More unselfish sewing--Elliot gets a new coat

Hello and Happy Holidays!

This past week, I finished a winter coat for grandson #2.  This one is Elliot, he is VERY 2, and he has my heart wrapped around his little finger.  All the way around.

Isn't this little monkey cute?  I made his coat a bit differently than the one I made for his older brother, Simon.  

Again, I used Jalie 2108 or the Puffer.  

The most notable difference is that I used fleece to line part of this jacket: hood, collar, pockets.  I like how it matches with the gray contrast fabric.  

I also decided to insert elastic at the waist of the lining.  

Yes, this coat is big on him.  I made the size G (2nd to the smallest size) based on his height and tummy measurements.

I didn't have him here at any time to try this for fit.  I am thinking it will fit next year as well.  :) 

These water repellent fabrics are from Mood.  I so highly recommend them!  Great to work with!  Just watch the temp of your iron and test the heat levels.

I was hoping to find a gray zipper but my local JoAnns is very limited on its selection.  Argh.  The plaid lining or flannel also came from JoAnns.  That blue was the closest I could get to the cobalt blue.  They didn't have a gray plaid as a choice.  It works.  

I do like this pattern, except for the wrist bands, but I haven't thought of a better way to put those together yet.  They will work well over mittens and then you can cinch them up.  

Of course, Jalie patterns are well designed and drafted and Elliot didn't want to take his new coat off.  That little monkey.

Thanks for reading!

Sue

Butterick 6418

This pattern; it's been in my stash for a while and I keep picking it up and putting it back.  Until...

I was in North Dakota, of all places!  A gal there was wearing a super cute gray sweater and it looked like she had a half shirt on underneath that was plaid.  It also had plaid elbow patches.  Of course I thought to myself, I can do that!

Both fabrics were in my stash.  The pattern was also in my stash.

This pattern whips up easily.  It is well-drafted and goes together without any issues.  I added the plaid at the hemline and the elbows.  

View C has an overlay as the design and at first I thought I could just use that view, but duh, this is made in a knit and my plaid is a woven.  

I cut the plaid in the shape and length I wanted, hemmed it, and attached to the hemline.  

For the elbow patches, I played with the placement and size and sewed them on prior to constructing the sleeve.  

Super easy, right?

Thanks for reading!

Sue

Meghan Jacket by Style Arc

This jacket--so simple but so much fun to create and wear!  This is a fast and easy sew and if you use the correct fabric, no hemming is required!  

See what I mean?  Here are the deets: This jacket has long sleeves with cute little ties, felled seams and a wide, floaty collar.  You can choose to put buttons/snaps at the front.  

This pattern calls for a stable knit or a fabric that doesn't require hemming.  I had a beautiful faux suede that my Daughter-in-law purchased from Mood.  This is such lovely stuff to work with!  I really love the color as well.  It just screams fall/winter to me.  

I made just a couple of alterations, mainly to adjust for a non-stretch fabric.  I lengthened the bust curve and added a bit across the shoulders.  I also added to the sleeve tabs as they seemed rather short to me.  

That's it!  This whips up quickly.  I can see making this in a ponte--a suggested fabric.  I can also see making one for spring/summer in a white or light colored ponte with short or 3/4 sleeves.  

I also made the tee that I am wearing underneath the jacket.  This fabric was from my stash.  It isn't the best quality (JoAnn's is printed on the selvage) but the colors work.   I used the Jalie newest Tee for it.  

Thanks for reading!  

Sue 

Itch to Stitch Bellavista Top

Happy weekend all!  

I had some fun with some luscious sweater knit I purchased last summer.  I'd been waiting for the right pattern to come along and decided on this one by Itch to Stitch.  

How cute is this?  That cowl neck and the swing of the top is perfection.  

I barely had enough knit to make this top.  I slightly modified the sleeves but more on that later. 

This pattern, as with all Itch to Stitch patterns, are exceptionally well drafted.  I made ZERO alterations to this.  

I made a muslin and decided I needed some additional bust room, but honestly after getting this created, I decided for my final garment I didn't need to make that adjustment.  

This is an instant gratification project.  It literally takes only a few hours, start to finish, to create it.

For the hems and shoulder seams, I used SewKeysE hem tape.  Wonderful stuff!  

I highly recommend this pattern!  So cute, so stylish, so easy!

