Sew/Knit Along Addiction - My Plans This Fall

As I know I've mentioned on a few posts lately, I've been taking part in several sew alongs. I always love the comradery and fun community that springs up around them and I always want to join in but never seem to make the time to whip up something appropriate. Finally this year I managed to get things lined up to really join in the fun. I figured I'd post some here that I'm planning on joining :)

First of all, there's Sewing Indie Month. I entered 3 makes in the Everyday Casual category that I made throughout the month of September (Blue Floral Sorrel Top, Melissa Skirt, and Forest Friends Sorrel Top). I even jumped this ahead in the blogging queue so that I could get them submitted in time :) Yesterday was the last day for submissions, so my pattern hacking plans did not get made up. I am really proud of the pieces I did make and ended up with two outfits to boot. I have basically lived in this skirt since I made it (I'm even wearing it as I type this, lol) and I have to force myself not to wear the Sorrel tops constantly too. *Shameless Plug Time* The voting for the contest officially begins today! If you liked my pieces, please head over here to vote for one to help me possibly win a prize :) (just click the little heart on photos you like) I guess I'm not really employing a good "strategy by submitting 3 makes, but oh well. I had fun making them :)

I also submitted my Forest Friends Sorrel Top in Selfish Sewing Week hosted by Imagine Gnats. The submissions are posted on Kollabora (which I updated to include all my wardrobe makes this week - see mine here . Who knows if anything will come of this contest, but is was fun to join in.

Cindy from Cation Designs just announced the Put A Cat On It Sew Along this week and I really really want to participate! I have a few yards of the cat printed poly dobby chiffon from Gertie's spring fabric line that I picked up on the 4th of July with the intention of making a cute skirt with it. I'm thinking a simple circle skirt would be really fun since I've yet to make one and this fabric is nice and wide so I know it would work for the length I want. I just have to figure out a lining fabric and do the math. Here's hoping I can get it done!

I also have been making things with the intent of finally joining the Fall Essentials Sew-Along with Rhinestones & Telephones. Even though it doesn't really get cold here, I wanted to enter my Forest Friends Sorrel and Melissa Skirt in the Chic Chemises and Fashionable Foundations categories because they are absolutely the perfect fall outfit pieces for me. Hopefully I can get more pieces made by the November 14th deadline too. I am also knitting a Penelope sweater that I plan to enter in the Chic Chemises group as well if I can finish on time.

I'm knitting away on my sweater for the Penelope KAL with Andi Satterlund. I mentioned joining this a few weeks ago, but I officially decided on yarn and cast on when the KAL began on the 1st. I've already made the top yoke pieces and did the color work. This is really the easiest color work ever and I love the simple result. I can't wait to get more finished so I can show progress :)

All of these projects are being made on top of working, regular life obligations, starting on Christmas gifts, and sewing and crocheting my Halloween costume! I'm going to be really busy, I can tell you. I'm hoping that by double dipping on some of my projects as entries in the different "------ Alongs" that I can still be a part of things without making myself crazy.

FO: Forest Friends Sorrel Top

This week marked a momentous occasion - I used one of my most beloved pieces of fabric :) This week is Selfish Sewing Week plus it's the final few days of Sewing Indie Month, so it just seemed fitting that I make something I truly love for myself.

I used the Sorrel pattern again - I've wanted to make another ever since my first version. I wear that shirt about once a week I love it so. It's comfortable and flattering and a little different. All my favorite things!

Again, my hair obscures the fancy collar detail, so here's a shot with my hair behind me. I used a little of this amazing fabric for the body. The fabric is from Joann's in their Doodles line for kids and it's called Majestic Cord Woodland Animals. Sally over at The Quirky Peach posted about this fabric when she found it back in June and I was thrilled to find the same fabric at my local store during their 4th of July sale. I grabbed 3 yards to possibly make a dress, but I'm still torn about knit dresses on me. In the meantime, I just wanted to make something, and I still have enough left for that dress should I decide to take the plunge. This fabric is 100% cotton and it's like a super soft interlock knit. I paired my beloved fabric with some simple white interlock from my stash for the collar and sleeve cuffs.

