Summer Wrap Up

I had meant to post pictures of garments on me before now, but between work (busy) and monsoon (afternoon storms), it's been difficult to set up a time. Oh yeah, and my remote gave out and I had to order another one from Amazon.

But I finally got around to it so here's an assortment of summer garments, right in time for the fall. It's still warm, so these will be wearable but I'm starting to lean more towards fall shades. So we'll see if they actually get any wear for a while, even as layering pieces.

If you want to see more details, click on the links.

Cutting Line Designs, Pure and Simple Shell:

Sewing Workshop, Eureka Top:

Butterick 6324, View A:

Cutting Line Designs, Simplify Your Life, View B:

Cutting Line Designs, Pure and Simple Shell

This is one of those patterns that I often turn to when I need a simple top for warm weather (which is often here in Albuquerque). I currently have a couple of versions in rotation in my closet and I've made several others in past years.

This one came about when I was at my local JoAnn's picking up some thread for another project. Lately, thread has been a challenge. Although I have a whole drawer full, I never seem to have the color I need for a given garment (and recently, even ran out of white!). On my way to the thread, I noticed that the linen was on sale and a couple pieces of "tissue linen" (actually a linen and cotton blend) jumped into my cart. One of them was the bolt end of slightly less than 1 1/2 yards that became this top.

It was a pretty easy sew since I've made it several times before, so not much to say about construction except that Cutting Line's guide sheets are incredibly detailed, even for a simple top like this one. Unfortunately this pattern is out of print, but Louise Cutting has mentioned she may bring out something similar in the future.

I'll try to get a picture of this on me in the near future since the dress form really doesn't do it justice.

Cutting Line Designs, Simplify Your Life View B

This pattern has been out for a while, but it was a new one for me. I've been needing some simple garments for work since we're in jeans mode all summer long. Plus, Albuquerque is hot this time of year! Garments need to be light and airy for being outside in the heat, while also being layering pieces for air conditioning.

The top is fairly simple looking but the button band across the left shoulder and sleeve gives it that little something extra.

I love these shell buttons that came from Hancock's when they were going out of business.

I got the fabric at the ASG conference in San Diego last year; one of the vendors sold fabric that was literally in piles and you had to dig to find the fabric you wanted. I'm not sure of the fabric content but it's a voile. I originally thought it was poly but after sewing with it, I think it's a cotton/poly blend or maybe even cotton.

I barely had enough fabric, so had to be a bit creative in cutting. I would have preferred to have the flowers centered on both front and back, but there just wasn't enough. I think it's all right though.

As is typical for Cutting Line, the pattern has simple lines but is well-drafted with very detailed guide sheets. Also keep in mind that the designer, Louise Cutting, often does not have you assemble the garment in the order that you'd use for the typical Butterick/McCall/Vogue pattern.

Related to that, I found one little error in this pattern--if you follow the order of construction as written, you will make all of the buttonholes and attach all buttons before completing the side seams and sleeve hems.  However, the sleeve hem is very close the the last buttonhole and button, so hold off on sewing them until after the sleeve is hemmed.

Textile Studio Basic Top

Now this one is a blast from the past. Textile Studio was a pattern company and fabric vendor of the 1990s-2000s owned by Marcia Day, who hired Loes Hinse to design her pattern line. Several years latter, Loes Hinse went out on her own and founded her eponymous pattern line, which is still in business.

This pattern is copyrighted 1998, so it's probably one of the original patterns from the line. I'm not sure how it ended up in my pattern stash--ASG? I rally don't recall. However it ended up with me, I'm so happy that it did! Even though this is an almost 20 year old pattern, it's a classic in the true sense of the word. And can still be found online--a Google search located it at Vogue Fabrics!

I wear a lot of separates, and I'm always looking for tops that will work with the cardigans I frequently wear at work. This pattern is perfect for the little tops I was looking for. So far, I've made it up twice, once with long sleeves and once with 3/4 length sleeves (my variation, not in the pattern envelope). Here they are on the dress form:

And on the hoof:

The color is not true in either photo, but the live shot is a little closer than the dress form version. A long ago purchase from Fabric Mart. The black top with blue, turquoise, and lime is from Cutting Line Designs. I bought it from Louise at one of her shows..

The main change I made from version 1 to version 2, other than the sleeve length, was to drop the front neckline by 1/4" inch since the original neck was a little hard to get over my head (no closure on this design).

