I’m on a ‘use up the scraps/remnants’ kick at the moment.  One of the side effects of sewing from stash is that there is often fabric left over, because the fabric used for a garment wasn’t bought specifically for it.  Often these leftovers will work for the girls, but at other times they work for me in combination with other fabrics in the stash.

This printed lightweight ponte came from The Cloth Shop. It’s soft and stretchy, super comfortable to wear, and with some judicious placement of the pattern pieces there was just enough to cut the fronts and sleeves of the Style Arc Abigail knit top.

From the Style Arc website: This fashionable top can be made with or without the choker neck band. The swing silhouette makes this top stylish but easy to wear. The neck band is a current fashion trend but if you prefer a “V” neck top just leave out the neck band. Long or short sleeves? It’s your choice on this style. FABRIC SUGGESTION: Knit jersey or baby wool.

I left off the neck band, and sewed size 12. This is easy to make. Shoulder seams sewn together, finish the neckline by sewing a strip of fabric along it then turning to the inside and stitching down, sew up the centre front seam (such as easy way to get a lovely V neckline), sew on sleeves, sew up side and sleeve seams. Then finish the hems and voila!

The back is in coordinating green wool jersey from stash. It’s a slightly lighter weight than the ponte, but seemed to work well in wear. These photos were taken at the end of a work day. The body of the top has a nice amount of flare without being too voluminous.

That print really is a great one! No more of it left in my stash now unfortunately, although really I don’t need more than one long sleeved crochet print top.

Autumn/winter sewing and planning for sewing is well under way now. I am lucky enough to have two Sewjourn trips coming up in the space of a few weeks, so am hopefully well on my way toward a coordinated cool weather wardrobe.

Another Hot Patterns!  I actually bought this one in hard copy a while ago, and have only just cut into it now.  I have to say that I’m very pleased with the result.

From the Hot Patterns website: A fresh take on the classic T, this super-wearable top
is designed for light to medium-weight drape-y knits with a little stretch, like single fiber or blends of silk, rayon, bamboo, cotton, or tencel jersey. Semi-fitted, pull-on T-shirt has a relaxed silhouette,  and features a ‘U’ neckline and short sleeves, both finished with self or contrast knit trim. The (contrast) back is gathered onto the yoke, and finishes with a narrow-hemmed shirt-tail; the front has a deep hem. This great T-shirt *obviously* works beautifully in solid or color-blocked tones, and looks great in your favorite textured, printed and striped knits. For an unexpected twist, make this with a contrast back, neckline & sleeve trim, in a complimentary print or plain fabric. This T is the perfect mix of casual and feminine, and it’s going to look great worn loose or semi-tucked with your favorite cropped slim-cut jeans, or a fluid wide leg pant.

Once again, I agonised over what size to sew.  I eventually settled on size 10, knowing that there was plenty of ease through the body.  The fabric for the front, sleeves and neckband came to me from a generous friend and is a viscose/spandex mix with a bit of oomph to it.  I used a lighter weight viscose/spandex knit for the back.

When I posted this to the Hot Patterns facebook group, I was asked about the sleeve fit. The sleeve cuffs are definitely quite fitted and firm in size 10 (remember, my measurements are closer to a Hot Patterns size 14) but they are quite comfortable during wear. I did narrow and shorten the hem band in order to have it sit flat. The original width would have required a great deal of stretch where it was stitched to the neckline if the inner neckline was going to sit flush. Easier and better proportioned to narrow it a bit. I kept the sleeve bands the same width as the neck band.

I’d quite like to make this with long sleeves for winter – it should be easy enough to use a long sleeve from another pattern as a guide to lengthen these ones.  This pattern really does lend itself to fun with fabric combinations. You do need to be careful about the fabric weight for the gathered back in contrast to the flatter front – if it’s too heavy it could easily drag the rest of the top backwards. I feel that I got it just right in this case.