I went for the cuffs on the sleeves again, because it's just such a fun detail :) I will confess that this time the shirt took much longer to make due to a) me being really picky and b) making stupid mistakes. I had the bobbin run out twice since I decided to use partially filled ones instead of just winding a full one :/ Of course this happened while top stitching and about halfway across the front of the shirt. Like I said, I'm picky, and I just couldn't look down and see a restarted top stitching line on the front of my favorite fabric, so I pulled the whole thing out. The other issue was the stitching in the ditch around the collar. I used white thread to stitch between the collar and body of the shirt, but it was visible every so often which I knew would drive me nuts. I picked out the entire thing. Ugh, it was not fun. I switched to purple thread after that and it came out much better.

The obligatory mannequin shots. Another change I made from my last version is that I lengthened the body and twin needle hemmed instead of adding a hem band. I like this way much better. I think it's a little more laid back looking to just have a standard hem, plus I don't like how hem bands tighten the shirt up around your hips - this one is more free flowing and comfy.

Here are some close up shots :) If you look really closely around the back collar you can see my purple thread. I'm pretty ridiculously proud of getting it so hidden. It was a long, slow line of stitching, but it was totally worth taking the extra effort.

And the insides. The collar facing just fascinates me on this shirt - it's so great that it sits so flat and I never have to worry about it. Totally comfy :)

And there you have it! My forest friends sorrel top :) I know that I will wear the heck out of this top and I will bask in its five-year-old-like goodness. Maybe I'll name the critters? Is that going too far?

Summary:
Fabric: 3/4 yard of Doodles woodland print interlock knit - $5.00, white cotton interlock knit - free (in the stash for years)
Pattern: Sorrel Top and Dress by Seamster Patterns
Notions: knit fusible interfacing - $0.50, woolly nylon thread, polyester thread in white and purple
Hours: 7 (due to mistakes)
Total Cost: $5.50

FO: My First Peggy Skirt

You guys ... I sewed something! It's a miracle, I know. With all my home improvements I've been working on since the new year, I've had very little time to devote to any projects other than a little bit of knitting before bedtime. This past week though, in an effort to practice some "selfish sewing" for Selfish Sewing Week, I finally spent a few nights to myself doing what I wanted to do ... which was sewing this skirt.

This is my first go at the Peggy Skirt pattern from Blue Ginger Doll. The Peggy skirt is a high waisted design that has super cute pockets, subtle front pleats, and 3 waistband options. I had loved the many iterations of this from Mary at Idle Fancy, so when I saw there was a big sale before Christmas I decided to bite the bullet and purchased the pdf pattern. I promptly put the pdf together and traced off my size, then life got crazy and it sat unused in my drawer. I have some burnt orange corduroy fabric with a matching lining that I've had in mind since December, but I wanted to do a true muslin just to sort out the fit before cutting into that. This past week, since I already had the pattern ready to go it was the obvious choice to maximize my sewing time. Also, since this is a "pattern I already have", I'm gonna throw this baby in the pot for the Stashbusting Challenge too. Why not, right?

Since this was meant as a muslin, I just made the straight waistband without the optional tabs to keep it focused on fitting. I dug through my thrifted fabric stash and found this poly "linen look" fabric in a deep navy blue. I had 2 yards of 60" wide, and since I paid maybe $1 for the whole cut I wouldn't be too upset if I hated the result. So, I cut in and set to work. According to the finished measurements, I cut out the size 18 and added about 1" to the waist and hip just to make sure.

As show above, my absolute favorite detail about this pattern is the pockets! They are so fun! They are at a nice angle so they don't really add additional bulk to the hip - in fact, I can still put things in the pocket and you can't see it from the front: magic! The only qualm I had about this pattern is that the pdf is all in black with no different types of lines or anything to show which markings go to which size. This wasn't a big deal at first since I was making the largest size, but when it came to the notches on the waistband, I was completely lost. It's just a sea of little triangles with no indication as to what size they belong to. Other than the center front, I was completely alone as to which  notch to line up with, so I just made due. This ended up not working out so great. I've message Blue Ginger Doll asking about the notches, but I haven't heard anything back yet. (Anyone out there who has the printed pattern that would be willing to share this info would immediately receive hero status with me!)

