Sunday, September 30, 2012

Simplicity 2447–Maternity Style



Pattern Description: Misses Shirt in two lengths with front collar and sleeve variations
Sizing: 6 to 24
Instructions:  They are very easy to follow on this pattern.  Very clear instructions with appropriate illustrations to compliment the written directions.
Changes:  I made an adjustment for maternity garment.  I found a tutorial online, which I printed out and now cannot find the link! To recap, add 2” to the center front, tapering to no addition at side seam.  This allows extra length for the pregnancy belly.  Then cut the side at the seam to just below the dart or bust, hinge out 2”. 
Fabric:  I made this three times for Erin.  The first time from a heavier stretch cotton shirting from Hancock’s.  I was short on fabric, so this version has short sleeves as in View E and the collar of View C
Simplicity 2447 with maternity adjustments
collar
Simplicity 2447 tan collar
back yoke:
yoke Simplicity 2447
Second version is a orange-white gingham seersucker from Hancock’s.  I was able to use the regular collar from view A, the sleeves from view B
simplicity 2447 orange
button tab sleeves:
button tab sleeve
collar:
collar orange
The final version is a bright yellow cotton burnout from Hancock’s.  I made View F with long sleeves.
Also, with the burnout, I used self-fabric for the interfacing for the collar, cuffs, neckband and front band.
Simp 2447 yellow
collar:
Simp 2447 collar

Conclusion:  This is a cute blouse with so many different options.  I don’t think I will make it again for Erin, three is probably a good number.  She needs to get bigger for these tops to look right, but I think they will look very cute when that time comes.

My favorite is the orange-white version.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Hot Patterns–Annisette Dress and Top Modified

First enter this pattern, Megan Nielsen’s Rie Dress pattern, another one Erin liked.



I really like her patterns but started thinking about patterns I had and this one popped into my head.

I have made this pattern before, check out August 25, 2008 blog post
The changes, cut up the side seams to below the bust area, hinged it about 2 inches. I curved the hem to allow for the pregnancy belly.
Then I  set the pattern 2” from the fold to add gathers and room for the front dress piece.  Thanks, Carolyn for the suggestion.
The fabric is from the previous post but I used the reverse side to change the look.
Here is all the pictures:
This picture doesn’t look very flattering, it is cuter in person
Hot patterns dress


Back yoke:
back yoke
front yoke:
front yoke
This was an easy way to change this pattern and save me a bit of money

*******************************************************************************
Carolyn asked about all her pants and skirts.  Erin does not wear too many skirts, goes with the ease of dresses.  Pants – she bought 2 pair of pants at Marshall’s for $17.  I then I used this tutorial.  It worked perfectly.  All the knit fabric was lycra ribbing from Needle Nook.
She liked the pants so much, I did 4 pair of jeans for her too.
*****************************************************************************
Thanks for all the kind comments on the senior pictures, I think all my girls are so gorgeous.  Tonight was Senior night for softball, the last regular season home game. I had a few tears in my eyes.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Senior Pictures

Meredith and Kaitlyn had their senior pictures taken this past weekend.  A good friend took them and we got the picture cd today.  He did a marvelous job and we couldn’t be more thrilled.  As I have done with  Paige and Erin, I had my picture taken with them.  Here is a couple of the pictures with my girls, how the heck did they get to be seniors so quickly?

  Aren’t they beautiful young women?
_DSC8938

_DSC8942

I did not make any of our garments!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Burda 7202


Description: semi- fitted dress and shirt have draped neckline and gathered shoulders. Top has attached tie front at bottom.
Sizes: 10-22 (made a size larger than Erin’s normal size to allow for the pregnancy belly)
Instructions:  They were good, especially for Burda.  I did find the order a bit interesting.  Burda has you bind the armhole, then sew the shoulder seams.  I think this is due to the fact, the front shoulder is heavily gathered.  This could be adjusted to sew the armhole binding in the round.  I was pleased my binding stitching met so nicely.
gathers

Likes/Dislikes:  Another pattern which lends itself well to maternity wear and still is very stylish.
Changes:  Erin did not want the long ties on this shirt.  That was a good thing as I was short on fabric.  Also, the back has darts which I eliminated due to the maternity aspect.
Fabric:  A Ponte knit from Joann’s.  View A the recommended fabric is jersey, view B recommended fabric is satin, crepe or rayon.  View B is cut on the bias.  I eliminated that since I was using a knit.
Conclusion:  Another great pattern for maternity and non-maternity.  I do think the dress looks a lot like Vogue 1250, what do you think?
Burda 7202
back Burda 7202
knot
You will be seeing this fabric again, I made a dress from it before this top.  Finished it last night, waiting to have Erin try it on so I could hem it.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Pina Dress and Top–Megan Neilsen MN 1002


