A simple skirt. McCalls 3830

Hey Y'all!
So this skirt isn't really blog worthy.. Not much to talk about it. It's an easy make, has only 5 pattern pieces, is a great wardrobe builder for church, work if you have a professional dress code, or depending on the material you use could be a casual pencil skirt.

I used a woven peach skin type material that had a slight stretch to it.

Pattern Description:  Its a basic pencil skirt that comes in 5 lengths. Mccalls 3830

Pattern Sizing: I made this in a 14 and made very few alterations. The alterations I did make are to eliminate the vent ( i will not do that next time) It really affects the way the skirt sits on the backside. I also pegged the hem in 1 inch on each side.


Were the instructions easy to follow? This was a pretty simple skirt to make.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It has a facing but I will make a waistband next time. I think thats my preference on skirts.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? This is probably my 2nd or 3rd time making this skirt. I like it but probably need to look at other skirt patterns as well.

Thats it for now..
Talk with y'all soon..
NaTisha

Leggings as pants!

Yep,
I know I'm treading into dangerous territory here and I know the topic of wearing leggings as pants gets a lot of discussion both yah and nay.. I say do what you like! I personally have made lots of leggings but I would only wear them to the gym or while running, that is until I rummaged through my fabric shelves and found enough leftovers of a pretty floral scuba knit"ish" floral fabric that I originally intended as running pants.    

So I whipped them up in my most favorite leggings pattern ever. The company is Patterns for pirates the name is Peglegs. I love them. I'm too lazy to post pics of all my running pants Ive made in the past using this pattern but here are just a few that I could find quickly. All made for working out. Ive probably made this pattern at least 8-9 times.  They hold up well while stretching, bending and running.

Anyway I made them up in my regular size in the scuba knit.. And they didn't fit. I could barely pull them up on my legs, let alone over my butt. What I didn't realize is that the pattern calls for a 2 way/4way stretch (whichever phrase you use) but this particular knit only had a one way horizontal stretch. They were too small I was devastated!

But I had just enough fabric left to squeeze out another pair a size larger. (In all honesty I should have sized up more because they are just a wee bit too snug) but I decided I was gonna make them work.

 After I got them sewed up I realized I really did love them and there was no way I couldn't actually wear these out..in public..as pants... So that's what I did and I'm glad about it.

One thing I learned is that for a good fitting leggings its best for your fabric to stretch in both directions. You all probably already knew that but I learned the hard way.

decided to change the look up a bit with the shoes. But I wore this outfit with converse keeping it super casual

Do you all wear leggings as pants?
Talk with y'all later,
NaTisha

Floral jumpsuit McCalls 7099

Good Morning y'all

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Mine was lovely.. Church, a long nap, and I didn't have to cook. Score! To top it all off I wore this lovely floral outfit I whipped up over the weekend. I'm proud of this for 2 reasons...1. I think it's pretty cute and 2. I never sew a garment so quickly. I'm the sloooowest sewer ever no matter how easy the pattern is. Maybe 30 minutes here, 30 minutes next week, 30 minutes next month.. lol j/k but seriously I take forever to complete a garment.

Anyway, here it is  Mc Calls 7099 . After I finished I tried it on and thought, this looks like pjs, and it was way too busy. I wanted to break it up with a white blazer but of course none of the 3 RTW white blazers I own looked good with it. Once I threw on my yellow shoes and found a yellow belt that matched exactly I decided to go with it.

One thing I learned about this material is not all knits are the same. I've made this pattern before with a jersey knit and liked the fit much better. I still need to do some tweaking to my pattern for a better fit.

I don't like how the neck gapes open and the weird pull lines on the right side (my left side when wearing)

Pattern Description: Loose-fitting romper and jumpsuits have raised neckline, mock wrap, gathered, blouson bodice, front band extending to back neckline, elasticized waist, and side pockets. B, C and D: tapered.

Pattern Sizing: I made a 14 in View D

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were not difficult to follow. 

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked that there were only 7 pattern pieces.  I'm a fan of easy.

Fabric Used: I used a floral Poly/spandex blend (95% polyester) (5% Spandex)

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: The neck band on the pattern has a  dip or "v"in the center back. I'm not a fan of this so I eliminated that design element and did a regular neckband all around.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I'm pretty sure I will, but I have a couple other jumpers lined up first. The next one already cut out and ready to go is McCalls 7203 

Conclusion: I really like this one. I could make it over and over again. I'm pretty sure jumpsuits and maxi skirts are my new wardrobe stable for the spring.

The Cost: Fabric regularly 14.99, I used a 50% off coupon so paid less that 22.50 for jumper

I apologize for the bad shadowy photos..

