Easy Shorts

These simple shorts are from BWOF. They are April 2009 - 140. They are just 4 pieces and an elastic waistband, not much to them. I added a stripe of velvet ribbon down the sides and at the back (for identifying front from back). I had these traced out in a size 110 (probably did that last summer) so that is the size I made. She would really fall into the 122 -128 sizing, but since I was making them out of knit instead of a woven, I figured they would work and they did!

They will be just a pair of play shorts. I made myself a pair too! I didn't put the stripe down the side on mine.

For mine, I was turning a old pattern of lounge pajama pants into a casual knit short pattern. I always have issues with the rise on pants, so I cut out 3 inches in the rise of the front and back pieces. It was a little too much. I can still wear them, but they fall lower than I want. I need to raise the front an inch and the back 2 inches. I will make those changes and try again in a black knit. Simple shorts for doing yard work or wearing to the beach, or working out in (on occasion I add that to my reportoire of things I do...). So, I received a package of more fabric and few patterns from Heather Bailey's line. Some more cute designer cotton coordinating fabrics and a couple of pincusion (stuffed animal) patterns and a bag (and wallet) pattern. Not sure what I feel like sewing next. I will have to surprise you!

Another top for me!

As promised, I made another top for me! This was the other knit I pulled from my stash over the weekend. This is another knit that has been sitting in stash for quite awhile that I got from the Fabrics & Notions co-op group. This time I went for a new pattern. I traced off BWOF 11-2008-125. I didn't realize it when I first decided to make this, but it is very similar to 11-2008-124 which I have made (here). I made a size 44, which is a first for me. I was afraid it might be on the small side, but it fits just fine! I made some modifications to this top. First off, I eliminated all of the facings and instead made a band (folded a length in half wrong sides together) that I stitched right sides together to the shirt, then flipped and topstitched. I did this on the yoke portion (that extended around the back side of the neck) and the front v portion. On the front v portion, I stitched two different bands (one on each side of the V), then stitched those together where they met at the front V. The other thing I did was to raise the bottom of the V about 2 inches tapering to nothing at the top of the V. Lastly, I ended up topstitching the yoke band down to the front so it wouldn't flip up. Which leads me to my final realization about this shirt.....it is very similar to the Jalie that I just finished!! Oh well. Not sure why I didn't see this to begin with, but I didn't. The sleeves and the back portion of the top are very different than the Jalie sweetheart top. The back of the BWOF, is cut in two pieces, a top portion and a bottom portion. It gives the shirt a nicely fitted look. The sleeves are a dolman style with the side seam ending at the bottom of the sleeve. I actually had quite a fit working with this fabric. For a while I was getting skipped stitches while topstitching, then I switched machines from my brother to my viking and no more problems. Same needle, same thread. Interesting. I did a rolled hem on the bottom edge with the serger. Easy and I didn't need to worry about stitch problems. Below are a couple of scrunchies that I made to go with the shirts I just made. Great way to use up scraps and made up in minutes! Love those type of projects!!

I am not sure what is next. I will have to go stash diving again and see what fortune I find! :)

Ta Da!

Okay, here we go! First up is a pair of shorts for my older dd made from Jalie 2920 (the legging pattern): I added a little ribbon trim to the backside for looks and identification of front and backside when putting on!

On the front side I added a little rhinestone crystal heart at the bottom of the leg.

Next up are my leggings.....you don't want to see me in tight white leggings without the skirt on....I put a little heart in hot fix crystals at the bottom of my leg too....

Here is the tank top and the leggings under a skirt. Here, my youngest dd wanted to take the picture of me....I had to kneel down to get the tank top into the picture!

I added this little ribbon accent to the side of the shirt so it wasn't so plain....

Next up is my Burda 4-2009-122 shirt! I think it turned out pretty. At first I wasn't sure how I would like it, but after finishing it and trying it on with the tank top, I think it looks cute. This was pretty easy to make up....I bound the neck and front edges instead of doing facings, I don't particularly care for facings and a bound edge has a nice clean look. I did a rolled hem on the serger for the bottom hem and the sleeve edges using a shiny embroidery thread that matched the pink in the shirt. I turned all the seams in on themselves so the raw edges were enclosed and topstitched (is that a french seam?) so the inside has a nice finished look. For the casing, I serged the edges of the seam (at the middle) and then just topstitched it down from the right side.

And last on the list, here is my youngest modeling her new legging pants:

Again, I added a little rhinestone heart to the leg...

I added a ribbon trim to the backside (like on older dd's shorts)...

Close up of heart....

