New Look NL6560 and Vogue V1294 - New Outfit Done

 

I'm so pleased with how both of these pieces turned out. It was a lot of fun making them. There are so many things I like about it.

Blouse

The fabric is lovely.  It is a polyester crepe from Minerva.   This soft, floaty fabric falls close to the body.  It sews and presses with no problems.  I love the bold, floral print.  There is an excellent balance between the ivory and black. 

The flounce is very feminine and pretty.  Most of the time, I shy away from neckline flounces, but this one doesn't add to my top heaviness.  

The sleeves are pretty and simple.  The bell falls perfectly above my hand held together by a piece of elastic.  Super simple to construct.  

I also like that the tie was separate from the top.  It closes with an inside twill tape tie and a buttonhole closure on the outside just above the waist.  I used a piece of interfacing to reinforce where I sewed on the button.

My adjustments to the front facing resulted in a wider lower facing.  I wish I had made the upper portion wider too, It kept flipping to the right side of the blouse.  So, after I under-stitched around the neckline, I stitched again to secure the facing to the blouse in hopes of reducing the flip over affect.

This was the second time I used this pattern.  Previously, I made view C and gifted that top to my sister.  So, I was already familiar with most of the construction steps.  In general, they are typical.  Nothing difficult or unique about them compared to other styles with similar instructions.

Pants

The pants are of a viscose suiting, also from Minerva Fabrics.  It has a crisp hand and a stiff drape.  Easy to sew and press.  I love a nice striped fabric.  The pinstripe is subtle, pairing the two fabrics there is no competition between the prints.  They complement each other.

I'll use this pattern again.  They are well drafted, and I love a curved waistband.  And I will definitely add welt pockets again.  They are a great detail.

My related posts are here: blouse and pants 

Happy Sewing!

C  

New Look N6594 in Review - Green Wardrobe Capsule PTIV

 

Finally, I posting about the fourth garment in my Green Wardrobe Capsule. It's been three weeks since the last post. My goal was to post a "Notes on a Pattern" next. But because I was "distracted" by so many other things, I never got a chance to post it. So today I decided to go ahead and post a complete pattern review of NL6594 instead. 

This dress took more time than I expected. My adjustments were a little off. Not making a muslin before hand caused a little set back. I ended up making the bodice twice. Thank God I had enough leftover fabric to do so. 

Anyway, this fourth garment completes the first segment of my Green Wardrobe Capsule. Here is the review. 

 

The pattern description is so unbelievably vague.  My description - Dresses with fitted bodice, front midriff,  and slightly flared skirt; side zipper. The dress comes with multiple length and sleeve variations.  It is available in sizes 8 to 20.  I made view C with shorten skirt and 16 with modifications. 

I used a beautiful kelly green tencel twill from Mood. The fabric is super smooth and easy to work with.   It's also very fluid and light on the body.  

My dress does look like the dress on the envelope.  But I expected it to be a little more flared.  As usual, I did make a few changes for fit and construction.  Those changes didn't change the overall silhouette of the dress.

First, I made several fit adjustments to the tissue pattern.  Those changes include:

• FBA, little tuck along the neckline for a better fit along the bust area.
  
• Swayback
• Prominent shoulder blades, which produced a little dart in the shoulder seam
• Length of skirt between view B and view C
• No darts in the back skirt
  

 

After making the changes, I really needed to make a muslin.  Because there were areas where I needed to do a little more tweaking.  These changes weren't identified until after I almost completed the bodice.  You can image I didn't want to pluck all of those seam apart.  I decided to cut a whole new bodice, which in my mind took less time to do then taking the first one apart.

Last thought on that:  Make a muslin.

 

Construction changes:  

• Instead of tacking down the facing to the dress,  I machine stitched in the ditch at the front gathered bodice and along the shoulder darts.
• For the hem, I just serged the raw edges of the sleeves and hem, turned and stitched.

Close to the end of completing this dress I was ready to be finished.  I felt like I spent too much time on a very simple dress.

 

 

The instructions provided with the pattern easy, simple and typical.  Nothing confusing in them. 

There are a few things that I like about the style of this pattern:

• The design and style of the front bodice.  This is a style that I'm fond of.  Partly, because of my body type, inverted triangle.  I think a more fitted "V" bodice looks best on me.  Sometimes I over compensate, which was the case of the initial bodice.  I think I almost got it right.
• I also like the a-line skirt.  But it doesn't exactly work for me in this dress.  I think a fuller skirt would look much better.

 

I don't think I really have any serious dislikes. There is one thing I don't like; and that is, side zippers.  I prefer back or front closures.  One of my goals with making this dress was to fit a likeable bodice that I can interchange with other skirt designs.  This one I'll make again. 

A nice little dress that I recommend to others.  It is not a difficult dress to make I'd rate it average.  My dress is good. But I will tweak the bodice just a little more.  Then I make it again with a fuller skirt.  

