Afternoon Blouse in Green

I just finished this Afternoon Blouse by Jennifer Lauren, a pattern I've been meaning to make since I bought the pattern at least 5 years ago! The PatternReview "Fabric & Pattern Stash" contest spurred me on to finally get this one cut out. 

I traced a size 12, grading out to 14 at hip. It is fairly simple, with only front, back, and facing pieces. And I used a remnant of green linen blend of some kind which I got from a friend last year, when she gave me two plastic bins of fabric from her mother's sewing stash. I had just enough to cut out the blouse version of the Afternoon Blouse & Shift Dress. 

The fabric was fairly loosely woven, so I did have to zigzag all the edges of the pattern pieces as I cut them out. But there aren't many, and this went together quickly. I used a lightweight interfacing for the facing pieces, which was just right for the softness of this fabric. I did find once I tried it on that it is a little tighter around my upper arm than I like - I may upick the shoulder seams and restitch at 1/4" just to give me a touch more room. I will add a bit to the pattern pieces for future use. 

Otherwise, the only thing I had to watch on this one was getting the overlap to sit correctly. Because my fabric has a bit of a softer hand, I found it wanted to droop. I had to press the front seam and the overlaps in place, then pin them in order to put in the line of hand stitching that holds the overlaps together -- I did it quickly the first time, then realized I had to pick it out because I hadn't carefully arranged the placement and there were sags and droops! I placed the top on my dress form after pressing so that I could get the alignment right, and then restitched the overlaps together, and added the button. Actually, looking at the photos I think I might readjust it again to get rid of the little pucker near the button!

It was kind of fun digging through my button stash to find a single button I liked for this top. The one I had in mind first didn't actually work, so I looked again and came up with this pinkish toned one, which is slightly smaller than the recommended size but I think it looks nice. 

I like the way this fits, aside from the slightly tight arm opening, which is fixable -- it floats over the body and feels just right. I will definitely be trying the dress view next. 

Sweater Knit Skirt with Butterick 6525

After I made my Burda sweater recently, I had enough fabric left over to cut out a skirt. I didn't want to waste any of this fabric, so before putting the fabric away I found a suitable skirt pattern to try out! 

I have had Butterick 6525 in my stash for a while; I bought it for the dress view. However, the skirt included is a quick pull-on, elastic waist style, which was also just the right size for my leftovers. So I cut it out, with a few alterations. 

I didn't really like the hemline style -- so I left the hem straight but marked the curved lines on the fabric in case I changed my mind and wanted to follow them. Once it was done I really liked the straight hem so pulled out my thread markings and left it plain. 

I also used only one piece of 1/2" wide elastic at the waist instead of making two narrow channels. This fabric was just a little too squidgy to easily sew two neat channels and I didn't feel like futzing around too much! 

And then I also added some side seam pockets. Of course! I cut the pockets out of some black broadcloth, and made sure that the tops of the pocket bags were secured into the stitching when I folded the waist casing down. That way they are anchored neatly and always stay put in the front of the skirt. 

This is a very basic skirt, and I've made it even more basic by leaving out the hem detail. However, I really like the fit, and the gathering is just the right amount, not too bulky at all. It's very comfy and cozy -- I just hope there isn't too much stretching out of shape as it's worn. Sweater knit isn't really known for its recovery. Still, I thought I'd give it a try and get another wardrobe item out of this fabric. I'm pleased with it and think this will get a fair amount of wear. Now to make the other items in this pattern!

Black & White Remnant Blouse

I've started making pieces for my Fall wardrobe -- bright jewel tones are my theme, and black and white prints are my neutrals :) I made a Jalie Florence last fall with some great black and white cotton from Fabricville, and on looking into my stash I realized I had enough left over to make a blouse to go under jackets and sweaters. I tried out a few patterns, and found that this Burda 128-09-2011 fit perfectly.

I have had this pattern bookmarked for a while, and was happy that I could finally use it. The cotton holds the distinctive shoulder line pleats nicely and the cap sleeve means both that I could fit this onto my remnant and that the blouse sits nicely under a blazer. 

It looks pretty simple, but oh my, that collar construction! The shoulder seam is dropped to the front at an angle. There are two pleats that overlap to form the inner neck edge. And then you have what looks like a stand-up half mandarin collar. But how to attach it? Well, not the way I first tried. 

Left side: correct -- Right Side: Wrong!

