Author: Michelle

My Gift to Me

~ Michelle ~ 5 Comments

I often get money for occasions, and I don’t mind at all. I usually have a running list in my  head of what I’d like to buy, so gifts of money are always appreciated. This past Christmas was no exception, I was given some money by my father-in-law.

I can’t count the times I’ve used money I’ve been given towards sewing, but this time I decided I’d buy something that would be well-remembered. I knew exactly what I wanted. A very good friend of mine makes the most beautiful scarves and accessories. I’ve loved one of her scarves for years – the RoseOnie Scarf.

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Isn’t this stunning? This image is taken from Valerie’s Etsy store. Oh, I love this scarf and have since she first made it. Valerie says ‘I designed this scarf in memory of my amazing mother. She loved Gardening and Roses. This Rose Garden is for her, for the inspiration she had and continues to impress on my life.’ You can see this scarf along with the many other beautiful accessories Valerie makes here.

I didn’t want to stop with just the scarf though. I wanted a set of her hand warmers to go with it. I thought about the ivory ones, but then thought I also have a black scarf that they could match, so went with black hand warmers with ivory roses.

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Again, this image is taken from Valerie’s Etsy store. I must admit, I felt so pretty wearing these gorgeous custom made-for-me items. This was one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten! For years to come, I’ll wear these and remember the generosity of my family, and a friendship I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy since my 20s.

Just a day after I received these from Valerie, I was at a work-related conference, and you know I had my beautiful new scarf and hand warmers on. I had so many comments on how beautiful they are. Thank you, Valerie!

Happy creating!

Long Line Watson and Some Bling

~ Michelle

I had such hopes my Watson was going to be perfect this time. The good news is my hopes aren’t completely dashed. My Watson isn’t perfect, but it’s not that far off.

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Here it was beginning to take shape. I’d made two changes. The last time I’d made it, I made the largest size, but it was a bit small in the cup, so on this one I graded the cup up and then put some gathering stitches along the seam line and aligned those gathers at the bottom of the cup where it crosses the cup seam. Those little gathers are hardly noticeable and then I didn’t have to change the cradle at all.

The other change I made was to ‘beef’ it up a bit. I lined the cups with power net. It does offer a fair amount more support than the last one.

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I have no idea why the front looks off-center like that with the foam cups in, but it doesn’t look like that without them. However, it does look a lot more deflated.

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There, all deflated with wrinkles and puckers. However, the center front isn’t off. It now looks fine.

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Here in the side view, you can see it gapes open a bit where the cup meets the cradle. It does that when it’s on me too, so I may need to shorten the underarm length on the pattern there. However, the more exciting part of this photo, which I don’t know that you can see there is really is more support to the cups with the power net added. It does give them more of a firm shape.

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I didn’t do anything different on the back. In fact, I was a bit lazy. I often do the elastic along the band separate from the straps, but they’re all one this time. I also used band elastic again. I have it on hand, so used what I had. Especially as this bra was still a test.

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On this side of the bra you can see where I put a pin. I didn’t have any sewing pins with me in my bedroom, so just used a safety-pin to know how much I’ll want to remove from the pattern. That’s an three-quarters of an inch fold there, so a fair bit to remove from the pattern, but I also have to remove from my Pin-Up Girls patterns there too.

So, will I make the Watson again? Well, if I do, I won’t use the power net for the cup next time. I may try a mesh instead as it’s a bit lighter, or I’ll double up on the Lycra. The single layer of Lycra just isn’t supportive enough for my size. An inside power bar is another option I’ve thought about to add more support to the Watson.

Lastly, a dear friend had her 50th birthday this week. She wears a Medical Alert bracelet but only has the one bracelet. I asked her if she’d like a second bracelet that can inter-change with her ID tag. She loved that idea – something with bling she said. Out came the Swarovski crystals and some lovely small hematite beads. She was so happy to get some more bling. What girl doesn’t love some bling?

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Happy creating!

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. 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. 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!

That Just Didn’t Seem Right

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I bought another panty pattern, and this time I thought I was being so smart by buying one with three options in there. Kwik Sew 2100. It has a Bikini, Hipster and Brief option. Great!

