Spring 2014 Finished Projects

Sewing Knits Fabrics

I have made a few new projects in 2014. I started sewing in June because my 1 day a week without kids (Merci maman) was now free again : no more school homework or volunteering at my daughter elementary school... I have sewn knits projects exclusively : they are fast, easy to fit and I used cheap (1.50$ to 5$/m) rayon knit fabric from Chabanel in Montreal... Here are my projects :

Knits Maxi Skirts

I used the remnant of my verso top indigo rayon knit and a new floral rayon knit to make simple maxi skirt with a yoga band. I love wearing it so much that I made a second "sur un coup de tête" in one day! I really like them both, they are great casual skirts.

I made the indigo one first in just enough fabric to get a 40 inches hem all around, but it can get hard to get into my Westfalia van without lifting it and it is a quite revealing sometimes since it is so tube like (evidence in the small right picture below). The floral one is more comfortable with a 60 inches hem all around. For reference, my waist is 33 inches (waistband is 30 inches for a snug fit) and the length of the skirt (without waistband) is 35 inches ; I am 5'2" 160 lbs.

Here are the tutorials I used :

• High low maxi skirt, by Zaaberry
• Drafting 2 kind of maxi skirt, by Mad Mim - Stretch yourself series

My maxi skirts, with fuchsia top worn all bunched up to show the waistband

When I was sewing my Fuchsia Top, I kind of liked the crop top look before it was finished, so I think I will sew myself a crop top...  Even if I am quite self aware at my current size, my age/wisdom/don't-care-as-much-anymore-attitude and the lovely ladies sporting crop top on the web might give me enough confidence to wear it out!?!

Fuschia Knit Top

I used my drafted verso top front to make a top ; with the same top and back pattern piece, a ruched band in the middle and banded hem. I planned a dress but I was so undecided about the waistband and skirt that I end up doing a top instead! Inspiration : trellis dress  by eShakti. I have sewn my take on the trellis dress waistband, but I didn't like it enough and decided I need more separates...

Trellis waistband muslin

But I really like the finishing of the neckband. I used a tutorial on how to sew neck binding in 3 different methods from Kitschy Coo : The grumpy person's guide to knit bindings nut end up doing the method from Ikat Bag. But you can see my Pinterest board for various Sewing Tutorials for more options...

Problems : The top of the midriff seam is too low after a while wearing it ; I think my top stretched because the shoulders and neckband are not stabilized. I still wear it, I LOVE THE COLOR and softness of the rayon knit!

My fuchsia knit top with a ruched wiastband

Floral VeraVenus Granny Pantie

I modified my previous version by :

• Adding 1 inch to the front of the gusset lining
• Sewing with zig zag the SA of the Gusset-Back-Front to the Gusset (doesn't show from outside)
• I left the front of the gusset lining unfinished

And I figured out elastic, finally!!! I sewn my pantie, then measure exactly where the elastic was to be and used 90% of that measurement. The pattern is available for free on the Vera Venus Free Patterns page. My previous version can be found in the underpants experiment series.

Floral Vera Venus Grannie Panties

I now really want to sew myself some high waist bikini!!

Foxer - Women Boxer Briefs

As a teen, my favorite undie was a Calvin Klein gray boxer short. I wore that under my cut out jeans and under skirts and dresses until it worn out and couldn't find a replacement anymore... I was eying Jalie 2572 - Women Shapewear, but the price of the paper pattern and a picture I saw of the inside looking more like a legging with added gusset had me thinking twice... I decided to try my theory and sew a super short legging with a gusset lining.

I based it on So Sew Easy tutorial to draft your own leggings ; she even have a spreadsheet that do the calculation for you! I really liked it. I also stumbled onto a men who is sewing his own Spiderman costume from scratch in the comments, it was quite interesting! I love to get a glimpse into the secret hobby life of people!

Unfortunately, it gave me a camel problem... So no picture for now. I will investigate more to find out how to fix this. Maybe my fabric is too thin too... I have found a great source of info about the camel toe problem on Fashion Incubator. Stay tune for more details eventually... I might cave in and finally buy the Jalie pattern! ;)

My husband says he loves my hobby ; mainly because I often sew half naked. He told me I should rename my blog The Half-Naked Seamstress and commented that it would be ultra dangerous to do his own hobby in his underwear (building guitars with power tools)!!

PS : I started using PicMonkey to make collage and I quite like it!