Whats your favorite jumpsuit pattern right now?
That's it for now. Talk to y'all later..

Camo Maxi skirt and clutch

Hey Y'all,

This is a quick one. I have fallen in love with the simplicity but drama of the maxi skirt. This is a pretty simple pattern drafted from my own measurements. I initially used the Mimi G Regal Maxi tutorial found here and have since been whipping them up. I think I have made 4 of these so far. They are simple but the fabric choice makes all the difference.      
I'm not a big fan of camouflage on myself but when I saw this quilting cotton for $2.00/yd at a local fabric warehouse in my area I thought why not? If I don't like it, it didn't cost me much and I didn't waste a fabric that I love.. Well I'm glad I took the chance because I love the end result.

I paired this with a simple lightweight jacket/blazer trimmed in faux leather and wore this to church on Sunday. 

The one thing I have noticed that I don't particularly care for is that the gathers in all this material has a tendency to make me look more hippy than I really am, and who needs that? So in my next maxi I'm contemplating pleats instead of gathers just to see how I like it.

  This maxi can be styled up or down made dressy or casual that's what I love about it.

 I also made a matching fold over clutch but did not carry it with this outfit. I just thought it was a bit much all together but, can totally see this clutch with a cute pair of boyfriend jeans, a simple v-neck t-shirt and a pair of booties.

That's it till later,
NaTisha

Tackling UFO's New Look 6231

Hey Y'all
I don't have a lot of details or great pics on this one but decided to post anyway. I initially started this jacket back in May of 2015. I purchased the denim from a thrift store for  $2.50 total and there were a little over 3 yards in all.
So here's what happened that caused it to sit unfinished for the last 9 months.
I cut the size 18 (the reason escapes me at the moment why I cut that size) in View B.
I got it all sewed up and loved the pleated peplum, the princess seaming and the fabric but hated the huge sleeve cap. So I hung it on the back of my door where the rest of the unfinished garments that I plan to salvage are hanging out. I planned to unpick and remove the sleeve and narrow down the sleeve cap both on the bodice and the sleeve itself. Every time I looked at it I wanted to do it but the task seemed so overwhelming and I'm just not at the place where alterations (no matter how small) come easy.  I put it off and kept telling myself I will do it after the next garment, then the next, then..well you get the point...its 9 months later.
So this past Sunday I grabbed it tried it on asked my husband his opinion and he responded "Oh shoulder pads are back in style?' He was so serious, bless his heart.

  I decided to wear it as is because the likelihood of me "fixing" it were slim to none and I really liked it outside of the sleeves. So I got dressed and wore it to church even though I cringed about that boxy shoulder pad look.

Lesson here.. I understand the importance of making a muslin of items but I'm just to darn lazy to do it most times. I need to change that bad habit.

Sorry about the sloppy pics but I had been to church and lunch and grocery shopping and as an afterthought remembered to snap a few pics to share.

Despite the fashion consensus saying that peplums need to be buried I WILL be making this again in the correct size for a better fit.

I'm curious do you guys muslin every garment?
How long do you keep the muslins for? I cleaned out my office/sewing room and threw out about 5-6 garments I knew I would never ever finish.

That's it for now.
NaTisha

Holiday attire

Hey Everyone,
I know its been a long time since Ive been around these parts. I have had so much going on in my life and just haven't had the time to blog or sew. I was however,  able to squeak a garment out in time for my company Christmas party this year. I actually started out making a different dress but it didn't turn out so well. So I had to change directions and because time was limited I had to make something I could do basically with my eyes closed.

First, I decided not to make a dress and settled for one I had previously made for my Anniversary last year. Its an all time favorite V1314 blogged about here  It was a perfect holiday color in a nice emerald green. I have made this dress several times and still really love it.

V1314

I decided to add a little bling with one of my all time favorite patterns M6844
Ive made this garment several times so I won't go into a lot of detail here. I made the bodice with one type of sequin and had to do the flounce in a totally different sequin because I ran out. But in my opinion it doesn't look bad.

M6844 in sequin

I lined the bodice and sleeve because the sequin was pretty lightweight. I made View C.

 

   In addition to the jacket I had enough fabric left over to make a clutch. I loved the combination

M6844 and V1314

I loved the combination together.
Hopefully it will not be so long before I return.
Chat with y'all later

August Miscellaneous makes: 2 year UFO, a stripes saga and a basic pencil skirt.

Hey Y'all
This post is dedicated to a few garments that I didn't think needed a whole blog post by themselves.