There was a comment on my last Hot Patterns post about the questionable quality of the drafting and the instructions. Now that I’ve sewn a few Hot Patterns, I agree that there can often be errors in both. It’s funny – people often bag Style Arc instructions (and I agree that there early ones were a little more obscure) but I honestly have sewn SO many of their patterns and rarely have any issue with them. I do scratch my head more often with Hot Patterns. Not for this tee, unsurprisingly – how hard can it be to assemble a tee when you’ve made as many as I have over the years – but for some of their other patterns. I do however really like the styles, and have found that many of them are ahead of their time. Moral of the story? If you’re sewing with Hot Patterns, have a good reference book handy, and it’s also very useful to be part of their Facebook group. It’s a super active community and there is lots of advice to be had there regarding their patterns. But I can completely understand the emotions of the person who threw their hands up in the air (and the Hot Patterns in the bin)! I think we’ve all had that feeling with different pattern companies.

Quite a few Hot Patterns have made their way into my stash since they started offering pdf patterns.  I’ve admired the designs for some time, but the hard copies are in large envelopes and are printed on substantial paper, so the postage costs from the US to Australia are a killer.  I’m also still working out how the Hot Patterns drafting and sizing works with my body shape, so a pdf is handy as it can be easily reprinted (I am not a pattern tracer).

This is the Hot Patterns Nexus T-shirt dress. From the pattern website: Meet your new wardrobe superstar, an easy-make, easy-wear, throw-on-&-go T-shirt dress. Choose a medium weight knit with a little stretch and drape like a heavier jersey, panne velvet, velour, ponte, a firm sweater knit, French terry or a double knit.    

Unlined, semi-fitted, pull-on dress features a center front seam and integral tie that can be cinched snug or loosely knotted at the waist. Dress has a bound ‘V’ neckline; decide between elbow or full-length T-shirt-style sleeves, and a midi or above-knee length; dress and sleeves finish with deep hems. 

You’ll get year-round mileage from this style with a simple change of fabric weight & sleeve length; try  it with long sleeves, thick tights and flat knee high boots in cold weather, or wear the short sleeved version with flat strappy sandals when it’s warmer. A gorgeous metallic, beaded, or sparkly knit will make a f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s party dress too…

There were a few things that drew me to this pattern.  Firstly, the lack of a defined waist. That’s always a winner for me!  Secondly, that it was in a knit.  And thirdly, the v-neckline and integral front ties.  Fabulous!

After some deliberation I chose to sew size 10 (my bust and waist are more like a 14 and higher) as I felt that this would work better around my shoulders and upper body.  Hip fit is rarely an issue for me. I sewed the shorter length, with short sleeves. The fabric is a cotton/spandex knit from Clear It. It’s substantial enough for a dress, but still seems to have enough drape for the ties to work.

I have a feeling that I didn’t really follow the instructions for the neckline. I pressed the neckband in half along its length, sewed it to the inside, then turned it to the outside and topstitched it down. This was done before sewing the centre front seam up. After sewing up the seam, there is a nicely finished V neckline.

The ties are unlined, which niggles me slightly. I think that when I sew this again I may line them, depending on the thickness of the fabric that I use. I finished the edges by turning and zig-zagging to secure – I wanted to retain stretch. I did pay attention to the instructions when it came to where to place the tie that is sewn to the side seam, and put the dress on and had Clare fiddle with it until it was in the best position for my body.

The sleeves are finished with deep hems, and are quite loose. This makes them very easy to wear. I used a twin needle for the hems on both the sleeves and the skirt. The slightly dropped shoulders look quite intentional, in my view. Hot Patterns say that you can wear a small shoulder pad with this style if you wish – I don’t think that I intend to.

This is a fun and easy pattern to sew. The front ties are far easier to construct than you may first think, and there’s a centre back seam that allows for alteration and shaping. I’ll be sewing this one again.

Vogue 8499 is another Marcy Tilton pattern.  This one has been in the catalogue for quite some time, and it’s actually been in my stash for quite a while too.  During one of last year’s Sewjourn visits there were a couple of people sewing skirts and pants from the pattern, which prompted me to finally have a go at it myself.

I started with the skirt. The fabric is a very stretchy jacquard woven (like bengaline) – I had plenty in stash, and you’ll be seeing more of it soon as I also have a pair of pants and a jacket cut out! I sewed size 12, and shortened the skirt about an inch and a half at the shorten/lengthen line.

