Tag: Knit

Turbulent Sea DVF Wrap Dress

On By Sharon7 Comments

You know when you purchase your ticket for Frocktails and then it dawns on you, “what am I going to wear”.

Of course I left it to the last minute but with a sewing weekend coming up I decided to make another DVF Wrap Dress with this dry knit that was in the stash.

Thank you James Broadway

Just before all this happened the ladies over at Artisan Square had a Pre-2019 SWAP Dress Challenge that had to include a new fabric or new technique.

As this knit is heavier than my previous DVF dress, I decided to add a waist-stay which is a technique I have never used and I found this very detailed post over at Stitch N Smile.

The next thing I did was to do a gaposis adjustment in the front neckline of 1cm, this has made the front neckline sit much better.

So armed with all my sewing goodies I headed off for a weekend of sewing.

To make the waist-stay I used some navy petersham ribbon I had purchased from Torb and Reiner and a trouser hook and bar.

Then I realised I had to add a buttonhole to the waist-stay as one of the ties for dress has to pass through the side seam,

where I attached the waist-stay to the dress and I had positioned the hook and bar to be offset to be on the other side away from the tie on the outside. 

By the end of the 2nd day of sewing the dress just needed hemming and thankfully Mark was on hand that evening to level off the hem so I could use my coverstich to finish the hems that night.

This dress is getting a lot of wear besides Frocktails and I can see it getting a lot more with summer finally arriving.

This will also be  my first garment for SWAP 2019 as “One garment may be completed by today (28 October 2018) US Time Zone.  

******************
2018 Stash Out: 6.3 m
2018 Stash In: 5.0 m

Look what the Postie delivered

On By Sharon2 Comments

JoAnns in the US regularly have Simplicity Patterns $5 for $5 which is just unbelievable. Even with our exchange rate and postage I received 5 patterns for $20 Australian Dollars, you can’t get patterns that cheap here even with the sales on.

One of the main reasons I was keen to get my hands on these patterns was that at Pattern Review they were having a Simplicity 2603 Cardi sew-along and after watching the video and seeing it made up by all sorts of shapes and sizes and looking good on all, I felt this would be a good top layer for someone who is always cold.

Luckily for me one of the lovely ladies on Pattern Review offered to purchase the patterns on my behalf and post them to me.

So I ordered 2 of 2603, one for me and one for DS; DS wanted 2648 and I liked the look of this so ordered I ordered one myself as well and then Amanda from Amanda’s Adventures in Sewing made 3775 in a cute floral so thought I would add this to my pattern stash.

On Saturday I had to go to Spotlight to get some stretch sewing needles to sew my knit garments for the WiaW.

Of course I had just collected the patterns from the post office, so you never let an opportunity go buy to purchase fabric so I just had to check out what knit fabrics I could find and trying to keep away from brown I chose this turquoise “Dry Knit” Polyester/Spandex at $10.95m.

It does have a nice drape, but after purchasing it I did think that it may be a bit thick for the knot tying that goes with the various wearable variations of the cardigan. I did see a very nice patterned knit with the pattern on both sides that would be wonderful, just not sure if it would be too much in this style.

First of all I need to hem those pants.

Bits and Pieces

On By Sharon8 Comments

I’m not sure where the time has gone, we have been home for 6 weeks and so far and all I have managed to do is add to my stash 🙂

Just before I left to go overseas I purchased this Milano Printed Gold knit from Knitwit to make the Burda dress 5-2008-104 adding long sleeves as I have seen something very similar in the shops. I have already made the top 5-2008-103 so I have a lot of the fitting issues already worked out.

I managed to find some fabric shops during our travels and purchased a gorgeous piece of Cashmere in London – 2 metres which DH commented that he had never seen me make a decision so quick LOL. I plan to make a jacket of some sort, not sure of the style as yet.

The Fabric Store in Sydney had a sale night the other week and Velosewer and I went to see what they had to offer. I purchased this brown spot knit and two pieces of Merino Wool in a mauve and brown colour.

I have a lot of ideas floating around, so need to focus on getting the patterns cut out and adjusted LOL.

Stripey Wrap Top

On By Sharon4 Comments

My sister gave me this fabric last week and as I need some tops to take away with me, this was made up using Butterick 3344 (oop) View A.

Now this top is not new to me, I have made it quite a few times, however this time I have finally managed to have enough fabric for long sleeves LOL.

The other plus is that it goes with my brown cropped pants for the 2009 SWAP so I am quite happy about this.

The sad news is that this is the extent of my 2009 SWAP. Time and patterns didn’t mix too well and we fly out for a month’s holiday on Monday so madly packing and not sewing this weekend.

Here is the pattern review.

Pattern Description: Close-fitting top has neckline variations and stitched hems. View A – elastic neck, mock wrap, long sleeves

Pattern Sizing: Size 10

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The neckline was a bit low so I added to this and a used “seams great” for the next edge, stitched this on stretching it a bit and then turned under and coverstitched the neck edge.

Fabric Used: Knit of unknown quality, it was a gift from my sister.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

Front Pattern Adjustments

* Round Shoulder
* 2 x Gaposis on the neck edge
* Full bust and folded out the dart
* Added 1/2″ to the neck edge
* Added 3/4″ between the bust and waist

Back Pattern Adjustments

* High round back
* Sway back
* Broad back

* Large bicep

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, this is the third top I have made from this pattern.

Conclusion: This top is such a great wardrobe item. I have it in a lace for evening, a quieter knit for work and this one is going on holidays with me and will be great for casual wear.

Vogue 8151 – Grey Knit Top

On By Sharon2 Comments

Pattern Description: Pullover tops with set in sleeves. A: wrapped front, band, shirred sides and long sleeves. B: top with three-quarter length sleeves and optional tie front. I made view B.

Pattern Sizing: 32″ to 55″. I used 32″ (A)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I found it very quick to construct.

Fabric Used: A grey rayon knit with 80% cross grain stretch.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

* Round shoulder – I added 5/8″ to the back shoulder and took 5/8″ off the front shoulder

* High round back – added 3/8″ at the centre back reducing to zero at the side seam (FFRP page 124)

* Gaposison the front neck line – took out 3/8″ tuck via slash and pivot method

* FBA – added 3/8″ (FFRP)

* Sway back – 1/2″ at centre back to zero at side seams

* Full Arms – I added 1″ (FFRP page 169).

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes it is quick to make, and feels very comfortable to wear.

Conclusion: I will be making this up in other fabrics and will try some different necklines and finishes.