I finally checked PatternReview and was relieved to find many reviews of this blouse, and one of them explains the collar construction very clearly. Once I read that I understood, but I don't know how long it would have taken me to figure it out otherwise! The collar isn't attached above the front neckline, but flush with it. The pleats are sewn onto the front edge of the collar, leaving the seam allowance at the top, and then the second collar piece is attached along the top and turned in, which covers up all the raw edges. Sheesh, how hard was that to figure out! When it's done, it hugs the back of your neck and sits flat against the body.

Other than that particular struggle, this one wasn't too hard. I cut my usual Burda size, 42 and grading to 44 at the hip. I measured the pattern, which looked very long, and took up an inch between shoulder and bust (just below the pleat markings) which shortened the deep armhole and moved the bust point up to where it should be -- I didn't want that first button to fall below the bust point! Now it sits exactly where it should be.

I also finished the armholes with some premade bias tape as I'd have had to piece quite a few tiny pieces from my scraps to make enough self bias. If I make it again and have a touch more fabric, I'd use self-bias - it just always sits more nicely, I think. The only other change I made was to topstitch down the pleat edges for about 1.25" from the shoulder line so that they didn't puff out weirdly. I like the way they lie now. 

And luckily, I had the absolute perfect buttons in my stash. Love the match. This is the first item to be finished in my fall sewing queue, but I still have one summer dress to share soon which is just waiting for its buttons. I'm starting my fall wardrobe with some of the lighter and easier pieces that I can wear now with my late summer outfits as well as with the planned fall clothes.

 I think this blouse will be handy with everything. Although I didn't get a picture, I realized that undoing the bottom 3 buttons allows the blouse to be tied at the waist in cute 60s style as well. Very versatile :) Another black and white top is on the sewing table, hopefully to be finished quickly!

Scraptember!

September seems to be the month of scrappy sewing over on Instagram -- I am still intending to sew along with #scrappySeptember via the Make A Garment A Month group. To that end, I've been trying to decide on a project!

I do love to use up my larger offcuts by putting them together into something else, and I especially love print blocking, when it's done right. I don't sew with too many solids so don't do a lot of solid colour blocking -- just because I don't have many of those scraps to work with.

I was thinking about some of the ways in which I might use some of my larger remnant pieces for this September's scrappy challenges, and that led me to investigate which patterns I already own that might fit in well with this technique. It turns out I have quite a few. So I thought I'd share them with you for inspiration. If you have any patterns that you find helpful for this kind of project, please share them in the comments.

Kwik Sew 4260

This is a pattern that I just bought; couldn't resist the silhouette or the scrappy potential!

Kwik Sew 4016 

Now this is a pattern I've had for a very long time, and I've made View A before. It might be time to try the short sleeved View B and use up a few interesting pieces of scrap fabric.

McCalls 7132

I just bought this one is our local fabric store's amazing moving sale. I had missed it altogether so was happy to pick it up now that I am thinking of scrappy sewing. It's made for lightweight fabrics but I'm thinking that maybe some velvety bits might work too... 

McCalls 7466
It's obvious in this pattern that View D is specially created for scrappy goodness! I can imagine it in wild print blocking -- that would be fun. There is a denim version like the pattern cover over on PatternReview; someone actually made this one and it is so fun.

Vogue 9081

Another pattern that I just picked up in our local sale. I'm not a huge Marcy Tilton fan, but I'm willing to give this one a try. I really like the simplicity of View C -- maybe this one could use up some of the larger solids in my stash, of which I have only a few!

McCalls 7361

This might be perfect for some of the smaller pieces of lightweight fabrics like challis or crepe in my scrap pile. I like a nice oversize pullover top and this one looks cute to me.

Vogue 1484

I've had this one for ages, a pretty Zandra Rhodes design that I bought thinking of a Christmas dress. But many holidays have come and gone and I still have not made it...Perfect for those glitzy bits!

Butterick 6033

You can't quite tell with this one unless you look at the line drawings, but there are

 multiple  seam lines here to help you break up the fabrics you choose. I think it would look 

nice with some subtle scrappiness in the fabric choice.

Butterick 5821

Obviously the jacket is the leftover fabric project in this wardrobe pattern. You could make

 all the other pieces and then use the leftover bits to make a matching jacket. 

Or just make a jacket  on its own with all the remnants currently in your stash. 

Any of these patterns would be fun to try! Maybe it would reduce my scrap stash.

Then of course, I might always try a Bargainista copy of my favourite Dior dress of the past few years:

Take a look at the whole show for more inspiration!


What about you? Do you like print blocking? Colour blocking? Do you like to save and use your scraps?