Friday, January 31, 2014

A new jacket for my wardrobe...

...I don't use independent patterns often, but fell in love with Pauline Alice's jacket pattern at first sight.    I worked on it diligently finishing it three weeks time; a record for me as it usually takes me a full month to make a tailored jacket.  Did I mention that I love this jacket and have already worn it three times since completing it. The jacket wore well, was VERY comfortable and is a real winner as it will go well with lots of things I already have.  I plan on putting it into regular rotation for the balance of our winter season.
   
Added a close up shot of the slightly nubby speckled wool blend fabric
You can read more about the construction process on my blog if interested.  I also made a matching skirt for the jacket now on to the next project...

Monday, January 27, 2014

IN BETWEEN PROJECTS

In between my Jan. projects, challenges, learning how to line stuff lol! I whipped up an infinity scarf, I thought sew, connect the ends & waa laa ! but have you seen all the crazy ways to make an infinity scarf? mercy, towards the end it just wasn't making sense  so I figured if I did it this way & that way it'd come out the same so  yea I did it my way & will save  the crazy way  for another day lol!

speaking of projects, do you know what a moo moo is? that's what I'm working on lol!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Vintage to Modern


So I took an old turtleneck top pattern (Simplicity 5185):

And turned it into a dress:

I've made 2 dresses from the turtleneck pattern, and am prepared to start another.
For details stop by my blog: http://sewingniche.blogspot.com


Happy Sewing . . . .

Can You Teach An Old Dog New Tricks? lol!

 
spent the whole day & I mean whole day, I arrived  at 10am & left at 2am in the morning lol! with friends who are giving me crash courses in "re learning" how to sew lol! just lining in the sleeves, add the collar & heming & this soft leather beauty is done! my skirt is a chocolate suede, is that how you spell swade? lol! there'll be more on my blog ASP as I'm still working on it , anyhoo you'll see it pop up on the sidebar, you know over here to your left lol! 
 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

MCCALL'S 6844

I decided this pattern deserved to be made twice...
McCall's 6844


So I thought I'd give it another whirl using this floral sweater knit that I picked up at Joann's Fall of 2012.
Thus the fabric has had plenty of time for marination, and since I'm a cardi type of girl I thought it would be perfect for this pattern.  I used an Aztec pontederoma print my first time around with this pattern, (you can read about it here) but knew this floral sweater knit would be perfect for my second version.  Surprise!, turns out I was right.  

This time I went down a size from an XL to a L.  I don't know about you, but patterns with that sizing (s,m,l,xl,xxl) are sometimes a little tricky leaving me unsure which size to choose.  Yes I used the XL for the first jacket and ended up taking it in quite a bit.  This time I knew I needed to go down a size, but was still unsure because of the differences in fabric. 

I want to mention that I did not interface the band/collar of either cardigan, because I wanted the whole thing soft and cuddly.  I plan on adding a snap closure at the front of each one cause I like the look of having it closed.  I use steam-a-seam for the hems (no serging) just applied, flipped up 5/8" and stitched down.  All interior seams are serged however.

Front view
Back View
I do plan on making a navy pencil skirt to match...