Yikes Stripes

Stripes, I think, can become addictive.  I know I was certainly addicted to this fabric.  A good thing too, as I have so much of it.  It’s classic.  It’s white.  It’s black.  It’s a variation on a theme, that theme being the HotPatterns Plain & Simple T.

I made one shirt for each flavor of neckline offered by the pattern; used the sleeve variations too!  Now that the fitting issues are over, best to make use of it.  I also needed the room which this fabric was occupying in the storage bins…but that’s fodder for another post.

I like the boat neck version. It reminds me of that scene in “French Kiss” where Meg Ryan is walking on the beach in Nice, having just completely flummoxed her soon-to-be ex-fiance.  I don’t have the relaxed linen trousers yet, but there is fabric here, waiting to completed.  Not that I’ll look like Meg Ryan, or start beach combing in Nice any time soon, but it’s a nice image all the same.

The tank top, I know, will become a summer staple.  It’s just one of those styles that goes with everything.  The scoop-necked T-shirt as well.

The short sleeve style is classic, and I played up the tank with some colored binding on the edges.

The binding on all of these is thick rayon knit.  The striped fabric is some sort of brushed poly – similar in weight to the cardigan sweaters that are showing up in stores right now.  Neither cotton-thin, nor sweatery-thick.  Just the right weight to combat overzealous air conditioning!

Speaking of cardigans, I think there’s still enough of this fabric to make one of those.  Maybe something with red accents (buttons?  inside binding?)  to go with the tank top.

Taxi!

Hey Taxi!

Flora hails herself a taxi!  The iconic yellow cab palette is what I was after when I first envisioned this color-blocked shirt.  I am immensely pleased with the results.

The body fabric is a rayon/lycra knit from Fabric.com, and the striped neckband is from E-bay.

I was actually of two minds about the band, but think the hint of silver thread, which you can just make out in the photo at right, really gives that extra bit of pizzaz.  A girl’s gotta have her zaz, right?

Sewn on the serger, hemmed on the coverstitch.  For the coverstitch, I  changed the exterior thread to match the fabric, so there are no interfering hem lines to mar the color blocks.

The pattern is the lovely Cabana-T from Hotpatterns. My only alteration was to take in the sides for a bit more shape.  I like the deep hem on the bottom and sleeves.  It gives a richness to the whole affair, as well as helping the fabric drape nicely.

Amuse Bouche

A little bite to amuse and invigorate the palate.

HotPatterns Plain & Simple Fitted-T was my sewing amuse bouche for the week.  I’ve had this beefy, yarn-dyed rib knit in stash for a very long time.  I think it was one of the first knit fabrics I got, year ago, when I decided to conquer sewing with knits.  Yes folks, it’s that old.

I really like this top. It’s bright.  It’s beefy.  It may even be worn tomorrow, as we’re not expected to get above 70.

My sewing palate needed to be enlivened.  After the detail of the Plaza jacket, and the intense fitting of the next major project, well, something simple was called for.  Sewn on the serger, hemmed on the coverstitch, worn the next day.  What’s not to like?

Hot Patterns: Weekender Cabana T

This is another fitting muslin, to test out the Hot Patterns Cabana T It turned out pretty well, I think.

I cut a straight 12 for the back, and a 10 at the shoulder, tapering out to a 12 for the lower edge for the front.  According to the envelope back, this is for stable or sweater knits.  This generic cotton from I-don’t-remember-where fit the bill.  It had stretch, but not much.

The pattern is very simple to sew, mostly done on the serger.  Unlike the Plain & Simple T which I chatted about earlier, this style has nice deep hems.  I like.  The plan is to use some of the softer, more stretchy knits in the stash and make this as a color-blocked top.  I’ve had a hankering to channel my inner yellow cab – say, yellow & black for the main pieces with white as an accent.

Gotchas? Really only the neckline where you have to be careful.  Careful because the length of the neckline band as marked on the pattern will not work for all knits.  I added 3 inches to what the pattern called for to fit this minimally stretchy fabric.