I'm sure I'll be making more of these! It's a great layering piece that can also stand on its own. I haven't made the short sleeved version yet but that's coming.

SewWest Closet: Black Not Your Daughter's Jeans and Vigotti wedges, both old.

A Cutting Line Ensemble (Getting Back Up on the Horse)

After the sewing fail and the conference, this is what I've been working on. It's not perfect, but wearable. I took Louise Cutting's all-day workshop at ASG in 2009 and learned a lot of techniques, but there's a lot you forget. And my experience with Cutting Line Design patterns has been largely limited to the two shells (Pure and Simple and My Heart's a Flutter) that I've made over and over again. So I'm branching out, applying some techniques, and testing some new patterns.

For this outfit, I used the camp shirt from Easy, Ageless, Cool. The upper part (neckline, shoulders, armscye) is based on a Small and the rest is a Medium. Comfortably loose, but I think I'll shorten the sleeves a touch next time, as I did for the bodice. This pattern also has instructions to add front and back darts for a closer fit, but I chose the undarted version this time because of the thickness of the fabric and the embroidery. I also left off the pocket this time, which would be totally decorative anyway.

The skirt is from In the Trenches. I traced it much, much shorter than originally drafted. I'll be tracing off a longer version later on. I used a Medium to start with. The pattern includes instructions to refine the fit to your own measurements, so it's narrower than a true Medium as drafted.

The fabric is an embroidered rayon and linen from my stash. I ironed both garments before putting on and photographing the outfit, believe it or not. Hopefully it will become more pleasantly rumpled instead of creased over time. The detail pictures below show the embroidery better. The picture above is probably closest to the true shade.

One of the things that takes some getting used to with Cutting Line Designs is the amount of detail the instructions contain. Each of the patterns I've examined have had at least 6 pages of instructions. The temptation is to skip over them (like we all do on the Big 4), but I found it helpful to actually follow them step by step and not assume...some of her techniques are different than what we're all used to but they work.

Here are some more details of the garments.  The pattern piece for the collar is one piece; that is, you only cut one layer which incorporates both upper and under collar. The front edges are on the fold. One of the things that I did this time that I will do differently is to use a thinner interfacing. I just used some fusible tricot I had on hand and it was a little too heavy--that's what happens sometimes when inspiration strikes and you can't wait!

The collar features a center back seam on the underside. Once the center back seam is sewn, the collar starts to look like what we're all used to. Louise uses the one piece collar on all of her patterns that have collars because bulk is reduced. She credits Judy Barlup for this technique, and I believe there is also an old Threads article showing how to adapt conventional collar patterns to this.

The shot below also features Louise's deep back facing. She claims it helps to balance the garment. I'm not sure about this (yet), but I have seen a lot of RTW with back facings that use this deeper style.

The shot below shows the Louise Cutting elastic waist and pocket. Keep in mind that the skirt is not as gathered on me as it is on the form. My form is a little thinner than I am. :( I had my doubts about this waistband, but it is quite comfortable. It uses a soft and stretchy 1 1/2" wide elastic that Louise has sourced.

The pocket is cut on with the back of the skirt, brought forward, and then topstitched in place. Again, the purpose is to avoid the excess bulk of additional pocket seams and two pocket bags. I don't know if I'd use this style of pocket every time, but it is an interesting solution to side seam pockets.

The back vent wasn't strictly needed for this short of a skirt, but I did like it because the edges are nicely mitered.

The SewWest Closet: Nine West Sandals, Foster Grant sunglasses from Walgreen's (I forgot to take them off because I wear sunglasses all the time outside--the sun is relentless!).

Catching Up on July and August

I have not fallen off the face of the earth, although it might look that way.

Chalk it up to a busy summer with a bit of vacation travel, and some workplace drama thrown in for good measure. To top it off, I also had a sewing fail that seriously made me wonder what the heck I was doing.

Since the last post on July 9 (hangs head in shame), I went to the ASG Conference in San Diego. It's been a while since I went to my last one here in Albuquerque several years ago. And I had gone to the previous conference in San Diego way back when--I think it was the year W. was campaigning for his first term.

