Here is a fun little (by little, I mean very involved) project I put together for The Monthly Stitch’s Indie Pattern month. I just have to participate every year, it is so fun! I especially appreciated how they moved it to July this time around. June is packed, but in July we have the lazy days of summer upon us and I had time to sew this fun and versatile jacket for the Hack It! contest.
I love love love Named Patterns. They fit so well, they have wonderful instructions, and the styles are amazing. I actually won the Named Lourdes Jacket from a previous Monthly Stitch IPM contest, so this is such a perfect use! But just because I hacked this pattern does not mean that I do not adore the original design, oh no! I’ll be making a straight version of this jacket, I’m sure.
But for this fun version, I was inspired by the Nordstrom sale…I know you all see those posts and flit over to their website, click around and think “Hey, I could make that!” I saw this cute jacket, but if there is one thing I know, it is that I DO NOT NEED another navy jacket. But white would be terrific. I happen to have some beautiful white tweed with silver threads through it waiting for me.
What I did was utilized the cut made for front darts to insert my ruffle just on the side and back. Then I simply chopped off the sleeves to add a matching ruffle there. The modification became tricky when it got to the lining. I ended up leaving the lining free at the bottom and hemming my tweed normally. It would have been so cool to bag my lining, but I couldn’t do it this time. I also left off the buttons, as my inspiration jacket didn’t have any.
This pattern is beautiful and goes together very well. It does have a ton of steps and it took quite a while to even get to the sewing! There is a lot of interfacing (especially important with my ravelly tweed!) and they want you to finish many of your seams before you start. It is like they knew I was making it out of this difficult fabric, because those important steps were so necessary for my project and turned it into a really nicely finished product.
Some notes about the pattern – it is short! Very cropped. I even added length and you can see how cropped it still is with me wearing high waist jeans. The shoulders are also a little narrow. There is a very cool sleeve detail I had to leave off because of my ruffle but can’t wait to try on my next version. I do highly recommend this pattern and I love the finished product. It will be so handy to have a stylish white jacket, as soon as the temperature drops just a little!
I really like this pattern, 
This fabric is a lightweight but substantial knit with a lovely brushed hand and good recovery. So many of the fabrics I find are mysteries, and this one said nothing on the bolt but was obviously better quality than the other fabrics in this tiny shop I discovered. It drapes nicely but doesn’t cling.
Usually when I make a garment in a knit out of a pattern drafted for wovens, I do go down a size. I already went down a size because this is a McCall’s pattern anyway. I chose not to go down another because I didn’t want this knit clinging to my backside and I am treating this as a comepletely wearable muslin. I would like to make one of the more flirtyy romper views in a rayon. I just about died over 
I pretty quickly veered off the pattern directions after I assembled the back yoke and front pieces. The front edge is a bias cut, and as such is very vulnerable. On my knit I knew I needed to deal with that or the front would gape open and basically, the whole thing would be a disater and not wearable. Since you must shimmy in and out of that top by opening and putting pressure on that front edge, I decided to reinforce it with fold-over elastic.
With the fold over elastic, I was able to draw up the front a little bit by stretching my elastic as I sewed it. So my front edges actually tuck in towards my chest and it keeps everything much more secure. The elastic also helps with recovery after I stretch the front open to go to the bathroom multiple times a day.
The rest of the construction is not noteworthy. I used a double needle to finish my armholes, and there was a bit of tunneling. Sad, but I needed the armholes to retain some stretch. The hem I just used a straight sstitch. The waistband is constructed by using the seam allowance of the waist seam folded up as a casing. I was not looking at the instructions anymore by that point, please note.
I did add to the length of the bodice to ensure it would blouse nicely over the waistband. The hem length was totally invented, too. I wanted a shorter jumpsuit so it would be nice and casual. I may cut it off further…I can’t decide. Hem lengths have been all over the place in fashion right now and I know that affords me a lot of freedom to choose what looks best on me, but what DOES look best on me? I have the hardest time determining that. I just can’t look at my own image objectively. Suggestions welcome on this subject!
We do have another exciting 
Recently I purchased a pair of high-waisted jeans. Oh how I love that they suck my tummy in and I don’t have to continuously hike them up! I have been loving them so much I thought it would be great to have more tops to wear with them. The 
And I decided I like it! This is an easy fitting top that I actually feel pretty comfortable in. This knit is so soft and hangs well in this style. And I love bright pink tops. That accent color is definitely in my color palette.
Before the end of the year I bought 
Since I wasn’t sure about this trend I had not purchased an actual pattern specifically in this style. I tried on this top in Anthropologie and knew I liked the idea of it, but wanted to make it myself. You can see how transparent it is, and yet what can you wear under an off-the-shoulder top for modesty?
So I took a very simple peasant top pattern with raglan sleeves (Simplicity 4177 OOP), straightened off the top and folded it over for a casing and inserted elastic. You can see I didn’t cut down the neckline much because I knew I would be folding it over an inch and a half for my casing.
I love 3/4 sleeves, so I shortened those and made a mini casing for some comfortable elastic there. A very simple alteration that made the top feel customized. Long sleeves are silly here, and I knew I wanted to wear this if I could during summer. This week it reached 90 degrees, but I know the entire summer won’t be that oppressive and I’ll get to wear it. It would even look cute with shorts.
Now that I decided I like this trend, I went ahead and purchased 
My one regret is my obvious and distracting tank top tan lines. Ugh. Since taking these photos I’ve remembered to apply sunscreen all over my shoulders before I go running. You would laugh harder if you saw my legs! A harsh shorts line mid-thigh and a less defined but still discernible one at my ankle.
Back in the blogging saddle I go! I took quite a break there.
It is a rare treat for me to buy myself a sewing magazine. I adore Burda magazines and consider them a great investment since they include so many patterns, and when the styles come from Europe I feel like they are a little ahead of the fashion trends and my slow sewing ends up right on time. I don’t usually buy any other magazines, though. But one day, in a moment of frivolity, I bought the magazine Simply Sewing while at Barnes and Noble. I liked how it had a envelope pattern included (not the difficult tracing of Burda) and I had heard a few bloggers mention it and even that they were included. That warmed my heart to hear that so many talented seamstresses that don’t necessarily put themselves out there to publish traditionally got some attention in a current magazine. Good for them! 
Another moto, really? I just can’t help myself! Yes, there is a limit to how many of these I need in my closet, but I will say that they are so fun to sew and it was really fun to try this new pattern from Mimi G, 
grayallday 