I finished my Christmas sewing and then it was time to sew an outfit for me of course!

First, I made the top using the Undercover Hood pattern by Papercut Patterns. I chose to make the sweater version (without the hood or the front pocket). I made a size x-small without any changes to it and I think it fits nearly perfect.

Next time I might add an extra inch to the length because I like my tops a tad long.

I followed the instructions for all of it except for the collar. I always do my own thing for my collars because I think it’s easier.

I used some ponte double knit from fabric.com for this top and it worked well because it’s a very nice weight and it’s very stable.

For my jeans, I used my pattern that I drafted nearly two years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long!

I have been making skinny jeans lately, but I decided I’m kinda sick of those and so I made these with a little flare starting below the knee and tapering to the ankle. Not a lot, though. I wanted them more straight leg, but not so straight leg that it looked like they were supposed to be skinny jeans but I just didn’t get the ankle right.

I added 1/2″ to the back rise for this pair, and I’m soooo glad I did. It’s crazy what a difference 1/2″ can make. Now when I bend over my jeans stay up a lot better. Plus, my pockets have been a little low on my other pairs but there just wasn’t room to move them up. Now I could move them up 1/2″ and I like that better.

I also got better results on my topstitching on this pair too because I turned the tension on my sewing machine up to 8 when I was topstitching. I have turned it up some with my other pairs, but I was still getting a loopy stitch now and then. I guess I didn’t realize just how much I should turn it up until I googled around and saw what other people have done.

I love the buttons on these. I got them from Mood Fabrics and they’re very nice. I also took the time to baste these on and check the fit before sewing them on tightly. Then I could make sure they fit just right.

Plus, I got a yellow zipper from Wawak and I love the yellow zipper and the little bit of yellow trim I added to them. Even if I’m the only person that can see the yellow zipper!

When I posted about the last pair of jeans I made, I wrote about the problem I was having with leg twist. I had the problem again on this pair, so I have successfully ruled out the possibility of the leg twist coming from my sewing machine feed dogs screwing things up or my cutting skills screwing things up.

It has to be my pattern. I didn’t understand how important grainlines are when I drafted this pattern and so it’s not surprising to me that I messed it up. So I’m rewatching my Kenneth D. King Jeanuis class from craftsy.com so I can figure out how to fix it. I will fix it. 

I think these jeans are probably my favorite thing I’ve ever sewn. I think it’s so fitting that I finished them at the end of a great year of sewing. I have learned soooo much this year and one of the things I’m happiest about is how much my jeans skills have progressed. I’m looking forward to sewing up a storm in 2015 too.