McCall's 7538

Hi you all! I absolutely wanted to make this dress since I saw some amazing reviews about this pattern on the pattern review site. I have to say, I thought it was going to be easier to make than it actually was! 

I all started with me wanting to try the full bust adjustment technique on knits. I have noticed on some of the reviews that the line where the midriff start was crossing through the bust while in the picture below on the model it starts below the bust.

 I wanted to be sure that mine had enough room to cover all my bust while still allowing the midriff to start below the bust and after 2 hours of calculating, drawing, cutting ,taping and correcting... it did not!! :(  

Yeah, well, I think my biggest problem lies in the fact that I cut a size 10 thinking that those patterns run way too big anyway...wrong!!

So so wrong! I want to cry! This dress is so tight on me! I feel like a sausage! And the line of the midriff cross specifically across my bust.I decided to make the review and the photo shoot anyway thinking  it might be helpful to someone to beware of the sizes. Don't you worry, I wont be heading outside with this dress unless I lose at least 10 or even better 15 pounds. Good thing is I'm already on a diet. 

Also, there's several pieces to this pattern , it's not exactly hard to sew but it can easily get confusing. I kept my pieces pinned to the pattern until I was ready to sew to avoid getting lost. The instructions though are easy to follow and good.

The thing is, I really love the dress except it's too tight.And now that the pattern is cut , what? There's so many pieces that grading them all seems like a big amount of time and energy. I'll end up just buying another one I think . 

For the fabric I used a polyester crepe knit that behaves like a ponte, very stable and easy to sew. It's black and white. I bought it at Fabricville and got it on sale. The whole dress costed something like 8$.

I think the design of this dress is very figure flattering. There's neckline variations, skirt variations and even the possibility to make only a top. A great opportunity to make color blocking and there's no darts! ( is't that awesome?!?), no zipper and no lining. 

Great fit, provided you actually cut the good size. Ah, there's also sleeve variations. In my dress I went for the short sleeve version and shortened by an inch because I wanted to  wear it during the rest of the summer. Wont be able anyway. 

In conclusion, yes , I want and will do this pattern again. I love the pattern. I want to redo the same dress and try the flared skirt and the top obviously in the right size.

In the meantime , I have a lot more patterns in my stash to try so I think I will do something different next time. 

Oh well, I'm in this journey to learn and learning I am. 

Mccall's 7324 top

Hi you all! Last week when I was searching thru my patterns for the pattern stash contest I came across Mccall's 7324. When I purchased it last year I felt so attracted to the flowy looseness of this top. However I never seem to find the perfect kind of fabric and color to do it. Well, one month ago my mother who is a very frugal person brought me to a place here in Montreal where the fabric is so affordable you wouldn't believed it! I bought several yards of different prints for less than 30 dollars, tax included! This one in particular cost me 2.50$/ yard and its a flowy gorgeous rayon challis. I love, love, love those colors. So the minute I saw the view C I knew that was the top I wanted to make with this fabric.

The pattern is stated as very loose fitting and believe me, it is. I made a size small and still find it loose but don't get me wrong , even if it's very loose it's still has kind of a nice shape to it that in my opinion makes it look good. I particularly like the shirring in the back neckline, I don't know why I think it's such a cute detail.

On the other hand I don't like the gathering in the front sides and front neckline because it adds more bulk where I don't necessarily want it. I don't need extra volume in the front part if you know what I mean! I like the center pleat though, I pressed it a lot so it lays flat on my chest to again avoid the bulk.

Also the half placket doesn't lay flat either. The instructions where easy to follow but when it comes to the placket it's like something is missing and I ended up doing my own thing. I turned out well but I think its the gathering that pulls it and if you look closely at the model's shirt it does pucker a little bit too, so I guess it's

a pattern issue.

The only modification I did to the pattern is a little correction to the armscye as quiltfixer from pattern review kindly suggested me to do in my previous top. I added half an inch to the arm opening and  to the sleeve too. I should have extended the top by two inches had I knew it would be too short to my taste. 

Overall, I like it. I'm not sure I'll be making another yet but it's a nice pattern. It's really cool and comfortable for the summer. 

Well, that is my sewing adventure for this week. I gotta say it's an easy make. I did it in less than four hours cutting to hemming. But even only four hours it's sometimes hard to find. Well I'm glad I found time to do this one. Another 2,50$ top. Isn't that awesome? 
Sewing makes dressing yourself so affordable, it's crazy! 
Well I hope you liked it! See you here next time with another project! 
Happy sewing!

