Sew Long Summer, Hello Astoria and Pirate Pencil

I say Sew Long Summer by sewing up new fall outfits. My newest outfit is the Astoria Sweater from Seamwork Magazine and the Pirate Pencil Skirt from Patterns 4 Pirates.

I knew they would make a colorful fall outfit that I can also leverage for my business casual office. (Oh hey, keep reading to learn about the Sew Long Summer blog tour)

The Astoria

This is my first time trying a pattern from Seamwork magazine. My first impression of the Astoria was it’s overkill of information except for an accurate description of the two versions. I had to dig to find that the versions are long sleeve and 3/4 sleeve. (The 3/4 sleeve descriptor is actually on the pattern piece inventory- nowhere else) I made a straight size Med per my measurements and I’d say it’s a good fit.

The Pirate Pencil Skirt

The Pirate Pencil is a free pattern, but is not lacking in the time and effort put into regular quality patterns. My only critique is that the print instructions don’t have you print pages 18 & 23 for the above knee version. You will need them. The only thing I’d change is adding a little length for next time.

I used stash fabrics to make both pieces; a striped ponte knit to make up the Pirate Pencil and a textured double knit for the Astoria.

Thanks for reading today.

 

The full tour includes these talented sewists, so I hope you’ll follow along and comment on their posts this week.

Sept. 9th   Sewing A La Carte,  mahlicadesigns, Sewing Vortex, Sewing With Sarah

Sept. 10th The Bear and Pea Atelier, Auschick Sews, Stitched by Jennie, Miss Marah Sewn

Sept. 11th Sew Cute Couture by Kathy, A Rose Tinted World, mahlicadesigns

Sept. 12th Little Heart Threads, Lulu and Celeste, The Crafting Fiend, Fils Anddraps

Sept. 13th  Petite Font, Sew 4 Five, The Sewing Scientist, Sew Cute Couture by Kathy, Kitty Makes It

You can follow me on instagram, Bloglovin, or by entering your email in the right side bar.

Sew Long Summer, Hello Michelle & Robinson

I say Sew Long Summer by sewing up new fall outfits. My newest outfit is the Michelle Cardigan from DG Patterns* and the Robinson Trousers from Ensemble Patterns. Both of these hit my sewing list way back in the spring when I first saw the Michelle pattern at its release and then I won the Robinson Trouser pattern in a facebook group. I knew they would be a perfect fall outfit. (Oh hey, keep reading to learn about the blog tour and GIVEAWAY!)

The Michelle

I chose a sweater knit from The Fab Clique to make my Michelle cozy for fall. I’m really liking this reddish color on me.

I started with a size 10, per the sizing chart, but ended up sizing it down to an 8 from the waist up. It’s a roomy fitting top so you may want to choose your size with that in mind.

 

I do have a little tip on the Michelle construction. When you fold up the front curved hem there is a slight gap (shown in blue) between the hem allowance and the side seam. In most knits this probably isn’t a problem, but in the sweater knit it created a weak point between the side seam and the upturned hem. To avoid this you can stretch the fabric in the hem allowance to be caught in the side seam or you can include an extra tab of fabric when cutting to make sure the hem allowance reaches the side seam.

The Robinson Trousers

I used a lightweight (6-7oz) stretch denim from deep in my stash for the Robinsons and boy do I wish I could photograph black better so you could really see them.

The designer has combined comfort and style in the Robinsons. The elastic waistband and easy fit are paired with a faux fly, nice sized front slash pockets, optional patch pockets for the back, and several finishing options at the ankle to make these more than a simple pair of pull on pants.

I chose to make the exposed zipper and tab closure at the ankle ’cause that’s just my style. I think they look pretty cool.

 

All week we have sewing bloggers sharing how they say Sew Long Summer. The full tour includes these talented sewists, so I hope you’ll follow along.

Sept. 10th   Sewing A La Carte, Tenille’s Thread, A Custom Clothier, Made for Little Gents, Miss Marah Sewn

Sept. 11th Manning the Machine, mahlicadesigns, Sewing Vortex, Crafting Fiend

Sept. 12th Auschick Sews, Aurora Design Fabrics, My Heart Will Sew On, Vicky Myers Creations

Sept. 13th Flaxfield Sewing, Sewing with D, Musings of a Seamstress, Make it Sew with the Bear and Pea Atelier,  Petite Font

Sept. 14th Sewing à la Carte, Sewing by Ti, Stitches by Laura, Sewing with Sarah, My Sewing Roots  

Share what you’ve been making to say “Sew Long Summer” to be entered into our random drawing. (Full details here)

Continental US participants will be entered to win a $20 store credit from Simply by Ti Fabrics.

All other participants will be entered to win a pattern of choice from DG Patterns.

