Gray Velveteen Sunday Brunch Jacket

The Sunday Brunch Jacket and Skirt pattern was one of the first patterns that caught my eye from Oliver + S.  This was before I had any kids, and was not interested the least in sewing for kids (oh, how times have changed :).  I saw this pattern, and the Jumprope Dress, though, and couldn't help but notice how adorable they were.

So it's been on my list to make for a long time.  I was a little intimidated by it, but I shouldn't have been.  It's just as well drafted and has just as excellent instructions as the rest of the Oliver + S patterns, so even though it appeared trickier, it went together beautifully.  I used a charcoal gray pima cotton velveteen that I purchased from Fashion Fabrics Club.  This velveteen is absolutely gorgeous!  When it arrived, it was a little stiff, but after a trip through the wash, it came out incredibly soft and plush.

It has the added bonus of having a beautiful print on the back side, which worked out perfectly for an unlined jacket like this.  It's got a little burgundy, mustard and cream rose print, which I think adds a nice detail.  I know no one will see it, but I still really love it.

The plush velveteen will also make it a lot warmer to wear, even though it's not lined or insulated with anything else.

Because of the reversible print, I went to the extra work of binding all the seams.  It wasn't difficult, but definitely took longer than if I had just serged the seams.  I do love the extra touch it adds, though.  I bound all the seams with a warm yellow polka dot quilting cotton I had in my stash.  The instructions for the bound seams are great and result in a very professional finish.

I really debated what to do with the buttons.  I knew I wanted fabric covered buttons, but had a hard time deciding between covering them with the velveteen side of the fabric, covering them with the reverse printed side, or covering them with the yellow polka dot.  In the end, I decided on covering them with the velveteen body fabric, because it just looked so luxurious.  I think I made the right choice, but I may end up making a little flower pin for the outside just to add a fun touch.

I'm really pleased with the final product.  I think it will be a great fall jacket and, being a neutral, will go with a lot of different outfits.  It will also be practical for an almost-two-year-old, since it's cotton and can just be thrown in the wash.  I kind of wish I had one myself :)

Oliver + S Playdate Dress for Autumn

I really love seasonal sewing.  I think it's no coincidence that pattern companies (well, and fashion) have big releases in the spring and the fall.  I'm always so excited to see new patterns coming out, and I'm very inspired by the change of seasons.  Often, though, the excitement hits before the weather changes.  I can't very well be dressing Miss S in wools and jackets when the weather is still averaging 80 degree highs, right? :)

I made the Oliver + S Playdate Dress in a lightweight cotton, with fall-ish colors as a transitional dress that she can wear now, and when it gets colder with tights.  I've had this piece of fabric in my stash for a long time.  It's actually a really nice, super smooth pima cotton, I would say comparable to Liberty.  I got it at Fashion Fabrics Club a couple years ago, and I think it works great for this dress.

I used a yellow polka dot for the flat piping around the yoke, for the hem facing and for sleeve bindings.  The  original pattern doesn't call for sleeve bindings; it only calls for a hem on the sleeve, but I wanted to use the yellow print again, so I decided to make sleeve bindings.

I used a covered button for the keyhole opening at the back neck.  Also, rather than make a fabric loop, I cut up a hair elastic and sewed it on.  I read about this tip somewhere, but I unfortunately can't remember where I read it, so I apologize to the original inventor.  It's a great trick, though, because it's stretchy and can accommodate various button sizes, and you don't have to go the hassle of making a fabric loop or thread chain.

I wanted to pick up the lavendar color in the print, so I used some little purple flower buttons that I found at Joann.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out and I think it will get some good wear this fall/winter.

Here's a preview of some upcoming projects: above, the Fairy Tale Dress, Wizard of Oz version...

Fuchsia corduroy Hopscotch Skirt...

...and a Sunday Brunch Jacket out of the mos gorgeous, soft double-sided velveteen.

Husband clothes!

So my husband is really picky about his clothes, but absolutely hates shopping.  So he'll wear his clothes out, literally, before he'll go shopping.  He's also pretty hard on clothes.  This has created a little bit of a problem, because he would need new clothes, but couldn't be convinced or coerced to go shopping.  I finally decided to take his worn out clothes and cut them apart and use them for patterns to make new clothes.