How did I know how much to add? I didn’t.  I just knew that this fabric would need more, so more I added.  I suppose one could use a rule of thumb that for less-stretchy fabric the neckband should be about 2 inches smaller than the length of the neck opening.  That way you’re not snugging things up too much when the band is attached.

Public Scarcity Announcement: I know that I’ve been a bit absent lately, and want to warn everyone that is likely to continue.  Company arrives at Chez Thunderpaws in another hour, and we will end up having guests or visitors of one sort or another through the end of the month.

Things will either go swimmingly, or my single remaining wit will ask to be entered into the Witless Protection Program.

Hot Patterns: Plain & Simple Tee

Simple sewing this weekend, simply finished.

This is my muslin, wearable, believe it or not, of the Hot Patterns Plain & Simple Tee.

It is exactly that: plain and simple.  All sewn on the serger in a remnant poly/spandex knit.  Coverstitch for the hems.

This is one of the earlier Hot Patterns issues, though it is still in rotation.  The top comes with your choice of three different necklines – scoop, modified V (meaning you can lean over and not have the girls show) and boat neck.

This is the scoop neck.  It’s nice because it’s not too scoopy doopy doo.

I cut a straight 12 for the back, and a 10 grading to a 12 at the bottom for the front.  Once things were quasi-assembled, I ended up scaling down one size on both the front and back, until about waist level, keeping the 12 at the lower edge for both pieces.

What would I do differently next time?  Lengthen it about an inch.  I tend to like my knits with a deep hem, and this pattern does not have that built in.  Facings are also provided; I didn’t use them.  Just make a binding about 1 1/2 inches less than the neck measurement.  Easy peasy.

Like all the early Hot Patterns patterns (say that 3 times fast) the instructions on this one were marginal, without pictures.  But really, it’s a t-shirt! Are instructions necessary?

I can see this becoming a staple in my pattern repertoire, made up in all sorts of interesting prints.

Sewin’ at the Sew-In

Well, as usual, my sewing expectations for the Sew-In were considerably higher than my output.  Which is not a problem, at all.  These are the items I completed, which I am very pleased with.  Looking back, I was a bit full of myself, thinking I would get 6 garments and a quilt top sewn.  Still, a girl’s got to have goals!

Simplicity 3754.  A lightweight denim skirt with funky skull fabric used for the pocket bags and facings.  I’ve made this pattern in an upholstery weight cotton before, and found I really like it.  The pattern is one of those standards – easy to assemble and always looks pulled together.

There is a kick pleat in the back for walking ease.  Another nice feature is that the pockets are deep enough to hold car keys and coinage, always a good thing.

I also did what I swore I would never do again:  top stitch using a different thread, and only have 1 machine.  So, there was more thinking involved than usual on assembly.  How much could I sew regularly before I had to change thread and needle to do the top stitching? The top stitching thread is a heavy weight variegated cotton.   While the buttons look to be two different colors, that’s an effect of the flash.  They are the same.

New Look 6407:  I spent so much time fitting this pattern, I plan to get a lot of use out of it.

The fabric is part of “the good stuff” stash, which I got from Gorgeous Fabrics.  It is a stretch cotton with lovely weight.  Not too heavy, not too light.  Does this make it Goldilocks fabric?

I used a complementary fabric for the facings.  Little did I know when I cut it out this style of combining fabrics would be featured in Linda Lee’s article “Gender Bender”  in the September issue of Threads.  Basically it talks about adapting some of the trends in menswear shirting to womens garments – this is one of ‘em!

Lastly is another pair of Hot Patterns Marrakesh pants.  These also assembled pretty easily.

Unlike the two previous garments I still have a little bit of work to do – hemming, waistband button and changing out the ties.

I used the same linen the pants are made of for the ties, and find that I don’t like it.  Too bulky and it makes too big a bow on the front.  Picky, picky, picky, I know.

I have some silky lining fabric that will work just fine.  This little fix is on the agenda for today.  As usual, the pockets and facings are a different fabric.  So far as I know, this isn’t a trend in mens trousers, but maybe I’m ahead of the pack?