As you can see in the photo above, I slightly modified the cuff on this.  I tried to give it a slight bell shape but it doesn't flare as much as I would have liked.  I might end up making those cuffs non-flared, if that makes sense.  

Thanks for reading!

Sue 

 

Yet another McCall's 6886

Happy fall everyone!  I love making dresses for the cold months.  You can layer them with a jacket, wear tights and show off cute boots.  I found this gorgeous border print at Fabric Mart's site and knew it would be a dress.  Right?  Aren't the colors just beautiful?  

 I used my trusty old McCall's 6886 to create this dress, but this time with long sleeves and the midi-length.  If you've never seen this pattern, you need to get out more!  It's well drafted and ripe for creativity. 

Playing with this print was great fun!  This time, I decided to use the border on the sleeves and I cut the dress out on the lengthwise grain, paying careful attention to where the various parts of the print matched certain prominent body parts, know what I mean?  ;) 

I knew I wanted to use some of that fun border on the neckband and that was the highlight (I think) of the front.  It gives the dress some contrast and I think it ties the design of the sleeves to the remainder of the dress. 

One thing to mention...test the lengthwise and cross-wise grains as you are planning your layout and design.  With this particular knit, the lengthwise grain had a lot more stretch than the crosswise, and I knew in the finished garment it would effect the stretch if I didn't pay close attention.  With a close-fitting dress, you want the greatest amount of stretch going around your body.  That greatly effected my decision on how to lay this out.  You can make it work either way, but just know you'll need to adjust somewhat depending on how much difference there is when you compare stretchyness across both grains. 

I love sewing tools and FM has some great ones to use with knits.  SewKeysE tapes are amazing to work with and allow you to sew with precision! 

This was a fun make!  I hope you'll try a border print...they are so inspiring! 

Thanks for reading!

Sue

Unselfish sewing--winter is coming!

I really have been sewing, I know I haven't been blogging as much as I should but my sewing machine isn't getting too dusty!  

With winter fast approaching, I knew my grandsons needed some winter coats.  I chose this pattern from Jalie.  It's been around for a while, but it's a goodie!  

 

Would you look at how warm and cozy that looks?  

I made this for my oldest grandchild, Simon.  He is just five and getting him to model took some bribery with a piece of Halloween candy.  I have no shame using bribery to get a little kid to smile and cooperate for a photo shoot.  How about you?

Notable differences--my batting wasn't as heavy as what is shown on the pattern.  I had a thinner batting in my hand and thought with a smaller piece, it would be easier to wrangle.  This has plenty of layers--four total (2 of heavy flannel, one of batting, and one of the outer wind and water resistant shell.  

Simon wanted to wear his new hat as he modeled so I let him.  Isn't he a cutie pants?

Color blocking this coat was fun.  I knew I wanted to use the red for him and toyed with numerous contrast choices until I settled on the 'silver'.  The shell fabric is from Mood Fabrics.  They had a nice selection, it was on sale, and wow is this stuff nice to work with!  The red plaid is from my stash.

That collar!  It is so nice and high, snugs around your face and neck to keep the wind out.  Plus with the well-designed hood that is detachable, you are warm and ready for the winter winds and snow.   As Simon is demonstrating, the pockets are very nice and roomy.  He was really shoving his hands down deep.  He even mentioned that he really liked this 'new' coat compared to his 'old' coat.  (I made both, but the old one is getting a bit small).  He loved it so much that when we went back into his house, he took it off and tossed it on the floor.  Nice.

Here is a photo of the insides.  I omitted the elastic waistband on the inside and the toggles at the side seam.  The color-blocking at the front neck area was a fix as I had accidentally scorched the fabric on the collar and front.  I put both the coat and my iron in time-out for a bit and then figured out a fix.  This worked.  Plus, it pulls together the two colors I used.

You can see the elastic and velcroed cuffs below.  What I should have taken a photo of was the ribbing I added to the inner cuff to keep the wind and snow out.  That made the sleeve super thick with eight layers to sew through.  More than once I did question my sanity, but in the end, it will be worth the little bit on agony that caused me.

This was a fun make.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and am going to create a blue/silver one for Elliot, who's two and a half.  It warms my heart to see my grand-kids wearing clothing I've made them.

I hope you are enjoying creating some fun cold weather garments!  

Thanks for reading!

Sue :)