Simplicity 1366 x 2

My SewJo has finally started to return...not sure what has bought about this comeback but perhaps it's due to hanging out with sewing friends; or just feeling like I have the mental & physical space at home to finally get a bit creative.

I bought this fabric after seeing it on Maai Designs Instagram page (@maaidesign). I had no idea what viscose spandex crepe felt like but who cares - the print (a Lady McElroy design) is fantastic and it had been so long since I felt quite excited about sewing so...Add. To. Cart! 

I decided to sew Simplicity 1366 as it is a TNT so I knew it would be fit. This was a pretty stressful sew however. I was so worried about messing this up that I jinxed myself. It looks okay from the outside but it's a different story inside. The fabric is so light weight - like sewing with stocking material - I was expecting the fabric to be heavier and it has not turned out as nice as I had imagined. I've not worn this yet...and I'm not sure if I will.

A bit of lunchtime and after work sewing last week resulted in another a new Simplicity 1366. This is a more cropped length for wearing with wide-legged pants and more voluminous skirts. I do have this tee already in black (my very first Simplicity 1366 but God knows where it is though). The fabric is a small cotton/elastane remnant bought from Tessuti quite awhile ago. 

Do you like this necklace? The pendant was made in about 5 seconds by Wendy @sydneyjewelleryschool in a recent wire-working class.

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Size: 18
Modifications:  For the "faces tee" added 7.5cm to the length, added 1cm to both the side of the front and back neckline and dropped the front neckline a bit. Shortened the sleeves by 5cm. For the "black tee" - I think this is the original length, added 1cm to both the side of the front and back neckline and dropped the front neckline a bit. Shortened the sleeves by 10cm. 
Fabric:"faces fabric" viscose spandex crepe from Maai Designs. Black fabric is a cotton/elastane remnant from Tessuti. 
Changes for next time: none

Maria Denmark's "Kristen Kimono Tee"

After making sooooo many skirts (both of the pencil and a-line variety) it seemed about time to try my hand at making a t-shirt to go with all those skirts. I had downloaded the free (if you subscribe to her newsletter) Maria Denmark "Kristen Kimono Tee" about 18 months ago so thought it was possibly time to whip one up.

Sadly my first attempt was too snug as I didn't read the instructions prior to cutting out my fabric. If I had I would have realized that the pattern does not come with seam allowances included...ugh. If I had added the 1cm seam allowance as suggested I think the top would've been ok, but now it resides in the bin. For some reason I didn't have the PDF pattern on my computer at home, so I unsubscribed to the newsletter, re-subscribed and got myself a new copy of the PDF pattern. It would appear that since my first download of the pattern Maria Denmark has added more sizes to the larger end of the size specturm which suits me. After laying the old pattern over the new pattern I decided to cut a 3XL (leaving it at 4XL at the shoulders to give me more room in the sleeves). I decided that the 3XL would be big enough without me adding seam allowances as it is quite a bit bigger than her previous biggest sizes.

I am pleased to report...WE HAVE A WINNER!

This pattern was only intended to be a toile, but I decided to sew it up "properly" to make sure I could do all the steps without faffing it up. I decided not to add a neckband as frustratingly the pattern does not include a pattern piece for the neckband, you have to draft one yourself - life's too short for that!  I decided to treat the neckline the same as the Mandy Boat Tee - simply by overlocking the back and front neckpiece, turn under (with the help of Wondertape), zigzag stitch and then stitch up the shoulder seams. This has worked really well, but in the past these type of neckbands have stretched out and I'm not sure why. My inner OCD wants to give the neck a good tug to see if it'll stretch, but I'm trying to hardest not to do that!

The seams on the sleeves were also treated in the same way - finished before sewing up the side seams. I'm pretty happy with how they look and they feel very comfortable.

The top is also sitting very well at the back neckline -- though I think the neck is a smidge wide as my bra strap does show at the shoulders.  I don't think it's such a big deal though...not enough to think about how to fix it.

I like the back view of the tee - though next time I'll make it marginally tighter at the hips so it doesn't just "hang" - I think that's a better look to go with my A-line skirts.  There is a bit of pooling at the curve of my back - but I don't mind that at all...I like that the tee is loose at the back as I don't care for fitted tops.

I decided that I liked this toile so much that it was worth hemming it and sewing in the overlocking threads so I can actually wear it. Next up I hope to make a version in black.

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Pattern: "Kristen Kimono Tee" by Maria Denmark
Size: size 3XL (no seam allowance added); with size 4XL at the shoulders
Modifications: none
Fabric: some sort of knit from Addicted to Fabric (Canberra)

Yellow Stripy Mandy Boat Tee #2

My overlocker and I got together and whipped up this lovely, cozy Mandy Boat Tee using some fabric I picked up from The Fabric Cave last month.