Ready. Set. Sew!

In 2 weeks, at the end of June, it will be time for Sew-In 2010, and I can’t wait!

I think I’m just about ready too!  Patterns have been traced.  Fabric has been cut and interfacing ironed on.  Thread, zippers and buttons have been acquired.  I’m sure there is something I will forget, but for now, whatever it is escapes me.

These are the six items I hope to finish:

• One pair of denim shorts which hopefully won’t look too Daisy Mae.
• A denim skirt. Always useful.
• Hibiscus Shirt from Sewing Workshop, finally cutting into some good fabric
• A shirt / jacket from Louise Cutting’s pattern line.  I plan to have a lot of fun with the stripes on this one.  They go every which way!
• Another New Look shirt.  I spent so much time fitting this pattern, I plan to get a lot of use out of it
• Lastly, another pair of Marrakesh pants with embroidered flip flops.

The Sew-In is a weekend  retreat, running from Friday through Sunday which is put on by my local ASG chapter.  We take over one of the local hotels in an all-inclusive sewing extravaganza.  80 people all sewing away in their grand ballroom.  We overnight, so can sew as late as we wish.  We are fed, so no need to leave the premises.  It’s wonderful! No worries.  No fuss.  No bother.

I usually take more than I ever complete, so I’ve scaled back this year.  Now my concern is will I have enough to do?  Maybe I better toss in one more thing….

Hot Patterns: Marrakesh Pants

Flora takes to lounging about in her new Hot Patterns Marrakesh pants.   Aren’t they just the the elephants trumpet!  (You know, like cat’s meow, except saying cat’s meow in Marrakesh doesn’t have an exotic zing, now does it?) These are from a mediocre quality linen I picked up at Joann’s.  They are also part of the ongoing stash reduction efforts.

Ahem.  Stash reduction.  Yes.  Well, maybe.  One of these days.  Perhaps.  Back to the pants!

The pattern came out – I think it was last summer, from the lovely Trudy and Jeremy of Hot Patterns.  It’s taken until now for me to give them a whirl, and I must say, they are lovely!  Simple enough to put together, that I didn’t even look at the (wordy and pictorial) instructions.

Not only that, I traced a straight 12, measured the pattern against my TNT Jalie pants, and guess what?  No changes needed!  Woohoo!

A feature I like about this pattern is there’s an extra piece which you use to face the pocket opening, so the non-matching pocket bag doesn’t show.  At first, I wasn’t sure about this, but as I wore them, and saw how this little addition operated in day-to-day wear, I liked it more and more.  It sure beat sewing an extra piece on top, and adding thickness where thickness is not needed.

Yes, these pants also have my traditional, non-traditional, non-matching pocket lining and waistband facing.   If I should ever follow instructions, and make the facings/interior waistband out of fashion fabric my friends have strict instructions to take me away for deprogramming.  Space aliens will have invaded my body.

Maybe I went a little overboard on these, since the zipper isn’t  color coordinated either.  It’s what I had to hand, and I was not going out just to get a white zipper.  I used 1 inch elastic, threaded through the waistband, which gives a bit more substance than something thinner would.

What doesn’t show up in the photos is the fact that the fabric has a silver thread through it, so the pants have a subtle sparkle when they move.

What I did wrong – used generic bias binding for the ties.  I think they need something softer, for a loopier bow.  I also made the fly shield too large.  It shoud be at least 1/2 inch narrower.  But that’s a minor nit.

Hmmm.  I wonder how these would work up as shorts?

Hot Pink Hallucination

This is another free download, courtesy of the folks at Hot Patterns and Fabric.com.  It’s called the Slinky Shrug, and is a PDF pattern.  You print it on your home printer, and tape the pages together.  Pretty nifty!

I wasn’t particularly taken with it on first sight.  Then the wonderful Mary Beth, over at the Sewing Divas provided this exceptional tutorial.  She tells you exactly which pages you need to print, and how much ribbing is needed for each size.  Kudos to Mary Beth!