This completes my review of my fourth garment of my Green Wardrobe Capsule.  I wanted to make one more dress for the summer season.  But, Fall is upon us.  So, I will start a new capsule:  Blues and Reds.  More on that later.

Happy Sewing!

C

 

WIP - Garment 4 - Green Wardrobe Capsule - New Look NL6594

 

 

Hi everyone,

I'm working on my fourth installment of my Green Wardrobe Capsule, New Look NL6594 . I made the pattern adjustment months ago.  And cut the dress out last week.  The same day severe storms hit the Chicago land area.  Major damage throughout the city and surrounding southern suburban resulting in hundreds of fallen trees and power lines.  My power outage lasted from Monday afternoon until Thursday evening.  Sadly, many are still without power.

 

Veterans' Park in South Holland

 

I hope to write my next post in a few days.  It will be a "Notes on a Pattern" post. With a follow up post of my finished dress.  Sewing for myself has been a challenge lately because I'm still making masks, caps, head wraps and bonnets.  My goal this month and the next is to finish the my green wardrobe capsule and to start a new capsule.  One that will coordinate with some of the green garments that I've already made.

Anyway, I wanted to drop in give a little update.   I hope everyone is well and staying safe during this pandemic.

 

Happy Sewing!

C

 

New Look NL6013 Finished Jacket Reveal - Not Just One But Two

Finally, I have some pictures of me wearing my new jacket!  Sometimes it is a challenge coordinating my photo shoots with my DD schedule, But we final got it done!

Here is the link to the first post on New Look NL6013 Jacket Project. 


If you read the title of this post, you'll know that I not only finished the first jacket.  But also made a second one.  All of the adjustments were so labor intensive, I decided to go ahead with making another one.

My second version is made with a stretch woven from Fabric Mart.  I bought this fabric last June while attending Sew Camp.  It is like a beefy scuba knit, heavy enough for a coat.  The stretch is maybe 1 or 2 percent, not a lot.  I love the rich color of it and am very glad I bought it.  This fabric caught my eye after I made my big purchase.

The sewing was easy.  No more major adjustments needed.  For this jacket I decided to make it as designed:  no lining or welt pockets added.  I added another inch to the length of the jacket, making it a total of three inches added.  The original jacket length is more like vest length.  With my board shoulders the shorter length makes me look wider than I am.  And that's not good.  The new length is perfect.

I did make one other change: no shoulder pads.  This fabric has a lot of body and holds it's shape very well.

I didn't have enough fabric for the under lapel.  So I used a Marcy Tilton ponte knit remnant.  I was so happy I kept it.  Turns out it was the perfect weight, lighter than the jacket fabric.  A plus as it reduced the bulk along the neckline. Score!

I'm happy with the outcome of both jackets.  The first has a few tailored features and the feel of the natural fibers is wonderful.  I'm very pleased with how the welt pockets turned out. The second jacket is more slenderizing; the fabric a little stiffer but wear well.

So that's it for New Look 6013 jacket for now.  I'm working out my sewing plans for February, which will include a coat and a skirt so far.

Oh I forgot to mention, sewing for January, 2020:  two jackets, two pull over tops, and one pair of pants.  The pants are a waddler. I'm actually wearing them with the first jacket.  All kinds of issues.  More on the January sewing review later.

Happy Sewing!
C

About Last Week - SewCamp

Gaylen and Jay Owners' of the B&B

Some of the lovely ladies at Breakfast

SewCamp was so much fun!  I had an opportunity to see some old friends and make some new ones.  I headed for Philadelphia early Thursday morning.  Andrea picked me up at the airport.  We went to get Philly Steak and fries.  Then off to JoMar for our first fabric shopping experience of the weekend.  After that, we picked up Laquana (of course, we had to bring her a cheese steak too. Lol)

Andrea

Laquana with her sewing projects

Group after the shopping

Next stop Carriage Corner for our four day Sew Camp!  Within an hour of our arrival, we were all gathered in the sew studio selecting sewing stations and pulling out projects to sew.  On Friday after breakfast, we quickly got into the van and headed to Fabric Mart fabric.  Look at the group fabric haul.

Just a few pieces from my fabric haul.

Over the next few days, we did some serious power sewing.  Everyone enjoying the process and the company of fellow sewists.  There was all kinds of buzzing in the sew studio. We were helping fit each other, doing tutorials, snacking, and talking about the news of the day.  Gaylen and Jay are the best.  Hosting a Sew Camp is a big deal.  The preparing of the accommodations, meals, and sharing a lovely studio is a lot of work.  But Gaylen and Jay never failed to make this the most enjoyable experience.