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So I looked up my size, and then looked at the pattern. That can’t be right. At least that’s what I thought. I remember when I was just going to make panties again after not doing any for years, and my sewing pen pal, Naomi, warned me they’d look huge when I was cutting them out, but this?

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? You tell me. Do these look the same size?

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That smallest line showing to the right side of my traced Kwik Sew 2286 pattern isn’t even the size I need. I need a bigger size? As well, I’m looking at the Hipster pattern, and my KS 2286 doesn’t even come up to the Bikini line. The KS 2286 doesn’t list itself as a Hipster – simply a panty – but it compares really well to some RTW Hipsters I have – that’s why I like it so much.

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The above picture shows a little more clearly just where the sides of these two patterns are ending.

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This shows the cutting lines above the traced pattern piece. It’s not even the same height as the bikini option.

And one last photo:

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Here is the KS 2286 traced pattern over the traced KS 2100 traced and cut out. That’s quite a difference. Both patterns say they are designed for stretch knits. I think I’ll look at my 2286 pattern again.

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And wanting to play with the KS 2286 a little more,  I altered the pattern to a more asymmetrical front along these lines:

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Aren’t they adorable? So I changed my KS 2286 to look more like these.

I wish you all the happiest of holidays, and a joyous New Year!

Yet Another McCalls 6844

~ Michelle

When I first saw read about the McCalls 6844 and its high recommendations – rated best pattern of 2013 on Pattern Review – I knew I wanted to make one for myself. I didn’t think I’d make a second one, let alone a third one. And I’m not done yet.

Like the second cardigan I made, this one isn’t for me. This current one is a thank you for a good friend who did some work for my husband and me that I just don’t have the skills to do. She loved my cardigan, so I said I’d make her a cardigan too. It seemed like a fair trade to me.

I used the same material as I’d used for my first cardigan, but a different color this time. It’s a lovely soft Rayon/Bamboo knit. It’s just dreamy to feel – so soft.

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I didn’t do anything differently on this one. My friend is taller than me, so after measuring I didn’t have to shorten the sleeves, nothing. Everything was good as it was. Isn’t that the best?

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And the side view, showing the flounce so nicely. It really does have and give a lovely shape.

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Here’s the back. I love the rich deep color this cardigan has. It’s really lovely. My friend was thrilled too. She loved it.

Lastly, I had a bit of fun this past week. A good friend of the family is a producer, and every once in a while he calls on us to be in different projects he’s doing. Last year my husband and I had a lot of fun with parts in a movie. It was great fun to go to a theater for our own movie premiere. What fun. This past week we were called on again. However, I felt I’d been demoted quickly. First, I was going to be a Dr., and then a nurse. Well, I ended up as a patient.

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We did have fun though. Here I am with another good friend, who just happened to get the nurse’s role. This photo caused a bit of a stir on Facebook. All my friends who don’t know both of us, thought there must be something wrong with me. The texts started while I was still at the hospital. We put a caption on there saying, Look. We’re both smiling. All is good. We’re just acting.

Happy creating!

Some Matchy Matchy

~ Michelle

I do like matchy matchy. Maybe it’s an indicator of my age, but I do like things to match. So, now I have my first (two) great fitting bras, it was time to make something to match.

I couldn’t find any ivory cotton, but did stock up on black, red, beige and pink. So, going forward I’ll have a nice choice of basics from which to choose. My most recent Shelley bra was mostly black, but had some red and ivory in it as well. So I chose red and black for my panties.

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Here’s my first pair. It’s a modified Kwik Sew 2286, which is basically a hipster. I copied the lace inset from Kwik Sew 2908, but I prefer how the 2286 sews together – no seams showing on the inside. The crotch seams are hidden between two layers of material and then when the lace is sewn on – you don’t see an exposed seam. The 2908 has the front and crotch as one piece, and then the back is sewn to that. It looks similar on the outside, but on the inside you can see the seam very clearly. In the past, I’ve made 2908 and modified it to do the seams the same as the 2286.

