Simplicity 2614

First off I want to share my current favorite song with you. Jake Bugg performing his song "Broken".

Now to some sewing news. Simplicity 2614 is an out of print pattern, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Here are just a few tops I made from this pattern. As you can see, my favorite is version D. View B and C (without the tie) are definitely on my to-do list for fall. And whoever designed this pattern was a genius! I never had a facing, especially on a V-neck, fit that perfect, even with silky fabrics!

This version is a semi sheer polyester fabric with little black dots on it. Honestly I have no clue what kind of fabric this is. I don't bother writing down what kind of fabric I buy. Only when I buy it do I pay attention to the fiber content etc. This picture also shows the skirt made from some kind of knit fabric.

These two versions are made from Shot Cottons by Kaffe Fassett. Oh my god! That is some of the nicest fabric ever! The colors are astonishing, and sooooo soft with lots of drape. I just want to make everything out of Shot Cottons!

I bought this fabric at JoAnn's. It is for sure one of the nicer fabrics they carry. Such a soft hand and drape, and it feels amazing to wear.

But back to the pattern. First I had some fitting issues, nothing major though. According to my measurement I am a size 12, but a lot of times I have to go down a size because of the amount of ease in these patterns. With this one I traced a 10, and it would fit, but snug around the shoulder/back area. I can wear it, but it is slightly tight. So I traced a size 12 in the back/shoulders grading down to a 10 below the armholes. I used mainly soft draping fabrics, and due to the bias cut it sits perfect all around. In the past I had some issues with seemingly beautiful tops that turned out to look too boxy, even though made up in light fabrics. 

The heaviest fabrics I used are Cotton Couture by Michael Miller Fabrics. That is about the heaviest fabric I would recommend. Any other heavier fabric probably wouldn't drape enough and make the top look awful, especially in the back.

The top itself is sewn in an hour or two, depends on how fast one sews.

So far I made 10 tops, and I have some very nice chiffon waiting in my stash to be made up in one :)

Skirt Collection

So I finally got a picture of me wearing the Lisette Continental skirt and blouse. I really like the colors, they are quite unusual for me. I am always more drawn to reddish colors, and this was a nice change for me. The light blue also goes very well with my white legs ;)




 This is such an easy and quick skirt pattern. And the cut is exactly my style. Two fabrics in my stash seemed to be perfect for a fall/winter skirt. The seam on the front and back is a nice touch to play around with prints, but for my two fabrics I needed a skirt pattern with a one-piece front and back. I am new to changing, not to mention drafting patterns, so the way I got rid of the seam on the front/back is probably way too complicated. I cut both panels from a leftover muslin, sewed them together, then laid it on freezer paper (I never cut the tissue paper, but trace all patterns on freezer paper) and traced around it. Voila!

This wool blend is leftover from my sew-along Thurlow Trousers (pics to follow). I lined it with blue Bemberg.

 I don't really know what kind of fabric this is. It has a tiny bit of stretch. The border print was meant to be a skirt, don't you think? I should've gotten a close up of the embroidery. The skirt is lined with some rather cheap polyester lining. It looks grey in the picture, but is actually more denim.

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Alma Blouse

My first go on the Alma Blouse, another great pattern from Sewaholic. It offers so many different options.

When the pattern arrived I was really excited to try it out. I knew exactly what fabric I would use, and went straight ahead to cut it. After I had cut most of the pieces already I realized, that the chosen fabric was a knit. Yay for not having to put a zipper in. I am glad for this mistake, because I absolutely love the knit version. More to follow for sure.

 I used fold over elastic for the binding. It stretched out a little too much on the left sleeve.

 Here it is with the belt.

 It is a very nice pattern for some stash busting, since it doesn't require a lot of fabric. Here is my seersucker version. The fabric was left over from my Crepe Dress.

 Invisible zip

I have two more in the making. This time around with the peter pan collar.

Lisette Continental Blouse and Skirt

A couple of months back I bought this pattern at JoAnn's for $0.99. Great deal!

 I have six Lisette patterns, and I love the pictures on the front of all of them, but it seems that somehow they don't really work for me. It could of course be that I don't have the fitting right. Usually I can make a straight size 12 with all Simplicity patterns and they fit. But not these ones. It's just that they somehow turn out to look boxy on me. The blouses/tops that is. The two Lisette skirts I made so far are great.

The skirt is perfect and I like the seams on the front and back side. This time around I used a very simple cotton twill, but as you can see on the envelope front, the seams at the front and back side give a nice opportunity to play with prints. Next time I will take advantage of that. And there will be a next time for sure! It is such an easy and quick skirt project and the fit is perfect. I wish I could say the same about the top. The fabric is a cotton lawn from the Lisette collection at JoAnn's. It is so boxy, and even thou I used this very light cotton lawn, it sticks out at the back a lot. Maybe I just have to make it a size smaller.

 

Back view (obviously) 

Here is a close up of the gathers at the lower back.

Finally...the Taffy Blouse

So I finally got around to take some decent pictures of my take on the Taffy Blouse from Colette Patterns. I bought the fabric off the sales rack of Denver Fabrics. The actual store in Denver, not the online store. It seems to be some kind of polyester chiffon maybe. It wasn't hard to work with at all. And again, no alterations needed. I will wear it with a black cami underneath.

The focus is a little off in this picture, sorry about that. The bias tape is store bought. It is such a nice pattern. I will make more of this for sure.

Lisette Market Skirt and Blouse

I finally finished the Lisette Market Skirt.

This project was jinxed from the beginning. I only start to figure out how to use the serger, and I have to say this skirt isn't the best project to make if one doesn't really know how to finish seams with it. In the end it turned out to be very cute, and luckily people will see only the outside. I finished the blouse a while ago, but unfortunately the sleeves are too snug for my arms (too many muscles, haha). I will make the blouse again but a couple inches longer and with wider sleeves.

I really like the Lisette patterns. So far the ones I tried out were really easy to make with clear straightforward instructions. The designs are simple with enough cute details. I made the blouse without the row of buttons down the upper front and I like it better this way. It's so easy with these patterns to change little things like this, at least for beginners like myself. I am looking forward to the next Lisette project. But for now I am occupied with the Prairie Girl dress, and my first try with knits.