Month: January 2014

adult's clothing, Lekala, sewing

Lekala 5809

Slowly but surely I am working my way through some more Lekala patterns.  There are now a few that have been taped together and have the paper pattern cut out, patiently waiting their opportunity to be pinned onto fabric, cut and sewn up.  Over my school holiday sewing marathon (for a while there I was making a garment each day) Lekala 5809 had the opportunity to become a real live garment.

Lekala 5809

This top was illustrated on a fuller figured model than many of the Lekala patterns, so I hoped that it would contain the sort of ease that I prefer. And it did! It’s a relatively simple top, with one front pattern piece and one back pattern piece, but it has a few interesting features.

Lekala 5809

See those sleeves? How can you not! They are open from shoulder to hemline. The instructions weren’t especially clear to me so I mostly used some common sense. I did remember to take a few photos as I went along, and have included them here in the hope that they might assist others who give this top a go.

Firstly, the instructions talk about cutting strips of fabric to make “piping”. There is no piping, but you do need strips of fabric cut across the grain for the neckline binding, the sleeve hem binding, and binding along the sleeve openings. The shoulders are formed by laying the back pattern piece over the front after the sleeve openings have been bound.

Lekala 5809 - neckline and shoulder inside

I cut strips of fabric about an inch wide. To bind the sleeve openings, I sewed a strip on the right side of the sleeve with 1/4 inch seam allowances, then turned it to the inside over the seam allowance, then stitched very close to the seam from the right side. I trimmed any excess fabric on the inside close to the stitching. The above photo shows how this looks from the inside of the fabric. I stopped at the shoulder marking, as per the instructions. The photo below shows how this looks from the right side of the fabric.

Lekala 5809 neckline and shoulder right side

This was simpler for the back sleeve opening, because it was bound right up to the neckline. Then the back shoulder piece overlaps the front shoulder piece, and is topstitched into place.

Lekala 5809 - shoulder

The bottom of the sleeves are similar. The back piece overlaps the front piece, and is stitched into place. Then the sleeve hem is gathered to size – the measurement is printed on the pattern piece – and bound, in the same way that the sleeve opening edges were bound by sewing on a strip right sides together, turning it to the inside then topstitching close to the seam.

Lekala 5809 - sleeve

The neckline was bound the same way, after gathers were drawn up to the measurements printed on the front pattern piece. I prefer to topstitch close to the edge of the binding rather than trying to stitch in the ditch as I find that I get a better aesthetic result and there is no concern about stitches occasionally veering out of the ditch! When I did a Knitwit course back in the early 80s this was known as a “chanel trim”.

Lekala 5809

The pattern has a centre back seam, but because my shape has so little waist definition I placed the pattern on the fold and eliminated it completely. There aren’t any gathers at the back neckline, and the fit is loose-ish without being voluminous.

Lekala 5809 - back neckline detail

This pattern was drafted to my measurements, so I didn’t make any alterations. I am quite happy with the length, as it was described as a tunic, and the open sleeves are an interesting change to the rest of my wardrobe. The lower hem was stitched with a twin needle after securing it with Vliesofix. Most of the construction of this top was done on my regular sewing machine – only the side seams were sewn on the overlocker.

Lekala 5809

The fabric was the same viscose jersey that I used for my Draped T-Dress. It is such a wonderful colour and luxuriously soft against the skin.

Lekala 5809

Lekala appear to have been working on enhancements to their website, and it will be interesting to see how my next couple of makes go, where in addition to my measurements I have specified things such as “increased upper arms”, “high waist”, “reduced shoulder width” and “low relative height of protruding part of bust”!

miscellaneous, musings, planned projects

school’s back

School is back.  Stella is in grade one and Clare is in grade six – her last year of primary school.  How could that have possibly happened?  So while the kids were at school today, I took the opportunity to head into the city.  After late breakfast with some other school mums, of course.  Making the most of that precious six hours!

tourist in my city - January 2014

Absolutely the perfect day for visiting some fabric shops, the Edward Steichen & Art Deco Fashion exhibition at NGV, and the All That Glitters exhibition at The Arts Centre. And the train and tram still got me back to school in time for pick up! It was truly restorative for my soul.  I really do love my city.

