Fly Fly Away Shirt

The birds on this shirt make me want to fly outta this cold weather.

Today makes day FIVE in a row that I haven't left my house, although I plan to try today. The temperatures are finally coming back up, but the roads are still bad. I've been sitting at home and sewing, and I finally sewed up this bird silhouette fabric that I ordered (from Girl Charlee), oh, close to a year ago? Two? IDK. The black is cotton/spandex jersey, also from GC.

I loved this fabric when it was released (didn't everyone?) but I fell victim to "it's TOO special I can't sew it" mania. Being stuck at home forced me to GET OVER IT and stop wasting time stashing fabrics. Sew it already!

The pattern is Simplicity 1501. This is a new pattern and I bought it right away, on my quest for more raglan-sleeve styles. I'm also looking forward to making some of the shorts come summertime.

Yes, I made a different raglan t-shirt a few months ago (here) but I wasn't in love with that pattern. There were too many things I needed to change (armholes/sleeves too tight, neckline too low, shoulders too broad), so I figured $1 on this Simplicity pattern was worth a shot.

I sewed a size XXS, but I extended the side seam/hem line to the length of the XXL. As drafted, this pattern is SHORT. It called for a 1" hem but mine is more like 1/2". It's still too short for my personal taste (although it looks pretty good in these photos). Next time I'll add 2" at the lengthen/shorten lines and be more comfortable with a 1" hem.

I used 1/2" seam allowances throughout, instead of 5/8". This decision was based on fitting-as-you-go and also on the fact that I was using my serger. And speaking of sergers, I tried something new!

I used a flatlock stitch to sew the sleeves to the bodice. I love how RTW it looks, and it was SO simple. I was changing thread color on my Brother 1034d anyway, so I followed my manual for the appropriate settings for flatlocking. I did a few tests and was pleased enough to do it on the shirt. To achieve this look, I sewed with the pieces WRONG sides together. You can also use the flatlock stitch to have "ladders" if you sew RIGHT sides together. I liked the look of the loops better than the ladders for this particular shirt.

Wrong side of flatlocked seam.

Overexposed to show ladder stitches.

One final pattern adjustment. Unlike my previous raglan t-shirt, this pattern has a center-back seam. That allowed me to easily adjust for narrow shoulders (which I'm finding is a required adjustment for me).

After removing a wedge at center-back (at the neckline) the shirt lies flat across my shoulders. No gaping!

I wasn't sure about the wide neckline band, but I love how it turned out. I've already copied the pattern (with my 2" added) and it's officially my raglan-sleeve "sloper". It makes me happy that I finally used this fabric and used it efficiently. I have a bit left over and I might make AB a matching shirt...too much? :)

What I'm Reading: GQ

There's a saying in Indiana (and probably elsewhere): "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it'll change." Thank God it's true! Two days of negative temperatures have finally given way to a "mild" 30 degrees. It's supposed to be 50 degrees by Sunday!

Spending three days holed up at home means I've gotten a lot of reading done. Last week I found an old (Fall 2013) copy of GQ magazine at a used bookstore for 50 cents. It specifically dealt with menswear and fall fashions, but I find that a lot of menswear "fall" looks double quite well for winter. Plus they cover accessories and shoes as well.

This is the first time I've ever sat down and read GQ, and I must say it did make me laugh. It definitely has a different tone than, say, Better Homes and Gardens. Plus it smells good! 

My husband has been in the market for a suit for...forever I guess. He ordered one recently but it didn't fit right and will be going back. I learned a lot about suits from this issue of GQ and feel slightly more qualified to help him shop.

Apparently a grey suit should

be your first suit.

It also reassured me that I must have some fashion sense and be ahead of the trends. I bought my husband a leather keychain for our anniversary last year, so this made me happy:

This was a fun read and there were lots of little details to inspire my menswear sewing. And maybe even womenswear sewing. Do you read up on men's fashion? Ever browse that category on Pinterest? It's such a drag, looking at handsome men and beautiful clothes, but research is important! :)

January sneak peek!

Mend It Monday: shirt cuffs

Not everyone who reads this blog is in my part of the country (or even in my country!) so I thought I'd share what we woke up to today:

The actual air temperature highs are in the negatives. These are the days when I'm very grateful to be a stay-at-home mom. AB and I are armed with new movies, plenty of Christmas toys, and I've got lots of sewing to do during nap time!

My husband (who did go to work today, brrrr!) has been online shopping a lot for clothes, and he sent me a bunch of choices for him for Christmas gifts. I ended up buying him this white button-up (button-down?) shirt from the Gap and he loves it!

I mean really, what won't this shirt go with? He's worn it under sweaters, on its own, all kinds of ways. It fits him well (unusual for RTW) but he did request one simple alteration: adding another button on the cuff.

It was a little loose for his liking. I tell ya what, it was awesome to be working in my sewing room, and have him come in to ask if I could fix his shirt. It felt like I had a little sewing shop and he was a customer. I told him I'd send him a bill.

We debated simply moving the current buttons, but instead decided to look through my button stash and add a second one instead. I guess in case his wrists grow?

You can see my very slight chalk mark where the second button was to go. To determine the right placement, he put the shirt on and I measured with my seam gauge. I think it took longer to look for suitable buttons than it did to sew them on!

I loved being able to customize this RTW shirt for him. Isn't it nice to put your skills to a practical purpose?