This year's conference was at the same place, but I don't really think Town and Country is a resort anymore, and that's a real shame. It's a huge property with a combination of high rises and bungalows, as well as two sizable meeting facilities. However, there were many signs of deferred maintenance that made me wonder about its future. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if large parts are torn down and replaced with something new. The site is large and in a popular area of town, so the land itself must be quite valuable. Fashion Valley Mall is behind the property which was within walking distance and good for snoop and real shopping. We also took advantage of the many restaurants there.

I got some shoes (of course) at Steve Madden and a couple of tops at Nordstrom:

The conference itself was good, although I didn't see as many speakers and vendors as I expected from past experience. It's a huge and expensive undertaking, so that probably accounts for it. I took several classes with Louise Cutting and her assistant, Sandy Miller, learned a lot and was very pleased. I am also wanting a "real" dress form now, thanks to one of the other presenters--I didn't get one at the show but it is on my wish list. I bought several items from the vendors. Louise Cutting of course--I bought several of her videos, some patterns, and elastic.

But I also visited a fabric booth several times where you literally had to dig for the piece you wanted. Here are the fabrics I bought:

Clockwise from upper left--a Missoni-esque knit; white eyelet with an all over floral design; blue and red floral poly; black floral voile; strawberry print poly; splatter print knit; and in the center, a pale turquoise floral poly.

Since coming back I attempted to make a fairly simple outfit that went so wrong I can't even post it. I haven't had that big of a fail in years. Fairly discouraging, even though I know it happens to all of us once in a while. Too bad, because I did like the fabric, but the outfit was just horrible. Oh well.

And then, drama at work. I won't go into details but I'm working on another team now with a different client, and things seem to be going much better. The new team seems to have a more cooperative way of working. What a relief!

I have a few things sewn that I'd like to show you and plan to get some pictures up soon. However, it's been such a long hiatus I didn't want to delay writing for the sake of a photo shoot. Hopefully I will be back on track now that summer is over and will have some sewing projects for you to see shortly!

9/6 Edited to add some photos!

The Last of Summer Sewing

What happened to the lazy days of summer? I've been scarce around these parts because I've been working so much overtime! Yes, the extra money is nice, but you do start to long for free time after a while. I did manage to eke out some time for sewing in spite of it all. It's a sanity saver.

The good news is that I did get the backlog done! The white pants and the nightgown are done, and I've moved on to another round of Cutting Line shells to finish out the summer.

This one came about because I had a little remnant of the black cotton. I had it for a couple of years at least and couldn't find any way to use it.

Enter the Hearts a Flutter shell; the neck facing and lower bodice pieces could be fit onto the remnant.

The rest of the garment was cut from a piece of shirting from back in the day when JoAnn had some great surprises in the "red sticker" section.

The piping is ready-made and came from my stash of sewing notions. I know I bought it for something...I took the filling out because it was too heavy otherwise. Yes, the black is not perfectly lined up as I discovered later. But this was a fun project anyway and it's wearable. It will be a good layering piece until it finally gets cold.

The next two are proof that not every piece of fabric I buy ends up in the stash! I found these lightweight linens at JoAnn's when I was shopping for the 1st Day of School project earlier this summer.

Occasionally they do have something attractive, although it's more of a pattern and notion stop for me.

This one is a Pure and Simple shell.

I wish I'd sewn it up sooner. The print is too summery to get much wear this fall in spite of continued heat.

And this one is another Hearts a Flutter shell. I combined the upper and lower bodice pieces on this version. The print is so busy that the seam would be invisible if I had cut it per the pattern. This one will be a great layering piece for fall. I have several cardigans that go with colors in the print, so I'll be able to wear it until cold weather arrives.

I think I'm done with summer sewing at this point, although it will continue to be fairly warm for another 6 weeks or so. I can transition to fall in my color choices and gradually move to heavier fabrics.  I've  already pulled a bunch of fabrics that will work for fall and winter clothing!

I like the idea of continuing with faster projects for the time being. There are several knits in the pile that I plan to make from my TNT Kwik Sew T-shirt pattern. There are also some lightweight rayons that will probably become skirts. Time for cutting, although there are some projects ahead of these already planned and ready to go.

Fast Summer Sewing and Working the Backlog

I'm on a roll with a couple of Cutting Line Designs patterns, the Pure and Simple Shell and My Heart's a Flutter shell. They are perfect for the hot Southwestern climate, make nice coordinates with other garments, and sew up quickly. The Pure and Simple Shell is no longer on the Cutting Line Designs website, but try Googling it. There are still copies out there.