To enter, please tag your sewing project with #SewLongSewcial18 on Instagram or facebook. You can also leave a link in the comments on the mahlicadesigns intro post. Please limit your entries to items you’ve sewn between Sept 10th and Sept 28th 2018. Winners will be notified and announced shortly thereafter.

We can’t wait to see what you’re making.

You can follow me on instagram, Bloglovin, or by entering your email in the right side bar.

*This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through my links, I get a small commission to help pay for my sewing hobby.

There’s still some winter left, right? Burdastyle 10/2015 #109

Well, I got sucked in by Burdastyle‘s modern aesthetic again, despite knowing I’d have little help from them to get it done. Their directions are wanting. Thankfully this is easy to sew.

Take a look at this beauty…

So chunky, so luxurious. And such an inaccurate representation of the top. Look at how much of the sweater is clipped up on her back, behind her elbow.

Muslin time for sure. I started with my size, 38, based on my 35.5in bust. The result is the refrigerator box of boxy tops. And what’s up with the seam line placement going across the bust? That’s just strange to me. Alteration time.

First up, I raised the bust line seam by 1in on all pieces.

The pattern has shaping to curve over your shoulder. These points were about 2in past my shoulder on each side, so I used that and the ease around my chest as indicators of how much I could bring the pattern in. I cut my pattern pieces down to the smallest size along the side seams of the bodice, sides of the cowl, and the arm seam. On top of that, I folded out/removed a total of 2in vertically from the center of the front, back and cowl neck pieces. On the sleeve, I slashed the pattern piece up the middle from cuff to (not through) the seam line at the shoulder. I overlapped the cuff part of the slash by 1/2, removing 1in total, and taped up the skinnier sleeve piece.

After finishing up my faux leather jacket and surviving, I thought I really wanted to go luxe on this project and try some faux fur. I added a lining because while the faux fur is so silky and soft, it is supported by a web-like substraight that I didn’t like against my skin. I did a hybrid of underlining and lining using a ponte from my stash. I hand stitched the hems and catch stitched the interior seam allowances open after trimming away a bit of the fur.

This sweater is Warm, which is just what I wanted. There’s still some winter left to enjoy the coziness of this sweater. Don’t be fooled by my modeling in my Charcoal shorts and Jade skirt.

Things to note if you make this sweater:

I’m a shorty (5’4″) and the front hem line falls a couple inches below my navel.

Unless you make this really big, you should expect your sweater to lift up if you raise your arms higher than shoulder level. Hopefully looking at how the shoulders and arms go together in the line drawing and on my muslin sheds some light on why.

I’m feeling pretty good about my warm wardrobe options now. It’s time to look toward spring and get sewing.

So, what do you think, did I overcorrect? I feel like I lost some of the boxy look, especially in the cowl.

Burdastyle 10/2015 #109 made in fur with a lining should take you about 4 hours to complete. (Add more time if you choose to catch stitch your seam allowances)

Pattern: $6    Fabrics: $25   Total: $31

Jalie Drop Pocket Cardigan for Core Wardrobe building

Holi-Daze week for my Sew Long Summer sew along was a bit of a challenge sewing wise. I was hoping to make a big batch of tees or undies, but it just didn’t happen. Weekends are not where I get my sewing time, so I just barely finished the Jalie cardigan I was working on to show off with my sewing tips post.

I’ve had the Jalie Drop Pocket Cardigan on my list since I saw Jamie’s last December. I’ve also been seeing Hacci knits around and wondered what they are like to sew and if using one would give me a warmer cardigan. The jury is still out on the warmth; it’s not quite cardigan weather yet. I purchased my Hacci sweater knit from Girl Charlee during their July 4 sale.

A little about the pattern. Jalie patterns come on a large sheet for you to trace off and include a huge range of sizes. The seam allowance on this one was pretty narrow at 1/4inch. Since I was using my serger I was ok with it, but otherwise I would recommend you think about adding more of a seam allowance as you trace. The pattern is put together to enclose as many seams as possible, because of this there were points in the instructions that I definitely would have been lost without the diagrams, so have both handy.

The pattern is a fabric hog, needing four of the front pieces shaped like a big “L” so the pocket part folds over the front. With stripe matching and my best pattern Tetris skills, I got a size U for 36in bust out of 2.25 yards (60in wide).

Hot Tip: Check your length before you cut. The pocket does not allow for much to be just cropped off the bottom if you forget.

Working with the Hacci sweater knit was very similar to working with a jersey knit; a little rolling at the edges but no fraying. I had some trouble getting the tension adjusted on my Janome 4618LE sewing machine to handle the stretch of the Hacci, but had no problem using my serger for the majority of the construction. I would think twice if I only had my machine to use.

Jalie’s Drop Pocket Cardigan should take you about 3.5 hours cut to finish.

Fabric $9      Pattern $ free     Total $9