I am still not certain what the digitally printed polyester crepe from my last post will become – and I love the variety of suggestions that you have made!  There was some very impressive pattern knowledge exhibited in your responses – and interestingly, most of them are patterns that are already in my stash!  I am currently leaning towards a Victory Satsuki top, but I have been known to change my mind.  In the meantime I have some beautiful striped viscose knit on the cutting table waiting to become a draped t-dress, two lengths of linen competing to become Vogue 8552 (before Saturday), and modal knit waiting to become a Cherish dress for my mum…..and I am quite a few blog posts behind on garments that I made during the school holidays.  Ah well!

adult's clothing, sewing

By Hand London Anna dress

Since I mentioned in my last post that I sewed two garments for Freya’s birthday, I thought that I’d better not leave you in suspense for too long waiting for the second.  So may I present the By Hand London Anna dress!

By Hand London Anna dress

Now, I did have every intention of sewing this pattern for myself. After all, I have seen it look great on a variety of sizes and shapes. It’s even made it to the Pattern Review best patterns of 2013 list! But for some reason, every time I pulled it out I put it away again. Clearly, it wanted to be made for Freya rather than for me.

By Hand London Anna dress

The fabric has been in my stash for a long, long time, waiting for the perfect project. It is a John Kaldor stretch cotton sateen, and the colours are just right for Freya. I had just enough to make the dress – clearly it was serendipitous! I chose the V-neck version in the shorter length.

By Hand London Anna dress

Freya’s measurements corresponded almost perfectly with the measurements listed for size 10, and the finished dress made according to those measurements fits her very well. All seamlines, darts and tucks aligned exactly as they should. I made the back neckline smaller by cutting off a wedge of fabric from both centre back pieces, around an inch wide at the neck edge and narrowing to nothing near the bottom of the bodice. I did that before inserting the zipper, after remembering that I had read almost universal reviews saying that the back neckline gaped. If I make this again I will adjust the neckline more like this tutorial before cutting into the fabric, rather than my more ad hoc approach. I also understitched the facings to keep them in place, and caught them to the shoulder seamlines with a few stitches to secure them there as well.  There is one thing that I am not completely satisfied with, and it was all my own fault.

By Hand London Anna dress

No, that invisible zipper isn’t actually invisible, is it!  Unfortunately for some reason I used my regular zipper foot when I inserted it, rather than my invisible zipper foot.  I have no idea how that happened.  It’s not too bad, but now that I realise what I did wrong I wish that I had re-inserted it before giving it to Freya.   I still might, if I can steal it back from her.  However, the insertion is fantastic at the neckline, where the facing is.  I used the wonderful instructions from You Sew Girl!’s A-line Skirt pattern, which always give a terrific result when you have an invisible zipper and a facing.  Much better than just turning the facing to the inside and slip stitching it in place.

2014-01-23 15.37.54

By Hand London do have a sewalong for this dress.  I didn’t refer to it at all, but you might find it helpful if you want to give this dress a try (if you are one of the few who hasn’t made it already).

By Hand London Anna dress

Something that came to mind while making this – and that I just saw echoed in the curious kiwi’s most recent blog post – was that if you want to maximise fitting opportunities, you would be better off constructing the dress front and dress back separately and leaving the side seams until last. That is something that I would definitely need to do if making this dress for myself, as I would need to make quite a few adjustments for my proportionately  substantive mid-section.  As it is a multi-sized pattern there is plenty of opportunity for grading across sizes.  Very handy.  Not that I needed to do any grading for Freya!