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And the set pinned on Catherine. They look long, more like a high cut here, but I’ve made them before and they are a hipster. My only disappointment is I’m not in love with this as a set. The lace is the same on the panty as the bra, but it doesn’t pull together quite as much as I’d wanted. I don’t think there is enough red in the bra to pull it off. However, it’ll still be a second choice option for me.

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Here’s the second pair I made. I like this one a lot better. I think it pulls together with the bra without any problem.

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Here it is pinned onto Catherine. That looks like a set. That’s much better. I really am happy with this set. This will be my first choice to wear.

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Here are both panties with my bra. It’s very fun to have my first set. The materials are from both Bra Makers Supply, and Merckwaerdigh‘s Etsy store. The panties are mostly cotton from BMS with that little accent of lace/Lycra from Merckwaerdigh’s.

Next I’m going to have to play with my pattern to make an asymmetrical pair – and I think I’ll go with the black & Lycra for that one.

Happy creating!

Fits Like A Dream

~ Michelle

My newest bra fits like a dream, but she isn’t peaches and cream.

For the better part of the last two years I’ve only worn my own bras. I did purchase a couple of bras too, but to be honest, the ones I made fit better – and they weren’t fitting perfectly. Because I was so used to wearing what I’d made, I thought I’d still wear my not-perfectly-fitting bras, but oh no. Once I had one that fit so well, I found the others just weren’t as comfortable. I have a list of things to sew, but one bra just wasn’t enough. So sewing another bra went to the top of my sewing list.

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Here’s my latest (and perfectly fitting) Pin Up Girls Shelley. And she fits like a dream.

I love that little pop of color on the power bar and bridge. That’s just fun. And I’m all about lace. So this bra is bringing together lace and a bit of fun and I’m thrilled.

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Here’s a better view of the power bar. Oh, I love that. This is such a beautiful pattern. There are so many fun things to do with it. Although the power bar looks like Lycra, it has the support of duoplex under it. I did the same on the bridge. The Lycra and lace are from an older fabric set I bought from Merckwaerdigh‘s store a few years ago. Everything else is from Bra Makers Supply.

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Here you can see the Sewy Rebecca I’d done with this material. You can also see I made the wrong size. I still have this bra in the bra drawer – it’s too pretty to throw away or cut up. Back to the material,  I don’t have a lot left, so I got creative in the placement of what I did use on the bra. I wanted to save some for panties. Yup, now that I have my bra fit down, I’m going to start making matching bra and panty sets.

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And the back of my bra. I did the 3 x 3 hook and eye closure again. I’m getting better at getting it done up and undone, and it really does make it more comfortable. Who knew?

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Here’s part of my stash for panties. That’s some gorgeous cotton/spandex from Bra Makers Supply, and my bit of Lycra left over from the kit from Merckwaerdigh, and some black lace for trim. I also found some pictures online for inspiration. I’m thinking of changing up my panties from the basic pattern I have now. I really love things that are asymmetrical, and love that I found some fun panties with just that look.

One of the best aspects of this journey I’ve been on with trying to find the perfect fit for my bras is the freedom I now feel in altering patterns. I used to feel they were somehow beyond my grasp and I wouldn’t think of altering them. I have no such fear now!

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And lastly, I’m trying to decide what color bows I want on my new bra. I’m leaning towards the red, or maybe red and black together …

I still have some fitting issues to plan for when starting out, but I did the same thing on this bra – I went up a cradle size from my wire size. This takes care of most of my cup alterations as it’s only one size different than the cup size I’m using. Is that clear?

Let me explain that a bit more. The Omega shape needs a larger cup size than wire. Let’s say I need a 38 wire, but my cup corresponds to a 42 wire. I’m meeting the two half way in between. By using the 40 cradle, the 38 wire will still fit, and so will the 42 cup. This one change eliminated a lot of alterations.

However, I still made a few. I thinned the bra under the cup  little more this time, so I ended up trimming my elastic under the channeling. I lowered the bridge 1/2″ again, and on this bra I adjusted for a flat spot I have. And I put in a vertical dart in the underarm area. I don’t think there are any other alterations I would even want to make on this bra.

Ah… a perfectly fitting bra feels so good.

Happy creating!