Once I had the skirt all put together except for the waistband, I put it on, zipped it up, and watched it promptly fall off of me. I really have no idea how it came out so big! I went according to the finished measurements and my waist is 1" thicker than the largest size, so adding an inch seemed the reasonable thing to do. Well, I went back to my sewing table and drew the original pattern cutting lines on in chalk, recut the sides, unpicked and resewed them, then tried it again. It stayed on that time, but I was getting some weird "wings" of fabric at my hips. I pinched out another full inch at the hip, grading up to nothing at the waist. I still have to measure to see what size I officially ended up with, but it was definitely smaller than the 18. So strange. Since the skirt was too big, the waistband was most definitely too big as well. The problem is that this waistband has no easing anywhere, so you really can't fudge the fit. I just matched the center front notches, sewed it on and hoped for the best. I ended up with a huge overlap at the back closure - so much that I was trying to enclose the bottom of the tab ... and it did not look good at all. I ended up just fudging it, so now my waistband is a bit loose at the top edge and it closes with two hooks and eyes instead of a button. Oh well, I just wear it with my shirt un-tucked as seen above.

The only unfortunate part of this loose waistband issue is that it leaves a decided line under my shirt here. Eh, I still like the skirt, so it's not that big a deal. I think I'll try to angle the top next time around though.

Here's a close up of the front and back of the skirt. The only bad part about having to take it in so much is that the edge of the pocket does tend to stick straight out when worn - it's not a big deal and I know if the pockets were moved inward slightly this wouldn't happen, so at least I know for next time. Since I was just making a muslin and I wasn't in the mood to figure out a lapped zipper like the pattern calls for, I just did a regular slotted seam insertion and it looks just fine to me.

And here are some close ups of the details. No joke, I had this zipper that matched my fabric exactly and was the exact 7" length I needed. How awesome is that?! This zipper is from the 60s or 70s and cost me a whopping 10¢ - yeah baby! I finished all my inside seams with pinking shears, and cheated with the waistband - the pattern tells you to fold it under and hand stitch it down to enclose everything ... yeah, that wasn't going to happen, lol. I just folded it under, pinned it down, and stitched in the ditch from the front. It's not perfect inside, but I don't really care since it's a wearable muslin. I LOVE the topstitching at the pockets, though next time I think I'll pull it in closer to the edge. And I used a machine blind hem which I have to say came out PERFECT on this make. Gotta love a textured fabric for making your blind hem truly disappear, amiright?

Now that it's made and I've worn it a few times, I kind of wish I'd gone the extra mile and lined this skirt. The fabric was a beast to work with - it unravelled like nobody's business and I had to use a clapper to get any of the seams to sit flat. I am surprised now though at how much this feels like linen when I wear it. It's very flowy and bouncy, so it drapes nicely and makes this skirt very flattering. Oh, and I should also mention that I chopped several inches off the hem as well - the pattern is made to be a mid-calf length, but that length really wasn't doing me any favors. I chopped it to mid-knee length instead and I love where it hits now.

In the end, I am really pleased with this skirt :) Not only do I know I'll there will be more Peggys in my future, but I now have a new appreciation for "linen look" poly fabrics. I've worn this skirt twice already and only have minor wrinkles at the waistband and that's only because it's such a high waist. Try saying that for real linen! Also, I have to say I love how it looks with my favorite Anthropologie sweater (a birthday splurge last year for their sale section) and my new Swedish Hasbeens - I know, I'm so trendy! lol Does this mean I'm officially a member of the sewing blogger club with these shoes? I bought two pair thanks to the heads up from Heather at Closet Case Files about their major sale a month ago. I'm completely hooked now!

Here's to more Peggy skirts and more cute shoes!

Summary:
Fabric: 1.75 yards deep navy "linen look" polyester from thrift store, $1.00
Notions: 7" deep navy zipper plus hooks and eyes, 25¢
Pattern: Peggy Skirt from Blue Ginger Doll pdf, $9.45
Hours: About 6, but 2 hours of that was from having to adjust the fit so much