By Hand London Anna dress

So, will I make this dress again for me? The jury is still out on that one. But for Freya? Absolutely.

adult's clothing, sewing

Sewaholic Pendrell blouse

Every now and then I pull certain patterns from my stash and ask them serious questions. “Why did I buy you?  I know that you’re a cute design and pretty style, and I’ve seen you look great on many people, but why did I buy you for ME? Why did I buy you when I would need to make so many alterations for you to fit my body shape? And even when you eventually fit me you probably won’t flatter me or work with my other clothes?”

Now I know the answer.

Sewaholic Pendrell blouse

Somewhere in the back of my mind when I clicked on that purchase button, a voice was whispering “I won’t look good on you – but I will look FANTASTIC on Freya”.

Sewaholic Pendrell blouse

My lovely cousin Freya just had her birthday, and I made her not one, but two new garments! The first of these is the Sewaholic Pendrell blouse. I sewed view A. The description of the Pendrell is as follows:

The Pendrell blouse is a feminine semi-fitted top. Your choice of unique draped sleeves, flirty double ruffles or a classic sleeveless shell. A great addition to your wardrobe!

This blouse is designed with a pear-shaped figure in mind. Ruffles or sleeves add dimension at the shoulders, which balances out wider hips so they appear slim in comparison! Sizing is proportioned for a pear-shaped figure: smaller bust and waist, larger hips.

For View A, the draped sleeve is self-lined, so the pleats hang softly and there’s no hemming required. Both ruffles on View B are cut on the fold as well. Extra-long length in the body of the blouse makes it easy to tuck into skirts and pants comfortably. Princess seams elongate and flatter the body. Also, there is no closure! I wanted to have the best fit possible while eliminating zippers and buttons to keep it easy.

Freya’s measurements were perfectly aligned with size 10, so that is what I cut out and sewed. I made absolutely no changes, as I didn’t have her available for fitting and I wanted it to be a surprise. The fabric is a beautiful designer cotton that came my way via Anna, and it looks wonderful with jeans. Some close ups taken in artificial light on Ada (whose measurements had to be dialled down significantly from mine to make this fit) show the details a little more.

Sewaholic Pendrell for Freya

I really enjoyed making those self-lined sleeves. They are inserted in the front and back princess seams, and were actually quite simple to construct. There is a sewalong for this blouse, for anyone interested, but I didn’t refer to it at all. Construction was done on the sewing machine, but I finished edges on the overlocker. I wanted to be able to make alterations easily if need be, and sewing the seams on the machine gave some more flexibility. But I needn’t have worried.

Sewaholic Pendrell for Freya

The neckline and armscyes are bound with a bias strip applied like a facing, pretty much in the same manner that Tessuti uses in their Lily and Eva dresses. It is quite straightforward and gives a lovely finish. The fabric was also a dream to sew and to press.

Sewaholic Pendrell blouse

Less blurry modelled shots would have been preferable, but I have to work with what I have! I’ll use this pattern again for Freya. I’d quite like to sew up the view with the ruffles. Overall, I think that this is an excellent pattern, with clear instructions and perfect drafting for Freya’s shape. Hooray!

adult's clothing, sewing, tessuti patterns

meow

Some of you suspected that it wouldn’t be long before the creepy cat fabric that I used for Clare’s and Stella’s Modkid Melanie dresses would turn up on a garment for me.  You were right.

Tessuti Lola tee

See what happens when the school holidays enter their fifth week! I do slightly nutty things, like making a Lola tee from cat fabric. Oh well.

Tessuti Lola tee

Like last time, I sewed this up as a straight size Medium, but about three inches shorter than the pattern. Since I had red thread in the overlocker and sewing machine, I did all the construction in red and twin needle topstitching in red as well. Just adds that extra detail that isn’t terribly noticeable, but I know is there!

Tessuti Lola tee - with contrast stitching

I used some black/white stripe from stash for the neck band, rather than more of the creepy cat fabric. I had envisaged eyes all around the neckline, but luckily for everyone else I changed my mind. And why was there red thread in the overlocker and machine?