Well, that makes up for the lack of sewing in January, right? Now, what next???

bwof 7-2009-124A

Hot off the presses! I think this is a first time ever that I actually finished something from the month the issue came out in! I am really glad that I cut out the size 42 and didn't make it any bigger. This particular fabric is just very relaxed with a lot of give to it. The black fabric is a bamboo interlock manufactured from Siltex that I got at the yahoo group Fabrics & Notions. It is soooo soft that I love it for that, but I need to remember to down size a little using it. I used a jersey knit for the neck strap and the ties around the waist. The bwof instructions were pretty simple....this is a one dot pattern. I actually didn't hardly follow the instructions, not too much to the top with cute results. I didn't photo the back side because I haven't purchased my strapless bra yet! In this photo my hair covered up the straps! I wish that I could go braless, because this would be the perfect top for that! The whole shape of the top changes when I tried that :) !! I really like this top and it will be a perfect addition to my vacation to hawaii wardrobe! I think that this top took me about 1 1/2 hours to sew up and about 30 minutes to trace and cut out, so we are talking 2 hours start to finish. Those are my kind of projects!

Hope you had a great 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! I got a picture before my dh put up the flag with the girls!

I couldn't resist bwof july 2009 124a, the first picture in my last blog! I traced this afternoon - I traced the largest size 42 because I was planning on using my siltex bamboo interlock which has a lot of relaxation to it and seems to expand as the day goes on. The last shirt I made with this seemed at least a size too big after making it and as the day goes on gets roomier. I measured up today and found to be a burda 46. I am giving it a try and hoping that it will work out for me....if not, I am still on the weight loss wagon, so it should fit soon! I chose a black color bamboo from my stash (which seems to be growing waaaayyyyyy faster than I can possibly sew!), with a coordinating fabric for the sashes and the necktie. It is all cut out awaiting the sewing, stay tuned!

I sewed up a nightgown today for my older dd. It is jalie 2805 with 12" added to the bottom to make it come down to her shins. She was happy with it, it was a tinkerbell knit from my stash. I have made these before a few times and both of the girls love this style. It only took me an hour to sew it together including all the hemming! I got a new down feller for my babylock machine. It is a 5/8" hem, which is what I always use for knits. I tried it out on the bottom hem of the nightie and had great success and definitely saved time pinning! Any tool that saves time and makes your work look nice is a great tool to have!

I also stitched an ear back on the little puppy in the picture. It was a high quality fair win....I would have tossed it, but my dd has been patiently waiting for me to get the ear back on him, so I figured I had to do it!

All in all, it was a pretty productive day!

Finally got my bwof for july!

I was excited to see in the mail my beloved bwof! They had tricked me the last couple of months to expect it a few days before the end of the month and then this month it didn't show up until the 3rd! I was very pleased with many of their designs......except for the plus sized stuff. Since I fall in a 46 - 48 and am on my way to being smaller (down 14 pounds!!), I was hoping that the designs would extend towards the 46 side on the regular designs. Alas, nope! Most of them seem to end at a 42 this time! Bummer! That means extra work tracing to size up to a size that will wrap around my plump body. Well, my work but not impossible! Here are some of the designs that really caught my eye: I love how simple the shirt is, yet very stylish. I would need to get a strapless or clear strapped bra though! Here is another one I really like, although I think I would shorten it to knee length or maybe calf length: With all of the gathers at the bust, I think it would be easy to add in extra fabric for a fba. I am just too short to wear full length!

This would make a great swimsuit coverup.......

Nice and airy!

This one I like for a little summer dress. Again, I would shorten the dress. I think this one would be cute shortened above the knee for a sassy fun dress.

So, all in all, I do really like this issue of bwof! I also think the shorts have potential, who doesn't need shorts? I liked the bikini, however I am not sure I will ever wear a bikini again. My tummy didn't have the stretchy skin that snapped back into shape like some people! Mine more resembles the skin of an orange! Oh... to be a teenager again! I really do love that this burda issue has real summer clothes, living in san diego - summer is most of the year! The really disappointing thing about their plus size designs was that they were not summery! Can't a plus sized person wear a short sleeve or a pair shorts?? AARRGGHH!!

Okay, I am off for now! Enjoy your burda everyone, I can't wait to see what everyone makes! Me.....I may get to something in the coming week!

Have a happy fourth of july!!! God bless all those who have fought for our freedom!

Here are the finished pictures!

Okay.....I wish I had a fabulous body like some of our sewing friends, so I could showcase my creations more pleasingly.....lol! Alas, I am what I am for the time...