1st up:
I have many garments hanging in my home office closet, which is where I sew ( I sew in the home office, not the closet lol) that for one reason or another didn't make the cut but instead of throwing them out I've kept them to revisit at a later time to see if I could make it work.
Enter McCalls 6558 I attempted this dress over 2-3  years ago near the time I first started sewing. I was attempting to make view E but with the ruffle from view B but, somehow got overwhelmed when I sewed the ruffles on backwards and upside down.. and it got thrown in the deep dark dungeon with the rest of the unfinished projects that I didn't have the energy to figure out or finish.
I had to chuckle when I pulled this dress out because looking at attaching a ruffle to a dress now doesn't seem very difficult at all but when you are just starting out, and not very skilled at reading patterns well...
I ripped the ruffle off to reattach correctly and afterwards realized I really didn't care for it now. I went with View E, the elasticized top. It was simple, took me all of 30 minutes because the skirt was already complete. I wish I could have lengthened the bodice by an inch or so but the only fabric I had were the 2 ruffles and I had to cut a front and back bodice from that . Nothing spectacular. But it is a cute little dress.
Made from a Teal/Mint striped gauze that frays like crazy that I believe came from Walmart. Its a size 14.      

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2nd Up: 

So I tried my hand at the beauty of a pattern that is McCalls 7121.   

Oh how I loved every single beautifully matched stripe of each review I read on this pattern, then I tried it for myself and this is what happened. 

So horrible that I hate to even share this. Stripes running every which way. 

I loved this fabric and was actually saving it to make a wrap dress but figured it would be easy to match the larger stripes for this dress instead of a fabric with smaller stripes. As soon as I cut the bodice and saw that it was not matching I decided not to cut the skirt according to the pattern layout (I was honestly afraid of messing up even further). I cut the skirt with the stripes running horizontal in order to save fabric. I sewed it up to see how bad the damage was. A definite eyesore! 

So, I did my best to make the best of it, and used what leftover fabric I had to come up with this.. 

Just added a halter with stripes running vertical

I chose not to add elastic in the waist. 

Such a fun fabric and so comfy. 

 3rd up: 

A basic pencil skirt made from a deep blue Poly-Lycra Double knit from Fabric Mart. (My top is a Stitch Fix purchase from my July fix the 'Wynn Front Pocket Blouse'  Do you know about the stitch fix subscription service? If not check it out here

I didn't use a pattern just my waist and hip measurements. I also added a 3 1/2 inch band at the top but didn't get a picture of it. I took my hemline in 4 inches from my widest hip point to give it a slimmer/pencil skirt look.  

That's it! More later

NaTisha 

The most colorful frock: Butterick 5947 Review

Hey Y'all
Let me start by saying I love color, the louder the better, I always have. I have never been a "I love black, I love earth tones, I love muted colors" kind of person. With that being said this dress is one colorful frock and I almost second guessed myself after I had it made up. But, I threw it on and wore it anyway and I'm glad I did because I love it. I don't think its something I will wear a lot or very often because this is loud, bright and memorable but I do like the print and the pattern. On to the review.  

Pattern Description:  Dress has fitted, lined bodice variations with back princess seams, semi fitted skirt, back zipper and self belt. A: front tucks. B. side front button bodice. C. back slit. B and C: front princess seams.

Pattern Sizing: 8-24.  I made view C. I made the size 16 bodice and size 18 skirt which was a little roomy and I could have taken a bit of the roominess out of the skirt and probably will on my next go at this pattern. 

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, I believe so.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Instructions were not difficult at all to follow along. 

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? No dislikes.

Fabric Used: Not sure of the fabric content. It is a woven with no stretch. Possibly a cotton jacquard or maybe even a twill. I didn't jot the content down when I purchased it, which I usually try and do.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I omitted the self belt, I lengthened the bodice by 1 inch. After basting the bodice together I determined I needed to take it in an additonl 3/8 of an inch.  
I believe the pattern calls for lining of the dress. I didn't line it. My material was thick enough to not require a lining, and I always wear half slips with my dresses when I wear them to church anyway.  
I used bias binding on the neck.  

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I will be sewing this again. I love the princess seams on the bodice.

I am super proud of this invisible zipper and the matching intersecting bodice and skirt seams. 

Can you see that zipper?? No?? Ah ha! that's my point. 

 Just in case you don't understand....  I have finally mastered this invisible zipper installation and I'm so happy about it. I literally wanted to dance a jig looking at this picture again.

  

I like more of a "pencil skirt silhouette, not super tight but slim, so next time I will take a bit of the fullness out of the skirt.  

OK, so I couldn't resist. Decided to dance that jig for you anyway! 

 Conclusion: I love this dress. the princess seaming is probably my favorite thing, this can be as basic or as fancy a dress as you'd like it to be (in my opinion)

Have you tried this pattern yet? If so let me know what you think.
Talk with Y'all later.