Tessuti Lola tee with Grainline Moss mini

Because I finally finished sewing another Grainline Moss mini, this time in red. I am very happy with it! I sized down to a 10, learning from my last make, and did a small sway back alteration by removing a wedge from the centre of the back yoke panels.

grainline moss mini - back view

This is really hard to see in the red, and the fit still isn’t perfect, but the skirt is very comfortable and highly wearable.

Grainline Moss mini

The fabric is stretch cotton drill. I used a contrast print for the inside of the pockets, the waistband facing, and the hem band facing.  I really love the way that the pockets extend to the centre front seam!  The angled edges of the pockets were stabilised before sewing, since they are cut on the bias and I really didn’t want them to stretch out.

Grainline moss mini

I was very pleased with the zipper insertion, and found a vintage button from stash to complete the skirt. No-one will ever see it, because I wear my tops over my waistbands, but I know that it is there!

Grainline moss mini

I did try the skirt on without the hem band, but felt that it was a bit too short for me to feel comfortable in at the shorter length. I’m not concerned about the look of my (very pale) legs, but I really couldn’t bend over without showing far more than I wanted to show. So I added the hem band, but cut it a bit narrower than the pattern. This length should be perfect. I’m also quite impressed with the waistband fit this time around, and how well the skirt sits when viewed from the front.

grainline moss mini - front

There is another Moss mini in my future, for my SWAP. I have a few other items that I want to complete first, however! I have managed to sew a garment each day over the past couple of weeks, which has been highly enjoyable for me. As a consequence I am behind on blogging all those garments, but when school and work go back soon my sewing output will slow down considerably. Sob!  Have to make the most of available sewing time while I can!

Tessuti Lola tee with Grainline Moss mini

And did you notice my porch table?

Tessuti Lola tee with Grainline Moss mini

Highly appropriate for deliveries of patterns or fabric, I think….

children's clothing, kids clothing, sewing

class picnic blouse

The Class Picnic blouse is an Oliver + S pattern that has been in my stash for quite some time.  Now that I have finally used it, I am wondering what took me so long!

Oliver + S Class Picnic blouse

As per the Oliver + S pattern description: the raglan-sleeve pull-on blouse includes gathers at the yokes, elastic at the shoulders, three-quarter-length sleeves, and wide hems.

Oliver + S Class Picnic blouse

The only real difference between the front and back of this blouse is that the back is ever so slightly higher. I sewed a label inside the back yoke to make it easier for Clare to know which way around to wear it. The fabric is Denyse Schmidt Greenfield Hill voile, and it was beautiful to sew. It is super smooth and silky to the touch with a tight weave, much like Liberty tana lawn really, so required a new sharps needle and a freshly cleaned sewing machine (wow, what a difference oiling your machine occasionally makes).

Oliver + S Class Picnic blouse

This is quite a roomy design and I sewed up size 8 for Clare (134 cm tall, aged 11 years). This is a straightforward style to construct. I really do wonder how it is that Liesl Gibson comes up with such lovely and individual designs while keeping them so straightforward to make and with such clear instructions! Definitely a special talent.  I reckon that she could upsize this blouse and add it to her women’s range.  Maybe I should suggest it?

Oliver + S Class Picnic blouse

I’ll be making this pattern again. And maybe the coordinating shorts, that look really sweet on the pattern envelope. In the meantime, I’m wondering how to track down some more of that Greenfield Hill voile. It’s quite a few seasons old now, but I really do love it. And last but not least, thank you for your beautiful (and educational) comments on Clare’s vintage Butterick dress! It seems that this has been a satisfying make for all of us.

children's clothing, kids clothing, sewing, vintage patterns

vintage Butterick 6599 dress

Although I don’t really consider myself to be a collector of vintage patterns, I appear to have accumulated a drawer full of them.  Most have been bought cheaply from op shops or have been given to me.  They range from babies patterns through to children’s, girls, teens, half-size (oh, how I wish that patterns were still published in half sizes) to misses, women’s and even some men’s.  Some were published in the 40s or 50s, many in the 60s or 70s.  I don’t use them often, but am really pleased that I pulled out Butterick 6599 to make Clare her birthday dress this year.  I warn you, there are going to be loads of photos in this blog post, because I am so pleased with the finished result!