From the pattern website: Very loose-fitting through hipline skirt with elasticized waist casing, back zipper closing, side-front deep pockets with zipper closing, above ankle length. Pull-up pants, above-ankle length, have side-front pockets and topstitch trim.

I decided that I didn’t need to include the back zip, so sewed the centre back seam up entirely.  Elastic was threaded through the casing at the waistline.  I was pretty confident that my comparatively small hips and the stretch of the fabric would mean that the zip would be redundant.  I’ve heard from others with a greater hip to waist ratio than mine that skipping the zip is NOT a good idea for them!

I also didn’t include the zips at the top of the pockets, mostly because I didn’t have any that were the right length or colour. This is actually not an easy colour to match, either with zips and thread or with other clothes. It looks like a neutral, but doesn’t seem to tone all that well with most of my wardrobe. The top I am wearing with it in these photos is the Style Arc Ethel top.

As with all Marcy Tilton patterns, pay attention to the markings and read the instructions carefully. The way that the pockets attach is rather interesting!
Speaking of pockets, these capacious pockets do go a long way down, almost to the hemline. Which caused a little hilarity when I posted a short video on Instagram that included the following…

#winepockets!

Some patterns sit in the catalogues for years.  Others vanish fairly quickly.  Simplicity 8058 is a Cynthia Rowley pattern that came out in early 2016 – but I can’t find it in the current online catalogue!  You’ll have to make do with my version.

This is one of those garments that made me smile during pretty much every stage of the making process. I cut and sewed size 12, and shortened the jacket through the body at the shorten/lengthen line around three centimetres, and the sleeves around a centimetre. I always dither about shortening sleeves. Sleeve length really varies between patterns – sometimes I need to shorten them, sometimes I don’t. It paid off with this one though.

I bought the fabric – a jacquard stretch denim – from Darn Cheap Fabrics a year or two ago. It was lovely to work with, and the resulting garment is very comfortable to wear. Actually, these photos were taken after a full day of wear and sitting in meetings – I think that it’s held up pretty well.

As the jacket is unlined, I decided to finish some of the facing edges with bias binding. I had some leftovers in my stash (I rather like making my own bias binding, and often make more than I need for the project at hand. It’s nice to then build up the stash in the drawer – and this is when it comes in handy). I used printed linen bias to finish the centre back seam allowances, and orange silk along the facing edges instead of simply overlocking them.

The pattern is designed for fabrics such as scuba or ponte, but has also worked well in this stretch denim. It also includes a skirt and pants pattern. When I bought the pattern I thought that maybe my daughters would eventually be interested in the skirt or pants – but for me this purchase was always about the jacket.

The collar really does sit beautifully.  The right lapel is larger than the left, and the left has some really nice seaming.  I also topstitched around the outer edge of the jacket.  I hand-sewed the neck seam of the outer to the neck seam of the facing with teensy stab stitches to keep it all nicely in place and to keep the collar standing up well.  I used good quality Freudenberg interfacing on the collar and facing pieces.  Good interfacing is so important!

I actually think that this jacket would benefit from some teensy shoulder pads. After living through the 80s and early 90s – where I would often discover that I was wearing a shoulder pad in my coat on top of a shoulder pad in my jacket on top of a shoulder pad in my blouse – it’s sometimes hard for me to remember the benefits of a shoulder pad. A small one really does provide support and give a nice line to the shoulders of a jacket. I might sew in some loop tape and try it on with some of the shoulder pads (that already have hook tape attached) that I still have in the back of my drawer.

I found the single button in my ‘single button jar’ – don’t you all have one of those? – and it’s just right for this fabric. There is a bound buttonhole on the other jacket front. I didn’t sew the button in the designated place (it wouldn’t have done up on me if I’d put it there) but tried it on and worked out where it would look best. I’m not likely to actually do this jacket up anyway.

Given that the Simplicity website currently only shows ten Cynthia Rowley patterns, I’d say that if you see one you like, buy it, as you never know when it will go out of print! I also wonder what effect the ‘Big Four’ pattern companies all now really being the Big One (in terms of company ownership) will have on the availability and accessibility of printed patterns. There is actually quite a lot going on in the world of home sewing.