Project Runway rehash!

How can the temperature be 0? Doesn't it have to be something? Things that will make your head explode. I think I need to make some wool leggings to get me through the next week. Oh, and it snowed! Nothing better than sitting in my sewing room while AB naps, sewing, watching the snow fall...y'know, from inside my house where it's warm!

Spoilers ahead...

Things I loved:

I liked this challenge a lot. It felt like the designers were applying for a real-world job. So many challenges feel like a waste of time, but designing RTW and working in a design house is something they could/should/maybe already do.

Things I hated:

Ummm...what was Georgina wearing? She looked like she got wrapped up in some curtains on the way to judging. Eek!

Favorite garment(s):

I liked Seth Aaron's. His stuff always looks so well-made and expensive. I'm on the fence about the pink ruffle, I tend to want to stick with black and white and then use accessories if I want color.

There was something good in Christopher's design, but the execution was crummy.

Least favorite garment:

Elena's was boring. Why didn't anyone mention that it didn't seem to fit into an urban tribal vibe?

Hey, remember when Korto won the QVC challenge with a basic maxi dress? I don't blame her for trying to do that again.

Best line of the night:

"I think tribal is always in style. I'm African...I'm from a tribe." --Korto

"I feel like crying, but I'm not going to. I've already cried enough this season." --Elena


Sigh. For once I was hoping that the judges wouldn't eliminate anyone and 4 designers would go to the finale. I like Christopher and I do get him as a designer. But I also like Korto. Too bad Elena didn't fall flat on her face this challenge, I have no desire to see her collection. And hey, wasn't that voting thing that the judges did really fair, for once? I've always suspected that Heidi uses mind control and that's how her favorites make it to fashion week. None of that here!

See you next week for the finale! Who do you think will win? My money is on Seth Aaron.

Burda 7678: The Sparkly Fail

I've started to read a few more UK sewing blogs lately, and I've discovered the use of the word "wadder" for a project gone wrong. I have a real wadder for you today, one that had so much potential and is now a complete waste.

It would be nice to start the new year off right, but I gots to keep it realz around here yo. I don't have Christmas parties or fancy dinners to attend, but that didn't stop me from wanting a sparkly holiday garment like everyone else. A few months ago I ordered this rayon/spandex jersey from Girl Charlee, thinking it was a polka dot print.

Wrong. The dots are actually raised off the surface of the fabric, sort of like puffy paint. Originally I wanted to make some leggings for me (hello again McCall's 6173) but I was sort of uncertain about having textured leggings. I decided instead on Burda 7678 when I saw Jo-Ann's had Burda on sale a few weeks ago.

I have a RTW top similar to view B, and you know I love a good kimono sleeve. This was my first time buying a Burda pattern so I wanted to go with something easy, since they have a reputation for poor instructions (these were actually very good). This is possibly the least-complicated top you could ever construct, although I was confused about the sizing (spoiler alert: the measurements are inside on the tissue paper, along with the cutting layout...)

I'll cut to the chase: this was the worst fabric I've ever cut and/or sewn. My scissors screamed at me every time I went through a dot, and my feed dogs could NOT move the fabric without bunching it. I was afraid to use my serger for fear of damaging the knives, but eventually I was so frustrated I tried it anyway. No damage, but it still bunched.

Zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine.

4-thread overlock on the serger.

So. awful. I hand-basted some seams and it helped a bit, but there was nothing I could to help the neck band.

Eaten alive by the serger. Ugh. Turns out the neckline was too wide for my tastes, anyway, which means I can't think of a way to fix this even if I wanted to do so. Maybe add a cowl??

It's just bad bad bad. I don't even dare hem the sleeves because it will be a puckery mess, and I'm afraid to use Steam-A-Seam for fear of melting the dots.

So this is a fail due to the fabric, not the pattern. I agree with other reviews on PR that it's long, more like a tunic or dress than a top. The pattern directions state that it's drafted for a woman who is 5'6" and I'm 5'4", but if I truly wanted it to be a shirt I would have to shorten it 4" at least. The band at the bottom is probably too long for my proportions as well. I DO like the cut of the sleeve, it's such a hard balance with a kimono-style to avoid looking like a potato sack, but I felt like this pattern did a better job than some others.

I'm sorry there are no photos of me wearing this, but I knew if I put it back on for this review that I would inevitably try fixing it. Which would get me nowhere except the bathroom with soap in my mouth.

A New Edition for a New Year!

Happy Hangover Day errr...I mean, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve. And here's a serious question: are you a Seacrest person or a Carson person?

Hey, remember allllll the way back in 2013 when Lauren at Lladybird reviewed my book? She made a great point about the figure drawings being a tad too dark. They didn't fade into the background enough. Rather than take this as a criticism, I used it as inspiration for some updates. I'm so happy to introduce the Second Edition of 110 Creations: A Sewist's Notebook!

The new edition features lightened figure drawings, better for easy sketching. Here's a comparison of the before (bottom photo) and after (top photo):

I've also added the measurement chart to the larger book, so now both editions feature this handy reference.

Didn't get a Sewist's Notebook for Christmas? Now is your chance to pick up the new version. And how does free shipping sound? From now until January 17th, use code SHIPSHAPE14 for free standard shipping!

If you did get a Sewist's Notebook recently, how do you like it? Are you getting a lot of use from it? Comment and let me know!