vintage Butterick 6599

To me, the cover artwork on the pattern looks as though it was published in the 1950s. However, the price was 35c, and decimal currency started in Australia in 1966. I couldn’t find a copyright or publication date on the pattern, although it does say printed in the USA. So maybe it is an American copy of the pattern, hence the price being in cents. Any vintage pattern aficionados who could shed more light on this?

vintage Butterick 6599

My copy is in size 8, for a 26 inch chest. Clare pretty much fits into this range. The pattern cover describes the dress as: Girl’s dress, sun-top or puffed sleeve bodice. She wants them both! (A) Elasticised sleeves are puffed. Contrasting cinch belt really nips the waist. (B) Sundress has a cuffed bodice, double shoe-string straps, cuffs and straps are in contrast. Circular skirt in all views.

vintage Butterick 6599

Oh yes, that’s definitely a circular skirt! It was lovely working with this old single sized pattern. I didn’t trace it but just cut it and used it! Actually, many of the pieces were already cut, and one of the skirt pieces had been shortened significantly, so I had to make sure during the cutting process that I remembered to cut it to the same length as the other skirt piece. The fabric is cotton voile from Spotlight. It was so sheer that I decided to underline the entire dress in white cotton. I really didn’t want any show through at the seams, darts or facings. To underline it I simply cut out all the pieces again in the soft solid white cotton, then treated the two pieces – the fashion fabric and underlining – as one.

vintage Butterick 6599 - front neckline and sleeve detail

It was fun working from vintage instructions. All the instructions were written on one double-sided sheet.

vintage Butterick 6599 - instructions page 1

Clare chose the view with puffed sleeves, and decided that she didn’t want the belt. In a miraculous cutting-out fluke, I managed to get the peacock on the bodice to pretty much match across the waist seam onto the skirt.

vintage Butterick 6599

The pattern pieces and construction techniques for the sleeves and bodice were particularly interesting. The sleeves are gathered at the bottom into a bias band that is cut to size to fit the upper arm, and at the top they extend into the shoulder straps with elasticised casings. The bodice/sleeve assembly was reminiscent of assembling a raglan top in some ways. The top of the sleeve was faced to allow for the casings, and the elastic inserted before the sleeve was attached to the bodice.

vintage Butterick 6599 - sleeve construction

The outside of the sleeve, showing the casings and how it attaches to the bodice:

vintage Butterick 6599 - sleeve detail

And a photo from the inside:

vintage Butterick 6599 - inside sleeve detail

Once the bodice and sleeves have been joined, the bodice front and back neckline facings are attached. At this stage I was fairly certain that the bodice neckline was likely to be much too wide for Clare. Even though the pattern is only for size 8, it has front and back bodice darts which are really more appropriate for a girl who is developing a bust. And yes, the bodice gaped at the front on Clare. However, it was fine at the back.

vintage Butterick 6599 - back neckline on

We played around with the front a little bit before deciding to utilise the front facing to simply sew an elasticised casing across the front to bring it in a little. This echoes the gathers from the elastic across the shoulders, and makes the dress fit nicely across Clare’s chest.

vintage Butterick 6599 - front neckline on

And yes, that photo was taken during the fitting process – there is a safety pin in it! The skirt pieces were attached to the front and the back bodices before the side seams are sewn. The pattern instructs you to use a zip in one side seam “inserted as per the manufacturer’s instructions”. I sewed the dress together along the side seams, and Clare was able to wriggle into it without a zip, so we left it out completely! However, there is always the option of adding it back in again if needed as time passes and Clare grows. The side seams (which continue into the sleeve seams) were sewn by machine, pressed open and the edges of the seam allowances finished on the overlocker, so it won’t be hard to add a zip if I have to.

