3/29/10: Planning and Scheming -- McCall's Jacket for My Sister

Yet another project brewing? You bet! This is another garment for my younger sister; it is a jacket by McCall's and the pattern number is 4841. I bought this pattern from an Ebay seller a couple years ago and it appears that Ebay is still the only place to find this pattern. My sister chose the view with the dark fabric but with a round collar.

And I already have the fabric set. Source? Denverfabrics.com once again! This fabric is a cotton/linen blend and has beautiful texture; perfect for a fitted jacket.

3/29/10: Planning and Scheming -- Vogue Dress for My Sister

Here's another sewing project I am preparing for. . . It is Vogue 9668.

I will be sewing the third view for my younger sister and this is the fabric she has chosen:

It is a blue floral jacquard fabric made in 100% cotton. I bought this fabric from Denverfabrics.com. And here is a closeup of the flower pattern:



It was a very unexpected way how I came by this sewing pattern. On a Ravelry.com forum I posted a message asking the members if they knew of a place where I can buy Vogue 9668 for under $10. (I'm on a budget you see.) Instead of getting a link, a wonderful lady told me she was willing to send me the pattern that she had in her stash; all I had to do was pay for the shipping. How sweet is that? :D

3/22/10: Planning and Scheming -- My Regency Gown from Sense and Sensibility Patterns

This will be one post of many to come that will discuss the new projects I have lined up for Spring. I recently made an order to DenverFabrics.com (since they had a 50% off sale on most of their fabrics!!), and so I am now able to start working on some garments I've been daydreaming about.

First up is this beautiful gauze fabric in a jacquard flower print. It is 100% rayon and lovely to feel! I am going to be using this for a Regency-style dress, complete with empire waist. I bought the pattern from Sensibility.com last summer when they had a very good sale. You can learn more about the pattern by clicking here.

And I am going to use this silky acetate, beige fabric for the lining.

I bought the Regency Gown Neckline Supplement that includes different neckline variations. I am still not sure which one to choose but I know it will be the higher choices. I'm not going for a true, Regency look! My goodness, no.

3/16/10: Shopping for Craft Supplies

I make a lot of online orders from craft stores such as JoAnn, fabric.com, Herschnerrs, and the like. Last year my sisters notified me about a website called ShopAtHome that gives you 1 or 30% cash back on your orders when you go through their site. When I ordered some quilt batting from JoAnn's last year I went to the JoAnn website through the ShopAtHome site and saved $3.68. Pretty nifty, huh? Especially when I just needed to make a few extra clicks of the mouse!

JoAnn is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the variety of stores ShopAtHome includes in their "cash back" list. I also spotted Amazon, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Dick's Sporting Goods, Barnes and Noble, Aeropostale, Walmart, and lots of other big name stores.

So check out the ShopAtHome website by clicking on the link on my sidebar and start saving on your fabric, yarn, and notions!

3/11/10: For a Better Night's Sleep

I've decided to begin recording my finished projects in a more organized fashion, just so I can return to this post and pinpoint information I need faster and easier. That's the goal anyway! :D

Project: Satin PJ's and Pillowcase

Made for whom? My younger sister, Catherine.

Pattern and #: Simplicity 3571

Pattern source: I bought this pattern from sewingpatterns.com as a download. Price was $2.99, on sale.

What is included in this pattern? Misses' / Women's pajamas, pajama bag and knit top. I only used the misses' pajamas pattern.

Does this pattern have any interesting features? Yes. The pajamas have attached sleeves, you know, kimono style. Never done this type of garment before!

Fabric choice: I choose a 100% polyester, charmeuse satin from fabric.com at $4.98 a yard. It came in a 60" width. I bought 5 yards, used 3 for the PJ's, 1/2 yard for the pillowcase, and had 1/2 yard leftover.

What size did I do? I did size 10.

Any pattern alterations? Yes. Here is my list of alterations:

1. I shortened the distance between the waist and crotch by 2 inches. Why? Because my sister didn't want the pajamas to fall at her waist, just a little bit below.

2. I lengthened the legs by adding 4-3/4 inches. Why? Because my sister is 6' tall.

3. I removed 4" from the side seams of the bodice. Why? Because when I was cutting out the pattern piece I discovered that there was a good amount of ease at the waist; about 12 inches amazingly! But before I altered the pattern, I made a muslin just to be on the safe side. It turned out that my prediction was right: too much ease.

4. I didn't add pockets. Why? My sister requested none.

5. I added more buttons and I spaced them 3" apart. Why? Modesty is the key word here!

6. I added a drawstring to the pants' waist casing. Why? Just for that extra support.

Any problems with the pattern instructions? Yes. I found that the cutting layout for view C in 60" width was incorrect. The arm on pattern piece 11 was longer than pictured in the illustration. I managed to find a suitable layout though, so it was no real problem. I didn't find any other flaw in the instructions.

How did I finish my seams? I chose to finish my seams with a three-thread overlock stitch on my serger using a #70 needle and 100% polyester thread.

Any problems along the way? I didn't run into any major problems except I found it to be very difficult to cut out my pattern pieces. This satin is very slippery and I didn't have a large enough table to accommodate the large pattern pieces. I really need to find a large space to cut!

So here are the PJ's, finished and ready for Slumber Land. . .

And here is a picture of the pillowcase I made with some of the leftover fabric.