Worth the hoopla

As I posted earlier, I dove into the Burda turtleneck from the September 2010 issue.  People on Patternreview have made I think hundreds of these things at this point–and it’s only January 2011. 

Well throw my hat in the ring for admirers of this pattern.

Burdastyle 09-2010-121: mock turtleneck–what I learned

1.  Basic doesn’t necessarily mean boring:  As I said, I totally missed this (and every other pattern) pattern in the September issue.  When I first started seeing reviews of it pop up on PR, I ignored it.  Snore, I thought–I hate turtlenecks as a general rule.  I should know Burda better by this point.  This pattern is well drafted, 3 pieces, and it looks sleek looking without being constricting or tackily tight.  I see why people have made up a gazillion of these things.  It takes little fabric, is fun to sew and can be accessorized until the cows come home.  It’s MAYBE a little short, but at 7 months pregnant, my opinion on this point can’t be trusted.  I’m wearing a cami underneath for my own comfort, not because it’s too short.  I did add 2″ at CF and 1.5″ in a wedge at the side seam, which was more than enough room for baby, and my hem is nice and level.

2.  In seam buttonholes:  This was my big learning on this top.  Trena’s reviews almost always send me over the edge if I’m so-so on a pattern, and this one was no exception.  She added a thumbhole for extra warmth in the underarm seam.  Being shorter like she is, I knew that I’d have to shorten the sleeves by quite a bit (2.25″)–enough that I’d have plenty of extra length to have a fingerless glove setup if I added a thumbhole.  I elected to do in-seam buttonholes for this feature.

I serged the raw edge of the arms, sewing a piece of twill tape to the thumbhole area in the serged allowance. 

After I sewed in the armscye seam, I sewed the underarm seam just outside my serging, stopping and restarting on either side of the twill tape. 

I pressed this seam really well on my seam roll and did some decorative stitching with hot pink embroidery thread to keep the twill tape tacked down (and because I figured if I was fussing this much over a seam, it might as well be purty).

I’m pretty surprised at HOW much warmer the thumbholes make this top.  Thank you Trena for the inspiration!  Though they were more work than just sewing an underarm seam, the functionality trumps it.  My hands get so cold in winter, particularly when I’m playing violin and wearing even fingerless gloves impairs my movement. 

So I’ll echo words of others–why haven’t you sewn this top yet?

My full review is here on PR.

Pattern mania

I haven’t left the pants.  I spent a good deal of time this weekend making up muslin #1, and I’m pretty excited how well it went (no pictures but they’re coming).  I have some more changes, some I can figure out, and some I need help for.  The tough mental work it’s taking to do all of this on top called for an easy project from Burdastyle’s September issue.  At first I thought there was nothing worthwhile in this issue because–oh, right, I was super morning sick and couldn’t process much of anything that month.

 

The Burdastyle turtleneck  09-2010-121

But seeing people go literally dotty over this pattern on PR (note 25 reviews since the mag came out in September and how many of those people have made this pattern 3 or 4 times) , I decided it deserved a second look.  Flipping back through my issue, I discovered that this and many other patterns in September are kind of great, but I’ll have to wait to touch any more of them until after baby.

Back to this pattern.  What’s not to love?  It’s crazy simple–3 pattern pieces and it sews up in maybe 10 minutes if you’re slow.  The turtleneck is not restrictive like turtlenecks tend to be.  There’s plenty of room across the bust, so you avoid the horrid uni-boob look [insert involuntary shudder here] that I always get in turtlenecks.  Add Trena’s genius thumbhole variation (which works for me perfectly with my short little arms), and this is going to be a cold weather staple pattern.

I picked up this mystery knit (poly?–but it didn’t smell horrid when I burn-tested it) on a trip last week to Denver Fabrics to get some pantsy kind of fabric for my class.  There was just enough in the flat fold for this project, and all told it cost about $5 even.  Though I said I was done sewing maternity tops, $5 seemed a worthwhile investment, especially since things are starting to get a little tightish and I still have 11 weeks left.

I’ll give you a preview of the fabric since I won’t be able to work on the top itself until tomorrow.

It’s like little baskets!

Steady progress

I’m tortoising my way to pants people!  I have nothing to show for it right now, but I’ve finally finished altering my pattern and getting it cut out.  I chose a crazy simple pattern with just a front, back, and a fly underlap.

Tomorrow I’ll cut out my muslin and get to the nitty gritty.  I feel like I’ve gotten over a big hurdle just altering the pattern.  I know my hips are my widest part, and they intimidate me tremendously, to the point that I just give up.  So I’ve intentionally gone very slow this week in dealing with my pattern, taking breaks when I was confused or frustrated, and now my pattern looks pretty darn nice.  How it will translate to actual pants remains to be seen, but I figure if I’ve gotten this far, even if I have to fix multiple issues later on, I’m going to end up with good fitting pants.

