Itch to Stitch Mountain View Jeans

After much debate I bought the pdf pattern for the Itch to Stitch Mountain View Jeans, printed them out from Adobe Acrobat using the layers option and stuck them together.

I made a test pair which worked out quite well (charcoal grey), so with a few tweaks I then made another pair (dark brown) including contrast topstitching (tan) and the rear pockets. These were slightly tight as I'd used a fabric with only 15 percent stretch (the pattern needs 20-30%).  I then went on to make the denim ones, allowing a little more room and the most beautiful Celtic Illumination fat quarter for the pocket linings. These were a little loose on the back waistband, so I unpicked and took the elastic in by 2 inches, and they are now really great. 

I have now donated all my old RTW jeans as they were uncomfortable.

Blue jeans

Blue jeans pockets (gold Celtic Illumination fat quarter)

pocket

fabric closeup

Charcoal trousers

Dark brown trousers

My notes of tweaks between pair one and two

Now wearing my test Itch to Stitch Mountain view jeanstrousers. They are not bad, but could be even better.

Alterations made to original pattern
- extra length added to back crotch in 3 places
- stuck the two back leg pieces together and cut as one
- left off a lot of the topstitching
- although I cut out the back pockets I've not put them on (yet)
otherwise sewn as per pattern

Suggested tweaks for next pair
- take in at upper back crotch and back yoke
- make back waistband smaller and much more curved
- have shorter length of elastic for back waist.
- shorten leg length by 1/2” (or take a slightly larger hem!)
- take a narrow seam on inside leg to allow a little more room on thigh
- scoop the back crotch curve to allow for low derriere

My notes after pair two

I put the back pockets on the brown pair and they do look quite jeansy, but are snug - fine for standing up in but a bit tight when I sit.
I've just checked and they only have about 15% stretch in the fabric (I thought it was more than that) which must be why.

The whole area of stretch wovens is a bit of a minefield so I think basting the main side seams before finalising is probably a good idea on this pattern. Once its overlocked and topstitched its a bit late :-)

Anyway I was happy enough with them to cut out the ones in the classic dark blue stretch denim, which I plan to topstitch in gold to look as much like jeans as possible.

My notes after pair three

I finished the dark blue denim jeans last night and am wearing them today.

Generally they are great, a good length, plenty of back rise, soft round the tummy.
They are slightly loose on the waist, specifically the back waist (I need the front) and it would be interesting to alter that as the elastic is sewn in and the waist seam is serged - maybe I should change the construction slightly on the next pair to make access to the waist easier.

Took the last 45 mins to unpick enough of the overlocking, 2 lots of straight stitching and a load of zig zagging to be able to shorten the elastic by 2 inches and resew it all back together. That has now eliminated that little back gap I had and the jeans are staying up better.

Other notes

I cut a size 16 based on my measurements. I did not use rivets.

Turquoise Shrug

I wanted a little shrug to wear on top of the sleeveless dress, some time ago I had printed out a free pattern, so once I'd found it I stuck it together and used it. (I will share the link to the free pattern further down but have some issues with it).

Here's my version, the teal ribbing is a slightly different shade to the main knit use, but was the closest I had.

Here's the line drawings for the garment, I made a size 14 (thinking US sizing) and cut the neckline ribbing the same width as the cuffs (on the pattern its twice the width which I thought would be too much).

The pattern I used is the Slinky Shrug, free download from Fabric.com.

You'll adore this super-simple Shrug designed for drapery knits and woven fabrics, and finished with a stretchy rib trim. You can also use a self-fabric finish around the shrug if you are using knits. Try rayon, cotton, bamboo or silk knits, or choose soft, drapery wovens like georgette or crepe.

Relaxed-fit, batwing-sleeved Shrug has a curved edge-to-edge front and 3/4 length sleeves. The neckline, hem and sleeves are finished with a deep ribbed trim. Shrug finishes at the hip.

Wear this fabulously easy Shrug to add a little festive glamour to a classic pants-and-T-shirt look, or slip it on over your favorite party dress for a little extra warmth and coverage.

It's an old pattern which has been on their site for a long time. I quite like the style BUT it is very poorly laid out in the PDF and uses 27 pages of paper (I'm hoping this is due to the limited technology for creating pdf patterns at the time). I would actually recommend that you save half a tree and do a rough draft of a batwing top and then some rectangles of ribbing for the cuffs and neckband.

If you still want to download it then its here - Slinky Shrug - Discount Designer Fabric - Fabric.com

Linen summer dress

Well I'm ready for Summer even though it is months away, with my new black linen printed sleeveless dress.

Ok let me explain! My friend C is getting into sewing more and comes round to my sewing room so we can work on projects together.

It has been great working with her. Her aesthetic is different to mine and she wants to try all sorts of techniques, so helping her is really keeping me on my toes.

She loves the style of Gretchen “Gertie” Hirsch and has several of her books including "Gertie sews Jiffy Dresses"

She decided she would like to sew the Popover dress from the book (its the one on the cover), but without the shoulder bows and pockets, but with waistline shirring.

I don't have a photo of her dress, which we made from a black floral viscose that draped beautifully but was a challenge to cut out!

We split the sewing between 2 sessions, so in between I managed to cut out a version for myself and partly sew it up, finishing it after we'd finished C's dress.

Sizing: the popover dress has a lot of ease so we went on the finished garment measurements in the book, and chose a size which allowed a little bit of ease. This was 2 sizes smaller than indicated by our measurements.

Layout: We did not use either of the cutting layouts given in the book. 

C's fabric had an obvious directional print, so we cut the 4 pieces out single layer, making sure to flip the pattern piece to have pairs (and not all left side pieces!). This used more fabric than the book indicates.

