Ready-to-wear, kinda

Ok so I had this whole plan for winter sewing.
~ Make some new fleece's for myself using the cover stitch machine - check!
~ Make some long sleeved tees for work - check!

All of this with still plenty of time to wear them this season. Right? Wrong!!

What did Mother Nature do?? She sent us a little El Nino to visit. Such a strange winter ~ with most of the country and many parts of Europe getting dumped on by record snowfalls, here in the western US it is spring. Well technically it is still winter, but it feels like spring. We have had unseasonably warm weather and all my plants seem to have been fooled too because they are budding out like crazy. Sooooo, needless to say my excitement over new warm and cozy clothes is somewhat abated. Now I feel like I need to get my act in gear and get started on summer clothes lest that whole season passes me by too quickly - did I mention it is still February???!!!

Ok I'm not really complaining here, I am loving all this sunshine and warm weather ~ really I am! But I'm still going to show you the warm and cozies because this is probably the only exposure they are going to get this year.

Now added to my list of Farbenmix patterns accomplished is Pellworm. A versatile hooded or collared zip jacket designed by Anja Müssig aka Schnittreif.de.

I have made this one now 3 times and plan to use it a few more times in lighterweight fabrics for spring, umm yea I guess I'ld better get started on that.

Here it is in sweaterknit fleece - a new to me fleece available this past year. Looks like a knit sweater on one side but is really polartec fleece with the loft and softness of fleece on the inside and all of the warmth and washability. Perfect for Northwest weather (well usually).


I added some embroidery to spice them up a bit. Designs are from Debra at Embroidery Library.




As always (because I can't leave well enough alone) I made some design changes. In the orange jacket I lined the hood with a lightweight knit because I don't like the seams showing and thought it gave it a more finished look. I did topstitch all the seams (well most of them) using the coverstitch in reverse (sewn inside out over the seam) so that it would be more decorative and because I like that look.



I hand sewed down all the facings on the inside because I didn't want them to flip out when worn. I also shortened the jacket quite a bit (maybe 3") at the bottom and on the sleeves. This still falls easily to my hips/wrists. I'm average height 5'7", so if you make this you might want to check the measurements for fit before finishing. I didn't include the thumbhole option on the sleeve because I just didn't want to mess with it. I suspect this is probably why the sleeves were a little longer, to account for the thumbhole option.



And if you're wondering where I got all those color-matched zips, the answer is zipperstop.com (no affiliation with these guys). I have ordered from them many times over and always been pleased, plus they carry all kinds of colors and types of zips to match your application. I'm a perfectionist that way and didn't want to go with the standard 4-color options available in my local box store.

Here is a knit version and the prototype, unlined and still in progress because I have to get that handsewing done but I like it just as well.


In this case I used contrasting fabric, stitching and trim and I like the outcome. Don't mind all those little pins you see poking through - I'm not planning on wearing it that way, but my dress dummy isn't a complainer like me!



Happy Sewing!

Doll t-shirt tute

Here's a quick little tute for an 18" doll t-shirt. My daughter is really into these dolls lately, as are a lot of her friends, so I thought it would be fun to make up matching t-shirts for both her and her doll.

I drafted a basic t-shirt pattern. You can print this out to scale and use it for your personal use. (try right clicking on the photo and either print directly or save it to your computer, then print it. Alternatively you can right click and open in a new page and print from there). The line drawn on the pieces indicates 2". The pattern includes 1/4" seam allowances everywhere except where noted for the hems. You will also need a 3-4" long piece of velcro cut in half lengthwise.

You should cut out 2 sleeves, 2 back pieces and 1 front. I also cut a straight piece cut across the grain for the neckband. I cut mine 1" x 7". Here are the cut out pieces. Make sure you transfer the fold line markings (dotted line) to the 2 back pieces.

Ok ready to sew it up?

Start by hemming up the sleeves - I used a 1/2" hem

Sew the shoulder seams connecting the front and back pieces, right sides together.

Then attach the neckband. Fold the neckband in half, wrong sides together, then sew both halves to the neckline starting at the fold line on the back pieces. Stretch the neckband slightly as you go.

Attach the sleeves, placing right sides together, and sew.

Sew up the side seams and sleeve seam all in one go.

Next fold over the back pieces at the center fold lines and topstitch into place.

They should look like this when you are done.

Next sew up the bottom hem - again I used a 1/2" hem here. Then sew on the velcro strip.

Place one long velcro strip on the outside on one back piece and the on inside of the opposite back at the fold so that they line up. I used a 3" piece of velcro cut in half lengthwise.

Alternatively, you can use Fold-over-elastic (FOE) in place of the 7" strip of knit fabric. Here's another shirt with FOE on the neckline.

And that's it! You are done. Enjoy

Happy Sewing!