Pattern stash contest.

Hi you all!! I have to apologize for having abandoned my blog for almost 4 months now! I have to say it has been a long time and missed it so much. Even if I haven't been posting I have been sewing and a lot but... not for me. I was focusing on doing clothes for my kids and then my sister went on a 1 month vacation and asked me to make several tops for her which I enjoyed but I was quite drained after the experience. I found it stressful to sew for someone else. 
Now, I wanted to enter in the pattern stash contest so that's why I decided to make something for myself again. For this top I chose Mccall's 7284 that was in my stash since summer 2016. So this contest was the perfect occasion to get it out. I made view D without the curved hem.

I used a poly crepe Georgette with a border print hence the straight hem and used the white parts of the fabric to cut the yokes. 

I did a pleat in the back instead of the shirring, don't know why.. maybe an idea from a review of another blogger. I topstitched the back yoke and the sleeves seam to give it more strenght since I felt during the fitting that it was a little tight in that area. I think it's an issue of this pattern. I show the problem area in the picture below... I just hope that someone can explain me how to fix this issue or refer me to a tutorial or something. I really love this top but that makes it a little uncomfortable.

The next picture shows how lovely the sleeves are. Not too wide, just enough to make them cute. 

I gotta say I really love this pattern and as soon as I fix the sleeve thing I'll make another one! I already have the fabric. 

Oh, another thing, I want to apologize for my horrible hair!! I'ts not my best hair day. Sorry!

Going to see my hairdresser first thing this week. 

 Well I hope you guys love this mcall's pattern and decide to jump in to try it! 

By the way, this fabric costed me 4$ / yard and I made it out of one yard. I made size small but the version with curved hem would have required more fabric. 

I think that this price makes it a really affordable muslin and in this case I have a new garment.

 I wish you the best week and happy sewing! 

Also good luck for those of you who entered the pattern stash contest. Au revoir!

Creativity desert.

This February has been the kind of month full of disappointments: unfinished projects, broken scissors, a lot of "I just can't find the appropriate fabric or color thread for this project" and a lot of those projects that I start and then I just can't figure it out how to do it , I get frustrated and everything winds up in the garbage!! I mean, what's going on? 
I was about to give up on sewing but then I decided to just cool of and relax a little bit. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and think about all the things you have done.
I closed the machine and put all the fabrics away and put all my patterns in a box. ( I don't have a studio so everything is always on my dining table.) So I cleared everything and sat on the sofa with paper and crayon. I made a list of all the things I have done since I started sewing. I came up with more than 30 items. Really?? I have done more than 30 items!! I haven't posted everything in here because there's a lot of things I did before I started blogging and also I don't post when it's a pajama or something that didn't fit the way I expected. 
So instead of forcing myself to sew when I'm just plain tired I decided to sit and give all those completed projects a little bit of appreciation. They aren't all exceptional things but I did them with my own hands.
My very first attempt was this draped top for last summer. I loved the colors of the fabric. I have to mention that I did not use a pattern for this top. I copied the silhouette from another garment just by putting it on top of the fabric and cutting around...really really beginner technique. It's a poly knit. As much as this top is not perfect and I did a lot of mistakes ...like...using non stretch stitch on a knit... I have worn it so many times! I just have to be careful when I put it on . Here's the top.

For this second top I did use a pattern, McCalls 7323

 

The mistake I did was in my choice of fabric..it was too heavy without good drape...beginner mistake again. Even on the hanger, it doesn't hang well. Also..I changed the neckline but didn't know how to finish it so I just stitched it...It's not that polished! I still wear it a lot in the summer days though. Here's the top. Sorry for the bad picture. I guess I'm not a photographer.

This next top, I did it during the summer too. I only had a few patterns at that time and one of them was a pajama pattern , McCalls 7060. So I used it to make a flowy summer top with some modifications. I did the neckline band so small to leave the neckline very open. I lengthened the top by 2 inches and omitted the hem band. I also used a small folded band for the armhole. Also, instead of gathering , I did 4 small pleats. At that time I didn't know how to lengthen a pattern properly so it's uneven at the bottom. I decided not hem it and leave it raw. I use it to be at home as lounge-wear.  This is the pajama pattern I used.