Here's a photo of C's fabric and the shirring, I don't have one of the whole dress.

My fabric was very limited yardage (2 metres of 150 cm wide), but as the floral print looked OK in any direction I wasn't limited to one direction. So I folded the fabric crossways and cut the pieces out with the centre front on the diagonal, I had to narrow the skirt very slightly to fit it on. The bias sleeve facings came from the centre, and I even managed to cut some inseam pockets from the corners. As the side seams on my dress were on the cross grain, it was nice and stable and able to support the pockets.

Shirring: C was very keen to have the shirred waist option, and it really gives the dress shape, so definitely a good call. I copied! Although there is a line for the shirring marked on the pattern, I got C to try the dress on, added an elastic belt and then marked (with a sliver of soap) where we wanted the shirring to go. We started with 7 rows of shirring, but increased it to 10.

I marked mine in a similar way and also did 10 rows of shirring. Here's a shot of the inside of my dress.

Multi Shirt Completed

I finished and wore my multi fabric shirt before I took a photo, so apologies for the wrinkles.

It is great to wear with jeans to go to the pub!

A friend asked me if it was a CLAUDIO LUGLI shirt, which is a great compliment!

The pattern I used is from March 2020 Prima Magazine (a UK women's magazine).

I shortened the shirt dress pattern to be a shirt.

The fabrics used were all leftovers from other projects - the red paisley was mine, the blue with spots from Auntie A and the floral stripe from my mum.

I used white overlocker thread and white thread for the inner seams (as all the fabrics were printed on a white base). However for the visible stitching (topstitching, buttonholes, hem) I alternated between the red and blue to match the fabric. I lost count of how many times I changed the thread on the sewing machine during construction but it was definitely worth it for the final effect.

Choosing thread

Here are some thread choices. White and pale grey stand out too much imho
Red no good on blue
So its dark blue or dark grey - I think dark grey has the edge, though may not use for the buttonholes

Here's what the project is going to be, a multi fabric shirt (the back is the same fabric as the sleeves)

Red Frankenpattern dress

 

This dress is made from a red ponte fabric, using the top section of the NewLook 6735 knit top. I've lengthened the sleeves slightly and cut the top at the waistline (just folded the lower portion out of the way).

The skirt is self drafted, inspired by a friend's RTW tunic. The back is a single slightly flared panel, and the front has two side panels and a centre panel. The side panels have patch pockets which are sewn into the panel seams. The skirt is slightly gathered onto the bodice.

I planned this to be a casual dress to wear with leggings, but its come out quite nice in the ponte, so maybe it could be dressed up as well.

Scrap Buster Kirsten Tee

 Kirsten Tee for my friend C, cut from scraps leftover from another project.

This is free to download from PR if you want to give it a try. It only needs about 75cm of fabric, so is a great scrapbuster

MariaDenmark 101 Kirsten Kimono Tee (patternreview.com)

Red 'Paint Splash' Tee

 Here's the latest sew, a New Look 6735 tee in a red fabric printed with white paint splashes!

Pink knit top with contrast bands

 

Pink knit top from New Look 6735 again, the neckband and cuffs are in a contrast aqua and pink print fabric.

Lucy Long Legs Rag Doll from Prima Magazine sewing pattern Jan 2007

 Lucy Long Legs Rag Doll from Prima Magazine sewing pattern Jan 2007.Started many years ago (probably 2007!)

Finished up and looks like this

I've kept this one for me and made another one for a friend

Prima Jan 2022 Smock Blouse

This is my version of the blouse from the free pattern included with Prima January 2022. I quite like how it came out.

Here's the finished blouse from the front and side.

I played a bit with the seam allowances so my collar is a bit taller than the pattern. Overall I quite like it.

Even if you don't subscribe to the Prima magazine you can get a copy of the pattern for just £1.00 which is great. (UK only)

Link to Offer

The chocolate and rose collection is building nicely.

Brown Tweed cardigan

 This is the cardigan jacket made from Wendy Ward's Kinder Cardigan pattern

It has giant pockets

And I added a belt

My version is the mid length (not shown in the pattern photos).

This is part of my brown and pink collection which I'll be sharing as the pieces get made up. I have 3 pieces already.

The trousers were made in November and are here - Brown Hiking Trs

Pink blossom tee

 Lovely fabric, bought from the Monday Market Man in Chesterfield pre Covid.

using my altered TNT pattern New Look 6735

2022 Using what I already have

I moved twice last year and it is clear how much of something you have when it gets packed into bags and boxes and stored. It turns out that I have plenty of fabric and lots of clothing.

I think that 2022 is going to be a year of using what I have. Ruth's Sewing and Craft Resource Centre is quite well stocked!

So whilst I will still sew clothing I'll probably not be doing quite so many collections / capsules / SWAPs / 6PACs every year.

I'll try to put alterations and repairs a bit higher up my list and donate wearable garments that don't work for me. I'm also going to sew some housewife pillowcases, cushion covers, slippers and other random bits and pieces.

Today's project is 

Slipper Tutorial

Which is a free pattern, but I think only in the equiv to UK size 7.5 which is a bit too big for me.

This pair is a bit of a test to learn the instructions but the brown fabric was not a good choice.

Lovely Sewing gifts from Christmas (and birthday)

 I received a few sewing related gifts this Christmas (and for my birthday which is less than a week later)

Quilting book from my friend E for my birthday

Sewing themed mug from my mum

Mug Rug from my Secret Santa at The Sewing Place forum

Lovely sewing room sign from my friend E for Christmas

Feeling very blessed to have such thoughtful gifts