Month: January 2015

Whoops! My Flirt Skirt and Another Watson Started

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Sorry to everyone who received that unfinished post I sent out. I had a terrible headache (I can count on one hand how many headaches I’ve ever had) and when I went to save a draft of my blog, I hit publish by mistake. Oops. Once that button is hit, there’s no taking it back. However, it wasn’t finished. So here it is (again) in it fullness.

I really like black, and my wardrobe has a disproportionate amount of the color. I have four or five black skirts in my closet right now, and was planning on making another one with the fabric I used for my Mum’s cardigan.

My hubby loves when I wear color, so when he went shopping with me for material, he ‘helped’ me pick out my fabrics. This fabric was one of those helpful picks. Honestly, I’d put off sewing it because I really wasn’t sure I’d like it at all. Turns out I love it. I love the material. I love the skirt.

The Flirt Skirt comes together quite quickly and easily. Here’s the link for the skirt on Pam Howard’s website. This is such a pretty skirt. There was also a kit for this skirt on Craftsy, but I didn’t love the material in the kit so just bought the pattern and read through the information in the workshop. (The workshop is no longer on Craftsy.)

When it came time to sew the waistband, I had a memory of using the serger to sew on the elastic. So, I looked it up. I found this blog post on Sewing With Nancy, and the post has more information in there than I’d hoped to find. I followed her suggestion for attaching the waist. I didn’t think of it until I’d sewn the waist on, but I only had three seams to sew that waist down. It wasn’t going to work for this skirt.

While I had the elastic serged on, I thought a blind hem might work. Nope. That was not what I’d wanted. This really was one of those projects that if my hubby hadn’t seen the material and the skirt wasn’t almost done, I think I might have thrown it out. I don’t like re-doing things over and over. I’d rather start again. And that was how it was feeling – like I was doing the same thing over and over. I finally decided to just follow the instructions from the workshop and it all turned out perfectly. Imagine that?

In the end, it all came together and I really love it. I’m thinking my hubby needs to take me out somewhere nice so I can wear it. I also found a lovely scarf that had been given to me that goes so nicely with it.

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What makes this skirt flirty is there’s a lovely flounce at the back. It looks a lot like a straight skirt from the front, but the back has a little extra. It helps with walking and it’s rather fun to wear.

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This photo shows the flounce a bit.

And here I am showing the front of the skirt.

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Sadly, the photo looks washed out, but it was the best we could get. The material is closer to the photos above.

And showing that little flounce at the back:

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There’s lots of kick room back there. I love it. I may take the elastic at the waist in a bit. It’s looser than I like, but I’d read how curvy girls needed to make sure it would fit over the hips too. The skirt isn’t too tight going over the hips so, the waist band is going to come in.

Lastly, I’ve got another Watson bra cut out for the sew-along. This time in some of the black and beige Lycra I bought. So far, it’s looking darling.

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Watch the Watson Sew-Along Group on Facebook or Erin’s Bra-A-Week Challenge on Pinterest for the photos.

Happy creating!

Lots of Plans, Not A Lot of Sewing

~ Michelle

I mailed my Mum’s cardigan to her early last week, and she got it by the end of the week. She said she loved it, that it was precious, that she wouldn’t need a spring jacket now, and that I’d done a beautiful job. That is always so wonderful to hear.

A little history, my Dad didn’t contribute very much at all to our family. My Mum was the one who provided for us, made sure we had the clothes and food we needed, and for me she sacrificed a lot and made sure I had music lessons too. Even though things were always a challenge, my Mum would take family in if anyone needed help. My Mum was a great example of a strong woman. So, for me, it’s a pleasure to be able to give back to her and please her. When my Mum said she wanted a black cardigan, I made it the next day.

This week, I have little to show on my blog – just a few projects I’m planning. My week seemed to be spent running around to appointments. I did have some fun on all those errands – with a couple of visits to the fabric store. I bought two beautiful prints and felt quite pleased I’d resisted a third print.

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I love both of these and think they both make adorable bra/panty sets.

As pleased as I was with these prints, that third print stayed on my mind for a day or so. I went back to the fabric store and found the print again – but on sale this time: buy one get one free. I did like that.

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This is a delightful black and beige polka dot Lycra. Can you see why I really couldn’t resist?

I feel very ready to start the Watson Sew-Along now with not one, but three beautiful new Lycras from which to choose. This week we were to gather our supplies, and look at Bra Fitting Alterations.

Happy creating!

For My Mum

~ Michelle

My Mum was saying she’d been watching The Shopping Channel and saw a cardigan the same as I’d made her, but in black. She said it was $150, and wanted to know if I could make one for her for less.

I can hardly imagine a little peplum cardigan costing that much, but I assured I could do it for a lot less than that. And I did. It’s an early birthday present for her. My Mum will be 89 this Spring, but I thought she might want to wear this before it warms up too much.

