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

A sparkly Simplicity 1366 for Frocktails

Frocktails is done and dusted for another year...and I'm sure some of that (glitter) dust has come from this top. Whilst I did have a dress already made to wear February can be VERY hot in Sydney and I didn't think a polyester elastane dress was going to fly.

This is my trusty Simplicity 1366 top made in a shiny gold foil-knit from The Fabric Store. The fabric is my no means a natural fabric but it's quite thin, and when paired with my Veronika Skirt I felt quite cool all night.

Not much to report as I've made this top so many times before. The fabric is not meant to go through the machine but my dry-cleaning days are behind me so it did go into the wash....which probably explains why I flaked little bits of foil all night.

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Pattern: Simplicity 1366
Size: 18
Modifications:  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.
Fabric: some sort of foil knit fabric from The Fabric Store.
Changes for next time: none

One Week One Pattern

One Week, One Pattern is an online challenge encouraging makers to wear one pattern for one whole week. You can wear the same garment for the entire week, or if you have multiples of a certain pattern (like I do) you can roll them all out over the course of the week.

I have a few patterns that I've made multiple times (as in, enough times to wear a different one every day for a week). My options were the Mable Skirt, Ebony Tee or Simplicity 1366. 

In the end I went with Simplicity 1366 as I've made both dress and top versions, so it would give me a bit of variety. I also have a jumper and two other dresses not shown here - the week of #OWOP turned out to be SO HOT. Blergh.

Because it was so hot I decided that another t-shirt wouldn't go astray so I sew this striped version during the challenge week. You can see some pulling on the neckband on the right-hand side of the right photo - this is where I pulled the neckband just a little too tight - ugh. I also took the hem down last night as the top was a little short and it'll get more wear at the longer length. 

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Something fishy - Simplicity 1366 top

How amazing is the print on this fabric? Rhetorical question, so no need to answer! It's from Clear It in Melbourne and I've been seeing it pop up on sewists blogs and Instagram's for the last two years or so. Sadly it had well and truly sold out by the time I got myself to Clear It so I'm very lucky that Anna had some in her stash which she sent up to me. Thank you Anna!!!

I had just over a meter of fabric to play with; and the fabric is quite thin and floaty (so different to the fabric content Anna speaks about on her blog - I think there were two bolts of this print floating around Clear It). It seems perfect for a little summer tee and I'm happy that I could fit the Simplicity 1366 onto the fabric.

There's not much to say about the sewing of this top - as it's pretty much the same as the other two I've made. I stuck with lengthening the pattern by 7.5cm. I don't think I've mentioned it before but I don't use the neckband piece supplied with the pattern - instead I grab the piece from either my Ebony Tee or Marianne Dress as they are wider and thus easier to worth with (especially where the fabric is a little fiddly as this was with the neckband).



I think this looks good with pants, and I'm yet to see how it'll work with a more floaty skirt (it might be a smidge too long). I think it will work well with my many Mabel Skirts too! This is how I wore it out to lunch yesterday - very comfortable!

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Pattern: Simplicity 1366
Size: 18
Modifications:  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.
Fabric: Fishy knit fabric from Clear It in Melbourne thanks to Anna
Changes for next time: none

A new lease on life - Simplicity 1366

This fabric was made into a Maria Denmark Kristen Kimono Tee at the beginning of 2016 (post here). It got a lot of wear back then but not so much these days. I had bought a bit extra (like 90 cm) of the fabric as I wanted to remake the tee with a neckband this time (I have a BAD habit of re-buying fabric so I can have a do-over, so silly) but a few weeks ago I decided to re-purpose the fabric from the original tee and combine it with my 90cms to make another Simplicity 1366.

I added about 3cm to the hem of the top to make it just a fraction longer so I can wear it comfortably with pants or pencil skirts. I wore it out today (after finishing it today) with my culottes and think the length worked really well. That said I do really like the length of the first Simplicity 1366 tee I made as it's good with fuller skirts.