I

This is an old picture from the internet, the pattern is now $20.00
Description: Sewing pattern for this incredibly comfortable maternity & nursing dress or top. It has a gathered v neck, gathered sleeves and a gathered empire waist.
The pattern includes instructions on how to make a top, a dress with ruffled hem or a dress without ruffled hem, short sleeves, 3/4 length or long sleeves. It’s an entire wardrobe in one pattern! The waistline is generous, allowing ample room for your growing belly.
Sizing: XS to XL
Instructions:  Megan’s patterns come with the best little booklet of instructions and pattern variation ideas.  This pattern can be for the beginner to more advanced.  One thing I really liked is how she has you lay out the bodice pieces before sewing.  A nice visualization for constructing a raglan sleeve type bodice. 
Changes:  I lengthened the sleeve to 3/4 per Megan’s instructions in the booklet.  At the first of the booklet, she has illustrations with all the variations.  Under each illustration, she lists how you need to cut that particular garment out.  For example, if you want a 3/4 sleeve, lengthen by 9 inches (only short sleeve is included in the pattern sheet
Likes/Dislikes:  I like everything about this pattern, from the instructions to elastic placement to the finished product.
Fabric:  Cotton lycra knit from Needle Nook, it is a wonderful print.
Conclusion:  A great pattern with many possibilities for changing it each and every time.  I think this one will be worn quite a bit

Elastic at the neckline, empire waistline
bodice MN1002

Close-up of eleastic
elastic
Back
back MN1002
Front:

MN1006 dress - girls in the garden blog


I hope you are not tired of maternity sewing, because I have about 8-10 more items to do! Smile

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Replying to some Comments and Questions

I always try to reply to the comments on my blog via email but sometimes it is a non-reply blogger  and  I thought others might want to know the information, too.

First, from Elaray:
I really enjoy seeing your quilts. I am amazed at how many you are able to complete. This one, like the others, is great.
Thank you for your kind comments, Elaray.  I am one who does not like stash or fabric piled up, so that is my incentive to get the quilts done quickly.  In April, I resigned my 25+ hour a week job and went to substitute teaching.  This meant my entire summer, I did not work.  Usually, I spend a lot of time outdoors, not this summer with a miserable hot and dry summer.  Instead, I spent my time in sewing!
LInda wrote:
I like all of these. What great fabrics! I miss not having a Hancock's in my area, the fabric selection was so much nicer than JoAnn's. You found great pieces at both.
I have to go about 2 hours to get to a Hancock’s and about an hour to get to Joann’s that is just okay.  I have decided a trip to the Hancock’s is the best idea.  It is a fantastic Hancock’s, very clean and neat with great fabric.  Then the bonus, a brand new Joann’s a couple blocks away.  I have only done this once but it was well-worth the trip and I brought home several great fabrics.

Andrea wrote about Burda 7205
How does it wear? I cut this pattern out this summer and did an FBA on the pattern, but never made it. I still want to give the dress a try! It can be made with a woven on the bias also.
Erin has not worn this top yet, it will be a bit before she does, the belly needs to grow more Smile.  I will let you know when she does.  Thanks for the tip about the woven.

On the look of Kwik Sew patterns, KR wrote:
Did you notice in the new patterns KS has moved to tissue paper instead of their traditional white heavy paper? That decision will keep me from purchasing new patterns from them. I so appreciated the heavy paper
I haven’t bought a Kwik Sew pattern in a very long time and had not realized they switched to tissue paper.  That is interesting, I will have to check out if that changed the pricing. Thanks for the information.
Carolyn wrote on New Look 6871
Lori - I like how you've added the bump to the dressform! The first top is just gorgeous and can be made again when your daughter gets more pronounced by cutting the front a little bigger and adding more gathers...but just the front, not the back to avoid that wearing a sack look. You must be thrilled to have started the maternity wardrobe because that the means the baby is closer to arriving!
Thanks for the fitting tip, I used that will all the issues I had on Burda 7204 and that made all the difference in how the garment looked.  I cut the back the smallest size and the front Erin’s normal size.  This resulted in such a nicer looking garment.

Robin wrote:
what is ITY ? This is stunning.

CJ Patterns has a great page on all sorts of knit fabrics.  From their website:
ITY Knits
What is it?
  • ITY stands for Interlock Twist Yarn and is a method of putting a twist in yarn used for knit fabrics which gives this fabric some wonderful characteristics. The result is more natural elasticity and a soft feel inside & out.
  • Our ITY knits are made from a blend of Rayon, Polyester(2) and Lycra(1).
What is the fabric like?
  • Our ITY knits will not pill or cling and resists wrinkles. These fabrics are great to sew with and have excellent drape, stretch and recovery.  It is a very stable fabric that is easy to cut, sew and holds a press.
  • We offer a variety of weights including a 13 oz heavier weight with more stability, a 9 oz mid weight with better drape and a 7 oz light weight fabric that still has snappy recovery.
  • The blended content allows the fabric to have the comfortable properties of a rayon fabric, the excellent stretch and recovery of Lycra(1), and the durability and wrinkle resistance of polyester.
On my border Maxi Dress Anonymous wrote:
Your dress is beautiful! I, too, love border prints. May I ask why you would wear a maxi dress when teaching? Okay, I'm older, and not up on trends
There are several teachers wearing maxi dresses where I sub, granted they are a lot younger than me Smile but I still enjoy wearing it and feel very “in-style”.  There are not many other places I would wear this dress, maybe I need to have a date night with hubby.
On Amy Butler’s Honey Bun Poufs:
A note from me, made it for a dog bed but the dog will not get on it!  He put a paw on it and then steps away, guess with the little bean bag pellets it feels funny and he wants no part of it!
*******************************************************************************Thanks all for your comments, I appreciate each and every one of them.  Have a great day.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Ruched Top Again

