SSS 13 - 17 and Pattern Weights

I've been horribly busy at work, so no time to take photos or blog until today. In fact, no time to sew either until last night.

Here are the garments I wore during the week. I was working at home most of the time, remotely connected to the office, so I could wear whatever wanted. I didn't have to look "professional."

Tuesday: brown linen dress with yet another version of the Butterick 5567 jacket
Wednesday: peach colored version of huge pants
Thursday: white top
Friday: turqoise sundress with matching jacket (it's still quite warm here)
Saturday: tonight I will wear the yellow nightgown

I recently watched Peggy Sagers' video Factory Tips & Techniques - 1 & 2. One of the things she recommends is using weights to hold patterns and fabric down when cutting, rather than pinning the pattern to the fabric. I tried this out last night when I cut a couple of tops out of black cotton interlock. It works very well. As Ms. Sager pointed out, you don't have to buy specially made weights. You can use anything heavy enough to hold down the pattern. I have lots of rocks in my garden, so they were an obvious choice for me.

Stretchy knit fabrics are amazingly easy to sew with a serger! It only took me about 10 minutes to sew each top together. I still have to top stitch the neck opening and armhole edges. I'm waiting to do this after I finish sewing a green linen skirt. The skirt is a test garment. The fabric was on sale for a very low price -- can't remember how much, but it was cheap enough for me to buy several yards. It's fairly nasty fabric -- doesn't drape very well, and scratcy against the skin. But underfacing with cotton lawn changed it much for the better. So I think I'll have a wearable skirt. The bright green color isn't really my style, but it's not hideously ugly either. It'll certainly be good enough to wear around the house, to the grocery store, that sort of thing.

The kittens have at least doubled in size since they were born. Here they are as they looked a couple of days ago. Their eyes are open now, and they're beginning to move around more than their mother likes. She often jumps up and lies on the table, to get away from these pesky children.

A New Nightgown & SSS 12

This is Simplicity 9012. The pattern called for a lace overlay on the yoke, but my primary goal for a nightgown is comfort, so I left off the lace. The nightgown was very easy to make. I didn't time myself, but I easily got it done over the weekend, even though I spent most of the weekend catching up on work from the office. I'd guess it took 3 hours total, including hemming by hand. I made French seams, because it seems as though this would be more comfortable for sleepwear than serged seams.

SSS Day 11

McCall's 8050 top. Very comfortable, but the cotton fabric wrinkles easily.

SSS Day 10

The afternoon temp went over 100F yesterday. Very disheartening. Usually by this time of year, the weather has begun to cool. Certainly does not incline one to think of fall garments.

I don't like anything about this top except the comfort level. The cotton-lycra facbric would have worked a lot better as a pair of shorts, which is what I intended to make with it when I ordered it. But I only received 1 years, instead of the 2 years I thought I ordered. This was not enough to make the shorts, so I had to improvise. The light-weight fabric breathes nicely, seems to float almost.

A New Dress - vogue 8567

I'd give myself a C+ on this one. It would have been a B- if I'd gotten the side bodice seams exactly right. I made it exactly as instructed, except I shortened the skirt to fall at mid-knee length (the photos below were taken before the skirt was hemmed).

The brown color goes nicely with a number of jackets and vests I already own, and I need more dresses. So this was a good choice as far as my overall wardrobe. The color would have been great for me when my hair was dark reddish-brown. Now that my hair is gray, I'm not so sure. I probably look better now in greens, blues, and grays.

 This dress was easy to make. The only part I found difficult was sewing the shoulder seams. The instruction sheet that came with the pattern directed one to sew the bodice lining to the outer shell, leaving the shoulder seams and part of the armhole edges open. After the lining and shell were attached, one was to turn the lining out and sew the shoulder seam for the lining and shell in one continuous seam. The hand-stitch the remaining open part of the armhole edges. It worked OK, but I have to wonder if maybe there's a better way.

The dress is quite figure-flattering and comfortable. Here are the things I learned while making this dress:

1. I should consider linen-rayon blends in the future rather than 100% linen when making dresses or skirts. I can't think of any way to keep linen skirts from wrinkling badly when one sits down in them.

2. Even though a garment fits perfectly when made in a test fabric, I should try the "real" garment on as I'm making it. The cotton test fabric version of this dress fit perfectly, but the final version would look better with each of the side seams of the bodice taken in about 1/4 inch. It's not bad enough to rip it apart and re-do it at this point, but it would have been a very easy problem to fix if I'd tried on the bodice before attaching the lining and skirt.

3. Cotton poplin is not the best lining fabric for linen. Cotton lawn or non-slippery rayon would have been a better choice.

SSS Day 9

This is another version of the huge pants (Vogue 9231) made from a linen-cotton fabric underlined with cotton fabric from an old sheet. The shirt is McCall's 8850. I'll almost surely make McCall's 8850 again but probably won't do the pants again, unless I try them in a very thin, silky fabric. It might be interesting to see what they look like in a completely different sort of fabric.

I went out to my country place today and changed into these clothes when I got home and cleaned up. I always get my clothes dirty when I go to the country.

SSS Day 8

Today I'm wearing the Vogue 9231 huge pants that are extremely unflattering but o-so-comfortable. These pants are great for working in the garden or hanging out in the house.