The neckband is top stitched with a longer straight stitch as are the sleeves (the stitching on those is a big...messed up, I think the thread was playing up in the bobbin). The hem is done with a zigzag to ensure it has some stretch.

Just look at that neckband - they still make me as nervous as anything so I'm always pleased/shocked when they work out well!

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Pattern: Simplicity 1366
Size: 18
Modifications:  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.
Fabric: Fantasia (Italian printed - 97% Viscose + 3% Spandex jersey knit)
Changes for next time: none

Put a bird on it - Simplicity 1336

Firstly, are you as gobsmacked as I am that I found this beautiful fabric at Lincraft? I mean, they do have some nice fabrics from time to time but it's a bit hit and miss. This coupled with how messy they fabric section of their stores can get means I don't go in as often as I used to. I popped into my local store a few weeks ago when I was having my car fixed next door and...jackpot! This fabric is SO pretty and reminds of a Leona Edmiston print.

At first I thought I might make this fabric into another Ebony Tee or even a McCall's 6886 dress but in the end I went with my trusty Simplicity 1366 top lengthened into a dress. The fabric is fairly draprey so I think this is most successful top to dress hack so far. The sleeve heads sit nicely - up until now they've been a bit lumpy bumpy and I guess that is due to fabric choice. 

I'm just not *quite* sure about the length of the dress - it feels like it should be an inch shorter as I think it looks a bit dowdy in this length. I'm thinking about unpicking the hem and lopping of an inch and re-hemming but I just know it won't be as nice and straight as it is nice. Whilst I say I'd like to do this I'm pretty lazy so I really doubt I'll go through with it.

And, the back view! There's less pooling above my butt than normal but again I'm guessing this is down to the fabrics drape.

Attaching the neckline is still the moment in sewing where I hold my breath and hope like hell it all turns out OK. This time it did - phew! I've been using the "jewel neckband" from the Closet Casefiles Ebony Tee (size 20 neckband) as I like that it's wide, ergo, somewhat less fiddly to fold over and attach.

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Pattern: Simplicity 1366
Size: 18
Modifications Dress:  added 17.5" to the length of the top, added 1cm to both the side of the front and back neckline and dropped the front neckline a bit. Shortened the sleeves by 5cm. Took 1cm off the CB fold. 
Fabric: Printed Mercury Jersey Fabric from Lincraft (95% Polyester, 5% Spandex)
Changes for next time: nada 

Hacking Simplicity 1366

I really like my dress version of Simplicity 1366 - so I decided to make two more. When you're onto a good thing you may as well keep going with it!

I decided that I needed the dress to be a smidge longer than my last version so I added an extra inch to it (so 17.5" added to the top pattern to make it hit just at my knees when hemmed). I'm pretty happy with this length now.

This fabric was bought from the Ben Thanh Market in Saigon on my recent trip to Vietnam. It's hard to see but it is a ribbed knit. I can't remember how much I paid for this but it wasn't expensive and it's really good quality - a nice weight and was great to sew with.

I also found my last version just a bit too sack like so I took 1cm off the CB fold, thus reducing the back by 2cm overall. I think the fit is much better now, though still loose.

Neckline - I'm basically including this photo as it shows the rib pattern.

Ta da! Another dress version. This fabric is a ribbed knit from Tessuti (yes, I have a THING for ribbed knits at the moment). I actually HATED this dress when I first put it on - it felt really stiff, frumpy and blergh. I threw it in the wash and left it hanging upon the washing line for about two weeks. I tried it on again yesterday and I'm quite fond of it now. Go figure.

This jumper was initially a Mandy Boat Tee, but the fabric didn't have enough stretch and those sleeves were T-I-G-H-T! Luckily I had enough fabric left over to fangle something else out of - and this Simplicity 1366 jumper is what I came up with.

I made this back in late April I think so I can't really remember what I did! The length of the top was dictated by the fabric I had left over; and the story with the sleeves is the same.