 It was the same McCalls pattern I’ve made a couple of times now, in fact the same style even, so I didn’t need the pattern. I also have some Ponte material.

Once again I’m revisiting McCalls 6844. I think I’ve made most of the sizes now. I had originally made a size Small for my Mum. This time she wanted a size Medium. She wants it big enough to wear things under it. So, my Mum is getting her way. I made her the size Medium – even though I seriously doubt she needs it that big.

The only other change I made this time was to use the serger. My hubby helped me re-thread it (again) and I oiled it (again). The repair man did say to oil it well, so three times is well, and it hums away now. It’s actually hummed away well enough to do a few projects with it.

So here’s my Mum’s McCalls 6844:

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I dressed it up a bit with a pretty scarf just to add a bit of color. Black on black against beige really doesn’t show much.

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I really love the shaping on this cardigan. It flatters, well, it flatters me and my Mum and we’re pretty different when it comes to our shapes. She’s always been very thin-hipped, and I’ve been curvy for as long as I can remember. This cardigan flatters both of our shapes.

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Even the back has a nice shape to it.

I loved having the serger working and making such quick work of this. Every time I’ve sewn it before I not only double-stitched it – where I’d sewn the regular seam and then a second one 1/4″ away from the seam allowance. Then I did a zigzag over the trimmed edge. That was a lot of work. Serging my way through this project made it seem super quick and easy.

One last comment. I made the size Large last time I made this for me and it fits me loosely, which is what I wanted. However, I’ve wondered about making myself a more fitted version as the envelope photo shows a more fitted cardigan.

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So I thought before I send this off to my Mum, I’d give it a quick try on to see what changes I might want to make to a size Medium. And I did try it on, but I didn’t get a photo of me in it! I had another parcel going to the post off that day, and wanted to get them both sent off. Let me just fill you in here on my thoughts.

The first material I used had a lot of stretch to it, and if using a knit like that, I could easily go with the size Medium. However, the Ponte doesn’t have as much stretch and it felt snug in a few places like the arms and across the bust and hips. I could probably make the Medium/Large cross if using Ponte.

Did you notice I have a new badge on my blog? Amy, from Cloth Habit is starting another bra sew-along – and it starts today! I can’t wait. I had so much fun on the last one she did.

Happy creating!

My First Watson

~ Michelle

The Watson bra pattern from Cloth Habit is showing up all over the place on blogs. And it is an adorable pattern. I also seem to have an addiction to bras and bra patterns, so I had to try it. I also think Amy (of Cloth Habit) is wonderful. I admire her sewing, and participated in her bra sew along two years ago (can it really be two years ago already?). So when Amy said she was releasing a pattern, I wanted to try it.

The Watson bra pattern isn’t something I’d tend to think about for me. I need support, and this isn’t a support bra. However, it was too adorable for me not to try, and I do wear leisure bras around the home from time to time. The other aspect that was making me hesitant was the material used for the Watson. I usually use duoplex and power net. When I do use Lycra, it over those other very supportive materials.

An interesting aside to this is last year I’d read about a French lingerie company and how they didn’t make structured bras, only soft cupped bras. Their philosophy was a woman’s natural shape was the most attractive shape. I dismissed it at the time thinking that definitely wasn’t for me, but I notice more and more soft cupped bras are appearing in both RTW and patterns. Amy may be right on trend with this.

Here’s my Watson:

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I really love this. but it’s not perfect. This was one of those projects where I had to fight over ever step.

I chose some fabric I had left over from a Merckwaerdigh kit I bought a few years ago. I made a bra from this too, but it just seemed too much of something. I don’t know if it was too much pink, or what, but I didn’t wear it. You can see it here. The Watson in this material? I love it.

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Here’s the side view. I put my oft-used foam cups in to fill the bra out. I really do love this material for the Watson.

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And the back view.

It really is an adorable bra. I do think I’ll try the longline version next.

There’s a little fabric left after making this, and a fair amount of the bright pink lace. I’m thinking of making Merckwaerdigh’s E-SH20 panties, View A.

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I think that will make a really cute set.

Do any of you follow Erin from The Sewing and Life Adventures of Emerald Erin? Erin has set a sewing challenge for herself – a bra a week! She said for a year, but then amended that the first three month of 2015. She is also open to having others bra makers send their photos to her and she’ll post them along with her own. That just sounds fun! You can check out her blog for all the information, and here’s the email to send your own bras to her: bra.a.week@gmail.com

One last comment; I had a phone call from my Mum. She wants another cardigan. She saw something on the Shopping Channel that looked the same, but cost $150. So now she wants one in black. She also wants a size bigger, which I question, but I’ll make it for her. I was planning another McCalls 6844 for me, so I guess two more are on my sewing list.

Happy creating!