Wool coat Butterick Lisette #b6423

Not that I needed another coat, but I loved this pattern so much I just could not say no to it.This is a new pattern from Lisette for Butterick B6423.

As usual deciding on the size to make and later which the buttons to use.

Based on my measurements I made my muslin in size Medium  (12-14) thinking that size Small will be too small on the hips ( I measure 92cm). The muslin in size M was perfect at the hips but the rest of the coat was just too big, the sleeves were like 5 cm too long also. I know that it is an oversized style but I had the feeling that the size was just wrong. I decided to make the final coat in size S for the upper part and blending to size M for the hips. Even in size S the sleeves were too long. I used the pattern lines to shorten them by 3 cm, but I still have the feeling that I could take at least 1 cm more out. 

These are all the changes I made on the pattern. Further, I interfaced also the entire front and the hems and added 3 buttons instead of 1. According to the instructions you need to attach the lining at the hem by hand, after the lower back piece ( coat and lining ) are attached to the upper back,  but because I was a little in a hurry  ( read lazy :) ) I changed a little the order of sewing. I let an open seam in one of my lining sleeves, I attached the lining/facing to the coat and then I attached the lower back to the coat as instructed ... It had saved me a lot of hand sewing time.

While I really like the idea of this pleat, I don`t think it really works in my heavy wool, this is something I did not consider when I picking my fabric for this pattern. My bad. This wool makes the coat very warm and nice to wear but I think the pleat will work much better in a lighter fabric than mine.

The lining is a very nice satin with a little stretch and actually too nice to be used as a lining but I do love to add a nice fancy lining to my coats and I had no project for this in my mind ( I think 3 years in my stash ) 

 

Happy with my new coat!

More pics on my Flickr 

Faux leather Burda style dress #129 2/2015

I don`t know why I don`t sew more of the Burda Style patterns. I don`t really hate tracing the patterns and I have a SA ruller ( actually two ; one in 3/8" and one 5/8") that makes adding seam allowances really easy and I do have a subscription since 2009. Maybe because there are so many other sewing patterns companies that I want to try.

This is  the dress pattern 129 from issue 2/2015. It is a petit pattern so I traced the equivalent of size 36-38  and after a little paper fitting,  I had to adjust the pattern as it was too short in the waist. I used this method that is explained on the Burdastyle.com. After that I made a muslin and based on that I added a few cm at the bust , 2 cm per seam , using information from Pattern Fitting with confidence from Nancy Zieman, the method with rotating the pattern. 

The first two pictures are from lengthening the pattern  and the third one from what was added for the bust.The muslin was really tight around the bust and at the armholes and this solved those problems.

The dress was really easy to put together, I only had the take extra care when pressing the seams to avoid getting marks on my fabric. I used no steam and always pressing from the back and using a piece of silk organza , doubled , as a pressing cloth and a lot of finger pressing or with the clapper . 

The  fabric was really nice to work with.The back of the fabric is a kind of tricot so that makes it also nice on the skin. I really like the slits in the  sleeves and at the hem. 

This was a nice and pretty fast sewing project.

Denim Dress #11 Patrones Magazine 365 aka 70`s denim dress

I love Patrones Magazine! I have a subscription for years and  a few years ago I bought a bunch of old Patrones magazines , a few years of older issues . I have so many of their patterns on my wish ( to sew ) list but this dress was immediately at the top the moment I saw it .

 It is from issue 365, but to be more exactly it is from Fashion Style magazine issue 1 and that is Patrones 365 translated in Dutch . 

I made  a muslin for this pattern and then one version in another fabric and after that I made this one in denim. I traced size 38 at the shoulders and 42 for bust, waist and hips  and from this I made the following changes after the muslin  : reduced the waist and hips to size 38, shoulder seam 2 cm shorter, underarm side seam raised by 1 cm , sway back adjustment 3 cm , the skirt 8 cm shorter. Also I added a cuff for the sleeves. The patch pockets are also lowered bij 1 cm.

I really like the long darts and sewing them in combination with the pockets  it was a little challenging. I alsa made a  second yoke, for a clean inside.

The belt idea came from a dress I saw online, from M.i.h jeans ,  it is almost the same dress, only this Patrones pattern has the nice darts and cost way much lesser :)

This denim has a little stretch and that makes the dress really nice to wear. I had it  all day on ( see the wrinkles :) and it was really comfy .

It was a lot of top stitching on this dress and to make my life easier I used a second (old ) Pfaff only for top stitching and it did a really great job. I used the 448 top stitching thread from Gutermann and for the buttonholes the 448 regular thread ( on Sunday when no store was open I realized that I had no regular thread in the good color for the buttonholes so I contact one of our small stores here in the city and the owner was really nice to open the store so I could go finish my dress. Thank you, Zus & Gus . 

I am really happy with this dress , definitely a winner for me. 

Coat Butterick B6385

I love making coats! Really, I have a few in my closet and fabric to make 20 more. I just can`t help buying pretty wool fabrics. This cashmere was a totally unnecessary buy , but the price was good and the quality is just so nice . 

The pattern is Lisette for Butterick B6385 , view C. 

No big alterations, this pattern comes with cup sizes so I made a cup D, the darts were like 4 cm too low for me and I think ( I forgot already, that is not a good sign :) I had to make the sleeves 2 cm shorter than the pattern . 

This is how the inside of the sleeve head looks on almost all my coats. I saw this in the book " Jackets for Real People"  and staying the armholes with strips of muslin learned in Kenneth D. King's Craftsy class  ( affiliate link) . 

The coat is really warm , but I am not sure what to think about the collar...I like it but not to keep it up, but I think when the weather will be colder it will be nice to have it against the cold wind.