I've been making jeans for him using a worn out pair of jeans for a pattern for about three years now.  This is the latest pair (actually made this spring, I just didn't get around to blogging it).  I also made his shirt from an old one that he got paint on.

I've found that some of my most successful sewing projects have been items I've sewn using an existing item of clothing for the pattern.  The fit issues are already worked out, and the style issues are as well.  It's actually really a gamble to pick up a pattern and invest hours into sewing something that you don't know will fit or suit you.  When you use an existing item of clothing, at least you know what you're getting.  The drawback is that you don't have instructions, but if you've sewn similar items, it usually turns out okay.

The jeans were made with a denim from my local fabric store.  I was a little concerned initially, because the denim had a little stretch to it, but it has not been an issue at all.  I used three different colors of topstitching thread, but the details are a little hard to see here.  Also, my husband was working in the yard just before I took the pictures, so disregard the dirt on the knees of the pants :)

The shirt went together pretty easily, also.  I remember being totally intimidated by button down shirts with stand collars, but they're actually not terribly difficult to sew, if you use good methods.  I've found this tutorial to be really great for achieving a professional looking result.  Also, I've used interfacings from Fashion Sewing Supply and found them to be really excellent.  I used to be hesitant to even use interfacing, because it inevitably either bubbled or was stiff as a board, but these are really excellent interfacings.  I've got quite a few in different weights and they do a fabulous job.

I also used this tutorial for the yoke, and it worked out really well.  It gives a great, clean finish on the inside and outside of the shirt and is easy to do.  I got this fabric from Fashion Fabrics Club.  It claims to be 100% cotton, but I'm not entirely convinced that it is, because it's a little stiffer than a 100% cotton should be.  I'm not complaining, though, because it doesn't wrinkle much.

Now, I've just got to put together a few more of these to replace some of the more offensive shirts in my husband's wardrobe.

Simplicity 2444: The Kid Dress

The ward (or congregation) I attend has undergone some organizational changes recently, and I have received a new assignment to work with and teach the 1 1/2 to 3 year old kids during church.  I'm really excited about this new assignment, because the kids that age are so fun.  They are also super active and require a lot of chasing after.  I quickly realized that my current wardrobe of pencil skirts wasn't going to work well :)

So I figured I'd better find some clothes that allow for bending, sitting on the floor, playing, reading stories and chasing toddlers :)  That meant some full skirts.  I've seen several renditions of this pattern in the blog world, and they all looked great, so I thought I'd try making one.  I liked the fit and flare silhouette and the unusual darts in the bodice front, as well as the classic shape of the dress.

I made a couple changes to the pattern.  I cut the skirt front and skirt back, as well as the bodice front and bodice back on the fold, and moved the zipper from the center back to the side.  I used an invisible zipper and it actually went in really well.  I used the tutorial from the Seams, Closures and Hems video by Liesl Gibson, and the zipper went in beautifully and was, indeed, invisible.  I've used her method several times, and it always sees to work really well.  I used a lightweight cotton pique fabric from Fashion Fabrics Club that I ordered earlier this year.  I believe it is a Marc Jacobs fabric.  It was great to work with.  You can see the weave in the picture below.  I always thought pique was just that really heavy, textured cotton that you see a lot of, and was really confused when so many patterns recommended it as a fabric to use for dresses and blouses.  I now realize that they're probably talking about this type of pique!  You learn something new every day, right? ;)

As a side note, I have to say that I really love Fashion Fabrics Club.  Their shipping is pretty slow, but they have a great selection of, for the most part, really high quality fabrics.  I've ordered from them many times and am almost always happy with almost all of my order.  Their prices are really good for the fabrics they offer.  I've found that often they carry some of the same fabrics as Fabricmart, but at a much lower price.  Anyway, that's all :)

The fit of this dress was quite good, I just had a couple issues with it.  One was that the lower bodice in the center seemed kind of baggy.  I don't know if it had to do with the shape or position of the darts, but the rest of the bodice felt fine, except the lower center.  The other issue I had was that the neckline seemed to gape a little.  If I'm standing straight with my arms down, it's fine.  If I move around a lot, it starts to gape.  Maybe I should have cut a smaller size, but I didn't want the rest of it too tight, as I need full range of movement.  Oh well, they're minor quibbles.  All in all, I'm really happy with it.  I tested it out on Sunday, and it performed beautifully for floor-sitting and toddler-taming!