After I made this Megan Neilsen Ruched top for Erin, it was quickly one of her favorites.
Using some fabric recently purchased from Needle Nook Fabrics, I made this version
leopard ruched top

Neckline and close-up of fabric
neckline leapord knit
I saw it on her today with black pants and it looked very cute on her.
Then I pulled out a sweater knit, purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics last year.  I bought it to make myself a cardigan but the sweater knit really was just a stamped onto some thin sweater knit.   Not something I wanted for a cardigan when the wrong side might show but perfect for this top.

megan n ruched top sweater knit
I am going to try some of these with some sleeve variations and neckline variations (mainly a v-neck)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Red, White and Aqua Quilt for Kaitlyn

You saw it here after I finished the piecing but before it was sent to the longarm quilter.
Here it is in all its quilted glory:
Sugar and Spice Picnic quilt -Girls in the Garden blog
Kaitlyn had to stand on the round haybales so we could get a picture of the entire quilt.
looking up:
looking up

and a close-up
close-up
Kaitlyn is very thrilled with her new quilt, red is her favorite color.  She was insistent that the quilt be quilted in red thread.  I think she made a great decision.  Thanks to my mom for binding this one again.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Burda 7204–Three Times


Description: Dress and Shirt, with pleats, back dart, sleeve option.  The front and back have a low round neck.
Sizes: 8 to 20
Instructions:  They were good for a Burda pattern, there is only 2 pieces if making the sleeveless top, 3 if making it with sleeves. 
Likes/dislikes:  First the likes:
  • A great looking pattern which will work perfectly for a maternity style top/dress. 
  • a nice dart in the back to add shaping.  This also seems to make the back shorter than the top and adds to the maternity needs for the added length needed for the pregnancy belly.
This picture shows the dart – in the orange and aqua area:
back dart
  • The only dislike was the amount of ease in the garment, this is pictured pretty accurately in envelope picture.  Especially in the orange dress.
Changes:  I made the first pattern with no changes then I made various changes on the last two garments.  The pattern has you stitch the pleats on the right side and I did that the first time
pleats
but I really didn’t like how it looked.  So the next two times, I did the pleats on the wrong side, which resulted in a smoother look
tucks Bruda 7204
and here:
front pleats
Next I went to work on the fit
The first time I took some out of the width on the side seams, even though this is a maternity top for Erin, I felt it was too full.
The second version, the  dress option.  I took some out of the width also.  This fabric was a linen and a bit stiff without much drape.  Too help compensate, I put in a elastic waist casing in the upper back.
elastic back2
here is a side view:
elasict back
I thought if Erin needs the room, then I could remove the elastic.
On the third version, I figured out this fit thing, at least I think!  I cut the back at her normal bust size tapering to the smallest size below the waist.  The front I cut at her normal size.  This seemed to make all the difference in the look of the top.
Fabric:  The tops are made from a rayon blend from Hancock’s, the dress is made from a linen purchased at Joann’s
Conclusion:  A great style that will work from now until the end of Erin’s pregnancy.  I think the tops will look very cute with a cardigan and the dress will be good with or without a cardigan.
First Version:
burda 7204 -1

Second version – dress:
Burda 7204
Sleeves on dress:
sleeve

Third version and my favorite:

burda 7204

If you make this pattern, go with a rayon type fabric or a fabric with good drape.  You will have more favorable results.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Burda 7205



Description:  Dress or top with elastic waist detail.  View C top with band.  All views have draped front and gathered shoulder  straps.
Sizing: 8 to 20
Instructions:  Easy to follow with nice illustrations.  The instructions do call for the shoulder straps to be hand sewn to the top.  I liked the idea of inserting elastic into the strap and having the gathered effect.
Strap Burda 7205
Changes:  None, made it as stated this time.  Next time, I would have a bit less width in the body of the top.  Even as a maternity style, I think there is tons of fabric.
Fabric:  A metallic jersey knit from Joann’s, not a very nice knit.  No recovery and very thin.  I was very disappointed in the fabric.  Also, the little dots of metallic would always stick to my iron and made pressing this knit almost impossible.  Had to use a press cloth and still hard to press.
Conclusion:  Cute pattern, I can’t believe there are not any reviews for this pattern.  It does need a bit of adjusting for View C with the amount of fabric in the body.

Picture isn’t impressive, part on a dressform, part is the fabric.
Burda 7205

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Maxi Dress on Me!

I am really putting up the blog posts, but I am wearing my Simplicity 2580 Maxi today and wanted to put up a picture.
maxi dress

Off to substitute 4th grade feeling great in my new dress!
Have a great day!