This fabric is from Cabramatta and is knit of some sort - not very stretchy. I'm glad I could salvage it and turn it in to something else. I did go back to Cabramatta to see if this fabric was still there, but it had all sold out. Bummer!

I guess this top is a "win" though the sleeves are a bit annoying - the kind of sleeves that will flop into your soup if you're not careful! It's also not quite long enough to wear with my winter work pants (which are a slim-fit ponti pant).

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Pattern: Simplicity 1366
Size: 18
Modifications Dress:  added 17.5" 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. Took 1cm off the CB fold. 
Fabric: various as per the post
Changes for next time: nada 

Simplicity 1366 - as a dress

I absolutely LOVE my Simplicity 1366 top - so much that I wore it for three out of four days last week (with washes in between of course). Whenever I love a top I go straight to "can it be lengthened to a dress" which is of course what happened here. Unusually for me though I actually went ahead and made it happen. This all happened last night and I'm wearing the dress today (I sewed til about 9.30pm which I NEVER do as it's bed time but I was excited by this and wanted it DONE)!

I had already lengthened the top by 7.5cm and then I added 13" to that...I had a dress pattern made in a class at Tessuti where you "rub off" a pattern from a favourite garment. I actually just stuck the two patterns together to come up with this. Now that I love what I've made I'll trace it off so I have the dress as a proper pattern piece.

Back view! I think I'd like to add 1" to the length of the dress next time and peg it in a little at the bottom to give it a bit more shape. I think it could be a tad smaller too - but it's very comfortable as it is! Coming into cooler weather I think my next one will be sewn with the sleeves at the regular, longer length.

Dodgy neckline photo - I had to take the photos myself as Dave wasn't around. I think I could've made the neckband a smidge smaller as it's just not sitting 100% flat - but near enough. Even though the fabric didn't have 4-way stretch I couldn't help but run the stripe the other way for the band. The neck is HUGE on this top so it doesn't need to stretch to get over my head.

The fabric is from Spotlight. There's a brand new store at Castle Hill and I'm OBSESSED! They have some great fabric at the moment with a huge variety. Everything is neatly laid out and I feel so inspired when I go there. It's literally my new happy place! Anyway...the fabric is a ribbed knit I think - a rayon/cotton/polyester blend. I'm wearing the dress to work today as it's a cooler day - not a fabric for hot hot weather but good for inbetween days.

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Pattern: Simplicity 1366
Size: 18
Modifications:  added 16" 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.
Fabric: rayon/cotton/polyester blend from Spotlight
Changes for next time: add 1" to length, peg in at the bottom. Perhaps made a little snugger? 

Simplicity 1366 - a wearable toile

Simplicity 1366 is a pattern I've seen around a lot on social media - specifically the top, not the cami or the very fancy frou frou skirt. It's designed for woven's but I think it would be perfect for knits...and it is!  I made this is a viscose/jersey from The Remnant Warehouse.

Annoyingly I had to trace the pattern as I was pretty sure going with the biggest size on offer, my usual sewing strategy, would just be too big...I traced and sewed the size 18 and it fits well. Tracing is really annoying, fiddly and annoying. Not a fan

I've read that the top is very short so I added 7.5cm to the length - it's not a bad length now for wearing with this type of skirt, but if I were to wear it with a pencil skirt I'd probably want it longer to cover my belly. I was also told that the neckline is very wide so I added 1cm to both the side of the front and back neckline and it fits well on my shoulders. The top also has a very high neck so I dropped this a bit...I hate high necklines! I also shortened the sleeves by 5cm as it's summer and even at this elbow length it could get a bit too warm.

 
I'm really happy with this top...I wore it out to lunch today and it was very comfortable and I think the fit is good. Of course, just as I was snipping loose threads to give it a final press I snipped a hole in the back at the neck...gah! Luckily it was very small and I've been able to sew it up without it being overly noticeable.

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Pattern: Simplicity 1366
Size: 18
Modifications:  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.
Fabric: Viscose/jersey from The Remnant Warehouse
Changes for next time: none