vintage Butterick 6599

The skirts on the pattern illustration were obviously drawn with a petticoat/crinoline underneath to give them the “boof” that was so fashionable at the time. Clare isn’t interested in wearing hers with a crinoline. It’s just as much fun to twirl without one!

vintage Butterick 6599

I did intend to hem the skirt by hand, but in the end I sewed it down by machine after running the overlocker around it first to bring it in a little then turning it up about 5/8″. I figured that there was already top-stitching along the top of the bodice and sleeves for the elastic casing, and Clare wanted to wear it! However, the sleeve bindings were turned and hand-stitched in place after the side and sleeve seams were sewn.

vintage Butterick 6599

Sizing is an interesting thing – this is the straight size 8. I left the dress length and bodice length as per the pattern, and both look pretty much perfect for Clare, yet there was still plenty of width in the bodice. I wonder how much children’s sizing has changed over the years? Clare is slim, but I imagine that she is possibly a similar build to the average child at the time the pattern was designed.

vintage Butterick 6599

Looking at these photos, I possibly should have hemmed the skirt and underlining pieces separately.  However, treating them as one has given the skirt a lovely weight and swing to it.  I’ll think further on that and change it later if I wish.  I have put all of the photos to do with this dress into a Flickr set here if you are interested, including some of the pattern instructions and pattern pieces (although some of these are slightly blurry). It was a highly enjoyable make for me and I am so pleased that Clare is so happy with it.  Here’s one last photo to finish off!

vintage Butterick 6599

children's clothing, kids clothing, sewing

denim sailboat skirt for Clare

I’ve made the Oliver + S sailboat skirt for Clare twice before, but wanted to give it one last go before she was too large for the pattern size range (it only goes up to size 8).  I had some lovely soft denim in stash, so after consultation with Clare a denim sailboat skirt was born.

Oliver + S sailboat skirt, size 8 in denim

This is a sweet, simple design. It is described as a sailor-style A-line button-front skirt  that includes back elastic and a small centre back pleat.  In my opinion it’s not all that A-line.  I made a straight size 8 for Clare (who is now 11 years old and somewhere around 134 cm tall).

Oliver + S sailboat skirt, size 8 in denim

The centre back pleat is easy to construct and is reinforced with stitching along the top and interfacing on the inside where the corners of the pleat meet. The back of the skirt has a folded down casing containing fairly wide elastic. This makes it comfortable and assists with fit.

Oliver + S sailboat skirt, size 8 in denim

The front folds down so that Clare can get into and out of it, and closes with snaps. The pattern is designed with buttons and button holes, but Clare prefers snaps and thanks to Karen and her fancy snap press I was able to accommodate her request. Clare chose bright pink.

Oliver + S sailboat skirt, size 8 in denim

It looks a little like there are pockets at the front there, but believe me, there aren’t any. Just the way to get the skirt on and off! It does allow for some top-stitching and I like the angles around the opening.

Oliver + S sailboat skirt, size 8 in denim

I’ve been sewing more for Clare than for Stella lately, which makes sense considering that Clare’s clothes all get passed down to Stella anyway. Yet for some reason I feel guilty that Stella doesn’t get more made for her! Time to get over that, methinks.

2014 SWAP, planned projects

my SWAP plans

There have been a few mentions of the 2014 Stitcher’s Guild SWAP on my blog, but no real evidence of any planning.  You know, the P part of SWAP – Sewing With A Plan.  However, behind the scenes there have been many plans afoot!  First, I’ll remind you of the SWAP “rules”.