Knit Top for Me: Vogue 1306

As much as I love sewing woven tops, I really like to wear knit tops better.  I find that I always reach for knit tops when I'm getting dressed.  I get a little bored with straight up tshirts, even though I wear those a lot too, so I'm always on the lookout for a good knit top pattern.  When I saw this Vogue Rebecca Taylor pattern on Little Bettty's blog, I loved it.  I bought the pattern online from a BMV sale (my fanatical self was fortunate they were on sale right then), because I didn't want to wait for a Joann sale.

The pattern called for a stable knit, and I think that is key to success.  I had a pretty stable cream bamboo knit in my stash that I used (and obviously didn't iron before or after I made the top).  I think that this pattern would be kind of a nightmare to sew in a stretchy, spandex-y knit, because of the details (which, in my opinion, make the top).  The instructions are great and result in a really nicely finished product.  I'm not sure if I'd ever sewn with a Vogue Designer pattern before.  I've always been kind of intimidated by them, but I really am happy with how this turned out, and with the techniques specified in the instructions.

I really passed over this pattern when it first came out.  I'm not sure why, because I really like it now.  Maybe my eye hadn't adjusted to the style yet.  I also modified it a little to minimize the hi-low hem.  I know they're trendy, but I'm not super trendy :)  It still has a little mullet hem in back, but I think I trimmed a couple inches off the original pattern in back.

I'm also wearing a pair of jeans I just finished, but haven't blogged.  I still need to do that.  They're a copy from a favorite pair of Lucky jeans I've had for a while.  I used the press'n'seal method of copying them and I'm really happy with how they turned out.  Stay tuned...  :)

Oliver + S Croquet Dress

This was another of the Oliver + S patterns that I wasn't quite sure about when I first saw it.  I had the same reaction with the Apple Picking dress.  I think it must be the drop waist silhouette that my eye isn't used to seeing, as it hasn't really been in fashion since, oh, the mid-eighties (when I had a peach drop waist dress that my mom made for me, which I loved).  Dropped waists appear to be making a comeback, so I guess we can go with that ;)

Anyway, I decided to give it a try anyway, and I'm glad I did.  It really is a cute pattern with some fun details.  I think ultimately, it was the bow that got me :)

 I made the size 12-18 months, and I have to say, the sizing seemed a little big to me.  I had to bring the shoulders and neckline in significantly.  If I were to make it again, I would go down a size.  I haven't had this problem with any of the other Oliver + S patterns.  In fact, I've almost had the opposite problem with some. Miss S is 18 months and is a little on the small side, so she should have fit it about perfectly.  I'll just have to remember this for the future.

I used a black/cream linen for the body (same fabric as I used for these Puppet Show shorts).  It definitely wrinkles, but I kind of like the rumpled look.

For the waist casing and the bow, I used a polka dotted quilting cotton that I bought before Miss S was born to make her a quilt which hasn't yet happened...

I used a covered button for the back closure, and instead of making a thread loop (I'm way too lazy for that), I used a tip I'd seen on a blog.  Unfortunately, I can't remember which blog, but they suggested using a piece of a hair elastic, which worked great.

A fun summer dress I'm glad I tried :)

Polka Dot Bubble Dress

My youngest brother is getting married this weekend, and his fiance has chosen black, white and red as her wedding colors.  I wanted to make Miss S a dress to wear to the wedding.  I was really excited to see the Oliver + S bubble dress being offered as a digital download, since it had gone out of print and was really hard to find.  I also had some cream and black polka dot fabric I had bought at Joann around Christmas, wanting to make Miss S a Christmas dress, but December turned out to be a crazy month with the remodel and moving and holidays, so the dress never happened.

So I was excited to make the Bubble Dress and excited to use the fabric I hadn't been able to use at Christmas.  I modified the pattern to add actual gathered sleeves, instead of the cap sleeves.  I used the armhole and sleeve pattern from the Jumprope dress, then slashed and spread the pieces to create fullness to gather.  I finished off the sleeve with a bias binding strip.  So it's not exactly true to the pattern, but I think it turned out cute. 

I also added a black velvet ribbon to match the velvet dots on the cream taffeta fabric.  My younger sister made the little red flowers clipped onto the ribbon at the waist.

All in all, I'm happy with how it turned out.  I love the little bubble skirt and as always, the directions were great.  I'll post some pictures from the wedding of Miss S wearing the dress.