This is a picture of the pocket details. Here is a picture of the backside of the pants. Here is a picture of the front of the jeans. Here are riveting details. Which I had some issues practicing putting them in. I kept having the pin punch through the top of the rivet.....then I realized that the top side needs to be down and hammer from the inside of the jeans on the back side of the rivet. I saw the light and then didn't have anymore issues with the rivets. I used an awl to punch a hole through the material, then inserted the pin. I then capped the pin with the top of the rivet, turned the whole thing over so the rivet top side was on the ground (in the garage on the concrete floor), then hammered on the back side of the pin with a rubber mallet. No damage to the rivet front side or back side. I purchased the rivets and buttons from grommetmart.com . I bought a pack of 100 of each. Paid somewhere around $30 with shipping for both.

Here is a picture of the front waistband detail and buttons.

Here is a picture of the fly detail. I just drew it in instead of copying it from the pattern, adding the reinforcement in the desired places.

Working on bwof 9-2008-138

I have really wanted to get in on Dawn's jeans sew-along! I really wanted to buy the new jalie stretch jeans pattern. But....I have two very cool pieces of Seven denim in my stash that are not stretch and they really do want to be made up into some jeans. So, I have been pouring over my issues of bwof (I have 9/2008 - current issue) to find a pair of pants that doesn't call for a stretch fabric that would be suitable to make into a pair of jeans. I finally came up with bwof 9-2008-138. Upon first look this is a trouser pattern...but, I studied it enough to feel it could make up in denim, the only thing is I will have to add some back pockets. The yoke of the pants is good sized so the pockets will sit a little lower, which will work just fine in the vision in my mind. I have traced out the pattern. Now I am just debating which denim to cut into.....they are both black, but one has silver thread in it and the other has gold thread in it. I really like the silver better, so I am debating whether or not to use it since this is my first time making this pattern. I will probably make it up in the black with gold.......

11-2008-124 is done!

Okay, I got it done it time for our ski trip! I like the top, but I don't like it enough to make another. The neck part of it is a little wierd. It looks nice and feels nice but when I look down at it, it seems wierd to me. Okay, that being said, the sweatshirt went together pretty well. Please, excuse the photos, my dh took them and I was just being corny and actually most of them had to be deleted! The bwof instructions actually were pretty clear. The part I didn't really like how the back facing and the front facing were separate, because on the inside it isn't super neat looking. On the outside you can't tell...

I used a hot pink thread to topstitch. Instead of putting it on the coverstitch, I used a stitch on the sewing machine to finish the sleeve hems and bottom hem.

I wish I had got a colored drawstring for the neck, because this looks plain to me. I was actually thinking about dying it to match the topstitching thread but got too lazy and thought it was okay the way it was.

Some sewing...some reading!

I was excited today to get my april bwof in the mail!! I don't normally get it until the first of the month, so this was a whole week early! There are a few things in it that interest me. I haven't looked at the line drawings yet....but I think I can still see a couple of things that I might just have to make! I am finding myself torn about what to make. Even though I live in sunny san diego, our mornings and evenings are still cool....cool enough to wear jackets and sweatshirts. So I am a little torn at whether to sew something cozy and warm or to venture into spring and short sleeves! Anyhow, I am finally getting to work on bwof 11-2008-124, the cozy sweatshirt! I was making good progress until I noticed an area in front that isn't quite even, so I will be doing some measuring to see where the discrepanies are and if I need to seam rip or if I can do some trimming....I am hoping for minimal seam ripping because the sherpa doesn't like it at all!! I had never put eyelets in before and had some issues with those stupid things...after four of them....I finally realized that I forgot to interface the area and so they were ripping out of the fabric. I ripped them out, triple interfaced, them punched them through and pressed them in. Wa...La! I was also having some issues with my coverstitching....while I have done extensive amounts of coverstitch hems, I have not used the chain stitch feature very much. Also, I don't typically use topstitching thread for coverstitching ...I just use serger thread....so, I had to tweak around the needles and settings, and use a net for the topstitch thread, then I got acceptable results. I don't know if the chain stitch is any stretchier than using a straight stitch on my sewing machine.....Oh well. I topstitched the seams on my sewing machine after messing around so much with the chainstitching. Hopefully I finish it up tomorrow! We are going skiing on Wednesday and it would be nice to have a new sweatshirt!

BWOF 11-2008-124

I have been eyeing this pattern since I saw it last November. I loved Dawn's version of it....but I was holding off because I knew I would not only have to trace but also have to grade up which I have never done before! I figured I would need a size 48, and this pattern went to 44, so I needed to grade 2 sizes.....except when you jump up to a size 48 from 46 the jump is bigger than the jump from 42 to 44, almost double the jump in bust inches. So, I decided to grade 3 sizes from the pattern to compensate. So I traced the 44 then moved it down to the 38 line and retraced the 44 in essence gaining 3 sizes. We'll see how this works, because some pieces this seemed sort of iffy on and I just kind of eyeballed it.

I finished the tracing and am about to cut it out then I have a sherpa fleece in mind for it!