Tag: Knits

McCall’s 6754 : Flowery Scuba

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One of my favorite youtube  sewers has a penchant for skater dresses in scuba. After seeing a handful of dresses by her I decided I needed one of my own. I used the same pattern as her (McCall 6754) but opted for the sleevless view.

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I don’t often see scuba knit at Joann’s but I did happen upon this heavyweight “tulip” print (looks like roses to me)  AND it was 60% off!  I bought 1 3/4 yards to make this dress.  I do think it is a little short  on me. I would like to make the long sleeve raglan view for the fall to wear with tights and if I do then the skirt will also be lengthened.

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Not much to say about the construction of this dress. It’s really a straightforward two dart bodice with a circle skirt. No lining, no closures. I like how the scuba gives the skirt some body.  With the leftover scraps I was able to make not 1 but 2 matching bra’s and a panty….because who doesn’t want matching underthings!

The first was a harriet bra by Cloth Habit. It fits me a lot better then the dress form. I used pale pint notions from Arte Crafts and pink mesh lined with powernet for the wings. The bridge, cradle, and lower cups are lined with non-stretch lining to keep everything nice and stable.

 

Then I made a longline Watson. I didn’t line this one at all so it’s more of a lounging bra then a supportive bra. I used leftover lemon strapping (from a yet un-blogged project). Pink picot and a cream hook and eye.

I used to have to temper my dress sewing doing one project off and one project on. Now I think i’m going to have to do that with bras because pretty soon i’m going to have one for every day of the month!

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Trial Run of Simplicity 1070

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I have purchased all the fabric to make the complete outfit on Simplicity 1070 ( Skirt, crop top, and jacket) but I thought I would try out the skirt first to see how it goes.

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I cut and sewed up this skirt on one afternoon and then wore it on a business trip the next day. On its first outing I realized that the knit interfacing I used was not going to work so its been sitting in my closet for a few weeks for me to think of what to do. I finally just removed the facing and cut a new facing this time using just a woven interfacing instead.

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Its weird that the pattern very specifically says “Knits Only” but the skirt has a back zip and I think would actually work better in a woven because you wouldn’t have that stretching out on the waistband throughout the day.

The woven interfacing certainly help it fit a little more snugly but I am still having issues with the facing rolling over to the outside despite under stitching. I will have to go back to the drawing board and think of a way to resolve this before I  set out making the complete outfit. One thought I had was to do an encased thick elastic waist band that you fold over to the inside so that you still have that same smooth line on the outside and no zipper. The only issue with that is this is supposed to sit 2″ above the waist and I have a feeling that elastic would slide down and sit at the natural waist.

 

 

Simplicity 1018

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I decided to take a week off from the blue formal dress and  fortify myself for the next step in the underpinnings. Simplicity 1018 looked simple enough. Though not a retro pattern I can’t help but get 80’s vibes from this dress. Think Keri Russell in the Americans.

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Despite having 3 yards of 60″ wide knit fabric I still didn’t have enough for view B (The midi length). I compromised and cut it 7 inches longer the then short skirt which turned out to be plenty long enough. I had to do a lot of fit adjustments (a lot more than I normally do) but since it is a princess seam it is easy enough. I placed the dress on my form inside out and just hand basted  in contrast thread along all 6 seams where it needed to be taken in.

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I am quite happy with how the neckline is finished. I can see using this finishing if I was ever to make a knit shirt as it looks very professional.

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The finished dress is kind of a dud. Tony said it made me look like a fundamentalist which is definitely a look I am not going for. The sleeves are a little baggy and loose around the cuff and the color washes me out. The overall silhouette ends up very boxy and unflattering.  I may wear it around the house but it’s not going out.  Good thing  I only spent a day on it or I would be more upset.

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Simplicity just released their fall collection this morning and I was able to snap up the one pattern I wanted on the last day of a $0.99 sale at hobby lobby. So that makes it a good day!

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I have a grey brushed cotton herringbone fabric in my collection that I was thinking about making another blazer out of but now I think it wants to be this skirt. I do like the mustard of the bolero in the cover art so I am wavering on whether I should just copy that as well or go with an evergreen colour.

It looks like I might start back up on some work here shortly.  I have two trips planned before thanksgiving. It has been scaraly easy to fill my days, I don’t know how I had time to do anything when I was gainfully employed.

Third times a charm

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I decided to give knits one last try. My fist two attempts were so atrociaus that they ended up in the trash without even so much as a picture. This time around I selected McCalls 7313 which promised to be easy enough for a knit novice.

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I picked a a grape colored rayon jersey. It has an incredible soft hand . It may have been a little more difficult to work with but I got there in the end. I wouldn’t say this was as easy as the pattern made it out to be but it is the first time I was able to successfully finish a knit item so there is something to be said for that.

For all the joining seems I used a long straight basting stitch before running on the serger and then pulled out the basting threads. The neck, arms, and hem took some trial and error. On the neck line I tried using a double needle. It was a bear to work with and kept tangling up and skipping stitches.

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On the arms I used a stretch sticth and went around twice to help it look similar to the neck.

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I wasn’t too worried about popping seams around the hem since its so loose so just did a straight stitch while stretching the fabric a bit.

The waist has a hidden elastic in the seam allowance so its super easy to pull on and off but I think it benefits by the use of a belt.  I’m thinking a tan belt would also look nice with it. Overall I am pleased with the results. Its VERY comfortable and looks a lot more put together then lounge pants!