Monthly Archives: April 2015

Ezra’s New Art Museum Trousers

I made Ezra a pair of Oliver + S Art Museum Trousers almost two years ago and he’s been so good to them. He hasn’t even outgrown them-except that they were getting a bit short on him.

Then he skinned his knee and got blood all over them and I decided it was time for a new pair. I cut the same size as the last ones (a size 5) and just made sure they were longer.

I used the scrap of twill I had left over from my Ginger skirt and I think it made some pretty rad boy’s Sunday pants.

I am loving making welt pockets lately. They’ve taken me a lot of practice, but I think I’m (slowly) getting better at them.

I do love this pattern. I think this was my sixth time using it and it makes some super Sunday pants.

Violet Top By Colette Patterns

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I mentioned that Jon said one of my recent makes (a top for me) looked like a clown costume. After he said that, I couldn’t look at my top without thinking of it that way and it was a real bummer. But I hung the shirt up in a place I could see it and I looked at it and examined it every day for a week. After that week, I decided Jon was nuts and that I liked the top after all.

I used the Violet Top pattern by Colette Patterns. I used some stretch poplin from fabric.com and the color is not what I thought it was going to be. It’s a lot brighter and I was going for a more subdued yellow, but the fabric was cheap and I think it goes ok with my Ginger skirt.

The fitting of this top was a little hard. I went with a size 8, because that’s the size I used for my Ginger skirt. I made a muslin first (actually, two muslins!) and that was good because the 8 fit in the arms and across the back, but it was like a tent in the bust and in the torso.

I did a small bust adjustment (actually, Jon helped me with that because it was blowing my mind.) and also moved the bust dart up. The bust dart was sitting below my bust. I read some other reviews that said the same thing about the bust dart.

Then I graded the side seams down to a size 2. I also added a little bit of length to the top, and if I make it again I think I’ll add more because it’s on the short side.

I messed the collar up a little bit. On the muslin, I realized later that I had overlapped the front more than the pattern said to. So I shortened the collar to accommodate, but I shortened it too much. I’ll have to fix that for next time.

I also took some width out of the sleeves. They’re still pretty full even after that, so they are some wide sleeves for the view I made. But I like ’em.

Oh, one other thing was that I hate facings that aren’t sewn down securely, so I tucked the facing under all along the fronts and around the collar and sewed it down.

I think that’s it.

I think this is a good dressy top for me and clown costume or not, I’m going to wear it!

Messenger Bag

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I needed a new bag to haul all my church stuff around in and I really wanted a messenger bag. So I read a few free tutorials and settled on using this one.

I wasn’t super happy with this bag when I finished it. I wanted a bag that sits up by itself really well. I am inexperienced when it comes to making bags, and so I didn’t realize that this bag doesn’t have a wide enough bottom to sit up really well with books and binders in it.

Also, I got some weird puckers around the back of the bag where it starts turning into the flap. I didn’t know until I’d already turned the bag right side out, and I couldn’t bear to turn it wrong side out again to fix it because I didn’t leave a big enough opening and it was so hard to turn it the first time. The fusible fleece has some serious thickness!

I don’t even know if I could have fixed the puckers anyway. I think they might be because the back and the flap are all one piece. But I don’t know a lot about bag making, as I already said.

Pockets!

Also, I didn’t realize just how big the bag would turn out being! I used the measurements in the tutorial without giving it much thought.

However, I took the clock in the Relief Society room at church home with me so Jon could fix it, and I have to say that having a bag big enough to stow a clock in was pretty nice!

The bag has grown on me and I like it a lot now. It will suit my needs.

I am a little behind on posting my stuff. I love to post most everything I make for memory’s sake, so I need to get caught up on that soon!

Easter Ties

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I finished the Easter ties for the boys so they could wear them to church on Sunday.

When I showed Seth his finished tie, he looked at the print on it and said, “That’s a rambunctious tie.”

I finished my Easter shirt on Monday, just a day late. But I haven’t taken any pictures of it, or even worn it yet, because Jon told me that it looks like a clown costume. He pretty much ruined it for me. He might be right, but I will probably wear it soon anyway.

Zinnia Jacket By Blank Slate Patterns

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I finished my jacket, just in time for some very jacket-needing weather. It has been cold!

I used the Zinnia Jacket pattern by Blank Slate Patterns. I like its sporty look and these are the kinds of jackets that I live in when the weather is cool.

This jacket has some unusual circular pockets and I have to say they gave me some grief at first. I knew I should have eased the binding onto the pocket opening, but the instructions didn’t say to do that and in the picture in the instructions the binding was flat against the pocket opening without being eased on at all.

So I sewed it on like the pattern said to, and they looked awful. So stretched out and gaping. I had to start the jacket over because it looked so bad.

For round two, I treated the pocket openings like two little t-shirt collars, and then they looked better.

I lined this jacket too. Since this was the first jacket I’ve ever made, I obviously hadn’t lined a jacket before either so I looked for a tutorial on how to line a zippered jacket but I really couldn’t find one. I decided that it had to be like lining a skirt, so I realized that it wouldn’t be too hard after all.

I made a little muslin for this jacket first, and I’m glad I did. My measurements fell right into the size small range, but when I cut out a small it was too small for me. It would have been quite tight when I zipped it shut, plus there was no arm room. So I cut a size medium. It seems this pattern runs a little bit small.

I used Laguna Stretch jersey for this jacket because I figured it would be ok to use lightweight fabric since I was lining it anyway. I think it turned out a nice weight for me.

This really isn’t my favorite project I’ve ever made. But it is warm and comfortable, and hey-now I’ve made a lined jacket so that counts for something!