Me with my sewing projects

On Saturday afternoon a few of us decided to take a walk to the local Quilt shop were they sold high end quilter's cotton and notions.  On the way, we stopped a fudge shop to pick up some treats.  After shopping back to Carriage Corner to continue with our sewing marathon.

Lady in the fudge shop

Fudge Shop

Carolyn kindly did photo shoots for each of us on Sunday and Monday.  Each of us have a series of photos to select from for Instagram and blog posts.  I think she took over 100 pictures of three outfits for me.  Great start for blogging my pattern and sewing project reviews.

Monday afternoon, my kind friend, Andrea, drove me and Laquana back to the airport for our flights home. I love everything about Sew Camp:  the location, the hopping, and the sewing with friends.  I'm looking forward to my next Sew Camp in 2020.

For more Sew Camp stories, check out these posts:

Carolyn, Diary of a Sewing Fantatic
Gaylen, gMarie Sews 
Andrea, Knit-Knac
Laquana, Made by Laquana 


Happy Sewing!
C

Separates - Mood's Black Brown Twill, French Terry Cloth, and Brown Hacci Sweater Knit

 

 

That title is a mouth full!

The post is all about mixing and matching different fabric textures and coordinates. Three separate pieces seemed like a good number to talk about today. I selected Mood's Black brown Poly Twill Blend for a simple pair of Vogue 1570 pants (without the drape), Mood's Red Polyester-Rayon Stretch French Terry Cloth for New Look 6735 Cardigan, and Mood's Brown Hacci Sweater Knit for McCall 6996 Cardigan.

These textiles are great for building mini wardrobe capsules or to add some great staples to your wardrobe. The twill is smooth; it sews and wears beautifully. I've already worn the pants three times since I made them. I'm embarrassed to admit that the red cardigan was sitting in a bag for over a year with two other cardigans. Finally, I sewed them all last month. The french terry is no longer available.

I so happy to report that the Brown Hacci Sweater knit is. The Hacci knit comes in four lovely colors.

 

Each pieces took about two hours to make after cutting. Both the Vogue 1570 Pant and the McCall 6996 Cardigan I've made/reviewed before. So there no need to review the construction process again.

The New Look 6735 cardigan I made twice before but didn't review it. It's fairly simple to make using five basic pattern pieces. So here's to wardrobe staples.  (Note:  All tops shown were made by me as well.  My new Mood fabric coordinates are perfect for mixing and matching pieces I already have.)

Happy Sewing!
C

This and That

It's been well over a month since my last post.  A lot has happened since then.  First, my sewing and posting was interrupted by vacation.  Tee Hee.  Then shortly thereafter, I had a minor surgery to correct my deviated septum.  For years I've been suffering with sinus issues.  Hopefully, the surgery will make things better.

Vacation was more for relaxation.  I didn't do any tours and no serious sightseeing.  There were only three ports of call this trip:  Haiti, Jamaica, and Cozumel.  I've been to Jamaica and Cozumel over at least a half dozen times each.  So it was no biggie.  The Oasis of the Sea is a grand ship.  It has a park, zip lining, and several swimming pools/Jacuzzis.

Central Park was located on deck eight, the same deck as my cabin.  It was nice to walk through the park each morning.  And sometimes we walked through after dinner.  Another convenience on deck eight was the jazz bar was about 100 feet away from my room too.  And when there was no show in the theater, you would find me at the jazz bar enjoying the band.

I was happy to have a low key vacation mainly because I haven't felt well for months.  My nasal issues and allergies have wreak havoc on me the entire spring/summer seasons. This is my third week in recovery.  I've had two follow up appointments thus far.  Another is schedule for the 30th.  Dr. Michael Friedman is my surgeon.  He is the same doctor that performed the thyroidectomy four years ago.  He is top in his field (ENT), which has given me a level of comfort.  But there is God, who is the ultimate healer. The one I pray to when I am sick and afraid of what may lie ahead.

In early October I blogged about posting some of my least favorite projects.  I'm still going to do that starting tomorrow.  Also, I will post about some UFO's that have been lingering in the closet of my sewing studio for more than a year.  About two week ago, I mustard up some strength to do a little sewing, like a three hours interval every other day.  I finished:

New Look 6560 Wrap top - I was supposed to take this on vacation.  Cut about two weeks before vacation.

New Look 6735  Cardigan - 2 of them:  brown and red cut summer 2017.

McCall    6996 Cardigan - This cardigan was cut about 1.5 months ago.  So that not to bad on getting it finished.

Butterick 6393  Caccoon cardigan cut summer 2017.

WIP:

M7288 Jacket, View D -  This is going to be a long post.  Lots of changes to a multi-cup size pattern.


V1570 Pants, View without the drape.  Easy make.  (no pictures yet)


Anyway..,  This is all for now.  I hope to continue posting through the holiday season.  I can't believe the year is almost over.

Happy Sewing!
C