And here's my top completed.

The final top I'll show you I did recently using a simple shirt pattern I have and was inspired to do it after have visited this page from the Sew Country Chick blog . She uses a simple shirt pattern and explains how to add a turtleneck.She's really talented and makes such awesome clothes. Her blog is so inspiring to me. At first I wanted to post the top but then after seeing the pictures I found it too long , but Hey! I did it myself and get to wear it a lot. So here it is!

After recalling some of my makes and how much they're useful it gets me motivated to continue. It reminds me of all the things and tricks I have learned. Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself like trying to tackle really advanced projects I just can't make now. Or trying to do like 8 projects on a month while working full time and taking care of my 2 young kids and husband... am I crazy or what?!

I'll leave you with a picture of what I'm doing right now. It's a knit sweater with lace trims. I think it's a lovely project and I'm not rushing trough it. It'll take as long as it needs. 

Happy February!! I'll see you here with the final result. 

Thank you for visiting this blog! Happy sewing!

Casual black and grey

I wanted to make several casual tops for the next month because I just need them. Also I want to make something different than my long sleeved t-shirt that it's the only thing I wear during winters to go to work. Yeah, kind of boring I know!
Well for this top I chose McCall's 7286 

What I like about this pattern is the raglan sleeves and the side insets are cute too but I didn't  used it in my top. 
I used a sweater grey knit remnant that I had left from a cardigan I made last autumn but didn't keep because I didn't like the fit. I gave it to my mother. She was happy! Anyway I had just enough to come up with those two pieces , front and back and the rest is a black polyester knit I had in my stash waiting to be used. For the view I did a mix of view D with the bodice of view A, only instead of cutting a rounded border I did it straight.

I really love the look of the raglan sleeves. And the easy way this top gets done..really it's so easy! I cut a size M and although it looks like the pattern envelope I feel like its a little bit to lose and I will be making it small next time.

 I think it's a pretty good wardrobe builder and for sure you can get creative with different colors and fabrics. Mine is black and grey and it's a little boring but its really comfortable and warm. It's going to get a lot of wear for sure!

I can't wait for the next time I will make myself another one ...but I just cant make up my mind in what fabric to use exactly.

Sometimes the part where I have to figure the fabric and the pattern is the part that takes the most time even than sewing. It's like I'm afraid to make the wrong choice and regret it later or waste fabric.

Does that happen to any of you? Do you have tips? I hope to hear from you!

In the meantime I have to start thinking about my next casual top.

See you soon! Happy sewing!

Flowered top

After a lot of thinking about what pattern to use for this top I went for this McCall's top.

Since it was a top intended to use underneath a cardigan I chose to make view B but then I thought that if it would have sleeves I could use it all year long with or without the cardigan. I used the cap sleeve pattern from another McCalls , it didn't quite fit the armhole so I had to gather a little to make it fit.

 Another change I did is the length, I did it even back and front, the pattern allows it so it's an easy change. 
I also skipped the front interfacing and I regret it because the front its not as firm as it should be and falls.
In the first trial I ended with a big bump in the back that I corrected doing the high swayback adjustment. It's the first time I do it and here's a link to a tutorial on how to do it: 
https://patternscissorscloth.com/2010/12/05/sway-back-alterations-my-analysis/
Here's the corrected back of the garment.

I overall think it'a a wearable result but it's not my preferred. I generally like my clothes to be more fitted and this kind of boxy style it's just not for me. Another thing, I think this kind of fabric is to thin and lightweight for this kind of garment...I guess I have to start following pattern suggestions ;). To counter act the looseness of the top I chose to wear a stretchy fitted skirt. I guess it would look great with skinny jeans or leggings too.
I intend to give this pattern another chance one day with a knit and a smaller size. 
Here's the top with the cardigan.

I hate giving up on a pattern, I feel like I'm supposed to make it work no matter what. Anyway , I will try it again and I promise I will post it here. Thanks for visiting my blog and see you soon with more clothes! Have you tried this pattern?? Don't be afraid to share it with me! I would love to hear from you too. 
In the next posts I will be doing casual winter tops because I'm in desperate need of a few.
Byebye 

Mother-in-law top or dress?

I mentioned in an earlier post that my mother-in-law gave me a burgundy cardigan for christmas and I love it because its elegant and warm! It's winter here in Montreal and everything warm that people give me it's very welcomed!!
Here's the cardigan.

