My Sewing Space

While it took me awhile to get on board with the stylish sweatshirt trend, I’m really liking it now. The key to making it work for me is using a fabric that isn’t bulky or sweatshirt-like. When I saw a sheer white sweater knit on the clearance rack at Jo-Ann Fabrics,  I thought it would make a nice pairing with McCall's 6992 for spring. There isn't a lot to say about the pattern. It's a very easy style to sew up. Several options are included in the pattern, making it easy to include several versions in your wardrobe without feeling like they're all the same. Not that that matters to me - I use the same patterns over and over again even if they do all look the same. But I know not everyone gets excited about that. Necessary alterations were blissfully minimal. I added an inch of length, but I don't think I really needed it with this fabric. In something less stretchy, it would have been important. For the bottom band, I disregarded the pattern piece and cu

Hooray for busting some fabric out of deep stash! This sweater knit has been with me for a few years. It survived a couple of purges, but I always had a hard time deciding what exactly it should be. At some point, I bought a piece of matching Ultrasuede. I assume I had a plan in mind then, but it never happened. When I saw McCall's 6603 , this fabric came to mind. When I actually got around to making this top, I struggled to remember what I was actually thinking when I ordered this pattern. After a quick-and-dirty muslin, I ended up combining views A and D and significantly shortening the length. I used the Ultrasuede for a hem band and the sleeve bands. Getting the corner mitered appropriately was done without any precision or calculating - just guessing and testing. I did have to do a wee bit of trimming after the stitching was done to get the edge sharp. The pattern for the hem band in View D is a separate piece added on to the bottom. I didn't wan

I'm realizing that I need to wear more layers.  I'm often cold and end up putting on a hoodie or fleece jacket over my other clothes.  This isn't so bad except that the end result doesn't always look that great.  So, instead, I should plan for layers and start out the day dressing that way.  Here's my first attempt at this plan. I picked up this brown sweater knit recently at Fabricland.  It was very inexpensive and the label said it was a wool/poly blend.  The stretch is pretty minimal and it has a soft hand, but is a little irritating next to my skin. Time for a haircut!  It's looking very...uh...asymmetrical here. I've used Jalie 2449 before both for me and my daughter, but never in a sweater knit.  I used a size bigger than I needed according to the measurment chart and cut 1/2" seam allowances.  I think I should have gone up an additional size because of the minimal stretch.  The neckband in the pattern doesn't go around the back of the

Yesterday I mentioned that I had made a sweater while waiting for an opportunity to pick up some ribbing. Here it is: I love white in the spring and summer, but I don't wear it so much lately because something about me in white says "human napkin" to my kids. We'll see how long the sweater lasts. I used Kwik Sew 2856 , View C. This was a really easy project. Start to finish: 2 hours. The fabric is a cotton sweater knit that has been in my stash for around two years. The pattern has been in my stash longer than that. I read an article in Threads #123 about sewing with sweater knits. The author recommended using 1" seam allowances. I played with the fabric a little before cutting anything out and went with 1/2" allowances - double the usual KS allowance. It worked just fine. I cut a size small and didn't change a single thing. For the seams, I used a zigzag stitch and it sunk into and blended in with the fabric really well. So well that there was no way I

“Well, would ya look at that!” “Mom, are you wearing a blanket?” Those were the responses of my four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son when they saw this top! I got a pretty good laugh from that. This top was too easy. It took about as long to put together as it did for my husband to take my kids to the doughnut shop. Hardly even a blip on the sewing radar. The sleeves are cut-on so the only seams are shoulder/top of sleeve, underarm/side seam and center back. Slap on a neckband, hem the sleeves and bottom and you’re done. I cut a size 12 initially but should have done a 10. I decreased the width of the neckline by .5” on each side and left the depth unchanged. The neckline is still really wide. I increased the length of the sleeves by 1.5” and added 1” in length to the bodice front and back. After getting the pieces together it looked too big on me, so I took it in at the CB and side seams by .5” I’m really not sure what I think about the top yet. It is a little different from my

2009 is off to a good start for me! I’m pretty excited about the first thing out of my sewing room. I bought Vogue 8536 a while back specifically for View E: the wrap-style top. I really like the neckline and the wrap style. I found the fabric at Fabricland in November. I don’t remember the specifics, but I remember that it was a good deal. (It always is, isn't it?) The bolt was labeled as a “sweater knit.” I guess this is a sweater knit, albeit a very fine gauge one. I am a little afraid of sewing with sweater knits. Somehow I still have a few pieces in my stash. Hmmm…. This fabric was really nice to work with and is helping get me over my fears. It is however, very sheer. This pattern was a good match for the fabric. The double-front provides more coverage. But, still…I will likely only wear this with a cami underneath. I’m pretty happy with the fit and I really didn’t do much altering. I was worried about gaping between the neck and arm so I essentially “pulled