For the lining, I used a very nice quality satin, that it was meant to be a blouse or a dress but I think I am happier  to use it for this project.

I had a difficult time deciding on wich buttons to use and finally I bought 3 times buttons for this coat and the third ones were these ones , pretty expensive but I think they are really nice.

I am surprised (in a good way ) how easy my sewing machines ... sewn this wool, sometimes  a few layers, without any problems. Even the buttonholes were a breeze to make. I used for the main stitching and the buttonholes my Pfaff quilt expression 4.2 and for the topstitching ( Gutterman topstitching thread in the needle and regular thread in the bobbin ) a  new Old Pfaff 125 .

This was a nice pattern to sew, all pieces fit nice, easy instructions and the cups sizes made it easy to fit too. 

Talvikki Sweater from Named clothing

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My first and last Named pattern were the Jamie jeans , wich I made one time (a long time ago )  in black denim and  I still wear them and actually I should throw them away because the black is already faded but I just love the fit . But the latest collection Evolution Theory was just amazing. Patterns with really nice seams , interesting designs that made me want every single one of them. 

I bought the blazer in paper format but that one needs to wait . 

This is the Talvikki Sweater in size 36/38 with no modifications. The fabric is boiled wool and when I saw it at the market I thought immediately that it will be just perfect for this  pattern . Very nice to work with ! 

I had in mind to pair this with a Vogue 1517 pants but the weather was so nice today so I took the sweater out for pictures :) wearing here my Ginger in coated denim!

Needless to say, how satisfied I am with this pattern. Already dreaming about more of these sweaters!  

Dress McCalls M7469 Nicole Miller

This pattern from Nicole Miller for Mccalls ( M7469 )  was love at first sight for me. I loved all the seams in the front, the pockets, the fact that you can make it in a cozy knit . This is my wearable muslin because in the next one I will alter the neckline , bateau neckline is not my favorite in the cold times , also an alteration for narrow shoulders .

I did not expect that the back was without any shaping...in the drawings there are two lines on the back that made me think that there where two darts but in the model picture you can see that the back is not shaped... I did miss that one :) . I added two darts on my dress, and I am very happy how it is now. Also I took 3 cm from the CB at the neckline as it was really gaping . Also I have skipped the zipper as it is really easy to get in and out of this dress .

I made a size 12 , the chart was putting me on size 14 for the bust and 12 the rest but I made a straight 12 and I think the fit is great .The pattern calls for medium stretch fabric and the white/black it is a medium stretch jacquard knit and the black contrast is  ponti knit. No alterations on the sleeve length. . 

I just love the pockets in this dress!!  

I  made the dress 3 cm shorter than the pattern  and did not really follow the instructions on how to hem the slit. I made mitered corners instead, very neat I think :).

I am really happy with this pattern ! I have all my pattern pieces altered and ready to cut a new dress. It is a very easy pattern, the instructions are great and without the zipper on the back it makes a very fast sewing .

Bonn Shirt Dress-Itch to stitch pattern

 I made this a time ago, as a tester for Kennis from Itch to Stitch patterns, it is the Bonn shirt &dress . Every time she puts a call for testers I can`t resist  applying . This one I knew will be a very easy one , because this pattern comes with bra cup sizing ( A, B, C, D and DD) .

This pattern is very easy to make , there is also a shirt version included and different sleeve lengths.

As always the most difficult part was the fabric choice. Finally, I stopped at this crepe viscose. I had like 1m from because the rest was hanging in my closet, as an unfinished dress. I felt so sorry for this fabric so I could not throw that in the garbage . But now it was perfect to use it on my Bonn dress .

I made a 6D and moved the dart a little up , further no changes . I was thinking to move the shoulder line a little in  but I like the relax fit as it is now.

I am very happy with this dress. I love the fabric and it is so nice to make it work in a dress I like.

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Shiva Girls jacket from Farbenmix

When I asked Lisa what kind of jacket she wants , she answered immediately with a few very clear wishes. It must have a hood, no buttons but an easy zipper and big pockets. And armed with this I started to search a pattern. Crazy enough I just could not find anything in all my patterns. After some internet searching I found this one, Shiva from Farbenmix.

This pattern has really all of the details she want. And if you see on the Frabenmix page all the jackets made from this pattern you will be amazed . I made it really simple , but you can work with piping on all those seams, with color blocking , fabric combinations and so on .

The fabric was her choice , I tried to convince her to take something else but she was really strong in her choice so nothing to do about it. Ordered bij  Driessen stoffen , the next day was already here so that was great. I took 2m and I had enough to make a pair of pull on Eleonore jeans from Jalie also.

Hood detail. 

Lining and satin lining for the sleeves ...I tried a little quilting ....something for the sleeves , and I am pretty happy with the results. 

So jacket , done! :) 

The Girls Uptown/Downtown dress

This is the Uptown/Downtown dress pattern from Sew straight&gather. I bought the pattern a while ago but didn't get the chance to make it. I even have the ladies version, but that needs to wait a little bit more.

Very easy to make, on the serger is really a matter of a few minutes .For both dresses I used  the same kind of fabric, one way stretch jersey .  

There are a lot of variations included in the pattern ,even for a maxi dress that Lisa wanted so bad , but I don`t think that that will be very handy to wear at school so I made the knee length. The dress has pockets also.I made the blue one with pockets and the pink one  without  .

Size 6 with length 7 years. The blue dress is made without any changes to the pattern but I think because of my fabric choice that did not have enough stretch, the sleeves were a little too tight and the armhole to low. So for the pink dress, I added 1cm to the wide of the sleeve and lowered the armhole with 0.5cm. 

Lisa is very happy with both dresses and she really loves the big cowl!