I've also revisited some remnants from past garments because these tops take a minimal amount of fabric.

This Heart's a Flutter shell was made from a piece of cotton lawn that was left over from a another top I made for our Puerto Rico trip. I think it came from Louise Cutting's booth when the ASG Convention was in Albuquerque in 2009. Very lightweight and a dream to work with!

This Pure and Simple shell is an exact remake of one I made for Puerto Rico. I loved the fabric, but not the fit so I traced off the pattern one size larger and re-cut it from leftovers. The fabric is a lightweight linen from JoAnn's.

I already have a second Heart's a Flutter shell cut out and another one in the planning stage. And another Pure and Simple shell planned.

But first, I've been working on some other projects that were already cut out and waiting to be sewn. I just finished another T shirt made from a rayon jersey remnant that I found at JoAnn's--a big surprise since it's so nice. I'm used my TNT Kwik Sew 2565 (OOP).

I also have another pair of TSW Hudson Pants ready to go,

This time, I'm making them in white twill that I found at JoAnn's, similar to what I used for the brown shorts from the First Day of School Project.

And I cut out another nightgown from this Simplicity (OOP).

I'm making the one in the drawing at the upper right of the picture.

I have more in the planning stages but for now, enough. I like having items cut out and ready to go but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. Three cut and pending are enough.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

It's cooled down and breezy enough to write out here on the back patio this afternoon. 91 degrees is positively temperate compared with the triple digits we've been experiencing lately. Yes, it's a dry heat and all that, but enough is enough. Supposedly there will be storms tonight, a rare event for us. Let's hope so. We've been enjoying the patio in the evenings once the sun starts setting. Computers and iPads are very convenient for enjoying music and twilight reading outside. We'll be adding some solar lights soon so we can use even more of our outdoor space. And for the fall, a fire pit--once I borrow a truck so I can get it over here. Sometimes I really miss my little Hyundai Santa Fe.

I had a chance to spend several productive hours in the Sewing Cave this weekend. I made another version of Louise Cutting's Pure and Simple Shell, remade a failed sundress into a  skirt, and even traced off Loes Hinse's Tank Dress pattern.

Here's the shell. The colors will work for different seasons. I have a few cardigans that'll coordinate nicely with it, so this one is mainly for the office. I do need an olive pair of pants, though.

And the skirt.

This one was originally a sundress that I made for last winter's trip to Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, I hated it and was tired of trying to make it work as a dress. So yesterday, I removed the elastic, cut it off at the armholes and converted it into a longish summer skirt. And of course, it took longer to remake than to make it from scratch, but that's the nature of remakes, isn't it? That stupid dress had an incredible amount of ease even with my previous efforts at narrowing it down. I ended up taking out another 2 3/4" of ease, and it's still has a flowy fit. But at least I have something I can wear now, because I do like the fabric. I eventually want to make another dress in this style, but I have other patterns that'll work better, including a favorite nightgown (!) pattern that I could modify. Butterick 5225, you are dead to me.

The container garden is doing well. I'm watering just about every day. Several tomatoes have developed, still green though. You can see peek of them with the Pure and Simple Shell, above. The basil and the mint are ready for sampling. I also acquired squash and bean plants from a neighbor who's in the process of moving to South Carolina next month. Talk about hot!

A Long Weekend and a Wadder

Independence day weekend is here, and an extra day off comes with it! DH and I are staying in town, what with fires up North. I've been sewing a bit, although the ending of the Casey Anthony trial has sucked us both in.

First up was another pair of linen TSW Hudson Pants that I cut out last Sunday at Material Girls. This pair was made of beige linen and a bit shorter than the others. When I laid out the pattern, I didn't have quite enough fabric. I was able to "make it work" by folding out 4" of length, so these are more like capri pants than the others. I got them finished Saturday afternoon. Then I wore them Sunday and hated them--much baggier looking than previous pairs. Even after tweaking the fit Sunday afternoon, I still don't like how they look. Into the donation bag they go!