So, I downloaded.  I printed.  I traced off my size.  I even followed the Hot Patterns mantra “always make a muslin”. The shrug is super easy to sew, all done on the serger.  I now present:

The Hot Pink Hallucination

This nifty little number showed me several things.

1. You need to be careful measuring your ribbing, especially for the long edge, otherwise it won’t stretch enough to go around the whole garment.
2. Shape the ribbing with steam first, to stretch out the edge so it curves properly.
3. Add some stabilizer to the shoulder seams, so they don’t stretch and slouch.
4. Making a muslin is good use of ugly fabric you’ll never wear!

For those who want a more detailed description, the body of the shrug is a thermal knit, courtesy of the now defunct local JoAnn’s, and the solid pink is 1×1 cotton ribbing, left over from making children’s clothes.   Even Prince Charming thought this was the ugliest fabric he’s seen in a long, long time.

Will I wear this?  No.  Will I make another shrug?  Yes.  Will the next one be nicer fabric?  You betcha!

I Love Hot Patterns. I Hate Hot Patterns.

Hot Patterns is an independent pattern company out of Florida, run by Trudy and Jeremy Hanson.  They have some of the most up-to-date styles around.  They do their interpretation of just-off-the-runway garments, so we, the Fashionista Sewist can have the most current looks.

Background: Hot Patterns mostly come all sizes in one envelope.  Like Kwik Sew and Burda, you trace off the size, or sizes, which best suit your measurements.  Their instructions, while getting better, can be a bit convoluted.  Early patterns had a few issues translating British English to American English.  New patterns have pictures!

HP has released two new patterns, which I am quite smitten with:

I think the bag would work up great as gifts for friends, giving me a chance to play with some interesting upholstery fabrics.

The dress would be just right for the upcoming holidays, made from a heavy weight jersey.  Comfy, not too warm (remember, this is Cactusville) and easy to dress up with jewelry or a shawl.

OK, that’s the love part.  The hate part?  My success rate with their patterns.

There is something about them that I’m just not getting.  It’s not the assembly.  Every one I’ve made has gone together pretty well.  A few “What the h*ll do they  mean by that?” moments, but overall pretty good.  What I haven’t been able to crack is the fit.  One garment fits, while another is so totally a different direction, it leaves me flummoxed.

Case in point, the Riviera Pennant Blouse.  I read the reviews on Pattern Review and looked at the pictures provided.

It seemed like the fabric (a linen in the review) was a bit too stiff, so I made mine in a rayon, thinking the drape would work better.  I measured the pattern, and cut down a size.  I really like the origami-ness of the collar; it’s different and unusual.  The overall fit, alas was more along the saggy sack lines.  I don’t consider this one a loss, just an experiment.

Then I tried the Fit to be Tied blouse.  It was fun playing with the stripes, having them go every which way.  The back yoke even liked up!

The back fit great.  I really liked the sleeves – they have an unusual pleated way of joining to the body.  But the front?  Obviously not made for those of use who are lesser endowed.  Maybe if “the girls” were a C, or a DD it might have fit better.

This one I think I’ll try again though.  I like enough of the style features.  I can remove some (or almost all) of the gathers in the front and have something unique.

I also tried the Great White Shirt, which was a complete disaster.  The body fit great, but the sleeves, and armscye seemed to have come from another world.  After fudging with the sleeves, and adding over 2 inches to the armhole, that one became a wadder!  I couldn’t even look at it any more.

To be fair to Hot Patterns, I’ve had great luck with their Razor Sharp Pants. The Weekender Sunshine Top has a great yoke for embellishments.  The Metropolitan Tie Me Down Top went together like a breeze, and fit perfectly.

So, you see my problem.  I really want to try these new patterns, but I’m a bit gun shy, if you will.  Should I do the rational thing and maximize my limited sewing time on something that may have better odds?  Or should I leap adventurously into the void once again?

Decisions, decisions, decisions!