3 “3 packs” + 2 “wild cards” = 11 garments. 
Each three pack will be:
2 tops + 1 bottom 
or
1 top + 1 bottom + 1 outer layer 
or 
1 dress + 1 top + 1 bottom
The “wild card” options can be just about anything you like, but they must be “garments” not accessories (hats, bags, blankets, etc.)
A “top” will be any shirt or blouse worn on the upper half; a “bottom” will be any garment worn on the lower half, and it shouldn’t be obscene to wear either without another layer. 
A “dress” will be any garment that covers both upper and lower halves, and again, it shouldn’t be obscene to wear it without an additional layer.
An “outer layer” will any jacket or sweater that is intended to be a second layer, over a top or a dress. If it can also be worn alone, that is fine.
A “bib” garment will considered a bottom, unless it can be worn alone without a top under or over it.
One garment may be previously sewn; another may be purchased.  
If you have an item you’re working on now, you may include it, OR you may stitch up one item from scratch before the official sewing date of December 26.
There’s no requirement that every garment match or every top match every bottom.  However, all the individual pieces must form a cohesive collection -they should all look like they belong together in the closet. 

I really wanted to use patterns and fabric that were already in my stash for this SWAP.  After some thought, I have come up with the following plans.  Some are patterns that I have used before, but most aren’t.  Time to turn those unused patterns into garments!

2014 SWAP Jan 11 3 pack #1

fabric for 3 pack #1

Style Arc Lola pants, in navy/rusty tan printed viscose woven from Darn Cheap Fabrics.  This was cut out before the SWAP start date, as were a couple of other garments.  I thought that it would make sense to incorporate things that I had already cut out into my plan.

Style Arc Lu Lu tunic top, in a textured navy linen woven from Darn Cheap Fabrics.

And this is where things get more difficult.  Either Vogue 8791 (the sleeveless version) or Style Arc Dotty blouse.  I need to purchase fabric for this – something very drapey in a rusty tan colour to match the pants.  However, I’ve just made a Lekala blouse that might swap in here.  We’ll see.

2014 SWAP Jan 11 3 pack #2

Fabrics for the Charlotte dress (and Vogue top)

Style Arc Charlotte dress.  I will use the above three fabrics for this.  Lime green linen from Spotlight, gold foiled white linen from Darn Cheap Fabrics, navy printed cotton brought back from Japan as a gift from my lovely sister-in-law.  Still working out which fabric will go where – time to get out the coloured pencils!

Vogue 8655 sleeveless top.  I’m planning on colour blocking this with two of the fabrics from the Charlotte dress, probably the green and white.

Grainline Moss Mini, in navy textured stretch woven from Darn Cheap Fabrics.  I’ve used this fabric before for pants, and know that it has loads of stretch, so I’ll need to be careful sizing wise when I make this.

2014 SWAP Jan 11 3 pack #3

fabric for 3 pack #3

Vogue 8805 in striped ponte knit from Rathdowne Fabrics, shortened to top length (who gave me that brilliant suggestion?) – there is only 70cm of this.  And actually, I sewed it up last night.

Style Arc Floating Fran

 Style Arc Floating Fran cardi in cobalt blue knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics.  Cut out and ready to go!

Style Arc Mindi skirt in orange stretch denim from Crafty Mamas.  I need to go through my zip collection and see if I have just the right ones to set this off.  I will possibly need to muslin this one first and increase the waist size.

2014 SWAP Jan 11 wild cards

wild card fabric - green knit for jacket, viscose for dress

Style Arc Zara dress in lime viscose woven from Darn Cheap Fabrics. This has been cut out for a month or two. I am doing the cap sleeved version.

Vogue 8819 long sleeved jacket in green/metallic/black knit given to me by Tanya.

So, I’m hoping that not only with this work in the 3 pack groupings, but I should be able to wear the tops and pants from each grouping with at least one other option from another grouping, and the jacket should work with lots of the garments.  I started the planning process with the patterns, then went through my fabrics to match them up.  I made a couple of changes in the process once I pulled the fabrics off shelves and out of boxes and laid them out together, but now I’m quite happy with the overall 11-piece wardrobe.  If I do get this sewn by the deadline I’ll work on another SWAP for the depths of winter!  I am still sewing non-SWAP garments as well, however I’ve been keeping these 11 pieces in mind and have been thinking along the lines of 3 pack as I go along.

By the way, I need a name for my SWAP.  Any suggestions?

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