really blame self stitched September, though that would be tempting. No, I've actually been doing a little traveling, meeting with some of the friends I've made on Etsy for a little get-away in Providence, RI and other points east. Aren't we all adorable?!
I had planned to sew lots of adorable outfits for the trip, and did manage to finish one top. And it's not the one I'm wearing in the above pic. But, on the Friday before I left, I was furiously sewing and finished the Colette Patterns Jasmine top.
I did wear it, but didn't get a picture with my camera. So I wore it again today and it's time to fill you in! I love it, by the way. Before I do any reveal, let me just say that beginner is the right rating. It's super easy, and so far, it's been the easiest to fit (for me) Colette pattern yet. I suspect I know why, and it definitely has to do with user error.
I made a muslin, and for the first time in my history of making Colette Patterns, I just traced a straight size 10. Usually, I try to do a little tweaking before the muslin stage, but not this time. And the muslin told me that I only needed minimal tweaks. Having a center front and center back seam made things easy.
My usual narrow upper chest problem was solved simply by pinching in the excess at the center seam. I did the same at the back center, though not quite as much. I shortened the dart by about 1/2", and shortened the length about an inch. I also shortened the sleeve about 3/4". Finally, I pinched out about 3/4" from the length of the back armhole, because it was a little long, but left the sleeve seam alone because it was gathered at the top anyway.
The fabric is a madras I had in my stash, and I picked up the dark navy linen contrast at Gail K's in Atlanta. I did interface the collar pieces (not in the instructions) because the linen was a bit floppy.
One other big change was in the cutting out... I actually cut it on the bias cross grain. Is that a thing? Instead of placing the grainline arrow on the vertical, I placed it on the horizontal because I wanted the chevrons to look like the V's that you see and not upside down with the widest part pointing to my hips.
Finally, I have this thing about being trapped in my clothes. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, I put a 9" invisible zipper from the hemline up on the left side and solved that problem.
The madras colors varied greatly from stripe to stripe, so the matching is as good as it could get. I'm thrilled with it. Even the sleeves mostly match.
If I make it again, I'll pinch just a bit more out of the center and that's it.
Yesterday, we had a visit from Kyle, and after packing up more cool-weather clothes and a few other things, he went back to school today. It was fall break after all, so we were thrilled he gave us a few hours.
So is Danny the Dog saying "who is this boy?" or is he thrilled, too?