Start with the right recipe

I read a lot of cookbooks. Tons. I have 10 on my reading pile at the moment–half are mine, half belong to the library. I use them too. One of my favorite parts of my week is going through a stack of cookbooks in a search for what I’m making for the week. Cooking calms me down and thinking about it plain makes me happy. Because I’m around food so much, I can pretty much smell a bad recipe from a mile away. You just develop instincts when you are around something that much.

That said, I have NO instincts when it comes to pants. Zero. I will happily rate myself a rank beginner in the world of pants. So yesterday, I just traced away haphazardly at this pattern.

Nevermind that Burda’s largest size in this pattern was probably 2 sizes too small for my hips. I can add extra, right? Yes, maybe, but I have no idea how or where or why. The pockets are confusing me to boot. I should have started with a pattern that was not going to give me so many issues–especially since I don’t know how to deal with them. I mean it’s like asking someone to julienne 5 lbs of carrots having never picked up a knife.

So I’m scrapping it all and starting at square one again. I don’t just want to smash something together and hope that all my crazy adding will pan out. My experience in doing so has not been pretty.

As for my participation in Cupcake Goddess’ Trouser Sew-along?

I’m getting to it. I just need to go cook dinner to clear my mind first.  And after some delicious orange couscous and sticky roasted chicken, I will find a proper pattern to trace.

2010 review and 2011 goals

Ooh–slideshow.  Someone dim the lights.  There’s a bit of ugly in 2010 garment-wise, but, hey, it’s part of what happened, and it’s worthy to note for that reason.

2010 Projects, posted with vodpod

Whew, I got a lot done this past year as far as sewing went.  Overall, I’m really proud of my progress in this crazy game of sewing my own garments, and I’ve successfully negotiated finding time to sew while taking care of a very busy, extremely curious toddler.  Here’s a rundown of my goals for 2010:

1. Sew a cute sporty jacket: check
2. Tackle a Vogue pattern: why did these intimidate me so much a year ago?  I made multiple Vogues.  I even made 1027 twice (what a great pattern!).
3. Learn more about knits and apply that learning: I’ve sewn so many knits, and I’m way comfortable with them now.
4. Learn to make welt pockets: not so much.
5. Make more wearable garments: with a few exceptions, I’m okay with what I’m churning out these days.  A friend commented that it was getting harder to tell what I’ve made vs. what I’ve bought–that’s probably a good lithmus test.
6. Learn to fit pants: Does it count that I’ve THOUGHT about it a lot?
7. Enter a sewing contest:  It turns out I did 3–Mini Wardrobe, Lined Jacket, and Endless Combinations.  I found it was good for me to do so and helped me up my game and keep my goals on track.  Plus, I had a lot of fun.  Yay contests!
8. Make a fashionable bag: My Mom rescued me and bought me a gorgeous Cole Haan aqua wristlet for my birthday.  It’s way more my style than anything I’d sew (and I learned that it was easier to buy a bag than source the materials I wanted to use in a bag I’d actually love).
9. Sew a button-down shirt for me: I made 2.  One whose style I love, and one that I love love love love love.  Again, I’m not sure why this was such an intimidating goal for me a year ago.
10. Sew a winter coat: I would have, but I was not going to sacrifice my teal double-faced wool to pregnancy.

Here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in 2011:

• Sew some post-partum wear that is me:  I wore a lot of icky ill-fitting t-shirts after I had Noah (that made me feel horrid), mostly because my skills were “emerging” and not ready for the challenge of a wacky changing body.  I’ve seen myself through that change, my skills are much improved, so I’m ready for whatever sizes are coming my way in 3 months.  Oh, and I know that I am a lucky one who can wear a decent, actually supportive bra whilst nursing.
• Make a shirt dress:  I’m comfortable with shirt construction now, and I love this style. 
• Learn to fit pants: Just starting this journey, I know I will be frustrated, but I know the end result will be worth it.
• Sew more with wovens:  Knits are my brainless go-tos when it comes to sewing.  I know how to make them fit my body, and I love how quickly they come together.  I want to get this comfortable with wovens, which is perhaps a tall order given my currently and upcoming wackily changing body.
• Make a winter coat: with the subset goals of welt pockets and bound buttonholes as from last year.  That teal double-faced wool in my stash isn’t getting any younger!
• Figure out what colors look good on me and sew with fabrics in those:  I picked up this book from the library, and I’m utterly confused about my coloring (well I am anyway).  I started sewing in part because I can rarely find colors that are “me”, but apparently, I have a hard time figuring out what those colors are (except aqua–my BFF always).
• Do a better job than last year:  This was my only goal I had for myself when I was teaching.  Being an extremely goal-oriented person but not a natural teacher, I figured this was a low-pressure goal for me.  A friend recently told me it was kind of a high bar–who knows?  It feels low pressure to me.  In essence, I want to keep learning and growing in my sewing, but whatever specific lessons I’m going to learn will present themselves as they come, so my goal is not to try and control every detail of said learning because I’ve found I learn a lot more when I don’t.  Oy, it’s so hard to explain your own mind!