The fabric was a little tricky to work with as it was quite stretched and the selvedges were nowhere near parallel. I spent about an hour crawling around on the floor trying to smooth out the fabric and line up the stripes...and I think I did a pretty good job *take that stripes* (just don't look too closely at the other side as things are a tad wonky over there).

With my first Mandy Boat Tee I lengthened it by 5"...probably a tad too long, so I just increased the hem on this by "two stripes worth", so about 3". Sadly, not quite long enough to cover my caboose in my favourite jeggings but if I can't see my butt jiggling about behind me sans long top then I can pretend it's not happening, right?

I'm also finding the neckline of my first Mandy Boat Tee a tad too high so I cut a small wedge out of the neckline this time around. Still a bit too high so I'll lower it more next time around (yes, there'll be a next time).

I made quite a wide hem (one stripes worth - loving the ease of measuring this "by the stripe") but stitched it down twice as I didn't want any bubbling.  I quite like the way this looks.

Things went a bit haywire with the sleeve hem as I was hurrying to finish the top so I could wear it out to coffee. I didn't stitch close enough to the edge to catch the sleeve hem down properly and the flappy edge was pretty annoying.

I already know that unpicking twin-needling is a bit of a pain (plus this fabric was prone to "fraying" and I didn't want to put a hole in it, so I just went around the hem a few times for some crazy "free style" stitching that I actually love.

I wore my new top out for coffee and I was loving myself sick the whole time! Despite being a tad too short in the butt region I felt really good in this top...it's slouchy, big and comfy and looks good with slim pants.  I so happy to be finally sewing things that I want to wear!

Go team Mel!

Mandy Boat Tee + a Tessuti Class

When I VERY first started sewing (which is exactly 46 weeks ago in case we're keeping tabs...which I am) I REALLY only wanted to sew clothes made from stretch fabrics. It's what I mostly wear so it's what I was hell bent on sewing. Why would I sew anything else?

During my first foray's in sewing I did a few "knit sewing" classes and whilst the sewing went OK in class the garments were too small for me. This coupled with the fact that I didn't have the equipment at home to be sewing knits properly really got me down. My machine doesn't like knits all that much and I didn't have an over-locker. I also had no idea that there are special needles for sewing knits - so it was fail fail fail.

Not one to give up, when Tessuti announced new sewing classes at their Chatswood store I enrolled in the "Mandy Boat Tee" class - a loose fitting knit t-shirt. There is also new Udon Noodle restaurant just up the road from their store that I was desperate to try so it was a two birds:one stone kinda situation.

The class was taught by Silva who drafts the patterns for Tessuti. She literally has decades of experience so I really felt in safe hands. Silva also brought along a few completed Mandy Boat Tees for us to try on. This was FANTASTIC as I could see before we even started that the "one size fits all" top was too small on my arms. Not to worry as Silva made a few quick adjustments to my pattern before we started.  I knew from the outset that my top was going to fit - what a great feeling. We also added 5" to the hem so I could wear the top with beloved jeggings and safely cover my caboose. It's a tad long so I'm going to chop it off by 1" (or so) and re-hem it.

Ta-da! I cannot tell you how chuffed I am with this top. We used the overlocker for most of the assembly and this really gave me the kick I needed to put the old Singer overlocker I inherited in for a service. The overlocker wasn't as scary as I thought it would be and I didn't chop a hole in my shirt as I went nice and slow.

I finished most of the top in class - I just had to take it home and do the hem using the twin needle on my Elna.

I may be smiling, but I was getting a bit stressed throughout the lesson as people were racing ahead of the teacher and others had come to class with their pattern all cut out and were eager to get a wriggle on with the sewing (we're all supposed to cut out together)! I'm VERY lucky that Silva was hanging around the store for an hour after the class so myself and another student got our tops to a stage that we could finish off at home. THANK YOU SILVA!

How GREAT is this fabric. It's a cotton knit from The Fabric Store which I think it may have some wool in it as it's quite warm to wear (so I won't be donning this until winter arrives). I have enough left over to make another tee from it - using this as the front panel and a contrasting fabric for the back/sleeves.

Back patting and gushing aside...have you noticed that the birds on my sleeve are upside down? I didn't even notice that I'd cut the sleeves out the wrong way until I got home and put the t-shirt on to show Dave. Whoopsie! Let's call it a "design feature" shall we?

I can HIGHLY recommend this class - especially if you're new to sewing knits and/or want to have a go sewing a garment on the overlocker. I'm already booked in for another class at Tessuti Chatswood (and another Udon lunch). Cannot wait!