I love the 2 golden zippers. It gives it a cute and trendy embellishment. I purchased 2 different fabrics to make something to wear with it but haven't decided yet. 

This a flowered one ( my number 1)

And the other fabric

 I like this one too , but the other has more warm tones.

Another question is, do I make a dress or a top? 

And what pattern do I use? 

I'm starting to have sewing anxiety...do you have suggestions? 

I know I can always ask my husband but I have talked so much about sewing and patterns etc etc that recently he started falling asleep while I talk.

Thanks to God I discovered a sewing community in the Pattern Review site and now I can talk all I want about my obsession passion. And blogging too, it's so much fun to talk about sewing and fabrics and patterns.

Well I gotta go find the perfect pattern for this fabrics.. will be posting the finished garments here. 

See you soon!!

Design-it-yourself Clothes

When I made the renfrew top replica before, I talked about how I already have a basic t-shirt pattern I drafted for myself. The best thing about this pattern is that is perfect for  me and you know why? Because it does have my exact measurements to fit me the way I love it. I drafted this pattern thanks to the book Design-it-yourself clothes by Cal Patch. This book is a gem! If you want to start making your own simple everyday wear patterns this is the book you need. Sometimes you just need a simple pattern like a simple tunic or a t-shirt. Why not doing it yourself? 

I bought it last year and I only drafted the basic t-shirt pattern so far but this year I intend to go through all the projects in the book. I also followed her step by step technique do draft myself a simple straight skirt. The straight skirt its not in the book.However its easy to make once you understand the principles. The foundation skirt pattern is the basic A-line and you can draft 3 new skirts based on this one. There's 20 patterns total to make and endless possibilities once you start doing your very own and unique variations.

I think it's an awesome book and I will be posting here each and every project of the book. It's for sure that this kind of pattern don't answer every need we have. I still have my usual patterns to work with like Mccall's , Vogue, Burda , etc etc. I consider it a plus to understand the basics of pattern making and it's gonna add up to my repertoire. Besides , there's a lot whole of other information in this book too like finishes, fitting, pattern alterations , special techniques and more.

I think this is a very useful book for those of us who need plus patterns as there isn't always as much variety out there.

Hope you'll check it out and who knows? maybe give it a try. Why not? And i'm pretty sure some of you already have it. I haven't found that much information about the book or someone making the patterns of the book on the internet. If you have already used it for your clothes I would love to see your pictures or your comments! So don't be shy!
Happy sewing!

Fait main pattern

Hi everyone! I received a burgundy Ivanka Trump cardigan as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law and I love it. Unfortunately , I don't have anything in my closet that matches my new garment. I was forced to run to Fabricville to buy some new fabric but only a yard of fabric I said to myself. Well I came out with 8 yards of different fabrics and with all kind of sewing notions. Also when I was at the cash register I saw several magazines like Burda Style and Fait Main. Well it turns out those magazines come with a complete list of patterns inside ( at least 30 I would say) for an affordable magazine price. I was immediately hooked and bought two of them.
This is Burda january 2017


Those are the patterns that come inside 


The other magazine I grabbed is Fait Main december 2016 (in french)

Those here are some of the patterns that come inside

Each magazine costed me about 6$ so I consider it a pretty good deal. I immediately started to work on a skirt. This one here.

It's a little time consuming because you have all the patterns on a same sheet and you have to find your pattern and copy every piece of it , identify it, ad seam allowance, hem allowance, cut it and once you have completed all this and only then you can cut your fabric. I cut a size 44 based on a chart of measures they give you. But oh my God, these patterns run waaay too big. At the fitting stage I ended up pinching at least 4 inches from the seam lines. On top of it, the pockets and the "passepoil" detail on them made such an unflattering bulk that I ended up removing them altogether. By this time I was so exhausted I just wanted to throw it in the garbage but some strange determination inside me just pushed me to finish this skirt no matter what. I finished it and in the end it looked like this.

And this is the back 

A little weird at the back I know but I think I'll still wear it. I gave this skirt a 4/10 rate.

The pattern on the other hand ...I don't like it. But I'm not done with this magazines, I intend to make some other thing one of these days. I'll try a Burda one next time to experience something new.

But I need to rest from this adventure for the moment. 

See you in the next post!