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!