So here's the lesson learned--fabric choice. I used a linen, which I've used before for this pattern. However, this particular piece was heavier and stiffer than the others, causing it to be a bad choice for this style of pant. Oh well. At least I know what not to do with the other, similar piece I have. It will be used for table linens vs. garments. DH loves heavy cloth napkins, and they'll be perfect for that. I hate having a wadder, but the fabric was an ASG acquisition, meaning free or near free. It still bugs to have nothing to show for limited sewing time, though. KWIM?

I think I'll give the pattern a little rest, although I'll continue making warm weather clothes for a while yet. The weather doesn't seriously cool down until late October and sometimes later. Next up is another version of the Cutting Line Designs Pure and Simple Shell. This will be the third one I've made. I also cut it out at Material Girls.

Puerto Rico Wardrobe: Pattern Assessment

Holy shades of worklife, Batman!

Assessment is not a word I've used much since leaving The Big Red Bank last July, assessing and deploying being two of my former manager's most favorite phrases. However, assessment seems to be an appropriate term now since I used some new patterns for my vacation wardrobe.

As usual, I packed too much stuff. However, it all fit into a single wheeled carry-on so I suppose it's not a big deal. The excess gave me a margin for error, and there were some. But first, the new pattern  highlights of the week:

Loved, loved, loved the black linen TSW Hudson Pants! I wore these over and over again during the week. I made them straight off the pattern, and my only complaint is there were no pockets. Easy enough to change next time, though. I see this pattern as a nice basic that can be changed up in many ways--add various pockets, omit leg darts, lengthen, shorten, add tabs, etc. Best new pattern of the trip.

Butterick 5211, the fuschia chemise I struggled with so much. It was ok, although the boatneck was a little high in front. If I decide to make this again, I'll drop the neckline about an inch, an easy fix.

Butterick 5225, the print dress. I tried it on one night, but couldn't stand the way it looked so it didn't make it out of the room. A baggy sack that does me no favors. I love the fabric though, so I'll likely be remaking it as a casual summer skirt. If I decide that I want to play around with this styling in the future, I'll use my TNT nightgown pattern (Simplicity 9505) that's much more flattering.

Both the TSW Mixit Tank and Cutting Line Pure and Simple Shell performed well. I preferred the Mixit Tank though, due to the fabric. Umm, cotton lawn. Must get more. I'll definitely continue to use these patterns in the future.

Puerto Rico Wardrobe, Butterick 5211 and 5225 (Part 8)

I finished this dress last night. It was fairly easy to sew but nowhere near the 2 hours claimed by Butterick. I've said my piece on this topic already. But let me assure you, the Fashion Express line is consistent, with instructions on this one as dumbed down as the last pattern. Of course, I made modifications that added time, such as a rayon challis lining to prevent show-through. But there's no way you can sew this up in 2 hours with all the pressing of drawstrings and casings involved.

In addition, I had to go back and re-sew the side seams. There is an incredible amount of ease in this pattern. While I usually at least consider the measurements printed on the pattern, I didn't for whatever reason this time. So I cut out a 14 based on my measurements and thentook out an additional 2 1/2"! This puts the size somewhere between a 10 and a 12. I could have cut out a straight size 10 (or even smaller) and it still would have been fine. This pattern recently went OOP, but really Butterick, what were you thinking?

Another change I made to the pattern was to eliminate the whole waist drawstring thing. I know how I am, and having a string tied around my waist would make me nuts. I'd always be playing with it, adjusting and re-tying again and again. So I inserted elastic instead and sewed a fake drawstring at center front. Simpler, faster, easier!

I also made a real hem instead of the 5/8" narrow hem specified. I had enough fabric since I'm shorter than BMV's fit model so it was easy enough to do.

Would I make this again? Possibly, but I'll consider making an 8. If I can work it out, it would be a fast little summer dress to have in my repertoire.

I also finished topstitching on Butterick 5211, so it's also complete. I used 2 strands of Coats and Clark poly embroidery thread through the needle and increased the stitch length, so that it would resemble the decorative embroidery that the fabric came with. I would have used Sulky, but the CC was a better color match.

Now that the 2 dresses are finished, the Puerto Rico wardrobe is complete in time for tomorrow's departure. Here are the rest, the tops and the cropped pants:

Arggh, what a goofy set of pictures. I was in a hurry this morning, so didn't really get it together as I should have. Oh well.

Anyway,  5 garments this month, which amazes me! True, they're simple pieces but I can't remember when I've been this prolific in such a short period. And no, I didn't spend all my time in the sewing cave.